SKENES, MISIOROWSKI AND BURNS ARE PART OF AN INFLUX OF TALENTED YOUNG PITCHERS IN THE NL CENTRAL
Chase Burns arrived in the big leagues with a flourish, striking out the first five hitters he faced for Cincinnati in his debut against the New York Yankees.
He’s just the latest young pitcher in the NL Central to show his impressive potential.
Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, of course, finished third in the National League Cy Young race as a rookie last year. More recently, Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski threw 11 straight hitless innings to start his career and then beat Skenes in a head-to-head matchup Wednesday. Now Burns, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, has reached the majors, and Skenes could have some help in his own rotation whenever Bubba Chandler — MLB Pipeline’s No. 2-ranked prospect — is promoted to the Pirates.
These pitchers have given the NL Central quite a shot in the arm after the Chicago Cubs have appeared in control of the division at various points. Milwaukee has won 22 of its last 31 and trails the Cubs by just two games now. Cincinnati has won 14 of its last 21. Even the last-place Pirates have played better than .500 baseball for over a month, and they just swept three straight from the New York Mets by a combined score of 30-4.
Four teams in the NL Central are at least four games over .500, and every team has an ERA under 4.00 — the only division that can say that. These young starters, who have joined more established pitchers like Freddy Peralta of the Brewers and Hunter Greene of the Reds, suggest the future is bright in the division — as long as you’re not a hitter.
SF slump
The Giants dropped two of three to the lowly Chicago White Sox immediately after losing three in a row to Miami. San Francisco is now 7 1/2 games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and has gone 4-8 since its big trade for Rafael Devers.
Devers has hit .217 since arriving from the Boston Red Sox.
Trivia time
Washington’s James Wood became the first player since Barry Bonds to be intentionally walked four times in a game Sunday. But which Hall of Famer drew five intentional walks in a game in 1990?
Line of the week
Sonny Gray — another NL Central pitcher — was sensational Friday night in St. Louis’ 5-0 win over Cleveland, throwing a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Gray had not thrown a complete game since 2017 and hadn’t thrown a shutout since 2015.
Gray did not have a walk, faced one batter over the minimum and threw only 89 pitches.
Comeback of the week
Miami trailed Arizona 7-3 before scoring three runs in the eighth, one in the ninth and one in the top of the 10th to win 8-7. Dane Myers stole second and third in the ninth before scoring the tying run on a sacrifice fly, and Agustín Ramírez put the Marlins ahead in extra innings with an RBI single.
Arizona’s win probability peaked at 97.4% in the bottom of the seventh, according to Baseball Savant.
Honorable mention: Baltimore fell behind 6-0 in the second Friday night before blowing out Tampa Bay 22-8. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles became the first American League or National League team to win by at least 14 runs after trailing by six.
Trivia answer
Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs was intentionally walked five times on May 22, 1990, against Cincinnati. The Cubs won that game 2-1 in 16 innings.
PHILLIES SLUGGER BRYCE HARPER IS REINSTATED AFTER INJURED LIST STINT WITH SORE WRIST
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Phillies slugger Bryce Harper was reinstated Monday ahead of Philadelphia’s opener against San Diego after a stint on the injured list with right wrist inflammation.
Harper went on the 10-day injured list on June 6.
The two-time National League MVP and eight-time All-Star is hitting .258 with nine home runs, 34 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 57 games. He also missed five games, from May 26 to June 2, with a bruised right elbow after being hit by a pitch from Atlanta’s Spencer Strider.
Harper said when he went on the IL that he felt pain in the wrist during a large portion of last season, when he hit 30 homers while helping the Phillies win the NL East.
The Phillies entered Monday’s game in first place in the division. They are 13-14 overall this season without Harper in the lineup.
To make room on the 26-man roster, infielder Buddy Kennedy was designated for assignment.
MLB ROUNDUP: WILYER ABREU MAKES HR HISTORY IN BOSTON’S ROUT
Wilyer Abreu made home run history and the Boston Red Sox scored seven runs in the first inning en route to a 13-6 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Monday night.
Abreu hit an inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning and a grand slam in the eighth, becoming the first player to have each of those homers separately in a game since Roger Maris in 1958.
Trevor Story and Jarren Duran also homered for Boston in the victory. Garrett Crochet (8-4) gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits in six innings. He fanned nine and walked one.
