Zac Gallen has faced six Reds batters so far, and has hit three of them.

He's now tied for the NL lead (8) with Charlie Morton.

Paul Goldschmidt is on the inside track for the Triple Crown. He and Alonso are in a dead heat for HRs and RBIs but Goldy has 60 points on him in average.

The chatter was too late but Phils, down 1-0, won on a 3-run walkoff HR by Garrett Stubbs. Never heard of him, 29, spent some time with Hou, catcher. What struck me was that, in the celebration, he seemed puny next to everybody else. I figured he was some tiny 2B ... he's 5-10, 170 on b-r. Anyway, looking him up, he's have a great moment in the sun -- 314/368/600 in 39 PA coming into today. He's been on the roster all year anyway so that should be good enough to stick and at least gets him a solid shot at a backup job somewhere for next year. He might even be super-2 eligible at the end of this year (which might get him, what, an extra $200k?) Good for him.

R/G 2022 2021 2019
Apr 4.03 4.26 4.63
May 4.43 4.41 4.79
Jun 4.59 4.66 4.97

HR%
Apr 2.4 3.1 3.4
May 2.9 3.0 3.6
Jun 3.2 3.4 3.7

Time to check the balls again.

Royals nearly drop two pop fouls in one inning. First down the 3rd base line that Witt (SS) does drop -- not the easiest play in baseball history but not remotely difficult. Then 3B and C bump into each other but 3B holds onto the ball. Windy in SF today?

Potential pitchers duel for Rays @ Yankees tonight, with Rays Shane McClanahan (1.87 ERA) going against Yankees ace Nestor Cortes (1.96). Likely to end 10-8, now that I’ve jinxed it.

update on Gallen today:

06.15... Zac Gallen struck out five while being charged with two runs in seven innings Wednesday against the Reds, taking a no-decision in the Diamondbacks' 7-4 win.
Spin: It was a strange outing for Gallen. He hit four of the first eight batters of the game with pitches and had the first run of the game score when his pickoff throw went awry. The Reds scored a second run with two outs in the second on a double and an error. Gallen was then suddenly dominant after that, retiring the final 16 batters he faced, four via strikeout.

MVP-In-Waiting Aaron Judge gavels a HR to RF (#25) to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead, and ties Tommy Henrich (183) for 21st on the Yankee HR Leaderboard.

History made in Arlington:

Two different Astros pitchers threw immaculate innings against the *same* Rangers hitters: Lowe, Duran, and Miller.

hapless Brewers lead, 2-0, after Urias plates 2 runners in 1st who reached via HBP.

Mets' Peterson opens the 3rd with ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball.

the next pitch is borderline so of course Peterson doesn't get the call. ok, I'm just kidding - Urias swings at it and grounds into a 5-4 double play to erase the walk-ers.

I believe it was light-hitting 1960s Mets OF Danny Napoleon who once observed: "Never interrupt your opponent when he is making a mistake.”

Yankee ace Nestor Cortez leaves with 1 out in 6th, leading 4-1, thanks to a 3-run HR by catcher Kyle Higashioka, who’s finally showing signs of life at the plate. Those runs were unearned due to Rays earlier inability to catch outfield fly ball. They don’t seem to be a very good defensive team this season.

Manny Machado seems to be of the opinion that (a) walking a man with the bases loaded is a sign of poor pitching performance and (b) that the mound conference in which the pitching coach explains this to the pitcher does not really require attendance by the infielders. (To be clear, he attended, he just looked like he was paying no attention.)

I assume the 2nd walk with the bases loaded didn't thrill him either. Now a single by Morel and a chancy send of the second runner has the Cubs ahead 4-2.

EDIT: No challenge by the Padres but replays suggest it was worth a 2nd look.

Adley Rutschman, finally, in his 76th at-bat (and 84th plate appearance), gets his first MLB HR and RBI, with a two-run shot off of Jose Berrios.

