Marty’s musings: lots of injuries and Ks last week

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 key pitching matchups.

Last week a number of pitchers hit the IL, the Mets’ offense continues to sputter in Jacob deGrom starts, and the Dodgers lay a smackdown on the injury-riddled Brewers.

News & Notes

15 - Runs batted in by two Dodgers hitters in an absolute crushing defeat of the Brewers on Sunday. A.J. Pollock drove in eight runs and Matt Beaty drove in seven in a 16-4 drugging on Milwaukee.

16 - Players on the injured list for the Brewers. It’s early in the season but the Brew Crew is diving into their depth to keep pace with the injuries, part of the reason the Dodgers were able to tee-off on Sunday afternoon.

59 - Strikeouts for Mets’ ace Jacob deGrom, who tied Nolan Ryan for the most Ks through his first five starts. Of course, deGrom took another hard-luck 1-0 loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday night.

3 - Shutouts thrown by Yankee pitching last week, including a vintage Corey Kluber start. The Yanks aren’t hitting well, that’ll work itself out over time, but New York took advantage of a soft schedule, going 5-2 against the bottom-dwelling Orioles and Tigers.

4-4 - Score of the Mets / Phillies game when the umpires inexplicable ruled Andrew McCutchen went out of the baseline on this ‘double-play’. The Mets have been the beneficiaries of some clearly blown calls, including a Pete Alonso HBP on a ball that clearly was a strike.

6 - Shutouts for the San Francisco Giants, who somehow are keeping pace with the Dodgers in the NL West. Last year the Giants didn’t shut anyone out at all in 60 games. LIke the Royals and Red Sox, they are one of the early season surprises.

3 - Losses to the last place Rangers for the first place Red Sox last weekend. The Sox have come out of the gate hot, but recently their bats have sputtered, the bullpen blew Sunday’s game. Boston gets the Tigers and Orioles to hopefully cure what ails them.

Injury Report

Oakland starter Jesus Luzardo broke his pinky while playing a video game last week.

Dustin May left his start on Saturday afternoon after only 27 pitches. It’s unclear exactly what’s wrong with May, though he said he felt a shooting pain after his last pitch.

San Diego starter Chris Paddock went on the injured list with an undisclosed injury last week as well. The Padres did not announce the ailment.

Cards’ backstop Yadier Molna is on the 10-day IL with a strained tendon in his foot. Bad timing, as he’s off to a great start with a .323 average and having belted five homers already.

As part of a disastrous appearance by Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera, Bryce Harper got drilled in the face with a 97 MPH fastball. The very next pitch, he hit Didi Gregorius. Both players were bruised, but largely unharmed. Joe Girardi got ejected. And it’s another externality of forcing pitchers to face three batters when they clearly don’t ‘have it’.

The Brewers placed Corbin Burns on the IL for undisclosed reasons as well. The Brewers are currently majorly hit by the injury bug with 16 players on the IL.

The Yankees’ Aaron Judge has been in-and-out of the lineup most of the year. When he’s healthy and in the lineup, he’s mashing. The Yankees have been pretty vague about what’s wrong, so it could be a myriad of smaller ailments.

Pitching Matchups to Watch

Tuesday, May 4th

Jacob deGrom (NYM) v. Kwang Hyun Kim (STL), 7:45 ET

deGrom keeps consistently pitching great, despite losing starts all the time. This week he faces-off against the Cardinals and Diamondbacks.

Wednesday, May 5th

Shane Bieber (CLE) v. Mike Minor (KC), 8:10 ET

Bieber might be the better pitcher of this matchup (and the best pitcher of this series), but the Royals are currently the better team. With series against both Cleveland and Chicago this week, it’s time for the Royals to demonstrate what they have against their divisional rivals.

Friday, May 7th

Max Scherzer (WAS) v. Jamieson Taillon (NYY), 7:05 ET

In his last outing, Scherzer went the distance against the Marlins, throwing nine innings of one-run ball, and allowing only five hits. The Yankees offense has started slowly, but are coming off a sweep against the hapless Tigers.