Nathaniel Lowe smacks second homer as Guardian

Burke delivered for Chicago in one of their most important games of the season, working into the late innings as a bulk reliever after Sean Newcomb worked a scoreless opening frame. He struck out four and only issued two walks. It was a much-needed bounce-back effort after getting tagged for seven runs over 1 1/3 innings by the Pirates his last time out. He’ll get the ball against the division-rival Tigers on Saturday.

Making his first start in eight days, Williams wriggled out of multiple jams, carrying an improbable shutout into the sixth inning before the White Sox finally broke through following his departure after a season-high 113 pitches. He finished with seven strikeouts, issued three walks and also hit a pair of batters. He’ll wrap up a two-start week with a favorable home outing against the Athletics on Sunday.

Skubal gave up only three singles and walked one in his first scoreless start for the Dodgers. He’s 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA and a 45/7 K/BB in 39 innings over his last six starts. He’ll face the Giants next time out.

De La Cruz tapped a ball 457 feet, but Phillips otherwise got a strikeout and two soft groundouts. He still might have a save or two in him during these final two weeks.

Lodolo allowed only three hits, but two of those were homers, and two of the four batters he walked came around to score. On the plus side, though he dropped to 3-5 with a 5.12 ERA, it is the first time in 19 starts this year that he’s completed seven innings. He’ll likely face the Cubs on Sunday.

He also picked up his 11th steal of the year. He’s been perfect there, so it sure would be nice if he’d been a little more aggressive. Since the start of 2024, he’s been caught just three times in 50 steal attempts.

The homer off Evan Phillips was his longest since his rookie season in 2023, when he hit one 467 feet off Xzavion Curry. De La Cruz has 27 homers in 131 games this season. His previous high was 25 in 160 games in 2024. He had 22 in 162 games last season.

Rodríguez did great work over the final 10 days of August and first week of September, hitting .368 with five homers over a 14-game span. However, this .045 stretch has put him back down to .230/.281/.389 in 121 plate appearances as a major leaguer. We worry there’s a slight chance the Reds might send him down in the next couple of days, as doing so would preserve his rookie eligibility for 2027. That opportunity would be lost this weekend.

There simply isn’t enough time for Meyer to make the kind of progress that would enable him to pitch again before the regular season concludes. The 27-year-old engineered a phenomenal breakout campaign, posting a sparkling 2.68 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 121/41 K/BB ratio across 111 innings over 20 starts, prior to hitting the injured list with a neck injury in late July. All signs point to Meyer having a relatively normal offseason and being ready for spring training.