Alex Lange blows save while allowing two runs

Walcott was hit in the head by an errant pickoff throw during Saturday’s game. This sounds precautionary, but it’ll likely keep Walcott out for at least a week. The 20-year-old has been sensational since returning from his internal brace surgery, and has a chance to be an impact player for Texas in 2027, with an outside chance of reaching the bigs before the end of this season.

It’s Alvarez’s third career three-double game, matching his number of three-homer games. He’s the major league leader with a .330 average, a .442 OBP, a .650 slugging percentage and 35 homers and the American League leader with 77 runs scored and 84 RBI.,

Both runs came in the fifth, which started with a walk and three singles. Fortunately for Lambert, Evan Carter was thrown out trying to take second after a throw to the plate on the second single. Elias Díaz then grounded into a double play after the third hit, preventing what could have been a big inning. Lambert has allowed two runs or fewer in six straight starts and 11 of his last 12, but he’s remained stuck on eight wins since July 11, having received no-decisions in four straight starts. He’ll take a 3.06 ERA into his next start versus the Padres.

Blubaugh struck out Jake Burger with two on to end the eighth and was left in to pitch the ninth since there was no save situation then. He retired the side in order for his first save in 42 appearances this year. The 26-year-old has a solid 3.62 ERA while often pitching two innings at a time as a middle reliever.

Rocker had pretty awful luck today, and he did well to limit the damage to three runs. He actually allowed just four hard-hit balls, and the big blow, Jeremy Peña’s two-run homer to left in the fourth, would have been a double or maybe even a single in the majority of ballparks. Rocker struck out five and walked two. He’ll face the Orioles next weekend. He remains a mediocre option in mixed leagues.

With the Astros looking to upgrade their outfield, Smith is on a well-timed mini-surge here, going 7-for-19 with three extra-base hits and five runs scored in his last four games. He’s hitting just .213/.285/.371, so he could be vulnerable to losing playing time if the Astros add a regular.

Nimmo’s homer came off southpaw Stephen Okert, who had limited lefties to a .169 average and one homer in 97 plate appearances this season. Nimmo is hitting .310/.385/.500 with two homers and two steals in 16 games during the second half.

This was nice to see after Montero had arguably his worst start of the season last time out against the Orioles. That’s especially the case considering he was pitching in Sacramento. Montero was far from dominant — he had just two strikeouts and didn’t register his first one until the sixth inning — but he threw strikes and did a good job getting ahead in the count. The 26-year-old has been a surprising success story this season with a 3.17 ERA through 18 starts and six relief appearances. He’s a recommended play in his next start against the Giants in San Francisco.

Jump walked a career-high six batters, but it didn’t hurt him severely until the fourth inning. After issuing a pair of one-out walks, he gave up a two-run single to Gleyber Torres. He walked another batter before being pulled for Elvis Alvarado, who served up a two-run double to close the book on Jump’s afternoon. The rookie southpaw has walked 14 batters in 14 1/3 innings over his last three starts, so he’s much too erratic to trust in mixed fantasy leagues. He’ll get the Red Sox on the road next time out.

Torkelson got the scoring started with a two-run double in the first and later added on with an RBI single in the eighth. The 26-year-old now has four straight multi-hit games to his credit, and five in his last six. Thanks to the hot stretch, his OPS (.738) is now at its highest point since the start of July.