
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander delivered the difference-making blow in Friday night's win over the visiting Houston Astros, clubbing his 38th home run of the season in the victory. Santander sent Camden Yards into a frenzy on Friday night, smashing a Bryan Abreu fastball at the letters into deep right field for a go-ahead grand slam for the O's in the eighth inning against Houston. The 29-year-old All-Star switch-hitter has been a key cog all season long in Baltimore's lineup, slashing .238/.305/.526 with 38 home runs, 20 doubles, 86 RBI, and 77 runs scored through 479 at-bats (124 games).


San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove dominated the New York Mets on Friday night at Petco Park, allowing a lone hit with nine strikeouts over seven scoreless innings. If Musgrove wasn't working with an eye on his workload on Friday night, he may very well have been able to go the distance. His lone blemish was a Starling Marte double that just got over the head of right fielder David Peralta, pouring in 58 of his 75 pitches for strikes against the Mets. The 31-year-old veteran right-hander may be pitching through a bone spur in his elbow, but he's looked awfully sharp with a 0.57 ERA and 16 punchouts with three walks over his last 15 2/3 innings (three starts) since coming off the injured list. Musgrove belongs in all fantasy lineups for Wednesday's scheduled start on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals.


New York Yankees closer Clay Holmes secured the save in Friday night's win over the visiting Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium, hurling a scoreless ninth inning with one strikeout. Holmes tends to go on an adventure now and again in save situations, but Friday night offered no such theatrics as he induced a fly ball to center field from Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones to seal the save for New York against Colorado. The 31-year-old right-hander remains the Yankees' go-to stopper despite the occasional implosion here and there, registering a 2.77 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 60 strikeouts and 16 walks while converting just 27 of his 37 save opportunities over 52 innings this season.


Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha put together another strong performance in Friday night's victory over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies at Kauffman Stadium, striking out five batters over six innings of two-run ball. Wacha submitted his fifth consecutive quality start on Friday against the Phillies, surrendering six hits and no walks en route to his 11th win of the year overall. The 33-year-old right-hander has quietly been one of the most reliable starters in all of baseball for over three months now, going 10-2 with a 2.45 ERA and 82:28 K:BB across his last 16 starts (95 1/3 frames) since May 9. A tough test awaits Wacha in the form of a clash with the first-place Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Wednesday.


San Diego Padres first baseman Luis Arraez hit a rare home run in Friday night's easy win over the visiting New York Mets at Petco Park, going deep for just the fourth time this season in the victory. Before tacking on an RBI single in the third inning of Friday's rout against New York, Arraez gave the Padres an early 1-0 lead with a solo homer to ambush Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn in the opening frame. The 27-year-old All-Star contact specialist hasn't been quite as good as he was when he won the National League batting title in 2023, but he's still batting a strong .309 (117-for-379) with four long balls, 31 RBI, 45 runs scored, and six stolen bases in 88 outings since joining San Diego earlier this season.
