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Cade Cavalli SP | WAS
Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Reels off sixth straight QS
Cavalli (9-5) picked up the win in Friday's 5-3 victory over the Reds, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out eight.
All three runs off the right-hander came on solo shots by Eugenio Suarez, Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz, but Cavalli otherwise held Cincy in check en route to his 13th quality start of the season, and his sixth straight -- a stretch in which he's produced a 2.75 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 36:8 K:BB through 36 innings. Cavalli will look to keep rolling in his next outing, which lines up to come at home next week against the Cubs.
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Luis Mey RP | CIN
Reds' Luis Mey: Impressive in long relief
Mey gave up two hits and struck out four over 2.2 scoreless relief innings in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Nationals. He didn't walk a batter.
All the scoring had already occurred by the time Mey took the mound to begin fifth inning in a bullpen day for the Reds, but the 25-year-old right-hander did what he could to keep the door open for a potential comeback. It was Mey's first big-league action since June 5, and also the first time in eight MLB appearances this season that he didn't issue a free pass. Control remains his biggest hurdle to a more prominent role -- he's got an 18:10 K:BB in 11.1 innings for Cincinnati in 2026 -- but Mey's upper-90s sinker and wipeout slider give him a sky-high ceiling if things begin to click.
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Carmen Mlodzinski RP | PIT
Pirates' Carmen Mlodzinski: Early exit against Mets
Mlodzinski (6-4) took the loss Friday, coughing up five runs on seven hits and a walk over three innings as the Pirates were downed 6-4 by the Mets. He struck out one.
A three-run homer by Marcus Semien in the third inning was the big blow off Mlodzinski, who was making his first start since May 25. The right-hander did get stretched out to 63 pitches (40 strikes), and while he sports a 3.51 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 77:32 K:BB through 97.1 innings over 26 appearances (10 starts) on the year, he'll need better results to stick around in the rotation as the replacement for Mitch Keller (arm). Mlodzinski will get another chance to show he can handle the job on the road next week in Miami.
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A.J. Ewing CF | NYM
Mets' A.J. Ewing: Shines in leadoff spot
Ewing went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and a stolen base in Friday's 6-4 win over the Pirates.
The rookie outfielder continues to make a good impression at the top of the order. Since becoming the Mets' regular leadoff hitter just over a month ago, Ewing has delivered a .275/.319/.404 slash line in 120 plate appearances with eight doubles, two homers, seven steals in seven attempts, eight RBI and 14 runs.
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Joe Musgrove SP | SD
Padres' Joe Musgrove: Completes 39-pitch rehab start
Musgrove (elbow) struck out three and allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks across 2.2 innings in a rehab start Tuesday at Single-A Lake Elsinore.
Musgrove tossed 39 pitches in the appearance, his first in the majors or minors since Sept. 26, 2024. The right-hander was deemed fully recovered from his October 2024 Tommy John surgery heading into spring training, but he experienced a setback after pitching in an exhibition game in early March. Musgrove made limited progress in the first few months following the setback but appeared to turn a corner in June and has now reached the final step of his lengthy recovery process. He'll likely continue to build on his workload over at least two or three more rehab starts before potentially slotting into the San Diego rotation at some point during the final two weeks of August.
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Zach Thornton SP | NYM
Mets' Zac Thornton: Blanks Bucs for third win
Thornton (3-2) picked up the win in Friday's 6-4 victory over the Pirates, allowing four hits and two walks over five scoreless innings. He struck out three.
The rookie southpaw tossed just 63 pitches (42 strikes) before begin lifted with the Mets ahead 6-0, although the bullpen made things interesting. Thornton has held the opposition off the scoreboard in three of five starts since rejoining the rotation just before the All-Star break, posting a 1.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 17:9 K:BB through 29 innings over that stretch. He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in Atlanta.
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Zack Wheeler SP | PHI
Phillies' Zack Wheeler: Fans six in third loss
Wheeler (10-3) took the loss Friday, giving up four runs on seven hits and five walks over 5.1 innings as the Phillies fell 5-4 to the Blue Jays. He struck out six.
A two-hour rain delay before the first pitch did Wheeler no favors. The veteran right-hander ended up throwing a season-high 116 pitches (72 strikes) as he battled to escape the sixth inning, and a 15-pitch at-bat against Nathan Lukes that ended in a single finally spelled the end of his night. The five free passes were also a season high for Wheeler, matching the total from his seven previous outings combined. He'll take a 2.69 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 132:28 K:BB through 110.1 innings into his next start, which is set to come on the road next week in St. Louis.
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Shane Drohan SP | MIL
Brewers' Shane Drohan: Struggles against Twins
Drohan didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 8-6 loss to the Twins, giving up six earned runs on nine hits and four walks while striking out four batters across five innings.
Drohan made it through the first two innings unscathed while the Brewers' offense gave him a 4-0 lead to work with, but things quickly began to fall apart after that point. The left-hander walked Ryan Jeffers before giving up a two-run homer to Josh Bell in the third inning, and he allowed the Twins to tie the game in the fourth, courtesy of Kaelen Culpepper's first MLB home run and an RBI double from Austin Martin. Minnesota plated two more runs against Drohan in the fifth, but Milwaukee's offense immediately responded with two runs of its own to prevent him from taking the loss. The 27-year-old has now given up five or more runs in two of his last three starts and carries a 6.26 ERA across 23 innings since the All-Star break. Assuming the Brewers continue with a six-man rotation, Drohan is lined up to make his next start on the road against the Dodgers on Thursday.
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Miguel Andujar DH | SD
Padres' Miguel Andujar: Not yet doing full swings
The Padres announced Friday that Andujar no longer requires a splint for his fractured right wrist and has been cleared for light activity, MLB.com reports.
Andujar hasn't yet been cleared to take full swings, however, and that will be a major checkpoint in the recovery process that he'll need to hit before his return from the 10-day injured list can be viewed as imminent. The 31-year-old hit .259 with five home runs, two steals, 22 RBI and 24 runs in 74 games with the Padres before landing on the shelf July 20.
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Robbie Ray SP | SD
Padres' Robbie Ray: Struggles in Padres debut
Ray (10-7) allowed four runs on seven hits and five walks while striking out two over five innings in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Astros. He also tossed two wild pitches.
Ray's first start with San Diego didn't go according to plan. The veteran left-hander escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning but surrendered a solo homer to Cam Smith in the second, allowed two more runs in the third and another run in the fourth. Ray threw just 51 of 92 pitches for strikes and issued at least five walks for the third time in 2026 while recording only two strikeouts -- his second-lowest output of the season. The loss snapped a run of 12 straight starts in which Ray was undefeated -- he went 7-0 with a 2.12 ERA in that span -- and as a result, his ERA for the season rose to 3.24. Ray's next start is projected to come at home against the Brewers.