• Bailey Falter great again across six innings
    Bailey Falter pitched a scoreless six innings in a no-decision against the Blue Jays on Friday. He struck out five, walked two, and allowed just two hits.

    Advice: Falter just keeps going. 79% of his pitches in this start were either fastballs or sinkers and the Blue Jays were completely helpless, reaching base just four times against him. We keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with Falter, but it hasn’t as the league can’t figure out how to square him up. He will take a sparkling 3.22 ERA into his next start against the vaunted Dodgers. Rotoworld 55 minutes ago
     
  • Sharp despite sixth loss
    Mikolas (3-6) took the loss Friday against the Phillies, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out five.

    Advice: All three of the runs against Mikolas came in the second inning, including a pair on an Edmundo Sosa homer. While Mikolas would blank the Phillies over his final four frames, St. Louis could only muster a pair of runs off Aaron Nola in an eventual 4-2 loss. The 35-year-old Mikolas has started to turn things around after a rough start to the year, delivering quality starts in three of his last four outings. He's lowered his ERA to 5.54 with a 1.32 WHIP and 50:14 K:BB across 65 innings this year. Mikolas is currently lined up for a road matchup with the Astros in his next start. Rotowire.com Today, 7:54 pm
     
  • Grabs seventh win
    Nola (7-2) earned the win Friday over the Cardinals, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks over 6.1 innings. He struck out six.

    Advice: It was another strong outing from Nola, who held St. Louis to a pair of solo home runs in a winning effort. The 30-year-old right-hander has held opponents to two runs or fewer in each of his last four outings. Nola's ERA now sits at 3.03 on the year with a 1.03 WHIP and 71:22 K:BB across 12 starts (77.1 innings). He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, currently scheduled for next week at home against the Brewers. Rotowire.com Today, 7:39 pm
    Aaron NolaPHI - SP
    W, 4-2 vs STL
     
  • Albert Suárez strikes out five in five innings
    Albert Suárez allowed one earned run across five innings on Friday against the Rays. He allowed four hits, two walks, and struck out five in a no-decision.

    Advice: Suárez was solid in this one, keeping the Rays at bay besides for a Richie Palacios double followed by a Ben Rortvedt RBI single in the second inning. Notably, Suárez showed off a true four-pitch mix for the first time this season throwing his fastball, cutter, changeup, and curveball at least 13% of the time. There is space in the Orioles’ rotation and Suárez successfully expanding his repertoire could help him hold a spot. Rotoworld Today, 7:27 pm
    Albert SuárezBAL - SP,RP
    W, 3-1 vs TB
     
  • Aaron Civale allows one run in no-decision
    Aaron Civale pitched 5 ⅓ innings on Friday against the Orioles and allowed one earned run. He struck out three and walked one.

    Advice: Civale has simplified his approach of late. This was his seventh consecutive start throwing his cutter at least 30% of the time and the third time in four starts where he’s thrown it 40% of the time. The final results were solid here against one of the best offenses in baseball, but Civale induced just six swings and misses while the Orioles hit 10 balls hard. He remains a risky streamer until he can figure out his secondary pitches. Rotoworld Today, 7:25 pm
     
  • Reynaldo López holds A’s to one run in victory
    Reynaldo López limited the A’s to one run in six innings and struck out eight in Atlanta’s 4-2 victory Friday.

    Advice: Another quality start moves him to 3-2 with a 1.73 ERA. That López has had a very light schedule has played some role in his success to date. His 10 starts have seen him face none of the league’s top five offenses by OPS yet each of the bottom four (the Mariners, Pirates, Marlins and White Sox). He’s certainly been good and he might continue to be until he starts to run out of gas, but he’s had it awfully easy thus far. Rotoworld Today, 7:25 pm
    Reynaldo LópezATL - SP,RP
    W, 4-2 vs OAK
     
  • JP Sears goes seven in loss to Braves
    JP Sears surrendered four runs in seven innings Friday in a loss to the Braves.

    Advice: Sears has a solid enough 4.01 ERA for the A’s, but he was more interesting last year when he was throwing a bit harder and striking out 22% of the batters he faced. His strikeout rate stands at 16% right now, and that’s far too low for someone who gives up as many flyballs as he does. Rotoworld Today, 7:25 pm
    JP SearsOAK - SP
    L, 2-4 @ATL
     
  • Luis Severino allows five runs, wins
    Luis Severino pitched 5 ⅓ innings on Friday against the Diamondbacks and four earned runs with four strikeouts and one walk in a win.

    Advice: Seeing the win is nice, but Severino wasn’t his best on Friday. His velocity was down a tick across the board as the Diamondbacks made plenty of hard contact. Yet, Severino didn’t allow an extra-base hit until the Eugenio Suárez home run that chased him from the game. Keep an eye on whether or not that velocity levels out in his next start. Rotoworld Today, 7:10 pm
     
  • Jordan Montgomery hit hard by Mets
    Jordan Montgomery allowed six earned runs across four innings in a loss to the Mets on Friday. He struck out just four while walking three batters and giving up nine hits.

    Advice: Montgomery’s poor season continued on Friday. The Diamondbacks gifted him a 3-0 lead before he took the mound and still managed to cough it up before the third inning. Once again, his sinker was hit incredibly hard - the Mets had an average exit velocity of 97 MPH off the pitch - and he wound up trashing it as the game went on in favor of more four-seam fastballs and curveballs. His ERA rose to 5.48 in the loss. Rotoworld Today, 7:09 pm