Baseball News
Justin Wrobleski and the Dodgers face the Pirates before heading off to Chicago for a three-game set with the White Sox.
Riding the thrill of a walk-off victory, a series win, and a hot pitcher on the mound, the Colorado Rockies were primed to sweep the Chicago Cubs to close out the homestand. Unfortunately, the Cubs came out swinging to secure a 9-3 victory. Meanwhile, the Rockies’ offense was propelled by a pair of home runs from their left-handed backup catcher.
However, the Rockies have won three of their last four series, which is helping build momentum.
Much like Michael Lorenzen’s start on Wednesday, Ryan Feltner was excellent to start his day on the mound. Through the first three innings, Feltner returned nine straight batters aided by a pair of strikeouts. At that point, he had retired 22 consecutive batters, the most since Jorge De La Rosa retired 23 in a row back in 2009.
Unfortunately, things unraveled in the fourth inning.
Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the inning with a single and subsequently stole second base. Michael Busch then delivered a one-out single to put runners on the corners, and Ian Happ drew a walk to load the bases. As Feltner’s command began to diminish, he hung an elevated 1-0 slider to Seiya Suzuki, who promptly blasted the ball to left field for a grand slam to put the Cubs up 4-1 at the time.
After escaping the inning, Feltner didn’t last much longer in the fifth. Dansby Swanson led off with a walk and stole second base. After getting PCA to ground out to shortstop, Feltner issued a walk to Alex Bregman, which ended his day. Blas Castaño came in relief and ended up allowing both runs to score to give the Cubs a 6-2 victory after five innings.
Feltner’s final line was 4.1 innings, having allowed six runs on four hits with three strikeouts. The three walks ended up being his downfall as he seemed to struggle finding the zone. He threw 75 pitches with 40 going for strikes. The Cubs also swiped three bases against Feltner, which has been a common thread in his career handling the running game.
Facing Edward Cabrera, the Rockies kept up pressure but struggled to get much going against the right-hander. They managed to get two runners aboard in the bottom of the first with one out, but Cabrera got out of the inning unscathed.
Brett Sullivan kicked off the scoring to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when he sent an elevated fastball 434 feet into the second deck in right field for his second home run of the season. Sullivan collected another hit in the fifth inning but was stranded at first base
After falling behind in the fourth inning, the Rockies got one back on a solo shot for the rookie Cole Carrigg. Cabrera left a 3-2 slider of the heart of the plate that Carrigg sent high and deep into the Rockies bullpen to make it 4-2. After flirting with some deep balls in the series, Carrigg finally connected and sent it 418 feet with a 102.2 mph exit velocity and a steep 36-degree launch angle. The only downside to the home run was that Troy Johnston had been picked off right before it happened.
The sixth inning brought a little bit of drama for both teams. In the top half of the inning, with Castaño pitching and a runner on first, Moisés Ballesteros seemingly fouled a ball off his foot. However, the umpires made no signal, and so Castaño threw the ball out to second, which was then relayed to first for a 1-6-3 double play. Cubs manager Craig Counsell came out to ask the umpires to get together to discuss the play, but they stood by their call, leading Counsell to say some choice words and get tossed. Castaño then retired the next hitter to end the inning.
Cabrera’s day then ended in the sixth inning after allowing a lead-off walk to TJ Rumfield and getting Hunter Goodman to line out. He allowed two runs on five hits over 5.1 innings with five strikeouts and two walks on 83 pitches. With Johnston stepping up to the plate, the Cubs turned to Hoby Milner out of the play and he quickly surrendered a double to Johnston. With two in scoring position, Carrigg secured an infield hit to load the bases after it barely touched the chalk beyond third base, with Bregman’s only option of a play to attempt to tag Rumfield at third base.
Kyle Karros was then called upon to pinch-hit, but didn’t send a ball far enough to allow Rumfield to score on a sacrifice fly. After another pitching change, Ezequiel Tovar struck out on three straight pitches to end the inning without a run.
