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Alex's audacious bid on Garcia shocked the league, and Garcia's performance on the season shocked us, too. But while Alex has basically lapped the rest of us in the ADL a few times, Garcia is not the margin of victory.
Minus 30 HR = 1 point. Minus 82 RBI = 3 points. Minus 11 SB = 2 points. 529 AB of .244 BA = No change.
Minus 6 points and the Moose still win by way more than any of us want to think about. These are the standings as of this minute:
What really worked for him was Cedric Mullins for $5 and a $10 keeper on Yordan Alvarez on offense. And Kyle Gibson for $1, Lance Lynn $3 keeper, and a $12 flyer (4x4) on Matt Barnes that worked out.
Plus Vladdy Jr, Jose Ramirez and Joey Gallo all worked out just fine.
Gallo, Ryu, now Kittredge -- they really should invest in better pillows.
The initial diagnosis doesn't sound too severe, so this could simply be the Rays looking to give one of their best relievers a bit of rest as the coast to the finish, trusting that their 6.5-game division lead should be more than enough with two weeks left to play. Kittredge has been excellent this season, and while his 1.55 ERA isn't quite backed up by his 2.93 FIP and 3.08 xFIP, his combination of a 27.5 percent strikeout rate, 5.6 percent walk rate and 54.0 percent groundball rate makes him a very reliable option. He hasn't pitched since Friday, so the Rays can backdate his assignment by two days, leaving him eligible to return Sept. 28 for the final two series of the season.
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Yesterday's Top Performers
Pitchers:
Frankie Montas* (OAK): 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 7 K, 78 GmSc
Max Fried* (ATL): 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 75 GmSc
Logan Gilbert (SEA): 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 71 GmSc
Shohei Ohtani (LAA): 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 10 K, 71 GmSc
Wily Peralta (DET): 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 71 GmSc
View All of Yesterday's Pitchers at Baseball-Reference.com
* - pictured above
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Yesterday's Top Performers
Batters:
Eddie Rosario* (ATL): 4-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, cycle
Jose Ramirez* (CLE): 4-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R
Jarred Kelenic* (SEA): 3-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Carlos Correa (HOU): 2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
Tommy Pham (SDP): 2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Gavin Lux (LAD): 3-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R
Corey Seager (LAD): 2-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R
Lewin Diaz (MIA): 2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Isiah Kiner-Falefa (TEX): 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 SB
TJ Friedl (CIN): 2-2, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R
Chicago Cubs – Rowan Wick posted a forgettable outing on Sunday, entering with a four-run lead and allowing five baserunners (including three walks) before Michael Rucker came on to bail him out. It was Rucker’s first save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: Wick | Heuer | Morgan.
Closer Monkey:
September 20, 2021
Boston Red Sox – Garrett Richards has taken well to his bullpen assignment (20.2 IP, 2 ER — though he also allowed 5 unearned in one particularly ugly outing) and the Red Sox have rewarded him with some higher-leverage work. He closed out victories both Saturday and Sunday, with the latter coming in a save situation. We’ll slide him on to the hierarchy for now and see how Boston continues to deploy its pen going forward.
Updated hierarchy: *Ottavino | Robles | Richards.
* = closer-by-committee
Baseball America:
Kyle Wright, RHP, Braves: Wright is stuck in a nether-world of the 4A player for now. He got two starts in the majors this year and allowed seven runs in just 6.1 innings. That raised his MLB ERA to 6.56 in 70 innings. But at the same time, he’s proven he’s capable of getting outs at Triple-A Gwinnett. Wright carried a perfect game into the seventh inning, losing it on a Tyrone Taylor double. He also gave up a Christian Kelly single in the ninth, but those were the only two hitters to reach on him all day. Wright’s complete game shutout gave him his 22nd career win for Gwinnett, lowering his Triple-A ERA for this season to 3.34.
