The Chase to 3000 is over

Baseball history was made at Safeco Field in Seattle on Friday night. Rather than letting the 3,000 hit watch drag on for several days, Albert Pujols stepped to the plate in the fifth inning against Mike Leake and lining a broken bat single into right field to etch his name in baseball immortality.

The game was stopped for several minutes as his teammates congratulated him and the 41,705 visiting fans in Seattle honored him with a standing ovation.

He became just the 32nd player in MLB history to tally 3000 hits. That’s quite an accomplishment. Even more astonishing, is that he became just the fourth player in MLB history to reach both 3,000 hits and 600 home runs, joining Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez. That’s some rather impressive company.

Pujols became the second player to achieve his 3,000th hit as a member of the Angels, joining Hall of Famer Rod Carew who did so in 1985. He became the sixth foreign-born player to reach the milestone and just the second player on the list to have been born in the Dominican Republic, joining Rangers’ third baseman Adrian Beltre.

Of all the remarkable numbers that Pujols has already reached in his career, he says that the 3,000 hit milestone is one that he’s especially proud of. The other that he wants to attain, is 2,000 RBI. When asked about it this week, Pujols admitted,  “Two things, I won’t lie to you. That 3,000 and 2,000 RBIs, those two numbers are something that are really, really going to be pretty special. I’m a long ways to the 2,000. Hopefully I can get those this year”

Pujols didn’t come into the big leagues as a long-heralded top prospect. He was a 13th round draft pick by the Cardinals in 1999 out of Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City. He broke into the big leagues as a 21-year-old in 2001 and he hasn’t stopped hitting since. In that unbelievable rookie campaign, Pujols slashed .329/.403/.610 with 37 homers and 130 RBI. Those massive numbers earned him the National League Rookie of the Year Award, as well as a Silver Slugger and his first All-Star Game appearance. He finished fourth in the National League MVP voting.

He spent the first 11 seasons of his big league career with the Cardinals and put up absolutely jaw-dropping numbers as the most feared right-handed hitter in the game. Over those 11 seasons, Pujols hit a remarkable.328/.420/.617 with 445 homers, 1329 RBI, 84 stolen bases and an astounding 704/975 K/BB ratio. In each of his final 10 seasons with the Cardinals, Pujols walked more than he struck out.

During his 11 years in St. Louis he finished in the top-five of the National League MVP voting in 10 seasons and ninth in the other year. He won three NL MVP Awards in 2005, 2008 and 2009. He won six Silver Slugger Awards and a pair of Gold Gloves. He was named to nine National League All-Star teams. He also led the Cardinals to a pair of World Series titles. Regardless of where he went or what he did afterwards, he had already built a Hall of Fame resume.

He hasn’t been quite the same player since signing a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Angels prior to the 2012 season, though injuries have played a part in that. Even so, he has still been a prolific run-producer during his time with the Angels. He has driven in 95 or more runs in six of his seven seasons in Anaheim, the only exception coming in 2013 where he was limited to just 99 games.

Pujols remains under contract with the Angels for another three seasons following 2018. As long as he remains healthy, he’s going to continue to climb over Hall of Famers as he ascends the all-time lists for a plethora of offensive categories. He already ranks seventh all-time with 620 career home runs, ninth all-time with 1935 RBI and tenth all-time in total bases with 5518 among many other accomplishments.

Personally,  I can say unabashedly that Albert Pujols is one of the greatest hitters that I have ever seen in my life. It was truly a pleasure to watch him achieve this milestone on Friday night.

Buehler and Friends

Dodgers’ 23-year-old right-hander Walker Buehler was pretty impressive through his first two starts with the Dodgers this season, posting a 1.80 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 11/4 K/BB ratio over 10 innings. While he had struggled with his command at times, he had certainly stated his case that he belongs at the big league level.

Just in case the Dodgers’ brass wasn’t completely sold though, he made another statement on a rainy Friday night in Monterrey, Mexico.

Buehler was flat out dominant from the get-go in this one, keeping the Padres’ hitters off-balance and inducing all sorts of weak contact. He retired the first three hitters that he faced before issuing a walk to Franchy Cordero to start the second inning. He then sent down four more in order until Joey Lucchesi and Jose Pirela each worked walks consecutively in the third inning.