The ball continued to fly for the Cubs as they tacked on to their lead against the Rockies’ bullpen.
In the seventh inning, Bregman snapped a 0-for-27 streak with runners in scoring position by blasting a two-run home run to left field to make it an 8-2 Cubs lead. In the eighth inning, Carson Kelly hit a solo home run off Sammy Peralta to make it 9-2 Cubs.
In total, the Rockies gave up nine runs on 10 hits with eight strikeouts against three walks. The damage came on the three home runs as the Cubs went 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Much like Wednesday’s game, the Rockies were able to make a little bit of noise in the final innings. Johnston had a single in the eighth, but there was more excitement in the ninth. With one out, Sullivan launched his second home run of the game to make it 9-3.
Willi Castro then singled, followed by a Rumfield double to put two runners in scoring position for Goodman. Unfortunately, the magic would end there as he struck out on a slider to end the game.
The Rockies had 12 hits with Sullivan and Johnston both going 3-for-4, while Castro and Carrigg both had two hits. However, the team struck out 11 times, led by Tovar’s three, and drew just two walks. Colorado went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base.
The Rockies will head to Las Vegas, where the Athletics are currently playing in the stadium of their Triple-A affiliate. No starting pitcher has been announced for the Rockies. Meanwhile, rookie hurler Gage Jump (2-1, 2.45 ERA) will make the start for the A’s.
First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 pm MDT.
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Weather permitting, tonight’s game offers the Chicago White Sox a chance to complete a sweep of the mighty Atlanta Braves and further cement their place atop the AL Central. Typing or saying that won’t get old, not after the years of misery leading up to it.
But first, some news and notes. Everson Pereira has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list after his rehab assignment in Charlotte. Pereira suffered a right pectoral strain on April 28th. The big news, however, is that Derek Hill has been traded in a deal with the Phillies. The White Sox acquired minor-league outfielder Dylan Campbell and minor-league infielder José Colmenares in exchange for Hill and $250,000 in international bonus pool money.
Looking to bounce back after a rough time in Philly, Anthony Kay will be on the mound tonight. Colson Montgomery is back in the lineup after dealing with a sore back, so we will have Montgomery squared facing off against Atlanta. As mentioned above, Pereira is back with the Sox and will be playing center field tonight.
Our old friend Martín Pérez (4-3) will be on the mound. Not many changes in the lineup for Atlanta.
First pitch is currently scheduled for 6:40 p.m. CT. You can catch the game on CHSN or ESPN Chicago 1000.
Top Cincinnati Reds catching prospect Alfredo Duno is still just 20 years of age, but that’s not stopping him for a second from dominating High-A Midwest League pitching. To date, he’s hitting .266/.388/.526 (.914 OPS), and has chipped in with 11 doubles and 13 homers so far on the year.
Only three hitters in the league have hit more than his 13 dingers so far this year, and this is a catcher we’re talking about, to boot.
I’d wager that none of the three guys ahead of him on the homer list (or, frankly, any of the 95 or so guys behind him) has hit a homer as far as the one Duno launched yesterday, though. That one went as far as I’ve seen at this level, so far that the camera man had a hard time finding exactly how high up the scoreboard beyond the left field wall in Dayton it hit.
That homer came as part of an overall 4-hit night for the youngster, who’s making an incredibly good case that he deserves a shot at AA pitching before season’s end. And as we all know, once you’re at AA, you’re effectively on the cusp of a shot at the big leagues, something that Cincinnati’s catcher of the future certainly is about to become.
It wasn't his best outing, but Christian Scott ate some valuable innings for the Mets in Thursday's series finale against the Cardinals.
The young right-hander had allowed four runs on three home runs across the first two innings, and looked primed for a short outing, but Scott made some adjustments and pitched into the fifth inning without allowing another run. This allowed New York to salvage a game in the series by defeating St. Louis 5-4 on a late Juan Soto blast.
