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Patrick Corbin SP | TOR
Nationals' Patrick Corbin: Earns eighth win with quality start
Corbin (8-11) earned the win Thursday, allowing one run on four hits over six innings against the Red Sox. He struck out six.
The lefty was mostly dominant over his six innings of work, with his one big mistake coming in the top of the third when a 92.7 mph four-seamer to Triston Casas wound up in the stands in center field. However, Corbin made up for it by retiring 13 of the next 14 batters he faced to seal the win. He has now allowed three or fewer runs and no more than four hits in each of his last three starts, lowering his season ERA to 4.71. He's also won four of his last six decisions (spanning nine starts).
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Corbin Burnes SP | ARI
Brewers' Corbin Burnes: Gets no run support in gem
Burnes allowed two hits and two walks while striking out nine batters over seven innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers on Thursday.
Burnes dominated one of the league's top offenses, but Los Angeles starter Lance Lynn matched him with seven scoreless frames of his own. Though Burnes had to settle for a no-decision, this was one of his best outings of the campaign and a strong bounce-back from his previous start, when he gave up five runs over 5.2 innings against the White Sox. The right-hander improved his season ERA to 3.43 and his WHIP to 1.06 with the standout performance Thursday, and with nine punchouts he moved up to 10th in the National League with 155 on the season.
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Lance Lynn SP | STL
Dodgers' Lance Lynn: Continues to thrive in Los Angeles
Lynn pitched seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against Milwaukee on Thursday, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out three batters.
Though Lynn finished without a win for the first time in four starts since joining Los Angeles in late July, the right-hander enjoyed arguably his best performance in Dodger Blue, going toe-to-toe with Corbin Burnes for seven scoreless innings and allowing just five baserunners. Lynn didn't rack up strikeouts as he did in his previous three starts, when he tallied 22 punchouts over 18 frames, but Milwaukee didn't manage to notch an extra-base hit against him. The veteran has appeared rejuvenated since joining Los Angeles, bringing back memories of his third-place finish in AL Cy Young award voting in 2021. Fantasy managers who dropped him during his rough tenure with the White Sox earlier this season are largely ruing that decision now.
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Rich Hill SP | KC
Padres' Rich Hill: Pitches better but still takes loss
Hill (7-13) took the loss against Arizona on Thursday, allowing three runs on two hits and one walk while striking out three batters over five innings.
Hill had gone a total of 6.1 frames and surrendered nine runs over his first two appearances since joining San Diego, so his five-inning, three-run outing Thursday was a step forward. The veteran hurler retired the first 10 batters he faced and gave up only three baserunners in total, but all three scored, with homers by Tommy Pham and Gabriel Moreno responsible for the damage. Hill has lost all three of his starts as a Padre, posting a 9.53 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 11:3 K:BB over 11.1 frames during that stretch.
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Zac Gallen SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen: Tames Padres again Thursday
Gallen (13-5) earned the win over San Diego on Thursday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out three batters over 6.1 innings.
Gallen made his second start against the Padres in less than a week and took home his second win, limiting San Diego to just a fifth-inning run. The Arizona ace wasn't quite as dominant as in his previous outing -- he gave up multiple hard-hit balls that went for outs and notched just three swinging strikes -- but he nonetheless finished with his fourth straight quality start. Gallen lowered his ERA to 3.17 with the strong outing, moving him into eighth place among qualified MLB pitchers. He's added a 1.05 WHIP (sixth in the league) and 168 strikeouts (also sixth-best in baseball) over 162 innings.
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Brett Kennedy RP | CIN
Reds' Brett Kennedy: Set for start Friday
Kennedy will start for the Reds on Friday versus the Blue Jays, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
The 29-year-old right-hander is likely getting a brief look in the Cincinnati rotation while the Reds wait for Nick Lodolo (lower leg) to complete his minor-league rehab assignment. Kennedy owns a career 6.42 ERA in 33.2 major-league innings and is not a recommended fantasy streamer.
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Joey Lucchesi RP | LAA
Mets' Joey Lucchesi: Will start Friday vs. St. Louis
The Mets will call Lucchesi (knee) up from Triple-A Syracuse to start Friday against the Cardinals, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
Lucchesi has been on Syracuse's injured list since mid-July because of a knee issue, but he looked sharp in two recent rehab starts with High-A Brooklyn and will try to at least eat some innings for the Mets on Friday. The 30-year-old lefty carries a 4.43 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 17:8 K:BB in 22.1 innings (five starts) this season at the major-league level.
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Steven Matz RP | TB
Cardinals' Steven Matz: Shut down two weeks
Matz (lat) said Thursday he will be shut down from throwing for at least the next two weeks, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Matz was diagnosed with a left lat strain earlier this week, which occurred in the midst of his best stretch since signing a four-year, $44 million contract with the Cardinals in November of 2021. He's scheduled to undergo a checkup MRI toward the end of August that will likely determine whether he can pitch again in 2023.
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Joan Adon SP | WAS
Nationals' Joan Adon: On track for Friday
Adon (legs) is listed as the Nationals' starting pitcher for Friday's series opener against the Phillies, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Adon made an early exit from his last outing due to cramping in both of his legs, but it looks like he'll be good to go Friday. The 25-year-old right-hander has posted a 5.00 ERA and 10:2 K:BB in nine innings (two starts) since officially stepping into the Nationals rotation earlier this month.
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Vladimir Gutierrez SP | BOS
Reds' Vladimir Gutierrez: May be nursing injury
The Reds announced Wednesday that Gutierrez (elbow) has been pulled from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville.
Gutierrez had been tracking toward a return from the 60-day injured list next weekend, but the Reds' decision to bring him back from the rehab assignment a week and a half early seemingly indicates that he suffered a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. According to MLB.com, Gutierrez's fastball had hovered between 91 and 93 miles per hour in his first two rehab appearances with Louisville, but his average velocity dropped down to 90.3 mph during his most recent outing this past Saturday, when he was tagged for four earned runs on two hits and two walks over 1.1 innings. Gutierrez will presumably be evaluated by the Reds' team doctors before an update is provided on his next steps.