Winning Streaks

A pair of teams in the American League Central extended massive winning streaks on Friday.

The Royals utilized a brilliant pitching performance from Jason Vargas who surrendered just one run on five hits over his six innings of work to beat the Red Sox and extend their winning streak to nine games. The victory was the 13^th of the season for the veteran southpaw who is now tied with Chris Sale for the league-lead in wins.

Mike Moustakas carried the weight on offense, clubbing a three-run homer off of Rick Porcello in the fourth inning. The long ball was the 30^th on the season for the hard-hitting third baseman who became the fastest player in club  history to reach the 30-homer mark.
Rather than dealing away most of their impending free agents prior to the trade deadline, it looks like the Royals have no choice but to keep the gang together for one final run at the World Series. That means Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Kelvin Herrera, Eric Hosmer and other popular trade commodities are likely to remain in Kansas City for the remainder of the season.

With the victory, the Royals improve to 54-47 on the season. That puts them in sole possession of the American League Wild Card should the season end today. It also keeps pace with the division-leading Indians who extended their own winning streak to eight games on Friday with a victory over the White Sox.

Jose Ramirez did most of the heavy lifting for the Tribe in that victory, going 4-for-5 with a homer, four runs scored and three RBI. The homer was his 18^th of the season.

Danny Salazar delivered his second straight outstanding start since returning from the disabled list, punching out eight over six-plus innings of two-run ball in the victory.

In getting hot at the right time, the Indians have been able to withstand this charge from the Royals and maintain their lead in the American League Central.

They don't appear to be content just sitting idle at the trade deadline however. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported on Friday that the Indians have expressed interest in Cardinals' outfielders Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham. Either hitter would represent a nice upgrade to the Tribe's outfield that has struggled to find consistency since Lonnie Chisenhall went on the disabled list.

The Indians and Royals still have 10 games left to play against one another this season. That means that the top spot in the division is likely to be decided in a head-to-head battle between these two squads. May the best team win.

Prior to Friday, it remained unclear if the Orioles were going to be buyers or sellers as the trade deadline approached. With a loss to the Rangers, the O’s sit 6 ½ games out of the Wild Card race in the American League. Selling off the farm to make major changes at this point in the season doesn’t seem prudent.

What does seem like a wise investment though, would be to part with a marginal prospect in order to pick up a veteran on an expiring contract. The O’s did exactly that on Friday, acquiring right-hander Jeremy Hellickson from the Phillies to bolster a starting rotation that has been downright dreadful as a unit this season. Hellickson is an impending free agent after the season and the Phillies will pick up some of the $6 million that’s left on his contract this season.

He immediately jumps to the top of an Orioles’ rotation that owns an American League worst 5.90 ERA and 1.61 WHIP as a unit this season. Dylan Bundy (4.53) is the only O’s starter with a sub-5.00 ERA on the year.

In return for Hellickson, the Orioles sent outfielder Hyun Soo Kim and minor league left-hander Garrett Cleavinger to the Phillies. Kim, a part-time 29-year-old outfielder, was hitting just .232/.305/.288 with one homer and 10 RBI in 142 plate appearances this season.

Despite this move, the Orioles could still part with a bullpen piece or two prior to Monday’s deadline as the trade market for quality relief pitching looks very attractive. That means any or all of Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O’Day could still be on the move come August.


Nationals acquire Howie Kendrick

The Nationals had already upgraded one of the biggest issues on their team with a deal for A’s relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson last week.

On Friday, they made another shrewd move, picking up Howie Kendrick in a deal with the Phillies for left-handed pitching prospect McKenzie Mills.

Mills ranked as the 24^th best prospect in the Phillies’ organization according to MLBPipeline.com. He has had a breakthrough season at Class-A Hagerstown, compiling a 12-2 record, 3.01 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 118/22 K/BB ratio across 104 2/3 innings.

In Kendrick, the Nationals add a potent bat with the versatility to play multiple positions in the infield and outfield. The 34-year-old was hitting .340/.397/.454 with two homers, 16 RBI and eight stolen bases in 156 plate appearances on the season.

