MLB Wednesday scores, highlights, news, updates: Granderson smashes 300th homer
Wednesday brings a full 15-game slate of MLB action. Here is our recap of the day in baseball. Make sure you check back through Wednesday for updates.
Wednesday's scores
Grandy reaches a milestone
Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson against the Cubs on Wednesday night cracked a clutch eighth-inning homer off Carl Edwards , who entered the game with an ERA of 1.07 ...
Speaking of that homer, there's also this ...
Yep, on Wednesday night Granderson became the 143rd player to tally at least 300 homers in the major leagues. (He'll soon enough be joined by Nelson Cruz of the Mariners, who's at 298.) The homer was part of a five-run eighth inning for the Mets that turned a tie game into a 9-4 win. Of those 300 Grandy taters, 115 came with the Yankees, 102 with the Tigers, and 83 and counting with the Mets.
No, he's not a Hall of Famer, but combine the power with the value he provided on the bases and in center field in his younger days, and you've got a darn good career. Granderson's also been one of the game's solid citizens for a long time.
Rizzo keeps producing from leadoff spot
Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo on Wednesday made his second career start from the leadoff spot. In his first career start on Tuesday, he homered. On Wednesday, he did this to the first pitch he saw from Matt Harvey ...
So that's two leadoff starts for Rizzo and two homers. Overall, that was his 15th homer of the season, and he presently boasts a batting line of .256/.396/.504.
As for the leadoff role, the Cubs of course tried out Kyle Schwarber at the top of the lineup for much of the year. Schwarber didn't produce, but the Cubs were one of a growing number of teams that showed a willingness to get creative in how it defined a leadoff hitter. Schwarber and Rizzo obviously aren't speedy, but in reality getting on base is the most important thing a leadoff hitter can do. On that front, Rizzo's very much a known quantity (since the start of the 2014 season, he's put up an OBP of .387).
Yes, Rizzo's power won't play quite as well from the leadoff spot, as he likely won't have as many RBI opportunities. However, his ability to work counts and get on base will help the rest of the attack flow better. That, of course, was the entire idea with Schwarber, but he didn't produce in line with expectations.
Good hitters are going to produce regardless of where you bat them, and that's why Rizzo's a good fit for any key spot in the lineup. Credit to him, though, for being willing to bat in a highly unconventional spot for a slugger with his skill set.
Oh, and speaking of Rizzo's leadoff predecessor, he announced himself rather loudly in this very same game ...
Over Shea Bridge? That happened.@kschwarb12’s 467-ft. shot is 2nd longest HR at Citi Field in #Statcast Era (Stanton, 468 feet). pic.twitter.com/z8Hf6Ecwyz — #Statcast (@statcast) June 15, 2017
On the downside for the Cubs, well, they lost.
Corey Kluber gets to 1,000
The Indians' right-hander on Wednesday night had a strong outing against the Dodgers, and along the way he notched his 1,000th career strikeout. In doing so, he becomes the 11th hurler in club history to reach 1,000 Ks and the 498th in MLB history.
What's most impressive is the pace at which Kluber has achieved the mark: It's taken him just 148 games. On that point ...
Kluber is the 7th pitcher in MLB history to reach 1K strikeouts by his 150th game
Others:
Wood, Lincecum, Clemens, Strasburg, Gooden, Nomo pic.twitter.com/wibR1KXkfm — #VoteTribe 5x a day (@Indians) June 15, 2017
Not bad company there. As for Indians history, he's the fastest to reach 1,000 Ks ever at 148 games, surpassing Bob Feller's previous club record of 167 games.
On the season, Kluber's put up a somewhat disappointing ERA of 4.15, but he's struck out 30 percent of the batters he's faced. That's an excellent figure for a starting pitcher, and a sign that Kluber remains dominant on that fundamental level.
Here come the Royals?
As you see above, the Royals topped the Giants on Wednesday and in doing so notched their fourth straight win. They're now four games below .500, and they haven't been that close to breaking even since April 23.
Speaking of April, that's what's dragged the Royals down in 2017 ...
Month Record Run differential April 7-16 -37 May 15-14 -16 June 8-4 +18
So since the calendar flipped to May, the Royals are five games above .500 with a positive run differential. Given the number of core players who are eligible for free agency this offseason in tandem with the team's middling near-term outlook, the expectation was that the Royals would be deadline sellers. However, now that they're playing better and since no one's asserting themselves in the AL Central, GM Dayton Moore may be tempted to keep his roster intact in the hopes of a playoff push. There's still roughly six weeks to go before the non-waiver trade deadline, but KC's improved play means a more muddled outlook.
Hey, the point is to win, and if it means the role they'll play at the deadline isn't clear yet, then that's the cost of doing business. A number of their core hitters seem to be rounding into form, so who knows, maybe the 2017 Royals will be a team of relevance after all.
Ozuna's monster season continues
Very quietly, the Marlins have won 12 of their last 17 games to push their record to a somewhat respectable 29-35. Considering they were 17-30 at one point, getting to 29-35 ain't too shabby.
Outfielder Marcell Ozuna has been one of the few bright spots for the Marlins so far this season. He crushed another home run Wednesday, this one his 17th of the year. It hit the home run scultpure at Marlins Park. Check it out:
Ozuna doubled later in the game and went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI on the afternoon overall. That improved his season batting line to .333/.393/.590. Keep in mind Ozuna hit .266/.321/.452 with 23 home runs and was an All-Star last season. He is well ahead of that pace this year.
Considering he is still only 26 years old, Ozuna looks very much like a player in the middle of a big breakout season. Good thing the Marlins held on to him, huh? Ozuna was available in trades over the last two offseasons.
Ichiro becomes interleague hit king
Between MLB and Japan, no player in history has more professional hits than Ichiro Suzuki . I suppose it's only fitting then that Ichiro is now the all-time hit king during interleague play as well. He took over sole possession of first place on the all-time interleague hit list with (what else?) an infield single Wednesday:
Here is the career interleague hits leaderboard:
Ichiro Suzuki: 365 Derek Jeter: 364 Adrian Beltre : 337 Alex Rodriguez : 325 Carlos Beltran : 303
Both Miguel Cabrera (298) and Albert Pujols (293) will join those five players above in the 300-interleague hit club fairly soon.
Quick hits