Colorado Rockies: Garrett Hampson plays more second base at Ryan McMahon’s expense? | RoxPile
“As the Colorado Rockies have continued to plummet in the standings, losing 16 of the last 23 games, there has been one player who has proven that he deserves to be in the everyday lineup.”
The Kevin Pillar acquisition has left “little room” in the Colorado outfield for Garrett Hampson. It could simply mean that Hampson moves into the infield, says RoxPile’s Aaron Hurt. Hampson has been swinging a hot bat and reasons to remain in the lineup for the foreseeable future; he went 4-for-8 in the two game set against the Giants, and tallied two more hits on Friday night.
“In his last 15 games [going into Friday], he has slashed .333/.371/.561 with five home runs, 8 RBI, 15 runs scored, and seven stolen bases.” A crowded outfield could mean Hampson fills in for Ryan McMahon on the right side of the infield. McMahon has shown for a 212/.313/.416 slash this year and a 42 percent strikeout rate going into Friday. In his last seven games, he has swung .174/.269/.174.
Rockies podcast: Assessing Colorado’s playoff chances entering the home stretch of 2020 | The Denver Post ($)
Kyle Newman and Patrick Saunders spoke in podcast form on Friday afternoon, discussing the playoff push for the Rockies under an expanded 2020 format. Going into Friday’s action, the Rockies had a 32.6 percent chance by FanGraphs to make the postseason. Four NL teams had lower odds, but three of those teams sat below two percent.
Saunders wrote on Friday that the Rockies’ season is “on the brink.” That brink could very well persist into a looming series with San Diego. Colorado is in the middle of a six-game stretch against the top two teams in the NL West, only to face the Dodgers again a week after the Padres series.
Under different circumstances, Tony Gonsolin is finding pitching success | Dodger Insider (MLB.com Blogs)
The Dodgers will send right-hander Tony Gonsolin to the mound this evening. His 0.51 ERA this year was reason for Dodgers management to avoid any sizable deals at the trade deadline.
Four years ago, Gonsolin played his college ball at Saint Mary’s College. “Gonsolin pitched throughout his four years [in college], but nearly two-thirds of those appearances were out of the bullpen and the majority of his games were spent on outfield grass and in batter’s box dirt.”
He works with a fastball and a changeup with plenty of arm side run, also spinning curveballs and sliders. Gonsolin will match up against Germán Márquez, as Márquez looks to rebound from a five-run, six-inning outing in his last start.
Why it’s time for Major League Baseball to ban the shift | CBS Sports
Matt Snyder of CBS Sports says the league batting average is “far too low.” “Maybe I just needed to get north of 40 years old to achieve my ‘old man yells at clouds’ moment, but it’s arrived.”
Snyder details how it could be possible to ban “excessive shifting” by forcing all four infielders to have at least one foot on the infield dirt when a pitch is thrown, and two infielders on each side of second base. “We don’t need a physical line through second base or anything, so it’s on the umpires for discretion. I trust them with this.”
Dodgers vs. Rockies delayed when drone buzzes Dodger Stadium | Los Angeles Times ($)
Fans everywhere are forced to figuratively (or literally) peek through the gates in 2020. One fan in Los Angeles decided to peek through the skies on Friday night.
Antonio Senzatela was disrupted in the second inning due to a drone flyover. This could become a huge issue in future games, especially if a starting pitcher is rolling and a drone-equipped opposing fan decides to disrupt some rhythm. Both teams vacated the field for a short delay, and Senzatela threw another set of warmup pitches upon taking the field again.
He did answer back with a double play and a strikeout, however.
This isn’t the first delay of its kind; this happened about a month ago at Target Field.
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