Game Recaps
Most of Diamondbacks’ energy spent on dugout spat in loss to Cubs by José M. Romero [AZ Central]
The Diamondbacks showed fight on Monday night, Aug. 24 — trouble was, most of it came from the dugout and appeared to be directed toward Chicago Cubs third base coach, Quintin Berry.
Beyond that, their night featured another listless performance from the offense, leading to a 7-0 loss at Chase Field.
The Cubs scored three times off Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly in 5 2/3 innings, breaking the game
open with back-to-back homers in the sixth off reliever Taylor Clarke.
Diamondbacks outclassed by Cubs in shutout loss by Alex Weiner [Arizona Sports]
Merrill Kelly hung in there for as long as he could, but the Chicago Cubs eventually bulldozed the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0 on Monday at Chase Field.
The Cubs have had the Diamondbacks’ number this season, winning all four games so far.
In a clash of teams who experienced much different trade deadline outcomes, the aggressive Cubs benefitted from a gem start out of Kevin Gausman, the veteran starter who came over from Toronto. Gausman tossed seven shutout innings with three hits, his best effort since joining Chicago. The Diamondbacks’ offense failed to put multiple base runners against him in any inning.
Diamondbacks News
When Diamondbacks’ Michael Soroka Might Return From New Injury by Alex D’Agostino [SI]
Manager Torey Lovullo expressed optimism that Soroka could, at least potentially, return after the minimum stint. If the injury does follow that timeline, that would allow Soroka to return to Arizona’s major league roster some time around September 7.
“He’s going to hopefully be ready on Day 16.,” Lovullo said follwing Sunday’s win over Cincinnati, according to Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. “The plan is to get him a couple days down, get him back on the bump and miss as few days as possible.”
Soroka himself, meanwhile, had a similar sentiment.
“There’s always little things that arise throughout the course of the season,” Soroka told Weiner. “Sometimes things go away, sometimes they don’t. I think the other night, that line got crossed.”
When will Ketel Marte play again for the Diamondbacks? by Alex Weiner [Arizona Sports]
Lovullo has spoken with the other players in the clubhouse about Marte’s situation to take the temperature of the room, but he wanted to keep those conversations private.
“We’re trying to create the softest space for him to re-emerge back into this environment,” Lovullo said of when Marte will return to the clubhouse and address his teammates. “And that’s up to him however he wants to do it. I cannot force a human being to do something that I want to do or anybody in this room wants to do or a fan wants to do. One of the things that makes Ketel such an extraordinary player is that he goes to the beat of his own drum.
“I’ve talked to just about every player, and I know how they feel. But it’s a very individualized situation.”
Around the League
GM Dana Brown, Astros agree to mutually part ways by Brian McTaggart [MLB]
The Astros, who finished a disappointing nine-game homestand by blowing a six-run lead in a loss to the A’s on Sunday at Daikin Park, parted ways with general manager Dana Brown on Monday in what the team called a mutual decision.
The announcement came one day after Houston couldn’t hold a 6-0 lead and lost, 7-6, to the last-place A’s, capping a 3-6 homestand against three teams with sub-.500 records. That sent the Astros back under .500 themselves at 65-66 and into a first-place tie in the American League West with the Rangers, though the Astros own the head-to-head tiebreaker with a 9-4 lead in the season series.
Owners thrilled with ‘family investment’ of San Diego Padres by Alden Gonzalez[ESPN]
As part of an energetic news conference that signaled a new era for the San Diego Padres, co-owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones called their purchase of the franchise a “family investment” and vowed to spend “ambitiously” yet “judiciously.”
“We have been blessed with a team in a city that is supporting us in a way that is allowing us to invest back in that team, in that stadium, in that city,” Feliciano said in his formal introduction inside a Petco Park interview room Monday. “We’re committed to doing that. We are going to live within our means. That can mean different things in different years. But we wanna win. And we’re going to continue to support that goal in many different ways. That means that at some points, we will be aggressive. But we’re always going to do it while keeping the long-term health of the team in mind. I think those are things that we’re going to balance.”
The Baseball Team Is Hot as Hell in Philadelphia. Someone Oughta Open Up a Window. by Michael Baumann [FanGraphs]
Even if the Phillies fall short in their pursuit of the Braves, they could still host a Wild Card series; they’ve gone from fourth place in the Wild Card race and 7.5 games behind the Cubs to second place and two games back.
With Sánchez on the mound and Schwarber providing the offense, you could be forgiven for thinking the Phillies are performing as designed.
That design: There are 23 pitchers in the league who are either currently on contracts worth $100 million or more, or who have a pending nine-figure extension coming. The Phillies have four of them— Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, and Aaron Nola. In addition to that quartet, the Phillies also have a former no. 1 global pitching prospect, Andrew Painter, and perhaps the best non-Mason Miller closer in the league in Jhoan Duran.
The hope is that those six pitchers, plus maybe Orion Kerkering and Jonathan Bowlan, throw as many of the Phillies’ high-leverage innings as possible and never give up a run. Ideally, considering that the team’s defensive apparatus can be charitably described as “ramshackle,” they wouldn’t even allow a batted ball.
Giants Announce 10 Roster Moves by Anthony Franco [MLB Trade Rumors]
The Giants are swapping out almost 20% of their active roster. San Francisco placed Willy Adames (left elbow sprain), JT Brubaker (bruised ribs) and Victor Bericoto (bone bruise in right knee) on the injured list. Adames and Bericoto land on the 10-day IL, while Brubaker will miss a minimum of 15 days. San Francisco also placed Bryce Eldridge on the bereavement list and optioned rookie southpaw Tugboat Wilkinson.
