Dose: Giancarlo Hits the Shelf

Every pitcher in baseball just breathed a huge sigh of relief. That’s because Giancarlo Stanton won’t be around to torture them for the next month.

Baseball’s most prolific power hitter will undergo surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his left hand. The Marlins slugger didn’t suffer any ligament damage so he’ll only be out 4-to-6 weeks. Of course, any amount of time without Giancarlo is too long.

Stanton’s injury leaves us with so many more questions than answers. Will Miami turn pitch-black without Giancarlo’s blasts lighting the city? Should the All-Star Game cancel the Home Run Derby? Will production assistants around the country lose their jobs because there won’t be any Giancarlo highlights to cut?

Aside from the cultural and financial devastation Stanton’s absence is sure to cause, there’s something more obvious at stake—we’re losing one of the game’s most entertaining players. Nobody in the sport awes us the way Giancarlo does when he punishes a baseball. He’s hit six of the ten longest home runs in baseball this year and leads the league with 67 RBI. With 12 homers this month, it’s clear we’re witnessing a unique talent.

Even with Stanton healthy the Marlins haven’t played particularly well this season. They’re 14 games under .500 and 11 games out of first place. But without him, it could get ugly. After Giancarlo’s 27, the team’s next highest home run total is six (Justin Bour). Ichiro Suzuki becomes the everyday right fielder in Stanton’s absence, which would have been great 10 years ago when Suzuki was 31 and still in his prime.

The good news is former Rookie of the Year Jose Fernandez will make his season debut for the Marlins Thursday against the Giants. Fernandez gave up four runs in his final rehab outing Saturday for Double-A Jacksonville but he also had eight strikeouts in five innings. The 22-year-old was a legitimate Cy Young contender before Tommy John surgery ended his 2014 campaign prematurely.

Marlins Upset Kershaw

You can’t win them all, but when you’re Clayton Kershaw, you expect to win most of them.

Last year’s National League MVP lost his third consecutive game Saturday against the Marlins. It’s the first time in his career he’s lost three straight. Kershaw went 225 starts before his first three-game losing streak. Only Whitey Ford (338 starts) and Mike Mussina (247) went longer to start their careers without losing three in a row.

Kershaw allowed three runs Saturday but only one was earned thanks to a pair of Dodgers errors. Los Angeles had gone 13 games without an error before Saturday. That was the longest streak in team history.

Kershaw (5-6) will enter July with a losing record for the first time since his rookie season in 2008. Victories have been hard to come by but Kershaw is still racking up the strikeouts. The left-hander has recorded at least nine punch-outs in each of his last five starts. That’s the longest streak of his career.

Justin Turner accounted for half the Dodgers’ offense Saturday with a solo blast in the first inning. That’s his sixth home run of the month, a remarkable statistic considering Turner had seven round-trippers all of last season—and that was a career-high.

Oberholtzer Gets Demoted After Meltdown

Brett Oberholtzer had himself a bad day.

It started when the Astros starter hung an 80 mph breaking ball to Brian McCann with the bases loaded. McCann turned on it and sent it out of the park for his 11th career grand slam. That put New York ahead 4-0 in the first inning.

Chris Young followed with a two-run blast in the second inning, adding to the left-hander’s frustration. Oberholtzer brushed Alex Rodriguez back with some chin music on the next pitch. He was promptly ejected by home plate umpire Rob Drake.

Masahiro Tanaka wasn’t much better than Oberholtzer. The Yankees starter allowed seven hits and a career-high six runs in five innings of work. Four of those runs came across on home runs including back-to-back shots by Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve in the fifth inning.

Shortly after losing 9-6, Houston shipped Oberholtzer to Triple-A Fresno. In the past, the Astros may have taken a more patient approach with a struggling pitcher like Oberholtzer. But with Houston in first place and looking very much like a playoff team, there’s no time for Oberholtzer to go through the motions. Saturday’s bonehead ejection probably didn’t help his cause.

The Yankees are now only a half game out of first in the AL East and could be getting Jacoby Ellsbury (sprained right knee) back as soon as next week. The Bronx Bombers have already left the yard 102 times this season. Last year, they didn’t hit their 100th home run until August 2nd.

