|
|
Post by kaybli on Aug 21, 2024 16:50:13 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 16:54:10 GMT -5
In the middle game of the series in the Bronx, the Guardians will keep attacking the Yankee weakness against left-handed starting pitching by calling up lefty Tony Cantillo back to majors to make his 4th major league start. Cantillo was drafted by the Padres in the 16th round of the 2017 June Amateur Draft. After signing Cantillo that year, they let him throw 8 innings of relief at rookie ball. He spent the first two months of 2018 in instruction camp, then the Padres sent him back to rookie ball to make 9 starts and two relief appearances, pitching well there. In his last game of the season, they moved him to low-A ball for one poor start. In 2019, he made 19 good starts in low-A, and the Padres promoted him to high-A late in the season for 3 more starts, 1 good, 2 not so good. His 2020 minor league season was killed by COVID, so he was at the Padres developmental camp until the end of August, when he was traded to the then-Indians with Josh Naylor, Austin Hedges, Owen Miller, and Gabriel Arias for Mike Cleavinger, ex-Yankee Greg Allan, and Matt Waldron. He spent the rest of 2020 in the Cleveland developmental camp.
In his first season in the Cleveland organization, he missed most of the season with abdominal soreness. Finally healthy in late August, they sent him back to rookie ball to make two rehab appearances, then promoted him to AA in September, where he made five unproductive appearances, 4 in relief, walking 10 in 8 innings. The Guardians started him in AA again in 2023, and he made 6 good but very short starts, pitching just 24 innings. They promoted him to AAA, where he made 20 so-so starts, going 6-4 with a 4.64 ERA. This year, he apparently suffered some injury in spring training, because they sent him back to rookie ball to make one terrible start, and then Cleveland promoted him to AAA, where he made 8 interesting if brief starts: 1-1, ERA 2.79, pitching 29 innings with just 1 HR allowed, and 39 K's, but also 19 walks. They called him to the majors in late July for three poor starts, but he has an excuse: they made him pitch against the Phillies, the Orioles and the Twins. He was sent back to AAA for one mediocre start, and now they're calling him up to replace the injured Alex Cobb in the rotation because...well...he's left-handed. On the season so far, Cantillo is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA. In 13 innings, he's allowed 15 hits, 9 runs (earned), 4 HR, 6 BB and struck out 9. His WHIP is a similarly awful 1.615. This is obviously his first start against the Yanks.
Repertoire: Cantillo is a 4-pitch lefty: 4-seamer, curve, change and slider. The 4-seamer has a bit of rise, but much less run in on lefties than average. The change has less drop and less tail than average. The curve has more drop than average but less break down and in on righties. The slider has more or less average drop and break. It's not many pitches, but the FB is a subtantial minus in run value, so is the slider. The curve is a substantial plus, and the change is a smaller plus. The FB velo is subpar, the FB spin is among the lowest in baseball, but he gets elite extension, top 1% based on just 249 pitches, total. In his few innings, he has a high barrel rate and a very high hard hit rate. The line drive rate is very low, and the popup rate is very high, but the ground ball and flyball rates are near MLB average. The swinging strike rate is about average, but the called strike rate and CSW are below average. His BABIP is near MLB average, the strand rate is above average, but the FB/HR rate is way above average. His ERA estimators think his ERA should be slightly higher than the current 6.23, about 6.52 or so.
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 16:57:56 GMT -5
Playing the name game: Lots of Joes, and Josephs, way too many to deal with, so let's limit it to just "Joeys". Just under 30 of them in MLB history, the best hitter is long-time Reds' 1st baseman Joey Votto, who has a decent but far from certain Hall of Fame case after a brilliant 17-year career apparently maybe coming to an end this season. He signed with the Jays in March, but got injured (what else is new?) , missed a couple of months, and is trying to play his way back into shape in the minors. The Jays promoted him to AAA in early August, but it's not working, he's just 6 for 39 with 20 strikeouts, in 39 AB and just 1 HR.
