Framber Valdez strikes out five in win vs. Pirates

Rutschman had a two-run single in the first and then hit a 401-foot homer off Merrill Kelly in the third. It was his first homer in seven games for Boston after 69 in 3 1/2 seasons with the Orioles.

Congratulations to Suarez on his first decision since June. All of the runs came on Gabriel Moreno’s grand slam in the third, making this Suarez’s first win while giving up four runs since Sept. 21, 2023. He’s now 5-3 while posting a 3.41 ERA in 22 starts this season, and he’ll pitch in Miami next time out.

Kelly surrendered seven hits with just four hard-hit balls allowed, which seems like awful luck. Still, when your strikeout rate is just 15 percent, you’re going to have bad luck sometimes. Kelly is 8-11 with a 5.37 ERA, and things don’t figure to get any easier against the Cubs next week.

This might not be the Diamondbacks’ year, but at least Moreno is fulfilling his potential in becoming of the game’s best catchers. The 26-year-old is batting .308/.385/.470 with 10 homers and 60 RBI through 98 games. Not to say they’re exactly equivalent offensive threats, but the only player in MLB with a higher average and more homers than Moreno is Yordan Alvarez.

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.