Welcome to the TheFantasyFix.com’s nightly fantasy baseball recap, where you’ll find updates on bullpen usage, lineup construction, injuries, and transactions. No matter the format, we got you covered with everything you need to know to help you win your league.

What’s not mentioned below: Mike Leake shined in what was most likely his last start as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, tossing eight shutout innings with three strikeouts against the St. Louis Cardinals. Joey Votto went 3-3 with a home run and three RBI. A day after shaking the baseball world with this season’s biggest trade to date, the Toronto Blue Jays fell to the Philadelphia Phillies at home, 3-2. The game was not the only loss the Blue Jays took home, as Devon Travis and Jose Bautista both left the game with injuries. Julio Teheran’s struggles this season continued tonight, as he lasted just four innings, giving up five runs and walking four against the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Davis went 2-5 with two home runs and five runs batted in for the Orioles. The Chicago White Sox are now just two games below .500 with their 9-4 win over the Boston Red Sox. Jeff Samardzija, the center of the White Sox trade speculation, tossed eight innings of four run ball, walking one and striking out three to earn his eighth win of the year. Jose Abreu went 3-5 with a home run in the win. Jung Ho Kang was the walk-off hero in Pittsburgh, as his home run lifted the Pirates over the Twins, 8-7. Closer Glenn Perkins took the loss for the Twins, falling to 0-3. The Royals just keep on winning. Eric Hosmer’s home run in the ninth inning off Trevor Bauer was the difference in the Royals’ 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Bauer lost his third straight despite giving up two runs in his first career complete game. Jose Altuve drove in a career high five runs in the Astros’ 10-5 win over the Angels. Carlos Correa went 3-4 with a home run in the win. Jose Fernandez struck out five over six innings against the Washington Nationals, ultimately earning his fourth win of the season in the club’s 4-1 victory. Dee Gordon went 2-3 for the Marlins in his return to the lineup.

IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING…

The New York Yankees exploded tonight for 19 runs, their most since 2011, against the Texas Rangers in the team’s 21-5 victory. I’ll give you an idea as to how this game went: I left for the gym and the Rangers were winning 5-0 in the first inning. By the time I had come back, the Yankees were on top 16-5. This was just a good old-fashioned butt kicking. Although despite the 21 run output, the Yankees hit just two home runs. One of those came off of the bat of Chris Young, a grand slam in the third inning that brought the Yankees’ run total up to 15. Young drove in a career high five RBI in the win, while going 3-6. The other home run came off the bat of Brett Gardner in the ninth, a two run home run off Rangers’ position player Adam Rosales. The home run was just one of Gardy’s three hits, as he went 3-4 with three RBI and four runs scored. Alex Rodriguez was a few feet away from his 25^th home run of the season, and judging by the way he flipped his bat when he hit the ball, he thought it was leaving the ballpark as well. Now, onto the uglier side of things. Martin Perez got the start for the Rangers, though he was chased after the firsts inning, allowing eight runs on seven hits while not striking out a batter. Perez is still trying to settle in his first season since undergoing the knife and getting Tommy John surgery, though this start certainly wasn’t very encouraging. If you stacked the Rangers tonight in DFS, you are in my prayers, as the team combined for just three hits in the game. If I’m Cole Hamels, the thought of getting traded to Texas after tonight’s beat down doesn’t sound too appealing.

JUST AS WE EXPECTED…

It doesn’t matter which team you root for, the New York Mets’ pitching staff is so much fun to watch. Tonight, we had the pleasure of seeing Noah Syndergaard, aka ‘Thor’, on the mound, and he did not disappoint. The rookie struck out nine batters across eight innings of work, allowing just three hits against the San Diego Padres. Thor took a perfect game into the seventh inning, though he could not deliver for Mets’ fans as it was broken up via a Will Venable single up the middle. Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda both hit their 15^th home runs of the season in the win, as newly acquired Tyler Clippard shut the door in the ninth to seal the win in his Mets’ debut. James Shields was on the bump for the Padres, though he fell to 8-4 after allowing three runs across seven innings, striking out four. We’ve heard over the past week or so that the Padres are actively trying to find a suitor for Shields, though they haven’t had any success yet, and it could be because of their high asking price. The high asking price, along with the lucrative contract attached to Shields, are just a couple reasons as to why teams are laying off the veteran right-hander. If the cost of Shields goes down, I could easily see the Cubs taking Shields off the Padres’ hands, especially given manager Joe Maddon’s relationship with Shields. One of the Padres biggest needs happens to be shortstop, where the Cubs employ the 25-year old Starlin Castro, who the Padres should have interest in. Of course, that’s all speculation on my part, so you shouldn’t listen to me.

