[koz-man]

The Elias Sports Bureau notes that Giancarlo Stanton is just the 3rd player since 2000 with 10 HR in a month before the 15th day of that month. Troy Tulowitzki (COL) hit 11 in September 2010 and Tino Martinez (NYY) hit 10 in May 2005.

[stevenash]

Anybody see that four outfielder shift Maddon put on Votto?
He did a softball style four outfield defense on him, but it was four across, not three across and a short fielder.
Backfired on the 'genius' Votto lined a double inside the first base bag.

Maddon is such a goof ball.

[BigSpoon]

Saw that bs from Maddon, so overrated as a manager.

[EmpireMaker]

Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis made his return to the major league hill tonight after a long road back following treatment for testicular cancer. To call it a success would be an understatement: Bettis, 28, scattered six hits over seven scoreless frames. MLBTR congratulates him on an inspiring return to the game’s highest level of competition.
Here’s more from the National League:

• While there has been at least some chatter surrounding the idea that the Nationals could have interest in Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson, that’s not the case, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). While the Nats’ original starting outfield trio is shelved on the DL, it seems the organization feels good enough about the health outlook to forego pursuit of a player such as Granderson. The hope remains that both Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth will be able to return in time to gear up for the postseason, with a variety of other players — including Brian Goodwin, Michael Taylor, and just-acquired veteran Howie Kendrick — slated to cover for the longstanding absence of Adam Eaton, who is not expected to play again this year.
• Mets closer Jeurys Familia is set to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow, as James Wagner of the New York Times reports on Twitter. Familia will open in the Gulf Coast League as he begins to move back toward the majors following surgery for a blood clot in his shoulder. It’s obviously too late for his return to impact the Mets’ long-lost hopes of contending, but the 27-year-old will still presumably be aiming to get some work in late this year to set the stage for a rebound in 2018. The coming campaign will be his final year of arbitration control; with only 9 1/3 innings on his ledger to date in 2017, Familia will likely only be able to earn a relatively modest raise on his $7.425MM salary.
• While the Nationals and Dodgers hold the two best records in the National League, each team’s manager — Dusty Baker and Dave Roberts, respectively — currently lack long-term job security. In Baker’s case, per Janes, it seems unlikely that his future will be addressed until after the season (when his contract will expire), though it seems the general expectation in the organization remains that something will be worked out. There’s a similar tone with regard to Roberts, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. Roberts says he’s not thinking about a new deal in the middle of the year, but did say he hopes to continue his “dream job” beyond his current term (the three-year deal runs through 2018 and includes a club option for one more season).
• Shaikin also takes a look in at the interesting transition to the mound currently being attempted by Ike Davis and the Dodgers. The former Mets first baseman — and one-time Arizona State closer — has already earned plaudits for his outstanding attitude in heading down to Rookie ball, and there are some reasons to think he could have a new future in the game at thirty years of age. “The early reviews have been really good,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.

[Cross]

Maddon is top notch. Players love to play for the guy. Keeps things fun.

[Chi_archie]

Anybody see that four outfielder shift Maddon put on Votto?
He did a softball style four outfield defense on him, but it was four across, not three across and a short fielder.
Backfired on the 'genius' Votto lined a double inside the first base bag.

Maddon is such a goof ball.

he doesn't know how to handle a pen. otherwise he's pretty damn good manager

[El Nino]

Maddon is top notch. Players love to play for the guy. Keeps things fun.

Overrated in my book.

[stevenash]

Maddon is top notch. Players love to play for the guy. Keeps things fun.

Royals love playing for Ned Yost and Rusty Kuntz.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Overrated in my book.

nothing to see here

of course the Chicago homer waxes poetic about him

[koz-man]

Madison Bumgarner vs Stanton tonight. In 16 career at-bats against Bumgarner, Stanton is 8-for-16 with five doubles

[koz-man]

Joey Votto has reached base safely multiple times in 19 straight games, two shy of the modern era record of 21 set by Ted Williams in 1948

[koz-man]

Rays: 12 runs over last 10 games is fewest for any AL team since the designated hitter was implemented in 1973 (ELIAS)

[stevenash]

Rays: 12 runs over last 10 games is fewest for any AL team since the designated hitter was implemented in 1973 (ELIAS)

They're going to go nuts tonight I think though.
Favorable match up against Blue Jays.

[stevenash]

They're going to go nuts tonight I think though.
Favorable match up against Blue Jays.

Just saying.

[yisman]

Maddon makes a lot of stupid moves

Showcased during the 2016 WS

[Cross]

Maddon will showcase a nice new World Series ring to all you haters.

[Cross]

The truth is you can gripe about any manager and their decisions, but give me some names of who could do better as Cubs manager please.

[Andy117]

Anybody see that four outfielder shift Maddon put on Votto?
He did a softball style four outfield defense on him, but it was four across, not three across and a short fielder.
Backfired on the 'genius' Votto lined a double inside the first base bag.

Maddon is such a goof ball.

I don't think it's such a terrible idea vs Votto. He hits a lot to the OF and Schwarber is a horrendous fielder with the range of a traffic cone.

[EmpireMaker]

Maddon is a guru, he gets these young guys to buy-in and focus on baseball and makes it fun for them. He tries to use analytics to his advantage, works sometimes, doesn't work sometimes. You can't argue with his success especially with young teams.

[Otters27]

Blue Jays 3.5 games back in WC standings.

[koz-man]

The Dodgers improved to 84-34 with their win against the White Sox Tuesday. According to Elias, they are the eighth team in the Live Ball era to reach 50 games above .500 before picking up their 35th loss. They are the first to do so since the 2001 Mariners started 80-30.

