Braves righty Kevin Gausman won after allowing four hits and two walks with five strikeouts over eight shutout innings against the Pirates on Tuesday. Gausman notched his third straight win and quality start with one of his best outings of the season, throwing 73 of his 103 pitches for strikes to improve to 8-9 with a 3.99 ERA. The 27-year-old has taken well to the National League since being traded from the Orioles on July 31, going 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in four starts with his new team. Gausman had stretches of ace-level performance during his tenure in Baltimore, but now that he's out of the AL East he will likely see an uptick in production. He'll look to keep rolling with a favorable road matchup against the Marlins on August 26.
Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI against the Pirates on Tuesday. Swanson powered Atlanta's 6-1 victory over Pittsburgh with a pair of two-run homers to left field, giving him four home runs and 12 RBI in his last nine games. After managing just six home runs, 51 RBI and a .092 ISO in his first full season last year, Swanson has shown more power this season with 12 home runs, 52 RBI and a .165 ISO. While his batting line is an unimpressive .245/.301/.410, the 24-year-old is doing enough to be useful in NL-only leagues and deeper mixed formats.
Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk vs. the Braves on Tuesday. After Atlanta was blanked for eight innings by Kevin Gausman, Polanco contributed Pittsburgh's only run of the night by leading off the bottom of the ninth with his 20th homer of the year. The long ball was his first of August, snapping a streak of 18 games without a homer in which he batted .169/.247/.277 with 21 strikeouts in 74 plate appearances. The 26-year-old has posted solid numbers overall, however, with a .241/.333/.485 slash line in 116 games while tacking on nine steals. He's become more of a three-true-outcomes type of hitter this year, as he's on pace to exceed his career high in homers (22) while posting the highest walk rate (11.8 percent) and strikeout rate (23.2 percent) of his career.
Mets outfielder Michael Conforto went 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBI vs. the Giants on Tuesday. Conforto gave New York some key insurance runs with his three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, propelling the Mets to a 6-3 victory. The long ball was Conforto's 18th of the season and his fourth in his last 11 games, during which he's tallied 11 RBI. While the 25-year-old's .761 OPS marks a big step down from last season's .939 mark, Conforto has continued to mature as a hitter by increasing his walk rate to a career-best 13.7 percent. He's also been healthier this year after playing in just 109 games in each of the past two seasons, which is encouraging for his outlook going forward.
Giants third baseman Evan Longoria went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored against the Mets on Tuesday. Longoria staked San Francisco to an early lead with his first-inning homer, but the Giants didn't score again until he was driven home in the ninth following his single. The long ball was Longoria's 13th of the year but his first since August 5, marking just his second multi-hit game during that span. The 32-year-old's first season with the Giants has been a disappointment, as his .712 OPS represents a career low and his plate discipline (career-worst 4.0 percent walk rate) has vanished. On the heels of last year's lackluster .737 OPS, Longoria appears to be past his prime and is a player to avoid in standard fantasy leagues.
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