Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks preserved a 3-0 lead and tallied his 14th save in a win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. Fairbanks had to work around an error by second baseman Brandon Lowe in the bottom of the ninth, but he retired the other three hitters he faced to help the Rays keep rolling. The 31-year-old has not allowed an earned run in 11 of his past 12 appearances, which has dropped his ERA to 2.08 across 30 1/3 innings. Fairbanks hasn't exactly posted dominant strikeout and walk numbers (26:14 K:BB), but he's managing to get the job done consistently despite that.

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Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer returned from almost three months on the injured list to throw five innings against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday. The three-time Cy Young winner allowed three earned runs on six hits and logged four strikeouts against three walks over 83 pitches (55 strikes). He averaged 93.2 mph on his fastball and maxed out at 95.2. The Jays lost 5-4, but Scherzer did not factor into the decision. It was Scherzer's first appearance since a three-inning season debut on March 29, when he suffered an injury to his right thumb. The 40-year-old admitted before his activation from the IL that he wasn't sure how his thumb would hold up, so that's worth monitoring in the coming days. For now, he's scheduled to get the ball next in a showdown with the New York Yankees on Monday.

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Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor smacked his 10th home run of the season in a 7-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. Naylor, returning from a one-game absence because of a minor shoulder injury, made his presence felt immediately with a two-run blast off right-hander Sean Burke in the first inning. The Diamondbacks had little else to celebrate after that, but Naylor added a single and a walk in a 2-for-3 afternoon. While Naylor is not on pace to approach his 2024 HR total of 31, this has still been another productive season for the 28-year-old. He's slashing .307/.363/.479 with 53 RBI, 42 runs scored, 10 steals, and an excellent 12.9% strikeout rate over 321 plate appearances.

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Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran notched save No. 11 in a 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. Duran retired the Mariners in order on just nine pitches, inducing a groundout from MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh and striking out one along the way. It was a nice rebound by Duran, who took the loss against the Mariners on Tuesday in a poor outing. Duran has allowed a run in four of 10 appearances this month, but he has put up sparkling numbers overall. The 27-year-old has pitched to a 1.73 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP and 41:14 K:BB in 36 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, with the Twins sitting four games under .500, Duran has only received 13 save opportunities this year.

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Milwaukee Brewers closer Trevor Megill pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning on Wednesday to collect his 18th save in a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Megill had an easy time of it, inducing a soft grounder from Oneil Cruz, striking out Tommy Pham, and wrapping it up with a Jared Triolo lineout to right. The right-hander needed a mere 10 pitches to get the job done. Megill has been a steady option this year with 18 saves in 20 opportunities, a 2.60 ERA, and 33:14 K:BB in 27 2/3 innings.

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New York Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two steals in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the hosting Cincinnati Reds. He also singled twice and scored two runs. It was a career day for Dominguez, and the first time he's notched four hits in a contest. The two swipes bring him up to 12 on the season. The 22-year-old has been better overall in June, carrying a .281 average (16-for-57). However, he hasn't hit a ball out of the yard in over a month (May 21) and has seen his OPS dip nearly 200 points from May (.677). Dominguez is batting a fine .279 off right-handed pitching, but is struggling against southpaws (.200). He'll need to improve there to warrant playing time in a loaded Yankees outfield.

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New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in his team's 7-3 win against the visiting Atlanta Braves. Soto kicked off a big five-run fourth inning with a dinger and also capped the scoring for the Mets in the seventh with homer No. 19 of the season. The 26-year-old has been scorching at the dish in June with an otherworldly .325/.485/.753 triple slash across 77 at-bats. Over that stretch, he's tallied ten long balls, three doubles, 22 runs scored, 18 RBI, and more walks (23) than strikeouts (15). Wednesday marked his fourth multi-homer effort of the campaign, and second in the last week.

