The White Bear Growls

 Evan Gattis is commonly known about the Astro's dugout as the White Bear

To say that Evan Gattis got off to a slow start this season, would be a massive understatement. Through his first 32 games,Gattis was hitting a paltry .196/.264/.278 with just one home run, eight RBI and a 31/8 K/BB ratio across 106 plate appearances.

He was losing at-bats as the team’s designated hitter, and you have to wonder if internally the Astros may have even considered moving on from the 31-year-old as their primary DH, seeing as how Gattis is in the final season of his contract.

At that point, through 40 team games, the Astros were 24-16.

As the White Bear goes, so go the Astros. In his last 28 games, Gattis is hitting .303 (30-for-99) with 13 homers and 38 RBI. During that stretch, the Astros are 22-9 and have improved to 46-25 on the season.

On Friday night, the Astros won their ninth consecutive game, the eighth of which has been on part of their season-long 10-game road trip. Who was it that just so happened to lead the way to victory on Friday? You guessed it: El Oso Blanco.

Gattis strolled to the dish against Jake Junis in the sixth inning with the Astros trailing 3-2 and the bases full. He then demolished a 2-2 offering over the wall in center field, turning a one-run deficit into a three-run advantage.

Astros’ third baseman Alex Bregman, who homered off of Junis in the fourth inning, admitted after the game that the club knew Gattis would come through in that spot. "Honestly, we all were expecting him to do damage," Bregman told reporters, "I think everybody in the dugout, there was a little bit of a buzz, saying, 'All right, Gatty might hit a grand slam and keep those big RBI games up.' He's killing it."

It was the second grand slam of Gattis’ career, and his first as a member of the Astros. HIs other came during his rookie 2013 season with the Braves.

With his four RBI on Friday, Gattis has now driven in 14 runs over his last four games, and that includes a zero RBI day in Thursday’s victory over the Athletics. He has also belted five home runs over his last eight games on this road trip.

Gattis now leads the Astros with 46 RBI on the season and is tied with George Springer for the team lead with 14 home runs. He’s also the top rated catcher in most fantasy baseball leagues, which is astonishing considering how poorly he performed for the first month and a half of the season.

Dazzling Debut

If Jonathan Loaisiga was nervous for his big league debut on Friday, you wouldn’t have known it from his poise and demeanor on the mound at Yankee Stadium.

The 23-year-old right-hander was called up from Double-A Trenton to make a spot start for the Yankees against the Rays on Friday and he didn’t disappoint. Loaisiga scattered three hits and four walks, striking out six over five scoreless innings of work.

Loaisiga sounded incredibly grateful for the opportunity after the game, telling reporters through an interpreter, "It has definitely been a tough road to get here, I felt super excited. Getting to your goal, achieving your goal; it's a dream to pitch in the big leagues. Having the opportunity to do that and finally pitch in the big leagues is a dream come true."

Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the club’s 12th best prospect, Loaisiga started to make a name for himself as a command artist in the minor leagues this year, posting a 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 58/4 K/BB ratio over 45 innings between High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton.

Yankees’ shortstop Didi Gregorius certainly seemed impressed, explaining "He attacked the zone, kept the hitters off balance, and nothing has changed for him… that shows you that he has a plan how to attack guys already. It shows you he has a really big heart and loves the game. He pitched like he was already here."

Given the fact that Loaisiga was filling in for the injured Masahiro Tanaka, and Tanaka is expected to miss around a month’s worth of action, it seems to reason that Loasiga will stick with the club and get another opportunity to stake his claim to a spot in the Yankee’s rotation. He’ll do so on Wednesday at home against the Mariners.

He could be worth a look as a streaming option in deeper mixed leagues, just keep in mind that he’ll (likely) be heading right back to the minors once Masahiro Tanaka (hamstrings) is ready to return.

Soler Sidelined

The Royals will be without one of the big bats in the middle of their lineup for awhile after Jorge Soler was diagnosed with a fracture of the first metatarsal bone in his left foot.

