For generations, the configuration of Fenway Park has caused headaches for outfielders.
The stadium, Harry Jones of The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote, "is a structural monstrosity that through the years has proven to be a dreaded nightmare to its visiting baseball clubs." The year was 1948.
San Francisco Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee experienced the gamut of Fenway Park emotions in 2024 on Thursday as the Giants ground out a 3-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
First, Lee misplayed a fly ball in the sun and wound up flat on the ground. Then, shortly thereafter, he ended the fourth inning by snaring center fielder Jarren Duran's scorching liner—likely saving a run.
The year following a breakout postseason appearance, the 2016 Chicago Cubs won the World Series with six starting position players aged 26 and younger. Eight years later, the Baltimore Orioles, in the year following a breakout postseason appearance, will have five or six starting position players aged 26 and younger once Jackson Holliday returns from his minor league sabbatical with his confidence restored.
Both teams went through deep rebuilds. Both teams built their core by using high draft picks on position players, not pitchers, especially out of college. Both teams had Brandon Hyde on the staff—as a coach with the Cubs and as manager with the Orioles.
One piece of symmetry remains to complete the picture. Like the Cubs, who traded future All-Star Gleyber Torres for Aroldis Chapman, Baltimore must trade from its positional surplus to add a power arm to the bullpen. As then Cubs GM Theo Epstein said when he made the deal even with a 7 ½ game lead on July 25, “If not now, when?” The mission had grown from just making the playoffs to ending a massive World Series drought.
“We don’t win the World Series without Chappy,” former Cubs manager Joe Maddon says.
The Orioles, who last won the World Series in 1983, are in the same position. Taking Holliday off the table, Baltimore can put top prospects Samuel Basallo, Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad in play to get a lockdown late inning arm such as Mason Miller of Oakland or Jhoan Duran of Minnesota. The point is that like the 2016 Cubs, the 2024 Orioles are a world championship-caliber team with an obvious need and obvious surplus.
“The teams have different personalities,” Hyde says. “That Cubs team had a lot of young players and a lot of older players with almost nothing in between. [David] Ross, [John] Lackey, [Ben] Zobrist, Miguel Montero … like fatherly figures to the young guys. But in terms of the everyday players, the talent, the athleticism, the expectations they have for themselves, they are very, very similar.”
Says Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo, a member of those 2016 Cubs, “They’re a really, really good team that probably is going to add pitching. It’s a long season. I know we play them in the last week of September. And I expect those games are going to be very meaningful.”
With John Means and Kyle Bradish returning to the rotation this week, starting pitching is less of a priority than an elite closer, given health and command issues of Craig Kimbrel, the closer who turns 36 this month and has a 6.75 ERA in his past 10 postseason games.
Righthander Grayson Rodriguez is the wild card in the rotation. He went on the IL this week with shoulder soreness, an injury that was not a surprise given the innings jump Baltimore heaped on him last year at age 23 (+62 from his previous high), his mechanics and his elite velocity. Of the 21 starting pitchers to average 96.5 MPH or more from 2019 to ’23, Rodriguez is the 19th to break down. The only elite velocity throwers to escape the IL are Luis Castillo and Cole Ragans.
Rodriguez has the arm to be a potential front of the rotation pitcher and a difference maker in the postseason. He needs more development to get there. He needs to improve his fastball command so that he can spot a fastball when he needs to (he can’t do that now), he needs to improve his hand/wrist placement and release on his four-seamer so that he creates more ride than run and he needs to improve the timing of his delivery.
One Orioles source says Rodriguez “was gassed” by the time he reached the postseason. He gave up five runs on six hits in less than two innings against Texas in the ALCS. The attrition then and into this season shows in the data. With each month, Rodriguez’s release point and velocity have been dropping:
Rodriguez's vertical release point and velocity.
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The left is Rodriguez pitching in April 2023 and the right is Rodriguez in April 2024.
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Rodriguez has a bit of funk to his delivery, which is not advantageous to a power pitcher because of the extra torque elite velocity puts on the arm. He pulls his arm stiffly behind him, pulling the ball past parallel, and does not have the ball raised with his arm in a 90-degree angle when his front foot lands, which often creates stress that first shows in the shoulder. Here’s a look at those key points in his delivery this week against the New York Yankees:
A look at Rodriguez's form while pitching against the Yankees in April 2024.
