Kyle Freeland gives up four runs, takes ninth loss

Lowe takes a seat with lefty Shota Imanaga taking the ball for Chicago in this one. It’ll be Nick Gonzales taking over at the keystone and hitting second in this one. The 32-year-old veteran has managed to stay mostly healthy and has put together an outstanding Pirates debut with 21 homers and 65 RBI across 427 plate appearances.

Avila, who has struggled in opening frames throughout this season, gets the ball without an opener after limiting the Giants to just two runs and piling up seven punchouts over 6 1/3 innings earlier this week. The unheralded 24-year-old has emerged as a back-end rotation stabilizer for Kansas City and is starting to routinely miss enough bats that he could be interesting from a fantasy standpoint, especially in deeper mixed leagues. It’s going to take some refinement from a command and control standpoint for him to make another leap, but he’s an interesting talent.

Pederson will make his fourth appearance at the cold corner with starting first baseman Jake Burger taking a seat against Mariners righty Bryan Woo. The 34-year-old is basically a power-only fantasy contributor at this stage of his career, but he’s supplied a resectable 17 big flies in 309 plate appearances this season.

Smith bolsters Texas’ infield depth with third baseman Josh Jung landing on the injured list with a calf strain. The versatile 28-year-old has mostly stuck to second base this season, but he’s capable of playing almost anywhere on the diamond. The big issue for him has been offensive production since he’s hit just .230 with one homer and two steals in 40 games this season. He spent the last couple weeks in the minors after Wyatt Langford came off the injured list.

Despite receiving some addition rest earlier this week, Jung’s left calf never improved to the point that the Rangers felt comfortable putting him back in a game situation. The 28-year-old will get a few extra days off to hopefully put the issue to bed. It doesn’t seem like he’ll require a lengthy absence and should be ready to return at some point in early August.

Albernaz added that they’re giving Basallo some extra time off to rest and recover while he works his way back from shoulder inflammation that put him on the injured list earlier this week. There was initial optimism that it would only be a minimum stay, but that appears to be fading quickly.

There’s been zero indication that Thomas is headed to the injured list despite sitting for the fourth consecutive game. The 25-year-old was diagnosed with a left wrist contusion after being hit by a pitch earlier this week. He remains day-to-day for the moment.

Lara draws the start in right field for the third time in Milwaukee’s last four games with Jake Bauers spending more time at first base recently. The 21-year-old top prospect, who is just 6-for-27 with one steal in 11 games since being called up earlier this month, has an opportunity to prove he belongs in the club’s everyday lineup while right fielder Sal Frelick is out with a shoulder strain. He possesses a fascinating blend of fantasy-relevant skills and could be an impactful contributor down the home stretch. He’s a name to monitor in deeper fantasy leagues.

There was some speculation that rookie Connor Prielipp (blister) would be activated from the injured list to make this start, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. However, Prielipp figures to take the ball for Sunday’s series finale with Twins ace Joe Ryan being scratched due to arm fatigue. Paredes holds an underwhelming 4.72 ERA and 19/13 K/BB ratio across 34 1/3 innings at the highest level this season. He’s not a recommended fantasy option.

Minnesota manager Derek Shelton told reporters the expectation is that Ryan will pitch at some point against the Royals next week. The 30-year-old’s name is going to come up a ton in trade rumors over the next couple weeks leading into the trade deadline. Clearly, the Twins aren’t going to take any chances if he’s not feeling right from a physical standpoint. It doesn’t sound like a significant concern since the club hasn’t placed him on the injured list. There should be some much-needed additional clarity concerning Ryan’s next start at some point next week, but fantasy managers shouldn’t anticipate a lengthy absence.