By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Ryan Braun hit his 21st double in four at-bats as the Milwaukee Brewers (69-64) held off the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5. Keon Broxton made a home run-saving catch to end the game, but I think the announcers got a little too enthusiastic. The hit would have given the Cards (66-66) a 7-6 lead, but since the Brewers were the home team, they would have had one more shot at a victory, so calling the effort a “game-saver” is not necessarily so.
Ryan Sherriff did his job for St. Louis, retiring the only batter he faced to end a three-run rally in the sixth that gave the Brewers the lead.
Danny Valencia struck out as a pinch-hitter then struck out again when he remained in the game as the Seattle Mariners (68-66) dropped this one to the host Baltimore Orioles (68-65), 8-7. Richard Bleier retired the only batter he faced, picking up his second “hold” of the year.
Speaking of “holds,” one of these days I’m going to opine on Keith Law’s excellent book, Smart Baseball: The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball
Craig Breslow completed the fine day by Jewish relievers, giving up one hit in one inning to help the Cleveland Indians (75-56) en route to a three-game sweep of the host NY Yankees, 9-4, in the first game of a regular doubleheader, i.e., not one of those two-admission money grabs that are the norm these days.
Kevin Pillar was 1-for-4 as the Toronto Blue Jays (61-72) lost to the visiting Boston Red Sox, 7-1.
Alex Bregman was o-for-4 for the Houston Astros (79-53), who lost to the visiting Texas Rangers, 8-1. Actually both teams are “visiting” Tropicana field in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Ian Kinsler did not appear for the Detroit Tigers (58-74) in their 6-2 win over the host Colorado Rockies.
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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