Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Doubleheaders in the Midwest:
A trio of games got canceled due to inclement weather yesterday, and while the Cubs/Brewers matchup was rescheduled for a date in August, the other two contests are set to be made up as part of doubleheaders today. The Pirates and Tigers will make up their missed game as part of a split doubleheader that will feature Tarik Skubal in Game 1 (opposite Andrew Heaney) and Paul Skenes in Game 2 (opposite an unannounced Tigers starter). As noted by Jason Beck of MLB.com, tickets for yesterday’s game (which would have featured Skubal) will be valid for Game 2 (which will feature Skenes). Meanwhile, tickets for today’s regularly scheduled game will be valid for Game 1. Fans who had tickets for yesterday’s game and are unable to attend Game 2 can exchange their tickets for another game of equal value this season.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals and White Sox had their game in Chicago canceled last night. It’ll be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader that will feature former White Sox righty Erick Fedde on the mound for St. Louis against Sox youngster Sean Burke. Rule 5 Pick Mike Vasil will start Game 2 for Chicago opposite Cardinals prospect Michael McGreevy. According to Scott Merkin of MLB.com, fans with tickets to yesterday’s game will receive a credit to their account while fans with tickets to today’s game will be welcome to watch both games this afternoon.
2. Mets lose six in a row:
The Mets have fallen into a funk lately, losing six straight contests. The club now sits half a game behind the Dodgers and Cubs in the standings, meaning that if the season ended today they’d fail to secure a bye through the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Even more concerning is the fact that the Phillies are hot on their heels in the NL East race, lurking just one game behind New York in the standings.
The Mets will look to turn things around during tonight’s game, where they’ll face Braves righty Spencer Strider. Strider’s sporting an uncharacteristic 4.35 ERA through six starts this year, though he looked more like his typical Cy Young-caliber self last time out when he punched out 13 Rockies across six scoreless frames. The Mets will send Clay Holmes (2.87 ERA) to the mound for his 15th start of the season to counter Strider.
3. Twins slip out of playoff position amid skid:
Meanwhile in the AL, the Twins are in the midst of their own six-game losing streak. Minnesota was holding onto the second of three AL Wild Card spots just last week, but this recent skid has knocked them out of the playoff picture entirely. They now sit 1.5 games out of a playoff spot with a lackluster 36-37 record. They’re set to face off against the Reds in Cincinnati this afternoon, when right-hander Chris Paddack will attempt to turn things around for Minnesota. Paddack has a pedestrian 4.30 ERA in 14 starts this year and allowed eight runs to score in four innings against the Astros last time out, though only one of those runs was earned. He’ll face veteran hurler Nick Martinez (3.92 ERA) in today’s contest.
Mets have only lost 5 in a row (Maybe 6 by days end…)
Is it the Yankees that have lost six straight?
Yessir
I think so but good teams can afford a funky week here and there
McGreevy will likely pitch well again……..and get sent down after the game. Again. The front office will mumble through an explanation using the word “runway” 3 or 4 times.
Every team does the same thing.
Maybe, but when the stated mission for the season was providing opportunity for young talent, this behavior is counterproductive.
What do you want them to do when they’re in the running for a spot in the postseason?
💯- especially with the mental aspects of being a starting pitcher and how predictability helps preparation and recovery. It’s particularly egregious when you use the 27th man on the same guy multiple times within weeks — and it’s for a starting pitcher — perhaps the most valuable to the outcome of Win/Lose for that game. It’s not like they’re 27th manning an RP or utility player.
@Blue Baron
Trade Mikolas. Yes, I know it’s hard to make a trade in June. But if the Cardinals agree to eat the whole contract, someone will bite. Mikolas does not give the Cardinals a better shot at making the post season than McGreevy. He is a free agent at the end of the season and won’t be back. Trading him now for even a lotto ticket teenager is better than getting nothing when he walks. It also opens a permanent spot in the rotation for McGreevy.
That’s want I want them to do.
Mikolas has close to a 5 ERA going back to the beginning of last season. How do you know they haven’t offered him around but no other team is biting?
What they can do is release him and eat the remainder of his contract.
