No-No...Uh Oh

The Yankees Domingo Germán (R) had a no-hit bid going through seven innings with the Yankees leading 4-0. The problem? There were still two innings left. The Red Sox came back to win 5-4 as the Yankees bullpen imploded again, much like they have a lot over the last few weeks. Even though they are four games over .500 still at 51-47, New York is now nine games back from the AL East leaders, and their archrivals, and so far has no answers on how to get going in any consistent way as the offense still isn’t clicking and the starting rotation is simply a bunch of question marks outside of Cole, sort of. This is setting up to be an interesting trade deadline for the Bronx Bombers as they are still just 3.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot.

BOOOhtani

For the 10th time this season, Shohei Ohtani (L) had himself a combo meal on Sunday as he keep his remarkable season going. He was benched on Friday to get him out of the recent slump he’s been in but responded well on Saturday with two doubles and then on Sunday hit a mammoth homer for his league-leading 35th before hitting a single and then getting intentionally walked in the eighth inning leading to a steal of second, his 13th on the year. The booing came in when the Twins’ fans booed their own pitcher and manager for intentionally walking the two-way star instead of letting the fans see him hit. He’s slated to start on Monday and hit as well as he continues his path to the AL MVP award later this year.

No Buxtension

The Twins had reached out to Byron Buxton (R) about a possible multi-year extension for the 27-year-old outfielder, despite him being on the shelf with a broken finger, however he has turned it down. When he’s been healthy this year, he’s been the five-tool star he’s capable of being but the problem, as it’s always been, is his inability to stay on the field with two trips on the IL this year alone. It makes sense for Buxton to bet on himself going forward but as they say, your best ability is your availability and if he can’t stay healthy it’s hard to see him getting quite the offer the Twins made to him that he turned down.

July 31st Comes Early

The Trade Deadline comes up on July 31st but some teams are already making moves with Rich Hill (L) heading to the New York Mets from Tampa Bay over the weekend and T.J. Zeuch going to St. Louis but now Adam Frazier (L) going to San Diego in exchange for three prospects. Frazier will boost an already deep lineup for the Padres and likely becomes a super-utility guy for the Padres while potentially being a leadoff or number two hitter on the days he starts. Rumors are starting to fly about Craig Kimbrel (R), Kris Bryant (R), Trevor Story (R), and now Max Scherzer (R) with the Nationals being swept by the Orioles over the weekend. Pay attention to the Fantasy Alarm MLB Live Trade Blog by Greg Jewett for all of the key analysis to the breaking trade news as it breaks.

Today’s Slate

We kick off the week with a seven-game main slate and while it’s devoid of some of the biggest names in the pitching section, there are still some nice matchups to look at. Germán Márquez (R) is on the hill for the Rockies and he’s been lights out in his last 10 starts with a sub-2.50 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP and gets the generally anemic Angels offense as long as Ohtani isn’t driving in the runs. Speaking of Ohtani, he's also on the hill facing the Rockies in L.A. and taking the Rockies out of Coors is usually good for pitchers. If you’re looking for an under-the-radar play, Spencer Howard (R) is still in the rotation for the Phillies and while it’s a small sample size, he’s been far better at home than on the road and the Nationals’ offense is horrendous right now having been swept by Baltimore including making Matt Harvey (R) look like the Dark Knight again.