Two walkoffs in as many nights have put the Guardians a game ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central race. After Brayan Rocchio‘s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth sealed a 6-5 victory on Thursday, Kahlil Watson was the hero on Friday with a 10th-inning walkoff single and a 4-3 Guards win.
1. Aroldis captures reliever K’s record
Aroldis Chapman earned his 17th save of the season in locking down a 5-2 Red Sox win over the Angels yesterday, and Chapman’s strikeout of Denzer Guzman sealed a bit of Major League history. It was the 1364th strikeout of Chapman’s career, breaking a tie with Hoyt Wilhelm for the most strikeouts ever recorded by a relief pitcher. The record had stood since Wilhelm’s retirement following the 1972 season, and after tying the mark last Saturday, Chapman’s next appearance didn’t come until last night.
2. Caminero, Rays keep streaking
The Rays extended their win streak to nine games with Friday’s 3-1 victory over the Astros, with Junior Caminero‘s solo homer in the seventh inning standing as the game’s winning run. The red-hot Caminero has 25 home runs this year, with 10 of those big flies coming in his last 10 games. This power surge helped Caminero win AL Player of the Month honors in June, and Tampa Bay will send Drew Rasmussen (June’s AL Pitcher of the Month) to the hill today in a big pitching matchup with Houston’s Hunter Brown.
3. Ohtani dealing with biceps issue
Shohei Ohtani allowed three earned runs over six innings (and 110 pitches) in Friday’s 4-3 Dodgers win over the Padres, but eyebrows were raised when Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for Ohtani in the seventh inning. Postgame, L.A. manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters that Ohtani was dealing with some minor biceps tightness that will keep the two-way superstar out of Saturday’s starting lineup. Roberts also didn’t rule out the possibility that Ohtani won’t pitch again before the All-Star break, though both the skipper and Ohtani himself downplayed the severity of the biceps problem.
