The Weekly Rundown: 6/2/24 - 6/8/24
Several players banned for betting, White Sox make unflattering history, and more.
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This week, we have several players banned (including one for life) for betting on baseball, a miserable stretch for the White Sox, a feel-good story in Boston, and more. Let’s jump in…
Banned for Betting
The Shohei Ohtani/Ippei Mizuhara saga may be over, but the betting scandals in sports are just beginning.
A handful of MLB players were disciplined for violating the league’s sports betting policy. One of them, Padres utility man Tucupita Marcano, was ruled “permanently ineligible” for placing 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 and including 231 MLB-related wagers. Twenty-five of those bets included wagers on Pirates games while he was still on the roster, though he was injured at the time.
The other four players, each in the minor leagues at the time of their betting, wagered under $1,000.
The permanent ban for Marcano seems excessive, especially since he wasn’t active while placing his bets, but the league is clearly setting an example. This won’t be the last time players are popped for betting on games. We’re seeing this happen across all major sports, and it’s ironic considering just how much these leagues benefit from sports betting advertisements. Eventually, something’s got to give.
Don’t Mess With Tommy Pham
Tempers flared briefly during last Sunday’s White Sox-Brewers matchup. White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham was thrown out at the plate to end the eighth inning, and Milwaukee catcher William Contreras did some chirping as he headed back to the dugout. Pham didn’t take kindly to whatever he had to say.
The barking back and forth didn’t escalate, but Pham made sure to let everyone know after the game that he would have been ready if it did:
“The situation of the game, you know, third base coach [Eddie Rodriguez] sends you, you gotta go. I’m nailed out at home ... by a mile. I’m going to the dugout, and I hear the tough guy with all the hoo-rah shit.
“So, I’ll never start anything, but I’ll be prepared to finish it. There’s a reason why I do all kinds of fighting in the offseason because I’m prepared to fuck somebody up. So, you can take it at what it is."
Well then!
We know Pham is a fiery guy, so none of this comes as much of a shock. The biggest takeaway from that video is the White Sox broadcaster sounding like a complete toolbag. “We ain’t taking that! We ain’t taking that from the Brewers! I don’t care how many Ls we’ve got this year, we ain’t taking that!” Shut upppp dude.
White Sox Lose 14 Straight
It’s easy to see why tensions boiled over for the White Sox. They were in the midst of a historic losing skid.
The White Sox lost 14 consecutive games, setting the record for the longest losing streak in franchise history. They finally snapped out of it with a win over the Red Sox on Friday.
It was the longest losing streak in MLB since the Angels lost 14 straight in 2022. The record for the longest losing streak all-time is 23, set by the Phillies in 1961.
Dominant on the Bump
Frankie Montas, Cincinnati Reds
7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 2 BB vs. Colorado Rockies
Nick Pivetta, Boston Red Sox
7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 2 BB vs. Atlanta Braves
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Joey Estes, Oakland A’s
6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB vs. Seattle Mariners
Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners
6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 0 BB vs. Oakland A’s
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
9.0 IP (CG), 4 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 1 BB vs. Los Angeles Angels
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB vs. New York Yankees
Tobias Myers, Milwaukee Brewers
8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 3 BB vs. Detroit Tigers
Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
9.0 IP (CG), 5 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 1 BB vs. Oakland A’s
Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles
6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 0 BB vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Big Bombs
JJ Bleday hit a walk-off homer for the A’s vs. the Blue Jays.
After striking out on three pitches in his first at-bat, Shohei Ohtani got his revenge on rookie phenom Paul Skenes.
Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz blasted a homer with a 114.2 mph exit velocity.
Dodgers slugger Teoscar Hernandez crushed two homers, including an eighth-inning grand slam against the Yankees.
White Sox first baseman/outfielder Gavin Sheets hit the first grand slam of his career against the Red Sox.
Web Gem of the Week
Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins brought back a homer.
Welcome to the Show
Jamie Westbrook spent 11 years in the minor leagues with more than 1,100 games played before finally earning a call up to the Boston Red Sox last Sunday. The 28-year-old recorded his first big-league hit on Thursday and his first homer on Friday.
White Sox outfield prospect Zach DeLoach collected his first big-league hit on Thursday, an RBI double against the Red Sox.
Nationals pitching prospect DJ Herz made his big-league debut vs. the Mets on Tuesday, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three in four innings.
Tigers prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy hit a homer for his first MLB hit and made his parents proud.
Padres pitching prospect Adam Mazur made his MLB debut on Tuesday vs. the Angels, allowing just one run on two hits and four walks while striking out two across six innings.
Notable Injuries
The Royals placed right-hander Michael Wacha on the 15-day injured list with a fracture in his left foot.
The White Sox placed outfielder Andrew Benintendi on the 10-day IL due to left Achilles tendinitis.
The Giants announced placed left-hander Blake Snell on the 15-day IL with a left groin strain.
The Nationals placed right-hander Trevor Williams on the 15-day IL due to a strained flexor muscle in his right forearm.
The White Sox placed outfielders Tommy Pham and Dominic Fletcher on the 10-day IL due to a left ankle sprain and a left shoulder strain, respectively.
Astros right-hander Cristian Javier will undergo Tommy John surgery.
Cardinals right-hander Keynan Middleton will undergo season-ending flexor tendon surgery.
The Red Sox placed outfielder Wilyer Abreu on the 10-day IL with an ankle sprain and reliever Chris Martin on the 15-day IL due to anxiety.
Astros right-hander Jose Urquidy will undergo season-ending elbow surgery.
The Brewers placed left-hander Robert Gasser on the 15-day IL with a left flexor strain.
Blue Jays righty Alek Manoah will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the UCL in his throwing elbow.
The Astros placed outfielder Kyle Tucker on the 10-day IL with a right shin contusion.
The Phillies placed outfielder Brandon Marsh on the 10-day IL with a strained right hamstring.
Rapid Fire
The Mariners signed outfielder Victor Robles, who was designated for assignment by the Nationals last week.
The Marlins DFA’d outfielder Avisail Garcia.
The Orioles signed veteran right-hander Julio Teheran to a minor league deal.
The Braves signed veteran third baseman/corner outfielder Brian Anderson.
The Rays DFA’d corner outfielder/designated hitter Harold Ramirez.
The Blue Jays DFA’d infielder/outfielder Cavan Biggio.
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