Royals slugger Jac Caglianone put together the signature performance of his young career in a 6-3 win over the Cubs on Saturday. In going 4-for-4 with two home runs, a pair of doubles and four RBI, the 23-year-old helped spoil newly acquired right-hander Clay Holmes‘ Cubs debut. Along with reaching the 20-HR mark for the first time, Caglianone became the seventh Royal to collect four extra-base hits in a game (h/t: Sarah Langs of MLB.com).

Caglianone, the sixth pick in the 2024 draft, was among the game’s premier prospects when the Royals promoted him to the majors in June 2025. However, he came out of the gates slowly and hit a dismal .157/.237/.295 with seven homers over a 62-game, 232-plate appearance span. Caglianone’s 46 wRC+ ranked 344th out of 348 hitters who amassed 200-plus trips to the plate, but his production has taken huge steps forward this year. The outfielder/first baseman has slashed .256/.311/.456 (110 wRC+) across 108 games and 418 PA. This has been a lost season for the 49-69 Royals, but Caglianone’s emergence as a foundational player in their Bobby Witt Jr.-led core is an obvious silver lining. Good for you, Jac!

1. Three righties, thousands of strikeouts

Squaring off in Philadelphia on Saturday, the Blue Jays’ Max Scherzer and the Phillies’ Aaron Nola treated fans to some history. The 42-year-old Scherzer entered the night four strikeouts away from going by legendary Washington Senator Walter Johnson for 10th on the all-time list. Scherzer officially sped past the Big Train when he fanned Kyle Schwarber in the sixth. He left after tossing 5 1/3 innings of five-hit, two-run ball with four strikeouts and no walks. Scherzer is now sitting on 3,516 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Nola became the second Phillies hurler to pile up 2,000 strikeouts in their uniform (2,005, to be exact), joining Hall of Famer Steve Carlton. Nola, 33 fanned eight (against two walks) over five innings and yielded two runs on six hits, but he departed after a 105 mph comebacker from Jesús Sánchez struck him on the left leg. X-rays came back negative on Nola, who was diagnosed with a bruised knee, per Lochlan March of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Adding insult to injury for the Phillies, they dropped a 7-5 decision in 11 innings. Philadelphia will try to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of Toronto on Sunday.

Not to be forgotten, the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole made K-related history of his own on Saturday. Cole outdueled Braves ace Chris Sale in a 5-4 win and became the quickest Yankee to reach 1,000 strikeouts in their uniform. He achieved it in 837 2/3 innings, far fewer than previous record holder Roger Clemens (1,078 1/3). Cole punched out nine Braves, walked none, and scattered six hits over seven frames of two-run ball. After winning the first two games of the series, the Yankees will go for a sweep of the Braves in the Bronx on Sunday.

2. Sandy stays hot, sets Marlins record

One-time NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara continued to solidify himself as an all-time great Marlin in a 7-0 shutout of the Angels on Saturday. Now up to 1,230 2/3 innings as a Marlin, Alcantara surpassed Ricky Nolasco for most in franchise history. He was dominant over seven frames, holding the Halos to three hits while striking out eight and walking one. It was the third straight scoreless start for Alcantara, who hasn’t given up a run since July 22. Alcantara’s latest gem helped the Marlins end a four-game losing streak and move back to .500. At 59-59, they sit three games back of a Wild Card spot.

3. Nine-game streaks end in Boston

The Red Sox have gone an astounding 32-6 since they began a dramatic in-season turnaround on June 25, but they don’t scare Athletics lefty Gage Jump. The 23-year-old has dealt Boston two of those six losses, including a 7-3 defeat on Saturday. During a 100-pitch, six-frame outing, Jump fanned a career-high 11 hitters and limited the Red Sox to two runs on six hits and two walks. He became the first A’s southpaw to rack up 11 strikeouts at Fenway Park since 1928, according to Codify Baseball. Jump played a pivotal role in snapping Boston’s nine-game winning streak and breaking the A’s nine-game losing skid.

Despite the four-run deficit, the never-say-die Red Sox made it interesting in the end. They loaded the bases with two down in the ninth inning, but A’s reliever Hogan Harris retired Eli White on a line-out to center field.