2 starts are better than one

Paxton

The baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. That’s a good thing for first-year Yankees lefty James Paxton.

New York paid a hefty price to acquire him from the Mariners in the offseason, but through four months of the season, Paxton has a major disappointment. At that time, he was only 5-6 with a 4.72 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 117/35 K/BB in 89.2 innings.

  Now seven starts later, Paxton has effectively turned his year around. He’s won every one of those seven starts and now sports a 12-6 record, 4.16 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 168/50 K/BB in 132 innings. As with seemingly every other pitcher in the game, keeping the ball in the park has been an issue, but Paxton is finally finding some momentum as we head down the stretch. His 11.5 K/9 nearly matches his career-best 11.7 K/9 from last season and ranks ninth among starters with at least 100 innings pitched.

  Formerly an extreme groundball pitcher early in his career, Paxton’s trend has completely reversed as he’s developed and thrown his cutter more often. That’s had a very positive impact on his strikeout rate, but Paxton has really struggled to keep the ball in the park. The net impact probably isn’t great now that he’s pitching his home games in a hitter’s park, but Paxton’s ERA metrics are finally in check (4.00 FIP, 3.89 SIERA).
Now that Paxton is rolling again, fantasy owners can finally use him confidently like they had during most of his Mariners career.

Paxton

Much has been made of Jack Flaherty’s second half, but he’s not the only young Cardinals starter who has been terrific since the break. Groundball connoisseur Dakota Hudson has a 3.23 ERA since the break, but it’s his drastic WHIP difference been an even bigger story. His WHIP was 1.53 going into the break, but since then it’s been 1.22. That’s as much a result of an extremely lucky .238 BABIP as anything, which is a major red flag.

Fantasy owners will take it, as Hudson has had scoreless outings in four of his last five starts. Even with his league-best 57% groundball rate, there should be some regression expected from Hudson sooner or later, and this week will test him with a start at Coors Field followed by a home outing vs. Milwaukee.

the great Jake

The 2019 season has been dominated by rookies, and Zac Gallen is one of the headliners. He was great in seven starts with Miami (2.72 ERA, 10.7 K/9) but has somehow been even better since joining Arizona (2.25 ERA, 11.0 K/9). The amazing control that Gallen showed in the minors this year actually hasn’t continued into the majors, but the right-hander continues to be effective with a strong fastball and elite changeup. Not surprisingly, the ERA metrics show some likely regression (3.35 FIP, 4.15 xFIP, 4.30 SIERA) with what seems like some good luck in the home run department, but he continues to impress and has a favorable two-start week in front of him.

 After a slow start to the year due in part to injury, the Braves have to like what they’re seeing from Mike Foltynewicz. His ERA is still 5.28 overall, but he’s 3-0 with a 3.31 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and 31/14 K/BB in 32.2 innings since returning from the minors in early August. Velocity improvement was key to Foltynewicz’s breakout 2018 season, and that velocity still hasn’t returned late this year. Still, he’s done a better job of missing bats and keeping the ball in the park recently with the help of an easy schedule that has included two starts against Toronto and one at Miami. His two road outings against division rivals Philly and Washington will be key for the Braves next week.

Folty

Skaggs death was avoidable

Now we know the rest of the story.

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs died of an accidental overdose from a toxic mix of the powerful painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone along with alcohol, a Texas medical examiner said in a report released Friday.
Skaggs’ family issued a statement suggesting a team employee was part of the investigation into the death.
“That is completely out of character for someone who worked so hard to become a Major League Baseball player and had a very promising future in the game he loved so much,” the family said less than two hours after the coroner’s report was made public. “We will not rest until we learn the truth about how Tyler came into possession of these narcotics, including who supplied them.”
 The 27-year-old Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room in the Dallas area July 1 before the start of what was supposed to be a four-game series against the Texas Rangers. The first game was postponed before the teams played the final three games.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office report said Skaggs died as a result of “mixed ethanol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication with terminal aspiration of gastric contents.”
It said simply: “Manner of death: Accident.” The coroner’s office didn’t comment further.
The death rocked baseball shortly before the All-Star Game and laid bare the emotions of Angels manager Brad Ausmus, star outfielder Mike Trout and fellow left-hander Andrew Heaney, his best friend on the team, along with the rest of his teammates and LA staff members.
The family statement thanked police in the Dallas suburb of Southlake for its investigation and said they “were shocked to learn that it may involve an employee of the Los Angeles Angels.” The family said it had hired Texas attorney Rusty Hardin to try to determine how Skaggs ended up with the drugs.
“We are heartbroken to learn that the passing of our beloved Tyler was the result of a combination of dangerous drugs and alcohol,” the family said.

Southlake police said the investigation was ongoing and wouldn’t release additional information.
The Angels said the club was cooperating with the investigation.
“We were unaware of the allegation and will investigate,” MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said.
Skaggs wouldn’t necessarily have been subject to testing by Major League Baseball for the drugs found in his system. Players on 40-man rosters are tested for drugs of abuse only if the player-management joint treatment board finds reasonable cause, if a player has been found to have used or possessed a drug of abuse, or if a player is subjected to testing under a treatment program.
The Southern California native was drafted by the Angels in the first round in 2009 and made his big league debut with Arizona three years later after being traded.
Skaggs returned to the Angels in 2014 and missed all of the next season recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left elbow. He also spent more than three months on the disabled list in 2017 with a right oblique muscle strain. Skaggs was 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 career appearances, all starts.

