Ben Rice homers in extra-inning defeat

Hayes is a complete non-factor from an offensive standpoint, but he remains one of the better defensive talents at the position. He’s back with Cincinnati after missing less than two weeks with a groin strain.

Arroyo simply didn’t do enough to justify sticking around over someone like Juan Brito in a bench role with defensive standout Ke’Bryan Hayes back from the injured list. The 23-year-old top prospect has hit just .223 (33-for-148) with zero homers, five RBI and one steal in 50 games at the highest level this season.

O’Hearn has been on the shelf with a quad strain since early August. The 33-year-old remains a decent power source, especially in deeper mixed leagues, and is worthy of a pickup in any fantasy leagues where he may have hit the waiver wire. He’s blasted 17 homers to go along with 69 RBI across 398 plate appearances in his Pirates debut this season.

It would have been hard to imagine the Orioles parting with either Rodriguez or Rutschman two years ago. Now they’re facing each other with neither wearing an O’s uniform. Rutschman got the better of the matchup today, sending a liner 371 feet down the right field line at Fenway. Statcast said it was a homer in only two ballparks, not because of distance but because it would have curved foul elsewhere. Rutschman now has four homers in 19 games for the Red Sox and 12 in 86 games overall.

Whitlock struck out two. He’s faced the minimum over three innings in his three appearances since coming off the IL, and he has a 1.88 ERA in 48 innings on the season.

Homers haven’t been the issue for Duran this year; he has four more than he did last year and only one fewer than in his remarkable 2024 campaign. However, he’s totaled just 19 doubles and triples, compared to 54 last year and 62 in 2024. At .204/.259/.365 for the season, he’s probably going to need to do something special in October for the Red Sox to want him back next year. The question is whether he’ll have any real trade value at his approximately $10 million arbitration price.

All three of Ballesteros’s hits left the bat at over 100 mph. He’s still batting just .195/.242/.283 through 30 games with the Angels, but things might be getting better. He’s struck out just once in his last four games, compared to 30 times in his first 26 games with the team.

Early is working his way back from elbow inflammation, and forearm tightness that cropped up during his rehabilitation process, which sent him to the injured list when he was still with the Red Sox back in late June. There’s a chance he makes his Nationals debut before the regular season concludes, but his odds of making a fantasy impact are virtually nonexistent. The biggest takeaway here is that Early should have a normal offseason and begin next year in Washington’s rotation.

Bello also walked two and struck out seven while throwing 60 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 12 percent swinging strike rate. Bello threw just 60 percent of his sinkers for strikes, and getting ahead with his fastballs has been a continuous issue for him. However, Bello’s sweeper was electric in this one, posting a 26 percent swinging strike rate and a 44 percent CSW. He’s never had marks that high while also throwing his sweeper over 20 percent of the time. It was a nice start for Bello, who could work in some relief capacity over the weekend as well.

Rodriguez threw just 61 percent of his pitches for strikes in this one with a 23 percent CSW. His changeup posted just a 50 percent strike rate, and that has been one of his best pitches this season. On a positive note, he did post a 15 percent swinging strike rate on his curveball, and he has struggled for most of the season to get whiffs on his breaking balls. Rodriguez will take a 6.28 ERA into a start against the Nationals on Sunday, and wejust can’t recommended using him in that game.