“It was weird, right? What we saw from that team this whole series, they don’t get cheated on fastballs," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. "These guys are going to put their best swings at all times and they were super aggressive and you got to give Scotty credit that he recognized that and made some adjustments. Continued to stay on the attack, settled in nicely, but they clipped him there a few times."
The Cardinals launched seven longballs in the three-game series. Against Scott, two came on fastballs up in the zone and the third on a sweeper up on a left-handed batter.
Not great from Scott, but the 26-year-old coming back from Tommy John, was generally happy with how he bounced back after the two homers. After that second longball, Scott allowed four baserunners (two walks, two hits) while picking up five of his six strikeouts.
"Obviously want some pitches back, and whatnot, but I feel like I’ve been doing a better job competing in the strikezone as the season has gone on," Scott said of his performance. "Just got to get my timing down and being able to throw these pitches a little more that are new to me. Being able to do that consistently at a high level. Just focus on doing that."
With the Mets bullpen struggling of late after subpar performances from Freddy Peralta and a bulk relief appearance from David Peterson, and relievers being called up and optioned daily, Mendoza appreciated Scott's outing despite its short nature.
"[Scott's outing was] important, especially with the way the first couple of innings unfolded," Mendoza said. "They were hitting him hard, there was a lot of hard contact there. Again, nice job settling in, get into the fifth inning and we pieced it together. You have to give him credit; he didn’t back down."
After scuffling a bit to start his season, Scott has turned in three pretty good starts. He struck out eight across five one-run innings against the Marlins at the end of May to earn his first career win. He followed that up with 5.2 scoreless innings against the Padres to earn his second career win.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith described the lead up to landing on the 10-day injured list Thursday as, “a long few days.”
He was diagnosed with an inflamed disk, he said, the root of the pain on the right side of his neck. But when Smith initially woke up with a stiff neck last week in Arizona, he expected it to resolve in a day or two.
He played through it for a couple games in Arizona and the first game against the Angels on Friday, before he was scratched from the lineup the next day.
“That third or fourth day, I felt it was just getting a lot worse,” Smith said.
Read more:Dodgers bullpen can't help out Shohei Ohtani in loss to Pirates
With rest, he has improved. But Smith still feels tightness through his right trapezius, when he turns his head. While in Pittsburgh this week, he’s gone through a slate of baseball activities — hitting, throwing, running.
“It’s pretty close,” Smith said. “So, hopefully, the day I’m able to come off, I can come back and play, that’s the plan for now.”
The Dodgers backdated the IL move to Monday, so Smith will be eligible to return June 19, when the Dodgers open a three-game home series against the Orioles. In a corresponding move, the team selected the contract of catcher Chuckie Robinson from triple-A Oklahoma City.
“It was just not wanting it to go in reverse,” manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s certainly probably playable if we needed [it]. But at what cost? Right now, I just don’t think it’s smart to run Will out there just because he’s Will Smith and he’ll do it. We’ve got to take care of his health for this year. So I don’t think it’s a serious thing, but I do think that us taking care of it right now on the front end will pay benefits.”
Roberts plans to start Robinson behind the plate Friday, catching right-hander Roki Sasaki and giving Dalton Rushing a break after serving as the backstop for five straight games. Rushing is scheduled to catch Saturday, Sunday and Monday, before Robinson chips in again Tuesday.
Robinson has some familiarity with the Dodgers’ pitching staff after spending much of last season in the organization, including one major-league appearance, and joining major-league camp this spring as a non-roster invitee.
“The only person I really feel convicted on is having Rushing with Shohei [Ohtani],” Roberts said. “Just because he’s been around Shohei more. Shohei’s pitching is kind of more nuanced. Everyone else, I feel pretty comfortable with Chuckie.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Pirates face off against the Dodgers in the series finale at PNC Park, which means it’s another tough matchup against the defending champs.
