NOT SHOCKING: MLB AVERAGE, HOME RUNS REMAIN DOWN
The major league batting average was .242 in June, down from .245 in May, and home runs are down 9 percent from last season at this point, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The season batting average began Friday at .242. The Padres were hitting .242 through Thursday, ranked 16th in the majors.
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.
Boston pitching issues
Boston pitcher Rich Hill left Friday’s start against the Chicago Cubs because of a sprained left knee. Hill was sailing along with a 4-0 lead through the first four innings before exiting the game during a three-run fifth.
The 42-year-old left-hander walked P.J. Higgins leading off. Nelson Velazquez then tripled off the center-field wall and scored on a groundout by Christopher Morel. Hill appeared to be shaking his leg at one point and was visited by the trainer.
He exited after hitting
Patrick Wisdom to load the bases with two out. Tyler Danish came in and walked
Rafael Ortega, cutting it to 4-3. Hill, who debuted with the Cubs in 2005, gave up three runs and three hits. He walked four and struck out three.
Menawhile, Chris Sale will make at least one more minor league rehab start before the Red Sox decide if their ace is ready to join their rotation after being sidelined all season because of a rib injury.
Manager Alex Cora said the seven-time All-Star is close to returning.
Sale struck out seven over four innings for Double-A Portland on Thursday. Cora said his mechanics were sound in his third rehab outing and he felt “physically great.”
The 33-year-old left-hander is scheduled to pitch for
Triple-Worcester on Wednesday.
Notable
Derek Jeter’s first significant hire when he was leading the Marlins is no longer with the club. The Marlins said they parted ways with Gary Denbo, who had been the team’s vice president of player development and scouting. The move happened earlier this week. Jeter left the Marlins in February after 41⁄2 years as CEO and one of the shareholders in the ownership group. When he came on board in Miami, one of his very first moves was to hire Denbo — one of the Hall of Fame player’s mentors when he was a shortstop for the Yankees.
• Max Scherzer is scheduled to return to the Mets’ rotation Tuesday in Cincinnati after missing over a month with a strained left oblique muscle. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, has been sidelined since straining an oblique while pitching against St. Louis on May 18. Scherzer made a pair of rehab starts for the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies and threw 80 pitches Wednesday against the Hartford Yard Goats. Scherzer is 6-2 with a 2.54 ERA in eight starts during his first season with the Mets.