American League Quick Hits: Former Cy Young winner Johan Santana is putting his comeback on hold. The 36-year-old left-hander signed a minor league deal with Toronto in February but hasn’t pitched because of a toe infection … St. Petersburg native Marreese Speights threw out the first pitch at Saturday’s Red Sox/Rays game. Speights won an NBA title with the Warriors earlier this month … Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Charlotte on Thursday. He went on the disabled list with oblique tightness earlier this month … Hanley Ramirez missed his third straight game with a bruised hand. The Red Sox will likely wait another three or four days before deciding whether to place him on the disabled list … The injury-plagued Red Sox only had two position players available off the bench on Saturday: Deven Marrero and Blake Swihart … Justin Masterson will make his first start since May 12 Sunday against the Rays. He’s taking Joe Kelly’s spot in the starting rotation … Saturday’s Orioles/Indians game was rained out. They’ll play a doubleheader on Sunday. The first 25,000 fans 15 or older will receive Buck Showalter garden gnomes. Yes, that’s a real thing … Torii Hunter clubbed two long balls Saturday for his 18th multi-home run game. He’s now sixth on the Twins’ all-time list with 202 homers … Rangers right-hander Yovani Gallardo extended his scoreless streak to 23 innings Saturday in a win over the Blue Jays. He’s 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA in his last seven starts … The weirdest injury of the day belonged to Robinson Cano. Between innings, he got nailed in the head by an errant throw from Angels rookie Taylor Featherston. Cano left the game with a bruised forehead but expects to play in Sunday’s series finale … Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas got a chance to play Pebble Beach on Thursday. He dropped a hole-in-one on the 17th hole … In a nice display of sportsmanship, Royals left-hander Franklin Morales called Stephen Vogt to make sure he was okay after hitting him with a pitch on Friday night. Vogt was back in the lineup on Saturday … Billy Burns missed his second straight game with a hip flexor injury. He should be back for Sunday’s contest … Phil Coke signed a minor league contract with the A’s on Saturday. That’s his third team this season … The Athletics brought back their old mascot Charlie O. on Saturday. The mule took pictures with fans and did a lap around the Oakland Coliseum. A staff member followed him around with a scooper because, well you get the idea.

National League Quick Hits: Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig didn’t start Saturday but he should be back Sunday. He’s been out of the lineup because of an open callous on his left hand … Dodgers reliever Paco Rodriguez will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow. He’ll be sidelined 8-to-10 weeks … Zack Greinke could be in for a big game on Sunday. He’s 21-6 with a 2.26 ERA in 38 starts following a Dodgers loss … Nolan Arenado extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a double Saturday against the Giants. His teammate Troy Tulowitzki has an 11-game hit streak … Phillies starters have gone a combined 1-18 in their last 34 games. That win came on June 21 when Adam Morgan beat the Cardinals 9-2 in his first big league start … Tim Lincecum left Saturday’s game after taking a line drive off his right forearm. He allowed three runs in just 1 2/3 innings … Andrew McCutchen left Saturday’s game after taking a pitch off his left elbow. His X-rays were negative … Saturday’s Mets/Reds game was suspended in the seventh inning because of rain. It was the Mets’ first suspended game since May 24, 2013 against the Braves. The Steve Miller Band concert after the game was pushed back to Sunday … Ivan DeJesus drew the start at shortstop for Cincinnati on Saturday. He’s the 28th shortstop Brandon Phillips has played with since joining the Reds in 2006 … The Mets will get Daniel Murphy back Tuesday against the Cubs. He’s missed the last three weeks with a strained left quad … Wil Myers (wrist surgery) had his cast removed on Saturday. He’s two weeks ahead of schedule … Right-hander Donn Roach made his Cubs debut on Saturday, becoming the 1,999th player in team history …MLB Network announcer Bob Costas plans to apologize personally to Pedro Strop after making insensitive remarks during Friday night’s Cubs/Cardinals broadcast. Here’s what Costas said after Strop’s rough outing: “Strop is on his way out, pointing toward the heavens. We can only ask, or wonder that he is asking some departed relative for forgiveness for this atrocious performance.”