While it may not be Shohei Ohtani on the mound for the Dodgers, Justin Wrobleski is taking the bump in hopes of continuing his strong start to the season. The third-year pro out of Oklahoma State is making his 11th start of the season, hoping to pick up his eighth win. In Wrobleski’s last start, the left-hander threw six no-hit innings with four strikeouts. The Diamondbacks rallied late, scoring two in the eighth and one in the ninth, on a walk-off home run from Ketel Marte off Tanner Scott to pull off the victory on June 4.
Mitch Keller is on the mound for the Pirates, which has been a mixed bag for the team throughout the season. In 13 starts this year, Keller has a personal record of 5-3, while the Pirates overall are 7-6. The Bucks lost his last start, where he went 4.2 innings in a 6-3 loss against the Atlanta Braves. Keller was responsible for all six earned runs, and it boosted his ERA to a season-worst 4.81.
Perhaps Keller can rebound in this start, but the Dodgers will make him earn it.
Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet
Pitching Matchup: Justin Wrobleski (7-2, 2.62 ERA) vs. Mitch Keller (5-3, 4.81 ERA)
BD community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!
Chris Getz waited just two games to push the chips all in on Braden Montgomery. Unfortunately, Derek Hill, who picked the wrong poker table to plant himself at, was the casualty in an unusual barter between the White Sox and Phillies. In a wild and unpredictable world where the Sox find themselves having leverage, Chicago exchanged Hill and international bonus-pool money for Philadelphia’s No. 29 prospect outfielder Dylan Campbell and infield prospect Jose Colmenares.
Hill came to the South Side in late September last year from a waiver claim that seemed to be just another one of the Getz’s random pickups that wouldn’t mean much in a few months. And while Hill doesn’t jump off the page as an irreplaceable starter, he’s exceeded expectations. His .213/.284/.375 slash line with eight RBIs, seven walks, and four home runs is sufficient for a pinch hitter, and his versatility makes him a go-to bench guy. His timely hits have made him a valuable piece of the Sox bench, and his glove is serviceable. But the harsh fact of the matter is that there are a lot more Hills than Bradens. Just look at Chicago’s farm system.
This time, the Sox didn’t quite trade Hill for a couple of Vienna Sausages and a cake shake that gets tossed in the trash halfway through, but their return is nothing to boast about. Twenty-three-year-old Campbell was drafted by the Dodgers in the fourth round in 2023 because of his ability to use the entire field, along with a plus arm and glove. With the Fightin Phils, he’s hitting .216/.281/.412 with 31 RBIs and a few too many strikeouts for a guy who is known for making good swing decisions.
The South Siders added another middle infielder to their prospect squad in Colmenares, 24, although it’s hard to see a clear path for him to the majors. He’s been bouncing around the minors since 2018, when the Yankees signed him as an international free agent. His .278/.403/.413 slash line paired with 25 walks is refreshing to see after years of stagnation, but his development trajectory won’t do much to ease the sting for Hill supporters.
Hill was a great stopgap for Montgomery, but Getz knows it’s time to stop stalling and start fully believing in these young guys. This trade is the first sign that Getz is done clinging to Quad-A depth pieces and ready to fully commit to the youth movement. If the Sox remain in contention, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take Jerry’s credit card for a spin and make a real run for October.
The Red Sox have one more thing to apologize for in the midst of their rough season.
Team CEO Sam Kennedy went on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Thursday to offer up a mea culpa after he’d refuted the host’s report that star outfielder Roman Anthony had a tear in his ring finger, with Kennedy claiming it was a sprain.
Anthony himself confirmed it was a tear.
Anthony, sidelined since May 4, has no clear timetable to return to Boston’s lineup.
“Well, listen, I need to own up to my mistake,” Kennedy said. “I mean, I was unequivocal in my response to you regarding Roman and his situation. Apparently, I missed that day at Harvard Medical School. I shouldn’t be sitting here talking about a sprain. A sprain is a tear. I was reading off of a report that identified the sprain…So, I apologize for my mistake there. I’ve communicated with Roman about that. That’s all good. Most important is he’s doing the work to getting back.”
