The Red Sox and Nationals kickstarted trade deadline activity last night in a one-for-one swap of young talent. Left-hander Connelly Early heads to D.C., while infielder Curtis Mead goes to Boston in return. Mead likely slots in at third base for the Red Sox, with the incumbent Caleb Durbin separately telling Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that he is willing to move to second base. Interested readers can check out our full breakdown of the Early/Mead swap here.
1. Díaz reaches 1,000 hits with the Rays
Rays designated hitter Yandy Díaz led off yesterday’s 3-0 win over the Guardians with a single to right field. That was Díaz’s 1,000th hit as a member of the Rays, making him one of four players in franchise history to achieve the feat. Ben Zobrist is third on that list with 1,016 hits, so Díaz will easily surpass him by the end of the season. Now in his age-34 season, Díaz continues to be one of the team’s best hitters, batting .306/.381/.465 with a 137 wRC+ that’s second on the team behind Junior Caminero. The 61-43 Rays remain the top team in the American League.
2. Cease dominates in one-hit shutout
Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease turned in a masterful performance in a 6-0 shutout of the Red Sox. The righty threw a complete game on 120 pitches, striking out 12 batters while allowing three walks and a sixth-inning double to Andruw Monasterio. Cease’s one-hit shutout was the club’s first since Shawn Marcum in 2010 (h/t to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). It continued a dominant season for Cease, whose 4.1 fWAR ranks second among qualified starters in the Junior Circuit. Now sitting on a 2.46 ERA in 113 1/3 innings, Cease remains a frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award.
3. Salvy passes Brett as Royals’ home run leader
Salvador Perez is putting up career-worst numbers in his age-36 season, but he reached a notable milestone in the Royals’ 3-2 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park. Down 2-1 in the top of the seventh, Perez hit a solo home run off Detroit’s Kyle Finnegan to tie the score. The blast was Perez’s 15th of the season and No. 318 for his career, moving him ahead of George Brett for the most home runs in franchise history. Perez tied Brett with home run No. 317 on July 22nd in front of the home crowd at Kauffman Stadium.
Photo courtesy of Pablo Robles, Imagn Images
