Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi took the loss on Friday when he allowed seven earned runs on five hits to go along with five strikeouts and two walks over 3 1/3 innings in an 8-0 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Mariners. Eovaldi worked through the first two innings with ease before surrendering solo home runs to both Ty France and Josh Rojas in the third inning. He then coughed up an RBI double to Eugenio Suarez in that same frame before loading the bases and allowing another RBI single in the fourth inning. He was pulled at 3 1/3 innings and replaced by reliever Brock Burke, who allowed a grand slam to J.P. Crawford to break the game open. When it was all said and done, Eovaldi was tagged with seven earned runs. The veteran right-hander has been a disaster in September, sporting a 9.30 ERA and 1.92 WHIP while allowing 21 earned runs in 20 1/3 innings. The 33-year-old hasn't made it past the fifth inning in any of his six starts this month, either. He will finish the 2023 regular season with a 12-5 record, 3.63 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 132:47 K/BB ratio over 144 innings (25 starts).

Colorado Rockies outfielder/designated hitter Charlie Blackmon has signed a one-year, $13 million contract extension with the team. The 37-year-old, who has spent his entire 13-year career with Colorado, was going to hit free agency this offseason but he'll stay on for another year with the Rockies. The veteran outfielder has put together an excellent season in Colorado, albeit one that has been limited by injuries. He's slashing .285/.370/.450 with eight home runs, 40 RBI, and four stolen bases over 351 at-bats in 92 games.

New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is out of the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Kansas City Royals. This appears to be a routine rest day for the veteran slugger. Stanton has struggled this season, he's slashing .191/.275/.420 with 24 home runs and 60 RBI in 101 games. The expectation is that Stanton will play in the final two games of the regular season. In the meantime, Oswaldo Cabrera will cover right field and bat eighth versus right-hander Jordan Lyles on Friday.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (back) is back at first base and is hitting second on Friday against the visiting Cincinnati Reds and left-hander Brandon Williamson. Goldschmidt didn't play the last two games due to back tightness, but he'll return for the final series of the regular season this weekend. It was a good time for him to take a rest on Thursday, though, as the 36-year-old former MVP has gone hitless in his last three games played. Fantasy managers still playing for a title this weekend will want to get Goldy back in their lineups, though. He's hitting .267/.362/.444 with an .806 OPS, 25 home runs, 79 RBI, 11 stolen bases and 87 runs scored in 588 total at-bats in 2023.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol says first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (back), who is out of Thursday's lineup against the Milwaukee Brewers, is dealing with back tightness. The 36-year-old should be deemed day-to-day ahead of the final weekend set of the year versus the division-rival Cincinnati Reds, but fantasy managers should feel pretty good about Goldschmidt returning as soon as Friday. "We want to make sure he's good to play when we get back home in front of our own fans", Marmol also stated. Goldy will look to provide one last hurrah for those relying on him late in fantasy championship week, and the 2022 National League MVP is slashing .267/.362/.444 with 25 home runs, 79 RBI, and 11 stolen bases overall.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler hopes to create some momentum heading into the postseason during Thursday's start versus the crosstown-rival Pittsburgh Pirates. The 33-year-old stalwart brings a 3.64 ERA, 1.07 ERA, and 207:38 K:BB across 188 innings into this favorable spot and his season finale. Not only has Wheeler dominated Pittsburgh for a 4-0 record, 2.13 ERA, and 0.95 WHIP in 38 career innings, but the current Pirates roster is a combined 3-for-31 against him. The All-Star right-hander represents one of the slate's most confident season-long starts, especially considering Wheeler's historical success opposing the Bucs.

The Boston Red Sox placed right-hander Chris Martin (illness) on the 15-day injured list on Thursday with a viral infection and recalled pitcher Nick Robertson from Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding move. Martin will not be available to finish out the rest of the 2023 regular season this weekend for Boston. The 37-year-old veteran closes out a very impressive year working out of the bullpen, as he finishes with a 1.05 ERA (2.44 FIP), 1.03 WHIP, three saves, 23 holds, just eight walks and 46 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings in 55 relief appearances in his first year with the team.

Boston Red Sox infielder/designated hitter Justin Turner is taking the day off on Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles. Turner will take a seat in Baltimore after starting each of the team's last seven games. Masataka Yoshida is serving as the designated hitter and batting third, while Bobby Dalbec is at first base and hitting in the eight-hole against Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer. The 38-year-old Turner has had a pretty strong season in his first year in Beantown, slashing .274/.344/.455 with 23 home runs, 96 RBI, four stolen bases and 85 runs scored in 547 at-bats. He's tailed off considerably in the final month of the season, though, going 17-for-84 (.202) with only one homer, three doubles, nine RBI, 23 strikeouts and seven runs scored in 22 starts in September.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is once again sitting out of the starting lineup Thursday versus the Milwaukee Brewers and right-hander Corbin Burnes. The 2022 NL MVP did not take part in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Brewers and will be on the bench again Thursday, although a specific reason for his absence has not been released. Of course, the Cardinals could be opting to give young players playing time in the final week of a wildly disappointing season that has them sitting in last place in the NL Central at 69-89. For the season, Goldschmidt has hit .267 with 25 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and an .806 OPS across 152 games played.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich is back in the starting lineup Thursday afternoon versus the St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Dakota Hudson. Yelich did not appear in Wednesday's narrow 3-2 win over the Cardinals but will return to his familiar leadoff spot while manning left field on Thursday. The 31-year-old is enjoying his best season since his NL MVP runner-up season in 2019 here in 2023, hitting .275 with 19 home runs, 27 stolen bases, and an .810 OPS across 141 appearances on the campaign. His matchup on Thursday is a solid one as he has hit .291 with an .874 OPS versus right-handed pitching while Hudson has allowed a .299 average and an .817 OPS to left-handed hitters this season.

