In the last few days before the All-Star break, the San Diego Padres will host the New York Mets this week.
It’s safe to say both teams are ready to put the first half behind them.
The Padres and Mets are two of baseball’s biggest disappointments so far, languishing below .500 despite high-priced, star-laden rosters. The fact that both teams are currently 38-46 feels like an appropriate symmetry.
San Diego’s outlook appears a bit rosier than New York’s. The Padres actually have a run differential of plus-23. They’ve been done in by a 5-15 record in one-run games and an 0-7 mark in extra innings. If the close games turn around for them, the Padres could certainly make a run, and unlike the Mets, their star closer (Josh Hader) is healthy.
But San Diego has lost seven of its last eight games, during a stretch of the schedule that included Washington, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. A contending team shouldn’t be struggling so much against that trio.
The Mets, on the other hand, took two of three from San Francisco this past weekend, but that was their only series victory of the past nine. New York’s bullpen has been an issue after Edwin Diaz was lost before the season to a knee injury, and owner Steve Cohen acknowledged his team could be a seller at the trade deadline if things don’t improve soon.
BRIGHT SPOT
In a horrendous season for the Oakland Athletics, they do have the major league leader in stolen bases in Esteury Ruiz. With 42, he’s already surpassed last year’s leader — Baltimore’s Jorge Mateo had 35.
Ruiz has 84 hits and 14 walks this season, so with 50 steal attempts, he’s trying to steal roughly half the time he reaches base. Brent Rooker is Oakland’s representative at the All-Star game, but it would have been interesting to see Ruiz playing for the American League as a late-inning pinch-running option.
TRIVIA TIME
The A’s have had one player since Rickey Henderson lead the American League in steals, and that player tied for the title in 2011 with 49. Who was it?
RISING
The Philadelphia Phillies finished the week on a sour note by losing two of three to Washington — they sandwiched a pair of one-run losses around a 19-4 victory. But before that, Philadelphia swept a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.
The Phillies have recovered from their slow start, and after winning 19 of their last 26 games, they’re just 1 1/2 games out of the final wild card in the National League. And after last year, they know what’s possible if they can just sneak into the postseason.
FALLING
The Los Angeles Angels split four games against the Chicago White Sox before dropping two of three to Arizona. So they had a losing record on a homestand in which Shohei Ohtani homered six times in seven games and struck out 10 in his only start.
The Angels have dropped eight of 12 overall.
LINE OF THE WEEK
Domingo Germán of the New York Yankees pitched the 24th perfect game in major league history in an 11-0 win over Oakland on Wednesday night. He became the first pitcher from the Dominican Republic to complete a perfect game.
Germán went to a three-ball count to just two hitters.
COMEBACK OF THE WEEK
The Pittsburgh Pirates trailed 4-0 in the fourth and 7-3 in the seventh before rallying to an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night. Pittsburgh scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, winning it on Carlos Santana’s two-run homer.
Milwaukee’s win probability was 95.5% in the bottom of the seventh, according to Baseball Savant.
TRIVIA ANSWER
Coco Crisp, who finished tied with Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees that year.
___
Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
