The Eye: Roundup of Wednesday's MLB action
Run at perfection: Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada took a perfect game into the eighth inning against the Rays before giving up a one-out infield single to Logan Forsythe.
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Garcia continues to dominate: When the Cardinals lost Adam Wainwright for the season in late April, there were suddenly big questions about the St. Louis rotation. How could there not be? Wainwright is a true ace and that makes him irreplaceable. The Cardinals had to plug the hole and hope for the best.
Enter Jaime Garcia. The 28-year-old southpaw has missed a ton of time due to injuries in recent years — Garcia made only 36 starts total from 2012-14 — but he got healthy and was able to join the rotation in late May, effectively replacing Wainwright. It was tough to know what to expect given the injuries, but the Cardinals turned him loose.
After holding the Marlins to one run in seven innings on Wednesday (STL 6, MIA 1), Garcia improved to 3-3 with a 1.69 ERA in seven starts since coming off the DL. He struck out four and walk none, and has a 32/7 K/BB in 48 innings. The Cardinals scored a total of zero runs in his three losses, so Garcia hardly deserves blame there. Here’s a reminder of what Garcia can be when healthy:
Prior to 2015, Jaime Garcia’s lowest ERA through his first 7 starts was 1.42 in 2010 (44.1 IP)…this season his ERA is 1.69 (7 GS, 48 IP).
— Chris Tunno (@TunesSTL) June 25, 2015
As a whole, the St. Louis rotation has a 2.97 ERA on the season, the best in baseball and the best in the NL by nearly one-quarter of a run. Rather than collapse following the Wainwright injury, the starting staff has thrived, thanks in part to Garcia, who’s been ace-like since returning from his latest injury.
Jaime Garcia dominated for the Cardinals again on Wednesday. (USATSI)
Nova returns: Also notable is that 28-year-old right-hander Ivan Nova made his return to the Yankees’ rotation on Wednesday, as he opposed trade bait Cole Hamels and the Phillies. Nova, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year, brought with him a career ERA+ of 100 and a K/BB ratio of 2.25.
Nova enjoyed a good developmental season in 2013, as he pitched to an ERA of 3.10, set career bests in FIP and K/BB ratio and generally did a much better job of managing contact off the bat. Command has never been Nova’s strongest trait, and often that’s the last thing to return to a pitcher coming off reconstructive elbow surgery. That said, in 31 1/3 minor-league rehab innings this season, Nova recorded 20 strikeouts against just six walks.
The results on Wednesday in the Bronx? Quite good. The Yankees won by a score of 10-2 (box score), but that’s not all …
Needless to say, that’s encouraging for Nova and the Yanks. What’s also encouraging is this Brooks Baseball velocity chart from Nova’s Wednesday outing …
That’s peak, 2013-grade fastball velocity from Nova right there. As well, he was able to continue hitting the mid-90s even in the late innings of his start. That’s all very good, as the Yankees need some worthy innings from him. After all, coming into Wednesday, they ranked 12th in AL with a rotation ERA of 4.50. Developing!
Ivan Nova took the ball for the Yankees on Wednesday for the first time in a long time. (USATSI)
Welcome to the Eye. It is here that we’ll be building out a monster of a daily recap post throughout the day and night. We’ll have recaps, injury news, rumors, fun stuff and a look ahead to Thursday. Park it here or just come back in the morning, to each his or her own.
Today’s MLB action (Full scoreboard)
Dodgers 5, Cubs 2 (recap | box score)
Athletics 8, Rangers 5 (recap | box score)
Nationals 2, Braves 1 in 11 innings (recap | box score)
Brewers 4, Mets 1 (recap | box score)
Reds 5, Pirates 2 (recap | box score)
Blue Jays 1, Rays 0 in 12 innings (recap | box score)
Yankees 10, Phillies 2 (recap | box score)
Twins 6, White Sox 1 (recap | box score)
Indians 8, Tigers 2 (recap | box score)
Angels 2, Astros 1 in 13 innings (recap | box score)
Cardinals 6, Marlins 1 (recap | box score)
Red Sox 5, Orioles 1 (recap | box score)
In progress (all times ET)
Milestone Watch
Longest current hit streak: Jason Kipnis of the Indians is at 19 games and counting. On Wednesday, he kept said streak intact by going 1 for 3 with two walks in the win over Detroit.
Another milestone for A-Rod: Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with a walk Wednesday, passing Al Kaline for sole possession of 27th place on the all-time hit list. A-Rod has 3,008 hits, Kaline 3,007.
