Rockies righty Jon Gray won after allowing one run on eight hits (one homer) and no walks with 12 strikeouts in seven innings Friday vs. the Marlins. Gray exploited Miami's anemic offense with one of his best starts of the year, racking up a season-high 12 strikeouts over seven innings of one-run ball. It was also his first start without a walk since April 4, as he threw 69 of his 99 pitches for strikes. Friday's outing was Gray's fourth time exceeding double-digit strikeouts this year, giving him 112 in 88 innings. He's struggled despite the high whiff totals, however, entering Friday's start with the most hits (93) and earned runs (53) allowed in the National League. While Coors Field limits his upside, he'll look to build off this outing in San Francisco's pitching-friendly environment on June 28.
Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger went 1-for-4 with a grand slam Friday against the Mets. Bellinger broke open a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth with a monster home run into the second deck in right field off Zack Wheeler, giving Los Angeles a 4-0 lead. The grand slam was his 13th homer of the year and his first long ball since June 8, snapping a 1-for-15 skid over his previous four games. Bellinger has dropped off considerably after setting the National League record for most home runs by a rookie last year (39) with his OPS falling from .933 to .782, but the 22-year-old is still showing good power (.227 ISO) and plate discipline (11.8 percent walk rate) in his sophomore season.
Cardinals righty Jack Flaherty received a no-decision after allowing one run on one hit (a homer) and two walks with 13 strikeouts in seven innings Friday against the Brewers. Flaherty was at the top of his game in his longest start since May 20, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Jesus Aguilar broke it up with a solo homer. The 13 strikeouts tied the 22-year-old rookie's career high, as he threw 71 of his 110 pitches for strikes. He's given up just two earned runs in 18 1/3 innings over his last three starts, lowering his ERA to 2.50 through 57 2/3 innings with a 68:16 K/BB ratio. He'll try to subdue the Indians at home on June 27.
Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar went 2-for-4 with two solo homers Friday vs. the Cardinals. Both of Aguilar's long balls came in critical moments, as he tied the game at 1-1 with Milwaukee's first hit of the game in the seventh inning before delivering a walk-off shot in the ninth. That makes 16 homers for Aguilar, 15 of which have come since the start of May. He now has the same number of home runs through 65 games this year as he did in 133 games last year, which should help him continue to receive regular at-bats even with the recent return of Eric Thames from the disabled list.
Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer and four runs scored against the Nationals on Friday. Herrera has been unconscious at the plate over the past week, homering in five straight games and six of his last seven. He's already up to 13 dingers on the season after going deep 15 times in 2016 and 14 times last year, showing a vastly improved power stroke in his age-26 season. He hasn't sacrificed much in the way of contact, either, as his .308 average would be a career high. He's notched multiple hits in six of his last eight games, bringing his average up 25 points during that span.
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