The Upper Deck

Welcome to The Upper Deck, Baseball America’s daily look at the biggest stories around the game and some lighter fare.

STONE COLD SUBWAY

Bend the knee. 👑 pic.twitter.com/LjqudpzD9N

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 18, 2017

The Yankees completed the rare Subway Sweep against the rival Mets Thursday, winning 7-5 at Citi Field, and the Pinstripers’ official Twitter account did not hold back. You don’t need to be a “Game of Thrones” fan to understand the savagery here.

SPEED IT UP

With the time of games up about five minutes from a year ago—MLB games take an average of 3:05 to play—the league and the players’ union is discussing more ways to pick up the pace. Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has made pace of play a key part of his administration’s platform, is pushing for pitch clocks and limiting mound trips. The MLBPA, led by former slugger Tony Clark, did not come to an agreement on the matter before the season.

“We met with Tony Clark and a group of players last week,” Manfred told reporters Thursday. “The tone of those conversations have been very positive. Hats off to Tony and the players on that, and I remain confident that we will have changes for next year on the issue of pace of game that will be significant.”

GOING IN CIRCLES

There were a bunch of homers hit in big league ball Thursday despite a limited slate—the Cubs hit six alone! But nothing is more fun than watching a big leaguer speed around the bases on an inside-the-park shot, such as Daniel Descalso of the Diamondbacks did.

ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN

The Greensboro Grasshoppers lost a beloved family member on Thursday.https://t.co/tH4SopMPBQ

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) August 18, 2017

The Greensboro Grasshoppers lost a member of their family on Thursday. Master Yogi Berra, the middle of the team’s trio of lovable, enthusiastic bat dogs, died after a six-week battle with malignant cancer. Josh Norris had the sad story.

SMALL ONLY IN STATURE

The Little League World Series began Thursday and BA will keep you up to date. Follow along with the bracket here. Here’s a quick recap from Day 1.

REMEMBERING CLEMENTE

Happy Birthday, Roberto Clemente.

Clemente would be 83 today. pic.twitter.com/7daj02dr0p

— Stadium (@WatchStadium) August 18, 2017

The late, great Roberto Clemente would have been 83 today. The Pirates’ Hall of Famer of course died famously on Dec. 31, 1972 in the crash of a cargo plane carrying relief supplies to the victims of the earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua. He was just 38.