Rangers option Ben Peoples to Triple-A

Gusto closed out what was an excellent month of August with another strong start here. His fastball led the charge, but he forced a whiff with five different pitches and multiple with three. The depth of his repertoire has shown up in a huge way over his last five starts where he has a 1.85 ERA, 19 strikeouts, and five walks over 24 1/3 innings. He’s lined up for a two-start week coming up against the Royals in Kansas City and then Cubs at home.

Sanoja was an engine for the Marlins out of the nine-spot in this game with three hits and stolen bases apiece. He’d only stolen six all season heading into this game despite his excellent speed, so this was a surprise. Still, as an everyday player who has a .280 batting average and is eligible all over the field, him becoming a willing base stealer down the stretch could make him a valuable asset in deeper leagues.

This was a weak showing for the Red Sox’s lineup as they were shutout by the Marlins in a loss that snapped their five-game win streak. They had just five hits and none went for extra bases. Durbin got his though with two knocks as he stayed scorching hot with a .324/.395/.417 slash-line over his last 30 games.

The swings-and-misses were certainly there for Gray in this start. He forced 15 whiffs in total with at least one coming against all six of his pitches, multiple with four, and six total off his sweeper. On the other hand, his cutter was hit incredibly hard – three of the four put in play off it were hard-hit – and he had to scrap that pitch after a few innings. That forced him to chase those whiffs more, led to a bit of inefficiency, and was partially why he only lasted five innings. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Mariners and Orioles.

Boone added that Tommy John surgery is on the table for Cruz, who hit the injured list prior to Wednesday’s game against the Astros. The 36-year-old hasn’t been his usual self this season, but his absence is still a hit to New York’s high-leverage depth. Cruz is done for the season, even if he manages to avoid elbow surgery.

Darvish, who turned 40 earlier this month, is working his way back from last year’s elbow surgery. It sounds like he’s going to give it a shot in spring training since he still has two years left on his contract with San Diego. His odds of returning to fantasy relevance are extremely long, but stranger things have happened before.

Bichette’s early departure appears to be precautionary in nature since the Mets were trailing by a touchdown at the time. He managed to stay in the contest initially after fouling a ball off the inside of his left foot in the third inning. He finished 0-for-1 with a walk.

Cabrera last started for Arizona back on July 8. He’ll get the ball in place of Kohl Drake. The 24-year-old rookie right-hander allowed 11 runs on 20 hits with a 12/7 K/BB ratio across 17 2/3 innings over four starts for the Diamondbacks earlier this season. He doesn’t miss enough bats to be a streaming consideration for fantasy managers.

Sasaki departed with one out in the fourth inning after throwing 66 pitches (42 strikes). He was charged with four runs on six hits, including a solo homer by Matt Olson. He struck out three and issued two walks. The 24-year-old hasn’t dealt with blister issues this season, which means that his exit was likely precautionary. There should be an update on his status in the coming days. His next start will be against the Cardinals on Wednesday.

The encouraging news here is that X-rays came back negative after May was drilled by a 106-mph line drive from Mets rookie A.J. Ewing on the very first pitch of the ballgame. It sounds like there’s a chance he’ll be ready to make his next start against the Cubs early next week.