The Weekly Rundown: 4/28/24 - 5/4/24
Down goes Trout, Padres add Arraez, and more.
Good morning and happy Sunday!
It was an action-packed week in baseball as we had everything from a bench-clearing brawl to a devastating injury to one of MLB’s biggest stars and a blockbuster trade. It was one of those eventful weeks where you may have missed a big story or two, but as always we’ve got you covered here with the weekly rundown.
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Benches Clear in Rays-Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers haven’t shied away from confrontation this season. On Tuesday, they were involved in their third benches-clearing incident of the year.
The drama began with Rays outfielder Jose Siri pimping a home run off Brewers starter Freddy Peralta. Peralta plunked Siri on a 3-0 count in his next at-bat and was ejected from the game. The decision to eject Peralta led to Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy berating home plate umpire Chris Guccione, resulting in his own ejection.
Later, Siri stepped up to the plate against Brewers right-hander Abner Uribe and grounded out to first base. Uribe bumped into him after the play, the two exchanged pleasantries, and punches were thrown.
You can watch Jomboy’s hilarious breakdown of the fracas below:
Peralta and Uribe were suspended for five and six games, respectively. Murphy received a two-game suspension. MLB handed Siri a three-game suspension but later reduced it to two.
Here’s how Uribe summed up the incident after the game:
“There were some words shared that didn’t have much to do with the game that probably shouldn’t have been shared there in that exchange.”
Siri’s side of the story:
“When I went to first base, I just went there normal, and he kind of hit me on the shoulder. So I asked him why did he do that? And he just said, ‘Because I felt like it.’”
No word yet on whether Uribe or Siri used their time off to learn how to throw a punch. Good lord.
Another Year, Another Mike Trout Injury
Mike Trout will go down as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Sadly, the latter part of his illustrious career will be remembered for the time he missed, not the time he spent on the field.
Trout, who played in only 237 of 486 possible games from 2021-23, suffered a torn left meniscus that required surgery. The injury is expected to sideline him for two to three months.
"It's just frustrating,” Trout said on Tuesday. “It's crazy. I don't even know when I did it. Third inning, after the inning was over, I was running in to the dugout, I felt like a little bit of ache in my knee. Not like a serious ache, like, 'That was weird.' Didn't think anything of it. Was hitting, running, didn't feel nothing. Scoring from second, nothing. It was just after, when I did activity and I sat down and got back up, that's when I started feeling it.
“I wasn't feeling it hitting, I wasn't feeling it running. I was just sore. I was just telling myself maybe I just banged it on something and didn't realize it. Then after the game, getting treatment, really sore. Plan was to just see how I felt in the morning. If I woke up I was sore, get it looked at. That was the plan. Last night it was tough for me to sleep. It was just aching all night."
The 32-year-old had a league-leading 10 homers prior to his injury. He has a .220/.325/.541 slash line with six stolen bases.
At this point, it’s fair to wonder whether Trout is capable of staying healthy for a full season. He’s appeared in 140+ games just once since 2016. Making matters worse for the Angels, Trout is only halfway through his 12-year, $426.5 million contract.
Arraez to San Diego
The Padres added another All-Star to their lineup on Saturday, acquiring two-time batting champ Luis Arraez from the Marlins in exchange for right-handed reliever Woo-Suk Go and three prospects: outfielders Dillon Head and Jakob Marsee and first baseman/outfielder Nathan Martorella.
Arraez, 27, hit .316 to win the 2022 American League batting title with the Twins. Minnesota traded him to Miami before the 2023 season.
Last year, Arraez took his game to another level with a .354 average to become the second player to win a batting title in consecutive seasons for different teams.
Through 33 games this season, Arraez is hitting .299 with a .719 OPS — a down year by his standards. Still, he’s a tremendous addition to a stacked San Diego lineup as it looks to keep pace with L.A. in the NL West.
