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 have everything you need to know to help you win your league.

This first Thursday of June got started with an afternoon game between a the Detroit Tigers and Oakland A’s; two teams trending in in drastically opposite directions. The Detroit Tigers have dropped five games out of first place after trading that position back and forth with the Royals for the better part of the first three months of the season. They have now dropped seven games in a row with tonight’s loss, and have been swept in two straight series. It seems like if it’s not the pitching, then it’s the hitting; and if it’s not the hitting, then it’s the hitting with the Tigers. Today, Detroit was able to put up four ninth inning runs; however, it was too little too late. Starting pitcher Shane Greene lasted just 4 ⅓ innings and gave up four runs on eight hits.

IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING…

The White Sox and Rangers played an extra inning affair Thursday in Texas that went 11 innings. The Rangers jumped out early lead with a first inning RBI from Prince Fielder, but were matched by a fourth inning sac fly from Gordon Beckham. Those two early runs were the extent of the scoring for the majority of the game as White Sox’s Carlos Rendon and Ranger’s Yavani Girardo both threw 6 quality innings. Both clubs left more than 10 men on base today until Shin-Soo Choo came up with two men on in the bottom half of the 11th. Choo singled into left to drive in the winning run for his only hit of the day. He might be having the resurgent kind of 2015 that the Rangers are seeing from Fielder, but at least Choo is showing a little bit of power to ago with his above league average OBP. Choo is more than halfway to his total for home runs last season with 8 and has a slugging percentage a full 74 points higher at .448.

JUST AS WE EXPECTED…

After six long, tough starts, the New York Mets were finally able to get Matt Harvey his sixth win of the season as they slid past the Nationals to take a half-game lead in their division. Harvey struggled for the first time all year two starts ago in Pittsburgh, and took another hard-fought loss to Miami in his last start after giving up four runs, and despite striking out 11 Marlins in eight innings of work. Harvey got back on track tonight against the Arizona Diamondbacks by giving up just two earned runs in his seven innings while striking out nine. He is towards the top of the league in the majority of pitching categories, and has only failed to have a quality start in two of his outings this season. Harvey has continued to show that he is one of the top starting pitchers in the game, and has proved to be a stop gap for any extensive Mets losing streak.

WHAT WE DIDN’T EXPECT…

The current hot streak that the Minnesota Twins have been on lately is curious to say the least. How does a team with a subpar pitching staff and not a single player hitting over .300 win 14 of their last 20 games, and leapfrog two of the very best teams in baseball? Joe Mauer has 30 RBIs, but is hitting just .268 with one home run; second baseman Brian Dozier leads the team with 10 homeruns, and even he is hitting just .260. It appears that a 39-year-old Torii Hunter is the Twins best all-around player posting a slash line of .273/.325/.443. Hunter added another long ball in today’s 8-4 win over the Boston Red Sox to go along with an additional two hits, two runs, and three RBIs. Whether this level of play is sustainable for the Twins or not is doubtful, and some of these players, such as Hunter, might be a good player to try and sell high on in the trade market if moving him helps you improve at a position that is not so deep.

SAVE CHANCES

–Tyler Clippard (9)

–Zach Britton  (14)

–Hector Rondon (10)

–Aroldis Chapman (10)

–Jeurys Familia (16)

–Kevin Jepsen (2)

INJURIES

After spending the first 53 games of the 2015 MLB season on the disabled list with a knee injury, and subsequent oblique strain during the recovery process, Anthony Rendon made his long-awaited season debut.  Rendon was hitting under .240 in his rehab stint in the minors, but looked to be in midseason form tonight, going 2-4 with a double. The Nationals have been struggling lately, hitting just .222 as a team without Rendon this year, and scoring just 16 runs while losing six of their last 10. Rendon was the Nats’ best all-around hitter last year, scoring 111 runs and posting a slash line .287/.531/.473. Rendon of  and slid right into the two-hole of the lineup tonight and has made an immediate impact by lengthening the National lineup.  

RUMORS & TRANSACTIONS

Last night, the Seattle Mariners made a move to acquire a right handed power bat to help improve their struggling, and vastly disappointing offense. The six-player deal between the Mariners and Diamondbacks was highlighted by 29-year-old outfielder Mark Trumbo returning to the American League West after a couple tough years in Arizona. Trumbo hit a total of 23 home runs is parts of two seasons with the D-Backs, which is nearly 10 longballs less than he averaged per year in his time with the Angels. Though he never quite realized the potential Arizona thought they were getting in him, Trumbo looks to fit in very nicely with the Mariners. It appears he will definitely get his at-bats, whether they come in the form of splitting right field and designated hitter duties with Nelson Cruz, or getting reps at first base. Seattle has been in dire need of offense as they sit nine and a half games back of the first place Houston Astros and are ranked 14th in the AL in runs. Seattle gave up prospects Gabby Guerrero and Jack Reinheimer, the respective fifth and 14th prospects MLB.com’s Top 30 list; but are getting a proven 30-home run bat with a year and a half of control left.  Additionally, in Trumbo’s 46 games with the Diamondbacks this season, he has posted a career high slugging percentage of .506 and has an OPS 43 points higher than his career mark. Trumbo has the kind of pop that won’t be hindered by the spacious Safeco Field, and his familiarity with the AL West may help him adjust to the change in scenery a bit quicker than most.