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Today’s Headlines
California Kings
The Angels are back above .500 as of Thursday morning thanks to a sweep of the Yankees. A historic sweep, really, as the Halos set a new franchise record with 42 Ks thrown over the three-game set.
it boys, and we ain't playin' tag 💅 pic.twitter.com/7tSfaYIVZR
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 20, 2023
The Angels are still nine games behind the Rangers for the AL West, but they’re only 4.5 back from Toronto for the third Wild Card spot. The Yankees are only a game up, and Boston a game up on them (I don’t expect the Yankees position here to remain the same, that’s my elite analysis of the team.)
After controversial decisions about not walking Shohei Ohtani in previous nights, on Wednesday he went 0-1 with four walks. But that didn’t stop Anaheim from trying a franchise offensive record anyway, thanks to Taylor Ward (Luis Rengifo added his own two-run shot the next inning.)
Taylor Ward and the @Angels have tied a franchise record.
They have homered in 18 consecutive games! pic.twitter.com/pLy7AboPnp
— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2023
Meanwhile, Chase Silseth set a new career high with 10 strikeouts over 5.2 innings, giving up only one run with four hits and a pair of walks to go along with them.
The Angels path through trade szn was never exactly going to be smooth sailing, but a hot streak right now could really make things interesting.
O’s Flying High
Listen, I will never turn down the easy pun. And no, I’m not sorry about it.
The Baltimore Orioles are currently in first place in the AL East.
The date is July 19th. pic.twitter.com/fTQVGVeQai
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) July 19, 2023
And if you like that photo of Gunnar Henderson, have a very confusingly worded milestone tweet from MLB
The @Orioles are tied for first place in the AL East. 👀
They are the eighth team in AL/NL history to not be swept in 70 consecutive series. pic.twitter.com/sSxuguG622
— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2023
And if you’re ambivalent about the Gunnar photo but also confused by that wording, have this explainer thanks to Sarah Langs
most consecutive series of 2+ games without being swept:
1942-44 Cardinals: 125
1903-05 Giants: 106
1922-24 Yankees: 83
1904-06 A’s: 74
2003-05 Braves: 72
1997-99 Padres: 72
1921-23 Browns: 72
2022-pres. Orioles: 70 ** active streakh/t @EliasSports https://t.co/6RFCGbkP6g
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 19, 2023
With Grayson Rodriguez back with the big club and John Means making his way back towards the mound, I would simply suggest that the AL East, and AL in general, and really all of baseball just do a lil ?
Hot Summer, Hotter Stove
Hey remember how I mentioned trade szn in the first section, and then talked about the O’s in that second section? Now I’m tying those themes together, it’s called synthesis, it’s very good stuff, real high level thought going on here.
Sorry, anyway, the Oakland A’s traded Shintaro Fujinami to the Orioles for minor league LHP Easton Lucas. Fujinami’s first season stateside has been…a little bumpy, but he’s been trending in the right direction as of late:
Shintaro Fujinami is extremely interesting to me because whatever fanbase is getting him will lose their mind at an 8.57 ERA but … pic.twitter.com/u4qGbWDNWM
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) July 19, 2023
And he’s got the second-best splitter in Baltimore now:
Orioles fans, meet your new splitter.
– Top 10 by stuff+ (not far from Bautista's)
– Sits 93, has hit 96
– 19% SwSt
– .276 wOBA pic.twitter.com/ZPdbMSEmTy— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) July 19, 2023
Fujinami was originally signed as a starter, but one would probably assume that Baltimore will continue to use him out of the bullpen as Oakland has been. BRING ME ALL OF THE TRADES NOW BASEBALL, DO IT.
Happy National Hot Dog Day, One And All
And to celebrate, the White Sox have decided to make clear what we should all already know.
The White Sox have placed a "Ketchup Bell of Shame" at their ballpark that will get rung if anyone puts ketchup on their Chicago hot dog 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/c8DmV8BP8K
— MLB Life (@MLBLife) July 19, 2023
In fact, I’m going to say they’re pulling punches here. No ketchup on any dogs. Do not @ me about this.
More Manfred
Please, try to contain your excitement folks.
Sources: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expected to be re-elected in vote next week. With @Ken_Rosenthal: https://t.co/Q9Xsb2YSdv
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) July 20, 2023
Given that he successfully got the A’s ownership a ton of free taxpayer money, you’d have to expect this was going to be an easy win for him. Remember, dear reader, the commissioner works for the owners, and their interests do not align with those of the fans!
Best Moments From Yesterday
Speasful Easy Feeling
Alex Speas was coaching youth baseball last year.
Today, he notched his first MLB strikeout for the @Rangers! pic.twitter.com/qEye8E1gFj
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 19, 2023
Alex Speas was the Texas Rangers‘ second-round pick all the way back in 2016, and over the next five years he made it up to Double-A before retiring in 2021. He returned to the game this spring:
“I would say, to be honest, fighting mental health sometimes is not the easiest thing to do,” Speas said. “There’s some long nights, there’s long days and it’s a hard fight to get through it all, but I’m glad we made it here. I thank the organization for having trusted me and giving me the opportunity to come back and do this.”
He put up solid numbers in the minors, pitching between Double-A and Triple-A, and got his first big league game time today coming in to protect a 1-0 lead over the Rays. No pressure kid.
Speas threw 1.2 innings with three Ks and zeros for everything else. Pretty cool. Oh, also, the Rangers ended up winning 5-1 so they’re tied with Baltimore for the most wins in the AL at 58 a piece.
A Grand One For Nico
Nico Hoerner only has 19 home runs as an MLBer, but that 19th one was kind of a big deal:
First major league grand slam for @nico_hoerner! pic.twitter.com/Sn1BzDL6gQ
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 20, 2023
And with that swing, Nico personally accounted for half of the eight runs the Cubs scored in their victory over the Nationals. Fun times.
Battery Bashers
Today in stats that don’t seem possible:
Riley's homer traveled 451 ft. The Braves have matched the 2021 Rockies for the most 450+ ft. homers (19) in a season going back to 2015, when Statcast began collecting this data.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 20, 2023
That’s 19 450+ foot home runs in barely more than half a season. And while Atlanta is going through a slight swoon at the moment, it’s not hurting their standings:
Braves are 1-5 in their last 6 games and have increased their division lead from 8.5 to 9.5 games over that stretch.
— Stephen (@b_outliers) July 20, 2023
They also have the only good-looking sponsor patch?! What can’t they do?
Injuries
Dustin May needed a “revision” to his reconstructed elbow along with his flexor tendon repair.
Andrew Painter will need Tommy John Surgery, unfortunately.
Seranthony Domínguez will start a rehab assignment this weekend.
Articles You Should Read
Cooperstown Notebook: The 2023 Progress Report, Part I – Jay Jaffe, FanGraphs
Are The New Rules Driving Attendance? – Russell A. Carleton, Baseball Prospectus (sub req’d)
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
Reliever Ranks (Closers) (Holds)
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)