Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.
We’ll get to the big future Hall of Famer headline and the playoff races right after this update on the Colorado Rockies and their pursuit of not tying the record for the most losses. They’re 41-112 after a 9-7 loss to the Miami Marlins. That’s nine defeats from the 2024 Chicago White Sox’s record of 121 losses in a season and nine games to go. They have four different losing streaks of exactly eight games this season, but never stretched their futility to nine in a row. They’re in a five-game slump right now, with four games against the Los Angeles Angels up next. How about a trade: Mike Trout’s 400th home run for a record-saving W?
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Today’s Headlines
Kershaw Announces Retirement
Clayton Kershaw will start one more regular-season game at Dodger Stadium tonight. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced that the 18-year veteran plans to retire at the end of this season. Saturday will be Clayton Kershaw Bobblehead Night, and the team plans for him to address fans on Sunday.
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He’s 10-2 over 20 starts with a 3.53 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in his age-37 season. In the Pitcher List Discord, Carson Picard pointed out that Kershaw “has a 2.59 ERA since he last won a Cy Young” in 2014 and “has a career 78.9% left-on-base rate, which is only bested by Jacob deGrom for pitchers with at least 1500 career innings.” I’ll add a few more career nuggets. He has more 20-win seasons (two) than double-digit loss seasons (just 2010). His career WHIP of 1.017 would be 10th this season. His career ERA (2.54) would be fourth. I know that’s not how stats work, but it’s mind-boggling to think that an 18-year career can be that good compared to the best of a single season of modern pitching. He maintained a sub-3.00 ERA for 10 straight seasons (2009-2018). He was the most recent (non-Shohei Ohtani) pitcher to win the MVP (2014).
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Seattle Sets Up Houston Showdown
The Seattle Mariners shut out the Kansas City Royals 2-0 and moved into a tie with the idle Houston Astros at the top of the AL West. Luis Castillo earned his 10th win, allowing three hits and no walks over six innings. A Jorge Polanco double in the second gave Castillo the lead, and a J.P. Crawford double in the eighth gave the bullpen a little breathing room. Andrés Muñoz closed the door for his 36th save. Seattle travels to Houston to start a three-game series tonight. The winner gets the tiebreaker and an advantage in the division race with a week to go, and the loser gets to look over their shoulder in the AL wild card race. The Mariners went 4-2 against the Astros at home but 1-3 in the previous four-game set in Houston. Bryan Woo and Hunter Brown start the opener tonight, so get your popcorn ready.
Guardians Take Down Tigers
The teams making wild card contenders nervous took just finished off a sweep of their division leader. The Cleveland Guardians look dangerous after beating Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers 3-1. Tanner Bibee struck out eight and allowed one run over six innings. Skubal did slightly better with nine strikeouts and one run in six innings, but José Ramírez took Troy Melton deep for a two-run homer in the seventh. Ramirez needs one more home run for his third 30/30 season (2018 and 2024). That blast brought Cleveland within 1.5 games of the third wild card spot and 3.5 games out of first place with 10 to play — including another three-game series against the Tigers starting on Tuesday.
Playoff Implications
⚾ Max Fried and the New York Yankees took advantage of losses by the Boston Red Sox (5-3 to the Athletics) and Toronto Blue Jays (4-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays) in the AL East. Fried struck out a career-high 13 in seven innings, giving up three hits and one walk. He got his MLB-leading 18th win. New York won 7-0 despite not adding to their MLB-best home run total. The Yankees are three games ahead of Boston and three games behind Toronto.
⚾ The New York Mets beat the San Diego Padres 6-1 to take the series and maintain their tenuous two-game hold on the third wild card spot. FanGraphs gives them an 85.9% chance to hang onto it over the course of their final three series against the Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, and Marlins.
⚾ Hunter Greene mowed down the Cubs to keep the Cincinnati Reds within a couple of games of the Mets. Greene took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and finished what he started with triple-digit heat in the ninth. Seiya Suzuki doubled in with two down in the seventh. A Will Benson RBI double in the fourth was all Greene needed to win his 107-pitch one-hitter 1-0.
⚾ The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Angels 5-2. That makes 19 Quinn Priester starts in a row that the Brewers have converted into wins. Milwaukee needs two victories from its final nine games to tie the franchise record of 96. They’re 2.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for the top overall seed in the playoffs, but they haven’t clinched the NL Central yet.
Scouting ‘Dead Period’ for Amateur Players
Major League Baseball sent a memo to all 30 teams to create a ‘dead period’ on scouting amateur players during baseball’s offseason. MLB personnel will not be allowed to scout or evaluate high school players from October 15 to January 15. The same rule applies to college players from November 15 to January 15. The ban covers baseball activities and data or video produced during that period. The pause on evaluation is to give draft-eligible amateurs a consistent time when they know they will not be evaluated by professional scouts. It pairs with the NCAA’s quiet period for off-campus recruiting from October 13 to February 28. MLB can’t tell pitchers to stop throwing or demand that amateurs take a break from pursuing their professional goals, but they can disincentivize continuous effort by enforcing a break for their evaluators.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Yelich Reaches 100 RBI
The only 100-RBI season on the back of Christian Yelich’s baseball cards was his 2018 MVP campaign, when he knocked in 110. He reached 97 in 2016 and 98 in 2019. He got to 100 again last night with a seventh-inning double.
Soto Reaches 100 RBI
Juan Soto is turning out to be a pretty good signing. He’s got 41 homers, 33 stolen bases, 119 walks, and now 100 RBI.
Don’t Touch Grass
Mariners replay coordinator Andy Bissell got a post-game interview after a successful challenge of the Royals’ second baseman Michael Massey’s foot placement on a ground ball out in the eighth. The replay coordinator is always watching. And now every team should remind their infielders not to turn easy outs into free passes to first by misplacing their heels.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ The Tigers activated right-hander Paul Sewald from the 60-day IL and released right-hander Codi Heuer. They optioned José Urquidy, who had to approve the move due to having five years of major league service time, to Triple-A.
⚾ The Mets placed right-hander Reed Garrett on the 15-day IL with a right elbow sprain and placed left-hander Sean Manaea on the paternity list. They selected the contract of right-hander Wander Suero from Triple-A, designated right-hander Dom Hamel for assignment, and recalled right-handers Huascar Brazobán and Chris Devenski from Triple-A.
⚾ The Nationals have reportedly interviewed Eddie Romero, assistant general manager for the Red Sox, to lead their front office.
Articles You Should Read
MeatWaste Part 2: The Re-Meatening — Michael Baumann, FanGraphs
Forget MeatWaste, Who’s Crushing Shadowballs? — Davy Andrews, FanGraphs
MLB labor: How fight over salary cap will shape negotiations — Jeff Passan, ESPN
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