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’ve got you covered on everything you need to know to help you win your league.

Honorable Mentions: Mark Montgomery tossed a complete game shutout with ten strikeouts for the Seattle Mariners to help lift them over the Kansas City Royals, 7-0. Montgomery held the Royals to just four hits in the game. Andrew McCutchen’s home run in the fourth inning gave the Pirates enough of a cushion as they went on to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6. Jay Bruce went 2-5 with a home run for the Reds. David Price struck out seven over 6.2 innings to lead the Detroit Tigers over the Cleveland Indians, 7-3. Madison Bumgarner racked up 14 strikeouts against the San Diego Padres, though the two teams are tied at two in the 10^th inning as I type this.

Stephen Strasburg made his first start since May 29^th after being on the shelf with a trapezius injury, and he looked like the old Stephen Strasburg. He tossed five scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves, giving up four hits and striking out six batters. Strasburg was touching 97 MPH, which is a very encouraging signs for the Washington Nationals and fantasy owners. Anthony Rendon went 4-4 for the Nats, driving in a run and bringing his average up to .277. The good thing to see from Rendon is that he’s still on the field, but he has set to hit a home run or steal a base since being activated from the disabled list on June 4^th. Last year, Rendon hit 21 home runs and stole 17 bases, while being caught three times trying to steal. So far this year, he’s been caught twice in both of his attempts. He had never stolen more than six bases in a single season during his time in the minors, so it’s easy to believe that last year may have been a little fluky on the base paths. Alex Wood lasted seven innings for the Braves, letting up three runs across ten hits with two strikeouts. Earlier in the day, the Braves announced that they placed first baseman Freedie Freeman on the disabled list with a bruised right wrist. Freeman has played at least 147 games in each of the last four seasons, including all 162 games last year.

JUST AS WE EXPECTED…

Colorado Rockies’ third baseman Nolan Arenado hit two home runs in the teams’ 10-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The home runs brought his total up to 19 on the season, and now he trails just Todd Frazier (23) for home runs at the third base position. Arenado passed his home run total from last year (18) tonight, and it took him just over half as many games to do so. The 24-year-old continues to take tremendous strides, and as long as he can stay on the field, he will be a fantasy stud for years to come. Teammate Carlos Gonzalez was held out the lineup with a sprained hand that he suffered on sunday. The X-rays on his hand came back negative, though even the off day wasn’t enough to get him in the lineup for tonight’s game. Troy Tulowitzki went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the win. For the Diamondbacks, A.J. Pollock went 3-5 with his ninth home run of the season. Paul Goldschmidt went 1-4 in the loss, bringing his average down to .355… he’s amazing.

Carlos Martinez struck out nine across seven innings of work against the Miami Marlins, earning his eighth win of the year in the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 win. Martinez gave up three runs in the first 1.1 innings, though he settled down afterwards. The 23-year-old has now won five of his last seven decisions, and he sports stellar 8-3 record. Many believed that Martinez would be destined for the bullpen in the long run, though he’s proved critics wrong so far in the 2015 season. Two of the runs that Martinez was responsible for came courtesy of Giancarlo Stanton, as he blasted a mammoth two run shot in the first inning. The young slugger now has 26 home runs to go along with 66 RBI and a .261 average. Cardinals’ outfielder Jason Heyward hit his eighth home run of the year in the win, as he continues his recent tear. Over his last 10 games, Heyward is hitting .241.

BUT WE DIDN’T SEE THIS COMING…

Philadelphia Phillies rookie Maikel Franco continued to crush the New York Yankees tonight, finishing the night going 2-3 with a home run and five RBI. Franco has been the one bright spot in this Phillies lineup as of late, as he’s riding a five game hit streak (13-for-21), while slashing a healthy .319/.389/.604. C.C. Sabathia started for the Yanks tonight, though even the worst offense in baseball was able to run C.C. in the fifth inning. Sabathia gave up six runs on eight hits across 4.2 innings of work, walking two and striking out four. The veteran starter now sports a 5.65 ERA on the season, and it may be certain to us now that his best days are behind him. The Bronx Bombers blasted four home runs in the game, including home big flies from Brett Gardner and Alex Rodriguez. I still find it amazing that A-Rod continues to produce and we’re almost in July, as he now has 15 home runs on the season to go along with a .285 average and 42 RBI. One interesting trade chip that the Phillies have, outfielder Ben Revere, went 3-5 on the night and his batting average sits at .292. Revere struggled out of the gate, but his recent streak of hot hitting helped bring his average back up to career norms, while he’s also swiped 18 bags this season.

THE REST OF THE DETAILS

SAVE CHANCES

Drew Storen (21)

Mark Melancon (24)

Zach Britton (20)

Trevor Rosenthal (22)

Brad Boxberger (19)

Drew Pomeranz (1)

Francisco Rodriguez (14)

LINEUP MOVES

Carlos Gonzalez (hand) held out of the lineup

INJURIES

Carlos Gonzalez – Day-to-day – (hand)

Chase Utley – 15-day DL – (ankle)

Justin Verlander has been scratched from Wednesday’s start against the Indians with mid-back stiffness.

RUMORS & TRANSACTIONS

The Kansas City Royals may be zeroing in on some of the biggest names that could be on the market prior the trade deadline, including Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, and Ben Zobrist. The Royals currently own a 3.5 game lead on the Minnesota Twins in the competitive AL Central, but it’s not surprising to see them inquiring about upgrading at second base or in the rotation. It’s not known at this time if the Royals were just checking in on these names or not, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they ended up acquiring cheaper options, including the likes of Zobrist’s teammate, Scott Kazmir. Kansas City starters have produced a 4.37 ERA this season, good for 21^st in the league.