New York M, '4th in the world despite spending 340M', will it be a mistake next year?

 After spending over $340 million, the New York Mets aren't even close to a .500 record, let alone leading the division, so what are their options?

Through 19 games, the New York Mets are in fourth place in the National League with a 33-38 record and a .465 winning percentage. They are 12.5 games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves.

It's one of the biggest upsets of the season. Initially, the New York Mets were favored in the race for the division lead with Atlanta.

While the gap between the two teams wouldn't be huge, the odds were in favor of the Mets coming out on top. But as we approach the end of June, the results are quite the opposite.

While Atlanta is in first place in the National League with a 46-26 record and a .639 winning percentage through 19 games, the Mets are looking increasingly unlikely to make the postseason.

Worse, they don't have much of a history of departures, aside from closer Edwin Diaz, who is out for the season. Pete Alonso, 29, recently returned from injury.

However, the Mets currently rank 18th in team runs scored and 26th in team ERA. Poor showing at the plate. It's not like they're not lucky, either, with a -21 run-scoring margin.

They're closer to the tanking Washington Nationals than the district leaders. They're currently in the weakest division, the American League Central, to compete for a postseason berth.

The New York Mets have a team payroll of over $340 million this season. The gap between them and the second-place New York Yankees is $64 million. That's more than the Oakland Athletics' payroll.

But the New York Mets will never be sellers. New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is going to make a big splash this winter.

The size of the luxury tax has already become irrelevant for the Mets. This winter, Shohei Ohtani (29) will hit the free agent market. 메이저놀이터

The Mets could offer him a contract that would be hard to resist. While Ohtani is said to prefer a team in the West, the Mets are a team with money to burn.

After spending a whopping $340 million and having a winning percentage of less than 5%, it will be interesting to see what the Mets do this season and in the winter of 2023-24.

SD stuns top-ranked Tampa Bay with sweep - Kim Hae-Sung travels with the big guns

 The San Diego Padres maintained their dominance in the NL East with a sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Padres' bats have been steady in four consecutive winners' series.

After shutting out the high-powered Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 the day before, the Padres responded with a 5-4, one-run victory in the series finale on Father's Day (June 19) in front of their 29th sellout crowd (44,404). 35-36 on the season.

Tampa Bay led in hits, 12-7. It was Tampa Bay's first losing series since June 1 against the Chicago Cubs. However, the Rays are 51-24 and still have the best winning percentage (.680) in MLB.

Tampa Bay opened the scoring in the second inning on a Josh Lowe RBI single, but the Padres capitalized on a shortstop error in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead. With runners on first and third and one out, catcher Christian Betancourt caught Juan Soto's grounder and tried to throw out Fernando Tatis Jr. at second base.

However, shortstop Wander Franco was unable to make the catch and dropped it, allowing third baseman Trent Grisham to score. Tatis Jr. was quick to react, stopping at third base and diving for home as the throw went behind the shortstop. Franco gave up three unearned runs in the third inning on two errors, one on a catch and one on a throw. The two runs were unearned.

The Padres cut the Tampa Bay lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth when Lugned Odor, who started at second base, doubled and Manny Machado doubled to center field in the fifth.

However, Tampa Bay scored two runs in the top of the eighth on RBI singles by Manuel Margot and Harold Ramirez to put the game out of reach. With the bases loaded and Tampa Bay in scoring position, Tatis Jr. made a ruling that proved to be the difference.

With runners on first, second and third, Betancourt singled to right and Margot raced home from second. Tatis Jr. advanced and threw home hard, and catcher Austin Nola tagged out Margot to end the threat. Tampa Bay appealed, but it ended up on center field.

Padres starter Joe Mosgrove (5-2, 4.22) pitched six strong innings, allowing two runs on six hits with one walk and one strikeout. Closer Josh Hader faced three batters and struck out two to preserve the one-run lead and earn his 18th save of the season. Machado had two hits, a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. 메이저사이트

Ha-Sung Kim was replaced by O'Doherty with one out in the ninth for defense and did not bat.

The Padres return home to host the red-hot San Francisco Giants on April 20, who are in second place with a seven-game winning streak. They won their first two home games against the Giants.

'Monster' Ohtani's insane home run bat speed tops 188.5 mph this season

 His home run velocity was as "monster" as his home run pace. 

Shohei Ohtani (29-LA Angels) hit another home run. It was his 24th home run of the season. 

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and one run scored in two starts at designated hitter in the Angels' 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, on April 19. 