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Here is teammate Corbin Burnes at those same points. Note on the left the arm position on his takeaway, as the arm is not past parallel and the elbow has begun to bend to raise the ball. On the right, the arm is at a 90-degree angle as the front foot lands.
A look at Burnes's form at the same crucial points.
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For all the talk about Rodriguez’s elite velocity, he does not pitch like a true power pitcher. His changeup and curveball are outstanding. When he needs to get back into a count or rely on a pitch in a big spot, he’s going to rely on his secondary staff. That’s a gift for such a young pitcher. But the numbers show his fastball gets hit:
Rodriguez by Pitch Type, Career
Rodriguez by pitch type in his career.
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Over the past two years, 25 pitchers have allowed a .300 average or higher on at least 500 four-seamers. Rodriguez is the only one who throws 97. Among the 27 pitchers who average 96.5 and higher, Rodriguez’s .340 average allowed is 51 points higher than anybody else.
His fastball ranks in the 87th percentile in velocity this year but only in the 52nd percentile when it comes to run value. Why does such an elite velocity fastball rate as mediocre? Start with his spin rate. It is slightly below average (2,256 RPM; average is 2,288).
Another issue is the way Rodriguez’s fastball comes out of his hand. A four-seam fastball with elite ride has close to true north-south underspin to better fight gravity, causing the pitch to sink less than a hitter expects. Rodriguez’s fastball because of his hand position comes out with arm-side run. It has average drop (a measurement of “ride”) but extreme horizontal movement (“run”). A four-seamer with run is easier to hit than one with ride because it tends to stay on the same plane as the bat path rather than over it.
Rodriguez Fastball Movement
Drop: 12.9 inches; vs. Avg.: 2% Horizontal: 11.7 inches; vs. Avg.: 60%
If Rodriguez can trade run for ride, he will have an elite north-south combination with a top-of-the-zone fastball and devastating changeup. His ceiling is extremely high.
The good news for Baltimore is it appears Rodriguez may be suffering only from fatigue rather than a structural issue. He is expected to be shut down for two to three weeks. Starting May 17, the Orioles face 43 games in 45 days. Assuming Rodriguez returns for that stretch, they will deploy a six-man rotation through that grind, just as they did last August.
“The six-man rotation last August saved our season,” Hyde says.
Like the 2016 Cubs, the Orioles are built to play seven full months. The six-man rotation is just one strategy designed to prepare for October. Another is a firm pitch limit on starting pitchers. The Orioles are adamant about getting their starter out as he approaches 100 pitches, no matter their age or experience or game situation. Dean Kramer and Rodriguez were pulled in the middle of an inning with 101 pitches and Burnes once at 100. That’s as far as any Baltimore starter has been allowed to go.
Rizzo is right to expect a close race. The Orioles and Yankees are not likely to be separated by more than three games when they meet in the last week of the season. By then, the Orioles hope to have a rotation with gas left in the tank and an additional power arm at the back of their bullpen.
There’s only one game on the evening slate tonight, so all eyes will be on the Houston Astros again.
The Cleveland Guardians are one of the hottest teams in baseball, and the Astros have won three of their last four, and they may be able to start digging out of their hole.
Pick a winner. Nah.
Play some plus-money props? Yes, indeed!
Consider the value for these props offering plus-money payouts—all odds, according to DraftKings.
HOU RHP Spencer Arrighetti over 4.5 strikeouts (+105)
The Guardians have a mere 19.7% strikeout rate this season—the fifth-lowest in MLB. Just last night, Justin Verlander tossed seven innings of two-run ball but only punched out two. Righty starters are averaging just four strikeouts per game vs. Cleveland this season.
Arrighetti has excellent stuff and generally has a high-strikeout upside with a K-rate of 12.66 per nine this year, but it’s hard to see Arrighetti going too long in this game based on his previous outings. Arrighetti has not yet made it to the fifth inning this season. So, all of that suggests the under. But here’s why we are grabbing the over:
Arrighetti has a K-rate of more than 15 per nine vs. left-handed hitters. Cleveland’s primary everyday lineup consists of only one right-handed hitter and two switch-hitters. The rest are lefties. That’s a very lefty-dominant lineup, and enough for me to take the risk for the payout.
