Astros designate Whitcomb for assignment

Multiple Red Sox beat writers have pointed out that Contreras was “grabbing his sore hamstring” during Tuesday’s game. We also know that Contreras was recently sick and was hit in the head by a fastball a few games ago. Considering he’s hitting just 4-for-24 in August, maybe a day off or two would be beneficial.

Encarnacion-Strand has typically been sitting against right-handed pitchers, but he went 3-for-4 with a home run on Tuesday, so the Orioles are gonna give him a chance to stay hot. We should note that, in 40 plate appearances against righties this season, CES is hitting .211/.250/.342, so the results haven’t really been there. However, it’s just a 15 percent strikeout rate in those plate appearances, so maybe the hits will start to fall. Coby Mayo is on the bench on Wednesday.

The Red Sox bullpen shuffle continues to keep fresh arms available. Gamboa has a 2.08 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and a 12/5 K/BB ratio over 13 innings in seven appearances with Boston this year.

Paez was originally selected by the White Sox with the second pick in the Rule 5 Draft, but he was waived in April and returned to the Red Sox. The 22-year-old had a 4.41 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 56/5 K/BB ratio in 49 innings over 17 appearances (seven starts) in Double-A.

Betts put the Dodgers on the board with a solo homer off Michael Wacha in the second inning. He later doubled in the seventh and scored before driving in the game-tying run in the bottom of the eighth with a base hit. The 33-year-old outfielder is hitting .235/.291/.406 with 14 homers, 46 runs scored, and 38 RBI across 350 plate appearances.

Witt knocked a base hit in the fourth inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Perez. He later knocked another single in the eighth and scored his second run to tie the game. The 26-year-old star shortstop is hitting .283/.355/.446 with 13 homers, 60 runs scored, 42 RBI, and 32 steals across 448 plate appearances.

Snell came out sharp in his first start since May 9, striking out the side against the Royals in the first inning. He retired the first ten Royals hitters before Bobby Witt Jr. reached on a single in the fourth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Perez. Snell gave the Dodgers two more scoreless frames, collecting ten strikeouts over six innings in an outstanding return to the mound. He’ll look to follow it up with a start against the Rockies in Colorado on Monday.

Wacha surrendered a solo homer to Mookie Betts in the second inning. He settled in to fire four more scoreless innings before the Dodgers got to him for two more runs in the seventh on three hits. Wacha would depart with two outs in the seventh at 96 pitches. He struck out five. The 35-year-old right-hander will take a 3.46 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and a 117/41 K/BB ratio across 150 2/3 innings into a start against the Athletics in Sacramento on Monday.