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MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 8/29/2024

*spaghetti western themes intensify*

Asher Dratel
MLB Morning News 8/29/2024

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

Just wanted to start this week’s installment by saying hi to my friend Jake who I send a link to every week even though he doesn’t really follow baseball at all outside of these recaps. Hi Jake!

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Turnabout Is Fair Play

Yesterday, Pablo accurately described the Phillies vs Astros series as a potential World Series preview, and while we can all agree we hope that’s not the case for the AL contender, the Phillies have to be hoping that Tuesday was more predictive than Wednesday’s matchup. Houston took down the Team of Brotherly Love by a score of 10-0, due in no small part to Spencer Arrighetti’s best start of his career so far:

But a win is not built solely from the mound, especially not a double-digit shutout. And wouldn’t you know it, noted Bad, Bad Man (complimentary) Yordan Alvarez was a big part of the Houston offense, adding four RBI and a trio of runs on four hits and a walk. Oh, and three of those hits? Dingers:

Yeah, it’s a tough day at the office when that’s happening against your team. Chas McCormick (two), Jake Meyers (two), and Mauricio Dubón (one) put up the other RBI, but astute readers will notice that only adds up to nine runs and all 10 that Houston scored were earned…because the first run of the game was scored on a Jose Altuve steal of home, as the Phillies defense was caught sleeping on a pickoff attempt at first:

I assume we can all agree that after these first two shutouts, the rubber game of this series will be a 0-0 affair into the 14th inning and end on a balk, right? In either case, the Phillies still enjoy a five-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East, while Houston has a narrower three-and-a-half game lead over Seattle, and neither AL West team has been particularly hot over their last handful of games.

Shotime Always Draws a Crowd

I swear I’m not trying to just lift Pablo’s format form yesterday, it’s just how things worked out. With the Phillies’ loss and the Dodgers’ 6-4 win over the O’s, L.A. retains the best record in baseball but doesn’t get any breathing room in the division thanks to a D-Backs win over the Mets. But it wasn’t just a normal day at the park for the Dodgers yesterday, it was Shohei Ohtani (and Decoy) bobblehead day. And Los Angelinos took it very seriously.

Anybody who has seen my living room or attended the right game with me knows I am an absolute bobblehead fanatic, but I am not standing in line for seven hours for one. Hats off to the folks who will, I suppose? I think every team should just give a promo item to everybody with a ticket so you don’t have to do stuff like this, but that’s just me I guess.

Either way, like I said, it was Shohei and Decoy, his dog, being honored, so, of course, Decoy got to “throw” out the first pitch:

I feel like Ohtani has used his proximity to Hollywood to find the best animal trainers, look at that high five!

And like I said, the bobblehead wasn’t just Decoy, but also Shohei, so you know he had to lead the game off with his 42nd home run of the year:

He also stole a pair of bases, and the second one is pretty incredible to watch:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen as emphatic of a signaling as Betts is doing from home plate there, but Ohtani pausing not once, but twice, and fully breaking back to second base before realizing he can still get to third is definitely the highlight for me.

Zooming out a bit on the game, I also have to shout out Teoscar Hernández, whose three-run homer was really the difference maker as he emphatically did not miss the sixth pitch of an all-breaking-pitch at-bat:

it wasn’t the crispest pitching performance from either Walker Buehler or Corbin Burnes, although the latter was let down by his defense and their three errors, which means only one of Burnes’ six runs was earned. L.A. did get a dominant pitching performance out of the back end of their bullpen, with Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech each pitching an inning with no baserunners and two strikeouts each, earning the hold and save respectively. (To be fair, the O’s bullpen also pitched three scoreless between Keegan Akin, Gregory Soto, and Craig Kimbrel, but they only got a pair of strikeouts between the three so I’m giving the decision to L.A. here.)

A Different Corbin

Ho ho! No longer are we following the Pablo Blueprint as we stick in the NL West. Remember how I said the D-Backs beat the Mets to keep the Dodgers from extending their three-game division lead? Well, it was a pretty dramatic game as well. The Mets went into the eighth inning with a 5-4 lead when Corbin Carroll decided to pick a very auspicious time to take Edwin Diaz for his second dinger of the night:

The 8-5 score would hold in the ninth thanks to a 1-2-3 inning from Justin Martinez. So, going into the end of August, the largest divisional lead is in the NL Central, where the Brewers hold a nine-game lead over the Cubs. Aside from that, it’s knife fights all over the place, as even the top-tier teams like the Dodgers and O’s have been pretty flat as of late. Like I said last week, either somebody is gonna get hot and really put the race to bed, or we’re in for some very dramatic weeks ahead.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

A Hop, Jankowskip, And A Jump Away

From divisional races to the White Sox vs Rangers! Sorry everybody, hope that whiplash doesn’t hurt too bad! But this is one of the most impressive home run robberies I’ve seen ever, much less just this season:

What would have, by all means should have been a walk-off three-run shot from Andrew Vaughn instead turned into the second out of the ninth inning as Travis Jankowski got about as high over the OF fence as you can to rob a dinger over his shoulder. Athletes are absolutely crazy, man.

Double Or Nothing

The above play happened in the ninth inning of the second game of a doubleheader in Chicago last night, with the first game being a continuation of Tuesday’s rainout. That first game was…sparsely attended:

Now, to be fair to the CrySox, last-minute rainout next-day reschedules are always hilariously empty affairs, but I am going to expand this item into a more catchall “Oh man, I’m sorry White Sox fans” item with this lowlight:

Yeah.

Totally Routine Defensive Plays

Nothing to see here folks, just totally normal double plays and a normal everyday fly ball to a totally expected centerfielder.

That last one is especially silly, because Oneil Cruz has actually played a single inning in LF, back in 2022, but it took another two years for him to get a chance to actually field a ball out there. Never give up on your dreams, kids!

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ San Francisco placed Thairo Estrada, Taylor Rogers, and Tyler Matzek on waivers. None of that trio is especially exciting for any potential claiming team, but I will be sad that the Twin Giants, one of whom used to be a giant on the Twins will no longer be together in San Francisco. On the other hand, Estrada is only 28, so who knows if a team would take a swing on him down the stretch.

⚾ Yoshinobu Yamamoto completed his first rehab outing with OKC, throwing two innings on 31 pitches, striking out two and giving up a solo home run. Funnily enough, he was starting opposite Kumar Rocker, who threw five innings with 10 Ks, as we Remember Some Guys.

⚾ Miguel Andujar underwent season-ending surgery to repair a “core muscle injury.” Andujar had a very hot streak for the A’s earlier this summer, although he had cooled off as of late. He is still arb-eligible, so the A’s are hoping he’ll be ready for the 2025 season.

⚾ And in other former Yankee Prospect injury news, Jorge Mateo is also done for the year, undergoing an internal brace procedure to repair the UCL in his non-throwing arm. Mateo injured the arm on a defensive play back in July after he collided with Gunnar Henderson, and the result is the pretty freak injury of needing TJS in a position player’s non-throwing arm.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

Brandon Pfaadt Is One Change Away From A Breakout – Jack Foley

An Incomplete History of Foul Tips to the Throat – Davy Andrews, FanGraphs

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Is It Legit?

Closing Time

Starting Pitcher Streamers

Asher Dratel

Asher hails from Brooklyn, wears a 2008 Joba Chamberlain jersey to every Yankees game he attends, and pronounces BABIP funny. Appreciator of Beefy Lad dingers and beers. @asherd.xyz on Bluesky.

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