Homers down 9% from 2021
The major league batting average was .242 in June, down from .245 in May, and home runs are down 9% from last season at this point, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The season batting average began Friday at .242.
Batting average was an especially low .231 through April. Last year, it rose steadily from .232 through April and .239 through June to finish the season at .244. the lowest since 1972.
Runs per team per game have averaged 4.34, down from 4.44 per game through June 30 last year.
Home runs averaged 1.07 per team per game, down from 1.18 at this point last season. Long balls in June averaged 1.19, down from 1.28 in June 2022.
Strikeouts have dropped to 8.33 per team each game through June from 8.89 at a similar point last season, and walks declined from 3.32 to 3.12.
JAZZ DEAL GOBERT
For Utah, one era is ending. For Minnesota, one seems to be beginning.
The Jazz have agreed to trade Rudy Gobert — a three-time defensive player of the year — to the Timberwolves for a massive package of players and draft picks, according to a person with knowledge of the blockbuster deal.
Utah will receive four firstround picks between 2023 and 2029, a first-round pick from this year’s draft in Walker Kessler, along with Patrick Beverley and Malik Beasley, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the NBA had not approved the deal and neither team could announce it publicly.
ESPN, which first reported the trade, also said Jarred Vanderbilt was going from Minnesota to Utah as part of the deal for Gobert — who now gets paired alongside another elite big man in Karl-Anthony Towns.
“5 firsts .. Sheeeeeshhhhh,” New Orleans guard CJ McCollum posted on Twitter.
Indeed, it is a slew of assets for the Jazz, who made the playoffs in each of the last six seasons and now seem to be resetting in multiple ways. Quin Snyder decided to depart last month after eight years as coach; the Jazz hired Will Hardy, a longtime San Antonio assistant and an assistant for Boston on its run to the Eastern Conference title this past season, to take over on the bench.
And now, Gobert leaves, officially ending his pairing with guard Donovan Mitchell in Utah — an on-court relationship that seemed really good at times, and strained at other moments. And a series of disappointing playoff exits led to the annual question of whether the two could coexist on a title-contending team.
MOREL HOMERS AGAIN
Rookie Christopher Morel homered in his third consecutive game, and the Chicago Cubs rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 6-5 on Friday.
The Red Sox took a 4-0 lead and looked like they were ready to roll to an easy win after going 20-6 in June. Jarren Duran, back in the lineup for Boston after missing a three-game series at Toronto because he’s unvaccinated, drove the game’s first pitch from Adrian Sampson to the center-field bushes for a home run.
Jackie Bradley Jr. made it 4-0 with a three-run double in the second. Rich Hill breezed through the first four innings before exiting with a sprained left knee in a threerun fifth.
The Cubs scored three more with two out in the sixth to go up 6-5, with Morel once again delivering.
The 23-year-old Dominican, coming off a career-best five-hit game in Thursday’s romp against Cincinnati, smacked a two-run drive to left against Hansel Robles (1-3).
Willson Contreras then walked and scored on a wild pitch by Jake Diekman to Nico Hoerner, making it 6-5 and sending the Cubs to their fourth win in five games.
Five Red Sox pitchers combined to walk 10, Boston’s most since 11 at the Los Angeles Angels in a 15-inning game on Aug. 30, 2019.
JAYS WIN ON CANADA DAY
Jose Berrios stopped his threestart winless streak, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in three runs, and the Toronto Blue Jays celebrated Canada Day by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2 Friday.
Playing at home on Canada’s national holiday for the first time since 2019, and dressed in special red jerseys and caps, the Blue Jays delighted a crowd of 44,445 by winning for the fourth time in five games.