In Case You Missed It

Making his first big-league start and just fifth career appearance on an MLB mound, Alec Mills delivered a sensational effort for the Cubs on Friday afternoon. The 26-year-old righty worked 5.2 innings, giving up only one run on three hits and one walk while striking out eight. Mills didn’t factor into the decision in the Cubs’ 3-2, 10-inning victory, but he significantly helped set the stage.

In support of Mills, newly-acquired Daniel Murphy kept his hot hitting going with a 2-for-4 afternoon that included his first homer with the Cubs. Over three games since joining his new team, Murphy has gone 6-for-14 with two RBI and three runs scores while lining up solely in the leadoff spot.

If the Rays were in a different division, perhaps the other league, they would be getting much more attention as one of MLB’s most surprising teams. After Friday’s 10-3 rout of the Red Sox, Manager Kevin’s Cash’s squad has won six straight and stands seven games above .500 for the year. Willy Adames  was the top offensive star Friday night, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, three runs scored and a steal. The rookie shortstop has now gone 8-for-17 with a couple of deep drives during his current five-game hitting streak and boasts a .362/.430/.623 slash line over 79 plate appearances this month.

Kendrys Morales  keeps crushing it for the Blue Jays of late, as he drove one out of the yard for the fifth consecutive game in Friday’s 4-2 win against the Phillies. Additional good news for the Blue Jays was the return of rookie Lourdes Gurriel to the lineup after he missed nearly a month due to a high-ankle sprain. Gurriel went 1-for-4 with an RBI single, ending his multi-hit game streak, but extending his overall hitting streak to a current MLB-long 12 games.

Despite receiving no amount of support from his offense during a 1-0 loss in Miami on Friday night, Mike Foltynewicz continued his impressive work on the mound this month with 6.0 frames of one-run ball. The 2018 All-Star labored to a 5.72 ERA over five starts in July, but he has enjoyed a strong rebound through the same number of outings here in August, posting a 1.38 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 36-to-8 K/BB ratio across 32.2 innings.

 

Saturday on the Hill

Excluding a 10-day DL stint from July 30 – August 8, J.A. Happ has given the Yankees everything they were looking for, and probably more, in their starting rotation since being acquired via trade from the Blue Jays back on July 26. Across 24.1 innings (four starts) in pinstripes, Happ has worked to an excellent 2.22 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 8.5 K/9. The veteran southpaw is in a favorable spot in a duel versus rookie Yefry Ramírez in Baltimore on Saturday afternoon.

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Another veteran hurler that has been getting it done since being dealt to a contending club is Mike Fiers . The 33-year-old righty has certainly enjoyed the pitching-friendly environment of Oakland Coliseum, as he has put up an incredibly impressive 1.47 ERA, 0.66 WHIP and 21-to-1 K/BB ratio across 18.1 innings there since joining the A’s back on August 6. Fiers will make his first road start wearing the green and yellow Saturday evening in Minnesota.

 

Streaking

Lourdes Gurriel – 12 games – 26-for-54, 1.204 OPS, 3 HR

Christian Yelich – 10 games – 14-for-47, .949 OPS, 4 HR

Jeff McNeil – 8 games – 16-for-35, 1.129 OPS, 3 2B, 2 3B

Kendrys Morales – 8 games – 14-for-27, 1.737 OPS, 6 HR

Kurt Suzuki – 8 games – 10-for-28, .971 OPS, 1 HR, 3 2B

 

You can follow Nate Miller on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad or hear him Mondays hosting the Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Podcast along with Colby Conway.