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MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 4/18/2024

It's Pitcher Thursday, apparently!

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

I don’t understand how anybody gets hits in MLB games. Pitchers are just…something else, man.

 

Today’s Headlines

 

CGSHOuck

We got our first Maddux of 2024, and it comes courtesy of Boston’s Tanner Houck. He cruised through the Cleveland lineup, surrendering only three hits and no walks to go along with nine strikeouts en route to a 2-0 Boston win (hey, his opposite number Ben Lively wasn’t a terrible slouch, either).

Houck absolutely filled the zone with his slider last night while working his splitter and sinker around the edges:

…and all that efficiency came with a nice bonus side effect: an incredibly short game time.

 

Like He Was Fired Out Of A Jonathan

2022 third-round draft pick Jonathan Cannon made his MLB debut yesterday, toeing the slab for the White Sox in the first half of their doubleheader against Kansas City. It didn’t take him long to add another milestone for the day:

Cannon’s line on the day was 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks, and while attendance for White Sox games this year has been…sparse, you know Cannon had a dedicated cheering section:

I still can’t decide if this is a win or a loss for nominative determinism. Sure, pitchers throw hard, but it seems like a Cannon’s true place on the diamond is in the outfield, right? Either way, here’s to you, Jonathan!

A Knack For This Thing

It was a day for debuts on Wednesday, as the Dodgers called up their 2020 second-round pick Landon Knack. He got his first strikeout even quicker than Cannon, ending the top of the first on this changeup:

Everybody please also note the RETURN OF THE KNACK shirt on display at the end of the clip, it’s incredibly important.

Unfortunately for Knack, the rest of that first inning involved a solo home run to start things off, and another run scored on a pair of singles and a sac fly, which was enough to stick him with the L as the Dodgers bats couldn’t muster any support against Jake Irvin(?!)

While the fifth spot in the Dodgers rotation seems like it may be something of a revolving door, the return of Walker Buehler seems imminent, and this might be the last time we see Knack on the bump in L.A. for a little while.

Nice Round Numbers

This may be Pitcher List but dangit, hitters did stuff Wednesday too!

First off, enjoy noted beefy lad/leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber launching his 250th career dinger into the Philadelphia night:

Meanwhile, north of the border in Toronto, it was Juan Soto launching a solo shot of his own to get to 500 career RBI:

(Soto has 163 career HRs now, which is not a nice round number. Boo this man!)

And while it’s not a hitting milestone, Davey Martinez was a hitter, so I’m counting him as he won his 400th game as a manager for the Nats:

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Feels Like YesterShea…

In a milestone for inanimate objects that no longer exist, the Mets celebrated the diamond anniversary of their old stomping grounds, Shea Stadium (not to be confused with the DIY venue in Bushwick that shared the same name and absolutely ruled).

Still Trying To Be Like Mike

Any of you heard of this Mike Trout fella? Seems like he may be good at baseball.

For real though, Mike Trout being back to doing Mike Trout things is simply a good time for all of us.

PFP Pays Off

Pitchers are athletes, too, as the saying goes, and the Brew Crew’s Abner Uribe demonstrated that ably yesterday, making this incredible off-balance throw on a dribbled grounder that had him running full speed towards the third base side:

The Brewers went on to win the game 1-0 (despite Michael King throwing 7.2 no-hit innings!) so Abner definitely earned his W with that play.

BFP Pays Off

I mean, I assume they do ballboy fielding practice too, right?

You love to see somebody keep their eyes on the ball like that, especially when they’ve been charged with keeping the Rays bullpen safe from any errant fouls. Also, I’m charging Bo Porter with an E on that one, it went right through the hands!

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ The Padres sent Yu Darvish to the 15-day IL with neck tightness. He was scheduled to start this weekend, but obviously will be on shelf for a bit now.

⚾ Angels reliever Robert Stephenson is going to be missing the entire season due to an unspecified elbow injury he appears to have suffered while working his way back from a shoulder injury.

⚾ Continuing the pitcher injury news, Garrett Whitlock is headed to the IL with an oblique strain.

⚾ But in better Boston pitcher news, Nick Pivetta is scheduled to start throwing again, with a bullpen coming “soon.”

⚾ The wait is over in Houston as Justin Verlander will be back on the roster to pitch on Friday.

⚾ The Cubs are also getting a rotation member back, as Jameson Taillon is scheduled to start Thursday’s game, his first of the season after suffering a back injury in spring.

And in some position player news, DJ LeMahieu plans to start a rehab assignment by this weekend.

Meanwhile, Yoán Moncada is heading down to Arizona to start his recovery from an adductor strain. He sounds pretty adamant that the timeline for a return is more like three months than six.

Kris Bryant has been placed on the IL with a back strain suffered after crashing into the wall in Toronto the other night.

The Diamondbacks transferred Eduardo Rodriguez to the 60-day IL after he suffered a setback in his throwing program.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

Appointment Viewing: On the Royals’ Rising WatchabilityRandy Holt

How Skubal Learned One of Baseball’s Nastiest PitchesDavid Adler, MLB.com

What Are Lineups Made Of?Russell A. Carleton, Baseball Prospectus (sub req’d)

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Is It Legit?

Closing Time

Starting Pitcher Streamers

Asher Dratel

Asher hails from Brooklyn, wears a 2008 Joba Chamberlain jersey to every Yankees game he attends, and pronounces BABIP funny. Appreciator of Beefy Lad dingers and beers. @asherd.xyz on Bluesky.

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