San Diego beat Washington by a score of 24-8 on Friday. And no, that isn’t an old football score. The Padres set a team record for runs in a game that had it all, from stealing home, multi-homer outings, and the franchise’s third cycle. The Padres scored in every inning except the seventh. After a walk and three base hits brought two runs across home plate in the first inning, Tommy Pham stole home in a double-steal to make it 3-0.
Juan Soto made things interesting with a three-run homer before San Diego pulled away with seven more runs in the second frame. Jake Cronenworth doubled in two runs, and Eric Hosmer plated one more on a base hit before Wil Myers cleared the bases with a grand slam. Cronenworth added an RBI triple in the third and a solo home run in the fifth. Tommy Pham and Wil Myers continued the onslaught with solo homers in the sixth. Cronenworth needed just a single to complete the cycle. He did just that with an infield base hit, making him the third Padre to ever accomplish the feat — Wil Myers and Matt Kemp were the other two.
Juan Soto launched his second homer in the sixth inning, but his two-homer game would not be enough on a night where the Padres played their best game of the season. Five consecutive singles in the eighth drove in four more runs before Jorge Mateo plated the 24th with a solo homer in the ninth.
The Nationals will hope for better results while the Padres look to keep the momentum. Patrick Corbin (6-7, 5.40) and Blake Snell (3-3, 4.99) will take the mound for game two of the three-game series.
The Blue Jays are going home
The Blue Jays received excellent news on Friday, getting the official clearance by the Canadian government to return home to Toronto beginning July 30. With an upcoming seven-game road trip, Wednesday, July 21, will be the final game in Buffalo for the Blue Jays. The team has not played a game in the Rogers Centre since September 29, 2019, almost two years ago, after COVID-19 kept the team from traveling across the border. Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, will also be returning home after playing in Trenton, New Jersey.
Starting Pitchers with an EDGE
Lance McCullers — 7 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 10 K vs White Sox
McCullers had his best start of the season, holding the White Sox to one run over seven innings with a season-high ten strikeouts. The only run against him came in the first inning. Tim Anderson tripled to lead off the game before Yoan Moncada drove him in with a double. It would be the only two hits allowed by McCullers as he settled in for six more scoreless frames, throwing 59-of-94 pitches for strikes and generating 11 whiffs. The 27-year-old right-hander has an excellent 2.80 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 99 strikeouts over 86 2/3 innings. He’ll take on Cleveland at home next week.
Robbie Ray — 6 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 R, 2 BB, 8 K vs Rangers
Before the All-Star break, Ray had his best outing of the season, striking out 11 batters over seven scoreless innings against the Rays. He continued that scoreless streak on Friday with another stellar start against the Rangers. Ray generated 17 whiffs — including ten on the fastball — to finish with a 36 percent CSW rate (called strikes plus whiffs) and eight strikeouts. The 29-year-old left-hander has broken out to a 2.93 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 138 strikeouts over 107 1/3 innings. Ray is in line for a start against the Red Sox his next time out.
Hitters with an EDGE
Juan Soto — 4-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI vs Padres
Soto had hit two homers in the week leading up to the All-Star break. After participating in the Home Run Derby, he continued the power binge with two more home runs on Friday against the Padres. The 22-year-old phenom is up to 13 homers with a .292/.412/.473 triple-slash over 337 plate appearances. Soto has walked (17.2 percent) more than he’s struck out (15.4 percent) and posted some stellar quality of contact metrics that include a .315 expected batting average and a .543 expected slugging percentage to this point. A huge second half of the season could be coming for Soto.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — 2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB vs Rangers
Guerrero Jr. declined to participate in the Home Run Derby, opting to rest up for the second half of the season. He looked well-rested on Friday, crushing two home runs to make him the second player to reach 30 home runs — Shohei Ohtani being the other. The 22-year-old star first baseman has broken out to an incredible .335/.434/.677 slash line with the 30 homers and MLB-leading 77 RBI over 378 plate appearances.
Priority Pickup
Alex Kirilloff, OF – Minnesota Twins (Available in 67 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Kirilloff went 5-for-30 (.167) with two home runs over his first 30 major league at-bats in April. Since the start of May, he’s slashed .282/.335/.459 with six homers, ten doubles, and a stolen base over 185 plate appearances. The 23-year-old has not looked overmatched, with a 22.2 percent strikeout rate. The quality of contact he has made has been incredible for a young player. Kirilloff has posted a 13.3 percent barrel rate, 43.1 percent hard-hit rate, and 22.9 percent line-drive rate, giving him a .300 expected batting average and .565 expected slugging percentage. The widely available 1B/OF could be in for a big second half of the season and should be added in all formats.
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Closing Time
Ranger Suarez recorded his third save of the season on Friday in game one of a doubleheader against the Marlins. Suarez worked around one hit, striking out the side to secure the victory. The 25-year-old left-hander has been fantastic this season with a 0.75 ERA. He appears to be the new full-time closer in Philadelphia.
Pete Fairbanks tossed a perfect tenth inning against the Braves to earn his fourth save of the season after the Rays took the lead at the top of the frame. Matt Wisler had pitched the ninth inning with the game tied. Fairbanks has a 3.29 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts over 27 1/3 innings.
Tanner Houck struck out three batters with one hit and one walk allowed over three innings to earn the save against the Yankees on Friday. Houck was recalled by Boston and got some work in, tossing the final three innings to record his first save.
Richard Rodriguez walked one batter and struck out another in a scoreless ninth inning against the Mets to lock down his 13th save of the season. The 31-year-old right-hander has been fantastic with a 2.29 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts over 35 1/3 innings. Contenders are sure to come calling for his services by the trade deadline.
Paul Sewald entered the ninth inning with a runner on and two outs after the Angels scored three runs to pull within one. Sewald allowed a base hit to Jared Walsh before getting Phil Gosselin to line out to right field. It was the third save of the season for Sewald, who has posted a strong 1.38 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 44 strikeouts over 26 innings. It would not come as a surprise to see Sewald split save chances with Kendall Graveman down the stretch.
Matchup of the Day
Brandon Woodruff (7-4, 2.06) vs. Luis Castillo (3-10, 4.65)
We go to Cincinnati for the best pitching matchup of the day. Brandon Woodruff will take the mound for the Brewers. Woodruff has developed into an ace this season, posting a 2.06 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and 129 strikeouts over 113 1/3 innings. On the other side, Luis Castillo will go for the Reds. Castillo got off to a disappointing start to the season. Through his first 11 starts, he had a 7.22 ERA over 52 1/3 innings. Castillo found his groove in June, posting a 1.97 ERA over 50 1/3 innings across his last eight starts.
American League Quick Hits: Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela, and Kyle Higashioka were placed on the COVID-19 injured list… Anthony Rendon won’t return from the injured list until the end of July or early August… Carlos Correa was activated from the injured list… Adalberto Mondesi has begun a swing progression… Luke Voit was placed on the 10-day injured list with a bone bruise in his left knee… Jarred Kelenic was officially recalled from Triple-A Tacoma… The Red Sox purchased the contract of Jarren Duran from Triple-A Worcester… Nick Anderson threw a successful live batting practice session on Friday… The Tigers designated Nomar Mazara for assignment… Willie Castro was optioned to Triple-A… Isaac Paredes was recalled… The White sox optioned Jace Fry and Matt Foster to Triple-A Charlotte and activated Aaron Bummer from the 10-day injured list… Reynaldo Lopez was recalled from Triple-A… Jake Lamb was sent to Triple-A Charlotte to begin a rehab assignment… The Yankees recalled Chris Gittens… The Athletics activated Mitch Moreland from the injured list… Frank Schwindel was designated for assignment… Evan White will undergo season-ending labrum surgery…
National League Quick Hits: Aaron Nola is set to rejoin the Phillies’ rotation on Tuesday versus the Yankees… Kevin Gausman was placed on the family medical emergency leave list… Yu Darvish should return from the injured list on Monday… Jack Flaherty threw a successful bullpen session on Friday… Freddy Peralta won’t make his next start until next weekend against the White Sox… The Braves placed Ian Anderson on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation… Ryan Weathers was placed on the 10-day injured list and could be back before the end of July… J.D. Davis was activated from the 60-day injured list… The Brewers activated Kolten Wong from the 10-day injured list… The Phillies activated Bailey Falter from the COVID-19 injured list… Lorenzo Cain will continue his rehab assignment through the weekend and could be activated on Tuesday… Lucas Sims is not expected back for the Reds until August… Jeff Hoffman could get a start against the Mets next week… Victor Gonzalez began a rehab assignment with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday… The Reds activated Michael Lorenzen from the 60-day injured list… The Marlins recalled Jordan Holloway from Triple-A Jacksonville… Miles Mikolas threw a live batting practice session on Friday… Mike Tauchman was activated from the 10-day injured list… Evan Longoria was transferred to the 60-day injured list… Antonio Senzatela, Jhoulys Chacin, Yency Almonte, and Yonathan Daza were placed on the COVID-19 injured list… Sam Hilliard, Antonio Santos, Zac Rosscup, and Ben Bowden were recalled by the Rockies… Josiah Gray is an option to start in place of Clayton Kershaw against the Giants next week…