MLB Bullets is on Fiers

Good morning.

• This happened late last night so you may have missed it. Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers threw a no-hitter against the Reds. It was the second no-hitter of Fiers’ career. The only other active pitchers with two no-hitters are Justin Verlander, Jake Arrieta, Max Scherzer and Homer Bailey. (Also, Cole Hamels has a complete game no-hitter and was part of a combined no-hitter.) Fiers no-no was the 300th in MLB history.
• If you missed this game, it’s because it was on the West Coast and it started one hour and 38 minutes late because of a lighting problem. Derek Dietrich of the Reds played handyman before the game pretending to lead the repairs. Maybe he should have played MLB hitter instead. Still, credit to Dietrich for trying to lighten things up, pun intended.
• This was just one day after a Reds game in Cincinnati was delayed by bees and Dietrick played beekeeper in that one.
• C. Trent Rosecrans has all the information on what went down with the bees in Cincinnati, (The Athletic sub. req.) including how two beekeepers who were attending the game as fans dealt with the bees by getting them into a box that had stored Joey Votto bobbleheads.
• More odd things from that bees game. Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval became the first NL player since Christy Mathewson in 1905 to pitch without allowing a run, homer and steal a base in the same game. The only other player to do it since then did it in the Federal League in 1915.
• More strange dealings as Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire had to leave last night’s game after breaking out in hives in an allergic reaction to some unknown substance. Daniel Norris wondered if Gardenhire was allergic to his pitching.
• The Angels activated DH Shohei Ohtani before last night’s game in Detroit where Gardenhire got the hives. He was 0 for 4 with an RBI groundout. Ohtani will not pitch this season as he returns from Tommy John surgery.
• One more event from that Tigers/Angels game. It’s been a while since I’ve posted an obscene defensive play from shortstop Andrelton Simmons, so it’s good that you can gaze at this incredible over-the-shoulder catch Simmons made running into center field.
• We’re all wishing Mets broadcaster Ron Darling the best after he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
• Also, former Mets great Ed Kranepool underwent a kidney transplant.
• This piece on the Marlins by Ken Rosenthal is getting a lot of attention. Rosenthal outlines the dysfunction and division within the Marlins under the management of Derek Jeter’s friend and right-hand man Gary Denbo. (The Athletic sub. req.) Rosenthal’s portrait of Denbo is as the middle manager from hell. For example, the Marlins lost their affiliation with the Greensboro Grasshoppers because the front office at Greensboro refused to have anything to do with Denbo.
• Tim Brown talks to free agent pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who says he has not lowered his asking price at all and that “it’s about the principle.” At this point, no one is going to sign Keuchel until after the draft when the compensation goes away.
• Craig Edwards outlines how Sinclair Broadcasting’s purchase of the former Fox Regional Sports Networks could be a problem for MLB and baseball fans. (Note: this piece is about Sinclair’s business practices and not their politics, which are not mentioned.)
• More weird events. The Nationals were stuck on a plane in Philadelphia all night.
• David Schoenfield looks at the Nats slow start to the season and concludes that the Nationals season is in danger and so is manager Dave Martinez’s job. The Nationals fired Dusty Baker because he hadn’t won a first-round playoff series. The Nats under Martinez have no such problems.
• Craig Calcaterra can’t believe that Bob Klapisch of the New York Times is still campaigning for Wally Backman to get a major league managing job and wonders why anyone thinks Backman is a more deserving candidate than dozens of other baseball lifers.
• Mets second baseman Robinson Cano got his 2,500th career hit.
• Injured Indians pitcher Corey Kluber said he hopes to return to the mound this season. The Indians haven’t said how long he’ll be out, but you know when the player says “sometime this season,” it’s bad.
• Kluber is out because he broke his forearm getting hit by a line drive. Braves pitcher Max Fried also left Tuesday night’s game after getting hit in the hand with a liner. Fortunately, x-rays were negative for Fried.
• Eno Sarris explains how Rangers slugger Joey Gallo got more “stubborn,” which has him off to the best start of his career. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Sam Miller examines the current condition of major league relievers: how they’re being used and how good they are at the moment.
• Reds closer Raisel Iglesias complained that the team isn’t using him properly.
• David Schoenfield says that Rays pitcher (and reigning Cy Young Award-winner) Blake Snell is still the favorite in the 2019 AL Cy Young race.
• And R.J. Anderson believes that Rays first baseman Brandon Lowe might be the favorite for the AL Rookie of the Year.
• Craig Edwards looks at Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner’s early season performance and believes that the old pre-2017 Bumgarner is back.
• A look at how Triple-A baseball has been transformed by the introduction of major league baseballs. A lot more home runs, that’s how.
• In an excerpt from his new book, Bill Pennington tells the story of how the Yankees almost traded Mariano Rivera.
• It’s a changing MLB world when we’re covering fashion news, but check out Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez at the Met Gala in New York.
• And finally, America’s Greatest Short Film Maker® Andrew McCutchen is out with a new piece on what it’s like to have a conversation in a doctor’s waiting room.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.