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Today’s Headlines
Ohtani Homers but Angels Win
“You don’t know what you have ’til it’s gone” does not apply to Shohei Ohtani. Everyone knew what the Los Angeles Angels had and what they lost when the two-time unanimous American League MVP moved to the more successful National League team in Los Angeles. Ohtani provided the Angels with this quick reminder: a 455″ home run in the fifth inning of his first regular season game against his former club.
SHOHEI GOES YARD AGAIN!
His 5th homer in 6 games comes against his former team 💥 pic.twitter.com/rAaIDxTZCL
— MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2024
But file this one under “that’s baseball” (or maybe under “Tungsten Arm O’Doyle moments in Dodger blue”) because Ohtani’s two-run shot was all the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup put on the scoreboard. The Angels scored on a bases-loaded HBP, a bases-loaded groundout, and a 10th-inning single by Taylor Ward to win 3-2. The Halos are still 15.5 games worse than the Dodgers, but being on the other side of an Ohtani feat that proved fruitless in the win column had to feel good for one night.
Smooth Sale-ing
Chris Sale pitched like an ace, Carlos Rodón struggled, and Atlanta cruised to an 8-1 win in a faceoff of big-name starters vying for double digit wins in New York. Sale (10-2, 2.91 ERA) struck out eight in five innings, including freezing Juan Soto and getting Aaron Judge to chase in the fourth.
Chris Sale's 2Ks in the 4th.
6Ks thru 4. pic.twitter.com/BA919DyZc7
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 22, 2024
Atlanta’s offense continued to show signs of life after struggling to recapture their 2023 slugging form for most of this season. Six players had two hits, including recently added outfielder Ramón Laureano, who went 3-for-5. Rodon (9-4, 3.86 ERA) gave up 11 of Atlanta’s 14 hits in 3.2 IP. This series has two more intriguing pitching matchups to go this weekend: Charlie Morton versus Marcus Stroman on today and Max Fried against Nestor Cortes on Sunday.
New York played without outfielder Alex Verdugo (day off) and infielder Gleyber Torres (groin).
D-backs Win in Return to Philadelphia
Last year, the Philadelphia Phillies and their home-field advantage got the hype, but the Arizona Diamondbacks went to Citizens Bank Park and won two elimination games to reach the World Series. On Friday, the D-backs took the first rematch between NL finalists back at the Bank 5-4. The Philly crowd could be heard after catcher Gabriel Moreno and designated hitter Joc Pederson (who played in San Francisco last season but still egged on the Philly boos) went back-to-back in the third to give the visitors the lead.
Gabriel Moreno and Joc Pederson go back-to-back! pic.twitter.com/aEK1mHxayr
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 21, 2024
Trea Turner hit his first homer since returning from the IL, but the Phillies couldn’t complete a comeback. Bryce Harper grounded into a 1-2-3 double play with the bases loaded in the seventh, and Kyle Schwarber grounded out to end the game.
Moreno left the game in the bottom of the 6th with a sprained left thumb. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a home run but left in the bottom of the eighth with left elbow soreness.
Mets Batter Imanaga Early
Shota Imanaga gave up 10 runs in 3.0 IP and the New York Mets moved to 12-5 in June (8-1 since Grimace threw out the first pitch). J.D. Martinez hit a three-run homer in the first. In the second, Francisco Alvarez added a solo shot and Brandon Nimmo hit a two-run opposite-field home run. Imanaga pitched at least four innings in his previous 13 starts and only gave up more than two earned runs once (seven against Milwaukee on May 29). The Mets middle infield, shortstop Francisco Lindor and second baseman Jose Iglesias, combined to go 7-for-10 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs. New York is two games under .500 and, like most of the National League, is involved in the wildcard race.
THIRD HOME RUN OF THE DAY FOR THE METS!
Brandon Nimmo sends one out to give the Mets a 6-1 lead! pic.twitter.com/4oD2368Tew
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 21, 2024
Best Moments From Yesterday
Hamels Comes Home
Cole Hamels retired, and Phillies threw him a pre-game ceremony. Not for his number but for him. Hamels started 88 games for Texas, 39 for the Cubs, and one for Atlanta, but those numbers are dwarfed by his 294 starts for the Phillies. And the World Series MVP for 2008 champs is nice, too.
