August 29 Fantasy Baseball Takeaways: Best Hitting/Pitching Performances | Nathan Eovaldi, Lawrence Butler, Aaron Civale, JJ Bleday, Bowden Francis and More

There were 11 MLB games played on Thursday, August 29. Even though it’s not a full slate of games, there were several performances worth noting.

Let’s go over the top hitters and pitchers from the day, as we do every weekday here. Here’s the writeup from Wednesday.

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Top Hitters

Oakland Athletics’ JJ Bleday led the MLB with five hits. He singled and doubled twice, while also homering. He drove in a run and scored three times.

Miami Marlins’ Derek Hill, Kyle Stowers, Otto Lopez and Ali Sanchez, Colorado Rockies’ Brendan Rodgers and Brenton Doyle, Cincinnati Reds’ Tyler Stephenson, Detroit Tigers’ Zach McKinstry and Oakland’s Lawrence Butler all had three hits.

Hill had a single and two home runs. He drove in three runs and scored twice.

Rodgers also hit two home runs and a single. He drove in three runs, scored three times and also struck out.

Stephenson had two singles and a home run. He drove in two runs, scored once and was a strikeout victim.

Sanchez had two singles and a double on the day. He drove in a run, scored once, stole two bases and struck out once.

McKinstry had two singles and a double in his game. He also struck out once.

Lopez hit two doubles and a single. He scored a run and walked once.

Butler popped three home runs on Thursday. He drove in four runs, walked once and scored three runs.

Doyle had a single, double and home run. He drove in two runs, scored once, walked and was also a strikeout victim.

Stowers had two singles and a double on the night. He drove in four, scored one run and struck out twice.

Atlanta Braves’ Matt Olson hit two home runs on Thursday. He drove in three runs, scored twice and struck out once.

Miami’s Connor Norby had two hits and two walks. He singled twice, drove in a run, scored three times and also stole a base.

Oakland’s Seth Brown drove in three runs on two singles.

Philadelphia Phillies’ Brandon Marsh drove in three runs on a double and a home run. He scored once and struck out twice.

Kansas City Royals’ Kyle Isbel drove in three runs on a double.

Baltimore Orioles’ Colton Cowser hit a home run, drove in three runs and walked twice. He also struck out twice.

Philadelphia’s Bryson Stott walked three times on Thursday. He also stole two bases and struck out twice.

Milwaukee Brewers’ Gary Sanchez walked twice and scored a run. He also was a strikeout victim.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernandez had a single and two walks.

Cincinnati Reds’ Dominic Smith hit a single and walked twice. He also scored two runs and struck out once.

Oakland’s Brent Rooker had a single and two walks on the day. He scored two runs as well.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Luken Baker walked twice and scored a run. Baker also stole a base.

Colorado’s Jordan Beck walked twice and also struck out once. 

Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos had a single and a homer on his way to a two-RBI night. He also scored two runs.

Dodgers’ Austin Barnes had two hits, RBIs and runs scored. He had a single and double, along with a stolen base and strikeout.

Cincinnati’s Ty France had a single and a walk. He went on to score two runs.

Miami’s Vidal Brujan had two hits and runs scored. He drove in a run as well.

Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pena singled, walked and scored two runs.

Miami’s Jake Burger singled twice and was plunked by a pitch. He scored two runs. 

Texas Rangers’ Josh Jung stole two bases on Thursday. He single twice in the contest.

Dodgers’ Chris Taylor had two singles and a walk in his game. He also drove in a run and scored once.

Milwaukee’s William Contreras singled twice and walked among his four plate appearances. He drove in a run, scored once, stole home and struck out once.

Milwaukee’s Garrett Mitchell singled, homered and walked. He drove in a run, scored once, stole a base and struck out as well.

Top Starting Pitchers

Texas’ Nathan Eovaldi tossed seven scoreless innings and got a win on Thursday. He allowed one hit and two walks, while striking out 10 batters.

Milwaukee’s Aaron Civale got a win after working seven scoreless frames. He gave up two hits and two walks, while punching out seven.

Toronto Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis also worked seven scoreless to get a win. He allowed one hit, while striking out five and walking none.

Houston’s Hunter Brown tossed 6 2/3 strong frames. He allowed two unearned runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out four.

Los Angeles Angels’ Jack Kochanowicz was a winner after tossing six scoreless innings. He allowed five hits, while striking out four, walking none and hitting one batter.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Sonny Gray got a win after working six innings. He gave up a run on three hits, while striking out four and walking none.

Chicago White Sox’s Nick Nastrini took the loss despite allowing just one run in six innings. He allowed three hits and a walk, while striking out three.

Top Relief Pitchers

Texas’ Kirby Yates, Houston’s Josh Hader, New York Mets’ Edwin Diaz, Toronto’s Chad Green, Philadelphia’s Jeff Hoffman, Dodgers’ Evan Phillips, St. Louis’ Ryan Helsley and Angels’ Ben Joyce all earned saves.

Yates allowed a run after giving up a solo home run. He struck out one batter.

Hader retired the three batters he faced, striking out one of them.

Diaz struck out two of the three batters he faced.

Green hit a batter, but retired the other three he faced.

Hoffman struck out a batter among the three he faced.

Phillips also hit a batter, but struck out two to work out of trouble.

Helsley retired the three batters he faced to pick up the save.

Joyce got five outs, including a pair of strikeouts. He allowed a hit along the way.

St. Louis’ Landen Roupp tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and three walks, while striking out four batters.

Cincinnati’s Brandon Leibrandt got seven outs. He allowed a hit and a walk along the way.

Miami’s Jesus Tinoco earned a win after also getting seven outs. He allowed two hits, but struck out three batters along the way.

Colorado’s Jake Bird was another reliever who recorded seven outs. He worked around three hits and a walk, striking out one along the way.

Detroit’s Joey Wentz fired two scoreless frames. He allowed one hit, while striking out three and walking none.

Oakland’s Hogan Harris allowed a hit and a walk over his two scoreless innings.

Milwaukee’s Aaron Ashby retired all six batters he faced. He struck out three batters.

Cincinnati’s Tony Santillan struck out four of the five batters he faced over 1 2/3 scoreless innings.