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MLB News & Moments You Should Know – 6/15/23

What do subways, almost slams, and dekes have in common?

Asher Dratel
MLB Morning News 6/15/2023

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

 

Subway Series Split

While it wasn’t quite the fireworks display that Tuesday’s game was, last night’s entry in the New York Rivalry Ledger wasn’t lacking in some drama of its own. Justin Verlander won the Mets Old Guy Award of the week by holding the Yankees to just one run over six innings. He was replaced by Jeff Brigham, and the Yankees got a second run thanks to a botched would-be-double-play. Then, it was later that inning when Isiah Kiner-Falefa pulled off a straight steal of home:

I love a straight steal of home, but I love the incredible pronunciation display we get to hear in this clip even more. I never knew “Isiah” had such an audible R in it. The excitement gets the better even of the pros.

Gerrit Cole left in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded, but two outs. Ron Marinaccio was unable to slam the door, letting the Mets tie it up 3-3. The Yankees escaped further damage thanks to some uh, interesting baserunning by Brandon Nimmo.

The 3-3 score would hold through regulation, and Nimmo got to make up for his TOOTBLAN in a big way, smacking a walk-off double in the bottom of the 10th and sending the Flushing Faithful home happy.

The 2023 Running Of The Payrolls will conclude with a two-game set in late July that will determine which team truly runs this town. Unless they split that series too, which would mean we all become Giants or Dodgers fans for a week. We have weird local by-laws.

Vegas Lurches Forward, Inexorable

Prior to the incredible Reverse Boycott A’s fans held Tuesday, the Nevada state Senate passed a bill approving funding for a new stadium in Las Vegas for the A’s to move to. Wednesday, the state assembly passed an amended bill that will go back to the Senate and almost assuredly be approved. Nevada’s governor has already signalled that he will sign it.

At that point, unless one of the other 29 MLB owners torpedos the plan, it would be the end of the A’s time in Oakland. A performance by John Fisher and Dave Kaval that has been both plainly shameful and shameless in turn may conclude by the time we go into the All-Star break and the entire sport is worse off for it.

Solo Quintet

The Padres beat the Guardians 5-0 last night, which isn’t very remarkable on paper, but they scored all of their runs on solo shots, which seems like it’s worth a little spotlighting? I dunno, dinger reels are fun.

Meanwhile, Michael Wacha put up a sterling 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, and 5 K line, lowering his ERA on the season to 2.89. Like Nick said: “The changeup is elite.”

Also in addition to one of those solo shots, Fernando Tatis Jr. made this impressive no-look across-the-body throw to nab the runner at first:

The Real AL Beast

Another day, another Shohei Ohtani thing that demands attention.

He’s a whole one-home run behind MLB leader Pete Alonso, who is also currently on ice, so by the end of the week it wouldn’t shock me if Ohtani is alone at the top. Actually, it may surprise me more if he isn’t.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Double Double

Yes, it’s an In-n-Out reference but please, sing along with me:

? Whopper, Whopper, Whopper, Whopper

Junior, Double, Burger Whoppers

Jake Burger hit two big dingers

He ruled the day ?

Jeez, Jesús

Bottom of the ninth, down four, bases loaded, and Eugenio Suárez sends one out to right field to tie it up. Well, almost.

Jesús Sánchez happened to be there to make what has to be the most nonchalant grand slam robbery ever caught on film. And it capped off a night of incredibly bad hard-hit luck for Geno:

The Fish won the game 4-1, and they’re sitting kinda pretty:

Of Translating Fame

A week ago in The Athletic, Brittany Ghiroli published a piece about how some of the games biggest Asian star players’ translators are becoming celebrities in their own right (sub req’d but you should read it if you can). Miami’s rookie phenom pitcher Eury Pérez just kind of sidestepped the whole path to translator stardom by picking one who’s already kind of a household name:

There’s been lots of talk about how the Marlins want to closely manage Eury’s innings, but I can’t imagine that Sandy Alcantara would even entertain the idea of sending him back down to Triple-A to try to manage his workload at this point. And he would be right!

 

Injuries

 

Max Muncy has a Grade 2 hamstring strain. The Dodgers aren’t putting him on the IL and Dave Roberts hopes he’ll be back this weekend, which seems to be a pretty aggressive timeframe.

Yordan Álvarez will be out for at least a month with his oblique strain.

Vinnie Pasquantino’s 2023 is sadly over, as he’ll require surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

Lance McCullers Jr. had surgery to repair his flexor tendon and remove a bone spur, it’s confirmed he will not pitch this year.

Mitch Haniger will need surgery to repair his fractured forearm, and J.D. Davis has a Grade 1 ankle sprain.

Salvador Perez was hit on the hand by a pitch and left the game, he is DTD with a contusion after x-rays came back negative.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

“I Almost Wished There Was Someone There To Curse At Me”: Isolation And Triumph In MLB’s Plague Season – Richard Staff, Defector

The Reverse Boycott in Oakland Was a Rowdy Success – Ben Clemens, FanGraphs

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

Hitter Performances

Reliever Ranks (Closers) (Holds)

Starting Pitcher Streamers

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)

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.bsky.social on Bluesky.

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