Royals activate Bobby Witt Jr. (back) from IL stay

Even Coors Field was no match for Martinez’s sometimes shocking ability to keep runs off the board. In this game he didn’t force many whiffs, the Rockies had seven hard-hit balls, and put constant traffic on the bases. It amounted to nothing though as Martinez had his 16th start this season where he’s allowed two or fewer runs while completing at least five innings. His changeup and sinker forced enough timely ground balls and he did well to not allow a free pass despite only throwing a first-pitch strike to 12 of the 22 batters faced. His 2.65 ERA is fourth-lowest in the American League as his highly effective season rolls on. Next up will be another tall task as Martinez is scheduled to face the Athletics in hitter-friendly Sacramento.

Mesa Jr. came ready to play in his first game hitting lead-off this season. He tripled on the fourth pitch of the game and Jonathan Aranda drove him home with a single shortly thereafter. Mesa Jr. then tripled again in his second at-bat, enjoying the cavernous outfield at Coors Field and showing off his speed in the process. He dropped down a beautiful safety squeeze later on as well to give the Rays one more insurance run. A big winner from the Rays’ lack of aggression at the trade deadline, Mesa Jr. is in position to maintain his strong-side platoon role in Tampa Bay’s outfield should he stay productive. Don’t expect him to stay in that top spot though, as this was simply an off day for Yandy Díaz. Regardless, it was still nice to see the club’s confidence in him as a hitter.

Sometimes, for fantasy managers, the best trades are the ones that are never made. McCarthy’s name came up in some deadline rumors, but he remained in Colorado where he’s enjoyed a breakout season and can continue to call Coors Field home for the next two months. His stolen base here was his 18th of the season to go along with 11 home runs and an .821 OPS.

Sugano did not start this game on the right foot. He allowed two hits and a run on his first six pitches and it took him 27 total pitches to escape the first inning. After that, it was mostly smooth sailing as a solo homerun from Junior Caminero plated the only other Rays run and Sugano retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. Three runs over five innings is an acceptable outcome in Coors Field and Sugano left this start with a 4.51 ERA in 107 2/3 innings so far this season. He will get to enjoy a road start next time out against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

Henry Davis isn’t catching Paul Skenes for the first time since last April. We’ll see if the change has an impact on Skenes from a performance standpoint, but the Pirates are going to keep rolling with Rodríguez behind the dish since he’s hitting .268/.380/.457 with six homers and six steals in 151 plate appearances since mid-May.

Shelton added that Ryan is headed back to Minnesota due to back and glute issues, which puts his availability for Sunday’s start against the Brewers in obvious jeopardy. The ongoing physical issues, which are impacting his ability to repeat his delivery, certainly explain his recent struggles as he’s allowed a staggering 17 runs — 16 earned — over 15 1/3 innings across three starts since the All-Star break. There should be some much-needed clarity on his status and outlook later this week.

Freeman isn’t completely out of the woods, but it sounds like early indications are that he managed to avoid serious injury after being hit by a pitch, which led to his removal from Wednesday’s game against the Cubs. The 36-year-old veteran should benefit from an off-day before the Dodgers kick off a three-game series against the division-rival Diamondbacks on Friday.

The Astros might have pulled it out afterwards in the bottom of the 10th, but Yordan Alvarez, who slowed up thinking there wouldn’t be a play, was thrown out at second on his inning-opening RBI hit into the corner in right. Clement’s homer off Bennett Sousa was his first of the second half and ninth of the year. It was just his second hit in his last six games.

Taillon showed some extra velocity today, particularly on his secondary pitches; while his fastball was up 0.7 mph from his season average, he was 2.1 mph higher with his cutter and 2.9 mph better with his curve. It didn’t stop him from giving up eight hard-hit balls, including a Jose Altuve homer, but he probably needs to keep throwing harder if he’s going to have a chance of being useful. His current 91.8 mph average on his fastball is down from 92.3 mph last year and a peak of 95.3 mph from his second big-league season with the Pirates in 2017. If Taillon remains in the rotation, he’ll likely face the Red Sox on Monday.

The Jays went on to win in 10, with Chase Lee, who benefitted from a big baserunning error, picking up his first save. Varland was pitching for the first time since throwing 31 pitches and taking a loss to the Cardinals on Sunday.