The day before he died, Skaggs posted a picture on Instagram of him and the Angels in cowboy hats and other western clothing outside their plane. Skaggs organized the effort because the club was stopping in both major league cities in Texas.
The first game after Skaggs died was played without music or the usual in-game promotions for the Rangers, who painted his number “45” on the back of the mound at Globe Life Park. Ausmus and his players fought back tears talking about the death with reporters.
In their first home game after Skaggs died, the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 13-0 on a combined no-hitter from Taylor Cole and Félix Peña. All the LA players were wearing Skaggs’ number and covered the mound with their jerseys after the victory. It was a day before what would have been Skaggs’ 28th birthday.

Rest in peace Tyler.

Zac and Chris duel in the desert

Gallen

Paddack

With only 11 games on tap in an abbreviated early-September slate, a pair of electrifying rookie right-handers stole the spotlight on Wednesday evening, locking horns in a throwback pitchers duel in the desert. Fantasy owners were treated to a glimpse of the future as a pair of burgeoning fantasy aces, Zac Gallen and Chris Paddack, traded zeroes into the late innings of this contest. Gallen, whom the Diamondbacks acquired from the Marlins at the trade deadline earlier this summer, authored the most dominant performance of his young major-league career in this one, carrying a no-hit bid into the seventh inning before giving up a one-out single to Manny Machado. He allowed only four base runners and recorded eight strikeouts over seven scoreless frames. He was credited with a win thanks to the efforts of Ketel Marte, who clobbered a go-ahead grand slam -- his 30th round-tripper of the season -- in the bottom of the seventh inning. The 24-year-old righty has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 13 consecutive starts to begin his big-league career and owns a pristine 2.50 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 82/32 K/BB ratio across 68 1/3 innings of work. Simply put, he looks like a potential upper-echelon fantasy starter for years to come.

Not to be outdone, Paddack, the 23-year-old Padres’ rookie sensation held up his end of the bargain whiffing eight batters over 5 2/3 scoreless frames of his own. He racked up a whopping 11 swinging strikes, including six on just 24 changeups, in just 90 pitches. The Texas native has tailed off a bit in the second-half, after a remarkable start to the year, but has bounced back nicely in his last two starts, allowing just one run over 12 1/3 innings with a 16/2 K/BB ratio during that span. He owns a sparkling 3.54 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 137/29 K/BB ratio across 129 2/3 innings (24 starts) this season. There may not be a pitcher in the big leagues with a higher long-term ceiling than Paddack if it all comes together.

Alonso’s Historic Home Run Barrage Continues

Pete is at it again. It’s not about how many times you get knocked down during the regular season. It’s about whether or not you get back up and keep grinding. After coughing up a six-run lead in the ninth inning against the Nationals on Tuesday night, suffering one of the most devastating losses in recent memory, it would’ve been easy for the Mets to roll over in an afternoon matinee nearly 12 hours later. Led by rookie sensation Pete Alonso, who clobbered his major league-leading 45th round-tripper of the season, the Mets responded with an electrifying 8-4 victory on Wednesday to keep their playoff hopes alive, remaining fewer than five games (four and a half to be exact) out of the final Wild Card spot in the National League.   

The 24-year-old first baseman launched a towering solo shot to left field off Nationals’ starter Anibal Sanchez -- who was lit up for a season-high seven runs over five frames -- in the fifth inning to give the Mets a commanding three-run lead in Wednesday’s intra-divisional series finale and also reclaim solo possession of the big-league lead in long balls. He’s now one home run ahead of both Angels’ slugger Mike Trout and Dodgers’ sensation Cody Bellinger. He’s also two clear of Brewers’ standout Christian Yelich. With 23 games remaining in his rookie campaign, Alonso is only seven big flies shy of Aaron Judge’s single-season rookie record of 52, a mark he established two years ago. He owns a remarkable .267/.367/.593 triple-slash line with 86 runs scored, 45 home runs, 105 RBI and one stolen base in 594 plate appearances this season. 

“It feels pretty good,” Alonso told reporters after the contest regarding his ownership of the home run lead entering the late stages of the regular season. “I feel really, really fortunate. I’m really happy with how I’ve been performing, and this year’s not over yet. I just need to keep on playing well, capitalizing on good pitches, and keep trying to help this team win.”

In addition to Alonso’s latest exploits, the Mets also got an additional boost from the return of veteran second baseman Robinson Cano, who went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI and runs scored -- reaching safely in all four of his plate appearances -- in his first game since August 4. The injury-plagued 36-year-old infielder missed the last four weeks with a torn hamstring, but stuffed the stat sheet with a pair of singles and a two-run homer in the fourth inning of this one. When he’s fully healthy, he’s still a difference maker at the plate.

