Baseball Daily Dose: Near No-No for Erasmo
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Erasmo Ramirez has turned out to be a nice little under-the-radar pickup by the Rays. He nearly made history with the club on Monday.
The former Mariner entered the eighth inning against the Yankees with a no-hitter intact but saw it go away when Carlos Beltran ripped a hard shot that first baseman Richie Shaffer was unable to handle. Ramirez wound up yielding just the one hit over 7 2/3 superb innings, issuing two walks while recording six strikeouts. He left with the game knotted at 0-0 before watching the Yanks explode for four runs in the ninth for a 4-1 victory.
Ramirez had actually been struggling of late prior to Monday’s outing, putting up a 6.20 ERA across his previous four starts. Overall, though, he’s been quite good for Tampa, posting a 3.75 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 113/39 K/BB ratio over 144 innings. The Rays now sit seven games back of the American League’s second Wild Card spot.
No Panik
It’s an odd-numbered year, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Giants are likely to miss the playoffs following an injury-riddled season.
One of the ailments they’ve had to deal with is Joe Panik’s nagging back injury. He had an MRI on Monday and manager Bruce Bochy admitted that the second baseman is probably done for the season.
“He’s going to need some rest,” Bochy said. “I would be surprised if he played, unless things worked out really, really well and we get to play through October.”
Panik had a fantastic first half, batting .308/.372/.448 with seven home runs to earn a trip to the All-Star Game. He hit the ball well when on the field in the second half, too (.333/.413/.500), but will have wound up playing just 15 games if his season is indeed over. Still, while it’s a sour ending to his first full big league campaign, he certainly showed that his performance in 2014 was no fluke.
San Francisco will continue to roll with Kelby Tomlinson at second base down the stretch. The 25-year-old entered play Monday with a .304/.360/.422 batting line and four steals and has the speed to be a factor in deeper leagues.
Hunter Pence’s situation doesn’t seem to be as dire as Panik’s, but it’s possible that he won’t make it back this season, either. He’s been out since mid-August with a strained left oblique but was able to take some dry swings on Monday.
“It’s going to be close,” Bochy said. “It may get to the point where we feel it’s not worth the risk.”
Pence hadn’t been to the disabled list since 2007 going into this season and played in all 162 games in 2013 and 2014 with the Giants. However, he’s made three different trips to the DL in 2015. The veteran outfielder has put up his usual numbers when healthy with a .275/.327/.478 batting line, nine homers and 40 RBI over 52 games.
Marlon Byrd will keep holding down right field while Pence is on the shelf. He entered Monday’s game batting .314/.355/.523 with three homers and 23 RBI over 22 contests since joining the Giants. The 38-year-old has three straight 20-homer seasons.
It doesn’t end there, Giants fans, although the news with Brandon Crawford is a little more promising. The shortstop has played just six games since August 26 because of tightness in his left calf and left oblique but fielded grounders and was slated to hit in the batting cage Monday. Crawford thinks he could be back in action soon.
“It’s getting better,” Crawford said. “I’ve got to hit in the cage and see how it feels.”
Ehire Adrianza has been handling shortstop for San Fran in Crawford’s absence.
Gomez Won’t Play vs. Rangers
The Astros acquired Carlos Gomez at the trade deadline with the thought that he’d play a big part as they pushed for the American League West crown. But, he’s not even going to play in this week’s series against their primary AL West competitor.
Gomez tweaked his left intercostal while taking batting practice Sunday and has missed two straight games. On Monday general manager Jeff Luhnow ruled the center fielder out for the four-game series versus the Rangers, although he did note that the outfielder’s strain is considered minor. He’ll aim to return this weekend against the A’s.
Gomez has disappointed overall to this point for Houston, sporting a .234/.282/.379 battling line over 38 games. However, he was starting to right the ship in September with a .306/.381/.611 line over his first 10 contests. The Astros will continue to use Jake Marisnick in center field until Gomez is ready.
The Gomez-less Astros dropped the first game against the Rangers on Monday after Prince Fielder’s go-ahead, two-run blast in the eighth inning broke a tie. Texas’ win pulled them to within just half of a game of Houston.
National League Quick Hits: Giancarlo Stanton (hand) took batting practice with the Marlins Monday and could return as soon as this weekend … Anthony Rendon had four hits, including a solo home run, in Monday’s win over the Phillies … Billy Hamilton left Monday’s game versus the Giants after aggravating his right shoulder injury … Wil Myers went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a three-run double in Monday’s win over the D’Backs … James Shields spun seven innings of one-run ball against Arizona … Tim Hudson left Monday’s start against the Reds with a hip injury … Travis d’Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday’s win over the Marlins … Yonder Alonso (back) was placed on the 60-day disabled list Monday, ending his season … Ryan Zimmerman still feels pain in his left oblique when he coughs or rotates … Cesar Hernandez is out for the season and needs surgery on his left thumb to repair ligament damage … Matt Adams (quad) could return to the lineup this week …
American League Quick Hits: Corey Kluber (hamstring) is on track to start on Thursday against the Royals … Anibal Sanchez will not start Wednesday and is likely done for the season after his ailing right shoulder flared up during a bullpen session Monday … Taijuan Walker gave up only one run in seven innings in Monday’s win over the Angels … Tyler Duffey limited the Tigers to one run in 6 1/3 innings Monday … Jose Altuve went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Monday’s loss to the Rangers … Carlos Carrasco earned the win with six innings of one-run ball versus the Royals on Monday … Lonnie Chisenhall went 3-for-3 with three RBI against the Royals … Kevin Gausman picked up the win on Monday versus the Red Sox after firing six shutout innings … CC Sabathia pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings Monday against the Rays … Billy Burns (hamstring) won’t return to the lineup until at least Wednesday … Glen Perkins (back) is hoping to be available out of the Twins’ bullpen beginning on Friday … Jason Castro (quad) is hoping to return to the lineup at some point during the series against the Rangers that concludes on Thursday …
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