The MLB season is now over a week old, and while the excitement of the opening of the season has not quite worn off, teams are starting to settle into the baseball schedule.
Even with the season having started, there has been a lot of buzz from news both on and off the field. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories over the last week.
Joe Goes No-No
It was a first in San Diego Padres’ history Friday night as starting pitcher Joe Musgrove became the first Padre to ever throw a no-hitter.
On 112 pitches, Musgrove went nine innings allowing no hits, no walks, and struck out ten. The only thing that separated him from a perfect game was a hit batter.
Musgrove, who grew up in San Diego, was acquired by the Padres this offseason in a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. While he has been a solid pitcher in his career, his acquisition gained far less fanfare compared to the acquisitions of Yu Darvish and Blake Snell. That is about to change after this outing.
The 28-year-old Musgrove is now a part of MLB and Padre history, and he has quickly endeared himself to a fanbase that has high expectations for a postseason run this year. Currently, San Diego is +900 to win the World Series this season.
Bellinger Hits IL
After being accidentally stepped on during a play at first base by Oakland pitcher Reymin Guduan, Los Angeles Dodgers’ star Cody Bellinger has been dealing with calf issues.
On Friday, it was announced that those issues have landed him on the 10-day injured list.
Bellinger has started off the season relatively slowly, hitting just .211/.286/.368 with no home runs and just two runs batted in through 19 at bats. Still, he is considered a major part of the lineup, and the Dodgers will hope to get him back as soon as possible.
The Dodgers are attempting to validate their World Series win during the shortened season last year by going back-to-back this season. They are currently the favorites to do so at +330.
Could Trevor Bauer Be In A Sticky Situation?
Continuing with the Dodgers, they have another issue on their hands with new starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. In an attempt to minimize the use of foreign substances this season, MLB has seemed determined to crack down on infractions. It appears that Bauer may be one of their first targets.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Bauer had several of the baseballs he used during a win over the Oakland Athletics set aside by the umpiring crew due to suspicions of being doctored.
Between substances and marks on the baseballs, there were concerns that Bauer may have been doing something to tamper with the baseballs.
Bauer was signed to a massive deal worth over $100 million over the course of three years. The signing came after a season with the Reds where he won the N.L. Cy Young after going 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA, 0.795 WHIP, and striking out 100 in 73 innings.
Despite the investigation, it will likely come up empty as there may be no way of conclusively proving that it was Bauer that did anything illegal. Furthermore, it is a widely held belief that this is a practice used by most pitchers around the league to help with grip.
Still, whether it is Bauer or another pitcher down the road, it does appear that this issue is one that MLB will be paying special attention to throughout the season.
