The Royals are 8-27 this decade against the Yankees (including postseason).
ICYMI, Cole Ragans is headed to the IL with a rotator cuff injury:
“It wasn’t like I threw a singular pitch and felt something,” Ragans said. “It was nothing like that. After, just got pretty stiff. Did some treatments and stuff. It just never really got better.”
After Monday’s off-day and the soreness still lingering while playing catch Tuesday, Ragans went for scans and testing, which revealed the rotator cuff strain. Now they’ll await the results of Wednesday’s testing to determine what’s next.
“All things considered, I think we caught it early,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “… There’s no real point in me saying anything, until he sees the doctor and we get another test.”
Kris Bubic had a rare bad start in last night’s loss:
Bubic threw 41 pitches, walked three batters in the frame and allowed five runs. It started with a first-pitch leadoff triple from Cody Bellinger. Then Bubic issued an eight-pitch walk to Jazz Chisholm Jr., although the seventh pitch of that plate appearance appeared to be a strike. The Yankees scored a run on Anthony Volpe’s fielder’s choice RBI, but Bubic recorded a groundout to get to two outs and nearly out of the frame.
Instead, it went off the rails.
The offense continues to struggle:
As manager Matt Quatraro understatedly put it Tuesday night, “we need to have a three-run double or three-run homer at some point to take some pressure off” needing to manufacture runs with multiple hits.
When I asked him Wednesday what the single biggest mental impediment might be to converting opportunities into runs, surely the umpteenth time he’s been asked some version of that question over the last few months, he put it this way.
“If there was one thing, we would have hit that button a long time ago …” he said. “I think every guy has to understand what goes through their mind when they go to the plate … and what is their process goal, and are they sticking to it.”
In The Athletic’s recent MLB player poll, Bobby Witt Jr. was one of the most popular answers for most fun player to watch ($):
“He doesn’t have crazy size like Judge or Ohtani; he’s pretty regular looking, but just (has) unbelievable talent. Last year was the first time I saw him live, and it was barrel, barrel, barrel. It was unreal.”
“His swing is so good.”
“Five-tool player. Athletic, plays a premium defensive position and plays it well. He’s fast and he’s even got another gear when he needs it. He does a lot of things the game of baseball is catered towards, and that’s what makes him so exciting.”
The Missouri House passed a bill to provide funding to keep the Royals in Missouri. It will now headed to the governor’s desk.
Major leaguers discuss misconceptions about playing in the big leagues. ($)
Shohei Ohtani could return to the mound before the All-Star break.
Luis Arraez’s outlier contact skills may be dampening his offensive production.
Washington is calling up Bruce the Bat Dog to make his major league debut.
A Tigers minor leaguer is moving up with the hardest knuckleball on record.
Old friend Scott Alexander is heading to San Francisco on a minor league deal.
Old friend Carlos Hernández has been designated for assignment by Philadelphia.
Detroit right-handed pitcher Jackson Jobe is undergoing Tommy John surgery, ending is season.
The Women’s College World Series set numerous softball viewership records.
The NCAA is introducing new rules surrounding athlete compensation that are unlikely to be enforceable.
The U.S. Open, the annual tournament designed to punish and embarrass professional golfers, tees off today at Oakmont.
The Indiana Pacers took down the Oklahoma City Thunder last night to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
College students concerned about tech addiction are starting a movement by giving up smartphones.
Disney and Universal are suing the AI firm Midjourney for copyright infringement.
GQ is out here doing important journalism: determining why dads watch TV standing up.
Your song of the day is Stand Up (For It) by Dave Matthews Band.