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MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 6/28/2024

Injuries, debuts, and homers, oh my!

Christian Otteman
MLB Morning News 6/28/2024

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

 

Adding Injury to Insult

 

With staff ace Zack Wheeler taking the mound against the visiting Miami Marlins, the Philadelphia Phillies were poised to start this series off on a high note. However, late-inning heroics by the Fish helped them achieve a comeback victory as they felled the Phils 7-4.

Losing the series opener to a divisional opponent isn’t the best way to start your Thursday, but things got far worse than just adding to the loss column as two of their superstars, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, suffered injuries late in the game. Schwarber left the game experiencing groin tightness, while Harper came up lame on the last play of the game while trying to beat out a grounder. Check out the play and the MVP candidate’s postgame comments here:

The Phillies have been firing on all cylinders this year, even with a lengthy injury to Trea Turner. This team has shown they can excel in the face of adversity, but hopefully they won’t have to do it without two of their heavy hitters for much of the summer.

 

Happy Festavus!

 

MLB debuts are always exciting to watch, and it was David Festa’s turn to make his MLB debut on Thursday. With an injury to Chris Paddack, the Twins turned to their star prospect to take the mound on the road against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Things went smoothly to start against the lanky right-hander, who made it through the first three innings only allowing one baserunner while his offense teed off against Jordan Montgomery and gave him an 11-run cushion. How nice of them.

Things got a little dicey in the fourth for the rookie, as he began the inning by allowing a solo home run to Ketel Marte. He’d bounce back quickly by earning his first big league strikeout against Joc Pederson:

After also striking out Christian Walker, Festa would run into some trouble, with the Diamondbacks putting together a two-out rally with five straight singles to score three more runs in the inning. Festa would allow one more run in the fifth but complete the frame to put himself in line for the win in his big-league debut.

It was a bit of a mixed bag overall for Festa, but making it through five innings and earning his first career win isn’t anything to sneeze at. Festa’s next start should come next week against the Detroit Tigers, where he’ll have another chance to settle in and earn more strikeouts with his impressive arsenal.

 

Happ’s Heroics Prevent Sweep

 

It’s been a rough June for the Chicago Cubs, who entered Thursday facing a four-game sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. The good news for the Cubs was that they had Shota Imanaga on the mound to help them get back on track. Imanaga cruised through his first five innings after a rough start against the Mets last week, while Nico Hoerner got the scoring started with a two-run homer in the third:

The Giants would later rally in the sixth against Imanaga to tie the game at three runs apiece. Both bullpens would hold strong through the ninth, sending the game to extras. In the top of the tenth, Ian Happ came to the plate and delivered the deciding blow to get the Cubs back in the win column:

Both teams will continue on to tough series against their respective division leaders this weekend. The Cubs will travel to Milwaukee for a series against the Brewers, while the Giants will welcome Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Bay Area for a weekend set.

 

Kjerstad and Company Lead O’s to Victory

 

The Baltimore Orioles have a revolving door of talented prospects in the bigs this year, and right now it’s Heston Kjerstad’s turn to show what he’s made of. He’s showing off his skills in his second major-league stint this year, with his power on full display last night on this home run off of Jon Gray:

The Orioles would cruise to an 11-2 victory behind additional long balls from Cedric Mullins, Adley Rutschman, and Colton Cowser to begin their series against the defending World Champs. With Corbin Burnes set to take the mound on Friday and the team now tied for the AL East lead, things are looking great for the Birds in Baltimore.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Celebrating a Scratch

 

Tyler Stephenson was slated to start at catcher for the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday but was scratched from the lineup just moments before first pitch. Normally, this would be cause for concern, but this was instead a cause for celebration. Stephenson got the call that his wife was going into labor for the birth of his daughter, and he celebrated with his teammates in the dugout accordingly. Congrats to the Stephensons!

 

250 Springer Dingers

 

The Toronto Blue Jays had a field day against Carlos Rodón and the New York Yankees, but nobody had a better day than veteran outfielder George Springer. He took the Yankees lefty deep twice in the first two innings for a pair of three-run shots:

 

The second homer marked the 250th of Springer’s career. Congrats, George!

 

2024’s First All-Stars

 

At this point of All-Star voting, the leading vote-getters for the National League and American League are given automatic selections to the contest. The two players awarded this honor shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone:

 

 

Life Goals

 

A new activity to aspire towards for all the baseball fans out there:

 

Throwing it Back Ten Years Later

 

We wrap up Thursday’s best moments with a throwback in more ways than one to a great broadcasting moment from Tom McCarthy ten years ago:

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ Cubs placed SP Javier Assad on the 15-day IL with a right forearm extensor strain.

⚾ Guardians placed CF Will Brennan on the 10-day IL with rib cage inflammation.

⚾ Phillies placed pitcher Spencer Turnbull on the 15-day IL with a right lat strain. Turnbull is expected to miss six to eight weeks with the injury.

⚾ Reds activated 3B Noelvi Marte from the suspended list on Thursday. Marte had an excellent first game in 2024, going 3-5 with three runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base.

⚾ Tigers activated pitcher Alex Faedo from the 15-day IL.

⚾ Twins SS Carlos Correa left the game after a scary hit-by-pitch, but initial X-Rays came back negative. He’s considered day-to-day with a wrist contusion.

⚾ Astros SP J.P. France is set to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

Ohtani can’t possibly be underrated, can he? (Yes)  — Mike Petriello, MLB.com

Missing Bats: Strikeouts broke baseball. Now a league grapples with how to fix itself — The Athletic MLB Staff

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

Hitter Performances

Reliever Ranks

Starting Pitcher Streamers

Christian Otteman

Christian Otteman is a hopelessly optimistic Cubs fan living in Milwaukee just looking to share his love of this beautiful game with others. He is especially a fan of the wild and weird things that only a game like baseball can produce. While he's not watching baseball, Christian is playing golf, hosting trivia, and working on his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Marquette University.

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