Category: Baseball

Hurston Waldrep was pulled out of Nashville on Thursday afternoon and put on a flight to San Francisco. He had worked himself up to 4 2/3 innings five days before this appearance. He is 16 weeks removed from his surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow, and admitted that this is his Spring Training. So what can we make of Hurston Waldrep at this point?

The slider looked good. (All the videos here are from last year because last night’s video is not available at time of writing.) The spin rate was about on par with last year. He was able to get a strikeout with it, which is actually one more than he had with it last year. This generated two whiffs last night. The splitter was working as well. Hurston felt that he had a good feel of it. The spin rate didn’t match last year. But otherwise, it was effective and he felt in was “in his back pocket”.

The bad part is that he has not found the sinker. The walk rate in his rehab appearances and last night bear that out. He didn’t really get hit at all. One of the two hits was a 57 MPH swinging bunt that likely glanced off the plate and meandered about 40 feet. But he was all over the place, which is not what you want to see in a bulk role.

So, what are we doing here? He’s pitched every fifth day like clockwork in his rehab. Does this mean we will see him again in a permanent role on Wednesday at home versus the Cardinals? Does he return to Gwinnett and recover his sinker? The Braves have already ripped the seal on his last option year. So if they want to return him for a single inning reliever they can do it. It was so good to see him and his breaking pitches last night. But he’s likely undercooked for now and probably needs another week or two to continue rehab.

Meet the Mets

The Mets kicked off the Andy Green era with a 2-1 loss to the Phillies on Pride Night at Citi Field. Zach Thornton had a really impressive second major leagues start, pitching six innings of one-run ball, but the offense couldn’t do much against old friend Zack Wheeler. New York has now lost seven in a row and dropped to 34-48 on the year.

Choose Your Recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Daily News, NY Post, ESPN

The day began with that the news that the Mets were firing Carlos Mendoza.

The Mets revealed that Andy Green would serve as interim manager for the duration of the season.

Mendoza shared a statement following his dismissal.

Steve Cohen shared his own statement on Mendoza following his firing and says the fans deserve better than what the team is giving them.

David Stearns and Andy Green addressed the media before the game.

Green referred to the move as his ‘responsibility’ but will return to the front office following the 2026 campaign.

Bridget Reilly offered an introduction to Green, for those Mets fans who may not be familiar.

Green already had a positive review before his first game at the helm.

Greg Prince wrote about how Mendoza’s menschiness did not save him in the end.

With Mendoza gone, David Stearns is on deck for accountability, explains Laura Albanese.

While Mendoza took the fall for the team’s play, the real indictment is on Stearns, argued Ken Rosenthal.

David Lennon wrote that firing Mendoza won’t fix Stearns’ mess.

Joel Sherman, in a similar vein, said that, with Mendoza gone, there is no one left to shield Stearns from this disaster.

Stearns talked a lot about accountability, but now it’s time to back it up, writes Abbey Mastracco.

Spender Brod stated that the team currently has a $25 million Stearns dilemma.

Francisco Lindor called Mendoza a great man and said he feels like he failed him.

Lindor and Bo Bichette expressed regret and took responsibility for Mendoza getting let go given their recent play.

Ultimately, the players feel like they failed Mendoza.

Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal looked at some of the early candidates for the Mets’ managerial opening.

Laura Albanese also listed seven possible replacements for Mendoza next season.

Albert Pujols made it known that he’s interested in the Mets’ managerial opening.

Mark Feinsand isn’t convinced that the team firing Mendoza means they’re ready to become sellers.

Mike Francesa had some choice words for the Mets’ owner.

A segment of Mr. Met dancing behind Steve Gelbs while he talked about Mendoza’s firing during yesterday’s pregame show has gone viral for its awkwardness. And honestly, it was pretty funny to watch in real time.

Prior to the game, the team activated Tyrone Taylor and Zach Thornton and optioned Daniel Duarte and MJ Melendez to Triple-A.

In happier Mets news, the team has revealed their new service dog in training, Howie, and people are obsessed.

Infielder Nicky Lucky got a call from his Indy Ball manager alerting him that the Mets were signing him to join their Double-A affiliate.

Around the National League East

Derek Hill made a jaw-dropping catch to rob Soto of a homer, and he stunned his teammates in the process.

The Braves have placed reliever Robert Suarez on the IL with right forearm tightness.

The Marlins will be giving Jonah the dog his dream day at loanDepot park on July 12.

The Nationals fell 3-1 to the Orioles for their fourth straight defeat.

The Braves won their game against the Giants 3-1.

The Marlins blanked the Cardinals 4-0.

Around Major League Baseball

Thomas Harrigan explored whether some big names will end up on the trade block this year.

The Angels dismissed GM Perry Minasian and announced that John Mozeliak has been brought in as a consultant.

The Tigers blanked the Astros 8-0.

The Reds picked up two runs in the eighth to skate past the Pirates 6-4. In the loss, Konor Griffin hit a 435 foot, 108.9 mph home run in his first at-bat off the IL.

The Rays topped the Diamondbacks 6-1. In the win, Junior Caminero strengthened his All-Star case with his 20th home run of the season, and his fourth in two games.

Benches cleared in last night’s Red Sox vs. Yankees game after Will Warren buzzed Willson Contreras, and warnings were issued following the scuffle. The Red Sox got the last laugh, topping the long-time rival Yankees 6-1.

The Mariners clipped the Guardians 3-1.

The Rangers outlasted the Blue Jays 5-4.

The White Sox put up 10 in the third inning and roasted the Royals 22-1.

The Brewers beat the Cubs 6-2. In the game, Jacob Misiorowski fired a pitch to Pete Crow-Armstrong that registered at 105.5 mph.

The Twins walked off the Rockies 9-8.

The Athletics defeated the Angels 9-3.

The Padres beat up the Dodgers 7-1. Walker Buehler, who tormented San Diego for years as a member of the Dodgers, enjoyed the chance to return the favor to his old club.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

I introduced you to Andy Green, the team’s interim manager.

I previewed the team’s series against the Phillies.

On the latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series, Chris McShane and Brian Salvatore discussed the team moving on from David Peterson and other things going on around the team.

Joe Sokolowski brought us the latest edition of This Week in Mets Quotes.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets signed a 17-year-old Ed Kranepool on this date in 1962.

Given the disaster the Red Sox have gotten themselves into this season, let’s take a look back on how the ballclub could have been in a better position to compete, both in 2026 and other recent seasons with just two playoff appearances in the 2020s.

Boston currently ranks last in baseball with just 67 home runs as a team. Guess which player leads the sport in long balls? 

That would be Kyle Schwarber, the three-month power boost the Sox acquired at the 2021 trade deadline in a swap with the Washington Nationals that’s among the larger wins of Chaim Bloom’s complicated tenure as chief baseball officer.

The 2016 World Series champion didn’t immediately hit the field after the trade as he worked back from injury. Once he did take the field, he elevated an already talented lineup. Schwarber hit .291 with seven homers in a .957 OPS in 41 regular-season games for Boston. Finding a brand new role at first base, he also elevated the inconsistent Bobby Dalbec to the best two-month stretch of his life with 15 homers in 49 games in the last two months of the year. 

Schwarber also popped three dingers in the postseason, with memorable moments from his solo shot off Gerritt Cole in the American League Wild Card Series to blowing open a raucous Game 3 of the ALCS off Jose Urquidy. 