It’s just one of several notable injuries and issues that have seen the Red Sox fall deep into the AL East basement — at 27-39, they’re 3.5 games back of fourth-place Baltimore and 13.5 behind the division-leading Rays.
A hallmark of what’s quickly becoming a lost season is the lack of clarity around the team’s injuries.
Ace pitcher Garrett Crochet, on the injured list since Apr. 29, was said to be “making good progress on the lat strain,” on Thursday, according to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
Crochet, however, went on to tell the Boston Globe that the injury is “a lot worse than what we thought.”
If the Red Sox do nothing else this season, they should at least work on getting their stories straight.
PITTSBURGH — After missing four straight games with a neck issue, catcher Will Smith was finally placed on the 10-day injured list by the Dodgers on Thursday but is hopeful of returning when he is eligible next weekend.
Smith said he was diagnosed with an inflamed disk in his neck but is planning to continue hitting and throwing.
He will be able to be activated as soon as June 19 (his IL stint was backdated to Monday), when the Dodgers open a series against the Orioles.
“It’s been a long few days,” said Smith, who woke up with neck pain one day during the team’s road trip in Arizona last week. “Played on it a couple days, played on it at home, and then just that third or fourth day, I kind of felt it was just getting a lot worse. Couldn’t play that day. It’s one of the things we thought was going to get a little better in a couple days [but is] just taking a little bit longer.”
Smith said he is feeling better now but is still not 100%. The pain is on the right side of his neck and impacts most when he hits.
“With a tight neck, it’s harder to see the pitches and stuff,” he said. “The first day I felt I hit a double, so like, it’s part of it. But yeah, just kind of got to a place where I couldn’t go out there and help the team win.”
Smith had not been playing to his standards as a three-time All-Star even before the injury this year, batting just .249 with six home runs, 23 RBIs and a .720 OPS.
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Manager Dave Roberts said Smith’s injury was still “playable” now, but the team didn’t want his injury getting worse.
“I just don’t think it’s smart to run Will out there just because he’s Will Smith and he’ll do it,” Roberts said. “We gotta take care of his health for this year. So I don’t think it’s a serious thing, but I do think that us taking care of it right now on the front end will pay benefits.”
In the meantime, the Dodgers will use Dalton Rushing as their starting catcher and called up Chuckie Robinson from Triple-A Oklahoma City to serve as the backup.
The Detroit Tigers made a little move after Thursday’s series win over the Minnesota Twins. They transferred Javier Báez to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot. That spot went to outfielder James Outman, who they claimed off of waivers from those very same Twins.
Báez suffered a high ankle sprain sliding into first base in a game back on April 28. His initial rehab work didn’t progress as the team had hoped, and he was shut down again for a little rest and a round of second opinions at the beginning of June. With the move, Báez won’t be eligible to return until the end of June, but he wasn’t going to beat that timeline anyway.
As for the 29-year-old Outman, he’s a bit of an odd choice for a claim. One has to assume that the Tigers arelooking for a Jahmai Jones replacement, but Outman hits left-handed. You may remember him from a breakout 2023 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he mashed 23 home runs in a part-time role.
Since that point, Outman’s extremely high strikeout rates have kept him bouncing up and down between the major leagues and the Triple-A level. The Twins deal reliever Brock Stewart to the Dodgers for Outman back at last summer’s trade deadline. They DFA’d him back on June 6 to open a spot for Royce Lewis to be recalled to the Twins.
Outman is dangerous against hangers, but has really struggled to drive fastballs the past few years. He swings and misses a ton, and his strikeout rates have been over 40 percent the past two seasons. It’s hard to buy that the Tigers are going to unlock something that the Dodgers and Twins could not, but Outman is a solid corner outfielder who can play a solid center field, so presumably he takes over in center, letting Pérez and Vierling ride the bench until there’s a left-hander to hit against.
