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MLB News & Moments You Should Know – May 5

Clevinger's return, Cole Tucker's fall, and more.

Sam French
MLB Morning News 5/5/2022

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

 

Mike Clevinger Returns to the Mound

When Mike Clevinger took the mound this afternoon for his start against the Cleveland Guardians, it was his first time pitching in a major league game since Game 1 of the 2020 NLDS. Despite the long time away from the game, it didn’t take long for Clevinger to get back to what he does best.

Since that playoff start, Clevinger’s been kept out of the game by elbow surgery, a knee sprain, and even the pandemic lockout. So it’s not surprising that today was emotional for Clevinger, who was also facing his former team.

While Clevinger might have been holding back tears, one of his teammates could barely hold back his excitement.

 

Clevinger ultimately gave up three earned runs over 4.2 innings, but his achievement is so much larger than what a statline can possibly capture.

Kelsie Whitmore Continues to Break Barriers

It was only a few days ago that Kelsie Whitmore started in left field for the Staten Island FerryHawks, becoming the first woman to start an Atlantic League game, but tonight she added another “first” to her groundbreaking resume.

Whitmore came in with the bases juiced and got former major-leaguer, Ryan Jackson, to fly out on four pitches. Whitmore is one of several women to achieve massive milestones in the game this year, with San Francisco Giants coach Alyssa Nakken and Tampa Tarpons manager Rachel Balkovec.

 

Yankees’ Winning Streak Ends

It had to happen eventually. When all is said and done, the Yankees still won more games in a row than ten teams have won all season. And they fought all the way to the bitter end.

Even with the loss, the Yankees can feel good knowing they still have a 2.5-game lead over the team that broke up the streak.

Tylor Megill Throws More N0-Hit Innings

So there are traditional no-hitters, there are combined no-hitters, there are bullpen day no-hitters, and then there’s what Tylor Megill did today after he made it through his first four innings without allowing a hit.

So it’s not as impressive as pitching nine no-hit innings in one game. It’s still pretty cool.

Bumgarner Gets Ejected

If you thought that just because it was a new season there’d be no more weird sticky stuff moments, you thought wrong. This time it was Madison Bumgarner who reached his limit with the umpires’ search for foreign substances. After pitching his first (and only inning), MadBum had his hand checked (or massaged) and then decided to… give some constructive criticism to the umpire. He was promptly chucked from the game.

With apologies to Bumgarner, Max Scherzer still holds the title for best reaction to a foreign-substance check.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

You Glove to See It

Personally, when I catch up with a former co-worker, I like to do it over a cup of coffee or a beer. Guillermo Heredia had other ideas about how to reconnect with ex-teammate Jeff McNeil.

And if you’ve ever wondered what a robbed homerun looks like from the other side of the fence, we’ve got you covered.

Heredia wasn’t the only one flashing serious leather on Wednesday, though. El Mago more than earned his nickname with this incredible play, forcing us to choose which action is more impressive: flipping the ball between his legs, or doing it without even looking?

Beyond Nasty

Here at Pitcher List, we take nasty pitches seriously. And we take the consequences of said pitches seriously, too. But even we were unprepared for what happened to Cole Tucker after this devastating Andrew Chafin slider. There are some things one simply cannot recover from.

As if the injury wasn’t enough, the Tigers had to add some insult to Tucker’s fall, as well, using his own girlfriend’s work against him.

The Epilogue

It’s been a pretty good few days for Derek Rodriguez. Yesterday, he was given a home run ball hit by Aaron Judge. And today he actually got to meet his favorite player. I’m fighting the urge to be deeply jealous of a nine-year-old.

And while I’m sure it was a moment Derek will never forget, it seems like it was pretty impactful for Judge, as well.

And just in case you need a reminder that what goes around comes around, the Blue Jays fan who gave the ball to Derek got a reward for doing the right thing.

 

Injuries

 

 

Articles You Should Read

 

The Mariners’ Offense is Good Now? – Sean Roberts, Across the Seams

Can Bryan Reynolds Turn Things Around? – Miles Temel, Going Deep

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

Hitter Performances

Reliever Ranks (General) (Closers)

Starting Pitcher Streamers

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)

Sam French

Brooklyn-based writer-- primarily of fiction, sometimes other stuff like baseball. Was once almost ejected from a rec softball game for employing too many infield shifts.

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