THURSDAY ON TUESDAY THIS WEEK
A FREE FOR ALL EDITION OF BILLY-BALL
HERE’S WHAT I’M WATCHING
There’s been so much going on that I decided to write a rare Tuesday edition of the Billy-Ball. I don’t know if that makes this a collectible, but hang on to it because you never know.
SHOHEI OHTANI CAME BACK TO THE MOUND
Shohei Ohtani pitched his first inning as a Dodger last night, and the results were decidedly mixed. His stuff was electric, but his rust was apparent. Give the guy a break, he pitched for the first time in 663 days. He started on the mound and threw 28 pitches, 11 for strikes, 12 balls, three whiffs (swings-and-misses), three called strikes, five in play. He allowed one run on two hits (softly hit singles) and one wild pitch. He threw nine four-seamers, averaging 99.1 mph, reaching 100.2 mph on one pitch. He also threw eight two-seam sinkers, 10 sweepers, and one splitter. He was consistently missing on the glove side. He would have held the Padres scoreless, but somehow this Manny Machado checked swing was called a non-swing.
At the plate, Ohtani went 2-4 with two RBI in the Dodgers’ 6-3 win. Dylan Cease allowed five runs in the 4th inning, when the Dodgers sent 10 men to the plate. The Dodgers have sent 9+ batters to the plate in 14 different innings this season. Cease’s 4.69 ERA is the highest of his career, 15 starts into a season.
GIANCARLO STANTON CAME BACK TO THE PLATE
Giancarlo Stanton missed the first 70 games of the season with troubles in both elbows. He returned last night and went 2-4 with a double. Both hits had an exit velocity over 100 mph. It feels as if the Yankees need his bat, NOW. The Yankees were blanked 1-0 in 11 innings by the Angels. The Yankees haven’t scored for 20 innings. The Yankees have scored just five runs over their last five games, their fewest in any five-game span since Aug. 5-9, 2015.
Aaron Judge is finally leveling off. Actually, plummeting to earth. In his last seven games, he is 5-25 (.200), with three homers his only XBH, and he has struck out 14 times. He is still hitting .377, however.
NINE TO KNOW - GUYS WHO PLAYED FOR BOTH THE RED SOX AND THE GIANTS
Reggie Smith - Reggie Smith played eight seasons for Boston and one season for the San Francisco Giants.
Pablo Sandoval - played three seasons for Boston and 11 seasons for the Giants.
Orlando Cepeda - Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda played one season for the Red Sox and nine seasons for the San Francisco Giants.
Marco Scutaro - played two seasons for Boston and three seasons for the Giants.
Juan Marichal - Hall of Famer Juan Marichal played one season for the Sox and 14 seasons for the Giants.
Jack Clark - Jack Clark played 2 seasons for the Red Sox and 10 seasons for San Francisco.
Ellis Burks - Ellis Burks played seven seasons for Boston and three seasons for San Francisco.
Doug Mirabelli - played seven seasons for Boston and five seasons for the San Francisco Giants.
Bobby Thomson played one season for Boston and nine seasons for the New York Giants.
NINE TO KNOW - PITCHERS WITH 13+ Ks IN A GAME THIS SEASON
NINE TO KNOW - THIS PAST WEEKEND’S SWEEPS
The A’s over the Royals (in KC)
The Rays over the Mets (at Citi Field)
The Astros over the Twins
The Orioles over the Angels
The Red Sox over the Yankees
The Phillies over the Blue Jays
The Marlins over the Nationals
The Rangers over the White Sox
The Mariners over the Guardians
NINE TO KNOW -TEAM STREAKS
The Red Sox have won six in a row. - Six straight wins, six straight Quality Starts. They have had an ERA of 1.15 and allowed just two homers in 55.0 IP. The Sox have gotten seven consecutive quality starts from their starters. They've won six of those games and eight of nine overall.
The Phillies have won five straight. - The Phils have a 1.80 ERA in this streak. They have gone 48 straight innings without allowing a home run.
The Rays, Rangers, and Athletics have won four in a row. - Over the last 30 games, the Rays have the best record in baseball, going 21-9. The Rangers, who have been punchless for most of the season, are hitting .290 in their winning streak. They have a 4.25 run differential per game in their wins. This is the A’s longest winning streak of the season, and they are doing it with good pitching. They have a 1.75 ERA and have allowed just one homer in the four games.
The Nationals have lost nine in a row. - The Nationals have a 4.78 ERA in their streak and have allowed 15 homers in the nine games. They are hitting just .218 and slugging just .317. Is a change at the top due? Washington could probably benefit from it. At least Nats’ manager Dave Martinez hasn’t imposed tariffs and screwed the world’s economy.
The Royals have lost six in a row. - The Royals are hitting .213 in their streak. They have a 4.83 ERA. They have been outscored 30-11.
The White Sox have lost five straight. - For the fourth time this season, the White Sox have lost at least five in a row. They have a 4.64 ERA during the streak and have been outscored 24-11.
The Twins have lost four straight. - This is the Twins’ third four-game losing streak of the season, but their ERA of 7.39 is the worst of any of the three. They have been outscored 31-9.
The Yankees have lost four in a row. - This is the Yankees longest losing streak of the season. The pitching is undoubtedly not to be blamed. They have allowed nine runs (only six earned) in 36.2 IP and just one homer. But, they are hitting .172 and have scored just four runs and hit just one homer. Their baserunning has been atrocious, as they have been thrown out stealing third three times (mainly after being picked off second).
The Rockies have won two straight games. - They get a special mention because this is just the third time this season that Colorado has put together two wins in a row. In one instance, they won three games in a row.
WOOD YOU BELIEVE?
Yesterday was Kerry Wood’s 48th birthday. In only his fifth major league start, Kerry Wood struck out 20 Houston Astros on May 6, 1998, a major league record. He allowed just one hit and walked none.
Yesterday, facing Murray State, Arkansas Razorback right-hander Gage Wood threw the third no-hitter in College World Series history and the first no-hitter in the College World Series since 1960 (Jim Ehler, Texas, 1950 and Jim Wixson, Oklahoma State, 1960). Wood's no-hitter included a career-high 19 strikeouts in his first-ever complete game. This is a College World Series record for a nine-inning game. Wood is projected to be a first-round pick in July’s draft. The only baserunner he allowed in this elimination game was an 8th-inning HBP.
KNOCK ON WOOD
I had many choices for a version of this song, but I went with Bruce because it was live at Fenway Park.