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Rays third baseman Evan Longoria will be activated from the DL and will be in the Rays lineup tonight, so if you can get him in your lineup today, do so as soon as you can. Longoria hasn't played since April 30th, but when he did play, he was hitting .329-.433-.561 with 4 HRs, 15 runs and 19 RBI. The Rays and fantasy owners hope he can stay healthy and pick up where he left off more than 3 months ago.
Tigers ace Justin Verlander dominated the excellent Yankees lineup last night, holding them to 2 unearned runs on 8 hits, a walk and 14 strikeouts.. Verlander induced 19 swinging strikes of the 96 strikes he threw, which is an excellent whiff rate. He threw 132 pitches, so he as around the plate all night. He is now 12-7 with a 2.51 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and a 166-41 strikeout to walk ratio in 168.2 innings pitched. Verlander is certain to get some Cy Young Award votes again this season, but the MVP award will go to a hitter this season. That hitter plays with the Angels.
Orioles starter Chris Tillman limited the Mariners to just one run on 5 hits, a walk and 5 strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched last night to win his 5th game of the season. Tillman is now 5-1 with a 2.38 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 25-10 strikeout to walk ratio in 34 innings pitched across his 6 starts. He has given up 2 earned runs or less in 5 of his 6 starts.
The Brewers called up shortstop prospect Jean Segura yesterday, and Segura was in uniform last night for his first big league game. Segura went 0-3 with a strikeout. Segura should provide some speed should he have success reaching base in his first taste of big league pitching.
More Roundup after the jump:
Twins first baseman Justin Morneau had a big night at the plate in the Twins 14-3 over the slumping Indians. Morneau went 3-5 with 2 HRs, 3 runs and 4 RBI on Monday night and is now hitting ,275-.335-.481 with 15 HRs, 44 runs and 54 RBI this season. Morneau has been hot of late, going 16 for his last 38 with 3 HRs and 10 RBI over his last 10 games. After hitting .315-.365-.483 with 3 HRs, 14 runs and 13 RBI in July, Morneau is hitting .421-.455-.579 in 19 August at bats.
Indians catcher Carlos Santana is trying to make up for a very poor first half of the 2012 season. Santana went 1-3 with a HR and 2 RBI on Monday night, and is now hitting .237-.364-.408 with 12 HRs, 45 runs an 49 RBI this season. I was ready to write him off recently, but after a July that saw him hit .276-.433-.539 with 4 HRs, 10 runs and 12 RBI, he is hitting .263-.364-.579 thus far in August with 3 HRs and 8 RBI. He is on pace for 18 HRs and 73 RBI, but if he can continue hitting for power like he has of late, he should surpass 20 bombs this season.
Ben Sheets is making some kind of comeback after being away from the game for two years. Sheets held the Phillies to just one run in 7.1 innings, while giving up 7 hits, 1 walk and zero strikeouts. What's worrisome is that he induced just 4 swinging strikes amongst his 92 pitches thrown, but Sheets has been a huge surprise for fantasy owners, nonetheless.
Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford is starting to get hot for his fantasy owners as he went 2-4 with 2 doubles, 2 runs and 3 RBI in the Red Sox win over the Rangers. Crawford has multiple hits in 3 of his last 4 games, and is now hitting .292-.325-.500 with 3 HRs, 16 runs, and 13 RBI in 72 at bats. If he can continue to hit like this through the end of the season, he will improve his spot in my outfield rankings for 2013.
White Sox lefty Chris Sale held the Royals to 2 runs on 8 hits, to of which were HRs, no walks and 7 strikeouts in 8 innings of work last evening. He moved his record to 13-3, and now has a 2.59 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and an excellent 121-31 strikeout to walk ratio in 132 innings pitched. Will he be shut down at some point before the end of the season?