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Francisco Liriano with a 135.00 ERA after his first start of the season only lasted 1/3 of an inning.
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- On this date: Aaron becomes the home run king
On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron surpasses Babe Ruth as the all-time home run leader with his 715th homer.
Comment - On this date: Aaron becomes the home run king
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Yadier Molina, Cardinals find themselves in a sticky situation
ST. LOUIS -- A catcher’s chest protector typically is made of hard plastic over layers of foam. A baseball’s cover is cowhide. At last check, those two materials don’t have a magnetic attraction to one another.So one would think the St. Louis Cardinals would have had some idea, more than an hour later, why Brett Cecil's 82 mph breaking ball bounced in the dirt and magically stuck to Yadier Molina's torso, allowing Chicago Cubs pinch hitter Matt Szczur to reach first base on a wild pitch to lead off the seventh inning Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium. The moment -- in retrospect -- swung the game, a 6-4 Cubs victory, in Chicago's favor, primarily because Kyle Schwarber crushed a home run off Cecil two batters later, so it was certainly fresh on everyone’s minds.
And yet the Cardinals said repeatedly, in effect, “I know nothing!” -- summoning images of the great Sergeant Schultz from "Hogan's Heroes" and perhaps unnecessarily raising suspicions around baseball about their methods.
The Cubs could have pressed the matter and made their rivals squirm a bit, at the very least, but they seemed to shrug off the bizarre moment. They never asked umpire Quinn Wolcott to check the ball or pat down Cecil or Molina. Jason Heyward, who played with Molina as recently as 2015, and Schwarber said they assumed he stashed some sticky material somewhere on his gear to help him get a grip for his throws.
“Catchers like to put pine tar on their shin guards and throw balls to second base and get a good feeling," Schwarber said. "Maybe it rubbed off some and it stuck."
But when someone suggested that theory to Molina, he turned to the reporter and said, “Do I put anything on my chest protector? No. That’s a dumb question.”
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny repeated the same phrase Molina did -- “never seen it” -- several times and wouldn’t go into any more detail.
“I have no idea what happened. That’s all I can tell you,” Matheny said.Comment -
Padres' Manuel Margot: Crushes a pair of homers in Friday victory
by RotoWire Staff | Special to CBSSports.com
Margot went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo homers and a walk Friday against the Giants.Margot left the yard twice against Matt Cain to give the Padres a lead in a game they'd later come back to win. As a player who's highly regarded for his speed, the power output is certainly an added bonus for fantasy owners. The homers will likely cause him to get picked up quickly in fantasy leagues in which he went undrafted.Comment -
Giants might get swept by Pads and Rockies might sweep LADComment -
The Yankees will place catcher Gary Sanchez on the 10-day disabled list with a right biceps strain, Jack Curry of the YES Network was among those to report (Twitter link). Sanchez suffered the injury during the Yankees’ 5-4 loss to Baltimore on Saturday. He’ll see a doctor Monday or Tuesday, per Marly Rivera of ESPN.com.
New York has gotten off to a sluggish start even with the heralded Sanchez in its lineup, having dropped four of five to begin the season. Sanchez hit just .150/.190/.300 with a home run, four strikeouts and a walk during those five games, but the 24-year-old figures to rebound when he returns to action.
Sanchez slashed .299/.376/.657 with 20 homers in 299 plate appearances as a rookie last season, and while he won’t be able to replicate those numbers over a full campaign, he could nonetheless firmly establish himself as an elite catcher as early as this year. Further adding to Sanchez’s appeal is the fact that he cut down a whopping 41 percent of would-be base stealers in 2016. Given that the injury is to his impressive throwing arm, the Yankees will be extra careful with his recovery, according to manager Joe Girardi (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, on Twitter).
With Sanchez out of action, the Yankees will try to escape their early season swoon using the uninspiring combination of Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka behind the plate. Romine has batted an ugly .222/.256/.329 in 359 major league PAs, while the 26-year-old Higashioka hasn’t yet debuted in the bigs. He’ll join the Yankees on Sunday, tweets Hoch.Comment -
Bumgarner, Kershaw, Keuchel, Darvish, and King Felix all lose as decent to heavy favs
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Marlins at Mets, 8 ET Sunday on ESPN. Giancarlo Stanton: 0-for-8 with 5 strikeouts vs Noah Syndergaard (all five strikeouts are swinging)Comment -
Mike Trout: 2-run HR in 7th inning broke 3-3 tie..Clayton Kershaw allowed back-to-back HR for first time in his career
The Giants are 1-5 (first time since 2008)...Zach Britton (BAL): 52nd straight save conversion...Kris Bryant: 3-for-6, 2 2B
Yasiel Puig so far this season: 5 extra-base hits, 5 walks, 2 strikeouts.Comment -
look to bet against Darvish anytime he is a heavy favorite. he rarely goes past 6 innings because of his strikeout/pitch count ratio. so even when he does well, the rangers crappy bullpen will have to pitch at least 3 innings. matt bush can't pitch all 3 of them.Comment -
Definitely can't bet on favs for a winning strategy.Comment -
Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta handled the Brewers on Sunday in a seven-inning, 10-strikeout showing, after which he downplayed concerns about his diminished velocity. “Where I’m at now in my career, I don’t worry about it, because I know that I’m smart enough to work around that,” Arrieta told reporters, including Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago. “The velocity’s still good enough to get it by guys and to do certain things in certain situations with it.” The 31-year-old is clearly confident in his current stuff, but he does expect to regain his lost velocity. “When the 95-to-97 comes back, it’s going to be tough for teams. And it still is,” declared Arrieta, who has posted sterling numbers through two starts this year as he continues to make his case for a massive contract. Arrieta stands as arguably the majors’ top soon-to-be free agent.
