MLBits: The Reds Are Down Bad, Pujols Pitches an Inning, Fanning Through a Rebuild, Reyes Shut Down, More
We’re already half-way through the month of May! Can you believe it? The season is going by so fast, and the lockout feels like a distant memory at this point. Thank goodness they came together on a deal in time — just a stray thought I had.
The Most Reds Thing Ever
I feel like the Reds have made their way into every MLBits that I’ve written this season, and never for anything good. Indeed, their miserable season continues, this time with another unfortunate addition to the history books after the Reds threw a combined no-hitter … and lost to the Pirates on Sunday.
The Reds became the sixth team in MLB history to throw a no-hitter and lose the game. If you didn’t catch it yet, here’s a look at the sequence that led to the Pirates taking a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning on Sunday:
This is how the Reds threw a no-hitter and ended up losing the game, absolutely unreal pic.twitter.com/erOSmQMs4U
— MLB Errors (@mlberrors) May 15, 2022
Reds fans are not having fun watching their favorite baseball time right now, but at least they’re making the best of it. Or, at the very least, just making a few bucks off it:
The Most Reds Thing Ever….. pic.twitter.com/1cMVL9VUKZ
— Cincinnati Clothing Co. (@CINClothingCo) May 15, 2022
Albert Pujols Makes His Pitching Debut
With a 15-2 lead in the top of the ninth inning, the St. Louis Cardinals called Albert Pujols to get them three outs, making Pujols the second oldest major leaguer to make his pitching debut since 1901.
Naturally, the internet had some fun with the future Hall of Famer throwing 47 mph lob tosses at the San Francisco Giants. The Pitching Ninja mashed up Pujols’ pitch with a 105 mph fastball by teammate Jordan Hicks:
Albert Pujols 47mph Pitch vs. Jordan Hicks 105mph Fastball. pic.twitter.com/7LZh2LWrc0
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 16, 2022
Albert Pujols gave up a hit to Evan Longoria, who promptly asked Pujols for the ball! Pujols obliged and tossed it into the Giants dugout:
Albert Pujols gave up his first ever hit to Evan Longoria and Evan asked if he could keep the ball 😂 pic.twitter.com/9k07UwpHsT
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 16, 2022
Pujols got the three outs that the Cardinals needed to wrap the game up but not before surrendering four runs on three hits putting his freshly minted lifetime ERA at a crips 36.00, where it will probably stay for good.
Fans Open Up About Rooting Through a Rebuild
“My money seems to be going to the owner and not reinvested into the team. Hard to create a loyal fan base in this environment,” he wrote. “The old school fans will come back at the drop of a hat when the team starts winning again, but I think they’ve failed to grow with the young fanbase.”
That’s the sentiment from a scorned Baltimore Orioles fan, and he’s not alone. Hannah Keyser put together an excellent story on the struggles of being a fan of a rebuilding team with tons of great feedback from the fans themselves. Keyser spoke with fans of the Orioles, A’s, Pirates, and Reds for the story, and you can feel the helplessness in their responses.
“What did the fans do to deserve the kind of sentiment that seems to be coming from the ownership?”
To go or not to go: Fans of frustrating teams on ticket buying in the era of the tank. https://t.co/Ai239zJp6n
— Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) May 13, 2022
Odds and Ends …
• It seems that the Cardinals will be without Alex Reyes for a while. After experiencing soreness in his shoulder after starting a throwing program this week, Reyes, who hasn’t pitched yet this season, will be shut down again and seek a second opinion on his shoulder:
Alex Reyes Shut Down Due To Shoulder Soreness https://t.co/pQW8h0Wp9U pic.twitter.com/pK7pslMWmN
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) May 15, 2022
• On today’s installment of “So You Think You Can Hit Against a Major League Pitcher?” …
Yency Almonte, Nutmeg Slider.
[With both the Phillies and Dodgers calls of it 🔊😂]"Oh my gosh. It went between his legs. Goodness gracious." pic.twitter.com/zS7UYTOtAV
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 16, 2022
• Oof!
Fan attempts to catch a foul ball pic.twitter.com/Adhc8JFn3o
— MLB Errors (@mlberrors) May 15, 2022
• Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina now have 203 victories as a battery in St. Louis:
With their 203rd victory together, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina are now the winningest battery in MLB history! pic.twitter.com/QDiynpSPoM
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 16, 2022
• With Lucas Giolito still on the COVID-IL, Johnny Cueto will make his first start of the season for the White Sox tonight in Kansas City. Cueto won a World Series as a member of the Royals in 2015 and spent last season with the San Francisco Giants.
Pitcher Johnny Cueto will make his first start for the White Sox tonight in Kansas City. https://t.co/mmtOyP0JS8
— Sun-Times Sports (@suntimes_sports) May 16, 2022
• The Yankees sit atop Ben Verlander and MLB dot com’s latest power rankings:
New MLB POWER RANKINGS from @BenVerlander 📈 pic.twitter.com/N8pXFkm0Gl
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 16, 2022
• That’s some pretty historical company:
Shohei Ohtani became the third Japanese-born player with at least 100 home runs in MLB 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/yntwc5yGTx
— Sporting News MLB (@sn_mlb) May 15, 2022