So I notice the Astros threw 2 immaculate innings in their game today. It's kind of a quirky thing that a bunch of no-names have pulled off recently.

It's kind of like the cycle in that way that the occasional random player can get one, EXCEPT that the cycle is pretty much the embodiment of baseball action and the immaculate inning is most definitely not.

Alfonso Soriano is NOT available -- he's at the Cubs game!

Tigers are averaging 2.71 runs per game, which would be the lowest full-season mark since the 1942 Phillies.

those Phillies battled their way to 42 wins in only 151 games (they beat their {Pythag by 3 games).

79 OPS+, 80 ERA+ - always nice to have a balanced ballclub.

they actually had a decent starting pitcher in Tommy Hughes - 12-18, 107 ERA+, 19 CG at age 22.

then that pesky WW II thing came along and he missed the next three seasons and he struggled in 1946. 'dead cat bounce' in 1947 with 115 ERA+ in 127 swingman innings, but by mid-1948 it was over for young Tommy.

the Phils' main 5 starters combined to lose 87 games, which won't be a record but maybe top 10?

shoutout to local Philly product Lefty Hoerst, 4-16 with a 5.20 ERA at age 24. he, too, missed the next 3 seasons due to the war, but it didn't impact him - he was just as terrible after he returned as he was when he left.

Boom-Boom Beck, Johnny Podgajny, Andy Lapahuska, and Hilly Flitcraft also got time on the mound.

Lloyd "Little Poison" Waner couldn't have enjoyed his lone season as a Phillie very much. Fellow HOFer Chuck Klein, by now a Phillies coach, was coaxed into 14 PH appearances in August and September - and he even managed a single.

The most competent hitter was 1B Nick Etten, he of the 120 OPS+ in 139 G. Future Pirates WS champion manager Danny Murtaugh and baseball lifer Bobby Bragan also played on this team. Ernie Koy - father of the future 1960s (NY football) Giants player Ernie Koy - also served here.

The Bill Peterman catalog was brief, alas - the Philly native singled in his only MLB appearance of the season and of his MLB career at age 21. still, Moonlight Graham is green with envy, no doubt.

back to back notes - et tu - Wal Marte?

06.15... Starling Marte was forced to leave Wednesday's game against the Brewers after being plunked by a pitch on his right wrist.
Spin: Marte was drilled by a 97 mph sinker from Corbin Burnes in the bottom of the sixth inning. He'll presumably head for X-rays to see if anything was fractured. Expect the Mets to provide an update on his status after getting the results of that imaging.

06.15... Ketel Marte was removed from Wednesday's game against the Reds with a tight hamstring.
Spin: Diamondbacks skipper Torey Louvullo called Marte's exit precautionary and said he's considered day-to-day. At the moment at least, it sounds like this shouldn't be a long-term issue. The Diamondbacks are off on Thursday, so he'll have an extra day of rest before their weekend series against the Twins.

Did Contreras work with a private hitting coach this offseason or something. Cuz as each day goes by, this looks less and less like a fluke and more and more like a guy who is just a much more dangerous hitter than he used to be. Always a good hitter (esp for a C), his average EV went from about 89 in his first few years to about 92 last year and a whopping 93.6 this year. He's 9th in average EV, 6th in FB/LD EV, 4th in hard-hit %. He is well down in barrels though.

Willson 2022: 93.6 avgEV, 57.9% hard-hit, 12.1/7.7 % barrels per BBE/PA
Vlad Jr 2022: 93.9 avgEV, 55.2% hard-hit, 11.5/8.2 % barrels per BBE/PA

No, I'm not worried about a jinx, this Cub season came pre-jinxed

A disappointing outing for Cub pitching prospect Caleb Kilian with 4 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 0 K, 5 R (it could have been much worse).

Now the bullpen ... starting with surely soon to be DFAd Daniel Norris who is carrying on the fine tradition of recent bullpen outings with 2 runs on 3 H and hasn't recorded an out yet.