Sale’s streak: White Sox ace Chris Sale didn’t have his best outing in the loss to the Twins on Wednesday, but he did manage to strike out 10 in defeat. On that point …
Cold-Blooded: Chris Sale is now just the 4th pitcher since 1914 with 10+ strikeouts in 7 straight games. pic.twitter.com/D0bT9lIdrS
— The Sports Quotient (@SportsQuotient) June 24, 2015
And also …
With his 9 strikeouts today, Chris Sale breaks the White Sox record for most strikeouts in any month.
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) June 24, 2015
First for Lindor: New Indians shortstop and top prospect Francisco Lindor hit his first career home run on Wednesday. Here’s the milestone blast:
Daily Awards
All-Star Game teaser of the day: Looking good, Queen City …
The 86th MLB All-Star Game in Cincinnati is 20 days away. #ASG #VoteReds pic.twitter.com/J71UCgzRFo
— #VoteReds (@Reds) June 24, 2015
Optimism of the day: Needless to say, the Mariners need vintage Robinson Cano in the worst way …
.@RobinsonCano is hitting .323 with 4 runs, 3 doubles, 1 home run and 4 RBI since June 15. #GoMariners pic.twitter.com/eY1FDs9l9s
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 24, 2015
Pre-game view of the day: It’s been a rainy and gray spring and early summer, but this is definitely more like it …
A beautiful day for a matinee. pic.twitter.com/qGwmnVKHFE
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) June 24, 2015
Catch of the day: Josh Donaldson shall now follow this ball to the gates of hell …
Whoa. That was in preservation of Marco Estrada’s bid for a perfect game — a bid that eventually came to grief, as noted above.
Catch of the day, part 2: As long as we’re doling out praise for the Toronto “D,” let’s give a little love to Jose Bautista …
Estimation of the day: Chris Colabello hit the go-ahead home run in that hotly contested Jays-Rays tilt. He was merely somewhat confident about it off the bat …
Did Chris Colabello know his HR was gone off the bat? “If I had to give you a percentage, I was like 62 per cent sure,” he says. #BlueJays
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) June 24, 2015
Strikeout of the day: Chris Sale managed to strike out Torii Hunter … on a pitch that hit him:
The swing supersedes the hit-by-pitch!
Ejection story of the day: Yankees skipper Joe Girardi was ejected for arguing a check swing call in the third inning on Wednesday. He was in the dugout barking at the umpire then came out to get his money’s worth. What did Girardi say to get tossed? From Chad Jennings of the Journal News:
“I told (umpire Alan Porter) he swung,” Girardi said. “He said something, and I said, ‘He swung.’ He said ‘Knock it off,’ and I said, ‘I’d knock it off if you got the call right,’ and he threw me.”
That’s a solid ejection story right here.
Catch of the day, part 3: Air Gordon? Air Gordon. Take it away, Dee:
Is it Air Jordan or #AirGordon? Wow! Watch: http://t.co/SjLvgnCQXu pic.twitter.com/N4VT4NJfTP
— #VoteMarlins (@Marlins) June 25, 2015
Fan of the day: Following Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Indians, Tigers ace David Price made his way from Cleveland to Omaha to watch his alma mater (Vanderbilt) try to win their second straight College World Series championship.
David Price made the trip from Cleveland this afternoon to Omaha. That’s dedication. pic.twitter.com/0Nc5WvHmLi
— Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) June 25, 2015
Trolling of the day: This is A+ trolling from ESPN New York Mets beat writer Adam Rubin. The Mets came into Wednesday with a six-game losing streak.
I actually do expect the Mets to rally and win, but for your amusement … pic.twitter.com/YGOZDPZlK2
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) June 25, 2015
Play of the day: Check out this play by Virginia third baseman Kenny Towns in the decisive Game Three of the College World Series:
Kenny Towns… that was INCREDIBLE! #CWS #SCTop10 http://t.co/kTtiLD27jp
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 25, 2015
Considering the stakes — runner on third with two outs and the score tied in the winner-take-all national championship game — that is a huge, huge play. Well down, Towns.
More to come throughout the night.
Injuries, News & Rumors
Giants OF Nori Aoki suffers fractured leg, manager says
Cubs prospect Javier Baez to begin rehab in Arizona
McClendon hoping Martinez will be positive influence on Mike Zunino
Yankees’ Andrew Miller throws 25 times from 60 feet
Royals P Joe Blanton could start Tuesday in Houston
Red Sox SP Clay Buchholz not expecting to be traded
Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera out of lineup for second time in 2015
Royals’ Yordano Ventura expected to throw 75 pitches Friday
Astros rookie Carlos Correa joins some elite company
Giants RP Sergio Romo leaves Tuesday’s game with knee injury
Click here for more MLB player news.
Looking Ahead to Thursday’s MLB action (all times ET)
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