Nico Hoerner stays hot with four RBI in rout

Díaz homered on the first pitch of the ballgame from Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore, sending an opposite-field blast into the right-field seats for his 15th round-tripper of the season. The Rays were held to just one baserunner over the final eight innings of this low-scoring affair, but amazingly still managed to emerge victorious.

Baker was summoned to guard a three-run lead in the final frame and needed 20 pitches to slam the door. This one wasn’t completely drama-free as he served up a one-out double to Brandon Nimmo before getting Jake Burger fly out to center field and Nicky Lopez to line out to third base. The unheralded 31-year-old journeyman is just one save shy of Guardians stopper Cade Smith for the big-league lead in the save department.

Seymour entered the contest after Tampa Bay got five outs from opener Casey Legumina. He finished with four punchouts and allowed just three baserunners while keeping Texas off the scoreboard into the seventh inning. The 27-year-old southpaw has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of 10 outings since moving into the rotation back in early June. He’ll face a tough test on the road against the Rockies in high-octane Coors Field on Monday to open a two-start week. It’s tough to trust any pitcher in that environment, but Seymour has earned the benefit of the doubt with his recent performance.

Gore authored one of the more unique pitching performances of the season as he appeared to be on the verge of a complete meltdown before somehow locking in and dominating into the late innings. He ran into an absolute buzzsaw in the opening frame as Yandy Díaz went deep on the first pitch of the ballgame and he also served up a two-run shot to lefty-masher Ryan Vilade with two outs in the frame. He deserves a ton of credit for settling in afterwards and holding the Rangers without a baserunner over his final six innings of work. He got zero run support from his teammates and was still saddled with a tough-luck loss. He’s in line for a favorable matchup against the Giants on Monday to kick off a two-start week.

There’s nothing new from an update standpoint except that Judge doesn’t appear poised to undergo followup imaging at any point soon. The 34-year-old generational talent has yet to be cleared to resume baseball activities as he recovers from a rib fracture that put him on the injured list back in early June. At this point, fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him back until some point in late August.

Friedman downplayed concern regarding a right biceps issue that cropped up recently for Ohtani, saying that lingering left knee soreness is the greater concern at this juncture. The 32-year-old two-way talent remains without a definitive timetable to return to pitching in games, but there continues to be optimism that he’ll make it back at some point this season. Simply put, the primary focus for the Dodgers down the home stretch will be ensuring that Ohtani is ready to pitch in the postseason.

Hartlieb has the ability to elect free agency if he doesn’t want to stick around as emergency relief depth. The 32-year-old journeyman went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. He’s allowed nine runs over 13 1/3 innings of work for the Athletics this season.

There must be something about the Rangers that keeps bringing Kelenic back. The 27-year-old former elite prospect hit the open market to gauge his options earlier this week before deciding to head back to Triple-A Round Rock. Apparently, no other teams were interested.

Rutschman is currently on the injured list with wrist inflammation. It’s unclear whether the Orioles are even going to be sellers since they’ve shown some signs of life recently. Heyman adds that the Yankees are casting a wide net in search of an upgrade at catcher, listing Tyler Stephenson as another potential target in the lead up to next week’s trade deadline.

He’s back. Díaz figures to immediately reclaim the closer role in Los Angeles with lefty Tanner Scott remaining in the mix to vulture the occasional opportunity. The 32-year-old former elite stopper’s stuff looked sharp in a handful of minor league rehab outings, piling up 11 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, while working his way back from surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in late April.