His only hit was a home run. Trailing 1-2 and with the bases loaded, Ohtani took a 95-mile-per-hour curveball from Zack Greinke, who won 224 games in his big league career. His bat spun wildly, and he knew it was a home run the moment it hit the plate. 

The pitch was a line drive that quickly sailed over the right field fence. His 24th home run of the season. 

With his second straight home run, Ohtani now has four homers in his last five games and eight in his last 10. He is now tied for the MLB lead in home runs and has gradually widened the gap. His lead over American League second-place Aaron Judge (New York Yankees, 19) has grown to five, and he is two behind National League home run leader Pete Alonso (New York Mets). 

Ohtani's 24th home run of the season was clocked at 117.1 miles per hour (188.5 kilometers per hour), according to MLB.com. 안전놀이터 This is the fastest bat speed of Ohtani's 24 home runs this season. The launch angle was 22 degrees and the distance was 128.6 meters (422 feet). 

Ohtani's game-winning home run increased the Angels' win probability from 44.3 percent to 64.4 percent, and they went on to win 5-2. Ohtani was the hero of the game.

Ryu Hyun-jin could be in the starting lineup immediately↑ "Toronto has no pitchers left they can trust"

 With the Toronto Blue Jays' four-man rotation slowly reaching its limits, it's likely that Hyun-jin Ryu, 36, will be thrust into the starting rotation upon his return.

"If a team is running a four-man rotation like Toronto is right now, there's going to be a lot of pressure on the other starters. It's a wide range," he said, referring to Toronto's stretched starting staff.

This season, Toronto started ambitiously with a starting rotation of Kevin Gausman (32), Alec Manoa (25), Jose Berrios (29), Chris Bassett (34), and Yusei Kikuchi (32). They brought in Bassitt for his consistency, and the struggling Kikuchi rebounded in exhibition games. With plenty of starting options waiting in Triple-A, it was a bonus to have Ryu, who had elbow ligament reconstruction surgery (Tommy John surgery) and was targeting a July return.

But with a month to go before the All-Star break, that cushion is nowhere to be found. While Gaussman and Berrios have been adequate with 3.01 and 3.28 ERAs, respectively, Bassett and Kikuchi have not been able to fill the No. 3 role with 4.02 and 4.31 ERAs. Worst of all, Manoa, who had become a second starter, has been sent to the minors after completely collapsing with a 1-7 record and 6.36 ERA in 13 games.

Numerous starting options were put to the test to fill Manoa's void, but all failed. According to Sportsnet, "Toronto's pitching staff needs five starters. Before the season was over, none of the depth options Toronto relied on were left." Sportsnet began to describe the devastated state of the Toronto five-man rotation.

"Mitch White is still out, and top prospect Ricky Tiedemann is injured. Zach Thompson and Drew Hutchison are no longer in Toronto. Casey Lawrence is struggling on bullpen days. Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis in other roles (long relief) are stopgaps, not long-term solutions," he soberly analyzed.

Then came Ryu Hyun-jin. "Ideally, Manoa would be back in the minors by his scheduled July 1 start," Sportsnet wrote. That's fine for now, but if the sixth starter, Ryu Hyun-jin, is healthy enough to return later this summer, he needs to be plugged into the lineup immediately."

The ongoing struggles of Toronto's starters have made the return of Hyun-jin Ryu, who is coming off a year-long absence due to surgery, highly anticipated. Ryu's rehabilitation process has picked up momentum recently, giving Toronto hope. 토토사이트

On Sunday, Ryu threw one inning of live pitching at Toronto's training facility in Dunedin, Florida, with the bases loaded. This is the second time he has pitched in Toronto since joining the club on March 24, when he threw a bullpen session in front of manager John Schneider and his teammates. After being debriefed, Schneider was reportedly pleased.

The next step is to increase his pitch count. He will gradually increase the number of pitches he throws live and then start pitching in minor league games to get a feel for the game. If all goes well, he could return in July, his goal after his Tommy John surgery last June.

'Former KIA' Tucker, Kim Ha-seong to join SD 40-man roster?

 Tucker joins San Diego's 40-man roster.

The San Diego Padres signed outfielder Preston Tucker to a major league contract on June 19, according to MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball.

According to MLB.com, San Diego signed Tucker to a major league contract and placed him on the disabled list (IL) the same day.

