After missing nearly three weeks due to inflammation in his back, Seager showed no signs of rust on Friday. The Rangers were held off the board through the first five innings, but they broke through against Parker Messick in the sixth as Kyle Higashioka belted a solo homer. Wyatt Langford with a double before Seager crushed a first-pitch slider for a 399-foot (105.1-mph EV) two-run blast that put the Rangers ahead to stay. With his 1-for-3 night, Seager is now slashing .182/.286/.371 with eight long balls and 22 RBI on the season.

Chapman started with a grand slam off Edward Cabrera in the fourth inning, knocking a hanging curve just barely into the left-center nets at Wrigley for a 382-foot blast. He added a three-run shot off Ethan Roberts in the sixth, denting a sign in left field to keep it from heading out on to Waveland at 432 feet. His other RBI came on a sacrifice fly. This is an MLB-best RBI total for this season so far, topping Luke Raley’s seven against the White Sox on May 8. Chapman is starting to heat up (obviously), with a .309/.381/.564 line and three homers over his last 15 games. He’s still trying to recover from a frigid late April-early May stretch where he went hitless for seven games, but his .241 season average is now in line with what we’d generally expect from him going forward.

The 36-year-old makes his triumphant return to the Astros’ lineup on Friday after missing several weeks due to a strained oblique. On the season, he has slashed .245/.326/.380 with four homers, 12 RBI and just one stolen base through his first 185 plate appearances. He’s starting at second base and batting fifth for the Astros on Friday evening against the Athletics.

The dynamic 24-year-old outfielder had been shelved since late April due to a forearm strain. Before landing on the injured list, Langford was hitting just .238/.274/.363 with one homer, four RBI, three stolen bases and a 19/4 K/BB ratio across 84 plate appearances in his first 20 games.

Skubal will pitch in High-A rather than Triple-A because of weather concerns. Those poor kids. Skubal may only need one rehab start before he’s ready to go, as the NanoScope procedure appears to be cutting his time missed drastically. Assuming he looks good in the start, Skubal could be activated sometime next week.

He’ll be out for at least 4-6 weeks and will be re-evaluated afterwards, likely pushing his return past the All-Star break if not longer. Judge’s absence should lower runs and RBI expectations for the rest of the Yankees lineup. Spencer Jones figures to be his direct replacement in the lineup for now, at least until Jasson Dominguez is healthy. Judge had a down May while playing through this injury.

Wheeler carried a no-hitter into the sixth, but gave up a little outfield bloop single to Bryce Johnson, and, later in the seventh, a two-run homer to Manny Machado. Those were the only hits he allowed, lowering his ERA to 2.31. After struggling with his velocity in his rehab from thoracic outlet syndrome, Wheeler has emerged as a league-winning upside pick. He’ll take on the Jays in his next start, and fantasy managers should keep dialing Wheeler up until they hear otherwise.

Ohtani was a little wild early in this one, but he worked through it in turning in his fifth scoreless start of the year. He’s allowed a total of five earned runs in 61 innings, which amounts to a 0.74 ERA, and he’s now won four starts in a row. It’s shaping up to be a fascinating Cy Young race in the NL this year. MVP, on the other hand, probably won’t be interesting at all as long as Ohtani remains healthy. Ohtani will probably pitch again next Wednesday against the Pirates.

“We just want clarity on exactly what we’re dealing with,” said Boone. It’s challenging to speculate on Judge’s next steps until the club determines the severity of the bone bruise in his rib cage that has resulted in shoulder soreness for the last couple weeks. The 34-year-old generational talent has missed two straight games and was sent to see a specialist on Wednesday. The odds of a trip to the injured list feel exponentially higher than earlier this week. There should be some much-needed clarity on his status at some point ahead of Thursday’s series finale against the Guardians.

Sánchez extended his consecutive scoreless streak to 50 2/3 innings before Jackson Merrill delivered an opposite-field base hit in the seventh, one of just four he allowed on the evening. The streak finishes as the fifth-longest in baseball since 1920, including the longest by a lefty. He fell shy of matching Orel Hershiser’s 59-IP record, but he still holds a 1.46 ERA and sits at the center of this year’s National League Cy Young race. He’ll look to continue that bid in his next outing, a road game in Toronto.