three stars

Corey Dickerson: The ex-Meridian Community College star banged out a career-high four hits and drove in five runs to lead Philadelphia to a 9-3 victory at Miami on Saturday. Dickerson, picked up by the Phillies at the trade deadline from Pittsburgh, is batting .292 with three homers and 19 RBIs in 17 games for Philadelphia, which is hanging around in third place in the National League East and third in the wild card standings. Having missed a big chunk of the first half with a shoulder injury, Dickerson is batting .302 with seven homers and 44 RBIs on the year.
Dakota Hudson: The Mississippi State product threw six shutout innings against Colorado, helping St. Louis to a 6-0 win that extended the Cardinals’ lead in NL Central to a 1.5 games. Hudson, a rookie right-hander, has worked 18 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings over his last three starts — all wins — and is 13-6 with a 3.47 ERA for the season. He yielded two hits Saturday after tossing 6 2/3 hitless innings in his last start. “A lot of it is making the hitter adjust to you a little bit,” Hudson told The Associated Press about his recent run of success.
Billy Hamilton: The former Taylorsville High standout delivered a pinch single and alertly dashed home on a defensive lapse during an eighth-inning rally as Atlanta beat the New York Mets 9-5 for its seventh straight win. The speedy Hamilton, a waiver claim last week, scored all the way from first on a single by Ronald Acuna, going third to home when a Mets outfielder lobbed a throw back to the infield. Hamilton is 2-for-5 with a run, an RBI and two steals (20 on the season) in three games with the first-place Braves.
P.S. A minors matter: Former Southern Miss star Matt Wallner is 4-for-13 with a home run and three RBIs in four games since earning a promotion to Class A Cedar Rapids in Minnesota’s system. The 2019 first-round draftee, who belted 58 homers in three years in Hattiesburg, hit .269 with six homers and 28 RBIs at rookie-level Elizabethton to start his pro career.