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MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 8/18/2024

Reds hopeful for short Greene absence; Royals' Blanco has 7 RBIs.

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

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.

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.

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 Soxwho have separate 14 and 21-game losing streaks this seasonare 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.

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.

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.

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.

 

‘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. 🤣🤣🤣

 

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

 

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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