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As expected. Posada finished the season with a disappointing .235/.315/.398 batting line, but he had 14 homers and an .814 OPS against right-handed pitching. There’s little doubt that he can still be a weapon. The Tigers don’t have any left-handed starters, so we will likely only see Jesus Montero late in games.

As he’s done all season, Suarez worked an easy inning to earn his league-best 20th save of the season. He was the last among a parade of relievers that included Wandy Peralta, Jeremiah Estrada, and Adrian Morejon that shut the Brewers out over 4 1/3 innings after starter Randy Vásquez was chased from this game in the fifth inning. Suarez has arguably been the most dominant relief pitcher in baseball to this point.

Machado’s eighth inning blast let the Padres breathe after clinging to a measly 1-0 lead since the third inning. While this home run was Machado’s ninth on the season, he’s excelled in other areas of his game with a .316 batting average and eight stolen bases already.

The Brewers decided they weren’t going to play Vásquez’s game here. As usual, he tried to dance around the edges with his cutter, sinker, and curveball, but Milwaukee refused to swing at any of them. They chased just 17% of Vásquez’s pitches outside the strike zone and that turned into many free passes and long innings. Yet, he was able to tightrope his way out of damage each time. He’ll have a stiffer test next time out against the Dodgers.

The Brewers put up a lackluster offensive performance here totaling just three hits on their way to being shut out. However, Chourio managed four hard-hit balls, all of which were hit in the air. He’s beginning to pull himself out of his early season malaise with a .901 OPS over his last 15 games while making better swing decisions and hitting the ball harder, just like he did in this game.

Patrick’s fantastic season continued with another great start. While he worked around some walks and a handful of dinky singles, the Padres simply could not square him up. They had just one hard-hit ball against Patrick and of all people, it was a line drive out from Martín Maldonado. Nevertheless, Patrick forced a handful of pop-ups with his cutter up in the zone and dotted a few beautiful ones both on the outer edge and fading away. He’s incredibly crafty and will continue to succeed as long as his command stays sharp. His next start is scheduled to come against the Braves.

Clarke covered an unbelievable amount of ground and smashed into the wall at an all-out sprint, yet somehow managed to hang onto the baseball for the third out of the fourth inning. He remained in the game for another inning but was replaced defensively when the Athletics took the field in the sixth. It’s likely that he’ll undergo further evaluation and may need to pass through the concussion protocol before he’s cleared to return to action. Expect the A’s to have an update on his status after the game.

The game-ending sac fly to left with the bases loaded in the ninth wasn’t especially close to being a walkoff grand slam in PNC Park, but it would have been a homer in 12 stadiums, according to Statcast. Gonzales has hit sixth, fourth and now second in three games since coming off the injured list. It’s quite a show of faith for a guy with a career .687 OPS who just hit .194/.211/.250 during a nine-game rehab assignment, but it’s not like he’s displacing Willie Stargell.

Falter had a brilliant May, posting a 0.76 ERA in 35 2/3 innings, but June failed to start on a similar note. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out two in the 65-pitch outing. The Pirates offense picked him up, so he’s still without a loss since April. The club is now 7-6 in Falter’s outings, compared to 5-8 when Paul Skenes pitches. Falter will face the Marlins next time out.

Bednar fanned JT Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott in a 4-4 game before the Pirates walked it off. Incredibly enough, it’s the first time since May 7, 2022 that Bednar has struck out all three batters he’s faced. He’s now turned in six straight scoreless outings.

Not much to be done about this. Romano gave up 68- and 75-mph singles before Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was just looking to sacrifice, dropped down one of the greatest bunts you’ll ever see; it simply hugged the third-bast line before dying inches away from foul territory. Romano was able to strike out Oneil Cruz afterwards, but Nick Gonzales ended the game with a sac fly. Romano also took a loss on Wednesday, but we can’t see this hurting his standing in the Philadelphia pen.