April 25 Fantasy Baseball Takeaways: Best Hitting/Pitching Performances | Jose Ramirez, Zack Wheeler, Edouard Julien, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, William Contreras and More

There were 10 MLB games played on Thursday, April 25 and now it’s time to discuss the top performers from the day, as we do every weekday.

With a smaller number of games, and the NFL Draft stealing a lot of the headlines, we’ll cover hitters and pitchers in this single story.

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Brewers 7, Pirates 5

Gary Sanchez had a pinch-hit two-run homer to help Milwaukee rally past Pittsburgh. William Contreras drove in a run on two hits, walked once, stole a base and scored three times - he hit a solo homer.

Rhys Hoskins drove in two runs on three hits and stole a base, while Jake Bauers drove in a run on two knocks. Blake Perkins had two hits, one walk and a run scored. Willy Adames walked twice and stole a base.

Freddy Peralta started and allowed five runs on five hits and five walks over 4 2/3 innings, while striking out five. Jared Koenig got his first win out of the bullpen, while Trevor Megill picked up his first save.

Mitch Keller started for Pittsburgh, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks across five innings, while striking out seven. Aroldis Chapman was charged with his second blown save and loss.

Joey Bart hit a three-run homer for Pittsburgh - he also walked in the contest. Bryan Reynolds had two hits and a run scored, while Jack Suwinski got on base twice, drove in a run and scored once. Oneil Cruz reached base three times.

Phillies 5, Reds 0

Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer among his two hits and walked once for Philadelphia. Trea Turner had three hits and a run scored, while Bryson Stott drove in two runs on two hits and scored once.

Zack Wheeler earned the win on the mound, striking out eight over six scoreless innings. Nick Martinez took the loss after allowing five runs on 11 hits over six innings, while striking out three. 

Elly De La Cruz drew a pair of walks and was the only Red to reach base multiple times.

Guardians 6, Red Sox 4

Jose Ramirez hit a grand slam among his three hits, stole a base and scored twice for Cleveland. Will Brennan hit a solo homer among his two knocks.

Tyler Freeman reached base three times and scored once for the Guardians. David Fry also walked twice, while Steven Kwan got on twice and scored a run.

Triston McKenzie started for Cleveland, but didn’t get the win after only pitching four innings. He struck out seven while allowing two runs on six hits and two walks.

Hunter Gaddis got the win out of the bullpen, with Emmanuel Clase picking up his eighth save after a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Chase Anderson started for Boston and allowed five runs on three hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings.

Rafael Devers led the team at the plate with three hits and a run scored, while Rob Refsnyder had two hits, one RBI and a run scored. Reese McGuire reached base three times and scored once.

Twins 6, White Sox 3

Edouard Julien hit two solo homers for Minnesota. Ryan Jeffers, Carlos Santana and Jose Miranda also hit solo shots. Miranda and Trevor Larnach each had two knocks, while Max Kepler also got on base twice.

Simeon Woods Richardson started and struck out six over five innings. He allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk. Cole Sands earned his first win, while Griffin Jax picked up his fourth save.

Michael Soroka started for Chicago, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over five innings, while striking out one. Tanner Banks took his second loss out of the pen.

Andrew Vaughn and Korey Lee each had two hits for the White Sox, with Vaughn also scoring once and stealing a base. Paul DeJong, Eloy Jimenez and Robbie Grossman got on base twice each, with Jimenez scoring once and DeJong driving in a run. 

Royals 2, Blue Jays 1 (5 inn.)

Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer for Kansas City in a rain-shortened game. Vinnie Pasquantino walked twice and scored the other run.

Cole Ragans got his first win after allowing three hits, three walks and a run across five innings, while striking out four. Jose Berrios took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks, while striking out one over five innings.

Ernie Clement had a hit, stolen base and RBI as he plated Justin Turner for Toronto’s lone run.

Cubs 3, Astros 1

Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-run homer for Chicago. Nico Hoerner delivered three hits, while Mike Tauchman had a hit and three walks.

Javier Assad started for the Cubs and allowed a run on four hits and a walk across 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five batters. Hector Neris earned his third save of the season.

Justin Verlander started for Houston, not allowing a run across 4 1/3 innings. He gave up three hits and four walks, but struck out seven. Rafael Montero took the loss out of the pen.

Alex Bregman had two of Houston’s four hits. Kyle Tucker reached base twice.

Mariners 4, Rangers 3

Ty France and Luis Urias hit two-run homers for Seattle. Julio Rodriguez had two hits, a stolen base and a run scored.

Luis Castillo improved to 2-4 after striking out six over six innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and two walks. Andres Munoz worked the ninth to earn his third save.

Andrew Heaney took the loss after allowing four runs on five hits over six innings, while striking out seven and walking none.

Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Smith each hit solo homers for Texas. Smith and Marcus Semien had two hits each, with Semien also driving in a run. 

Rockies 10, Padres 9

Hunter Goodman hit a three-run homer for Colorado, while Elehuris Montero hit a two-run shot. Elias Diaz drove in three runs and had one hit.

Brendan Rodgers got on base four times and scored once for the Rockies. Brenton Doyle got on base four times, stole two bases, drove in a run and scored three times. Jake Cave had two knocks, while Ezequiel Tovar got on twice and scored twice. 

Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim each hit two-run homers for San Diego. Profar got on base three times total, drove in three and scored twice.

Xander Bogaerts drove in a run on two hits. Jake Cronenworth and Eguy Rosario each got on twice, scored a run and drove in one. Tyler Wade reached twice and scored once.

Tyler Kinley earned the win out of the pen for Colorado. Justin Lawrence earned his second save. Dakota Hudson started and allowed six runs on six hits and four walks over 3 1/3 innings, while striking out four.

Wandy Peralta took the loss for San Diego. Randy Vasquez started and allowed four runs on six hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings, while striking out two.

Dodgers 2, Nationals 1

Teoscar Hernandez hit a solo homer for Los Angeles. Freddie Freeman got on base three times and drove in a run.

Mookie Betts reached base three times, stole a base and scored once for LA. Enrique Hernandez also had two knocks. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto started and struck out seven over six scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and one walk. Evan Phillips worked a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his seventh save.

MacKenzie Gore fell to 2-2 after allowing a run across six innings. He gave up seven hits and two walks, while striking out four.

Joey Meneses drove in a run on three hits for Washington. 

Athletics 3, Yankees 1

Tyler Nevin hit a two-run homer for Oakland. Nick Allen added a solo shot. Darell Hernaiz had two hits, a stolen base and a run scored.

Alex Wood started and got the win after pitching 5 2/3 innings. He allowed a run on eight hits and two walks, while striking out five. Mason Miller earned his sixth save after striking out three batters over 1 1/3 innings.

Nestor Cortes fell to 1-2 after pitching seven innings. He allowed three runs on five hits and struck out four.

Jose Trevino homered for the lone New York run. Trevino, Alex Verdugo, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Volpe all had two knocks. Aaron Judge drew two walks, and Juan Soto also reached twice.