Max Meyer (neck) won’t throw for two weeks

With the trade deadline approaching and Alvarez’s name sneaking into some rumors, he just keeps on hitting. His home run was his 12th of the season and third in his last five games. Over his last 30 games, he has a .274/.336/.491 slash line and remains one of the better power-hitting catchers in the league as long as he can stay healthy.

It sounds like an IL stint could be possible now. Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. will likely see DH time while Soto is out. Eric Wagaman or MJ Melendez could be recalled if Soto lands on the IL.

Crews blasted a two-run homer in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. It was the eighth homer of the season for Crews, who has now homered three times in the month while driving in six runs. Crews has hit safely in three of his last four games and has had multi-hit nights in his last two games, but he’s still slashing an underwhelming .204/.358/.389 on the month.

This was a great start by Manaea against a tough Dodgers lineup. He did get some help from right fielder Carson Benge who threw one runner out at home and started another relay to get one at third, but don’t let that take too much away from Manaea’s outing. His fastball led the charge with a 61% usage rate – nearly double his season average – and he had no problem crowding hitters from both sides of the plate with it. It also sat right at 91 mph, a big deal for Manaea after struggling to both build up and maintain his velocity earlier in the season. With it and his confidence to challenge hitters in the zone back, he has turned in a 3.75 ERA over his last 13 outings dating back to May 17th. Next up is a meeting with the Braves at home.

Littell took over for Carson Palmquist, who allowed two earned runs over 1 1/3 innings of work. While two runs were charged to Palmquist, it was Littell who gave up the hits that allowed both runs to cross, and it was the sacrifice fly he allowed to Gabriel Moreno in the seventh inning that proved to be the difference-maker. Littell’s outing was far better than the eight earned runs he allowed last week against the A’s, and he’s now allowed one earned run in three of his last four games. He’s set to take the mound next on Wednesday at home against the Blue Jays.

Lee hit an RBI single off opener Beck Way (who was a loser, baby, today) to stake the Tigers to a 2-0 lead early. That was all they’d need with Tarik Skubal on the mound. Lee added a two-out double in the sixth but was stranded. Lee has mostly worked as a platoon bat against lefties this year, starting 27 games against lefties and hitting .270/.308/.432 against them so far this year.

Bradford and Jordan Montgomery, whose Triple-A start was rained out tonight, are both making their way back from elbow surgery with the hopes of taking Cal Quantrill’s spot in the Texas rotation. One will probably get a chance there, with the other winding up in middle relief. Bradford is the more interesting bet at this point, but that he’s plenty experienced in middle relief might hurt his chances of getting the rotation spot.

Loftin has essentially become a full-time player for the Royals due to injuries, starting 14 of 18 Royals July games to date. He’s hitting .286/.344/.393 in July and .247/.330/.394 on the season with four homers and one stolen base. Obviously, no fantasy upside here with those numbers, but Loftin is at least playing decently enough to not be a major problem for the Royals.

Rodriguez held the Nationals in check all night, with his lone blemish coming in the fourth inning thanks to a two-run homer by Dylan Crews. Three of the seven hits Rodriguez allowed in this one came in the fourth inning, but overall, he did a nice job of limiting base runners against one of the top offenses in the league. A sacrifice fly RBI by Gabriel Moreno in the top of the seventh allowed Rodriguez to exit this one with the lead, and the Diamondbacks’ bullpen did its part to secure him his ninth victory of the season. Rodriguez’s next start is scheduled for Wednesday on the road against the Pirates.

Preliminary tests failed to detect a concussion, so that’s good news. The 20-year-old Bonemer, arguably the White Sox’s top prospect. He entered tonight with a .277/.376/.495 line in 27 games since moving up to Double-A.