Those A's are Amazing

The Oakland Athletics continue to get it done in all facets of the game.

The A’s won their sixth consecutive game on Sunday, improving to a season-best 21 games over the .500 mark at 67-46. They did so in impressive fashion as well, with a 6-0 victory over the Tigers.

Khris Davis, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman each left the yard for the Athletics in this one, powering their offensive attack. For Davis, it was his 31st bomb of the season. He has been phenomenal since the All-Star break, hitting .277 (18-for-65) with 10 homers and 22 RBI in 16 games.

Trevor Cahill toed the slab for the Athletics, racking up 10 strikeouts over six shutout innings against the hapless Tigers’ offense. He allowed just three hits and a walk and generated 18 swinging strikes in the game.

The A’s also accomplished something pretty impressive in the shutout, as they wrapped up their weekend set against the Tigers without allowing an earned run. The last time that the Athletics went a full three-game series without allowing an earned run was April 19-23, 1918 against Washington.

Just a few short weeks ago, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Astros would run away with the division title in the American League West, that the Yankees would secure the top Wild Card spot, and that the Athletics and Mariners would battle for the final Wild Card berth in the American League.

My, how things have changed.

The Athletics are charging hard toward the Astros, and now sit just four games back of the defending World Champions after Sunday’s win and the Astros’ loss to the Dodgers. They currently hold the second Wild Card spot, 2 ½ games ahead of the Mariners. They’re also just 2 ½ games behind the Yankees for the top Wild Card spot after the Bombers were swept in a four-game set at Fenway over the weekend.

Reinforcements are on the way as well.

The Athletics turned some heads when they decided to be buyers at the trade deadline, acquiring Jeurys Familia from the Mets to bolster their setup corps in front of closer Blake Treinen. They strengthened that unit even further on Sunday, acquiring embattled right-hander Shawn Kelley and cash considerations from the Nationals in exchange for international slot money.

The 34-year-old right-hander has been one of the top right-handed setup men in the league for several years and owns a 3.34 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 32/5 K/BB ratio across his 32 ⅓ innings on the season. He wasn’t cut loose by the Nationals for performance issues, rather it was for being “disrespectful to the organization”. Kelley outwardly showed his displeasure by slamming his glove when surrendering a home run during the ninth inning of a lopsided victory.

The Nationals’ loss is a tremendous gain for the Athletics who now boast one of the top bullpen units in all of baseball. Kelley joins Familia, Lou Trivino and Ryan Buchter as the primary setup options in front of their lock-down closer.

These Athletics aren’t going away. Expect to see them in the postseason.

Maybe they need a nice BBQ chicken,

Ailing Astros

When Jose Altuve injured his knee during the Astros’ game on July 25, the expectation was that he would only need to miss a couple of games.

By all accounts, the 28-year-old and reigning American League MVP is as tough as they come. Prior to this issue, he had played in 1086 games in his big league career and had never once required a trip to the disabled list.

After playing short-handed for a couple of days though, the Astros made the decision on July 28 to put him on the disabled list, retroactive to July 26. Given how the situation was handled, the initial thought was filled with optimism that Altuve would be ready to return as soon as he was eligible.

Then news trickled out a couple of days later, that Altuve would not return from the disabled list as soon as he was eligible. Astros’ manager A.J. Hinch seemed non-committal at that time, noting that Altuve was feeling better, but that he still had yet to resume baseball activities.

The plan was to have Altuve begin running and hitting drills on Friday, putting him on track for a return early next week. Friday came and went though, and Altuve was nowhere to be found on the field. Hinch confirmed after Friday’s game that Altuve had not begun running or hitting drills on Friday as anticipated, but he remained hopeful that he would before the end of the weekend. He also seemed skeptical of Altuve returning for the Astros’ two-game series against the Giants to start the week.

As Astros fans and fantasy owners waited with bated breath to see if Altuve would begin doing drills on Sunday, more troublesome news was released. The diminutive second baseman would be returning to Houston to have his ailing knee examined by team doctors.

He has been officially ruled out for the two-game series against the Giants, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll make it back by next weekend either. All fantasy owners can do now is wait and hope that good news comes out of his examination in Houston.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Altuve suffered a setback along the way. This could have been the Astros’ plan all along, to hold him out through Tuesday and have the medical staff check him out first before he’s cleared to return to the field. Just the way that the news has trickled out and the way the timeline has been pushed back a couple of times, there’s a feeling that it could be more ominous.

If it wasn’t bad enough that both Altuve and Carlos Correa are on the shelf, the Astros may have lost another big bat from their lineup on Sunday.

George Springer was forced to leave Sunday’s game against the Dodgers with left thumb discomfort. He suffered the injury while diving headfirst into second base during the third inning. X-rays came back negative, which is encouraging, but the Astros have yet to announce a potential time frame for his return. He could soon be joining Altuve and Correa on the disabled list.

Let My Pitchers Go

The Padres were fine with shedding some salary on Sunday, allowing a pair of pitchers who were claimed on waivers to go to the teams that claimed them, rather than pulling them back and attempting to work out a deal.

