American League East Archives - All Mississippi Baseball

27 Sep

the night for three dogs

One former Mississippi State standout was hunting a playoff berth on Friday night, while two others were playing spoiler roles in the American League East title race. Nathaniel Lowe and the Boston Red Sox accomplished their mission, clinching an AL wild card, but Lowe’s fellow former Bulldogs Jordan Westburg and Jake Mangum could not spark upsets for Baltimore and Tampa Bay, respectively. Lowe, who joined the Red Sox in mid-August, went 1-for-2 with a sac fly as Boston rallied from three runs down to beat Detroit 4-3 on Ceddanne Rafaela’s walk-off triple in the ninth inning. Fenway Park went nuts. The BoSox are back in the postseason for the first time in four years — and, yes, they celebrated, champagne showers and all. “Just a total team effort. That was fun to watch,” Boston manager Alex Cora told mlb.com. Meanwhile, at Yankee Stadium, Westburg gave the Orioles an early lead with a three-run homer off Will Warren, the Jackson Prep product, but the Yankees powered their way to an 8-4 win. Warren (9-8) got the W as New York remained tied atop the AL East with Toronto, which beat Tampa Bay 4-2 at Rogers Centre. Rookie Mangum, batting .299 on the year, went 1-for-3 for the Rays, who briefly led early on. Toronto holds the tiebreaker over New York. Two games left for both. … In the National League wild card battle, Cincinnati rallied past host Milwaukee — the NL’s best team, record-wise — for a 3-1 win and is now tied with the New York Mets, who crumbled against Miami, losing 6-2. The Reds have won seven of 10. “There are things that are happening with the Reds right now that make you think they are destined for the postseason,” Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley, the former MSU star, said during the game. The Reds hold the tiebreaker over the Mets for the final wild card. Two games left for both. P.S. On this date in 1935, Hughie Critz, one of Mississippi’s all-time best, played the final game of a 12-year career. The 5-foot-8 Starkville native, who attended MSU when it was called Mississippi A&M, hit .268 with 531 RBIs and 832 runs, playing for the Reds and the New York Giants. … Greenville native George Scott, another of the state’s greats, played his last MLB game on this date in 1979. “Boomer” hit .268 with 271 homers and 1,051 RBIs in 14 seasons; he spent most of his career with the Red Sox. He would play on in Mexico until 1984.

25 Sep

playing pepper

Concerns about Garrett Crochet’s durability seem kinda silly now. The ex-Ocean Springs High star delivered one of his best performances of the season Wednesday night: eight innings, three hits, no walks, no runs, six strikeouts in Boston’s impactful 7-1 win at Toronto. The left-hander’s last pitch — No. 100 — hit 97 mph, a called third strike. “At this point of the year, it’s unbelievable,” Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez said in an mlb.com story. “He’s still throwing gas, everything has shape.” Crochet (18-5) reached 205 1/3 innings for the season, just his second since converting from reliever. He threw 146 innings for the Chicago White Sox last year, working very conservatively down the stretch of that team’s woeful season. Wednesday’s win reduced the Red Sox’s magic number to one for clinching an American League playoff berth. The proud franchise hasn’t been to the postseason since 2021. The bold off-season trade for Crochet has gotten them over that hump. … Following Toronto’s loss, the New York Yankees beat the White Sox 8-1 and moved into a tie with the Blue Jays atop the AL East. Former Mississippi Braves star Max Fried, in his first year in pinstripes, won his 19th game, boosted by Aaron Judge’s 50th and 51st home runs. … Former Mississippi College standout Blaine Crim hit his fifth homer in 11 games with Colorado — but who noticed? Seattle, powered by Cal Raleigh’s 59th and 60th homers, beat the visiting Rockies 9-2 to clinch the AL West crown. … Mississippi State product Brent Rooker drove in two runs — he has 89 RBIs on the year — and M-Braves alum Shea Langeliers homered in a four-hit game to power the A’s past Houston 6-0. Stumbling toward the finish line with five straight losses, the Astros are a game behind Detroit for the final AL wild card spot. Houston will face ex-MSU standout J.T. Ginn (4-6, 4.57 ERA) today in West Sacramento, Calif. … The fading Tigers, meanwhile, lost their eighth straight, 5-1 to Cleveland, which moved into first place alone in the AL Central. (Colt Keith, the ex-Biloxi High star, has been on the injured list since Sept. 19; he is typically Detroit’s leadoff batter.) … On a night when Cincinnati honored the late Dave Parker — the recently inducted Hall of Famer from Mississippi — the Reds fell to Pittsburgh 4-3 in 11 innings. The Reds remain tied with Arizona, a game back of the Mets for the final National League wild card berth. All three lost on a wild Wednesday. P.S. In the minors, both ex-Ole Miss star Kemp Alderman and ex-Southern Miss standout Matthew Etzel hit home runs to help Jacksonville beat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 6-4 in Game 2 of the Triple-A International League Championship Series. The deciding game is tonight.

