Leonardo da Vinci is credited with the invention of the tank, but due to the lack of actual technological means to make anything of his designs, the first use of the tank was either the Crimea War or World War I. Trench warfare made crossing land difficult, and tanks offered the ability to potentially get across dangerous territory unscathed. They were initially fairly clumsy, but they’d come to play an important part of World War II.
Pirates 0, Cubs 4
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
There’s very little to indicate
the Pirates are actually trying. The decaying husk of Andrew McCutchen (complimentary) is hitting near league-average somehow, but the team is 29th in baseball in wRC+. Jameson Taillon, who I forgot existed, had no problem through 6 innings, and Mike Soroka, who I completely missed was now with Chicago, teamed up to … we’ll say shut down the Pirates. Old Friend Dansby Swanson had two hits, including an RBI double, and Pete Crow-Armstrong seems good, adding a home run in this one.
Twins 7, Yankees 0
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
The Twins, like the Braves, don’t really belong in this position. They should’ve been better, and their future should be better. And also like the Braves, they laid a whooping on their opponent last night. Brooks Lee was the star on offense with a home run and an RBI double, and Simeon Woods-Richardson had *checks notes* 11 strikeouts, which seems like a lot for a guy who strikes out 8 per 9. On the other side, Carlos Rodón did fine through six, but Luke Weaver coughed up 5 runs in the 7th to make this a laugher.
Orioles 4, White Sox 1
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
I like Kyle Bradish a lot. I grabbed him a couple years ago as part of an expansion draft, and after losing him in free agency, I reacquired him early this year, betting on his return. And he’s been very good in his first four starts back from Tommy John Surgery, and he tamed … yeah, we can say tamed … the White Sox over 5 innings, striking out 9 (also walking four). The Orioles then destroyed Chicago over the last four innings, striking out 5. Colton Cowser added the big blow in this one with a three-run shot in the sixth.
Marlins and Athletics – Did Not Play
Pittsburgh “gains” a game on our rival teams here. Everyone else went against their own interests and decided to actually win. Psh.
To be honest, that makes sense. The Twins, Orioles, and Braves are all good teams who are having terrible seasons, but the Pirates are actually a bad team and a bad organization. It’s hard to overstate how bad you have to be to have one season over .500 since 2015, and that season only had 82 wins in it. From 2013-2015, the Pirates were actually good, but before that, they had 20 consecutive losing seasons. That means over the last like 30+seasons, they’ve been over .500 four times.