Austin Hays hit a solo home run and a two-run triple for Cincinnati. Chase Burns lasted just one out in his second major league start, yielding seven runs (five earned) on five hits and two walks.
Phillies 4, Padres 0
Zack Wheeler struck out 10 over eight effective innings as host Philadelphia posted a shutout win over San Diego.
Wheeler (8-3) allowed six hits without a walk before Tanner Banks pitched the ninth. Nick Castellanos homered and J.T. Realmuto had two hits for the Phillies, who have won three of their past four games. Bryce Harper returned to the Phillies’ lineup for the first time since June 5, having recovered from right wrist inflammation. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch.
Xander Bogaerts had three hits for San Diego, which has lost three of its past four contests. Jackson Merrill struck out three times in four hitless at-bats.
Blue Jays 5, Yankees 4
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in three runs as Toronto edged visiting New York in the opener of a four-game series.
Guerrero’s two-run single in a four-run sixth inning gave the Blue Jays the lead for good. Brendon Little (4-1) got the win in relief and Jeff Hoffman pitched around a single in the ninth to earn his 19th save.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run home run and Cody Bellinger added a solo shot for the Yankees. Mark Leiter Jr. (4-5) entered in relief of Carlos Rodon in the pivotal sixth inning and took the loss.
Orioles 10, Rangers 6 (11 innings)
Luis Vazquez and Ramon Laureano had RBI hits in the 11th inning before Gunnar Henderson added a two-run double, lifting Baltimore to a wild win in Arlington, Texas.
Henderson hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning before teammate Colton Cowser added a solo shot, but the Rangers equalized on Adolis Garcia’s three-run blast against Keegan Akin (3-0).
Gary Sanchez hit a three-run double for Baltimore, and Laureano finished with four hits, three of them doubles. Marcus Semien had three hits for Texas, including a two-run homer. Hoby Milner (1-2) yielded four runs, three earned, in the 11th.
Pirates 7, Cardinals 0
Andrew Heaney and Chase Shugart combined on a four-hit shutout and the Pittsburgh offense remained hot during a rout of visiting St. Louis.
In a game delayed 71 minutes by rain at the start, Heaney (4-7) held St. Louis hitless until the sixth inning. Heaney threw 6 2/3 innings and gave up three hits (all singles). Shugart threw the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing one single while sealing the Pirates’ fourth consecutive victory and their sixth win in the past eight games.
The Cardinals lost for only the fourth time in their past 14 games and had a three-game winning streak snapped. St. Louis’ three most recent defeats were all shutouts.
Mariners 6, Royals 2
Randy Arozarena hit two homers and drove in four runs and Cal Raleigh went deep for the major-league-leading 33rd time this season as Seattle defeated visiting Kansas City.
Mariners starter George Kirby (2-4) allowed one run on three hits over six innings as the Mariners earned their second victory in a row and their sixth in the past nine games.
The Royals lost for the eighth time in nine games. Kansas City starter Michael Wacha (4-8) cruised through the first 3 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on one hit, before Arozarena went deep to right-center to tie the score at 1-all. Wacha went five innings and allowed five runs on eight hits.
Diamondbacks 4, Giants 2
Alek Thomas had three hits and scored twice, including the go-ahead run on a Geraldo Perdomo single in the seventh inning, and Arizona defeated San Francisco in the opener of a four-game series in Phoenix.
After a two-run double by Tyler Fitzgerald drew the Giants even at 2-2 in the top of the seventh, the Diamondbacks pushed across the eventual difference-maker in the bottom of the inning against San Francisco ace Logan Webb.
Fitzgerald collected two doubles and Dominic Smith had a double and a single for the Giants, who lost for the sixth time in their past seven games.
Athletics 6, Rays 4
Lawrence Butler lined a two-run, tiebreaking triple in the ninth inning as the Athletics won at Tampa Bay.
Sean Newcomb (2-4) got the win, throwing only two pitches to end the eighth inning. A’s left fielder Colby Thomas, in his major league debut, ended the frame by throwing out Brandon Lowe at the plate on a potential go-ahead single. Mason Miller notched his 16th save with a scoreless ninth.
Shea Langeliers homered for the A’s in his return from the injured list. Junior Caminero bashed a two-run shot for the Rays. Pete Fairbanks (3-2) served up Butler’s decisive hit.
