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Post by kaybli on Aug 4, 2024 11:29:52 GMT -5
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 11:49:58 GMT -5
The Jays send out their international free agent signing from this past offseason, righty Yariel Rodriguez, to start the rubber game against the Yanks this afternoon. Whichever team wins takes the series, and the season's series, 7-6. Rodriguez signed as an 18-year-old for the Ganaderos de Camaguey of the Cuban National Series. He pitched for them in parts of 6 seasons, as well as Lenodores de Las Tunas and the Cuban team in the Canadian-American Association and the Cuban National team in the 2018-19 Carribean Series. He signed with the Chunichi Dragons, and pitched for both the Nippon Minor League and Major League Squads for parts of the seasons from 2020 through 2023. This February, the Jays signed him to a 4-year, $23.4 million dollar deal with an opton for a 5th year at $11.6 million.
Rodriguez was sent to AAA to open the season, he threw 2 short starts in AAA, and pitched well. Then the Jays called him up to make 4 starts in the majors, he pitched 4 short so-so starts for Toronto. They sent him back to AAA to build up pitches/innings, but he went just 4 innings once and three innings twice before they called him up. They used him as an opener in his first start. He finally went more than 4 innings in his 6th start, a good start against the Astros in a 3-1 loss. He got his first and only major league win (so far) in his next start, 6 shutout innings against the Mariners, allowing just 1 hit, 2 BB and striking out 6. After that, he had 2 more so-so starts of 4 and 5 2/3 innings, and got knocked out in the first inning in his last start against the Orioles. On the season, Rodriguez has made 10 starts, going a total of 39 2/3 innings. His record is 1-4 with an ERA of 4.20. He's allowed 31 hits, 22 runs, 19 earned, 3 HR, 23 BB, with 43 K's. His WHIP on the season is a sub-par 1.361 because of the walk rate. This is his first career game against the Yankees.
Repertoire: Rodriguez' pitch mix so far: 4-seamer averaging 94 about 46% of the time, slider 84-5 about 25%, curve 78 about 11%, sinker 93-4 about 9%, and splitter 89, also about 9%. The FB has way below-average rise and run, the sinker has close to average sink and tail, the slider has very little drop but elite break glove-side, the splitter has below average drop, but better than average tail, and the curve also has average drop, and like the slider, elite glove-side break. By run values, the sinker is a big plus, the curve an even bigger minus, the split finger is also a minus, but the slider and 4-seamer are more or less average. His FB and curve spin are both well above average, but his extension is just a little better than average. His has a very low barrel rate and a low hard-hit rate. His line drive and flyball rates are a bit higher than then average, the ground ball rate a bit below average, the popup rate right around average. His swinging strike rate and called strike rates are below average and therefore so is his CSW%. His strand and HR/FB are below average, but his BABIP is above average, and his ERA simulators say his ERA should be just below his season ERA of 4.20.
Playing the name game: He's the only Yariel in MLB history, and the greatest Rodriguez in MLB history is A-Rod, and the only Hall-of-Famer is Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 11:53:31 GMT -5
Gerrit Cole starts the series finale for the Yanks, with his status as an ace up in the air this season. He's had 3 really good starts, 3 bad ones, and is giving up HR at a much higher rate so far. He's 3-2 on the season in 7 starts with an ERA of 5.40. In 35 innings, he's allowed 39 hits, 21 runs (earned), 9 HR, and 12 BB with 39 K's. His WHIP so far is a shoddy 1.457. In his last start, the Mets hammered him for the 2nd time this season, giving up 8 hits, 3 HR, and 6 runs in 5 2/3 innings.
