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Today’s Headlines
Yordan Álvarez goes off
In the fifth, Yordan Álvarez blasted a cutter from Corbin Burnes for his 11th of the year. The next inning, he stepped to the plate with the bases juiced. That’s when Craig Counsell brought in lefty Holby Milner. It didn’t work as Álvarez turned Milner’s first pitch of the night into his twelfth home run of the year. The big night pushed the Astros to an easy 12-1 win, their eighth straight.
Air Yordan throws it down for the slam. pic.twitter.com/UuPD5h1KQu
— MLB (@MLB) May 23, 2023
Jarred Kelenic keeps rolling
Jarred Kelenic’s breakout season continued when he launched a 455-foot blast to center for his tenth of the year. It came off a lefty too, former Atlanta SP Kyle Muller. It’s probably a weird small-sample size blip, but Kelenic entered the night with better splits against same-handed pitching including a .325 average and 1.007 OPS. The Mariners meanwhile handed the Oakland A’s another brutal loss, 11-2 the final score.
Jarred Kelenic – Seattle Mariners (10) pic.twitter.com/DVw54lzVHJ
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 23, 2023
With 10 HR over his first 45 games, Jarred Kelenic is the fastest Mariners player age 23-or-younger to 10 home runs in a season since Alex Rodriguez in 1999 (10 HR, 31 G).
— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) May 23, 2023
Tanner Houck pitches well
The Red Sox were down in by a Mickey Moniak home run in the eighth off Kutter Crawford. Tanner Houck, however, gave them a chance to win and turned in one of his best outings of the year. His slider was brilliant and returned a 53% CSW on 34 pitches.
The Sox have a crowded rotation with the return of Garrett Whitlock (elbow) on the horizon, but this certainly helped Houck’s case to remain in the rotation.
Tanner Houck, Filth. ?
With a White Castle Special thrown in. ???? pic.twitter.com/FbdyZ6p9N6
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 23, 2023
Luis Ortiz earns first career win
Ortiz made his third appearance of the year and dominated en route to a 6-4 win over the Texas Rangers. It was a surprising performance against the Rangers, the team that leads all of baseball in runs scored given that the 24-year-old righty had previously struggled against the Tigers and in a home start against the Rockies. However, he was efficient and needed only 93 pitches to record 23 outs. With Vince Velasquez due back soon, Ortiz’s spot in the rotation isn’t secure but this certainly helped.
Luis Ortiz’s 2Ks in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/0DzMbMUY9M
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 22, 2023
The Oakland A’s move on from Glen Kuiper
Kuiper, who had been the Oakland A’s primary play-by-play announcer for almost two decades, was officially let go by NBC Sports California following an internal review. The network had suspended him for seemingly mispronouncing the word “Negro” while discussing a trip he had taken to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and making it sound like a racial slur. The incident occurred in a pregame segment during the A’s/Royals telecast on May 5th.
Best Moments from Yesterday
Ronald Acuña Jr. catches the defense napping
After a four-pitch walk of Matt Olson, Atlanta’s superstar outfielder caught Dodger rookie pitcher Gavin Stone unaware and took third base. He later scored in the ensuing groundout from Sean Murphy but it wasn’t enough for the home team as they lost 8-6. The Dodgers, meanwhile, became the first NL team to 30 wins.
WOW @ronaldacunajr24 #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/XU4QHPsel8
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 23, 2023
A McCutchen milestone
Andrew McCutchen’s resurgence this year has been fun to watch. Seeing him back in a Pirates uniform just seems right, I’m not sure how else to describe it.
1,500 hits in Black & Gold.
Andrew McCutchen is the 12th player in Pirates history to record 1,500 career hits. pic.twitter.com/RCRRFnhUNK
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 22, 2023
Luis Castillo’s 1000th career strikeout
Shea Langeliers became the answer to a trivia question as the Mariner’s ace picked up the big milestone in the fifth inning of last night’s 11-2 dismantling of the A’s.
Luis Castillo’s 1,000th Career K. ? pic.twitter.com/JsYzN2ZUQQ
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 23, 2023
Injuries and Transactions
Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to make his season debut against the Dodgers this Saturday.
Justin Turner left Friday’s game early with left knee soreness but returned to the Red Sox lineup last night.
Byron Buxton returned to the lineup last night after missing Saturday’s game due to right knee discomfort.
The Oakland A’s activated Seth Brown from the 10-day IL. He had been sidelined since late April with a Grade 2 oblique strain. Jordan Diaz was sent down in the corresponding move.
Mariners RHP Easton McGee will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and miss the remainder of the season.
Articles You Should Read
Evaluating Rookie Starters and Their Paths to Becoming Aces. – Michael Barker
Fantasy Baseball
The List 5/22: Top 100 Starting Pitchers – Week 8 Fantasy Baseball 2023
Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 5/22/23 Depth Chart
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)