July 8 Fantasy Baseball Takeaways: Best Hitting/Pitching Performances | Byron Buxton, Andrew Abbott, Corey Seager, Keider Montero, Oneil Cruz and More

There were just seven MLB games played on Monday, July 8, but there’s still plenty of top performances to discuss.

Let’s take a look at the top hitters and pitchers from the day in this one story, instead of splitting things into two articles. 

We do this every weekday, so keep checking back to identify the most consistent fantasy players. Here’s the writeups from the weekend (hitters and pitchers).

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Pirates 8, Mets 2

Oneil Cruz hit a two-run home run for Pittsburgh, while Joshua Palacios added a solo shot. Cruz had another hit and run scored, while Palacios drove in a second run.

Nick Gonzales had two hits, an RBI and a run scored for Pittsburgh. 

Mitch Keller earned the win for the Pirates to move to 10-5 on the season. He allowed two runs on seven hits and no walks over eight innings. Keller struck out six and now owns a 3.40 earned run average.

New York’s Christian Scott gave up two runs on a hit and a walk over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three.

Eric Orze pitched next and took the loss after allowing three runs without getting an out. Adrian Houser also allowed three runs.

Brandon Nimmo hit a two-run homer for the Mets. He had two total hits.

Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos added two hits each for New York. 

Cardinals 6, Nationals 0

Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt each hit a solo homer for St. Louis. Burleson had two hits and three RBIs total, while Goldschmidt had a second hit and run scored.

Nolan Gorman had two knocks and runs scored for the Cardinals. Brendan Donovan drove in a run on two hits, while Michael Siani had two hits, a stolen base and a run scored.

Miles Mikolas improved to 7-7 after working 6 1/3 scoreless innings for St. Louis. He allowed six hits, while striking out three and walking none.

Andrew Kittredge earned a hold before the Cardinals pulled away.

Mitchell Parker took the loss for Washington, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk. He struck out six batters.

Keibert Ruiz had two hits for the Nationals.

Tigers 1, Guardians 0

Wenceel Perez had two hits for Detroit. Colt Keith had a walk and a hit. 

Keider Montero tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings for Detroit. He allowed three hits and a walk, while striking out four.

Tyler Holton pitched next and got the win after getting five outs. Shelby Miller worked a scoreless ninth to pick up his first save.

Gavin Williams started for Cleveland, allowing four hits and a walk over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five along the way.

Scott Barlow eventually took the loss after allowing a run in the eighth.

Angel Martinez had two of the three Cleveland hits.

Reds 6, Rockies 0

Rece Hinds hit a solo home run for Cincinnati. He had two total hits.

Elly De La Cruz and Jeimer Candelario each had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored, with De La Cruz also walking once and stealing two bases. Spencer Steer walked twice.

Andrew Abbott improved to 9-6 after working seven scoreless innings for the Reds. He allowed three hits and two walks, while striking out eight batters.

Fernando Cruz earned his 18th hold of the season before Cincinnati pulled away.

Ryan Feltner took the loss and fell to 1-8 overall. He allowed two runs (one) earned on four hits and three walks over seven innings. Feltner struck out six batters.

Ryan McMahon had two of the four Colorado hits. Brenton Doyle had a hit and a walk.

Twins 8, White Sox 6 (2 inn.)

Matt Wallner hit a two-run homer for Minnesota. Trevor Larnach and Carlos Correa each added solo homers. Wallner had a second hit and Larnach also walked.

Byron Buxton had three hits, an RBI and two runs scored for the Twins. Brooks Lee drove in two runs on two hits and scored once. Willi Castro and Jose Miranda had two knocks each. Max Kepler had a hit, walk and two runs scored.

Chris Paddack started and worked the first five innings for Minnesota, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out three.

Jorge Alcala earned a hold before Griffin Jax was charged with a blown save. Jhoan Duran eventually got the win, while Kody Funderburk picked up his first save.

Chris Flexen started and pitched six innings for Chicago. He surrendered two runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out four.

Jordan Leasure pitched next and was charged with a blown save after allowing four runs in 2/3 of an inning. Jared Shuster eventually took the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) in the 11th.

Martin Maldonado hit a solo home run for the White Sox. He also walked once.

Eloy Jimenez had two hits, an RBI, a walk and a run scored for Chicago. Nicky Lopez drove in two runs on two hits and a walk, while also scoring once and stealing a base.

Rangers 9, Angels 4

Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford each hit two-run home runs for Texas. Each player had a second hit and run scored.

Nathaniel Lowe had three hits, an RBI and a run scored for the Rangers. Marcus Semien had two hits, a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. Leody Taveras had a hit, walk, stolen base, RBI and run scored.

Jon Gray earned the win to improve to 4-4 on the season. He allowed three runs on five hits and a walk over five innings, while striking out a pair.

David Robertson earned a hold before the Rangers pulled away.

Davis Daniel took the loss and fell to 1-2. He allowed seven runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. Daniel struck out three and walked none.

Mickey Moniak had two hits, RBIs and runs scored for the Angels. Brandon Drury had two hits and a run scored. Nolan Schanuel had two walks.

Braves 5, Diamondbacks 4 (11 inn.)

Sean Murphy hit a two-run homer for Atlanta, while Austin Riley added a solo shot. Riley also walked and scored another run, while Murphy had an additional hit.

Matt Olson had a hit and a walk for the Braves. 

Bryce Elder started for Atlanta and allowed three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out one batter.

Raisel Iglesias earned the win despite allowing an unearned run over two innings of work. Joe Jimenez got his second save after working a scoreless 11th inning.

Yilber Diaz started for Arizona and allowed a run on four hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out five batters.

Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson earned holds before Paul Sewald blew his third straight save. Justin Martinez took the loss after allowing unearned runs in the 10th and 11th innings.

Joc Pederson was the only Arizona player to get on base multiple times, walking twice.