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  • Nathaniel Lowe posts four hits, two RBI in blowout
    Nathaniel Lowe went 4-for-6 with a pair of RBI on Saturday, powering the Rangers to a lopsided 15-4 victory over the Royals.

    Advice: Lowe exploded for a season-high four hits as the Rangers’ talented offensive core racked up a staggering 17 hits in this one. The 28-year-old first baseman kick-started an eventual blowout with a two-run single in the fourth inning off Royals starter Michael Wacha. The four-hit effort raises his batting average from .286 to .333 through 13 contests since missing the first few weeks of the season due to an oblique injury. Rotoworld Yesterday, 8:50 pm
     
  • Dane Dunning lasts just 4 2/3 frames vs. Royals
    Dane Dunning surrendered two runs over 4 2/3 innings on Saturday in a no-decision against the Royals.

    Advice: Dunning wasn’t able to stick around long enough to collect a win as Rangers manager Bruce Bochy went to his bullpen with two outs in the fifth inning after just 79 pitches (44 strikes). He finished with four strikeouts and only issued one walk. The 29-year-old righty hasn’t been asked to work deep into starts over the last few weeks, but he’s missing enough bats to be relevant for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues. He’ll bring a solid 4.10 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 43/17 K/BB ratio across 37 1/3 innings (seven starts) into a challenging road matchup on Friday against the Rockies at Coors Field. Rotoworld Yesterday, 8:48 pm
     
  • Michael Wacha lit up for seven runs in loss
    Michael Wacha was torched for a season-high seven runs over 3 2/3 innings on Saturday in a loss to the Rangers.

    Advice: Wacha was lit up for nine hits in this one, which makes it even more remarkable that none of them wound up leaving the yard. The 32-year-old righty struck out three and only issued one walk. He’ll aim for better results his next time out on Thursday against the Angels in Los Angeles. Rotoworld Yesterday, 8:48 pm
     
  • Cristian Javier (neck) throws 68 pitches in rehab start
    Cristian Javier (neck) made his first minor league rehab start at Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday, giving up three runs on three hits over 3 1/3 innings of work.

    Advice: The 27-year-old right-hander walked a pair while striking out three batters in the contest. He threw 68 pitches in the game, 39 of those for strikes. There had been speculation that he would require just one rehab start before returning to the Astros’ rotation next week, we’ll see if that holds after how Saturday’s outing went. Rotoworld Yesterday, 2:33 pm
     
  • Notches two steals Friday
    Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a run, an RBI, two walks and two stolen bases Friday in a 4-3 extra-innings victory versus Atlanta.

    Advice: Ohtani's first theft came in the third inning, and it led to Los Angeles' first run, as Will Smith followed with a two-out RBI single. It looked like Ohtani would be picked off in the eighth frame, but Matt Olson mishandled the throw to first base, allowing the Japanese superstar to make it to second base safely. Ohtani later came up with a huge hit in the bottom of the 10th, stroking a one-out single to center field to plate the tying run after Atlanta had scored in the top of the frame. Ohtani continues to put up big numbers for the Dodgers and for fantasy managers, as he's slashing .336/.405/.612 with seven homers, 20 RBI, 26 runs and seven steals (in seven attempts) through 153 plate appearances. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 11:47 am
     
  • Notches two steals Friday
    Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a run, an RBI, two walks and two stolen bases Friday in a 4-3 extra-innings victory versus Atlanta.

    Advice: Ohtani's first theft came in the third inning, and it led to Los Angeles' first run, as Will Smith followed with a two-out RBI single. It looked like Ohtani would be picked off in the eighth frame, but Matt Olson mishandled the throw to first base, allowing the Japanese superstar to make it to second base safely. Ohtani later came up with a huge hit in the bottom of the 10th, stroking a one-out single to center field to plate the tying run after Atlanta had scored in the top of the frame. Ohtani continues to put up big numbers for the Dodgers and for fantasy managers, as he's slashing .336/.405/.612 with seven homers, 20 RBI, 26 runs and seven steals (in seven attempts) through 153 plate appearances. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 11:47 am
     
  • Acuña hits game-tying homer, but Atlanta falls to LAD
    Ronald Acuña hit a solo homer while going 2-for-5 in an extra-inning loss to the Dodgers on Friday.

    Advice: Acuña Jr. hasn’t shown a ton of power in the early portion of the season, but he came through in a big way with a game-tying homer in the eighth off Daniel Hudson in the eighth. That’s just the second roundtripper of the season for the reigning MVP, but it’s hard to fathom the power isn’t going to come from a player that swatted 41 homers in 2023. Rotoworld Friday, 10:16 pm
     
  • Could join rotation next week
    Javier (neck) will throw four innings or roughly 60 pitches Saturday for Double-A Corpus Christi before potentially rejoining the big-league rotation, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

    Advice: Manager Joe Espada said the hope is that Javier can rejoin Houston's rotation after this first rehab start, which would line him up to return for a road start either Thursday against the Yankees or Friday versus the Tigers. He has been out since April 14 with neck discomfort. Rotowire.com Friday, 2:11 pm
     
  • Slated for rehab assignment
    Astros manager Joe Espada said Thursday that Javier (neck) will begin a rehab assignment over the weekend, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

    Advice: Espada didn't specify exactly when Javier's first rehab appearance will be, nor did he say how long the 27-year-old right-hander will remain in the minors. However, there had been speculation that Javier would be able to avoid a rehab assignment completely, so he may only need to make one start before returning to an Astros rotation that has already dealt with numerous injuries this season. Rotowire.com Thursday, 2:24 pm