This is Cole's 18th career start against the Jays, and he's pitched well against them, going 9-2 with a 2.77 ERA. In 105 2/3 innings, he's allowed 74 hits, 33 runs, 32 earned, 11 HR, and 20 BB with 104 K's. His WHIP against the Jays is an outstanding 0.89, and the Jays team quadruple slash line against Cole is .193/.240/.339/.579. His last start against the Jays was 5 starts ago. He went just 5 innings, but did an excellent job, allowing 3 hits, 1 run, 1 BB with 6 K's. He left with a 7-1 lead, and the Yanks won, 8-1.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 11:56:33 GMT -5
Yankees lineup vs Rodriguez...nada, none of them have ever faced him, so I'll just post the lineup:
1. T orres (2B)
2. Soto (RF)
3. Judge (CF)
4. Wells (C)
5. Stanton (DH)
6. Chisholm (3B)
7. Volpe (SS)
8. Grisham (CF)
9. LeMahieu (1B) gets his obligatory start for the series.
On the bench: Nothin' doin' here, either.
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Jays lineup vs. Cole
1. Clement (SS) is 2-5 with 1 K
2. Loperfido (LF) has never faced Cole
3. Guerrero (DH) is 11-32, 3 2B's, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 SF, 2 HBP and 1 GIDP
4. Horwitz (1B) is 0-5 with 1 BB, and 1 K
5. Varsho (CF) is 2-8 with 4 K
6. Kirk (C) is 8-22 with 4 doubles, 1 HR, 3 RBI and 2 K's.
7. Barger (RF) has never faced Cp;e
8. Schneider (2B) is 0-3 with 3 K's
9. De Los Santos (EB) hasn't either
On the bench: Springer is 7-27 with 2 doubles, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K's and 1 GIDP
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 11:58:03 GMT -5
Yesterday, the Yanks went up against a high HR pitcher in Jose Berrios and got to him for three 2-run HR in the first 5 innings: Judge hit his 41st in the first, Grisham his 7th in the 2nd,and Volpe his 11th in the 5th. The Jays got a HR from the white-hot Guerrero in the 1st off the highest HR allowing starter before the game, Carlos Rodon (Berrios caught and passed Rodon, 25 to 24 during the game). Guerrero knocked out Rodon with a 1 out double in the 5th, Tonkin came in and gave up a 2 run single, but the Yanks tacked on insureance runs in the 7th and 8th, and won by a comfortable 8-3 margin. Rodon got his 12th win and 3rd in a row; Berrios dropped back to .500 at 9-9. Clay Holmes only pitched to 1 batter, but struck out George Springer with the basis loaded and 2 outs to get a very marinal save, his 24th of the season. The win was the Yanks 6th in the last 7 games and raised them back to 20 games over .500 at 66-46.
In other AL East action, which all took place after the Yankee game was already over yesterday, the teams that won Friday lost, and the teams that lost Friday won. The Rangers beat up some on Tanner Houck, knocking him out with 4 in the 4th on back to back HRs by Jonah Heim (3-run) and Leody Taveras (solo, obviously) and giving up 3 straight hits for 2 runs leading off the 6th. The Rangers got one more in the 6th, the Sox got that one back in the 7th, but the Rangers held on to win, 7-4. Starter Cody Bradord could only get through 3 1/3 innings, so reliever Jose LeClerc got the win with 2/3 on an inning of fairly ineffective relief, but he killed off the Sox rally in the 4th that knocked out Bradord, the Rangers took the lead while he was the pitcher in the bottom of the 4th, and got one more guy out in the 5th, so the scorer gave LeClerc his 5th win of the season. Kirby Yates gave up 2 hits in 1 1/3 innings with 2 K's to nail down his 20th save. The Rangers got just their 2nd win in 8 game, the Sox are now 4-9 in their last 13. The Orioles broke open a 3-2 game with 4 runs in the 8th, and withstood a 2-run rally by the Guardians to win 7-4. Adley Rutschman came off the bench to hit a 2-run triple that keyed the 8th inning rally. Gunner Henderson had 3 hits, 2 runs and a RBI. Zack Eflin pitched well in his 2nd start for the O's, allowing just 2 runs in 6 1/3 to even his season record at 7-7. Yennier Cano pitched a 1-2-3 9th for his 5th save. The Guardians 5-game win streak was snapped, the O's won for the 5th time in 8 games. The Rays got 2-run rallies in the 5th, 7th and 9th innings, and Zack Littell and 4 relievers combined on a 5-hitter as the Rays beat the Astros 6-1 in Houston. Josh Lowe drove in 3 runs with 2 HR, a double and single, and his namesake Brandon Lowe drove in 2 more with 3 singles. Littell made it through 5 1/3 allowing just 1 run, a solo HR by Singleton in the 2nd, and got his 5th win of the season. Low hit ace Ronel Blanco gave up 6 hits in 5 innings, and gave up the league lead in lowest H/9 rate to Luis Gil. He's now 9-6 on the season. The Rays have now won 4 out of 5; the Astros have lost 4 of 6.
