Todd's Takes: Lack of an Appeal and Lack of Appeal

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Most baseball fans are aware of the "four-out inning" when a runner reaches because the catcher does not control the third strike. There is another, even rarer way which almost occurred during the Pirates-Nationals matinee on Wednesday.

If you're not able to see the Tweet, scoot down to "Pirates score on a bizarre play."

Runners were on second and third with one out. The batter hit a low liner which Josh Bell caught. Both runners took off on contact. Bell flipped the ball to Ehire Adrianza at third base. He tagged the trail runner, who was standing on third, then tagged the base. The Nationals recorded a double play to end the inning, but the Pirates scored a run on the play.

Huh?

It took several minutes, and a call to New York to decipher, but the umpires got it right. There are three keys to the play.

1. The runner crossed the plate before any action occurred at third base
2. The out was recorded by tagging the runner, even though he was standing on third
3. Once the runner was tagged, the inning was over, so then tagging to base to force out the other runner is moot

The run counted because once the tag was applied, ending the inning, Washington needed to appeal the runner leaving early. The catch is the appeal needed to be conducted before the players left the field, but it was not.

Aside from a proper appeal (pitcher sets up, steps off the rubber and throws to the third baseman, who then touches the base), the Nationals could have forced out either runner by touching second or third. It would not have mattered if the runner crossed the plate before the force, the run would not have counted.

The Pirates won the game 8-7, so this was a huge play. It was in the fifth inning, so you can't simply say it would have been tied if Washington executed properly. Had they appealed, the runner initially at third would have been called out, becoming the fourth out of the inning.

Not a Belieber

The abbreviated Thursday schedule makes it easier to focus on individual players or teams, especially in the afternoon. Yesterday's assignment was watching Shane Bieber. His surface stats are similar to last season, but Bieber's velocity and especially strikeouts are way down.

The curious thing to me is that sure, velocity matters, but is the drop the only reason for his swinging strike rate to fall to 13.5 percent, down from 16.2 and 17.1 in the past two seasons? Here is a look at his pitches and effectiveness since 2020:

Four-Seam Fastball

Slider

Curve

Changeup

Cutter

Bieber's fastball has never been his best pitch, but the drop in velocity lowers the delta between it and the other pitches, which could reduce their effectiveness. His slider appears to be most affected, so let's look at its velocity and spin.

The difference in velocity between the fastball and changeup is most often cited, but it can also influence sliders, and Bieber is exhibiting just a 6 mph distinction. Further, Bieber's spin rate is significantly lower. It's unclear if this is due to grip or an artifact of last season's shoulder strain, an injury which cost him most of the second half. The spin difference could be due to the fact that he only worked six September frames after MLB policed sticky stuff. Bieber may be leery of getting completely loose with his slider.

To frame watching Bieber's start, I dug up the above before the game so I had an idea where I wanted to focus. I was most curious if we're seeing a transition from a stuff guy to a pitcher. What did Bieber throw when he needed an out? Could he reach back for more gas when needed?

Bieber only yielded runs in the third inning, but he wasn't dominant in the other frames. All three hits in the third came by way of the fastball. He walked Max Kepler on a 3-2 count with a fastball. There was extra oomph during the Twins rally.

I left rather unimpressed but was even more discouraged after perusing the pitch log. Bieber used the slider five times in six 0-2 counts and seven times in 10 3-2 counts without a strikeout. He did, however, generate three swinging strikeouts on all three times Bieber used it in six 1-2 counts.

I don't know, basing an opinion of this nature on 99 pitches seems myopic, but even though Bieber's ERA estimators are all favorable, I'm concerned his strikeouts will continue to fall, while his homers will rise. His control and command are still excellent, so the end result should still be a very good pitcher, but unless Bieber regains fastball velocity or slider spin, he's not an SP1 for me.

Box Score Blitz

• CLE 5, MIN 3: The Cleveland TV booth warned the Twins not to pitch to Andres Gimenez, but they didn't listen, and Gimenez broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run walk off. Chris Archer posted a 1.57 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in his first five June starts, but was all over the place Thursday with six walks in four innings, though Archer only surrendered one earned run. Bailey Ober is due back in a week and Josh Winder has impressed when called upon, so Archer will need to get back in control to stay in the rotation.
• PHI 14, ATL 4: Ian Anderson's struggles continued as the Phillies teed off on the Braves righty then reliever Jesus Cruz. Newly promoted Darick Hall took Cruz deep, then launched another off position player Mike Ford. They both count, so Hall began his career with a double dinger evening, but don't break the bank to acquire him in mixed leagues. Hall's role is likely the busier side of a DH platoon, but there's a reason why a guy doesn't debut until he's 26 years old.
• HOU 2, NYY 1: Luis Garcia turned in a solid 5.1 innings to earn his sixth win, surrendering just an Anthony Rizzo solo blast in the sixth. The Astros bullpen held on from there with Ryan Pressly collecting his 17th save. Pressly's velocity is fully back, averaging 97 mph on his fastball.
• PIT 8, MIL 7: Who had a Pirates hitter crushing three homers for the second straight game? Bryan Reynolds pulled it off Wednesday, with Michael Perez recording a hat trick Thursday. Coincidentally, the final score was the same in both games. Bucs closer David Bednar had a rare poor outing, allowing three runs in just two thirds of an inning. Even so, there's a good chance Bednar is moved to a contender, where he'll likely set up.
• TOR 4, TB 1: It's been a rough season for Ryan Yarbrough. The Rays tried reinserting him as the primary pitcher, but he still yielded four runs in 5.1 innings to the Blue Jays, with no strikeouts. On the other side, Yusei Kikuchi entered the game with a 9.39 ERA and 2.22 WHIP in June, giving up 9 homers and 11 walks in 15.1 innings. He finished the month with a solid six -inning, eight-strikeout performance, allowing just one run on a homer to who else, Isaac Paredes.
• CHC 15, CIN 7: Graham Ashcraft has given Reds fans a reason to be excited, but on Thursday he just didn't have it, allowing seven runs in only 2.1 innings. Ashcraft has a little young Nathan Eovaldi in him, throwing triple digits but mostly straight and without polished secondary pitches. After his 3-for-6 effort, Nico Hoerner is slashing a quiet .310/.345/.427.
• LAD 3, SD 1: Joe Musgrove fanned 10 in seven stanzas, scattering five hits. However, two of them left the yard, both courtesy of Justin Turner. After giving up at least one hit in his prior eight appearances, Craig Kimbrel hurled a clean ninth for his 14th save.
• SEA 8, OAK 6: Logan Gilbert wasn't sharp, but he battled for six innings to improve to 9-3. It's cliché, but getting the job done (even against Oakland) without one's best stuff is a great sign for the sophomore. Paul Sewald registered his fourth save in a week, suggesting he's emerged as the guy in the Pacific Northwest.