Reynolds Rallies Pirates Past Marlins

Rookie outfielder Bryan Reynolds has quietly served as the Pirates’ primary offensive table setter for the duration of the 2019 campaign. The unheralded 24-year-old has flown under the radar in comparison to the flashy names headlining this season’s exceptional rookie class, but he managed to grab a few headlines on Wednesday night, propelling Pittsburgh to a 6-5 comeback victory over the Marlins. He delivered the first walk-off hit of his major-league career, slicing a two-run, walk-off single to shallow left field off newly-minted Marlins’ stopper Jose Urena in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Pirates to their fifth win in their last six contests. As if his late-inning heroics at the plate weren’t enough, he was also responsible for the defensive highlight of the evening, making a remarkable diving grab in the left-center field gap to rob Magneuris Sierra of extra-bases back in the sixth inning. He won’t win the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award, thanks to the surreal campaign put together by Mets’ phenom Pete Alonso, but he’s put together one of the most remarkable rookie seasons in recent memory. His .332 batting average ranks second in the major leagues, trailing only Nationals’ superstar Anthony Rendon (.338), this season. He has a realistic chance to become the first rookie to win a batting title in the National League. He owns a sublime .332/.398/.525 triple-slash line with 75 runs scored, 14 home runs, 62 RBI and a pair of stolen bases in 470 plate appearances. 

George Springer

AL Quick Hits: Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said Wednesday morning on Houston's SportsTalk790 that George Springer (head, neck) "may need a day or two." Barring a setback, he could potentially return to action before the end of this week … Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Gio Urshela (groin) will likely be activated from the injured list on Sunday … Luis Severino (shoulder, lat) will make another rehab appearance Friday with Double-A Trenton … Giancarlo Stanton (knee) reportedly headed to the Yankees' spring training complex on Wednesday to begin facing live pitching … Max Kepler left Wednesday's game against the Red Sox with soreness in his upper chest area … Mookie Betts went 4-for-5 with a pair of home runs and five RBI to power the Red Sox past the Twins … Jorge Soler walloped his 40th round-tripper of the season in the Royals’ victory over the Tigers … Franmil Reyes went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer to propel the Indians past the White Sox … Tim Anderson went 3-for-5 with a two-run dinger in the losing effort … Shane Bieber whiffed nine batters over seven innings to collect his 13th win of the season in that contest … Nick Wittgren came on in relief of Brad Hand to record his fourth save of the year in that one … Aaron Judge belted his 20th round-tripper of the season in the Yankees’ win over the Rangers … Tanner Roark struck out six batters over 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a win over the Angels … Nomar Mazara is dealing with tightness in his oblique … Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto announced Wednesday that J.P. Crawford (hamstring) will be out at least two more weeks … Dellin Betances (shoulder, lat) is scheduled to make another rehab appearance Friday with Double-A Trenton … Brett Anderson will start on Thursday against the Astros in place of Chris Bassitt. 

Jeremy Jeffries

NL Quick Hits: According to Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports, there is a "sizable market" for free agent reliever Jeremy Jeffress, who was released by the Brewers on Tuesday … Juan Soto reportedly underwent X-rays on his right elbow after getting hit by a pitch on Tuesday … Eugenio Suarez (hand) remained out of the Reds' starting lineup on Wednesday night against the Phillies. He’s been out of action since getting hit on the left hand by a pitch on Sunday… Nick Senzel was scratched from Wednesday's lineup against the Phillies … Kevin Newman (leg) was held out of the Pirates' starting lineup again on Wednesday. He hasn’t played since experiencing leg tightness on Saturday … Corey Dickerson left Wednesday's game against the Reds with an apparent left leg injury, but is expected to play Thursday … Joc Pederson homered twice and drove in three runs to power the Dodgers to a victory over the Rockies … Joey Votto went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and a pair of RBI in the Reds’ win over the Phillies … Michael Lorenzen became the first player to hit a home run, play the field and earn a win as a pitcher in the same game since the Yankees’ legend Babe Ruth back in 1921 … Starlin Castro went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer and three runs scored in the Marlins’ loss to the Pirates … Kevin Pillar went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer to lift the Giants over the Cardinals … Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with four RBI in the losing effort … Will Smith struck out three batters and recorded a four-out save, his 31st of the season, in that one … Clayton Kershaw will start on Friday against the Giants … Rich Hill (elbow) will face live hitters on Friday … Johnny Cueto (elbow) is slated to throw a bullpen session this weekend after experiencing stiffness while throwing a bullpen on Tuesday … Gregory Polanco (shoulder) will receive PRP injections and miss the remainder of the 2019 season … Alex Verdugo (oblique) suffered a setback in his rehab assignment with short-season Ogden. He’s been sidelined since August 6 … Mitch Keller (wrist) was able to play catch on Wednesday … Chris Archer has begun throwing from flat ground … Giants placed Reyes Moronta on the 60-day injured list with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. 

