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Tuesday’s action featured double-headers, front office moves, and even a skunk (???). Let’s get into it!
Today’s Headlines
Braves win game full of milestones
The Braves and Phillies have given us a very fun, high-scoring series so far. The Braves followed the same blueprint from Monday’s game 1 victory, overcoming a blown save by closer Raiser Iglesias to win it in extra innings, this time with a 7-6 score that became their 95th win of the season. The game was full of fireworks and milestones, including Bryce Harper’s 1500th career hit, Trea Turner hitting yet another homerun (his 11th over the past 13 games), Ronald Acuña Jr. tying Atlanta’s single-season runs scored record, and Matt Olson tying the franchise’s single-season homerun record. Can the final game of the series be as entertaining as the first three? We shall see.
Matt Olson ties Andruw Jones for the most HR (51) in a season in @Braves franchise history! pic.twitter.com/kOthvwHCsQ
— MLB (@MLB) September 12, 2023
An amazin’ day
In what was one of the worst-kept secrets in recent baseball history, the Mets finally announced that former Brewers president David Stearns will join the team in 2024 as president of baseball operations. His presence provides hope for a franchise that may have unlimited funds but hasn’t translated them into on-field success. At the diamond, New York also had a banner day, defeating the Diamondbacks 7-4. The win was punctuated by the first career homer of top prospect Ronny Mauricio, as his 440-foot, second-deck blast was emphatic and also a sign of better days to come.
.@Ronny__Mauricio goes to the 2nd deck for his 1st career homer! pic.twitter.com/DZubNI62OB
— MLB (@MLB) September 13, 2023
Freddy Peralta is the third ace
The Brewers are still a few wins away of clinching the NL Central crown, or at least a wild-card spot, but their chances of making the playoffs are getting better every day. Today, they gave us a reminder of why nobody wants to face them in October, as their three-header rotation monster is still one of the best (if not the best) in the game. Freddy Peralta allowed a lead-off homerun to Luis Arraez, but he would settle down immediately, allowing only one more baserunner the rest of the way, finishing his night with two hits, no walks, and only one run allowed over 6.1 innings. He struck out nine and earned his 12th win of the season. Over the past three games, Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, and Corbin Burnes combined for the following pitching line: 23.1 innings, 8 hits, 3 walks, 1 run, 23 strikeouts.
Freddy Peralta's 8th and 9th Ks. pic.twitter.com/41uk8TeUda
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 13, 2023
Dodgers restore order
Despite their confounding season, the Padres made a big deal of their Monday come-from-behind win against the Dodgers, highlighted by a big bat flip from Juan Soto. It all seemed to ignore that San Diego’s win was only their third in eleven tries against LA. Following today’s action, they are now 3-9, as the Dodgers reminded everyone just how far ahead of the Padres they are. Lance Lynn was solid and limited the Padres to 2 runs over 7 innings, while Freddie Freeman and Will Smith had big nights at the plate, combining for 6 hits, 7 runs, and 5 RBI. Even as the Dodgers will enter the postseason and offseason with plenty of questions, at least they are not subject to featured articles like this one.
Will Smith has officially ended the Padres season.
pic.twitter.com/5ASnmJxilV— The Incline: Dodgers Podcast (@TheInclinePod) September 13, 2023
A rough day for NL Wild Card hopefuls
With six teams battling for three spots in the NL Wild Card chase, today proved to be a frustrating day for most of them. The Phillies lost a heartbreaker to the Braves, though they remain at the top of the heap. The Cubs could not complete a comeback and fell 6-4 in Denver. Arizona lost 7-4 to the Mets, while the Marlins had no answers against Milwaukee pitching and lost 3-1. To complete the day, the Giants went back to their offensive woes and shockingly lost a Tuesday home game, falling 3-1 against Cleveland. The only squad that avoided this fate was Cincinnati, as they barely squeaked a 6-5 extra-inning win in Detroit. With this string of results, the Dbacks, Marlins, Reds, and Giants remain separated by only 1.5 games in the standings.
