Snake Bytes: 06/20 - Twins found a Buddy

Diamondbacks News

[AZ Central] Merrill Kelly allows one run in 7 innings to put D-Backs over Twins in 7-1 win

“He [M. Kelly, DBE] had all of his pitches working,” Lovullo said. “And when he gets it going, that’s the type of outing he can give us. And it was just solid. But it was really, for me, it was strike one, commanding all of his pitches.”

[AZ Central] ‘Now we have two major leaguers in the family’: D-Backs’ Kennedy delivers dream Father’s Day gift

“Pop-pop, I’m going to the big leagues,” Kennedy told his grandfather. “I could hear the tears in his voice and the sniffles a little bit,” Kennedy said Sunday morning, six at-bats and two hits into his career. “So it was pretty cool, it was good.” Through his tears, Money delivered a proud response. “You did it,” he told Kennedy. “Now we have two major leaguers in the family instead of one.”

“I talked to him (on Wednesday),” Kennedy said. “He was super stoked, like a little kid on Christmas.” - Buddy Kennedy on Mike Trout’s reaction to his big league call-up

[Arizona Sports] D-backs’ Merrill Kelly rebounds with strong outing in win against Twins

“Kelly threw the ball really well,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said postgame. “We probably got a little big, trying to do a lot with some of our swings. He knows how to pitch, he knows how to take advantage of that.”

[Arizona Sports] Watch: D-backs’ Buddy Kennedy blasts grand slam for 1st MLB home run

The 23-year-old is the second D-backs rookie to blast a grand slam as his first big-league home run this season. Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo did the same on June 7 in Cincinnati against the Reds.

[dbacks.com] Buddy Kennedy gives dad a grand Father’s Day gift

As it turns out, Kennedy thought the count was 2-0, so he wasn’t checking the signs from Perezchica. For the D-backs, it turned out to be a welcomed missed sign.

“Realistically, yeah, I’ve had bases loaded before [in] my career,” Kennedy said. “But not with a crowd and the stadium and everything like that. So I did lose track [of the count]. I take responsibility. That’s my fault, but it’s just the moment got to me.”

Around The MLB

[MLB Trade Rumours] Manny Machado Diagnosed With Ankle Sprain

In attempting to beat out a play at first, Machado landed awkwardly on the bag and immediately collapsed in pain, eventually requiring help to depart the field of play. Despite appearing to be quite a gruesome occurrence on video replays, the Padres announced that X-rays came back negative, announcing the injury as a left ankle sprain [...] ankle sprains can still sideline players for weeks.

His .329/.401/.548 line amounts to a 164 wRC+, one of the top ten such numbers in the majors. Combined with his usual excellent defensive work, he’s accrued 4.2 wins above replacement on the year already, according to FanGraphs, putting him tops among all players in the sport.

[CBS Sports] MLB weekend recap

The Yankees were fresh off a sweep of the Rays when they had to hit the road for what was supposed to be another big series against the Blue Jays. They took the first two games of the series and then had an 8-3 lead Sunday before the Blue Jays stormed back with a huge 10-9 comeback victory.

Still, it was a wildly successful week for the Yankees. They swept the Rays at home and then took two of three in Toronto. The top four in the AL East now:

• Yankees
• Blue Jays, 11 games back
• Rays, 13 GB
• Red Sox, 13.5 GB

[WBSC] New Amazon Prime series based on women’s baseball, A League of Their Own is coming soon

Set in the height of World War II, the television series will follow a group of professional women’s baseball players in the newly established league.

A world premiere screening was scheduled for the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on 13 June.

Across The Pacific

[Japan] Yamamoto tosses 4th no-hitter of NPB season

It was the 97th no-no in the regular season in Nippon Professional Baseball history, and Yamamoto is the 86th pitcher to accomplish the feat.