Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy Baseball Final: August 17, 2015

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What’s not mentioned below: Gerrit Cole took a surprising loss tonight, letting up four runs across 6.2 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Perhaps even more surprising, Paul Goldschmidt went hitless in the teams win, striking out twice. David Peralta went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored. As I type this, the Yankees and Twins are tied at seven in the ninth inning of their ballgame. There have been plenty of home runs hit in this game, with Miguel Sano, Trevor Plouffe, Aaron Hicks, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran all going deep. Yankees’ starter Bryan Mitchell was taken out of the game in the second inning after being struck in the face by a line drive; he has bee diagnosed with a nasal fracture. The Mariners and Rangers are also tied in the ninth inning, with the game currently sitting at 3-3. Cole Hamels struck out eight over his seven innings of work. Scott Kazmir gave up six runs over 5.1 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, walking three and triking out six. Tim Beckham went deep for the Rays; the game is still sitting at 6-2.

IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING…

Two of the best teams in the National League faced off tonight, with the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the San Francisco Giants. The powerhouse Cardinals came out on top in the game by a score of 2-1 thanks to Michael Wacha’s dominance on the mound. Wacha went seven innings, giving up just one run on six hits and striking out six. Catcher Yadier Molina hit a solo home run in the fourth inning of the game, his third home run of the season. Molina’s power has basically been nonexistent all season, though his .280 average is still valuable in fantasy leagues, but he has fallen off significantly over the past two seasons. Chris Heston was on the bump for the Giants, though he failed to get out of the fifth inning, walking five and running his pitch count up to 104 pitches in the fifth; Heston and reliever Hunter Strickland were responsible for the two Cardinals’ runs scored. The game was all but decided on a Mark Reynolds’ RBI fielders’ choice, which proved to be the deciding factor in the eighth inning. Closer Trevor Rosenthal closed the door in the ninth to pick up his 37th save on the year.

JUST AS WE EXPECTED…

The Cleveland Indians took care of the Boston Red Sox tonight, chasing starter Matt Barnes out of the game after the fifth inning en route to their 8-1 win. Carlos Santana had a nice night for the Tribe, clubbing his 13th home run of the season while going 2-5 with two runs scored. Michael Brantley returned to the lineup for the Indians, and he didn’t miss a beat, going 2-5 with a run scored while swiping his 13th bag of the season. Danny Salazar picked up the win for the Indians, tossing seven innings of one run ball, walking one and striking out five batters; his ERA now sits at 3.16 on the year. As I mentioned prior, Matt Barnes gave up six runs over five innings, walking three and striking out seven. It’s still amazing to me that the Indians are sitting seven games below .500, as I had them running away with the division before the season started; though I doubt I’m the only one that made that prediction, so it doesn’t sting too much.

BUT WE DIDN’T SEE THIS COMING…

Sonny Gray looked somewhat human tonight, turning in 5.2 innings of work, letting up four runs (one earned) on seven hits in the Oakland A’s 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, as Baltimore completed the sweep of Oakland. Chris Tillman outdueled Gray, tossing seven innings of two run ball, walking three and striking out three. Though he hasn’t been the same pitcher as he’s been in the past, he has been much better of late, particularly the last month and a half. Steve Clevenger hit his first home run of the year in the win for the O’s, a solo shot in the fourth inning off Sonny Gray. Orioles’ slugger Chris Davis was robbed of a home run in the game by rookie outfielder Billy Burns; the home run would have been Davis’ 16th in his last 25 games. Danny Valencia and Mark Canha both went deep in the loss for the A’s. Zach Britton shut the door in the ninth for the O’s to notch his 29th save of the year.

THE REST OF THE DETAILS

SAVE CHANCES

Zach Britton (29)

Brad Ziegler (21)

LINEUP MOVES

San Francisco Giants’ catcher Andrew Susac was activated from the disabled list.

Royals signed Joba Chamberlain and Wandy Rodriguez to minor league deals.

INJURIES

Jason Heyward – Day-to-day – (Hamstring)

Bryan Mitchell – Day-to-day – (Nasal fracture) DL stint is likely

Randal Grichuk – 15-Day DL – (Elbow)

Matt Wieters – Day-to-day – (Hamstring)

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