Memorial Day Rumblings - News for May 30, 2022

Memorial Day Rumblings - News for May 30, 2022

Zack Greinke had to leave early after a rough outing on Sunday.

“I think it was one of those days he just didn’t have that feel, not quite as sharp as he wanted to be,” Matheny said. “Then when he came out, we did know he had some issue in his forearm. That’s probably something that may have been with him from the beginning that we weren’t aware of. Unfortunately, the elbow area, flexor area, wasn’t feeling great, so got him out of the game.”

Greinke talks more about it with Anne Rogers.

“It’s just been sore and tight for a little bit,” Greinke said. “Stuff just doesn’t seem very sharp at the moment. Last couple games, have given up home runs on pitches that guys have never hit. So that tells you that stuff isn’t sharp. …

“Hope it gets better and I can start getting outs and help us win games. It would be a lot more fun than what’s been happening.”

She also writes that Bobby Witt Jr. is coming around.

“I feel like every time he gets up there, he’s hitting the ball hard somewhere,” Benintendi said. “Whether it be in the gap or right at someone, it’s just crazy to see how hard he hits the ball every time. He’s starting to get going these past two weeks or whatever it may be. If I’m on first, I feel like he’s either going to hit a homer or [one] in the gap for me to score.

“I think as of late here, we’ve been hitting with guys in scoring position, two-out rallies, things like that that can kickstart our offense and give us momentum.”

MJ Melendez made his first career MLB start in right field.

“I love it, just being able to be versatile and play different positions,” Melendez said of going to the outfield. “It’s fun, and it’s something that I challenge myself and try to get better at it each and every time I go out there and learn from any mistakes I may have and try to make plays for my pitchers.”

Lynn Worthy talked to JJ Picollo about when we could see Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Pratto in the big leagues.

“The evaluations are very good. Vinnie, in particular, is swinging the bat exceptionally well,” Picollo said. “Nick continues to get better with his at-bats. Vinnie, I was looking at this the other day, he just hit the 150 at-bat mark in Triple-A. He had 200 at-bats in Double-A.

“So when you look at upper level at-bats, he’s had 350 upper level at-bats. That’s not even a season’s worth, over two levels. You’d like to get, really, a full season at the highest level. That’s not set in stone, but generally you’d like to see 500, 550 plate appearances at the highest level.”

Brady Singer’s adjustments since his demotion have made him a more complete pitcher.

His time in the minors after having started this season in the major-league bullpen has translated well thus far. The hand-placement adjustment he made on his fastball has given him better command, and it has worked well off of his changeup, which he’d thrown more often. Does this make Singer a different pitcher?

“Absolutely, I think a totally different pitcher,” Singer said. “I think the movement the fastball has helped me tremendously. I think the three pitches is helping a lot. I can just see it, like I’ve talked about. Getting deeper into ballgames, I feel like that’s going to help me get through that lineup a third time.”

Alex Duvall at Royals Farm Report is impressed by Ben Kudrna.

Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman looks at likely trade candidates this summer for the Royals.

Shohei Ohtani homers twice but the Angels lose in a wild one.

Which teams are the biggest surprises and which are the biggest letdowns so far?

Tommy Pham is suspended three games and fined for slapping Joc Pederson before a game over a fantasy football dispute.

Tony LaRussa disagrees with Gabe Kapler’s anthem protest.

Catcher Russell Martin officially retires.

UCLA stages a nine-run comeback and wins the Pac-12 championship with a wild score of 25-22.

Real Madrid wins the Champions League title over Liverpool.

The big questions ahead of the NBA Finals between the Warriors and Celtics.

Why did the birth rate in the U.S. increase in 2021?

After a crypto crash, Terra returns with Luna 2.0 and it’s already tanking.

What will be the biggest movie of the summer?

Your song of the day is John Denver with Take Me Home, Country Roads.