Brandon Williamson was shelled for six runs over 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday in a no-decision against the Dodgers.
Williamson coughed up eight hits, including three home runs, and somehow still managed to work into the sixth inning. He posted three strikeouts and also issued two walks. The 25-year-old lefty is not a recommended option for fantasy managers on Tuesday when he faces off against the Royals.
Nick Robertson fired two perfect innings on Wednesday in his major league debut against the Reds.
Robertson piled up three strikeouts and retired all six batters he faced after entering the contest in the fifth inning for his first career appearance. The 24-year-old righty figures to continue pitching in middle relief for the Dodgers and certainly looked like he belonged in this outing.
Miguel Vargas went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBI on Wednesday in the Dodgers' loss to the Reds.
Vargas went deep off lefty Brandon Williamson in the second inning for his sixth round-tripper of the season. He also added an RBI double in the third inning, just for good measure.
Will Smith went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer on Wednesday in the Dodgers' loss to the Reds.
Smith belted a two-run homer off lefty Brandon Williamson in the third inning for his ninth long ball of the season. The 28-year-old backstop remains the top catcher in the fantasy landscape and is slashing a sublime .305/.407/.532 with 31 runs scored, nine homers, 32 RBI and one stolen base across 189 plate appearances.
Mookie Betts swatted a leadoff homer on Wednesday in the Dodgers' loss to the Reds.
Betts opened the contest with a leadoff homer to left field off rookie southpaw Brandon Williamson. It wound up being his lone hit in five at-bats in the back-and-forth slugfest. The 30-year-old fantasy superstar has gone deep five times in six games since May 31. He's hitting .257/.363/.535 with 48 runs scored, 16 homers, 37 RBI and three stolen bases across 270 plate appearances.
Will Benson delivered a game-winning homer in the ninth inning on Wednesday, lifting the Reds to an 8-6 walk-off victory over the Dodgers.
Benson followed a leadoff single by rookie TJ Hopkins with a walk-off shot to right field -- his first career home run -- off Dodgers closer Evan Phillips. It was a fitting end to a bizarre contest in which the two teams combined for 12 runs in the first three innings before going scoreless for the next five frames until Benson's walk-off homer.
Yordan Alvarez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer against the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Alvarez pulled a 73.2 MPH Chris Bassitt slider 366 feet to right, just over the wall, to put the Astros up 2-0 in the fourth inning. He also was robbed of another RBI by a nice Kevin Keirmaier grab in center field in the ninth. Alvarez has tailed off a bit of late, hitting .180 in his last 15 games to drop to a .274/.386/.582 overall line. But this is still Yordan Alvarez -- he has five homers over that span too.
Brandon Belt went 2-for-4 with a solo homer against the Astros in a 3-2 win on Wednesday.
Belt stung an inside slider from Ronel Blanco 408 feet into the second deck in right field. He added a single off Bryan Abreu in the eighth, but was pulled for a pinch-runner afterwards. Belt is finally showing the power he lacked in 2022, hitting .268/.385/.444 with four homers in 142 at-bats -- each of those homers have come in his last seven games. He is starting to creep on to the radar in shallow leagues with numbers like that, though he is a threat to be pinch-ran for late in games.
According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Yonny Chirinos is likely to start for the Rays on Thursday against the Twins.
Nothing official yet, but Chirinos appears poised to take the ball on Thursday afternoon against Minnesota. The 29-year-old righty has compiled a solid 2.79 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 11/11 K/BB ratio across 29 innings (seven appearances, one start) this season in the majors. There's zero streaming appeal here for fantasy managers given the lack of strikeout upside, but Chirinos has been a solid innings-eater for Tampa Bay.
Ronel Blanco threw a quality start against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, allowing two runs in six innings in a no-decision.
He walked four, giving up a pair of solo home runs to Bo Bichette and Brandon Belt. Blanco will handle his next start against the Nationals early next week, but the walks make him an uneasy streamer at best as he's walked seven in his two starts and carries a 1.71 WHIP with a 3.86 ERA on the season.
Jordan Romano pitched a scoreless ninth inning with a one-run lead for his 16th save of the season against the Astros on Wednesday.