Cole Hamels will officially retire as a Phillie tonight. One of the best pitchers to ever put on red pinstripes.
– 10 seasons in Philly
– 3.30 ERA
– 294 starts
– 14 complete games
– 1,844 strikeouts
– 124 ERA+
– 4x All Star
– 2008 WS MVP
– NLCS MVP— Luke Arcaini (@ArcainiLuke) June 21, 2024
Can't get enough of Cole Hamels' retirement ceremony ♥ pic.twitter.com/v8RpVXZ0L1
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 22, 2024
Availability is the Best Ability
2000/162 is 12.34. Carlos Santana played his 2000th game yesterday, so he’s played more than a dozen seasons worth of games at the major league level since 2010. He played 150+ games in nine seasons, missing only one in 2018 as a Phillie and playing all 60 in Cleveland during the 2020 season. In 2023, he played 146 games and hit 23 home runs at age 37. He went 1-for-4 on Friday, his 70th game of the season for the Minnesota Twins.
Sneaky cool milestone: Carlos Santana is playing his 2,000th game tonight — only the 251st player MLB history to reach that threshold. He is second among active players in games behind Andrew McCutchen. Santana's productivity hasn't slowed, either: He leads Minnesota with 12 HR.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 22, 2024
Web Gem
Julio Rodríguez may have been bitten by a radioactive arachnid.
Julio tracks this one down! 🕷️ pic.twitter.com/lrNMA519Fx
— MLB (@MLB) June 21, 2024
In the Big Innings
The Houston Astros put up nine runs in the sixth to take a 14-3 lead. The Baltimore Orioles answered with seven in the eighth, but Houston held off the Baltimore charge to win 14-11.
The @Astros will not stop scoring!
They scored NINE runs in the 6th 😳 pic.twitter.com/Ex2kJIrfnt
— MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2024
Be Like Sho
New Balance announced Shohei Ohtani will wear white and gold ‘Ohtani 1s’ during All-Star Weekend in July as a part of the release of his signature clothing and shoe collection. Bryan Horowitz reported that New Balance designed the new cleats to help the superstar “feel more connected with the field underneath him.” Horowitz indicated that Ohtani has already been wearing SO1s while making baseball wonder if a full-time DH can win the MVP. (The gold version in the announcement seems to match what Ohtani showed off on ESPN back in April.) Maybe the best way to see if the shoes help Ohtani is to have him try to pickle The Beast as a part of All-Star festivities.
Shohei Ohtani has announced that he's launching his signature New Balance collection on July 15th 👀 pic.twitter.com/ShySfMR5ot
— MLB (@MLB) June 21, 2024
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (left triceps contusion) and left fielder Jurickson Profar (left knee patellar tendinitis) left the San Diego Padres win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.
⚾ The Los Angeles Dodgers transferred infielder Max Muncy to the 60-day IL and reinstated right-handed pitcher Kyle Hurt from Triple-A.
⚾ The Houston Astros called up outfielder Joey Loperfido from Triple-A to start Friday’s game. Right-handed pitcher Jake Bloss made his MLB debut but left after 3.2 IP and is expected to go on the IL (shoulder).
⚾ The St. Louis Cardinals activated right-handed pitcher Giovanny Gallegos from the 15-day IL and optioned right-handed pitcher Adam Kloffenstein to Triple-A.
⚾ The Toronto Blue Jays reinstated right-handed pitcher Yariel Rodríguez from the 15-day IL to start on Friday.
⚾ The Miami Marlins started left-hander pitcher Trevor Rogers instead of Jesús Luzardo taking his turn in the rotation on Friday. Luzardo was scratched for Saturday for evaluation.
⚾ The Colorado Rockies placed infielder Adael Amador on the 10-day IL (right oblique tightness) and reinstated second basemen Brendan Rogers from the 10-day IL. They also placed outfielder Charlie Blackmon on the 10-day IL (right hamstring) and called up outfielder Sam Hilliard from Triple-A.
⚾ The Cleveland Guardians recalled infielder Angel Martínez from Triple-A and placed infielder Gabriel Arias on the family medical emergency list.
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