Daily Clips

August 10, 2018

LOCALMore home runs, more strikeouts: The less-sexy side of baseball analyticsAugust 9, 2018 By KC Starhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article216377840.html

Here are Royals’ Players Weekend nicknames and special jerseys, caps they will wearAugust 9, 2018 By Pete Grathoff/KC Starhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article216392605.html

Hundred-loss teams often bounce back. But Royals might be missing key ingredientAugust 9, 2018 By Sam McDowell/KC Starhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article216376555.html

Vote for best third baseman in Royals’ 50-season history as part of an all-time teamAugust 9, 2018 By Pete Grathoff & Blair Kerkhoff/KC Starhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article216364785.html

MINORSChasers Roll in Round Rock, 9-0Dziedzic strong, Torres homers in road trip openerAugust 9, 2018 By Omaha Storm Chasershttps://www.milb.com/omaha/news/chasers-roll-in-round-rock-9-0/c-289673168

Naturals Fall In Extras As ‘Hounds Take FinaleNaturals' infielder Jecksson Flores goes 4-for-5 with a triple and 2 RBIs in the 9-5, 10-inning defeatAugust 9, 2018 By Northwest Arkansas Naturalshttps://www.milb.com/northwest-arkansas/news/naturals-fall-in-extras-as-hounds-take-finale/c-289691860

Blue Rocks Edge Red Sox For Series WinWilmington's Offense Stays Strong Against SalemAugust 9, 2018 By Wilmington Blue Rockshttps://www.milb.com/wilmington/news/blue-rocks-edge-red-sox-for-series-win/c-289665254

Lexington Drops Game Three To Asheville, But Take Series Over TouristsAugust 9, 2018 By Lexington Legendshttps://www.milb.com/lexington/news/lexington-drops-game-three-to-asheville-but-take-series-over-tourists/c-289674150

7 Run 5th Inning Costs Chukars in LossAugust 9, 2018 By Idaho Falls Chukarshttps://www.milb.com/idaho-falls/news/7-run-5th-inning-costs-chukars-in-loss/c-289701628

Yankees Take Series Opener from RoyalsPulaski scores twice late to take 3-1 winAugust 9, 2018 By Burlington Royalshttps://www.milb.com/burlington-royals/news/yankees-take-series-opener-from-royals/c-289693072

NATIONALThe Useless Info Dept., Teenage Masher EditionAugust 10, 2018 By Jayson Stark/The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/466609/2018/08/10/stark-the-useless-info-dept-teenage-masher-edition/

Strong friendships are allowing Mike Moustakas to hit the ground running in MilwaukeeAugust 9, 2018 By Robert Murray/The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/466051/2018/08/09/strong-friendships-are-allowing-mike-moustakas-to-hit-the-ground-running-in-milwaukee/

‘I probably shouldn’t have been an idiot’: Now pitching in New Jersey indy ball, Mat Latos works to earn another chanceAugust 8, 2018 By Gary Phillips/The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/457644/2018/08/08/i-probably-shouldnt-have-been-an-idiot-now-pitching-in-new-jersey-indy-ball-mat-latos-works-to-earn-another-chance/

Betts homers to complete cycle in TorontoAugust 9, 2018 By Ian Browne/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/redsox/news/mookie-betts-hits-for-first-career-cycle/c-289645508

A's acquire reliever Rodney from TwinsAugust 9, 2018 By Manny Randhawa/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/news/fernando-rodney-traded-from-twins-to-as/c-289664222

Jansen hospitalized with irregular heartbeatDodgers closer returns to LA, scheduled to meet with cardiologistAugust 9, 2018 By Anne Rogers/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/kenley-jansen-to-hospital-with-heart-condition/c-289689348

MLB TRANSACTIONSAugust 10, 2018 •.CBSSports.comhttp://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

LOCALMore home runs, more strikeouts: The less-sexy side of baseball analyticsAugust 9, 2018 By KC Starhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article216377840.html

Michael Lewis’ book “Moneyball: The Art of Winning An Unfair Game” changed the way people think about our national pastime.

The book, published in 2003, was based on the Oakland Athletics and the team’s general manager, Billy Beane. It introduced many of its readers to what has become known as analytics: the application of statistical analysis to baseball.

Among other things in the book, it was argued that walks were undervalued while the stolen base, hit-and-run and sacrifice bunt were overvalued. It was also argued that the two most important statistics when it came to scoring runs were on-base percentage and slugging percentage (OPS).

A lot of people bought those arguments.

Teams hired analysts to crunch the numbers and tell them how to play the game more efficiently. If you want to know how influential analytics have become since Moneyball was published, all you have to do is look at the defensive-shift alignments that have three infielders on the same side of the diamond, or four guys in the outfield.

Analytics have definitely changed the game, but have they made it better?

Changes since 2002

In 2002, the year before Moneyball was published, there were 16,246 walks issued in the big leagues; in 2017, there were 15,829. Despite the analytics community’s enthusiasm for walks, there have been only two seasons where total walks increased above the 2002 level.

But home runs and strikeouts have gone up.

In 2002, there were 5,059 homers and 31,394 strikeouts; in 2017, there were 6,105 homers and 40,104 strikeouts. That’s an extra 1,046 homers and an extra 8,710 at-bats where a ball was not put in play.

Home runs and strikeouts tend to go hand-in-hand.

To hit home runs, most hitters have to start their swing sooner and pull the ball into the shortest part of the park —

one of the corners. Starting their swing sooner means hitters get fooled by pitches more often, though, and that means more swings-and-misses.

But some people have argued that there’s nothing particularly bad about striking out: an out’s an out.

That ignores the value of putting the ball in play, advancing runners and pressuring the defense. But moving a runner from second to third base with a ground-out to the right side won’t get you paid; driving in that runner from second base will.

And if you drive in that runner with a homer, so much the better.

If the marketplace rewards players who hit home runs and doesn’t punish them for striking out, guys will keep swinging for the fences, even when they have two strikes. Hit enough home runs and the strikeouts won’t matter.

If Yankees star Aaron Judge hits 52 homers, will the marketplace punish him for striking out 208 times?

About those singlesWhen teams apply a defensive shift and leave half the infield wide open, fans often wonder why the guy at the plate doesn’t bunt, or hit a 27-hopper to the unprotected side of the field.

Royals manager Ned Yost and pitching coach Cal Eldred both say the single is being devalued.

If a hitter feels like he’s getting paid for his slugging percentage, he might let a hittable pitch go by because it’s not a pitch he can hit for a home run. Taking pitches in order to get to a favorable hitting count is one of the reasons pitches-per-plate appearance have gone up.

But more pitches thrown and fewer balls in play mean games have gotten longer ... and slower.

If your offense is built around extra-base hits, why steal a base? An attempted steal risks an out and if the guy at the plate hits a homer, a runner on first base is going to score anyway.

In 2002, there were 2,750 stolen bases in 4,032 attempts; in 2017, there were 2,527 steals in 3,461 attempts. Sacrifice bunts were down as well, from 1,633 in 2002 to 925 in 2017.

As Yost pointed out, standing around waiting for someone to hit a home run has taken strategy out of the game.

Fact is, singles matter, tooBoth Yost and Eldred pointed out that singles do in fact matter. String a couple of them together, throw in a stolen base, and you might have a run. And even when you don’t push a runner across the plate, a single can still help you win.

A seemingly meaningless two-out single in the seventh inning might buy someone like Houston’s Jose Altuve an extra trip to the plate in the ninth.

And just having a runner on base changes the game. A runner with a reputation for stealing bases forces the pitcher to split his concentration. He has to think about pickoffs, holding the

ball in the set position, using a slide-step and throwing fastballs to get the ball to home plate in a hurry.

The defense has to position someone closer to second base to cover the bag on a steal attempt, and that can open a hole for a base hit. If the batter is willing to lay down a bunt, the corner defenders might need to play in, which lessens their range.

All this strategy is infinitely more interesting than watching a game of Home Run Derby.

Analytics might have provided more offense, but the current method for providing that offense means games have also gotten longer ... and less interesting.

The quest to hit more home runs has led to an all-or-nothing style of play. Fans might like the additional home runs, but the strikeouts that go with them have resulted in some pretty boring baseball.

Here are Royals’ Players Weekend nicknames and special jerseys, caps they will wearAugust 9, 2018 By Pete Grathoff/KC Starhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article216392605.html

El Niño flashes the signal, and here’s the pitch from Chill Sergeant ... there’s a fly to right-center field. El Boni and Maverick are tracking the ball and Maverick makes the catch.

That’s what you could hear during a Royals game from Aug. 24-26. That’s the Player’s Weekend and the Royals will have nicknames on the back of their uniforms when they play host to the Indians.