Outman is out of options, so he has to be added to the Tigers’ roster. The only sensible corresponding move is a DFA of Jahmai Jones, as they’re not going to run with six outfielders and cut Zack Short. Of course, to DFA Jones would’ve opened up a 40-man spot anyway, so all around this is a bit of a strange one. Outman can’t really hit major league pitching, so it’s hard to say what they’re doing with this claim.
We’ll just have to wait and see what corresponding move is to come.
It seems the Seattle Mariners may have finally found their footing. After a difficult start to the season plagued by injury and inconsistency, the Mariners have taken the lead in the AL West and seem poised to hold on for the remainder of the year. It still feels wild to have the Mariners among the best teams in the AL. I never even imagined this was possible. I thought the Mariners had not done enough this offseason and were going to fall back to being a fringe Wild Card team, but I’m glad to be proven wrong so far.
Part of their inconsistency was the absence of Bryce Miller from the rotation and the… let’s say less-than-ideal performances from Luis Castillo. With Miller returning to the rotation and the breakout season being experienced by Hancock, the question became: should the Mariners run a six-man rotation for the remainder of the season? The answer here was a resounding yes.
Personally, this was not the result I expected. I guess there really is a silent majority that backs Castillo, at least for the first four innings of a game or so; that third time through the lineup hits different. Still, despite the inconsistencies to start the season, the Mariners’ experimentation with the rotation has seemingly worked out. Moving from a six-man rotation to piggyback starts with Miller and Castillo back to a six-man rotation, and somehow, out of all of it, they actually got several quality starts out of both Castillo and Miller. Both Castillo and Miller have another start coming up on the Mariners’ current road swing, so I guess we will see if this six-man rotation can work out like we all hope it will.
Now, for a moment, it did seem like Castillo was “cooked,” as the kids say, and the Mariners would have to move back to a traditional five-man rotation eventually. The question then was, who’s the odd man out if they do so, and you all were not shy about your choice at all.
So I guess it’s good news for Castillo that he seems to have mostly gotten back on track over the past couple of weeks. While the piggybacking was rough, it seems to be just what he and Miller needed to get back into the swing of things. It looks like the Mariners will be sticking with the six-man rotation, at least through the duration of this road trip. After that, who knows!
Cal Raleigh also struggled immensely here at the start of the season, which culminated in an IL stint and a rehab assignment in Triple-A. His injury raised an interesting opportunity for young Jhonny Pereda. Pereda has emerged as a bright spot for the Mariners as a backstop in the absence of Raleigh and amid the continued struggles of Mitch Garver; one has to wonder what the roster will look like when Raleigh is back in action. Pereda has slashed an impressive .288/.351/.404 over 52 at-bats so far this season, admittedly a small sample size, but far better than Garver’s measly .193/.323/.325, and multiple years of poor play behind that. Personally, while Garver has had his moments, I see no reason to stick with him over Pereda should it come to that decision, but let us know what you think in the survey below: has Jhonny Pereda earned a spot on the Mariners roster for the rest of the year?
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The Mets and Cardinals had a wild, dinger-heavy finale to their three-game set at Citi Field, with the Mets out-slugging the Red Birds 5-4.
The two teams combined for five home runs in the first two innings: Alec Brunson had a solo home run in the first off of Christian Scott, which was quickly answered by a two-run homer by Bo Bichette and a solo shot by Jared Young in the bottom of the inning. In the second, Lars Nootbaar hit a homer with no one on to bring the Cardinals within one, and Jimmy Crooks then hit a two-run shot to put St. Louis up by one. 4-3.
That would be the end of the offense for the Cardinals, and Scott settled in nicely. While he didn’t complete five innings, aside from the three home runs, Scott’s day was effective, if not efficient. Across four and two-thirds innings, Scott allowed seven hits, four earned runs, one walk, and six strikeouts on the day. This was the sepmd career start by Scott where he gave up four earned runs; he’s still not given up five in a major league start.