And a triple plates another and here comes Ross.

Updating from yesterday's chatter ... Cubs pen over their last 4+ games now stand at 15.1 IP and 31 R. All told, over the last 4+ games, the Cubs have given up 50 R.

EDIT: Rowan Wick, normally a 7th/8th inning guy, on in the 5th to see if we can get through maybe 6 innings before this becomes completely embarrassing again. Sac fly to start it, 9-4 Padres.

Yanks win 13th straight at home, Braves about to win their 14th straight anywhere

The answer, as you probably guessed, is no we can't. Double, Machado HR, 11-4 Padres. A double then Thank Hosmer! the inning is over. So 16.1 IP, 34 R.

EDIT: Reds lost so Cubs will have to wait another day to take over last.
EDIT2: Norris on the year is 24 IP, 23 R (22 ER), 7 HR, 19 H, 16 BB. He's had a solid career (535 IP, 6 WAR, 1 WAA), $12 M earned. This might be the end ... surely this must be the end of his Cubs career.

Some perspective on the Yankees win:

With the win, the Yankees are just the sixth team since baseball integrated in 1947 to win 46 of their first 62 games. They join the 2001 Mariners (49-13), the 1998 Yankees (47-15), '84 Tigers (46-16), '55 Dodgers (46-16) and the '53 Yankees (46-16) -- each of those teams except Seattle won the World Series. This is also just the fifth different Yankees team in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to win 46 of 62 games in any span, joining the 2009, '98, '77, and '61 teams. Each of those clubs, too, raised a championship flag.

Big game for the Mound Visit Police, too:

The game featured a 16-minute delay in the top of the eighth inning as umpires debated the Yankees’ ability to remove right-hander Miguel Castro immediately after pitching coach Matt Blake visited the mound, attempting to determine if pinch-hitter Ji-Man Choi had been officially announced. Ultimately, the Yanks were permitted to bring in Lucas Luetge, who permitted run-scoring hits to Choi and René Pinto before ending the inning.

Umpires may have been unsure of the rule, or when Choi was announced as a pinch-hitter, but after much discussion, and lengthy consultation with video review apparently to sync the timing of the mound conference and the pinch-hitting announcement, it appears they got it right, albeit slowly.

Pirates have one dominant RP - David Bednar - so with a 4-2 lead and trouble with 1 one out in the 7th, they decided - screw it, get us 8 outs, kid. and he did.

and yes, I see that the Cubs bullpen appears to be in a bit of a tailspin, lol

"Tailspin" seems a bit mild. Full mid-air explosion is more like it.

16-5, 11 runs in 3 innings so far for the Cubs pen.

I expected "closer" Schwindel on in the 8th for the Cubs, but no. I guess they are saving him for top 9th

:)

Yep, even he's been affected.

So, not including Schwindel, that takes it to 19.1 innings, 39 runs over the last 5 games for the Cubs' pen. Including everybody, the Cubs now at 61 runs in their last 5. Anybody know what the record is? (probably a lot more, baseball's been going on a long time.)

On the "bright" side, the Cubs run differential has nearly caught up to their record. Another couple of games like this and Ross can start bragging about having a record better than his pythag, proving his bullpen handling acumen.

The Angels are getting shutout again, and getting no-hit to boot. 23 consecutive scoreless innings for a team that, just a month ago, was leading the league in runs scored.

Zero chance Anderson finishes this game.

Although, counterpoint: my last lineup decision for my fantasy team this week was to bench him in favor of Patrick Sandoval vs. the Mariners. So of course he’s going to pitch a f***ing no-hitter.

agree with 29.

LAD Anderson has thrown 99 pitches in 7 no-hit innings and has a 4-0 lead.

STL Mikolas just went 129 pitches - to a last strike with 2 out in the 9th - before allowing a hit due to drawn-in CF Bader just missing the deep-drive catch - and then departing.

but Grinch MGR Roberts won't care.