Kendrick will see most of his playing time, at least initially, in left field for the Nationals. The Nats have been hit hard by injuries in the outfield, with Jayson Werth, Michael Taylor, Chris Heisey and Ryan Raburn among those currently on the disabled list.

When the club is back to full strength, he’ll provide a very valuable right-handed bat off the bench.


Closer of the Future

The Mets made a bit of an interesting move themselves on Friday, acquiring Marlins’ closer A.J. Ramos for prospects Merandy Gonzalez and outfielder Ricardo Cespedes.

While the club isn’t in contention this season, Ramos is the type of player that can help them next season as well as he’s under contract through 2018.

With closer Addison Reed likely to be moved before the trade deadline, it sounds as though Ramos will immediately take over as the top ninth-inning option in New York. The 30-year-old hurler has racked up 92 saves over the past three seasons while compiling a 2.79 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 207/83 K/BB ratio.

With Ramos now out of the picture in Miami, Junichi Tazawa is expected to take over in the ninth inning, at least on an interim basis. He’s unowned in the majority of fantasy formats and could make for an interesting option down the stretch.



American League Quick Hits: David Price returned to the disabled list on Friday with what is being described as left elbow inflammation. The Red Sox expect him to return before the end of the regular season… The Rays acquired Steve Cishek from the Mariners for Erasmo Ramirez… Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the White Sox have received some trade interest in struggling southpaw Derek Holland… Astros’ slugger George Springer landed on the disabled list with left quad discomfort… Logan Morrison sat out Friday’s game due to a bruised left heel… Troy Tulowitzki was forced to leave Friday’s game with an injured ankle… Aaron Judge crushed his 33^rd home run of the season as the Yankees dispatched of the Rays… Masahiro Tanaka fanned a career-high 14 batters over eight innings of one-run ball in a victory over the Rays… Eduardo Nunez went 2-for-3 with a walk in his Red Sox’ debut… Mike Moustakas crushed his 30^th home run in a victory over the Red Sox… Josh Reddick clubbed a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth to eventually beat the Tigers… Jaime Garcia was victorious in his Twins’ debut, striking out seven over 6 2/3 innings of three-run baseball… Andrew Cashner fired seven innings of one-run ball to beat the Orioles… Adrian Beltre went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in a win over the Orioles. He now sits just two hits shy of 3000 for his big league career.


National League Quick Hits: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reported that the Braves are listening to trade offers on closer Jim Johnson… Martin Prado underwent successful surgery on his right knee and is expected to miss 3-5 weeks…  Ian Desmond officially landed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right calf… Friday’s game between the Rockies and Nationals was postponed due to rain. It’ll be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday… Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that the Cardinals have had discussions with the Royals about Lance Lynn…The Dodgers picked up Luke Farrell from the Royals for cash considerations… Jake Lamb sat out Friday’s game due to general soreness after falling into the stands on Thursday… Brandon Belt was held out of Friday’s lineup due to an aggravation of his prior wrist injury…. Matt Kemp was lifted from Friday’s game against the Phillies due to a strained right hamstring… Aaron Altherr homered twice as the Phillies routed the Rays… J.T. Realmuto continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-4 with a homer in a win over the Reds… Jose Quintana suffered his first defeat as a member of the Cubs, allowing two runs on four hits over six innings of two-run baseball against the Brewers… Brent Suter fired seven shutout inning in order to beat the Cubs… Corey Seager homered twice and plated three runs, leading the Dodgers past the Giants… Trevor Rosenthal converted a six-out save against the D’Backs, preserving a victory for Michael Wacha who had fired six shutout innings… Michael Conforto clubbed a pair of solo home runs, leading the Mets to victory over the Mariners… Robbie Ray was involved in a scary incident on Friday as he was forced to leave his start against the Cardinals after getting drilled in the head by a line drive off the bat of Luke Voit. Ray remained conscious through the ordeal and a CT scan came back normal on Friday night. He’ll remain in the concussion protocol and it remains unclear when he’ll make his next start for the Diamondbacks.