Welcome to ‘Marty’s Musings’, my weekly column of numbers summarizing the happenings in the baseball world. I am your guide for taking an analytic look at the news and notes throughout the game, and highlighting this week’s key pitching matchups.
A college walk-on tosses a no-no for the Cubs, COVID postponements continue to rear their head, and the Braves score more than 10 percent of their season’s total runs in one outing.
News & Notes
15 - Career starts for Cubs’ starter Alec Mills, who tossed a no hitter in Chicago’s 12-0 blowout of the Brewers on Sunday. Mills struck out five and walked three in the outing. His story is a fun one, as he was a walk-on player at the University of Tennessee at Martin, where he went from being completely off the radar to the staff ace in three seasons. Chicago leads Milwaukee by six games in the NL Central.
+77 - Run differential for the Chicago White Sox who are 8-2 in their last ten games, and are ahead of the Twins by a game in the American League Central. They have the best run differential in the American League, and third in baseball, behind the Dodgers +102 and barely behind the Padres +78.
2 - COVID postponements over the weekend with the Friday’s and Saturday’s Giants / Padres game being delayed due to two positive tests of Giants’ staff. The league is managing through the scheduling and health challenges, but it’s hard to get a week in without any postponements due to the pandemic.
29 - Runs scored by the Atlanta Braves over the Miami Marlins in a franchise-setting laser-light-show on Wednesday night. Atlanta scored 11 in the second inning, and came within one run shy of the MLB modern scoring record of 30, set by the Rangers in 30-3 2007 smackdown of the Orioles. Atlanta had 23 hits including seven homers. Atlanta leads the NL east by 3 ½ games.
81 - Years of age of Gene Budig, the last President of the American League who died on Tuesday. Budig took over as President of the American League from Bobby Brown in 1994, and served in that capacity until Commissioner Bud Selig did away with the structure and the position in 2000.
8 - Teams in the American League have playoff odds at 94 percent or above. So much for tight pennant races!
Series of Note
Dodgers v. Padres, September 14th - September 16th
Two of the best teams in the NL, and divisional rivals in the West will show-down in a three-game series to start the week. Clayton Kershaw (with his sub-.200 ERA) is starting Monday night for LA,
Twins v. White Sox, September 14th - September 17th
A four-game series could shake-things-up in the Central if Minnesota plays well. They are chasing a Chicago team that is 7-3 in September. Minnesota’s schedule doesn’t get any easier as they stay in Chicago to face the Cubs next.
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Steven Martano is an Editor at Beyond the Box Score, a Contributing Prospect Writer for the Colorado Rockies at Purple Row, and a contributing writer for The Hardball Times. You can follow him on Twitter at @SMartano