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With his two main competitors struggling in each of their respective outings, Jacob deGrom entered his start on Sunday in Boston looking to distance himself in the Cy Young race along with defeating former college opponent, Chris Sale . deGrom allowed three runs in the third inning then settled in to record his 27th consecutive start giving up three runs or fewer. He also extended his quality start streak to 22 straight tying Bob Gibson and Chris Carpenter for the regular season record.
In the end, deGrom finished with a no-decision pitching seven innings allowing five hits, three earned runs and walking one with 12 strikeouts. deGrom remains 8-9 on the season with an ERA of 1.78, WHIP below one and becoming only the third pitcher in Mets history to reach 250 strikeouts in a season. Tom Seaver accomplished this feat three times, Dwight Gooden twice. Metrics and overall performance agree deGrom should win the award for being the best pitcher in the National League, it would be validation for a pitcher trying to win each time he takes the mound.
Injury Updates and Roster Moves
Within this same game, Mookie Betts left early with pain in his side. He tried to play through an oblique injury earlier this season and vowed to be ready on Tuesday when the Red Sox look to clinch the division in Yankee Stadium. Here’s the latest update from Twitter:
Mookie Betts on when he first felt left side bother him: "Couple days. Was able to get some stretching, get some work in. Kind of flared back up on the second throw. Like I said, it’ll be fine, and be ready to play Tuesday"
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) September 16, 2018
Shohei Ohtani tweaked his left ankle sliding on Sunday and should be available to play when the Angels meet Oakland on Tuesday.
The Yankees promoted both Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams to bolster its bullpen depth while they hope Aroldis Chapman will also return this week. Houston recalled outfielders Kyle Tucker and Myles Straw. Straw stole 70 bases across two levels of the minors this year and could be used like Terrance Gore of the Cubs.
That Just Happened
A smash and dash for Adam Jones . Jones hit his 15th home run, scored two runs, drove in two and walked along with stealing his seventh base of the year. Jonathan Villar hit his 14th home run, and second on Eutaw Street, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI. In 41 games with the Orioles, Villar’s scored 24 runs with eight home runs, 23 RBI and 12 stolen bases.
Amed Rosario tallied two hits with a run, double and an RBI in the Mets loss. Over his last 33 games, Rosario’s hitting .335 with 27 runs, eight doubles, fie home runs and 20 RBI plus stolen 12 bases in the second half.
Speaking of steals, Jackie Bradley Jr. stole his 16th base on Sunday and been productive over his last 30 games with 18 runs, 10 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 23 RBI and a .317 average. Providing Craig Kimbrel a much deserved day off, Steven Wright recorded his first save walking one and striking out one as he emerges as a potential high leverage arm for the playoffs. Wright’s been scoreless in six games off of the disabled list.
As Ken Giles tries to finish strong, he remains entrenched as the Blue Jays closer. Giles locked down his second save in as many days in New York giving up a hit and striking out two. He remains perfect in save save chances converting all 22 this year but needs a strong finish to cement his status as a top-15 closer for 2019.
Andrew McCutchen hit his 19th home run of the season, has a modest three game hit streak during which he’s homered twice.
Another smash and dash on Sunday belonged to Mikie Mahtook . He’s losing playing time during the Tigers youth movement, but hit his eighth home run and stole his fourth base in his first start in four games.
After sparse usage prior to this weekend, Sergio Romo appeared for the third straight game and held on for his 21st save in two-thirds of an inning. However, Romo did allow a home run for the second straight outing. Do not drop Jose Alvarado just yet. Willy Adames hit his first home run of September and ninth of the season. Adames has been hot with a .350 average this month and could remain so with a visit to Texas looming.
Khris Davis hit his major league leading 43rd home run, a grand slam off of Sergio Romo . He plated all four runs for Oakland on Sunday and has hit 22 home runs with 51 RBI in 53 games since the All-Star break.