Now, onto hitting props:
HOU Kyle Tucker over 1.5 total bases (+105)
HOU Kyle Tucker over .5 RBI (+120)
I love these props that are in plus money. Tucker has been Houston’s hottest hitter this year, with a team-leading eight home runs and 21 RBI, and he’s especially dominant when facing lefties.
Tucker is tied for second in MLB in extra-base hits vs. southpaws (eight), and he has the third-most RBI (11). He’s hitting .341 vs. lefties this year with a 1.147 OPS.
That should play well vs. Guardians pitcher Logan Allen, who has an ERA of 5.46 this season and has allowed an average exit velocity in the bottom 14% of the league.
José Ramírez over .5 RBI (+125)
Apr 26, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) hits a
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Ramírez hasn’t had a hit yet in this Houston series, so you know what that means: He’s due. Seriously, though.
Ramírez will likely bat righty tonight vs. Arighetti, and he has 17 RBI vs. right-handed pitchers this season (tied for seventh in MLB). At +125, I like the value.
One last thing: I’m willing to grab the over on this game tonight, which is currently set at nine. Not only do the Astros punish lefties, but Arrighetti has an ERA of 10.97 this season. Sure, it should be better, but an xERA of 4.36, according to Statcast, still bodes well for the over when you consider how well the Guardians hit with RISP and how volatile Houston’s bullpen is this year. Both teams should get in their knocks tonight.
The Bets:
Arrighetti over 4.5K (+105)
Kyle Tucker over 1.5 total bases (+105)
Kyle Tucker over .5 RBI (+120)
Jose Ramirez over .5 RBI (+125)
Game total: Over 9 (-115)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
On March 8, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that Mookie Betts's move to shortstop in spring training was "permanent, for now."
Now, it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that Betts's move will be "permanent, forever."
Roberts heaped praise on Betts for his play at shortstop so far after the Dodgers' 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday.
“Right now, where (Betts) is at, I certainly think he’s playing an above average shortstop,” Roberts said. “I’d grade him out a solid B+. It’s hard to imagine me even saying that... given that he started not playing the position. So it’s really, really impressive and only going to get better.”
Even by Betts's lofty standards, his start to 2024 has been special. Last year's runner-up in the NL MVP voting is slashing .377/.481/.623 with six home runs and 25 RBIs. He leads the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, runs, hits, walks and total bases.
“I’m trying to wrap my head around any comparable—as far as on the hitting side, the (defensive) side. I haven’t seen it. You’re talking about a complete position change," Roberts said. "To play it at a high level at that position, I just haven’t seen it.”
Baseball Reference has Betts at third in defensive WAR, behind only Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte and St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn.
While the old adage goes that you shouldn’t look at the MLB standings until Memorial Day, we live in the Statcast era, and don’t have to wait nearly as long to confidently identify trends emerging early in the season for individual players.
MLB’s Statcast metrics were introduced in 2015 alongside the introduction of 12 Hawk-Eye cameras into each stadium, which use frame-by-frame tracking to give us a wealth of information on every player in the league. These advanced proprietary metrics—such as exit velocity, barrel rate, sprint speed, expected batting average (xBA), expected slugging percentage (xSLG), arm strength and outs above average—stabilize quicker than surface-level statistics and need about a month’s worth of data to balance out. It’s made it much easier to identify baseball’s best athletes and predict future success, even if the sport continues to surprise us every day.
In this exercise we’ll highlight one player at each position who stood out in the first month of the 2024 season via Statcast data, even if sometimes the on-field results aren’t yet matching the underlying metrics.
Kansas City’s veteran backstop has been active for the entirety of the Statcast era (which dates back to 2015), so it’s notable that he’s on pace for his best season in terms of both batting and fielding.
Pérez carries a long-held reputation for his defensive prowess, but Statcast has never been a fan of his pitch framing, a skill that has become easier to judge with the advent of new technology. Currently, however, he ranks in the 85th percentile of catchers for his ability to steal strikes to go along with his typically plus grades for blocking errant pitches and controlling the base paths with his rocket arm.
Where he’s really stood out, though, is on offense. The 33-year-old ranks in the 96th percentile or better in barrel rate, xBA, xSLG, and strikeout rate (K%), the latter of which is remarkable (and almost surely unsustainable) for someone with his free-swinging ways. Put it all together and Pérez, who currently owns a 21-game on-base streak, ranks in the 99th percentile of batting run value.
