The second half of the Major League Baseball season is now well underway, and we are getting ready for a big set of Sunday afternoon games today. This is the last day of Week 17 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 Max Scherzer shutting down the Braves in the battle for NL East, a revenge game for Jordan Montgomery, Fernando Tatis Jr. making an appearance in San Antonio and one historic game for a Reds rookie. 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...

 

Mad Max Playoff Bound?

That was vintage Max Scherzer out there last night collecting 11 strikeouts as the Mets swept a doubleheader against the second-place Braves. His 11 strikeouts moved him into a tie with Justin Verlander for 14th place all-time as he upped his record to 3-1 with a 1.37 ERA. For a big portion of the season the Mets have done this without Scherzer or fellow ace Jacob deGrom but after their doubleheader sweep, the Mets’ NL East edge is now 5.5 games and with both studs back in the picture, the rest of the league needs to look out! 

 

Jordan Montgomery Revenge Factor

A week ago, Jordan Montgomery was wearing pinstripes and Kyle Higashioka was his battery mate. Fast forward seven days and J-Mo, a Yankee veteran of eight seasons, was throwing fastballs to Higgy and the rest of the Yankees en route to a huge 1-0 Cardinals victory at Busch Stadium. He was a casualty of trade deadline day after being swapped for Harrison Bader but was magnificent in his debut for the Red Birds pitching five scoreless innings and only allowing two hits and a walk. 

Franmil Reyes Gets DFA’d

So much for the upcoming Franmil Reyes Bobblehead Night. After starting the season as the cleanup hitter and with high hopes, the Guardians DH has hit only .213 with a low .604 OPS to go along with a mere nine home runs and 104 strikeouts (37%)! This led to a demotion to Triple-A last week and then the decision to designate for assignment the big slugger.

Fernando Tatis Jr. Is Playing Baseball!

 

Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres All-World shortstop, began his rehab stint yesterday at Double-A San Antonio. This was his first real action in ten months. He ended the night 0-for-2 with two walks. This is the final step before he is cleared to return to the Padres. The team has not put a timetable on when that might happen, but it has been reported that Tatis would see game action at both shortstop and center field while on his rehab stint. 

Jose Barrero’s Historic Night

 

Reds rookie shortstop Jose Barrero ended a 122-year-old Reds drought last night. He became the first member of the Reds in over a century to hit his first two home runs in the same game. The first time it happened was July 31, 1900, when Harry Steinfeldt did it against the Boston Braves.

George Springer to IL

 

Blue Jays outfielder George Springer was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with right elbow inflammation. He's been dealing with the issue for the last few weeks but according to the Jays, planned days off did not help the situation. He isn't expected to need more than the 10 days required on the IL.

Reid Detmers is Rolling

 

Sometimes player demotions just work out fine. Reid Detmers of the Angels, fresh off a May 11th no-hitter, was briefly demoted to Triple-A back in June after struggling to learn to pitch out of jams. Something clicked in Salt Lake, as Detmers has now posted a 1.16 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 31 innings over his last five outings and hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of those five starts. Detmers worked to correct his arm angle on his sliders during that stint in the minors and it was evident yesterday as he shut down the Mariners by allowing only one run over seven innings in a 7-1 win in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader.

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