By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Ryan Braun returned to action from the disabled list on Sunday against the host Chicago Cubs, going o-for-5 with an RBI on a ball hit softly to the pitcher. The Milwaukee Brewers (25-19) lost this one, 13-6, after beating the Cubs on Friday, 6-3. The Saturday game was postponed by rain.
Kevin Pillar also returned to action, but from his two-game suspension for a homophobic slur. He singled twice in five at-bats on Saturday, stole his seventh base of the season, and scored twice in a 7-5 loss to the host Baltimore Orioles. He was 1-for-3 with a walk in Sunday’s 3-1 win. The Jays (19-26) lost to Os on Friday in 11 innings, 5-3.
Richard Bleier earned his first hold for the Orioles (25-17) on Saturday, even though he gave up two runs (one earned) in one-third of an inning, walking one, striking out another, but not allowing a hit.
Ian Kinsler was 1-for-5 as the Detroit Tigers (21-21) lost, 5-4, to the visiting Texas Rangers on Friday; 2-for-3 with two runs scored in a 9-3 win on Saturday, coming out of the game in the fifth inning when his hamstring tightened up on him; and hit his fourth home run to lead off Sunday’s game , a 5-2 loss. It was the 42nd time Kinsler opened a game with a round-tripper.
Alex Bregman bobblehead
Alex Bregman was 1-for-3 with his ninth double as the Houston Astros lost to the visiting Cleveland Indians on Friday, 5-3. On Saturday, the Astros managed just three hits — none by Bregman in three at-bats — in a 3-0 loss. He cracked his second home run of the year (and his first in Houston) on Sunday to end the scoring in an 8-6 loss to complete the sweep. The Astros had trailed 8-1 at one point. Their 29-15 record is still the best in the Majors.
Joc Pederson was 0-for-2 on Friday, coming on as a defensive replacement as the LA Dodgers beat the visiting Miami Marlins, 7-2. He was hitless in three at-bats in Saturday’s 10-6 loss but hit his second homer of the year on Sunday to help the Dodgers (26-19) to a 6-3 win. He also walked and scored two runs.
Danny Valencia hit his second triple of the year and scored the only run of the game for the Seattle Mariners (20-25) in their 2-1, 10-inning loss to the visiting Chicago White Sox on Friday. He did not appear in their 16-1 blowout loss the next day after injuring his wrist on a slide in Friday’s contests. He also sat out Sunday’s 8-1 loss.
Craig Breslow pitch 1.2 scoreless innings on Sunday, striking out one and walking one, in the first game of a doubleheader between his Minnesota Twins and the visiting Kansas City Royals, a game necessitated by a rain out on Saturday. The Twins (22-18) lost 6-4 but won the nightcap, 8-4. It was Breslow’s only appearance over the weekend, lowering his season ERA to 1.84.
Scott Feldman gets the start tonight for the Cincinnati Reds (20-23) in their intrastate series against the visiting Indians. Which Feldman will we see this time?
Ron Kaplan (@RonKaplanNJ) hosts Kaplan’s Korner, a blog about Jews and sports. He is the author of three books, including The Jewish Olympics: The History of the Maccabiah Games and the forthcoming Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War.
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