TWiB Notes - Sept 4 thru 10

Frayed Knot · September 4, 2023

Phils put up four singles, three doubles, one triple, and two HRs on (mostly) Rich Hill in Sandy Eggo in the first three innings!

8-1 heading to top 4th

And NOW the Astros break out the whoopin' sticks as they hang baker's dozen on the Rangers in Arlington for a 13-5 win while the Reds hold off Seattle..

Looks to be a nice month long battle royal in the AL West for that trio.

Edited September 4, 2023 by Guest

Edgy MD · September 4, 2023

San Francisco's loss and Miami's idleness cut the virtual four-way tie for the last Wild Cardigan in the NL down to two teams — Arizona and Cincinnati.

If San Diego follows through on what looks like a losing effort against the Phils, they will join the Mets and Buccos, all within a game of each other in the trailing heat.

Frayed Knot · September 4, 2023

Now 9-7 as SDP has the tying runs on (1st & 3rd) in bottom 9 w/1 out

oe: Philly wins

Frayed Knot · September 5, 2023

A couple of partially connected MLB oddities this past week

- Twins rookie infielder Royce Lewis has 13 career HRs (11 this season) and 3 of them are Grand Slams

Nothing too odd about that except that the 3 GS are all in the last 8 games making him the first rookie

to hit 3 in 8 or fewer and the 4th player overall. But he's not the fastest.

Larry Parrish also had 3 in 8 games in 1982

Lou Gehrig had 3 in 5 games in 1931

And Jim Northrup, in the pitching dominant season of 1968, hit 3 GS in a 4 game span (2 in one game then another 3 days later)

The other trinket involves one-time hot pitching prospect Lucas Giolito who yesterday became the first pitcher

to allow 8 or more earned run three times in a season while pitching for three different clubs!

7/18 w/CHW vs NYM: 3 ER in 3-2/3 IP (and, yes, the Mets won that game ... although just barely)

8/12 w/LAA vs ATL: 9 ER in 3-2/3 IP

9/4 w/CLE vs MIN: 9 ER in 3.0 IP.

Four of those runs he allowed on Labor Day Monday were due to ... a 2nd inning GS by Royce Lewis

Edgy MD · September 5, 2023

And Dodgers starter Julio Urías is looking at a the end of his season — and maybe an extended interruption of his career, if not his freedom — having been arrested

for domestic assault.

This is the second incident of this nature for Urías, and while he didn't get charged in the previous case, I fully expect MLB will be treating him as a repeat offender.

Frayed Knot · September 5, 2023

Reds tie up the Mariners late then win it in the 9th on a E. De La Cruz IF 1B, SB (it's ridiculous how fast that dude is), and then a soft RBI single

The Rangers, who have been ahead of the Astros most of the year and probably thought of themselves as on the same level as the defending Champs, have been out-scoed 23 - 6 in less than two full games (at home) as they fight for turf in a three team division race.

Frayed Knot · September 6, 2023

In day game Pennant race [read: Wild Card] action:

- Cubs thumped the slumping Giants at Wrigley

- Wheeler one hit the Padres in SD for 6 innings ... so naturally they pulled him. 5-Zip Phils in bottom 7

- And speaking of the Phils, from the 'I Guess We Know How They Celebrated' category, Trea Turner was placed on Paternity Leave this week exactly nine months to the day after signing his big FA contract.

Oh yeah, and the HOU/TEX match-up tonight is Scherzer v Verlander

Edgy MD · September 6, 2023

Reds are now sole holders of that last Wild Card spot, beating the Mariners 1-0 after one this evening.

Edgy MD · September 6, 2023

Sandy Alcantara headed to the Injured List with a forearm strain. He'll have company on there with slugger Jorge Soler straining his oblique.

It's a tough time to take a hit, but there's no good time for a defending Cy Young winner to come down with a foreboding injury.

Frayed Knot · September 8, 2023

The Brewers, down 2-0 early, did the Lord's work tonight by pounding out 16 hits and scoring 8 unanswered in da Bronx to re-drop the Yanx a game below. 500

Frayed Knot · September 9, 2023

8 unanswered runs for the Brewers in the Bronx last night, 7 unanswered today.

Tied 2-2 going into the 8th, ended 9-2

But I bet Old-Timers day was fun for the crowd.

New-Timers day, not so much.

Frayed Knot · September 11, 2023

Just in case you weren't sure that the clown car rules were stupid enough: in the Bronx yesterday, the game where both teams were scoreless through ten innings and where the home team was hitless through ten, wound up 4-3 in 13 after the Yanx scored four times on one hit in each of the 11th, 12th, and 13th innings while the Brewers were only able to manage three runs on two hits over that same span.

I liked it better when they settled baseball games by playing baseball.