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MLB 2022 Weekly Preview: News, scores, and upcoming games
As usual, there’s a lot of exciting baseball news to unpack, so let’s dive in and see what’s been happening in the MLB over the last few weeks in 2022.
MLB major headlines
- Tigers/Athletics doubleheader ends in a tie
- Dodgers annihilate Pirates, 11-1
- Yankees get close victory over Blue Jays, 6-5, Aaron Judge wins game with first career walk-off home run
- Angels destroy Rays, 12-0, Reid Detmers completes a no-hitter game
- Reds continue losing season by falling 5-4 to Brewers
- White Sox outfielder, Eloy Jimenez, progressing fast in injury recovery and back sooner than expected
- MLB continues to struggle with regard to baseball consistency
- Dodgers and Giants to wear Pride caps in June matchup
Game of the week
Los Angeles Angels – 12 @ Tampa Bay Rays – 0 on Tuesday, May 10th
Well, the 21-11 Angels sure are happy that they called up Reid Detmers to the Major Leagues last season. The rookie pitcher, a left-hander, was fairly unmemorable in his first 10 starts at the mound, but all that changed on Tuesday night against the 18-13 Rays.
Detmers was arguably the most important part of the Angels’ crushing 12-0 victory over Tampa Bay, as he was only the second player this season to record a no-hitter (when a pitcher doesn’t allow any batter to reach a base via a hit across all innings).
The talented 22-year-old threw 108 pitches during his 11th start in the MLB, where he struck out two and let one walk. The no-hitter was complete when the Rays’ Diaz grounded the baseball out to Angels’ shortstop, Velazquez, and was declared out when he failed to reach the first base.
The 39,313 fans at Angel Stadium erupted into cheers and Detmers was promptly swamped by his teammates after the incredible achievement and convincing victory.
“Getting the last out was the coolest part,” said Detmers. “It’s just something I’ve dreamed ever since I was a little kid. I didn’t think it would ever happen. When I got two strikes on the last hitter, I was shaking a little bit. But other than that, I tried to keep myself pretty calm.”
Detmers was, quite simply, unstoppable and fully looked the part of a Major League pitcher. His fastballs averaged 92 mph, while he also threw several curveballs and sliders that bamboozled his opponents at the plate.
The Rays had no answer for Detmers, but a lot of the Angels’ credit should also go to batters Mike Trout and Brandon Marsh, in particular. Marsh ended the game with two runs and two hits, while Trout completed things with three runs and three hits.
The Angels have now won six of their last seven games and look to continue their hot streak against the Rays once more on Thursday.
What’s up with the Boston Red Sox this season?
It’s fair to say that the 11-19 Red Sox (third last in the AL) haven’t been performing up to standards. But why is that? Here are a few reasons.
1. Boston keeps floundering in the ninth inning
The Red Sox have been unreliable late in the game and blown a lot of situations at the end of the inning. It appears the pressure has caused far too many errors and allowed opposing teams to sneak back into the game and take the win.
2. Too much reliance on top-heavy players on offense
While the Red Sox have three great hitters worthy of an All-Star spot with
Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and J.D. Martinez, the rest of the team is an issue. The offense seems to fall apart if any of those three names aren’t on the plate. Their talent has been enough to win games, but not every time, and it’s clear that the rest of the team needs to put in its work to secure victories.
3. A poor amount of roster depth
This ties in a bit to the second point… the roster is just, meh. The upgrades in the off-season were average at best, and it’s clear that huge changes need to happen mid-season to fix mistakes on the field.
Thankfully, there’s more than enough time for Boston to make a few roster tweaks and get their season back on track. After all, this is a team that is knocking on the World Series door nearly every season.
Two Must-see Upcoming MLB games
Check out the following two matchups on the MLB schedule.
Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees on Wednesday 11th May
Likely first pitchers:
Yankees – Jameson Taillon
Blue Jays – Jose Berrios
This is the second of two matchups for the Blue Jays vs. Yankees. It was New York’s Aaron Judge that saved the day for the home team during the first matchup, as he hit a massive walk-off home run that turned the tide and helped the Yankees get the 6-5 win.
Will Judge be the hero again? It’s possible, as he’s certainly one of the top three players in the MLB this season. Judge is the leader of home runs in the AL with 10, as well as recording a solid .626 slugging percentage. Put simply, the Yankees’ offense hinges on Judge’s efforts, and there are no two ways about it.
The Yankees are currently the best team in the entire MLB, with a 21-8 record and going 8-2 in their last 10 games. If you’re Toronto, going into Yankee Stadium for the second time will be daunting, especially as New York’s No. 1 pitcher, Jameson Taillon, is on fire right now with 21 strikeouts and just two walks this season.
The Blue Jays should be happy that they came incredibly close to a win during the first matchup, as it’s not every night that a game is saved by a Judge home run.
The Blue Jays’ record is ho-hum at 17-14, but the team is great on offense (scoring 120 runs this season) but also preventing runs on the defensive end. In terms of pitching, Jose Berrios is a veteran who can keep calm when things get tough. His 2021 stats are impressive, as he struck out 9.6 batters per nine innings and had only 2.1 walks per nine innings.
Weirdly, right-handed batters seem to have a hard time against Berrios, so it will be interesting to see if the Yankees favor their left-handers in answer.
We have a feeling that the Blue Jays will make all the right adjustments in the second matchup and come out firing after a crushing loss. Look for Toronto to get the win this time around.
Miami Marlins @ Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday 11th May
Likely first pitchers:
Marlins – Sandy Alcantara
Diamondbacks – Merrill Kelly
This will be the last of three matchups for the Marlins vs. the Diamondbacks, with Arizona taking the first two fairly easily.
Things are looking epic for Arizona right now, as the team has won 11 of its last 14 games and the pitchers overall are posting a 1.41 ERA. This is thanks largely to Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen, and Madison Bumgarner, as the three pitchers have created issues for opposing batters all season.
The success of Arizona is a far cry from last season, that’s for sure, as the Diamondbacks finished with the worst record in the National League. At 17-14 now, Arizona seems to have Miami’s number in this matchup, but the Diamondbacks had better watch out for the Marlins’ Jorge Soler, who is batting out of his mind with 20 hits and 9 runs.
Soler recently signed a new contract with the Marlins worth $36 million over three years, so Miami has a lot to be excited about with this incredible batter on its roster.
It’s more than likely that Arizona will sweep this series against Miami, but the third matchup will be the closest of them all.
Author: Joe Garland
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