Another dominant outing by Max Scherzer racking up 10 strikeouts in eight innings against Miami for his seventh win this year. He generated 17 swinging strikes and 17 called of his 94 pitches for a 36.2 CSW (Called plus swinging strikes) percentage. Also, this tweet blew my mind:

Over his last seven starts, Scherzer’s pitched 49 innings with 69 strikeouts versus eight walks, a 0.92 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and .179/.226/.268 slash against. Much will be made of him pitching with a broken nose, but he’s gotten untracked over the last month and a half to his normal dominant self. Sprinkle this in with the Nationals schedule leading up to the All-Star break:

Maybe Washington will be buyers after all? On the opposite end of the spectrum, another sullied outing for Blake Snell . He allowed a career high 11 hits in 3.1 innings leading to seven earned runs and his seventh loss. Snell’s imploded in June with a 22:12 K:BB in 17.1 innings. Some can be attributed to bad luck with a 47.6 strand rate, .482 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) and .375/.452/.563 slash line against. As a reference point, Snell recorded an 88 percent strand rate during his Cy Young campaign a year ago. It will take a strong stomach, but trying to get Snell for a second half migration to the mean could be a savvy move if his owner’s looking to move him. 

Here’s other notable starting pitcher performances from Tuesday:

  • David Price , Boston: 97 pitches, 17 swinging strikes, 21 called, 39.2 CSW%. Price won his fifth game racking up nine strikeouts in six innings against the White Sox. 

  • Jesse Chavez , Texas: 79 pitches, six swinging strikes, 17 called, 29.1 CSW%. Not a typo, Chavez made his first start, not as an opener, in two years. He did not issue a walk with seven strikeouts with a pitch cap at 80 and he made it 6.1 innings. 

  • Max Fried , Atlanta: 90 pitches, 15 swinging strikes, 16 called, 34.4 CSW%. Registering his ninth win, Fried worked six innings with eight strikeouts, but five walks, giving up two earned runs on the road in Chicago. 

  • Gerrit Cole , Houston: 104 pitches, 17 swinging strikes, 14 called, 29.8 CSW%. Cole gets revenge versus his old team with his seventh win. He allowed seven hits, one earned run and two walks with three strikeouts in six innings. 

  • Madison Bumgarner , San Francisco: 97 pitches, 17 swinging strikes, 15 called, 33 CSW%. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks? Bumgarner recorded his first double digit strikeout game since April of 2017 with 11 last night. He upped his curveball usage to 20.6 percent compared to 12.8 on the season. With teams monitoring his performance leading up to the trade deadline, a willingness to embrace analytics would raise his stock. Stay tuned. 

Bullpen Notes: Smith stays hot

While the trade market continues to evolve for the Giants bullpen, if they trade Will Smith , it will take a top prospect or a nice haul to land him. Smith fired a clean ninth with two strikeouts for his 21st straight save last night. Over his last 15 appearances, he’s pitched 14.2 innings with 26 strikeouts against three walks for a robust 43.4 strikeouts minus walks percentage. He also owns matching 0.61 ratio statistics (ERA and WHIP) in this sample with a 1.31 xFIP, .120/.170/.200 slash line allowed and minuscule .185 weighted on-base average. Rumors center on the Dodgers trying to trade for Smith but within the division and a rival, the price will be high. 

Here’s the rest of the high leverage events from last night:

  • Héctor Neris notched his 16th save, and fifth requiring more than three outs giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts in 1.1 innings. 

  • Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman yielded his first earned run in 18 outings but held on for his 23rd save. He now leads the American League. 

  • Cora’s ouija board landed on Brandon Workman and he responded with his third save of the year, first since June second, working around a hit with two strikeouts. So far in June, Workman’s tallied four wins, two save, one hold and one blown save in 13 appearances. 

  • Brad Hand melted down. He did not record an out allowing five hits and five earned runs, including a grand slam by Hunter Dozier . This marks Hand’s first blown save this year and third loss with his ERA rising from 1.05 to 2.36 as a result. 

  • Royals closer Ian Kennedy recorded his 10th save ceding a hit with two strikeouts. Kennedy’s converted eight saves in a row and owns a 12:1 K:BB in 8.1 innings this month. 

  • Luke Jackson stays in the ninth inning for Atlanta notching his 12th save with a clean ninth striking out two. 

  • Kenley Jansen , who will not share closing duties based on past quotes, recorded his 23rd save allowing a hit with two strikeouts last night. 

Hitter Highlights: Red Sox heating up

When reading the Wild Card standings, suddenly there’s a four team logjam atop the American League with the Red Sox recent surge. Fueling them, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts . Devers racked up four hits with two runs, three doubles and an RBI while batting second. Plus, he made a little history with his storied organization:

Bogaerts launched his 15th home run driving in two and putting Boston ahead for good. He’s currently pacing towards 30 this season with 122 runs and 106 RBI in 156 games. In June, Bogaerts owns a .306/.413/.602 slash with 17 walks versus 13 strikeouts. 

Who says one cannot go home again? Manny Machado hit his 17th home run of the season and 100th of his career in Camden Yards last night:

Whether or not the Padres contend this year, take note of how this lineup evolves with Machado heating up of late, with an RBI in eight straight contests, plus Fernando Tatis Jr. (9) and Francisco Mejía (2) also homered in this win over Baltimore. 

Well, the Yankees set a major league record with at least a home run in 28 straight games and Aaron Judge joined the party for the first time since April 20th:

Judge went back-to-back with D.J. LeMahieu starting the game. As for LeMahieu, he’s on an 11-game hit streak during which he’s hitting .457/.510/.848 with 14 runs, four home runs, 11 RBI, five walks and two stolen bases. Not too shabby. 

Moving all over the field does not seem to affect Scott Kingery in regards to production. Neither does shifting to lead-off in the batting order. Kingery hit his 10th home run, and first atop the lineup this year. 

Jorge Polanco extended his on-base streak to 37 games during which he’s hitting .327 with a .375 on-base percentage. Eddie Rosario tallied his third four-hit game of the year, Willians Astudillo recorded three hits as did Mitch Garver including his 12th home run and Jonathan Schoop launched his 13th home run. Just another day for the Twins offense. Plus, a bit of defense from Astudillo:

Imagine if Daniel Vogelbach played half of his games in Miller Park? He crushed his 19th home run of the season last night, 12 on the road this year. Vogelbach has reached safely in 13 of his last 14 games with 14 walks in them and a .422 on-base percentage. Domingo Santana moved his hit streak to eight games during which he’s hitting .367 with eight runs, four home runs, 11 RBI and owns a 1.339 on-base plus slugging percentage in it. 

Remember when Matt Olson may not hit for power upon returning from injury? He hit his 13th homer yesterday and…

What To Watch For

As usual, injury updates. Tim Anderson needed help leaving the field with a reported ankle injury. A stint on the injured could result. Max Kepler left the game after being hit on the elbow by a pitch. Initial X-rays suggest it’s just a bruise, but monitor his progress. Giancarlo Stanton hurt his knee on an awkward slide against Toronto. More details will evolve but this could sideline him for the London trip. 

On the mound this afternoon, Chris Sale will face his old franchise in Fenway. Plus, James Paxton will try to stifle the Blue Jays in the Bronx. 

In the evening slate, Zac Gallen makes his home debut in Miami opposed by Patrick Corbin while two southpaws potentially on the trade block match-up with Mike Minor facing Matthew Boyd . 

Be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm in order to remain ahead of your competition. 

 

Statistical Credits:

BaseballSavant.com

Fangraphs.com

MLB.com - Game Notes