Betting

Culpepper was placed on the injured list about two weeks ago with a hip strain, and, at the time, had appeared close to a promotion. There are no longer any service time issues that the Twins need to worry about, and Luke Keaschall has begun playing the outfield, so Culpepper could be called up after the All-Star break if he gets back to producing at Triple-A. Before suffering the injury, he had gone 14-for-38 (.368) with two homers and three steals in 10 games in June.

Henderson allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out seven batters. He threw 32 of his 50 pitches for strikes and sat 92.9 mph on his four-seam fastball, which is essentially where he was earlier in the season. He did struggle with his command on that pitch, posting just a 48 percent zone rate and 56 percent strike rate on his fastball, but he induced plenty of whiffs when it was in the zone, and his secondaries were commanded better. He’ll likely need at least one more rehab start, probably two, before he returns to the Brewers’ rotation, but now would be a good time to stash him if he was dropped in your league.

The Red Sox blew a masterful performance from Sonny Gray by giving up two runs in the ninth and then gave up two more on Wilyer Abreu’s second mistake in two innings in the 10th. However, the offense came through against Fernando Cruz in the bottom of the 10th. Anthony Siegler singled even after taking an automatic strike at the beginning of his at-bat, and pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida followed with a double that gave him just his second RBI of the month. Tseng-Che Cheng then tied the game with a sac fly, and Duran followed with a liner to right with no one home, as the Yankees had gone to a two-man outfield. It was Duran’s second at-bat off the bench, as he didn’t start against lefty Carlos Rodón. He’s hitting just .156/.181/.244 with 33 strikeouts this month.

Gray was removed immediately after Amed Rosario’s single up the middle with one out in the eighth. Tyron Guerrero replaced him and got out of the inning from there. It’s the deepest Gray has ever carried a no-no, and his ninth and final strikeout of the night gave him 2,000 for his career. He’s tied with Andy Benes on the all-time list there, having passed Billy Pierce and Kevin Appier tonight. He’s seventh among active pitchers in strikeouts and fifth with 134 victories. He’ll face the Angels next weekend.

Chisholm was right to be mad; his swing was borderline at best, and it definitely wasn’t one the home plate umpire should have called himself. Chisholm made it clear that Adam Hamari should have checked with the third base ump and was tossed during the argument. Anthony Volpe replaced him, with José Caballero moving from short to second.

Adames told reporters that he’s been dealing with spasms in his back for the past week or so, and it became too much during Sunday’s win over Atlanta. The 30-year-old should be considered day-to-day for now, but he’s going to undergo an MRI, and those results will play a large part in determining whether Adames will be able to play in the coming days.

14 hard-hit balls with just two strikeouts would typically make for a miserable day on the mound, but Robbie Ray channeled Kirk Reuter and made it work today. Most of the hardest contact against him came in the form of grounders, and he got a bunch of routine flies. He ended up allowing just four hits: three singles and a double. This makes four really strong outings in the six starts since Ray started turning to a sinker. He threw it a season-high 38 percent of the time today, and while he gave up all four hits on the pitch, it’s helping him turn in some of the longest outings of his career of late. He’ll probably go to it even more in Coors Field next weekend.

“No, I think there’s always a time when a guy needs a little bit of a break, whether it’s physically, mentally or whatever it is,” Schneider said. “It’s no secret we’re going to need Vlad, if we want to be good.” Guerrero went hitless Sunday, and is now slashing .268/.348/.349. The lack of power has been an issue all season for the 27-year-old, but now the hits aren’t starting to fall, and it’s becoming problematic. Still, Guerrero’s track record suggest a big second half is more than realistic, and fantasy managers can’t cut bait just yet.

O’Hearn knocked a base hit and scored a run in the second inning. He then took Brady Singer deep for a solo homer in the fifth. Following a rain delay in the eighth, O’Hearn extended the Pittsburgh lead with a three-run blast off Pierce Johnson. The 32-year-old slugger is up to 13 homers and 50 RBI while slashing .286/.342/.479 across 284 plate appearances.

Woodruff was excellent, striking out six and allowing just one hit with two free passes. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old received just one run of support, and the Brew Crew fell in extras. Still, it’s hard to not be impressed with how Woodruff has looked since his return, as he’s given up no runs in his 11 2/3 innings with 16 strikeouts in that timeframe. The 33-year-old will be back on the bump Saturday against the Diamondbacks, and he should obviously be in fantasy lineups.