Going into today's games, the Yanks and Orioles are still tied for first, 66-46. The Sox dropped to 6 1/2 games back in 3rd. The Rays are in 4th, 8 games back. Despite their win, the Jays remain iu the cellar, 14 1/2 back. The teams are back where they were before Friday's games.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 12:01:27 GMT -5
Elsewhere in the AL East today...the O's and Guardians wrap up their 4-game series at 1:40 pm at Progressive Field. Baltimore ace Corbin Burnes (11-4, and leading the AL in ERA at 2.47) tries to earn the split for the O's. The Guardians will throw Gavin Williams (1-3, 3.72) to try for the series win. At 2:10 pm in Minute Park, the Rays and Astros play the rubber game of their series. Looks like another bullpen game for the Rays as Hunter Bigge, a reliever with the Cubs before going to Tampa as part of the Paredes trade, gets the "start". Bigge is 0-0 with a 1.69 ERA in 6 games and 5 1/3 innings this season. Spencer Arrighetti, still trying to put it together in the majors, starts for the Astros. He's 4-9 with a 5.56 ERA in 19 starts, but has been somewhat better lately; 0-2 in his last 4 starts, but the ERA is under 4.00 and a 24-8 K/BB ratio in 23 innings. The Red Sox and Rangers play the rubber game of their series in Arlington. Nick Pivetta (5-7 4.47 ERA) has been alternating good and bad starts, he'll try for a 2nd good one in a row for Boston. Nathan Eovaldi (8-4, 3.38 ERA) throws for Texas, he's had 2 good starts in a row since the O's blasted him for 3 HRs in a 9-1 thumping.
And, this afternoon at 1:37 at the Stadium, it's Rodriguez vs. Cole.
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Post by bigjeep on Aug 4, 2024 12:01:44 GMT -5
Checking early!  |
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 12:07:04 GMT -5
And now, The Sunday Standings™ for Sunday, August 4th
The Guardians now have the best record in baseball at 67-43, having won 5 in a row before losing to the O's yesterday. The Twins have won 3 in a row, are 13 games over .500 and 5 1/2 back. Aided by Bobby Witt, Jr's impressive hot streak, the Royals have won 5 of 6, and are now 12 games over, 1/2 game behind the Twins and 6 games out. The Tigers run of hot play ended this week in a 5-game losing streak. They're back to 6 games under, 9 back of the Royals, 9 1/2 behind the Twins and 15 games out. The White Sox lost all 6 games again this week to extend their 13-game losing streak to 19, and are now threatining the post-1900 record of 23 losses in a row, set by the Phillies in 1961. Their current winning percentage of .239 has them on pace for the most losses in post-1900 MLB history at 123 losses, and would be the 2nd lowest winning percentage in that period.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 12:08:07 GMT -5
In the West...
