Welcome to Rates and barrels. It is Friday, June 7th. Derek Van Riper, Trevor May, Enos,

Saris, all here with you on this episode. Major League Baseball returns to London. We've got a two-game series this weekend between the Phillies and Mets. We'll talk about the implications of that. We had an epic showdown this week between Paul Skeens and Shohei Otani. It was all anybody could talk about once that happened on Wednesday. So we're going to dig deeper into that matchup and we're going to have our game plan segment outlining how we would pitch to Shohei Otani or instruct someone else to pitch to

show Hey Otani. Yeah, I would tell someone else to pitch. Generally, good choice for you.

Trevor, you pitch. We're also going to talk about two teams facing a critical stretch of the schedule, the Blue Jays and the Cubs,

and try to get a sense for what they might be doing as the trade deadline approaches just under two months from now.

And if we get an update on Juan Soto, the health of his forearm, we'll pass that along as well.

He's been sent for some imaging.

So we begin with the series in London.

Baseball is back in London. Of course, the Cubs and Cardinals split a two-game set abroad last season.

We have seen some very high-scoring games in the previous iterations of the London series, going back to 2019, when the Yankees and Red Sox combined for 50 runs in two games, 50-5-0, it was 92 degrees for a game in which those two teams combined for 30 runs, and then there was, of course, a 20-run game.

The next day, temperature dropped by 20 degrees, but it was the most runs ever scored in consecutive games in that rivalry.

That's how much offense was juiced then.

They did make some changes to the dimensions.

They moved the center field fence back a few feet for that 2023 series.

And good news if you're at the game this weekend.

Mild temperatures expected.

So we're not going to have a 90 degree day juicing up offense as they play at London Stadium again.

But, you know, you've been in a position of trying to be a baseball fan in London,

and you had a previous love for the game.

What were the challenges that you ran into trying to love baseball abroad?

Time zones, man.

It's like a real thing.

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