For about 30 seconds, there was nothing but deafening silence to be heard during the sixth inning of Bally Sports Kansas City’s broadcast of the Kansas City Royals‘ clash against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.
Royals analyst Rex Hudler took the microphone to further break down Kansas City right-handed pitcher Seth Lugo whiffing Brewers shortstop Willy Adames with an 81.7-mph slurve.
“And then you drop the deuce on the outside part of the plate,” Hudler said. “That big curveball, nice, right out of the zone, just like you like it.”
Play-by-play announcer Ryan Lefebvre didn’t say a word. He let the moment breathe with viewers soaking in every last word of Hudler’s funny phrasing.
“And then you drop the Deuce on the Outside part of the plate.” π€£
“Just to clarifyβa deuce is a curveball,” Lefebvre said.
“Yeah, it’s two,” Hudler responded, referencing the number of fingers that catchers use to signal for a curveball.
Too funny.
Adames eventually got his revenge for the sixth-inning strikeout, blasting a three-run go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth. The Brewers beat the Royals 6β5.
Palacios's walk-off single gave the Rays a 6-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics Thursdayβand gave Palacios, at last, the first walk-off of his three-year career.
"I was doing an interview the other day, and my brother has a walk-off and my uncle has a walk-off. And I said in the interview, βBetter get a walkoff before this becomes a family thing.β I didnβt know it was going to come (Thursday), but it is exciting that it did," Palacios told reporters postgame via Kristie Ackert of The Tampa Bay Times.
Palacios is slashing .262/.360/.369 for Tampa Bay this season with four home runs and 12 RBIs in 48 games.
The Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Monday at Kaufman Stadium. Ten thousand fans were in attendance to see the home team come from behind to win their 21st game of the season, but at least one of them did not care about the final score.
There was one on and two outs when Gary SΓ‘nchez stepped to the plate in the fourth inning. After taking three pitches from Cole Ragans, he hit a fastball deep to left center. As the ball hurdled towards a waterfall feature, a Brewers fan jumped and grabbed the ball with his outstretched, gloved hand and caught the home run.
What followed was one of the most intense celebrations in the history of sports.
β Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) May 7, 2024
If there was ever a case for excitement to be measured on the Richter scale, this is it. This guy was jacked up. Who knows how long he's been bringing that glove to games hoping for this exact thing to happen?
And for the ball to be hit by a player on his favorite team in a different city? That's a really intense state of euphoria. Like the kind of thing that only happens when Dan Campbell or a young Blake Griffin is involved. Guys who win by knockout in the UFC are more subdued.
This is why sports are the best. All this guy really did was catch a baseball. Big deal. But everything that preceded this moment made him react like it the greatest thing to ever happen to to anyone. Ever. And that's worth celebrating.
UPDATE: Juan Soto's MRI came back with only inflammation, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman. His AL MVP odds have still dropped to +450 at FanDuel Sportsbook -- but they have rebounded after falling as low as +650.
The initial prognosis on Juan Soto's MRI is that it's only inflammation and he should be ok, per @JonHeyman
β Talkinβ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 7, 2024
What follows is the initial story of the odds movement following Soto's exit from Thursday night's game against the Minnesota Twins. His odds have remained the same at DraftKings Sportsbook (+235) throughout this process.
New York Yankees fans everywhere held their breath on Thursday night after Juan Soto was lifted from the team's win with what the Yankees called, "left forearm discomfort."
However, MLB insider Jon Heyman revealed on Friday that the Yankees are "nervous" when it comes to Soto and his injury and his odds have fallen since the injury occurred.
"The Yankees have their fingers crossed, they're nervous."
β New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 7, 2024
Soto is slashing an impressive .318/.424/.603 with 17 homers on the season. He was right behind teammate Aaron Judge in the odds as the No. 2 favorite for the AL MVP.
That has since changed at FanDuel Sportsbook, a sign that Soto could be looking at a stint on the injured list. Even if Soto plays, oddsmakers may be taking their chance on him being less effective with his forearm bothering him, at least in terms of his ability to win AL MVP.
Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. and Baltimore Orioles star Gunnar Henderson have leapfrogged Soto in the latest AL MVP odds. Soto dropped from +210 to +650 since being removed from Thursday's game, a massive falloff that signals oddsmakers believe he's at least expected to miss some time or be less effective in the MVP race.
The other important note here is Judge has jumped to a clear favorite in this market. After posting an OPS over 1.400 in May, Judge is now hitting .289 on the season and leads baseball in homers (21), doubles, and walks drawn.
Despite the movement at FanDuel, that isn't the case everywhere in the betting market.
In this case, oddsmakers still believe in Soto's AL MVP case, although Witt Jr. and Henderson are right on his heels for the No. 2 spot.
Until the Yankees officially announce a roster move, Soto's status is truly up in the air.
The star outfielder addressed the media on Thursday, saying he's been dealing with the ailment for a couple of weeks. While he's been able to play through it, there has to be some concern that this has been building over time.
Juan Soto says he's felt the forearm tightness for a couple weeks but it hasn't impacted his baseball related activities at all pic.twitter.com/UuyC2ATyyA
Soto didn't have to make many throws against the Twins on Thursday, and it's unclear if there is a specific spot where he could have aggravated his forearm that led to his removal from the game.
If the injury isn't bothering Soto when he hits, he theoretically could stay in the AL-leading Yankees lineup as a designated hitter.
The problem? That spot is usually manned by slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who has been injury-prone in the past and is certainly risky to play in the field. For now, the Yankees and their fans -- and Soto bettors -- are hoping for some positive news about his injury in the coming days.
I think this helps Judge's MVP case the most, as the Yankees would rely even more on the 2022 AL MVP if Soto can't play for any period.
Judge has finished in the top five in MVP voting in three different seasons in his MLB career.
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