Morning N&N for July 23
The losing streak that put Cleveland deep into the red has been reversed. (Now imagine their record if they hadn’t done that.)
A team that has looked like a .500 ballclub all year is now 50-50, which as you know, decimalizes as .390.
Joey Cantillo and Jose Ramirez set the tone in this W. Matt Festa, appearing in his 100th game, tried to rain on the party, but didn’t get a long enough leash for that. Festa (2-2 in 100 outings) now has a win percentage of .430.
More things you should know
• Shane Bieber (0-0) pitched 3 promising innings in Lake County.
• The .583 Guardians promoted Kahlil Watson from AA to AAA.
• LGFT Konnor Pilkington got called up to pitch in Washington’s abhorrent bullpen and pitched 2 shutout innings to pick up a W against Tito’s Reds. It sure seems like the 2025 Reds are doing the thing where you don’t show up against the worst teams.
• The Tigers lost to the Pirates again, this time 8-5.
• The Royals made 4 errors yesterday—sending Rich Hill out to face Matt Boyd, and 3 fielding errors.
• Francisco Lindor’s contract still has lots of trade value.