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Houston Astros closer Josh Hader converted his 21st save in as many chances as the club pulled out a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Hader, pitching for the second straight night and third out of four, retired the Phillies in order and struck out one in the top of the ninth. The star left-hander needed 16 pitches to slam the door on Philadelphia. Hader lowered his ERA to a dazzling 1.73 with a microscopic 0.72 WHIP and 56:7 K:BB over 36 1/3 innings. He remains a superb option at the age of 31, though the Astros may try to avoid using him on Thursday because of his recent workload. Hader has thrown 45 pitches in three save situations since Sunday.

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Chicago White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Wednesday's 7-3 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also singled, struck out, and was caught stealing. The Venezuelan native's first homer of the day was a two-run shot off D-Backs starter Zac Gallen that put his team up 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth frame. Two innings later, Sosa knocked in another run with an RBI-single, and finished the monster performance with a solo bash in the eighth to make it 7-3. He's slashing a solid .277/.298/.416 with six long balls, 12 doubles, 22 runs scored, and 22 RBI through 66 appearances.

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Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski stymied the Pittsburgh Pirates over five innings in Wednesday's 4-2 victory. He gave up two hits and issued two free passes while striking out eight in another excellent outing. The hard-throwing right-hander racked up 13 swinging strikes to register a 35% CSW and threw 15 pitches faster than opposing pitcher Paul Skenes' fastest pitch (100.2 MPH) -- topping out at an eye-popping 102.4 MPH. Few words describe just how good Misiorowski has been in his professional debut, boasting as many hits (three) as wins (3-0). He'll carry a sublime 1.13 ERA and 0.63 WHIP into a road outing with the New York Mets next week.

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The Houston Astros and shortstop Jeremy Pena were deep in contract discussions on a deal worth more than $105 million over five years, multiple league sources told KPRC 2 Sports' Ari Alexander. The Astros first approached Pena early in the year, but in the midst of a career year for the 27-year-old in 2025, his price has gone up, and the Astros' most recent offer exceeded $107 million. On Monday, Pena hired Scott Boras as his new agent, which could complicate contract discussions, with the super agent well-known for taking his clients to free agency. However, the Astros have gotten deals done recently with Boras on clients Jose Altuve and Lance McCullers Jr. Pena has been one of the best players in the American League this year, going into Wednesday's action hitting .326/.382/.495 with an .877 OPS, 11 home runs, 40 RBI, 47 runs scored and 15 steals in 307 at-bats.

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San Diego Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta tossed seven scoreless innings in his team's 1-0 win against the visiting Washington Nationals. He allowed three hits and matched a season-high with ten punchouts -- improving to 8-2 on the season. Pivetta was stellar against the team that drafted him, garnering an outstanding 39% CSW, and it was nice to see him hurl an outing sans a run after yielding four earned runs or more in three of his previous four outings. He's been solid in his first stint with the Friars, compiling a 3.36 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 101:24 K:BB ratio through 16 starts (91 innings). Pivetta's next outing will be a road date with the first-place Philadelphia Phillies early next week.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks announced on Wednesday that they placed infielder Ildemaro Vargas (foot) on the 10-day injured list with a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot and recalled infielder Blaze Alexander from Triple-A Reno in a corresponding move. Vargas was hit by a pitch on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox and is now wearing a walking boot. The 33-year-old backup infielder won't be able to return until the second half of the season. Alexander will serve as infield depth in Vargas' place. The 26-year-old former 11th-round pick in 2018 made his major-league debut a year ago and hit .247 (41-for-166) with three homers, 21 RBI, three steals and 19 runs scored in 61 games played. Alexander has the ability to play multiple infield spots and center field, but with Eugenio Suarez (hand) expected back by Friday, he'll serve in a bench role for now.

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Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi blanked the Boston Red Sox over seven innings of work in Wednesday's 5-2 home win. The veteran yielded three hits, walked one, and fanned a season-high 12 batters, improving to 3-6. Kikuchi has been on quite a stretch recently, punching out 31 over his last 19 2/3 frames (three walks). Furthermore, he hasn't given up more than three runs in an outing in nearly two months (Apr. 26). The 34-year-old's expected stats aren't the most appealing (4.34 xFIP), but he continues to out-pitch his metrics, making him worth riding until regression finds him. He'll square off against the hosting Atlanta Braves the next time he toes the rubber.

