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The Colorado Rockies did it. They reached 50 before they reached 10. No, not 50 wins. They might not get that through a whole season the way things are going. With Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the New York Mets, the Rockies continued their season of ineptness by losing their 50th game. They have played 59 games, meaning the Rockies are 9-50. As we enter the second day of June, the Rockies have yet to reach 10 wins. All of the other 29 teams in MLB had 10 wins following the games of May 4 (the Chicago White Sox joined the club that day). The Rockies are on pace to win 25 games (I rounded up). Even if they played .500 the rest of the season, they would still finish with more than 100 losses. Sunday’s loss marked the fourth eight-game losing streak this season, with three of them coming consecutively, only interrupted by a single win each time. Thanks to a quirk of starting the season in March and the Rockies winning their second game, the Rockies have not won more than four games in any of the two following months of April and May, going 4-22 and 4-24, respectively. They better hope to win one or two games in a three-game road series against the Miami Marlins that begins today because the rest of the June is filled with teams with winning records except for one: They face the Mets and San Francisco Giants at home before traveling to Atlanta and Washington, returning home for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers before wrapping up the month on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers.
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Today’s Headlines
Yankees Avoid Sweep In World Series Rematch
Well, at least the New York Yankees left Los Angeles following a win this time. And it took a 2024 Los Angeles Dodger to lead them to that victory. Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, who received his 2024 World Series championship ring before the series began, pitched six strong innings as the Yankees salvaged the finale of a three-game series by beating the Dodgers 7-3. The matchup of the two coastal powers was a reprisal of the Fall Classic won by the Dodgers in five games, clinched at Dodger Stadium. Yarbrough allowed four hits and one run while striking out five and not issuing any walks. While a seventh-inning blip threw a scare into Yankees fans, the NL West-leading Dodgers weren’t able to complete the sweep. Ben Rice hit a two-run homer, and DJ LeMahieu drove in a pair of runs for the AL East-leading Yankees. Players on every team wore a No. 4 patch on their upper left chest in honor of Lou Gehrig Day and the battle against ALS. Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of the start of Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games played, a record at the time.
Burnes Exits With Elbow Injury, Awaits MRI
Arizona Diamondbacks ace Corbin Burnes will have an MRI exam today on his right elbow. Burnes left the D’backs’ 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals after 4.2 innings with tightness in his right elbow. Burnes signaled for the medical staff to come to the mound after yielding a single to right field by CJ Abrams. Burnes said he felt the tightness while retiring the first two batters of the fifth. Burnes, who signed a six-year, $210 million contract in the offseason, struck out six and allowed one run on four hits vs. the Nationals. He has a 2.66 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 64.1 innings. The D’backs are already down left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who has left shoulder inflammation but is on his way back.
Brewers Win Seventh Straight
Don’t look now, but the Milwaukee Brewers might have found their mojo. With a solid effort by left-hander Jose Quintana in his first game since being activated from the injured list and a tiebreaking two-run single by pinch-hitter Jake Bauers in the seventh inning, the Brewers won their seventh in a row by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2. The three-game sweep was the first Brewers sweep of the Phillies, who entered the series with the NL’s best record since 2015, and the fourth come-from-behind win in this seven-game run. Quintana struggled with his control, walking four, but allowed just two runs on four hits in five innings while striking out three. The two runs came in the first two innings. William Contreras reached on a two-out error by Phillies shortstop Trea Turner that allowed Caleb Durbin to score and tie the game 2-2 in the seventh inning. Bauers then came off the bench and lined the second pitch he saw into the right-field corner to score Jackson Chourio from second and Contreras from first. The win came despite designated hitter Christian Yelich leaving with a bruised right hand when hit by a Ranger Suárez pitch in the first inning. Yelich is considered day-to-day.
Punchless Royals Summoning Caglianone
Following a 1-0 loss to the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers, the Kansas City Royals decided it was time to make a move to bolster the offense. First baseman-outfielder Jac Caglianone, the team’s top prospect, is being promoted after just two weeks at Triple-A and is expected to make his MLB debut Tuesday. The sixth overall pick in last summer’s draft out of Florida, Caglianone has rocketed through the Royals’ system. In 50 games this season between Double-A (38 games) and Triple-A (12), Caglianone — MLB’s No. 10 prospect via MLB Pipeline and No. 32 via Baseball America — has a .322/.389/.593 slash line with 15 homers and 56 RBIs. Six of those homers have come in his two weeks at Triple-A. The question about Caglianone is his position. With Vinnie Pasquintino locked in at first base, Caglianone has dabbled in the corner outfield spots, playing 12 in right and two in left this season, without committing an error. He has three errors in 32 games at first base this year. The Royals rank last in MLB with 34 homers in 60 games, nine behind the 29th-place Pittsburgh Pirates, and tied for 28th in runs at just 3.23 per game.
The Royals are calling up their top prospect, 2024 Number 6 overall pick, Jac Caglianone, per multiple sources including http://MLB.com's @Anne__Rogers.
