Anmeldung » A look at what’s happening around the major

s today:BREAK OUT THE BROOMSThe surprising Rays go for their eighth straight victory when they try to become the first team to sweep Boston in a series this season. Tampa Bay is a season-high eight games over .500 at 69-61 and has allowed three or fewer runs in seven consecutive games. All-Star lefty Blake Snell (15-5 http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , 2.07 ERA) pitches against former teammate Nathan Eovaldi (5-5) in the finale of the three-game set. “He really helped me with my work ethic and led by example,” said Snell, who is 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA in three starts against Boston this year. “He’s very special.”Eovaldi is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA in five starts for the major league-leading Red Sox since being acquired from the Rays on July 25. Boston (90-41) has lost five of seven. “We’ve been good on getaway days and day games,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It would be a good day to put everything together, finish strong and turn the page in this stadium.”HOMER HAPPYKendrys Morales has homered in six consecutive games, tying Jose Cruz Jr. (2001) for the Blue Jays record, heading into their series finale against Philadelphia. Morales, with seven home runs during his streak, matched St. Louis first baseman Matt Carpenter for the longest run in the majors this season. The big league record of eight games in a row with a homer is shared by Dale Long, Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey Jr. The slumping Phillies have lost 17 of their past 21 meetings with Toronto, including six straight north of the border.NEW YORK BAGELSThe last time the Nationals faced Mets left-hander Steven Matz, they hammered him for seven runs in the first inning on the way to a 25-4 romp. Washington could have used some of those runs the last three games — all shutout losses. The Nationals will try to end their record skid of offensive futility at Citi Field. They haven’t scored since Ryan Zimmerman’s walk-off homer Wednesday night. Not since they were the Montreal Expos and were shut out in three straight by the Florida Marlins in 2004 — all three games were played in Puerto Rico — had the franchise been held down like this. The Expos moved to Washington the next season.THEN AND NOWInducted into the Hall of Fame last month Marcus Stroman Jersey , longtime Detroit shortstop Alan Trammell will have his No. 3 retired by the Tigers in a pregame ceremony. After that, touted rookie Michael Kopech takes the mound to make his second major league start for the Chicago White Sox.TRACK RECORDIn four games since he joined the Chicago Cubs in a trade with the Nationals, Daniel Murphy is 7 for 19 (.368) with two homers and five RBIs. He’ll try to go deep in a third straight game for the Cubs, who have 17 homers in their past 10 games. Success at Wrigley Field is nothing new for Murphy, who is batting .407 in 31 career regular-season games there — all but three of them before he joined the Cubs. Chicago is hoping Murphy can recapture the form of his postseason run with the Mets in 2015, when he went 9 for 17 (.529) with four homers in a four-game NLCS sweep of the Cubs.END OF THE ROADGiants catcher Buster Posey will undergo season-ending hip surgery Monday in Colorado, ending what has been a painful and frustrating year for the six-time All-Star. The 31-year-old Posey has been playing in pain and is hitting .284 with only 41 RBIs and five home runs — his fewest since 2011, the year before he won the NL MVP award. … Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (bone spurs in both heels) will not play at all this season. Tulowitzki had surgery on both feet at the start of the regular season. The five-time All-Star hasn’t played since July 2017, when he seriously injured his right ankle in a collision at first base. Before you get angry, Lou Whitaker wasn’t on the ballot."Harold Baines and Lee Smith were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by a veterans committee on Sunday. This particular group, the “Today’s Game Committee,” was tasked with electing players “who made their marks from 1988 until present day.” Baines and Smith were elected from a group of 10 individuals Devon Travis Jersey , including former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and longtime MLB manager Lou Piniella.Most relevant to our interests: former Detroit Tigers second baseman Lou Whitaker was not on the ballot (so put those torches and pitchforks away for another year).While this news normally would not warrant a mention on a Tigers-centric website, the committee’s baffling decision to elect Baines — and maybe even Smith, for that matter — doesn’t bode well for Whitaker’s eventual chances of induction. Baines, a career .289/.356/.365 hitter in 22 MLB seasons, accumulated just 38.7 career rWAR. He started his career in right field, but spent most of his time as a designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and others.Worse yet, Baines pales in comparison to those he jumped ahead of on this special Hall of Fame ballot.Yes, that’s former Tiger Placido Polanco at the bottom of that list. While we love everything that Polanco managed in a Tigers uniform, he is not a Hall of Famer. Former Tiger Curtis Granderson has Baines beat by nearly 10 WAR, and he isn’t done playing yet.The newly retired Victor Martinez — who we also love Roy Halladay Jersey , but is not a Hall of Famer — also compares well with Baines.Meanwhile, Whitaker would rank fifth on the above list, just after Curt Schilling. Sweet Lou’s candidacy is hurt by a lack of “black ink,” or gaudy stats that finished at the top of the league during his prime, but his entire body of work is on par with the average Hall of Fame second baseman.Whitaker’s next chance to make it into the Hall will come within the next few years. The Modern Baseball Committee, which evaluates players from 1970 to 1987. Whitaker was snubbed by this committee the last time around, but saw former teammates Alan Trammell and Jack Morris get the nod to Cooperstown. With Trammell lightly campaigning for his longtime double play partner during his induction speech, maybe this committee will finally get it right and put Whitaker into the Hall of Fame, where he belongs.Or they will screw it up again and we’ll have to find more creative ways to sneak swear words into our headlines.