Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! There’s no doubt my own father will be celebrating by watching baseball from the comfort of his easy chair this afternoon, insisting that the Blue Jays could end their offensive struggles if they just bunted more often.
1. Harper rides the Bry-cycle, Schwarber slugs three
The Phillies’ biggest stars had a banner day during Saturday’s 15-3 rout of the Mets. Bryce Harper hit for the cycle for the first time in his career, legging out a triple in the fifth inning to complete the achievement. Kyle Schwarber had singled in the previous at-bat and then scored on Harper’s triple, and that single was the only one of Schwarber’s four hits that didn’t leave the yard. Schwarber hit three home runs for the fifth three-homer game of his career, and he now leads the majors with 28 home runs this season. As per MLB.com’s Paul Casella, it was just the second time in Major League history that a team had a three-homer hitter and another player hit for the cycle in the same game.
2. Skenes’ seven-game skid
The Pirates dropped to 0-7 in Paul Skenes‘ last seven starts following Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Rockies. Skenes has a 2.57 ERA over the last five of those outings, and did well in limiting Colorado to two runs on four hits and two walks over six innings of work. However, the Rox pulled ahead early when Jake McCarthy hit a leadoff inside-the-park home run, and the home side then clinched the victory in unusual fashion in the top of the ninth. Pirates baserunner Billy Cook made the final out of the game when he was called for interference for accidentally clipping the glove of third baseman Kyle Karros when Cook was going from second to third.
3. Rogers dominates Dodgers
The month of June has been kind to Trevor Rogers, as the Orioles southpaw has a 2.22 ERA over 24 1/3 innings in his last four starts. Rogers’ strong run continued with his best start of the season, as he tossed seven shutout innings of one-hit ball against the defending World Series champions in Saturday’s 3-2 O’s win over the Dodgers. The victory came with some late drama as both L.A. runs were scored in the bottom of the ninth, as the Dodgers almost pulled off their second ninth-inning comeback over Baltimore in as many games.
