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MLB News & Moments You Should Know – 5/24

Walk-offs, flirting with perfect, and discipline for Donaldson.

Colin Fong
MLB Morning News 5/24/2022

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

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Judge Raises Home Run Tally to 17

The Yankees’ Aaron Judge wasted no time adding to his 2022 home run tally against the Orioles on Monday.

In his first at-bat against Orioles starter Jordan Lyles he took a ball outside, followed off a fastball on the outer third, and then mailed the third pitch priority express to the Orioles bullpen in center-left.

 

He followed that shot with a game-tying, 103-MPH, two-run blast in the fifth:

 

 

Those two home runs put Judge on pace for 66 for the year, but it’s not like he’s selling out for power. He’s sporting a .325 average and .398 OBP to go along with his 17 home runs and eight doubles.

Given his injury history, it seemed like a brash move to turn down a contract extension at the beginning of the year, but he’s proving he’s worth every cent of the dump truck of cash teams will have to back up for him if he keeps this up.

Despite Judge’s heroics, the Yankees fell to the Orioles. Baltimore put up five runs against Gerrit Cole, including a go-ahead homer by Ramón Urías in the top of the sixth. The loss was the Yankees’ third in a row, while the Orioles have won two straight.

 

Cards Walk-Off Blue Jays With a Grand Slam

St. Louis and Toronto made it through nine innings tied at three a piece. All six runs were scored against each team’s starter. Toronto’s José Berríos made it 6.1 innings with seven hits and seven strikeouts, while the Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas pitched 6.2 innings and allowed four hits along the way.

Génesis Cabrera had the ball for St. Louis in the top of the tenth. He got Santiago Espinal to fly out to Harrison Bader, then put Vladimir Guerrero on with an intentional walk before getting another flyout from Bo Bichette and a groundout from Teoscar Hernández.

The Blue Jays sent Julian Merryweather to the mound in the bottom of the 10th, and he promptly struck out Harrison Bader and Albert Pujols before running into trouble. He issued walks to Tommy Edman and Edmundo Sosa, which loaded the bases because Corey Dickerson started the extra inning at second base. That brought first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to the plate and an epic end to the night three pitches later.

 

Azocar’s Walk-Off Single Gives Padres Fifth Win in a Row

The Brewers and Padres battled their way to a 2-2 tie at the end of nine innings on Monday. Milwaukee’s Adrian Houser held the Padres to a single run over six innings on only three hits, while San Diego’s Nick Martinez allowed two runs in five innings.

Down by one run in the seventh, the Padres turned back the clock and dialed up a safety squeeze to even the score. Trent Grisham executed the play perfectly.

 

The Padres ran into trouble in the top of the tenth when Luis Garcia loaded the bases after giving up a single to Luis Urías and a walk to Christian Yelich, which moved automatic runner Kolten Wong to third.

Garcia escaped the jam without damage by inducing a grounder from Andrew McCutchen that led to a double play and then earned another ground out from Rowdy Tellez in the subsequent at bat. That set the stage for rookie José Azocar in the bottom of the tenth.

After getting Jurickson Profar to groundout for the first out of the inning, the Brewers intentionally walked Eric Hosmer and Miguel Sánchez. Ha-Seong Kim made the second out of the inning, and then Azocar stepped to the plate to end it with a sharp single up the middle.

 

 

The win puts San Diego within a half game of the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West, while the Brewers remain two games ahead of St. Louis at the top of the NL Central.

 

Tyler Anderson Perfect for 5.1 Innings Against Nats

The Dodgers’ Tyler Anderson mowed his way through the first five innings against the Nationals in just 50 pitches. Then the rain started and with one out in the sixth, César Hernández cracked a fastball over Cody Bellinger for a two-bagger that killed the no-hitter and perfect game.

 

 

Anderson gave up a single in the following at bat against Alcides Escobar, but got Lane Thomas to ground into a double play to end the danger. To his credit, he cruised for two more innings to end his day at eight innings pitched with eight strikeouts, five hits, and no runs allowed. The Dodgers finished with a comfortable 10-1 win after Phil Bickford earned the last three outs.

 

Josh Donaldson Suspended Due to Inappropriate Comment

MLB announced on Monday that Yankees’ third-baseman Josh Donaldson will receive a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for his actions in Saturday’s game against the White Sox.

 

The exchange between Donaldson and Anderson took place at the end of the third inning:

 

 

An altercation between Yasmani Grandal and Josh Donaldson in the fifth cleared the benches. It came out after the game that Donaldson had referred to Anderson as “Jackie”, in reference to Jackie Robinson.

 

 

Donaldson claimed what he said was in jest.

 

 

This quote from Michael Hill, Senior VP for On-Field Operations, from MLB’s press release effectively sums up the incident, “Regardless of Mr. Donaldson’s intent, the comment he directed toward Mr. Anderson was disrespectful and in poor judgment, particularly when viewed in the context of their prior interactions.”

That view is shared by most people, including Donaldson’s teammate Aaron Judge.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Reds Fan Catches Foul Ball in Beer, Chugs It

Given the number of times pitchers lick their hands during an at bat, this is a rough assignment. The unwritten rules of baseball strike again.

 

Story, Alcantara Named Players of the Week

 

Trevor Story, the premier off-season acquisition for the Red Sox, entered last week slashing .200/.282/.313. You could hear sighs of relief (along with cheers) emanating from all of New England as he went off for six home runs and 14 RBIs in seven games last week. His resurgence was capped with AL Player of the Week honors on Monday.

The highlight of Story’s torrid stretch was a three-home run destruction of the Mariners on Thursday. Sox fans will hope his outburst helps propel the team back into contention in the AL East.

Sandy Alcantara received the NL Award thanks to a complete-game shutout of Atlanta and an eight inning, three-hit gem he spun against the Nationals. The Marlins ace holds a 2.11 ERA and 1.08 WHIP through a league-leading 59.2 innings pitched.

 

Aaron Judge Makes Regular-Sized Things Look Tiny

It makes a lot more sense that Judge leads the league in home runs when you consider that he makes regular-sized water bottles look like barbie accessories.

 

Injuries

 

Freddy Peralta set to miss significant time with a shoulder strain.

Josh Hader was placed on the family medical emergency list.

Dylan Carlson was placed on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain.

Stephen Matz was placed on the 15-day IL due to a shoulder impingement.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

The Chicago Cubs are on the Verge of Becoming Fun Again – Randy Holt

Here’s Why Perfect Games Have Become a Rarity – Anthony Castrovince, MLB

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

Hitter Performances

Reliever Ranks

Starting Pitcher Streamers

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)

Colin Fong

Colin lived near Cooperstown and collected signatures from Hall of Famers for his Dad's collection every summer as a kid. He thought it was super boring at the time, but thinks it's incredibly cool now. He's an A's fan and loves writing about the beautiful, absurd, infuriating, and inspiring world of baseball.

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