More from around the sport:
- Although there has been skepticism toward Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward’s remade swing, the early returns on his offseason work have been promising, writes Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. Heyward picked up a pair of hits, including a triple, in five at-bats Sunday, and he managed to put the ball in play with 95 mph-plus exit velocities in each trip to the plate. “I like his hands,” observed manager Joe Maddon. “I like his hands more involved right now. He’s getting started sooner, staying through the ball longer.” Heyward’s previous swing yielded a highly disappointing .230/.306/.325 line in 592 PAs last season, which came as a shock after the normally solid hitter inked an eight-year, $184MM contract in free agency.
- California-based high schooler Hunter Greene is the premier prospect in this year’s draft class based on his ability as a pitcher, but he’s also a top-10 talent as a shortstop, according to Keith Law of ESPN.com (subscription required/recommended). Law scouted Greene’s start Friday and noted that the right-hander’s fastball didn’t fall below 94 mph in any of his seven innings. The 17-year-old has No. 1 starter upside, opines Law, who believes Greene could even play some short and work as a part-time hitter in the majors. Louisville’s Brendan McKay, whom Law regards as the second-best player in this year’s class, is also a two-way talent. McKay is both a left-handed pitcher and a first baseman, and Law expects him to settle in as a hurler – one who could serve as a No. 3 type for the long haul. McKay has less upside than Greene, but the 21-year-old would be the safer pick, suggests Law. Check out the full piece for more details on both players.
- The Yankees remain unsure sure how much time cornerstone catcher Gary Sanchez will miss on account of his right biceps strain, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. While the Sanchez-less Yanks could continue with Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka behind the plate in lieu of exploring outside options, King lists several potential targets if the club does look elsewhere for help. Hector Sanchez (Padres), Jesus Sucre (Rays), Tuffy Gosewisch (Mariners), former Yankee John Ryan Murphy (Twins), Ryan Hanigan (Rockies), Bobby Wilson (Dodgers) and Manny Pina (Brewers) are names to watch, relays King.
- In the wake of Jeanmar Gomez’s meltdown against the Nationals on Sunday, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin revealed that he’s “considering” changing closers (via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). “I’m going to have a talk with him tomorrow,” said Mackanin, whose Phillies escaped with a 4-3 win after Gomez blew a save. “I’ll have something for you tomorrow. I need to talk with him.” Gomez has allowed multiple runs in two of three appearances this year, and he has been especially prone to poor outings since the second half of last season. Gomez did log 37 saves in 2016, but he accomplished that in spite of a 4.85 ERA and a subpar K/9 (6.16). Now, if the Phillies turn to someone else as their closer, it’ll likely be Joaquin Benoit, Hector Neris or Edubray Ramos, notes Zolecki. Keeping Neris and Ramos in setup roles would tamp down their future arbitration earnings, though it’s unclear if that will factor into the Phillies’ decision.
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Rockies game finally hits the over at Cours. Even though the loss today. Rockies look like a decent clubComment -
The Dodgers have scored double-digit runs three times already this season, two more than any other club. Their 40 runs scored are second best in the major leagues, as is their run differential of +18. The Diamondbacks have scored 48 runs with a run differential of +19.Comment -
The Red Sox have placed center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. on the 10-day DL, as Ian Browne of MLB.com was among those to report. Bradley was diagnosed with a knee sprain caused by a misstep while running the bases. An MRI did not reveal more significant damage, so the hope is he won’t miss much more than the minimum.
Let’s check in on a few health situations of note from around the game …
- Giants star Buster Posey departed the club’s game today after being struck in the head by an errant pitch, but thankfully indications are he escaped any significant injury. As Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes, Posey passed a concussion test and told teammates he was fine. That’s not conclusive, of course, but for now the team does not plan to make a roster move to fill in for the stellar backstop, as Baggarly further notes on Twitter.
- Mariners shortstop Jean Segura was also pulled today with an injury, though it doesn’t appear to be a major concern. Manager Scott Servais told reporters, including MLB.com’s Greg Johns (Twitter link), that it’s a “very mild” hamstring issue. For now, at least, the key offseason addition won’t be headed for the DL, with Servais calling him day to day.
- The Blue Jays anticipate that closer Roberto Osuna will be able to return to action tomorrow, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports. The excellent young reliever opened the year on the 10-day DL owing to a cervical spasm, though that placement was backdated. He made it through a sim game and now seems ready to return to the majors — where he’ll try to pick up where he left off in a strong 2016 season.
- There are several important Rockies players still working back from injury, and Nick Groke of the Denver Post has the latest. Ian Desmond, Tom Murphy, and David Dahl all seem to be progressing, with the trio possibly slated to return by the end of the month. Desmond, who’ll suit up at first base for the first time when he’s ready, seems to have the clearest progression at this point. Per Groke, Desmond will start to throw and field at some point this week.
- Athletics righties Sonny Gray and Chris Bassitt are making strides in their rehabs, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Grey’s lat strain is healing well enough that he was able to work up to 35 pitches from the bullpen today. That could leave him on track to return tot he majors before April is out, per the report. Bassitt, meanwhile, is on the cusp of a rehab stint, though Slusser notes that he’s likely to take a full month in the minors since he’s working back from a year-long layoff owing to Tommy John surgery.
- Though he’s currently stashed at Triple-A, Cardinals righty Luke Weaver is a key piece of the organization’s depth (and future rotation plans). He is headed for a DL stint with lower back stiffness, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports on Twitter. At present, it’s not clear what kind of an absence is anticipated.
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Lowly Padres 4-4 as Myers hits for the cycleComment
So, it balanced out.