Baseball America:
In Case You Missed It
On Saturday, Indians RHP Daniel Espino held High-A Beloit to two hits in 6.2 scoreless innings. He struck out 10. Opposing hitters are hitting only .170 against him . . . Giants RHP Ryan Murphy has found no issues jumping up to High-A. Murphy’s final start of the regular season saw him only one hit while striking out eight in four scoreless innings. Between Low-A and High-A he’s struck out 164 and walked 26 in 107.1 innings while holding hitters to a .189 average . . . Royals OF Seuly Matiashomered twice for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. . . Red Sox LF Devlin Granberg doubled twice and homered for Double-A Portland.
On Friday, Rays C/SS Ford Proctor homered twice with Double-A Montgomery. That gave Proctor 12 home runs in a season in which he has 57 starts at catcher, 24 at shortstop, five at third base and three at second base . . . Brewers 2B Keston Hiura homered twice for Triple-A Nashville and then went 3-for-4 on Saturday with a double. While that’s encouraging, his 45 total games at Nashville are disconcerting. He’s hitting .184 this month despite his great weekend and was hitting .266/.374/.474 overall for Nashville . . . Twins 1B Aaron Sabato homered twice on Friday and once more on Saturday . . . Brewers OF Joey Wiemer homered twice on Friday for High-A Wisconsin. Since Aug. 1, Weimer has 18 home runs in just 39 games . . . The Mets promoted 3B Mark Vientos to Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday, which gives him another 10 games before the season ends. Vientos homered and doubled on Friday in his second game with Syracuse . . . D-Backs SS Ryan Bliss hit for the cycle on Friday with Low-A Visalia.
Over the course of both games of a doubleheader with Low-A Daytona, Reds SS Jose Torres singled, doubled, tripled and homered as he went 4-for-5 between the two games . . . Mariners RHP Jimmy Kingsbury threw the first seven innings and Kelvin Nunez finished off the final two innings of a no-hitter against Stockton. Kingsbury, the M’s 17th-round pick this year out of Villanova, struck out 10 and walked one . . . Mariners LHP Brandon Williamson struck out 10 and walked one for Double-A Arkansas. Williamson allowed six hits and one run . . . Padres LHP MacKenzie Gore’s second start with Double-A San Antonio was another solid outing. He did walk three in four innings, but he struck out eight. He allowed three hits and one earned run . . . Orioles LHP Drew Rom threw five perfect innings against Double-A Altoona.
Sunday brought to an end the regular season for all Double-A, Class-A and U.S. complex leagues. There will be postseason series this week and Triple-A and the Dominican Summer League will continue to play for a couple of more weeks, but for most of the minors their seasons ended this weekend.
After the completely lost 2020 season, it’s hard to think of a minor league season more anticipated and more needed than this one. MiLB teams are still suffering financially, but they have now cleared the books of any make-goods they faced and can go into the 2022 season hoping that next year will be the first “normal” season in three years.
RELATED: Updated affiliation standings for every organization
For the players, 2021 was the chance to make up for lost time or get a start as a professional. There will be a significant number of players whose careers came to an end this weekend—the churn of minor league rosters is unrelenting. But unlike those whose careers finished during the pandemic in 2020, these players got a final memory and a final chance to be part of a team competing for something.
On to the games:
Owen White, RHP, Rangers: In White’s final three starts of the season he struck out 12, 10 and 11 batters. He ended up striking out 33 of the 37 batters he faced this month, capping the month by allowing two runs in 7.2 innings on a two-run Patrick Merino home run. White actually carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning—the only baserunner who reached in the first seven innings was on an error.
Hans Crouse, RHP, Phillies: Crouse has been quite reliable since the Phillies acquired him at the trade deadline. His sixth and final start of the season as part of Double-A Reading’s rotation was the best—he held Binghamton to four hits and a walk in six scoreless innings while striking out nine.
Adam Morgan (P) CHI-N - Sep. 19
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807794
Morgan (1-0) tossed a scoreless inning of relief and earned the win Sunday against the Brewers. He walked one.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Chicago got only two innings from starter Keegan Thompson, then turned to Adrian Sampson and Morgan to navigate most of the game. The latter earned his first win of the season by recording a clean bottom of the seventh inning before the Cubs scored five in the top of the eighth. Morgan has been solid out of the bullpen this year, logging a 3.18 ERA across 22.2 innings with a 23:11 K:BB. He figures to stick in a middle relief role the rest of the way.
