The Weekly Rundown: 8/27/23 - 9/2/23
Angels throw in the towel, a wild week for Ronald Acuña, and more.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
It’s the final full month of the 2023 MLB regular season and the playoff races are coming down to the wire. The AL East is a dogfight between the Orioles and Rays. The AL West is a three-way battle between the Mariners, Rangers, and Astros. The Blue Jays are on the cusp of an AL-wild-card spot and the Red Sox remain hanging on by a thread. The NL wild card race is a mess with six or seven teams in the mix.
Then there are the award races. Ronald Acuña vs. Mookie Betts for NL MVP honors. Can Gerrit Cole hold off Luis Castillo, Kevin Gausman, and others to win the AL Cy Young? And has Blake Snell pulled away from his fellow NL Cy Young candidates?
All will be answered in the coming weeks, so buckle up. For now, let’s recap the final week of August.
Waiver Wire Week
Remember when I said the Angels would regret not getting a haul for Shohei Ohtani at the deadline? And that the Angels had no business going for it as a mediocre club that hasn’t had Mike Trout in the lineup due to injury? Well, not even I expected it to be this much of a disaster.
The Angels officially threw in the towel by waiving all of their significant trade deadline additions: starter Lucas Giolito, reliever Reynaldo Lopez, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk. Veteran reliever Matt Moore also was placed on waivers.
That means the Angels traded two of their top prospects — switch-hitting catcher Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush — to the Chicago White Sox for virtually nothing. This is an unserious organization.
The Guardians, fighting for that top spot in the AL Central, claimed Giolito along with Moore and Lopez. The Reds picked up Renfroe — along with outfielder Harrison Bader, who was waived by the Yankees — as they look to squeak into the postseason.
Wild Week For Acuña
Braves superstar Ronald Acuña is a human highlight reel, but one of the most notable moments from his wild week was a scary one.
Fans at Coors Field rushed the field and accosted Acuña, who later said they were asking him for a photo. One fan actually made contact with Acuña and knocked him down. You can watch the bizarre sequence below.
Fortunately, Acuña was unscathed and the fans were arrested. Good news all around. But that being said, what the hell were the Coors Field security guards doing? Rather than deck these idiot fans, they pretty much just joined in on the group hug. Don’t worry guys, it’s only three fans rushing one of MLB’s biggest stars. No biggie!
Acuña went on to make history and add to his NL MVP case later in the week. We’ll get to that in a bit…
Altuve Notches First Cycle
Astros star Jose Altuve added another impressive accomplishment to his extensive résumé. He notched the first cycle of his career — the ninth in Astros history — against the Red Sox.
The IL
Erik Swanson, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays: 15-day injured list, thoracic spine inflammation.
Matt Chapman, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays: 10-day IL, sprained right middle finger.
Matt McLain, SS, Cincinnati Reds: 10-day IL, right oblique strain.
Yu Darvish, RHP, San Diego Padres: 15-day IL, right elbow inflammation.
Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays: 10-day IL, right quad strain.
Danny Jansen, C, Toronto Blue Jays: 10-day IL, fractured finger.
Dominant On The Bump
Aaron Nola, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies
7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Luis Castillo, RHP, Seattle Mariners
7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 1 BB vs. Kansas City Royals
Mike Clevinger, RHP, Chicago White Sox
7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 2 BB vs. Oakland A’s
Johan Oviedo, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
9.0 IP (CG), 2 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 2 BB vs. Kansas City Royals
Blake Snell, LHP, San Diego Padres
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 5 BB vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Kyle Harrison, LHP, San Francisco Giants
6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 11 K, 2 BB vs. Cincinnati Reds
Grayson Rodriguez, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 1 BB vs. Chicago White Sox
Luis Severino, RHP, New York Yankees
7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 0 BB vs. Detroit Tigers
Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants
9.0 IP (CG), 1 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 1 BB vs. Cincinnati Reds
Cole Ragans, LHP, Kansas City Royals
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Chris Bassitt, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 K, 1 BB vs. Washington Nationals
Jesus Luzardo, LHP, Miami Marlins
6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 2 BB vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Sonny Gray, RHP, Minnesota Twins
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 1 BB vs. Cleveland Guardians
Max Fried, LHP, Atlanta Braves
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 2 BB vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Max Scherzer, RHP, Texas Rangers
6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB vs. Minnesota Twins
Freddy Peralta, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 0 BB vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Big Bombs
Bryce Harper crushed a go-ahead two-run blast for his 300th career homer.
A day after hitting a walk-off single, Tommy Edman belted a walk-off homer off of Josh Hader (7:54 mark below).
Ronald Acuña became the first player in MLB history to join the 30-homer/60-stolen base club with this grand slam against the Dodgers. Even better, he accomplished the feat right after getting married.
Another one from Acuña: a ridiculous 121.2 mph homer for the hardest-hit ball this season.
Web Gem Of The Week
Giants outfielder Austin Slater made a sweet diving grab in the eighth inning to preserve Alex Cobb’s no-hitter against the Reds.
Welcome To The Show
Red Sox top prospect Ceddanne Rafaela collected his first MLB hit Monday against the Astros (9:15 mark below).
Yankees 20-year-old prospect Jasson Dominguez homered off Justin Verlander in his first at-bat and on his first swing in the majors.
Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio’s first career hit was an absolute laser for a double.
Royals prospect Nick Loftin made his MLB debut on Saturday against the Red Sox and recorded a double for his first big-league hit (4:20 mark).
Quick Takeaways
Barring some serious September struggles, Ronald Acuña Jr. sealed his NL MVP case. Between that grand slam and the 121 mph blast, he made a statement this past week.
The Mariners now own sole possession of first place as their historic run continues. Their 21 wins in August marked the most ever in a month in franchise history.
The Braves are the first team to cross the 90-win threshold. No surprise there. They are putting up the kind of numbers you get when you play MLB The Show on rookie mode.
The Brewers are pulling away in the NL Central race. They now lead the Cubs by 4.5 games and the Reds by 6.5.
We’re entering the final month of Miguel Cabrera’s legendary career. Enjoy him while he’s still here.
Rapid Fire
The Guardians designated veteran right-hander Noah Syndergaard for assignment and later released him.
Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin underwent Tommy John surgery.
Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing toe surgery.
The Yankees released veteran slugger Josh Donaldson. He later signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers.
The Dodgers signed catcher Tucker Barnhart to a minor-league deal.
Chris Getz is the new White Sox general manager following the firings of executive vice president Ken Williams and GM Rick Hahn.
The Rockies released Jurickson Profar, who was later signed by the Padres to a minor-league deal.
The Orioles claimed reliever Jorge Lopez from the Marlins.
MLB will not change pitch clock rules for the postseason.
Have a great week!