The Weekly Rundown: 6/11/23 - 6/17/23
Oakland's reverse boycott, the Cardinals' struggles continue, and more.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
We’re approaching the halfway point in the 2023 MLB season as most teams have played at least 70 of their 162 games. That means over the next week or so, I’ll be writing some midseason check-in pieces such as:
Power rankings
Midseason awards and superlatives
Reassessing my preseason predictions
Trade deadline expectations
Reminder that you can get all of that content — along with these Weekly MLB Rundowns — sent directly to your e-mail inbox as soon as it’s published by subscribing (free!) below:
Those who have been subscribed know the drill. Grab a coffee, sit back, and now let’s jump into the rundown.
John Sterling takes one like a champ
Legendary Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling has made headlines for his botched calls in recent years, but give the 84-year-old all the credit in the world for this one. He took a foul ball to the noggin in the middle of his broadcast and just kept on going.
I could watch that clip all day long and not get tired of it. It’s an instant classic. Long live John Sterling.
Reverse Boycott Night in Oakland
It’s pretty sad when the biggest story of the week in baseball is that A’s fans almost filled the Oakland Coliseum. They staged a reverse boycott on Tuesday night to protest team owner John Fisher being a cheapskate, giving fans zero reasons to go to games, and then moving the club to Las Vegas.
The place was deafening. Fans — donning “sell” shirts — chanted “Sell the team!” and it was so loud the catcher had to head to the mound to get back on the same page as the pitcher.
Bravo, A’s fans. You deserve so much better.
Also, you already knew this but Rob Manfred is just the worse. Here’s what he had to say about the reverse boycott:
“It is great to see what is this year almost an average Major League Baseball crowd in the facility for one night. That's a great thing."
Go pound sand, dude.
J.T. Realmuto hits for the cycle
I wrote after Luis Arraez’s cycle earlier this season that I’m not a big cycle guy. It’s an impressive achievement, no doubt, but it’s kind of a silly thing to get overly excited about. Nonetheless, here’s Phillies stud catcher J.T. Realmuto notching a cycle against the D’Backs.
Brandon Crawford’s pitching debut
With the Giants leading the Cubs by 10 runs in the ninth inning, longtime Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford finally got to make his pitching debut.
Crawford, a pitcher in high school and at UCLA, showed off an impressive mix of pitches during his scoreless inning of work. After a shaky start (walk, single), he retired the next three batters in order. It was a pretty damn cool moment, especially for Giants fans who have grown to love Crawford over the last decade plus.
The IL
Liam Hendriks, RHP, Chicago White Sox
Hendriks was placed on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation.
Ryan Helsley, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
Helsley was placed on the 15-day IL due to a strained right forearm.
The Cardinals placed Ryan Helsley on the 15-day IL with a forearm strain.
Ryan Mountcastle, 1B, Baltimore Orioles
Mountcastle was placed on the 10-day injured list due to vertigo.
Brandon Belt, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
Belt was put on the 10-day IL with left hamstring inflammation.
Jesse Chavez, RHP, Atlanta Braves
Chavez is on the 15-day IL after taking a comebacker to the shin.
Yoan Moncada, 3B, Chicago White Sox
Moncada was placed on the 10-day IL with a back issue.
Mitch Haniger, OF, San Francisco Giants
Haniger was moved to the 60-day IL after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured ulna in his right arm. The expected recovery time is approximately 10 weeks.
Max Muncy, INF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Muncy is on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain.
Gio Urshela, 3B, Los Angeles Angels
The Angels placed Urshela on the 10-day IL with a fractured left pelvis.
Mike Clevinger, RHP, Chicago White Sox
Clevinger was placed on the 15-day IL due to biceps inflammation.
Patrick Wisdom, 3B, Chicago Cubs
Wisdom was placed on the 10-day IL due to a right wrist sprain.
Jean Segura, 3B, Miami Marlins
Segura is on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain.
Edward Cabrera, RHP, Miami Marlins
Cabrera was placed on the 15-day IL due to a right shoulder impingement.
Triston McKenzie, RHP, Cleveland Guardians
McKenzie landed on the 15-day IL with a right elbow sprain.
Tanner Houck, RHP, Boston Red Sox
Houck is not yet officially on the IL, but he almost certainly will be in the coming days after taking a line drive to the face on Friday night. He suffered a facial fracture and is out indefinitely.
Dominant on the Bump
Blake Snell, San Diego Padres
7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 12 K, 0 BB vs. Colorado Rockies
AND
6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 12 K, 3 BB vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Shane Bieber, Cleveland Guardians
7.0, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB vs. Houston Astros
Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates
7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 2 BB vs. New York Mets
George Kirby, Seattle Mariners
6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 0 BB vs. Miami Marlins
Jose Berrios, Toronto Blue Jays
7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 1 BB vs. Baltimore Orioles
Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies
7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Eury Perez, Miami Marlins
6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 1 BB vs. Seattle Mariners
Emmet Sheehan, Los Angeles Dodgers
6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 K, 2 BB vs. San Francisco Giants
Big Bombs
Joc Pederson blasted two homers vs. the Cubs, including one into McCovey Cove for Splash Hit No. 101.