Dustin Garneau (C) DET - Sep. 19
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807802
Garneau went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's win over the Brewers.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Garneau and Haase each went deep, powering the Tigers to the 2-0 win. Haase played left field in this one, which allowed Garneau to start behind the plate. Haase is likely to see more time at catcher down the stretch, though Garneau may be earning more playing time with six home runs in just 15 games this season, including three long balls in his last four appearances.
Eric Haase (C) DET - Sep. 19
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807801
Haase went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Sunday's win over the Rays.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Haase and Dustin Garneau popped solo home runs, which was enough for the Tigers in the 2-0 win. Haase now has 22 home runs this season, which has helped offset his .231 batting average. The 28-year-old is batting just .182 this month, but his ability to leave the yard gives him some fantasy appeal down the stretch, especially from the catcher position.
Yasmani Grandal (C) CHI-A - Sep. 19
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807760
Grandal went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Rangers.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Grandal took Jordan Lyles deep to lead off the fourth inning, sparking a five-run inning. He has homered in back-to-back games and he has eight in his last 18 games.
Jeff McNeil (2B) NY-N - Sep. 19
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807816
McNeil went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run in a 3-2 win against the Phillies on Sunday.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: McNeil singled and scored in the fifth inning before launching a solo shot in the seventh off Kyle Gibson to give New York a 3-2 lead that ended up being the final.
Jake Arrieta (P) SD - Sep. 19
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807736
Arrieta was diagnosed with a right adductor strain after leaving Sunday's start against the Cardinals.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The veteran right-hander recorded one out during the first inning before being lifted with the injury, and he was charged with five runs (four earned) on three hits and a walk. Arrieta missed some time a few weeks ago with a hamstring injury, and he's now managing the groin issue. It's unclear if the injury will affect his next turn through the rotation.
With two weeks to go he's tied with Salvador Perez for the RBI lead. Seven AL players have reached the 100 plateau. Nolan Arenado leads the NL with 99. Ozzie Albies is second with 94.
Jose Abreu (1B) CHI-A - Sep. 19
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807780
Abreu went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Rangers.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Abreu singled in the fourth inning, driving in Cesar Hernandez and Tim Anderson. In addition, he singled and scored in the seventh inning. He has a pair of RBI in three of his last four games. The 34-year-old is slashing .261/.346/.488 with 29 homers, 113 RBI and 83 runs scored in 614 plate appearances.
Tonight's FAABs ...
Lynch Mob: rel JArrieta SD, prr AMedina Phi 2
Lynch Mob: rel AHaseley Phi, prr ZDavies ChC 1
Brubaker's Yeasts: rel SLong SF, prr JRogers Was 2
Lynch Mob: rel TGilbert Ari, prr WCrowe Pit 1
Stathead Spotlight: Max Scherzer
Lowest ERA through first 9 starts with a team (since 1913, AL/NL)
| Name | Team | Start | End | ERA | IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Scherzer | LAD | 2021‑08‑04 | 2021‑09‑18 | 0.78 | 58.0 |
| Dana Fillingim | BSN | 1918‑05‑09 | 1918‑06‑22 | 0.79 | 80.0 |
| Fernando Valenzuela | LAD | 1981‑04‑09 | 1981‑05‑18 | 0.91 | 79.0 |
His first win since July.
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Yesterday's Top Performers
Pitchers:
Yu Darvish* (SDP): 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 K, 79 GmSc
Max Scherzer* (LAD): 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K, 78 GmSc
James Kaprielian (OAK): 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 73 GmSc
Aaron Civale (CLE): 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 67 GmSc
Aaron Nola (PHI): 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 K, 65 GmSc
View All of Yesterday's Pitchers at Baseball-Reference.com
* - pictured above
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Hmmm. That's a pretty good 2 years worth of earnings there.