Tucker, who signed a minor league deal with the Padres in December, hit .342/.468/.658 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 44 Triple-A games this season. Despite a recent foot injury, San Diego decided to hold onto Tucker before his opt-out deadline.

Tucker, 메이저놀이터 a left-handed hitting outfielder born in 1990, is no stranger to Korean fans. He previously played for the KIA Tigers in the KBO from 2019-2021. In three seasons in the KBO, Tucker appeared in 364 games, batting .284 with 50 home runs and 222 RBIs.

If Tucker recovers from his foot injury and makes the big league roster, he'll be teaming up with former KBO foe Ha-Sung Kim.

Tucker, meanwhile, made his big league debut in 2015 and has played in 243 games over three seasons in the majors with the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and Atlanta Braves. In his career, he hit .222/.281/.403 with 23 home runs and 68 RBIs.

'Hitting at the peak of his powers' Ohtani reaches 400 RBIs after 150 homers

 Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Angels) has been on a tear lately, reaching 150 career home runs and now 400 RBIs.

The Angels hosted the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 19 (KST).

Ohtani, batting second and designated hitter for the Angels, hit his 24th home run of the season. A two-run shot in the fifth inning to overturn a 1-2 deficit.

Ohtani, who had 398 RBIs before the game, reached the 400-RBI plateau in his sixth season in the majors. He is 151-for-400.

Ohtani is on pace to set career highs in the hitting department this season. He's on pace to surpass his previous single-season record of 100 RBIs, which he set in 2021.

He's been on fire this month, 메이저사이트 batting .300 with 24 home runs, 58 RBI, 49 runs scored, 83 runs batted in, a .384 OPS and 1.015 slugging percentage in 72 games through 19 days.

Behind Ohtani's home run, the Angels defeated Kansas City 2-5 on the day. The Angels are currently in second place in the division with a 41-33 record and a .554 winning percentage.

"What do you do when you strike out a lot? You lose" Buntong, Lin lose despite striking out a season-high 16Ks

 The unlucky pitcher took the loss despite striking out a major league-high 16 batters this season.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn pitched his best game of the season, but couldn't get any help from his teammates and took the loss.

Lynn pitched seven innings of four-hit ball with 16 strikeouts against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, on April 19, but his team fell to a 5-1 defeat.

He is 4-8 on the season with a 6.51 ERA. Lin ranks 64th in ERA among all pitchers with at least 65 innings pitched. This is his fifth quality start in 14 starts. It is the second time he has pitched seven innings since March 17 against the Cleveland Indians (seven innings, three runs on seven hits). He's had an uneven start this season.

But Lynn made franchise history by striking out 16 batters, the most in a single game and the second most in franchise history by a White Sox pitcher, behind only Jack Hashman (nine innings, five hits, two runs) against the Boston Red Sox on July 26, 1954.

The 16 strikeouts were also the most in the majors this season and the first since Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves did it against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 2 of last year.

Lin showed off his powerful stuff, striking out at least two batters in every inning.

He used six different pitches. His fastball, which he threw 26 times, topped out at 94.1 mph and averaged 92.9 mph, half a mph faster than usual. His primary cutter, which he threw 36 times, topped out at 90.7 mph and averaged 88.1. He also threw a sinker (20), slider (13), changeup (11), and curve (8). Curveballs were his most common pitch for strikeouts (six). False swings induced 33, the fourth-most since Statcast began in 2008.

He gave up a single and a walk to put runners on first and second with one out in the third inning, then gave up a double to right to Julio Rodriguez for two runs, and after leaving the bases loaded in the eighth, the next pitcher gave up a single that turned into a triple.

But even with his explosive strikeout streak, Lin couldn't get the win. The White Sox offense could only muster one run while Lynn was on the mound, thanks to a strong outing from right-hander Bryce Miller. Miller pitched seven innings of four-hit, 안전놀이터 six-strikeout, one-run ball to improve to 5-3 on the season with a 3.68 ERA and earn a spot in the Rookie of the Year conversation.

To make matters worse for the White Sox, Reynaldo Lopez, who came on after Lin with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, gave up back-to-back singles and a Jarrett Kelenic triple to score three more runs.

After the game, Lin said, "My pitches were good today, but we lost. It doesn't matter how many strikeouts you have if you don't win."  오래된 토토사이트

"He threw 113 pitches, but he wanted to go out again," White Sox manager Pedro Griffol said. "He induced 33 wild swings, the most in the majors this season," said White Sox manager Pedro Griffol, while Seattle manager Scott Servais said, "He just dominated us.