Jaime Garcia has been a very popular name in trade rumors over the past few weeks. In fact, Jon Morosi of MLB Network had reported on Thursday that the Braves had agreed to a deal that would send the veteran southpaw to the Twins for a couple of prospects. That deal never got finalized on Thursday.
The Braves brought up Aaron Blair from Triple-A Gwinnett and had him on stand-by in case a deal was agreed to and he was needed to pitch against the Dodgers on Friday. Crickets. Nothing materialized on Friday morning or afternoon either and when lineups were announced, the Braves still had Garcia taking the hill.
Perhaps the Twins had concerns about a potential injury or just wanted to see him pitch once more before committing to him. If that’s the case, they have to like what they saw on Friday.
Garcia earned his fourth victory of the season on Friday night, limiting the Dodgers to three runs on seven hits over seven strong innings of work. He struck out four and issued just one free pass on the night.
He also made waves with his bat on Friday. Already armed with a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, Garcia hit a soft popup back to the mound that Alex Wood was unable to field, leading to two runs scoring. He then stepped to the plate the following inning with the bases loaded and two outs. After falling behind in the count 0-2 then fouling off a pitch, Garcia crushed a grand slam into the seats in right field.
It was the third home run of Garcia’s career and first since 2012. It was also the first grand slam for any Braves’ hurler since 1966 and just the third grand slam that any pitcher has hit on an 0-2 count since 1930. Add in the fact that it came off of a guy who was 11-0 with a sub-2.00 ERA entering play on Friday, and you can see just how unlikely that blast was.
Given the timing of his offensive explosion, perhaps the Braves can try to up his trade value even further by promoting him as a left-handed bat off the bench on the days that he wouldn’t be starting.
For the season, the 31-year-old southpaw owns a 4.30 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 85/41 K/BB ratio across 113 innings. He’s the type of arm that can be had very affordably prior to the trade deadline and would provide the Twins with a veteran presence capable of working deep into games.
The Twins are right in the thick of the race in the American League Central, entering play on Saturday just 1 1/2 games behind the Indians. They also sit just two games back in the chase for the Wild Card.
Their rotation is in definite need of an upgrade. As a whole, the Twins' starting rotation owns a 4.97 ERA on the season, the third worst mark in the American League. That's with the fine work of Ervin Santana at the top. They also have the fewest strikeouts in the American League, with just 383 punchouts in 509 1/3 innings.
The Swashbucklers Keep Rolling
Don’t look now, but the Pirates may be the hottest team in the National League.
The Pirates won their sixth consecutive game on Friday, crushing the Rockies 13-5 at Coors Field. In doing so, they climbed a game above the .500 mark and now sit just two games back of the Brewers in the National League Central.
Josh Bell provided the early thunder for the Bucs in this one, with an RBI single in the first inning and a three-run double in the second. The rookie first baseman finished the night 4-for-6 with a triple and four RBI. He’s slashing .248/.326/.480 with 17 homers and 52 RBI in what has been a terrific rookie campaign.
Andrew McCutchen also had a big day at the dish, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. Starling Marte and Francisco Cervelli also chipped in multi-hit efforts while Jordy Mercer blasted his ninth home run.
Since they are getting hot at exactly the right time, it will be interesting to see what the Pirates decide to do regarding the trade deadline. They would certainly benefit from the addition of a starting pitcher, though they’ll assuredly be reluctant to give up any of their top prospects in a deal for a rental. The most logical scenario may have them shopping in the bargain bin, picking up one of the lower-level starters that’s available.
The 200 in 20 Club
Chris Sale etched his name in another bit of major league history on Friday night, recording his 200th strikeout in his 20th start of the season.
He recorded that fateful strikeout on his final pitch of the night, whiffing Kole Calhoun to end the sixth inning.
He joins an extremely-distinguished trio of Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez as the only hurlers in big league history to strike out 200 or more batters in 20 or fewer starts.
In total, Sale allowed just four hits and a pair of walks while striking out nine over six scoreless innings in a victory over the Angels.