Raleigh Hits No. 23, Arozarena Wins It For Mariners
If there is late-game drama, there is a good chance the Seattle Mariners are involved. Cal Raleigh took over the MLB lead with his 23rd homer, and Randy Arozarena delivered a walk-off win with a ninth-inning single as the Mariners edged the Minnesota Twins 2-1. It was the second straight walk-off win by the Mariners over the Twins. After the Twins scored in the top of the ninth against lockdown closer Andrés Muñoz, Julio Rodríguez set up Arozarena’s winner by beating out a grounder to second base, then getting his eighth steal and going to third on catcher Ryan Jeffers‘ throwing error. Arozarena then grounded one up the middle off Griffin Jax to give the M’s the win. Raleigh hit four homers in the three games vs. the Twins, two on Friday and another Saturday, to surge past Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the Yankees. His blast Sunday came on the first pitch of his seventh-inning at-bat against Twins starter Chris Paddack that broke up a scoreless game and landed in the right-field bleachers.
Crochet: 12 K’s, 112 Pitches In Red Sox Victory
Left-handed starter Garrett Crochet is definitely heating up. Will the rest of the Boston Red Sox follow suit? Crochet struck out 12 over seven innings as the Red Sox beat Atlanta 3-1. Crochet allowed five hits and one run while walking a pair while throwing a career-high 112 pitches. That helped the Red Sox win two out of three vs. Atlanta after losing five straight. Trevor Story provided all of the offense Crochet would need by delivering a bases-loaded double to put the Red Sox up 3-0 in the top of the first. Crochet gave one of those runs back when Marcell Ozuna hit his 10th homer of the season in the bottom of the first, but that would be it for Atlanta. Crochet hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his last seven starts.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Showing Their Pride
With the calendar flipping to June, it is officially Pride Month. That means social media teams making content to bring awareness to the LGBTQ+ community. But this video by the Seattle Mariners really stands out. (Pitcher List has a Pride-themed T-shirt available.)
For His Sister
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz could have taken the day off, but he wanted to do something special to honor his sister, Genelis, who died after a lengthy battle with undisclosed health issues. With “R.I.P. Manita” written on the back of right cleat, De La Cruz singled in the first inning, then homered down the right-field line in the sixth in a 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The homer was his 12th of the season and 50th in his career.
Tap Or No?
Thanks to the trial run of the ball-strike challenge system during spring training, umpires might be a little jumpy whenever a batter touches their head. That could be the case involving Taylor Walls of the Tampa Bay Rays, who disagreed with a strike call by home plate umpire Nic Lentz and, after a timeout, appeared to adjust his helmet, which didn’t sit well with Lentz. Walls was ejected in the ninth-inning episode of a 1-0 loss to the Houston Astros.
Melton’s First
Houston Astros center fielder Jacob Melton, the team’s No. 2 prospect, was called up to make his MLB debut in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. He made it an even more memorable day when he legged out his first MLB hit in the fifth inning, with his family and friends watching.
E-Glove
Baseball gloves are fantastic instruments and extremely reliable. So when they fail, it is surprising. Just ask Cleveland Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias.
Hopping Mad
This is more of a bad moment as George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays is eventually ruled out because he was hopping on the bag after arriving safely standing up. A replay review called him out.
well this is unfortunate for him, the As challenged the safe call and it was overturned
Broadcasters Are Athletes, Too
What happens when a foul ball comes into the TV booth? A former MLB Gold Glove outfielder, Rick Manning, dives out of the way, while his partner calmly sticks his hands out to easily snag the ball.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Cubs star right fielder Kyle Tucker left the game against the Reds in the fifth inning with a jammed right ring finger.
⚾ In a big blow for the Texas Rangers‘ starting rotation, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi was placed on the 15-day injured list due to tightness in his right triceps. Right-handed reliever Codi Heuer was called up from Triple-A, and catcher Tucker Barnhart was designated for assignment. Right-hander Kumar Rocker (right shoulder impingement) is expected to slot into Eovaldi’s spot in the rotation when he comes off the IL on Wednesday.
⚾ Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper is expecting to rejoin the lineup in the series opener Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Harper has not played in the last five games since being hit on the right elbow by a pitch from Atlanta’s Spencer Strider on Tuesday.
⚾ Brewers left-hander Jose Quintana (left shoulder impingement) was activated from the 15-day IL and started the series finale against the Phillies. Left-handed reliever Tyler Alexander was DFA’d.
⚾ The Toronto Blue Jays are suddenly thin in the outfield after center fielder Daulton Varsho was put on the 10-day IL with a Grade 1 strain to his left hamstring. Varsho, injured in Saturday’s game, was lost just a day after right fielder Anthony Santander went on the IL with left shoulder inflammation.
⚾ Right-hander Carlos Carrasco was promoted from Triple-A by the Yankees.
⚾ June 1 is a popular opt-out date for veteran players on minor-league deals looking for an MLB roster spot. These players exercised their opt-out clause: Left-handed starter Wade Miley (Cincinnati Reds), right-hander Jake Woodford, and first baseman Dominic Smith of the Yankees.
⚾ The Boston Red Sox made a series of relatively minor moves, including right-handed reliever Justin Slaten going on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation.
Articles You Should Read
Reds pitching prospect Burns pushing to join MLB rotation — Mark Sheldon, MLB.com
Phillies shake up rotation, bullpen in hopes of fixing pitching holes — Matt Gelb, The Athletic
Don’t call it a stretch: Tigers’ Dingler reaching his full potential — Chris McCosky, Detroit News
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