Daily Briefing: A Triumphant Return

The FanGraphs Newsletter, August 16, 2021 [READ IN BROWSER]( By Jeffrey Bellone - August 16, 2021 A GRAND RETURN: All-Star Fernando Tatis Jr. made a triumphant return to the San Diego Padres on Sunday after being sidelined since July 31 with a partially dislocated left shoulder. The shortstop played right field and went 4-5 with two home runs and four RBIs to lead his team to an 8-2 victory over the Diamondbacks. []( ALMOST PERFECT: A day after Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Tyler Gilbert turned his first major-league start into baseball's eighth no-hitter this season, Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie was nearly perfect against the Detroit Tigers. McKenzie retired the first 23 batters he faced before allowing a single to Harold Castro with two outs in the eighth inning. The 24-year-old finished with 11 strikeouts and surrendered only that one hit before handing the ball to Emmanuel Close to pitch the ninth. []( FIRST PLACE: Following a sweep of the Washington Nationals this weekend, the Atlanta Braves hold sole possession of first place in the National League East for the first time this season. They are one game up on the Philadelphia Phillies. []( TRADING CARD: A rare T206 Honus Wagner baseball card sold for $6.06 million on Monday, making it the highest-selling sports card of all time. The sale broke the previous high price of $5.2 million for both a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card and a 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection LeBron James-autographed rookie jersey card. []( 📈 STAT OF THE DAY: Tyler Gilbert's no-hitter was the eighth of the 2021 season, tying the 1884 campaign for the most in a single season in major league history. []( 🗣 QUOTABLE: "After the game, he goes seven, and I go 'hey man, did you just mumble something like don't effing touch me?" Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told ESPN in relaying a story about Max Scherzer's response to being congratulated during his first Dodger start. "And he [Scherzer] goes 'yeah, and I gave you the tempered, most respectful way I could say it, because this is my job. I don't need any kind of congratulations or support. That's my job.' So tonight, I won't be patting him on the butt." []( This newsletter is made possible due to the generous support of our members. If you are reading this email or use FanGraphs in your daily baseball routine, please consider supporting us. [BECOME A FANGRAPHS MEMBER]( SLUMPING RED SOX: Even with this weekend's sweep, the Sox have gone just 6-8 in August, 14-15 in the second half, and 19-20 since the start of July, squandering an AL East lead that was as large as 4 1/2 games circa July 5 👉 [Slumping Red Sox Get a Boost With the Returns of Chris Sale and Kyle Schwarber, by Jay Jaffe]( FRANKIE MONTAS: Montas’ whiff rates on each individual pitch have remained relatively stable over the past several seasons, meaning the extra strikeouts are a product of his pitch usage and plan of attack as opposed to unstable swing-and-miss rates on any given pitch 👉 [Frankie Montas Has Rekindled an Old Friendship, by Carmen Ciardiello]( 📚 RECENTLY PUBLISHED [A Few Interesting Facts About Sinkers]( by Justin Choi [Sunday Notes: Under-the-Radar Dodgers Prospect Justin Yurchak is Raking]( by David Laurila [New AL Everyday Starters -- Aug 16, 2021]( by Mike Podhorzer [Roto Riteup: August 16, 2021]( by Justin Mason [Bullpen Report: August 16, 2021]( by Jon Becker ⚾️ ROSTER REPORT For the latest roster information, please visit our [RosterResource]( pages. [Triston McKenzie’s New Approach – Pitcher Video Breakdown]( by Nick Pollack, Pitcher List [What Impact Will Remaining Schedules Have on the MLB Playoff Race?]( by Zach Kram, The Ringer [Cody Bellinger has shouldered the burden of a career-worst 2021. Can he turn it around?]( by Fabian Ardaya, The Athletic ($) [What Can Unsustainably Inflate Stolen Base Numbers?]( by Darius Austin, Baseball Prospectus ($) [Here is every team's top pending free agent]( by Will Leitch, MLB.com [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2021 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 1200 N Hartford St. Apt 312Arlington, Va 22201 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](