That’s where Buehler took over. He got Eric Hosmer to ground into a double play and never looked back, retiring the final 10 batters that he faced in order. Buehler issued just those three walks, and didn’t allow a hit, through his six innings of work. He struck out eight in the process.

Unfortunately, his pitch count had already reached 93 (59 strikes), causing Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts to call to his bullpen to begin the seventh inning. There was no second guessing here, as the Dodgers’ are being careful to monitor the young right-hander’s workload this season as he continues to distance himself from his 2015 Tommy John surgery.

Tony Cingrani came on for the seventh inning, and while he allowed a pair of walks in his inning of work, he was able to extend the no-hit bid. Yimi Garcia came on in the eighth inning and retired the Padres in order, two of them via the strikeout.

Now normally, the ball would have gone to lock-down closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning with a shot at preserving the first combined no-hitter in Dodgers’ history. However, Jansen was unavailable for this ballgame. Instead, Roberts gave the ball to left-hander Adam Liberatore to finish it out.

The southpaw wasted no time, whiffing Eric Hosmer and inducing a weak fly ball from Christian Villanueva. With history on the line, he fell behind Franchy Cordero 2-0 before battling back to strike him out and preserve the combined no-hitter.

The no-hitter was the 23rd overall in the history of the Dodgers’ franchise, their 13th since making the move to Los Angeles. It was the first combined no-hitter in franchise history and the first no-hitter in an MLB game thrown outside of the United States or Canada.

Buehler also logged his first career hit in the contest, out-hitting the Padres single-handedly.

Dark Knight Falls

The Matt Harvey era has come to a disappointing end in New York. On Friday, general manager Sandy Alderson announced that the club had asked Matt Harvey to accept an assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas, which he declined. The Mets then informed the right-hander that he’ll be designated for assignment prior to Saturday’s game against the Rockies.

Once that happens, the team will have seven days to find a trade partner to take Harvey off their hands, otherwise he’ll be waived.

Alderson was very somber while explaining the decision to reporters, "This was a long time coming… This is something we've tried to address, we've struggled with, we've wrestled with over two managerial regimes. The move to the bullpen was dramatic in itself. So I think that at this point, pragmatism, realism far outweighed other considerations."

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the Mets are telling teams that they would be willing to eat a substantial portion of the $4.5 million that’s still owed to Harvey in exchange for a better return in a trade. Passan also notes that several clubs are pessimistic about the Mets’ chances of receiving anything worthwhile in a trade and are likely to wait and hope that he clears waivers rather than pursuing a trade.

The 29-year-old right-hander was the Mets’ first round draft pick (seventh overall) in the 2010 draft. He made a quick ascent to the big leagues and posted a stellar 2.39 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 261/57 K/BB ratio over his first 237 ⅔ innings.

It looked like he was developing into one of the top pitcher’s in all of baseball and would be a dominant force for years to come. That’s when injury struck. Harvey suffered a torn UCL in his right elbow and missed the entire 2014 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Astonishingly, he returned better than ever, going 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 188 strikeouts across 189 ⅓ innings in 2015, showing no ill-effects of the surgery. Despite the heavy workload and questions about his durability, Harvey was dominant in the postseason for the Mets that season, going 2-0 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 26 ⅔ innings in his four starts.

After the season though, everything changed. Harvey began experiencing the symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome and eventually required surgery to remove a rib. He has also battled shoulder problems that could be related.

Since the 2015 season, the once dominant right-hander has struggled to a 5.93 ERA and 1.58 WHIP over 212 ⅓ innings in 44 games (39 starts). He was demoted to the Mets’ bullpen after four brutal starts to begin the 2018 campaign and the results there weren’t any better.

While I have my doubts that the Mets are going to be able to find a trade partner here, there will assuredly be teams still willing to gamble on Harvey as a reclamation project, there’s just too much talent there. I do fear though that his days of fantasy relevancy may be over.

Cole’d as Ice

In a night that featured Albert Pujols’ 3000th career hit and a combined no-hitter from four Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as the fall-out of Matt Harvey getting designated for assignment, it could be easy for other happenings around Major League Baseball to get lost in the shuffle.

That wouldn’t be fair to Gerrit Cole.

