Here’s a look at what’s happening around the majors today:
HIGH HEAT
It’s expected to be a hot box at many ballparks Adidas Ryan Getzlaf Jersey , with game-time temperatures likely to climb over 100 degrees in Texas for White Sox-Rangers, near triple digits in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Yankee Stadium, and into the mid-90s in Chicago and Cincinnati. On Saturday, three Twins left early with heat illness at Wrigley Field.
”Drink more water, try to stay by the fan. I try to keep a towel by my side and make sure I catch my breath,” White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson said. ”It’s a mind thing. You can’t think too much about it. If you do, it’ll eat you up.”
Angels manager Mike Scioscia saw starter Tyler Skaggs wilt after five innings in Baltimore. Scioscia was already anticipating another steamy afternoon.
”These guys will be hydrating tonight and I know Deck McGuire, the starter, was hydrating all day just in anticipation of the heat,” he said.
Said Orioles skipper Buck Showalter: ”There’s a big bulletin board the guys see every day reminding them of the things they need to do to hydrate properly. … We’re taking a lot of precautions.”
RIVALRY NIGHT
The Red Sox and Yankees play in prime time, with stars David Price (9-5, 3.66 ERA) and Luis Severino (12-2, 2.10) on the mound. New York entered Saturday a major league-best 19-5 against left-handed starting pitchers, and its .820 OPS against lefties was best in the majors. The left-handed Price has been tough lately Adidas Ryan Kesler Jersey , though, going 7-1 with a 2.72 ERA in nine starts since being diagnosed with a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome that caused him to miss a scheduled turn against the Yankees in early May.
POWER PITCHER
The biggest bat off Cincinnati’s bench might be in the bullpen. No, really. Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen has homered in three straight at-bats after connecting for a pinch-hit grand slam Saturday in a 12-3 victory over Milwaukee. He also went deep Friday during Milwaukee’s 8-2 win. ”We treat him as a position player. We covered him in scouting meetings. We’re going to have to make some adjustments,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. The last major league pitcher to homer in three consecutive at-bats was Colorado’s Mike Hampton in 2001. For the season, Lorenzen is 4 for 6 with three homers and six RBIs. His fifth career homer was the second grand slam by a Reds pitcher in a week – starter Anthony DeSclafani also hit one against the Chicago Cubs.
STINGY STUFF
The surging Rays (41-41) send left-hander Blake Snell (10-4, 2.31 ERA) to the mound against Charlie Morton (10-1, 2.54) and the World Series champion Astros in the finale of a four-game series. Snell didn’t give up a hit until the seventh inning of an 11-0 win over Washington on Monday night. Tampa Bay has limited opponents to two runs or fewer in five straight games, and seven out of eight during a tough stretch against the Yankees, Nationals and Astros. Morton has won three straight starts and hasn’t permitted an earned run in his last two. Houston first baseman Yuli Gurriel (paternity leave) is expected back in the lineup.
CANADIAN CURRENCY
Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ (10-3, 3.62 ERA) faces the skidding Tigers on Canada Day in Toronto. An expected trade target as the July 31 deadline approaches, Happ has won six straight decisions and is unbeaten in eight outings. Detroit has lost 11 games in a row overall – and 12 of 14 in Toronto. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have won 10 of 11 at home.
BAY AREA BOOM
Jed Lowie and the Oakland Athletics (46-38) try for their seventh straight victory when they host AL Central-leading Cleveland. The surprising A’s have won 12 of 14 overall. They’ve also taken seven in a row against Cleveland, and nine of the last 10 meetings in Oakland.
SUMMER WINS
Chicago Cubs left-hander Jon Lester (10-2, 2.18 ERA) hopes to start a new month the same way he ended the last one. After going 5-0 with a 1.13 ERA in five June starts, Lester pitches against Lance Lynn (5-6 Adidas Clayton Keller Jersey , 4.81) and the Minnesota Twins in the finale of the three-game interleague series.
WESTWARD NO
The Baltimore Orioles are 0-15 against AL West opponents this year after losing to the Angels 6-2 on Saturday. The O’s have dropped seven in a row overall, 17 of 18 at Camden Yards and own the worst record in the majors at 23-59. They’ll try again when Kevin Gausman (3-6, 4.20 ERA) pitches at home against Los Angeles righty Deck McGuire, who makes his third major league start. Gausman has lost his last four decisions and hasn’t completed seven innings in any of his past eight starts.
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As compensation for losing his job as a closer, Kelvin Herrera gets to pitch for a contender.
Herrera joined the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after being traded from the last-place Kansas City Royals for three minor leaguers.
A two-time All-Star, Herrera had 14 saves and a 1.05 ERA this season. Washington already has a closer, Sean Doolittle, so Herrera will be entering the game earlier than usual for now.
”I explained it to him and I think he gets it,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. ”The way I explain it to all these guys is, `When you come in the game think of it as you’re closing that inning, cause that’s a big moment. So we need you either the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, whatever.”’
That’s just fine with Herrera.
”Whatever inning I may get called upon Adidas Patrice Bergeron Jersey , I just focus on getting that one hitter out,” the right-hander said through an interpreter.
With 14 saves and one win, Herrera had a hand in more than two-thirds of Kansas City’s 22 victories this season. But the Royals were going nowhere, which is precisely why they dished off their best reliever for a trio of prospects: 21-year-old outfielder Blake Perkins, 23-year-old infielder Kelvin Gutierrez and 17-year-old pitcher Yohanse Morel.
Herrera won a World Series ring with Kansas City in 2015. Now he’s got a shot at earning one with the Nationals, who started the day 3 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East.
”The one thing I have seen about this team for the past few years is they’re always in the battle and the fight for the playoffs,” Herrera said. ”There is great chemistry here. I’m just ready to join the team and help any way I can.”
There will likely come a time when Herrera is asked to do what he does best, which is to get the final out in a tight game.
”I did tell him that Doolittle is our closer and he’s been very good at it, but you’ll get a chance to close every now and then,” Martinez said.
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made the deal because he knows you can’t have too many good pitchers working the back end of a ballgame.
”We wanted a guy who had been through the wars before, that’s established and that was pitching extremely well,” Rizzo said. ”Kelvin fit all those criteria.”