Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. It’s a bird … it’s a plane … it’s Superman! And wait, is that Progressive Field?
If you were watching the climactic battle scene in the new Superman movie from James Gunn and thought the backdrop looked familiar, then you have a hawk eye for baseball stadiums. It was, in fact, the home of the Guardians that showcased David Corenswet as The Man of Steel digging his heels into the outfield grass and dragging The Engineer along with him.
“These guys are big, super-powered superheroes or super villains. So when they touch the ground, they don't leave it intact,” said Stephanie Ceretti, the film’s visual effects supervisor. “They just plow through it and destroy everything.”
• Quiz: Major Leaguer or superhero?
Not to worry, as Tim Stebbins assures us in his deep dive on how all this came to be, the Cleveland grounds crew was not responsible for cleaning up Superman’s mess. The chunks of grass torn up and the divots created by his hulking mass were all done digitally, so the Guardians outfielders won’t have to contend with any unexpected holes in the ground.
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While Progressive Field itself was recognizable in the movie, it also had to be rebranded -- not unlike the Erie SeaWolves transforming into the Moon Mammoths -- to fit the Superman universe. It took some subtle changes for the ballpark to become the home of the Metropolis Meteors, and might we suggest a Superman-themed night with the Guardians playing as the Meteors some time down the road?
You may be wondering why Cleveland was chosen for this important battle scene, but the Superman comics actually have longstanding ties to the city. It turns out rock and roll wasn’t the only thing birthed there; Clark Kent was too, in a sense. The creators of the iconic DC character, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, became friends in high school on Cleveland’s east side. There are two statues in downtown Cleveland, one of the Man of Steel and the other of the buddies who breathed him into existence standing alongside Siegel’s wife, who was the inspiration for love interest Lois Lane.
So the next time a Guardians outfielder makes a Superman-style catch (think this one by Daniel Schneemann), just remember the time the Man of Steel was fighting for his life on that very same grass. -- Scott Chiusano |
Good news and bad news. The bad news: The Pregame Lineup will be taking a day off tomorrow heading into the holiday weekend. The good news: Baseball never takes a day off! So we’re giving you an early preview of some big games coming up on Friday as well. • Braves @ Phillies (6:45 p.m. ET on MLB.TV, MLB Network): Things had been going swimmingly for the Phillies right up until they visited Citi Field, a ballpark that has become something of a house of horrors for them recently (10 straight losses after a sweep by the Mets). Now they return to their home turf to host the Braves with their NL East lead down to four games and Aaron Nola, a pitcher who has suddenly become pretty important to their playoff rotation, on the mound. • Brewers @ Blue Jays (Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET on MLB.TV, MLB Network): The best team in the National League vs. the best team in the American League. A potential World Series preview? What more can you ask for to kick off Labor Day Weekend? Shane Bieber makes his second start for the Blue Jays, after striking out nine in his Toronto (and season) debut last week. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner will be a very interesting arm to watch down the stretch. • Marlins @ Mets (Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): It’s Tong Time! Another exciting Mets pitching prospect, Jonah Tong, makes his big league debut, and he could well be the second coming of Tim Lincecum. Like The Freak, Tong has a straight-over-the-top delivery, strikes out batters at a high clip and comes armed with a great nickname: The Canadian Cannon. As the Mets try to make a late-season push for a division title, Tong could be a crucial piece of their rotation puzzle. |
BUBBA MAKES HISTORY ... AGAIN |
The No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball joins the Pirates and immediately makes a huge impression. Sound familiar? Well, Bubba Chandler has a long way to go to reach the rarified air of Bucs teammate Paul Skenes, but the rookie right-hander is making quite a name for himself after just two Major League appearances. Coming off a historic debut Saturday at home -- in which he became the first player in franchise history to earn a save in his debut and the first big leaguer to notch a four-inning save in his first MLB appearance -- Chandler was back on the mound in relief Wednesday in St. Louis. The former two-sport star (he nearly played QB at Clemson) and two-way player in the Minors responded with four more scoreless innings vs. the Cardinals, allowing just one hit and one walk while fanning four to pick up his first big league win. He’s just the fifth player since the save became an official stat in 1969 to earn a save and win in his first two MLB appearances. Could we see Chandler joining Skenes in the rotation soon? Bucs manager Don Kelly isn’t ready to commit just yet. “He's done everything that we could have asked, as far as dominating the outings,” Kelly said. “Just going to have some conversations and see where the chips fall, but he's doing everything that he needs to do.” – Ed Eagle |
The Yankees won their fourth straight game yesterday afternoon against the Nats, largely on the back of a massive nine-run, 41-minute bottom of the third that featured 15 batters, four homers, eight hits and three walks. It took two Nationals pitchers 77 pitches to get out of it -- the second-highest total in an inning since at least 2000. The highest single-inning pitch total this century? It was the bottom of the first inning at Fenway Park on June 27, 2003, when the Marlins allowed 14 runs on 91 pitches from three pitchers -- two of whom recorded no outs. That's more pitches to get the first three outs than four teams needed over nine whole innings that season. The Red Sox logged 13 hits -- three alone from Johnny Damon, the most of any hitter in a single inning since at least 1974. You can watch highlights from the bludgeoning right here, but below is a recap of the play-by-play: • Double • Single • Double • Home run • Double • Single (pitching change) • Single • Walk • Single • Triple • Single (pitching change) • Foulout (first out!) • Single • Walk • Sacrifice fly (second out!) • Walk • Double • Walk • Single (runner thrown out at home) That's a long start to what proved to be a very long day for the Marlins, who went on to lose 25-8 (here’s the box score). But there's a happy ending: The Fish went on to win the World Series that year!
– Andy Werle
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DOG (BOBBLEHEAD) DAYS OF SUMMER |
Reds hurler Hunter Greene introduced the world to his “new best friend,” Ross the French Bulldog, last May on social media. Ross was an immediate hit, attending postgame news conferences, joining the fray on photo day and keeping us abreast of his comings and goings with his own Instagram page. Clearly Hunter and Ross are joined at the hip, as best friends generally are -- so it makes perfect sense that the fireballer and his Frenchie share top billing on Saturday on Bobblehead Day (while supplies last) before the Reds face the Cardinals at 6:40 p.m. ET. As it turns out, this isn’t even the only Bobblehead Giveaway this Saturday that features an MLB star and his canine companions. Mauricio Dubón’s two pups, Marcelo (a pug) and Cash (a French Bulldog like Ross), have graced his cleats, and now they join him on his Bobblehead, distributed before Angels-Astros at 6:10 p.m. CT. The first 10,000 fans get one, so show up early. |
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