The 28-year-old left-hander has been everything and more that the Red Sox were hoping for when the acquired him this winter. Sale owns a 2.48 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 200/26 K/BB ratio across 141 1/3 innings. He appears to be the odds-on favorite to take home the American League Cy Young Award and will be a nightmare for opposing offenses come October.
American League Quick Hits: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick indicates that the Blue Jays have gotten a few feelers on veteran slugger Jose Bautista… Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Brewers have been aggressive in their pursuit of Tigers’ left-hander Justin Wilson… Jumbo Diaz elected free agency after being designated for assignment last weekend… Ryon Healy was removed from Friday’s game after taking a hard ground ball off of his face. He passed his concussion tests and expects to return to the lineup on Saturday… Miguel Cabrera also left his game after getting hit by a ground ball. He avoided serious injury as well and is listed as day-to-day with a bruised clavicle… Mike Fiers racked up nine strikeouts over seven innings of one-run ball in a win over the Orioles… Colin Moran clubbed his first big league home run in the victory while Yulieski Gurriel went 4-for-5 with a homer… Corey Dickerson clubbed his first home run since June 24, and 18th of the season, in a loss to the Rangers… Yu Darvish fanned 12 over eight innings of three-run ball in a no-decision against the Rays… Edwin Encarnacion blasted his 20th homer and drove in four runs, powering the Indians to victory over his former squad… Shin-Soo Choo launched a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning, giving the Rangers a chance to eventually win in the 10th inning… Marcus Semien went 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI and a stolen base in a loss to the Mets… Victor Martinez crushed a pair of home runs off of Ervin Santana as the Tigers topped the Twins… The White Sox acquired minor league right-handers Mark Lowe and Jean Machi from the Mariners for cash considerations… Yoan Moncada recorded his first hit as a member of the White Sox, a three-run triple, and had four RBI in a loss to the Royals… Whit Merrifield came through with a walk-off sacrifice fly to send the Kansas City faithful home happy… Aaron Judge launched his 31st home run of the season, one that traveled an estimated 440 feet, in a win over the Mariners… C.C. Sabathia earned his ninth victory of the season with five innings of one-run ball against the Mariners.
National League Quick Hits: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports that the Indians have expressed interest in acquiring Asdrubal Cabrera from the Mets… Kris Bryant (finger) is expected to miss the entire weekend series against the Cardinals… Kyle Hendricks (hand) is scheduled to return to the Cubs’ rotation early next week… The Cardinals acquired outfield prospect Tyler O’Neill from the Mariners for left-hander Marco Gonzales… Robert Stephenson will be recalled from Triple-A Louisville to start for the Reds on Saturday… Yadier Molina was a late scratch from the Cardinals’ lineup due to right ankle discomfort… Ryan Braun missed his third consecutive game due to a nagging calf injury… J.D. Martinez missed another game due to his hand injury, but both X-rays and an MRI came back negative. He’s considered day-to-day… The Cardinals used a nine-run rally in the eighth inning to come from behind and beat the Cubs… Freddy Galvis homered and plated three runs, leading the Phillies past the Brewers… Aaron Nola was exceptional in the victory, allowing one run over eight frames while matching his career-high with nine strikeouts… Michael Conforto blasted a pair of homers and plated four runs, leading the Mets past the Athletics. He’s now slashing .289/.405/.570 with 18 long balls and 50 RBI in just 78 games… Nolan Arenado clubbed his 22nd home run in a loss to the Pirates. He leads all of baseball with 82 RBI… Max Scherzer surrendered three consecutive home runs (David Peralta, A.J. Pollock and Jake Lamb) to begin Friday’s game against the Diamondbacks… Zack Godley punched out a career-high 10 over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Nationals… A.J. Pollock homered, tripled, doubled and scored three times, including the game-winning run, in a walk-off win over the Nationals... Tyler Flowers homered and plated four runs as the Braves crushed Alex Wood and the Dodgers... Conor Gillaspie clobbered a game-tying two-run ho Jose Pirela and Carlos Asuaje each had four hits and three RBI to lead the Padres in an extra-inning victory. homer with two outs in the ninth inning, but the Giants were still unable to overcome the Padres...
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