MLB Notebook: Kluber makes it a six-pack

It might be incredibly difficult to throw a no-hitter, but Major League Baseball pitchers are making that feat look as ordinary as ever so far this season. The latest no-no was thrown Wednesday night, and it tops this week’s MLB roundup.

Kluber Makes It a Six-Pack

New York Yankees hurler Corey Kluber was masterful Wednesday, as he no-hit the Texas Rangers in a 2-0 victory. The no-hitter is the sixth such outing of the season across MLB, and the second of the week following Spencer Turnbull’s white-washing of the Seattle Mariners.

That total increases if you count Madison Bumgarner’s seven-inning no-no (hey, MLB, don’t want to count it? Don’t play seven-inning games. Simple), and it begs the question: Have changes to the approaches of offenses around the American and National Leagues hurt them more than they’ve helped?

Trout Goes to the Sidelines

The season went from bad to worse for Angels fans Tuesday, as all-world outfielder Mike Trout will miss six-to-eight weeks with a calf strain.

L.A. has lost six of its last eight games to fall to 18-24, which puts the Angels seven games back of the AL West leaders, the Oakland Athletics. Even after a recent slide, Trout was hitting .333 with a 1.090 OPS. It’s not like the Halos are devoid of offense without him, but they just lost arguably the best player in baseball at a time when they’re being left in the dust.

What’s Happening in Chicago?

We had to come here at some point. White Sox manager Tony La Russa was upset at Yermin Mercedes for homering on a 3-0 count when up big against Minnesota Monday.

In response, Twins pitchers threw at Mercedes Tuesday, and rather than defend his player (as baseball fans have come to expect), La Russa said he had no issue with Minnesota’s response. Reports are that a rift has developed in the clubhouse, but if that’s the case, it’s not reflected in the standings. The White Sox are 26-16 and lead the AL Central as of this writing.

More Hijinks from the Mets

As if things haven’t gotten strange enough this week, let’s finish with a trip to the Big Apple. Mets outfielder Kevin Pillar was hit in the face by a fastball Monday. The good news is that the hit-by-pitch came with the bases loaded and gave the Mets an insurance run in a game they wound up winning. The bad news is that Pillar was placed on the injured list due to multiple nasal fractures.

It was an ugly-looking incident, and here’s hoping he gets well soon.