Prof: It’s just me for the next couple of days, so forgive me if not everything is super in-depth. Today’s musical selections are rooted in the 1960s.
Spiders 10, Cubs 1 – Not a surprise, if I’m honest. Tyler Chatwood is the weakest link in the Chicago rotation, and he was going up against Trevor Bauer, who might be an ass but is an ass who can pitch very well. He’s like a newfangled Curt Schilling (maybe not THAT good but I think you know where I’m going with this).
Rockies 3, Dodgers 5 – Weird stuff happening in the NL West, where up is down and good is bad. Are the Dodgers getting their mojo back? Are the Rockies having the road trip from Hell? Who even knows anymore? The Rockies are actually playing pretty decently, with Ian Desmond in particular doing well last night, but L.A. was just that much better. Also, fun story – did you know that the Dodger youngsters call Chase Utley “Dad”? He’s only a year older than I am, and these guys are calling him Dad. Baseball is a young man’s game, for sure.
Mariners 3, Athletics 3 F/10 – Seattle wins off of a Guillermo Heredia double in the tenth inning.
Braves 3, Phillies 1 – Ozzie Albies. That’s really all I need to say. OK, OK, he’s hit his fourteenth dinger of the year thus far and the Baby Braves continue to surprise everyone in baseball with their deceptive quickness and great play from guys like Ozzie and Nick Markakis.
Angels 3, Blue Jays 5 – J.A. Happ continues to be a pitcher that contributes in huge ways that gets overlooked (in my opinion). Quick – name a guy in the AL who regularly gives you 7 innings and five strikeouts a game and makes it easier to win the game because he’s on the bump. Obviously there’s Sale, there’s Kluber, there’s the guys in Houston. But does anyone ever mention Happ? They should.
Pirates 2, Reds 7 – Let me get the M-tt H-rv-y crap out of the way first – he got the win and pitched six innings of pretty decent baseball, yada yada. I feel twitchy saying nice things about him. OK, now that THAT’S out of the way, let’s discuss the really awesome thing that happened in this game.
That’s right, friends, my wee child Ryan “Scooter” Gennett is at it again! Not only did Scoots Magoots hit an RBI double in the first inning, and an RBI sac fly in the seventh, my small son hit a monster grand slam in the fifth inning! He’s not the best, but he’s so much fun.
Orioles 2, White Sox 3 – Garbage time! That’s what people might end up saying every time a Baltimore middle reliever comes up to the mound. Mark Trumbo did his best – going 4-4, driving in a run in the second inning – and Kevin Gausman pitched very well, but it was all deconstructed in the eighth inning, where the White Sox scored all of their runs. Didn’t leave much time for the Orioles to come back, and sure enough, they didn’t.
Red Sox 4, Rays 2 – Mookie Betts has hit sixteen homers so far this season. Wow. Future AL MVP? Might be too early to call my shot but I don’t think that’s out of the question. Chris Sale went nearly eight innings and struck out nine in the process, and Craig Kimbrel picks up another save on his way to being one of the greatest closers of all time (you might not agree with me, but sadly, you are wrong).
Tigers 0, Twins 6 – Lance Lynn decided to show up at the ballpark. Yes, he gave up five hits, but none of those were in danger of being converted. Brian Dozier drove in three and Byron Buxton continues to be a dynamic young player of the future.
Padres 1, Nationals 2 – The Curly Dubs are back at their regularly scheduled programming, with Bryce Harper homering and picking up a win against San Diego.
Diamondbacks 0, Brewers 1 – Corey Knebel is at it again, racking up another save. What’s going on with the Gritty Snakes? And now Milwaukee is at thirty wins for the season – never in a million years would I guess this to be the case.
Yankees 4, Rangers 6 – You can’t predict ball. And I wouldn’t have guessed at all that Cole Hamels would be walking away with a W in this matchup against one of the hottest teams in all of baseball. Jurickson Profar homered early and set the tone for Texas.
Giants 2, Astros 11 – I read this elsewhere and it’s too cool not to bring to you: Gerrit Cole and Brandon Crawford are brothers-in-law. Gerrit Cole’s only hiccup in last night’s game was a two run homer…hit by Brandon Crawford. Oops! It’s okay, the Astros had Cole’s back with a monster night at the plate. Doubles, singles, and sac flies – small ball lives.
