Reflections on the last series,
Diamondbacks News
The series finale didn’t really come down to starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (3-6) finishing only through four innings, because the Diamondbacks’ bullpen didn’t give up a run for the final four. It wasn’t any defensive mistake, nor was it, according to manager Torey Lovullo, All-Star Ketel Marte not scoring from first base on a two-out Geraldo Perdomo double into the right-center gap in the third inning, after they’d already scored two runs.
(San Diego Union Tribune) Bombs and the bullpen lift Padres past Diamondbacks
But the game shifted on both teams’ starting pitchers throwing too many pitches to make it out of the fifth inning.
That left the game as a battle between the bullpen with the major leagues’ second-best ERA and the bullpen with MLB’s fourth-worst ERA.
And the better bullpen — that belonging to the Padres — had its best arms available.
(SI.com) Hot and Cold: Diamondbacks and Padres Series Takeaways
Since June 28 the rotation has posted a 3.89 ERA while averaging 5.9 innings per start. And that includes Rodriguez previous start in which he allowed eight earned runs. This run of good starting pitching has taken a lot of pressure off a depleted bullpen. Accordingly, the bullpen has posted a 3.68 ERA during that same span.
MLB News
With his 25th homer, Crow-Armstrong became the third player in MLB history to reach 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases before the MLB All-Star break. He joins Bobby Bonds and Eric Davis as the only others to achieve that feat.
Crow-Armstrong, 23, reached the 25/25 mark in 92 games. Davis got to 25-25 in 69 games during the 1987 season (he had 27 homers and 33 steals in 74 games by the All-Star break), and Bonds did so in 91 games in 1973 (he was at 25 homers and 28 steals in 97 games), according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
(The Athletic) MLB trade deadline Big Board 2.0: Top 40 players on market as July 31 approaches
Here’s Version 2.0 of our MLB trade deadline Big Board, pumped up to 40 players that could move in the next three weeks and influence the pennant race. Since our first version ran three weeks ago, plenty has changed.
he field for the upcoming 2025 Home Run Derby was finalized on Thursday when Major League Baseball announced that New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. would be the eighth and final contestant.
The 27-year-old Chisholm is enjoying a strong campaign in his first full season in the Bronx. In 61 games, Chisholm is slashing .251/.346/.530 (141 OPS+) with 17 home runs. Boding well for Chisholm’s performance in the Derby is that he’s presently in the 96th percentile among big-league hitters in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate, which is the percentage of batted balls that have the ideal combination of launch angle and exit velocity for power production.