MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 06/11/2024

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

One of the lightest Monday’s of the season, with just seven games played. Let’s check out the biggest stories across the league!

Today’s Headlines

Orioles Complete Historic Sweep

Any four game sweep on the road is impressive, but the Orioles had never gone to the Trop and gotten four straight against their AL East foes in franchise history. This was not any fluke of a result either all four of the games were won by three or more runs! The aggregate was 25-7 across the four contests, the Rays were not able to plate more than three runs in any of the games.

The Orioles sweep the Rays in a 4 game series in Tampa for the first time ever.

They finish this stretch against divisional opponents going 10-4 and are currently 17-6 against AL East opponents.

— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) June 11, 2024

Like it or not, the Orioles have put together a masterclass on how to go from the bottom of the pile to the top in the MLB. From their core of young hitting to their ace, Corbin Burnes, notching his ninth straight Quality Start yesterday – the O’s are here. They’re expected to contend for the AL Pennant and should be a force for years to come. This sweep is just a re-emphasis of that clear fact.

Juan Soto Returns to Yankee Lineup

Are Yankee fans the most over reactionary fan base in baseball? I think so. There were jokes flying around the internet about Soto landing on the 60-day IL or the season being over because they dropped two games to the dodgers. Mind you they’ve won 13 of their last 16 games. Anyway, Soto made his return to the lineup on Monday and instantly got a hit. Hopefully calming the immediate despair New York fans face when they think their team might not automatically win a 28th ring.

Soto said he felt ‘pretty good’ hitting, it should be noted that he was used as a designated hitter. We’ll see how quickly he’s back in the field, but all has gone as well as one could hope for the Yankees superstar as he deals with the soreness in his forearm.

Juan Soto discusses how he felt in his first game back. pic.twitter.com/x1Yww4VX1t

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 11, 2024

Twins Unveil Final City Connect of 2024

The Minnesota Twins were the first team to be named after their state and not their city, so it should come as no surprise that they drew inspiration for their City Connects from Minnesota’s ‘Land of 10,000 Lakes’ slogan. The uniforms, a deep blue with a yellow accent, are the last to be revealed for this season.

The Twins City Connect uniform is HERE! 👀

It serves as a celebration of the 10,000 lakes that shape and unite them pic.twitter.com/LkfU2nnW32

— MLB (@MLB) June 10, 2024

While they’ve been met with some backlash, as all these jerseys seem to meet, there are actually some really well done parts to the merchandise offered. Namely the homage to Prince and the retro style snapback. While the critiques are fair, there are certainly some franchises who could use to take note on what the Twins put together… looking at you, Dodgers!

Yes, the Minnesota Twins snuck in a tribute to Prince on their new City Connect uniform. A topographic map of Lake Minnetonka under the cap's visor, a reference to the movie Purple Rain: https://t.co/HNj13poc0g pic.twitter.com/XfPRCTUzaW

— SportsLogos.Net (@sportslogosnet) June 10, 2024

Buster Olney Twitter Hacked

Sure, it’s not necessarily a moment from the diamond, but ESPN’s Buster Olney is one of the most reputable names in baseball reporting and on Monday his Twitter account was comprised. The hacker didn’t seem to know who Olney was, but commented that the password was very simple (A reminder for us all to increase our online security) and started taking requests of what to tweet to cause the most chaos.

The tweets have since been deleted but the internet is forever, and this provided some much needed laughs on a slow baseball night, plus everyone was talking about it so it’s probably fair to include here. Please note none of the following is real information!

ESPN reporter Buster Olney's X account, which has 1.3 million followers, has been hacked. pic.twitter.com/Iz0nLCi41q

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 10, 2024

Tyler Glasnow Does Not Think NFL Player Can Hit .200

The Dodgers ace certainly did not hold back his feelings when asked if Micah Parsons could hit .200 in the majors. And let’s be honest, there are some professional baseball players who are struggling to reach this mark in 2024. Hitting a 100mph baseball is undoubtedly a top two toughest thing to do in all of sports, and it isn’t number two! Heck, I used to joke with my friends that I might not be able to hit a car at 100mph from 60ft out.

Tyler Glasnow reacts to Micah Parsons saying he could hit .200 in MLB pic.twitter.com/Ibh1BfCGEA

— Chris Rose Sports (@ChrisRoseSports) June 10, 2024

Top Moments

Mariners Score 8 in Final Two Frames, Walk Off with Grand Slam

When will the misery end for the Chicago White Sox? At this point you just start to feel bad for this team, the players, and the lifelong supporters (if there are many left) who all give so much to the organization just to see a 4-0 lead evaporate into thin air. Per @JayCuda on twitter, the Southside Chicago team was 0-4 when they had hit multiple homers on the road this season and, wouldn’t you know, they had sent two over the wall on Monday night while in Seattle, had shut out the M’s behind an amazing performance from Erick Fedde and, yet, found a way to lose.

Michael Kopech was brought on in relief of Fedde after the starter’s first pitch of the eighth inning was sent over the fence to get Seattle on the board. It did not go well for Kopech, as he issued a walk, allowed four hits and hit a batter which allowed the game to reach 4-4 before getting pulled. He only got two outs.

Then in the 9th, Jordan Leasure loaded the bases and paid the ultimate price when Cal Raleigh took him yard. An important win for Seattle as they fight for every inch in a competitive American League – but just deflating for this White Sox team who is fighting for any shred of legitimacy at 17-50 this season.

WALK OFF GRAND SLAM. BIG DUMPER. CAL RALEIGH. WOW WOW WOW.

Mariners were down 4-1 in the 8th and win 8-4. #TridentUp pic.twitter.com/uhCyWs2K94

— Seattle Mariners ON Tap (@MarinersONTap) June 11, 2024

Also how great is baseball that we have a player nicknamed ‘Big Dumper’?! It also happened to be ‘Bark at the Park’ night in Seattle, which gave us this great tweet:

Did somebody say walk… off? 🐶 pic.twitter.com/ekZUJVuytH

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 11, 2024

Giants Walk Off Astros in Extras

For such a small slate of games, we did have some exciting action to start our week. San Fransisco and Houston were tied at a single run per team and went to extras after both closers held their ground. The Astros scored two runs in the 10th but it wasn’t enough, as Austin Slater played hero and was able to drive in the winning run. Weirdly enough, the Astros had won their 67th game of the year for the last 12 years, some would say that such an anomaly was due to go wrong, ore maybe that it was randomness at its finest and meaningless. Nonetheless, a big win for San Fran as they attempt to keep pace in the NL West.

Slaties Night 🪩 pic.twitter.com/r4spNkXcaS

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 11, 2024

Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s Bat Gets Caught In Netting

Last time I saw a bat stuck in netting, I was watching The Office when Dwight trapped a bat over Meredith’s head, but in baseball? I guess this is why they have those heads up signs. Vladdy launched this thing and somehow the end of it found its way through the netting and hung there for multiple innings!

This story has a happy ending. 🫶 https://t.co/jzmd4NwA3V pic.twitter.com/8cQ4MtIC16

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 11, 2024

Brief Blackout in San Diego

And just like that, it was dark. A rare occasion in the MLB, as entire light banks do not often cut out, but the fans had fun with it and nothing serious came from it, thankfully. Still a cool sight to see.