That was really the end of the fun on an unexpected run. Boston’s bats fell quiet from there on out and eventually fell to the Astros in six games that series. Schwarber headed to free agency and Boston chose not to bring him back given that designated hitter J.D. Martinez was still there for another season, Dalbec was available to play first, and the eventual arrival of touted power prospect Triston Casas.

The Red Sox never should have let him walk out the door. Keeping him paired with Martinez (at least for part of 2022), Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers would’ve made for a lethal lineup with a cemented core, even after the Mookie Betts trade in 2020.

Boston had options to make that work. The front office could’ve traded Martinez to clear the way for Schwarber on a longer deal. They could’ve let him ride out first base until Casas or Dalbec truly forced the issue, at least defensively to an extent. But that never happened.

Instead, Schwarber walked to the Philadelphia Phillies on a four-year, $79 million deal. That’s a pretty good bargain for someone who led the league in home runs twice during that contract. And the Red Sox should’ve matched it. 

After four playoff appearances and a trip to the World Series with the Phillies, Schwarber hit the market again this past winter. The Red Sox had an open chance to right their wrongs and add real power to a lineup that truly needed it in its modern construction. 

The Red Sox never made him an offer. Once again, he signed on with Philadelphia, this time for five years and $150 million. Don’t like that number for a 33-year-old? Too bad, he continues to back it up.

There’s obviously several “what if” personnel decisions to look back on over the last half-decade in Boston. For the Red Sox, Schwarber continues to play to a level worthy of topping that list. 

Rangers 5, Blue Jays 4

• Its a two game winning streak, y’all.
• And a win that is thanks in large part to our man Nathan Eovaldi.
• In the first game against Toronto, MacKenzie Gore allowed four hits and a walk in seven innings, but clustered most of them together in one inning, resulting in three runs scoring.
• Nathan Eovaldi was similar to Gore in terms of allowing baserunners — five hits and a walk — but wily veteran that he is, he made sure they were more scattered.
• Through five innings Eovaldi had allowed just a walk and a single. He allowed a pair of hits in the six and two more in the seventh, but left them all stranded, ultimately leaving the game with no Blue Jays runs on the board.
• The Jays did their damage off the pen in the eighth, with Robby Ahlstrom and Jakob Junis each getting dinged with two runs apiece in the inning before Junis finally struck out pinch hitter Alejandro Kirk with the tying run on first.
• And Jacob Latz decided to walk the leadoff hitter in the ninth just to alarm us a little before retiring the next three batters on foul pop outs.
• Eovaldi’s most effective pitch for once wasn’t his splitter. Instead it was the curveball that was keeping the Jays off-balance, generating 8 of the 14 swings and misses he got on the day.
• Eovaldi threw his cutter and curveball a combined 49 times and didn’t allow either a hit or a hard hit ball off of either of them. Eovaldi only allowed three hard hit balls all game, per Statcast, with two coming off of his fastball and one on his sinker.
• That’s pretty good, I think.
• Eovaldi logged nine strikeouts against the Jays, which moved him past Kerry Wood, Yovani Gallardo, Woodie Fryman and Todd Stottlemyre for 204th on the all time strikeout list, with 1588. If he can strike out seven his next time out he’ll move into the top 200.
• Looking at the guys ahead of him on the all time list, guys he could pass this year if he stays healthy and effective, you see an odd combination of names. The next three are Ron Darling, he of the awful Lee Mazzili trade, Steve Trachsel, and Hall of Famer Rube Marquard. Guys Eovaldi could be passing later in the year include Hall of Famer Vic Willis, who is sandwiched between J.A> Happ and Rick Wise. Freddy Garcia, Jack Powell, Steve Rogers and Jered Weaver are all tied at #186, with 1621 Ks.
• Much like the series opener, the Rangers jumped on top early, then rode that out despite having to sweat a little late.
• The Rangers jumped on Patrick Corbin for three runs in the first inning, then two more in the third.
• I’m like, oh, yeah, Patrick Corbin was in the Rangers’ rotation most of last year. It feels kind of embarrassing.
• Justin Foscue, looking to securely lock down his role as short-side platoon DH, went 2 for 4, driving in a run in the first with an RBI single, and then both the third inning runs with a two run homer.
• Foscue is currently slashing .382/.462/.735 in 39 plate appearances against lefties, and I think that will play.
• For the season he’s slashing .268/.330/.500 in 91 plate appearances. I’m not going to provide his splits against righties because I don’t want to harsh my mellow.
• Wyatt Langford went 3 for 5 with a double, continuing to silence the critics. He also stole a base, though he was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double as well.
• Langford is slashing .278/.324/.500 on the season. His 1.7 bWAR is the second-highest on the team, despite playing in just 40 games so far this year, and he has a 138 OPS+. He has a 1.5 fWAR and 128 wRC+, if you prefer Fangraphs to B-R.
• Coming into this game, the Rangers were in a four-way tie for WC3 with the Astros, A’s and Jays. The Jays lost to the Rangers, of course, and the Astros lost, but the A’s won, so the Rangers are now in a tie for WC3 with the A’s, one game up on the Astros and Jays, a game and a half up on the Twins and the Orioles, a game and a half back of Seattle in the A.L. West, and two games back of Cleveland for WC2.
• Nathan Eovaldi reached 96.3 mph on his fastball, averaging 95.6 mph. Robby Ahlstrom topped out at 96.4 mph with his fastball. Jakob Junis’s sinker reached 94.6 mph. Jacob Latz touched 95.9 mph with his fastball.
• Alejandro Osuna had a 105.6 mph groundout. Justin Foscue had a 104.8 mph homer and a 101.6 mph groundout. Wyatt Langford had a 104.2 mph double and a 103.0 mph single. Nicky Lopez had a 103.3 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 101.2 mph groundout.
• Five down, five to go.

The Yankees were asleep at the wheel last night, getting retired in order through five innings before finally getting a hit in the sixth, and losing a 6-1 dud in Boston. I will be upfront in that I had other plans and was spared from watching it, but from what I’ve gathered and reviewed, I sure as hell didn’t miss much. Anyway, read Peter’s recap if you’re daring and interested in more.

Here’s some of what else was going on around the Junior Circuit on Friday night.

Tampa Bay Rays (46-33) 6, Arizona Diamondbacks (41-40) 1

The Yankees haven’t won since Wednesday and the Rays haven’t lost since then either. That includes a Yankees offday on Thursday, but it still means that Tampa Bay has made up ground in a hurry. The 3.5-game lead from Wednesday night is down to one after the Rays welcomed the D-backs to the Trop with a pretty comfortable win.

The Rays prolonged Zac Gallen’s nightmare return to Arizona following an unsuccessful free agency. On the one hand, he only gave up four hits and got into the seventh, but Tampa Bay made the knocks (and two walks) hurt. Geraldo Perdomo had led off the game with a solo shot before Gallen toed the rubber. He walked Yandy Díaz, plunked Jonathan Aranda, and then got smoked for a three-run homer by Junior Caminero that sailed 437 feet.

Gallen actually retired the next 15 batters in a row, but the damage was costly. And when he ran out of steam in the seventh, he allowed a homer to Cedric Mullins before departing in wake of a two-out double from Hunter Feduccia. Díaz singled him in to close out Gallen’s line, and Aranda hung a run on reliever Juan Burgos with a two-bagger to plate Yandy. That was enough to back Nick Martinez (unscored upon for 5 2/3 after the Perdomo dinger) and the Tampa Bay bullpen.