Tough night for the NL Wild Card teams:
The Philadelphia #Phillies
Chicago #Cubs
Arizona #Dbacks
Miami #Marlins
All lose.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 13, 2023
Best Moments From Yesterday
Wainwright wins #199
Overshadowed by the even bigger disappointments of teams like the Yankees, Mets, and Padres, the Cardinals have been a disaster in 2023. Amid their internal turmoil, the final season of Adam Wainwright and his chase for career win #200 became the only silver lining, even if the results have been painful. Wainwright had not won a game since June 17, as his ERA ballooned to an unsightly 8.19, but with the Cardinals out of contention, it became clear that the veteran would get every chance to go for the milestone. As a big underdog to the juggernaut Orioles, Wainwright produced his best outing in months, allowing 10 baserunners over 5 innings, but limiting the damage to only two runs, while his offense scored just enough to scrape out the win. Waino will probably get three more shots for that coveted win.
One Ninety-Nine. pic.twitter.com/moK0zp1H1M
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 13, 2023
Hyun Jin Ryu, eephus master
Hyun Jin Ryu has had a tough year. He missed most of the year with injuries, and has only made 8 starts this season. Today he took his third loss, but at least he gave us a memorable sequence. After serving up a two-run homer in the fourth inning, he had a runner on first base and faced Nathaniel Lowe. After three straight fastballs in the mid-to-upper 80s, Ryu unleashed a devastating 62.6 mph curveball that completely froze Lowe, as the umpire emphatically called strike three. The MLB Gameday sequence is poetic, and so is the video.
Hyun Jin Ryu drops one in at 63 mph to completely freeze the hitter. pic.twitter.com/jKOjK8zoGm
— MLB (@MLB) September 13, 2023
Causing a stink in the Minors
A weird wildlife interruption happened today as the Harrisburg Senators hosted the Bowie BaySox (AA affiliates for the Nationals and Orioles, respectively). In the bottom of the sixth inning, a skunk came onto the field and started scurrying around the infield, as players and umpires vacated the premises. This caused a short delay, as the grounds crew eventually escorted the stinky intruder out of the stadium. Notably, this has been the second skunk delay of the year in Harrisburg.
SKUNK ALERT 🦨😳
For the second time this year, the @BowieBaysox + @HbgSenators are interrupted by a rather smelly visitor: pic.twitter.com/B26WVidGPD
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 13, 2023
Injuries
Despite earning the win with 5.1 scoreless innings, Rangers’ ace Max Scherzer faces uncertainty for the rest of the season, as he was removed mid-game with right triceps spasms. While the severity of the injury is still unknown, this could be a big issue for Texas, as they continue to battle for the AL West or at least a wild-card spot. Scherzer had rebounded from his worst start of the season and appeared to be cruising before his ailment, as he finished his day with only three hits and a walk allowed.
The Rays are facing another injury for a lineup mainstay, as it was reported that center fielder Jose Siri is now on the 10-day IL with a fractured right hand. Siri, who is second on the team with 25 home runs, sustained the injury after a hit-by-pitch on Monday. While the team is optimistic about a quick return, it is likely that he will miss the remainder of the regular season and could be available if Tampa makes a postseason run. In his place, the team recalled infielder Curtis Mead from AAA.
Two notorious young players have been officially shut down for the rest of 2023 by their teams, even as their returns were unlikely anyway. Alek Manoah will not pitch again for the Blue Jays this year, although it is unclear if it is for health issues or as a disciplinary measure, as a few reports indicated that Manoah was not very cooperative following his August demotion to the minor leagues. His fall from grace continues to be confounding. Over at Pittsburgh, the Pirates confirmed that Oneil Cruz is targeting a 2024 return. With the team out of the race for a while now, there is no point in rushing him back.
Articles You Should Read
Into the Schneider-Verse – Ben Clemens, Fangraphs
7 Surging Pitchers on Contenders – Brian Murphy, MLB.com
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