As for Votto's case for the Hall: a quick thumbnail. Of the four Bill James measuring methods, he fails the Black Ink test, passes the Gray Ink Test, and is slightly short on the Hall of Fame Monitor and Hall of Fame Standards. The fact that only two of his top 10 career comps (Edgar Martinez and Orlando Cepeda) have already been voted in works against him, though Paul Goldschmidt might someday get in, and if he does, well Votto's career is better, so he'll go in. On the other hand, as measured by Jaffee's JAWS system, Votto is the 12th best 1st baseman in MLB history, he has the 12th highest bWAR total in MLB history for 1st baseman, every one above him on that list is already in the Hall except for Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera and both of those guys are locks to get voted in on their first ballot. Of the players below him, 5 of 8 are in the Hall already, two of the three who aren't won't be getting in anytime soon: PED users Rafael Palmiero and Mark McGwire, and Goldschmidt is the other one, in 17th. He's only played 6 All-Star games, a rather low total for a Hall of Famer, but he has an MVP Award, two other top 3 finishes, and his career MVP shares of just over 3 is 40th best in MLB history. If I had to guess, I'd say Votto gets in, maybe not on the 1st ballot, but he'll get there.
For pitchers, Joey Jay edges out Joey Hamilton for most bWAR. Jay won 99 games in 13 years in the NL from the early-1950's to the mid-1960's, and pitched for three pennant winning teams and one title winner: the 1957-8 Milwaukee Braves and the 1961 Cincinnati Reds, for whom he won 21 games, making both All-Star teams and finishing 5th in the MVP voting. Joey Hamilton pitched 10 seasons, 1994-2003, won 74 games for the Padres, Reds and Blue Jays, including the 1998 Padres who got swept by the great '98 Yankee team that won 125 games and the World Series.
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 16:59:28 GMT -5
Nestor Cortes goes for the Yanks, hoping to build on his outstanding start on the road last week: 7 scoreless innings, giving up just 3 hits, no BB and striking out 9. He was dominant in every way. It was by far his best road start of the season, and just his second win on the road. A very hope-giving performance...except...it was against the White Sox who remain in the running for the worst team in MLB, post-1900. He ain't facing the White Sox tonight. Now, the Guardians offense isn't great, but they're good enough, scoring about 1 1/2 runs more per game than the White Sox offense. Nestor still has a wide home/road split, pitching far better in the Bronx than on the road, but that gap is narrowing quickly. In his first 6 starts at home, he was 3-1 with a 1.22 ERA. In his last 6 starts at home, he's 1-4 with a 6.15 ERA. Overall at home: 4-5 with a 3.05 ERA. Overall on the road, 2-5 with a 5.45 ERA. On the season as whole in 25 starts, Nestor is 6-10 with a 4.20 ERA. In 141 1/3 innings, he's allowed 139 hits, 67 runs, 66 earned, 21 HR and 29 BB with 133 strikeouts. His WHIP on the season, despite the low BB rate, is just slightly better than average 1.19. He's a mix of extremes: on the bad end: his hits per 9 is 11th worth among 62 MLB qualified starters, and his HR/9 is well above average. On the good side, his BB per 9 is 8th lowest, and K/BB ratio is 11th best despite an average K/9 rate.
This Nestor's 7th career game vs. Cleveland and his 4th career start. He's 1-0 against them with a 3.68 ERA. In 22 innings, he's allowed 14 hits, 9 runs (earned), just 4 BB and has 24 K's, but he's allowed 5 HR for a very high HR/9 of 2.04. His WHIP against them is a tiny 0.82, and given that and the HRs allowed, their team quadruple slash line against Cortes is a schizophrenic: .175/.224/.388/.611. (ISO power over .200 at .213). His last start against Cleveland was in April at Progressive Field. He was the starter in the wild game where the Yanks rallied to tie it in the 9th, took the lead with 2 in the 10th, and watched Caleb Ferguson throw it away, giving up 3 in the bottom of the inning. Cortes, in a typical early season road start, went just 4 innings, allowed 5 hits, 4 runs (earned), just one 1 BB, 2 home runs, a 2-run shot by Jose Ramirez in the 3rd, and a solo HR by Gabriel Arias leading off the 5th that knocked him out of the game.