Hope you didn’t use any mental energy on this game either! It was a dud for anyone who doesn’t happen to also be a St. Pete partisan.

Other Games

Cleveland Guardians (42-40) 1, Seattle Mariners (42-41) 3: The Cantillo/Castillo Bowl ended in a 1-1 stalemate after six with both Joey and Luis gone from the ballgame after six, though the former looked sharper with nine K’s and two hits allowed. One of those knocks was a homer by rookie Colt Emerson, and Seattle actually ended up giving Castillo the win by scoring right after he departed. Cal Raleigh and Dominic Canzone drew back-to-back walks to begin the seventh, and once Raleigh went to third on a double-play ball by Josh Naylor, he scored when J.P. Crawford beat out an infield hit on a ball that Travis Bazzana couldn’t handle. Julio Rodríguez added insurance in the eighth on an RBI single of his own; the José A. Ferrer/Gabe Speier/Andrés Muñoz trio spun three innings of perfect relief to nail it down.

The M’s are a game and a half up on the Rangers in a crowded AL West that also has the A’s two back and the Astros 2.5 games behind. The ever-hapless Angels fired their GM and are back to square one with former Cardinals head honcho John Mozeliak suddenly popping up to be their interim leader. What an org. Meanwhile, Cleveland fell one behind Chicago, who, uh, quite frankly annihilated the Royals:

Toronto Blue Jays (39-43) 4, Texas Rangers (40-42) 5: With all due respect to our late pal John Sterling, sometimes you can predict baseball — at least when the starting pitching matchup is Nathan Eovaldi vs. Patrick Corbin. Brandon Nimmo’s RBI double kicked off a three-run first for Texas against Corbin and Justin Foscue belted a two-run homer to make it 5-0 by the third. Eovaldi fired seven scoreless, and though his bullpen nearly gave it all back in an awful eighth that featured a clout by Kazuma Okamoto, Jakob Junis struck out Alejandro Kirk with one man on to finish the inning. Jacob Latz worked around a leadoff walk to retire the next three Jays in order, closing it out despite Toronto having three cracks at walking it off.

Two massive earthquakes rocked Venezuela on Wednesday. Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas and reliever Edgardo Henriquez both have family in the country who are safe, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, who caught up with both players. From Rojas:

“They’re in a place where they have power, they have connection, they have everything we need to stay in contact and we talk every day. But I still really feel that I’m so far from them right now,” he said.

“Literally two blocks away from where my family was two buildings collapsed, the whole building. And the building where my family was was shaking really bad and they had to go away from that place to stay someplace else that night. They were lucky to get away before everything else happened and the building stayed in some kind of good shape to go down the stairs and get out of there. I’m lucky to be honest with you guys. I’m really lucky to have my family still alive and with me. I’m not taking this for granted.”

Dodgers and Padres players are wearing  the letters VZ on the sides of their caps this weekend, per Maddie Lee at the Los Angeles Times:

Links

Class-A Ontario manager John Shoemaker is such a staple in Dodgers history that it’s been over a decade since he was named the organization’s captain of player development, and why his uniform is adorned with a capital C. This is Shoemaker’s 50th season with the Dodgers, the first four as a player, and last 46 as a coach and manager.

Benjamin Hill at MLB.com profiled Shoemaker about his storied career:

“Coming to the park every day and knowing there’s going to be 25 or 30 guys that walk into that clubhouse that I feel responsible for. I’m at the age now where I could be their grandfather, some of them, and I feel like I’ve got a job to do to treat them like I was treated as a kid. … That they were taught how to become a professional, how to work hard and what it meant to be a Dodger.”

Lorenzo Bundy managed six seasons in the Dodgers minor leagues between 2007-13 and was also on the major league staff as third base coach and outfield coach in 2014-15. Part of his time with the Dodgers included managing the Albuquerque Isotopes from 2011-13, and he’s being honored this weekend with induction into the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame. Geoff Grammer at the Albuquerque Journal has more.

Good morning, baseball fans!

We have reached the point of this San Francisco Giants season where it’s not really worth finding the silver linings. Everything about this season is crap in a crap sandwich that someone left outside in the heat.

So instead of highlights of the week, this week I thought we’d all pick our favorite lowlights. Because there have been plenty, both on the field and off.

But the one that has made the franchise the laughingstock of the rest of the sports world would have to be the press conference that Buster Posey called early in the week, in which he promptly refused to answer any questions or give any actual information, all while looking defeated and extremely out of his depth.

“Baseball questions only” has become a meme among the sports fans of social media. And rightly so. It was a pathetic display from a pathetic organization and they should be mocked for it. Both MLB and the Giants seem hell-bent on moving on. And that’s great for them, but I’m not interested.

So if you haven’t read Brady’s post from earlier this week, I highly recommend it. I haven’t weighed in on the topic this week because I have been ill, but Brady really hit the nail on the head. So instead of highlighting anything else that might have happened this week, I want us to revisit that excellent post and keep talking about this issue. Because they clearly don’t want us to.

What was your favorite lowlight of the week?

What time do the Giants play this weekend?

The Giants continue this weekend series against the Atlanta Braves, with Saturday’s game starting at 6:05 p.m. PT and Sunday’s game starting at 1:05 p.m. PT.

It was a cool morning in Jupiter, Florida, this past February, and as was his custom, Brant Brown had arrived at the Cardinals training facility early enough to get in a workout before the chaos of spring training ensued. As Brown was about to enter the team’s redesigned weight room, he heard a faint thud in the distance. He stopped to listen and there it was again… An uneasy feeling washed over Brown as he set down his gym bag and cautiously made his way toward the mysterious sound. It seemed to be coming from the batting cages. As he got closer, the sound got louder and more distinct. Wishhhhhh, thud…. Then about 8 seconds of silence and another wishhhhh, thud. 

As Brown turned the corner, he was relieved to see the familiar face of Ivan Herrera standing in the batting cages facing the pitching machine. Before Brown could alert Herrera to his presence, another pitch was whistling toward Ivan. To Brown’s shock and dismay, the ball, traveling at over 90 MPH, slammed into his star pupil’s shoulder, producing that thud sound that had been echoing through the abandoned training facility. 

“Ivan!” Brown shouted. “Are you ok, man?” 

Herrera, obviously thinking he was alone, startled at the sight of the still sleepy bald man rushing toward him. “Oh, hey, coach,” he said, once he recognized it was Brown who was the cause of the interruption. “I didn’t hear you coming. Just trying to get some work in before the boys get here.” 

Brown, relieved that Herrera was ok, said, “My bad, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. You aren’t cleared for BP yet. If Oli and the training staff find you in here, you are gonna be in big trouble!” It was then that Brown had a chilling realization… Herrera wasn’t even holding a bat and did not seem to have even brought one with him to the cages. Brown felt a cold shiver run up his spine and instinctually took a step backward, wanting to put a little distance between himself and the now slightly menacing-looking slugger. 

“Are you in here practicing letting pitches hit you?” Brown asked, incredulous. 

