The Chicago Cubs are confounding their fans with a dreadful .192 batting average as a team through 15 games, one of the worst in the long history of the sport. The most confusing part of this phenomenon is that it is opposing fastballs that are mystifying the Cubs’ sluggers. Between 2016 and 2018, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javy Baez had a .307 combined batting average against the heater, with a combined .559 slugging percentage. However, those numbers have dropped steadily. Against fastballs of at least 95 mph, they are hitting just .178 since the start of the abbreviated 2020 season — and only .105 in 2021. Opposing pitchers are starting out by going high and tight with fastballs, and the Cubs are overswinging. Until they figure out how to deal with the fastball, though, the Cubs will not contend.
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Texas SP Arihara Fools Hitters with Multiple Pitches
The Texas Rangers brought Kohei Arihara over from Japan, and in his first two starts, he tried to modify his game to suit the American paradigm by establishing his fastball. The results were an 0-1 record and a 5.00 ERA. In his next two starts, he went back to the style that worked well for him across the Pacific, and he has thrown 11 ⅓ shutout innings in that time, fanning 11 while walking just two. Arihara can throw seven different pitches for strikes; in his win over the Angels on Monday, he threw his four-seam fastball the most times (27% of his pitches), but he only threw one curve ball. Keeping hitters guessing is still working for the Rangers’ new find.
Yanks shuffle lineup, off to worst start since 1997
Going into Tuesday’s matchup with the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone added Mike Ford (1B) and Mike Tauchman (LF) to the starting lineup and moved Brett Gardner to center. D.J. LeMahieu goes back to second base from first, and 2B Rougned Odor, LF Clint Frazier and CF Aaron Hicks all head to the bench. The Yankees have dropped five in a row. Hicks was hitting just .160, going just 3 of 32 against right-handed pitching. Odor was hitting .125 (which is why Texas traded him to the Pinstripes), and Frazier was hitting .167. Ford makes his season debut on Tuesday after taking the roster position of Jay Bruce, who retired Sunday after starting with a .118 batting average.
Twins clear to travel, set for a twin bill in Oakland
The Minnesota Twins have not played since Friday because of contact tracing and COVID-19 testing, as the team had four positive tests in the last week. That included shortstop Andrelton Simmons, Kyle Garlick, an unnamed player and an unnamed staff member. Minnesota’s games with the Los Angeles Angels for Saturday and Sunday were postponed, as was Monday’s opener with the A’s. The Monday game will be made up Tuesday in a doubleheader. So far, six MLB games this season have been postponed due to COVID-19; in 2020, 45 games were postponed, and 43 of them were eventually made up. Minnesota will start Matt Shoemaker in Game 1 and Jose Berrios in Game 2, with Kenta Maeda set to start Wednesday. Oakland has not announced their starting pitchers at this writing.
Reds’ OF Castellanos loses suspension appeal
Cincinnati outfielder Nick Castellanos had appealed a two-game suspension for what MLB had referred to as “aggressive actions and for instigating a benches-clearing incident” in the second game of the season, as the Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals got heated. The league cited existing COVID-19 protocols as the rationale behind the suspension. Castellanos had been hit by a pitch but then scored on a wild pitch. After scoring, he got up and yelled, flexing toward pitcher Jake Woodford. The benches ended up clearing. In any other season, the discipline would not have happened. So far in 2021, Castellanos is hitting .295 with five homers and 10 RBI.
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