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 17:01:13 GMT -5
Yankees' lineup vs. Williams...ho-hum, another day, another lefty who's never faced the Yanks, and another pitcher that none of them have batted against. Here's the Yankee lineup instead:
1. Torres (2B)
2. Soto (RF)
3. Judge (CF)
4. Stanton (DH)
5. Wells (C)
6. Volpe (SS)
7. Verdugo (LF)
8. Peraza (3B)
9. Rice (1B)...hmm...DJ sitting against a lefty...as Arte Johnson's "Wolfgang" would say: "Interestink! Verrrrry Interestink!!"
On the bench: None
==============
Guardians' lineup vs. Cortes:
1. Kwan (LF) is 1-6 with 2 K
2. Thomas (CF) has never faced Cortes
3. Ramirez (3B) is 1-9, 1 HR, 2 RBI, and 5 K
4. Fry (1B) is 0-1 with 1 BB and 1 K
5. J. Naylor (DH) is 2-6 with 1 double, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K and 1 GIDP
6. Noel (RF) has never faced Cortes
7. Gimenez (2B) is 0-2
8. Freeman (SS) is 0-2 with 1 HBP
9. Hedges (C) is 0-4
On the bench: None
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 17:02:22 GMT -5
Yesterday, the Yanks offense was completely inept with RISP until it was too late to matter, going 0 for their first 13 AB with RISP and leaving 11 mean on base. Luis Gil pitched poorly again and had to leave with was described as lower back tightness and has been placed on the 15-day IL with a lower-back strain. It is not known how long he'll be out for yet, and Will Warren has been recalled to a bulk reliever for the next day or two if either Cortes or Cole get knocked out early. If not, expect him to make the start in Gil's place against the Rockies on Sunday. The Yanks took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back solo HRs by Soto and Judge in the first, the Indians took the lead back in knocking Gil out, and Anthony Volpe tied the game in the 4th with a booming double to left center...but that was it for the Yankees offense until the Indians broke through against the 7th and 8th relievers the Yanks used, Mayza and Tonkin, for 6 runs, blowing the game wide open. Judge's 2-run double in the bottom was way too little, way too late, as the Yanks had Grisham thrown out at home with 1 out in the 8th on a late go/no-go signal change by 3rd base coach Rojas, and had the winning run on 3rd with 1 out in both the 10th and 11th, but got in order: a foul pop and a groundout in the 10th, and a K and a deep flyout in the 11th, failing in 4 crucial chances with the winning run 90 feet away. Details? Herrin got out of the jam in the 11th and was credited with the W, getting to 5-0 on the year; Mayza started the 12th and got tagged for the loss, dropping to 0-2. The loss was the Yanks' 3rd in a row, and dropped them back down to 20 games over .500 at 73-53
The entire East won, picking up a game on the Yanks. In Toronto, the Jays hammered Reds' starter Carson Spiers mericlessly for 13 hits, 5 HR and 10 runs in 4 1/3 before Reds' manager David Bell finally took pity and lifted him. Those were more than the Jays needed as they coasted to 10-3 romp. George Springer hit 2 of the 5 HRs and knocked in 3, Alejandro Kirk, Leo Jimenez and Spencr Horwitz also HRed for the Jays. Jose Berrios pitched 7 solid innings of 2 run ball, striking out 7, and improved his record to 12-9, Spiers dropped to 4-5 with his horrific performance.
At Citifield....remember when junkballing Jose Quintana stymied the Yanks in a start in the Subway Series? Well, the O's had no problem figuring him out, pounding him for 8 hits, 2 BB, 2 HR and 7 runs in 5 innings, building a big 7-1 lead. Santander (#37) and McCann (#4) had two run HRs in building the big lead. The Mets rallied in the 8th for 4 runs off reliever Burch Smith, on a RBI double by Nimmo and a three-run HR by J.D. Martinez (#14) to cut the deficit to 2, but the O's put it away in the 9th on a 2-run single by Gunnar Henderson off reliever Danny Young (another lefty the Yanks couldn't figure out), and won 9-5. Dean Kremer pitched 6 outstanding innings of 2-hit, 1-run ball, striking out 7, to improve to 6-9 on the season, Quintana dropped to the same record due to his dreadful start.