Herrera stood silently for a moment like he was trying to think of a way out of this conversation. The seconds ticked by and finally, Herrera spoke. “Not practicing exactly… I…. I enjoy getting hit by pitches.” Seeing the look of confusion and concern on his coach’s face, Herrera continued. “When I was a kid, all my friends wanted to be major league baseball players. Some dreamed of hitting a walk-off home run in the World Series. Some dreamed of throwing no-hitters. All of them wanted to be stars in the big leagues. I never cared about any of that. I loved, and I mean, LOVED, getting hit by pitches. It didn’t matter if it was a fastball, slider, curveball, whatever. The feeling of getting a free base and knowing that my wRC+ was going up was all I thought about. The only reason I even wanted to keep playing baseball was the thought that one day I could get hit by the fastest fastballs and the wickedest breaking balls in the world…”

Herrera’s voice trailed off and Brown noticed that tears had started to form in his eyes… Tears of joy. Herrera had a far-off look in his eyes as he quietly wept, thinking about all the baseballs that would hit him in the upcoming season.

Brown was so shaken by the conversation that he could not formulate a response. He slowly turned and started walking back to the gym. As he left, he heard that sound again. Wishhhh, THUD. 

Ok, now that I have that out of my system, let’s get to the nonfiction portion of today’s program. 

Ivan Herrera is getting hit by pitches at an absurd rate. His 22 HBPs is six more than the next highest player in baseball. He is currently on pace for 45 HBPs, which would place him fifth all-time and second since 1900. The Cardinals’ record is 31 (as a reminder it is still June). Herrera’s mark is already the tenth most in a single season for any Cardinals player. 

The major league record for hit-by-pitches in a season is 51, set in 1886 by Hughie Jennings, and the post-1900 record is 50 by Ron Hunt of the Montreal Expos in 1971. While these lofty totals may be out of reach, Herrera is getting hit A LOT. 

What is the impact of Ivan’s hit-by-pitches on his production? Currently, his xwOBA of .371 ranks 24th in baseball. If you were to normalize his HBP rate to the league average, it would drop to .356, which would rank 44th in MLB. 

Setting aside Herrera’s other wonderful qualities as a ballplayer and a human being, his willingness to endure this battering makes him one of my favorite players. As a fan, it is enraging to watch a batter dance out of the way of a pitch with the game on the line and the team badly needing a baserunner. Now, this isn’t a moral judgment against players who make more of an effort to avoid projectiles hurled at their bodies. Obviously, beyond the pain, getting hit introduces the risk of injury, so it is not a free lunch. I am not saying that my fondness for players who are willing to “wear it” is totally rational, but it is what it is. 

Appreciating the fact that Ivan gets hit so often is not sufficient. I want to know if there is an obvious reason as to why he is drawing so many HBPs. Perhaps he crowds the plate more than normal? Are pitchers throwing him an inordinate amount of pitches inside? Or maybe something with his exaggerated stance and stride toward the pitcher makes it harder for him to get out of the way? 

Baseball Savant has some very granular data on batters’ positions in the box that you can play with here. Looking at this data, there are a few things to note. Herrera starts with the third most open stance of any right-handed batter in baseball at 48 degrees. As he loads, his front foot goes from the back chalk of the batter’s box to hovering over the front chalk closest to the plate and then he strides forward opening back up to become almost perfectly square to the pitcher. He is essentially diving toward the plate as the ball approaches. The combination of a high leg kick and momentum coming toward the plate could make it harder for him to back away from pitches running inside. 

Baseball Savant also tracks batters’ distance from the plate defined by where each player’s center of gravity is while in their stance. On average, right-handed hitters stand 27.8 inches from the plate. Herrera is a little closer at 26.7. This is the 111th closest (out of 354 batters) among righties, so he crowds the plate a little but not in some outlier fashion. All things considered, Herrera’s setup and approach might have a little something to do with his HBP total, but it definitely isn’t the whole story. 

What about how pitchers are attacking him? Is he simply being pitched inside at a ridiculous clip? Fortunately for us, there is a wealth of data available at Baseball Savant that breaks down the exact location of each pitch. 

Location Matrix

This location matrix is from the catcher’s perspective so the left side is inside to a right-handed hitter. The Heart zone (1-9), as you would expect, are pitches in the middle of the plate. The Shadow zone (11-19) includes pitches just on or just off the plate. Chase and Waste are self-explanatory. 

I pulled all pitches thrown to right-handed batters that were inside in the Shadow, Chase, and Waste zones. Ivan Herrera has seen the fourth most pitches of any right-handed batter in these zones so far this year. Here is how the top five rank with HBPs added for context. 

20.5% of the pitches Herrera has seen this season have been in the inside zones compared to the leaguewide average of 16.2% (again, righties only). While Herrera has gotten more than his fair share of inside pitches, comparing his HBP totals to the other top-five players shows the stark contrast. Junior Caminero somehow avoiding a single HBP is truly impressive. He stands about 2.5 inches farther off the plate than Herrera, but his dodging ability is still truly remarkable. 

All right, let’s go a level deeper and see which specific zones are hotspots for HBPs and if Herrera is just being pitched in those zones more aggressively. To do this, I looked at all 33,821 pitches that have been thrown in the inside zones to righties this year and calculated the percentage of pitches that resulted in the 576 HBPs that they absorbed. Here is what the breakdown looks like: 

Percentage of pitches that hit batter

There are virtually no HBPs in the Shadow zone, although shoutout to Mike Trout who accounts for the .01% in the middle Shadow zone by virtue of being hit by a pitch that was actually a strike. In total, 14 HBPs have occurred in the Shadow zone. The Chase zone accounts for 135 HBPs with the majority coming on pitches up and in. As you would expect, the majority of hit batsmen are on pitches in the Waste zone where 427 have occurred. 

Here is how Herrera stacks up.

Percentage of pitches that hit Ivan Herrera

I have included Ivan’s total HBPs by zone in parentheses. Like the rest of the league, he is racking up most of his HBPs on pitches up and in. He has not done anything heroic like leaning into the Shadow zone, but on wasted pitches inside, he is getting hit two to six times more frequently than the league average. Just to be sure, I checked the types of pitches he is being attacked with, and the mix is essentially in line with the rest of the league. 

I will leave you with one statistic that quantifies just how much Ivan likes a free base. If you apply the league average HBP rate by zone to the number of pitches Ivan has seen in each zone, you get an expected HBP total of… 6.7. There you have it. Ivan Herrera is a certified lunatic.

Jimmy Herget’s season looks ordinary until you start pulling it apart.

The ERA says middle relief. The whiffs, strike-throwing, pitch shapes, and post-IL work suggest something more useful. That does not make Herget a hidden star. It makes him a strange, practical bullpen arm with enough deception and control to make the Rockies’ deadline question more complicated than it might look.

Herget does not overwhelm hitters with velocity. He creates discomfort by making different pitches come out of the same unusual window and then move into different lanes.

The pitch-tracking data helps explain how it works. From a flat 5-degree arm angle, Herget’s 85.9 mph slider stays tight, with just 1.6 inches of lateral break. His 77.9 mph sweeper comes from the same look but moves much farther across the plate, with 15.6 inches of horizontal break. Against left-handed hitters, the changeup gives him a third direction, fading 9.6 inches to the arm side at 85.3 mph. He has thrown the changeup 17% of the time against lefties and just 1% of the time against righties.

That is the glitch.

Right-handed hitters mostly have to separate the tight slider, bigger sweeper, and sinker from the same low-slot look. Left-handed hitters also have to account for the changeup fading the other way. The result is not overpowering, but it is uncomfortable: the ball starts from a similar visual place and then refuses to behave the same way twice.

