Athletics 2B Jordan Diaz homered three times on Tuesday. Something’s in the water out there. Don’t turn your nose up at any Oakland players finding daylight, is all I’m saying. The jokes at this organization’s expense are all warranted, but the people piloting that ship have been so good at this game for so long, somebody should write a book about it.
That goes double for Athletics OF JJ Bleday, who somewhat mysteriously torpedoed in Miami, where hitters go to put their feet up and rest in the warm weather.
Big Inning on MLB.tv is the best thing that’s happened to baseball broadcasting in a hot minute. Tuesday night, they cut from the Live games to run a Web Gems type segment, and I was hit with a twin microdoses of nostalgia and wonder that baseball used to provide on a nightly basis to even the casual viewer with enough click to check in with Karl and Peter and consider the night’s best glove-work. What a time. One big draw for Midwestern viewers: Big Inning more or less circumvents the blackout issue. I watched Christopher Morel’s home run live. They don’t maximize the quad-box just yet, and part of me can’t help but worry they’ll find a way to generate region-specific feeds, but that’s not a reality right now.
Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt is struggling with the Marlins. After I hit the period key, Jorge Soler blasted a three-run homer. Like, it’s the next thing that happened in the universe, the sequence was so quick. I was trying to phrase the fact that it was only the second inning, and only one run was on the board, and boom. I’m not sure what to make of Pfaadt. Game’s not over yet, as I said, but I’ll be writing on this through the night and well into tomorrow, so maybe I’ll know more a few innings from now. The command is not what I would’ve expected, I guess, is the headline for now.
Morel with a bloop single, now that I’m writing in a live-blog mode. I’m hoping he’ll steal second because I have him starting in the Highlander, but I’m also kind of hoping he just stays on first base because I’m afraid David Ross will bench him if he gets caught stealing.
Side note, Cub fans are going nuts for Morel. I listen to Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer on the radio feed while watching a couple games on the laptop and Big Inning on the TV, and the Cubs radio feed captures the crowd pretty well. They booed so hard when Chris Stratton threw over to first after totally exploding when he hit the homer. Morel just stole second as Amaya struck out. Well hell he just ran into a tag at third base on a Madrigal grounder. Ugh. Pain. Fear. Anger. These pave the path to the dark side.
Back in Arizona for one last live blog note, Soler seared a second three-run homer later in the game when Pfaadt hung another bender middle-middle.
Reds SS Elly De La Cruz hit two homers and a double on Tuesday night. You might’ve seen the statcast stuff already, but all three baseballs were Stantonized, topping out at 118.8 miles per hour. Cincinnati could call up a whole new infield tomorrow in Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and EDLC. With Jonathan India back on the beam and TJ Friedl looking like a regular–not to mention a dead-cat bounce from Nick Senzel–the Reds should be contenders soon.
The Yankees are burning daylight with 3B Andres Chaparro, who had a grand slam among his five hits on Tuesday. He’s slashing .545/.615/1.045 in May, lifting his season line to .281/.351/.587 with 10 home runs.
Nationals 3B Jake Alu slugged .321 in April but got promoted after pulling out of an early season slump. He went 0-for-4 in his debut but has always hit thanks to a discerning eye and quick, simple swing from the left side. Could lock up a lineup spot in a hurry unless he pees on himself like his name was Moises.
Pirates OF Josh Palacios was recalled after laying waste to Triple-A pitching. I added him for $7 (of 100) in the CBS NL Only. Miguel Andujar’s days might be numbered.
Giants SS Casey Schmitt went for $15 in that same CBS Analysts league after homering in his debut Tuesday night. He’s played mostly third base in his career but has an angle on inheriting the shortstop job after Brandon Crawford steps aside. I wished I had bid something in the twenties as I’ve needed middle infield help all season after investing in Grissom on auction day.
I watched Marlins LHP Pat Monteverde pitch a couple times this week, and it’s about what you’d expect from the scouting report and stat lines. Plus command of a diverse off-speed arsenal that tunnels well makes him especially tough on minor league hitters. His fastball has added a fraction of juice this year, but the smart money would bet against it stealing so many strikes in the majors. Nonetheless, he could eat some innings for the major league team this year and looks like a high-probability big leaguer, albeit likely in a swing-man role.
Thanks for reading!