The Mariners have won 6 of 8 to regain the lead at 59-53. The Astros lost 4 of 6 this week to go from a game ahead to a game behind at 4 games over. The champion Rangers continue to flounder, losing 6 of their last 8. They're 5 games under, 4 1/2 back of the Astros and 5 1/2 back of the Mariners. In any of the other 5 divisions, the Rangers would be buried for the division title, but not this one. The Angels split 6-games this week to stay 15 games under, 5 behind Texas, 9 1/2 behind Houston, and 10 1/2 out of first. The A's also went 3-3, are 20 games under, and 2 1/2 behind the Angels for 4th place.
The current AL Wild Cards...have the Yanks and O's in an odd position. One of them is the division winner, one of them the top Wild Card. The other two wild cards are the Twins and Royals, and the Red Sox are also ahead of the weakest division leader, the Mariners, and are 2 1/2 back of the Royals The Astros and the Rays are within 5 of the Royals as well.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 12:10:01 GMT -5
Over in the NL...
In the East, the Phillies' recent slumping ways continued. They lost all 6 games this week, including a sweep to the Yankees in Philly, dropping to 20 games over .500 at 65-45. This allowed the Braves and Mets to close to 5 and 7 games behind Philly by going 5-2 and 3-3, respectively. The Braves are 10 games over and the Mets are 6 games over. The Nats sold off and continued to drop off the NL East radar, losing 5 of 6, dropping to 11 games under and 8 1/2 back of the Mets. Miami waved the white flag, selling off multiple key players, then dropping 5 of 6. They're now 28 games under and 8 1/2 behind even the Nationals.
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In the Central:
The Brewers treaded water at 3-3, and lead the division at 62-48. The Cards won 4 of 7, gaining a half game, and are now 3 games over and 4 1/2 back. The Pirates continued their recent solid play by winning 4 of 6. They've gone 15-9 in the last 24, and are now 2 games over, 1/2 game behind the Cards in 3rd and 5 games back. The Reds went 3-3, including getting no-hit by Blake Snell, are 4 games under, 3 back of Pittsburgh, 3 1/2 back of St. Louis and 8 games out of 1st. The Cubs played middleman by both selling and buying, and after achieving a middling 3-3 record this week, they find themselves 5 games under, 1/2 game back of the Reds, 3 1/2 back of the Pirates, 4 games back of the Cards, and 9 1/2 out of 1st.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 12:11:37 GMT -5
Out West, the Dodgers went 2-3, and at 64-47, still lead the division. The Padres took 3 of 5 and pulled a game closer, 8 over .500 and 4 1/2 back. The defending NL Champ Diamondbacks contnued their excellent play of late, winning 4 of 6. They've won 20 of 29, and at 7 games over, are just 1/2 game back of Arizona and 5 back of the Dodgers. The Giants sold off a couple of pieces, but not Snell, who threw that no-hitter against Cincy. They went 3-2, are now 2 games under, 4 1/2 back of Arizone, 5 back of San Diego and 9 1/2 out of 1st. The Rockies split 6 games to stay 30 games under, way out of contention at 14 game behind even the Giants for 4th.
The NL Wild Cards are currently held by the Braves, the Padres and the D'backs. The Mets are 1/2 game behind Arizona, the Cards are 2 back, the Pirates 2 1/2 back, and the Giants are 4 1/2 back.
And that concludes The Sunday Standings™ for this week.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 12:37:42 GMT -5
OK, game about to get underway. Cole throwing his warmups.
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Post by inger on Aug 4, 2024 12:38:10 GMT -5
Play ball!!!…
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 12:41:07 GMT -5
FB near the corner away for a strike, 0-1 on Clement
Not a cutter, Joe, a slider. the cutter is low 90's
Slider near middle lined to left for a leadoff single. Bad start for Cole.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 4, 2024 12:42:19 GMT -5
Loeprfido takes a FB up and away, 1-0
Takes a FB at 96 near middle, 1-1
Curve into the top of the zone, runner goes, the throw is short and off line, stolen base. The curve was a 50-50 strike at the top, not called, bad call.
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