We’re currently in our fifth season with Statcast, and last night Nomar Mazara hit the longest home run ever measured by Statcast. His 505-foot blast is tied with a Trevor Story home run from last year as the longest of the Statcast era. There’s not much else to say about it. You have to see it if you haven’t already.

 

Pitching Performance of the Day

It was not difficult to choose the best starter from Friday. Walker Buehler pitched a complete game, which is a relatively rare occurrence these days, and he struck out 16 while only allowing three base runners and two runs. He easily generated the most swinging strikes of the day at 23. He also generated 23 called strikes and 23 foul balls, which means he had a nice strike total (if you can do the math). The start pushed Buehler’s ERA under 3.00, and his K-BB% now ranks tied for seventh in the league. The names ahead of him in that stat are guys like Cole, Sale, Scherzer and Verlander. Here’s every third strike from his start.

 

Hitting Performance of the Day

Cheslor Cuthbert probably isn’t a name you expect to hear often when discussing the top performance of the day, but Cuthbert went 3-for-4 yesterday with a home run and a double. No hitter double-donged yesterday, and Cuthbert’s four RBI and two runs give him the best stat line from Saturday. Cuthbert made his season debut on May 31, and you could look at his .307 batting average and think he might be worth an add. The problem is his living off his .380 BABIP right now.

There’s a version of Cuthbert that has a little value like his 2016 season when he hit .274 with 12 home runs. But Cuthbert had decent plate discipline numbers then, and this year his strikeout and walk rates are woeful. His swing rate on pitches in the zone is way down, and until he gets more aggressive in that regard, he’s going to suffer when his BABIP regresses. Leave Cuthbert on the wire unless you notice significant improvements to his plate discipline.

 

Game of the Day

Mazara’s blast started off what ended up being a tight game between the Rangers and White Sox. The blast gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first, but the Sox took the lead in the top of the second off a three-run Zack Collins homer. From that point on the game was a one-run game. The Rangers tied it at three in the bottom of the second on a Rougned Odor home run, and the Sox scored one in the third to make it 4-3. That score held until the bottom of the seventh when the Rangers tied it up, and that score held until extra innings. In the 10th, the Sox scored the winning run the exact opposite way Mazara started the scoring as Yolmer Sánchez laid down a beautiful safety squeeze.

 

 

What to Watch for Today

Hyun-Jin Ryu is easily the best starting pitcher going on Saturday. Ryu has a 1.26 ERA on the season, and the next best probable starter is Luis Castillo with an ERA exactly one full run higher. Ryu’s 2.85 xFIP is also best among probable starters, and Castillo is again second-best in that stat but 80 points behind Ryu with an xFIP of 3.65. Vegas has Ryu’s opponent, the Rockies, with the lowest projected run total of the day at 2.96 runs. The next closest team to the Rox is the Orioles with a projected run total almost a full run higher.