cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15041446

How he got that third one to fall for a homerun is beyond me

On Saturday, following a three-hour rain delay, the Chicago White Sox's 6-5 10-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals ended abruptly, thanks to a controversial call by Bucknor. Once the rain subsided and play resumed, the Cardinals left the bases loaded after the umpire rang up pinch-hitter Ivan Herrera on an outside pitch for strike three to end the game.

This isn't the first time this week that Bucknor's decisions have drawn the ire of the baseball community. On Wednesday, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher and MASN in-game analyst Jim Palmer criticized a low strike call by Bucknor in a game against the New York Yankees, saying "he shouldn't be umpiring."

The San Diego Padres are nearing a deal to acquire second baseman Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins for reliever Woo-Suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Friday night.

The trade is pending medical review but is expected to be finalized soon.

The transaction represents the first significant move for the Marlins since Peter Bendix took over as the team's president of baseball operations in November after Kim Ng departed. It marks the beginning of the Marlins' teardown of an underachieving roster that has produced the third-worst record in the majors at 9-25 with a minus-61 run differential after reaching the postseason in 2023.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14972898

When the baseball gods are present at Fenway Park, that’s usually good news for the home team, but a pregame visitor to the Giants’ clubhouse on Thursday morning handed the visiting club some much needed mojo as they pulled off a 3-1 victory and avoided a sweep.

Prior to the game, Mike Yastrzemski was visited by his Hall of Fame grandfather Carl, one of the greatest Red Sox players of all time. The Giants’ right fielder was able to spend about 10 minutes with the man he calls “Papa Yaz” and though they didn’t talk baseball, some magic rubbed off somewhere in the mix.

“I think he left the car running when he came in here,” joked Mike of his grandfather’s brief visit to the ballpark. “That’s normal. He’s quick to the point. We didn’t even really talk about hitting. He just asked how I was feeling physically. Good to see him and it was fun to have him around for a minute.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14972822

One year after the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. became the first player in MLB history to produce 40-plus homers and 70-plus steals in a season, the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz is threatening to form a club of his own: the 40-90 Club.

Cincinnati’s budding superstar is off to a historic start -- he finished April with eight homers and 18 steals, becoming the first player on record to hit both of those marks in any calendar month.

De La Cruz is currently on pace to end 2024 with an almost unfathomable 42 homers and 94 stolen bases. He’s slashing .280/.389/.579 (171 OPS+) to boot.

How the night unfolded: https://www.mlb.com/news/abner-uribe-jose-siri-brewers-rays-benches-clear

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14896745

Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee in Monday’s 6-5 win over the Phillies and will undergo surgery in the coming days, general manager Perry Minasian announced. It’s not expected to be a season-ending operation, but no immediate timetable was provided from the Angels or Trout.

“It’s tough,” said an emotional Trout prior to the Angels' 7-5 loss to the Phillies on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. “It’s just frustrating. But we’ll get through it.”

Trout, 32, said the hardest part is he’s not even sure when he sustained the injury. He had no knee issues leading up to Monday’s series opener, but felt something while jogging off the field in the third inning. Trout continued to play through the injury, including stealing second base in the seventh inning and scoring the eventual winning run from second base on a wild pitch. But his knee continued to worsen and he underwent an MRI exam on Tuesday that revealed the damage.

“It’s crazy because when I look back, I don’t even know when I did it,” Trout said. “In the third inning when I was going back to the dugout, I felt an ache, but just like a little ache where it was more like, ‘This is weird.’ Didn’t think anything of it and was hitting and running and didn’t feel anything. Stole second, felt nothing. It was just after I did activity and sat back down and got back up, that’s when I felt it.”

Trout was off to a strong start to his season with a .220/.325/.541 line and 10 home runs, which were tied with Gunnar Henderson for the most in the Majors. Trout has also been more active on the bases this year, with as many steals (six) as he had in the last four years combined.

Trout called it another freak injury that was out of his control and was clearly frustrated by the prospect of missing time yet again.

“It’s all guesses, trying to pinpoint where this came from,” Trout said. “You play the game hard and [stuff] happens.”

Unfortunately for Trout and the Angels, injuries have become a recurring theme in recent years. Trout played in just 82 games last year due to a fractured wrist and 36 games in 2021 due to a right calf strain. He cleared 100 games played in 2022 but has not played in 130 or more games since 2019.

“We’re going to miss Mike,” manager Ron Washington said. “I think we know what he means to this organization. But the thing about baseball is, when there's a game on the schedule, you have to play. Some guys are going to get the opportunity that they've been craving. Now, we're going to see what they’re going to do.”

The start of Tuesday night's game between the Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers was delayed nearly two hours after a bee colony swarmed the top of the protective netting behind home plate.

Matt Hilton turned into the star of the night for removing the bees, earning a brief slice of stardom and the nod to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

"Minor leagues to the big leagues now," said Hilton, branch manager for Blue Sky Pest Control's Phoenix office. "It's pretty cool."

The buzz started about five minutes before first pitch.

Mike Rock, the Diamondbacks' vice president of baseball operations, got a call from the senior manager of events telling him a growing colony of bees was collecting atop the netting.

"She doesn't usually call me about that time. I knew something was odd," Rock said. "She said we have bees landing on the net right behind home plate. I said, 'How many?' And she said, 'Hundreds -- no way, thousands.' And I knew we had a problem."