Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Braves’ Whit Merrifield Blasts MLB After Hit By Pitch
A positive update on Atlanta Braves second baseman Whit Merrifield after he took a hit by pitch to the head on Tuesday night is that he is OK.
“Yeah, he’s fine. No concussion or anything like that,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “If you ask him he’s ready to go tomorrow.
However, being all right isn’t going to cut it this time for Merrifield, and perhaps it shouldn’t.
He expressed his frustration about the lack of accountability for pitchers who are throwing heaters up and in to hitters with the consequences it can have. One of them is the injuries and close calls on injuries to his teammates.
“It’s ridiculous where the game is at right now,” Merrifield said. “We lost [Austin] Riley. We almost lost [Michael Harris II]. We almost lost [Travis] d’Arnaud in the span of two, three weeks.”
Third baseman Austin Riley is out for the rest of the regular season, with the postseason up in the air, due to a right hand fractured on a hit by pitch. While he only ended up missing part of a game, it looked like Harris would miss a week.
Merrifield added how the game has changed to allow for more of these type of injuries to happen.
“You can’t hit a guy back anymore,” Merrifield said. “That ‘oh if I hit this guy, my guy’s gonna get hit.’ That’s not in the game anymore…the teams are bringing pitchers up that don’t know where [their pitches are] going. They throw 100 miles an hour, and they’re like, ‘All right, we’ll see if you can get these guys out.’”
Merrifield said he would make sure this is addressed to the rules committee to address safety concerns.
“It is driving me nuts and I hate where the game is at right now with that, and I’m on the rules committee. We got a call tomorrow. And it’s gonna be a long conversation on what they gotta do to make pitchers think. I just took 95 off the back of the head. I’m very lucky I got hit in a good spot.”
If you saw your teammates get injured and then you took one off the head, you’d likely feel the same way.
We’ll have to wait and see how the rules committee addresses the state of pitching and the injuries it can lead to and if Merrifield is indeed back in the lineup on Wednesday.
The stats do back that hit-by-pitches are becoming an issue. It’s happening at its highest rate since the 1890s. According to Baseball Reference, there have been, on average, 0.42 hit by pitches per game in 2024. Between 1927 and 1992, the rate was never above 0.25 and rarely above 0.2 per game. It’s been ticking up gradually ever since and now happens twice as much as when your parents and grandparents watched baseball.
According to Baseball America, the average velocity on a four-seem fastball has gone from 91.9 in 2008 to 94.2 in 2023. There is a correlation to be made.
I ran the stats from 2008 to 2023 through a coefficient correlation calculator to test how strong of a correlation there is. The scale is between -1 and 1. The closer the r-value to either end, the stronger the correlation with a score close to zero meaning a weaker correlation. The r-value was 0.7973, indicating a strong correlation between increased velocity and increased hit by pitches.
Though the players at the rules committee might already know this.
The Braves continue their series with the Rockies on Wednesday and look to win the series. First pitch is set for 7:20 p.m. EDT.
Atlanta, GA
Philadelphia Phillies lose fifth straight game to end homestand, swept by Atlanta Braves
Michael Harris II homered and had three hits as the streaking Atlanta Braves defeated the slumping Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 on Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep of their NL East rivals.
Ozzie Albies hit an RBI double and Austin Riley also drove in a run for the Braves, who have won five in a row and nine of 11. It was Atlanta’s first series sweep of at least three games at Philadelphia in 10 years.
Kyle Schwarber went deep for the Phillies, who have lost five straight and 10 of 13. They were outscored 56-33 on a 2-7 homestand against the Diamondbacks, Cubs and Braves, leaving Philadelphia 6 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the division standings.
Raisel Iglesias escaped trouble in the ninth inning for his fifth save. Philadelphia put runners on first and second with one out, but Trea Turner struck out and Schwarber lined out to right field on an excellent running catch by Ronald Acuña Jr.
Tyler Kinley (3-0) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win.
Schwarber’s two-run shot in the first gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.
Harris homered leading off the third before the Braves went ahead in the fifth with three runs against rookie starter Andrew Painter (1-1) and lefty reliever Tim Mayza.
Painter was lifted after he opened the inning by allowing singles to Harris and Acuña. Mayza loaded the bases with a walk, and the Braves tied the game on Matt Olson’s groundout. Riley’s dribbler to third went for an RBI infield single, and Albies’ double to the left-field wall made it 4-2.
Riley saved at least one run while ending a Philadelphia threat in the bottom of the fifth with a stellar defensive play at third base.
Braves starter Grant Holmes allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings.
On a chilly night, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto sat out after leaving Saturday’s game with lower back tightness.
Up next
Braves: Begin a four-game series Monday night at Washington. RHP Bryce Elder (2-1, 0.77 ERA) opposes Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (1-2, 6.16).
Phillies: Open seven-game trip Monday night with the first of four games against the Cubs. RHP Aaron Nola (1-4, 4.03 ERA) faces Chicago RHP Colin Rea (2-0, 3.63).
Atlanta Hawks (46-36, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)
New York; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Knicks -5.5; over/under is 216.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Knicks lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Knicks won the last matchup 113-102 on Saturday, led by 28 points from Jalen Brunson. CJ McCollum led the Hawks with 26.
The Knicks are 35-17 in Eastern Conference games. New York has a 9-4 record in one-possession games.
The Hawks are 27-25 in Eastern Conference play. Atlanta is third in the league scoring 18.1 fast break points per game. McCollum leads the Hawks averaging 5.0.
The Knicks are shooting 47.8% from the field this season, 0.4 percentage points higher than the 47.4% the Hawks allow to opponents. The Hawks are shooting 47.4% from the field, 1.4% higher than the 46.0% the Knicks’ opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.
Dyson Daniels is scoring 11.9 points per game and averaging 6.8 rebounds for the Hawks. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is averaging 21.3 points and 2.9 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 6-4, averaging 110.4 points, 40.7 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 8.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.9 points per game.
Hawks: 5-5, averaging 117.2 points, 43.5 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 8.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.0 points.
INJURIES: Knicks: Tyler Kolek: day to day (oblique), Mitchell Robinson: day to day (ankle), Karl-Anthony Towns: day to day (elbow).
Hawks: Jock Landale: out (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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