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MLB Morning News – 9/20/23

Get caught up on everything you need to know from Tuesday's games.

Pablo Figueroa
MLB Morning News 9/20/2023

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

Tuesday’s action featured several NL Cy Young hopefuls in action, while the playoff chase continues to tighten. Let’s get into it!

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Blake Snell makes his case

The Padres have suddenly become the hottest team in baseball, and while it may be too little, too late for the team, they have plenty to play for from a performance standpoint. The emergence of Blake Snell as the NL Cy Young frontrunner has been methodical, as he has been a master at suppressing runs despite being dead last in walks allowed per nine innings. Today, he delivered a masterpiece that may push him over the top, shutting down the Rockies over seven hitless innings, including 10 strikeouts. Despite surrendering his usual 4 walks, he lowered his ERA to 2.33, and gave the team a chance to secure its second-ever no-hitter. It was not to be, as Josh Hader gave up a couple of hits but allowed no runs, which gave Xander Bogaerts a chance to hit a dramatic walk-off homer to secure the win. With this dominant start, Snell is one step closer to earning the second Cy Young award of his career.


Braves end losing streak

Following a rare four-game losing streak, the Braves broke out of their funk by sheer, blunt force. On the mound, a dominant Spencer Strider kept the Phillies at bay, starting the game with 5 scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts. Despite surrendering a Bryce Harper 3-run homer in the sixth, Atlanta’s bats had already done most of the heavy lifting, cruising to a 9-3 win. Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a leadoff homerun to set the tone, and he would homer again to reach 100 RBI for the season, while also stealing his 67th base. Marcell Ozuna contributed 3 RBI, and so the Braves regained their slugging mojo just at the right time. The win also keeps a 3.5-game margin over the Dodgers for the NL’s top record.

 

Marlins walk it off

Miami bounced back from Monday’s tough loss with a thrilling walk-off win, keeping pace in the NL Wild Card chase. Even as a solid start from Braxton Garrett had given the Marlins a chance to win the game, a rare blown save from Tanner Scott forced the Fish to enter the bottom of the ninth in a tie game. With the winning run at third, folk hero Jake Burger took an 0-2 pitch from Trevor Gott and poked it into center field, starting the huge celebration on the field and in the stands. Miami will enter play today only a half-game back of the Cubs for the last playoff spot.

 

 

A Cubs offensive barrage

 

The Cubs entered a crucial series with the Pirates on a five-game losing streak that put their playoff hopes in jeopardy. However, they made an emphatic point of snapping out of their slide, routing Pittsburgh with a 14-1 win. The offensive effort was balanced but powerful, as eight different batters got at least one hit, while eight of the team’s 12 total knocks went for extra bases. The barrage included Alexander Canario’s first career dinger, as well as big blasts from Dansby Swanson and Cody Bellinger, who had struggled recently, and number 19 for Seiya Suzuki, who continues to be the team´s most consistent hitter.

 

The AL West is a madhouse 

 

The Rangers used a clutch Jonah Heim RBI double to earn a comeback win over the Red Sox, while the Mariners cruised behind Luis Castillo’s pitching to defeat the lowly A’s. On the other hand, the Astros took another step back by again losing to the Orioles, which made the standings a bit closer. Texas and Seattle are now only a half-game back of Houston, with both teams holding the final Wild Card spots. The final 10+ games for the three teams promise to be exciting and full of scoreboard-watching, as even a tiny misstep can cost either of them a playoff spot. Check back tomorrow and the day after that, up until the end of the season.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Miggy climbs another step

The final season of Miguel Cabrera’s career has been painful at times, especially as he has been sparsely used for a bad Detroit team. Along with the retirement gifts he has gotten at all MLB ballparks he has visited, he has also been able to collect a few extra milestones along the way, just as he did today in Dodger Stadium. In the seventh inning, Cabrera lined a single up the middle, hit number 3,167 of his career, which placed him all alone at the 16th all-time spot, passing Adrian Beltre. The future Hall of Famer will certainly stay there for a long, long time.

 

Rojas goes up and under

 

Stealing bases has been all the rage in 2023, reaching numbers that had not been seen in decades when it comes to swiping bags. But even with the bigger bases and pitcher restrictions for pickoff moves, there is still no chance of stealing a base when there is perfect defense behind it. To wit, here is a memorable catch-and-tag from Mariners second baseman Josh Rojas, who was able to nail the runner despite being a few feet away and above second base.

 

 

An unconventional pitch

 

Coming up in a low-leverage situation, Yankees pitcher Greg Weissert had gotten two outs and was ready to close the eighth inning. Facing Blue Jays phenom Davis Schneider, he instead took an awkward step off the mound, slipped, and delivered one of the most unique pitches you will ever see. However, unique in this case does not equal good, even with the whimsical attempt at framing from Kyle Higashioka.

 

Injuries

In what is probably the biggest injury update in recent memory, Shohei Ohtani’s agent, via the Angels, published a report indicating that Ohtani had successful elbow surgery. The report was later confirmed by Ohtani himself on social media, even as the specifics of the surgery were not revealed. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who also was responsible for Ohtani’s Tommy John surgery back in 2018. The two-way star is confident that he will be able to work as a hitter to start 2024 and go back to pitching in 2025, which is certainly within the timetable of an elbow surgery recovery, as evidenced by Bryce Harper’s TJ surgery in late 2022. The update on Ohtani provides better light on his impending free agency, where he could still command a monster contract despite not being able to pitch for a full year.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

Can Freddie Freeman reopen the 3000 Hit Club? – Dan Szymborski, Fangraphs

The Statistical Absurdity of Blake Snell in 2023  – Brent Maguire, MLB.com

 

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Pablo Figueroa

Pablo Figueroa is a Baseball Writer here at Pitcher List, with experience as a writer since 2013. He lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico - proud home of Los Rieleros. When he´s not thinking about baseball , he's a husband, owns two dogs, watches random episodes of The Sopranos , plays padel, and works on his day job to pay the bills.

One response to “MLB Morning News – 9/20/23”

  1. martin Gregory mcgrath says:
    September 22, 2023 at 2:24 PM

    Great writing! and Gif’s all year. TY Pablo!
    madisonthecat

    Reply

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