Seriously, what kind of impact did Hanley have during his time with the Red Sox organization? They traded him away for Josh Beckett in 2007 and they’ve attempted to get him back every single season since. Is Hanley some sort of pitcher whisperer, able to sooth Jon Lester back into ace form? Does he have incriminating pictures of John Henry? Does he have a special smear campaign technique?

The Youkilis rumors were rather boring. Remember, the Beckett/Hanley trade went down during Theo Epstein’s weird offseason hiatus and he was supposedly irked that Ramirez was sent out of town. Theo is on the North Side of Chicago now and still the Sox can’t help themselves from chasing Hanley. Whatever it is, we now know to get ready for a couple weeks of rampant speculation, always a fun part of the season.

Matt Kemp is back! Kemp played in the All Star Game after being on the DL since basically early May, which was kind of a silly way to return, but he’s back in the line-up and now he’s winning games for the Dodgers. Kemp was 0 for 4 in regulation on Wednesday, but he showed up big in extra innings. First he legged out an infield single in the 10th which scored Bobby Abreu and retied the game 3-3. Then he stepped up in the 12th and hit a walk off, 2 run, homer. Both Cliff Lee and Clayton Kershaw were on point in the game, both pitching 8 innings with only 1 ER. Kershaw had 7 Ks, Lee had 4.

David Ortiz hit the 15 day DL, after some speculation that he might be able to avoid the designation with his achilles strain. The Red Sox Ellsbury/Crawford-infused offense didn’t miss a beat against the White Sox though, with Cody Ross belting two HR and a double, all either over or off the Green Monster, for 6 RBIs. Massachusetts allows same sex marriage, but Cody Ross isn’t legally allowed to marry that wall. You know he would though, he’s having a career year in Fenway with a .902 OPS versus a career .786, with his hitting contributing to the logjam in the Sox outfield that allows for Crawford trade talks. Adrian Gonzalez also continued to reestablish his power swing, belting an opposite field shot and accounting for the other 4 Boston RBIs on the day.

Doug Fister’d the Angels, throwing 8 innings of 1 run (a Pujols HR) baseball with 10 Ks, leading the Tigers to a 7-2 victory. The gem was much needed after the 13-0 drubbing the Angels dropped on Detroit on Tuesday night. Prince Fielder and Brennan Boesch each knocked in two runs to lead the Tigers offense. CJ Wilson allowed all 7 of the Tigers runs in his 6 IP, although he did have 7 Ks.

The Nationals’ Tyler Clippard blew a save opportunity on Tuesday night, giving up a 3 run home run to the Mets’ Jordany Valdespin. Wednesday night Clippard entered in the bottom of the ninth in a 4-1 game and proceeded to allow solo homers to David Wright and Jason Bay, while striking out the other 3 Mets he faced and recording his 15th save of the season. He had 2 Ks on Tuesday, too. This kind of shakiness will get Clippard demoted to set-up man when Drew Storen returns.

Lots of extra innings drama in Atlanta, as the Braves and Giants went into the 10th tied 1-1, where a throwing error and a Melky Cabrera single saw them facing a loss at 3-1. Then Brian McCann hit a two run shot and the game carried on into the 11th, only to see the Giants respond with two three run home runs, from Brandon Crawford and Gregor Blanco, resulting in a 9-4 Giants win. Ryan Vogelsong and Mike Minor each pitched 6 innings, giving up 1 ER and 7 Ks each.

The hard luck Blue Jays, who lost Jose Bautista to the DL this week, got another major scare on Wednesday, when third baseman Brett Lawrie went over a dugout railing trying for a fly ball and banged his leg hard against a handrail. Lawrie had to be carried into the clubhouse, but x-rays were negative and Lawrie is listed as day to day. The Yankees won 6-0 in a game shortened by an apocalyptic looking hail and lighting storm. Hiroki Kuroda who threw all 7 innings, with no walks and 5 strike outs.

Matchup of the day:

Adventurous streaming types should take a look at Houston’s Lucas Harrell, in San Diego, against the Padres. Harell through a complete game shutout against the Padres on 6/27 and that was without the benefit of Petco Park. Harrell has a 4.43 ERA but a 4.01 xFIP and more importantly the Padres are last in the league in runs scored, second to last in wOBA at .295, which is even worse at home where their wOBA is .281 versus a road, middle of the pack, .308 mark.

Written by Ryan Coombs exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. Follow Ryan on Twitter @RMCoombs. 

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