Walker crushes three-run homer to lead Astros

Gray has been working back from Tommy John surgery and then a subsequent flexor strain. He has not pitched in an MLB game since throwing just 8 1/3 innings in 2024. The right-hander threw 80 percent strikes with a 20 percent swinging strike rate in his one inning, but it was just 10 pitches. He sat 90.2 mph on his four-seamer and only threw one of them, so that will be something to monitor as he lengthens out his appearances.

Ryan has been on the minor league injured list since late June with a hamstring strain. He was subsequently traded to the Tigers as part of the Tarik Skubal trade, so this was his debut as a member of the Tigers organization. He struck out two and didn’t walk a batter while throwing 74 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 17 percent swinging strike rate. His four-seamer averaged 97 mph with an elite 17 inches of vertical movement. He looked like a potential difference-maker in this one, but he also threw just 23 pitches across two innings, so he will need a few more starts to ramp back up and might not return in time to pitch for the Tigers this season. He could be stashed in keeper leagues though.

The Cubs have said that they intend to bring Cabrera back in a relief role, so it was interesting to see that the right-hander ramped up his velocity to 99.3 mph on his four-seamer and touched 100 a few times. He threw 71 percent of his pitches for strikes and posted a 19 percent swinging strike rate while striking out one and not walking a single batter. He threw 21 pitches in this one and might only need one more rehab appearance (if at all) if the Cubs are truly planning to use him as a reliever. Given the state of their bullpen, there’s even a chance he could push for save opportunities.

Stepping up to the plate with this game knotted at two runs apiece in the fifth inning, Witt launched a three-run home run on a first-pitch sinker from Michael Soroka that was practically on a tee. It was just his 18th home run of the season and brought him to only 54 RBI in what’s been a disappointing year in terms of counting stats, but he’s approaching 40 stolen bases and has accumulated the second-most fWAR in baseball – only behind Pete Crow-Armstrong – despite missing almost 20 games with back and knee injuries.

Pearson made this save as stressful as possible by letting up a single and a walk to begin the ninth with a three run lead. Then, he got tough by striking out Gabriel Moreno with a 98 mph fastball in the zone and forcing Ketel Marte to ground into a double play to end the game. This was Pearson’s first save in nearly three weeks as he continues to split the closer role with Steven Cruz, albeit with a slight edge.

Lynch was just good enough here against a Diamondbacks’ lineup that has truly forgotten how to hit. They had plenty of chances, but went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in their seventh consecutive nine-inning game scoring three runs or fewer. As for Lynch, he kept his sinker down which forced just enough ground balls to get through five innings despite struggling to command any of his secondary stuff. He’s scheduled to face the Astros on the road next time out.

Arenado turned back the clock with a 430 foot home run deep over the fence in left-center field for the Diamondbacks’ first run of this game. It was his longest homer this season by nearly 20 feet and his longest since 2020, when he was still on the Rockies. He’s now up to 23 long balls on the season to go along with 69 RBI and a .742 OPS in what’s been a solid bounce back campaign.

Missing just over the minimum 15 days with shoulder inflammation, Soroka seemed to have a better chance than teammates Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen — who each had longer layoffs and also returned during the team’s last two games — to be effective. He was sharper than either of them, maintaining his normal pitch shapes and dialing up a little extra velocity while working in bulk relief after Gallen. Yet, he let up a brutal three-run home run to Bobby Witt Jr. that wound up being the difference in this game. The only real sign of rust was that Soroka struggled to command his four-seam fastball. Attempting to adjust off that, he threw one of his two sinkers of the night on the first pitch to Witt to try and get ahead and it was crushed for that homer. Still, we should be mildly encouraged by Soroka’s return and he’s likely to pitch again next week against the Marlins at home.

Gallen pitched fine here given the circumstances, he just wasn’t particularly on point. He heavily leaned into his slider given that it was the only pitch he could confidently command in the zone which helped him stay away from his fastball. That pitch has gotten crushed all season and came in two ticks slower than its average velocity, so it made sense that he shied away from it. The only earned run he let up came via a long home run to Carter Jensen on a slider that hung, which is the game a pitcher plays when they’re so in-zone-slider dependent. Similar to Corbin Burnes yesterday, Gallen returned after throwing one short rehab outing at Triple-A followed by about a 50 pitches appearance in a Bridge League game last week. He’s lined up for what’s likely to be another abbreviated outing at home against the Marlins next week.

Smith threw three innings for the first time in a scoreless outing Sunday against the Pirates, but that only took him 35 pitches. His high pitch count as a major leaguer was 48 over two innings in his debut on Aug. 9. So, one imagines the White Sox will be very happy if he can get through three again Thursday, Two is probably the better bet. Erick Fedde will be available to go long behind him.