Tyson Ross was claimed by the Cardinals, who will now be on the hook for the just over $500,000 remaining on his salary for the remainder of the 2018 season. The 31-year-old hurler made 22 starts for the Padres this season, registering a 4.45 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 107/52 K/BB ratio over 123 ⅓ innings. He has been especially bad over his last six starts, with an 8.26 ERA over 28 ⅓ innings since the calendar flipped to July. Even with the move to the Cardinals, he should be avoided for fantasy purposes.

The Padres also let Jordan Lyles go to the Brewers after the right-hander was claimed on waivers. The 27-year-old hurler appeared in 24 games (eight starts) for the Padres this season, posting a 4.29 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 62/19 K/BB ratio across 71 ⅓ innings. He’s always been talented and could be worth a look in NL-only leagues and as a streaming option in deeper mixed formats if he cracks the Brewers’ rotation.

While the Padres won’t get anything in return for either hurler, aside from salary relief, it frees up spots in the rotation and the bullpen for the club to see what they have in several young hurlers over the final two months of the season.

American League Quick Hits: Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia called reports that he planned to step down at the end of the season “insanity”... Mike Trout sat out his fourth straight game on Sunday with right wrist soreness. He’s still considered day-to-day… Lance McCullers landed on the disabled list with right elbow discomfort. It isn’t yet clear how long he’ll be sidelined for… The Angels designated veteran infielder Luis Valbuena for assignment. He was hitting just .199/.253/.335 on the season… Daniel Robertson will require surgery on his injured left thumb and is expected to miss the remainder of the season… Yan Gomes (knee) isn’t expected to return to the Indians’ lineup until at least Tuesday… Dee Gordon sat for the third time in the last four games with a right ankle injury… JaCoby Jones was held out of the Tigers’ lineup on Sunday with lower back tightness… Chris Sale (shoulder) will not return from the disabled list when he's first eligible on Wednesday., though the Red Sox seem hopeful he’ll still return over the weekend… Jose Ramirez belted a three-run homer, his 33rd home run of the season, as the Indians topped the Angels… Avisail Garcia blasted a pair of home runs and stole his first base of the season as the White Sox topped the Rays… Whit Merrifield went 4-for-5 including a two-run homer in a losing effort against the Twins… Jake Cave hit his first career grand slam, powering the Twins past the Royals… Edwin Diaz notched his league-leading 41st save with a perfect inning against the Blue Jays… Kyle Seager crushed a pair of home runs, leading the Mariners to victory there… Mark Trumbo homered twice as the Orioles thumped the Rangers… Jonathan Villar went 3-for-3 with a homer, three runs scored and a stolen base in that one. He seems locked in as the team’s leadoff hitter and should be owned in all fantasy formats… Mookie Betts swatted his 26th home run and scored three times as the Red Sox completed a four-game sweep of the Yankees… Andrew Benintendi provided the dagger in that one, with a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning after the Red Sox had rallied for three runs to tie the game off of Yankees’ closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth.

National League Quick Hits: Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports that the Nationals are in discussions to sign Greg Holland… Dodgers’ outfielder Yasiel Puig is dealing with renewed soreness in his right oblique and could be heading back to the disabled list… Marcell Ozuna has been dealing with tendinitis and inflammation in his right shoulder since last season, though it only bothers him while throwing, not at the plate… Dexter Fowler will wear a walking boot on his fractured left foot for the next month and isn’t expected back until late September… Anthony Swarzak landed on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation, making Robert Gsellman the favorite for saves in the Mets’ bullpen… Bryce Harper returned to the Nationals’ starting lineup on Sunday after leaving the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader when he was drilled by a pitch on his knee… Tyler O’Neill was a late scratch from the Cardinals lineup on Sunday due to a groin injury… The Brewers claimed Jordan Lyles off of waivers from the Padres… Matt Kemp was held out of the Dodgers lineup on Sunday with a right ankle contusion. He’s considered day-to-day… David Freese was unavailable on Sunday due to a right forearm contusion… Padres’ pitching prospect Brett Kennedy is slated to make his big league debut against the Brewers in Milwaukee this week… Stephen Strasburg (neck) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Thursday…. Devin Mesoraco blasted a game-tying home run in the ninth inning against the Braves, but the Mets still wound up losing in extra innings… Nick Markakis went 4-for-5 and clubbed a go-ahead solo home run in the top of the 10th inning of the Braves' win over the Mets on Sunday… Jack Flaherty struck out seven over six scoreless innings in a victory over the Pirates… Matt Carpenter clubbed his 29th home run in that victory… Asdrubal Cabrera launched a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning to beat the Marlins… Hunter Renfroe homered and drove in three runs, leading the Padres past the Cubs… Trevor Story homered, stole a base and drove in four runs as the Rockies beat the Brewers in extra innings… Nolan Arenado provided the go-ahead solo shot in the 11th inning of that victory… Jon Gray fanned seven over eight innings of one-run baseball in a no-decision against the Brewers… Evan Longoria launched a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning to beat the Diamondbacks… Manny Machado went 3-for-4 and scored twice as the Dodgers topped the Astros.