Even though he heard Alex Cintrón make vile remarks about his mother, A’s outfielder Ramón Laureano said Monday he regrets charging at the Houston Astros hitting coach and now seems prepared to face whatever punishment may be forthcoming from Major League Baseball. “It was a waste of time,” Laureano said of the incident to local…
Ramón Laureano on Alex Cintrón: “I wasted my time with that guy” — Times-Standard
Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke made a very interesting decision to pinch hit outfielder Kevin Pillar for Andrew Benintendi in the fourth inning with Boston leading the Toronto Blue Jays by one run and searching for more offense. It was, certainly at the time, a move predicated by offense. But it actually didn’t prove well…
Red Sox Notes: Ron Roenicke Explains ‘Tough’ Decision To Pinch Hit For Andrew Benintendi — NESN.com
TODAY’S GAME:
NATE PEARSON
Taking a Major League mound for the 2nd time, both in interleague games (7/29 vs. WAS).
Nate Pearson, RHP #24 Born: Odessa, FL AGE: 23
Making his 2nd MLB start tonight, coming off his MLB Debut on 7/29
vs. WAS…Threw 5.0 scoreless innings, taking a no-decision as the
Jays were shutout, 4-0, by Max Scherzer and the Nationals…
Allowed 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 batters…Struck out
the 1st batter he faced (Trea Turner), becoming the 7th pitcher in
team history to debut as a starter and strike out the 1st batter faced
(last: Matt Boyd on 6/27/15 vs. TEX)…Became the 3rd pitcher in
Blue Jays history to throw 5+ scoreless innings in an MLB debut,
joining Mauro Gozzo (8/8/89 vs. TEX) and Trent Thornton (3/31/19
vs. DET)…Also became the 49th player in team history to make his
MLB debut as a starting pitcher, following up a debut by Thomas
Hatch, 3 days earlier (7/26 at TB).
Entered the season as Toronto’s top-rated prospect by MLB and
Baseball America (7th overall by BA; 8th overall by MLB).
ST: 5G, 2GS, 4.22 ERA, 10.2 IP, 7H, 5ER, 1HR, 5BB, 16K, .194 AVG
2019 HIGHLIGHTS:
Started his campaign with A+ Dunedin and posted a 0.86 ERA (2
ER/21.0 IP) across 6 starts.
Promoted to AA New Hampshire on 5/7 and held a 2.59 ERA (18
ER/62.2 IP) in 16 starts.
Finished the year with 3 starts for AAA Buffalo…Went 1-0 while
allowing 6 runs over 18.0 innings for a 3.00 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP
(15K/3BB).
Threw 7.0 shutout innings in his AAA debut on 8/20 at Rochester…
Allowed 3 hits and struck out 3 batters without issuing a walk on
what was his 23rd birthday.
2018 HIGHLIGHTS:
Made just 1 start in the 2018 regular season before having his
campaign ended with a fractured right ulna when he was hit by a
line drive.
Played for the Surprise Saguaros in the 2018 Arizona Fall League
and went 2-2 over 6 starts…Had his fastball reach as high as 104
MPH while there and was named to both the AFL Rising Stars
Team and the All-Prospect Team.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Ranked by MLB as Toronto’s No. 1 prospect heading into 2020…
Listed as Baseball America’s 7th-best overall prospect.
Selected by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (28th overall) of the
2017 First-Year Player Draft.
Attended Florida International for a year before transferring to Central Florida Community College in Ocala, FL…Went 5-2 with a 1.56
ERA in his 13 starts for Patriots in 2017 and struck out 118 batters over 81.0 innings (23 walks).
PITCH SELECTION (2020)
Four-seam Fastball (55.1%, 95.7mph), Slider (33.3%, 84.6mph),
Change (9.4%, 88.8mph) Curve (2.2%, 77.0mph)
YEAR W-L ERA G GS IP H ER HR BB SO AVG
2020 0-0 0.00 0 0 5.0 2 0 0 2 5 .118
2019 (AA) 1-4 2.59 16 16 62.2 41 18 4 21 69 .186
2019 (AAA) 1-0 3.00 3 3 18.0 12 6 2 3 15 .185
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 – Truist Park – Atlanta, Ga.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Atlanta Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Win: Hyun-Jin Ryu (1-1, 5.14) | Loss: Sean Newcomb (0-1, 6.57) | Save: Anthony Bass (2)
First Pitch: 7:09 p.m. | Game Time Temp.: 84 degrees | Time of Game: 3:00 | Attendance: —
Series Information
Braves vs. Blue Jays: The Blue Jays won tonight to force a rubber game tomorrow…These three games are the only meetings between the teams this season…This is the fourth consecutive year Toronto and Atlanta have played…Despite the loss, the Braves still lead the all-time regular-season series, having won 29 of the 54 games…Toronto has not won a season series with Atlanta since 2009, going 0-5-3 in series play in that time…The Braves took three-of-four games from the Blue Jays last season, including both games in Atlanta.
