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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Pity the poor Colorado Rockies, who got nine shutout innings at Coors Field one night but lost in extra innings to the Atlanta Braves, 3-1. The Rox got three hits from their lineup two games in a row for the second time in that series . . .
In 19 seasons, Petco Field has had only cycle (Eduardo Escobar of the Mets) and one no-hitter (Tim Lincecum of the Giants) but that was better than the previous Padres park, Jack Murphy Stadium. In 35 years, it was never the site of a Padres cycle or no-hit game, though opponents had two of each! That means San Diego Padres home games never had a cycle or no-hitter in 54 years!
Infielder Frank Schwindel is the first Cub to hit and give up at least two home runs in the same series since July 27, 1894 . . .
Bill (Spaceman) Lee, now 75, rolled out of the stands at a Savannah Bananas game and struck out the only man he faced . . .
Both managers axed so far had world championships on their resumes: Joe Maddon (Angels) with the 2016 Cubs and Joe Girardi (Phillies) with the 2009 Yankees . . .
Leading Off
Law of Averages Catches Up With Braves
By Dan Schlossberg
Baseball is not only a great entertainer but a great teacher.
Every day, it provides more evidence of Murphy’s Law: if something can go wrong, it will.
Throw in the Law of Averages, which warns that streaks are going to end, and you know how the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 1-0, at Wrigley Field Friday afternoon.
Never mind that Wrigley can be a House of Horrors for pitchers. When the wind blows out, that may be true, but when the wind blows in off Lake Michigan, pitchers often prevail.
That’s what happened yesterday, when struggling veteran Charlie Morton threw seven scoreless innings — his longest outing of the season — and fanned nine without yielding a walk or a run but had nothing to show for it.
Cubs pitcher Keegan Thompson was just as good, totally dominating a lineup that had just crushed the Nationals and extended a long winning streak.
Even before the game began, the Law of Averages indicated a Cubs win.
After all, visiting Atlanta had 14 wins a row while the home-standing Cubs had lost 10 in a row. That kind of luck — good and bad — had to change.
There’s a theory in baseball that you’re only as good as the next day’s pitcher. For the Cubs, that pitcher was Thompson. He’s just about the last man standing on a staff stricken by injuries to Marcus Stroman, Drew Smyly, Wade Miley, and a bunch of other potential starters.
Thompson matched zeroes with Morton before giving way to Mychal Givens and eventually retread reliever David Robertson. But nobody gave up anything.
The teams combined for five hits. Nobody hit one out of the park. And the Cubs scored the only run without benefit of a hit.
In the fateful bottom of the eighth, Braves reliever A.J. Minter walked the leadoff man — never a good idea — on a 3-2 pitch. Then ex-Brave Andrelton Simmons bunted him to second. The runner stole third, finally scoring on a sacrifice fly.
Atlanta loaded the bases in the ninth, again without collecting a hit, but left them stranded — ending both streaks.
For the Cubs, going nowhere but down after trading off their best players in a payroll-paring frenzy last summer, the game meant nothing.
For the Braves, however, the game meant losing a potential chance to close the gap between the first-place New York Mets and themselves in the National League East.
Just a few short weeks ago, Atlanta trailed New York by 10 1/2 games. With the early loss Friday, the deficit was five, pending the outcome of the game at CitiField later (the Mets hammered the Marlins, extending their margin to 5 1/2 games).
Great pitching performances are so few and far between that it’s a shame to waste them. But that’s the nature of the game.
Neither starter got a decision but both pitched well enough to win — depending upon contributions from the hitters, of course. Maybe the Braves shot their wad in Washington, where they hit 14 home runs in three games. But they need to win against the league’s weak sisters, especially with the Giants and Dodgers coming to Atlanta next week.
At this point, all they can do is tip their caps to the Cubs, who played Old School baseball in manufacturing the only run they needed.
