Luis Lara strikes out three times versus Pirates

Schwarber opened the game with a bang, crushing a 2-0 fastball from Taj Bradley for a 369-foot solo shot, giving the Phillies a lead they would never relinquish. He added to that lead in the fourth inning with a 355-foot two-run shot that hit off of the outstretched glove of right fielder Luke Keaschall. Schwarber has now clubbed an MLB-leading 37 home runs on the season, and his six multi-homer games are tied with Rockies’ catcher Hunter Goodman for the most in MLB. He’s slashing .250/.371/.544 with the aforementioned 37 homers and 72 RBI in what has been another exceptional offensive campaign.

Marsh led off the fourth inning with a walk, swiped second base and rode home on Kyle Schwarber’s second home run of the evening. The 28-year-old outfielder then did some yardwork of his own with a 365-foot two-run blast off of Travis Adams in the seventh inning that capped off the scoring in the game. He’s having a strong season at the dish, slashing .276/.320/.443 with 17 homers, 54 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

None of his three singles produced a run and Arraez was left stranded each time that he reached base. The three-time batting champion is having another outstanding season in the category, slashing .316/.350/.434 with five homers and 49 RBI in 511 plate appearances between the Giants and Phillies.

The 33-year-old right-hander scattered five hits and three walks on the night. The lone tally against him came on a solo blast off the bat of Luke Keaschall in the second inning. Nola had traffic on the basepaths and was in trouble a few times but was always able to make key pitches to get out of it. We’ll see if this magical start can springboard him into a successful final six weeks of the season. Now 4-9 on the season, he’ll carry an uninspiring 5.33 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and a 138/46 K/BB ratio (130 innings) into Wednesday’s tilt against the Marlins.

Keaschall got the Twins on the board with a 357-foot solo shot off of Aaron Nola in the second inning, trimming their deficit to one run at 2-1. That would be the extent of their scoring in the contest. With his two-hit attack, the 23-year-old infielder is now slashing .266/.362/.371 with seven homers, 36 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 449 plate appearances on the season.

Bradley also issued four free passes while striking out three batters in the contest. He served up a leadoff home run to Kyle Schwarber to open the game as part of a two-run opening inning, then Schwarber got him again for a two-run blast as part of a three-run fourth inning. He’ll try to put this one behind him and get back on track as he brings a 3.98 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a 151/59 K/BB ratio (135 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s battle against the Braves.

Knack picked up a save on Wednesday night, recording the final eight outs against the Royals. Unfortunately, that means he was unlikely to be available for the next couple of days, so the Dodgers wanted to add a fresh arm to their bullpen for Thursday night’s battle against the Brewers. He should get another opportunity with the big league club in relatively short order.

The 30-year-old righty briefly elected free agency after being designated for assignment earlier in the week but ultimately decided to re-up with the Dodgers with another chance to pitch out of the bullpen. He holds a miserable 6.45 ERA over 22 1/3 innings with the Dodgers this season.

The 28-year-old southpaw was released by the Tigers earlier in the week and didn’t take long to find another opportunity. Lockhart made 20 appearances (14 starts) between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo this season, posting a 5.31 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 72/40 K/BB ratio over 78 innings of work. He’ll add pitching depth in the upper minors for the M’s.

There aren’t any rumblings of the dynamic shortstop dealing with any sort of injury, so it’s just a night of rest for Neto. Denzer Guzman will start in his place at shortstop and will bat sixth against Rangers’ star right-hander Jacob deGrom.