It’s a massive relief that Kurtz appears to have avoided serious injury after he was drilled by Red Sox starter Patrick Sandoval in the first inning. It’s a bit unclear whether he already underwent X-rays, but the fact that the Athletics are calling it a contusion is a massive relief. He’s presumably day-to-day heading into Thursday’s series finale.

Sale’s phenomenal season hasn’t been talked about enough. He faced just two batters over the minimum and didn’t let a single runner into scoring position as he decimated the Mets here. His fastball and slider combined to force 14 swings-and-misses and many of those were very ugly chases. They say father time is undefeated, but the 37-year-old Sale now has a 2.08 ERA with 143 strikeouts and 26 walks across 117 innings this season. If not for Jacob Misiorowski, those would be clear and obvious Cy Young numbers. He’s lined up for a two-start week coming up against the Marlins and Yankees.

He’s back. Díaz figures to immediately reclaim the closer role in Los Angeles with lefty Tanner Scott remaining in the mix to vulture the occasional opportunity. The 32-year-old former elite stopper’s stuff looked sharp in a handful of minor league rehab outings, piling up 11 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, while working his way back from surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in late April.

Buxton has been battling a lingering hip ailment for the last couple months and didn’t look right at the dish after coming off the injured list last week, hitting just .160 (4-for-25) with zero extra-base hits in seven games. It’s challenging to forecast exactly when Buxton will return since the Twins would probably prefer that he finally put the hip issue to bed once and for all. Fantasy managers should anticipate a multi-week absence. There should be a definitive return timetable at some point in the near future.

Skubal struck out six and walked one, throwing 92 pitches. He nearly escaped with only one run allowed, but Kyle Finnegan let two inherited runners score. Skubal remains the jewel of Monday’s trade deadline, so this very well might’ve been his final start with the Tigers. Detroit led 7-0 before losing 10-9 in 12 innings, dropping to 51-58 on the season. He began the game by striking out Taylor Ward for the 1,000th K of his career. It remains to be seen who he’ll be pitching for in his next appearance.

Giants manager Tony Vitello told reporters the procedure will “more than likely” end Schmitt’s season. It’s hardly an unexpected development after the 27-year-old breakout slugger was diagnosed with a meniscus tear in his left knee earlier this week. It would be extremely surprising if he makes it back in any capacity, which means that fantasy managers can safely drop Schmitt in nearly all formats. He finishes an unexpected breakthrough campaign with a strong 271/.301/.483 slash line with a career-high 21 homers, 55 RBI and nine steals in 409 plate appearances.

Pasquantino is headed for some extra time off to rest and recover after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Twins with right hand soreness. The big cause for concern here is that the 28-year-old suffered a hamate fracture on that exact hand last month. He’ll presumably undergo imaging to rule out any structural issues. There should be some clarity on his status at some point in the coming days. It’ll probably wind up being Salvador Perez taking over at first base in his absence.

Ohtani left a game on July 3 because of biceps discomfort, but it was a hitting issue and not supposed to be pitching-related. If the Dodgers are now concerned about it in terms of his pitching, then any sort of quick return to the mound seems highly unlikely. All signs point to him remaining in the lineup as a designated hitter, however.

Cole struck out seven over those six scoreless, and he allowed just four hits and a pair of walks while throwing 60-of-99 pitches for strikes. The 35-year-old veteran didn’t have the same swing-and-miss stuff he did against the Pirates when he whiffed 11 in his previous outing, but he was even more effective while lowering his ERA to 3.57 in the process. Cole has not pitched like a fantasy ace for the majority of 2026, but he has over his last few outings. He’s scheduled to face the Cubs on Sunday and will look to continue this impressive run.

Lewis did not start this game, but he did finish it. With the Twins trailing 2-1 and two outs, Lewis blasted a baseball high off the wall in right-center, and it scored a pair to give Minnesota the comeback victory. He also drew a walk earlier in the game, and it improves the 27-year-old’s slash to .215/.300/.387 over 261 at-bats. That’s a disappointing season, but Lewis has had just enough bright spots to justify believing there’s better things ahead.