Tomoyuki Sugano holds D-backs to two runs in win

In the fourth inning, Suagno walked Randy Arozarena and then saw Arozarena come around to score on a Dominic Canzone single. That was the extent of the damage he allowed all day. He did throw just 60 percent of his pitches for strikes, but he posted a 15 percent swinging strike rate, thanks, mostly, to his splitter, which he also didn’t use often. Sugano will make one more start next week against the White Sox and is a desperation streamer in deeper formats.

It’s unclear if the Rockies could have gotten anything significant in moving Sugano at the deadline, but he certainly hasn’t helped them since. He was 11-4 with a 4.47 ERA through the end of July, and he’s 1-6 with an 8.10 ERA in eight starts since. He’s due to face the Mariners on Sunday.

There’s a lot that Sugano did well in this start. Firstly, his splitter was on fire forcing seven swings-and-misses working as his primary pitch. He also forced at least one whiff with six different pitches and his 15 total were just two shy of his career-high. Yet, George Lombard Jr. smacked a hanging slider for a grand slam in the third inning which spoiled Sugano’s outing. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Padres and Mariners with both in Coors Field.

Sugano struck out four while recording a quality start against his former team. He was tagged for three runs in the third, including a two-RBI double by Luis Robert Jr., but he otherwise limited the damage. Colorado tied the game in the ninth before going on to win in 11 innings. Sugano will remain off the fantasy radar with a matchup at Yankee Stadium next time out.

Sugano’s first earned run of the night came in the second inning after a leadoff walk to Ronald Acuña was followed by an RBI double by Michael Harris. Harris would later come around to score on an RBI double by Sean Murphy, who came in to score two batters later on a single by Drake Baldwin. Sugano would allow one more earned run in the fourth and was pulled in the fifth inning after giving up a two-run homer to Michael Harris II to push the Braves’ lead to 6-3. It’s been a rough stretch for Sugano, who has allowed five earned runs or more in each of his last three starts and has pitched out of the fifth inning just once over that span. Fantasy managers can safely avoid him in his next start, which is set for Wednesday at home against the Orioles.

Sugano, 36, kept the ball in the park, but he allowed nine hits and a walk while striking out two. The right-hander has a solid 12-7 record, but he’s not deserving of that mark — for the most part, anyway — with an ERA of 4.96. It would be a considerable mistake in process to stream him against Atlanta this weekend.

Sugano is 12-9 on the season, but with Shohei Ohtani getting the better of him, he’s now 0-3 with a 9.22 ERA against the Dodgers. He’ll likely make his next start at home against the Guardians on Sunday.

Sugano did not start this game on the right foot. He allowed two hits and a run on his first six pitches and it took him 27 total pitches to escape the first inning. After that, it was mostly smooth sailing as a solo homerun from Junior Caminero plated the only other Rays run and Sugano retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. Three runs over five innings is an acceptable outcome in Coors Field and Sugano left this start with a 4.51 ERA in 107 2/3 innings so far this season. He will get to enjoy a road start next time out against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

All he does is win, no matter what. Sugano breezed through nearly seven innings against the hapless Royals lineup with the only blemish on his ledger coming from a Carter Jensen solo home run. That makes it wins in three straight starts for the crafty righty and wins in seven straight decisions dating back to early June. That is outright shocking while pitching for a team with only 43 wins in total. Sugano is a prime trade candidate before Monday’s deadline and he should benefit from leaving Coors Field.

He struck out five and both runs allowed came off solo home runs to Christian Yelich and Brice Turang. There’s not much mystique to Sugano at this stage of the season -- he throws the full kitchen sink and tops out at 94 between three different fastballs. His 27 percent whiff rate here was well above his season average of 17 percent. Sugano draws a Coors Field start next week against the Royals, assuming he’s not traded before then.