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Rainy weather shrunk the Thursday slate yet again this week, this time taking away from us the series finale between the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals, the only scheduled matchup of the day between two winning ball clubs. That game won’t be made up until July 23 as both teams now go their separate ways on to new series, with the Diamondbaks heading to Tampa to take on the Rays in an intriguing matchup, while the Cardinals stay home and welcome the Marlins to town for a three-game set.
That one rainout still left us with eight games to pore over, though, including the start of a four-game set between the most publicized rivalry in the sport. Let’s get into it.
Today’s Headlines
Red Sox Take Down Yanks in Fenway
The Boston Red Sox came into yesterday’s series opener against the New York Yankees a woeful 13-25 at their home Fenway Park, but that didn’t stop them from stepping up against their rivals as they took the first game 6-3. Red Sox LHP Connelly Early stepped up big time in this one, going six strong innings while surrendering only two runs and piling up nine strikeouts. On the other side, Yankee RHP Cam Schlittler matched those nine strikeouts and made it through five innings without an earned run, but left the game with his team losing 4-0 due to three errors (one committed by Schlittler himself) and an overall sloppy team performance behind him. The decisive blow came off the bat of Boston 3B Caleb Durbin, who hit a two-run home run off of Schlittler in the bottom of the fifth inning after the final of those three Yankee errors kept the inning alive.
The series continues tonight with another nice pitching matchup between New York’s Will Warren and Boston’s Payton Tolle.
Phillies Come Back…Again
The Philadelphia Phillies are having a pretty ridiculous week, now having set a record by becoming the first ever team to hit go-ahead ninth-inning home runs in three consecutive games. The best part for a team with a much-maligned bullpen over the years is that they managed to then hold on to the lead in all three ball games.
As for last night’s affair, it was a wild back and forth one that saw the Washington Nationals jump out to an early 5-0 lead against Philadelphia ace Christopher Sanchez, who was not his usual sharp self out of the gate. Washington took advantage of that for four in the first, including a solo homer by young upcoming 3B Curtis Mead, and it looked like it was going to be the Nationals’ night. However, Philadelphia finally got on the board in the sixth thanks to a two-run homer by OF Brandon Marsh, and then clawed together a long rally in the seventh that saw them tie the game at 5-5. That brought us to the top of the ninth, still tied at 5-5, with Kyle Schwarber on first after leading off the inning with a single. Bryce Harper stepped up to the plate, and made history with an opposite field laser that cleared the left-field wall to give the Phillies the lead for good. Philadelphia now heads to Flushing to take on the division-rival Mets, while the Nationals head to Baltimore to take on the local-rival Orioles.
By The Numbers
19. The most number of swing and misses yesterday came from Seattle Mariners RHP Bryce Miller, who induced 19 whiffs and racked up 11 strikeouts despite taking the L in the Mariners 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
445. The longest homer of the day came from San Francisco Giants OF Victor Bericato, whose 445-foot blast was not enough as the Giants ultimately lost to the Athletics 9-6. Bericato is doing his part, though, as it was the second day in a row that he hit a homer measuring that exact distance.
115.7. The hardest hit ball of the day came from Toronto Blue Jays 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. though he didn’t even get a hit to show for it. His groundout in the sixth inning of Toronto’s 6-5 loss to the Texas Rangers was registered at 115.7 mph and is hopefully a sign of good things to come for the underperforming slugger.
1.62. Cam Schlittler’s 1.62 ERA is the second-lowest by any Yankee pitcher in his first 17 starts of a season since ER became official (1913), behind only a sparkling season from Ray Caldwell (1.60 ERA through 17 starts)…. all the way back in 1914.
Best Moments From Yesterday
That’s Why We Love The Game
This week’s wholesome moment came from the stands of Toronto, where a young visiting fan in a Wyatt Langford jersey was shown some serious Canadian hospitality. Watch as a Blue Jays fan nearby who caught Langford’s home run ball proceeds to pass it on to the youngster, clearly creating a lifelong memory.
Who’s A Good Boy?
It was a classic Pups at the Park day in Miami the other day, and the camera crew caught this both hilarious and somewhat tragic scene between one pup devouring a hot dog, and another staring from the background, longingly (but very patiently) wishing to trade places. Let’s all hope that good boy gets his own share of treats this weekend.
Caminero’s Hat-Trick
The Tampa Bay Rays took care of the Kansas City Royals yesterday rather easily in a drama-free 13-2 rout, and all three of the top highlights were provided by Rays’ 3B Junior Caminero, who homered three times in the game to bring his season total to a team-leading 19. Sit back and admire all three of his picture-perfect blasts. Yes, the last one was off of a position player who came in to pitch, but they all count.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ New York Mets traded LHP David Peterson to Chicago Cubs for 3B Cole Mathis.
⚾ Athletics placed 3B Zack Gelof on the 10-day IL (right hand contusion) retroactive to June 24.
⚾ Arizona Diamondbacks transferred RHP Ryne Nelson from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL (strained right elbow)
⚾ Texas Rangers activated SS Corey Seager from the 7-day IL.
⚾ New York Mets placed 2B Marcus Semien on the 10-day IL (left hip flexor strain).
⚾ Chicaco Cubs activated LHP Matthew Boyd from the 15-day IL.
⚾ Tampa Bay Rays placed LHP Steven Matz on the 15-day IL (left ankle sprain) retroactive to June 24.
⚾ Philadelphia Phillies placed CF Johan Rojas on the 60-day IL (right elbow UCL repair).
⚾ Pittsburgh Pirates placed 1B Spencer Horwitz on the 10-day IL (left hamstring strain).
Articles You Should Read
“Long Live (the New) Best Catcher In Baseball” — Ben Clemens, FanGraphs
“More Injuries (and Potentially Some Help) for the Cubs Rotation” — Jay Jaffe, FanGraphs
“Dynasty Risers and Fallers: June” — Keith Corbliss, Pitcher List
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