Even though Perez may be the most likely player on this list to tail off as the season goes on—there’s no way someone who chases so many pitches out of the zone can maintain a .355 batting average—he’s seeing the ball extremely well so far both at the plate and behind it.
I’m cheating a bit on this one, as O’Hearn isn’t even the primary first baseman for his team (that’s Ryan Mountcastle) and has mostly filled Baltimore’s DH slot while also earning time in the outfield corners. But it’s been a down season overall for first basemen thus far, and O’Hearn’s Statcast numbers are so absurd that they’re worth highlighting.
The 30-year-old leads all players (min. 75 PAs) in xSLG (.762) and xBA (.366) while also ranking in the 91st percentile or better in exit velocity, barrel rate, sweet-spot percentage, chase rate and K%. This is a player in his seventh season who’s never had more than 370 plate appearances and last year posted a career-best 1.2 WAR with Baltimore after mostly struggling through five seasons in Kansas City.
With 79 plate appearances and four home runs in 30 games, O’Hearn’s Statcast rates could be a small sample size anomaly. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde sits O’Hearn against fellow lefthanders, and for good reason (0-for-5 this year, .529 career OPS against LHPs). But he’s been a force to be reckoned with against righthanders and is playing a significant role for the AL East–leading O’s.
Marte's 145 OPS+ is his best mark since 2019, when he earned his lone All-Star bid.
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Marte has long been one of the game’s more underappreciated stars, and he gained some well-deserved visibility during Arizona’s underdog World Series run by shattering the postseason hitting streak record (20 games) and earning NLCS MVP honors.
The 30-year-old has followed that up with the best Statcast showing of his career, ranking in the top 10% of exit velocity and hard-hit percentage. That’s helped him record a 145 OPS+, his best mark since 2019, when he earned his lone All-Star bid and finished fourth in NL MVP voting. Marte also leads the NL in defensive WAR and ranks in the 98th percentile in OAA, which should at least put him in the conversation to earn his first Gold Glove.
After an up-and-down rookie campaign, De La Cruz is now consistently showcasing all the talents in his arsenal that made him a hyped five-tool prospect. He ranks among the top 10% of major leaguers in average exit velocity, xSLG, walk rate (BB%), arm strength and sprint speed. His barrel rate has increased 9.5% from last season, the second-best improvement among qualified hitters, per The Athletic’s Eno Harris. Basically, he’s taking more pitches and making better contact when he does swing. That’s a formula for success for someone with De La Cruz’s supreme physical gifts.
You may have seen that Cincinnati’s 22-year-old metronome uncorked the fastest throw in MLB’s recorded history on Monday, a heave so forceful that Reds first baseman Jeimer Candelario couldn’t react quickly enough to catch it. It’s usually Cincinnati’s opponents who can’t catch De La Cruz, who leads the majors with 18 stolen bases to go along with eight home runs. He’s the only player ever to record even six home runs and 11 stolen bases by the end of April.
After Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. became the first player to ever record a 40–70 season in 2023, De La Cruz has a chance to top that with a previously unthinkable 40–100 season. There were several worthy candidates for this spot, including MLB WAR leader Mookie Betts, but that possibility clinches this slot for the Reds’ switch-hitting stud.
It’s tough to bypass Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg for this spot given the 25-year-old leads his position in xBA (.347) and xSLG (.594). But Bohm has been the superior player in terms of making contact, with an elite 13.3% whiff rate and a vast improvement in his chase rate (22.8%) giving him a more complete profile and helping the fifth-year player rank second in the majors in batting average (.362) and third in OPS (1.018). He’s also been graded as an above-average defender by outs above average (OAA), which rated him poorly in his first four seasons.
Bohm failed over the past few years to match the promise of his 2020 rookie campaign, when he finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting, but his breakout has secured him the cleanup slot in Philadelphia’s dangerous lineup and put him in pole position to start in the real All-Star Game.
