It was a strong week across the board for former Beaver talent in the majors, with pitchers and hitters alike putting together some loud performances.
Wade Meckler delivered the biggest swing of the bunch on Sunday. The former Oregon State walk-on, now in his first extended run at the MLB level after being called up in May, is hitting just below .300 and came through with the deciding blow against the Brewers. In the second inning, he drilled a two-run homer off Jacob Misiorowski, and the Angels rode that early punch to a 3-0 win.
Wade Meckler with a two-run homer off Jacob Misiorowski in the second and the Angels are up 2-0. Came on a 95-mph cutter. pic.twitter.com/PPRTmX5Oj0
On the mound, Matt Boyd keeps looking more and more like a stabilizing piece for the Cubs. The 35-year-old left-hander returned from injury in late June and has been rolling ever since.
Over his last two starts, he’s given up just one run in 14 innings, and even that hasn’t fully reflected how sharp he’s been. Against the Cardinals last week, Boyd worked seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits and a pair of walks.
His ERA has fallen noticeably over his last three outings, and he has settled back in as a key part of Chicago’s rotation.
Drew Rasmussen has been just as sharp for Tampa Bay. After a rough pair of outings to start last month, the Rays right-hander has turned things around in a big way.
Over his last three starts, he has allowed only two earned runs in 18 innings, while striking out 19 and walking just two. On Saturday against the White Sox, he handled the load again, tossing six scoreless innings in a 1-0 Rays win.
Tampa Bay has the best record in the American League and sits 2.5 games ahead of the Yankees in the division.
At the plate, Steven Kwan continues to stay hot. He’s been tearing it up since the All-Star break and still hasn’t really cooled off, even with a six-game hitting streak snapped last week.
Over his last four games, he’s batting above .500, including a three-hit effort in a loss to Arizona. Earlier in the week, in a 6-1 win over the Reds, Kwan and fellow Beaver Travis Bazzana both had two-hit games.
And in the win over the Diamondbacks on Sunday, Kwan reached base three times with a hit and two walks. Since the All-Star break, his average has jumped about .25 points.
In Other News...
Oregon State Just Got An Early Reality Check In The New Pac-12
Boise State opened the preseason with the kind of respect that usually comes with a conference title run, landing as the favorite to win the first football season in the rebuilt Pac-12 in a media poll organized by Tyler King and filled out by multiple voters. Fresno State came in third, which gives the top of the league a familiar feel, but Oregon States placement at eighth is the number that stands out most for a program trying to navigate a brand-new landscape.
For the Beavers, it is an early reminder that reputation alone will not carry much weight in this version of the league. The poll does not decide anything on the field, of course, but it does offer a blunt snapshot of where Oregon State sits in the eyes of the conferences media watchers as the season approaches, and it leaves the Beavers with something to prove before the real standings ever take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon State Could Be The First Test Oklahoma State Can't Afford To Fail
Oklahoma States place in the preseason Coaches Poll did not come with much ceremony, but it did say something about where the Cowboys stand heading into the year. They landed in the others receiving votes group with 22 points, which put them unofficially 37th, and the poll also pegged them for a seventh-place finish in the Big 12. For a program that was last in the Coaches Poll during week five of 2024, when it checked in at No. 20, there is still plenty of work to do before anyone is talking about it as a league contender again.
The schedule does not offer much margin for easing in. Oklahoma State has ranked matchups ahead against Oregon, Houston and Texas Tech, the kind of stretch that can quickly shape how the season is viewed outside Stillwater. If the Cowboys are going to climb out of that middle tier and back into the conversation, they will need to treat every one of those games like a measuring stick, starting with the first chance to prove the poll wrong. [Read more 🡒]