Jackson Merrill takes seat against Chris Sale

Seager has multiple hits in seven of his last eight games, raising his average from .198 to .232. That’s still 57 points less than his career average of .289, but it looks like he’ll keep gaining on it.

Rocker should have given up a two-run homer to Andrew Benintendi in the first, but Brandon Nimmo made a terrific catch in right to bring it back. Rocker did give up a two-run homer to Tristan Peters the following inning, but he locked in after that in winning for the first time in five starts this month. It’s the second time this year that he’s struck out eight, and he’s now 5-10 with a 4.41 ERA overall. Rocker figures to make his next start Sunday in Milwaukee.

Urquidy was coming off his best outing since Tommy John last Wednesday against the Cubs, but nothing much went right tonight. The first inning saw him throw 38 pitches, the highest total of his career, and give up two runs. In all, he threw 93 pitches to get nine outs, walking four and plunking two in the process. The White Sox have Thursday off, so they don’t need to start both Erick Fedde and Urquidy this weekend. Based on tonight, Fedde might be the better bet to face the Twins.

Langford’s homer came with a 9-2 lead in the ninth and led to the White Sox pulling Trevor Richards and finishing the game with a position player. It was his 15th homer in 80 games this season. He’s batting .253/.321/.462 for a .783 OPS that is just ahead of his .775 mark from his sophomore season.

Montgomery is 0-for-13 with nine strikeouts the last three days, and he’s hitting just .188/.254/.313 in 33 games since the break. His strikeout rate is currently sitting at a dreadful 34 percent, which is up from 29 percent in 71 games as a rookie last year. It’s not a good sign for the future.

Whisenhunt appeared to be dealing with some sort of arm issue and left after tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out three and only issued one walk. He was staked to an early five-run lead, but wound up departing after just 47 pitches. There should be an update on his status after the contest.

It’s been a recurring issue for Fairbanks, who dealt with a similar issue that required a trip to the injured list back in May. He’ll be reevaluated prior to Tuesday’s game before a decision on his next steps is made. The 32-year-old stopper was lifted from Monday’s appearance against the Red Sox after issuing a leadoff walk in the ninth inning of a tie ballgame. It would most likely be Calvin Faucher taking over as Miami’s primary closer in his absence. He’s worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues.

Lile capped Washington’s unexpected 13-run offensive explosion with a three-run blast in the eighth inning. It was his 16th round-tripper of the season. Amazingly, the Nationals didn’t have a hit through four innings in this one, but still managed to put double-digit runs on the board. Lile has put together an outstanding all-around fantasy campaign, delivering top-30 range value among fantasy outfielders, hitting .246 with 66 runs scored, 16 homers, 71 RBI and 13 steals across 544 plate appearances.

Castro was one of the few bright spots for Colorado in this one as he kicked off the scoring with a solo homer off emerging Nationals ace Cade Cavalli in the fourth inning. It was his 15th big fly of the season and lone hit in four at-bats.

Abrams swiped second base in the opening frame to reach the lofty 25-steal plateau for the fourth consecutive season. Cubs burgeoning star Pete Crow-Armstrong, the presumptive favorite for the NL MVP Award heading into the final month of the season, is the only other player with 25 homers and 25 steals this season. He put Washington ahead for good with an RBI double in the fifth inning and looked like his usual self following a four-game absence due to a sprained left ankle.