With simply over a month to go within the 2024 common season, listed below are three issues we’ll be keeping track of across the baseball world all through the day as we speak:
1. Rubber match for the AL Central:
The Guardians held a snug lead within the AL Central for a lot of the season, however they’ve seen that lead evaporate in current weeks. Because the calendar has flipped to August, Cleveland has posted a document of simply 10-16. In the meantime, the Royals have surged forward within the standings with a 15-9 document whereas their rival has been in free fall, culminating in Kansas Metropolis taking the primary three video games of their present 4 recreation set with the Guardians. That’s left them tied with Cleveland for the AL Central crown, leaving as we speak’s fourth recreation to determine which membership will stroll away with a lead within the division with the September stretch run simply across the nook. Cleveland will ship right-hander Tanner Bibee (3.46 ERA) to the mound reverse veteran righty Michael Wacha (3.32 ERA) in a recreation scheduled for 1:10pm native time.
2. Royals present process testing:
Whereas Kansas Metropolis duels Cleveland for the AL Central lead, they’ll even be anxiously awaiting the outcomes of testing on a few key items. Essentially the most consequential of these is famous person shortstop and AL MVP contender Bobby Witt Jr., who was hit within the hand by a pitch throughout yesterday’s recreation in a second that sparked concern for Royals followers regardless of their star remaining within the recreation. As famous by MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, preliminary energy assessments had been encouraging, however the Royals had been nonetheless sending Witt for an x-ray to make sure he hadn’t sustained a extra critical harm. Whereas it appears probably that Witt, who has slashed .346/.399/.614 whereas swiping 27 bases and enjoying elite protection at shortstop, will have the ability to keep away from a stint on the IL, the identical will not be true for right-hander Michael Lorenzen.
Lorenzen got here to the Royals in a commerce with the Rangers and has been wonderful, posting a 1.80 ERA by 5 begins on his new crew. Sadly, Lorenzen’s begin yesterday lasted simply 1 2/3 innings after he strained his proper hamstring on a play at first base. As famous by MLB.com’s Harm Tracker, Lorenzen is headed again to Kansas Metropolis as we speak to endure an MRI that can decide the severity of the difficulty, however supervisor Matt Quatraro expressed skepticism that Lorenzen can be able to make his subsequent begin.
3. Yamamoto to start rehab task:
Dodgers phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto is slated to take an enormous step ahead as he works towards a return from the rotator cuff pressure that sidelined him again in June. Yamamoto, who was among the many largest names on the offseason free agent market regardless of having by no means thrown a pitch within the large leagues earlier than, impressed with a 2.92 ERA and a pair of.68 FIP in 14 begins earlier than his season was derailed by harm. At the moment, he’s set to take the mound for his first official recreation in additional than two months when he joins the membership’s Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma Metropolis for a rehab begin in opposition to the Rangers’ Spherical Rock affiliate. Yamamoto might be pitching reverse two-time top-10 draft decide Kumar Rocker in what might be his Triple-A debut, giving tonight’s minor league match up some star energy on each side of the sector.