First To Home: July 17th MLB News and Notes
July 17, 2017
Rockies Explode: The Rockies managed to avoid the sweep against the Mets on Sunday behind a 3 run offensive explosion. Nolan Arenado, Gerardo Parra, and Charlie Blackmon all homered in the win. The Rockies will need to continue to win to hold off the Cubs for the 2nd Wild Card.
Nats News: Not only did the Nationals outscore the Reds 29-11 in a series sweep in Cincinnatti, the team also added relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson on Sunday to help fix their bullpen woes. Daniel Murphy knocked in 5 runs on Sunday bringing his season line to .343/14/66 as his MVP campaign rolls on.
Are the Cubs Back? The Cubs are starting to swing the bat like the 2016 Cubs knocking in 27 runs in their series sweep at Baltimore. Recently acquired Jose Quintana went 7 innings of scoreless ball dealing 12 strikeouts in the process. The Cubs starting ranks 16th in ERA so Quintana could be the boost they need to make up ground. The Cubs are looking to finally get Hot.
The Atlanta Braves are .500: Yes that’s right. The Braves are back to .500 for the first time since April 16th. Their team ranks are mostly mediocre, but their 6th place batting average behind All-Star Ender Inciarte is certainly a major part of their success.
Nelson Cruz: Cruz hit a 10th inning Home Run to down the White Sox on Sunday. The Homer was his 19th of the season as his big season continues. He is now on pace for the most RBI’s and best batting average of his career. His team however, continues to be very average.
The Dodgers: The Dodgers are baseball’s hottest team and have been for over a month. Their combination of incredible starting pitching, timely hitting, and a dominant closer has led them to win 23 of 26 games, including a current 8 game win streak. On Sunday Justin Turner (Top 10 in WAR) led the team to a 3-2 win in Miami crushing a homer and knocking in 2 runs.
Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry: The four game set between the Red Sox and Yankees was absolutely spectacular. There was a walkoff win a 16 inning affair and then too tightly contested games Sunday. It is a series like this one that can help bring the rivalry back to life.
Written by Paul McGovern
