September 18 Fantasy Baseball Takeaways: Best Hitting/Pitching Performances | Dylan Cease, Corbin Carroll, Jose Quintana, Marcell Ozuna, Aaron Nolaand More

There was a full 15-game slate of MLB games on Wednesday, September 18, so there’s plenty of strong performances we need to discuss.

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Top Starting Pitchers

San Diego Padres’ Dylan Cease earned a win after working 8 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits, while striking out five and walking none.

New York Mets’ Jose Quintana also was a winner after working seven scoreless frames. He gave up two hits and two walks, while striking out four.

New York Yankees’ Nestor Cortest worked six scoreless frames, but didn’t get a decision. He allowed four hits and three hits, while striking out six.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Landon Knack earned a victory after tossing five scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and two walks, while punching out seven.

Texas Rangers’ Cody Bradford also got a win, tossing seven scoreless innings along the way. He allowed five hits, while striking out six and walking none.

Philadelphia Phillies’ Aaron Nola took a no decision after striking out nine batters over seven innings. He allowed a run on three hits and a walk.

Houston Astros’ Framber Valdez took a loss despite allowing just one run over seven frames. He gave up five hits and two walks, while punching out six.

Los Angeles Angels’ Jack Kochanowicz took a no decision after working seven strong innings. He allowed a run on five hits, while striking out five and walking none.

Cincinnati Reds’ Jakob Junis struck out six over six innings. He gave up a run on two hits and no walks, and did not earn a decision.

Tampa Bay Rays’ Ryan Pepiot punched out 12 over six innings, but left with a no decision. He allowed a run on two hits and no walks.

Seattle Mariners’ Bryce Miller struck out eight over six innings. He gave up a run on two hits and four walks, and also left without a decision.

Atlanta Braves’ Spencer Schwellenbach earned a win after tossing six innings. He allowed a run on five hits and two walks, while striking out five.

Milwaukee Brewers’ Freddy Peralta struck out nine over five innings, but also didn’t get a decision. He gave up a run on two hits and two walks.

Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal was a winner after striking out seven over five innings. He allowed a run on three hits, a walk and a hit batter.

Minnesota Twins’ Bailey Ober struck out 12 over seven innings, but didn’t get a decision. He gave up two runs on four hits and no walks.

Cleveland Guardians’ Tanner Bibee also took a no decision. He worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, a walk and a hit batter, while striking out five.

Arizona Diamondbacks’ Eduardo Rodriguez earned a victory after striking out 11 over 6 1/3 frames. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk.

Toronto Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis took a loss despite allowing just two runs over six innings. He allowed five hits and a walk, while striking out six.

Top Relief Pitchers

Kansas City Royals’ Daniel Lynch IV tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He allowed two hits, while striking out four and walking none.

Colorado Rockies’ Jeff Criswell worked three scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and a walk, while striking out three.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Michael McGreevy earned a win after tossing three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, while striking out four and walking none.

Miami Marlins’ Xzavion Curry worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He didn’t allow a hit or walk, while punching out three.

Yankees’ Luke Weaver got a win after tossing 1 2/3 innings. He allowed just one walk, while striking out four.

Milwaukee’s Devin Williams got a win after striking out the side in his inning of work.

Angels’ Jose Quijada also punched out three in an inning of work. He also got a win.

Seattle’s Troy Taylor struck out all three batters he faced in an inning of work.

Boston Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen, Texas’ Kirby Yates, San Diego’s Tanner Scott, Yankees’ Ian Hamilton, Detroit’s Will Vest, San Francisco Giants’ Ryan Walker and Oakland Athletics’ Mason Miller all earned a save.

Jansen worked around two walks in his inning of work. He struck out a pair.

Yates worked a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts.

Scott got the final two outs to claim his save, with one punchout along the way.

Hamilton allowed a hit, but still faced just three hitters in his inning. He struck out two.

Vest got two outs for his save, with one being a strikeout.

Walker struck out one during a 1-2-3 inning.

Miller walked a batter, but faced just three to record his save. He struck out one in his inning of work.

Top Hitters

San Diego’s Manny Machado, Cleveland’s Josh Naylor and Arizona’s Corbin Carroll all hit two home runs on Wednesday.

Machado’s homers were both solo shots, and he also struck out once.

Naylor’s home runs were also solo blasts. He scored a third run and struck out once.

Carroll drove in three runs with his homers. He also walked, scored a third run and struck out twice.

Dodgers’ Will Smith scored three runs. He had a single, home run, RBI and strikeout,

Minnesota’s Carlos Correa drove in four runs on three singles.

Atlanta’s Gio Urshela drove in three runs on a single and double.

Mets’ Brandon Nimmo drove in three runs on a home run. He also walked, scored a second run and struck out once.

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Billy Cook drove in three runs on a single and a home run. He scored once and struck out twice.

St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado had two singles, a double and two walks on Wednesday. He drove in a run and scored twice.

Oakland’s Brent Rooker had two singles and two walks. He drove in a run and stole a base.

Minnesota’s Willi Castro had a double and was plunked by two pitches. He scored twice and struck out once.

Boston’s Trevor Story, Miami’s Xavier Edwards and Tampa Bay’s Jose Caballero all stole two bases.

Story reached base on a single and he also homered. He drove in a run and scored two runs.

Edwards had a single and strikeout on the day.

Caballero got his two steals after coming on as a pinch runner.

Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna had two doubles and a home run. He drove in two runs, scored twice and struck out once.

San Francisco’s Michael Conforto had two singles and a home run. He drove in a run and scored twice.

Minnesota’s Matt Wallner had two singles, a double and a walk. He also struck out once.

San Diego’s Jackson Merrill had two singles and a double.

Kansas City’s Yuli Gurriel had two singles and a walk. He also drove in a run.

Chicago Cubs’ Nico Hoerner singled twice and walked once. He went on to score a run.

Tampa Bay’s Taylor Walls had two singles and a walk as well. He drove in a run, stole a base and struck out once.

Tampa Bay’s Jonny DeLuca posted two singles and was hit by a pitch. He also struck out once.

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman had two singles and a double. He scored twice, stole a base and struck out once.

St. Louis’ Ivan Herrera singled three times. He drove in a run, scored once and was a strikeout victim.