day:GROWING BOTE OF WORKCubs rookie David Bote tries to keep his sensational rookie season rolling in a game against Cincinnati. Bote walked off Chicago with a 10th-inning homer Friday http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , his second game-ending shot this month. The 25-year-old didn’t get much hype as a prospect, but he’s finding the spotlight regularly in the majors, with each of his five home runs either tying the game or putting the Cubs ahead. That includes a ninth-inning grand slam for a 4-3 win over Washington on Aug. 12.GOOD GETMike Fiers has given Oakland a major boost in its pursuit of the Astros in the AL West, a trend the right-hander will try to continue against Minnesota. Fiers is 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA, 21 strikeouts and one walk in three starts since being acquired from Detroit on Aug. 6, finding success with the A’s by pitching up in the zone with his fastball more often. Oakland entered Friday 1 1/2 games behind Houston, and Fiers has a chance to help bump the Astros off the division lead a year after making 28 starts for the World Series champions.DODGER KILLERJustin Verlander is set to pitch against the Angels in Anaheim, though at least one Dodger fan has taken note that the Astros ace is in LA. Verlander, who started twice against the Dodgers in last year’s World Series http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , got a surprise Friday while dining at the Beverly Hills Hotel when his bill included a $1 million item for “Dodger Killer.”“#BeveryHillsHotel really making me pay for that World Series win,” Verlander wrote on Twitter .BACK, BUT WITH BAGGAGEBlue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez is set to come off the DL against Philadelphia for his first start since a suitcase-related injury sidelined him in late June. Sanchez acknowledged Wednesday that the bruised right index finger that has kept him out for the past two months occurred when his finger got caught in a falling suitcase. The incident happened June 21, hours before Sanchez took the mound in Los Angeles against the Angels with about 180 friends and family from his hometown of Barstow, California, in the crowd. He pitched through the pain for an inning, then exited and ended up on the 60-day DL.SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVEIn a matchup between resurgent starting pitchers on a roll, Washington right-hander Tanner Roark (8-12, 4.05 ERA) faces Zack Wheeler (8-6 Trea Turner Jersey , 3.63) and the Mets at Citi Field. Roark is 5-0 with a 1.63 ERA in his past six starts. Wheeler, who beat the Nationals at home on July 14, is 6-0 with a 1.93 ERA in his last seven outings. He struck out a season-high 10 over seven innings last time out against San Francisco, but is 3-8 with a 4.79 ERA in 12 career starts vs. Washington. A surprising move on Opening Day"It’s been a long, hard fall for lefty Brandon Finnegan. The former 1st round pick and prize of the Johnny Cueto trade with the Kansas City Royals back in 2015 had a solid enough 2016 season, his 172 innings of 107 ERA+ ball helping anchor a rotation that was desperate for anything of quality, but a series of back and shoulder injuries seriously derailed his 2017 season before a 2018 season that was utterly, horribly bad.The Cincinnati Reds didn’t see much improvement from Finnegan during the spring, which left him on the outside looking in when it came time to set the active roster. On Thursday http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-adams-jersey , we found out just how far he’d fallen in their eyes, as Finnegan was designated for assignment to free up a roster spot for the claim of old friend Jose Lopez from the San Francisco Giants.Lopez, you’ll remember, was the Seton Hall product who had a rather mediocre year in AAA last year and lost his roster spot back in February when the Reds signed Zach Duke. He spent his spring with the Giants and failed to make their squad, and was recently placed on waivers at the end of camp. My best guess is that he’ll join the crowded mix back in Louisville as an occasional starter who’ll most likely get moved to the bullpen to see if his stuff will play up better in that role.As for Finnegan, well, there are ample questions. His pedigree would suggest that someone, somewhere will claim him and continue to give him a shot - he’ll still just be 26 years old in two weeks. However, shoulder injuries have a long history of completely derailing pitching careers Joe Blanton Jersey , and it’s quite possible that most teams out there have the same impression of him now that the Reds do, his most recent results deeming him not worthy of a roster spot anywhere. That might see him go unclaimed and stick around the Reds system in hopes that he can figure out how to pitch again, though I’d place the odds of that happening very, very low.