The Rundown: Arrieta Tosses 8 Scoreless, Mets’ Harvey to Be Shut Down? White Sox Claim Mike Olt, Rafael Soriano Released
Will Jake Arrieta give up a run the rest of the season? I’m going with probably not.
Arrieta couldn’t repeat a no-hitter yesterday, but he was able to toss 8 dominant, scoreless innings as the Cubs beat the Diamondbacks 2-0. For those counting at home, that’s 29 innings in a row without a run. In 6 out of his last 7 starts, Arrieta hasn’t allowed an opponent to come around and score.
We’re seeing something special here, folks.
After losing three series in a row, the Cubs have turned things around nicely in this weekend series against the D-Backs. They are now only 3 games out of the top wild card spot, as the Pirates lost to the Cardinals yesterday.
Kyle Hendricks is on the mound today, looking to give the Cubs a sweep over Arizona.
Javy at the plate
I understand it is a small sample, but I really like what I’ve seen from Javier Baez since being called up from Triple-A.
On Friday he had a great game at the plate, 3-for-4 with his first home run of the year and 3 RBIs. He also walked and didn’t strike out.
Yesterday, he struck out on a ball out of the zone, but made an adjustment in his next at-bat — laying off the off-speed stuff out of the zone to work a walk. It’s something we didn’t see a lot of last year. If Baez can continue to be more patient like that, it’s going to be a lot of fun watching him hit.
Javy didn’t get a hit yesterday, but he did have that walk and lined out in his final at-bat.
Infield of greatness
With Javy Baez up with the team now, how great are these infield combinations we get to watch every day?
Baez was at third base yesterday, with Kris Bryant in left field. But then in the 9th inning, Bryant shifted to third and Baez replaced Starlin Castro at second base.
It’s so much fun to see an infield of Bryant, Addison Russell, Baez and Anthony Rizzo. The combination turned a slick 5-4-3 double play in the 9th — which ended up being a big two outs ahead of slugger Paul Goldschmidt.
I’d be OK if we see this group of infielders play together for many years to come.
The Mets’ Matt Harvey mess
A bizarre story out of New York, as the Mets may decide to shut down ace Matt Harvey in the playoffs, assuming they get to the post-season. Or maybe the decision is being made by Harvey’s doctor. Or agent?
Harvey missed all of last year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
On Friday, Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras, said Dr. James Andrews has advised the pitcher should be limited to 180 innings this season. Harvey is currently at 166.1 innings.
However, Ken Rosenthal tweeted that Mets GM Sandy Alderson gave him no such limit for Harvey.
Talking to media on Saturday, Harvey did little to clear up the confusion. According to ESPN’s Adam Rubin, Harvey refused to say whether he would pitch in the post-season.
This is such a difficult topic, but it can’t be good news for the Mets, who hold a 5-game lead over the Nationals in the NL East. The problem is that everyone is truly in the dark on innings limits and arm injuries.
The Mets obviously don’t want Harvey to blow out his arm again. But who knows, the Mets may not have a better opportunity to make it to the World Series in the next few years.
Look at what happened with the Nationals, who decided to shut down Stephen Strasburg in the playoffs, assuming they’d be competitive for years. They haven’t made it out of the Division series, and may not even make the playoffs this year.
It sounds like there is a lot of bad communication going on between the Mets, Harvey and Boras. This will be an interesting story to monitor down the stretch.
Other notes
* The White Sox have claimed Mike Olt after the Cubs designated him for assignment earlier this week. I think it’s a good fit for both him and the Sox. Third base has been a black hole for them for a while now. Olt will give them a solid defender who has some decent upside.
* The Cubs released RHP Rafael Soriano, so that experiment has officially ended. Well, you win some, you lose some.