In Houston, the Red Sox evened their series against the Astros, winning 6-5. The teams exchanged 3-run rallies in the 1st, and the Astros to a 4-3 lead in the 2nd on a sac fly by McCormick. The Sox took the lead again in the 4th on RBI singles by Duran and Cases, but the Astros tied it up in the 5th on a solo HR by Yainer Diaz (#15). The game stayed 5-5 into the 8th when Jarren Duran hit a solo HR, his 17th of the season. Luis Garcia pitched a scoreless 8th and Sox' closer Kenley Jansen nailed down the win with a 1-2-3 9th for his 24th save. Zack Kelly pitched a scoreless 7th for Boston and was the pitcher of record when Duran hit his HR, he's now 5-2 on the season. Kaleb Ort gave up that HR, taking the loss to drop to 1-1.
Another pitcher's duel in Oakland, this time, the Rays came out on top 1-0. Shane Baz matched Joey Estes for 7 scoreless innings each. With 2 out in the top of the 8th, Estes surrendered a solo HR to Jose Siri (#15) for the only run of the game. Baz stayed in for two more outs, but when Hernaiz singled, Kevin Cash went to Edwin Uceta to pitch to Butler. He got him to pop out to end the 8th, then pitched a 1-2-3 9th for the 1st save of his career. Baz gave up just one other hit in dominating the A's in getting his 1st win in over two years, he's 1-2 on the season and has pitched 4 good or better games his last 5 starts. (Watch out, gang, with Springs, Baz, Pepiot and Rasmussen healthy again, and Bradley already there, even with just over 35 games left and still well behind, the Rays have the rotation to go on a run and get back into the fight for the division, and even knock the Yankees out of a Wild Card if they keep floundering...). Estes gave up just 3 hits and 1 BB in his 7 2/3, taking the hard-luck loss to drop to 5-6 on the year.
Going into today's games, the Yanks are back in 2nd, 1/2 game behind the O's, and the Sox, Rays and Jays all gained a game as well and are now 6 1/2, 9 1/2, and 14 games behind the Yanks, respectively.
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 17:07:44 GMT -5
In today's games, the Mets and O's wrapped up their series at Citifield, and the Mets blew leads of 2-0 and 3-2 before scoring late to win 4-3, winning the series as well. The Mets got a solo HR from Lindor in the 3rd, his 25th, and a RBI groundout by Martinez in the 5th to take the first lead, but the O's tied it the 6th on a 2-run HR by backup OF Austin Slater, just his 2nd of the season. The Mets got the lead back in the 7th on a solo HR by Vientos, his 20th, but the O's got the run right back in the 8th on a sac fly by Rutschman. The Mets homered to walk it off for the 2nd time in the series when backup OF Jesse Winker, leading off the 9th by pinch hittring for Bader, returned the favor on Slater, hitting his 12th HR off of notional O's closer Seranthony Dominguez for the Mets' win. I say notional, because he also gave up the walkoff HR to Francisco Alvarez that won Monday night's series opener. Sean Manaez pitched 7 solid innings, giving up the 3 O's runs, on just 3 hits with 0 BB and 9 K's, but saddled himself with the no-decision. Edwin Diaz pitched a 1-2-3 9th with 2 K's for the win, putting him at 5-1 on the year. Dominguez dropped to 3-4 after giving up the game-winner to Winker.
In Hoston, the Red Sox got 4 2/3 innings of 1-run ball from Cooper Criswell, then needed 6 relievers to throw the last 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to nail down a 4-1 win, winning the series against the Astros. Josh Winckowski got the win in relief with a scoreless 6th; he's now 4-1 on the season. Weissert, Bernardino and Garcia all got holds, and Chris Martin got the save (his 1st this year) today because normal closer Kenley Jansen had pitched in the first two games of the series. Justin Verlander came off the IL to make his first start in over 2 months, and gave up 2 runs in 5 innings, striking out 6, to drop to 3-3.
The Sox got their 4 runs on a RBI single by Casas in the 1st, a RBI doubles by Rafaela in the 2nd and 7th, and a solo HR by Hamilton in the 9th (his 8th of the season). The Astros only run came in the 1st on a leadoff HR by Bregman, his 20th.