Canadian Maple Majestic Again

Back in mid-to-late April, it looked like James Paxton was ramping up toward a monster summer. After back-to-back 12-strikeout outings on April 16 and April 21 (allowing five hits in 14 innings, with two walks and the aforementioned 24 Ks), the 30-year-old had a 3.10 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 43/8 K/BB ratio through his first 29 innings for the Yankees.
Soon after that, his promising season quickly went off-course. Paxton missed most of May with knee trouble, then put up a 6.38 ERA in June and July combined. As for those glorious K numbers, he actually went 10 weeks between double-digit strikeout efforts, from April 21 to July 7, when he struck out 11. And from late-April to late-August, that was his only game of 10-plus strikeouts across 17 starts.

As you can guess from the setup here (and from probably having seen last night’s box score), things are once again looking up for the lefty. Two starts ago, Paxton struck out 11 Dodgers. Then, on Tuesday night, he threw down this mighty stat line against the Rangers: seven innings, one hit, no runs, one walk, 12 strikeouts. Along the way, he generated 17 swinging strikes, tying his season-high with those 12 Ks, and going seven innings for the first time since April. And since the start of August, Paxton has a 2.98 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with 51 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings, finally putting things back together again for fantasy players who were smart enough (or stubborn enough) to wait it out.

Flaherty Throwing Fire

You know who’s even more dialed in than James Paxton? That would be Jack Flaherty, who held the Giants to one hit and one walk across eight shutout innings in a 1-0 victory on Tuesday. Those eight innings mark a career-high for the 23-year-old right-hander, who’s now walking around town with a 0.90 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 85/17 K/BB ratio in 70 1/3 innings over his last 11 starts dating back to early July.

Springer’s Scary Crash

George Springer made a spectacular catch in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s game, but fell backwards into the center field fence head-first after making the play. Springer, who was “clearly in a daze”  had to be carted off when “it was clear he could not walk off the field.” A.J. Hinch confirmed that the star outfielder is indeed “being evaluated for a head injury”. Outfield prospect Kyle Tucker took his place in the lineup.


AL Quick Hits: Dylan Cease struck out a career-high 11 against the Indians (while allowing four earned runs in 6 2/3 innings). … Dellin Betances (lat) threw live BP on Tuesday. … The Yankees activated Edwin Encarnacion, who drilled his 31st homer. … Gary Sanchez hit his 33rd and 34th. … Carlos Correa (back) hit off a tee on Tuesday. … Anthony Santander hit his 17th home run. … The Royals purchased the contract of 1B Ryan McBroom from Triple-A, where he had a .315 average with 26 homers this season. … Tyler Glasnow made another rehab appearance on Tuesday. … Blake Snell (elbow) is scheduled to throw a bullpen on Wednesday. … The Rays also recalled Brendan McKay, who’s reportedly going to be used only as a pitcher the rest of the month. … Seth Brown went 2-for-3 with two triples and two RBI, and is now hitting .448 with nine RBI in his first 29 at-bats (he’s 4 percent rostered in Yahoo leagues). … Mike Trout hit his 44th home run to tie Cody Bellinger and Pete Alonso (more on him in a second) for the major-league lead. … Joey Gallo (wrist) said on Monday that he’s likely a couple weeks away from rejoining the Rangers. … Michael Chavis (side) is on course to return this weekend. … Eric Sogard was removed from Tuesday night’s game after getting hit in the helmet by a pitch, but tweeted that he came away with “only a bruised nose.” … Mitch Haniger (out since June 6) is getting a second opinion on his lower back discomfort. … Ramon Laureano (shin) says he’s been running full speed and is “just waiting for the OK from doctors” before he returns. … Eloy Jimenez went deep twice — his 23rd and 24th of the season. … Jorge Soler belted No. 39, and has now driven in 100. … White Sox GM Rick Hahn confirmed that prospects Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal will not get called up in September.

NL Quick Hits: Johnny Cueto experienced back tightness during a bullpen session and is now unlikely to pitch this weekend against the Dodgers. … Carlos Martinez saved Jack Flaherty’s gem while pitching for the fourth day in a row. … Jose Urena pitched a scoreless 10th inning to earn his first save of the season, and looks to be positioned for more opportunities going forward. … Adam Eaton has been diagnosed with a “bad bone bruise” on the side of his right knee. … Ben Zobrist (personal) hit leadoff in his return after missing nearly four months, and went 1-for-3 with two runs scored. … Willson Contreras (hamstring) also returned for Chicago, and promptly hit his 20th home run. … Nicholas Castellanos homered and drove in four, and has now gone yard 12 times in 31 games in a Cubs uniform. … Eugenio Suarez (hand) took swings in the cage on Tuesday. … The Mets activated Robinson Cano (hamstring), though he was not in the lineup and it’s unclear how much he’s going to play this month. … Pete Alonso belted home run No. 44, but the Mets lost on a walk-off three-run homer by Kurt Suzuki off Edwin Diaz to cap a seven-run ninth inning for Washington. … The Giants placed Pablo Sandoval (elbow) on the 60-day IL. … Jordan Lyles gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings, and now has a 2.56 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in seven starts for Milwaukee. … Mike Foltynewicz threw five scoreless innings against the Blue Jays, and has a 3.31 ERA in six starts since returning from the minors. … Javier Baez (thumb) was out of the lineup on Tuesday. … Merrill Kelly struck out nine in seven scoreless innings against the Padres. … Jed Lowrie (knee, calf) went 2-for-3 with Triple-A Syracuse on Monday. … Yu Darvish (forearm) played catch on Tuesday and is on track to start Saturday. … Gavin Lux went 1-for-4 as the Dodgers leadoff hitter. … The Rockies activated Raimel Tapia (hand). … Kris Bryant was scratched due to right knee soreness. … Mike Moustakas was out of the lineup due to lingering hand discomfort, while Lorenzo Cain (knee) was out of the lineup again as well. … The Brewers released 2018 All-Star Jeremy Jeffress. … Jean Segura (personal) returned and went 1-for-4 with a run scored. … Luke Weaver (elbow) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Wednesday and a simulated game on Friday. … Mitch Keller left early (and has been diagnosed with a right wrist contusion) after getting hit by a line drive in the second inning. … Chris Taylor was out of the lineup after fouling a ball off his left foot on Monday. … Joc Pederson (abdomen) was expected to be available off the bench, though he didn’t make an appearance. … Dustin May (neck) is set to face live hitters on Wednesday, and Max Muncy (wrist) is scheduled to field grounders. … The Nationals reportedly have no imminent plans to call up Carter Kieboom.