That still has value, even if the results have backed up from last year.

Herget is still useful for the Rockies

Herget’s 2025 season was one of the few clean bullpen wins for the Rockies. He appeared in 59 games, threw 83.1 innings, struck out 81 batters, and finished with a 2.48 ERA.

His 2026 season has been harder to read, but it is also more encouraging than the surface line suggests.

The full line is mixed, but hardly broken: 19.1 innings, a 4.19 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP, 23 strikeouts, and three walks. His whiff rate is up from 26.9% to 31.2%, his strikeout rate has climbed from 23.3% to 28.0%, and his walk rate has dropped from 7.5% to 6.1%.

For context, MLB pitchers this season have a 22.1% strikeout rate and a 9.1% walk rate.

Usually, that is the kind of underlying improvement that points toward a cleaner season. But Herget’s 4.19 ERA is nearly identical to the league average of 4.18, and his 1.40 WHIP sits above the league average of 1.31.

Herget has not gotten the cleaner season suggested by the whiffs and command because the contact has gotten louder. His hard-hit rate has jumped from 39.1% to 45.3%, and his barrel rate has climbed from 7.3% to 11.3%. In other words, he is missing more bats and walking fewer hitters, but the mistakes have carried more damage.

The run prevention is ordinary. The baserunner prevention is a little messier. The strikeout-to-walk shape is still strong.

Herget’s season looks better under the hood 

Three outings are doing almost all of the earned-run damage. On April 29 against the Reds, May 3 against Atlanta, and May 8 against Philadelphia, Herget combined to allow nine hits, seven earned runs, one walk, five strikeouts, and two home runs over three innings.

Those three appearances account for seven of his nine earned runs and both home runs he has allowed this season.

That is not an argument to erase the bad outings. They happened, and relievers are often judged by the innings they cannot contain.

But this has not been a slow leak. It has been a mostly functional season interrupted by one loud stretch.

Across those three rough outings, Herget still had five strikeouts against one walk, including three strikeouts and nine whiffs on 16 swings on April 29 against Cincinnati.

The problem was contact quality and timing. Will Benson’shomer on April 29 left the bat at 103.1 mph. Eli White singled at 101.7 mph on May 3. Bryson Stott hit a 106.3 mph two-run double on May 8. Justin Crawford tied that same game with his first career homer.

The mix was still creating empty swings. The walk rate was still under control. But when the mistakes got hit, they did not stay harmless. For a reliever, three loud innings can reshape an entire season line.

There is also a transaction-log layer to all of this, and it should be handled carefully.

Herget was activated from a paternity/restricted-list stretch on April 27. His three loudest outings came on April 29, May 3, and May 8. He went on the bereavement list May 9, returned May 12, and then landed on the injured list May 14 with a right shoulder impingement.

That does not explain everything. It should not be treated like a decoder ring. We do not know the private details behind every absence, nor should we need to. A paternity-list stint, a bereavement-list stint, and a shoulder issue are not things to flatten into a baseball excuse.

But they are context.

The baseball line says Herget hit a rough stretch. The transaction log suggests life was happening in full around it.

Still glitching along 

In his first three appearances after returning from the injured list on June 17, Herget looked much more like himself. He threw 3.1 scoreless innings, allowed two hits, walked one, struck out six, and picked up a save.

This has not looked like a reinvention. It has looked like Herget with the damage turned back down.

On June 17 against the Cubs, he allowed two hits, but none of the three balls in play were hit harder than 83 mph. On June 20 against Pittsburgh, he mixed six sweepers, six sliders, and six sinkers over 1.1 scoreless innings. On June 24 against Boston, he tightened the mix even more, leaned on the slider, and struck out two in an 11-pitch save.

Friday night’s loss in Minnesota technically ended the scoreless post-IL run, but it did not change the read much. In his fourth appearance back, Herget entered the bottom of the 10th with the automatic runner already on second and issued an intentional walk. After Royce Lewis fouled off a sinker, Herget yanked a sweeper for a wild pitch, moving the winning run to third and forcing the infield in. On the next pitch, Lewis reached out and rolled a slider off the plate through the drawn-in infield. The contact was not especially hard — 89.3 mph off the bat with a -12 degree launch angle — but it was enough to end the game. Herget was charged with an unearned run and the loss, but it does not tell us nearly as much as the larger post-IL trend.

The Rockies have a real question 

That is what makes Herget a real deadline question.

He is striking out more hitters, walking fewer, and still getting whiffs. His rough stretch was loud, but also short and concentrated. Since coming back from the injured list, he has been sharp.

On the Rockies, that creates a real roster question: is Herget more valuable to Colorado on the team, or traded off of it?

He is not a pure rental. Herget is making $1.55 million this season, avoided arbitration for 2026, and can be retained through arbitration again in 2027 before reaching free agency. That gives the Rockies some control and some flexibility.

That is why this is not a “trade him just to trade him” situation. The Rockies still need bullpen innings, and they will need functional relief arms again next year. Herget is affordable, flexible, and experienced.

There are reasons to listen, too. Antonio Senzatela is the more obvious bullpen trade piece, and Brennan Bernardino has left-handed supply-and-demand appeal. But Herget may be one of Colorado’s better practical relief pieces beyond that group: a weird right-hander with strikes, whiffs, role flexibility, and another year of arbitration control.

If the market sees a 4.19 ERA and a useful middle-relief depth arm, the Rockies may be better off keeping him. If another team sees the 31.2% whiff rate, 28.0% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate, concentrated three-outing damage, sharper post-IL return, and extra year of control, the conversation gets more interesting.

Herget is useful enough to trade, but also useful enough not to give away.

For now, the better read is simpler. Jimmy Herget had a loud, messy stretch in the middle of an interrupted season. Outside of that stretch, he has looked much closer to the pitcher who gave the Rockies real value a year ago.

Do not adjust your screens.

The Human Glitch is still working.

On the Farm

Triple-A: Salt Lake Bees 6, Albuquerque Isotopes 0

The Salt Lake Bees improved to 41-37, while the Albuquerque Isotopes dropped to 41-38 after being shut out 6-0 at Isotopes Park.

Ryan Miller opened with 2.0 scoreless innings before exiting, and Eiberson Castellano kept Albuquerque in it for a while before the game got away from him. Salt Lake broke through for five runs in the seventh, helped by a throwing error from Richie Martin Jr., and Castellano finished with 5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K in the loss.

The Isotopes managed just three hits, went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position, and left six on base. Conner Capel had two hits, Adael Amador added a single, Jordan Beck went 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, and Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Albuquerque turned three double plays, but the offense never found a way back into the game.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 4, Portland Sea Dogs 3

The Hartford Yard Goats improved to 41-31 with a late 4-3 comeback win over the Portland Sea Dogs, who fell to 37-35.

Hartford trailed 3-1 after Portland built its offense around a pair of solo homers, but the Yard Goats answered with two runs in the seventh and the go-ahead run in the eighth. Zach Kokoska delivered the key hit, a two-run single in the seventh to tie the game. Kokoska finished 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and 2 RBI, pushing his season line to .290 with a .932 OPS and 30 RBI.

Dyan Jorge helped set up the winner in the eighth, singling, moving to second on an error, advancing to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on an Andy Perez sacrifice fly. Jorge went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Perez added his 28th RBI of the season.

