Juan Soto lifted for pinch-hitter in sixth inning

With the Braves already up 4-3 in the top of the 10th inning, Olson put the game out of reach when he blasted a three-run homer off Andrew Kittredge to extend the Braves’ lead to 7-3. It was the 27th homer of the season for Olson, who has now hit seven bombs in the month.

Encarnacion-Strand continues to leave a strong impression with the Orioles since getting called up. The righty smacked a two-RBI double off Grant Holmes in the bottom of the second inning to give the Birds an early 2-0 lead, and in the bottom of the 10th, he blasted a two-run homer to cut the Braves’ lead to 7-6. CES has now driven in eight runs in his first five games with the Birds while registering four extra-base hits.

Rogers didn’t allow a walk in this one and gave up his only two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Mauricio Dubón hit a sacrifice fly to drive home Ozzie Albies and cut the Orioles’ lead to 2-1, and Austin Riley would single on the next at-bat to bring home Michael Harris to tie the game at 2-2. Despite the disappointing outcome, Rogers continues to be a force on the mound for the O’s, and is boasting a 1.80 ERA over his last nine starts. He’s scheduled to take the mound on Wednesday on the road against the Tigers.

The O’s got after Holmes in the second inning, generating a mini two-out rally that was capped with a two-RBI double by Christian Encarnacion-Strand to put the O’s up 2-0. After the Braves drew the game even at 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning, Holmes would give up a sacrifice fly to Jackson Holliday, who drove home Taylor Ward to put the O’s back up 3-2. Holmes would induce back-to-back grounders in the fifth inning to get out of a jam with two runners on in what would be his final inning. Holmes remains a steady option on the mound for the Braves and his fantasy managers, having allowed three earned runs or fewer in every start since May 1st, when he allowed five earned runs to the Rockies. He is next scheduled to start on Wednesday on the road against the Mets.

Davis was thrown out at home in the third inning while trying to score on a sacrifice fly, but he made up for it in the fifth inning when he singled to drive home Marcell Ozuna to give the Pirates their first run of the night. Davis was one of three hitters to tally two hits in this one and he has now hit safely in four of his last six games.

Despite not being his sharpest, McClanahan still turned in a decent outing. His changeup starred and forced eight of his 13 total swings-and-misses as the Guardians’ right-handed hitters consistently flailed at it low and below the zone. Those whiffs didn’t turn into many strikeouts though because McClanahan was much less precise with two strikes. Still, he likely could’ve hung on for six or even seven innings if he didn’t have any workload constraints, but left this game with only 71 pitches. He hasn’t reached 90 pitches in over two months as the Rays try to get him through the regular season fully healthy and with as little fatigue as possible before the playoffs following a two-year layoff. Next up is a matchup against the Rangers at home.

Fortes and the Rays poured it on against the Guardians here with 11 runs, their second double-digit outburst this week. They only managed two home runs on their way to such a crooked number and as a team went 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Fortes was responsible for two of those knocks and was never retired. He’s put up a strong .281 batting average on the season while splitting reps at catcher.

Hedges’ ninth inning home run was a reenactment of the meme where Chris Paul’s three cut the lead to 42 as it helped the Guardians get within eight runs. Still, that was his third home run through eight July games and he’s somehow currently one of the hottest hitters in the league with a 1.082 OPS over his last 15 contests. Check out your window to make sure pigs aren’t flying, play the lottery, and go crazy because apparently anything is possible.

Cantillo worked very, very hard to record just 11 outs in this one. The Rays stacked their lineup with six right-handed batters against the left-handed Cantillo and they gave him fits. His curveball was his only reliable pitch as the command of both his fastball and changeup were completely nonexistent. That forced him to regularly fall behind in the count and fight through many long at-bats with runners on base in this short outing. He has not been able to build upon the solid momentum he built before the All-Star break with nine earned runs through 8 2/3 innings since returning and will try to right the ship against the Reds in Cincinnati next time out.

On a night where Cam Schlittler struck out 12 hitters, Harper fell victim to Schlittler twice, striking out on three straight pitches in the first inning and looking in a seven-pitch at-bat in the seventh inning. He would strike out a third time against David Bednar to kick off the ninth inning to cap a tough night for himself and his teammates. Harper is 0-for-7 with six strikeouts in his last two games.