Coming on with 2 outs and the bases loaded on August 15, Kevin Pillar (Mets) retired batter Taylor (Dodgers) in his first MLB appearance from the mound

Mazel tov

  • Kevin Pillar (Mets) is known for his outfield prowess, but on August 15 he took the mound for the first time in his MLB career, coming on with 2 outs and the bases loaded in the 9th inning of a game against the Dodgers. Pillar went to a full count on batter Chris Taylor before retiring him on a flyout to right-center to end the rally. All six of Pillar’s pitches were sliders, and he tossed them at a range of 69-84 mph.

Stats to share

  • Since hitting a season-high of 11.45 on April 13, P Max Fried (Braves) has steadily reduced his ERA. A one-run outing on August 14 brought it to 3.78, the lowest level since an Opening Day loss.

Weekly overview

  • Jewish batters hit a combined .286 (8-for-28) last week, with a home run, double, 3 RBIs, and a .412 OBP (on-base percentage). The performance lifted their collective batting average from .244 to .245, versus the Major League average of .242.
  • Jewish pitchers went 1-1 with 2 holds and a 5.06 ERA, yielding 12 hits and 4 walks over 10.2 combined innings. The performance raised their collective ERA from 4.79 to 4.80, versus the Major League average of 4.20.

At the plate

  • 1B Rowdy Tellez (Brewers) hit .444 (4-for-9) last week with 3 RBIs, a 1.278 OPS (on-base plus slugging), and his second pinch-hit HR this month. The 445-foot shot sent the ball all the way into the Allegheny River.
  • P Max Fried (Braves) went 1-for-1 with 2 sacrifices on August 14. He leads all MLB pitchers in batting average (.342), OBP (.390), and OPS (.811).
  • LF Joc Pederson (Braves) hit .214 (3-for-14) with a double, but 5 walks boosted his OBP to .421.
  • CF Kevin Pillar (Mets), who has been relegated to a reserve role for the moment, went 0-for-4.

On the mound

  • Max Fried (Braves) earned his third consecutive victory on August 14, pitching 6 innings of one-run ball on 5 hits, 0 walks, and 7 strikeouts to improve his record to 10-7. Fried helped himself at the plate with a single and two sacrifices in 3 plate appearances.
  • Ryan Sherriff (Rays) recorded a 10.13 ERA over 3 appearances, yielding 2 hits, 4 walks, and a hit batter over 2.2 combined innings while striking out 3. Sherriff was optioned to Triple-A on August 16.
  • Richard Bleier (Marlins) went 0-1 with 2 holds and a 9.00 ERA over 3 appearances, yielding 5 hits and zero walks over 2 combined innings while striking out 3. After hitting a season low of 2.29 on July 17, Bleier’s ERA has climbed to 3.48. During that time, batters have hit him for a .395 average, .452 OBP, and .926 OPS.

Players to watch

  • P Ben Gross (Twins/High-A/Cedar Rapids Kernels) tossed a 6-inning gem on August 11, yielding 2 earned runs on 6 hits and zero walks over 6 innings while striking out 13. For the season, the 6-foot-1-inch righty is 5-1 with a 3.25 ERA, and he ranks high among all High-A pitchers in at least two categories: #2 in strikeouts per 9 innings (11.50), and #6 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.60).
  • C Scott Manea (Astros/Double-A/Corpus Christi Hooks) continues to show great patience at the plate. His .405 OBP ranks #3 among all Double-A players, and his .75 walk-to-strikeout ratio ranks #5.

Transactions

Injured list

  • P Robert Stock (Mets), right hamstring strain, since July 21. Out for season.
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Astros), left quad strain, since June 17.

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