Toronto Blue Jays (4-5)
Interleague Play: The Blue Jays improved to 3-3 (.500) in Interleague Play this season following tonight’s win…With tonight’s win, they matched their Interleague win total in 20 games last season…Toronto’s 3-17 record against National League opponents in 2019 produced a .150 winning percentage, the third lowest all-time, trailing the 2010 Pirates and 2012 Rockies, who both went 2-13 (.133)…The Blue Jays’ 17 total losses in Interleague play last season were the most by any team in a single season.
Error Free: After committing one error on Opening Day at Tampa Bay, the Blue Jays have now gone eight consecutive games playing error-free defense…This is Toronto’s longest stretch without committing an error since an 11-game run in 2015, from August 6-18…The Blue Jays had two seven-game error-free stretches last season.
Hyun-Jin Ryu: Made his third start as a Blue Jay and allowed just one hit and three walks while striking out a season-high eight hitters…Tonight’s win was the 55th of his career, moving him past Byung-Hyun Kim into sole possession of second place on the MLB wins list for players born in South Korea …Chan Ho Park has the most with 124…The outing was his sixth career start against the Braves, and he moved to 2-2 with a 2.37 ERA (10 ER/38.0 IP) against Atlanta.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: Drew a walk but failed to record a hit for just the second time this season in nine games.
RISP: Went a perfect 2-for-2 with runners in scoring position after going just 1-for-10 last night and 10-for-54 (.185) in such situations through eight games…Prior to tonight’s game Toronto’s .185 average with runners in scoring position was third lowest in the majors, ahead of just Philadelphia (.179) and Detroit (.143).
No Home Run: Tonight’s win was the first for Toronto in which it did not homer this season…The Blue Jays had just one extra-base hit, a double from Vlad Guerrero Jr…Toronto had been 0-3 when it did not homer over its first eight games.
Atlanta Braves (8-5)
Sean Newcomb: Made his first career start against Toronto and allowed five hits and two runs over 4.2 innings…He faced them twice in relief previously, both of which came last season…Newcomb has yet to pitch past the fifth inning in three starts this season…Tonight’s game was the 16th career Interleague appearance of his career, and his 6.75 ERA (32 ER/42.2 IP) against the opposing league is the highest among active pitchers (min. 35.0 IP) since Newcomb’s first Interleague start (7/4/17 vs. HOU).
Runs: Tonight’s game was just the second of the season in which Atlanta did not score multiple runs, joining its Opening Day shutout loss to the Mets…The Braves entered the game leading the majors with 69 runs on the year.
Vs. Lefties: Tonight’s loss was the first for Atlanta in which the opposing starter was left-handed…The Braves were 3-0 against lefties entering play and went 23-14 (.622) versus left-handed starters last season.
Josh Tomlin: Tossed 1.1 scoreless frames without allowing a baserunner and fanning two…Entered play with nine strikeouts on the season, tied for most in the National League among relievers, and his 6.2 innings pitched were tied for second most out of the bullpen in the NL…He has yet to allow a run in 8.2 innings pitched (five appearances), and is the only reliever in the NL to pitch at least 6.0 innings and not allow a run.
Adam Duvall: His seventh-inning home run capped a string of seven straight plate appearances in which he reached base, the longest streak of his career…He had previously reached in six straight in August of 2016…Duvall finished the night going 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk.
Markakis Debut: Nick Markakis made his season debut and grounded out to first in his only plate appearance…He entered play with 499 career doubles and would be the 64th player in major league history to reach 550 two-base hits, and only the fourth active player in the league.
Terry Francona continues to find himself sidelined as he battles an ongoing medical issue. The Cleveland Indians manager will miss his fourth straight game Wednesday night thanks to a gastrointestinal problem he’s been coping with for months, according to team president Chris Antonetti. First-base coach Sandy Aloma will step in as interim manager once again.…
Terry Francona To Miss Fourth Straight Game With Gastrointestinal Issue — NESN.com
Tuesday, August 4, 2020 – Truist Park – Atlanta, Ga.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Atlanta Braves | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | x | 10 | 13 | 0 | 10 |
Win: Max Fried (2-0, 2.04) | Loss: Matt Shoemaker (0-1, 5.91) | Save: None
First Pitch: 7:10 p.m. | Game Time Temp.: 86 degrees | Time of Game: 3:06 | Attendance: —
Series Information
Braves vs. Blue Jays: The Braves and Blue Jays tonight played the first of a three-game series, the only meetings between the teams this season…This is the fourth consecutive season Toronto and Atlanta have played…The Braves have gone 29-24 all-time in their regular season meetings, including 22-10 (.688) since 2009…Atlanta has not lost a series with Toronto in that time, going 5-0-3 in series play…The Braves took three-of-four games from the Blue Jays last season, including both games in Atlanta.
