Hope you’re having a great Fourth of July weekend.
Jaylon Thompson writes that the Royals brought back Luke Maile because Salvador Perez suffered some calf tightness.
“He feels good and I think it was a little bit of a scare to him last night,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters in Phoenix. “His cleat got caught on that one swing and he felt his calf or Achilles a little bit. As soon as the game was over and he got looked at, he felt better and was adamant on the plane about playing.”
The Royals sent Drew Waters down
Anne Rogers writes Michael Massey’s rehab has hit a snag.
The infielder, who has been on the injured list since June 10 (retroactive to June 8) with a sprained left ankle, was officially returned from his rehab assignment Thursday, ahead of the Royals’ 3-2 win in the finale against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park, thanks to a combination of a right wrist injury and an illness.
“The combination of those things, he’s not going to be able to play today and possibly tomorrow,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “Then those days are ticking off his 20-day rehab, and he’s only played a couple games.”
She also writes about Bobby Witt’s slick tag on Thursday.
“Those are the ones that just kind of happen,” he said. “You just want to avoid the tag, and kind of do whatever you can to avoid the tag
Pete Grathoff noted the unusual situation where Angel Zerpa got a hold before Lucas Erceg was credited with a win.
I asked the person who runs the excellent MLB Scoring Changes X account if this was an unusual situation. Short answer: Yes.
“It can happen but it’s only in a specific situation where the first pitcher leaves before 5 innings and his team has the lead and his team never loses the lead,” wrote the person, who asked to remain anonymous. “The second pitcher must be eligible for the win. … That would allow the third pitcher to inherit a save situation and pass it on to the next pitcher.
David Lesky assesses the team’s chances after the series finale win in Seattle.
Now 88 games in, the Royals are six games under .500. The dream of consecutive trips to the playoffs is absolutely on life support, but it isn’t dead. And I think it would have been very close to dead had they dropped to eight games under .500 last night. What they did last night, and Bobby Witt Jr.’s slide, which I’ll obviously get to, is one of the games you’ll likely point to if the Royals end up pulling it off and getting back into a playoff position. I can’t say I think it’s especially likely, but I also have seen weirder things happen.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter thinks it’s time Jac Caglianone was demoted to the minors.
It would be worthwhile to be patient with Cags if he were excelling against one kind of pitch. Unfortunately, he has been struggling massively against all pitch types, based on Statcast data.
His wOBA is .213 against fastballs, .240 against breaking balls, and .160 against offspeed pitches. Furthermore, he’s posting whiff rates of 21.3% against fastballs, 34.6% against breaking balls, and 29.2% against offspeed pitches. It’s not like he needs to adjust against one type of pitch. Instead, he’s getting overwhelmed by all MLB stuff in general.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle sums up the first half for each team
First-half storyline: Oh no, there’s no O. The Royals have been an above-average team in most areas of what helps a team win: defense, baserunning, starting rotation and bullpen. It has all been undermined by wretched hitting. Kansas City has averaged 3.77 runs per game on the road, ranking 25th. That’s bad! But it looks explosive compared with what the Royals have done at the K: 2.84 runs per game. That’s not only last in the majors, but it’s not even close to the second-worst mark (3.58 by Cleveland). If you watch the Royals regularly, hopefully you’ve been wearing a hat because otherwise watching this team hit has likely caused you to pull out all your hair.
The Cubs hit a franchise record eight home runs against the Cardinals.
The Blue Jays win their sixth in a row on a walk-off bunt.
Clayton Kershaw reaches the 3,000 career strikeouts mark – who could be next?
The White Sox call up top prospect Colson Montgomery to make his MLB debut.
MLB Trade Rumors has their top 40 trade candidates for July.
Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs has a mid-season ZIPS update.
What pitchers should start the All-Star game?
The Padres are seeking an upgrade at catcher.
The NBA’s Malik Beasley, under investigation for gambling, owed $8 million in debts.
Liverpool star Dioga Jota and his brother André Silva died in a car crash Thursday.
Joey Chestnut reclaims his Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest championship.
A study finds school bans on phones in the Netherlands improved learning.
Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system.
You song of the day is Bryan Adams with Run to You.