The Trade that wasn't

The Yankees and Blue Jays almost pulled off a significant, intro-division deal involving closer Ken Giles at this year’s trade deadline, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic .


Three prospects would’ve headed to Toronto had the deal gone through, though their particular identities aren’t known.



This note is largely of historical import, though it’s interesting nevertheless. The Yankees were linked to Giles on deadline day, though it wasn’t clear at the time just how far down the line the teams went. Rosenthal says the Jays actually informed other teams they expected a deal to go through, which made it impossible to pivot back and craft another agreement.


It’s still not entirely clear why talks collapsed at the last minute. No doubt health questions were a major factor, as he was dealing with elbow problems heading into the deadline. But the health records had already been exchanged and accounted for, Rosenthal notes.


Giles has continued to experience some trouble in the joint, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to rack up strikeouts. He’ll assuredly be discussed again in trade talks this coming winter, when he’ll be angling for a raise on his $6.3MM arbitration salary. The Toronto organization will hope it can generate more interest than it did at the deadline despite having only one season of control to market.


There’ll certainly be no shortage of ongoing interest — provided, at least, that teams get comfortable with the health situation. Giles has been excellent when available this year, throwing 44 innings of 2.05 ERA ball with 15.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Whether the Yanks will continue to push for Giles remains to be seen, and will no doubt involve quite a few other factors as well. The New York org will have to see how things proceed with closer Aroldis Chapman, who can opt out of his deal at season’s end, and also consider other priorities.

A more aggressive Biggio

Cavan with Friends

It’s been talked about before how the young Blue Jays fare against the American League West-leading Houston Astros — or any other playoff-bound team — can be used as a barometer of sorts.
The Blue Jays are a rebuilding club. The Astros are a contending club. Ergo, how the Blue Jays handle the test against one of the World Series favourites can shed some light on how close — or far away — they might be to becoming contenders themselves.


Of course, it’s not that simplistic. In small sample sizes, baseball is a random game filled with chance, human error and lucky bounces. Bad teams beat good teams all the time. A bad baseball team can still win 50 games. (In fact, the Blue Jays have won 55). A lot of those wins will come against teams that are better than they are.
How a young team such as Toronto competes against a more polished club can certainly be used as a measuring stick. But a win here and there isn’t much more than the laws of baseball at work and isn’t worth reading much into.
Case in point: The Blue Jays hardly put up their best all-around performance of the season Saturday and certainly the pitching on display wasn’t one that would instill a ton of confidence, albeit they were facing a tough lineup. And, yet, the Blue Jays topped the Astros 6-4 to level the three-game series at one game apiece. That’s baseball. Sometimes a team wins ugly.
Toronto pitchers gave up 10 free passes — nine walks and one hit-by-pitch — to one of the most potent offences in baseball that has a collective .842 OPS. Blue Jays starter Clay Buchholz, in only his second start since returning from the injured list with what the team called shoulder inflammation, put a runner on in each inning he pitched, including walking five. It took two relievers and 11 pitches to get one out to end the sixth inning. Derek Law walked in a run in the seventh. And, yet, off the back of a strong offensive performance from Cavan Biggio, the Blue Jays found a way to win, which was made at least a little easier thanks to closer Ken Giles, who struck out the side in a tidy ninth inning.