A leadoff Mauricio Dubon double put Romano in danger, and a robbery of a Yordan Alvarez liner with a .640 xBA in center field by Kevin Kiermaier saved the day after Dubon made it to third base with one out. Romano struck out Kyle Tucker to wrap things up. Romano has closed down six straight save opportunities since allowing the Orioles off the hook on May 20th.
Miguel Rojas was removed from Wednesday's game against the Reds with neck tightness.
Rojas was replaced by Chris Taylor at shortstop to open the bottom of the fourth inning. It's difficult to gauge whether he'll require a trip to the injured list at this juncture. There should be some clarity on his status prior to Thursday afternoon's series finale.
Pablo López pitched seven innings against the Rays on Wednesday, allowing just one run and striking out six.
Isaac Paredes took López deep to left-center in the second inning, but he managed to pick off Wander Franco to help himself get out of a jam in the third. This was a good rebound outing for López after the Guardians slapped him around last week, but he could only manage a no-decision as the Rays kept Twins hitters under wraps for eight innings. His ERA dropped to 4.25 and he's struck out 92 in 78 1/3 innings. Lopez is slated to face the Brewers in his next start on Tuesday.
Cooper Criswell pitched 3 1/3 innings against the Twins, giving up just one hit and striking out four in a no-decision
Coming in for the third inning after Shawn Armstrong opened, Criswell allowed just one hit through his first three innings and walked two. He had only five swinging strikes as he keyed in on using the sweeper. Criswell retired Carlos Correa swinging before leaving in the top of the sixth inning with 57 pitches.
Jason Adam was called on to hold a one-run lead against the Twins in the ninth and blew his third save of the season but received a win.
Trevor Larnach almost got to the warning track to leadoff the ninth, then Adam hit Donovan Solano with a pitch and walked Max Kepler. He allowed pinch-runner Michael Taylor to get to third base after two stolen bases, and Royce Lewis singled in Taylor to tie the game before a hard-hit double play ball ended the inning. Adams' strikeout rate is still good, but his hard-hit allowed rate has jumped from 27.5% in 2022 to 38.3% in 2023. The 3.16 ERA has not represented how shaky he's been thus far.
Royce Lewis went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in Minnesota's loss to the Rays Wednesday.
Already establishing himself as someone with a flair for the dramatic, Lewis singled down the right-field line to tie the game in the top of the ninth. He's struggled a bit of late but it's still quite a small sample size, as he's hitting .207/.207/.448 in 29 at-bats. Lewis will have to earn his way up the order, but he's shown pop so far.
Pete Alonso was removed from Wednesday's contest against the Braves after being hit by a pitch in the left wrist.
Ugh. Alonso was drilled by a 97 mph fastball on the left wrist from veteran right-hander Charlie Morton in the opening frame and immediately left the contest. He'll presumably head for some X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an official update on his status shortly. We're certainly hoping for the best possible outcome here.
Jordan Lyles pitched into the eighth inning on Wednesday against Miami, giving up five earned runs on six hits as he fell to 0-10.
You're not going to believe this, but the guy who has given up a lot of homers (18 in 13 starts) gave up a three-run dinger to Jesus Sanchez that went out to dead center. All-and-all, this was probably the ideal outcome for a Lyles start in 2023: his hard-hit balls allowed were mostly outs, and he ate innings. He left two inherited runners to the Royals bullpen and they both immediately scored on a double by Bryan de la Cruz. Lyles (6.84 ERA) next start figures to come against the Reds early next week, where Elly De La Cruz will attempt to hit one to the moon.
Maikel Garcia went 1-for-3 with a run scored in a loss to the Marlins on Wednesday.
Garcia has slumped of late with a .239/.345/.370 line over his last 15 games, but he's still walking and still adding some steals. He took off on a hit-and-run in the third inning to get to second base, then scored on a Nick Pratto single. Garcia is an AL-only league option at SS, but probably needs to hit better than .253/.319/.364 to stay in the mix as a starter.
Cubs placed INF Edwin Ríos on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 4, with a left groin strain.
Ríos has been put on the injured list ahead of Wednesday evening's showdown against the Angels in Los Angeles. He has just two hits in 28 at-bats over 18 games this season for the Cubs. He'll likely wind up missing a couple weeks.