Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. The past nine months have been a roller coaster ride of emotion for 9-year-old Riley Wheaton and his family, one that would test the resolve of any adult, let alone a child. In October, Riley was flown by helicopter to Boston Children's Hospital after suffering complete heart failure. Three months later, he was diagnosed with angiosarcoma -- a rare and aggressive form of cancer that is often terminal. But after six rounds of chemotherapy, Riley is in remission … and back on the diamond. He recently returned to the mound for his travel team and struck out 10 over four scoreless innings. Just when it seemed Riley's summer couldn't get any better, thanks to Make-A-Wish he got to spend an afternoon with his favorite player, Pirates ace Paul Skenes, on Tuesday at PNC Park. He showed the family around the stadium and home clubhouse, introduced them to his teammates, and then Skenes -- who was also a catcher at Air Force before transferring to LSU -- caught a bullpen session from Wheaton that was tracked by the team's advanced tech. "He throws hard," Skenes said. "Everything he's dealt with or not, he throws hard for a 9-year-old. I'm not kidding when I say by the end of it, my hand was a little sore." Riley then shagged balls in the outfield before throwing the ceremonial first pitch to Skenes. |
While his mom said that the family would probably need a week or so to process how wonderful the experience was, Riley summed it up succinctly in a way only a 9-year-old could:
"Paul Skenes is a really fast pitcher, and he's my favorite player," Riley said. "He was really nice." For much more on Riley's big day at the ballpark, check out Alex Stumpf's heartwarming article here. – Ed Eagle |
• Twins @ Dodgers (4:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV, MLB Network): Shohei Ohtani has homered in four straight games. That's good! The Dodgers have only won one of those games. That's bad! In fact, they've lost 11 of their last 14, trimming 5 1/2 games off of their division lead. Tyler Glasnow (0.82 ERA in two starts since coming off the IL) will try to dig the champs out of their doldrums. • Red Sox @ Phillies (7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN): Boston came charging into the All-Star break on a 10-game win streak, but the club has stumbled since, dropping four of its next five. The Red Sox's misfortune took on an element of the cosmic when they were dinged for run-scoring catcher's interference calls in each of the first two games in Philly. Led by a rejuvenated Bryce Harper (1.529 OPS in his last nine contests), the Phillies can extend the Sox's slide with a sweep. • Yankees @ Blue Jays (7:07 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): The Bombers entered last night winless in five tries at Rogers Centre this year, but after getting off the schneid thanks to Ben Rice's go-ahead blast in the ninth, New York is suddenly on the verge of a series victory with ace Max Fried on the hill. |
Here's some grounds-breaking news: Francisco Lindor is hosting his own talk show, and it's all centered around coffee. The star Mets shortstop – nicknamed Mr. Smile – is one of the most affable, highly regarded players in baseball, so it's no real surprise he's widening his reach in this way. At the heart of the show is good conversation, and for Lindor that always goes along with a good cup of joe. Lindor's not the only big leaguer to make this type of coffee crossover. Nestor Cortes impressed his new teammates this Spring Training with Nasty Nestor's Cafe. Vinnie Pasquantino and Team Italy brought an Espresso machine into the dugout during the World Baseball Classic. Multiple teams make it something of a tradition to send their rookies out on coffee runs … in full uniform. And pitcher Jameson Taillon considers himself a true coffee connoisseur. But Lindor is hoping to expand this endeavor far beyond the baseball world. The first episode featured rapper Action Bronson, just one example of the celebrities Lindor might now be rubbing elbows with. Maybe that means a future episode with NBA coffee mogul Jimmy Butler, who has his own brand of beans called Bigface. Or, thinking more outside the box (and crossing fingers), maybe someone like Larry David, who centered an entire season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" around opening a coffee shop just to spite his sworn enemy. Of course we trust Lindor will find the right guests on his own. We just figured we'd let a couple ideas percolate. -- Scott Chiusano |
The world got a little less dark yesterday -- in a bad way -- with the passing of the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, at 76. The late Black Sabbath frontman occasionally crossed over into the world of baseball, and whenever he did, he made history ... for better or worse. First there was the time he sang -- or was supposed to sing -- "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field on Aug. 17, 2003, right at the height of the "The Osbournes" MTV phenomenon. The performance would land high atop any list of the most memorable celebrity singalongs at Wrigley, even if the words to the song didn't prove particularly memorable to Ozzy. He was in much finer fettle when he popped onto the field at Dodger Stadium in the middle of the fifth inning on June 11, 2010. In an event called "Scream for a Cure!" as part of L.A.'s ThinkCure! charity weekend that raised funds for cancer research (and with his new album "Scream" due out 11 days later), Ozzy led the over 52,000 fans in attendance in a collective roar that set a Guinness world record (since broken) for the longest scream by an audience. All that, plus the fact that "Crazy Train" has probably been played at every baseball game for the past 40 years. Ozzy forever.
-- Andy Werle
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HOW WILL DIVISION RACES AFFECT DEADLINE? |
Entering today, all but one of the six division leaders (the Tigers) hold a division lead of five games or less. Those teams at the top will certainly try to strengthen their position by swinging impactful trades before the July 31 Deadline. But those clubs close behind will also do whatever they can on the trade market to shrink -- and hopefully erase -- the gap. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand broke down how each of these teams -- the division leaders and their closest competitors -- will approach the Deadline. Which clubs will be the most aggressive? What are their biggest needs? Who might be the top trade targets for these contenders?
You are going to want to read this to prepare not only for the Deadline but for the season's stretch run.
-- Brian Murphy |
For all the obscure stats whizzes out there, this one's for you. See how well you can compare players and their stats before the timer runs out. Three strikes and you're out! Play free >> |
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