Cardinals catcher/DH Ivan Herrera broke an unfortunate streak on Monday. He threw out Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz trying to steal second base in the third inning. It was Herrera’s first caught stealing since 2024.

1. Crow-Armstrong walks off White Sox

As the NL MVP race heats up, Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered another signature moment last night. PCA led off the game with a home run, then came through with a walk-off blast in the 10th inning. The two-homer game gave him a second consecutive 30/30 campaign. Crow-Armstrong leads the league at 7.7 WAR (per Baseball Reference). “I don’t think I’ve ever met a player like that,” lefty Shota Imanaga said through an interpreter (h/t Jesse Rogers of ESPN). “Expectations you might have for him, he always surpasses them.”

2. Ohtani homers twice in Colorado

Not to be outdone, Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani also drilled two homers on Monday. He led off the fifth inning with a solo shot off Tomoyuki Sugano. Ohtani tagged Juan Mejia for a two-run homer the following inning. He picked up two more knocks to record his first four-hit game of the season. Ohtani sits at 6.7 WAR, a full win behind PCA. Phillies lefty Cristopher Sanchez is sandwiched between them at 7.0 WAR. Ohtani, a four-time MVP winner, typically has the inside track on the competition due to his two-way contributions. A knee injury has kept him off the mound since early July, though.

3. Marte placed on restricted list

The Diamondbacks have shared limited details about the status of second baseman Ketel Marte, who was put on the restricted list before Monday’s game against the Red Sox. Marte was with the team in Boston but did not make it to Fenway Park for the game. Arizona waited as long as it could for the infielder to arrive, but was forced to replace him in the lineup. Marte had a similar situation last season when he spent two games on the restricted list coming out of the All-Star Break. The team will likely shed more light on the veteran before tonight’s matchup in Boston.

Photo courtesy of David Banks, Imagn Images