Baseball Daily Dose: Dose: Bryant Blasts Off
Las Vegas will always hold a special place in my heart because it’s where I met Brett Vandermark and Ed Williams, who eventually hired me to come work at Rotoworld. In addition to being the only place you can get away with charging $50 to see Carrot Top, Vegas is also known for producing top baseball talent. Greg Maddux went to high school in Vegas as did reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper.
Though Harper’s chances of repeating as the NL MVP are slim to none, there’s a good chance the award will be staying in Las Vegas. That’s because Kris Bryant, another Vegas native, is having a year for the ages. Bryant leads the NL in both home runs (30) and wins above replacement (5.5). On a team full of dangerous hitters, he’s the most dangerous. Maybe it was from all those years aiming at the Eiffel Tower or trying to hit balls into the Bellagio fountains. Either way, the kid’s got a good stroke and he proved it again with a monster game against the Brewers Thursday at Wrigley Field.
The 24-year-old from Clark County enjoyed a perfect afternoon at the plate, notching five hits including a pair of tape-measure home runs. Bryant came a triple shy of the cycle while providing his third multi-homer game of the season.
A five-hit, five-RBI game would be a career day for most. But for Bryant, it’s debatable whether it was even his best game of the season. Bryant exploded for two homers and six RBI against the Reds on April 21 (Jake Arrieta threw a no-hitter in that game). He also erupted for five hits and three homers on June 27 against the same Reds he destroyed in April.
At least Thursday Bryant picked on someone else for a change. Thanks to Bryant’s contributions, the Cubs were able to complete a four-game sweep. Before Thursday, the Cubs had never swept the Brewers in four games at Wrigley.
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Jake Arrieta was credited with the win but it didn’t come easy for the reigning NL Cy Young winner. Most of Arrieta’s outings are a walk in the park but Thursday he spent his afternoon on a tightrope balancing above shark-infested waters. The right-hander overcame a rare bout of wildness to claim his 15th win of the season. His final line included three hits, five runs and a career-high seven walks over 5 2/3 innings. Only 56 of his 103 pitches went for strikes.
Everyone is entitled to the occasional clunker and Arrieta’s season stats are still quite impressive. He carries a 2.75 ERA over 24 starts, which is good for sixth-best in the National League. But Arrieta’s aura of dominance, the shield of invincibility he wore with pride early in the year, has faded.
Since June 1, Arrieta is 6-5 with a 3.89 ERA. That will still get you paid but those aren’t the Cy Young caliber numbers we’re used to from Arrieta. Before he got hot again at the end of July, Arrieta went through a stretch where he pitched fewer than six innings four times in six starts. Compare that to early in the year when Arrieta went seven innings or more in eight of his first 11 outings.
Opponents are still hitting just .187 against him, which is second-best in the major leagues behind barely-human Clayton Kershaw. Arrieta isn’t giving opponents much to hit but he’s also struggling to throw strikes. He’s issued 59 walks this year, the seventh-highest total in the majors. That’s already more than Arrieta gave up last season when he yielded 48 free passes over 229 innings of work.
Maybe Arrieta is gassed from his huge workload over the last 17 months or perhaps there’s a mechanical flaw that needs to be tweaked. Then again, Arrieta was 2-1 with a 1.31 ERA in his previous three starts before Thursday’s meltdown, so maybe there’s nothing to worry about at all. It’s worth noting that rookie Willson Contreras caught Arrieta for the first time on Thursday. It will be interesting to see if Contreras is back behind the plate for Arrieta’s next outing Wednesday against the Padres.
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Boston’s Bullpen Woes
You win, you lose some. But the Red Sox really should have won this one.
They had the Tigers right where they wanted them on Thursday, ahead by two runs in the eighth inning. With Matt Barnes still unavailable after logging 37 pitches against Baltimore on Tuesday (one day of rest probably would have sufficed), the Sox turned to Junichi Tazawa, who proceeded to allow three straight hits to begin the inning. With the lead trimmed to one, Brad Ziegler came in to clean up Tazawa’s mess.
Ziegler handled a similar jam last week against the Diamondbacks, striking out the side on 10 pitches to escape a bases loaded jam. But there would be no heroics this time. Ziegler coughed up the lead instantly on an RBI single by Victor Martinez. After issuing a walk to J.D. Martinez to load the bases, Xander Bogaerts made a stellar play to nab Tyler Collins at home plate and preserve the tie. Instead of opting for his closer, Craig Kimbrel, manager John Farrell left Ziegler in and paid the price. Ziegler surrendered a bases loaded walk to Andrew Romine, allowing Justin Upton to score the go-ahead run. Francisco Rodriguez worked a scoreless ninth for his 34th save as the Tigers celebrated the end of their three-game losing streak.