The hard-hitting outfielder sustained the injury while running to first base during Friday’s loss to the Astros. The Royals don’t believe that it’s related to the toe injury that he sustained when fouling a ball off of his foot last week.

He’s scheduled to undergo a CT scan on Saturday, but manager Ned Yost indicated that he would be out for a while.  Yost was at least somewhat optimistic though, saying that they didn’t believe it was an injury that would require surgery.

American League Quick Hits: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Orioles have interviewed former Dodgers’ general manager Ned Colletti for an executive position… Trevor Cahill is currently in a walking boot and remains unsure on how long the recovery will take… Matt Bush landed on the 10-day disabled list with a right elbow strain… Yonder Alonso was placed on the family medical emergency list and is expected to miss the weekend series against the Twins… Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter indicated that Chris Davis’ return to the starting lineup is not imminent. It shouldn’t be, the dude is hitting a vomit-inducing .150/.227/.227 with four homers, 15 RBI and a 86/19 K/BB ratio across 229 plate appearances… Nomar Mazara was scratched from the Rangers’ lineup on Friday due to a sore left wrist. He’s considered day-to-day… Robinson Chirinos earned a one-game suspension for his altercation with Matt Kemp on Wednesday… Marcus Stroman (shoulder) will make another rehab start with Double- A New Hampshire on Monday and if all goes well could be cleared to return to the Jays’ rotation next weekend… A’s manager Bob Melvin admitted that the disabled list is still a possibility for Matt Chapman (hand)… Orioles' left-hander Richard Bleier is expected to require surgery on his lat injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2018 season…John Lamb will start for the Angels on Saturday in place of the injured Nick Tropeano… The Red Sox returned Eric Filia to the Mariners after he failed his physical, and will instead take cash considerations in return for Roenis Elias…  Yangervis Solarte homered twice and drove in three runs, powering the Blue Jays past the Nationals… Mike Trout went 3-for-3 and scored a pair of runs in a win over the Athletics… Edwin Diaz secured his league-leading 26th save in a come-from-behind victory over the Red Sox… Joey Gallo slugged his 18th homer in a loss to the Rockies...


National League Quick Hits: Wil Myers (oblique) went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in his first minor league rehab game at Triple-A El Paso. Barring any setbacks, he could be ready to rejoin the Padres by next weekend… Freddy Peralta is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs to start for the Brewers against the Pirates… Jose Martinez will miss the Cardinals’ weekend series against the Cubs while away in Venezuela on paternity leave… Homer Bailey was pulled back from his minor league rehab assignment due to renewed discomfort in his right knee...Jonathan Villar was held out of the Brewers’ lineup on Friday due to a left calf injury… Matt Kemp inexplicably garnered a one-game suspension for his role in Wednesday’s kerfuffle with the Rangers. He’ll continue to play while appealing that suspension… Billy Hamilton sat out Friday’s game due to a sore knee sustained when he crashed into the outfield wall on Wednesday… The Cardinals signed veteran left-hander Tommy Layne to a minor league contract… Clayton Kershaw (back) threw 55 pitches during a successful bullpen session on Friday… Matt Adams had to leave Friday’s game after getting drilled in the finger while attempting to bunt… Jose Urena struck out four over eight scoreless innings in an impressive victory over the Orioles… Freddie Freeman blasted his 15th home run in a loss to the Padres… Freddy Galvis went 5-for-5 with a homer and four RBI to pace the Padres’ offense in the rout… Jesus Aguilar bopped his 12th home run as the Brewers destroyed the Phillies… Brent Suter fired seven innings of one-run ball in that victory… Paul Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 with a homer as the Diamondbacks topped the Mets. He now boasts a 1.462 OPS for the month of June… Marcell Ozuna belted his fourth home run of his last six games in a loss to the Cubs… Ross Stripling struck out six over 6 ⅓ innings of two-run ball in a victory over the Giants… Ian Desmond clobbered a pair of homers, and Nolan Arenado homered and doubled twice, as the Rockies crushed the Rangers...