MLB notebook: Kyle Schwarber crushing it for Nationals

The lead story in this notebook for the past several weeks has been the crackdown on substances used by pitchers. That’s nowhere to be found this week, but unfortunately, that’s because of reasons that are far from desirable.

Let’s get to it.

The Trevor Bauer situation

We’ll start off with something that’s the textbook definition of a “developing story,” because there is a lot going on here and plenty we still don’t know.

The Athletic reported a domestic violence restraining order was filed against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer earlier this week. The story outlines statements made to this point, and should you want to take a look, know you’re going to see things that may be very difficult to read.

What we do know is a formal hearing is scheduled for July 23, and Bauer’s representatives said they plan to take part in the proceedings.

Sho-Time? Not so much

Wednesday’s anticipated pitching appearance at Yankee Stadium from two-way star Shohei Ohtani didn’t last long.

Ohtani didn’t make it out of the first inning, as he walked four batters, yielded two hits, and was charged with seven earned runs.

Somehow, the Angels came all the way back to win the game. Jared Walsh belted two home runs, including a game-tying grand slam in the ninth, in an 11-8 victory.

Schwarber rockets Up NL leaderboards

Washington Nationals leadoff man Kyle Schwarber bashed 16 homers in June, which raised his season total to 25.

He slugged .792 over the 30-day period and was a crucial part of the Nationals’ rise up the National League East standings.

With the power surge, Schwarber now sits second in the NL home run race, behind only Fernando Tatis Jr. (26).

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!

It’s my duty to talk about this every time July 1 rolls around.

As he has for the last 10 years, and as he will every July 1 through 2035, retired slugger Bobby Bonilla will collect a check from the New York Mets for $1.19 million.

He is not the only prominent player with a deal based on deferred payment, but by accepting the deal, Bonilla turned $5.9 million into $29.8 million. Nice work if you can get it!