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Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez (hand) took light batting practice on Wednesday and expressed confidence that he'd be back in the starting lineup by Friday's series opener at home against the visiting Miami Marlins, according to MLB.com's Casey Drottar. Suarez was hit on his right hand by a pitch on Monday against the Chicago White Sox and missed the final two games of the series as a result. However, X-rays came back negative and he's just waiting for the swelling in his hand to go down. Fantasy managers will want to check back to make sure the 33-year-old power hitter is back on Friday after Thursday's off day. Suarez has been an elite source of power for fantasy managers this year with 25 home runs and 67 RBI while slashing .251/.323/.569 with an .892 OPS. He's also added 48 runs scored in 283 at-bats.

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Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop prospect Jordan Lawlar (hamstring) returned to the starting lineup for the Triple-A Reno Aces on Wednesday and made the start at third base while batting in the two-hole. Lawlar hadn't played since last Thursday in the minors due to a sore hamstring, but he's back now. With third baseman Eugenio Suarez (hamstring) expected to return this weekend after being hit by a pitch on his hand on Monday, it's unlikely we'll see the 22-year-old Lawlar back in the big leagues until the second half of the 2025 season. Lawlar continues to prove himself at Triple-A with a .997 OPS, 10 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 52 games with the Aces, but he went hitless in 19 at-bats over eight games earlier this year and has only four hits in his 56 plate appearances in the big leagues since making his MLB debut with the Snakes back in 2023.

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Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung went 2-for-4 with three RBI in Wednesday's 7-0 win against the Orioles. This snapped a huge power drought, as he hadn't homered since May 16. The 27-year-old is now slashing .246/.292/.385 with eight home runs, 34 RBI, and 25 runs in 70 games. This was his second multi-hit game in a row, so hopefully this is the start of Jung finally breaking out of his slump. The youngster is still chasing the high of hitting 23 home runs in 122 games in 2023, but he hasn't been able to return to that form after missing most of last season with an injury.

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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom was dominant on Wednesday to pick up his eighth win of the season, pitching seven shutout innings while striking out seven. He allowed one hit and two walks and took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning, but was pulled after Colton Cowser singled to start the frame. After a bit of a rocky start to the season, the veteran pitcher has locked in and held the opposition to two runs or less in 13 straight starts dating back to April 18. The 94 strikeouts in 95 innings are less than usual for the ace, but he is making an intentional effort this season to dial back his velocity in an attempt to stay healthy. Considering he has a 2.08 ERA and 0.91 WHIP on the year, there's no need to be throwing 102 miles per hour. He'll look to repeat this performance in his next start, which is once again set to be against the Orioles.

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Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz went 3-for-3 with a three-run home run, two singles, and a walk in Wednesday's 3-0 win against the Tigers. Since June 15, the rookie has launched six home runs and has three multi-hit games in that span. It took a couple of weeks for him to get comfortable at the major league level, but the slugger is now slashing .255/.313/.523 with 11 home runs in 42 games. That's more than a 40-homer pace over 162 games, and he should be universally rostered in fantasy at this point. His 32.7% strikeout rate could cause some extended slumps, but the 22-year-old's elite power should continue to shine.

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Athletics starting pitcher Jacob Lopez threw seven scoreless innings against the Tigers on Wednesday to earn his second win of the season. He allowed three hits and one walk while striking out six. This is his fourth straight outing of allowing one earned run or less, with three being scoreless appearances. In that span, the 27-year-old has struck out 29 batters in 23 innings. The lefty has made seven starts this season and has certainly made the case to stay in the rotation for the foreseeable future. He'll carry a 3.56 ERA and a 28.9% strikeout rate into his next start, currently lined up to be against the Rays.

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