Afterward, Buchholz appeared genuinely mentally and physically exhausted from facing the Astros. Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo joked in his postgame news conference that the game aged him 10 years. Saturday’s win sure wasn’t pretty. That doesn’t mean the team wasn’t pleased with the outcome.
“I feel good when we compete against this team and that’s what we’re doing right now. Today was ugly, but we minimized damage and we won the game. That’s what I want, I want us to compete and see how far we are to get to that point where they are,” Montoyo said.
Buchholz was a master at minimizing damage on the afternoon. The 35-year-old right-hander escaped jams in each of the first, third, fourth and fifth innings with an inning-ending double-play ball. He worked around five walks, the most he’d given up since June 26, 2016, and gave up just two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings.
Buchholz’s command certainly wasn’t at its sharpest — he threw 83 pitches, 50 for strikes — but part of what makes the Astros so dangerous is they can be an aggressive team like they showed one night ago in a 7-4 win. But they can also be extremely patient at the plate, foul off pitches, work competitive at-bats and make opposing pitchers grind through their relentless lineup over and over and over again.

“I don’t walk people normally, I really don’t. But I would much rather walk a few of those guys than just give in and throw a fastball down the middle or hang a curveball,” Buchholz said. “It was mentally a draining game. I knew what I had to do going into it. I told (pitching coach) Pete (Walker) and (Danny Jansen) before the game like, ‘Hey, if we get in a position to where it’s a walk and go after the next guy, I’m 100 percent OK with doing that.’ That’s how we went about it.
“Jano did a really job calling the game back there tonight and, yeah, whoo, man — glad it’s over.”
When he needed to, Buchholz was able to draw on his 13 years of major-league experience and execute a pitch to try to get Houston batters off-balance. In his two starts since returning from the IL on Aug. 25 after missing more than three months of the season, Buchholz has a 3.09 ERA.
“Whenever my body is underneath me and I’m healthy I feel like I’m pretty good,” he said. “The velocity and everything it’s not where it was 10 years ago but I have other things that I can use now to my advantage in place of the velocity that I wish I would have known how to pitch back then like I know how to pitch now. That’s how it’s somewhat calming for me to be out there with runners on base because I know what I can do if all I have to do is execute a pitch. And when you have a major-league defence behind you that are going to make good plays behind you, it makes it that much easier.”

Much like Buchholz, the Blue Jays relievers were left to grind it out, too. Tim Mayza took over in the sixth inning with two outs and walked Yordan Alvarez, the only batter he faced. Law was up next. He gave up a two-run double to Yuli Gurriel before retiring Abraham Toro on a groundball. Over the next three innings, it would take four Toronto relievers to retire nine Astros batters. Law walked two. Rookie Jordan Romano walked one and hit a batter, before escaping a jam in the eighth inning by getting Aledmys Diaz to strike out on a foul tip.
Against his former team, however, Giles was near flawless in the ninth, retiring the top of the Astros lineup — George Springer, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman — via a trio of strikeouts.
“(Nine) walks and a hit-by-pitch against probably the best lineup in baseball, one of them, and we find a way to minimize damage,” Montoyo said. “And Giles was great at the end there and, of course, Buchholz at the beginning was really good. So that’s all I got.”
But a game is more than pitching, and while the Astros certainly wasted their chances to put up runs, the Blue Jays did not. Biggio led the way for the offence, going 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBI.
Toronto put up three runs in the third inning. After Biggio and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked, Randal Grichuk hit an RBI single. Following that, Teoscar Hernandez hit his 21st home run of the season to put his team up 3-1. Biggio drove in the other three runs off a two-run home run in the fourth — his second homer in as many days — and an RBI double in the sixth that drove in Bo Bichette, who was 2-for-5 giving him his 16th multi-hit game, tied for third-most in any player’s first 30 games.
The big day was a little sweeter for Biggio considering it came against the team he grew up around thanks to his dad, Craig, who played in Houston for his entire 20-year Hall of Fame career.

“It’s pretty cool, honestly,” said Biggio, who had his dad and family in attendance Saturday. “But when we go out there and play, it doesn’t really matter who’s on the other side, what’s on the other uniform. At the end of the day, you got to go out there and compete.”
It’s been a turnaround for Biggio at the plate of late. Earlier this week, Montoyo chatted with Biggio about being more aggressive. Heading into this homestand, Biggio had been slumping. Since the All-Star break, he was hitting .176/.300/.294 with only eight extra-base hits.
 Laid out how the 24-year-old rookie’s performance at the plate had dipped, including a sinking hard-hit and contact rate. Biggio was also seeing far more first-pitch strikes, a tactic Biggio thinks opposing pitchers had used against him to combat his exceptional patience at the plate.
“I think I found myself over the past couple weeks being too passive on the first couple pitches and pitchers have taken advantage of it where they get ahead and my at-bats aren’t very productive and they’re pretty short,” he said after Saturday’s game.

Cavan with Dunedin

Added Montoyo: “He was being patient and walking, but now the league makes an adjustment on you. It knows you’re patient so they start throwing you more strikes and then you get in trouble cause now you’re hitting from behind. Now he’s seeing that people are throwing more strikes to him, so he’s more aggressive and the last three days, that’s what he’s doing, he’s swinging the bat. He’s not waiting for strikes, he’s being aggressive and it’s paying off.”
Biggio indeed said he has taken to the batter’s box with a more aggressive mindset lately. It’s paid off, albeit the sample size is small. He’s hit .462 (6-for-13) with five walks and two home runs over his last four games. On his two-run home run, Biggio hit a second-pitch changeup that was left in the middle of the zone 386 feet to right field. On his sixth-inning double, he fouled off two sliders in the zone during a seven-pitch at-bat before driving one he could hit.
“When I’m aggressive, my timing’s a lot better, and when my timing’s a lot better, I see the ball a lot better — so even though I’m being more aggressive, my plate discipline is still there, just because I’m seeing the ball that much longer,” he said.
However, for Biggio and the rest of the Blue Jays, a stiffer test will come Sunday against Justin Verlander, who will be on the mound for the Astros.