Following a strong start to the season, Sean Newcomb has faded down the stretch. Here’s a tweet from team beat writer Mark Bowman encapsulating it:
Newcomb's first three starts after the All-Star break: 20.2 IP, 3 ER (1.31 ERA), 10 H (.145 BAA), 19 K, 7 BB, 2 HR
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 16, 2018
The 7 starts that have followed: 32.2 IP, 27 ER (7.21 ERA), 44 H (.317 BAA), 35 K, 17 BB, 5 HR
Justin Veralander won his 16th game in seven strong innings giving up three hits, one earned run and a walk with 11 strikeouts. He reached 200 innings for the 11th time of his career. Verlander lowered his ERA to 2.67 on the year and generated 24 swinging strikes with 15 called of his 101 pitches against the Diamondbacks.
Each home run David Peralta hits adds to his career best, and on Sunday, he launched his 28th. He’s hit safely in eight of his last 10 with seven runs and eight RBI.
Ignoring what Trevor Williams has accomplished in the second half will be difficult. He lowered his ERA to 1.19 since the break with six more shutout innings yielding only two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Williams owns the lowest second half ERA in Pirates history as the season winds down and he won his 13th game after this outing.
It’s been a strange season for Jorge Polanco but he seems to be regaining last year’s form. Polanco racked up four hits and hit his fifth home run on Sunday. He’s hit safely in 11 of the last 13 games and slashing .339/.351/.482 over his last 32 contests.
No player may be gaining more future draft hype for next year than Adalberto Mondesí . He hit his ninth home run and stole his 25th base on Sunday. He’s homered five times over the last 16 games, stolen 20 bases in only 41 games in the second half and 25 in 62 overall. He’s also slashing .386/.427/.671 the last 17 games with 15 runs, nine extra-base hits and 14 RBI. Ryan O’Hearn went 3-for-5 with two runs, two doubles and an RBI. He’s hitting .324/.442/.690 the last 21 games.
Luis Castillo continues to lure in owners with his upside. He won his 10th start on Sunday giving up four hits, an earned run and four walks with two strikeouts. The walk to strikeout ratio in this outing does not do justice to his second half 2.79 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 58 innings or his 1.46 ERA in four starts in September.
Wade Davis notched his 40th save in a clean ninth with two strikeouts. He’s converted nine straight saves and only allowed one run over his last 13 appearances on five hits with 19 strikeouts in them.
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Justin Upton launched his 30th home run and moved his hit streak to five games. Upton’s a streaky hitter, so the four home runs in this streak could mean a strong finish to the season. Ty Buttrey recorded his third save by striking out the side on Sunday. He’s only allowed one earned run in 13.2 innings since his promotion and been scoreless his last seven straight outings.
A walkoff grand slam for Francisco Mejia on Sunday. He’s hit safely in all six of his starts this year and homered three times in them. Hunter Renfroe added his 23rd home run and has hit nine home runs his last 21 games.
Moving the Cardinals back into a tie with the Dodgers for the second Wild Card, Adam Wainwright fired six shutout innings giving up only two hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in only his sixth start this year. Marcell Ozuna hit his 22nd home run and sixth this month. Over his last 30 games, Ozuna’s scored 21 runs with nine home runs, 24 RBI and a .336/.364/.607 slash line.
What To Watch For
Runs on Monday night. Toronto heads to Baltimore, who lost two pitchers from its rotation, in what could be a slugfest. Tampa Bay will fly into Texas and face another team with its staff in flux.
In other seasons, Miles Mikolas versus Mike Foltynewicz would be a potential Cy Young Award worthy match-up, this year, it’s a potential playoff preview.
Chicago heads West and will place Kyle Hendricks on the mound opposing Patrick Corbin as the Diamondbacks try to stay in the playoff chase but have fallen back by four games in the Wild Card.
Be sure to check back on Tuesday for the latest fantasy updates to stay ahead of the competition here on Fantasy Alarm with only two weeks left. Update those lineups.