Chris Sale takes home spotlight honors with an absolute gem against the Angels; he fired eight, shutout, innings and picked up the win. He gave up just two hits while striking out 13. He led all players in DFS scoring on both DraftKings and FanDuel. It’s been such a strange season for Sale this year, constantly having us guessing which Sale is going to show up when he takes the mound. The dominant Sale like this one, or the Sale that has had nine outings with four or more earned runs and seven outings with five or more. It was his 13th outing with double-digit strikeouts and he now has 206 for the year across 140.2 innings of work. He will carry a lackluster 6-11 record and 4.41 ERA into his next start.

Strong Outings

  • Mike Clevinger fired seven innings of two-run ball in a win over the Twins. He gave up just three hits while striking out nine. Since the start of July, Clevinger has a 1.83 ERA across 44.1 innings pitched (seven starts) with 58 strikeouts. He is a dominant pitcher when he is healthy. He will carry a 7-2 record and 3.02 ERA into his next outing.
  • Madison Bumgarner pitched well in a win over the Phillies, tossing seven, shutout, innings. He only gave up one hit, but also only had three punch-outs. A nice bounce-back outing for Bumgarner, who gave up five runs across five innings his previous time out. He will carry a 7-7 record and 3.74 ERA into his next outing.
  • Elieser Hernandez dominated the Braves, hurling six, shutout, innings in a win. He gave up two hits while striking out seven. It was a nice bounce-back outing for Hernandez, who got tagged for five earned runs across three innings in his previous start. The seven punch-outs match a season-high. He will carry a 2-4 record and 4.94 ERA into his next outing.
  • Tyler Chatwood pitched very well out of the Cubs bullpen, firing three shutout innings and picking up the win. He gave up just one hit while striking out six. Chatwood has pitched well out of the Cubs ‘pen lately, pitching to a 2.03 ERA across 13.1 innings since the start of July. He will carry a 5-1 record and 3.92 ERA into his next outing.

Hitter Highlights

Nicholas Castellanos continues to rake with the Cubs, going 3-for-4 with a pair of dingers, a walk, and three runs scored last night. He is now hitting .424 with three home runs and five RBI through eight games with Chicago. On the year, he is hitting .284 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI.

Gio Urshela went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored, and four RBI. Urshela is on a power binge right now with five home runs in his last three games. He has 10 RBI in that span with seven hits in 13 at-bats. It’s been a fantastic season for Urshela, who is now hitting .323 with 16 home runs and 59 RBI across 303 at-bats.

BrIan Anderson also had a double-dong night, finishing 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI. Anderson is off to a very strong start in August, hitting .345 with four home runs and three doubles through eight games. For the year, he is now hitting .252 with 20 home runs and 58 RBI.

Bo Bichette remains scorching hot, going 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, and three RBI. He now has an 11-game hitting streak to begin his career and he already has nine doubles and four home runs. In fact, he has a double in nine-straight games, which is a new MLB record!

Reese McGuire had a huge game for the Jays as well, finishing a perfect 4-for-4 with a home run, a double, and three runs scored. It was his first career game with more than two hits and his fourth career home run through 21 games played. He is currently not someone to consider for fantasy.

Hunter Dozier also provided a multi-homer night and he had three RBI. It was his second multi-homer game in August and he is hitting .310 through eight games this month. The two home runs bring his season total up to 20 to go along with 63 RBI and a .284 batting average. His next hit will give him 100 for the year.

Trevor Story finished 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a stolen base. He’s off to a great start in August, hitting .409 with four home runs, seven RBI, and a stolen base through seven games. He is now hitting .284 with 26 home runs, 65 RBI, 83 runs scored, and 15 steals for the season.

What to Watch for Today

Stephen Strasburg (14-5, 3.72 ERA) vs. Marcus Stroman (6-11, 3.07 ERA). Strasburg will look to bounce back from a bad outing his last time out in which he gave up nine earned runs across 4.2 innings pitched. Stroman had a rough Mets debut his last time out, giving up three runs across 4.1 innings of work. He will look to impress in his home debut.

Robbie Ray (10-7, 4.03 ERA) vs. Walker Buehler (10-2, 3.22 ERA). This game could feature a lot of strikeouts, as Ray and Buehler are two of the top punch-out guys in the game. They both have a K/9 over 10 and they are both in the top-15 of strikeout percentage (Ray 31.2-percent, Buehler 29.0-percent).

Kolby Allard will make both his season debut and his Rangers debut against the Brewers. Allard was a top-100 prospect for three consecutive years from 2016-2018, but he has fallen off a bit over the last year. Maybe the change of scenery will help though, and in his first AAA start with the Rangers, he pitched five shutout innings while striking out eight. The Brewers are a tough team to debut against though.

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