A look at what’s happening around the majors today:
PACKING A PUNCH
Odubel Herrera tries to homer in his fifth straight game when the Phillies begin a three-game series at Washington. ”What he’s doing is special
Authentic Dalton Schultz Jersey ,” Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler said. ”It’s elite.” Herrera is batting .419 (13 for 31) with two doubles, five homers and eight RBIs in the last seven games. Seven of his 12 homers have given the Phillies a lead. ”He’s a different breed,” pitcher Jake Arrieta said. ”When he gets hot, he’s fun to watch.”
ONE-DIMENSIONAL PLAYER
A sprained right index finger is expected to keep Angels star Mike Trout from playing the outfield during a four-game series against Toronto. Trout, who has reached base in 31 of 47 plate appearances over his last nine games, was the designated hitter Thursday night during an 8-5 victory over the Blue Jays. The two-time MVP went 0 for 2 with three walks in his 1,000th career game, ending his hitting streak at eight games. Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said the injury isn’t serious and it won’t hinder Trout’s ability to grip or swing the bat.
BASHING THE BUCS
Jon Jay and the Diamondbacks look to keep feasting on Pirates pitching when the teams square off in Pittsburgh again. Arizona has scored 35 runs in going 3-1 against the Pirates this season. Jay doubled in each of the first two innings Thursday night, when the Diamondbacks cruised to a 9-3 victory. The center fielder is hitting .340 in 13 games since being acquired from Kansas City in a June 6 trade. Ivan Nova (4-5, 4.42 ERA) will try to slow down Arizona – the right-hander has won both starts with a 1.54 ERA since being activated from the disabled list June 10. He missed two weeks with a sprained right ring finger. Patrick Corbin (6-5, 3.48) gets the ball for the Diamondbacks. The lefty is 1-2 with a 5.90 ERA in five career starts against the Pirates.
ICHI-WHO?
Keep an eye on the Mariners‘ dugout at Fenway Park for a mysterious, mustachioed visitor when Seattle opens a series in Boston. Associated Press photographer Bill Kostround spotted Ichiro Suzuki hiding on Seattle’s bench Thursday at Yankee Stadium wearing a fake mustache, sunglasses and a hoodie. Officially, Suzuki isn’t allowed to be in the dugout during games under Major League Baseball rules after moving to the team’s front office in early May. But the 44-year-old outfielder channeled former Mets manager Bobby Valentine to sneak his way onto the bench – Valentine donned a fake mustache and sunglasses and returned to the dugout after being ejected from a game in 1999. ”He was perfect. I never would have known it was him,” Valentine texted to the AP.
DOUBLE DIP
The Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox are set to play a single-admission doubleheader after Thursday night’s scheduled game in the Windy City was postponed because of rain. It was the 40th postponement in the majors this season
Shaquem Griffin Color Rush Jersey , already one more than all of last year. James Shields (2-8, 4.63 ERA) and Lucas Giolito (4-7, 7.19) will start for Chicago, which has lost seven straight to match a season high and is a season-low 25 games under .500. Oakland will send Sean Manaea (6-6, 3.56) and Chris Bassitt (0-2, 2.45) to the mound.
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The Tampa Bay Rays finished the second-best homestand in their history, with a much easier path between now and the All-Star Game as they try to claw their way back into wild-card contention.
Tampa Bay (41-40) went 8-1 at Tropicana Field, finishing a grueling stretch of 16 games against the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals and going 10-6 in those games to rise back above .500.
Now the Rays have a stretch of 16 straight games against teams with losing records, including a three-game series at the Miami Marlins (34-51) starting Monday.
The Rays have dominated with their patchwork pitching staff, allowing a total of seven runs in their last six games, with five wins and a 1-0 loss. They took three of four from Houston to close out the homestand and hope to continue the success to take some positive momentum into the All-Star break.
“The fact that we have been winning and everyone has been coming together at clutch moments has been great,” said outfielder Mallex Smith, who had a late solo home run in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Houston. “We’ve been jelling as a team. We’ve been feeding off one another. It seems like someone new coming through at the right time every day.”
Next for Tampa Bay is Nathan Eovaldi (2-3, 4.08 ERA)
Authentic Carl Gunnarsson Jersey , who played for the Marlins from 2012 to 2014 and will almost certainly fare better than his only career appearance against his former team. In June 2015, he played there with the Yankees and gave up nine hits and eight earned runs in less than an inning, leaving after two outs with a 108.00 ERA to show for it.
Eovaldi has shown promise since returning from Tommy John surgery — his last start against Washington lasted six innings and he gave up no runs, one and and two walks with nine strikeouts.
The Marlins will answer with Wei-Yin Chen, who knows the Rays from his days with the Baltimore Orioles. He has started 21 career games against Tampa Bay, more than any other opponent, and posted a 5-6 record with a 3.72 ERA.
That’s considerably better than his overall numbers this year — he’s 2-5 with a 6.14 ERA, though his last start was solid. He limited Arizona to one run and five hits in six innings last week. Against Tampa Bay last year, he pitched well, holding the Rays to two runs and two hits in six innings.
The in-state rivals will meet again right after the All-Star break for three more games, but the extended run against lesser opponents is something the Rays must dominate if they want to get back into wild-card contention.
Even after winning eight of nine games, Tampa Bay is still 11 games behind Seattle for the second AL wild card. Still, being 42-41 after opening the season 1-8 isn’t bad, especially considering the injuries they’ve dealt with and the talent traded away since the end of last season.
Konu Seçenekleri