29 Sep

building blocks

The 2023 phase of Baltimore’s long-term rebuild, which culminated Thursday night in a division title, included the off-season signing of free agent Adam Frazier and the late June call-up of rookie Jordan Westburg. The two Mississippi State alumni made solid contributions as the Orioles, predicted to finish near the bottom of the American League East, won their first division title since 2014 — back in the Buck Showalter era — by beating Boston 2-0 at Camden Yards. The young Orioles also clinched home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. Westburg, a 2020 first-round pick who started at second base Thursday, is batting .259 with 21 extra-base hits, 23 RBIs and 25 runs in 65 games. He was raking in Triple-A when the O’s brought him up. Frazier, an eight-year veteran signed for $8 million for 2023, pinch hit for Westburg in the eighth inning, walked and scored the big second run. The lefty-hitting Frazier is hitting .242 with 13 homers, 60 RBIs, 59 runs and 11 steals in 138 games. Both also made numerous highlight-reel plays on defense at various positions. Two years after losing 100 games, the Orioles celebrated their 100th win in a raucous clubhouse Thursday. “Pretty damn awesome,” Frazier said in an mlb.com article. P.S. In Atlanta, the Braves whipped the Chicago Cubs for the third straight night and clinched home field through the World Series, should they get there. Ex-DeSoto Central High standout Austin Riley went 3-for-4 — single, double and triple — and scored three times in the Braves’ 5-3 win. Now hitting .282, Riley has 116 runs, third on the team and fifth in the National League. The fading Cubs, in a 6-13 skid, fell to fourth in the NL wild card standings, a half-game behind Miami; the Marlins’ game against the New York Mets was suspended (until Monday?) with Miami leading 2-1 in the ninth. … In the AL West, where nothing is settled, third-place Seattle walked off division-leader Texas 3-2 on a clutch knock by J.P. Crawford; Mississippi Braves alum Dylan Moore scored the winning run in the ninth. The Mariners are 3 games back of the Rangers in the division and 1 game back of Houston in both the division and the AL wild card race. The Astros are third in the wild card standings — a game back of Toronto — and will throw J.P. France (11-6, 3.83), the rookie out of MSU, in tonight’s game at Arizona, which will start Cy Young candidate Zac Gallen (17-8, 3.49). The Diamondbacks are second in the NL wild card standings, just ahead of the Marlins and Cubs. … A pair of former first-round draftees out of MSU faced off — sorta — in the inconsequential St. Louis-Milwaukee game. Ethan Small (28th overall pick, 2019) notched his first MLB save in his fourth appearance over two years as the playoff-bound Brewers beat the also-ran Cardinals 3-0. St. Louis starter Dakota Hudson (34th overall, 2016) allowed all three runs in five innings of work to fall to 6-3, 4.98, this season.

20 Jul

a july dog day

It was a good day to be a Bulldog in the big leagues. Six Mississippi State alumni played on Wednesday and all six celebrated a win. None was bigger than Baltimore’s 8-5 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers that moved the surging Orioles into first place in the American League East. Jordan Westburg went 2-for-4 for the O’s and contributed an RBI and a run in a four-run first inning. Rookie Westburg is batting .276 with seven RBIs and nine runs in 16 games since his June 26 call-up. The Orioles begin a series at second-place Tampa Bay today. The slumping Rays fell behind Baltimore in the standings after a 5-1 loss to streaking Texas; Nathaniel Lowe was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for the Rangers, who’ve won six straight and lead the AL West. Lowe is hitting .280. The Los Angeles Angels completed their first three-game sweep of the last-place New York Yankees in 14 years, winning 7-3 as Hunter Renfroe drew a couple of walks and scored a run. The Angels climbed over .500 at 49-48. Brent Rooker was 0-for-2 for Oakland but did get to watch the lowly A’s beat Boston 6-5. In the National League, Dakota Hudson pitched three innings (two runs allowed) in his first start of the season for St. Louis and Chris Stratton pitched the ninth (one run) for his first save of 2023 as the Cardinals beat Miami 6-4 for their fifth straight win. Hudson has a 2.77 ERA in five games since being recalled from Triple-A; Stratton has a 4.17 in his 38 appearances. P.S. Former MSU standout Cade Smith has signed with the Yankees, becoming the fifth of the 14 players drafted out of Mississippi this year to sign. The right-hander was a sixth-round pick. … Former Southern Miss star Chuckie Robinson went 3-for-4 with four RBIs for Triple-A Louisville (Cincinnati system) and is batting .338 (sixth in the International League) with 52 RBIs. … Ole Miss product Mike Mayers gave up four runs in three innings and took the loss in his first game with Triple-A Charlotte; Mayers, an MLB veteran, was traded from Kansas City to the Chicago White Sox last week. … Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin has been invited to USA Baseball’s 18U national team tryout camp set for Aug. 21-25 in California. Those who make the final roster will compete for Team USA in the U-18 World Cup in Taiwan in September. … The Mississippi Baseball Congress (semi-pro) state tournament will be played this weekend at Mississippi College’s Frierson Field. Five teams, including the top-seeded Hattiesburg Black Sox and the Meridian Benchwarmers, are in the tournament, which starts Friday. Black Sox coach Trey Aby will be inducted into the state’s Semi-Pro Hall of Fame during the weekend.

21 Sep

party on …

Mitch Moreland has done quite a bit of celebrating in his big league career. The Amory native and ex-Mississippi State star was on the field at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night when Boston clinched the American League East with a rollicking 11-6 victory over New York. In his nine MLB seasons, Moreland has had a hand in six division championships, four with Texas and the last two with the Red Sox. He was also on the Rangers’ wild card team in 2012. Moreland is batting .243 with 15 homers and 67 RBIs this season. After making his first All-Star Game in July, he has struggled much of the second half and lost playing time at first base to Steve Pearce. But Moreland’s superior defense will get him into games, and his postseason experience (37 games) is also valuable. He hit .385 in Boston’s division series loss to Houston in 2017. Moreland has played in two World Series – with Texas in 2010 and ’11 – but is yet to win a ring. That could change this fall. P.S. Former Northwest Mississippi Community College standout Cody Reed threw six shutout innings for Cincinnati to get his first win as a big league starter (see previous post). He allowed five hits, no walks and punched out six Miami batters. Lefty Reed, who threw five scoreless innings in his previous start, is 1-2 with a 3.66 ERA in 16 games (six starts) this season.