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MLB News & Moments You Should Know – June 28

A complete-game gem and the pizza heroes we didn't know we needed.

Colin Fong
MLB Morning News 6/28/2022

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

 

Kuhl Pitches Gem Against Dodgers as Bryant Returns

Complete games are increasingly a rarity in baseball. The fact that Colorado’s Chad Kuhl accomplished one against a formidable Dodgers lineup makes the feat even more impressive.

Kuhl, who held a 3.95 ERA and 1.44 WHIP going into Monday’s game, yielded a single and a double to Gavin Lux and a single to Freddie Freeman. Those three hits comprised the entirety of the Dodgers’ offensive output for the night.

 

The Rockies’ starter finished the night in 102 pitches with five strikeouts, no walks, and a 62% strike percentage. His offense provided four runs on eleven hits, which was more than enough to get him the win.

Kuhl’s dominance overshadowed the other big news from the night: Outfielder Kris Bryant made his return from the injured list after missing 44 games with back issues. The Rockies got promising results earlier in the season from their $182 million off-season acquisition before he was sidelined with injury. He managed a single in his return.

 

Yankees Use Two Catcher’s Interference Calls to Down A’s

It was a game emblematic of both teams’ seasons. The A’s went down 1-0 to a long ball from Anthony Rizzo in the first, but exploded into the lead with a five-run third against Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery. The Yankees picked up two more runs but were still trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh when Aaron Judge swung at a sinker from A’s reliever Adam Oller. It was quickly ruled catcher’s interference.

 

Oller was lifted in favor of A.J. Puk, who promptly hit Anthony Rizzo with his first pitch. That loaded the bases, as D.J. LeMahieu had walked prior to Judge reaching on the catcher’s interference call. The hit-by-pitch brought up Stanton, who benefited from the second interference call of the night.

 

The league-leading Yanks continued the inning with hits from Josh Donaldson, Jose Trevino, and Marwin Gonzalez that pushed the score to 9-5 in their favor. That was plenty of cushion for reliever Albert Abreu, who breezed through the final 2.1 innings without allowing a hit.

The game sums up a season in which everything seems to be clicking for the Bronx Bombers, while the hapless A’s continue to find innovative ways to lose ball games.

 

Mariners Swing Trade With Royals for Santana

Veteran Royal Carlos Santana is headed to Seattle in exchange for two righty pitching prospects.

 

Santana is slashing .216/.349/.341 with a 104 wRC+ so far this season per Fangraphs, but he’s been electric in June. Through 17 games this month, he holds a .357 average with seven extra-base hits — half his season total.

The move supplements a Mariners lineup that suffered a major blow when 1B Ty France was forced to the IL with an elbow injury. Santana will serve as a capable short-term replacement and likely continue to play a role off the bench or at DH when France returns.

For their part, the Royals currently hold the third-worst record in baseball and stand 14 games behind division leaders Minnesota. Their pitching staff ranks among the league’s worst in ERA, WHIP, FIP, and SIERA, so it makes sense that they are beginning to stock up on arms and look toward 2023.

The two prospects they receive in the trade are Wyatt Mills and William Fleming. Mills holds a 4.15 ERA across eight relief appearances with the Mariners so far in 2022, while Fleming carries a 6-6 record and 4.92 ERA in 14 starts with Single-A Modesto.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

Pizza Delivery Brings Light to Angels-Mariners Brawl

The aftermath of Sunday’s brawl between the Mariners and Angels was mostly acrimony, suspensions, and bad blood. Thankfully, a supportive Mariners fan and an enterprising delivery driver stepped in to create a positive result from the whole mess.

Immediately after the game on Sunday, in which Jesse Winker charged the Angels bullpen after being hit by a pitch, @sofieballgame took it upon herself to improve the rest of his night with a fresh pizza:

 

Thanks to the superhuman effort of delivery driver Simranjeet Singh, the pizza actually found its way into the visiting Clubhouse at Angels Stadium and into the grateful (and potentially confused) arms of Jesse Winker.

 

To ensure Singh was rewarded for going the extra mile and somehow finding a way to get the pizza to its destination, Sofie took the extra step of sharing his Venmo for other Mariners fans to share their thanks as well. It’s a great example of a fan turning a bad situation on its head and creating a story we can all smile about.

 

Injuries

 

Cardinals SP Jack Flaherty returned to the IL with shoulder issues

Phillies OF Bryce Harper may need thumb surgery

 

Articles You Should Read

 

Dinelson Lamet and the Potential of Lost Potential – Cristian Crespo

Prospect Pitcher Review: June 20th – June 26th – Nate Handy

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

Hitter Performances

Reliever Ranks

Starting Pitcher Streamers

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)

Colin Fong

Colin lived near Cooperstown and collected signatures from Hall of Famers for his Dad's collection every summer as a kid. He thought it was super boring at the time, but thinks it's incredibly cool now. He's an A's fan and loves writing about the beautiful, absurd, infuriating, and inspiring world of baseball.

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