Joey Cantillo tagged with loss after unearned runs

This is an odd line to see with Cantillo seemingly facing no trouble yet not getting the chance to complete five innings and earn the win. He fell behind the eight-ball with a 26-pitch first inning where he only faced five batters and it continuously took him a long time to get outs. That’s the nature of the beast with Cantillo being so curveball heavy – it had a 48% usage rate here, a shade lower than its season-high – and threw more than half of his total pitches outside of the strike zone. Hopefully he can be more efficient in his next scheduled start against the Mets.

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.

Cantillo gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out seven. He fell to 8-5 with the loss. Cantillo started the sixth inning having allowed two runs and was removed after allowing back-to-back doubles to start the inning. With both runners scoring, he added another two runs to his line without recording an out. Cantillo has recorded at least seven strikeouts in five of his last six starts. He has a 3.74 ERA and 4.11 xFIP. Cantillo is lined up to face the Rays on the road next weekend.

Parker Messick will get some extra rest after throwing a scoreless second inning in the All-Star Game. He’ll presumably face the Twins or Monday or Tuesday, with Slade Cecconi starting the other game.

Cantillo’s runs were unearned, but he was certainly due to see some hitters cross the plate Tuesday. He allowed six hits and three walks, so there was consistent traffic throughout the contest. Still, credit to Cantillo for battling through those runners — even if it was self-created — and if not for an error by Travis Bazzana, he just might have kept the Twins off the board Tuesday evening. He also was able to strike out a solid seven over those five frames, and he’ll look to apply the good from this start versus the Marlins in Miami on Sunday.

Cantillo struck out four in the 93-pitch outing. He came out for the sixth inning but departed after walking the first hitter. The left-hander posted his best monthly K-BB% of the year in June, but Wednesday’s outing was a step backward in that regard. His profile is built to excel at strikeouts and grounders rather than throwing strikes, and that disconnect prevents him from being a set-and-forget starting pitcher in most fantasy formats. Consider him a streamer next time out against the Twins.

Cantillo allowed just two hits and two walks in the ballgame. The lone tally against him came on a solo shot off the bat of Colt Emerson in the third inning. Aside from that, Cantillo was in complete command. The 26-year-old southpaw generated 18 whiffs on 90 pitches on the night, registering an elite CSW of 38 percent. He’ll bring a 3.87 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and an 85/39 K/BB ratio (86 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Rangers.

Cantillo gave up four hits, walked one and struck out nine. He improved to 6-3 with the win. Cantillo had allowed 15 runs in 11 innings over three starts before rebounding with two runs allowed in 13 innings over his last two starts. His ERA is down to 4.05. Cantillo will face the Mariners at home next week.

The Tigers brought a run in on Cantillo in the first inning on a pair of hits. He stranded a runner in the second and allowed the first two runners to reach in the third before retiring nine straight batters, ending his day after the fifth with just the one run allowed and four strikeouts. Cantillo needed this one after giving up 15 runs across his last three starts. The 26-year-old left-hander will take a 4.38 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, and a 67/36 K/BB ratio across 72 innings into a start against the Astros in Houston on Friday.

Cantillo gave up nine hits, walked two and struck out seven. He fell to 4-3 with the loss. Cantillo entered the game with a 3.92 ERA and a 4.64 xFIP. After allowing seven earned runs, his ERA is 4.57. It’s a tough break for fantasy managers that 11 of the 34 runs Cantillo has allowed this year came in his last two starts, but given his xFIP this feels like him pitching to his true talent level. He’s off the fantasy radar for his next start against the Tigers at home next weekend.