Boston holds a three-game edge over the next closest team (Seattle) in the AL Wild Card, but the Red Sox will be one-and-done in the playoffs if they don’t get their bullpen straightened out. Tazawa has consistently disappointed in high leverage situations while Ziegler’s underwhelming velocity can sometimes get him into trouble. Koji Uehara (pectoral) won’t return until at least mid-September and even Kimbrel hasn’t been automatic this year.
It’s a hard group to trust, which makes you wonder if the Red Sox would consider taking a flyer on Jonathan Papelbon. The 35-year-old was recently let go by the Nationals and would welcome a return to the team he won his only World Series with in 2007.
While a Papelbon reunion would certainly give Dan Shaughnessy plenty of fodder for his next column, there’s a reason the Nats cut him. Papelbon has always been fastball or bust and now that his velocity has diminished, so has his success. His ERA (4.37) and WHIP (1.46) this year are both career worsts. Boston has always brought out the best in Papelbon but at this stage of his career, he wouldn’t be a big upgrade on Tazawa or Ziegler. But hey, if it gets them to play “Shipping Up to Boston” over the Fenway speakers again, I’m all for it. The Theo Epstein-led Cubs are another team that could be in the hunt for Papelbon.
AL Quick Hits: J.J. Hardy supplied two home runs Thursday in a lopsided win over Houston. It was Hardy’s second multi-hit game of the season and the 13th of his career. Chris Davis also slugged a pair of homers including one off first baseman Tyler White, who was brought in to pitch the last inning … Hyun Soo Kim had a big night against the Astros. He recorded a career-high four hits including his first major league triple. The Orioles were ready to cut Kim in spring training but he’s rewarded their patience by hitting .329 with a .406 OBP in 216 at-bats this year … Yulieski Gurriel drew the start at left field Thursday for Triple-A Fresno. If Gurriel can get comfortable in the outfield, top prospect Alex Bregman won’t have to move from third base … Brett Lawrie injured his quad Wednesday during a rehab game for Double-A Birmingham. Lawrie was close to returning from a hamstring injury before Wednesday’s setback … James Paxton threw a successful bullpen session on Thursday and will make a rehab start for Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday. He was placed on the disabled list with a bruised elbow after getting hit by a comebacker against the Angels on August 7 … Justin Upton was out of the Tigers’ lineup for a second straight game Thursday against the Red Sox … Danny Salazar fell flat in his return from the disabled list. He allowed just three runs in only one inning of work before getting the hook from manager Terry Francona. Salazar didn’t appear to be hurt and actually went to the bullpen to get some more work in after his early exit.
NL Quick Hits: Colin Rea received a platelet rich plasma injection on Thursday. Rea was expected to undergo Tommy John surgery but he decided to hold off after meeting with Dr. James Andrews earlier this week. The Padres are hoping he’ll be ready to pitch in the instructional league this fall … The fanfare ended after he got to 3,000 hits but Ichiro Suzuki is still climbing up the all-time ranks. He produced two hits Thursday, bringing his career total to 3,007. That ties him with Al Kaline for 28th on the all-time hit list. Next up is Wade Boggs at 3,010 … Cesar Hernandez was a late scratch Thursday against the Dodgers. He’s still sore from fouling a ball off his foot earlier in the week … Arodys Vizcaino returned from the disabled list Thursday night but the Braves are going to keep Jim Johnson in the closer role while easing Vizcaino back into action. Vizcaino was dreadful against the Nats on Thursday, allowing four runs (three earned) without recording a single out … The Nationals have a locker set up for Ryan Zimmerman (wrist) in Atlanta. Manager Dusty Baker said there’s a “good chance” he and teammate Jose Lobaton (elbow) will be activated on Friday … Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he isn’t counting on Hyun-Jin Ryu to return this season. Ryu hasn’t picked up a ball since injuring his elbow last month … Neil Walker missed his third consecutive game Thursday against the Giants. He’s still battling lower back stiffness … The Mets will activate Yoenis Cespedes (quad) and Asdrubal Cabrera (knee) from the disabled list on Friday. Justin Ruggiano (hamstring) returned Thursday and clobbered a grand slam for his third career homer off Madison Bumgarner … Speaking of Bumgarner, the Giants ace whacked a home run of his own Thursday against Mets starter Jacob deGrom. Bumgarner also went deep off Clayton Kershaw earlier this year … Matt Cain is headed to the disabled list with a lower back strain. It’s his third DL stint this season.
