Josh Hader was at it again Saturday night. Milwaukee’s MVP-like reliever entered a 4-4 tie with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and proceeded to retire seven of the eight batters he faced, six of them via strikeout. Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich broke the tie with a solo shot in the top of the eighth inning, supplying Hader with the opportunity to pick up his second win of the campaign. Through 27.1 innings this season, Hader is sporting a 1.32 ERA, 0.51 WHIP and ridiculous 56-to-7 K/BB ratio.  

 

In Case You Missed It

Freddy Peralta began the evening on the mound for the Brewers, looking to somehow follow up on his incredibly impressive MLB debut last Sunday that saw him register 13 punchouts across 5.2 shutout frames at Coors Field. The young righty came back to Earth in start number two Saturday evening, laboring through 4.0-plus innings in which he allowed four earned runs on three hits and six walks while striking out five. Starters Chase Anderson and Zach Davies should both re-enter the Milwaukee rotation in the coming days, so Peralta may not see another start in the bigs for a while.

Kenley Jansen has returned to form at the back of the Dodgers’ pen. The two-time All-Star sat down all six batters he faced while saving both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader versus the Nationals. Over his last seven appearances, Jansen has allowed just three hits and no walks with six strikeouts across 8.0 shutout innings. He has now converted six consecutive save opportunities and 8-of-10 on the season.

After 588 MLB appearances as a reliever, Sergio Romo got his first career start on Saturday. The 35-year-old veteran only worked the first inning, but it was a strong showing, as he struck out all three batters he faced. The Rays will continue with their experimental approach on the mound Sunday afternoon, as, you guessed it, Romo will go back to the bump as, perhaps, the “leadoff” pitcher.

 

Streaking

José Abreu will ride into Sunday afternoon matchup against Rangers southpaw Mike Minor on a 10-game hitting streak. The White Sox slugger has put up six multi-hit performances in that span, slashing .447/.512/.711 with seven doubles and a homer.

Michael Brantley continued his sensational season with his seventh roundtripper Saturday afternoon. Four of those long balls have come during Brantley’s current nine-game hitting streak in which he’s posted a 1.097 OPS with 12 RBI and 11 runs scored. The Indians will face off with Lance McCullers on Sunday night. Brantley is 2-for-3 with a double against the Houston right-hander.

Brandon Crawford is basically the hottest hitter on the planet right now, as he has gone 15-for-26 with five doubles and a homer while hitting safely in each of his last seven games. Taking it further back, Crawford has come up with at least one base knock in 16-of-18 games this month, putting up a .449/.459/.652 slash line. He is 2-for-6 in his career versus Rockies lefty Tyler Anderson , who the Giants will contend with Sunday.

 

You can follow Nate Miller on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad or hear him every Monday & Thursday hosting the Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Podcast along with Colby Conway.