Overview
- Roki Sasaki delivered seven shutout innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts on Friday, and Freddie Freeman ended the Dodgers’ 0-0 duel with a ninth-inning walk-off home run.
- The Chicago Cubs recovered from an 18-3 loss to the Giants by forcing extra innings with Pete Crow-Armstrong homering twice and winning on Michael Busch’s 10th-inning walk-off single.
- The Houston Astros split recent games after a 5-1 loss to the Pirates, in which Jared Jones and Carmen Mlodzinski stifled Houston, and then beat the A’s 5-1 on Isaac Paredes’ three-run homer that was recorded as his 100th career long ball.
- Jose Altuve has taken live batting practice and Astros manager Joe Espada said there is a possibility he could return this weekend, a development that would affect Houston’s lineup while Aaron Judge’s IL placement for a rib stress fracture has coincided with a noticeable Yankees offensive dip.
- Across the league teams swung between blowouts and tight, late-decided games, a pattern that highlights standout starting performances, strained bullpens, and the outsized impact of single late-inning plays on series outcomes.