Live blog: Keep up with Sunday's best action
The longest winning streak is baseball currently belongs to the Chicago Cubs. They’ve won each of their last six games and have managed to cut their NL Central deficit in half. They were six games back of the Cardinals on Monday and now they’re only three back.
For the most part the six wins came in very close games — four were one-run games, one was a three-run game and the other a four-run game — and sure, there was some luck involved. It’s not every day that an outfielder will trip and let a walk-off hit fall in. But wins are wins, and the Cubs have won six straight.
The top third of the lineup has been a major force during the six-game winning streak. Check this out:
Dexter Fowler: 7 for 22 (.318), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K (.429 OBP)
Kris Bryant: 9 for 20 (.450), 3 HR, 8 RBI, 7 BB, 5 K (.571 OBP)
Anthony Rizzo: 9 for 20 (.450), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K (.571 OBP)
When the top three hitters in your lineup are doing that, man it sure is easy to score to runs. It’s no surprise then that the Cubs are averaging 5.5 runs per game during the six-game winning streak. They’ll look to keep the streak alive and push it to seven games on Sunday afternoon.
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo combined for a .571 OBP this week. (USATSI)
Welcome to Eye on MLB, your daily one-stop shop for everything that happens in the baseball world. Here you’ll find game previews and recaps, milestone updates, quirky highlights, news and notes, and lots more. Check back in throughout Sunday for updates or come back Monday morning for the finished product. Your call.
Sunday’s MLB action (all times ET) (Full scoreboard)
1:10pm: Giants (Chris Heston) at Reds (Anthony DeSclafani) (PREVIEW)
1:10pm: Brewers (Wily Peralta) at Mets (Noah Syndergaard) (PREVIEW)
1:10pm: Braves (Shelby Miller) at Marlins (Henderson Alvarez) (PREVIEW)
1:35pm: Angels (Garrett Richards) at Orioles (Mike Wright) (PREVIEW)
1:35pm: Diamondbacks (Josh Collmenter) at Phillies (Sean O’Sullivan) (PREVIEW)
2:10pm: Yankees (Chris Capuano) at Royals (Edinson Volquez) (PREVIEW)
2:10pm: Rays (Chris Archer) at Twins (Kyle Gibson) (PREVIEW)
2:10pm: Blue Jays (Mark Buehrle) at Astros (Collin McHugh) (PREVIEW)
2:20pm: Pirates (A.J. Burnett) at Cubs (Jake Arrieta) (PREVIEW)
3:05pm: Indians (Carlos Carrasco) at Rangers (Nick Martinez) (PREVIEW)
4:05pm: White Sox (Jeff Samardzija) at Athletics (Scott Kazmir) (PREVIEW)
4:10pm: Red Sox (Steven Wright) at Mariners (James Paxton) (PREVIEW)
4:10pm: Rockies (Kyle Kendrick) at Dodgers (Mike Bolsinger) (PREVIEW)
4:10pm: Nationals (Stephen Strasburg) at Padres (Ian Kennedy) (PREVIEW)
8:00pm: Tigers (Alfredo Simon) at Cardinals (Lance Lynn) (PREVIEW)
Milestone Watch
Longest active hit streak: It’s still Wilson Ramos. He comes into Sunday with an 18-game hit streak. The second longest belongs to Jose Abreu. He’s at 11 games.
Possibly more to come later.
Daily Awards
Check back throughout the day.
Injuries, News & Rumors
Athletics: The team is planning to get 2B Ben Zobrist (knee) back on May 25 … RHP A.J. Griffin (Tommy John surgery, shoulder) and LHP Eric O’Flaherty have resumed throwing programs. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Braves: RHP Williams Perez will move into the rotation and start Wednesday. LHP Eric Stults has been demoted to the bullpen.
Dodgers: Manager Don Mattingly confirmed RHP Kenley Jansen will likely resuming closing duty in his next appearance. The team wanted to ease Jansen into things after coming back from his foot injury. (Orange County Register)
Indians: LHP Bruce Chen is considering retirement after being designated for assignment Saturday. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Marlins: RHP Henderson Alvarez (shoulder) was activated off the 15-day DL. RHP Tom Koehler has been moved to the bullpen and RHP David Phelps will remain in the rotation … RHP Jarred Cosart (hamstring) threw a bullpen session and was cleared to make his next scheduled start on Tuesday. (Sun Sentinel)
Mets: 3B David Wright (hamstring, back) is set to resume baseball activites on Monday (ESPN New York) … RHP Dillon Gee (groin) will make another minor league rehab start to get his pitch count up to 100 pitches. (ESPN New York)
Nationals: OF Jayson Werth (wrist) could undergo an MRI on Monday after being hit by a pitch Friday. He hasn’t played since. (Washington Post)
Pirates: RHP Charlie Morton (hip) will make one more minor league rehab start on Tuesday before returning to the team. (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Reds: Manager Bryan Price will stick with SS Zack Cozart in the leadoff spot while OF Billy Hamilton bats eighth.
Rockies: LHP Jorge De La Rosa exited Saturday’s start with a groin issue but downplayed the injury.
Royals: Manager Ned Yost indicated LHP Danny Duffy will have to show improvement soon to keep his rotation spot. He will “probably” make his next start for the time being. (Kansas City Star)
Twins: RHP Casey Fien (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Sunday and could be cleared to begin a minor league rehab assignment next week … UTIL Eduardo Nunez (oblique) will begin a minor league rehab assignmentin the coming days. (Star Tribune)
Yankees: Activated LHP Chris Capuano (quad) off the 15-day DL, the team announced. RHP Bryan Mitchell was sent to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Looking Ahead to Monday’s MLB action (all times ET)
There are only seven games on the schedule Monday, but there will be an absolute must-see pitching matchup on Chicago’s south side. A top pitching prospect is also scheduled to make his MLB debut for Houston.
1:07pm: Angels (C.J. Wilson) at Blue Jays (Aaron Sanchez)
7:00pm: Cardinals (John Lackey) at Mets (Matt Harvey)
7:08pm: Brewers (Mike Fiers) at Tigers (Kyle Lobstein)
7:10pm: Diamondbacks (Rubby De La Rosa) at Marlins (Dan Haren)
8:10pm: Indians (Corey Kluber) at White Sox (Chris Sale)
8:10pm: Athletics (Drew Pomeranz) at Astros (Lance McCullers Jr.)
8:40pm: Phillies (Cole Hamels) at Rockies (Jordan Lyles)
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