That Happened?

Clay Buchholz threw a complete game on Thursday versus the Padres, allowing one run and striking out six. Buchholz is now sporting a 2.47 ERA and over seven and a half strikeouts per nine innings. He has had a resurgent year largely on the back of improvements to his cutter and change up which he is using to help keep hitter off balance and not just sitting on his 90 mph fastball. While the 34 year old is not likely to be super interesting in fantasy long term, he should be owned in all formats until the wheels fall off again.

Koda Glover threw a scoreless ninth inning versus the Cardinals to earn the save for the Nationals. With Ryan Madson hurt/ineffective and Sean Doolittle still on the DL, the Nats turned to the former top relief prospect and he looked better than he did all of last year. He is unlikely to hold the closer’s job long term as Doolittle should regain the role once healthy, but he could be in line for some short term saves for the time being.

David Dahl went 2-for-5 with a home run and a stolen base in the Rockies win over the Braves on Thursday. Dahl is now hitting .270/.318/484 with six homers and four stolen bases with the Rockies this season. Dahl has always been an interesting prospect for the Rockies having shown the ability to hit for average, power as well as steal bases. However, Dahl has struggled to stay on the field. He has dealt this a myriad of injuries and ailments that have slowed his development and stunted the level of commitment the Rockies have to him. If he can stay on the field, he could be a very interesting guy rest of the season and a potential 20/20 guy in future years.

Miguel Sano went 2-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Tigers on Thursday. Sano struggled to begin the season, but since being recalled on July 28th he is hitting .292 and now has three home runs in the last week. Sano is a boom or bust type player, but he seems to have gotten his swing back just in time for fantasy playoffs.

Harrison Bader went 2-for-3 with a home run versus the Nationals on Thursday. Bader is getting to play pretty regularly since the Cards traded Tommy Pham and with Dexter Fowler on the DL and likely done for the year. However, Bader profiles more as a fourth outfielder that is just getting more time due to circumstances and while he could defy expectations, with Jose Martinez and Tyler O’Neill in tow, he may get sat often enough for him to make a huge difference down the stretch.

What We’ll Be Watching Today

Noah Syndergaard versus Aaron Nola *swoon*

Marcus Stroman versus the Yankees. Stroman has improved in the second half, but he is  ground ball pitcher that relies upon his defense to pick him up. With guys like Devon Travis and Aledmys Diaz playing up the middle, Stroman is likely to show more struggles down the stretch.

How long does Walker Buehler pitch? Buehler will most likely surpass the most amount of innings he has thrown in pro ball during this start. Considering he is a Tommy John Surgery survivor and he is extremely young, it will be interesting to see how the Dodgers handle him in this game and down the stretch.

Kyle Freeland versus Mike Foltynewicz. Two of the most surprising pitchers in the game this year face off versus two high-powered offenses.

Where does Robinson Canó play? He has played first and second in his first two games back and could be very helpful down the stretch if he can add multi-positional eligibility.

Baseball. Lots of baseball.