The Major League Baseball schedule is now deep into August and we are getting ready for a big set of Sunday afternoon games today.  This is the last day of Week 19 and before taking a look ahead at your fantasy baseball lineups for today we first need to look back at the top MLB news and headlines from Saturday’s slate of games. Highlights include the successful return of Dustin May, Albert Pujols continuing to dodge Father Time and Drew Rasmussen nearly un-hittable again. Do not forget to check out our updated August Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings before setting your lineups this week plus the latest MLB Injury Report, Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight Series, and players trending up and down in the Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch. Before we start our day let’s take a look back at the top performances from yesterday...

 

Dustin May Makes Up for Lost Time

Dustin May was electric in his first time on a Major League mound in 476 days as he mowed through the Marlins lineup for five innings in the Dodgers 7-0 win last night. The right-hander returning from Tommy John surgery was visibly psyched up throughout the game and after a leadoff single only allowed one other ball to be hit out of the infield; a lazy flyout in the fifth inning. May retired his final 13 batters faced, needing only 45 pitches to get through the final four innings and struck out nine. 

 

Albert Pujols Nears 700 Home Runs

Back in April if someone told me that Albert Pujols would be chasing 700 home runs in August, I would say they were crazy. But the Machine has proven all skeptics wrong and for the second time this week. The future Hall of Famer put together a multi-home run game, connecting with two bombs in his first two at-bats in last night’s win against Arizona. The pair of homers pushed his career total to 692, just four shy of matching Alex Rodriguez’s mark of 696.

 
 

Juan Soto and Josh Bell Say Hello To Old Friends

Juan Soto and Josh Bell, two former Washington Nationals traded together at this year’s deadline, each hit a solo home run against their former team last night and the Padres held on for a huge 2-1 victory; a win that moved them two games in front of Milwaukee in the race for the final NL Wild card sport. Since joining the Padres, Soto’s numbers are up across the board with a .305/.461/.492 slash compared to .246/.408/.485 in Washington.

Atlanta Braves Are Flexing

The defending World Series champion Braves will be a factor again in October. They have won five of the first six games of a seven-game homestand against the mighty Mets and Astros, and Atlanta has won 11 of their last 12 games. They have gone from 5.5 games to 3.0 games back in the NL East.

 

Giancarlo Stanton Nearing Return

Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton’s return to The Bronx began yesterday at Double-A Somerset. His comeback can’t happen soon enough as the Yankees have lost 15 of their last 18 games and 17 of the 25 contests since Stanton went on the IL back on July 23 (left Achilles). Stanton started his rehab assignment as a designated hitter for the Somerset Patriots and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. If Stanton comes out of today’s rehab game unscathed, he will face rehabbing teammate Luis Severino in a live batting practice on Tuesday.

 

Drew Rasmussen Electric Again

After a near perfect game in his last start, Rasmussen picked up right where he left off yesterday. The right-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out eight, giving up two hits and two runs over 5.2 innings in the Rays 5-2 win. He has now given up just three hits to the last 57 batters he has faced (four games). 

 

Josh Hader Taking a Break as Closer

Since the Brewers traded All-Star closer Josh Hader to the Padres at the MLB trade deadline, he has been lit up for six runs over his last three outings and 1.1 innings of work, and has now temporarily lost the closer’s job. According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin, Bob Melvin will deploy a committee for the ninth inning, while giving Hader a break from save situations. Hader did not allow a single earned run over his first 19 appearances of this season, but over his last 19.2 innings, he has an ERA of 10.07, with three blown saves in 14 chances. Hader only blew three saves total during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

 

Fantasy Alarm is the home of all things Fantasy Sports. Bringing you the best Fantasy Football content all year long. Be sure to also check out the best fantasy promo codes on offer today!

Related MLB Links: