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Virtually out of nowhere, Adrian Houser authored one of the most dominant performances of the 2021 campaign on Saturday evening, striking out seven batters in a complete-game three-hit shutout against the Cardinals at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The 28-year-old righty relentlessly pounded the strike zone, recording an elite 40 percent CSW (called strikes plus whiffs) and needing only 100 pitches (76 strikes) to go the distance, registering the Brewers 16th shutout of the season. It was his first career shutout. All three hits that he allowed were singles as Nolan Arenado tallied the first hit of the contest against him in the fifth inning, followed by a pair of base knocks by Tommy Edman in the seventh and ninth innings, respectively. Houser hasn’t missed a ton of bats, but he’s been solid from a run prevention standpoint, recording a pristine 3.41 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 93/53 K/BB ratio across 121 1/3 innings (24 appearances, 22 starts) this season. He’s an extremely intriguing streaming option for fantasy managers on Friday evening when he squares off against Cleveland in a road tilt.
Starting Pitchers with an EDGE
Jose Suarez vs. Rangers
9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
32% CSW, 13 swinging strikes
Two complete games in one night? You’re reading that correctly. Suarez spun an absolute gem on Saturday evening, allowing one run on five hits in a complete-game victory over the Rangers at Angel Stadium in Los Angeles. The 23-year-old southpaw induced 13 swinging strikes, recorded a career-high eight strikeouts and finished with a 32 percent CSW (called strikes plus whiffs). He threw a whopping 70 of 100 pitches for strikes, consistently pounding the strike zone with his four-seamer, changeup, and curveball in the longest outing of his career by a considerable margin. He’ll attempt to carry the momentum into a challenging road matchup against the Astros next weekend.
Hitters with an EDGE
2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR (39, 40), 5 RBI
Here’s an oversimplification: Perez has looked unstoppable at the plate in the second half. The 31-year-old backstop launched a pair of home runs on Saturday night, recording his sixth multi-homer effort of the season, and reaching the vaunted 40-homer plateau in the process. He’s recorded an extraterrestrial .280/.346/.637 triple-slash line with a major-league leading 19 home runs across 45 games since the Midsummer Classic.
Frank Schwindel vs. Pirates
3-for-5, R, HR (10), 2 RBI
Schwindel is on a heater. The late-blooming 29-year-old first baseman belted a solo shot off righty reliever Duane Underwood Jr. in the fifth inning on Saturday afternoon and also delivered a game-winning walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the Cubs past the Pirates. He’s compiled a sublime .357/.403/.678 triple-slash line with nine home runs across 31 games since the All-Star break. He’s gone deep an absurd six times over his last seven games.
Luis Robert vs. Royals
4-for-5, 3 R, HR (7), RBI
Robert put together one of his most impressive efforts on Saturday night, matching a career-high with four hits and also walloping a mammoth 452-foot solo homer off lefty Daniel Lynch in the opening frame. The 24-year-old outfielder is one of the most exciting young hitters in the game and has already gone deep six times in just 20 games since returning from the injured list last month.
Closing Time
Dietrich Enns vs. Twins
3.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (1st save)
Dylan Floro vs. Phillies
1.0, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (8th save)
Liam Hendriks vs. Royals
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (32nd save)
Mychal Givens vs. Tigers
1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (5th save)
Heath Hembree vs. Nationals
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (9th save)
Kyle Finnegan vs. Mets
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (7th save)
Diego Castillo vs. Diamondbacks
1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (16th save)
Carlos Estevez vs. Braves
1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (5th save)
EDGE Priority Pickup
Aaron Ashby, SP/RP, Brewers
Ashby recorded four strikeouts and allowed two runs on one hit and a walk over 4 1/3 innings on Friday night in a relief appearance against the Cardinals. The 23-year-old southpaw has excelled in shorter bursts out of the Brewers’ bullpen, posting a microscopic 2.08 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 17/3 K/BB ratio across 17 1/3 innings (five appearances, three starts) since returning from the minors in early August. Given his stellar fastball/slider combination and recent success at the major-league level, Ashby is worthy of a roster spot for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues.
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Sunday’s Matchup of the Day
Jon Lester (Cardinals) vs. Corbin Burnes (Brewers) – 2:10 PM ET
American League Quick Hits: Wander Franco (head) returned to the Rays’ starting lineup for Saturday’s game against the Twins … Starling Marte (head) was absent from the Athletics’ starting lineup on Saturday against the Blue Jays … Yordan Alvarez exited Saturday’s game against the Padres with a leg injury … Kyle Seager launched a pair of three-run homers in the Mariners’ win over the Diamondbacks … Randy Arozarena went 3-for-4 with a solo homer, powering the Rays to a blowout victory over the Twins … Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and four RBI in the Blue Jays’ win over the Athletics … Rafael Devers slugged a three-run homer in the Red Sox’ victory over Cleveland … Trey Mancini went 3-for-3 with a pair of walks, leading the Orioles to a narrow victory over the Yankees … Jorge Polanco went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the Twins’ lopsided defeat at the hands of the Rays … Joey Gallo hammered a game-tying two-run homer in the Yankees’ loss to the Orioles … Franmil Reyes blasted a game-tying two-run homer in Cleveland’s eventual loss to the Red Sox … Eric Haase swatted a three-run homer in the Tigers’ loss to the Reds … Mark Canha went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and four RBI in the Athletics’ loss to the Blue Jays … Kyle Tucker went 2-for-4 with a solo shot in the Astros’ loss to the Padres … Jose Berrios struck out seven batters and was charged with three runs over 6 2/3 innings in a win over the Athletics … Chris Archer yielded four runs over five innings in a win over the Twins … Marco Gonzales allowed five runs over five innings in a win over the Diamondbacks … Tanner Houck posted seven strikeouts across five scoreless innings in a no-decision against Cleveland … Eli Morgan posted seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Red Sox … Chris Ellis tossed five scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Yankees … Jordan Montgomery allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Orioles … Reynaldo Lopez surrendered three runs over four innings in a no-decision against the Royals … Framber Valdez allowed four runs over six innings in a loss to the Padres … Matthew Boyd coughed up five runs over four innings in a loss to the Reds … Kolby Allard was charged with four runs (three earned) over 5 2/3 innings in a loss to the Angels … Paul Blackburn allowed four runs over 3 2/3 innings in a loss to the Blue Jays … Daniel Lynch was torched for six runs over 2 2/3 innings in a loss to the White Sox … Andrew Albers was obliterated for nine runs over three innings in a loss to the Rays.
National League Quick Hits: Willy Adames exited Saturday’s win over the Cardinals with quad discomfort … Mets placed OF Brandon Nimmo on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain … JT Brubaker exited Saturday’s start against the Cubs with an apparent injury … Francisco Lindor blasted a go-ahead two-run homer to lead the Mets past the Nationals in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Nationals … Alcides Escobar and Lane Thomas homered to help the Nationals salvage a split with a narrow victory in the second game of the twin-billing … Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Wil Myers homered in the Padres’ blowout win over the Astros … Aristides Aquino slugged a three-run homer in the Reds’ win over the Tigers … Luis Urias went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a pair of RBI in the Brewers’ victory over the Cardinals … C.J. Cron and Charlie Blackmon went deep in the Rockies’ win over the Braves … Miguel Rojas notched three hits and Lewis Brinson smacked a two-run homer in the Marlins’ win over the Phillies … Ozzie Albies and Travis d’Arnaud left the yard in the Braves’ win over the Rockies … Trea Turner and Corey Seager smacked solo homers and Mookie Betts stole a pair of bases in the Dodgers’ win over the Giants … Yoshi Tsutsugo belted a solo homer in the Pirates’ loss to the Cubs … Buster Posey went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the Giants’ loss to the Dodgers … Julio Urias recorded eight strikeouts and allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings in a win over the Giants … Joe Musgrove yielded two runs over 5 1/3 innings in a win over the Astros … Tyler Mahle posted eight strikeouts, walked five batters and allowed four runs over five innings in a win over the Tigers … Josh Rogers gave up three runs over 5 2/3 innings in a win over the Mets … Ranger Suarez posted seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Marlins … Trevor Rogers allowed two runs over 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Phillies … German Marquez was charged with four runs (two earned) over five innings in a no-decision against the Braves … Kyle Hendricks was shelled for six runs over 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Pirates … Marcus Stroman allowed three runs over five innings in a no-decision against the Nationals … Ian Anderson surrendered four runs over three innings in a no-decision against the Rockies … Erick Fedde was lit up for seven runs (four earned) over three innings in a no-decision against the Mets … Humberto Castellanos was shelled for five runs over 3 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Mariners … Tylor Megill fanned eight batters and allowed four runs over six innings in a loss to the Nationals … Kwang-Hyun Kim surrendered four runs over 1 2/3 innings in a loss to the Brewers.