Cruz has three-walk game, steals a base in win

Hernández also walked twice tonight before delivering a game-ending hit to score Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts in the bottom of the ninth. The knock off Riley O’Brien kept the Dodgers from being swept in the three-game series. It’s the first time since July 3 that he’s driven in multiple baserunners (thus not including himself) in a game.

Dodgers analyst Jessica Mendoza believed Skubal was tipping his changeup tonight, so that might be something to look out for. Still, all 10 hits Skubal allowed were singles, and he more than held his own in ending up with six strikeouts and one walk. He’ll face the Reds next week.

Mathews allowed four hits, walked four and struck out four in his fifth big-league start. The lone run came on a wild pitch after a double and a walk in the fifth. He’ll take a 4.38 ERA into a favorable matchup next week in San Francisco.

Edman got up to 108.5 mph and 106.9 mph on a couple of his liners tonight. He’s batting .279/.355/.411 with 35 runs scored and 29 RBI in his 63 games since returning from ankle surgery. He doesn’t get a ton of credit, but he’s an awfully valuable fantasy MI while healthy.

O’Brien has given up 10 runs in his last five appearances, taking his ERA from 2.96 to 4.18. The Cardinals have no desire to replace him in the closer’s role, so he’ll probably be left there for now. However, another bad outing right away might not leave them with any choice but to make a move.

The A’s got solo homers from Zack Gelof and Donovan Walton, but Butler’s 107-mph liner up the middle in the fifth was the biggest blow. Butler has hit in 12 straight games and 21 of 23. He’s batted .345 with five homers and 19 RBI since Aug. 10.

Perkins struck out seven, but pretty much everyone else reached against him; he gave up four hits, five walks and a HBP to the other 12 batters he faced. Perkins has a 6.50 ERA in 13 starts and 20 relief appearances for the season. It’s probably time for the A’s to commit to him as a short reliever, since he doesn’t seem like he’s going to be worth keeping around as a starter.

Harris was back in the closer’s role tonight after Elvis Alvarado earned the Athletics’ previous two saves. Curiously, Alvarado went entirely unused, even though he hasn’t pitched since Saturday. It’s hard to recommend either A’s reliever right now, based on how they’re being used.

As it turns out, Anderson wasn’t the cure all for Seattle’s issues. He gave up seven hits and managed just three strikeouts tonight against a lineup that had Jonah Heim batting cleanup. Anderson is almost certainly destined for big things as a major leaguer, but it’s going to take time. He’s still probably worth using in mixed leagues at home versus the Rangers next week.

The three steals pushed Rodríguez up to 20 for the year, giving him his fifth straight 20/20 season to open his career. At just 25 years old, he’s in great position to take over as the all-time leader in 20/20 seasons. Bobby and Barry Bonds currently share the record with 10 such seasons. The only active players ahead of Rodríguez are José Ramírez, who, at 11 homers, needs a huge finish to pull off his eighth such season this year, and teammate Randy Arozarena, who has gone 20/20 for a sixth straight season.