Bases Covered is a daily roundup of the most interesting stories in baseball.
Different styles of play
The Texas Rangers rallied from a five-run deficit on Wednesday to beat the A’s, 7–5. They had some help from Robinson Chirinos and Rougned Odor, who each hit a pair of home runs.
“I think the rest of the baseball world is going to continue to take note of how special he is,” said Rangers manager Jeff Banister of Odor.
Odor recently gave an interview with ESPN Deportes’ Marly Rivera. In the interview, he discussed punching Toronto’s Jose Bautista, calling him a “tremendous player” but comparing the situation he was in to that of Ruben Tejada (whose leg was broken by Chase Utley’s hard slide during the post-season) and said of the Blue Jays: “Maybe they don’t play the way we like. Or maybe we don’t play in a way they like. We’re different.”
“The Nutshellz”
After getting hit in the nether regions on June 7, Yan Gomes missed two games because of a testicular contusion. The Cleveland catcher is taking the protection of his family jewels more seriously now. He’s apparently now sporting a Kevlar cup called “The Nutshellz.”
11 Ks for Syndergaard
Noah Syndergaard struck out 11 on Wednesday in the Mets’ 11–2 thrashing of the Pirates, pitching into the ninth inning. The 23-year-old hurler wasn’t necessarily thrilled with his performance, though; he’s still looking for his first career complete game.
“I was kind of not very satisfied with myself after not being able to complete that game,” said Syndergaard. “But it was still a lot of fun to be a part of. The offence really came alive. It makes my job easier out there.”
Shopping Myers?
The Padres are willing to deal Wil Myers, according to Jon Heyman. As Heyman writes, “It seems San Diego is willing to talk about just about anyone.”
The Padres sit at the bottom of the NL West. They earned a 6–3 win over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, improving to a 27-40 record.
Ichiro does it
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Marlins in that 6–3 loss to the Padres. Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki notched two hits, which means he unofficially passed Pete Rose on the all-time professional hits list with 4,257.
“Obviously, it’s a combined record,” Suzuki said of the number, which includes hits in MLB and the NPB. “So I always just say, What people think about that record, if they recognize it, I’d be happy.”
For his next record, the 42-year-old will be looking for 3,000 MLB hits.
“It’s a record here,” he said. “So that’s a goal I want to achieve.”