Live updates: Best of Monday's MLB action
Welcome to the Eye. It is here that we’ll be building out a monster of a daily recap post throughout the day. We’ll have recaps, injury news, rumors, fun stuff and a look ahead to Friday. Park it here or just come back Friday morning, to each his or her own.
As for Monday, we’ve got a bit of a light slate, which is common, if unfortunate, given the day of the week. That said, we’ve got some headliners. It’s Harvey Day in Queens, as Matt Harvey faces off against the mighty Cardinals. Pitching match-up of the day? Corey Kluber, the reigning AL Cy Young winner who’s fresh off an 18-K performance against St. Louis, is in Chicago to oppose Chris Sale of the White Sox, no slouch himself. Speaking of the White Sox, they and Phillies will each be going for their sixth straight win.New Marlins manager Dan Jennings (see below!) makes his dugout debut, and the Blue Jays will be trying to snap a five-game losing streak (they’ll host the Angels in the lone day game).
Also of note: If the Cardinals fall to Harvey and the Mets, and the Astros top the Athletics at home, then the Astros will have, however fleetingly, the best record in all of baseball. We’re now roughly a quarter of the way through the season, so please write, with a plumed quill, a sticky note reminding you to take the 2015 Astros seriously.
Based on runs scored and runs allowed, it would seem that some good fortune is baked into their 25-13 record (they should be 22-16 based on run differential). Drill a bit deeper and look at events at the batted-ball level, and the Astros, per FanGraphs, should be 23-15. So, yes, a little luck, but they’ve also played like a legitimately good team thus far in 2015. And those wins are already in the bank, which, obviously, increases their margin for error moving forward. Thanks in large part to that big lead in the AL West they’ve cobbled together, the Astros now have better than a 60 percent chance of making the playoffs. Would you have thought that coming in? I’ll answer for you: No, you would not have. — Dayn Perry
Yes, you should be taking the Astros seriously by now. (USATSI)
Now let’s dig in …
Monday’s MLB action (all times ET) (Full scoreboard)
Milestone Watch
Longest current hit streak: Wilson Ramos of the Nationals is at 18 games entering Monday.
Daily Awards
Coming soon.
Injuries, News & Rumors
Angels: MGR Mike Scioscia says OF Kole Calhoun is now the full-time cleanup hitter. (Jeff Fletcher via Twitter)
Blue Jays: 2B Devon Travis (shoulder) will miss his second straight start on Monday.
Brewers: Have optioned 2B Scooter Gennett to Triple-A.
Cubs: 2B Tommy La Stella (oblique) was slated to be activated this week, but now he’s going to be re-evaluated after being hit by a pitch in the side while on minor-league rehab assignment. (Bruce Miles, Daily Herald)
Marlins: As our Jon Heyman reported, the Marlins have tabbed GM Dan Jennings to replace Mike Redmond as manager.
Red Sox: Cuban signee 2B Yoan Moncada will reportedly make his minor-league debut on Monday night for Low-A Greenville of the Sally League. (Gordon Edes, ESPN Boston)
Yankees: P Masahiro Tanaka (wrist, forearm) was able to throw a 29-pitch bullpen session on Monday.
Looking Ahead to Tuesday’s MLB action (all times ET)
The Eye, lidless not unlike Sauron’s, sees all …
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