Tomoyuki Sugano struggles over three in loss

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 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 gave up a pair of solo homers in the first inning to Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte. He then settled in to hold the Diamondbacks scoreless over five more innings, scattering three more hits and no walks while collecting five strikeouts. The 36-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 4.43 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and a 66/26 K/BB ratio across 113 2/3 innings. He’ll face the Dodgers in Colorado on Monday.

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.

That would include Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen, and Tomoyuki Sugano. While they may not seem like major additions, they are experienced veteran starters that playoff contenders could look to add as rotation depth for the final months.

Jose Trevino, of all people, homered off him twice. Sugano didn’t have much issue with anyone else. He’s now a rather stunning 9-4 with a 4.76 ERA. He’s the first Rockies starter to win nine games in a season since Austin Gomber in 2023. The last to reach double figures was Germán Márquez, who had 12 in 2021. It’s unclear if Sugano will get the chance to enter that territory, as the Rockies would surely part with him in return for a solid prospect before the deadline. He still might be a tough sell to contenders, though, given his paltry 13.3 percent strikeout rate. He’ll pitch in Milwaukee next weekend.

Sugano gets the ball for Saturday’s showdown against the Reds at Coors Field following a minimum stay on the injured list due to back spasms. The 36-year-old has forged a respectable 4.80 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 48/23 K/BB ratio across 84 1/3 innings over 16 starts in his Colorado debut. He can be safely ignored in most, if not all, fantasy formats based on his lack of strikeout upside.

There was conflicting reports as to whether Sugano would need to be placed on the injured list, but the Rockies won’t take any chances. Sugano will likely be back — if there are no setbacks, of course — after the All-Star break. Sean Sullivan is up to take Sugano’s spot in the rotation, for now.