White Sox fans got a rare kind of power surge over the weekend, one that put Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami in the same breath. Vargas and Montgomery had already cleared the 30-homer barrier in Friday’s 4-1 win over the Twins, and Murakami joined the club Saturday with a two-run blast off Twins right-hander Taj Bradley in the first inning.
It snapped a 16-game homer drought for Murakami and made him the fourth Japanese-born player to reach 30 homers in a season, alongside Shohei Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki and Hideki Matsui. The White Sox still ended up losing 6-4, but they now have three 30-homer hitters for the first time since Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin did it in 2008.
Rafael Devers kept rolling for the Giants, and he did it with authority. In Saturday’s 9-5 win in New York, Devers went deep twice, giving him five home runs in his last five games this month.
That production also put him in a very select class: he became just the third Giant since at least 1900 to post at least six homers and seven walks over a six-game stretch in a season, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com. The only others are Willie Mays in 1958 and Barry Bonds in 2004.
Devers’ turnaround has been dramatic. When May arrived, he was sitting on the majors’ ninth-lowest wRC+ at 48.
Since then, he’s put up a 157 wRC+, trailing only Cubs NL MVP front-runner Pete Crow-Armstrong at 174 and Astros Triple Crown contender Yordan Alvarez at 166.
Toronto’s season has been messy, with injuries piling up and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and others not living up to expectations. Even so, the Blue Jays have kept themselves in the mix, and Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Royals pushed them into a better place than they’ve been in months.
Toronto won for the fourth straight time, improved to 72-71 and will enter Sunday holding the third Wild Card spot in the AL. The Jays and Guardians have the same record, but Toronto owns the tiebreaker.
It’s also the first time the Blue Jays have been above .500 since April 3, when they were 4-3, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox will try to finish off a four-game road sweep and a third straight shutout when they send southpaw Payton Tolle against Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish on Sunday. Boston has already handled Baltimore with run prevention on both ends of the rotation.
Ranger Suarez threw seven strong innings in Friday’s 1-0 win, and Sonny Gray followed by blanking the Orioles in Saturday’s 5-0 victory. Gray worked seven innings of three-hit ball, struck out seven and walked three while picking up his major league-leading 17th win.
Baltimore has now dropped five straight and sits at 69-74, three games behind AL East rival Toronto in the Wild Card race. The Orioles and Blue Jays will meet six times later this month, but Baltimore has to steady itself first.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Add Catching Depth With One Intriguing Upside
The Blue Jays made a quiet catching move, claiming Shawn Ross off waivers from the Mets and sending him to Triple-A Buffalo. It is the kind of depth add that can matter over a long season, especially for a club that keeps one eye on the big-league roster and another on keeping Triple-A stocked with options that can move quickly if needed.
Ross brings a little intrigue with the bat, having shown notable power in the minors even as the strikeouts have remained part of the package. He reached the majors with Pittsburgh before landing in the Mets organization, and now he gets another reset in Toronto as a depth catcher with enough upside to keep him interesting if the contact comes around. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Face A Bigger Pitching Question After Latest Roster Shuffle
Jameson Taillon landing back on the injured list with right elbow inflammation adds another layer to a Blue Jays staff that has already had to keep adjusting on the fly. Toronto answered by recalling Ricky Tiedemann from Buffalo, giving the club another arm to plug into the mix after he has already appeared in two games for the Blue Jays. The move at least gives the team a fresh option while it sorts through a rotation picture that keeps shifting.
Shawn Ross also came into the organization on Tuesday after Toronto claimed the catcher off waivers from the Mets, though he will head to Buffalo for now. It is the sort of roster shuffle that can look routine from the outside, but for the Blue Jays it underscores how much of the present is tied to managing the staff day by day. The bigger concern is whether Taillons return to the injured list is an isolated setback or the latest sign that the pitching depth is about to be tested again. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Just Created Another 40-Man Roster Question
Daz Camerons latest stop with the Blue Jays has already come full circle. The outfielder was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, keeping him in the organization after a brief run on Torontos major league roster. Cameron had only recently been promoted and is now back in the upper minors, where the Blue Jays can keep a closer eye on a player who has bounced through some unfamiliar territory in the past.
Cameron does have the option to reject the assignment and test free agency, but he is expected to stay with Buffalo for now. For Toronto, the move is another reminder of how quickly the 40-man picture can shift, especially with fringe depth pieces who are trying to hold onto a spot. Cameron has already shown a willingness to keep moving, including time in Korea with the Doosan Bears, and this latest turn leaves the Blue Jays with one more roster question to manage. [Read more 🡒]