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MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 6/8/24

Yamamoto throws seven scoreless as Dodgers take opener; White Sox win.

Steve Drumwright
MLB Morning News 6/8/2024

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

The Philadelphia Phillies, the team with the best record in MLB at 44-19, and the middling New York Mets (27-35) will take part in the third London Series today and Sunday at London Stadium. You can expect offense to seize the day. In 2019 in the first two-game London Series, the New York Yankees outslugged the Boston Red Sox 17-13 and 12-8, while in 2023, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals split their pair, with the Cubs winning 9-1 and the Cardinals taking the finale 7-5. London is a fairly easy venue choice for MLB as the lengthy flight can be offset by days off on either side of the series. It continues as part of the MLB World Tour, which this year’s regular-season schedule has included the season-opening Los Angeles Dodgers–San Diego Padres series in Seoul and the Houston Astros–Colorado Rockies set in Mexico City. The Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays played exhibition games in San Juan, but the Puerto Rico venue isn’t quite ready for regular-season standards, something MLB and the country are working on. London Stadium is traditionally the home of West Ham of the English Premier League and was originally built for the 2012 London Olympics for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as track and field.

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Yamamoto Dominates, Dodgers Win in 11

 

In a game befitting of two marquee franchises at the top of their divisions, pitching dominated the opener of a three-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. After Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed just two hits in seven shutout innings, Teoscar Hernández provided the difference with a two-run double in the top of the 11th inning as the Dodgers edged the Yankees 2-1. Right-hander Yohan Ramírez, who has pitched for seven teams over the last three seasons including three in two-plus months of 2024, notched his first save of the season, but not before giving up an RBI single to Aaron Judge. With a lot of the pre-series focus on the prolific hitters for each team, Yamamoto stole the show in the Dodgers’ first trip to Yankee Stadium since 2016. The 25-year-old rookie from Japan walked two and struck out seven. He was so amped up for this game that he threw the 19 fastest pitches of his season, reaching 98 mph.

 

Soto Escapes IL Trip for Now

 

No one likes to see injuries, especially to star players. But some make the collective sport hold their breath until the smoke clears and more knowledge of the injury is known. That was the case with Yankees right fielder Juan Soto, who was removed during a rain delay in Thursday’s game with left forearm soreness. An MRI on Friday showed inflammation and Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the superstar could see action this weekend vs. the Dodgers. If Soto plays, it would likely only be as a pinch-hitter or designated hitter. Soto was used as a ninth-inning decoy Friday, with his shinguard on and bat in hand, standing on the top step of the dugout.

 

Finally, White Sox End Skid at 14

 

Like a lot of what has transpired for the Chicago White Sox this season, even a win to end a club-record single-season losing streak came with head-scratching miscues. Good thing that ace Garrett Crochet had done enough to make sure a bad run came to an end. The left-hander allowed three hits and struck out 10 over six innings as the White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 7-2, snapping a 14-game losing streak. That skid was the longest in a single season in club history and one shy of the overall club record, which occurred during the last five games of the 1967 season and an 0-10 start to 1968. That effort, plus homers from Luis Robert Jr., Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn, was enough to overcome a pair of bloopers.

 

Royals Walk Off Mariners After Trailing 8-0

 

The Kansas City Royals were down seven runs before coming to bat in the bottom of the first inning against the Seattle Mariners. It was 8-0 after the top of the fourth. But that is when the Royals kicked it into gear, scoring four in the fourth inning and three in the sixth. Still down 9-7 entering the ninth, Bobby Witt Jr. tripled home the tying run with one out and scored when, after a pair of intentional walks, Nelson Velazquez finished the game with a walk-off fielder’s choice and a 10-9 Royals triumph. The Royals became just the fifth team in the last 50 years to win after going scoreless and allowing at least seven runs in the first inning.

 

Brewers Rookie Myers a Fright for Tigers

 

No-hitters and perfect games are the ultimate cool accomplishment by a pitcher. But what about a pitcher who surrenders a hit to the first batter of the game and doesn’t allow another in eight innings? That is exactly what right-hander Tobias Myers did in the Milwaukee Brewers‘ 10-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Myers, who has been up and down on the shuttle to Triple-A Nashville a handful of times this season, allowed a leadoff single to Matt Vierling, then immediately picked him off. But that was the only hit the Tigers would get against Myers, who walked three and struck out five in registering his second MLB win and first as a starter. The Brewers’ bats, meanwhile, bounced back from scoring just two runs in three games while being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies. They poured across five runs in the second inning, then three more in the fourth against former Brewers prospect Reese Olson, who dropped to a hard-luck 1-7 despite having a 3.43 ERA. The Brewers have scored in double digits in an MLB-best nine games this season.