New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole was absolutely dominant in a complete-game shutout over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night. The AL Cy Young favorite tossed nine innings of shutout ball while allowing just two hits and zero walks alongside five strikeouts. With the outing, the 33-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.63 across his 33 starts on the season, 15 of which have put him in the win column. He managed to put a dent into the Blue Jays' playoff chances in the process as he has now tossed an eye-popping 28 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball against the Blue Jays this season across four starts. Cole should be able to cruise to his first career Cy Young Award in 2023.

New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte (groin) will not play again in the final week of the 2023 regular season, according to manager Buck Showalter. Marte was hoping to get in some game action in the final week, but this decision shouldn't come as a surprise at all based on the fact that Marte last played in a game back on Aug. 5. With the Mets out of playoff contention, it just didn't make sense for them to risk the 34-year-old suffering another setback with his groin. It was a disappointing year overall for the two-time All-Star, as he'll finish with a .248/.301/.324 slash line with just five home runs, seven doubles, a triple, 28 RBI, 24 stolen bases and 38 runs scored in 86 games in his second year in Queens.

Cincinnati Reds first baseman/designated hitter Joey Votto is not in the starting lineup Wednesday night versus the Cleveland Guardians and right-hander Shane Bieber. The potential Hall of Famer drew a trio of walks and scored a run across five plate appearances in Tuesday's 11-7 come-from-behind win over the Guardians but will yield DH duties to Jake Fraley on Wednesday. Votto's season has been interrupted by multiple shoulder injuries as he's hitting .203 with 14 home runs and a .750 OPS across 63 appearances while drawing walks at a quality 11.2% rate. However, he is hitting just .187 with a .652 OPS in the second half after coming out of the gate white-hot following a late start due to shoulder surgery last August.

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel blew his fifth save of the season in Tuesday's 3-2 extra-innings win over the Pirates. Kimbrel came in to pitch the eighth inning up by one. He got the first out on a strikeout, allowed a game-tying home run, and got the final two outs on groundouts. The veteran has spent a good deal of time as the team's closer this season, but the Phillies have been mixing up their bullpen usage lately. Kimbrel has now converted 23 of 28 save opportunities with a 3.36 ERA and an 11.96 K/9 rate. Jose Alvarado has been the hot hand of late in the team's bullpen, but Kimbrel may still be able to provide some final fantasy value in the last days of the season.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright will not take the mound again this season, according to manager Oli Marmol. That means, the 42-year-old will his career on a high note. He recorded his 200th career win after throwing seven scoreless frames versus the Milwaukee Brewers during his last start. He'll finish the season with a 7.40 ERA, 1.90 WHIP and a 55/41 K/BB ratio across 101 innings in his 21 starts. It's not the ideal season to have to end your career, but at least his last game on the mound was a success.

The Toronto Blue Jays activated first baseman Brandon Belt (back) from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday and also recalled reliever Jay Jackson from the minors. In corresponding moves, the team optioned first baseman Spencer Horwitz and right-hander Nate Pearson to the Florida Complex League. Belt is serving as the designated hitter and is batting sixth for Toronto on Tuesday against the visiting New York Yankees and right-hander Michael King. The 35-year-old veteran left-handed slugger is back for the first time since landing on the IL on Sept. 12 with back spasms. The Jays will hope Belt will be better to close out the regular season than he was in six games (five starts) just before his injury, when he went 3-for-18 (.167) with a homer, an RBI and nine strikeouts.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder David Peralta is starting on the bench on Tuesday for Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Enrique Hernandez is in left field and batting sixth, James Outman is manning center and is hitting seventh, and Jason Heyward is starting in right field and in the five-hole against Rockies right-hander Chase Anderson in the first game of a double dip. Peralta hasn't started in the last two games for the Dodgers as he endures a rough patch at the plate. The 36-year-old left-handed hitter has gone just 7-for-42 (.167) with no homers, four doubles, three RBI, 13 strikeouts, one steal and three runs scored in 16 games (11 starts) in September. If he doesn't pick it up in the final week of the regular season, Peralta may see his playing time suffer in the postseason.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is on the bench for Game 1 of a doubleheader on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers with left-handed opener Caleb Ferguson on the mound. With Blackmon out, Kris Bryant is serving as the designated hitter and batting third, while Sean Bouchard is in right field and in the seven-hole against Ferguson. The veteran Blackmon has hit a strong .276 (92-for-333) on the year for the Rockies, but with just seven home runs, 38 RBI, two stolen bases and 53 runs scored. The 37-year-old left-handed hitter also has no home runs against southpaws in 2023 while hitting .277 (23-for-83) against them. The four-time All-Star's bat has cooled off considerably in the final month of the regular season as well.

In the team's 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night, Texas Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, not allowing a single hit and also not walking or striking out a batter. Heaney has shifted to more of a long-relief role for the Rangers in the final month of the regular season, but he may be needed back in the starting rotation before long, depending on the severity of right-hander Jon Gray's wrist injury that he suffered on Monday. The 32-year-old southpaw has made 32 appearances (27 starts) for Texas in 2023, going 10-6 with a 4.31 ERA (4.73 FIP), 1.38 WHIP, 58 walks and 147 strikeouts in 142 innings pitched in his first year with the team.

San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford (hamstring) said Monday that he expects to play in Sunday's season finale at Oracle Park, per the San Francisco Chronicle. The 36-year-old veteran is currently on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain but wants to play in what could be the final game of his career. While this season was a forgettable one for Crawford overall, he has enjoyed a successful 13-season career with the Giants, winning two World Series titles, four Gold Gloves, and a Silver Slugger Award. He also provided several higher-end fantasy seasons offensively.