BUT WE DIDN’T SEE THIS COMING…

David Price took the bump for the Detroit Tigers tonight in Tampa against his former team, and unfortunately for him, the Rays offense exploded tonight, eventually winning the ballgame, 10-2. It might becoming more and more clear for the Tigers to sell off their impending free agents before Friday’s deadline, especially with the Royals making two major splashes in the past few days. Detroit was at least hoping that Price would be able to stop the bleeding tonight, but that was not the case. The southpaw gave up five runs across six innings of working, walking two and striking out four. The bad start bumps his ERA up to just 2.53 on the season, and there is no doubt that Price would net a handsome package from a contender looking for help at the top of their rotation. Of course, the Tigers have no indicated that they are going to sell, though they sit four games below .500 at 48-52. Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, a free agent at the end of the year and a possible trade candidate, went 2-4 with his 17^th home run of the season. Jake Odorizzi shut down the Tigers, tossing six innings of one run ball with eight strikeouts to improve to 6-6 on the 2015 season. For the second night in a row, Rays’ catcher Curt Casali hit a pair of home runs, both off of David Price, while driving in three runs to help lead the Rays offense. Evan Longoria also went deep for the Rays, though that was his lone hit in the game as he went 1-4.

THE REST OF THE DETAILS

SAVE CHANCES

Greg Holland (22)

A.J. Ramos (17)

Ken Giles (1)

LINEUP MOVES

Ryan Braun (back) was held out of the lineup for the second straight game

Anthony Rendon was moved to the leadoff spot Tuesday for the Nationals.

INJURIES

Henderson Alvarez – Out for the season – (Shoulder)

Jose Bautista – Day-to-day – (Hamstring)

Devon Travis – Day-to-day – (Shoulder)

RUMORS & TRANSACTIONS

Man, this is a lot of fun. The Kansas City Royals are all-in for 2015, and if trading for Johnny Cueto wasn’t enough to convince you, how does Ben Zobrist sound? Zobrist’s name has been floating around in trade rumors all season, and today the A’s finally pulled the trigger on the super utility man, who is a free agent at the end of the season. The Royals gave up Sean Manaea, a high upside pitching prospect who has the potential to be a front-of-the-rotation arm, but still comes with a lot of risk. On the year, the former first round pick has a 3.69 ERA across 31 2/3 minor league innings, posting a stellar 11.1 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9. Zobrist will likely slot into left field until Alex Gordon returns sometime in September, but there is no doubt about the kind of value that Zobrist brings to the Royals. Omar Infante has been a disaster at second base this season, so Zobrist will provide a significant upgrade at the position once Gordon does return. Though Zobrist isn’t considered a “superstar”, only three position players have accumulated a higher WAR than Zobrist since 2009 (Cano, Beltre, Miggy).

The Philadelphia Phillies finally shipped closer Jonathan Papelbon out of town, trading the veteran reliever to the division rival Washington Nationals this afternoon. Papelbon made it clear that he didn’t want to play for a rebuilding ball club, so it was only a matter of time before the Phillies made this move. It is shock, however, that the team acquiring Papelbon’s services is a team with an established closer who is having a terrific season. Drew Storen is 29 for 31 in save situations this season, but it seems that the Nationals didn’t want their season falling into his hands again. Papelbon will immediately slot into the ninth inning role in Washington, giving the Nats one of the better 1-2 punches in the National League. We will continue to wait for more dominoes to fall before Friday’s deadline.