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Cristopher Sánchez takes a 44⅔-inning scoreless streak — seventh-longest in the live-ball era and the new Phillies franchise record — into Dodger Stadium today at 4:10 PM ET. A typical seven-inning start moves him to 51⅔ innings and into conversation with Bob Gibson and Zack Greinke; a full outing puts Orel Hershiser's all-time mark of 59⅓ innings (1988) within striking distance over his next two starts. Sánchez leads MLB in innings pitched (72.1), sits first in ERA (1.47) and ERA+ (262), and is the overwhelming NL Cy Young frontrunner going into the final month of the first half.
Ben Brown followed up four excellent starts with his best outing yet on Saturday: seven innings, one earned run, three hits, six strikeouts, one walk on 82 efficient pitches in a 6-1 Cubs win over St. Louis. In five rotation starts he owns a 1.73 ERA across 26 innings with 29 strikeouts and just seven walks. Across his full 2026 season (12 bullpen appearances plus five starts), Brown carries a 2.01 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and an elite 47:14 K:BB ratio in 44.2 innings. He moved from the bullpen out of necessity after injuries to Matthew Boyd and Edward Cabrera.
Kyle Finnegan suffered his fourth blown save of 2026 on Saturday, allowing consecutive one-out singles in the ninth and giving up the tying run on a safety squeeze. With Kenley Jansen on the 15-day IL (pelvic inflammation, no return timeline set), Finnegan remains Detroit's de facto closer — but four blown saves in limited save opportunities is an uncomfortable pattern. His 2.03 ERA in 26 appearances suggests the stuff is real; the execution in high-leverage spots is the problem.
Clayton Beeter earned a four-out save against the Padres on Friday after returning from a right forearm IL stint on May 21, giving him three saves on the year and the clearest signal of manager trust in Washington's chaotic closer committee. Gus Varland leads the team with four saves, but Beeter — used in the highest-leverage spots since activation — has the best pure stuff among the group. The Nationals have not named a formal closer; Varland, Beeter, Richard Lovelady, and PJ Poulin all remain in the mix.
Who's Hot This Week
The Dodgers' No. 6 prospect has a 2.81 ERA across four Triple-A starts since returning from Tommy John surgery, including five shutout innings with seven strikeouts in his most recent outing. With both Hernandez brothers on the IL and LA desperately short on roster flexibility, a callup is expected before June 10 per beat reporters. His pre-surgery pedigree (1.33 ERA in four 2024 MLB starts) and a staff that needs arms make this the most obvious pending callup in baseball. Stash now at 8% owned.
Worth Reading
Comprehensive Week 10 add list covering pitchers and hitters who are widely available but producing elite numbers. Ben Brown headlines the piece; also covers the Rangers' bullpen depth and a few hitters posting strong exit-velocity numbers that haven't filtered into batting average yet.
Bid values for every major Week 10 waiver target, broken down by league size. Gives Ben Brown a top-10 FAAB priority and sizes up how much to spend on Finnegan in light of this weekend's blown save.
Saturday morning data-driven waiver picks from Pitcher List — useful framing for the Sunday FAAB window. Covers streaming SP options with strong matchup ratings for Week 10 and flags a few high-ownership pitchers who are overvalued heading into the new week.
Placed on the 15-day IL on May 28 with pelvic inflammation — his second groin-related IL stint of 2026. No official return timeline; 3–5 weeks minimum is the expectation given the recurrence. Even upon return, his role is not secure: Jansen carried a 4.80 ERA and four blown saves before the IL trip, and the Tigers have not committed to reinstating him as closer.
Significant left oblique tear in just his fourth at-bat of the season (May 27), coming off offseason elbow surgery. Manager Dave Roberts described the severity as a 'significant tear' and a 60-day IL transfer is expected. Mid-to-late July is the earliest realistic return — and the combined history of oblique and elbow injuries makes that timeline optimistic.
Grade 1 left hamstring strain; placed on the 10-day IL on May 28 after exiting against the Rockies. MRI confirmed the mildest severity and Hernández himself described the results as 'best-case scenario.' A mid-June return is possible, though the Dodgers are not rushing given last season's groin setback.