Connor Staine gave Hartford length, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits over 7.0 innings with 4 strikeouts, bringing his ERA to 4.06. Fidel Ulloa was sharp behind him, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts to earn the win and lower his ERA to 2.63.

High-A: Spokane Indians 3, Tri-City Dust Devils 2

The Spokane Indians improved to 32-41 with a 3-2 win over the Tri-City Dust Devils, who fell to 39-34.

Tri-City jumped ahead in the first on a two-run homer from Adrian Placencia, his third of the season, but Spokane chipped away from there. Jacob Hinderleider tripled in the third and later scored, Jacob Humphrey tied the game with his ninth double of the season in the fourth, and Ethan Hedges (No. 29 PuRP) supplied the difference with a solo homer in the sixth, his eighth of the year. Hedges finished 2-for-4 with the homer, while Jack O’Dowd went 2-for-4 and is now hitting .364 with a 1.129 OPS.

Everett Catlett settled in after the early damage, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits over 7.0 innings with 6 strikeouts, improving to 5-4 with a 4.63 ERA. Hunter Mann handled the final two innings, allowing just one hit with 2 strikeouts to earn his third save and bring his ERA to 4.99. Spokane went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, but the pitching staff held Tri-City scoreless after the first inning.

Single-A: Fresno Grizzlies 10, Lake Elsinore Storm 4

The Fresno Grizzlies improved to 40-33 with a 10-4 win over the Lake Elsinore Storm, who fell to 40-33.

Fresno built an early lead and kept adding on, scoring twice in the second, twice in the fourth, twice in the sixth, three times in the seventh and once more in the ninth. Kyle Fossum led the way, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, 2 RBI and a hit-by-pitch, raising his season line to .285 with an .868 OPS. Wilder Dalis (No. 24 PuRP) also had a big night, finishing 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored, while Jesus Freitez went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Tanner Thach opened the scoring with his 22nd double of the season and finished 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored, pushing his OPS to .959. Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) added his seventh triple of the year, and Carlos Renzullo drove in a run while adding his sixth stolen base.

Ethan Cole gave Fresno a strong start, allowing just 1 unearned run on 2 hits over 6.0 innings with 4 strikeouts, improving to 4-5 with a 5.45 ERA. Manuel Olivares allowed three runs over the final three innings but still earned his third save. Fresno finished with 13 hits and went 5-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

Weekly Pebble Report: Ethan Hedges got the hard part out of the way | purplerow.com

In this week’s Weekly Pebble Report, Eli Whitney checks in on Ethan Hedges (No. 29 PuRP), Colorado’s 2025 third-round pick who has turned last year’s rough Spokane introduction into something useful. Hedges is still settling into his first full pro season, but the early lesson is encouraging: he already met the slump, learned from it, and looks more like the polished USC bat the Rockies drafted. The report also runs through a busy week across the system, including big performances from Nic Kent, Conner Capel, Jack O’Dowd, Tanner Thach, and more.

Colorado’s Fireballing Phenom Will be Regular in Rockies Rotation Soon | SI.com

Ryan Boman at Sports Illustrated looks at Brody Brecht’s (No. 3 PuRP) path toward becoming a real part of the Rockies’ rotation picture. Brecht is still more upside than finished product, but the early shape is easy to see: premium velocity, big strikeout totals, and enough starter intrigue to make his command the developmental question that matters most. If the control keeps moving forward, could Colorado have one of its more fascinating young arms pushing toward Denver in 2027?

Our experts tag-team the latest mock draft from the Combine | MLB.com

MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis, and Brendan Samson take their latest run through the 2026 mock draft, and the Rockies land on a familiar draft lane at No. 10: a college outfielder. This time it is LSU’s Derek Curiel, with Callis noting that Colorado appears to be looking strongly at college hitters.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks! 

Today’s Reflections

After Dansby Swanson’s four RBI in Wednesday nightcap of the double-header with the Mets, PCA’s RBI double in the 10th inning gave the Cubs a 4-3 win and a four-game sweep of the Mets. Yes, it was the Mets. But this was much needed momentum going into the Brewers’ series.

A lot writers have been writing about Swanson’s historic double-header and the week he’s had. This speaks for itself:

Keep it up, Dansby.

There have been several articles written on BCB by our writers, so, along with the articles below, there’s not much for me to add. Good move with a potential innings eater in front the Cubs’ defense.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

Stories from Thursday’s game:

• Bill Ladson (MLB.com): PCA’s late heroics cap Cubs’ 4-game sweep. “Pete Crow-Armstrong haunted the Mets once again.”

• Jerry Beach (Chicago Tribune {$}): Pete Crow-Armstrong’s RBI double in 10th gives Chicago Cubs a 4-game sweep of New York Mets with 4-3 win. “The Cubs, who have won six of seven, went 7-0 against the Mets this season, outscoring them 51-24.”
• Anthony Kerr (Da Windy City): Matthew Boyd looks sharp in his return as Cubs complete season sweep of the Mets. “After several IL stints, the best version of Matthew Boyd may finally be alive at the perfect time for Chicago.

Second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader:

• Jerry Beach (Daily Herald): Dansby Swanson caps monster doubleheader as Cubs sweep Mets. “Dansby Swanson had a go-ahead RBI triple and four RBI to cap a monster doubleheader performance and help the Chicago Cubs sweep the reeling New York Mets with a 10-5 victory Wednesday night.”
• Field Level Media (Deadspin): Dansby Swanson comes up big again as Cubs sweep Mets in doubleheader. “Dansby Swanson had the go-ahead RBI for the second time in a matter of hours Wednesday night.”
• Lou Landers (The Big Lead): Cubs’ Dansby Swanson has insane 48 hours at the plate. “Dansby Swanson put together one of the most productive offensive days you’ll ever see in MLB.”

Trade talk (with a trade):

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Chicago Cubs trade for David Peterson, banking on the lefty’s upside to boost a rotation decimated by injuries. “Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had spent the last six weeks in discussions with the New York Mets about left-hander David Peterson.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Adding David Peterson is first step as Jed Hoyer tries to solve Cubs’ pitching woes. “The Cubs brought in Peterson on Thursday to help their ailing rotation and believe he could succeed with their defense behind him. But it’s just the start of the front office’s attempt to deal with a torrent of pitching injuries.”

• Anthony Kerr (Da Windy City): Chicago Cubs may have found the perfect fit in David Peterson. “The left-hander’s ground-ball profile could become even more valuable behind Chicago’s dramatically improved infield defense.”
• Max Ralph (MLB.com): Cubs bring back veteran lefty Pomeranz on Minor League deal. “This is the second straight year the Cubs have acquired Pomeranz in an under-the-radar move.”
• Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs best trade target might be $56M Marlins righty, not Tarik Skubal. “This team needs another starter this summer by the August 3 trade deadline.”
• Sean Sears (Chicago Cubs On SI): 3 More Bounce-Back Trade Targets for the Cubs After the David Peterson Trade. “The Cubs may need to look at reclamation projects to solve their pitching needs.”