Dominant on the Bump
Jose Quintana, New York Mets
8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 1 BB vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Nick Lodolo, Cincinnati Reds
7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 11 K, 2 BB vs. San Diego Padres
Luis Severino, New York Mets
8.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 2 BB vs. Chicago Cubs
Bryce Miller, Seattle Mariners
7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 1 BB vs. Atlanta Braves
Max Fried, Atlanta Braves
6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB vs. Seattle Mariners
Ryan Pepiot, Tampa Bay Rays
6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 0 BB vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers
6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 14 K, 1 BB vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 BB vs. Atlanta Braves
Jon Gray, Texas Rangers
8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 0 BB vs. Washington Nationals
Shota Imanaga, Chicago Cubs
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 BB vs. New York Mets
Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals
7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 2 BB vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Cal Quantrill, Colorado Rockies
7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 0 BB vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals
7.0 IP, 3 H 0 ER, 6 K, 1 BB vs. Chicago White Sox
Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates
7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 0 BB vs. Colorado Rockies
John Means, Baltimore Orioles
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 0 BB vs. Cincinnati Reds
Big Bombs
Anthony Rizzo notched the 300th homer of his MLB career.
Juan Soto blasted one 447 feet at Camden Yards.
Ryan McMahon put one into the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh to give Colorado the lead.
Bo Naylor crushed the first grand slam of his career.
Max Muncy tallied three homers on Saturday to lead the Dodgers over the Braves.
Brent Rooker hit two homers in one inning in the A’s rout of the Marlins.
Web Gem of the Week
Reds outfielder Stuart Fairchild robbed Padres slugger Manny Machado of a homer with a ridiculous catch:
Welcome to the Show
Rockies No. 4 ranked prospect Jordan Beck made his MLB debut on Tuesday vs. the Marlins and went 2-for-4.
Brewers No. 4 ranked prospect Tyler Black went 2-for-4 with a double in his MLB debut on Tuesday vs. Milwaukee. His dad, former TSN commentator Rod Black, was being interviewed in the stands during his son’s second hit and made a tremendous call.
Blue Jays No. 6 ranked prospect Addison Barger collected his first big-league hit on Monday vs. Kansas City. He made a sensational grab in his MLB debut on April 24.
Diamondbacks left-handed pitching prospect Blake Walston made his MLB debut on Wednesday vs. the Dodgers, allowing two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out five in 3.2 innings.
Giants top pitching prospect Randy Rodriguez made his MLB debut on Saturday vs. the Phillies, tossing 2.1 innings with one earned run on two hits and two walks. He also struck out two.
A’s No. 9 prospect Brett Harris hit a solo homer vs. the Marlins for his first career hit on Saturday and added another homer later in his second big-league game.
Notable Injuries
The Marlins placed outfielder Avisail Garcia on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.
The Cubs placed left-hander Jordan Wicks on the 15-day IL due to a left forearm strain.
The Blue Jays placed right-hander Yariel Rodríguez on the 15-day IL due to thoracic spine inflammation.
The Orioles placed righty Grayson Rodriguez on the 15-day IL due to inflammation in his right shoulder.
The Rangers placed right-hander Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day IL with a right groin strain.
The Twins placed outfielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day IL due to right knee inflammation.
The Cardinals placed left-hander Steven Matz on the 15-day IL due to a lower back strain.
The Phillies placed shortstop Trea Turner on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain. Turner is expected to miss a minimum of six weeks.
The Braves placed righty Pierce Johnson on the 15-day IL due to inflammation in his throwing elbow.
The Giants placed catcher Patrick Bailey on the seven-day IL for a concussion.
Rapid Fire
The Astros optioned veteran first baseman Jose Abreu to rookie-level West Palm Beach. Abreu has been terrible at the plate this season, slashing 099/.156/.113 through 22 games.
The Angels released Aaron Hicks and signed fellow veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar.
First baseman Dom Smith opted out of his Rays deal and signed with the Red Sox. Boston also acquired infielder Zack Short from the Mets for cash after designating Pablo Reyes for assignment.\
Astros star Jose Altuve collected the 300th stolen base of his career.
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