Thursday’s action is in the books. Well, most of it anyway. Among the completed games, we had a near no-hitter, one of the most unnecessarily celebrated feats in the game and more exploits by one of the first half’s top fantasy players. Here are Thursday’s who, what, where, when, why and how.
Bellinger stokes his 21st and 22nd
Cody Bellinger continued to mash, slugging a pair of homers, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw to victory. The win was Kershaw’s sixth as he allowed three runs in six frames, fanning eight. The lefty is enjoying a fine campaign after a delayed start, though 67 whiffs in 72 innings is down from his salad days.
Lost in the shuffle for the Dodgers is the quiet production from Alex Verdugo, the 23-year-old outfielder the club refused to deal the past few seasons. Verdugo is slashing a tidy .303/.361/.465. He’s not filling up the ledger with counting stats, but if he keeps hitting at the current pace, the production will follow. Verdugo is in a platoon, albeit the strong side so he may not be a factor in 10 and 12 team mixed, but he’s worthy of play in anything deeper. He’s the perfect balancer in a deal where you give up a better hitter and lesser pitcher to upgrade pitching.
Ohtani hits for the cycle
Apologies, but I’ve never understood the attention given to players hitting for the cycle. Sure, it’s novel and maybe even fun to root for the missing hit, but the accolades often exceed “That was cool,” insinuating some special degree of skill. Look up the names of those achieving the feat and get back to me with respect to it being anything more than something neat (as the kids used to say a long time ago).
Rant aside, Shohei Ohtani became the first Japanese born player to hit for the cycle in MLB. Ohtani has been in a groove, smacking six homers since May 31. It was recently reported he could begin throwing off a mound in early July. Allegedly, the pitching portion of his rehab from Tommy John surgery isn’t supposed to affect Ohtani’s ability to stay in the lineup at designated hitter through the end of the season. We’ll see, but there’s still a chance the Angels opt to have their prized player focus solely on getting ready for next season, especially if he has any sort of injury scare while hitting over the next couple of months.
Twins keep (T)winning
The Twins doubled up the Mariners 10-5, with Nelson Cruz and C.J. Cron leaving the yard for the victors. During the broadcast, the visiting Seattle TV crew pointed out the Twins improved the batting eye, expanding it and planting a “living wall.” The batting eye is an underappreciated aspect of park factors, improving the batter’s ability to pick up spin. Not quite half a season isn’t nearly enough to quantify the impact, but it’s clear it certainly isn’t hurting as Minnesota continues to clout homers at a record pace.
Greinke falls short of first no-hitter
A Trea Turner infield single in the seventh inning broke up Zack Greinke’s attempt for his first career no-hitter. The veteran ultimately worked 7 1/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball, leading the Diamondbacks to a 5-0 whitewashing of the Nationals. For the past couple of seasons, many March drafters play the “Better to jump off a year too early” card, only to wish they hung on for the ride just a little longer. After Thursday’s effort, Greinke sits at 8-2 with a 2.65 ERA and .88 WHIP, fanning 85 in 95 stanzas.
Bradley Jr. leads comeback
After falling behind 6-1 early, the Red Sox battled back, besting the Rangers 7-6 on a cold and clammy evening in Fenway Park. Boston blasted five long balls, all solo shots except Jackie Bradley Jr.’s three-run shot in the second, bringing the score to a more reasonable 6-4. The Red Sox bullpen held Texas scoreless the rest of the way, paving the way for Michael Chavis and Rafael Devers to tie the game before Xander Bogaerts clubbed the game-winner in the seventh.
Bradley Jr.’s 2-for-4 effort propelled his average north of the Mendoza line for the first time since April Fool’s Day. The defensive whiz has awoken at the plate, posting a 1.026 OPS over the past three weeks, featuring four homers and a pair of steals. Have an exit plan ready if the pixie dust wears off, but JBJ warrants consideration in all formats.
Josh A. Smith posted his first career save as Heath Hembree was held out of the contest with forearm soreness. Ideally, one of Marcus Walden, Brandon Workman or Matt Barnes would have thrown more than one inning, but they all needed at least 20 pitches to record three outs, leaving the ninth to the only healthy arm, Smith. The 31-year-old journeyman hasn’t been especially effective but picked up the bullpen in a much-needed victory.
Thursday’s Injuries
Casey Mize, drafted first overall by the Tigers in 2018, left his start for Double-A Erie with a sore right shoulder. The club is awaiting test results.
On Tap
Friday’s slate gets an early start with the Cardinals and Mets completing their suspended game from yesterday. A two-run Redbirds rally in the top of the ninth before the rain really hit tied the contest, forcing a suspension with the resumption previous to Friday’s night’s regularly scheduled meeting.
