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Today’s Headlines
Vientos Powers Mets to Victory
Mark Vientos bookended the New York Mets 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds with a two-run homer in the first inning and a two-run, walk-off shot in the 10th. The Mets have now won eight in a row. Since the Grimace game on June 12, they’ve gone 49-27. That’s a .644 win percentage, or 104 wins over 162 games. The best race in September might be the New York-Atlanta duel in the NL wildcard standings.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME MARK VIENTOS??? #MetsWin pic.twitter.com/tdrZsjrOew
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 7, 2024
Atlanta Keeps Pace Behind Fried
Remember when Atlanta had that awful stretch of losing games when giving up four or more runs? They found the solution: Don’t give up more than three. Max Fried pitched seven innings, struck out eight, and allowed a single unearned run. Joe Jiménez locked down the eighth, and Raisel Iglesias allowed two hits but struck out the side for his 31st save. That makes 25 straight starts giving up no more than 3 earned runs. Can the Atlanta pitching staff (and Marcell Ozuna’s Triple Crown chase) match the momentum of the Mets over the final three weeks?
Max Fried, Dirty 83mph Sweeper. 😨
8th K pic.twitter.com/opAtf5esBN
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 7, 2024
A Slate of Shutouts
Four matchups with playoff implications ended in shutouts on Friday night.
The Kansas City Royals blanked the Minnesota Twins and now sit half a game above the Twins for the second wildcard spot. Cole Ragans earned his 200th strikeout of the season.
Adding his name to an exclusive list. pic.twitter.com/J2qAgfkaAW
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) September 7, 2024
Kyle Tucker returned to the Houston Astros and Ketel Marte returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the same game. Houston handled the defending NL champs, allowing just two hits in an 8-0 victory. Yordan Alvarez mashed two three-run homers off 2023 postseason heroes Brandon Pfaadt and Jordan Montgomery.
That's a baaaaad man.#Relentless pic.twitter.com/z92vRsifkD
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 7, 2024
The teams at the top of the AL East each stifled the opposing lineup. The Baltimore Orioles stayed on top of the American League with a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, and the New York Yankees stayed in the top wildcard spot with a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs. While the NL wildcard might be the best race of the last few weeks, this has been the best race of the season. The O’s and Yanks have seemed magnetically attached to each other in the standings for most of the year. Why should the homestretch be any different?
Dean Kremer, Nasty 88mph Cutter. ✂️
6th K pic.twitter.com/rgA7kkxjOD
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 7, 2024
3 runs in the 3rd 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WmYuSS8Li5
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 6, 2024
Best Moments From Yesterday
Rizzo Returns to Wrigley
Anthony Rizzo played in Chicago from 2012 to 2021. He played in 1308 games, made three All-Star teams, earned MVP votes in five straight seasons, won four Gold Gloves, and cemented his legacy as a Cub with the 2016 World Series Champs. Yesterday, Rizzo stepped onto the field in front of Cubs fans to an ovation despite wearing Yankee gray.
Welcome back to Wrigley Field, Anthony Rizzo 🥹 pic.twitter.com/vge3HUTUvd
— MLB (@MLB) September 6, 2024
45/45
Two Fridays ago, Shohei Ohtani reached 40/40. Last week, he eclipsed Alex Rodriguez’s home run and stolen base combination from 1998 at 43/43. Last night, he pushed the highest equal number of both to 45. The Los Angeles Dodgers have 22 more games to play, and he’s already got 46 steals.
A 45/45 season and counting for Shohei Ohtani! pic.twitter.com/1oWOdIphFT
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 7, 2024
Machado at the Top of Padres HR List
Manny Machado hit his 162nd and 163rd home runs as a member of the San Diego Padres to move into a tie with Nate Colbert for the most home runs in Padres history. This is one trivia question that is about to get a lot more right answers.
Manny Machado strikes AGAIN pic.twitter.com/oHjOl7K6MK
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 7, 2024
Viva L’Italia
Imagine a future where more countries that fielded World Baseball Classic teams in the early portion of this century send players to the big leagues. I’m all for others to follow in Samuel Aldegheri’s footsteps.
Samuel Aldegheri becomes the first Italian-born pitcher to record a win since 1949 👏 pic.twitter.com/HXa6FL6ItH
— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2024
Meet the Clingstones
Atlanta’s Double-A affiliate will ditch the Major League moniker and use a name with local flavor when the team moves from Mississippi to Columbus, Georgia in 2025.
Meet the Columbus Clingstones, coming to Double-A in 2025!
Georgia? The Peach State. But a clingstone? More on that and how the color scheme and logo of the #Braves' newest affiliate came to be.
📰: https://t.co/PoGNYU2p3h pic.twitter.com/4nr6XDfcz8
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 7, 2024
Daily Doyle
Let’s finish with this gem of a throw from Colorado Rockies centerfielder Brenton Doyle, who finished off the dregs of a Milwaukee Brewers rally with a precision strike at third base.
YOU DO NOT RUN ON BRENTON DOYLE pic.twitter.com/KNSDPX1AaD
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) September 7, 2024
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ The Los Angeles Dodgers placed right-handed starter Gavin Stone on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation.
⚾ Outfielder Teoscar Hernández left Friday’s Dodgers game after being hit by a pitch on the left ankle.
⚾ The Philadelphia Phillies placed third baseman Alec Bohm on the 10-day IL, retroactive to September 3, with a hand injury.
⚾ The Boston Red Sox designated left-handed starter Rich Hill for assignment.
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