That Just Happened

Jonathan Schoop smacked a home run and also singled in the Orioles 5-4 loss to the Blue Jays. Schoop has been a major disappointment in fantasy this season, but he is finally starting to heat up. The home run was his fourth of July and he is hitting .352 for the month (25-for-71). The loss of Machado will hurt Schoop’s value, but if his rebound continues, he will be an asset for the remainder of the season.

Speaking of the Jays, J.A. Happ turned in a strong outing in the team’s win. He hurled five innings and gave up only one run while striking out nine. This is the exact kind of outing the Jays were hoping for from Happ as the trade deadline is drawing near and he is a prime trade target. Any team he is traded to will almost certainly help him fantasy outlook.

Corey Dickerson had himself a day, he finished 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBI, and three runs scored. He is on fire right now, the home run was his fifth in the last four games and sixth of July. For the month, he is hitting .390 (25-for-64) with the six home runs, 10 RBI, and three stolen bases. I think everyone is still confused on why the Rays wanted to get of this guy so badly. Also having a big day for the Pirates was Grégory Polanco who homered and drove in three as part of the Pirates pounding of Matt Harvey who gave up eight runs in 3.2 innings pitched.

Matt Kemp launched a pair of home runs to help lead the Dodgers to an 11-2 victory over the Brewers. He finished with 43.6 points over on FanDuel and he only cost $3300 today. He now has 17 home runs, 62 RBI, and is hitting at a sweet .316 clip. Alex Wood received more run support than he needed as he pitched well, tossing six innings of two-run ball to pick up his sixth win of the year.

José Quintana hurled seven innings and gave up just two runs in the Cubs 7-2 win over the Cardinals. It was win number nine for Quintana and he struck out six. Kyle Schwarber made his lone hit in this one count; he smacked his nineteenth home run of the season. The most notable thing from the Cardinals side was that Matt Carpenter ’s six-game home run streak was snapped as he finished 1-for-4 with a single.

Rougned Odor is hot and it demands your fantasy attention. Today, he finished 3-for-3 with his seventh home run of the season and he drove in three. He is hitting .327 (32-for-98) since June 16 and that has helped him raise his average on the season from .214 to .259. He has also hit six of his seven home runs in that span.

Chris Sale silenced the Tiger bats for six innings and his final line was six innings, no runs, and nine strikeouts. He improved his record to 11-4. Over his last five starts he has given up one earned run across 33 innings pitched and has struck out 57 in that span. His ERA for the year is now 2.13 and he is making a strong case for his first Cy Young Award. Jackie Bradley Jr. helped carry the load for the Boston offense as he finished 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and a run scored.

Zack Greinke was lights out in Arizona today as he held the Rockies to one run across eight innings. He gave up just two hits and struck out a season-high 13. He picked up his eleventh win of the season. Over his last two starts he has pitched a total of 15.2 innings and allowed just one run while striking out 20. He ERA now sits at 3.05, the lowest it has been since giving up five earned runs in his second start of the season on April 7.

Ryon Healy had a monster day in the Mariners 8-2 victory over the White Sox. He finished 3-for-4 with two home runs, six RBI, and two runs scored. His big day helped propel his team and his pitcher Marco Gonzales to the win. For Gonzales, it was his eleventh win of the year and he pitched well, firing 6.1 innings of two-run baseball with six strikeouts. Mike Zunino returned to the Mariners lineup today off the DL but he finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, dropping his season average down to .185.

 

Walk-off Grand Slam

Daniel Robertson wasn’t in the Rays starting lineup today, but that did not stop him from having the biggest impact on the game that a pinch-hitter can possibly have. With two outs, the Rays trailing by two, and the bases juiced, the Rays turned to Robertson to keep the game alive. He did more than just that, on the second pitch of the at-bat he crushed Kyle Barrachlough’s offering over the left field wall for a walk-off grand slam. It doesn’t get any better than that. Chris Archer started for the Rays and pitched six innings of three-run baseball with 13 strikeouts. Carlos Gómez collected two hits and is now hitting .349 (15-for-43) in July with a home run and three steals, deeper leagues need to take notice.

 

Burning Questions

Jacob deGrom held the potent Yankees offense to one earned run across eight innings in an earlier matchup this year, can he do it again?

Who will be traded next? The trade deadline quickly approaches.

Yoenis Céspedes is out of the lineup for the second straight day after making his long awaited return on Friday, is it time to panic?

 

Stay tuned.