The Athletics will begin a six-game homestand at Las Vegas Ballpark tonight - which has one of the most prolific run environments in the Pacific Coast League (AAA).
Vegas sits 2,000 feet above sea level, which would rank 2nd among active MLB parks. It's still 3,200' below Coors Field (#1) but 900' higher than Chase Field (#2).
It will be 90° at start time this evening with wind blowing out to center at 10-15 mph. The wind figures to be impactful given the park's open-air style.
The outfield at Las Vegas Ballpark is larger than the typical MLB standard, presumably to account for the persistent heat and high altitude - which help the ball travel farther. It measures 340' down the lines, 380' to each gap, and 415' to center. Most of the left side is guarded by a 13-foot-tall fence.
It's being assigned a substantially hitter-friendly park factor for tonight due to the high altitude, hitter-friendly weather, and its offense-heavy reputation in the PCL.
Given its lack of MLB history, park factors for this venue are far less precise than an established MLB stadium. They should be considered more of an educated guess this week than an exact science.
Nothing official re: Lara, but when Cooper Pratt was out in a similarly mysterious fashion earlier this season, it was because a contract extension was being finalized.
Jacob Misiorowski has a 0.20 ERA (1 ER, 45.1 IP) over his last seven starts.
That's the lowest ERA by any starter in MLB over any seven-game span (min. 15 IP) since the mound was lowered in 1969.
I love this shit. How can you not love a kid that’s dotting 104, is in a dog fight for the ERA title while already having a sub-two and is willing to tell the reigning back-to-back NL Manager of the Year that this is his game. Absolute DOG.
We may have just witness a Miz Moment.
First and third, just gave up his hardest-hit ball of the night on his slowest fastball, stares down William Contreras and the dugout and simply says, "No."
Stays in the game. Back to back punchouts.
The Brewers have acquired RHP Joel Kuhnel from the Athletics for cash.
Kuhnel, who has a 4.21 ERA, 3.97 FIP and four saves in 25 appearances this year, was with the Brewers for two stints in 2024 but never appeared in a game. Third time should be the charm.
Brian Fitzpatrick’s MRI showed a UCL strain, Pat Murphy said. He’s getting a second opinion on it before deciding between rehab or Tommy John. Rehab is not off the table at this particular point in time.
Xavier McKinney lives in Green Bay in the offseason. I asked him why.
"Well first of all you don't spend a lot of money here." 😂
Great This Is Football episode with the star safety. A great discussion on why players love being in Green Bay (it's more than saving money).
Sal Frelick looks like he's been hitting it better of late.
In the last two weeks he's hitting less fly balls (good) and slashing . 273/.351/.394
Then I checked the rolling average exit velocity, and this was surprisingly promising:
Still more to come, but it's looked better