In the previous couple of days earlier than the All-Star break, the San Diego Padres will host the New York Mets this week.
It’s secure to say each groups are able to put the primary half behind them.
The Padres and Mets are two of baseball’s greatest disappointments to this point, languishing beneath .500 regardless of high-priced, star-laden rosters. The undeniable fact that each groups are at present 38-46 looks like an acceptable symmetry.
San Diego’s outlook seems a bit rosier than New York’s. The Padres even have a run differential of plus-23. They’ve been finished in by a 5-15 file in one-run video games and an 0-7 mark in further innings. If the shut video games flip round for them, the Padres might actually make a run, and in contrast to the Mets, their star nearer (Josh Hader) is wholesome.
But San Diego has misplaced seven of its final eight video games, throughout a stretch of the schedule that included Washington, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. A contending group shouldn’t be struggling a lot towards that trio.
The Mets, however, took two of three from San Francisco this previous weekend, however that was their solely sequence victory of the previous 9. New York’s bullpen has been a problem after Edwin Diaz was misplaced earlier than the season to a knee harm, and proprietor Steve Cohen acknowledged his group may very well be a vendor on the commerce deadline if issues don’t enhance quickly.
BRIGHT SPOT
In a horrendous season for the Oakland Athletics, they do have the main league chief in stolen bases in Esteury Ruiz. With 42, he’s already surpassed final 12 months’s chief – Baltimore’s Jorge Mateo had 35.
Ruiz has 84 hits and 14 walks this season, so with 50 steal makes an attempt, he’s attempting to steal roughly half the time he reaches base. Brent Rooker is Oakland’s consultant on the All-Star sport, however it will have been attention-grabbing to see Ruiz taking part in for the American League as a late-inning pinch-running possibility.
TRIVIA TIME
The A’s have had one participant since Rickey Henderson lead the American League in steals, and that participant tied for the title in 2011 with 49. Who was it?
RISING
The Philadelphia Phillies completed the week on a bitter word by dropping two of three to Washington – they sandwiched a pair of one-run losses round a 19-4 victory. But earlier than that, Philadelphia swept a three-game sequence at Wrigley Field towards the Cubs.
The Phillies have recovered from their gradual begin, and after profitable 19 of their final 26 video games, they’re simply 1 1/2 video games out of the ultimate wild card within the National League. And after final 12 months, they know what’s attainable if they’ll simply sneak into the postseason.
FALLING
The Los Angeles Angels break up 4 video games towards the Chicago White Sox earlier than dropping two of three to Arizona. So that they had a dropping file on a homestand through which Shohei Ohtani homered six instances in seven video games and struck out 10 in his solely begin.
The Angels have dropped eight of 12 general.
LINE OF THE WEEK
Domingo Germán of the New York Yankees pitched the twenty fourth good sport in main league historical past in an 11-0 win over Oakland on Wednesday night time. He turned the primary pitcher from the Dominican Republic to finish an ideal sport.
Germán went to a three-ball rely to only two hitters.
COMEBACK OF THE WEEK
The Pittsburgh Pirates trailed 4-0 within the fourth and 7-3 within the seventh earlier than rallying to an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night time. Pittsburgh scored three runs within the backside of the ninth, profitable it on Carlos Santana’s two-run homer.
Milwaukee’s win chance was 95.5% within the backside of the seventh, based on Baseball Savant.
TRIVIA ANSWER
Coco Crisp, who completed tied with Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees that 12 months.
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