Royals 5, Cardinals 1 – All the hits, and nothing to show for it. That would be the Redbirds (sorry, Paper). Alex Gordon and Salvy Perez both homered in this Kansas City win. A cool thing did happen for St. Louis, though; Jose Martinez stole home!
Marlins 5, Mets 1 – Hey, remember yesterday when I said that the Mets were sniffing around Joey Bats’ door? Well, they signed him. They rushed him to New York to start last night. And he was a part of the only run generated by the Mets, which allowed Derek Dietrich to smash a tater against them. Please let that sink in, friends.
Fan Interference 
Juan Soto continues to have a massive impact on the Nats’ regular outfielders, as Harper has now homered twice in two games, Michael A. Taylor is showing signs of life, following up a two hit game with a walk-off double as well as an assist on an absolute laser of a throw from center last night, and Adam Eaton looking to be ahead of schedule already in his rehab from surgery, trying to make sure he’s not the one who gets Wally Pipped. I kid, of course, because Soto’s likely to be sent back down the minute the veterans are healthy again, but he’s sure looking like he wants to make that decision not easy.
One of the strengths we heard about Soto was that his plate discipline/knowledge of the strike zone/whatever you call that quality that some batters have that causes them to only swing at strikes was one usually only found in savvy veterans. He showed that off last night, taking a four pitch walk in three different plate appearances while singling in the other. I’m sure the Padres were testing him, trying to see if they could get the kid to chase, but it led to two different flavors of jokes – “They’re giving him the Barry Bonds treatment” and “There’s no way this kid’s only 19”, although I’m sure the latter one will be given a harder look at some point in the future because of how many times Latin American players in the past have been found to be older than they truly are.
Jeremy Hellickson started last night, and was again limited to just 5 1/3 innings, but this one was self-inflicted, as he left with a blister. It might not be a terrible thing, though, because the Nats have to call up someone to start today, and putting Hellickson on the DL to miss only one start would provide the team with some flexibility, rather than trying to figure out which of their B bullpen guys, who’ve all mostly looked good lately, to send down. See we shall before the 4:05PM ET first pitch.
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I had the gametrax up last night while we watched the Cards, so I jinxed both games!
We had a number of hits but couldn’t bring anyone home; still, we were hanging in there until the wheels loosened — and then Gardy just sent in Stumpf to get it over with. Those of you who thought we were sniffing .500…ha! It’s the hope that kills you.
Also, the Tigers aren’t officially bullpenning. It just looks that way because injuries — so, of course, Boyd came out hurt. All of our Toledo starters may make their MLB debuts this season. That’s gotta be a record.
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Historio, Game Killer! 😛
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I imagine that the decision to smite you instead of me was both a painful and joyful choice for the Gods.
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I played around with using Scooter for a couple of years in Fantasy Ball. He could spray the hits when he was hot but he just looked like a replacement-level player. Boy, has he found his stride!
On a somewhat related note, I see the Astros now have two of their almost-good-enough players up – Tony Kemp and J.D. Davis. And that’s before we get to Kyle Tucker. Don’t be surprised to see a vet or two move in a trade at the deadline; probably for a relief pitcher. Gonzalez and Gattis are too expensive to keep next year. And – sadly – I think Jake Marisnick is very much on the bubble.
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I loved Scooter from the word go. He was so genuine, so sweet, and worked so hard at being the best he could be. It gives me a great feeling that good guys can succeed in life, and Scoots is a good guy. I always felt he just wasn’t a good fit for Milwaukee, but he seems to have found his place with the Reds. So proud of him.
Jake from State Farm can’t go back to the farm, right? He’d have to be traded or DFA’d?
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Pretty sure. And that’s a problem, because he just got called up to cover Reddick on the DL. If he doesn’t hit now it may be DFA time.
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I think a bottom feeder team who desperately needs young controllable talent might take a flyer on him. Heck, the Mets just signed creaky old Bautista, I think Jake might be a notch better but not much…
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Feesh take 2 of 3 from listless Mutts, but from my funky old hotel (the Grant) in San Francisco, looking east, it’s too far orf to care very much. Will sleep orf the jet lag, digest two fabulous meals – one sushi, one hardcore French – and try to be functional tomorrow.
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Gator, what is your go-to for the sushi arts? I always, always, purchase an avocado roll, tako sashimi, and if I’m feeling adventurous I’ll try the Toro nigiri. Sometimes salmon, too.
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