June 25, 2021
1. The Cubs throw a combined no-hitter at Dodger Stadium
Four pitchers. Eight walks. And one of baseball history’s greatest closers finishing it off, for the first-ever combined no-hitter by the Cubs:
And, pretty unbelievably, Craig Kimbrel didn’t even realize what was happening, until after it was all over.
Seeing that as a Cubs fan, against this great Dodgers lineup, well, it brought back those oh-so-sweet memories of Jake Arrieta’s no-hitter, late in the summer of 2015 — when he was, for a few months, historically untouchable.
And there he was, rushing out of the dugout last night in celebration, baseball’s seventh no-hitter of the year:
2. Yogi Berra gets his own USPS postage stamp
And his granddaughter was very understandably happy:
3. The Red Sox play the Yankees tonight at Fenway Park
Late June. Summer baseball. Full capacity crowds. The Yankees and Red Sox, at Fenway Park. What more could we ask for?
Tonight (7:10 ET), it’s Domingo German against Martin Perez. And here are the AL East standings, heading into the series:
4. Kyle Schwarber is playing out of his mind right now
Eight home runs in five games, and they’re calling him Mr. June.
From a guy who has Cubs love always in my heart — we miss you, Kyle.
5. Throws of the night: Kevin Kiermaier and Willson Contreras
Worth noting too, on Contreras, that last night’s game was the fourth Cubs no-hitter since 2015, but the first that he caught. The others were Montero, Ross, and Caratini — and now finally, Willson Contreras has his moment in history:
6. More highlights from the endless sticky stuff crackdown
The rollout of this entire thing is awkward, compelling, why-is-this-happening, must-watch TV:
7. Vladdy Guerrero Jr. is an absolute beast
Likely the MVP of the American League this year. Last night, he hits another home run (24) for the MLB lead:
He broke a car window in batting practice the other day.
And check out the headline of this article from yesterday — he won’t even consider taking a day off, in this entire era of every player taking rest days:
8. Swag chains have arrived at the San Diego Public Library
Nothing’s cooler than three librarians with spinning swag chains:
9. Eddie Rosario makes the baserunning blunder of the week
Javy Baez and Brett Phillips might have something to say about that, but in any case — a major yikes moment:
10. A recap of the Rays vs. Red Sox game
The two teams atop the AL East, wrapping up a three-game series down in Florida — with the winner to take an 0.5 game division lead. And it was a bit of a weird one.
First, Nick Pivetta had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning, which the bullpen carried into the eighth, after he got pulled (pitch count):
In the middle of the game, Brandon Lowe was called out on a rule you almost never see — neglecting to re-touch second base on a caught fly ball as he ran back to first (and so fell victim to a double play). And then, later in the game, Rafael Devers does the same thing, with an easy double play on the table for the Rays, but they didn’t notice and he gets away with it:
And by the ninth inning, the no-hitter was broken up, the score was still 0–0, the ball gets away, Manuel Margot dashes home and the Rays win on a walk-off wild pitch:
11. Those beloved black Mets jerseys might be coming back
That Mike Piazza swagger might just be around the corner.
12. A good article at ESPN, on all the changes MLB is planning
Worth a read, if you have the time/interest:
13. The Orioles have lost 20-straight road games
In the season that the Diamondbacks broke the all-time record (which is still active by the way, and they play another road game tonight), the Orioles very well might surpass that record themselves, depending on how things play out the next two weeks.
Baseball ineptitude has maybe never been greater.
14. Joc Pederson and his brother received 2020 World Series rings at Dodger Stadium
15. And lastly, the Rays batboy busted out the steel chair move to take down the Red Sox
Whatever you have to do (“accidentally”) to get a win in this life:
See you tomorrow, everyone. Cheers~