 

Bad Bunny’s Bad Deeds

 

Rimas Sports, the sports agency that counts rapper Bad Bunny as one of its founders, has been accused by the MLB Players Association of offering a series of improper benefits to players it did not represent, including loans and concert tickets. Among the benefits was a $200,000 interest-free loan to a prospective client, a $19,500 gift to a player who did sign with Rimas as well as offers to other players for Bad Bunny concert tickets. The new info was revealed in a filing in a Puerto Rico federal court. The MLBPA barred two other agency co-founders from becoming agents and decertified another individual in what Rimas has called a “death penalty.” The agency is seeking an injunction from the federal court, while the MLBPA says the issue does not belong in a court after a mediator upheld the union’s punishments.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

When in London …

 

There was plenty of fodder for the Phillies and Mets social media teams to devour and disseminate as players and the coaching staff not only worked out at London Stadium, but also took in some of the sites. The Phillies’ social media was on fire with riffs on several British icons. Here are a few selections from the two:

 

No. 1 Reason to Dance

 

Sometimes you get lost in the moment and just are so happy to notch your first MLB hit that all you can do is fist-bump the first base coach. But when you get a double? Check out what Blake Dunn of the Cincinnati Reds did.

 

Little League Grand Slam

 

Michael Toglia has certainly made an impact in two games since returning from Triple-A. After robbing a home run in first field the night before in the Colorado Rockies‘ 3-2 win over the Cardinals, Toglia hit a grand slam — well, sort of. Toglia tripled down the line in right to score three runs, then trotted home on a throwing error by Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman to tie the game 4-4 in the fourth. The Rockies lost 8-5.

 

Mistakes Were Made

 

On one hand, I can understand why someone came up with this idea. On the other, someone should have said “No!” And in case you are wondering about other opinions, the sentiment in the comments is overwhelmingly against this.

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker (right shin contusion) went on the 10-day injured list. He is expected to be back next weekend as the move is retroactive to Tuesday. Meanwhile, Astros right-handed starters José Urquidy and Cristian Javier had Tommy John surgery this week. Typical recovery is at least 14 months, which would make August 2025 the earliest they would return.

⚾ Toronto Blue Jays left-handed starter Alek Manoah will undergo season-ending UCL surgery. It has not been decided whether it will be a Tommy John surgery or the internal brace procedure, which takes less time to recover from. Recovery from the internal brace is about 12 months.

⚾ Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager (left hamstring tightness) is likely to sit out the entire weekend series vs. the San Francisco Giants.

⚾ Infielder-outfielder Cavan Biggio was designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays as infielder Spencer Horwitz was called up. Biggio’s season slash line was .200/.323/.291 with two homers and nine RBIs in 110 at-bats. In his five-plus MLB seasons, the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio was slashing .227/.343/.382 with 48 homers and 176 RBIs in 490 games.

⚾ New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (torn ligament in left thumb) is unlikely to be back next week as expected, but the delay is not injury-related.

⚾ Tampa Bay Rays outfielder-infielder Harold Ramírez was designated for assignment as shortstop Taylor Walls was activated from the 60-day IL. Walls had hip surgery in October and will be making his season debut.

⚾ The Brewers optioned left-handed starter Aaron Ashby to Triple-A and called up 29-year-old right-handed reliever James Meeker to make his MLB debut. Meeker pitched the ninth inning of the Brewers’ win. Multiple reports also said the Brewers will be calling up right-handed starter Carlos Rodriguez to make his MLB debut.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

Are Judge and Soto best right-left hitting combo in MLB history? — Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic

Getting into the weeds with bat-tracking data — Davy Andrews, FanGraphs

Harper has thoughts on growing baseball internationally — Corey Seidman, NBC Sports Phladelphia

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

Hitter Performances

Reliever Ranks

Starting Pitcher Streamers

Steve Drumwright

Steve Drumwright is a lifelong baseball fan who retired as a player before he had the chance to be cut from the freshman team in high school. He recovered to become a sportswriter and have a successful journalism career at newspapers in Wisconsin and California. Follow him on Twitter and Threads @DrummerWrites.

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