Danny Duffy will be Chill Sergeant, El Boni is Jorge Bonifacio’s nickname, Maverick is Brett Phillips’ choice and El Niño is, of course, Salvador Perez.

“We were extraordinarily pleased that the first Players’ Weekend gave fans greater insight into the players, their stories and their paths to the Major Leagues,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said on MLB.com. “By highlighting their positive influences, Players’ Weekend showcased the significance of youth baseball and its role in the development of Major Leaguers. We look forward to the event returning and continuing to bring fans closer to the greatest baseball players in the world.”

You also could have a double play call of LaGuinea (Adalberto Mondesi) to Whitley (Whit Merrifield) to Vito (Drew Butera).

These are the jerseys and caps the Royals will wear for the weekend:

Click link for photos.

Here is the list of Royals nicknames:

Jorge Bonifacio: “EL BONI”

Blaine Boyer: “BLAZER”

Drew Butera: “VITO”

Hunter Dozier: “DOZ”

Lucas Duda: “DUDE”

Danny Duffy: “CHILL SERGEANT”

Alcides Escobar: “MAGIC”

Heath Fillmyer: “FILLY”

Brian Flynn: “FLYNNY”

Jesse Hahn: “J HOOD”

Jason Hammel: “HAMMER”

Alex Gordon: “GORDO”

Rosell Herrera: “VARON”

Tim Hill: “HILL”

Jakob Junis: “JUNE BUG”

Nate Karns: “NATE DOGG”

Brad Keller: “B. K.”

Ian Kennedy: “BUDDA”

Brandon Maurer: “MAURER POWER”

Kevin McCarthy: “MAC”

Whit Merrifield: “WHITLEY”

Adalberto Mondesi: “LA GUINEA”

Ryan O’Hearn: “BROHEARN”

Wily Peralta: “BIG WILY”

Salvador Perez: “EL NIÑO”

Brett Phillips: “MAVERICK”

Eric Skoglund: “SKOGS:

Burch Smith: “SMITTY”

Glenn Sparkman: “SPARKY”

Hundred-loss teams often bounce back. But Royals might be missing key ingredientAugust 9, 2018 By Sam McDowell/KC Starhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article216376555.html

Hours before the Royals would complete the worst first half of a season in franchise history, manager Ned Yost sat in a dugout in Chicago last month and surveyed the future. He expressed optimism, and after receiving some pushback, he cited a statistic as his evidence.

Four of the past five teams to lose 100 games in a season, he explained, reached the playoffs within the ensuing three years.

The number was actually slightly incorrect — it’s four of the past six teams — but the point, first publicized by The Star’s Sam Mellinger in a column last month, stands.

“What happens is when you lose 100 games, you’re going to get cracks at some of the best talent in the country (in the draft),” Yost said. “And that’s what we did so well (last time). We drafted well, and we got the Moustakases, the Hosmers.

“There’s a big difference in picking first or picking 25th or 22nd,” Yost said. “Top-five picks — you’re going to get one of the most talented players in the country.”

The Royals are on pace to join the 100-loss club — an exclusive group only 10 teams have reached since 2009 — and they are battling the Baltimore Orioles for the top pick in next year’s MLB Draft.

The success of the 100-loss teams over the past decade offers hope. But the Royals don’t mimic their predecessors.

Not yet.

The 100-loss clubs to reach the playoffs within the following three seasons are the 2016 Minnesota Twins, who made the playoffs in 2017; the 2013 Astros, who also hit the century mark in 2012 and 2011 before making the playoffs in 2015, but we’re only counting them once here; the 2012 Cubs, who qualified for postseason play in 2015; and the 2010 Pirates, who made it in 2013.

A common thread runs through those success stories — high-ranked prospects. And that is precisely what has been absent of late from the Royals’ farm system.

Those teams had them. And a lot of them. As they marched toward 100 defeats, in their respective minor-league systems sat signs of a brighter future. And a lot of top-ranked youth was already on the field, to boot.

The 2016 Twins had six players named in Baseball America’s top-100 prospect preseason rankings. And they had three more players on the major league roster who had cracked the same list the year before. The 2013 Astros had five top-100 prospects. The 2012 Cubs had three, and they had three additional the year before. The 2010 Pirates had two and two more the previous year.

The Royals opened 2018 with zero prospects on the top-100 list. They had zero in 2017, too.

That leaves the future in Kansas City less evident. Or perhaps it’s just simply less immediate.

Throughout the year, Royals general manager Dayton Moore has spent considerable time emphasizing the need to rebuild the farm system. He’s in the process of trying to fulfill that endeavor, acquiring young talent in midseason trades involving Jon Jay, Kelvin Herrera and Mike Moustakas.

“I think we’ve been very proactive, knowing that we needed to fill our pipeline (and) add prospects to our system at various levels,” Moore told reporters after the trade deadline 10 days ago. “And that includes players that can be part of our future that we control for a long period of time.”

To be sure, the Royals can still find the path of their predecessors, but the likeliness that they capture the brisk nature of those turnarounds appears slim, given the numbers. Those teams were already well on their way. The Royals are still feeling the effects of 2014 and 2015 trades that lined them up to win a World Series but depleted the farm system — a tradeoff they would undoubtedly welcome but one that is at least partially responsible for their current positioning.

There are avenues to win without the high-ranked prospects. Whit Merrifield was never in the top 100 (yet Kyle Zimmer cracked the list three separate years). The production from prospects is fickle. A boatload of them never even reach the major leagues.

But the rankings do mean something. The success of those 100-loss teams proves that. They had quality and quantity, and at least in the Cubs’ case, they had dollars to spend to supplement the looming impact of a farm system.

Nobody knows this better than the Royals. Even for a franchise that had not sniffed the playoffs in three decades, the 2014 and 2015 seasons should have been foreseeable.

In 2011, three years before the Royals returned to the playoffs, they had eight prospects ranked in Baseball America’s top-83 players. Eric Hosmer (No. 8), Mike Moustakas (9), Christian Colon (51) and Danny Duffy (68) would go on to receive World Series rings. Wil Myers (10) was traded for a package that included Wade Davis, who recorded the last out of the 2015 World Series.

For a small-market franchise, that’s a vital launching point. And for the Royals, it commenced once more this summer, with Moore prioritizing college talent in the draft. The club’s top pick, Brady Singer, was No. 60 on Baseball America’s midseason rankings.

It’s a start. The Royals will have an opportunity to augment the list with a top pick next season. As Yost said on that day in Chicago, there’s a difference between top-five talent and top-25 talent.

So long as you get it right.

“We like what we’ve been able to do and taking advantage of trades that were available to us with players that we acquired in the spring,” Moore said. “We continue to improve and continue to remake our organization.”

Vote for best third baseman in Royals’ 50-season history as part of an all-time teamAugust 9, 2018 By Pete Grathoff & Blair Kerkhoff/KC Starhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article216364785.html

The Royals’ 50th season is in full swing, and the team will have some great giveaways this weekend as part of the celebration.

In honor of the milestone season, The Star is looking for help from Royals fans as we seek to determine the best players at each position in franchise history.

From now until September, we’ll ask you to vote for an all-time team. We’ve previously looked at the top catchers, first basemen, second basemen and shortstops.

This poll will round out the infield and determine who will join Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer, Frank White and Freddie Patek as the best among their positions.

Here are the candidates.

George BrettA member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Brett won a batting title in three different decades, was the 1980 AL MVP, a 13-time All-Star, the 1985 ALCS MVP, helped the Royals win the 1985 World Series, the 1980 AL pennant and finished with 3,154 hits. Brett also won three Silver Slugger awards and a Gold Glove award. He finished with more walks than strikeouts in his career.

Gary GaettiGaetti won a Silver Slugger award in the last of his three seasons with the Royals. He had 61 homers with the Royals, including 35 in 1995. Gaetti finished 10th in American League MVP voting in that final season in Kansas City.

Mike MoustakasA two-time All-Star, Moustakas set the Royals’ single-season home-run record with 38 in 2017. Moose was part of the 2015 World Series championship team and the 2014 AL champions. Moustakas finished 21st in the AL MVP voting in 2015. After 7 1/2 seasons with the Royals, Moustakas was traded to Milwaukee last month.

Joe RandaRanda had two stints with the Royals and played eight seasons total in Kansas City. He collected 533 RBIs and 223 doubles in 4,158 plate appearances. Randa had five straight seasons with double-digit homers and had 80 or more RBIs in four straight seasons.

Kevin SeitzerIn his first full season with the Royals, Seitzer was an All-Star, finished second in Rookie of the Year voting and led the league in hits with 207. In six seasons with the Royals, Seitzer batted .294 with 128 doubles in 3,163 plate appearances. He also had 369 walks and 326 strikeouts.