Assorted stories:

• Steve Adams (MLBTradeRumors.com): Ben Brown Diagnosed With Stress Reaction In Neck; Cubs Continuing To Seek Rotation Help. “When the Cubs placed righty Ben Brown on the 15-day injured list earlier this week, the injury was initially announced as a “neck strain.”
• Phil Maton’s also on the IL (Bluesky link):

• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports.com): Dansby Swansons June Hot Streak Could Turn His 2026 Season Around. “Dansby Swanson had been dealing with a rough start to the season, and many fans had become frustrated with him. However, recently, he has caught fire and has looked like the best version of himself.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Pete Crow-Armstrong Plays Hero Once Again, Even as the All-Star Voting Snubs Him. “PCA is a star. A total star. A complete star. But not an All-Star.”
• Michael Canter (Cubs Insider): The Rundown: Streaky Cubs Running Into Milwaukee Gauntlet, Hoyer Searching High & Low for Pitching. “Did Joe Maddon have anything about living nine lives in his book of idioms? “Never let the pressure exceed the pleasure” is probably pretty close. “You have to have a little crazy to be successful” also works.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs’ Pedro Ramirez plays through sadness, worry as countrymen deal with aftermath of Venezuela earthquakes. “The 22-year-old infielder played the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader after learning of devastating earthquakes in his home country and communicating with his family to see if they were OK.”
• Cory Sparks (North Side Baseball): Josiah Hartshorn Could Be the Best Prospect in the Chicago Cubs Pipeline. “You’re supposed to struggle when you play at a higher level than is typical for your age. You’re supposed to have a harder time when you move up to a new, harder level. Don’t tell Josiah Hartshorn any of that.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs find emergency rotation help from former Phillies gamble. “They had to do something.”
• Randy Holt (North Side Baseball): Hoby Milner, Provider Extraordinaire of Volume and Stability for Cubs Bullpen. “Hoby Milner had a strong start to the year but some concerning underlying trends. Now clear of the chaos, he’s settled right back into the pitcher the Cubs hoped he’d be.”

Food For Thought:

Slow Blow Fuse is a Dutch contemporary and rock-influenced “power-blues” band formed in 1999. Known for a hypnotic, groove-driven style, their music blends traditional blues with rock and soul, drawing inspiration from artists like Muddy Waters and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The band is best known for their raw, high-energy live shows. Their influences include legendary figures like Muddy Waters and Albert Collins, as well as modern acts such as The Fabulous Thunderbirds and The Hoax.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

It’s nice to be back home, isn’t it? The Orioles returned from their nine-game trek to the West Coast — their longest road trip in two years — with a solid victory against the Nationals on Pride Night to begin a six-game homestand. While one win over a reeling Nats team doesn’t erase the ugly way that the Birds’ road trip ended, it’s something the Orioles desperately needed. Check out Andrea SK’s recap of the Orioles’ 3-1 win.

That’s not to say the Birds played a mistake-free game. They simply don’t do that. The loss featured yet another baserunning blunder, with Blaze Alexander inexplicably getting thrown out at third base for the final out of the fourth inning just before Jackson Holliday crossed the plate, denying the O’s a run. It’s the second time this month that Alexander has made that exact baserunning mistake to wipe a run off the board, which suggests that the Orioles didn’t properly address the issue the first time. It’s this kind of constant foolishness, even in an O’s victory, that makes fans skeptical that the Orioles can go on any kind of an extended hot streak.

But there was plenty to like about last night, too. Firstly, there aren’t any Orioles players who got themselves into hot water on Pride Night like some Giants pitchers did recently, so that’s a plus. And as for on-field performance, Trevor Rogers delivered one of his most dominant outings of the year, notching a season-high eight strikeouts. If Rogers is back to being a capable pitcher, we’re almost at the point where O’s fans can feel reasonably confident in four of the club’s five starters, and a rehabbing Dean Kremer is on the horizon to fill that fifth spot soon. It was also nice to see the Orioles’ bullpen rebound from their ugly road trip by tossing 2.2 perfect innings last night.

The Orioles are still just 1.5 games out of the final wild card slot, and there are the pieces on this roster for a potential contending team. I’m going to need to see a lot more than this before I believe they’ve got any real shot at October baseball, but a homestand-opening win is a nice start.

Links

Rogers holds down Nationals and bullpen finishes 3-1 win (updated) – School of Roch

Besides Rogers, one of last night’s stars was Coby Mayo, who had his first career two-double game. Coby really needs to decide whether he’s a good player or a lousy one, because his constant back-and-forth is confusing me.

Orioles should not trade Adley Rutschman | MAILBAG – Rich Dubroff

I probably wouldn’t consider trading Adley during the season. But this offseason, all bets are off.

Kremer, Povich make 2nd rehab starts as O’s rotation reinforcements near return – MLB.com

Swapping in Kremer for Trey Gibson will be a nice upgrade for the Orioles’ starting staff. But I don’t really see any rotation spot available for Povich, at least until the next inevitable O’s injury.

Samuel Basallo is showing ‘daily growth,’ and the Orioles will benefit from it – BaltimoreBaseball.com

Basallo is already the Orioles’ most impressive hitter, and you’re telling me he’s only going to get better? Maybe the O’s can have nice things after all.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Six former Orioles were born on June 27, including righty Jim Johnson (43), infielders Óscar Salazar (48) and Jackie Gutiérrez (66), outfielders Jeff Conine (60) and Nelson Simmons (63), and the late right-hander Lou Kretlow (b. 1921, d. 2007), a member of the inaugural 1954 Orioles.

On this date in 1964, the Orioles’ Boog Powell single-handedly defeated the Washington Senators, blasting three solo home runs to provide all the O’s offense in a 3-1 win. Boog went deep off Senators starter Jim Hannan in both the first and fourth innings, then added an insurance run in the ninth with a blast against reliever Ron Kline.

In 1967, the Birds’ Frank Robinson was injured in a second-base collision with Al Weis of the White Sox, causing him to miss 28 games with double vision. The injury perhaps cost Robinson a chance at a second straight Triple Crown season, as he was hitting .337 with 21 homers and 59 RBIs before the injury but batted .282 with nine dingers and 35 RBIs afterward.

And in 2022, the Orioles hit back-to-back homers in back-to-back innings for the first time in their history, all against rookie Mariners starter George Kirby. Fellow rookie Adley Rutschman went back-to-back with Ryan Mountcastle in the top of the third, and Anthony Santander and Austin Hays followed suit in the fourth. The home run barrage powered the O’s to a 9-2 win.

Aaron Boone didn’t have the same outburst as Willson Contreras, but he didn’t shy away from calling out the Red Sox first baseman for his reaction to an inside pitch that led to the benches clearing Friday night.

“I think that’s what he does a lot,’’ Boone said of Contreras’ reaction after the 6-1 Yankees’ loss, their second straight to begin this four-game set at Fenway Park. “His arms hang over the plate, so I don’t know where we’re supposed to go. I think there’s probably a method to what he’s doing, probably wants that. Obviously, nothing’s going on. We probably needed to do a better job of getting the ball in on him tonight and didn’t. The warnings and the barking seemed kind of ridiculous.” 

The throwback moment to the heated days of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry happened in the top of the fifth inning with the Red Sox leading, 4-0.

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Contreras had already tagged Warren for an RBI single and a solo homer when Warren fired a 1-0 pitch high and inside, before a 3-2 pitch again came close to Contreras.

The Red Sox first baseman flipped his bat and then began jawing at Warren, who said he responded, and the benches eventually cleared.

No punches were thrown nor were any players ejected.

Contreras downplayed the event, saying it’s “part of the game,” but the Yankees’ starting pitcher indicated some frustration, saying “no comment” when asked if he was surprised to hear remarks from Contreras.

