Aaron Nola solid for five in downing D-backs

Nimmo has spent much of his career as a leadoff man, so this is just his third five-RBI game and the first in which he didn’t drive himself in. He doubled in one in the first, singled in one in the third, singled in two in the fifth and singled in one in the sixth tonight. The Rangers were up 8-1 at that point and held on to with 8-5 after the A’s scored in each of the final three innings.

Gore wasn’t at his best in allowing five hits, walking four and striking out four, but he didn’t need to be against this A’s lineup. He improved to 8-10 with a 4.31 ERA. Barring a change, he’ll make his next start at home against the Rays on Sunday.

The Rangers led 8-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, but after Trevor Williams faltered in his Texas debut, Latz was called on to earn the save and notched No. 28 on the year. He’s earned saves in seven of his last eight appearances.

McNeil opened the year as a platoon guy hitting low in the A’s order against righties, but since he’s nearly an everyday guy now and hitting in the top third versus righties, he should be rostered in mixed leagues. He’s batting .346 with four homers, 23 RBI and six steals in 37 games during the second half.

Yelich is batting .333 with two homers and nine RBI in his last 12 games. He’ll need to turn in quite the September to avoid finishing with the worst OPS of his career, but we wouldn’t rule it out. He’s hitting .238/.319/.388 right now, putting him at .707. His current low is .736 from 2021.

If Gasser had played better defense, he might have pitched five scoreless innings and gotten a win tonight. As is, he missed out on two potential outs in a three-run fourth and left with the Brewers down 3-1. He’ll still be a decent play in another start against the Cubs, this one at home, next week.

Boyd allowed one run through five, but he gave up a single and a double in the sixth and both runners came around to score after he was lifted. The result upped Boyd’s ERA to 4.05, but he was perfectly fine. Maybe he’ll get more support Sunday against the Marlins.

Palencia took over with a 3-1 lead and two on in the sixth and quickly gave up a run-scoring balk. His bad break came afterwards, as Seiya Suzuki, worried about the wall in Wrigley Field, alligator-armed a fly down the right field line to give Andrew Vaughn a double. That wasn’t at all Palencia’s fault, but the two-run homer that Christian Yelich hit afterwards was. Palencia has surrendered six runs in 3 1/3 innings over four appearances since coming off the IL. The good news is that his stuff is fine, and he could still very much be a key piece in a postseason run for the Cubs. However, since it doesn’t look like he’ll resume closing anytime soon, he’s probably not worth rostering in mixed leagues right now.

Walker knocked a base hit and scored a run in a five-run second inning for the Cardinals. He then took Seth Halvorsen deep for a two-run homer in the fourth to extend the St. Louis lead. Walker later added a double in the eighth for his third hit. The 24-year-old slugger is hitting .288/.345/.505 with 28 homers, 88 runs scored, 99 RBI, and 18 steals across 577 plate appearances.

Saggese had his best career day at the plate so far, starting with a solo homer off Eric Lauer in the second inning. After driving in a run on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, he went yard again in the fifth for a solo shot off Alex Vesia. Saggese then drew a walk and scored a third run in the eighth. The 24-year-old infielder was making his second start since he was recalled from Triple-A Memphis following injuries to Blaze Jordan and JJ Wetherholt.