MINORSChasers Roll in Round Rock, 9-0Dziedzic strong, Torres homers in road trip openerAugust 9, 2018 By Omaha Storm Chasershttps://www.milb.com/omaha/news/chasers-roll-in-round-rock-9-0/c-289673168

Jon Dziedzic kept Round Rock off the board, Ramon Torres homered, and the Storm Chasers cruised to a 9-0 victory over the Express on Thursday night at Dell Diamond.

Omaha took advantage of Round Rock wildness to score 5 times in the top of the 3rd. Ramon Torres and Paulo Orlando walked, prompting the end of the night for Round Rock starter Chris Tillman. Austin Bibens-Dirkx entered, and issued further walks to Frank Schwindel and Cam Gallagher , forcing home a run. Elier Hernandez made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly, Donnie DeWees singled home Schwindel, and

after Humberto Arteaga singled to re-load the bases, Jack Lopez doubled in two more runs to give Omaha a 5-0 lead.

Tillman (L, 0-1) was charged with 2 runs, 2 hits, and 4 walks in 2.1 innings. He struck out 1.

Ramon Torres made it 6-0 with a solo homer in the top of the 6th; it was his 6th of the year.

Jon Dziedzic (W, 6-8) was excellent for Omaha, tossing 6 scoreless frames. He scattered 5 hits, struck out 2, and walked 1.

The Chasers extended the lead to 8-0 in the 7th. Elier Hernandez and Donnie DeWees singled, and they were wild-pitched to 2nd and 3rd. Jack Lopez drove in Hernandez with a sacrifice fly, and Nicky Lopez knocked in DeWees.

Jack Lopez collected his 4th RBI of the night in the top of the 9th, singling home Terrance Gore . Gore had singled and advanced to 2nd on a hit by Donnie DeWees.

Josh Staumont threw two scoreless frames of relief, and Richard Lovelady closed the game in the 9th.

The Storm Chasers (53-62) will continue the series at Dell Diamond tomorrow at 7:05. RHP Arnaldo Hernandez (2-1, 5.33) will face Round Rock's RHP Chris Rowley (0-2, 8.38).

Naturals Fall In Extras As ‘Hounds Take FinaleNaturals' infielder Jecksson Flores goes 4-for-5 with a triple and 2 RBIs in the 9-5, 10-inning defeatAugust 9, 2018 By Northwest Arkansas Naturalshttps://www.milb.com/northwest-arkansas/news/naturals-fall-in-extras-as-hounds-take-finale/c-289691860

Second baseman Jecksson Flores had a big night at the plate but it was not enough as the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (20-26, 55-61) would fall in extra innings to Midland as the RockHounds (18-29, 51-65) take the series finale by a 9-5 final in 10-innings at Arvest Ballpark on Thursday night. Northwest Arkansas still wins the series two-games-to-one and remains 6.0 games back of Texas League North Division-leading Tulsa after their loss to Corpus Christi earlier in the night.

It was a 4-4 affair in the tenth before the visitors broke open the ballgame with a late surge. Naturals' reliever Yunior Marte (L, 2-3) walked Tyler Ramirez and gave up a single to Richie Martin to load the bases before being lifted for Franco Terrero . The hard-throwing righty struck out Seth Brown for the first out in the frame but then it was all Midland after that. J.P. Sportman doubled to right to clear the bases and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Nate Mondou. Skye Bolt then completed the scoring in the top of the tenth with a solo home run off the foul pole in left to extend the RockHounds extra-inning advantage to 9-4.

Northwest Arkansas would get a run back on a RBI groundout by Samir Duenez but that would be it as they fall by a 9-5 final. The 10-inning loss to Midland drops the Naturals overall record to 4-5 in extra-inning games this season.

Kyle Finnegan (W, 1-1) earned the victory for Midland as he fired 2.0 innings of one-run baseball to go along with 2 strikeouts.

The Naturals scored first on Thursday night with a run in the opening frame. Flores recorded a hit then stole second to put himself in scoring position with one-out in the inning. Duenez would then follow with a RBI knock for the early 1-0 lead.

The game remained 1-0 into the fourth when the 'Hounds would take a 2-1 lead as Sportman doubled home a pair. The Midland outfielder led the way for the visitors on offense going 2-for-4 with a couple of doubles and four RBIs.

Northwest Arkansas would retake the lead at 3-2 in the fifth when Flores drove home Nick Heath with a RBI triple off the top of the wall in left field before Duenez brought him home for the second time in the game with a sacrifice fly to left field.

The back-and-forth game continued in the seventh. Midland took a 4-3 lead on a couple of hits and two wild pitches; however, the lead would not last long as the Naturals tied it up in the home half as Flores drove in Erick Mejia with a two-out single.

Flores logged his first four-hit game of the year and went 7-for-11 in the series to raise his average to .326 on the season.

Natural newcomer Jon Perrin got the start for Northwest Arkansas in his debut with the Kansas City Royals organization. The former Milwaukee Brewer, whom was acquired through a recent trade, was just assigned to the Naturals. The big right-hander was solid in his 5.0 innings as he gave up two runs on three hits and struck out four as he left the game in line for a win.

Northwest Arkansas will open a three-game series against the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A Affiliate of the Texas Rangers, tomorrow night - Friday, August 10 - with first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

Blue Rocks Edge Red Sox For Series WinWilmington's Offense Stays Strong Against SalemAugust 9, 2018 By Wilmington Blue Rockshttps://www.milb.com/wilmington/news/blue-rocks-edge-red-sox-for-series-win/c-289665254

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (59-56/28-17) battled back-and-forth with the Salem Red Sox (53-60/21-24) but ultimately came out on top with the narrow 6-5 victory on Thursday night at Haley Toyota Field. Angelo Castellano and Meibrys Viloria led the offense by driving in four of Wilmington's six runs.

The Blue Rocks tied the game once again in the top of the sixth. Rudy Martin lead the inning off with a triple down the line in left. Castellano looped a single into center to bring Martin around to score and make it a 5-5 ballgame. Wilmington took the lead back in the top of the seventh. After a lead-off double by Emmanuel Rivera , Viloria singled to left to put runners on the corners with no outs. Travis Jones roped an RBI single to left to score Rivera and put the Rocks on top 6-5.

Tyler Zuber came in for the save in the bottom of the ninth. After a one-out single by Jake Romanski, C.J. Chatham struck out swinging to get Wilmington within one out of sealing the victory. Jerry Downs singled to keep the game alive and put runners on the corners with two outs. Downs advanced to second on the defensive indifference call. Zuber battled with Josh Tobias for seven pitches before striking him out on the eighth pitch of the at-bat to earn the save and end the game.

With the game tied at 1-1, the Blue Rocks regained the lead in the top of the second. With Martin on second, Vance Vizcaino hit a ground out to move Martin to third with two outs. Castellano smacked a double into left that scored Martin and made it a 2-1 ballgame. The Red Sox knotted the game up in the bottom of the second. After back-to-back walks, Nick Lovullo singled through the gap in left to load the bases with no outs. Tyler Hill grounded into a double play while Victor Acosta scored to tie the game at 2-2. Salem took it's first lead of the game in the bottom of the third. Chatham and Downs each drew a walk and advanced to second and third after a Tobias groundout. Michael Osinski knocked a deep single to left to bring Chatham and Downs home to score and put the Red Sox on top 4-2.

Wilmington responded in the top of the fifth. After a Blake Perkins walk, D.J. Burt singled up the middle and advanced to second to put both runners in scoring position. Gabriel Cancel hit into a fielder's choice, Perkins was tagged out at the plate on the play to put runners on the corners with one out. After Cancel stole second, Viloria doubled to left to score Burt and Cancel and knot the game up at 4-4.

The Red Sox retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Downs lead the inning off with a single and then moved to second after Tobias drew a walk. Osinski hammered a ground ball to second on what would have been a double play, but Angelo Castellano over threw the ball for an error that allowed Downs to score and put Salem ahead, 5-4.

The Blue Rocks will travel down to Myrtle Beach where they will start a three-game series with the Pelicans on Friday, August 10 with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at TicketReturn.Com Field. Wilmington will send right-hander Nolan Watson (6-1, 3.19 ERA) to the mound. Fans can catch all the action with Cory Nidoh on 89.7 WGLS-FM.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE

Tyler Zuber earned his eighth save as a Blue Rock this season on Thursday night. The right-hander is now 8 for 10 in save opportunities with Wilmington this season. Zuber is now tied with fellow bullpen arm Julio Pinto for second place in total saves. Bryan Brickhouse holds the team lead with 12 saves on the year.

Angelo Castellano and Emmanuel Rivera combined to score four of Wilmington's six runs on Thursday night. Both Castellano and Rivera hit for two RBI in the winning effort. For Castellano, this is the fifth multi-RBI game for him this season and the third where he hit home two runs. This is Rivera's 13th multi-RBI game and his seventh with two RBI.