David Ross, having a tough year as manager on the North Side, made good calls in ordering the bunt and the stolen base. Small ball does pays off occasionally.
My guess is that the Braves will go back to playing their usual brand of power ball: home runs plus pitching. That’s why they won 14 in a row and that’s why they won four straight NL East titles.
They just might win a fifth one when injured players Ozzie Albies, Eddie Rosario, Kirby Yates, Mike Soroka, and Tyler Matzek return. But they know that every game counts and they can’t afford to lose many more squeakers.
Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ has been covering baseball since 1969. He’s never seen a Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, Indy 500, or Stanley Cup playoff but doesn’t care — he’s too busy writing baseball, including 40 original books. Email him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
How a Baseball Fan Celebrates Father’s Day
By Dan Schlossberg
I’m starting my Father’s Day tomorrow by signing baseball books in my adopted hometown of Fair Lawn, NJ, 18 minutes from the George and Martha Washington Bridge.
I’ll be at a new place called Cozie Cafe, on Plaza Road, where there’s a vibe of books meant to be savored as much as the flavors offered up by Elana, the owner and proud wearer of a multi-colored Pride Yankee hat. She loves baseball too.
And baseball loves Father’s Day.
Players will wear blue paraphernalia, perhaps not as obvious as the pink things added for Mother’s Day, but even the umpires will mark the occasion.
Personally, I think Father’s Day and Mother’s Day are Hallmark holidays. Every day should be a time to honor and celebrate our parents, if we are lucky enough to still have them, or allow the younger generation to celebrate us.
So it is in Major League Baseball, where there’s a strong family tradition.
Think of the famous father-and-son tandems: Bobby and Barry Bonds, the two Ken Griffeys, the three Boones (Ray, Bob, Aaron-and-Bret), the three Bells (Gus, Buddy, David), Mel Stottlemyre and sons Todd and Mel, Jr., and so many more.
There’s even a father & son in Cooperstown: executives Larry and Lee MacPhail.
Another one will follow if Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. keeps proving he’s as good or better than his Hall of Fame father. Last year, Junior finished second to Shohei Ohtani in the voting for Most Valuable Player in the American League.
Toronto seems to have cornered the market on sons of famous fathers. In addition to Guerrero, Jr., Bo Bichette’s dad was Dante Bichette, once part of the Blake Street Bombers in Denver, while fellow infielder Cavan Biggio is the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio.
Here’s wishing all of them a Happy Father’s Day and continued success.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ will be hosting daughter Samantha and step-daughter Ali Nolan tomorrow afternoon. He hopes to catch a glimpse of the Braves-Cubs game too. Contact him via ballauthor@gmail.com or check out his books at www.danschlossberg.net.
Timeless Trivia
“Dad set the record of 61 in 1961 and it would be funny if Judge gets there on the 61st anniversary.”
– Roger Maris, Jr. on Aaron Judge
Josh Hader, Milwaukee’s lethal lefty closer, had faced 144 hitters over two seasons without giving up a single regular-season home run. Then he gave up two in a span of three hitters against the Phillies. Not since July 9, 2018 had Hader yielded the tying and go-ahead homer in the same inning. And he’d never done it in the ninth inning or in his home park . . .
Phillies rookie Matt Vierling, one of two hitters who hammered Hader so unexpectedly, had been hitting .170 (8-for-47) with no homers and two extra-base hits. Plus he was 1-for-19 when behind in the count. But he swung at a 1-2 slider that looked too inviting to ignore.
Little Freddie Patek had never had a multi-homer game until he hit three at Fenway Park in 1980 – his 13th major-league season . . .
Gerrit Cole, runner-up for the 2021 American League Cy Young Award, is the only Yankee pitcher to allow home runs to the first three batters of a game; it was also the only time he allowed three homers in an inning and the first time he allowed five in a game. He gave up six homers in his first 11 outings of the 2022 campaign . . .
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Brian Harl [bchrom831@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.