Twins Dig the Long Ball

Rod Carew

 Well, they did it , they broke the record.  The Twins have set a modern day record for the most home runs in a Major League Season.



The Twins have been pacing the world in home runs since the beginning of the season. We all knew that it was only a matter of time before they shattered the record for most home runs in a single season by any MLB team.
That day came on Saturday, in a losing effort against the Tigers in Detroit.
The Twins entered the day with 262 home runs on the season, five shy of the all-time record set by the 2018 Yankees. Garver got things started with a bang in this one, crushing a leadoff solo homer off of Matthew Boyd. Max Kepler then added a solo shot off of Boyd in the second inning and Jorge Polanco crushed a two-run shot in the fourth.
C.J. Cron also victimized Boyd, blasting a solo shot in the sixth to bring the Twins within one home run of the record. Nelson Cruz then got in on the action, crushing a solo homer off of Buck Farmer in the eighth inning to tie the record.
That’s when Garver took matters into his own hands again. The guy who had been counting down each of the Twins’ home runs over the last few weeks and keeping his teammates updated on how close they were getting to history, stepped to the dish to lead off the ninth inning. There, he pulverized the first pitch that he saw from Joe Jimenez for the team’s record 268th home run of the season.
When asked about hitting the record-breaking homer after the game, Garver told reporters, “Honestly, I’m happy, because first of all, homers are pretty cool and I like hitting them… Second of all, I looked in the dugout because we’re all fighting to kind of do the same thing.”
Garver also said that his batting gloves, hat, and the ball that he crushed into the left field bleachers have already been taken by MLB to go to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Eddie Rosario eloquently summed up his feelings on the record, saying, “When you’re hitting a lot of bombas, everybody’s hitting bombas, everybody’s happy.”
It really has been a team effort to accomplish this remarkable feat. Max Kepler has led the charge with 36 home runs on the season. Nelson Cruz has clubbed 34 in his first season with the Twins. Eddie Rosario has matched his career-high with 27 long balls.
Garver, who entered the season with seven career home runs to his name, has already launched 26 dingers. Miguel Sano has also crushed 26 homers -- in only 85 games. Free agent acquisitions C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop have chipped in 24 and 21 long balls respectively. Jorge Polanco has belted a career-best 20 of his own.
That’s not to mention 15 from Marwin Gonzalez, 12 from Jason Castro, 10 from Byron Buxton, 7 from Jake Cave, 4 from Ehire Adrianza, and three apiece from Luis Arraez and Willians Astudillo.
The Twins still have 27 games to go in the regular season. If they continue at their current pace, they’ll add another 53 homers to that total and finish with an unthinkable 321 home runs on the season.

Kershaw Streak Snapped

Clayton Kershaw wasn’t at his best in Saturday’s loss to the Diamondbacks, allowing five runs on five hits over his five innings of work. Still, he struck out six and walked two on the night. Most of the damage done against him came via the long ball -- with a two-run blast by Christian Walker and a solo shot from Wilmer Flores in the third inning.
What’s surprising about the outing though, is the fact that Kershaw failed to pitch six innings. It’s the first time in 24 starts this season that Kershaw hasn’t gone at least six innings. That kind of consistency is incredible -- and certainly gets overlooked and perhaps underappreciated in today’s game.
Here’s the really jaw-dropping statistic from the star southpaw’s start on Saturday though. It marked the first time in his career that the Dodgers have scored four or more runs in a game that he started, and Kershaw wound up as the losing pitcher. In such instances entering Saturday, he had been 116-0. Remarkable.
Speaking of Christian Walker though, perhaps he’s a case study where batter vs. pitcher data actually tells us something. Entering play on Saturday, Walker had been a remarkable 4-for-8 with three home runs off of the Dodgers’ ace. Sure, it’s still an unbelievably small sample size, but when the results are that extreme, perhaps they’re worth noting. Unfortunately, for those who wish to take advantage of that information, Kershaw will not face the Diamondbacks again this season, so it’s simply something to file away for next year.

The 200 / 200 Club

On Saturday night, the 200 HR / 200 SB club just got a little younger.
Angels’ superstar Mike Trout became the youngest player in baseball history to hit both of those milestones, with his theft of second base in the second inning on Saturday.
At 28 years and 24 days old, Trout topped the previous record mark which was achieved by Barry Bonds, who hit the 200 / 200 mark with his 200th home run at the ripe old age of 28 years and 349 days.
Trout also became just the 40th player in MLB history to join the 250 HR / 200 SB club.
It remains to be seen if he’ll continue stealing bases at a proficient enough rate to ever join Bonds in the 400 HR / 400 SB club -- he’s the only player in MLB history to ever accomplish that feat.
In the process of locking up his third American League MVP Award -- and first since 2016 -- Trout is having an unbelievable season at the plate. With Saturday’s 1-for-3 effort, he’s now slashing .292/.438/.644 with a league-leading 43 homers, 101 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
We have a feeling there will be many, many more milestones in Trout’s future before all is said and done.