With the win on Thursday, the Blue Rocks continue to succeed with a red-hot offense. Wilmington improves to 23-5 in games where the team has 10 or more hits and 44-11 when scoring four or more runs. The Rocks also remained relentless with late leads, going 45-3 when leading after seven innings and going 43-1 when leading after eight. The

Blue Rocks are now 36-23 when scoring first as opposed to 24-32 when their opponents plate the first run.

Lexington Drops Game Three To Asheville, But Take Series Over TouristsAugust 9, 2018 By Lexington Legendshttps://www.milb.com/lexington/news/lexington-drops-game-three-to-asheville-but-take-series-over-tourists/c-289674150

The Lexington Legends fell in game three to the Asheville Tourists 6-3, but take the important series overall over the Tourists. The Legends are now tied with the Greenville Drive for first place in the Southern Division.

The Tourists plated five runs in the top of the third inning. Matt Hearn drew a walk then stole second base. Sean Bouchard then lined an RBI single up the middle to bring in Hearn and Asheville led 1-0. Bouchard then moved to second when Casey Golden drew a walk. With two runners on, Ramon Marcelino blasted a three-run homer to left centerfield and the Tourists extended their lead, 4-0. The very next batter, Todd Czinege, smacked a solo home run and Asheville led 5-0.

In the bottom of the third, Kyle Isbel hit a groundball to right field. Cristian Perez then golfed a two-run home run to left field and the Legends were on the board, 5-2.

In the top of the fourth, Austin Bernard hit a leadoff single to right field, then moved to third on a single by Matt Hearn. Ryan Vilade then popped up a sacrifice fly to centerfield, bringing in Bernard and Asheville led 6-2.

The Legends plated their final run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jeison Guzman hit a single to left field then advanced to second on a throwing error by the Tourists. Marten Gasparini then brought Guzman home with an RBI single, but Lexington still trailed 6-3.

Lucas Gilbreath was awarded the victory for the Tourists tossing 6.0 innings allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out seven. Charlie Neuweiler was given the loss pitching 3.0 innings allowing five runs on four hits while walking two and striking out four.

The Legends now welcome in the Kannapolis Intimidators for a three-game series beginning tomorrow, August 10 at 7:05 p.m. at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

7 Run 5th Inning Costs Chukars in LossAugust 9, 2018 By Idaho Falls Chukarshttps://www.milb.com/idaho-falls/news/7-run-5th-inning-costs-chukars-in-loss/c-289701628

The Idaho Falls Chukars led 6-1 going to the bottom of the 5th inning but The Great Falls Voyagers scored 10 unanswered runs, including 7 in the 5th inning propel them to a 11-7 victory over the Chukars on Thursday night at Centene Stadium.

The Chukars got off to a 2-0 lead after Tyler James and Nate Eaton each scored on separate wild pitches from LHP Matt Portland. James went 3 for 5 with 2 stolen bases to extend his

hitting streak to 13 games. The 2 stolen bases gives James 33 on the season.

Idaho Falls added to the lead when Angel Medina hit a 2 run home run to right field to give the Chukars a 4-0 lead. Medina went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored.

It was a 6-1 Chukars lead going to the bottom of the 5th. That's when the game changed. Great Falls scored 7 runs on 5 singles and 2 errors by Eaton at second base. Great Falls added a solo home run by Romy Gonzales in the 6th inning. The Voyagers added 2 in the 7th inning to make it a 11-6 game.

The Chukars scored in the 8th inning on a solo home run by Chase Vallot's 4th home run of the year. That made it a 11-7 Voyagers lead, which ended the scoring by either team.

Game 2 of the 4 game series is Friday night in Great Falls. The Chukars will go with RHP Connor Mayes. He will be opposed by Voyagers RHP Cody Heuer. 7:00 pm first pitch.

Chukars notes: Chukars batters struck out 13 times in the game. That's 59 strikeouts by Chukars batters in their last 5 games. Tyler James 13 game hitting streak is a season high for a Chukars player this season. His 33 stolen bases are more than the ENTIRE Great Falls team. Chukars pitchers JC Cloney and Daniel Duarte were both called up to Single-A Lexington. 2018 All-Star Kris Bubic went 4 innings plus, 3 hits, 5 runs, 2 earned, 3 BB and 6 K's. The Chukars outhit the Voyagers 9 to 8. That's only the 2nd time the Chukars have lost a game when they outhit the opposition (21-2 record).

Yankees Take Series Opener from RoyalsPulaski scores twice late to take 3-1 winAugust 9, 2018 By Burlington Royalshttps://www.milb.com/burlington-royals/news/yankees-take-series-opener-from-royals/c-289693072

The Pulaski Yankees (23-26) defeated the Burlington Royals (15-32) by a score of 3-1 in the series opener Thursday night.

Pulaski scored a run in the top of the first inning to take the early lead, but the Royals struck back when Jose Marquez scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first to tie the game.

The contest remained 1-1 until the sixth inning when the Yankees scored to take the lead. Pulaski would add an insurance run in the seventh to make it 3-1, and went on to win by that score.

The second game of the series is Friday night at 7:00 p.m. at Burlington Athletic Stadium.

WP - Alex Mejias (1-0)

LP - Kelvin Gonzalez (0-2)

Save - Austin Gardner (1)

NATIONALThe Useless Info Dept., Teenage Masher Edition

August 10, 2018 By Jayson Stark/The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/466609/2018/08/10/stark-the-useless-info-dept-teenage-masher-edition/

When the home run champ strikes out against a guy who isn’t even a pitcher… when a home run in the bottom of the 10th isn’t a walkoff… when the scoreboard looks identical after both games of a doubleheader… you know it’s been another Useless Information-laden week.

But before we get to the latest wackiness, we present this incredible look at a teenage rock star in Washington who seems driven to accomplish more this year than both houses of Congress combined!

TEENAGE MASHER OF THE WEEKBefore we get down to the business of telling you just how absurdly good Juan Soto is, we need to make you feel old. So here we go….

OLDER THAN JUAN SOTO: Kylie Jenner, the Iowa septuplets, Trae Young, Katie Ledecky, Lonzo Ball and Juju Smith-Schuster. Along with like two-thirds of the residents of the entire planet.

ALSO OLDER THAN JUAN SOTO: The Rays, the Diamondbacks, Google, Netflix, the Onion, Rotten Tomatoes, “Will & Grace,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Dolly the cloned sheep and “Titanic.”

OK, feel ancient yet? Excellent. Just making sure. Now on with our production.

It’s now Aug. 10. And Juan Soto, at 19 years old, has more home runs (14) than Kris Bryant or Ryan Braun… has a higher slugging percentage (.551) than Aaron Judge or Manny Machado… has virtually the same on-base percentage (.423) as Joey Votto… and has Giancarlo Stanton beat in OPS (.975) by over 100 points!

Friends, we’ve never seen anything like this. Not from a teenager in the major leagues. Especially not when you look at that Kylie Jenner/Buffy the Vampire list three paragraphs back.

“Hell, no,” laughed one longtime scout this week after we started reading him our favorite Juan Soto tidbits. “Hell, you had me at Juju.”

So what makes the Nationals’ left-field phenom so special? Oh, just some cool stuff like this:

HE’S THE GREATEST TEENAGE HITTER EVER

Yeah, well, there’s that. This isn’t even hard to prove, assuming Soto just keeps doing what he’s doing.

We could keep going, but you get the idea. Look at that .975 OPS. Now look at the fabled teenage hitters who got significant playing time and never even had an .800 OPS: Mickey Mantle (.792), Ken Griffey Jr. (.748), Al Kaline (.652) and Ty Cobb (.749). And Juan Soto is at .975.

“You know, I would never, ever compare anybody with Griffey,” said the same scout. “But with the walk and the swagger, I have to admit I see some of it in this guy.”

HE CRUSHES LEFT-HANDERS

Juan Soto is a 19-year-old left-handed hitter who has been in the big leagues for less than three months. But here is his slash line against left-handed pitchers:

.371/.451/.694/1.144 OPS

We could focus on any of the crazy numbers in that stat line. But let’s just take that .694 slugging percentage.

How many other left-handed hitters in the big leagues are slugging .694 against left-handers? None. Of course. The next-closest hitter with that much playing time is Christian Yelich. He’s over 100 points back – at .575.

So we should really be asking: How many other active left-handed hitters have ever had a season in which they slugged .694 against left-handers? Um, guess what? That answer, incredibly, is also none of them. In fact, since World War II, here are the only left-handed hitters who have ever done this in a season with this many plate appearances:

Barry Bonds (3 times)Ken Griffey Jr. (2 times)Larry Walker (2001)David Justice (2000)Stan Musial (1948)

And lurking just off that pace is somebody named Ted Williams (.691 in 1955).

