Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. A's rookie Jacob Wilson dug into the box last night just a little bit before 11 p.m. ET, facing uncharted territory. The count was 2-1, an ordinary, run-of-the-mill, ho-hum count for pretty much every Major League hitter who has ever lived. Except for Jacob Wilson. That's because the 23-year-old was at the plate for the 88th time this season and had not yet seen three balls. Which also means, of course, that Wilson had not yet had the opportunity to drop his bat and walk on over to first base. But when Rangers left-hander Jacob Latz (fitting that he was facing another Jacob) delivered an 85.2 mph changeup just barely off the outside corner, Wilson watched it go by. Ball 3, at last. A whole new ball-game. There have been 275 batters to take 50 or more plate appearances this season. Sort them by their percentage of plate appearances that have gone to three balls and Wilson is, unsurprisingly, at the bottom (one in 90, which comes to a minuscule 1.1%). A call to the Elias Sports Bureau told us that, while there is no all-time data on this, no other player has had a streak as long as Wilson's in at least the past 20 years. Back to last night's at-bat: Wilson had broken the seal. He was in a true hitter's count now and Wilson, in his young career so far, has proven to be a true hitter. You can imagine a guy batting .345 at the time with only four strikeouts was looking to take a cut in this spot. But Latz's heater came in low and Wilson didn't bite, watching it go by. He dropped his bat, took off his elbow guard and looked with a wry smile towards the A's dugout, where his teammates were going wild. |
And for good reason (not just because it drove in a run). As far as walk-less streaks beginning from the start of a season, only one A's player has had a longer one this century – Josh Donaldson went 99 plate appearances before his first free pass in 2012, but he also spent some time in the Minors during that stretch. All this amounts to Wilson being something of a throwback hitter – high average, low strikeout rate (second-lowest among qualified hitters, in fact, behind only three-time batting champ Luis Arraez) and not a ton of power. Where'd he learn that old-school style from? It runs in the family. His dad, Jack Wilson, won a Silver Slugger Award in 2004, when he hit only 11 homers, batted .308, struck out just 10.2% of the time … and walked a mere 3.8% of the time, the second-lowest rate in the bigs that year. It's a free-swinging family, and if Wilson can keep doing what he's doing – basically, just keep swinging – maybe a Silver Slugger is in his future, too. -- Scott Chiusano |
Speaking of young hitters doing esoteric things, emerging Nats star James Wood launched a missile of a homer last night (on his bobblehead night!) at 116.3 mph, the hardest-hit ball of his career. But that wasn't the only unique thing about the glorious clout. As Thomas Harrigan laid out last week, Wood is a unique type of slugger because he rarely pulls the ball in the air. In fact, this home run was his first ball hit in the air of any kind to the pull side this year. And it soared 431 feet into the second deck. Go figure. |
• Orioles @ Nationals (6:45 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): The D.C. edition of the Beltway Series comes to a close tonight, and the Nats send one of their best young arms in MacKenzie Gore to the mound, looking for a sweep against a scuffling O's team that has little margin for error in the AL East. |
• Rays @ D-backs (9:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV, MLB Network): These two teams traded blows for 11 innings last night, with the Rays ultimately closing it out thanks to a young pitcher's unlikely first MLB save, which resulted in a well-deserved beer shower. The D-backs will try to bounce back with Corbin Burnes on the mound and their other Corbin (Carroll) coming off a two-homer night and playing like an MVP candidate. |
• Rangers @ Athletics (10:05 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): It has been almost two years to the day since Jacob deGrom last earned a win in the big leagues. That victory came on April 23, 2023 … against the A's. He gets a shot to return to the "W" column tonight after going seven innings in his previous start, also the first time he's done that since April 2023. |
• We think Pete Crow-Armstrong might want to play the Dodgers every day. Last night the Cubs swept a two-game set against the reigning champs, their last meeting of the regular season, and Crow-Armstrong went deep and had three hits for the second straight night. The Sherman Oaks native has five homers on the season … four of which have come against the Dodgers. Should we start calling him PC(L.A.)? • When the Twins called up their No. 3 prospect, Luke Keaschall, he didn't quite get the same type of quick buzz as Tampa Bay's elite speedster Chandler Simpson. But through his first five big league games, Keaschall stole five bases, tied for the most since 1901, and is emerging as a swiping savant. "He's all energy," manager Rocco Baldelli said. • A ball hitting the barrel of a bat usually happens at the plate. Usually, you ask, eyebrows raised? Last night in the Minors, a broken bat flew past the mound and settled in the grass. That's when things got weird. The slow grounder that had caused the split lumber hit that lonely piece of bat and redirected past the infielder. Broken-bat single indeed. |
Can you Beat the Streak? Try to top Joe DiMaggio's record hitting streak of 56 games by selecting a player each day to record a hit. If you get to 57, you can win $5.6 million. Plus, new for this year, a chance to win unique weekly prizes. And because we like to toot our own horn here (and also reward you for making it this far), we're going to suggest … Jacob Wilson! For reasons we know you already know. Play free > |
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