One of the things to look for in tonight's Pirates-Cardinals game is former MVP Andrew McCutchen, who has looked revitalized since moving to the sixth spot in the lineup on May 26. It probably doesn't have anything to do with where's he's hitting, but since moving down he's hitting .385 with a 1.187 OPS and eight home runs in 27 games.
According to Statcast, Gary Sánchez struck out on a pitch that was 2.26 feet from the center of home plate, the farthest from home plate for a pitch he has struck out on in his 100-game MLB career.
Watch Joe Maddon discuss his best hitters coming up short in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Marlins.
Watch Addison Russell discuss his shoulder ailment which caused him to leave Sunday's game against the Marlins. He's doubtful for Monday in Washington.
The Cubs lost 4-2 to the Marlins splitting the 4 game series after another frustrating day at the plate. They left 11 men on base after earning 8 hits and 7 walks. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant combined to leave 7 on as Rizzo came up twice with the bases loaded and only managed a sac fly. Mike Montgomery didn't give up any earned runs but wasn't able to pitch around an Addison Russell error, allowing three runs to score in the first inning. Two sac flys wasn't enough offense as the Marlins take the season finale.
Addison Russell left Sunday's game with right shoulder discomfort, a recurring ailment for him this season.
The Cubs gave up three first inning runs on Sunday increasing their season total to 64 in the opening inning, second only to the Mets. All three were unearned so they actually lowered their first inning ERA, though that means nothing on the scoreboard.
Watch Kyle Hendricks discuss his recovery from right hand tendinitis. He'll throw again on Sunday but not off a mound. It's looking less likely he'll return before the all-star break but he is making progress.
Kyle Hendricks (tendinitis) threw on Saturday. He felt good and will throw again today. Jason Heyward (hand cut) took some swings as he's getting closer to returning as well.
Elias notes that this is the first time that the Giants have been the first team in the majors to hit 50 losses since the 1976 season. They finished that season 74-88.
The Cardinals hit two consecutive Pirates batters with the bases loaded Saturday, first team since the Twins in 2015 to hit back-to-back batters with the bases loaded. Entering today, the Cardinals had not hit a batter with the bases loaded all season.
Joe Maddon was surprised by the huge ovation hometown guy Anthony Rizzo got from the Marlins crowd when he pinch hit in the ninth inning on Saturday: "I was looking around," Maddon said. "Did someone walk in the door? Was it ARod and JLo? I didn't know who came in at that point. No, it was Anthony. That was pretty cool."
Watch Jon Lester discuss his outing in the Cubs 5-3 win over the Marlins on Saturday.
The Cubs beat the Marlins 5-3 as they've taken 2 of the first 3 in the weekend series. The big hit came in the sixth when Javier Baez went to right field for a 2 run double as Cubs hitters went the opposite way three times that inning off a righty. That hasn't happened often enough this season. Jon Lester gave up a 3 run home run in the first inning then retired 13 in a row before giving way to the bullpen which sealed the deal.
Corey Kluber has struck out 10 batters in 3 straight games, tying the franchise-record streak for 10-K games within a season, according to Elias. The others? Sam McDowell (Five times), HOFer Bob Feller (twice), CC Sabathia and Chuck Finley.
Since giving up a first inning HR, Jon Lester has retired 13 batters in a row. It's taken him 35 pitches to get through the last 3 innings after needing 40 to get through the first two.
Wilson Ramos' activation from the DL to slot in immediately behind the plate for the Rays might seem surprising since it triggered the DFA of Derek Norris, especially when injuries have pressed DH Corey Dickerson into action in LF. But Ramos did throw out 2 of 7 SB attempts in nine minor-league rehab starts behind the plate. If he's ready to both catch and rake -- big if's -- he'll give the Rays' offense another big righty bat to balance against the huge years lefties Logan Morrison and Dickerson are delivering.
In yet another indication how different this season is for the Cubs, Jon Lester just gave up his fourth multi run HR in 2017 which is one more than he gave up all of last year with men on base.
Franklin Barreto homered in his debut, and Jaycob Brugman and Matt Olson added their first career homers as well to become the first trio in MLB history to hit their first HRs in the same game. Will that add up to enough runs to get fellow rookie Daniel Gossett his first career win?
Joe Maddon said he doesn't expect Ben Zobrist (wrist) back in the lineup for their next series in Washington. He's in Chicago getting treatment right now and could go on a rehab assignment before returning.
Watch Anthony Rizzo discuss getting a day off on Saturday.
Cubs lefty Brett Anderson (back) to start a rehab assignment with Double-A Tennessee.
Anthony Rizzo gets a day off on Saturday as Jon Jay will lead off for the Cubs. Kris Bryant plays first base with Javy Baez at third while Mark Zagunis gets a second start in right field. Willson Contreras is behind the plate for Jon Lester.
Calling up Franklin Barreto is interesting for its timing. The A's No. 1 prospect in Keith Law's pre-season ranking (No. 56 on the top 100) put up a decent, not amazing .754 OPS in Triple-A. Top prospects usually don't shuttle up and down, but it might look like the window at shortstop is open between Chad Pinder's strained hamstring and Marcus Semien's rehab -- unless the A's want to shake up baseball's worst defense by making some position switches, or act on those Jed Lowrie trade rumors.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi made it very apparent he had little use for first baseman Chris Carter. The Yankees have designated Carter for assignment, calling up Tyler Austin. Austin figures to see a lot of time at first until Greg Bird comes back. Bird (ankle) is hoping to begin a new rehab soon. Carter was hitting .204. The Yankees will owe him the remainder of his $3.5M.
