Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown continued his run of consistency on Thursday, tossing six shutout frames in a 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Brown allowed just four hits and a walk while punching out six in this one. The 26-year-old has figured things out since the start of May, with 15 of his 21 starts being quality starts since then. Other than a couple of blowups, he has been a consistent presence that fantasy managers can bank on to go six innings with about a strikeout per inning and decent ratios. He's not elite by any means, but he's certainly a solid arm to round out a rotation.

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Austin Gomber had a terrific start on Thursday, tossing eight innings of one-run ball against the Atlanta Braves in a 3-1 win. Gomber allowed just five hits and had six strikeouts to zero walks. The 30-year-old has been fairly reliable lately, going at least six innings in each of his last five starts while earning a quality start in all but one of those outings. His numbers on the season aren't terrible either, especially for pitching in Coors Field. Still, he doesn't strike out a lot of batters and pitches for a dreadful team in a dreadful park for pitchers, so he doesn't warrant any long-term consideration in fantasy.

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly looked like his old self on Thursday, going seven strong innings in a 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants. Kelly allowed just two runs on six hits and struck out eight while walking none. It is great to see a dominant performance like this from the veteran, as he has struggled since coming back in early August from a four-month IL stint. Kelly lines up to face Texas next week in Arizona, a middle-of-the-road matchup that will make him a tough call in standard sized leagues, but this outing makes that choice a little easier.

Detroit Tigers reliever Tyler Holton shut down the San Diego Padres on Thursday to earn his seventh save in a 4-3 win. Holton was tasked with closing out a one-run game and did so relatively easily, allowing just a hit in his inning of work. It's been an interesting situation in the Tigers bullpen lately, as the team has been hot and provided plenty of save chances. Since August 26, Holton has three saves while Jason Foley also has three. Both pitchers have been excellent since the start of August, and it is unlikely that either will dominate save opportunities for the rest of the season. That said, Foley is probably the best bet to lead the team in saves.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez was fantastic in defeat on Thursday, striking out 11 over six two-run frames in a tough 3-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Lopez allowed just five hits and didn't walk a batter in this one. The 30-year-old is having the best season of his career, pitching to a 2.04 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 136 strikeouts over 127 IP. His consistency has been spectacular, as he has allowed over three runs in a start just once all season, and in that start he allowed four. Fantasy managers should start Lopez without worry for the few starts he has left, but before that they should thank their lucky stars they got him off waivers.