It was only fair to expect a slight drop-off from Kenta Maeda in 2021. The right-hander put forth a career performance in his previous season, posting an MLB-best 0.750 WHIP across 11 starts and finishing second in Cy Young voting. But with the return of a typical 162-game campaign, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see Maeda’s … More The 2021 Collapse of Kenta Maeda’s Fastball
In the summer of 2021, Casey Drottar followed the Kane County Cougars through their first season after the team lost its MLB affiliation. This is the first chapter of his four-part story on how they survived. *** Curtis Haug bounds into the press box at Northwestern Medicine Field 10 minutes before first pitch, boasting a … More Life Unaffiliated: The Kane County Cougars’ First Year Off the MLB Pipeline
César Hernández had one of his least productive and most productive seasons in the same year. That reads like a misprint, and I’m just as confused by it as you might be. But that’s what happens when you have a player who spent the first 96 games of the season posting a career low batting … More The Bizarre Arrival and Disappearance of César Hernández’s Power Surge
Lance Lynn pitched one-run ball over five innings, José Abreu homered and drove in four runs, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 8-1 Friday night for their fifth straight win. Tim Anderson added four hits for the AL Central champions as they prepare for next week’s Division Series against the Houston Astros. … More Lynn, Abreu lift White Sox over Tigers for 5th straight win
Jason Heyward hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night for their eighth victory in nine games. Ian Happ homered for the third straight game, extending his hitting streak to a career-high nine games to help the … More Heyward’s walk-off HR in 10th gives Cubs 4-1 win over Reds
Sergio Alcántara scampered home when second baseman Wilmer Difo mishandled a popup in the 11th inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 on Thursday night for their third straight win. Rafael Ortega and Ian Happ homered for Chicago, and Alcántara logged the first three-hit game of his career. Codi Heuer (6-2) got … More Cubs beat Pirates 6-5 on Difo error in 11th
Matt Olson slugged a go-ahead two-run homer, Matt Chapman added a solo shot and the Oakland Athletics rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 on Thursday. Sean Murphy also homered as the A’s avoided a sweep in their four-game series with AL Central-leading Chicago. Oakland ended a four-game skid and maintained its grip on … More Olson, Chapman rally Athletics to 5-4 win over White Sox
Max Kepler homered for a second straight game, Jorge Polanco also went deep, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 7-2 on Wednesday night. The Twins beat the AL Central leaders for just the fourth time in 16 games. They bounced back after Chicago rallied late to win Tuesday’s game and came out … More Kepler, Polanco power Twins past AL Central-leading Chicago
The Cleveland Indians’ first base opening was never as up for grabs as initially portrayed. It might’ve been, had Jake Bauers not been fresh out of minor league options. But the 25-year-old would’ve been released had he not landed on Cleveland’s opening day roster, providing him an insurmountable edge over prospect Bobby Bradley. This essentially … More The Indians Must Determine How Long Jake Bauers Has to Prove Himself
If Terry Francona was false when saying the Indians never covered up Mickey Callaway’s lewd conduct, we’ll find out sooner rather than later. … More Terry Francona’s Response to the Mickey Callaway Report Could Create More Trouble for the Indians