Rain postponed the Yankees and Rays yesterday, and the teams will play a doubleheader today. Yonny Chirinos and Domingo German will face off in Game 1. J.A. Happ’s scheduled Thursday start will be pushed to Friday, and the Yankees have yet to announce who will pitch opposite Charlie Morton. Other than the one rain delay, it was a typically busy Wednesday of action.
Chris Paddack Flirts with History
Chris Paddack had a perfect game spoiled by Fernando Tatis’ error and a no-hitter (and shutout) broken by Starlin Castro’s home run to lead off the eighth inning. Despite falling short of becoming the first Padres pitcher to throw a no-hitter, Paddack went 7.2 dominant innings, striking out eight with just the solo shot allowed.
Mets Bats Thump the Twins
Martin Perez threw six strong innings, striking out four and only allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk. Perez left the game in line for the win, but that’s when the Twins’ wheels fell off. Trevor May allowed three, Matt Magill surrendered six unearned, and third baseman Ehire Adrianza was thrown into the fire and gave up three. Amed Rosario did the majority of the damage, going 4-for-4 with four runs and three RBI, falling a double short of the cycle. Dominic Smith hit a pinch-hit three-run home run to give the Mets the lead and would end up 2-for-3 with two runs and four RBI. Despite Smith’s excellent season, Rookie of the Year frontrunner Pete Alonso has taken the majority of playing time at first base, pushing Smith to limited appearances.
Throwback Aces in Chicago
In 2015, Sonny Gray finished third in Cy Young voting while Yu Darvish was recovering from Tommy John surgery. The two faced off in Chicago with both looking like aces again. Darvish picked up the win thanks to Kris Bryant and Addison Russell home runs. Darvish twirled six two-hit scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. The two solo home runs Gray surrendered were the only hits he gave up through his six innings; he struck out eight.
Giants Sweep Rockies
The Giants are baseball’s hottest team and have vaulted themselves to within 2.5 games of a wildcard spot. Coors Field gave up 19 runs with Stephen Vogt (2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB), Donovan Solano (4-for-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Trevor Story (3-for-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), and Ryan McMahon (2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) doing the brunt of the damage. It is expected that the Giants will remain sellers even though this four-game sweep has pushed them ahead of the Rockies in the standings and two games shy of a .500 record.
Heat Brings Scoring to Texas
We all knew that the hot weather in Arlington would mean a high-ERA summer. The Diamondbacks put 19 on the board on Wednesday with Eduardo Escobar hitting two homers and knocking in five. The Rangers’ Danny Santana also hit two home runs with both coming against Robbie Ray, who otherwise put up a good game going six and striking out seven with four earned runs.
Homer Bailey Impresses His New Team
After being traded to the Athletics on Sunday, Homer Bailey saw his first game action with Oakland yesterday. He gave up two runs on seven hits through six innings and picked up the win thanks to an offensive outburst from the bottom-of-the-order. Jurickson Profar and Mark Canha both hit a pair of home runs, with Chad Pinder and Ramon Laureano contributing one each. The four players combined to knock in all 10 of the A’s runs in the game. The win is the sixth in a row for Oakland, which is now just 4.5 back of Houston in the West and tied with Cleveland for the second Wild Card.
Cole K’s 11
Gerrit Cole struck out 11 Angels last night and leads baseball in games with double-digit strikeouts (11). Before he had thrown a pitch, the Astros gave Cole a first-inning lead he would not relinquish. They would add another eight runs in the game on home runs from Michael Brantley and George Springer, with Jake Marisnick going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base and Jose Altuve going 2-for-4 with a run, two, RBI, and a stolen base. Cole scattered seven hits and a walk in his seven innings.
Injuries
Matt Chapman was removed from Wednesday’s game with “ankle soreness.” Chapman hit in the home half of the first inning but was removed in the third. On Tuesday, Chapman collided with Chad Pinder on a pop up and was considered day-to-day. The injury didn’t seem to impact his performance at the plate on Tuesday when he homered and knocked in five, but he was in discomfort at the plate on Wednesday and was taken out of the game as a precaution.
David Dahl is considered day-to-day with a foot contusion. Dahl fouled a ball off his foot and played the field, briefly, until manager Bud Black removed him from the game.
Derek Dietrich was hit for the fourth time in the Reds’ series against the Cubs. He took a pitch off the right knee and was later removed from the game but is expected to be back in the lineup today.
Mike Trout is believed to be ready to return to the lineup after missing the last three games with a calf strain. Trout has taken batting practice without issue but has not been running. Further evaluations with medical staff will determine Trout’s ability to play, but there is a chance that he could return as the DH.
Transactions
Brendan Rodgers underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Rodgers was on the IL with a shoulder impingement, but the injury was more serious that initially thought and the Rockies rookie will have to wait until next year to try to live up to his project pedigree.
Eloy Jimenez was placed on the 10-day IL with a right ulnar nerve contusion. The injury isn’t expected to keep Jimenez sidelined for long, however. Glove-first infielder Ryan Goins was selected from Triple-A to make his 2019 debut. Goins hit .322 in the minors with 10 home runs in 83 games. In six seasons (489 games) with Toronto and Kansas City, Goins has a career .228 average with 20 bombs. He was impressive in his debut, going 2-for-3 with a two-run home run.
Adalberto Mondesi was placed on the 10-day IL with a partially dislocated left shoulder. Mondesi left Tuesday’s game in obvious pain after diving for a foul ball, and the injury has forced the power-speed threat to the IL. Details have not been released regarding treatment, but a lengthy recovery is feared. This would be a tremendous blow to his fantasy owners as Mondesi leads the majors with 31 stolen bases and has slashed .266/.294/.433 to go with his seven home runs, 48 runs and 52 RBI through 82 games. Hold for now, but monitor his treatment timeline.
Terrance Gore was acquired and optioned by the New York Yankees. The 28-year-old Gore cleared waivers and will be organizational depth until the Yankees need a speed-only bench option.
Wilmer Font was traded from the Mets to the Blue Jays in exchange for cash. Manager Charlie Montoyo suggested that he may use Font as an opener. Font has put up a 5.20 ERA this season, but the Blue Jays seemed impressed with his 1.67 ERA last season (nine games) before a lat strain ended his year.