There are several deserving candidates for this spot, as Baltimore’s Colton Cowser, the Los Angeles Angels’ Taylor Ward and even New York Mets leadoff man Brandon Nimmo—one of the season’s unluckiest hitters—all boast stellar batted-profiles and thus have a bunch of red bars littering their Statcast profiles. But Greene has been the most valuable when taking his plate discipline, baserunning, fielding and sample size into account.
The third-year Tiger is enjoying a fantastic breakout campaign fueled by a more patient plate approach that’s reflected in his MLB-best 17.8% walk rate, a remarkable development for a 23-year-old who’d previously been near the middle of the pack in that regard. He’s also stinging the ball when he does choose to swing, with elite percentile rates in barrel percentage (98th), xSLG (93rd), sweet-spot percentage (89th) and exit velocity (82nd).
The former top prospect has been Detroit’s MVP and is the biggest reason why the Tigers would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today after languishing through nine consecutive losing years.
Even before Trout suffered yet another injury this week, he wasn’t making quite as much hard contact as he did at his peak. But in a year when past Statcast studs such as Aaron Judge, Julio Rodríguez, Byron Buxton and Michael Harris Jr. have all come out of the gate slowly, the face of the Angels still separated himself from other center fielders through April by co-leading the majors with 10 home runs and ranking in the top 4% of xSLG (.599) and barrel rate (17.1%).
The three-time MVP also showed he was still a force on the basepaths with eight stolen bases and a 92nd percentile sprint speed, but we can only hope that will still be the case when he returns from his torn meniscus.
After years of anticipation, we may finally be bearing witness to a Juan Soto MVP season. The 2019 World Series champion has put up the numbers in the past to claim baseball’s top individual honor, but the path seems to be clearing for him for the first time in his debut season in the Bronx. Soto has carried a Yankees offense that endured a disappointing April from Aaron Judge, leading the AL in on-base percentage (.439) and OPS (1.014) while launching eight home runs.
Soto’s Statcast numbers may be even more impressive. He leads all qualified outfielders with a .632 xSLG and ranks in the 94th percentile or better in *clears throat* exit velocity, xBA, xSLG, barrel rate, hard-hit rate, chase rate, BB% and K%. The 25-year-old has basically been the AL’s version of Shohei Ohtani (more on him in a minute), except with more of his trademark plate discipline and less gap power.
He’s even shown stark improvement on defense, rating as an above-average defender in terms of both range and arm strength for the first time—which he showed off in dramatic fashion on Opening Day, immediately endearing himself to Yankees fans. GM Brian Cashman might never recover in the eyes of New York’s fan base if he lets Soto depart as a free agent in the offseason, let alone to the crosstown Mets.
With career bests in several hitting categories so far this season, Ohtani is still finding ways to surprise baseball fans.
Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY
Even though he’s not pitching this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, baseball’s biggest superstar is still finding a way to readjust our expectations for what’s possible in the majors.
Ohtani has essentially completed his transformation into the best all-around hitter in the world, combining power and contact at the plate like no one else. He leads qualified batters in barrel rate (22.9%), hard-hit rate (61%) and xBA (.360) while also ranking comfortably above average in K% (18.8%) and whiff rate (23.8%). (All of those marks are career bests, naturally.)
Shohei Ohtani, still being booed in Toronto, just recorded the hardest hit of his career at 119.2 MPH pic.twitter.com/d1MpHpZyVV
If Ohtani continues to produce even close to this pace over the course of his 10-year contract, he’ll be worth $700 million to the Dodgers even if he never pitches again.
Skubal has shown flashes of his potential over the last couple of years, but he’s put everything together in 2024 after elbow surgery erased a good chunk of each of his last two seasons. It’s still early, as most starters have pitched only six games, but he’s in the thick of contention to take the hill for the AL in the All-Star Game.
Skubal leads the AL with a 0.74 WHIP and has allowed just two home runs in 36 ⅔ innings. The former ninth-round pick is also the only qualified lefthanded starter averaging at least 10 K/9 and less than 1.5 BB/9. That mastery of the strike zone and ability to keep the ball in the yard has helped the 27-year-old log a FIP under 3.00 in each of the last three seasons, and his 2.51 FIP over that span trails only Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (2.50) among pitchers with at least 200 innings.
