IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING…

Yoenis Cespedes led the Mets’ offense to another victory a night removed from their record setting night in Philadelphia. After Monday’s eight home run outburst, Cespedes hit a two-run bomb to center field to put the Mets ahead 2-0 in the first inning. While all of the Mets additions at the trade deadline have been pivotal to their offensive turnaround, none have been as important as Cespedes. Cespedes has seven home runs in 22 games with the Mets and has been insanely hot in August with an OPS of .923. Cespedes now has 25 home runs on the season which is one shy of his career high. If the Mets continue to hit this way, even though their starting pitching has faltered a bit of late, it will be very difficult for the Nationals to catch them in the compelling National League East race.

JUST AS WE EXPECTED…

The Angels’ offense was backed by a three-run home run by Albert Pujols in the first inning driving in Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun. The home run was Pujols’ 34^th bomb of the season continuing his first truly great season for the Angels. Not fantasy relevant but Pujols also made a fantastic diving backhanded stop in the field to preserve the 8-7 lead over the Tigers. As we enter the final month of the season, Pujols has a legitimate shot to top forty home runs for the first time since 2010. Despite the high home run numbers, the three RBIs for Pujols represents the first multi-RBI game since July 20^th.

Stephen Strasburg looked electric once again for the Nationals in his fourth start since returning for Washington earlier in August. Even though he surrendered two unlikely home runs to Jed Gyorko, Strasburg turned in six strong innings with seven strikeouts and only one walk. The high strikeout totals are encouraging for fantasy owners as they look to Strasburg to bounce back in fantasy playoffs after a disappointing season. If the Nationals are to chase down the Mets in the National League East, they will heavily reliant upon Strasburg to continue showing his dominant stuff.

BUT WE DIDN’T SEE THIS COMING…

A night after being shut down in dominant fashion by Yankees’ Nathan Eovaldi, the Houston Astros offense bounced back in a big way. Even though they only got two hits from the top three spots in their lineup, the Astros still dominated the Yankees and put up 15 runs running Ivan Nova from the game after only four innings. The Astros offense was led by Evan Gattis who had four RBIs and hit his 20^th home run of the season. Carlos Gomez also added to the Astros onslaught going 2-for-6 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Dallas Keuchel got all the run support he needed and dominated the Yankees’ offense over seven shutout innings. Keuchel racked up nine strikeouts with no walks.

Brad Hand, who many DFS players likely targeted as a potential starter to stack against, limited the Pirates to only two runs over eight innings of work. The Marlins, in defeating the Pirates, broke a four-game losing streak. Even though Hand surrendered nine hits, the Pirates failed to capitalize on the slew of baserunners that they had. Dee Gordon also continued his great season for the Marlins as he had two hits and four stolen bases to set the table for Miami. Gordon, whose average has consistently stayed above .300 all year, has been the lone bright spot for the Marlins’ lineup since slugger Giancarlo Stanton has left the lineup.

THE REST OF THE DETAILS

SAVE CHANCES

-A.J. Ramos, MIA (22)

-Jeurys Familia, NYM (34)

-Wade Davis, KC (12)

-David Robertson, CWS (26)

-Roberto Ozuna, TOR (15)

-Huston Street, LAA (30)

INJURIES

-Giancarlo Stanton is rumored to be returning to game action within the next week and a half.

-Johnny Giavotella was placed on the disabled list today by the Angels due to a personal medical condition.

-Yasmani Grandal was not in the starting lineup on Tuesday due to a left shoulder bruise. The Dodgers do not expect their starting catcher to be available on Wednesday either.

-Carlos Carrasco was scratched from tonight’s start due to right shoulder soreness.

-Desmond Jennings left tonight’s game early due to a bruised left knee.

-Carlos Gonzalez remained out of the lineup after leaving Monday’s game early due to a sore right knee.