Betting

Jackson Merrill’s fourth-inning single was the only hit the Cardinals could muster. With his velocity up by about one mph, McGreevy got 17 whiffs tonight and bested his previous high for strikeouts by two. He’s now 3-2 with a 2.18 ERA on the season, though this is really the first time he’s looked like someone who can back that up. He entered the night with a 16 percent strikeout rate, a 4.38 SIERA and a 5.77 xERA. We still wouldn’t want to use him in mixed leagues next week in Sacramento against the A’s.

He’s done it again. Murakami launched his 15th home run of the season in the first inning of this one, which tied Aaron Judge for most in the league. Another key mark, this was Murakami’s first home run that went out to left field. Also, his 15 long balls over 38 games is the fastest any player has reached that mark in White Sox history. Not just rookies, every player in their 125 years of existence. His batting average has begun to trend down a good bit as his strikeout rate and whiff rate remain near the bottom of the league, but his .948 OPS is elite and it looks like he will continue to mash.

Misiorowski is an alien. That’s the only explanation for his first inning where his fastball averaged 103 mph. Yes, averaged 103 mph. All he threw were fastballs and missed an immaculate inning by about an inch when Aaron Judge laid off a tough pitch. While his velocity tapered off following that inning, his effectiveness didn’t. Only two runners managed to reach scoring position and was able to put all three of his pitches wherever he wanted to. He’s now gone back-to-back starts without giving up a run and has a 2.45 ERA and outrageous 70:17 strikeout to walk ratio across 44 innings this season. His next start is scheduled to come at home against the Padres.

Buxton hit his 12th homer of the season off Matt Festa in the seventh inning to cut the Guardians’ lead to 4-3. The veteran centerfielder continues to put on an impressive display of power, blasting his 12th homer of the season while also doubling to lead off the first inning. Buxton remains one of the premier players at his position and is slashing .267/.313/.700 this month.

Crawford would have been the hero tonight if the Phillies had prevailed, but they lost in 11. Crawford’s homer, a 361-fly into the second row in right, completed a five-run rally in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 7-7 game. He should be good for a handful more of those over the course of the season, but to help much in fantasy leagues, he really needs to start stealing bases. He’s just 3-for-5 through 34 games. Last year, he was 46-for-57 in 112 games in Triple-A.

Cease scattered five hits on the night and didn’t walk allow a base on balls. Only one of the five hits against him — a ground rule double by Jo Adell in the seventh — went for extra bases and the Angels never seriously threatened against him. Cease got 19 swings and misses on 97 pitches in the ballgame — 10 of them on his slider — while posting a CSW of 31 percent. The 30-year-old righty will attempt to replicate this masterpiece as he carries a stellar 2.58 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and a 66/18 K/BB ratio (45 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s tilt against the Rays.

Bazzana took Twins starter Connor Prielipp 446 feet to deep center for his first career homer to give the Guardians an early 4-0 lead. In addition to his homer, Bazzana also swiped two more bases in this one, pushing his stolen base total to six in nine games. He’s not tearing the cover off the ball by any means, but Bazzana has hit safely in five of his last seven games and is slashing .250/.400/.375 over that span. He remains a solid option in mixed leagues as his bat continues to heat up.

It was another solid outing for Messick, who has now allowed one earned run or fewer in five of his eight outings this season. Messick was pulled with two outs in the sixth inning after allowing five of the six batters he faced to reach base, which included an RBI single by Ryan Jeffers to give the Twins their first run of the night. Of the seven hits Messick allowed on Friday, five came in his final inning of work, as he did his part to limit baserunners for much of the evening. Now boasting a 2.30 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, Messick will look to stay hot in his next start, which is set for Wednesday against the Angels.

Snelling struck out two of the first three batters he faced in the first inning on Friday, but an RBI single by CJ Abrams to bring home Curtis Mead gave the Nationals their first run of the night, while a Jacob Young homer on the following at-bat pushed the Nationals’ lead to 3-0. It would be the only three runs Snelling would allow in his debut, as the lefty would settle in to pitch four-straight scoreless innings, to hold the Nats in check. He struggled at times with his command, as evidenced by the four walks he allowed, but Snelling bounced back in fine fashion after a rough first inning in his debut. His next start is scheduled for Thursday at the Twins.

Griffin’s fifth pitch of the game was a middle-high fastball to Xavier Edwards. Edwards got every bit of said pitch, smashing it 420 feet into deep center to cut the Nationals’ lead to 3-1. He would then allow a double to Otto Lopez in the next at-bat, with Lopez coming around to score on an error a few plays later. Griffin would manage to escape the inning with the lead still intact and would go on to pitch six scoreless innings to pick up his fourth win of the season. Now sitting with a 4-1 record on the year and boasting a 2.12 ERA, Griffin remains one of the best stories in baseball during the early portion of the season. He’ll look to pick up his fifth win in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday against the Reds.