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Yordano Ventura, savior of the Royals pitching staff, was optioned to AAA. Jerry Sands better watch his head. Ventura owns a 3.69 FIP and 3.68 xFIP, but Dayton Moore has no room for that 5.19 ERA on his roster.
The Other News
• Let's Go Former Tribe! Texas Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo hit for the cycle last night. It was the 9th in Rangers franchise history. His 9th inning triple clinched it.
• After stories appeared that the Tigers may be in full sell mode, we now have one saying the opposite: THE TIGERS ARE BUYERS!? That may have changed again, though. More on that later.
• Mike Trout's perfection suffered a tiny blow Tuesday—he was out of the Angels lineup with a minor case of "heel soreness."
• LGFT Preston Guilmet was DFA'd by the Dodgers.
• Phillies pitching prospect (TINSTAAPPP) Aaron Nola made his MLB debut last night. He gave up 1 run in 6 innings of work. That one run? A solo homer by the opposing pitcher, Nathan Karns. Karns now has a 1.250 OPS on the season, 2.21 times higher than Michael Bourn's.
• The Blue Jays signed Justin Chamberlain to a minor league deal.
• Speaking of Tiger relievers, Franklin Gutierrez hit a pinch-hit grand slam off of one. (Neftali Feliz)
• Indians reliever Ryan Webb made his 2nd appearance in the past 16 days. That enormous bullpen sure is useful. Kyle Crockett also pitched last night; his third appearance since being recalled on July 8.
• Kyle Schwarber, wanting to put the Matt Laporta label aside, hit a 9th inning HR to tie a Major League game and another in the 13th to win it.
Unbelievable Things:
The #mets are 4-for- their-last-74 with runners in scoring position. Let the ineptitude continue!
— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) July 21, 2015
Seven of the top 59 MLB hitters in hard-hit rate are Indians. You can sit there and count them if you want, but I am willing to bet that 7 gives us sole possession of 1st place in that category. So, so unlucky.
