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This weekend has the feel of taking one last deep breath before teams make a sprint for the finish line in hopes of being included in the postseason party. Only two first-place teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, have leads of more than five games with six weeks left in the regular season. Conversely, three teams have leads of two or fewer games. That doesn’t even take into consideration the various Wild Card scenarios that will unfold. Buckle up, folks. The rest of this ride is going to be fun.
Today’s Headlines
Reds’ Greene To IL
Hunter Greene was in the midst of the best stretch of his young MLB career. How much more progress he makes is up in the air. That is because the Cincinnati Reds placed their ace right-hander on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow soreness. The move was termed precautionary and Greene had an MRI exam that manager David Bell said looked good, but was still too early to say anything definitive. Still, Bell said he was hoping it would be a minimal stint on the IL for Greene. However, with only six weeks left in the regular season, it could also spell the end of a breakthrough campaign for the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2017. Greene is 9-4 with a 2.83 ERA with 162 strikeouts and 53 walks in 143.1 innings over 24 starts. A first-time All-Star this season, Greene boasts an ERA+ of 152. While the Reds are a long shot for overtaking the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers (trailing by 11 games), they are just 4.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot.
Blanco’s 7 RBIs Power Royals
If you had Dairon Blanco driving in seven runs on your bingo card, congrats. You should probably also buy a lottery ticket. The 31-year-old backup Kansas City Royals outfielder got the start against the Cincinnati Reds and promptly hit a grand slam as part of a seven-RBI day in the Royals’ 13-1 triumph. Using a yellow crayon bat as part of Players Weekend, Blanco hit two homers after entering the game with four for his career. Blanco tied for the second-most RBIs out of the No. 9 spot in the batting order and is the second to do it this year, matching what Ceddanne Rafaela of the Boston Red Sox did on April 27 vs. the Chicago Cubs. The record for RBIs from the No. 9 slot is nine by Atlanta’s Tony Cloninger in 1966.
Seven RBIs with a yellow crayon has to be some kind of record.#PlayersWeekend pic.twitter.com/uVDyYS8EWq
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 18, 2024
Sale Continues To Sail
The Fountain of Youth is real. Just ask Chris Sale. The Atlanta left-hander continued his remarkable season with six solid innings, striking out 10 and allowing two runs in an 11-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. It was the third straight game he reached double digits in strikeouts as he picked up his NL-best 14th win this season. After several injury-marred seasons, Sale has resurrected his career in Atlanta. He leads in ERA at 2.62 and strikeouts at 186.
Chris Sale's 2Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/1JmxgdDB5d
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 18, 2024
White Sox Eliminated
Not that anyone needed confirmation, but the Chicago White Sox have been eliminated from postseason contention. Officially. On August 17 and six weeks left to play. With their 6-1 loss to the Houston Astros, the White Sox—who have separate 14 and 21-game losing streaks this season—are now 30-94 and 42.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central and 38.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Players For A Cause
MLB might have taken some of the fun out of Players Weekend by eliminating the alternate uniforms and not allowing nicknames on the back of the jerseys, but Saturday was all about promoting the players’ causes. There were a lot of tremendous posts on social media, but this one by the Milwaukee Brewers summed things up pretty well.
Few things are more important to us than giving back#PlayersWeekend x #BeyondTheDiamond pic.twitter.com/SNQTWR3wmV
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 17, 2024
“I wanted to bring some light to the kids here at MemorialCare… I hope that they can see this and put a smile on their face.”
This #PlayersWeekend, @logan_ohoppe is sporting a custom chest protector, featuring drawings by young patients at a local children’s hospital. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/mmxuthuH7k
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 17, 2024
Cleats for a cause 💛#PlayersWeekend
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 17, 2024
Julio Rodríguez speaks with Vic Blends on the time he donated the first ambulance to his hometown after his first season in the big leagues and what it meant to the community there. #PlayersWeekend pic.twitter.com/sZgFeQN7lO
— MLB (@MLB) August 17, 2024
After a member of Uvalde Little League was tragically killed in a school shooting earlier that year, Jose rented out Six Flags and picked up the little leaguers in stretch limos.
