Shawn Kelley

Nationals’ lineup for rubber match with Brewers + Bryce Harper’s ejection...

Before he was ejected in the eighth inning of last night’s game, Bryce Harper singled in his first at bat to extend his hit streak to 18-straight games and on-base streak to 26-straight games. Harper finished the night with a .334/.437/.628 line on the season, but his hit and on-base streaks weren’t what people were talking about after the game. It was his ejection for arguing with home plate umpire Chris Segal about a 1-0 pitch he didn’t think was a strike. Harper took the pitch, gestured emphatically that he thought it was low, and then exploded on Segal after he struck out swinging at a 98 mph 1-2 fastball from Milwaukee Brewers’ reliever Josh Hader. It wasn’t an egregious strike call by Segal

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  Bryce Harper blamed his pregame music following his latest ejection

  CBS Sports
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  Bryce Harper Ejected vs. Brewers for Arguing Balls and Strikes with Umpire

  Bleacher Report

New York Mets Trade Polarizing, Forever Underrated 1B Lucas Duda to Tampa Bay Rays

For a lot of New York Mets fans, Lucas Duda will be remembered for one throw. A throw that did not go as planned. It was November 2nd, there just so happened to be a World Series on the line, and in that moment he didn’t come through. To remember him for such a moment would be unfair as the rest of his career should be defined as a thriving success. Were there ups and downs? Sure. Duda was as streaky as they come. But, if you look back at his career averages, his OPS each month from 2014-2016 never dropped below .759. In spite of the near all-star level production, Mets fans always seemed to find a way to hate him. “Maybe they just don’t like my face,” Lucas Duda self-deprecatingly proposed.

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  Mets Trade Lucas Duda to Rays

  Sports Illustrated
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  Report: Rays acquire Lucas Duda from the Mets

  HardballTalk

Nationals’ lineup vs Brewers + Rizzo on Baker batting Rendon sixth...

Grant Paulsen, of 106.7 the FAN in D.C.’s Grant and Danny Show, and one of the louder voices of the “Move Anthony Rendon to the 2-Spot” movement, made the case for Dusty Baker batting Rendon second instead of sixth in a recent post on his new site: “It’s simple math. It’s been estimated that each spot in a batting order gets 30 or-so more at-bats than the spot behind it over the course of a season. A leadoff batter is going to get the most chances to get on base. Then a second hitter. Then the third hitter and so on. If you accept that math, which you should because it’s fact, how can you possibly advocate for hitting a .225 hitter who doesn’t get on base more often than a .320 hitter who does?