As the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Diaz to return:
Mets righty Edwin Diaz is set to be activated from the injured list today. The Mets will need to clear space on their active roster to accommodate Diaz, but Tim Healey of Newsday reported last night that they’ve already done so by optioning southpaw Danny Young to Triple-A. Diaz has been sidelined by an impingement in his right shoulder since the end of May, and his return figures to get plenty of attention due to the struggles he had been facing prior to that injury.
From April 29 until his last appearance prior to going on the IL, Diaz posted a 9.58 ERA and 6.25 FIP in 10 appearances and converted just one of five save chances, leading the Mets to temporarily remove their $102MM reliever from the closer role. Now that he’s returning to action, he’ll aim to get back to 2022 form, when he pitched to an otherworldly 1.31 ERA and 0.90 FIP with a 50.2% strikeout rate and 32 saves in 61 appearances.
2. Dodgers altering pitching plans:
The Dodgers are set to face off against the Rangers in a rubber match this evening, and they had previously been expecting to send right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound against Rangers right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3.05 ERA). However, Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts told reporters (including those at MLB.com) that the club has decided to push Yamamoto’s next start back until Saturday against the Royals. Fortunately, Roberts didn’t indicate that there was a physical issue with the impressive young right-hander. Rather, it seems Yamamoto’s absence from the mound this evening is simply a way to monitor his workload and build extra rest into his schedule as he transitions to a heavier workload in MLB. (NPB starters typically pitch once per week, and Yamamoto has never started more than 26 games during a regular season.)
In the meantime, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio was among those to relay that the club is set to turn to right-hander Michael Grove, who has pitched to a 4.72 ERA in 34 1/3 long relief innings this season, to start what seems likely to be a bullpen game for the Dodgers. Tonight’s game is set to take place in Dodger Stadium at 7:10pm local time.
3. Interleague Pitchers’ Duel:
Another rubber match is set to take place this evening at Fenway Park when the Red Sox take on the Phillies for the final game of their three-game set. It’s not a game that figures to have much immediate impact on the standings, as Philadelphia has carved out a ten-game lead over the Braves in the NL East while Boston sits 11.5 games back of the second-place Orioles in the AL East with a .500 record.
What the game lacks in playoff impact it makes up for with an exciting pitching matchup, however. The Phillies are set to trot out right-hander Aaron Nola, who sports a 2.77 ERA with a 23.1% strikeout rate in 13 starts since signing a $172MM deal to remain in Philadelphia back in November. Meanwhile, the Red Sox counter with righty Tanner Houck, who has been nothing short of dominant so far in what is quickly becoming a breakout season. Houck’s 1.91 ERA is the best among all qualified AL hurlers, and the 27-year-old hurler’s 25% strikeout rate and 2.22 FIP largely back up those fantastic results. The two electric arms are scheduled to face off starting at 7:10pm local time this evening.