But before we hop into these highlights everybody please remember that the day you spent yesterday on grilling with the family is one for the veterans that protect us and thus make that possible.

Chris Sale is an absolute enigma, starter – bullpen – dl – starter, you never know where he's going to be.  Yesterday he showed us just what he's capable from the rotation, he tossed 7.1 innings of one run ball racked up 15, I repeat fifteen strikeouts.

Chase Headley had a big day for the Padres, the 3rd basemen knocked two homers out of the park and drove in three RBI, as he went 4-of-5 from the plate on the night.

Might the bat of one Dexter Fowler finally be coming to life?  The speedy outfielder was 4-of-4 yesterday with a HR, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.  Fowler has never blossomed into the player most thought he could be, but the potential remains, keep an eye on him going forward.

Felix Doubront continues an impressive stretch for the Bo Sox, the youngster tossed 6.0 innings of two run ball and left the game with six strikeouts before picking up his fifth win of the season to push his record to (5-2).  Doubront has now rung up just over a batter per inning, the strikeouts have always been there, but if he can maintain an ERA in the three's he has serious mixed league value going forward.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox they lost Dustin Pedroia to an injury in their win.  The second basemen made a dumbing catch and jammed his thumb.  No timetable has been released yet, it didn't look too bad, but keep an eye going forward.

It finally appeared that the Lance Lynn train was coming to a halt when he gave up; 3, 4, and 3 runs respectively ver his past three starts with a rather inflated WHIP.  But the young righty came back guns blazing against the Braves yesterday, tossing 7.0 innings of two run ball while he rung up 8, most importantly he kept his WHIP just below one on the night.  It is still a smart idea to monitor his value in your league if you own him, but if the price is too low feel free to ride this one until it stops.

Josh Reddick just continues to mash the ball, the outfielder hit his 14th homer of the season in a 5-4 loss to the Twins yesterday.

James McDonald continued his impressive run for the Pirates in a 4-1 win over the Reds.  The California native tossed 8.0 innings of shutout ball and rung up five while giving up just five hits and one walk.  This pushes his stats on the season to an impressive, 2.20 ERA and 0.96 ERA.  McDonald has long had the talent for a season like this but couldn't piece it all together.  Buy right now in all formats so long as the price hasn't maxed itself out yet.

For the sake of saving my fingers the trouble of writing a little blurb about every homer of the night, I’ve decided it’s appropriate to give you guys a little list.

Laird (2), Peralta (3),  D. Young (3), Saltalamacchia (9), Furcal (4), Descalso (2), Reddick (14), Wigginton (4), Mayberry Jr. (2), Hairston (5), Rottino (2),  J. Zimmerman (1), Morrison (3), Stanton (12), Dunn (16), Ka'ahiue (3), Pena (1), Hosmer (6), Chisenhall (1), Encarnacion (16), Johnson (9), Headley 2 (7), Venable (4), E. Cabrera (1), Soriano (6), Stewart (5), Barney (2), Castro (4), Cruz (7), Napoli (9), J. Lowrie (8), Tulowitzki (8), Rosario (7), Teixeira (9), Granderson (15), Trumbo (8), Trout (5),  John McDonald (3),  A. Ramirez (4), Snyder (3), Maxwell (3), Fowler (7), Bogusevic (2).

Whelp that was exhausting, all 44 of them (by my count, remember I'm a writer for a reason).  

The handshakes of the night went to: Matt Capps (10), Addison Reed (5), Heath Bell (8), Chris Perez (17), Joel Hanrahan (12), Casey Janssen (4), Joe Nathan (11) Rafael Betancourt (9), Santiago Casilla (13), and finally John Axford (8).

Written by Mike Naclerio exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com