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MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 8/31/2024

43/43 for Ohtani; Altuve is Houston's hero (again)

Scott Appleman
MLB Morning News 8/31/2024

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

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Ohtani Reaches 43/43, Dodgers Hold On

The tracker in the highlight below shows Shohei Ohtani’s progress toward 50/50, but he’s already reached uncharted territory for players who combine power and speed. No baseball player has hit 43 home runs and stolen 43 bases in the same season. “43/43” doesn’t roll off the tongue like “50/50.” Steve used the phrase “Round Number Alert” for Corey Seager’s 200th home run this week, and we’re hoping for Ohtani’s “Round Number/Round Number Alert” sometime in September. But every additional stolen base paired with a home run is history for the rest of the season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers kept this from being another Tungsten Arm O’Doyle game despite Clayton Kershaw departing with big toe pain in the second inning. Ohtani’s home run gave the Dodgers a 10-5 cushion in the ninth and proved to be the deciding run. Jake McCarthy knocked in two with a single and Eugenio Suárez homered to cut the lead to one. The Arizona Diamondbacks still had two outs but couldn’t tie the game. They’re five back of L.A. with two more to play this weekend.

 

Altuve Claims Thriller for Astros

The Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros played in Friday’s most tense contest. Both teams sat atop their divisions going into the game, and they gave us a pitching duel that wrapped up with clutch hitting on both sides. For seven innings, Framber Valdez kept the red “No-Hitter” label on the MLB app. He walked three and struck out seven on 98 pitches, then handed the ball over to Bryan Abreu to protect a 2-0 lead. Abreu got two outs before Kyle Isbel broke up the no-hitter with a single. Seth Lugo kept the Royals close by allowing one run and striking out nine in seven innings.

The ninth inning was all drama. After Bobby Witt Jr. reached on an error, Paul DeJong brought Kansas City level with a two-run homer off former uber-closer (and now mere mortal?) Josh Hader. Hader got the next two outs but the save was already blown.

But Houston is Jose Altuve’s domain. The definitive Astro of his era hit one off the Crawford Boxes. With two outs, Jake Meyers got a head start from first. A friendly carom gave Meyers enough time to cross the plate standing up. The Astros stayed four games up in the AL West while the Royals dipped a game below the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.

 

Arcia, López Lead Atlanta

Orlando Arcia homered twice in Philadelphia and Reynaldo López turned in another solid outing to lead Atlanta over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2. Lopez lowered his ERA to 2.00, which would lead the league if he qualified. The NL East playoff contenders play their final two games of the season series on Saturday and Sunday. FanGraphs gives the Phillies an 87.3% chance of hanging onto their division lead over the last month.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Manny of His Dreams

Junior Caminero got emotional when talking about taking the same field as Manny Machado. The San Diego Padres third baseman debuted in 2012 at age 19 when Caminero was nine. Machado put on a show today, going 3-for-5 with two runs and four RBIs, including a three-run homer.

 

Top Clase

Emmanuel Clase earned his 150th career save, giving him the top spot in the Cleveland record book. This was also his 40th of the season.

 

López Continues Scoreless Streak

Pablo López pitched 7.2 shutout innings and extended his scoreless streak to 20.2. He’s got a 4.05 ERA on the season, but he’s settling in for the playoff-hunting Minnesota Twins.

 

Double Double

Brent Rooker reached 33 homers for the Oakland Athletics with a pair in Texas.

And Austin Wells added to his AL Rookie of the Year case with a tw0-homer game against the Cardinals in New York.

 

Angles in the Outfield

Brenton Doyle goes parallel for the grab and puts one on the money to surprise Jackson Holliday trying to advance to third.

Tyrone Taylor made use of the net to make the grab and bounce back. Who wore it better?

 

American Hero

Olympic Women’s All-Around gold medalist Simone Biles visited Houston for another first pitch for her hometown team. No tricks this time, but she did make sure to hold the salute for the home crowd.

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino will be out for six to eight weeks with a broken thumb. That projection puts his earliest return at the end of the Division Series or the beginning of the Championship Series.

⚾ The St. Louis Cardinals designated outfielder Tommy Pham for assignment and recalled outfielder Jordan Walker from Triple-A.

⚾ The Pittsburgh Pirates are going with a closer-by-committee approach. Manager Derek Shelton said they’ve removed right-handed reliever David Bednar from the role.

⚾ The Detroit Tigers designated infielder Joey Wendle for assignment.

⚾ First baseman Josh Naylor left the Cleveland Guardians game with a left ankle bruise.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

‘Iron Mike’ Marshall’s lasting impact reaches far beyond baseball — Anthony Castrovince, MLB.com

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

Hitter Performances

Reliever Ranks

Starting Pitcher Streamers

Scott Appleman

Scott Appleman is a utility infielder with a master's degree in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure, a JV MVP award and two career home runs. He writes Thrill Shot, a Substack newsletter about champions and contenders.

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