Baseball

How he got that third one to fall for a homerun is beyond me

On Saturday, following a three-hour rain delay, the Chicago White Sox's 6-5 10-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals ended abruptly, thanks to a controversial call by Bucknor. Once the rain subsided and play resumed, the Cardinals left the bases loaded after the umpire rang up pinch-hitter Ivan Herrera on an outside pitch for strike three to end the game.

This isn't the first time this week that Bucknor's decisions have drawn the ire of the baseball community. On Wednesday, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher and MASN in-game analyst Jim Palmer criticized a low strike call by Bucknor in a game against the New York Yankees, saying "he shouldn't be umpiring."

The San Diego Padres are nearing a deal to acquire second baseman Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins for reliever Woo-Suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee, and Nathan Martorella, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Friday night.

The trade is pending medical review but is expected to be finalized soon.

The transaction represents the first significant move for the Marlins since Peter Bendix took over as the team's president of baseball operations in November after Kim Ng departed. It marks the beginning of the Marlins' teardown of an underachieving roster that has produced the third-worst record in the majors at 9-25 with a minus-61 run differential after reaching the postseason in 2023.

When the baseball gods are present at Fenway Park, that’s usually good news for the home team, but a pregame visitor to the Giants’ clubhouse on Thursday morning handed the visiting club some much needed mojo as they pulled off a 3-1 victory and avoided a sweep.

Prior to the game, Mike Yastrzemski was visited by his Hall of Fame grandfather Carl, one of the greatest Red Sox players of all time. The Giants’ right fielder was able to spend about 10 minutes with the man he calls “Papa Yaz” and though they didn’t talk baseball, some magic rubbed off somewhere in the mix.

“I think he left the car running when he came in here,” joked Mike of his grandfather’s brief visit to the ballpark. “That’s normal. He’s quick to the point. We didn’t even really talk about hitting. He just asked how I was feeling physically. Good to see him and it was fun to have him around for a minute.”

One year after the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. became the first player in MLB history to produce 40-plus homers and 70-plus steals in a season, the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz is threatening to form a club of his own: the 40-90 Club.

Cincinnati’s budding superstar is off to a historic start -- he finished April with eight homers and 18 steals, becoming the first player on record to hit both of those marks in any calendar month.

De La Cruz is currently on pace to end 2024 with an almost unfathomable 42 homers and 94 stolen bases. He’s slashing .280/.389/.579 (171 OPS+) to boot.