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Jack Flaherty lost to the Angels after allowing five runs in 5 2/3 innings on Thursday.

Advice: Flaherty surrendered three homers, matching his total from his previous six starts combined. He struck out seven and walked just one, but there was no overcoming the longball in this one. It’s the first time since Apr. 24 that he’s allowed more than three runs. Rotoworld Thursday, 10:45 pm

Cease (7-6) earned the win over Washington on Wednesday, pitching seven scoreless innings during which he allowed one hit and issued two walks while striking out nine batters.

Advice: The only hit Cease surrendered during his seven frames was a two-out single by Nick Senzel in the fifth inning. Remarkably, this was the San Diego right-hander's third outing this season during which he gave up exactly one hit in seven frames, and he unsurprisingly has picked up a victory in all three of those starts. Cease had been struggling coming into Wednesday, giving up 11 runs over his previous two starts covering 8.1 innings during his worst two-game stretch of the campaign. He's had a few clunkers among his 17 appearances this season but has solid numbers overall with a 3.84 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 125:30 K:BB across 98.1 frames. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 8:50 pm

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Tuesday of Crochet that "we're going to start dwindling his workload down a little bit," the Associated Press reports.

Advice: Crochet already sits at 94.1 innings in 2024 in his first pro season as a starting pitcher. He threw zero innings in 2022 and just 25 frames in 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and his highest innings total in college at Tennessee was 65. Therefore, his workload being curtailed at some point was inevitable. Grifol didn't divulge any specifics in regards to pitch counts or innings totals for Crochet, indicating he'll be flexible start-to-start based on how efficient the pitcher is. The manager also didn't mention anything about Crochet being shut down completely at some point, although it's certainly possible that will happen. It's not an ideal situation for fantasy managers, but those rostering Crochet will want to keep him in their lineups as long as he's making starts. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 6:46 am

Matt Waldron pitched six innings of two-run ball Monday against the Nationals.

Advice: Waldron struck out eight in a sixth straight quality start. He threw the knuckler 46 times tonight and wound up with nothing but soft contact against the pitch. There’s still not a whole lot to like about the rest of his arsenal, but the knuckleball has come far enough this year to make him a fine bet going forward. Rotoworld Monday, 10:20 pm

Crochet took a no-decision against the Dodgers on Monday, allowing five hits and striking out six batters over 5.2 scoreless innings.

Advice: Crochet was on his game with 16 whiffs and six punchouts against one of MLB's top offenses, but Dodgers starter James Paxton traded scoreless frames with him, and both hurlers had to settle for a no-decision. Crochet continues to impress in what has been a breakout first campaign as a starter -- he lowered his ERA to 3.05 with Monday's outing and ranks second in the league with 130 strikeouts. The southpaw has given up three or fewer earned runs while going at least five frames in 11 consecutive starts. Rotowire.com Monday, 10:09 pm