Toronto Blue Jays (3-5)
Return to Play: The Blue Jays returned to action tonight for the first time since last Thursday, July 30…Their three-game weekend series with Philadelphia was postponed…Toronto spent the weekend working out in Nationals Park in Washington, D.C…The Blue Jays played a four-game, home-and-home series with Nationals last week…All four games were at Nationals Park, and Toronto served as the “home” team for the final two games.
Interleague Play: The Blue Jays fell to 2-3 (.400) in Interleague Play this season following tonight’s loss…Despite the loss, they are still just one victory shy of their Interleague win total in 20 games last season…Toronto’s 3-17 record against National League opponents in 2019 produced a .150 winning percentage, the third lowest all-time, trailing the 2010 Pirates and 2012 Rockies, who both went 2-13 (.133)…The Blue Jays’ 17 total losses in Interleague play last season were the most by any team in a single season.
Matt Shoemaker: Made his 100th career start tonight and allowed six hits and six runs over 4.2 innings to take the loss…The outing was the first of his career against Atlanta, and he has now pitched against 21 of the 30 major league teams.
Vlad Guerrero Jr.: Logged his first two doubles of the season and his second multi-hit game…Went 2-for-5 on July 26 at Tampa Bay…He opened the season batting just .172/.200/.276 with five hits in 29 at-bats.
RISP: The Blue Jays went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position tonight and are 10-for-54 (.185) in such situations through eight games…Toronto’s .185 average with runners in scoring position is third lowest in the majors, ahead of just Philadelphia (.179) and Detroit (.143).
Atlanta Braves (8-4)
Runs: Atlanta plated 10 men tonight and have scored a majors-most 69 runs on the season…Only one other team in the majors entered play with as many as 60 runs scored, the Padres with 64.
Max Fried Interleague: Turned in his second consecutively quality start, holding the Blue Jays to four hits and one run over 6.0 innings to earn his second win of the season…Fried has never lost an Interleague game in his career, going 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA (7 ER/30.1 IP) in five starts against the American League, striking out 37 in 30.1 innings (10.98 SO/9.0 IP)…Fried is one of just five pitchers since the advent of Interleague Play in 1997 to open their career with at least five straight victories against the opposing league, joining Justin Verlander (7 straight), Corey Kluber (6), Brett Tomko (6) and Francisco Liriano (5).
Max Fried Pickoffs: Fried allowed a first-inning single to Teoscar Hernández and immediately picked Hernández off first base, his second pickoff of the season…Fried’s two pickoffs are tied for most in the majors, and he’s needed just three pick-off attempts to do so…Since his major league debut on August 8, 2017, Fried’s 12 pickoffs are tied for most in the majors, and he has been successful on 18% (12-for-65) of his attempts…In that same span, the rest of baseball has picked off 645 runners on 37,859 attempts (0.017%).
Early Leads: Matt Adams opened the scoring with a home run leading off the second inning to give the Braves a lead…Atlanta has scored first in every game this season in which the opposing pitcher was not New York’s Jacob deGrom, and improved to 8-2 when doing so….The Braves went 75-26 (.743) last season in games they scored first, the second-best record in the National League…Only Los Angeles (72-21, .774) was better.
Leading After Four: Atlanta lead, 2-0, going into the fifth inning and held on to win, improving to 6-0 when leading after four this season…Braves pitchers held a lead after the fourth inning 77 times last season and the Braves went 71-6 (.922) in those games, easily the best record in baseball…No other team in baseball won even 90% of their games when holding a lead entering the fifth inning in 2019…Houston ranked second, going 76-11 (.874) when leading after the fourth.
Ronald Acuña Jr: Reached base four more times tonight, walking twice, doubling and logging an eighth-inning single… Acuña Jr. has batted .400/.500/.750 in his last five games, after going 4-for-28 (.143) with only one extra-base hit and 14 strikeouts in seven games to open the season…His double and single tonight left the bat at 104.5 and 102.1 mph, respectively, and each of his last seven hits have had exit velocities over 100 miles per hour.
Training Room: Matt Adams left tonight’s game in the bottom of the fifth inning with left hamstring tightness…Prior to his exit, he drove his second home run of the season out to center field.
Atlanta Braves ace Mike Soroka is out for the season after tearing his right Achilles tendon Monday night against the New York Mets. Soroka was hurt in the third inning after delivering a pitch to J.D. Davis, who grounded the ball toward first baseman Freddie Freeman. Soroka broke toward first to cover the bag, only to
Braves ace Mike Soroka out for year with torn Achilles — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
Angels DH Albert Pujols swatted a grand slam Sunday afternoon to give his team the lead. It’s the 658th homer of his career, two behind Willie Mays.