Mikolas was great in the postgame on MLB Network (which is now showing the Anderson game). he said he loved that there wasn't even any discussion about whether he goes out for the 9th at 115 pitches.

dude spent years in Japan, hasn't always been healthy, but he loves the game.

and the "well, LAD just knows how to win, so,...."

I mean, I'm the last thing from a STL fan either, but yeah, they also are pretty good at it, so....

The Angels are getting shutout again, and getting no-hit to boot. 23 consecutive scoreless innings for a team that, just a month ago, was leading the league in runs scored.

The Cubs will trade their bullpen for the Angels' offense.

Yeah, of course you have to “go over the scouting report on the pinch-hitter”…who is the regular starting catcher. Couldn’t have possibly been prepared for him.

So…maybe??

Dodgers sent him out for the 8th. If you were going to "save his arm" then why do that? In hopes he'll blow it himself before hitting pitch 120? He's at 117 through 8. He's also a vet pitcher, on just a 1/$8 FA contract so the Dodgers have no "investment" in him. If anybody might want out of this game it would be Anderson who needs a contract for next year. (Well, he's got $16 M in career earnings already, he doesn't "need" it.)

Besides, any starter on pitches 120-130 has to be more effective than Kimbrel is right now (he's giving the Cubs' pen a good name!)

to be fair, Roberts did give Anderson the 8th and he's at about 115 pitches.

the sensible compromise is what Mikolas got - once you get to 100 pitches, the first hit you allow sends you to the showers.

Anderson doesn't seem gassed, by any means.

sure, it's top of the Angels killer half of the lineup in the 9th. but it's 4-0 and again, one hit (and in the 9th, I'd even say one baserunner), and you're done.

Looks like Anderson is going to pitch the 9th, at least until he gives up a hit, going by his dugout demeanor and the lack of any congratulatory behavior.

Yeah, this could actually happen.

He's also a vet pitcher, on just a 1/$8 FA contract so the Dodgers have no "investment" in him.

True, but with Buehler going down and Kershaw a perpetual question mark, they can’t afford to lose him too. He’s stepped up in a huge way this year.

By the way, can we stop this myth in its tracks? Last year there were SEVEN complete game no-hitters. There were two in the shortened 2020 season This year we have had one, just missed one last night, didn't we have another close call recently?

I just accidentally yelled “got him!!” out loud. Hope I didn’t wake up my wife.

Well, ####.

Ohtani with the triple, no-hitter gone

I suppose Betts was duty-bound to dive for Ohtani’s line drive, but he wasn’t that close.

tremendous effort by Anderson, even catching Trout looking to start the inning.

another MVP Ohtani with the hit, and it's time.

great ovation - and great delayed double cap-tip by Anderson.

that's all we can ask for, and now I'll sleep well.

Wasn’t even a bad pitch. Ohtani’s just really good, and with long arms.

Kimbrel comes in, gives up a single, so Ohtani scores and the shut out is gone also. Kimbrel stinks. He was unwatchable during the end of his tenure in Boston and I've no idea how he managed to be effective after that?

I've no idea how he managed to be effective after that?

Sometimes. Other times…not so much. More like “Occasionally, and somehow often enough and with good enough timing to keep getting paid a ton.”

I realize wins are no longer considered a premier stat (and deservedly so), but Tyler Anderson and Tony Gonsolin are both 8-0, lmao.

Well, cheers to Anderson and my bad fantasy baseball decisions.

History made in Arlington: Two different Astros pitchers threw immaculate innings against the *same* Rangers hitters: Lowe, Duran, and Miller.

Or as the Astros broadcast put it: “The same 3 guys got immaculated.”

No hitters being broken up in the 9th, twice in one week? Impossible. Once you're cruising through seven like that, it's basically in the bag and we're just awaiting history.

At least, that's what we were told in April when Dave Roberts literally made children cry by personally breaking up Clayton Kershaw's.