He has pitched decently this season with the exception of one terrible start in Boston. Someone would take a chance on a free starter with his track record.
The hang up is the money. The Cardinals don’t want to swallow their pride and eat the contract. They are also very concerned that trading any veteran might look like they aren’t trying to compete. With attendance way down, they are even more image conscious than usual.
So, the Cardinals will again avoid making a sound baseball decision in favor of sentiment and optics. Par for the course over the last several seasons.
I was at Busch the first weekend in May and there was a pretty good crowd, although a lot of us were Mets fans.
Great place to visit and watch a game.
The Cardinals always hype up how smart their fans are. I guess that’s just good marketing.
Mikolas has had exactly 3 bad outings — Boston, Toronto and Baltimore. Vs the National League, he runs an a 2.61 ERA 1..07 WHIP. Mikolas is far better than his season stats show — this is not a pitcher you trade away and eat the contract.
The right move for optimal player development and predictability for best performance— after McGreevy was called up and pitched well — was to move to a 6 man rotation.
Especially given the high volume pitching injuries and the stretches of games they were facing with fewer rest days or travel days (which is why they’ve played so many doubleheaders recently bc of rainouts).
Instead, they optimized for $$ — abusing the 27 man and repeatedly sending McGreevy up-down.
Mikolas has had exactly 3 bad outings — Boston, Toronto and Baltimore. Vs the National League, he runs a 2.61 ERA 1..07 WHIP. Mikolas is far better than his season stats show — this is not a pitcher you release and eat the contract.
astros fan: I don’t know about the hype, but I enjoyed the Cardinals fans I met there.
I suspect that in reality, each team’s fans are about as knowledgeable as any other team’s, not that there’s any practical way to assess that.
What is true is that the fans who attend games for any team are among the most knowledgeable.
Hey the Mets aren’t the only New York team on a 6-game losing streak!
Yanks will try to avoid a 4-game sweep at the hands of the Angels today.
Is Judge hurt or something?
Nope. Just sucking like the rest of the lineup but “they’re close because it’s right in front of them”.
YBC – It’s just hard for me to grasp how Judge can instantly go from a .392 hitter with massive power to a guy who in 25 PA’s is batting .087 with a .160 OBP and only one extra-base hit to go along with 14K’s (and at least one DP thrown in there).
I would not be surprised if it’s later revealed he’s struggling with at least a minor injury.
There’s no indication that he’s hurt.
YBC: It’s just the inevitable regression toward his statistical means. It wasn’t realistic to expect him to hover around .400 for the entire season. He’s not God.
What’s concerning is that the team has nobody else to step up and carry the offense.
Blue – The most common definition of “regression” is a gradual decline.
There was nothing gradual about this, that’s what makes it so puzzling.
And we’re not talking about facing great pitching, it’s been against the 7th-worst and 12th-worst pitching staffs in MLB.
Oh well, time will tell.
Regression to the mean does not have to be gradual. In fact, the larger the positive deviation from the mean – the more drastically large a subsequent regression.
Mets have only lost 5 in a row fwiw – hoping it won’t become 6 tonight!
Well, they are playing their tormenters in the Atlanta Braves.
Oh, c’mon Tigers & Pirates. One of you switch the pitcher so we get a Skubal vs. Skenes matchup.
It’s a marketing to increase the attendance of both games. If they pitched in one game, the overall attendance for both games would be lower.
The Mets have lost 5 games in a row, NOT 6.
@Davehuckleberry55
We’re assuming they’re losing today.
**We’re** lol
@Grey matter
wuh?
Skubal vs Skenes would have been epic.
Maybe in the WS?
Should have left the Skubal/Skenes match-up, that would have been a “must watch” game. Baseball doesn’t get very many of those…
@Rsox
From what I’ve heard, Skubal wanted to pitch the day game so the manager gave him that option.
Maybe so but that match-up would have been akin to a Roger Clemens/Randy Johnson or a Greg Maddux/Pedro Martinez type game that people who aren’t even fans of those would actually watch
Nick Deeds, Games that are scheduled to be made up aren’t canceled; they’re postponed.
The penultimate sentence is incorrect. Paddack allowed 7 ER and only one UNEARNED run. Not the other way around…