Media by Associated Press – Pittsburgh Pirates’ Oneil Cruz, left, scores on a sacrifice fly by Hoy Park during the second inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Monday, June 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
There was a brief moment of sunshine for masochists, also known as Pittsburgh Pirates fans, during a 12-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs Monday night at PNC Park. Two newly-promoted players came up and contributed big for the Pirates — 23-year-old shortstop Oneil Cruz and 26-year-old outfielder Bligh Madris.
Cruz, a 6-foot-7 rookie who played in two games in 2021, drove in four runs for Pittsburgh. Madris, who was making his MLB debut, also impressed, collecting three hits and stealing a base.
Pittsburgh, which had recently suffered through a nine-game losing streak, has now won two straight games. In a weak National League Central, the Pirates are in third place at 27-39, 2.5 games ahead of Chicago.
You can tell my wife
Cincinnati Reds rookie Graham Ashcraft was annoyed with the umpires last Saturday. But his wife won’t have any problems why his frustration.
When stepping off the mound for a foreign substance inspection after the first inning, Ashcraft was told to remove his wedding ring from his hand. Ashcraft was annoyed with the request, believing the rule to have been invented on the spot. But there has been a rule in the books that says nothing may be attached to either hand, finger or wrist.
Umpires have been encouraged to enforce the rule by MLB. As for Ashcraft, the hurler didn’t have his best outing, allowing eight hits and six runs.
Not an arms race
Due to the pandemic, there have been a lot of differing rules being set in place for MLB rosters. One of the rules that will now be phased out is teams being limited to 13 pitchers.
The rule was originally announced by the league before the 2020 season, along with expanding rosters to 26 players and requiring pitchers to face three batters or finish a half inning.
After a few delays, MLB is finally ready to bring the pitcher limit into effect. The league had originally set the date for the rule change to take place on May 2, but has pushed the limit back twice. MLB will now enact the change on June 20.
Adding on
The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without outfielder Mookie Betts for a few weeks due to a right rib fracture. To help fill the void, the Dodgers acquired Trayce Thompson from the Detroit Tigers.
Thompson has a .205 batting average in 223 career games in the MLB. However, the brother of the NBA’s Klay Thompson also has 26 home runs, 25 doubles, and 70 RBI in his career.
Cole train on the tracks
Gerrit Cole ended up not getting the decision, but the New York Yankees ace came closer to his first career no-hitter on Monday night. Cole would keep the no-no intact through the eighth inning before Isaac Paredes singled for Tampa Bay Rays.
Cole struck out 12 batters in 7.1 innings of work. The Yankees, however, would see the lead dissipate when reliever Clay Holmes had his scoreless inning streak stop at 31.1 innings. However, New York rallied late to claim a 4-2 win for its 50th victory of the season.
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