Hold on. What? That’s it? Yep. That’s it.

HE WEARS OUT THE OPPOSITE FIELD

Juan Soto has hit 14 home runs. He has pulled less than half of them (as in six of 14). Only five other left-handed hitters in the entire sport have that many home runs and that low a percentage of pulled home runs.

But wait. This gets better. Soto pulls the ball just 36.3 percent of the time. And when he hits it the other way, he’s hitting an outrageous .486, with a .914 slugging percentage. So how many other left-handed hitters can match that when they go the other way? That would be (you’ve got it) none.

In fact, to find the last left-handed hitter to do that, you have to go all the way back to 2010, to Adrián González (.516/.968). Should we remind you again we’re talking about a 19-year-old?

“I still remember the first time I saw him in the minor leagues last year,” the same scout said. “I knew he was special because he just naturally had the rhythm to hit the ball in the left-center-field gap. He didn’t have to force it. It just happened.”

And guess what? It’s still happening!

… BUT THERE’S ALSO ALL THIS!

— As MASN’s Mark Zuckerman tweeted this week, this isn’t only about age. The other part of the Juan Soto saga we should all remember is that he got just 35 minor-league plate appearances above Class A ball! According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other active position players who have hit this many homers in their careers with that little playing time above A-ball are Albert Pujols and Yoenis Céspedes.

— Oh, and Soto also has been one of the most consistent players in the big leagues since the day he arrived. He has had at least a .398 OBP in every month since May. And only one other player in the big leagues can say that – Votto…. Soto also has racked up at least a .924 OPS in every month since May. Just J.D. Martinez, Matt Carpenter and Eugenio Suárez can also say that….But who else in the big leagues has done both? Uh-huh. Nobody.

— And how about his two-strike approach at 19? Soto has a .747 OPS with two strikes – which ranks 10th in baseball. And everyone ahead of him is an All-Star.

— Finally, there’s his plate discipline. Exactly 70 games into his big-league career, he has 50 walks, 53 strikeouts. The only other teenager in history with that good a BB/K ratio and double-figure homers in any season was Ott (52 BB, 36 K) – 91 years ago.

So we get the fixation with Juan Soto’s age. But at this point, isn’t it time to stop calling him one of the greatest teenage hitters of modern times – only because the “teenage” portion of that sentence isn’t even necessary.

“I think we should just say he’s one of the most impactful rookie hitters ever to come into the game,” said another longtime NL scout. “I don’t give a crap about age anymore.”

MYSTERY PITCHER UPDATES OF THE WEEK!We’ve now had 52 position players trudge to the pitcher’s mound so far this season – 52! And they keep making history. That’s the good news.

Unfortunately, it’s not the kind of history we’ll be interrupting any network programming to show you. And that’s the bad news. But here at Useless Info World Headquarters, it’s our job to keep track of that history, wherever that leads us. So in case you missed all this …

JOSÉ DID YOU SEE – The Mets almost made it through four months without having to succumb to the mystery-pitcher epidemic sweeping our land. Then José Reyes showed up on the mound in that epic 25-4 game in Washington on July 31 – and wound up facing 11 hitters! And throwing 48 pitches (third-most by any position player in the last 50 years)!

Reyes did get the leadoff man out. Then, alas, the next nine went: Double, homer, walk, walk, homer, single, out, triple, hit batter. Yikes! So what was his historic claim to fame? He’s the first position player to give up a cycle since Red Kress did that for the New York Giants – 72 years ago, on July 17, 1946.

HISTORIC EPILOGUE – So what does a guy do for an encore after a messy trip to the mound like that? Well, Reyes went out the next day, resumed his day job and hit two home runs. Ha. Of course he did.

He’ll be delighted to learn that before he came along, no living human had ever seen any player give up multiple homers as a pitcher one game, then hit at least two the next game. According to our friends at Elias, the last man to do that was Cap Anson – a mere 134 years ago, on Aug. 5 and 6, 1884, for those ahead-of-their-time Chicago White Stockings.

A BALK IN THE PARK – So perhaps you thought Reyes’ efficient little outing was the ugliest position-player performance of the year. Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh. Are you

kidding? It wasn’t even the ugliest of the week. Nope, that honor goes to Tampa Bay’s always-entertaining Carlos Gómez.

He took the ball in Baltimore on July 27. And here’s how his outing went:

Ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, strike, balk, run-scoring balk, fly-out, strike, ball, foul, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball.

That happened. Really.

That comes to 21 pitches, 4 strikes, 4 walks, 2 balks. And how many relievers in history – position players or otherwise – have ever crammed that many walks and balks into an outing of one inning or less? That, naturally, would be none!

EXTRA, EXTRA, EXTRA, EXTRA-SPECIAL – But wait. We have one more contender for the most unsightly pitching line by a position player since we last visited this topic. Can’t overlook Brewers slowball king Hernán Pérez, who tossed his hat in the ugly-outing derby Aug. 2 – in his third pitching appearance of the year.

So what made Pérez’s evening on the mound so historically memorable? After a couple of outs (including a strikeout of Austin Barnes) and a couple of hits, the next four hitters went:

Double, double, Yasiel Puig homer, double.

That’s four extra-base hits in a row! And even for a position player throwing 69 miles per hour, that’s tough to do. In fact, it’s so hard to do, Elias tells us that no position player in the expansion era (all 58 seasons of it) had ever served up four extra-base knocks in a row.

Heck, Cubs closer Brandon Morrow has faced 122 hitters this year and still hasn’t allowed four extra-base hits all season. But maybe Pérez is getting arm-weary. He has now pitched three times this year, faced 17 hitters and thrown 74 pitches!

DOWN GOES THE CHAMP – What do you say we end this mystery-pitcher update on a more upbeat note? How about that Matt Davidson of the White Sox. We’re not sure anymore which was his highlight of the year: Hitting three home runs in a game Opening Day or coming in to pitch Monday and striking out Giancarlo Stanton.

But if we had to vote, let’s go with that whiff of Giancarlo. And here’s why: Lots of men have hit three home runs in a game. But how many other position players have ever struck out the reigning home run champion?

You know the answer. It’s zero. According to Elias, Davidson is the first position player in the expansion era to whiff a reigning home run king. And the only other position player in the same span who even struck out a guy who won a home run title at any point was Matt Franco of the 1999 Mets, who punched out Andruw Jones – six years before he led the league.

So in a season where those 52 position players have almost a 10.00 ERA, let’s hear it for Matt Davidson – the position player who gave us the whiff heard round the world. Well, around the Useless Information world anyway.

USELESS INFO OF THE WEEK

CALL THE COPS – Two days in a row this week, White Sox center fielder Adam Engel was clearly in no mood to watch the Yankees show off their nightly home run trots. So on Monday, he reached over the fence and robbed Greg Bird of a home run. Engel obviously enjoyed that so much that on Tuesday, he stole a Kyle Higashioka home run.

And how often do you see any outfielder pull two Yankees home runs back from Home Run Land in back-to-back games? Well, the Sports Info Solutions home-run-robbery database goes back 16 seasons. And guess how many other outfielders have done that against the Yankees? Yessir. That would be none.

GOT CHANGE FOR 100? – We need to invent some sort of new stat to sum up the career of Edwin Jackson. How about, say, the Teams Per Win Ratio? Or is it the Wins Per Team Ratio? We’ll call the Sloan Sports Analytics hotline at M.I.T. on that and get back to you next week.

Either way, Jackson, now with the A’s, just won his 100th game. And it’s been quite a journey. He pitched for 13 teams and won a game for 11 teams in order to join that 100-Win Club. And just in case you were wondering, no one else who ever threw a baseball in the majors has traveled that path to his 100th win.

— Most teams pitched for by any previous pitcher in his first 100 wins? That would be nine, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Miguel Batista and Brett Tomko used to share that “record.”

— Most teams won for by any previous pitcher in his first 100 wins? That would also be nine, by Tomko.

So here’s to Edwin Jackson, your all-time leader in Wins Per Team Ratio. Or Teams Per Win Ratio. Hey, we’re making these stats up as we go along. Bear with us, OK?

BOX SCORE LINE OF THE WEEK – We’ve always loved watching the great Félix Hernández. But not this week! His line Tuesday against Texas was so unkempt, it’s hard to even type it:

6 IP, 8 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 3 HR, 1 HBP

HIS CLAIM TO FAME: Did you know King Felix was just the third pitcher ever to give up 11 runs after once winning a Cy Young? Sad but true. The others: Barry Zito on April 9, 2005, and Rick Porcello last Aug. 25.

