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What’s Next: Ichiro nears 3,000 career hits
- Updated: August 1, 2016
After weeks of speculation and rumors, Monday will finally bring clarity on the 2016 non-waiver Trade Deadline (4 p.m. ET). By the end of the day, the dust will have settled and the conversation will shift to pennant races and Wild Card positioning.
The remaining two months of the regular season promise to bring plenty of drama as teams make a final push in the standings, vying to be one of the clubs still playing well into October.
Among the storylines to keep tabs on in the week ahead is Miami’s Ichiro Suzuki’s pursuit of 3,000 hits. The 42-year-old veteran’s quest for the career milestone continues on the road in a three-game series against the Cubs, beginning Monday at Wrigley Field. Ichiro — who’s sitting on 2,998, in addition to his 1,278 hits from his nine seasons in Japan — would be the 30th player in Major League history to reach the milestone.
“This is not a regular player,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said last week. “Ich is an incredible guy. I feel very fortunate to have him this year on this club.”
While Ichiro chases history, his Marlins will take on the National League Central’s top club. Miami got the better of Chicago earlier this season, taking three of four at Marlins Park in June. The Cubs will send Kyle Hendricks, Jason Hammel and John Lackey to the mound in this series, the final regular-season meetings between these clubs, while the Marlins hand the ball to Adam Conley, Jose Fernandez and Tom Koehler.
In the American League, another pair of contenders — division leaders Texas and Baltimore — will clash at Camden Yards. The three-game set starts Tuesday with O’s rookie Dylan Bundy taking on Rangers righty Yu Darvish. Texas leads the season series, 3-1.
The Rangers are coming off a sweep of the Royals and have won seven of their past eight games. Texas enters the week with the largest lead among the AL’s first-place clubs, six games in front of Houston in the West.
Baltimore, meanwhile, is on far shakier ground in the tightly contested AL East. The Orioles snapped a five-game losing skid and reclaimed their first-place standing with an extra-innings win over the Blue Jays on Sunday, but they can’t afford to falter this week …
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