Gordon Graceffo perfect for three in rare start

Clark was everywhere in this game. His first two doubles helped to set up rallies in the early innings and his third was huge in the moment, giving his Tigers the lead in the 11th before their bullpen made them win it in the 12th. Nevertheless, this one game brought his batting average up from .238 to .257 and his OPS from .697 to .766 as he continues to find his footing in the big leagues.

Jansen came in to try and clean up Drew Sommers in the eighth inning and immediately let a three-run lead disappear after a bases loaded walk and two-run single. No runs were charged to him because he entered the game with the bases already loaded, but this was a poor showing from the legend.

Anderson continues to be an effective albeit unspectacular starting pitcher. Leading with his changeup, he mostly cruised here and would’ve finished six innings for the first time in his big league career if not for an error by Kevin McGonigle that invited trouble in the sixth. Regardless, that changeup forced eight of his 12 total swings-and-misses as a true weapon against hitters from each side of the plate and finished this start with an incredible 67% chase rate. He’s scheduled to face the Twins again next time out.

The biggest of Lee’s three hits came to begin the eighth inning when he sparked a three-run rally that eventually tied this game. The Twins still lost in 12 innings, but Lee put himself in the middle of a few rallies as a table-setter out of the second spot on their order. He’s been a tremendous compiler this season in an everyday role with 22 home runs, seven stolen bases, and a .250 batting average.

Not much came easy to Kremer in this start. The Tigers had constant traffic on the bases and he struggled to put hitters away despite missing plenty of bats – 12 total whiffs and multiple with four different pitches. He’s also continued to push up his fastball usage since joining the Twins at the cost of his sinker. It’s had mixed results so far and he’s scheduled to face these same Tigers again next time out.

Chourio is heating up. He’s hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games and this was his second four-hit game over the past week as he paced his Brewers in a comeback win against the Cubs. In total, they stacked 14 hits and went 7-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Their opponents claim they do that every game, but this lineup looks a whole lot different when Chourio is locked in like this at the top of their order. Even after missing more than a month to begin the season, he’s up to 21 home runs and his .834 OPS would be his career-best by a decent margin.

Misiorowski didn’t have it in this start from the jump. He walked Pete Crow-Armstrong to start this game with four straight balls after getting ahead 0-2 on him and then Alex Bregman made him pay just after with a two-run homer. The second inning wasn’t much better as Misiorowski tossed 31 pitches and the Cubs brought home three more runs. For the first time in a while, his command was all over the place as he missed spot after spot. His fastball didn’t even have a 40% zone rate and by his second time around the Cubs’ lineup, he was leading with his cutter. That pitch was erratic too and Misiorowski looked more like the pitcher we saw on his worst days during his rookie season than who he’s become this year. Nevertheless, he’ll have a chance to right the ship against these same Cubs next time out.

Bregman absolutely had Jacob Misiorowski’s number in this one. He socked a two-run home run off him in the first inning and then plated two more with a two-out single in the second. That single felt like a huge moment at the time too as the Cubs opened up a 5-3 lead over their rivals and Bregman was pumping up his teammates from second base after the play. Chicago’s offense stalled after that, but don’t let that dampen how scalding hot Bregman suddenly is. During his current six-game hitting streak, he has five home runs, four doubles, 12 RBI, and has raised his OPS by nearly 40 points.

Peterson had a rough time with the Brewers here. It was arduous from the jump as he managed to struggle through a 33-pitch first inning after retiring the first two batters he faced. There were no homers and no balls were hit particularly hard, but the Brewers battled, worked deep counts, found holes, and eventually Peterson let his frustration take over with a four-pitch walk to Gary Sánchez with the bases loaded. The fourth inning went in a very similar way and Cubs’ manager Craig Counsell pulled Peterson before he could get through it. This is still just the second time in 12 starts since being traded to the Cubs where he’s let up more than two runs and he’ll have a chance to get right in his next scheduled start against these same Brewers in Milwaukee. That will begin a two-start week where he also faces the Pirates at home.

Saggese hit a two-run homer off Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the sixth and singled in the go-ahead run in a three-run 10th inning. He has eight hits and three homers in his last three games. It sounds like Masyn Winn is about ready to return, but one imagines Saggese will stay in the lineup. He probably should have been getting at-bats at Nolan Gorman’s expense months ago, but there’s still time for that to happen now.