Atlanta’s win streak is now at 6 games, and it’s ruining their lottery chances. Drake Baldwin’s chances of winning the Rookie of the Year Award have improved, though. He sits at about 3 wins for the season, and Isaac Collins has predictably slowed down. A new challenger has risen, though – Caleb Durbin. After a slower start to the season, his 155 wRC+ over the past month has helped
Pirates 3, Athletics 4
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
For some reason, I didn’t realize Jacob Willson was the son of Jack Wilson, but indeed,
he is. The son’s team beat dad’s former team behind a solid start from Luis Severino, who was probably happy to pitch in an MLB park even if it wasn’t really against an MLB team. Nick Kurtz, who will be the runaway winner for AL RotY, homered to improve his case, but it was Lawrence Butler an inning later with a three-run shot that made the difference in this one.
Twins 2, Guardians 6
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
Bo Naylor got things started in the top of the first with a two-run single, and the scoring promptly stopped for a while. Pablo Lopez wasn’t exactly good, and he’s leave after 4 innings with right forearm tightness, which might explain the lack of swing-and-miss in this one. Parker Messick was good, though, striking out 9 over 5.1 innings, but the Twins got to him in the sixth with a single and a double to start things off. A wild pitch scored a run, and after getting a groundout, he was pulled. Royce Lewis added a single to tie the game at 2, but the Twins bullpen let themselves down late. Naylor added another two-run single in the eighth, and a couple of RBI doubles from Steven Kwan and Angel Martinez out the game away in the ninth.
Marlins 6, Rangers 4
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
The Rangers are basically finished at this point. The first nine innings of this one were a bit of a snooze fest as the team’s were tied at 1 after regulation. In the top of the 10th, Otto Lopez got things rolling with a double to score the goat runner, and Xavier Edwards singled home Lopez to put the the Marlins up 3-1. Rowdy Tellez got the crowd rowdy with a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to keep the fun going. Jakob Marsee, having his own great rookie season, doubled home the ghost runner in the top of the 12th, and he was quickly doubled home himself. Dane Myers singled home the third run to make it 6-3. The rangers made it interesting in the bottom of the 12th by adding a run, but they couldn’t pull any closer to the Marlins or the Wild Card race.
Orioles 4, Yankees 2
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
Speaking of the Marlins, former Marlin Trevor Rogers continues his comeback season, and he might end up with Comeback Player of the Year. Six shutout innings with one hit and seven strikeouts is pretty good, and a seventh inning Jazz Chisholm home run was the source of the only scoring for the Yankees. Ryan Mountcastle added a home run and a sacrifice fly to lead the orange birds. Trevor Rogers’ 1.35 ERA and 4 fWAR probably overstate his performance (the HR/FB rate is less than 3%), but it’s a fun story after a couple seasons of injury and poor performance.
To be fair, a lot of these teams have some fun young players, especially rookies. The Marlins have Jakob Marsee, Agustin Ramirez, and Liam Hicks. The Athletics have Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Jacob Lopez, and Denzel Clarke along with some guys near the majors. Minnesota has Luke Keaschall. Atlanta has Drake Baldwin. So it’s not so bad. Even the White Sox have good rookies.