Ramos Raking

Wilson Ramos extended his MLB-best hitting streak to 24 games with a first-inning RBI single off of Jason Vargas in Saturday’s victory over the Phillies.
The Mets’ backstop has been sizzling at the plate during this impressive streak, hitting .446 (41-for-92) with three homers and 18 RBI, and even a stolen base for good measure.
The streak has done wonders for the 32-year-old backstop’s season-long numbers as well, as he’s now hitting a terrific .299/.360/.427 with 13 long balls and 66 RBI.

American League Quick Hits: Sean Manaea (shoulder) will make his long-awaited season debut on Sunday against the Yankees. … CC Sabathia landed on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation. The veteran southpaw got fluid drained from his ailing knee on Saturday and still hopes to pitch again in 2019. … Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone admitted that Edwin Encarnacion (wrist) could rejoin the team next week. … Indians’ outfielder Tyler Naquin will miss the remainder of the 2019 season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee. The injury occurred when he collided with the outfield wall after running down a fly ball during Friday’s game against the Rays. … The Red Sox signed Jhoulys Chacin to a minor league contract… Keon Broxton had his suspension reduced from two games to one. He’ll serve that suspension on Sunday… J.P. Crawford was unavailable for the Mariners on Saturday due to lingering hamstring tightness. …  Cam Bedrosian landed back on the injured list, this time with a right forearm strain. … Michael Chavis will be re-evaluated in Boston on Monday after being scratched from a rehab game on Friday with soreness in his side. … DJ LeMahieu smashed a walk-off home run off of Lou Trivino in the 11th inning on Saturday, leading the Yankees to victory over the Athletics. … Gary Sanchez clubbed a pair of homers in that one for the Bombers… Cavan Biggio homered and drove in three runs as the Blue Jays topped the Astros. … Ken Giles struck out the side against his former club in the ninth inning of that one to earn his 18th save… Ronny Rodriguez homered twice and drove in five runs as the Tigers out-slugged the Twins. … Ian Kennedy recorded his 24th save with a clean ninth inning against the Orioles. … Anthony Santander swatted a pair of home runs in a losing effort against the Royals. … Ji-Man Choi went 3-for-4 with a homer in a victory over the Indians. … Reynaldo Lopez gave up six runs in just ⅔ of an inning in a disastrous loss against the Braves… Mallex Smith swiped his league-leading 39th base in a loss to the Rangers. … Isiah Kiner-Falefa came through with a walk-off RBI single to beat the Mariners. … Albert Pujols launched his 20th home run and drove in three in a victory over the Red Sox.

National League Quick Hits: Brewers rookie second baseman Keston Hiura landed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain. It’s unclear if the injury will end his season, or if he’ll be able to make a return in late September. … Freddie Freeman was pulled from Saturday’s game against the White Sox for precautionary reasons after being drilled by a pitch on his left foot. He’s expected to return to the lineup on Sunday. … Mike Moustakas missed his fourth consecutive game with a hand injury. The club is hopeful he’ll return to the lineup on Sunday. … Ketel Marte (hamstring) is expected to return to the Diamondbacks’ lineup on Sunday. … Jeff Samardzija will start against the Padres on Sunday, with Tyler Beede being pushed back until Monday against the Cardinals. …  Reyes Moronta will undergo an MRI on Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game with an acute right shoulder strain. … Eugenio Suarez cranked his 39th home run as the Reds fell to the Cardinals in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. … Dexter Fowler had three hits, including a home run, to lead the Cardinals to victory in that one. … Bryce Harper clubbed his 29th home run and swiped a base in a loss to the Mets. … Raisel Iglesias suffered a blown save in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Cardinals and was yanked in favor of Kevin Gausman. … Sonny Gray allowed just an unearned run over 6 2/3 innings in a tough-luck no-decision there… Juan Soto clobbered his 30th home run of the season as the Nationals topped the Marlins… Teammate Anthony Rendon swatted his 30th and 31st home runs in that victory as well. In fact, he and Soto each hit their 30th bombs on back-to-back shots in the opening inning. … Stephen Strasburg matched his season high with 14 strikeouts over eight shutout innings in a masterful performance against the Marlins. … Eduardo Escobar left the yard for the third straight game as the Diamondbacks topped the Dodgers. … Dallas Keuchel won his third straight start, firing six innings of two-run baseball against the White Sox. … Josh Donaldson socked his 33rd dinger in that win. …Kevin Newman went 3-for-5 with a leadoff homer and three runs scored as the Pirates routed the Rockies. … Josh Bell slugged his 35th long ball in that one. …  Kirby Yates secured his league-leading 39th save as he closed out the Giants.