“I know we can’t change what happened. We can't. But for those couple hours, I wanted to make them… pic.twitter.com/XaWWFqQ91x
— MLB (@MLB) August 17, 2024
Another Memorable Moment
Grant Holman will never forget throwing an extra-inning no-hitter in the Little League World Series. And he certainly won’t forget making his MLB debut 11 years and one day later. Just hours after being called up from Triple-A, the rookie Oakland A’s right-handed reliever pitched two-thirds of an inning, including notching a strikeout, in a 2-0 win over the San Francisco Giants in the Bay Bridge Series.
August 16, 2013: Grant Holman became the first pitcher since 1979 to throw an extra-inning no-hitter in the Little League World Series for East Lake Little League!
August 17, 2024: Grant Holman gets called up to The Big Leagues! #PlayersWeekend pic.twitter.com/T3EcTxSccJ
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) August 17, 2024
Grant Holman — who threw a no-hitter in the 2013 Little League World Series — collects his first MLB strikeout with the @Athletics! pic.twitter.com/T4FIsO3eQt
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 18, 2024
I’ll Tumble For You
A money-grab event called Fanatics Fest, billed as the “largest collectibles show ever in NYC” in its first year of existence, is taking place this weekend in New York. Plenty of big names were involved, current and former athletes. I wouldn’t normally give this event the time of day, but a cute moment took place with former gymnastic and current social-media influencer Livvy Dunne impersonating her boyfriend, Pittsburgh Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes.
Velocity is down but tumbling is way up when @livvydunne becomes @Paul_Skenes. #FanaticsFest pic.twitter.com/2f9ts1vkwY
— Fanatics (@Fanatics) August 17, 2024
All The Emotions
Imagine if this is how a real World Series ended. But this was the Nike RBI World Series softball title game between the Houston Astros and Roberto Clemente teams. The Astros won 11-6 for their fifth championship. The Clemente team is based out of Jersey City, N.J., and was making its World Series debut.
THE FINAL OUT OF THE 2024 #NIKERBI 🥎 WORLD SERIES 🏆
Congratulations to Houston Astros NIKE RBI on their 5th championship in 6 years 🙌 😤 pic.twitter.com/TMPF7Dkt3o
— MLBRBI (@MLBRBI) August 17, 2024
‘Who Turns Down A Junior Mint?’
Think crew chief James Hoye might be getting a note from the league office about what he wears under the official umpire pullover. 🤣🤣🤣
Ump is wearing a Kramer shirt 😭 pic.twitter.com/mv0Pl5Dfn6
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 18, 2024
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Houston Astros right-handed reliever Ryan Pressly (strained lower back) went on the 15-day injured list.
⚾ First baseman Spencer Torkelson, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2020, was called back up by the Detroit Tigers. Torkelson struggled mightily to begin this season and spent most of the last three months at Triple-A.
⚾ Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen (left knee inflammation) went on the 10-day IL.
⚾ Los Angeles Dodgers called up right-handed starter Bobby Miller and activated right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier (strained right calf) off the 60-day IL.
⚾ Tampa Bay Rays right-handed starter Zack Littell (right shoulder fatigue) was placed on the 15-day IL.
⚾ Colorado Rockies right-handed reliever Riley Pint was outrighted to Triple-A. That also means Pint, the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2016, was designated for assignment following his brief call-up to the Rockies. Pint has had a frustrating career, dealing with injuries, poor performance, and a temporary retirement in 2021.
⚾ As has been rumored to be in the works the last few days, 44-year-old left-hander Rich Hill has officially signed a minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox. It is his fourth stint with the Red Sox. Hill made his MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2005.
⚾ Los Angeles Angels right-handed starter José Soriano (right arm fatigue) went on the 15-day IL.
Articles You Should Read
‘Loving up’ by Brewers has leveled up rookie Chourio — Adam McCalvy, MLB.com
Final Bay Bridge Series leaves A’s fans with bragging rights, blues — John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle
Where did the 2024 Rangers go wrong? — Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News
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