Betting

Assad struggled on Sunday and didn’t record a single strikeout. Now we might know why. The Cubs haven’t issued a timeline for Assad’s injury, but forearm strains can often be a precursor to bigger injuries, so the team is liable to be careful with the right-hander. We should find out in the coming days just how long Assad will be out and who the Cubs will call up to replace him in the rotation.

The move was announced on Wednesday but is now official. Festa is the Twins’ top pitching prospect and has looked the part, striking out 87 batters in 59 2/3 innings with a 3.77 ERA in Triple-A this year. He has some control issues, but he has a deep array of pitches including a slider with the second-highest whiff rate total for a slider at Triple-A with whiffs on 44.8% of swings and a CSW of 39.2%. He also boasts a changeup that had a 41.2% whiff rate and 31.4% CSW. Ronny Henriquez was optioned in a corresponding move.

Kirby didn’t like how his curveball was performing against right-handed batters this season, so he decided to try a new grip before Tuesday’s start in order to “find something that has a little more depth and [he] can stay on the plate with it.” It seemed to work on Tuesday as Kirby threw just six curveballs but got five swings and two whiffs. The other swings resulted in foul balls and one groundout. Kirby mentioned that it’s a grip he’s used in the past and one he knows Zac Gallen uses. “I throw it a little bit harder, but it just kind of eliminates the horizontal movement, which, especially to righties, I kind of had a hard time with.” After a successful first attempt at the new grip, the modification may stay around, giving Kirby a little more fantasy upside in what is already a good season.

With the bases loaded in the second inning, Miranda put the Twins on top with a bases-clearing double off of Ryne Nelson to bring in three runs. He knocked a base hit in the third, then doubled once again in the fifth before scoring on a home run by Willi Castro. Miranda walked in the ninth to reach for the fourth time. The 25-year-old third baseman is slashing .293/.339/.495 with eight homers and 33 RBI across 224 plate appearances.

Matos was recalled after Mike Yastrzemski hit the injured list last week. He’s collected at least one hit in all four starts, including a solo homer in the fifth inning off of Drew Smyly on Wednesday. The 22-year-old outfielder is slashing .253/.272/.374 with three homers and 21 RBI across 103 plate appearances. Given his bat-to-ball skills and improved hard-hit rate, he should get a chance to continue improving on his .253 BABIP and could be relevant in five-outfielder leagues.

It’s very easy to forget that Álvarez is only 22-years-old. It’s even easier to forget he just missed nearly two months with a torn ligament in his left thumb. Since returning, he’s slashing .414/.500/.732 with 3 homers, 11 RBI, seven walks, and eight strikeouts in 14 games. His offensive ceiling is absurd.

Judge’s league-leading 30th long ball was the extent of the Yankees’ offense in this one. While the team is scuffling, Judge certainly hasn’t with nine home runs and 22 RBI in his last 15 games. Silly numbers from the most productive player in baseball.

There’s been a hard shift in Gil’s season over the past week. He gave up 18 ER in his first 80 innings and 12 ER in his last 5 2/3 frames. He looked uncomfortable and weirdly enough, these last two starts he threw his lowest percentage of fastballs and two of his three highest percentages of changeups in any start this season. It’s important to note that he threw only 136 2/3 innings between 2021 and 2023, so the 85 2/3 he’s already thrown this season are already substantial given his lengthy injury history.

This was almost the night Manaea would finally complete six innings for the first time since May 13th. Almost, that is, until a massive thunderstorm held this game up for almost two hours when he had thrown 77 pitches through five innings. Otherwise, Manaea was his usual self: missing some bats, avoiding hard contact, and dishing out plenty of walks.

Stone made perhaps his best start of his career Wednesday against the White Sox, going a career-high nine scoreless innings for his first complete-game shutout. He scattered four hits and did not walk a batter, tossing 73-of-103 pitches for strikes with seven strikeouts. The 25-year-old right-hander has been outstanding on the season, posting a 2.73 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a 70/25 K/BB ratio across 89 innings. He’ll search for his 10th win when he takes on the Diamondbacks in Los Angeles next Wednesday.