Scott’s Cardinals counterpart Hunter Dobbins went four and a third, striking out five without allowing a walk. Both starters recovered nicely from the early home runs.
The Mets came back from the early deficit in the fifth when Young singled to score Juan Soto off of Justin Bruihl. Two frames later, and Soto would add a solo home run of his own to the tally against JoJo Romero, and that was all the Mets would need.
The Mets’ bullpen was fantastic throughout, allowing no hits and just one walk over four and a third innings. The relief pitching wasn’t dominant, striking out just three over those innings, but they kept the Cardinals off-balance and off the base paths. A.J. Minter (one and a third), Brooks Raley (one), Luke Weaver (one), and Devin Williams (one) pitched to just one above the minimum. Weaver is now in a 17 consecutive scoreless innings streak, despite being seen mumbling to himself when he gave up a couple of deep fly ball outs.
The Mets likely used more relievers than they would’ve liked to today, but the team needed the win.
The Mets are now 8-8 in their last 16 games, but at various points in that span, they’ve looked totally lost or like they’re snapping out of this slump. With Francisco Alvarez back and Francisco Lindor on the way back, the Mets are being given their best chance to try to salvage their season.
Nolan McLean starts tomorrow when the Mets face the Braves for the first time this season. Atlanta has not announced a starter yet.
Big Mets winner: Juan Soto +26% WPA
Big Mets loser: -23% WPA
Mets pitchers: +24% WPA
Mets hitters: +26% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Juan Soto’s go-ahead home run, +24.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jimmy Crooks’s home run, -15.3% WPA.
The start of Thursday afternoon’s game between the Royals and Rangers was delayed for over two hours while the skies remained sunny in most of the Kansas City area.
Kansas City was under a severe thunderstorm watch this afternoon, and some parts of the metro saw brief showers, although it doesn’t appear the stadium was affected.
So why was there a delay?
The Royals may have had another reason to be cautious – a heavily taxed bullpen. Stephen Kolek departed after five innings on Tuesday, forcing the Royals to cover four innings with relievers. On Wednesday, Seth Lugo exited early after being struck in the head by a line drive, and an extra-inning game required the Royals to use seven relievers.
The Royals wanted to avoid a situation where the game starts and is then delayed after a few innings. That could cause starting pitcher Michael Wacha to stiffen up and exit the game, requiring the Royals to go to their bullpen early again.
On game day, if weather becomes an issue before first pitch, the home club is usually the primary decision-maker on whether to delay the start, move up the start, or postpone the game. Teams consult with the league with input from the visiting team, but usually the home team gets final call. MLB rules state:
The home team shall be the sole judge as to whether a game shall not be started because of unsuitable weather conditions or the unfit condition of the playing field, except for the second game of a conventional or split doubleheader.
Once the game starts, the decision is made by the umpiring crew. A Royals rain delay with no rain previously happened in April of 2025, for a game with the Rockies.
Teams have become more aggressive about moving around game times to avoid inclement weather. But this may have been a case of excessive caution. It’s difficult to imagine the Rangers were thrilled about a two-hour delay before a flight to Boston for a series that begins tomorrow night.
The Royals began the game at 3:30, two hours after the original 1:10 start time. Baseball teams spend a lot of time trying to outsmart the weather. On Thursday, the Royals avoided the risk of a mid-game rain delay. They also left plenty of people wondering whether there was ever enough weather to justify delaying the game in the first place.
The Dodgers continue their road trip against recently terrible teams who are above .500 this season, heading to Chicago to face the first-place White Sox beginning Friday night at Rate Field. It used to be called Guaranteed Rate Field, but there are no assurances in life.
Roki Sasaki makes the start, looking to continue his era of good feelings with five runs (four earned) allowed over his last four starts and 24 1/3 innings, with 29 strikeouts and five walks.
Right-hander Sean Burke starts for Chicago.