Dodgers move Blake Treinen (elbow) to 60-day IL

Mahle looks reborn in his two starts since the trade deadline. His fastball and splitter played off each other beautifully here forcing a combined 13 swings-and-misses as he showed pinpoint command of each. He kept the ball away from the Mets’ righties so well and barely threw any pitches in the heart of the plate. Again, his command was simply masterful. This was also the first time he’s completed six innings in consecutive outings all season and he has 16 strikeouts, zero walks, and just one earned run through 12 innings as a Brave. He’s lined up for a two-start week against the Twins and Brewers coming up.

Two nights in a row the Braves entered the ninth inning with a four-run lead over the months and both times they turned to Iglesias. Sure, it’s better to be safe than sorry and they have an off-day tomorrow. Yet, this was now the third time in five outings where Iglesias has let at least one run score. He’s not even close to being in jeopardy of losing this job, but he may no longer be the best reliever in his own bullpen given Didier Fuentes’ emergence.

Riley looked like his old self in this game. He demolished his home run at 108.5 mph off the bat and hammered it an estimated 438 feet. In total, he had four hard-hit balls and nearly hit for the cycle, but Luis Robert Jr. made a nice play in the right center field gap on him in the eighth inning. If that would’ve gotten down, Riley could’ve gotten three out of it. Nevertheless, another miserable season has forced the Braves to drop Riley to eighth in their lineup, but he has an .806 OPS and six home runs over his last 30 games.

Bichette socked his 12th home run of the season as the Mets’ comeback attempt in the ninth inning fell short. While he’s done well to bring his batting average back to an acceptable level over the last few months – it’s at .262 right now – next to no power has come with it. He has just eight extra-base hits since July 1st in what’s become a lost season.

Thornton is a bit of a throwback as a cutter-heavy lefty who pitches to contact and lets his defense make plays behind him. It got a little dicey early in this start though when the Braves were hitting laser beams all over the park and putting consistent traffic on the bases. Yet, Thornton forced a timely double play to subdue a threat in the third inning and benefited from a baserunning blunder by Ronald Acuña Jr. in the fifth to limit the damage. Without forcing many whiffs or generating many strikeouts, his start-by-start consistency will be determined by batted ball luck and how much he can grit his teeth to get through those jams. On the season, he has a 2.78 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and 13 walks through 45 1/3 innings. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Padres at home.

Not a great sign. Whitlock told reporters that the pain has been “building” for a couple weeks, but doesn’t believe he’s dealing with any structural issues. It certainly explains why he wasn’t summoned during Wednesday’s eighth-inning meltdown when Tyron Guerrero and Alec Gamboa combined to allow five runs. The 30-year-old has had a phenomenal season, posting a sparkling 2.05 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 49/7 K/BB ratio across 44 innings as one of the premier setup specialists in the game. There should be some additional clarity on his status later this week.

Conine is unstoppable right now. This home run was his 13th of the season and 10 of those have come in his last 28 games. His .944 OPS is also the third-highest among all players with at least 150 plate appearances trailing only Yordan Alvarez and Juan Soto. That’s right, Alvarez, Soto, and Conine. Since Kyle Stowers went on the injured list earlier this week, Conine has started consecutive games at first base and hit third in the Marlins’ lineup. It’s wheels up for him right now, just be aware that he’ll likely still sit against many left-handed pitchers.

Junk did a great job of pitching to contact after his offense spotted him a healthy lead. The Marlins jumped all over Pirates’ starter Carmen Mlodzinski and Junk responded with a nearly 70% strike rate. He didn’t miss many bats – only two total whiffs – but kept his four-seamers high and breaking balls low to get through six innings at just 81 pitches. At his best, he can command a deep arsenal and be mildly effective. He’ll take a 4.41 ERA, 64 strikeouts, and 24 walks through 87 2/3 innings into a two-start week against the Phillies and Nationals.

Gonzales has just not stopped hitting. Two more knocks here raised his batting average to .307 which is the fifth-highest mark in the entire league. That hasn’t come with much power – Gonzales only has six home runs and his .093 ISO is fifth-lowest in the league – but that high average makes him an asset in many leagues.

Moving Mlodzinski back into the rotation has not gone well so far. The Marlins were on him from the start with two hard-hit balls to begin the game and of the 11 total balls they put in play, eight were hit harder than 95 mph. He also hasn’t thrown more than three innings since June 10th. There’s no league where he should be a factor at the moment.