Sandy Alcantara earned his ninth win of the season on Monday after twirling eight scoreless innings against the Nationals, limiting them to just one hit and no walks while striking out seven. Coming off a dominant outing in which he racked up 14 strikeouts over nine innings of one-run ball, Alcantara turned in another stellar performance by limiting Washington to just one baserunner over eight shutout frames. Alcantara has hit his stride down the stretch, allowing two earned runs or less in six of his last seven starts. The hot streak has lowered his ERA to 3.10, which is the lowest it's been in the second half. If he stays healthy, he should be one of the rare pitchers to surpass both 200 innings and 200 strikeouts this year, as he currently has 188 2/3 and 185, respectively. Alcantara is poised for another strong stat line with a home matchup against the Pirates this weekend.
Adam Wainwright earned his 16th win of the season on Monday with six shutout innings against the Mets, limiting them to four hits and three walks while striking out four. Wainwright was able to capitalize on a friendly road matchup with the light-hitting Mets, winning his fifth consecutive start and ninth in his last 10. The 40-year-old has only gotten better during the second half and has shown no signs of wearing down, improving his record to 16-7 with a 2.88 ERA. Wainwright is posting similar numbers to the ones that made him a perennial Cy Young candidate a decade ago, combining elite quantity and durability with excellent results. He's less than 10 innings away from reaching 200 for the season, while his 2.88 ERA is his best mark since 2014. Wainwright will try to extend his win streak in a tougher matchup against the Padres at home this weekend.
Paul Goldschmidt helped power the Cardinals to a 7-0 win over the Mets on Monday by going 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs, two RBIs, and a walk. Goldschmidt connected for his 25th homer of the season against Rich Hill in the fifth, marking his first long ball since his two-homer game to kick off September. The 34-year-old has been scuffling since that monster performance, going just 7-for-34 with no RBIs over his last 10 games prior to Monday. Goldy's been a streaky hitter this year, however, and his overall offensive numbers remain strong with 25 big flies, 80 runs, 84 RBIs, and an .840 OPS. He's also made his usual impact on the bases with 12 steals and zero caught stealings. He remains locked into the two-hole for St. Louis and should remain locked in fantasy lineups as well despite his recent scuffle.
Yadier Molina helped pace a seven-run, 15-hit attack for the Cardinals by going 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, and an RBI against the Mets on Monday. Molina helped long-time teammate and battery-mate Adam Wainwright to another win with another strong game, notching his first three-hit game since early July and calling a shutout behind the plate as well. After a lengthy summer slump in which the 39-year-old backstop appeared to be showing his age, he's surprisingly rejuvenated himself as one of baseball's hottest hitters in September. He's been red-hot over his last eight games with 10 hits (including three homers), nine RBIs, and eight runs. While his recent resurgence has helped boost his overall numbers, his fantasy value remains limited to NL-only leagues, deep mixed leagues, and two-catcher formats at this stage of his career.
Evan Longoria propelled the Giants to a 9-1 win over the Padres on Monday by going 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs. Three of Longoria's ribbies came on his first-inning homer against Yu Darvish, capping a five-run frame for San Francisco that set the tone for their dominant win. Longoria also added an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth for good measure, tying his season-high with four RBIs. He's been an RBI machine over the past week with 13 RBIs over his last six games despite managing only six hits during that span, four of which went for extra bases. Despite missing much of the season with injury, the 35-year-old is still finishing the season strong and with some of his best offensive numbers in years. Keep this RBI machine locked into your lineup, as he should continue to see plenty of opportunities while batting in the middle of one of baseball's most prolific lineups.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 daily player updates sent to your inbox every morning and track your team online. Click here for details: http://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm Click here to register: http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3