STREAKER OF THE WEEK – Speaking of Cy Youngs, for Max Scherzer’s latest trick, he has now ripped off a six-game hitting streak. So he’s hitting .300 for the season. And here’s what you need to know about Mad Max’s sweet-swinging offensive exploits:

— If you ignore AL pitchers who only got a handful of at-bats, just one pitcher has ever hit .300 and won a Cy Young in the same season: Bob Gibson in 1970. (Yep, I’m aware Scherzer isn’t a lock to win this Cy Young. Yep, I’m aware of the existence of Jacob de Grom. Just enjoy these notes on their own merit, OK? Thanks.)

— Last pitcher to win a Cy Young and have a hitting streak of six games or more in the same season? That would be Ferguson Jenkins – in 1971 (when he had an eight-game hitting streak).

— This is actually the second six-game hitting streak of Scherzer’s career. He’s the only active pitcher who can say that. And the seven previous Cy Young winners with multiple hitting streaks of six games or longer all did it a loooooong time ago: Jenkins, Gibson, Jim Perry, Don Drysdale, Early Wynn, Don Newcomb and Warren Spahn – none of them more recently than 47 years ago!

— And one more thing, from loyal reader Ryan (The Ace of) Spaeder…

"Hits with runners in scoring position and two outs this season:#Nationals Max Scherzer - 6 #Angels Mike Trout - 6"

TOUGH TIMES FOR ROYALTY – Thanks to our friend, Kurtis Seaboldt, of SportsRadio 810 in Kansas City, for passing along this bizarre nugget.

— The Royals’ record over the last five seasons: 380-382.

— Stuff the Royals did over those last five seasons: Go to the World Series twice – and win it once.

Seaboldt reports that just two other teams in history have managed to pile up a losing record over a five-season span that included two World Series: Stuffy McInnis’ 1913-17 Philadelphia Athletics and Mark Lemke’s 1988-92 Atlanta Braves. And why is that?

It’s hard to do!

CALL IN THE HEAVYWEIGHTS – Had the Yankees and Rangers just stayed on normal rotation, we would have seen something Sunday we’ve never seen before:

Nearly 600 pounds worth of starting pitchers occupying the same mound!

As loyal reader Chris Isidore reports, CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon were lined up to face each other Sunday in Yankee Stadium – in a historic match-up featuring baseball-reference.com’s heaviest pitcher of all time (that would be CC, at 300 pounds) versus the third-heaviest (Bartolo, at 285).

The second-heaviest, incidentally, is Jon Rauch (290). But he never started a game against either Sabathia or Colon. So this would have been the World Series of poundage.

Sadly, we regret to report that the Rangers thwarted this epic duel by pushing Colon’s start back a day, until Monday. We can console ourselves with the knowledge that you can’t trust anybody’s “official” weight in baseball history, anyway. But what a classic this could have been – 585 pounds and 489 wins.

STRANGEST BUT TRUEST FEATS OF THE WEEKSTRIKE THREE, YOU’RE (NOT) OUT – Baseball is a funny game, isn’t it? If you’re ahead with two outs in the ninth inning and you strike out the guy at the plate, you’d probably think it was time to shake hands, high-five and head for the clubhouse to celebrate, right?

Um, not so fast. Not this year.

On Sunday, the Brewers became the third team this season to discover there is life after striking out with two outs in the ninth – tying the game after what should have been the final out because of a strikeout/wild pitch or strikeout/passed ball.

The Giants pulled off that same trick July 21. And so did the Cardinals on June 18. Crazily, all three teams then lost anyway in extra innings. But that isn’t the important part.

The important part is that it had happened three times in the previous 18 seasons put together. Then, of course, it happened three months in a row.

Baseball!

EXTRA CREDIT – Have we mentioned baseball is a funny game? If you’re the home team, you’re playing in extra innings and one of your hitters launches a two-run homer, they call that a walk off, right?

Wrong. Not this week. A salute to our friend, Doug (Kernels) Kern, for catching this one. On Tuesday night in Chicago and Toronto, Jose Abreu and Kevin Pillar both hit two-run bombs in the bottom of an extra inning – and neither was a walk off.

Abreu’s homer tied the White Sox’s game with the Yankees. Pillar’s home run for the Blue Jays just turned a five-run deficit into a two-run deficit. And both their teams lost. But here’s the Strangest But Truest part:

How many other days in baseball history have featured two different teams hitting multi-run homers in the bottom of any extra inning and neither of them was a game-ender? Yessir. That would be nada.

Baseball!

BATTING OUT OF ODOR – One more reason baseball is a funny game, as demonstrated by Rougned Odor’s five-walk game for the Rangers on Aug. 2:

Odor in April: 0 HR, 4 BB

Odor in just that one game: 1 HR, 5 BB

Baseball!

POWER RANGER – Name Game alert! In the history of this sport, one Suárez had never hit a home run off another Suárez – until the Phillies called up pitcher Ranger Suárez to make his big-league debut July 26.

He promptly allowed his first career homer – to Eugenio Suárez.

Baseball!

DH-JÀ VU DEPT – Finally, another Strange But True classic from Doug (Kernels) Kern….

— Braves’ line score in Game 1 of their doubleheader Tuesday in D.C.: 3-7-0 (6 LOB)— Braves’ line score in Game 2 of their doubleheader Tuesday in D.C.: 3-7-0 (6 LOB)

Naturally, they lost Game 1 but won Game 2. That, however, wasn’t the Strangest But Truest part, either.

How many other teams have had exactly the same line score in both games of a doubleheader over the last 15 seasons? Correct. Not a one. Until this week.

Baseball!

Strong friendships are allowing Mike Moustakas to hit the ground running in MilwaukeeAugust 9, 2018 By Robert Murray/The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/466051/2018/08/09/strong-friendships-are-allowing-mike-moustakas-to-hit-the-ground-running-in-milwaukee/

When Mike Moustakas looks around the clubhouse, he sees familiar faces: Lorenzo Cain, Ryan Braun, Joakim Soria, Jeremy Jeffress. All of whom, except for Braun, were together at one point in Kansas City, where Moustakas was drafted in 2007 and spent his entire career, until a few weeks ago.

As he looks onto the field at Miller Park, he spots another former teammate — close friend Eric Hosmer, who signed with the San Diego Padres in the offseason on an eight-year contract. The two embraced on the field prior to Tuesday’s game behind the batting cages, and were eventually joined by Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy. The meeting lasted 10-15 minutes before the two went their separate ways. For the first time in their careers, they were facing off against each other as opponents in the regular season.

“It’s been weird seeing him in a different uniform,” Moustakas told The Athletic. “I miss him. I miss seeing him.”

With Hosmer in Milwaukee, the two found chances to spend time together. Moustakas and his wife, Stephanie, welcomed a son, Michael Carter, on March 3. Hosmer had yet to meet Michael, so one night during the Padres-Brewers series they got together for dinner, caught up, and introduced Hosmer to Michael. It’s the only time they’ll get to see each other during the regular season, since San Diego and Milwaukee don’t play each other for the rest of 2018.

“We’re just going to have to hang out in the offseason,” Moustakas said.

It has been a whirlwind 12 months for “Moose,” the nickname coined for Moustakas by fans in Kansas City, who chanted it each time he walked to the plate. On Oct. 1, in the middle of what turned out to be a 14-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Royals pulled Moustakas, Hosmer, Cain and Alcides Escobar. The players tipped their caps, hugged one another behind the pitcher’s mound, and appeared to be saying goodbye to a fan base that they had led to two World Series appearances, including one championship.

“When it got to that point,” said Moustakas, “we were trying to soak in the moment realizing that was likely the last time we were going to play together on the field.”

Hosmer departed for San Diego; Cain signed with Milwaukee on a five-year, $80 million deal. It left two of the four players, Moustakas and Escobar, remaining on the free agent market.

Both players found the free-agent market to be slow, so they signed back in Kansas City on one-year deals. They knew, coming into the season, that things would be different; without Hosmer and Cain, contending was unlikely. Moustakas understood that a trade was possible, and potentially likely.

On July 28, it became a reality. Kansas City traded him to Milwaukee, capping off a wild year. Knowing a trade was likely coming didn’t make it any easier. When you spend 11 seasons with one team, nine months out of the year with the same core group of people, it’s tough to say goodbye.

“It’s a business, man,” Moustakas said.

The last time he wasn’t a Kansas City Royal was in 2007. Suddenly, in a flash, he was on a flight to San Francisco to join the Brewers for a series against the Giants.

The transition to a new city hasn’t been as steep as he initially thought it might be. Sure, things were going at warp speed at the start. But they slowed down quickly, in large part because of the relationship with Cain and a long-time friendship with Braun.

“When you spend that much time with somebody, it’s easy to pick things up where we left off,” said Moustakas. “LoLo is a great guy. He’s the exact same guy as the first day I met him. I love being his teammate again.”

