MLB News is heating up. Some dope scoops emerged from MLB’s last 24 hours of ball bashing, base sliding, manager ejections and memorable moments.
TROUT TELLS PHILLIES I RUN THIS BITCH
California Angels superstar Mike Trout returned to the area that honed his world class baseball skills in an interleague game against the NL’s Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday. Trout is the most happening thing coming out of the small town of Millville, New Jersey. It’s the two-time American League MVP runner-up’s first time playing in Philly and Citizens Bank Park is the closest MLB stadium to Millville. Busloads of fans, as many as 8,000 of the 28,000 Millville residents, made the 45-mile journey to see The “Millville Meteor” go 1-5 in a 4-3 Los Angeles Angels win. In fact, the Angels have won 6 of 7 all-time meetings with the Phillies.
The result of the game was of no real consequence to Phillies fans, as the franchise dubbed it “Millville Night” to begin with. The town’s high school marching band rocked the pre-game ceremonies; the school’s choir sang the National Anthem and the Millville mayor threw out the first pitch.
Trout says he didn’t expect to get the warm greeting from notoriously bloodthirsty Phillies fans.
“Growing up as kid and going to Eagles games, if I saw someone with a different jersey on, they were getting booed,” Trout said. But the crowd gave him a standing O. He had thousands of family and friends in attendance, and the support was clearly shown with banners and wild applause.
The evening was a clear example of how certain players transcend sports and rivalries. How many guys can turn an opposing stadium, located on a completely different coast, into their private cheering session? Only the Millville Meteor.
THE ROBINSON CAN EFFECT TAKES OFF IN SEATTLE
After an eight-game losing streak early in the season, the Mariners began to gel and have since gone 13-5, catapulting them from a 7-13 team to a 20-19 record and in third place in the AL West. So far, Cano has them sitting in a much higher spot than last year. Impact isn’t always shouted and dressed up to attract attention. There is virtue and great value in silent leadership. Being classy and professional. Being consistent. You think Cano didn’t learn anything playing to the left of Derek Jeter for a decade?
BRONX BOMBING
The Mets 12-7 thumping of the Yankees on Tuesday got the scrappy club back to .500 at 19-19. The win marks the official awakening of David Wright and the arrival of free agent stud Curtis Granderson, who continues to give his former team the business. After a slow start that had pessimistic Mets fans labeling him the 2014 Jason Bay, Granderson – the consummate professional – is batting .340, with four homers and 12 RBI over his last 13 games, and finally providing the punch the Mets desperately need.
In the first inning he blasted a homer to a familiar spot – the short right field porch in Yankees Stadium – to put the Mets further ahead in the first inning. The Mets are 6-0 against the Yankees since 2013. It’s the longest winning streak against the Bronx Bombers in Mets history. The Yankees, who have recently been riddled with injuries to its pitching staff, have lost a season-high four straight. Expected to be offensively inept, the Mets’ 33 first-inning runs in 2014 ties them with offensive powerhouses Colorado and Oakland for best in MLB in that category.
Wright is doing his thing as well. The All-Star third baseman has an 11-game hitting streak in which he’s batting .392 with 10 RBI during that span. Wright continued his assault on Mets franchise records, becoming the first player to have at least 900 RBI in a Mets uniform.
THE BERNARD HOPKINS OF BASEBALL
Big Papi David Ortiz hit his eighth and ninth homers of the season, giving him 382 in his illustrious career, and tying him with Jim Rice for third on the Red Sox all-time homer list behind Ted Williams (521) and Carl Yastrzemski (452). The Red Sox fell 7-6 to the Minnesota Twins on a walk-off homer Tuesday, but this Ortiz dude is beyond comprehension.
MAMA PUIG’S HOMECOOKING DOES THE TRICK
Remember when the season began and Yasiel Puig was struggling and media began questioning his “enthusiasm”? People started calling him an out of control player whose attitude and undisciplined approach was pissing off teammates. Then the story about his perilous escape from Cuba and the death threats from shifty characters that held stake in the mega contract he earned from Magic & Co. followed and things seemed to be getting out of hand.
