-
Peter Lambert SP | HOU
Astros' Peter Lambert: Blanks Rays for seventh win
Lambert (7-5) earned the win Sunday against the Rays, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out six over 5.2 scoreless innings.
Lambert threw 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes and racked up 18 swing-and-misses while never allowing more than one hit in any inning. The outing continued an excellent run for the right-hander, who has now limited opponents to two or fewer runs in six of his last seven starts. Lambert owns a 3.26 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 74:32 K:BB across 80 innings this season. He's lined up to make his final start before the All-Star break on the road against the Rangers.
-
Kumar Rocker SP | TEX
Rangers' Kumar Rocker: Takes loss vs. Tigers
Rocker (2-7) took the loss Sunday against the Tigers, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four over 4.1 innings.
Most of Rocker's damage came on one swing, as he served up a two-run homer against Riley Greene in the fourth inning. He returned for the fifth, but after allowing a single he was lifted in favor of Robby Ahlstrom, who let Detroit break the game open with four runs in the inning. It was Rocker's shortest outing since May 8. He now owns a 3.95 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 74:32 K:BB across 84.1 innings and is scheduled to face the Astros at home in his next start.
-
Casey Mize SP | SD
Tigers' Casey Mize: Earns fourth win
Mize (4-5) earned the win Sunday against the Rangers, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four over 6.2 innings.
Mize surrendered a solo homer to Jake Burger in the third inning to open the scoring and allowed one more run in the fifth. While he didn't post the same ace-type numbers he displayed against the Yankees in his previous outing, he did a good job limiting hard contact. Since returning from the injured list, Mize has posted a 3.38 ERA with a 23:4 K:BB across 24 innings over four starts.
-
Alex Lange RP | KC
Royals' Alex Lange: Locks down eighth save
Lange earned the save Sunday against the Phillies, retiring the side in order in the ninth inning.
Lange was called upon to protect a three-run lead and needed just 11 pitches to retire Philadelphia in order for his eighth save of the season. He has now converted four saves over his last five appearances. Lange owns a 4.82 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and a 37:21 K:BB across 37.1 innings, and he should continue to serve as the primary closer option with Carlos Estevez (shoulder) needing further evaluation before potentially targeting a return.
-
Aaron Nola SP | PHI
Phillies' Aaron Nola: Takes loss despite quality start
Nola (3-6) took the loss Sunday against the Royals, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out seven over seven innings.
Nola was tagged for two runs in the first inning after Kansas City recorded three hits through five batters, but he settled in nicely from there. The veteran allowed just one more run over his final six innings and finished strong by striking out the side in the seventh. It marked his longest outing of the season, and he generated an impressive 19 whiffs. The performance was a much-needed rebound after he was tagged for a season-high eight runs in his previous start against the Pirates. Nola remains hard to trust in fantasy, owning a 5.87 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 94:29 K:BB across 92 innings. He is scheduled to face the Tigers on the road next.
-
Sung-Mun Song 2B | SD
Padres' Sung-Mun Song: Tallies two steals Sunday
Song went 1-for-3 with a run scored, two steals and a walk in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Dodgers.
Song drew the start at second base and made the most of his two times reaching base, stealing second in both the seventh and eighth innings. The 29-year-old has looked much improved at the plate of late, going 9-for-31 (.290) over his past 15 games. The former KBO standout is slashing .239/.338/.328 with one homer, nine RBI, 10 runs and nine stolen bases across 77 big-league plate appearances this season, seeing most of his action at the keystone but struggling to earn consistent playing time.
-
Fernando Tatis Jr. RF | SD
Padres' Fernando Tatis: Trio of hits in win
Tatis went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a steal in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Dodgers.
Tatis collected a trio of hits, marking his eighth game this season with at least three hits as the Padres snapped an eight-game losing streak. After a brutally challenging start to the season, the 27-year-old has found his rhythm, slashing .299/.343/.480 with four homers, 16 RBI, 19 runs and seven stolen bases over his past 30 games. While the lack of power has been disappointing this season, Tatis continues trending in the right direction, raising his season line to .284/.345/.386 with five homers, 34 RBI, 41 runs and 21 stolen bases across 88 games.
-
Luinder Avila SP | KC
Royals' Luinder Avila: Earns fourth win
Avila (4-3) earned the win Sunday against the Phillies, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out four over five innings.
Avila threw 41 of his 69 pitches for strikes and limited Philadelphia to one hit through the first four innings. His lone blemish came in the fifth, when Bryson Stott tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly one batter later. Avila has now allowed one run or fewer in five of his seven starts since the beginning of June. Two blowup outings have inflated his numbers to a 5.04 ERA with a 27:19 K:BB across 30.1 innings during that span. Avila is scheduled to make his next start on the road against Baltimore.
-
Manny Machado 3B | SD
Padres' Manny Machado: Blasts 18th homer
Machado went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run, an additional run scored, a steal and three walks in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Dodgers.
Machado reached base four times, highlighted by a three-run shot to straightaway center field that extended the Padres' lead in the seventh inning. The third baseman has opened July going just 3-for-16 (.188), though each of those three hits has gone for extra bases, including two homers. The 34-year-old has shown off his power with 18 homers this season but has otherwise struggled, slashing .189/.282/.410 with 51 RBI, 44 runs and two stolen bases across 87 games.
-
Ranger Suarez SP | BOS
Red Sox's Ranger Suarez: Dealing with adductor tightness
Suarez departed his start Sunday against the Angels in the third inning due to left adductor tightness, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports. He struck out five and was charged with three earned runs on six hits and no walks over 2.2 innings prior to exiting the game.
Suarez suffered the injury when he made a hop toward a batted ball that resulted in a Jo Adell infield single. The lefty hurler showed noticeable discomfort after the play and was promptly removed. Given the nature of the injury, Suarez's ability to make his next start is in considerable doubt. He was recently selected to the July 14 All-Star Game, but his availability for the Midsummer Classic seems to be in jeopardy as well.