Takeaways from MLB Week 21
Since baseball is played nearly every day from April through October, there’s nothing the sport holds in higher regard than its streaks.
There have been streaks of all kind this year—the team variety and those more individual in nature—but arguably the most impressive string of the 2016 season came to a close this week.
Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton saw his streak of 43 straight games without giving up an earned run snapped Wednesday.
Read on to find out about everyone else in baseball who went streaking this week.
Baltimore Orioles' Zach Britton Sees Streak Snapped
1 of 5
Relief pitchers have long been a marginalized group. After all, most young hurlers come into MLB wanting to be starters. Being sent to the bullpen is considered a demotion for most.
But Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton, who began his career as a starter, is bringing a new kind of glamour to the group.
Britton saw his streak of 43 straight games without allowing an earned run snapped Wednesday against the Washington Nationals.
The Orioles still won 10-8.
Until Wednesday, Britton hadn’t allowed a run since April 30. That’s 41.1 innings of work.
According to Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun, Britton had little time to warm up. The team was scrambling to get him in the game after Orioles rookie Parker Bridwell gave up a grand slam to Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy that made the score 10-7.
Regardless of Wednesday's hiccup, Britton still should get heavy consideration for the AL Cy Young. Winning would make him only the 10th reliever to receive the award in either league.
But Britton’s numbers are undeniable: He has a 0.69 ERA to go along with 38 saves and 61 strikeouts. In 52 innings he has only allowed four earned runs and 27 hits.
Giants' Matt Moore Pitches Near No-Hitter
2 of 5
No pitcher can get closer to throwing a no-hitter than San Francisco Giants starter Matt Moore did Thursday.
Against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, the lefty saw his no-hit bid wrecked by Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager with two outs in the ninth inning.
While no-hitters are nice, the Giants traded for Moore at the Aug. 1 deadline for reasons more crucial than one start.
With so many NL stars who hit from the left side, adding him to a rotation that features four right-handers could be key for the team’s October push. Moore has a 3.41 ERA for the Giants in five starts and is holding lefties to a .234 batting average on the year.
The Giants are battling the Dodgers for NL West supremacy. Los Angeles’ two best hitters this season are first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and Seager, who both hit left-handed. And it’s likely that any path to the World Series will go through either the Washington Nationals or Chicago Cubs, but it could go through both.
Nationals second baseman and NL MVP candidate Daniel Murphy hits from the left side, as does reigning NL MVP and Washington outfielder Bryce Harper. Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, another candidate to win the award this season, also hits lefty.
Should Moore pitch consistently well for the Giants—Thursday was his first win—the team will have, arguably, the NL’s most formidable starting pitching trio with Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto having outstanding seasons.
Braves' Freddie Freeman Makes Acrobatic Catch
3 of 5
As far as the Atlanta Braves are concerned, the organization is much better served leaving acrobatics to the “Final Five,” the gold-medal-winning United States women’s gymnastics team.
On Thursday, Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman, 26, caught a foul ball while tumbling over the railing, hitting a seat. Check out the play, via CBS Sports.
Granted, the catch was cool. But given that Atlanta is well out of the playoff picture and Freeman (.290/.387/.548) is a huge part of the team’s future, it likely left the organization collectively reaching for a defibrillator.
Freeman is a two-time All-Star who has 26 homers and 62 RBI this year.
There was a market for Freeman as the Aug. 1 trade deadline approached, but the Braves hung on to him and made a statement that he is part of the team’s future.
Freeman is under contract through the 2021 season and is scheduled to make over $20 million in each year following 2016, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
.png?w=256)
Royals Win 9 Straight, Climb Back into Playoff Picture
4 of 5
After going to back-to-back World Series and winning it last year, the Kansas City Royals' ho-hum 2016 season has come as somewhat of a surprise.
Sure, they’ve suffered injuries to key players like Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas and Wade Davis. But we still expected the club to contend for its second straight AL Central title.
Though the Royals are on the fringes of contention in the division, a nine-game winning streak—that ended with a 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday—has put the team firmly back in the playoff picture.
The Royals split the first two games in a crucial weekend series with the Boston Red Sox, who are in a scrum with the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles in a tightly contested AL East race. Whichever club takes that division will leave the other two fighting with the Royals and other over the wild-card slots.
During the streak, Kansas City’s pitching was extremely impressive. The team held opponents scoreless or only allowed one run in seven of the games.
Dodgers Have Success Despite Injury Woes
5 of 5
Though the Los Angeles Dodgers lead the NL West, their results haven't been impressive by themselves.
It’s what they have overcome while achieving them.
On Tuesday, the Dodgers placed pitcher Scott Kazmir (neck inflammation) on the disabled list. He is the 27th player the team has put on the DL, which ties the MLB record set by the 2012 Boston Red Sox, per Doug Padilla of ESPN.com.
That’s more than a normal 25-man MLB roster.
The most notable of those injuries has been to ace Clayton Kershaw, who went on the DL with a disc herniation retroactive to June 27.
At the time, Kershaw was the best pitcher in baseball by a wide margin. In 16 starts this season he had a 1.79 ERA and walked only nine batters. Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reported Kershaw threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and felt no ill effects afterward, so the Dodgers may get him back for a postseason push.
Los Angeles has overcome its litany of injuries in large part thanks to the stellar play of rookie shortstop Corey Seager (.323/.377/.541) and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (.298/.365/.458).
Statistics are accurate as of Friday, Aug. 26.
.png?w=480)