“I’m making a pitch, being competitive,’’ Warren said. “He said something, so I said something back. I’m just trying to make a pitch.”

He added: “I’m trying to get in the zone, he’s playing games in the box.”

Both teams received a warning from home plate umpire Tyler Jones, with Boone unsure if the benches meant that a warning had to be issued.

Either way, he indicated he clearly disagreed with the ruling.

“I don’t know if it’s automatic, I kind of understand. I don’t know, 2026,” Boone said with a laugh. “I mean, honestly. Geez.”

Boone eventually shut down the line of questioning about Contreras when asked for a third time.

“I think we all see how ridiculous it was,” a then-testy Boone said, “let’s just leave it alone. Seriously.”

The Yankees have not played well to start this four-game set in Boston, losing the first two games against southpaws before facing a third straight Red Sox lefty Saturday afternoon in Jake Bennett.

Gerrit Cole looks to rebound after a bad start last time out against Detroit.

When it comes to stolen bases, José Caballero ranks among the best in the business. In each of the past two seasons, the speedy shortstop/utilityman led the American League in steals, with 44 with Tampa Bay in 2024 and 49 between the Rays and Yankees last season. He accomplished this feat despite playing in only 265 games across the two seasons (roughly 80 percent of the available games).

To start this season, Caballero played the role of “elite basestealer” perfectly, successfully advancing on his first ten stolen base attempts to start the season. In the third inning on April 24th, however, Cabby was thrown out trying to steal third after successfully stealing second; since that play, he’s been downright bad, having been thrown out eight times in his last 15 attempts.

Now, the fact that Caballero is getting thrown out isn’t all that unusual. While he is fast, he lacks the overwhelming speed of players like Bobby Witt Jr. and Jorge Matteo, as his 28.3 ft/sec sprint speed ranks 105th in the league (the 76th percentile). Between that and his aggressiveness on the basepaths, he typically finds himself near the top of the caught stealing leaderboards. His 16 failed attempts in 2024 topped baseball (tied with Elly De La Cruz, who led baseball with 67 stolen bases), and his 11 failed attempts last year trailed only Tampa Bay’s Chandler Simpson.

What is strange this time around, though, is how streaky Cabby has been. After his first 10 successful attempts, he was nabbed in four of his next five attempts. Since then, he’s pretty much gone one-for-one, never going more than two successes or two failures in a row. For someone whose career stolen base percentage heading into the season was almost 80 percent, this seemed a little unusual, so I dove into the MLB Film Room to look at each of Caballero’s recent stolen base attempts. From this, I was able to categorize Caballero’s failed stolen base attempts.

Twice this season, Cabby successfully beat the throw, only to overslide the bag and get tagged out after he came off.

Caballero tends to slide to the center field side of the second base bag, as it increases the distance the ball needs to travel by a foot or two, and thus makes it more difficult for him to be thrown out. The flip side of this, though, is that only friction from the ground is slowing him down; if he starts his slide too late, or the dirt is particularly slick, his momentum will carry him past the bag, because let’s be honest, one hand covered in an oven mitt will not be able to latch onto a flat slab all that easily.

Unfortunately, this is going to happen. Elite base stealers do this to varying degrees. See, for example, this stolen base by Jazz Chisholm Jr. from back in April:

Even though Chisholm goes more directly at the bag than Caballero does – perhaps the result of his slightly faster sprint speed (28.5 ft/sec) – he still leans to the center field side of second base. Maybe Cabby could find a little bit more success if he does this more often, but at this point, if that extra few feet on the throw makes up for a handful of overslid bags during the season, you’ll take it.

Four attempts, meanwhile, required perfect throws from the catcher, and in three of them, for the play to be challenged by the defense. Two of them, furthermore, were in the same game, on April 25th against the Astros.

About these four, there’s not much that I can say with the footage we have. Maybe he got a bad jump? At this point, I wouldn’t know. All I can say is, sometimes, the defense makes a great play, and you tip your cap to them.

There is, in truth, only one play here that I am overly concerned about, and it’s this one:

The MLB Film Room labels it “Nick Martinez Pitchout to Ryan McMahon.” It’s not a traditional pitchout, which typically sees the ball thrown in the opposing batter’s box and the catcher jumping out to get clear of potential obstruction from the batter. But it is clear that the Rays knew Caballero was going to be running on the play. The catcher starts in a position to pop up and is moving well before the ball reaches home plate. Now the Yankees did acquire Caballero from the Rays, so they’re certainly familiar with his thinking, but honestly, I find Cabby predictable at times – and if I can find him predictable, I’m sure other teams can, too. This is, of course, anecdotal evidence, and I don’t like to make conclusions off anecdotal evidence, but in the absence of an easy way to reliably look at teams’ scouting reports, there’s not much else to do.

But is Caballero’s possible predictability a reason for concern? Honestly, not really. Of these seven times he was caught stealing, he was successful but fell off the bag twice, and was close enough three other times that, had the other team been out of challenges, he would have notched a stolen base. Based on what we can tell from our living rooms, it seems to me that Cabby is primarily a victim of sequencing: had all seven of his failed attempts been scattered among all 18 of his successful attempts, rather than bunched up within the last eight, then this wouldn’t be a story.

Yesterday was quite the bust day, wasn’t it? Lots of news, lots of great baseball being played. It was a great day for baseball. Right?

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Sam Fuld is going to be at the forefront of the Phillies in some capacity or another. The TV deal is likely his biggest piece of business ($).
• You won’t believe one of the names Jon Heyman mentions in this piece as a possible trade target for the Phillies.

MLB news:

• The biggest news of the day is the Mets doing away with Carlos Mendoza as their manager, hiring Andy Green on an interim basis.
• The Angels tried to one up them by firing their general manager and hiring an old one from the Cardinals on a consulting basis.
• The Player’s Association offered up a proposal to ban player prop bets to help with threats against the players.

The Detroit Tigers evened up their four-game home series with the Houston Astros on Friday night with an 8-0 blowout victory over the visitors. Keider Montero tossed seven innings of shutout ball and the offense rallied behind home runs by Kerry Carpenter and Colt Keith.

Climbing the mound for the Motor City Kitties on Saturday afternoon looking to take the series lead is left-hander Framber Valdez, who has had a strong June after a rough May. The 32-year-old has allowed just one run in three of his four starts this month and posted a 2.45 ERA and a 4.01 FIP over that stretch with two wins and a loss to show for.

One of those gems he threw came against the Astros the last time he saw them, surrendering an unearned run on six hits and three walks while striking out six in a no-decision at Daikin Park that Detroit ultimately lost, 4-2.

For Houston, right-hander Kai-Wei Teng will make his 10th start of the season as he comes off his second-best outing so far. The 27-year-old held the Cleveland Guardians to just one run over six innings of work on four hits and a walk while striking out four to earn his fourth win in a 4-2 final at home.

However, his prior start against the Tigers was not a pretty one. The native of Taiwan coughed up five runs on six hits (three home runs) and three walks while striking out a whopping nine — and hitting a pair of batters — to earn his sixth loss in a 9-3 final in Houston.

Here is a look at how the two match up on Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Detroit Tigers (35-47) vs. Houston Astros (40-44)

Time (ET): 1:10 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:The Crawfish Boxes
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 83: LHP Framber Valdez (4-5, 3.91 ERA) vs. RHP Kai-Wei Teng (4-6, 4.03 ERA)

VALDEZ

TENG