By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Alex Bregman had two RBI doubles (14, tied for fourth in the American League) and a walk in five plate appearances along with a stolen base (#4) to help the Houston Astros (31-18) beat the visiting San Francisco Giants, 11-2. As per CBSSports.com, “Bregman extended his hitting streak to six games (8-for-23, four extra-base hits) and has reached base safely in 17 of 19 games during the month of May. That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as it was during May when he started to bust out last season. He’s slashing .286/.383/.529 this month, raising his season line to .270/.381/.427. The Albuquerque native may be one of those players whose bat heats up as the weather does.”
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Richard Bleier had his worst outing of the season for the Baltimore Orioles. He entered the game against the visiting Chicago White Sox in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and one out and allowed two of the runners to score (sacrifice fly and single) before being lifted, earning him his first blown save. Danny Valencia did not appear for the O’s (15-33).
Ian Kinsler remained in the leadoff spot and was 0-for-3 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly as the LA Angels (26-22) lost to the host Toronto Blue Jays (23-25), 5-3. Kevin Pillar was 0-for-4. Kinsler’s batting average dropped to .197 while Pillar has seen his batting average drop from .322 on May 3 to .287, which seems to be following a pattern over his career: a really hot start followed by so-so production. His 18 doubles are second in the AL.
Joc Pederson entered the game for the LA Dodgers (21-27) as a defensive replacement in their 5-3 win over the visiting Colorado Rockies. He did not come to bat.
Ryan Braun remains on the disabled list for the Milwaukee Brewers (30-19), who shut out the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks, 1-0. He is eligible to come off the DL on Thursday.
Gabe Kapler’s Philadelphia Phillies (27-19) fell to the visiting Atlanta Braves, 3-1. According to a PhillyVoice contributor, “It’s pitching – and Gabe Kapler’s positivity – that are making the Phillies believers.”
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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