Framber Valdez erratic in loss to Guardians

Tatis hit a 452-foot homer off Zac Thornton on the very first pitch of the game, went over the wall in right to take away a slam from Lindor in the second and then added a 379-foot, two-run homer in the fifth. It’s rather absurd now to remember how Tatis went the first 55 games of the year without a homer. He has 15 in 70 games since.

Well, it’s definitely an improved outing from Ray, but that’s mostly because Fernando Tatis Jr. made a jumping catch to take away a grand slam from Francisco Lindor in the second. As a result, Ray collected hit first win in three starts for the Padres. He issued three more walks tonight, bringing his total to 11 in 15 innings for his new team. Those that stuck with him were rewarded, but the outing doesn’t make him look like any better of a bet for the future. He’ll start at home against the Pirates next time out.

It’s actually Miller’s first perfect inning in six tries this month, but it’s probably too early to say that he’s slipping. He’s tied for third in the majors in save, four behind Bryan Baker for the lead.

Two of the runs came in the fifth, an inning that featured two incidents of gloves flying off the hands of Mets fielders. The first of those was on Jake Cronenworth’s fly to left to start the inning. A.J. Ewing caught the ball on a dive, only for his glove to be dislodged when he hit the ground. That resulted in a single. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a homer. Luis Rengifo then grounded down the third base line. Bo Bichette got to the ball but made a bad throw, and Christopher Morel had his glove come off while trying and failing to make a swipe tag at first. No runs followed after that, but it was still funny. Thornton dropped to 3-4 with a 3.04 ERA. He’ll face the Brewers next Tuesday.

A day after hitting a leadoff and walk-off home run against the White Sox, he started Tuesday’s contest with another leadoff blast off Bryan Hudson for his 31st homer of the season. With a runner on and one out and the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, the White Sox weren’t going to give him a chance to do it again as they issued an intentional walk. The 24-year-old outfielder is having an incredible campaign, slashing .282/.381/.555 with the 31 homers, 90 runs scored, 79 RBI, and 31 steals across 566 plate appearances.

Busch followed Pete Crow-Armstrong in the first inning with a solo homer off Bryan Hudson. He later drew a walk in the sixth. The 28-year-old first baseman is up to 15 homers and 64 RBI while hitting .244/.351/.389 across 561 plate appearances. His batted ball quality is down significantly from last season, making it difficult to follow up his 34-homer campaign. Though 2025 might’ve been the outlier, as his batted-ball metrics are more in line with his 2024 output.

Murakami drew a walk in the first inning, then led off the third with a solo homer off Kevin Gausman, a 111.1 mph blast at 406 feet. It was his third home run in five games. The 26-year-old rookie slugger is up to 29 homers, 67 runs scored, and 58 RBI in just 393 plate appearances while slashing .234/.372/.545.

Fedde took the mound in the second inning after Bryan Hudson surrendered a pair of solo homers as he opened the first inning. Fedde went on to pitch into the sixth as he held the Cubs without a run while striking out five batters. He’d depart with two outs in the sixth at 78 pitches. The 33-year-old right-hander ends his day with a 4.33 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and an 82/42 K/BB ratio across 114 1/3 innings. His next outing is scheduled to come Sunday at home against the Mets.

Yeah, that Masyn Winn. He had multiple hits for the first time since Aug. 11, homered for the first time since July 3, collected multiple extra-base hits for the first time since July 28, 2025. It’s the first time in 435 career games that he’s delivered three extra-base hits. He’s currently hitting .241/.316/.330 in 484 plate appearances for the season.

The outings are getting shorter for Leahy, but it hasn’t stopped him from going 3-0 while pitching the bare minimum of 15 innings this month. He’s 5-0 since his last loss way back on June 17. He’s currently slated to face the Phillies on Sunday, but the Cardinals could consider adding a spot starter and pushing him back to Tuesday.