Junior Caminero is at it again. The Rays’ third baseman took Seth Lugo deep in the first inning on Wednesday, giving him a home run in six consecutive games. Caminero is just two home runs behind Yordan Alvarez for the lead in the American League.
1. Swanson’s massive game
The Cubs piled up 23 runs on the Padres in a blowout win yesterday. Shortstop Dansby Swanson was at the center of the action, slugging three home runs and driving in eight. Swanson tagged backup catcher Rodolfo Duran for a grand slam long after the result was decided, but his first two homers came against starter Walker Buehler. The shortstop left the yard twice on Tuesday, giving him five home runs over the past two days. Swanson had a similar flurry of production against the Mets last week. He racked up three homers and 15 RBI in a four-game stretch. After a slow start to the season, Swanson’s numbers now look basically in line with his normal output, outside of a lagging batting average. He’s up to 16 home runs and a 102 wRC+.
2. Skenes allows career-high seven earned runs
Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes struggled against the Phillies on Wednesday, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits, including two home runs. The Pittsburgh right-hander’s two worst starts of the season have come against Philadelphia. The Pirates’ in-state rival got to Skenes for five earned runs back in May. The big righty had trimmed his ERA under 2.00 before that outing. Since then, Skenes has put together a nine-start stretch with a 5.36 ERA. He’s lost all six decisions. The Pirates haven’t won a Skenes start since he posted back-to-back games of eight scoreless innings to open May.
3. Misiorowski vs. Burns
The radar gun in Milwaukee will be sizzling on Thursday afternoon. Young flame-throwers Jacob Misiorowski and Chase Burns will face off in the final game of the series. Misiorowski followed a near-spotless May with a tremendous June that saw him permit just three earned runs over 28 innings. Burns was knocked around for five earned runs in his most recent outing, but he wrapped up June with 40 strikeouts over five appearances. This is easily the premier pitching matchup for Thursday’s slate.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