Fast forward to Tuesday and it was all smiles during Yasiel Puig Bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium. Making the night more special was Puig’s mom, who tossed the first pitch and then sat in the stands with his jersey on basking in the glory of her son’s long, complicated journey from persecuted Cuban to wealthy U.S. baseball star.
Puig's mother, who resides in Miami, is a co-defendant with the Dodgers sultan slugger in a federal lawsuit brought forth by Miguel Corbacho Daudinot, who is currently in Cuba. Corbacho Daudinot alleges he was sentenced to seven years in a Cuban prison and tortured after Puig and his mother made false statements tying him to human trafficking.
The Dodgers' 7-1 win was a fitting beginning to an anticipated launch-off between Puig and Florida Marlins bomber Giancarlo Stanton, two of baseball’s lauded young gunners. Puig went 2-for-3 and had an RBI knock for his family, and is batting .423 with 16 RBI’s during a career-high 13-game hitting streak.
Y’ALL MUSTA FORGOT
Black Aces member David Price is auditioning for a big-time contract after this season, but in his last five starts he’s 1-3 with a 5.63 E.R.A for the Tampa Bay Rays who are locked in an AL East dogfight. During Tuesday’s dramatic ninth inning, Price flexed his killer arm. First he paints the corner on Seattle’s Robinson Cano and then he fans Mariners’ slugger Justin Smoak with a 96 mph heater to end the game and salvage a complete-game, 2-1 win. Price recorded the fourth start of 12 K’s and no walks in Rays history, and reminds suckers of why he will be looking for crazy loot come this offseason.
THE BREW CREW AND ITS MANY WEAPONS
Milwaukee has an MLB-high 25 wins (tied with San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's) and pitcher Marco Estrada has the lowest opponent average since Aug. 1, 2013 for a pitcher with a minimum of 100 innings pitched. Miami ace Jose Fernandez ranks first during that span with a miniscule .169 average.
JAPANESE GOLD
Yankees prized Japanese import Masahiro Tanaka is 5-0 in his MLB career and has not lost in his last 41 regular season starts in the U.S. and Japan. Tanaka's 58 strikeouts entering Wednesday's start against the Mets is a Yankees record through any pitcher's first seven games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it ranks as the fifth-highest total for any pitcher through his first seven appearances since 1900, trailing only Kerry Wood (66), Herb Score (66), Jose DeLeon (62) and Stephen "Flash" Strasburg (61).
With the Yankees rotation in shambles, Tanaka moves further into the spotlight and must assume ace status whether Yankees brass is ready or not. He pitches for the Yankees tonight.
K-KINGS
Kansas City Royals pitcher James Shields and Arizona Diamondbacks hurler Brunson Arroyo are both solid, blue collar MLB veterans, who notched their 1,500th career K’s on Tuesday.
MIGGY STILL MOST DOMINANT
A day after teammate Torii Hunter took exception to getting drilled in the ribs by a fastball; Miguel Cabrera proves why he’s still the Dr. Dre of baseball bashers—on top and breaking ground daily.
His three-run homer with two outs in top of the ninth put the Tigers up 3-1. It was Cabrera’s sixth homer of the season and Victor Martinez followed with his ninth blast to seal a 4-1 Tigers win. Detroit owns the AL’s best road record at 10-4. Miggy has 18 RBI’s in 12 games this month and since 2008 his 11 go-ahead homers in the ninth inning or later is the most in baseball.
MLB’s FASTEST GUN IS BACK
It’s good to see Aroldis Chapman back closing games for Cincinnati… metal plate in head and all, compliments of a batted line drive up the middle. The flame thrower took a loss on Tuesday, giving up a homer to Chase Headley in a 2-1 Padres win, but he could have died. His presence is definitely a blessing for Cincinnati, whose 12 losses in games decided by one run is the most in majors. The Reds are seven games back of first-place Brewers.