Cristopher Sánchez operates with one of the most deceptively simple arsenals in baseball — just three pitches (sinker 44%, changeup 38%, slider 18%) — yet produces results that have confounded hitters all year. The key is pitch-pairing precision: his sinker and changeup share nearly identical spin rates (2,134 vs. 2,009 rpm), spin axis, and release point separated by a nearly imperceptible 7/10 of an inch. Sánchez possesses the only changeup in baseball with elite vertical and horizontal movement simultaneously, making it the most deceptive complement to an already-excellent sinker.
The 2026 results have been historic. In May alone, Sánchez pitched 39 innings without allowing a run — walking just three, striking out 45, posting a 0.72 WHIP for the month. His 44⅔-inning scoreless streak is the seventh-longest in the live-ball era (post-1920) and broke the Phillies' 115-year-old franchise record set by Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911. His season ERA (1.47) and ERA+ (262) lead the NL; he has accumulated an estimated 3.6 bWAR through 72 innings.
The sustainability argument is equally strong. Sánchez strategically deploys each pitch against the batters most susceptible to it, which has lowered his ERA by an additional 0.1–0.2 runs compared to a pitch-agnostic approach. He was the NL Cy Young runner-up in 2025 with a 2.50 ERA and led all pitchers with 8.0 WAR — and he has improved meaningfully on that already-elite season. He starts today at Dodger Stadium with Orel Hershiser's all-time record of 59⅓ consecutive scoreless innings now in realistic striking distance.
The May 30 Leverage Ledger highlighted Mason Miller's 17th save for Oakland, pacing MLB, and Bryan Baker's 15th for Boston after navigating traffic. The day's biggest story came in Detroit: Kyle Finnegan gave up consecutive one-out singles and allowed the lead to evaporate on a safety squeeze — his fourth blown save of 2026 — leaving the Tigers' closer situation in a troubled state just days after Kenley Jansen hit the 15-day IL.
Read the full Ledger →| Closer | Team | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Finnegan | DET | 🟡 Watch | De facto closer since Jansen's May 28 IL-15 placement. Has prior saves but now carries four blown saves in 2026. Still the most likely next-man-up; Will Vest is the speculative alternative if the Tigers intervene after another failure. |
| Tanner Scott | LAD | 🟡 Watch | Serving as de facto closer since Edwin Díaz's elbow surgery sidelined him for the first half. Manager Roberts has given him the majority of save chances; Alex Vesia also sees ninth-inning work. Treat as closer-primary-with-committee-element. 1.25 ERA makes him worth rostering in any format. |
| Clayton Beeter | WSH | 🔴 Committee | Returned from a right forearm IL stint on May 21 and earned a four-out save against the Padres Friday — his third save of 2026 and the clearest manager trust signal yet. Gus Varland (4 SV) still leads the team, but Beeter has the best stuff. Add in 14+ team leagues. |
| Riley O'Brien | STL | 🟡 Watch | Has 12 of 15 save chances converted with a 2.70 ERA and a dominant 23:2 K:BB in 2026. Three blown saves keep this in watch territory rather than locked. Roster confidently in 10-team leagues; monitor in shallower formats with JoJo Romero as the backup plan. |
Full game highlights from Saturday's Phillies-Dodgers thriller, capped by Edmundo Sosa's two-run shot in the eighth inning that completed Philadelphia's 4-3 comeback and snapped LA's six-game winning streak. Sets the stage perfectly for today's Sunday finale — Cristopher Sánchez vs. the Dodgers, scoreless streak on the line.
Oneil Cruz launched a 450-foot homer for Pittsburgh that practically left the broadcast frame — one of the longest balls hit in 2026. The blast came in the same Twins series where Jared Jones made his season debut, a reminder that the Pirates have legitimate fantasy contributors up and down the roster.
A 90-second visual breakdown of Cristopher Sánchez's three-pitch arsenal, showing exactly how the sinker and changeup tunnel together using nearly identical spin rates and release points. The pitch-tunneling overlay makes it immediately obvious why hitters are helpless — arguably the clearest visual explanation of his dominance available anywhere.
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