Best – Jose Ramirez 3B Cleveland Indians – 3-5 4R 4RBI 2HR
Cleveland has been the best pitching team in baseball this season, their offense, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. But on Thursday night everything clicked, especially for Jose Ramirez.
Ramirez had been one of the only Cleveland players with a decent offensive record (.277AVG 2HR 7RBI 1SB), but Thursday, he took it to another level. Ramirez was able to hit two runs in the same inning and from both sides of the plate. The 13-run explosion was more than Cleveland’s past eight games combined. In addition, the pitching was excellent again last night; Carlos Carrasco held the Reds’ offense in check all night, shutting out the Cincinnati Reds 13-0.
Ramirez jolted this offense back on track, and with the pitching staff making zero mistakes, Cleveland looks like they might be a real contender. Next up, the Chicago White Sox.
Other Notable: Carlos Carrasco SP Cleveland – 6IP 1H 0ER 4BB 8K 1W; Whit Merrifield 2B Royals – 2-4 3R 2RBI 1BB 1SB 1HR; Brad Keller SP Royals – 5IP 3H 0ER 2BB 7K 1W; Jose Altuve 2B Astros – 3-4 3R 1RBI 1SB 1HR; Dylan Bundy SP Angels – 9IP 4H 1ER 0BB 10K.
Worst-Tyler Chatwood SP Chicago Cubs – 2.1IP 11H 8ER 0BB 4K 1L
The Chicago Cubs starting pitching had been incredible this year, rivaled only by the Cleveland Indians. But on Thursday night, all those stats went out the window for Tyler Chatwood and the Cubbies.
The Cubs looked ready to take on the Royals and claim the longest winning streak in 2020 after the Minnesota Twins lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chatwood was coming off one of the best starts of his career (6.2 3H 0ER 2BB 11K 1W) against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Saturday. The Cubs’ chance at seven wins in a row quickly faded as Chatwood ended up with one of the worst starts of his career.
The Royals may have crushed the Cubs’ winning streak aspirations (13-2), but hopefully, for the Cubs and Chatwood, this is just a blip on the radar. If not, the Cubs might be in trouble. Their starting pitching is the main reason they are off to a 10-3 start, and this bullpen will not be able to handle the load if they begin to falter.
Extra Trash: Luis Robert OF White Sox – 0-4 4k; Taylor Rogers RP Twins – .1IP 3H 2ER 0BB 1K; Ben Gamel OF Brewers-0-6 4K; Ryan Pressly – 0.0IP 3H 2ER 1BB 0K 1BS; Willie Calhoun OF Rangers – 0-5 .043BA.