Gerrit Cole takes home spotlight honors with his dominant performance in a win over the Tigers. He tossed seven shutout innings and gave up just two hits while striking out 12. It was his second-straight game with double-digit punch-outs and his fifth such start in his last seven. It was his 14th start of racking of double-digit strikeouts, which tied the Astros record for a single season. He is on a very dominant run right now, over his last 15 starts he has a 1.84 ERA and a perfect 11-0 record. On the year he is 15-5 with a 2.75 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. Although his most impressive stat may be the 238 strikeouts that he has across 163.2 innings pitched for a ridiculous 13.1 K/9. A strong finish to the season could land him the AL Cy Young Award.

Strong Outings

  • Kyle Hendricks was lights-out in a win over the Giants, tossing seven shutout innings. He gave up three hits while striking out seven. He has given up just one run in his last two starts, a span of 14 innings, and has only given up six hits in that span. It was his fifth start of the year with at least seven shutout innings pitched. He will carry a 9-9 record and 3.20 ERA into his next outing.
  • Jeff Samardzija was a hard-luck loser in a pitching duel with Hendricks; the Shark tossed seven innings of one-run ball in the loss. He gave up just two hits while striking out four. He continues to roll; he has given up two or fewer runs in six straight starts. During that span, he has given up a total of six runs across 36.1 innings pitched. He will carry a 9-10 record and 3.44 ERA into his next outing.
  • Ross Detwiler turned in a strong outing against Texas, holding them to one run (zero earned) across six innings in a win. He gave up three hits while striking out, a season-high, eight batters. It was easily his best outing of the season. It was his second time pitching six innings this year and also his second time with more than five strikeouts. He will carry a 2-3 record and 5.51 ERA into his next outing.
  • Noah Syndergaard pitched a gem in a win over the Indians. A lengthy rain delay cut his day short, but he was still able to pitch six shutout innings prior to the rain hitting. He gave up two hits while striking out five. He had a perfect game through five innings. It was his eighth straight quality start and he has a 1.82 ERA in that span. He will carry a 9-6 record and 3.71 ERA into his next outing.
  • Sandy Alcantara was lights-out in a no-decision against the Braves' potent offense, tossing seven shutout innings. He gave up three hits while striking out seven. It was his third straight quality start and he has gone at least seven innings in all three. The All-Star is having an up-and-down season but overall he’s been solid as he will carry a 4-11 record and 4.15 ERA into his next outing.
  • Jacob Waguespack hurled seven shutout innings in a no-decision against the potent Dodgers lineup. He only gave up one hit while striking out five. He left with a 2-0 lead but the bullpen blew it in the ninth. He has been pitching pretty well lately, over his last four starts he has given up just three runs across 24.1 innings pitched (1.11 ERA). He will carry a 4-1 record and 3.63 ERA into his next outing.

Hitter Highlights

Gleyber Torres was easily the top hitting performer of the night as he went a perfect 4-for-4 with a pair of dingers, a double, and three runs scored. Torres was pretty much the entirety of the Yankees offense as he accounted for all three of their runs in the 5-3 loss. He is now hitting .288 with 31 home runs, 83 runs scored, 75 RBI, and four stolen bases.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finished 3-for-4 with a solo home run. The three hits give him 100 for the season. He is hitting .381 with four home runs in August. The highly touted rookie is now hitting .282 with 15 home runs and 55 RBI through the first 96 games of his career.

Willy Adames had a nice night at the dish, going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. He has swung a hot bat in August with a .328 average and three home runs. This game was on the road, so his strong performance shouldn’t be all that surprising, as he is hitting .315 with 13 of his 16 home runs on the road this year. Overall, he is hitting .252 with 16 home runs and four stolen bases.

Austin Meadows also had a big night for the Rays, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, and two runs scored. Meadows has seen his average on the year drop with a .229 batting average in August, but he does have six home runs for the month. He is now hitting .278 with 22 home runs and nine stolen bases on the year.

Michael Conforto finished 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored, and a stolen base. His strong season continues as he is now hitting .259 with 27 home runs, 76 RBI, and seven stolen bases. The stolen bases are already a new career-high and he needs just two more home runs and seven more RBI to set new career highs in those categories as well.

Yoán Moncada made a splash in his return off IL, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and two RBI. It was his first game since July 30 and he immediately made his presence felt with a two-run home run in the third inning. It’s been a breakout campaign for Moncada, who is now hitting .303 with 21 home runs and seven stolen bases.

Howie Kendrick went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, and three RBI. Kendrick doesn’t have a regular role with the Nats, but he has been very effective when in the lineup this year, hitting .323 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI across 260 at-bats. The 14 home runs are the second-most of his career and it’s the first time he has gone into double-digits since 2013.

What to Watch for Today

Jacob deGrom (8-7, 2.61 ERA) will look to keep his dominant run going when he takes on the Braves. He has given up three or fewer runs in 16 straight outings and has a ridiculous 1.92 ERA in that span. He is now 8-7 with a 2.61 ERA on the year as he makes a late push for a second straight Cy Young.

Jack Flaherty (7-6, 3.46 ERA) will also look to continue his recent dominance when he takes on the Rockies. He has given up two runs or fewer in eight straight starts and has lowered his ERA from 4.90 to his current mark in that span.

Justus Sheffield (0-0, 6.00 ERA) will make his second start of the year in a match-up with the Blue Jays. The lefty really struggled at the Triple-A level this year but figured it out with a demotion to Double-A. He is a very risky option for fantasy today, but one that could go well.