Braun and Moustakas grew up about 10-15 minutes from each other in Northridge, California. They weren’t particularly close at a young age, as Braun is five years older. However, Moustakas’s wife, Stephanie, is one of Braun’s best friend’s sisters, and once the pair started dating, it sparked a strong friendship. Moustakas and Braun already worked out with each other in the offseason at Pepperdine University. Now, the two workout partners are teammates.

“It’s insane,” Moustakas said, smiling and shaking his head. “If you’re from our area, you know who Ryan Braun is. It’s pretty cool to share the field with a true friend and someone you’ve known for a long time.”

These relationships have allowed Moustakas to hit the ground running in his transition to Milwaukee. “When you come in and know some of the more tenured guys on the team, you feel like you can speak freely quickly,” manager Craig Counsell said.

Moustakas isn’t a rah-rah, get-in-your-face type of player, and Counsell realized that. But with the depth the Brewers had prior to the trade deadline, as well as the addition of Jonathan Schoop, he doesn’t have to be.

Instead, Moustakas wears his emotions on his sleeve, and players respond to that. His uniform is seemingly dirty each night, as it was on Wednesday when he dove for a foul ball in third base territory in the ninth inning of an 8-4 ballgame, with the Brewers leading.

“I almost hit my face on the concrete there,” he said. “It was close.” He missed it, and the at-bat continued, but effort like that is something that not only his teammates, but also the fans, respond to.

The “Moose” chants began at Miller Park when he debuted a week ago and have continued to grow louder, deeper and longer each night.

“It’s fun to say ‘Moose,’” Counsell said. “It’s a fun word to say. What can I say, it’s a good nickname.”

‘I probably shouldn’t have been an idiot’: Now pitching in New Jersey

indy ball, Mat Latos works to earn another chanceAugust 8, 2018 By Gary Phillips/The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/457644/2018/08/08/i-probably-shouldnt-have-been-an-idiot-now-pitching-in-new-jersey-indy-ball-mat-latos-works-to-earn-another-chance/

Former Reds starter Mat Latos never used to worry about lunch when it was his turn to pitch.

Mort, Latos’ go-to Cincinnati clubbie, had the right-hander’s gameday order down pat. Without fail, whenever Latos strolled into Great American Ballpark, he’d find Mort waiting with a chicken, bacon and ranch sandwich and a bottle of Cholula Hot Sauce.

These days, Latos, 30, spreads his own peanut butter and jelly with cheap plastic knives before games. Now a closer for the independent Can-Am League’s New Jersey Jackals, home is the patchy field inside Montclair State University’s Yogi Berra Stadium. It’s not Great American or Petco Park or any of the other MLB stadiums Latos used to frequent when he was making millions in the majors, but it will do.

“I’ve never thought of myself as any higher than anybody else. I’m a human being,” Latos said. “If we were walking on the street and you had no idea who I was, would I be any different to you? Like no, I’d just be some random dude — I look like a convict with all the tattoos.

“I’m just some random dude, and that’s the way that I look at it. I’m on a baseball field. I’m playing somewhere where I love being out there.”

Latos has undergone something of a renaissance with the Jackals. With the team since April, the experience has served as a “reality check,” as Latos puts it, after he spent parts of nine MLB seasons with the Padres, Reds, Marlins, Dodgers, Angels, White Sox, Nationals and Blue Jays from 2009 to 2017.

His maturity was often called into question during that span — before he even threw a professional pitch, actually. The fifth-best high school pitcher in the 2006 draft, he fell to the 11th round over such concerns. At times he made waves with his visible and vocal displeasure with errors, from teammates and umpires alike. In the minors, he clashed with Padres roving pitching instructor Mike Couchee, who eventually straightened Latos out enough to get him to the majors.

Still, even as he knocked on the door of acehood in San Diego and then Cincinnati, Latos had earned himself a reputation for rubbing people the wrong way.

“I came up as a 21-year-old and was really good and then I got knocked down,” Latos said. “Now, I’m down here and I look at it and I go, ‘Well, you know what? [I] probably shouldn’t have been an idiot when I was 23 or 24 or 25 or 26, 27.’ Some things got taken for granted and it shouldn’t have come to that.”

An indy team wasn’t going to let a poor reputation get in the way of signing such a recognizable name. The Jackals have other ex-big leaguers on the roster, including pitchers Vic Black and Vin Mazzaro, but no one with Latos’ résumé.

Brooks Carey, the Jackals manager, kept an open mind when he met Latos in Jupiter, Fla. last winter. Both natives of the

Sunshine State, the two talked about fishing, the Keys – anything but baseball. A connection formed quickly.

“He knows he’s carrying around a little bit of baggage. He’s a different type of guy. He’s become a good friend of mine and I realize that he’s got a big heart,” Carey said. “I’ve told a lot of scouts that.”

It was not Latos’ demeanor that ultimately derailed his career, but rather his left knee.

After he tore his meniscus during spring training in 2014, Latos underwent surgery. He returned in June, but that would be his last season in Cincinnati. He later accused the Reds of rushing him back. Latos was never the same pitcher; his knee continued to bark as he toured the majors and minors.

The injury took a mental toll, too. All of a sudden, baseball wasn’t fun anymore.

“I just got down, almost like depressed, and just kind of let things go. I looked at it as strictly a job and started hard-pressing myself,” Latos said. “When I used to hit the mound every fifth day when I was a starter, that used to be my fun day. That’s how I looked at it and then the four days in between were my work days. I just got away from it, and I don’t know why.”

In addition to his knee, Latos has dealt with a hypothyroid issue since 2011. Symptoms can include weight fluctuation, decreased testosterone levels and lethargy, all of which Latos has experienced.

No one in the majors ever knew about the problem. “I don’t like pity parties,” Latos said, though, in retrospect, he admits such a mindset worked against him. Latos now relies on medication to help control his symptoms, but says there are still days “where it’s a huge kick in the ass.”

Getting out of bed remains a struggle sometimes, but Latos once again enjoys showing up for work. His life is a cycle of “gym, field, sleep, repeat.” He’s lost 30 pounds since joining the Jackals. Latos only breaks from his routine to talk to his parents, son and long-distance girlfriend, and to eat. (Latos and his wife, Dallas, divorced in 2017; their cat, the aptly named and internet-famous Cat Latos, now lives with her). Otherwise, he’s at the ballpark or working out somewhere on Montclair State’s campus.

“I don’t want to be here,” Latos said. “But I’m having fun here and I want to take that fun to the next level again and get back to where I used to be. It’s been a great experience. It’s been humbling, it’s been fun. It’s been a kickstart to a different side of me and a different side of my life.”

Latos, once described as an “addition by subtraction” by former Reds teammate Skip Schumaker, now finds himself playing the role of mentor. He is quick to offer younger Jackals rides to and from the stadium and he loves to talk approach while sitting in the bullpen. He’s become the de facto pitching coach for a team that doesn’t officially have one.

“He’s always there to help, which is huge,” Black said. “There’s a lot that can be learned from past failures and successes from guys like Vin, myself and especially Mat. He got far more time than we had.”

Aside from a brawl with the Rockland Boulders, Latos has largely been on his best behavior. He knows he needs to be,

as scouts check in on him. One of those scouts, taking in a recent game, said the reputation that precedes Latos is certainly something for MLB teams to consider.

As for his stuff, the scout said Latos could help an MLB team out of the ‘pen. Hard-throwing relievers are all the rage these days; Latos’ fastball has been sitting 95-98 mph since he became a closer. It helps that his knee no longer bothers him.

Latos doesn’t know if he’ll make it back to the bright lights, but he believes his time with the Jackals has changed him for the better.

“I love Mat Latos. To cut to the chase, I think he’s a good guy,” Carey said. “That would be my purpose right now: To relay the fact to people that this is a good dude. I’ll vouch for him and I’ve got his back.”

Will others buy in?

“I know that I can get outs in the big leagues,” Latos said. “Obviously, that’s the ultimate goal, but there’s some obstacles that I’ve created over my career that I need to overcome, break down and get past. I just know that If I can get an opportunity in Double A – hell, High A – Triple A or the big leagues, I know the difference of what I was before and what I am now.”

Betts homers to complete cycle in TorontoAugust 9, 2018 By Ian Browne/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/redsox/news/mookie-betts-hits-for-first-career-cycle/c-289645508

It is just one of those seasons for Mookie Betts. Even when he loses, he wins.

The electrifying Betts produced his first career cycle on Thursday night at Rogers Centre, but it wasn't enough for the Red Sox, who took an 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays.

The reason the monster performance by Betts didn't translate to a win is because Rick Porcello followed his best performance of his career with one of his worst starts this season.