This evening, the Rays and Jays play the rubber game of their series at Rogers Centre at 7:07. The Reds start swingman Nick Martinez (6-6, 3.25 ERA), he's pitched well in 3 starts since being put back into the rotation. The Jays go with international free agent signing Yariel Rodriguez (1-5, 3.93 ERA); he pitches well in some games, but hasn't actually won a game in his last 6 starts (0-2 with a 4.21 ERA but just 24 2/3 innings). And at the Coliseum at 9:40 pm, the Rays and A's play the rubber game of their sereis. Ryan Pepiot (6-5, 3.69 ERA) starts for Tampa; he pitched well in a no-decision against Arizona in his first start off the Il 5 days ago. Mitch Spence (7-8, 4.64 ERA) goes for the A's, the Mets beat him up in his last outing, but he pitched 4 pretty good games in a row before that one.
As a result of the early games, the O's and Yanks are back in a flat-footed tie for first in the East and 73-53, and the Sox, bouyed by the return of Tristan Casas (8-23 with a HR, 4 runs and 4 RBI in 7 games since coming off the IL) to their lineup, are right back in the East chase, just 6 games behind the front-runners. The Rays and Jays remain 9 1/2 and 14 back, respectively.
In a little less than an hour at the Stadium, it's Cantillo vs. Cortes.
Preview deluge unloaded, I'm going to make dinner. See you then.
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 17:58:21 GMT -5
The Yankees are looking for pitching, starters or relivers you say? Interesting.
Meanwhile in Texas...The Rangers beat the Pirates 1-0.
Ex-Yankee Andrew Heaney pitched 5 shutout innings for the Rangers, allowing 5 hits, and 1 walk, striking out 8, lowering his ERA to 4.04
Ex-Yankee Domingo German pitched 6 shutout innings for the Pirates, allowing 3 hits, walking 4 and striking out 4, lowering his ERA to 1.50
Ex-Yankee David Robertson pitched a scoreless 8th inning for the Rangers, even though he gave up a hit and a walk, lowering his ERA to 3.11
Ex-Yankee Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless 8th inning for the Pirates, striking out the side, lowering his ERA to 3.21
Both of the starters got a no-decision, as the Rangers walked it off in the 9th on single by rookie OFWyatt Langford of Pirates' closer David Bednar, if anyone cares.
...so the Yanks need pitching help? Interesting.
|
|
|
|
Post by chiyankee on Aug 21, 2024 18:08:43 GMT -5
Ugh, the game on Extra Innings is experiencing technical difficulties.  |
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 18:10:32 GMT -5
Nestor has finished his warmups. Kwan steps in.
1st pitch FB in the zone above and inside middle, popped to right, Soto comes in and catches, 1 down.
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 18:12:48 GMT -5
Thomas...
Takes a FB inside, 1-0
Takes a cutter at the top of the zone, 1-1
Fouls off a poorly located slider waist high, outside middle, 1-2, fouled off Wells, ump gives him a moment to rest.
FB misses inside, waist high, 2-2
FB catches a tiny piece of the corner down and in, not called, 5-10% on Gameday, so marginal
Cutter outside middle middle, swung under it for the K, 2 down.
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 18:13:55 GMT -5
Ramirez...
Takes a cutter inside middle, 0-1
Gets a FB in the zone up and in, Ramirez late and under, pops to Torres on the infield, inning over.
Bottom 1, 0-0
Nifty 1-2-3 for Nestor, just 9 pitches.
|
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 18:14:40 GMT -5
Ugh, the game on Extra Innings is experiencing technical difficulties. You can follow my pitch by pitch, but I'm 3-4 pitches behind as usual. Gameday will be faster. |
|
|
|
Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 21, 2024 18:16:51 GMT -5
Torres...
FB above middle, fouled, 0-1
Takes a FB well high, outer 3rd, 1-1
Change tails outside, 2-1
FB waist high, outside corner, taken, 2-2
Change inner half jams him a bit, his bloop fall in left-center for a leadoff single.
|
|
|
|
Post by presceo on Aug 21, 2024 18:16:59 GMT -5
well well
|
|
