Hunter Greene dazzled with 12 strikeouts in a 3-2 Reds win over the Mets, nudging Cincinnati back above .500 (72-71) and four games from a real playoff chance. Greene’s elite season numbers are building a genuine fantasy case: 11.26 K/9 (5th among 90+ IP), and a sterling 1.89 BB/9 (10th). Cincinnati’s window to a postseason remains narrow but plausible with him back in the rotation.

Meanwhile, Chicago signed Billy Hamilton for pinch-runner/defense depth, and Atlanta claimed Alexis Díaz as a potential bullpen fixer. Davey Johnson’s passing at 82 marks a somber 90s Reds memory. The confluence of Greene’s resurgence and late-season roster moves colors the fantasy landscape for the stretch run.

Atlanta's season ends with a reckoning. Health issues have derailed the rotation, and the club is eyeing a pitching-forward roster shakeup for 2025 as Snitker nears retirement.

Atlanta claimed Alexis Díaz off waivers from the Dodgers to bolster the bullpen, while Dodgers released Ben Rortvedt. Edwin Díaz, brother to the Braves’ rival Edwin, adds a spicy subplot to a winter of change as Atlanta prepares to rebuild its depth and push back toward contention.

Dodgers pull off a 3-2 win over the Padres as Clayton Kershaw anchors a healthier, if thin, rotation, delivering six innings of one-run ball on 76 pitches to halt a four-game skid. The run came on a Ramon Laureano homer, but Kershaw’s sharper slider and efficiency let L.A. set a tone in a tight NL West showdown that remains tied atop the division.

Teoscar Hernandez supplied the insurance with a pivotal seventh-inning homer, while a bullpen of five relievers held the Padres in check over the final three frames. Ben Casparius worked the seventh, and Alex Vesia faced trouble in the eighth before Treinen slammed the door with a popout on the decisive at-bat. Alexis Diaz and Jack Dreyer closed it out in the ninth, giving the Dodgers a much-needed breath before five more tests against San Diego in nine days.

With Max Muncy sidelined by an oblique strain, the Dodgers leaned on depth as rookie Alex Freeland and Buddy Kennedy filled in, and the return of Kershaw helped stabilize a season that has been punctuated by injuries. The West remains a chess match, and Friday’s performance underscored that the Dodgers can still lean on high-leverage arms and a veteran ace when the moment is right.

In his first appearance against the Cincinnati Reds since being traded, Alexis Díaz secured a relief win for the Los Angeles Dodgers, throwing just eight pitches to four batters. The former Reds closer received boos from the crowd but successfully closed out the seventh and eighth innings, helping the Dodgers take a 5-4 victory. The Dodgers scored the winning run in the ninth inning on an RBI double from Will Smith. Díaz, who previously posted a 3.21 ERA with the Reds, has not allowed a run in his three outings for the Dodgers since the trade.