Thursday’s Major League Baseball games were full of all kinds of highlights that kept the fantasy baseball world abuzz as we get ready for another big weekend. We had both Tony Gonsolin and Justin Verlander picking up their 11th wins of the season and the Yankees slammed their way to their MLB leading 60th win. Yordan Alvarez continued to crush baseballs and rookies Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II had big days for the Braves. We also have some injury news and make sure to check the latest MLB Injury report before setting your fantasy baseball lineups. Pay attention to the top fantasy baseball waiver wire targets and the updated fantasy baseball rankings in July. There are also MLB projections to help set your MLB lineups so let’s go back and take a look at yesterday’s action before starting our research for tonight.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball MLB News

Tony Gonsolin is Now 11-0 on the Season

 


Tony Gonsolin made his case to be the National League’s All Star Game starting pitcher last night when he threw another gem in the Dodgers 5-3 win over the Cubs in Dodger Stadium. The Dodger right-hander improved to 11-0, allowing only two runs and striking out three over seven innings. He now leads the MLB with a 1.62 ERA, and he hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his 16 starts. Gonsolin is one of only four starting pitchers since the start of the millennium with an ERA of 1.62 or lower after their 16th start.
 

 

Justin Verlander is Still King

 


Justin Verlander has proven a lot of people wrong as he has fully made it back and is better than ever. He won his 11th game yesterday allowing seven hits, one earned run and striking out eight. With an ERA of 2.00, Verlander has picked right up where he left off after missing nearly two years with elbow issues that led to Tommy John surgery.
 

 

Josh Donaldson is Grand As Yankees Win 60th Game

 


Josh Donaldson’s grand slam last night against the Red Sox was the Yankees third in the last two nights and it propelled the Bronx Bombers to their 60th win of the season. The night before in their 16-0 rout of the Pirates, Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks had the honors as the Yankees are the first team to accomplish this feat since the 2011 Yankees did it in one game.
 

 

Another Joe Musgrove Gem

 


Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove continued to his Cy Young-worthy season last night as he carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning against the Giants. It was eventually broken up by a LaMonte Wade leadoff double but Musgrove did end up pitching seven scoreless innings while allowing that one lone hit. He has now allowed three earned runs or less in 14 of his 15 starts with a season 2.09 ERA/0.93 WHIP. 

 


 

 

 

Spencer Strider is “K” King For a Night

 


Braves rookie Spencer Strider was dominant last night. He tied an MLB record for most consecutive strikeouts to start a game and got first 10 outs of the game by strikeout. He ended the game with 12 Ks, allowing only two hits, no runs and two walks. Strider has now struck out 102 in 65 2/3 innings this year.

Only two other pitchers have recorded strikeouts in their first nine outs since the start of 2020: Miami's Pablo López on July 11, 2021 and Philadelphia's Aaron Nola on June 25, 2021.

 

 

Another Yordan Alvarez Bomb

 


Yordan Alvarez continued his push for AL MVP after hitting his 26th home run (third in MLB) in the Astros 5-2 win over the Royals. He now leads the Majors in OPS (1.075) and slugging percentage (.665), while he is fourth in OBP (.410). Jose Altuve also had another big game and launched a fifth inning game tying blast to give him his 17th home run of the year which leads all second basemen. 
 

 

Two-Homer Night for Mookie Betts

 


Mookie Betts has been nothing short of amazing since returning from his rib injury. He has now hit three home runs in 19 at-bats since returning to the Dodgers lineup with two coming last night against the Cubs. Betts now has 20 homers on the year and is slashing .277/.354/.561.


 

Michael Harris II Continues to Shine

 


There has been a lot of fanfare with big time prospects making their debuts over the last two months. Oneil Cruz, Riley Greene, Vinnie Pasquantino, Gabriel Moreno and Adley Rutschman are just a few players with bright futures. One other name that has gone under the radar a little bit is Michael Harris II. Even though he was the NL June Rookie of the Month, Harris II quietly sits at the bottom of the Braves order and just keeps on hitting.  Over the last month, he has a .307 average to go along with six home runs, six steals and a .910 OPS. All you need to do is watch his 439-foot blast to center field last night to tie the game against St. Louis and you see the future is bright. 
 



 

MLB Injury News

Jurickson Profar Taken to Hospital After Collision

 


Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar was carted off the field after a fifth-inning collision with shortstop CJ Abrams. Both players were chasing a Tommy LaStella fly ball and as Abrams caught it Profar slid on the grass and Abram’s knee caught him in the head. Profar was transported to the hospital and word is that he may have a possible concussion. He has been having a solid season from the lead off slashing .242/.343/.397 with a .740 OPS.

 


 

Michael Wacha's “Dead Arm”

 


The Red Sox have ruled out Michael Wacha for tonight’s scheduled start against the Yankees. Reports are that he is dealing with a “dead arm” and likely headed to the Injured List. The veteran right-hander has had a “renaissance” season of sorts with a 6-1 record and 2.69 ERA/1.11 WHIP on the season.


 

Chris Sale's Destruction

 


Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale apologized for his outburst in the clubhouse tunnel following his rehab start for the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox on Wednesday.

 

 

Sale told reporters he had a "seven-year-old temper tantrum" and said he was "an idiot" during the meltdown.

 

 

 

 

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