By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Can it really be that we’re down to the last week of the regular season? Where did the time go?
Ian Kinsler picked a bad time to get hot. Over the weekend, the second baseman was 4-for-13 with a double (#35), two home runs (#22), four RBIs and three runs scored. But the Detroit Tigers (62-94) remained true to form for the season and dropped all three games to the visiting Minnesota Twins. Friday’s shot was another solo blast but his most recent came yesterday with two out in the bottom of the ninth, a — gasp — two-run shot to make the final score 10-4. Was this Kinsler’s last hurrah in a Tigers uni?
Oh, and that talk about Brad Ausmus returning in 2018? Forget it; he’s out. But the NY Mets will be looking for a new skipper… Just sayin’. Can’t really blame Detroit’s front office. Ausmus was given a good team a few years ago but things never really gelled, between poor performances and injuries. Of course, those happen to every team. The evidence of a good manager is dealing with it and still managing to win. Ausmus did a nice thing here by defending Kinsler’s disappointing season.
Alex Bregman was 2-for-10 with his 17th home run, a two-run blast in yesterday’s game that gave the Houston Astros (95-60) a temporary 2-1 lead in a game they would lose to the visiting LA Angels, 7-5. It was their only loss in the three-game set.
Ryan Braun was 4-for-13 with two doubles (26), two runs scored and an RBI as the Milwaukee Brewers (82-74) hurt their post-season chances by dropping two of three to the visiting Chicago Cubs. What does the future hold for him?
Kevin Pillar was 2-for-11 with his 37th double and 15th stolen base as the Toronto Blue Jays (73-83) took two of three from the visiting NY Yankees, winners of one of the AL Wild Card spots.
Joc Pederson was 1-for-1 with two walks as the LA Dodgers (99-57) beat the visiting San Francisco Giants yesterday, 3-1, taking two of their three games. It was his only outing on the weekend. Pederson also stole his fourth base of the year.
Danny Valencia entered the Saturday game between his Seattle Mariners (75-81) and the visiting Cleveland Indians as a pinch runner, remaining in the game to play right field and first base (not at the same time). He was 0-for-1 with a walk in the 11-4 loss, his only appearance in the series, which concludes today
Richard Bleier appeared in back-to-back-to-back games for the Baltimore Orioles in their series against the Tampa Bay Rays, combining for 2.1 innings, two runs (unearned), three hits, and two strikeouts as the Os (75-82) lost two of three.
Ryan Sherriff‘s appeared briefly in a 4-3 win for the St. Louis Cardinals (81-74) over the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 22. The rookie southpaw faced three batters, striking out one and giving up a double and an RBI single.
Craig Breslow did not appear for the Cleveland Indians (98-58) in their weekend set against the Mariners. He did get into a game on September 20th, walking the only batter he faced against the Angels. Prior to that, Breslow had not been on the mound since Sept. 9.
Max Fried gets the start tonight for the Atlanta Braves in an away game versus the Mets. He has not pitched since Sept. 16, when he struck out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect inning against the Mets in Atlanta.
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 Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War.
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