Game Recaps
Phillies, Stott end blazing August with an all-around win vs. D-backs by Michael Reynolds [MLB]
The Phillies closed July having lost four straight games and four straight series, but they opened August with four straight wins and never looked back.
With a 2-1 victory over the D-backs in Monday’s series opener, the Phillies closed August at 21-7, tied for the 10th-best month by winning percentage in club history. They’ve swept four of their last five series and are riding a five-game heater.
Bryson Stott
hits a solo HR, Phillies beat the Diamondbacks 2-1 to cap 21-win August [ESPN]
Stott crushed a 464-foot homer to right field in the second that gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Bryce Harper‘s double off the center field wall in the third scored Garrett Stubbs and pushed the advantage to 2-0.
Nola (6-10) pitched into the sixth inning, giving up one run on five hits and two walks, striking out five. The veteran right-hander has given up two runs or less in five straight starts.
Diamondbacks News
Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte & Torey Lovullo full press conferences before the Phillies series [Arizona Sports]
Ketel Marte said he had no message for Diamondbacks fans, but they did by Alex Weiner [Arizona Sports]
Boos from the Chase Field crowd overpowered the cheers when Ketel Marte stepped up to the plate on Monday, his first at-bat since his Boston no-show two weeks ago.
Before the game, Marte faced questions from the media, and when asked whether he had a message for Diamondbacks fans, Marte shook his head. Paying more attention to addressing his teammates, he neglected the fanbase that has been cheering him on for 10 years, essentially declining to swing at a meatball.
Diamondbacks Give New Injury Update on Gurriel, Burnes, Gallen & More by Jack Sommers [SI]
Lovullo could not say exactly when and where Burnes would pitch his next outing. It sounded like there was some concern that the velocity was not there yet (down 2 MPH on his signature cutter).
“Every time he throws a pitch, it’s shown at 90-91. It’s not the 92-94 that we know he can get to. It’s not a top end. So I know there’s some that say yes, and I’m in that camp that you’re building up that overall number. And it’s not the same, but we want that big number,” Lovullo said.
Around the League
Cubs set franchise record with nine homers in rout of Brewers by Jordan Bastian [MLB]
The North Siders welcomed the rival Brewers to Wrigley Field for the opener of a crucial four-game series and flexed their propensity for power en route to a 17-3 rout. Alex Bregman went deep three times as part of a nine-homer attack that set a single-game record for home runs in the long, storied history of the Cubs.
The nine homers are tied for the second-most in a game in MLB history since at least 1900, trailing only the 10 homers launched by the Blue Jays on Sept. 14, 1987. Chicago’s 62 homers in August set a one-month record for the team, and are second all-time for a calendar month in baseball history. Only the 2019 Yankees (74 in August) have hit more.
Chisholm Jr., Yankees criticize Red Sox radio voice Flemming by Alden Gonzalez[ESPN]
There was no radio silence from the Yankees on Monday, a day after comments made by Boston Red Sox play-by-play announcer Will Flemming added some fuel to the longtime rivalry.
In fact, several Yankees players went out of their way to openly criticize Flemming, calling him “unprofessional” and questioning why a radio voice would suggest a team throw at an opposing player.
Flemming, who works for Boston radio station WEEI, first called Jazz Chisholm Jr. a “bush league player” after he stole a pair of bases in the eighth inning of Sunday’s series finale in the Bronx with New York ahead 7-1. He then suggested to WEEI color analyst Will Middlebrooks that Red Sox left-hander Jovani Moran retaliate by beaning Yankees catcher Austin Wells, who was batting at the time.
Padres To Promote Ethan Salas by Anthony Franco [MLB Trade Rumors]
The Padres are calling up top catching prospect Ethan Salas, reports Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Salas, who turned 20 in June, will be the youngest player in the big leagues (assuming no one takes that title from him tomorrow).