[koz-man]

Aaron Judge struck out for the 32nd straight game Tuesday, matching Adam Dunn in 2012 for the longest single-season streak by a position player in major-league history. After recording 30 multi-hit games before the All-Star break, he only has one in 30 games since then

[Chi_archie]

The Dodgers improved to 84-34 with their win against the White Sox Tuesday. According to Elias, they are the eighth team in the Live Ball era to reach 50 games above .500 before picking up their 35th loss. They are the first to do so since the 2001 Mariners started 80-30.

they are pretty damn good

[BigSpoon]

Blue Jays 3.5 games back in WC standings.

Yeah, they only need to jump 7 teams to get that 2nd wc spot.

[mr. leisure]

Lets see what the Dodgers can do in playoffs .

[stevenash]

Blue Jays 3.5 games back in WC standings.

I can't see it happening Otter.

[yisman]

wonder why Dan Straily got pulled so early yesterday

[stevenash]

Rangers put on their hitting shoes tonight.

[Cross]

That mookie Betts at bat to win the game was terrific. He laid off two strikeout pitches and then puts one off the monster for the walk off. That was clutch.

[El Nino]

Dodgers...seriously??? How many times can they do this shit? Clutch beyond

[EmpireMaker]

Masahiro Tanaka is on the disabled list due to some inflammation in his shoulder, but he could be back with the Yankees as soon as next week, per WFAN’s Sweeny Murti (Twitter link). Murti also notes that lefty CC Sabathia is slated to come off the DL on Saturday. Tanaka will throw a bullpen session tomorrow, and if that goes well, he’ll return to the rotation next week against the Tigers. Demonstrating that this is a minor issue will be key for Tanaka and the Yankees; Tanaka has pitched quite well over his past nine starts and been solid dating back to late May, perhaps positioning him to opt out of the remaining three years on his contract. And the Yankees, of course, are currently in possession of an AL Wild Card spot and are also 4.5 games back of the Red Sox in the AL East.
A few more injury updates of note from around the league…

• The Angels have received some good news on the rotation front, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Left-hander Andrew Heaney will return to the mound on Friday in Baltimore — his first big league appearance in roughly 16 months. Heaney underwent Tommy John surgery last year — one of many blows to what had looked on paper to be a promising Angels pitching staff. Now 26 years of age, Heaney turned in 105 2/3 innings of 3.49 ERA ball with 6.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in his first season with the Halos back in 2015. A healthy Heaney would be a boost to a surging Angels club that now finds itself in the thick of the AL Wild Card race. Fletcher also tweeted yesterday that, per manager Mike Scioscia, right-hander Garrett Richards will face hitters later this week, though it’s not yet clear when Richards could return to a big league mound.
• Left-hander Jake Diekman is getting closer to returning to the Rangers’ bullpen. Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that Diekman will begin a rehab assignment with the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate on Thursday, during which he’s slated to throw 15 pitches. The 30-year-old southpaw was a key piece of the Texas bullpen in 2015-16 after coming over from the Phillies alongside Cole Hamels, but he’s yet to pitch this season due to a trio of surgeries he’s undergone to combat ulcerative colitis.
• The Athletics announced yesterday that right-hander Bobby Wahl’s season is over after he underwent surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome. TOS surgery has become increasingly popular in recent seasons, though the success rate on it doesn’t appear to be as high as other common surgeries for pitchers. The 25-year-old Wahl posted terrific numbers in Double-A and Triple-A last season, and he made his big league debut with Oakland earlier in 2017. In 7 2/3 frames, he allowed four runs on eight hits and four walks with eight strikeouts.
• The Mets placed right-hander Seth Lugo on the 10-day DL yesterday with an impingement in his right shoulder, and Lugo emphasized today that he doesn’t feel surgery is required for either his previously injured elbow or his shoulder, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes. Lugo is hopeful of missing just one or two starts with his current issue. “The doctors said this is an inoperable situation,” said Lugo. “…Surgery’s not even a though.” Lugo missed the first two months of the season after being diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
• Nationals manager Dusty Baker gave some quick updates on a number of ailing players, writes Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com. Outfielder Jayson Werth is still going through a running program and isn’t yet ready for a rehab assignment, per Baker. Werth will need to play consecutive nine-inning games before being activated. Baker also revealed that while he initially thought right-hander Ryan Madson was dealing with a blister issue on his finger, it appears that is not the case. Madson has “something in his finger” that the Nats are currently analyzing. Bryce Harper, meanwhile, is traveling with the team as he gets treatment on his injured left knee.

[Otters27]

Rockies bust Braves 17-2. Lots of people called that on a guaranteed winner

[koz-man]

The Cubs beat the Reds 7-6 on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning with Javier Baez crossing the plate after Joe Maddon was ejected for an overturned HBP ruling on Ben Zobrist.

The Cubs blew a 6-1 lead after Anthony Rizzo hit a grand slam in the first inning. Hector Rondon gave up two home runs while CJ Edwards gave up the game tying shot to Adam Duvall in the eighth inning.

After reaching base in the first inning, Joey Vottos streak of getting on at least twice in a game was snapped at 20 straight games, one shy of tying Ted Williams record,

[BigSpoon]

Jered Weaver announced his retirement yesterday. Very good career, too bad his body failed him after 9 solid seasons.

[stevenash]

Jered Weaver announced his retirement yesterday. Very good career, too bad his body failed him after 9 solid seasons.

Yeah, he was a gamer.
Don't feel too bad for him though.
He made gazillions of dollars throwing that round ball every fifth day.