Touch of Gley
Gleyber Torres (DET): 3-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
The two pitch types that Torres has been hitting the best so far this season (>.500 wOBA) are sinkers and sweepers, so Tanner Houck coming to Detroit with these two pitches dominating almost 75% of his repertoire was not likely to end well for him. Sure enough, his first pitch–a sinker–to Torres was crushed out to left center. Two innings later, Houck tried another sinker, also inside but slightly higher than the one in the first inning, and Torres dropped a single into shallow right field to score Javier Báez. Torres ended up leaving the game in the top of the sixth inning when the Tigers led 12-0, or else he might have had an even more impressive stat line.
Including Monday’s game, Torres has a three-game hit streak going, and with Brayan Bello and his sinker-dominant profile coming to the mound tomorrow, look for him to build on that streak further. He has had seven hits in 21 at-bats versus Bello over his career.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:
Trey Sweeney (DET): 3-5, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Sweeney, who typically bats at the bottom of the Tigers’ lineup, is generally overlooked compared to most of the other talent on the roster. Sweeney and Báez have served as effective on-base specialists who set the table for the power hitters up top and drive them in. Before getting blanked in two games vs Texas last week–one featuring Jacob deGrom–he had a four-game hit streak of multi-hit games where he also scored multiple times per game.
Corbin Carroll (ARI): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.
Arizona only managed two runs against the Giants on Monday night, but it shouldn’t be surprising to see Carroll being responsible for both of them. Both homers were against Justin Verlander, and although there was a slight wind going out to center, Oracle Park is not easy for hitting home runs. Carroll now has 13 total home runs, trailing only Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber by one.
Trent Grisham (NYY): 3-6, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Not far behind Carroll in the home run category, Grisham finds himself tied for third (with Shohei Ohtani and Eugenio Suárez) after adding two homers off Emerson Hancock fastballs. Grisham toyed with Julio Rodríguez out in center field on both home runs, the first bouncing just off Julio’s glove to go over the wall, and the second just out of reach, but in almost the same spot to center.
Even more impressive than the home runs is that Grisham has scored in his last seven games, and his strikeout and on-base percentage rates are career bests for him in 2025.
Jackson Merrill (SDP): 3-4, 3B, 2 R, RBI.
Jackson Merrill is still good at baseball, as he had another routine multi-hit game, extending his streak to six games. He also had two key defensive plays in the outfield, making him a fun player to watch as a fan of the game, not just as a fantasy stud.
José Ramírez (CLE): 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 SB.
Ramírez and Steven Kwan continue to be the twins fueling the engine of the Guardians’ offense, but Ramírez in particular is a wrecking ball on the base paths. This is the third time in his career that he has had three stolen bases in a game.
Miguel Amaya (CHC): 3-3, 2 2B, R.
Amaya has seen his starting frequency reduced with the team viewing Carson Kelly as their more consistently performing bat since mid-April, but his last three starts have shown the same clutch hitting ability with runners in scoring position that he showed early in the season and during the spring. Surprisingly, in Monday’s game, the Cubs used Amaya as the primary catcher and Kelly as the DH to get both in the starting lineup. With the recent injury to Ian Happ, there is a chance this could happen more often as they cannot utilize Justin Turner heavily in back-to-back games.
Taylor Ward (LAA): 2-5, HR, R, 4 RBI.
Closer meltdown has been a problem for many pitchers this season, and Monday was Robert Suarez’s turn. Prior to last night, Suarez had been the gold standard for save chances, with 15 so far this season, yielding only one run across all those appearances. Entering the ninth, up by two runs, Suarez struck out Matthew Lugo and gave up a single to Luis Rengifo, and then he started to lose his control. Suarez walked the next four batters, resulting in two walk-in runs to tie the game, and was pulled prior to Jorge Soler and Ward coming up in the lineup. Soler struck out, but with the bases loaded from Suarez’s leftovers, Ward saw too many pitches across the middle of the plate and drove a grand slam to left, ultimately winning the game for the Angels.
Notable Injury News:
Ian Happ officially moved to the IL with an oblique injury.
Oswaldo Cabrera slid awkwardly in an attempt to reach back to home plate in the ninth inning and left the field in an ambulance.