Skubal’s fastball velocity has actually increased since he went under the knife, going from 94.4 mph in 2022 (59th percentile among all pitchers) to 96.2 mph this year (86th percentile), and he occasionally touches triple digits. That’s helped him accrue more run value off his fastballs (a four-seamer and a sinker) than any other starter. His changeup and breaking offerings (curveball, slider) have positive run values, too, and the whole arsenal has put him in the top 20% of all pitchers for average exit velocity, xBA, chase rate, whiff rate, K%, BB%, hard-hit rate and expected ERA (xERA). That’s a remarkable feat for a starting pitcher, and the sort of dominance you usually see from a top-end closer who can afford to let it loose on every pitch.
But Skubal is more than a top-end closer—he’s a legitimate ace that hitters won’t be looking forward to facing in October if Detroit can make its first playoff appearance since 2014.
Not much has gone right for the Athletics over the past few years, but Miller’s sudden maturation into MLB’s most fearsome closer counts as a major victory. A third-round pick in the 2021 draft out of Gardner-Webb University, Miller made six of his 10 appearances last year as a starter but Oakland shifted him to the closer’s role this year to electrifying effect.
The 25-year-old’s 100.8 mph heater is the fastest in the majors by nearly a full tick over Milwaukee’s Abner Uribe, and he can ramp it up all the way to 104. Paired with his wicked slider, it’s a devastating onslaught for any opposing batter with a split second to ascertain whether he’s facing a high heater or a slider set to drop off the table. The vast majority of hitters haven’t been able to—Miller leads the majors in xERA (0.79), xBA (.080), K% (54.9%) and whiff rate (49.5%). He also carried a -0.14 FIP after recording his eighth save in eight tries against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Yes, that’s a negative FIP, and yes, he’s struck out more than half the hitters he’s faced.
Miller has already proved he can make perhaps the most confident hitter on Earth look silly on a three-pitch punchout.
Oakland is just two games under .500 and no longer looks like the league’s laughingstock. You can be sure no one’s laughing when stepping into the batter’s box against Miller. Try praying.
New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was incensed after outfielder Pete Alonso was called out on a bang-bang play at home plate in the ninth inning of Wednesday night's loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Mendoza wasn't arguing whether or not Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya got the tag down on Alonso in time. His argument was that Amaya blocked home plate, which is in direct violation of a rule put into place a decade ago that emphasized player safety from home plate collisions.
Here's a replay of the call that ended the game, and it was close:
Another view of the crazy ending to the Cubs and Mets
Mendoza argued with the home plate umpire about the call, and the call was reviewed and upheld after it was determined that Amaya had sufficiently blocked home plate without stepping on the base, which is legal.
Carlos Mendoza argues the last call of tonight's game with umpire Chad Fairchild. pic.twitter.com/CYUYEA63wJ
Mendoza clearly did not agree with the call on the field that cost his club a chance at tying the game. He let his feelings be known in the postgame press conference.
"Yeah, the interpretation of the rule," Mendoza said when asked about his biggest gripe with the call. "It's one of those that they send out a memo in spring training, what's legal and what's illegal. And it's clearly on that e-mail that we got that catchers aren't allowed to have their foot in front of the plate, on top of the plate. They can't straddle without possession of the baseball. And it was very clearly that the guy was...had his left foot on top of the plate without the baseball. I think they got the wrong call. "
“I think they got the call wrong.”
Carlos Mendoza says the league sends out a memo every offseason, which clearly states that it is illegal for a catcher to touch any part of home plate prior to having possession of the baseball. pic.twitter.com/a9VZHBpNic
It was a tough loss for the Mets, who fell to 15-15 on the season. They'll look to avenge the loss with a day game against the Cubs on Thursday afternoon.
While Trout was distraught about the news, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith seemed to make it all a big joke as he tore down the Angels outfielder for having to miss more time due to injury during Wednesday's episode of First Take.
“How the hell is he always hurt?," Smith yelled. "I don’t understand this. It drives me nuts when I see baseball players get hurt. What is it that you’re doing with yourself physically that you can’t stay healthy playing baseball? Now, you get hit by a pitch or something, that’s different, I get all of that. With these oblique injuries, you’re running around bases, catching one, then you’re running out for a fly ball, and all of a sudden, something gets tweaked. What the hell is going on?”
Here's Smith's full rant:
Stephen A. Smith isn't sure how baseball players like Mike Trout keep getting injured.