To say that the 27-year-old hurler has been impressive in his first season with the Astros would be a massive understatement. Entering play on Friday, Cole had posted a ridiculous 1.73 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 61/8 K/BB ratio across 41 ⅔ innings in his first six starts. Apparently, he was just getting warmed up.

On Friday, Cole delivered the finest performance of his MLB career to date, hurling a one-hit shutout against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. On the road, in a hitter’s park, Cole allowed a double to Chris Owings in the fifth inning and nothing more. He also walked just one batter while racking up a career-high 16 strikeouts. Every single out in the second, third and fourth innings.

Even with the massive strikeout total, Cole needed only 114 pitches (82 strikes) to finish the first shutout of his MLB career. It was also his first ever one-hitter.

As if his ratios could get any lower, Cole (3-1) now boasts a 1.42 ERA and 0.69 WHIP on the season. His 77 strikeouts pace all of baseball and are 12 more than the next closest competitor in Max Scherzer. Also, the 77 strikeouts are the most for any pitcher through his first seven starts with a new team in MLB history.

Miguel Sano

American League Quick Hits: Miguel Sano (hamstring) is not traveling with the Twins on their current road trip and is unlikely to be ready for activation from the disabled list when he’s first eligible on Tuesday… The Tigers placed Miguel Cabrera on the 10-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain… Andrew Miller (shoulder) will not be activated from the disabled list on Sunday as he had originally hoped. The Indians are playing things safe and want him to get in a pair of successful bullpen sessions before his return which should come early next week… Danny Salazar is slated to have his injured right shoulder re-examined by Dr. Keith Meister… Byron Buxton (toe) was able to take batting practice and run in the outfield on Friday, but still has issues when cutting to his left… Zack Cozart missed his second straight game due to back tightness… Curtis Granderson was forced to leave Friday’s game in the second inning due to tightness in his hamstring… Yoan Moncada left Friday’s contest with renewed tightness in his left hamstring. He’ll be re-evaluated on Saturday… Gleyber Torres launched his first big league home run in a victory over the Indians. At 21-years-old, he’s the youngest Yankee to leave the yard since John Ellis did so as a 20-year-old in 1969… CC Sabathia fired seven shutout innings in a no-decision there… Ian Kennedy pitched six innings of shutout baseball in a no-decision against the Tigers… Nomar Mazara homered for the fourth consecutive game as the Rangers fell to the Red Sox… Rafael Devers blasted a pair of home runs in the win while Mookie Betts launched his MLB-leading 13th home run… Brian Dozier went 3-for-5 with a homer and a triple in a victory over the White Sox… Eduardo Escobar went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and three RBI in the win… Garrett Richards went 6 ⅔ shutout innings as the Angels blanked the Mariners…

National League Quick Hits: Reds’ top prospect Nick Senzel was removed from Thursday’s game at Triple-A Louisville after feeling ill and experiencing dizziness. Remember, Senzel missed time during the 2017 campaign due to vertigo, so he’ll be closely monitored over the next few days…Alex Reyes (elbow) threw three innings in an extended spring training game on Friday as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery… Scooter Gennett was held out of the Reds’ starting lineup again on Friday due to a sore right shoulder. He hasn’t started since Saturday, but anticipates returning to the lineup on Saturday… 20-year-old Mike Soroka has earned another start for the Braves, he’ll take the mound on Sunday against the Giants… Ryan Braun sat out Friday’s game due to tightness in his right calf. He’s considered day-to-day… Anthony Rendon (toe) is expected to be activated from the disabled list on Saturday… The Braves placed Dansby Swanson on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his left wrist. Johan Camargo will handle the bulk of the action at shortstop while he’s sidelined… Jake Lamb (shoulder) will have his rehab pushed back another couple of days after undergoing a cortisone injection to reduce inflammation… Julio Urias said that he’ll be cleared to throw off of a mound “in the near future”... The Diamondbacks signed veteran right-hander Clay Buchholz to a minor league contract...Charlie Blackmon clubbed his 11th home run in a victory over the Mets… Bryce Harper homered twice, including another leadoff home run, as the Nationals topped the Phillies. His 12 long balls lead the National League… Miles MIkolas improved to 4-0, hurling seven scoreless innings against the Cubs… Jose Bautista went 1-for-4 with a double in his Braves’ debut…