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Lively (7-4) took the loss against the Royals on Thursday, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk over six innings while striking out five.

Advice: Lively was sharp for most of the contest and didn't allow a runner to reach second until the fifth inning when Nick Loftin walked, then advanced on a steal. Unfortunately for the right-hander, his luck would run out in the following frame after he surrendered back-to-back triples to open things up, which eventually led to two runs coming home for Kansas City. It marked Lively's first quality start this month and he's now allowed two or fewer runs in six of his last seven outings. However, he's also lost two of his last three starts after previously winning five straight. Rotowire.com Today, 4:31 am

Suzuki went 2-for-5 with a double, a triple and an RBI in Thursday's 5-3, 10-inning win over the Giants.

Advice: Suzuki didn't rack up the counting stats, but he still had a solid effort in the win. He tallied his 11th double and second triple of the season, and he's now batting a solid .266 with a .796 OPS. Suzuki's game doesn't jump off the page, though he's been a steady contributor since he came over from Japan in 2022. The outfielder slashed .262/.336/.433 as a rookie, then followed that up with a .285/.357/.485 line last season. Suzuki is on pace for similar figures once again this year. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 7:37 pm

Carlos Rodon allowed eight runs in five innings and took the loss against the Blue Jays on Thursday.



Advice: Rodon gave up 10 hits, walked one and struck out eight. That Rodon was able to complete five innings and strike out eight batters were positives, but if fantasy managers weren’t concerned about him before this start, they certainly are now. Rodon has allowed at least five runs in each of his last three starts and seen his ERA rise from 2.93 to 4.42. Rodon isn’t a big time strikeout pitcher like he was in his pre-Yankees career. His strikeout percentage is 23 percent this year compared to his 33 percent strikeout percentage with the Giants in 2022. Rodon had a 3.17 xFIP in 2021 with the White Sox and 2.91 xFIP in 2022 before his disaster 5.30 xFIP in his first year with the Yankees last year. His 4.34 xFIP this year is an improvement, but was also a sign that his ERA wasn’t going to remain below 3.00. This version of Rodon is also easier to hit as his 0.88 HR/9 in 2021 and 0.61 HR/9 in 2022 have turned into a 2.10 HR/9 in 2023 and a 1.54 HR/9 this year with the Yankees. There’s no way around the fact that Rodon’s $162 million pact with New York has become one of the biggest bust signings in the franchise’s long free agent history. The 31-year-old left-hander is set to face the Reds at home next week, but fantasy managers have to think about sending him to the bench if he wasn’t there already.

Rotoworld Yesterday, 6:43 pm

Cubs placed RHP Javier Assad on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain.

Advice: Assad struggled on Sunday in a loss to the Mets and also failed to 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. Rotoworld Yesterday, 10:28 am

Red Sox activated Connor Wong from the Paternity List.

Advice: Wong was placed on the paternity list on Monday and wound up missing two games for the Red Sox. He should be back in the starting lineup soon. Tyler Heineman was optioned back to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding move. Rotoworld Yesterday, 10:03 am