Everyone knows that when an MLB grand slam is hit, Papa John’s gives 40% off the next day with the code PAPASLAM right? Last night there were seven, the most ever in one day.
There were 1,060 home runs hit in May, the most since 2000, when there were 1,069 hit in May. Last season there were 5,610 home runs, second only to the 5,693 homers hit in 2000. MLB is on pace to break that record this season.
More than 21 percent of plate appearances end in a strikeout, which is an all time high, putting MLB on pace to break the strikeout record for the for the fifth straight season.
We tolerate strikeouts more, and a lot of guys don’t know how to hit with two strikes to shorten their strokes and put the ball in play. We’ve kind of created that [type of hitter] with the acceptance we’ve given strikeouts.It just wasn’t the way I was taught. We tried to find ways to put it in play regardless of who was pitching and regardless of whether you had power It’s different today.
I love Mike Trout, but one of the years he won MVP, he struck out almost 190 times [184 in 2014]. So you can be the best player in the game and strike out 190 times as long as you’re doing damage when you put the ball in play. Paul Molitor
Injury Updates
Jameson Taillon will throw 85 to 90 pitches in his third rehab start Wednesday. He could return to the mound as early as June 12, exactly five weeks after surgery
Amir Garrett will be activated today to start against the Braves. He will be only the fifth lefty that the Braves have faced this season.
Players
Carlos Gonzalez is hitting .238 on the season with a .311 on base percentage. He is even worse with runners waiting to score, .178. His career average with runners in scoring position is .291
George Springer is having a great season. He currently has an eight game hit streak, including five home runs in the last six games. Three of them went 444 ft,, 454 ft., and 461 ft. Eight of his 14 total this season have led off an inning.
Matt Adams hits .330 with nine home runs, six doubles and 21 RBI in 31 games at Great American ballpark, Cincinnati
Matt Kemp has hit .377 with a .639 slugging percentage in 15 games since Freddie Freeman went to the disabled list May 18
Jose Abreu started the season in a slump, going without a home run until April 29. Since then, he is hitting .322 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI over his last 36 games.
Jon Lester has a quality start in six of seven games started at home. In five starts on the road, Lester is 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA and no quality starts
Addison Russell is hitting .211 on the season and .140 over his last 29 games
Edwin Encarnacion snapped his hit streak at 11 games. He hit .366 with three home runs and six RBI during that time
Michael Pineda is no good on the road
Ben Lively made his major league debut last night, pitching against Johnny Cueto in San Francisco. He allowed one earned run on four hits but forgot to strike out any batters. Oh, well maybe next time.
Of course Odubel Herrera hit two doubles with three RBI. He was on your bench wasn’t he?
Johnny Cueto can opt out of his contract after this season, but he is guaranteed four more years in San Francisco at $21 million a year.
He has made comments about the lack of latino players in the Giants clubhouse, could try to trade him if they think he might opt out.
When I was with Kansas City, it was a team, I think, it was a very happy bunch because we had a lot of players from the Dominican. The same with Cincinnati. But here, it’s different. As Latins, we like to get together kind of loud, and be a happy bunch. But here, you look around and everyone is on their own, just sitting at their locker, very quiet, just by themselves. That’s just how they are.Cueto in April
Gerrit Cole has a 10.12 ERA with 15 home runs allowed in the fifth inning this season
Matt Carpenter, Aledmys Diaz and Dexter Fowler all have a BABIP significantly lower than their career says they should.
Rougned Odor is hitting .186 over his last 50 games and .203 on the season. He is now batting fifth, where he flourished last year and right behind Adrian Beltre. It isn’t working though, as Odor is 2 for 18 since Beltre came back Monday.
Teams
What we focus on are pitchers who can get batters out on both sides. We’re not necessarily concerned with which arm they throw with. We’re more concerned with their arsenal of pitches and whether that’s going to be effective against both right-handed and left-handed batters. If we have a pen full of right-handed pitchers that are able to get lefties out, we’re less concerned about the need for putting a lefty in there.Brewers general manager David StearnsThe Brewers have one lefty pitcher on their roster, Brent Suter. He is a relief pitcher who has been sent down and called up three times this season. Tommy Milone was a Brewer at the start of the season before a 6.43 ERA over three starts sent him packing. I guess they don’t feel the need to employ any lefties because Suter’s spot start last August was the first lefty to make a start for the Brewers in 474 games, dating back to 2013.
474 Games I said !!!
The Brewers actually have some decent lefty prospects in Josh Hader and Kodi Medeiros, but it remains to be seen whether they are cut out to be starters.
Three teams from the same division entered June at least 10 games above .500 for the tenth time since 1969. The Rockies, Dodgers and Diamondbacks.
The Rockies:
- 2nd in AVG, .264
- 1st in National League in AVG with RISP, .318
- 2nd in runs scored per game, 5.04
- Least number of errors in National League, 23
- 6th in home runs in the National League, 71
The Diamondbacks at home – 29 games:
- .295 AVG
- .875 OPS
The Diamondbacks on the road – 29 games
- .219 AVG
- .646 OPS
The Twins hit 37 home runs in May for the fourth time in 23 years.
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