August 12 Fantasy Baseball Takeaways: Best Pitching Performances | Chris Sale, Bowden Francis, Framber Valdez, Andrew Abbott, Blake Snell and More

Eleven MLB games were played on Monday, August 12. Although it’s not a full schedule of action, there’s enough to discuss from a fantasy baseball perspective.

We do this every weekday, so make sure to keep checking back! We already checked out the top hitters, so now it's time to discuss how pitchers fared. Here’s the writeups from the weekend (hitters and pitchers).

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Reds 6, Cardinals 1

Andrew Abbott earned his 10th win of the season after striking out six batters over 6 2/3 innings for Cincinnati. He allowed a run on five hits and two walks. Abbott has a 3.59 ERA on the season.

Sonny Gray took the loss and is now 11-7. He gave up six runs on five hits and two walks over five innings, while striking out nine. Gray’s ERA ballooned to 3.93.

Guardians 9, Cubs 8

Ben Lively started and pitched 3 2/3 innings for Cleveland. He allowed three runs on five hits and four walks, while striking out one.

Peter Strzelecki later earned a hold. Nick Sandlin was charged with a blown save, but also got the win - Sandlin now has a 7-0 record. Emmanuel Clase worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to grab his 36th save.

Shota Imanaga started for Chicago, allowing seven runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out three batters and now has a 3.16 ERA.

Julian Merryweather took the loss.

Astros 6, Rays 1

Framber Valdez improved to 12-5 after striking out nine batters over 5 2/3 innings. He allowed one run on three hits and a walk. Valdez has a 3.38 ERA on the season.

Taj Bradley took the loss and slipped to 6-7. He gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out six over 4 1/3 innings. Bradley’s ERA is now 3.49.

Red Sox 5, Rangers 4 (10 inn.)

Brayan Bello started and worked six innings for Boston. He allowed a run on four hits and three walks, while striking out five.

Zack Kelly pitched next and earned a hold before Bailey Horn was charged with a blown save.

Josh Winckowski got the win after allowing an unearned run in the top of the 10th inning.

Tyler Mahle allowed two runs on three hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings in his start for Texas. He struck out seven batters.

Gerson Garabito was charged with a blown save and loss after allowing two runs (one earned) in the 10th.

Twins 8, Royals 3

Pablo Lopez improved to 11-8 after working the first six innings for Minnesota. He surrendered three runs (two earned) on six hits. Lopez struck out five and walked none.

Griffin Jax earned a hold before the Twins pulled away and took away the save situation.

Brady Singer fell to 8-8 after allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out nine batters and now has a 3.32 ERA.

White Sox 12, Yankees 2

Ky Bush started for Chicago, but didn’t get the win after only lasting 4 2/3 innings. He allowed two runs on six hits and seven walks, while striking out two.

Touki Toussaint got the win after getting the next four outs. Justin Anderson earned a hold before the White Sox pulled away.

Luis Gil was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks over four frames. He struck out three batters and now has a 3.25 ERA.

Dodgers 5, Brewers 2

Clayton Kershaw got his first win of the season after striking out six over 5 2/3 innings. He allowed a run on three hits and two walks.

Alex Vesia and Michael Kopech tossed scoreless innings to earn holds before Daniel Hudson worked a 1-2-3 ninth to grab his ninth save.

Freddy Peralta slipped to 7-7 after allowing four runs on five hits and two walks over six innings for Milwaukee. He struck out four along the way.

Blue Jays 4, Angels 2

Bowden Francis got the win for Toronto after striking out eight batters over seven innings. He allowed a run on a hit and no walks.

Zach Pop and Genesis Cabrera earned holds before Chad Green picked up his 12th save of the season. Green did allow a run.

Davis Daniel started for Los Angeles and took the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks over five frames. He struck out five along the way. 

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 4

Brandon Pfaadt improved to 7-6 after punching out 11 over seven innings. He allowed four runs on eight hits and no walks. Pfaadt has a 7-6 record and 3.98 ERA now.

Ryan Thompson earned a hold before Justin Martinez secured his third save of the season.

Bradley Blalock started for Colorado, allowing three runs on six hits and no walks over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out four.

Anthony Molina pitched next, and while he got a hold also took the loss. Tyler Kinley was charged with a blown save.

Padres 2, Pirates 1

Joe Musgrove was the starter for San Diego. He worked 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk. Musgrove struck out one batter.

Jeremiah Estrada earned the win after striking out three batters in an inning of work. Tanner Scott picked up a hold before Robert Suarez claimed his 26th save of the season. Suarez allowed a run on two hits.

Jake Woodford started for Pittsburgh and took the loss after allowing a run on three hits over six innings. He struck out two and walked none.

Braves 1, Giants 0 (10 inn.)

Chris Sale was brilliant in his start for Atlanta, striking out 12 over seven scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and didn’t walk a batter. Sale lowered his ERA to 2.61.

Raisel Iglesias got the final six outs to grab the win for the Braves. He faced just six batters, striking out four of them.

Blake Snell started for San Francisco. He worked 6 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 11 along the way. Snell allowed two hits and three walks, and all of a sudden has a 3.91 ERA.

Taylor Rogers eventually took the loss after allowing an unearned run in the 10th inning.