But Betts put on a show nonetheless, cranking a single to lead off the game, ripping a triple in the second inning, then belting a double in the fourth. After a walk in the sixth, Betts worked the count 3-1 in his final at-bat with one out in the ninth. After fouling off a pitch right down the middle from Ken Giles, Betts hammered a solo homer to complete the cycle, the first in the Majors this season.

"I had plenty of guys letting me know what I needed," Betts said. "We were losing the game and I had to do what I could to try and win the game. I was just trying to win the game, so I was just trying to get on base."

On a night the 81-35 Sox saw their six-game winning streak come to an end, Betts gave his teammates a reason to smile. The Sox still took two out of three in Toronto and are 8-0-2 in their last 10 series. They lead the Yankees by eight games in the American League East.

"It's kind of nice on a night when we don't get the job done we have something good happen," Porcello said. "He hits for the cycle and we can definitely be excited for him and smile

about that and go to Baltimore and do what we know how to do."

The last Red Sox player to hit for the cycle was Brock Holt on June 16, 2015, against the Braves.

"That was my one thing. Mookie had to take that from me, too," Holt quipped.

In truth, Holt was leading the cheers after Betts finished rounding the bases.

"He was happy," Betts said. "He brought me joy, for sure."

Betts became the 21st Red Sox player to hit for the cycle. The club has performed the feat 22 times, with the late Bobby Doerr the only one to do it twice. Betts became the first Red Sox player to hit for the cycle in a loss since Carl Yastrzemski on May 14, 1965, against the Tigers.

"Good day, but tough loss," Betts said. "Sucks that I did it in a loss, but turn the page and get ready for tomorrow."

As for Porcello, he fired a complete-game one-hitter on just 86 pitches against the Yankees his last time out. He wasn't close to that on Thursday, giving up six hits and seven runs in four-plus innings.

Staked to a 2-0 lead in the first, Porcello gave it right back in the bottom half. And when the Red Sox came back from the 4-2 deficit Porcello put them in to tie it in the fifth, he again gave it right back by allowing three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Porcello's two worst starts this season have both come at the hands of the Blue Jays, who belted him around for eight runs over two-plus innings on July 13.

"I was battling from the get-go, but just didn't have the command I wanted," Porcello said. "With our ballclub, our offense, we're never out of a game. Even if you don't have your best stuff, you try to battle back. I don't know what it is about that lineup, they do a nice job against me. They make me get in the strike zone, they draw some walks and they do some damage. I've got to figure something out against these guys to overcome that."

The other highlight for the Red Sox was J.D. Martinez smacking his MLB-leading 35th homer of the season in the fifth.

"[Mookie] and J.D. Martinez are the best in the game right now," Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak said. "So it's tough. I think Mookie hit a changeup, curveball, slider and fastball. He's a really good player. You hope he gets himself out, I guess."

Though Betts, who has 27 homers, isn't one to try to go deep, he admitted the cycle was on his mind when he came up for his final at-bat.

"When I fouled the 3-1 pitch off, that was one time I would say I was trying and I fouled it off," Betts said.

But Giles put a 3-2 slider in his wheelhouse, and Betts didn't miss it. The homer was a no-doubter off the bat.

"You expect greatness with him every night," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Betts. "That was cool to see."

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDWhile Betts and Martinez came through yet again, another important development on Thursday was the 3-for-4 performance by Eduardo Nunez, who is finally heating up after a tough first few months of the season. In his last 12 games, Nunez is hitting .360 with three doubles, two triples, seven RBIs and an .885 OPS. His two-run single in the first was perfectly placed into right field.

SOUND SMARTBetts joined Holt and Leon Culberson as the only three Red Sox players to hit for the cycle out of the leadoff spot.

The last Red Sox player to complete a cycle with a home run was fan favorite Dwight Evans, who did so on June 28, 1984, against the Mariners.

HE SAID IT"I don't know how you can have a better year [than Betts] until you look at the guy hitting a couple spots behind him. I'd vote them co-MVPs on this day if I had to." -- Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, on Betts and Martinez

UP NEXTNathan Eovaldi (5-4, 3.38 ERA) will try to continue his hot start for the Red Sox when he opens a four-game series against the Orioles on Friday night. Eovaldi has started his career with Boston with 15 scoreless innings en route to wins over the Twins and Yankees. The Orioles counter with righty Dylan Bundy (7-10, 4.38 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.

A's acquire reliever Rodney from TwinsAugust 9, 2018 By Manny Randhawa/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/news/fernando-rodney-traded-from-twins-to-as/c-289664222

The A's acquired veteran reliever Fernando Rodney from the Twins on Thursday in exchange for Minor League right-hander Dakota Chalmers.

Rodney, 41, appeared in 46 games for Minnesota in his first season with the club after signing a one-year, $4.5 million deal in the offseason that included a team option for 2019. Rodney has a 3.09 ERA and 25 saves this season, his 16th in the Majors. He had a 4.23 ERA and 39 saves in his lone season with the D-backs in 2017.

With the acquisition, the A's, who currently occupy the second American League Wild Card spot, have added three relievers via trade this season to bolster their bullpen. In addition to Rodney, Oakland acquired closer Jeurys Familia from the Mets in July, and right-hander Shawn Kelley from the Nationals earlier this month.

The Twins entered the season expecting to contend for a second straight postseason berth, but are 11 games behind the Indians in the AL Central and 14 1/2 games back in the AL Wild Card race.

Chalmers, 21, was a third-round pick by the A's in the 2015 Draft. He appeared in two games (one start) this season for Class A Beloit, giving up an unearned run on three hits, but walking eight while striking out 10. In 10 appearances (five starts) for Beloit last season, he posted a 4.34 ERA.

Although Rodney was dealt after the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline, by being acquired before Aug. 31, he would be eligible for the A's postseason roster.

Jansen hospitalized with irregular heartbeatDodgers closer returns to LA, scheduled to meet with cardiologistAugust 9, 2018 By Anne Rogers/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/kenley-jansen-to-hospital-with-heart-condition/c-289689348

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat prior to Thursday night's 8-5 win over the Rockies, and after initial tests, he flew back to Los Angeles, where he will meet with his cardiologist for additional tests on Friday. Jansen felt the heartbeat at the team hotel and never made it to Coors Field.

Manager Dave Roberts said that Jansen will not be available for the remainder of the four-game series in Denver.

"Any time you're talking about the heart, we obviously have to be very careful with it," Roberts said. "And then we're talking about altitude, so that's why we wanted to be proactive and get him back there. We're holding out hope that it's not too serious, but talking to the trainer right now, his mood is fine, you wouldn't know the difference, and once we get more testing, we'll know more."

Jansen has experienced heart problems in the past, going to the hospital for an irregular heartbeat in both 2011 and '12. He underwent heart surgery in October 2012, and hasn't had an episode since, according to Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi.

"It was unexpected," Zaidi said. "But we're glad he got help right away."

Jansen also had problems at Coors Field in 2012, when he felt an irregular heartbeat during a game, while also feeling out of breath on every pitch he made.

Roberts said Jansen had his heart medication with him. There isn't a timetable for when he will be back with the team, but both Roberts and Zaidi said that they will know more on Friday after Jansen meets with his cardiologist.

"I think he's had some discomfort with the altitude in the past, but beyond that we don't really know," Zaidi said. "We're just glad he felt something, got help right away and he's feeling pretty normal right now from what we understand."

Roberts was unsure if the Dodgers will make a roster move to add to the bullpen for the weekend.

MLB TRANSACTIONSAugust 10, 2018 •.CBSSports.comhttp://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

Leonys Placed on 10-Day DL (Illness)

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

CLEMartin

CLE

Greg Allen Called Up from Minors

COL

Chris Rusin Recalled From Minors Rehab Assignment

COL

Yency Almonte Sent to Minors

COL

Chris Rusin Removed From 10-Day DL (Left plantar fasciitis)

LAD

Pat Venditte Sent to Minors

LAD

Ross Stripling

Removed From 10-Day DL (Right great toe inflammation)

MIN

Aaron Slegers

Recalled From Minors Rehab Assignment

NYY

J.A. HappRemoved From 10-Day DL (Hand, foot and mouth disease)

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

OAK

Fernando Rodney

Traded From Minnesota (for RHP Dakota Chalmers)

SEA

Sam Tuivailala

Placed on 10-Day DL (Strained right Achilles)

SEA

Chasen Bradford Sent to Minors

SEA

Casey Lawrence Called Up from Minors

SEA

Roenis Elias Sent to Minors For Rehabilitation

SEA

Nick Rumbelow Called Up from Minors

TB

Chaz Roe Sent to Minors For Rehabilitation

TEX

Nomar Mazara

Sent to Minors For Rehabilitation

TOR

Aaron Sanchez

Sent to Minors For Rehabilitation

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

TOR

Mike Hauschild Sent to Minors

TOR

Thomas Pannone Called Up from Minors