"What the hell are you doing to take care of yourself? Always injured. I mean, damn, it's baseball. What are we talking about here? It's not football. It's not boxing. It's not the UFC..." pic.twitter.com/MamhcLHQKH
Someone brought this to my attention. This is just dumb. This is "take" culture at its worst. Pretend you know things that you don't, get upset, get loud, never back down. Never learn. Never grow. Never change, ESPN https://t.co/Ek08fHUOOU
Stephen A. Smith talking about baseball is as cringeworthy as Christopher Russo talking about college football. National guys spread too thin who don’t know anything but a couple of sound bites. Zero depth. https://t.co/caJM7XRqGs
Holmes pitched 1 2/3 innings on Wednesday, picking up his league-best 10th save of the season. During the outing, his 15th consecutive scoreless appearance of the campaign, Holmes had some nasty bite on his breaking pitches.
Orioles hitters simply couldn't keep up with the range of breaking pitches he was serving up, and a pitch overlay video of Holmes's 97-mph sinker and 85-mph sweeper, courtesy of Rob Friedman, offered a prime example as to why his pitches have proven largely unhittable.
Clay Holmes, 97mph Sinker and 85mph Sweeper, Overlay.
Holmes's sinker runs sharply back over the plate, with some seriously nasty late bite. Meanwhile, the sweeper breaks hard to the outside (against right-handed hitters), making for a truly devastating combination.
The pitch overlay video had MLB fans in awe, as the baseball world could all agree that facing the 31-year-old seems like an unfair battle for any hitter.
If you like messy baseball, this week's three-game series between the Tampa Bay Rays and the surprising Milwaukee Brewers is the series for you.
On Tuesday, tensions between the two teams erupted into a bench-clearing brawl that led to four suspensions. Somehow, the Brewers found time to pull out an 8–2 victory—turning the tables on the Rays after they shut out Milwaukee 1–0 Monday.
In Wednesday's series finale, the hijinks continued. Late in the game, umpires asked Brewers pitcher Thyago Vieira to change his glove—seemingly oblivious to the fact that Vieira had used the same glove in the previous night's game.
Milwaukee's announcers on Bally Sports Wisconsin speculated that the change was due to the coloring of the removed glove, and chuckled at the fact that Vieira replaced it with a garish yellow one.
They’re now on a three-game win streak after defeating the Cleveland Guardians in dramatic extra-innings walk-off fashion at home Tuesday night. The final score was 9-8.
Perhaps it was the energy change of Jose Abreu DFA-ing himself to work on his swing, or maybe it’s just that the pitching rotation is getting healthier, but either way, I’m willing to bet on it.
Justin Verlander gets the ball tonight at home, and he has looked strong to start the season, allowing only two earned runs across his first two starts (10 ⅓ innings pitched). However, his xERA of 4.50, according to Statcast, suggests there could be some regression. Keep your eye on Jose Ramirez, who has excellent career numbers vs. Verlander.
Triston McKenzie gets the start for Cleveland. McKenzie is pitching with a torn ligament in his left elbow (true story), which seems to have affected his command. McKenzie has walked 6.95 batters per nine innings this year, which could spell trouble vs. a Houston team that no longer has Abreu as an automatic out. Despite their lack of wins, the Astros have the third-best BA in MLB (.265), the fifth-highest SLG (.419), and the fifth-best OPS (.750).
The Guardians have been one of the best teams in baseball when it comes to RISP, while the Astros have been one of the worst teams when it comes to relief pitching. Despite their star power, the Astros bullpen could be shaky today with many relievers—including closer Josh Hader—likely unavailable after being used in Tuesday night’s extra innings.
When I add all this up, all signs point to the over on the game total of nine runs tonight at the Juice Box.
Expect Jose Altuve and Jeremey Pena to get hits, and Triston McKenzie to strike out fewer than 4.5 batters. The Astros have the lowest K rate in MLB at just 16.6%, and McKenzie has struck out no more than two batters in each of his last three starts.
The Astros are -175 at DraftKings Sportsbook to win, so if you don’t like the payout but want to shy away from the run line, consider an SGP (same-game parlay) with one of the player props mentioned above.
The Astros have won five of their last seven matchups with the Guardians dating back to 2023.
The Bets, with odds coming via DraftKings Sportsbook:
