NEWSLETTER
MLB Notes —
If you’re looking for entertainment, look no further than the New York Mets. No, not the type of entertainment you’ll get when watching a quality baseball team, but the kid you get watching trainwreck reality television shows on MTV and the like.
The Met(s) Show
Take Wednesday, for example, when reliever Jorge López entered the game in the eighth inning. The inning was already out of control, and the Mets were torpedoing toward another loss. Still, things went from bad to comically bad in a hurry when López hit third base umpire Ramon De Jesus on an attempted pickoff. After a two-run double, a flyout, and a two-run bomb from Shohei Ohtani, the Mets were down 9-3 to the Dodgers.
Here’s where the López-De Jesus dymanic comes into play; after a Freddie Freeman check-swing that was appealed and ruled not to be a swing, López and De Jesus had words that led to López being ejected, setting up the icing on the cake for the circus that is the New York Mets …
The commentary was perfect … “that’s where the Mets are at.”
After the game, López told reporters that his glove-tossing incident made him look like “the worst teammate, probably, in the whole f—ing MLB.” He could have also said, “I’m on the worst team, probably, in the whole f—ing MLB,” but there have been conflicting reports on what he meant (English is his second language). Seems pretty likely it was the first one. Either way, he doesn’t have to worry about the latter, as the Mets quickly designated him for assignment on Wednesday evening.
To make matters worse, Edwin Díaz was added to the IL before the game, and Pete Alonso exited after being hit on the hand by a pitch. The loss to the Dodgers completed a sweep, leaving the Mets at 22-33, fourth place in the NL East — 16 games behind the Phillies.
An interesting follow-up to the whole López incident: Boomer Esiason reported this morning that he was informed that Jorge López and his wife have a son who is waiting on a transplant for a severe medical issue, which could explain López’s short fuse in the heat of the moment on Wednesday.
Skubal, Skenes Put on Clinics in Tigers-Pirates Doubleheader
On Wednesday, a doubleheader between the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates gave pitching nerds a dream scenario. Tarik Skubal on the bump for Detroit in Game 1, and Paul Skenes taking the ball for Pittsburgh in Game 2.
Skubal was terrific, as he’s been for much of the last year. He struck out six of the first 10 Pirates batters and then retired the last 10 in a row. He needed only 11 pitches to set down the side in the fifth and sixth innings. His final strikeout came on his 90th pitch, a 98 mph fastball to Pirates infielder Nick Gonzales.
Over the last 11 months, Skubal has been the best pitcher in baseball, leading all pitchers in fWAR (5.3) and ERA (2.57) since July 4 of last season.
If anyone can top Skubal’s one-year stretch by this time next year, it’s probably Paul Skenes, who started the second game of Wednesday’s double-dip between the Tigers and Pirates. Pitching on his 22nd birthday, Skenes turned in another dominating effort for the Pirates, racking up nine strikeouts while walking one and allowing two runs on three hits against the Tigers.
Skenes’ famous “Splinker” was dazzling on Wednesday and stymied the Tigers’ attempts to chase the rookie from the game early.
“It looked like we had a couple of opportunities to chase him early with a couple of hits or stringing together some high pitch counts. And then he had the equalizer: His split was really good anytime he went to it,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said of Skenes’ out pitch after the game. “Whatever he calls it, it’s really effective and really impactful to both sides of hitters. He could go get chase with it. He could go get swing-and-miss. So we had a hard time with the overall package. He’s a talented kid.”
The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen wrote a fantastic story on how two pitchers with very different paths to success in the majors intersected on Wednesday and put on pitching clinics.
Luis Gil Continues to Dominate, Anthony Volpe’s Hitting Streak Reaches 21 Games
The Yankees’ present and future look exceptionally promising, with Luis Gil wrapping up an outstanding month and Anthony Volpe impressing offensively and defensively. Gil struck out nine batters over a career-high eight innings, while Volpe extended his hitting streak to 21 games, leading the Yankees to a 2-1 win over the Angels on Wednesday evening at Angel Stadium.
Gil has been on another planet this month, going 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA in six starts in May. Since May 12, Yankees starters have gone 12-2 with a 1.00 ERA, holding opponents to a .158 batting average. Volpe’s 21-game hitting streak is the longest for a Yankees hitter since Robinson Canó’s 23-game hit streak in 2012.
Benches Clear in San Francisco!
In the Phillies’ 6-1 win over the Giants, the benches cleared in the fourth inning after Bryce Harper took exception to consecutive inside fastballs from Kyle Harrison. With a 1-2 count, Harrison brushed Harper back with a 94.1 mph pitch, prompting a verbal exchange. After nearly getting hit again, Harper conferred with the umpire, leading both teams’ benches and bullpens to empty.
This incident occurred seven years after another brawl involving Harper and the Giants. There was no prior history between Harper and Harrison, though Harper had hit a two-run homer off Harrison during his MLB debut last August.
