Jordan Walker absent from lineup against Giants

Ford felt something during his final at-bat which prompted his removal and he went for testing after the ballgame. No word yet on the results of that imaging. The Nationals’ depth behind the plate is very thin at the moment so if Ford lands on the injured list, it could lead to chaos. Expect the Nats to have an update on his status prior to Saturday’s game.

Sanoja’s first hit of the night came in the sixth inning when he singled off of Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips. Sanoja would then swipe second base and later came around to score on an RBI double by Augustin Ramírez to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1. Sanoja would lead things off with a triple in the eighth inning and came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Owen Caissie, but that would be all the runs the Marlins would muster despite the offense tallying 10 hits and drawing three walks. Sanoja is now sitting on an 11-game hitting streak and is slashing a blistering .416/.442/.683 in September.

Beeter worked a scoreless inning against the Angels on Friday night, but has struggled recently, which likely explains his demotion. Expect them to add another fresh arm to the bullpen prior to Saturday’s battle against the Angels.

Abreu entered the game in the ninth inning to try to force the Rays into extra innings. After striking out Yandy Díaz to start the inning, Abreu walked Jonathan Aranda to bring Junior Caminero, the go-ahead run, to the plate. Abreu made only one pitch to Caminero, but it was one he would live to regret. Caminero blasted the first-pitch fastball from Abreu 434 feet into deep left-center to give the Rays the walk-off win. It was an unfortunate turn of events for Abreu, who had allowed just one earned run over his last 13 appearances entering Friday.

The definition of “scattering” his hits, Bassitt allowed exactly one knock in four of the first five innings he pitched. Still in a groove and only at 89 pitches, the Orioles tried to push him through the sixth, but he allowed two hits to start that frame before being pulled. One of those inherited runners came around to score which sullied his line a tad despite this being a solid start. In classic Bassitt fashion, he gave the Blue Jays’ hitters a different look every time around the order. First, being very sinker heavy, then turning to his curveball the second time through, and then closing his outing with a heavy dose of cutters. He’s scheduled to face the Mets on the road next time out.

This ninth inning got hairy for Alex Hoppe and the Orioles after four hits and two runs turned this game into a save situation. With Alejandro Kirk coming up as the tying run, they called on Garcia to get them out of the jam and he did so with six straight breaking balls before eventually forcing a ground ball out. That’s now back-to-back days where Garcia has earned a save after Andrew Kittredge let up four runs in his last two outings.

Beavers started this game in style with a lead-off home run and then capped off the Orioles’ five-run second inning with a two-run single. He’s been a mainstay in their lineup over the last few weeks and been productive with a .791 OPS over his last 30 games. Also, he has now hit lead-off in back-to-back games. That’s someone that should be getting a look in deeper leagues to close the season.

It took him just over a month, but Bateman finally notched his first big league homer. It was a shot too, traveling 403 feet over the fence in center field at the Rogers Centre to cut the Orioles lead from five to three in the ninth. That would be the end of the comeback attempt though. Still, Bateman chipped in two more hits and has been the Jays’ lead-off hitter for about a month straight since being acquired at the trade deadline and then called up in early August. With a .333 batting average over that span, he’ll likely hold that spot through the end of the season too.

This start from Scherzer got out of hand quickly. Dylan Beavers greeted him rudely with a lead-off home run before six straight hits – five of which were singles, nearly all were hit hard – to start the second inning turned into five more runs. Funny enough, he cruised after that, retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, but the damage was already done. He’s scheduled to face the Tigers at home next time out which could be one of the final starts of his storied career.

Diaz’s RBI came on a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning that brought home Isaac Paredes to give the Astros an early 1-0 lead. Diaz would also single in the second and sixth innings, but was left stranded on the basepaths both times. Diaz is now up to five multi-hit games in September and is slashing .367/.387/.533 on the month.