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Yates was pitching with a lead for the first time in five appearances since coming off the IL, though that had less to do with his status than the fact that the Angels have done little but trail lately. Up 5-3, they went to Ryan Zerferjahn in the seventh tonight, only to watch him hit back-to-back batters with one out. Sam Bachman came in and, after allowing one inherited runner to score, kept the A’s scoreless through the eighth. That led to Yates taking over in a one-run game, but McNeil sent a ball 364 feet down the right-field line to even things up. The Angels ended up losing in 10. Yates has allowed three runs in five innings since coming off the IL, and his velocity is down a bit more than two mph from last year. He’s probably not going to run away with the closer’s role in Anaheim.

Another young starting pitcher is continuing a dominant start to the 2026 season. Yesavage was slowed by a right shoulder impingement in spring training and didn’t make his season debut until April 28. Wednesday was his best start to date, and it marked the second consecutive outing in which he completed six frames. He’ll carry a 1.07 ERA into a juicy home matchup versus the Marlins next time out.

It’s his shortest start of the year, as he completed six innings each of his first seven times out. Tonight, though, he needed 88 pitches to get his 15 outs. It’s the fourth time this season that he’s gone without allowing a run, and his ERA now stands at 0.73 in 49 innings. Ohtani also had a nice night offensively while both pitching and DHing for the first time since Apr. 22. Along with the leadoff homer in the first, he walked and scored a second run. He’s 13-for-27 with two homers, four doubles, 10 RBI and seven walks in his last seven games. Ohtani’s next mound outing will probably come next Wednesday against the Rockies.

It’s happening for Griffin. He ignited rallies in the fourth, sixth, and eighth innings by starting each with a single and scored a run in all three. Plus that, he had the hardest hit ball in this game at 111.2 mph on his second inning single. Again, it feels like it’s all coming together for the 20-year-old Griffin. He now has a hit in 18 of his last 20 games and raised his .213 batting average and .573 at the start of this stretch to a .278 BA and .738 OPS after this game. We’re still waiting on the power with just three home runs through 43 games played, but he looks like the budding star we expected to see.

Grisham will undergo imaging on Thursday to determine the severity of the issue. The 29-year-old outfielder doubled in his lone at-bat of the contest before being replaced by rookie Spencer Jones. There should be an update on his status leading into Thursday’s series finale.

Harrison’s magical season continued with possibly his best start to date. It was one strikeout off his season-high from last month, but was the first time he completed seven innings. He simply blitzed the Cubs with high fastball after high fastballs. That pitch forced 13 of his 19 total swings-and-misses, routinely sat around around 96 mph, and peaked at 98 mph. That is a slight velocity jump compared to his season averages and it beautifully set up his slurve. Funny enough, he only threw two total changeups, a pitch he’d used 17% of the time against right-handed batters heading into this start. It didn’t matter though as again, that fastball and slurve were more than enough. To this point in the season, his 1.77 ERA is the lowest in the National League and he has a 59:14 strikeout to walk ratio across 45 2/3 innings. We could have a league-winner on our hands, folks. Harrison is scheduled to face the Cardinals next time out.

Merrill was replaced in center field in the fourth inning after striking out in his lone at-bat of the game. He appeared to be in some discomfort after attempting to rob Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff home run earlier in the contest. There should be an update on his status shortly.

Sale is on another level right now. The Marlins squeaked out a run via a sac fly in the first inning and from that point forward he faced just two batters over the minimum. His slider was especially lethal, forcing 14 of his 18 swings-and-misses as the Marlins helplessly flailed at it low and below the zone. Apart from an odd blow-up against the Angels in early April, Sale has allowed two or fewer runs and completed at least six innings in every start this year. In total, he has a 1.89 ERA plus 72 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 62 innings this season. He’s still firmly one of the best few pitchers in the game and is scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Red Sox and Reds with both starts coming on the road.

Smith coughed up a leadoff single to Zach McKinstry that brought the Manfred Man home from second base to open the frame. He settled in afterwards, striking out Hao-Yu Lee and getting pinch-hitter Spencer Torkelson to pop out in foul territory before getting Colt Keith to pop up to end it. The 27-year-old elite fantasy stopper has converted 16 of 18 save opportunities this season and has now pulled ahead of Padres stopper Mason Miller for the big-league lead this season.

Anderson went exactly two times through Cleveland’s lineup, throwing 38 of 63 pitches for strikes, and allowing just four baserunners. He generated an impressive 10 swinging strikes and finished with a strong 33 percent CSW. He consistently challenged the Guardians with high fastballs in two-strike counts, resulting in five of his seven punchouts. Not bad for a journeyman pitcher making his first start in the big leagues since August 7, 2021. It seems highly unlikely he’ll get another turn in Detroit’s rotation, especially with Troy Melton (elbow) seemingly ready to return from the injured list, but he took advantage of his opportunity in this one.