Albert Pujols hits grand slam for career home run No. 658 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
Tigers reliever Tyler Alexander tied the AL record for consecutive strikeouts by fanning the first nine Reds he faced on Sunday afternoon.
Tyler Alexander records nine consecutive strikeouts, ties AL record — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
Eduardo Rodríguez will miss the entire season because of heart inflammation caused by COVID-19.
Eduardo Rodríguez out for the year due to an inflamed heart — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
Major League Baseball players are creatures of habit — especially starting pitchers — but good luck trying to find some normalcy during the most unpredictable season in the history of the sport. Read More
Shoemaker, Jays try to win ‘mental and physical battle’ of constant schedule disruption — Toronto Sun
With yet another team ravaged by COVID-19, the very viability of the 2020 MLB season is in jeopardy
Report: More than five St. Louis Cardinals players test positive for COVID-19 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
By Craig CalcaterraAug 1, 2020, 10:02 AM
Craig Mish reports that “more than five” St. Louis Cardinals players and/or staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
Yesterday the Cardinals-Brewers game was postponed due to two positive tests. With more than seven now, there is no way the Cardinals can field a team or responsibly play, so assume the entire Cardinals-Brewers series will be postponed. UPDATE: tonight’s game is postponed. See below for additional schedule alterations and updates regarding the Cardinals, Brewers, Phillies, Marlins, and other teams.
This news comes less than an hour after reports that the Miami Marlins had no new positive tests, keeping their number at 18. it also comes after the Phillies announced that they had no new positives either. While it’s hard to draw any hard and fast conclusions from all of that, there is a strong suggestion that cross-team infection — say, between the Marlins and the Phillies — might be a smaller concern than expected (at least one of the infected Phillies was the visiting clubhouse attendant for the Marlins and was in close proximity with them). The Marlins’ and now the Cardinals’ examples, however, suggest that once a team starts getting infections its own roster can be quickly ravaged.
Which shines the light not on the activity of playing baseball, which may not entail a super high risk but, rather, on the protocols surrounding travel, housing, clubhouse deportment, etc., to which individual teams are subject.
Yesterday Rob Manfred pointed the finger at player behavior, saying that they have to shape up or else risk the season being cancelled, but it’s not at all clear yet whether those protocols are sufficient in and of themselves, whether players simply did not properly adhere to them, or whether it was some combination of the two. There is a suggestion that the Marlins acted irresponsibly, but that may not apply to all of their infections. We have no idea yet what may have caused the St. Louis Cardinals outbreak.
All we know for now is that yet another team, and its immediate opponents, stand to be idled for an extended period of time. And that the very viability of the 2020 baseball season is in serious doubt.
UPDATE, 3:29 PM:
Major League Baseball has issued a press release further elaborating on the Cardinals positive tests and laying out the schedule, to the extent it’s able to do so, for the coming days. What follows is the latest information the league is providing.
St. Louis Cardinals: After two Cardinals tested positive on Friday, the entire team was tested in Milwaukee using a rapid COVID-19 test in addition to the normal saliva samples which were sent to the MLB laboratory. The rapid tests indicated that one additional Cardinals player and multiple staff members may be positive. The MLB saliva test results are not yet back.
Philadelphia Phillies: Three Phillies staff members have tested positive since the Marlins series last weekend but no players have. MLB’s press release says, “it appears that two of those individuals’ tests were false positives, and it is unclear if the third individual contracted COVID-19 from Marlins players and staff based on the timing of the positive test.” MLB does not say how it knows they are false positives. The Phillies are scheduled to resume play against the Yankees in New York on Monday. It will be a four-game home-and-home series beginning with two games at Yankee Stadium on Monday, August 3rd and Tuesday, August 4th, followed by two games at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday, August 5th and Thursday, August 6th.
Miami Marlins: The Marlins’ remaining players and staff have been quarantining in Philadelphia since Sunday and have not engaged in any baseball or other activities. The Marlins reported no new positive test results in Friday’s sample collections. The current plan is for the Marlins to resume play against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday in Baltimore where they will play a four-game series from Tuesday, August 4th through Thursday, August 6th with one day including a doubleheader. The Marlins will be the home team for two games.
Additionally:
MLB concluded by saying it will “continue to follow a conservative approach in addressing positive test results because the health and safety of our players, employees and the public at large is paramount. We are in daily contact with the Players Association, public health officials, and our own medical experts in order to make decisions that will best protect individuals from being exposed to COVID-19. We will continue to provide further scheduling updates as necessary.”
So that’s where we are.
Follow @craigcalcaterra
The view from left field 