By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Mazel of the Day: Ian Kinsler went 4-for-5 with a double, four runs scored (including one on a wild pitch), and two RBIs as the Detroit Tigers (11-8) scored nine times in the fifth en route to crushing the visiting Seattle Mariners, 19-9. The teams combined for 40 hits, two of those courtesy of Danny Valencia, who came into the game for the Mariners (8-13) in the third inning as a pinch-runner. Valencia remained in the game in right field and went 2-for-2, including his first home run of the year, so he gets half a mazel for stepping in and stepping up.
Anti-mazel: Scott Feldman is reverting to his Jekyll and Hyde pitching persona, going back and forth between good and bad performances. This was the bad one: Feldman allowed four runs on five hits and five walks (he also struck out five) in a 9-1 loss to the host Milwaukee Brewers. On the bright side, none of the hits was a home run. Ryan Braun was 0-for-4 with a strikeout by Feldman. The Reds fall to 10-11 following a surprisingly strong start. The Brewers even their season record at 11-11.
Kevin Pillar hit his first triple of the year, his only hit in five at-bats (he also walked). He scored twice and drove in a run with that triple in amazing fashion (see below) in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 6-5, 11-inning win over the host St. Louis Cardinals. The Jays improve to 6-14.
Alex Bregman singled once in four at-bats as the Houston Astros (14-6) beat the host Cleveland Indians, 4-2.
Craig Breslow gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth inning for the Minnesota Twins (10-10), who beat the host Texas Rangers, 8-1.
Joc Pederson remains on the DL for the LA Dodgers, who beat the host San Francisco Giants, 2-1.
In other “news,” Ron Blomberg, the first designated hitter in the Majors, was the subject of this “Four Questions” interview by the Atlanta Jewish News. Blomberg is scheduled to speak at the 14th annual JNF Atlanta Jack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast on Yom HaAtzmaut, Tuesday, May 2, at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North in Sandy Springs.
The two Rons. Blomberg, left, and Kaplan at Yankees Fantasy Camp in 2009.
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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