By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Another down-and-dirty wrap, due to the lateness of the hour.
Ian Kinsler had the weekend honors as top MOT thanks to his 3-for-3 performance — including a double, a walk, three runs scored, and two RBIs — in the LA Angels’ 11-5 win Saturday over the visiting Seattle Mariners. He had one other hit in six at-bats in the other two games.
A close second was Ryan Braun, whose two RBIs made the difference for the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday in their 3-1 win over the host San Francisco Giants. He hit his 11th home run Sunday in an 8-5 loss.
Alex Bregman had just one hit in nine at-bats for the Houston Astros amid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers, but it was his 21st home run, good for two RBI in Saturday’s 7-3 loss. He had one more ribbie and walked three times. More importantly, he was named winner of Houston’s 2018 Heart and Hustle Award.
Danny Valencia was 4-for-8 for the Baltimore Orioles in the Friday (15-5) and Saturday (11-2) wins over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays with two runs scored and an RBI. He did not appear in Sunday’s 11-5 win. It was the first three-game winning streak since time immemorial.
Joc Pederson was 0-for-7 in one start and two other appearances for the LA Dodgers, who took two of three from the Atlanta Braves after winning the Thursday series opener. Atlanta pitcher Max Fried pitched well on Saturday, allowing just one run on two hits and three walks while striking out seven. Unfortunately, that run came at a bad time and he wound up taking the loss in the 5-1 outcome, dropping his record to 1-4 but with an excellent ERA of 3.51.
Gabe Kapler’s Philadelphia Phillies lost three in a row to the host Cincinnati Reds, but they remain in first place by 1.5 games over the Braves
Kevin Pillar remains on the DL for the Toronto Blue Jays. Same for Richard Bleier of the Orioles.
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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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