Jake Arrieta (P/Chicago Cubs) – Arrieta had another tough start when he faced the Phillies on May 3 in Chicago. He allowed 2 runs on 2 hits in the first inning before he found his stride. He allowed another run in the top of the 4th. Overall, the Phillies had 3 runs on 6 hits against Jake in 6 innings. He walked 1 and struck out 7. Arrieta also hit A ground out in the 2nd to bring in the first run for the Cubs. The Cubs won the game 5-4.
Cubs’ Jake Arrieta Still Searching For His Form https://t.co/0VsaLzsVfK pic.twitter.com/wFONtvxOyq
— Zesty Chicago Cubs (@zesty_cubs) May 4, 2017
Jake Arrieta and Joe Maddon on the state of the #Cubs rotation. https://t.co/m99J4cJB4n
— Patrick Mooney (@CSNMooney) May 4, 2017
Arrieta currently has a 4.63 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He’s expected to pitch Monday against the Rockies. Check out all of Arrieta’s stats here this season.
Matt Carpenter (1B/St. Louis Cardinals) - Carpenter and Cardinals were home against the Reds on April 30. Carpenter walked in the bottom of he 1st to get on base, advanced to third on a double by Jedd Gyorko, and made it home on a wild pitch by Bronson Arroyo. He came back in the bottom of the 5th and hit a double to deep right field, bringing in Leake, Fowler, and Diaz. The Cards seemed content to let Carpenter carry them the entire game, but the Reds finally got some momentum behind them and came back for the win. The Cardinals took a 5-4 loss.
May 1 began a 3-game series at home against the Brewers. In Game 1, Carpenter hit a home run in the bottom of the 5th. It was just one of six home runs by the two teams combined. The Cardinals went on to lose the game 7-5. May 2 brought Game 2 and a single by Carpenter in the bottom of the 6th. He was brought home by Yadier Molina for the first run of the game. The Cardinals got the 2-1 win. Then in Game 3 on May 4, Carpenter walked in the bottom of the 3rd and was later brought in on a single by Molina. The Cardinals ended up losing 5-4.
On May 5, the Cardinals started a series in Atlanta. The Cardinals had a great night! Carpenter walked in the top of the 3rd and was brought in by Diaz’s double, making it 2-0. In the top of the 4th, he hit a 2-run home run to make the score 7-0. He walked in the top of the 5th and Diaz brought him home again to make it 8-0. And then in the top of the 7th, Carpenter walked and Jose Martinez managed to scramble home. That made it 10-0. The Braves couldn’t manage a run all night and the Cardinals got the win.
Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Continues offensive tear with two-run bomb https://t.co/v9cYA8wNWo
— STL Cardinals News (@CardsNewsBot) May 6, 2017
For Cardinals' Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler, patience is power https://t.co/GdswEca1MG
— headlinesWIKI (@headlinesWIKI) May 6, 2017
The Cardinals Twitter feed had a little fun at Matt’s expense during last night’s game with this tweet.
Tell us what @MattCarp13 is thinking about! #CardsCaption pic.twitter.com/CF3X5BxgIp
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 6, 2017
If you’ve got time, go to Twitter and check out some of the responses by fans. Here’s a few of my favorites:
@Cardinals @MattCarp13 Dang, I woulda thought that home run would've landed by now....
— Matt Hill (@broncfyter) May 6, 2017
@Cardinals @MattCarp13 4 score and 7 years ago....
— DFA MABES (@taddw23) May 6, 2017
@Cardinals @MattCarp13 I think I found Waldo
— loren (@hansofaeries) May 6, 2017
Carpenter currently has 21 hits, 16 runs, and 17 RBIs, including 5 home runs. He has a .256 AVG. His next game is tonight against the Braves. For all the stats during Carpenter's 2017 season, click here.
Andrew Cashner (P/Texas Rangers) – Cashner faced the Astros in Houston on May 1. He had a decent game. Cashner allowed 1 run in the first inning, but then held the Astros at bay until the bottom of the 7th, when he walked Bregman and Aoki turned a reaching single into a double on a throwing error by Andrus. While the Rangers lost 6-2, this was a much better outing for Cashner than we saw last week. He’s still credited with 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits in 6 innings pitched, but it should’ve brought a little hope to Rangers fans who were ready to send him back to San Diego last week. He walked 3 and struck out 2 this game.
While statistically this wasn’t a crazy game, it was quite dramatic to watch, and Cashner was right in the thick of it. Before the game started, the Astros’ Alex Bregman tweeted about the game.
Opperation #BTSOOTR
— Alex Bregman (@ABREG_1) April 30, 2017
He later apologized for it (sort of). Then the game started and Cashner hit Jose Altuve in the bottom of the 1st. Then he hit Yulieski Gurriel in the bottom of the 2nd. Then Mike Napoli comes up in the 4th and hits a home run for the Rangers. When he comes back to the plate in the 6th, Astros’ pitcher Lance MucCullers throws the ball behind Napoli. And that did it. Benches cleared. Insults were hurled. Gatorade was spilled (probably). Depending on who you ask, Cashner was (kind of) to blame with the two batters he hit. But with ongoing pitching struggles, most of us realize that A) Cashner has too much to worry about to play games right now and B) his accuracy isn’t exactly the best right now. In fact, his hitting two players might actually be kind of impressive in that it was the most consistent thing he did in the first and second innings.
If you had Andrew Cashner as the likely cause of the inevitable Rangers/Astros brawl, raise your hand and then put your hand down, you liar.
— Holly (@holly_holl) May 2, 2017
In today's recaps: Andrew Cashner does a mini Dock Ellis homage and I explain how we get ants. https://t.co/37knaVPP4g
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) May 2, 2017
Andrew Cashner strikes out Beltran to end the inning. @Rangers | #TEXvsHOU | #LoneStarGrit
— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) May 2, 2017
Watch ➡️ LIVE on #FOXSportsSW & #FOXSportsGO pic.twitter.com/lOrIS9TFv4
Cashner currently has an ERA of 2.95 and a WHIP of 1.50. He’s scheduled to pitch Sunday in Seattle. For more of Cashner's stats, click here.
Stefan Crichton (P/Baltimore Orioles) — After a short stay in Norfolk, Stefan Crichton was recalled back to the Orioles on May 5. He faced the White Sox at home. He came in with 2 outs in the top of the 7th. Tim Anderson grounded into a fielder’s choice for the third out of the inning. Crichton came back in the top of the the 8th and walked Melky Cabrera before being replaced by Darren O’Day. Cabrera would go on to score. The Orioles won 4-2.
Updated #Orioles roster: RP Stefan Crichton recalled; SP Tyler Wilson optioned. https://t.co/r1ZbknxrRa pic.twitter.com/LVoL5B9RcR
— Jason Martinez (@mlbdepthcharts) May 5, 2017
What an effort tonight from Ynoa in an emergency situation. He tosses six scoreless innings of relief. Stefan Crichton enters. #Orioles
— Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) May 6, 2017
Crichton’s WHIP is currently 3.00. He’s expected to continue to be a middle reliever for the Orioles. You can follow Crichton this season here.
Brandon Finnegan (P/Cincinnati Reds) – Finnegan is still on the DL with his shoulder injury, and the Reds are being eerily quiet about the injury. No news has been released about his injury lately, and the Reds bullpen as a whole is taking a beating from injuries. Hopefully Brandon will heal and be there to help his team as we get into the meat of the season this summer.
Finnegan currently has a 2.70 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.
For more on Finnegan's 2017 season, you can go here.