Orioles rookie Gunnar Henderson is red-hot. He crushed a 462-foot homer for the longest to reach Eutaw Street in Camden Yards history.
Nolan Jones belted a walk-off homer to propel the Rockies to victory over the Padres.
Justin Turner had himself a night vs. the Yankees on Friday, crushing two moonshots including a LONG grand slam.
Shohei Ohtani now leads MLB with 23 homers on the season after crushing the 150th of his career on Saturday.
Matt Olson clobbered a grand slam against the Rockies on Saturday.
Web Gem of the Week
Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman made an insane diving grab to rob Brandon Crawford of extra bases.
Welcome To The Show
Prior to Tuesday night, Giants right-hander Keaton Winn had never stepped foot in an MLB stadium. He finally crossed that off the list while making his big-league debut vs. the Cardinals.
Winn allowed one run on only one hit in four innings of relief to earn the save.
Giants top prospect Luis Matos collected his first big-league hit, a single to left field, in his first at-bat.
I already mentioned it in the “Dominant On the Bump” section, but welcome to The Show, Emmet Sheehan! The 23-year-old pitched six hitless innings in his debut for the Dodgers.
Royals prospect Samad Taylor’s first MLB hit was a walk-off single.
Quick Takeaways
The lowly A’s made a little bit of noise, putting a seven-game win streak together before finally falling to Tampa Bay. What’s hilarious is even with that impressive run, they’re 19-54 on the season. At least rookie speedster Esteury Ruiz is making things interesting in Oakland. He leads the majors with a whopping 36 stolen bases.
I’ve officially given up on the Cardinals. In a recent rundown, I stated that I still would bet on them to win the NL Central despite their rocky start. Nope! Despite their talent, they’re somehow as dysfunctional as it gets. The breaking point was their blown ninth-inning lead vs. the Giants which resulted in their fifth consecutive defeat. They’re now 28-43 and 8.5 games back in a division that should be for the taking.
The Red Sox finally realized Kiké Hernández has no business being the starting shortstop. He has 14 errors, including a league-leading 13 throwing errors, so far this season. He’s also hitting just .229 with a .650 OPS. The middle infield has been a disaster this year in Boston, but we can’t say we didn’t see that coming heading into the campaign.
Here come the Angels? They’ve won seven of their last 10 to tie the Astros for second in the AL West. They’re only 4.5 games behind the Rangers at 40-33. I’m rooting for them to sneak into the playoffs. The world needs postseason Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani before Ohtani leaves in free agency.
Look at the Reds go! Eight wins in their last 10 games and only a half-game behind the first-place Brewers in the NL Central. This is one of the most fun teams to watch right now with their glutton of young talent. Elly De La Cruz makes them appointment television.
Corbin Carroll for NL MVP and Rookie of the Year? Ronald Acuña will have something to say about the former, but it isn’t out of the question. Carroll is fifth in the NL in batting average (.305), and third in stolen bases (19) while leading in OPS (.978) and OPS+ (166). This kid is a STAR.
Rapid Fire
Pirates great Andrew McCutchen collected his 2,000th career hit with a single off Mets starter Carlos Carrasco.
First baseman Luke Voit signed a minor-league deal with the Mets after being released by the Brewers.
Infielder Daniel Murphy, 38, signed a minor-league deal with the Angels. The 2015 Mets postseason hero retired from MLB in 2021.
Reliever Ryan Tepera signed a minor-league deal with the Rangers after being let go by the Angels.
First baseman Jesus Aguilar signed a minor-league contract with the Braves after being released by the A’s.
Outfielder Raimel Tapia signed a big-league contract with the Brewers after being released by the Red Sox.
Outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was designated for assignment and later released by the Royals.
Catcher Mike Zunino was DFA’d by the Guardians.
Right-hander Dinelson Lamet was DFA’d by the Rockies.
Astros starter Lance McCullers will miss the rest of the season after undergoing forearm surgery.
Royals slugger Vinnie Pasquantino is out for the rest of the year after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
Former Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer, who’s now pitching in Japan, is facing another accusation of sexual assault. He denies the allegation, which you can read more about here.
Trevor Story has yet to play for the Red Sox this season after undergoing elbow surgery in the offseason. The veteran shortstop said he could be back as a DH as soon as July but sees himself at short — not second base like last year — when he’s able to return to the field.
The Rumor Mill
The Royals are obvious sellers for the upcoming trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to part ways with their veteran catcher Salvador Perez. General manager JJ Picollo confirmed at least one team has inquired about the seven-time All-Star catcher’s availability, but the team “has no intention” of trading him. Of course, plenty can change from now until the end of July.
Corey Dickerson to Houston? MLB Network’s Jon Morosi said the Astros are looking for left-handed bats and Dickerson is a fit. Just something to monitor heading into the deadline.
Reds GM Nick Krall told reporters the team plans to buy at the deadline if they remain in contention, which is totally unexpected and fun as hell. That is all.
The Marlins, who are right behind the Braves in the NL East standings, are keeping an eye on the catching market.
That’s it for now. One more reminder to subscribe for free and get these rundowns e-mailed to you every Sunday morning. You can also gift a subscription to whoever you believe would enjoy it.
Have a great week!