You know it’s an odd day in baseball when Alfredo Simon, who entered play with an unsightly 9.60 ERA and 2.06 WHIP in nine starts, pitches seven reasonably strong innings to win at Coors Field. It’s even stranger that all three dominant New York Yankees relief pitchers permit a run in the same game, for the first time, yet the Yankees still win. And, finally, Mookie Betts did not homer! Indeed, a weird day. Here are five things we learned Thursday:
1. The next Valenzuela, eventually. Los Angeles Dodgers rookie lefty Julio Urias, who is often compared to fellow Mexican countryman Fernando Valenzuela from yesteryear, also should have a really bright future. He’s only 19, so the fact his ERA sits at 9.39 after Thursday’s shelling at Wrigley Field shouldn’t be held too much against him. But couldn’t the Dodgers have made the transition to the majors a bit friendlier? Urias famously debuted last Friday at Citi Field against Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom and the defending National League champs, and it didn’t go well. Then after a short demotion, he was summoned to face the mighty Cubs' lineup. Even sans big league on-base percentage leader Ben Zobrist, it is arguably the NL’s best. Three Cubs homered off the kid, including struggling outfielder Jason Heyward, who doesn’t hit lefties at all. Perhaps Urias simply isn’t ready for the majors, but all we learned about him Thursday is the Dodgers could probably have handled things better. Pitting the kid against the lowly Atlanta Braves on Friday makes a lot more sense! Anyway, don’t judge Urias yet. Good times are ahead. Eventually.
2. Mets don’t play, still lose. Bad news from Mets-land as third baseman David Wright is dealing with a herniated disk in his neck, and a long disabled list stint is expected. The Mets already lost first baseman Lucas Duda with a stress fracture in his back several weeks ago and now might be trudging ahead with James Loney, Wilmer Flores and Ty Kelly as starting corner infielders. That’s intimidating! Well, at least Matt Harvey is an ace again. We’ll learn just how resilient the Mets can be over the next few months without the franchise icon’s presence and performance because, after all, Wright is the team leader in on-base percentage. Oh well, at least their manager didn’t fight with the media Thursday.
3. New York, New York. Yep, before the Yankees took the field, there was manager Joe Girardi showing rare frustration to the media as he barked back about potential lineup changes. “Who do you want me to lead off? Tell me. ... So, now what? I’m listening. Everyone’s got all these ideas. I’m listening, but when you’ve got six guys in your lineup struggling, maybe I can ask if we can just hit 1-2-3.” Girardi’s mini-fit brings no sympathy from anyone, but he’s got a point. Not much he can do with the likes of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez struggling so much. The Yankees, who had scored five runs over their previous four games, then exploded for a four-run seventh inning in Detroit on Thursday night, thanks to big hits by bench options Rob Refsnyder and Aaron Hicks. After that, as noted earlier, the team’s only true weapons, the Big Three Bullpen of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, closed things out in unconventional fashion, with each permitting a run. Man, if the bullpen fails, good luck, but if Girardi is this outwardly frustrated in early June, we learned it truly will be a long summer.
4. Oh, baby! It’s so chic for big league teams, even the ones with ample funds, to make their big league-ready prospects percolate in the minor leagues for a few extra months for reasons having nothing to do with performance. Take the Washington Nationals, for example. Trea Turner, a terrific, young shortstop having little trouble in the International League while Danny Espinosa struggles with the Mendoza line in the majors, finally got the promotion Thursday night, but ... there’s a catch. Turner is likely only getting the weekend to rub shoulders with Bryce Harper and pals because first baseman Ryan Zimmerman is headed to the paternity list. That’s all. This seems so simple. Turner’s ready. His OPS is .848 for Triple-A Syracuse. Perhaps he will struggle like Espinosa, who had a .607 OPS three days ago before a few home runs pumped it up a bit, but it’s not likely. Turner’s no lock to even see the field this weekend in Cincinnati. So basically, we learned that it takes someone else’s baby for the first-place Nationals to mercifully promote their No. 2 prospect, but it will take more to keep him around. Triplets?
5. Pitching wanted. Sure, Thursday in Baltimore featured more of the same ol’ fun for Boston Red Sox hitters, as shortstop Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to 26 games and good ol’ designated hitter David Ortiz homered yet again. Of course, the Sox still managed to lose, allowing seven Orioles homers and 12 runs a night after permitting 13 runs. One could certainly question if baseball’s highest-scoring team is a bit unbalanced of late. Thursday’s starter, Rick Porcello, permitted three homers and now has four consecutive outings that weren’t quality starts. The No. 2 starter after David Price, whose ERA is 5.11, is a 31-year-old knuckleballer named Steven Wright who is, shall we say, still unpredictable despite a great start to his first full-time season. Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez has made one start this season. And with Joe Kelly demoted and Clay Buchholz wallowing in the bullpen, who knows who ends up the fifth starter late next week. It’s only two rough pitching days and the Red Sox boast a dominant offense, but the team ERA is in the bottom 10. Help will be needed. Hey, Jackie Bradley Jr. comes off the paternity list this weekend. More babies! Enjoy your weekend!