Bases Covered is a daily roundup of the most interesting stories in baseball.
Breaking hearts
Thursday was an odd day for the Dodgers. News broke of a shocking trade that sent catcher A.J. Ellis to the Phillies, along with pitching prospect Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named later, in exchange for Carlos Ruiz, a catcher who’d spent his whole MLB career with Philadelphia. Ruiz is expected to start on Friday when the Dodgers open a series against the league-leading Cubs.
Ellis had been a lifelong Dodger, and while he was the backup, he was immensely beloved by his teammates. Ken Rosenthal explains why the Dodgers made the move.
Might the move be bad for team chemistry? It’s too soon to tell. On Thursday evening, they faced the Giants, whose starter, Matt Moore, took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. With two out in the bottom of the inning, Corey Seager singled to end the bid. The Giants took the win, 4–0.
Ending the skid
After nine straight losses, the Pirates got a win on Thursday, defeating the Brewers 3–2. Andrew McCutchen, who has struggled this season, drove in three runs—he had what Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle described as “an excellent night.”
Crushing Cleveland
The Rangers earned a decisive 9–0 victory over Cleveland on Thursday. It was the first of a four-game series between the division-leading teams.
In a recent online Q&A, one Rangers beat writer for The Dallas Morning News gave his thoughts on the team and what might lie ahead as the race to the post-season continues. What’s the one team he hopes the Rangers can avoid facing in the playoffs? The Toronto Blue Jays.
Broom time
With an 8–5 win on Thursday, the Tigers swept the Twins. James McCann contributed a three-run homer and had four hits in all.
Detroit is in the hunt for a post-season berth. The team is currently second in the AL Central, 4.5 games back of first, and 2.0 games out of the second Wild Card spot.
The journeyman travels
Left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski has been traded from the Athletics to the Nationals, who were in need of an upgrade in their bullpen.
The 30-year-old journeyman was activated prior to Thursday’s game, a 4–0 win over Baltimore, though he did not pitch.
Rzepczynski was in the news earlier this month when he hit the Rangers’ Rougned Odor with a pitch in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, thus losing the game for the A’s.