April 18 Fantasy Baseball Takeaways: Best Hitting/Pitching Performances | Logan Webb, Marcus Semien, Ryan Pepiot, Riley Greene, Carlos Carrasco and More

Discussing some of the best hitting and pitching performances from April 18.

There were only five games on the MLB schedule for Thursday, April 18, and a postponement made it a four-game slate. There’s still individual performances to get into though.

We’ll cover hitters and pitchers in one story, instead of splitting them up like we usually do. We do these stories every weekday, so keep checking back throughout the season!

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Rangers 9, Tigers 7

Texas scored a run in the eighth and ninth inning to claim a wild, back-and-forth battle against Detroit.

Marcus Semien led the Rangers with three hits, including a solo home run and double - he scored two runs. Jonah Heim hit a solo homer among his two hits and drove in two runs total. Adolis Garcia also hit a solo shot among his two hits.

Corey Seager drove in a run on two hits, while Leody Taveras doubled among his two hits, drove in a run and scored once. Josh Smith reached base twice and scored two runs.

Wyatt Langford also got on base twice for Texas. Langford drove in a run and scored twice. 

Highly-regarded prospect Jack Leiter started for Texas, going 3 2/3 innings before being replaced. He allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks, while striking out three.

Jose Leclerc earned his first win after tossing a scoreless inning, despite walking two batters in the frame. Kirby Yates picked up his second save after getting the final four outs.

Kenta Maeda started for Detroit, allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two batters and gave up three home runs. Maeda has a 7.64 earned run average so far.

Shelby Miller gave up an unearned run to take the loss and fall to 3-2.

Riley Greene doubled, tripled, walked once, drove in a run and scored twice to lead the Tigers at the plate. Mark Canha had two hits and two walks, drove in a run and scored once.

Gio Urshela posted two hits for Detroit, while also scoring once. Javier Baez also had two hits, while driving in one and scoring once. Kerry Carpenter tripled, drove in two runs and scored once. Spencer Torkelson and Colt Keith each reached base twice, while Torkelson drove in a run and Keith scored once.

Rays 2, Angels 1

Two runs in the bottom of the first inning was all Tampa Bay needed to top Los Angeles.

Amed Rosario had two hits to raise his average to .339, drove in a run and scored once for Tampa Bay. Yandy Diaz also had a pair of hits. Richie Palacios scored a run after reaching base twice and raising his on-base percentage to .404.

Ryan Pepiot improved to 2-2 after striking out seven batters over six innings. He allowed a run on three hits and three walks. 

Colin Poche earned his second save of the season after normal closer Pete Fairbanks threw 28 pitches a day earlier.

Griffin Canning took the loss for LA and fell to 0-3. He allowed two runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out four. His ERA is 8.05 so far.

Luis Rengifo had a pair of hits for the Angels. Miguel Sano got on base twice and drove in a run. Mike Trout walked, stole two bases and scored the team’s run.

Guardians 5, Red Sox 4

Cleveland scored all five of its runs between the third and sixth innings to take down Boston.

Andres Gimenez drove in two runs on two hits for Cleveland. Tyler Freeman and Brayan Rocchio each got on base twice and scored a run.

Carlos Carrasco earned his first win of the season after working 5 2/3 innings. He surrendered two runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out five. Emmanuel Clase worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his fifth save.

Brennan Bernardino started for Boston, working two scoreless innings. Cooper Criswell took the loss after allowing four runs (but just one earned) in 2 1/3 innings.

Jarren Duran tripled, walked and stole a base while driving in two runs for Boston. Reese McGuire got on base twice and scored once.

Giants 5, Diamondbacks 0

San Francisco scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull away for a win over Arizona.

Jung Hoo Lee had two hits and scored a run for San Francisco. Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski each drove in two runs on a hit, while LaMonte Wade Jr. walked twice, drove in a run and scored once.

Logan Webb got his second win after striking out five in seven scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and a walk.

Ryne Nelson started for Arizona, but left after being hit by a comebacker. He worked two scoreless innings. Logan Allen took the loss out of the pen after allowing a run in 4 2/3 innings - he could start in place of Nelson if he hits the injured list.

Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll and Randal Grichuk all singled for Arizona.

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