Last August Jose Urena hit Ronald Acuna Jr. in the elbow with a fastball, Acuna later threw his shin guard toward the mound, and the benches then cleared. Yesterday, Braves pitcher Kevin Gausman did this when Urena came to the plate in the second inning:

 

 

Some people seem to think this kind of eye-for-an-eye thing is fine and view Gausman getting tossed as a sign of how soft we are now. Put me squarely in the camp of thinking it’s dumb to throw hard objects 90-plus miles per hour directly at people for any reason. Moving on…

 

Pitching Performance of the Day

Tyler Glasnow might deserve this spot as he lowered his ERA to 1.47 yesterday, but we’ll give Chris Sale the nod for earning his first win of the season. Sale pitched six scoreless innings against the White Sox with 10 strikeouts and only four baserunners allowed. The concerning thing is his velocity was still only around 93 mph and sits at 92.7 on average for the season. That’s a full three mph lower than his average fastball velocity last season. It is entirely possible Sale will gain arm strength as the season goes along or that he’ll simply learn how to do more with less. But the lack of velocity gives him a much lower floor than anyone expected. You wouldn’t be wrong to use this good start as a chance to shop Sale and see what you can get for him.

 

Hitting Performance of the Day

Derek Dietrich hit two three-run home runs last night, one in the first inning and another in the third inning. According to STATS, “He's the first MLB 2nd baseman to hit a 3-run HR (or GS) twice in the first 3 innings of a game since Hall of Famer Joe Morgan on 8/19/1974.” Take a look at his second homer, which was a bomb down the tunnel.

 

 

Dietrich has been splitting time with Jose Peraza and only has 76 PA on the season. Dietrich has started three games in a row, and he appears in almost every game due to his frequent usage as a pinch hitter. The Reds use him in a pinch-hitting role so much because he hits righties well. Dietrich has a 116 wRC+ vs. RHP for his career, and he has a 158 wRC+ against them this year. His usage probably relegates him to deeper league relevance in season long leagues, but he’s always a guy to keep on your radar in DFS when he’s starting against a right-handed pitcher, especially when the Reds are home in their hitter-friendly park. In fact, we had Dietrich listed in the MLB DFS Playbook yesterday. Great call, Howard!

 

Game of the Day

Dietrich’s two home runs obviously got the Reds out to a large lead, but it didn’t turn out to be enough. At one point the Reds had a win expectancy of 99 percent when Evan Longoria made the first out of the sixth inning with the Reds leading 10-3. But after that out the Giants got hot. The next five batters either reached base or drove in a run, and the Reds lead was cut to three by the end of the half inning. The Reds stretched the lead to 11-7 through seven, but the Giants scored three in the eighth to make it 11-10. A Stephen Vogt home run with the Giants down to their last out sent the game to extra innings, and Longoria completed the comeback with a solo homer in the top of the 11th that ended up being the game winner. Here’s a look at the game graph courtesy of Fangraphs.

 

What to Watch for Today

No team has been more banged up than the Yankees early in the season, and they’ll start getting a little healthier today as Miguel Andujar has been activated off the IL. Andujar will start at third and hit cleanup for the Yanks. DJ Lemahieu is also in the lineup for the first time since April 28. More reinforcements are on the way as Clint Frazier is starting a rehab stint today, and Aaron Hicks is expected to start a rehab stint on Monday. Unfortunately, James Paxton left yesterday’s start after three innings with a knee injury and will undergo an MRI today. He stated that he’s “not real worried” about the injury, but Yankees fans have to be concerned given how many other injuries the team has suffered. Despite it all, the Yanks are hanging tough with a record of 18-13 which puts them second in the AL East and only 2.5 games behind the Rays.