The Major League Baseball schedule is now into September as this is the last day of Week 21.  Before taking a look ahead at your fantasy baseball lineups for today we first need to look back at the top MLB news and headlines from Saturday’s slate of games. Highlights include a near no-hitter by Dylan Cease, a Mad Max injury scare, another Shohei Ohtani pitching gem and the Rays creeping closer with another win against the Yankees. Do not forget to check out our updated Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings before setting your lineups this week plus the latest MLB Injury Report, Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight Series, and players trending up and down in the Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch. Before we start our day let’s take a look back at the top performances from yesterday...

Nothing Comes Easy For The Mets

 

Mets right-hander, Max Scherzer, left his start early last night against the Nationals because he felt "fatigued" on his left side. Scherzer looked good on the mound, with a 96-mph fastball but he lasted just five innings and 67 pitches, departing with the score tied 1-1. Scherzer said afterward that it was a "precautionary move," given the left oblique strain that caused him to land on the injured list earlier this season.

Dylan Cease Loses No-Hit Bid

 

Dylan Cease came within one out of his first career no-hitter as the red hot White Sox slammed the Twins 13-0 last night. Luis Arraez, the AL batting leader with a .318 average, dropped a line-drive single into right-center, ending Cease’s bid for Chicago’s third no-hitter in as many years. Lucas Giolito tossed one against Pittsburgh in 2020, and Carlos Rodón did it against Cleveland on April 14, 2021.

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 400 Strikeouts

 

Shohei Ohtani reached 400 Major League strikeouts as the two-way phenom from Japan threw a season-high 111 pitches and allowed six hits, striking out five against one of the top offenses in baseball, the Houston Astros.  Displaying a new sinker, Ohtani was as dominant as ever and now has 403 career MLB strikeouts across parts of four Major League seasons.

Austin Riley Homers Again

 

The Braves Austin Riley homered for his fourth straight game, leading his team to a 2-1 win over the visiting Miami Marlins. Riley now has 35 home runs this season, two more than his previous career high of 33, which was set in 2021. His homer on Saturday was clocked at 112 mph, and it was his second four-game long-ball streak this season. The Braves are still two games behind the Mets in the AL East, but 9.5 games up as the top NL Wild card team.

Rays Creeping Even Closer

If I said this back in June or even mid-July you would call me crazy but suddenly the Rays are in a race with the Yankees for the AL East title. They beat the Bronx Bombers 9-0 yesterday which led to manager Aaron Boone commenting that this team should be “pissed off and embarrassed.” The loss was the Yankees' fifth in the last six games, part of a 15-25 record since the All-Star break. The Rays have cut the division lead down to just five games, putting even more pressure on New York during this three-game series.

Bobby Witt Jr. Joins 20-20 Club

 

Royals rookie Bobby Witt Jr. put himself in rare company with a third-inning home run last night in Detroit. The young phenom became just the fifth player in franchise history with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season, and just the second rookie along with Carlos Beltrán. It’s been a fabulous first year as Witt Jr. is slashing .248/.288/.444 with a .732 OPS with his name in the AL Rookie of the Year race.

Hunter Brown To Make First Start On Monday

 

Hunter Brown, the No. 71 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, has nothing left to prove at Triple-A, where he dominated Pacific Coast League hitters all season and will now take his stuff to the show. He is scheduled to make his big-league debut as a starter for Monday’s series opener against the Rangers at Minute Maid Park. Brown had a 2.55 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and 134 strikeouts in 106 innings in 23 games (14 starts) for Sugar Land. In preparation for his role with Houston, Brown was brought into last Sunday’s game in relief in the middle of an inning for the Space Cowboys. He came out firing at 99+ MPH and threw 3.1 hitless innings.

Triston Casas Called Up 

According to MLB Trade Rumors Red Sox first base prospect Triston Casas will be called up today. In Triple-A this year, he’s hit .273/.382/.481 for a wRC+ of 127 and is currently ranked as the No. 28 prospect in the league by Baseball America. Red Sox fans have been calling for this move for quite a while, not just because of the strong showing of Casas, but also the struggles of Bobby Dalbec, who after hitting 25 home runs last year and slashing .240/.298/.494 for a wRC+ of 107, he’s slumped this year to a showing of .211/.282/.363.

 

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