By Ron Kaplan, contributor

Another down-and-dirty weekend summary:

MOT of the weekend has to be Max Fried, whom the Atlanta Braves (48-34, first in the AL East) brought up on Saturday to make the start against the St. Louis Cardinals. He struck out 11 in 6.2 innings, giving up four singles and walking three. He got credit for the win as the Braves topped the Cards, 11-4. He also cracked his first big-league hit and scored a run (see article). Mazel tov, Max!

Alex Bregman, Houston Astros (55-31 , first in the AL West)

  • June 29: 1-for-3 with his 15th home run, good for the team’s only runs in a 3-2 loss to the host Tampa Bay Rays
  • June 30: 1-for-4 with his 16th home run, good — once again — for all of the Astros’ scoring in the 5-2 loss. That made five in his last six games, eight in his last 15, and Houston’s home-run leader
  • July 1: 1-for-3 in a 3-2 loss

Bregman’s 11 home runs in Juneare the most in a single month by an MOT since Hank Greenberg hit 15 in July in 1938, the season he challenged Babe Ruth’s single-season mark of 60, which you can read about (shameless self-promotion) in my book.

Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers (48-35, first in the in NL Central)

  • June 29: 1-for-3 with a run scored in an 8-2 win over the host Cincinnati Reds
  • June 30: Did not play
  • July 1: 1-for-3 with his 10th home run. Like Bregman, his two-run shot (which came in the ninth inning to spoil a shutout) accounted for all of his team’s scoring in a loss, this one 8-2

Ian Kinsler, LA Angels (43-42, fourth in the AL West)

  • June 29: 0-for-4 in a 7-1 win over the host Baltimore Orioles
  • June 30: 2-for-3 with his 15th double and a walk in a 5-2 win
  • July 1: 0-for-4 in an 8-2 loss

Danny Valencia, Baltimore Orioles (24-59 , last in the AL East)

  • June 29: 0-for-3 in the loss to the Angels
  • June 30: 0-for-3 in another loss
  • July 1: Did not play

Kevin Pillar, Toronto Blue Jays (39-44, fourth in the AL East)

  • June 29: 1-for-3  plus a walk in a 3-2 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers
  • June 30: 1-for-3 with his 25th double in a 4-3 win
  • July 1: 1-for-4 in a 9-1 loss

Joc Pederson, LA Dodgers (44-39, second in the NL West)

  • June 29: Did not play
  • June 30: 0-for-4 win a 3-1 loss to the visiting Colorado Rockies
  • July 1: 3-for-4 in a 6-1 win

So Bregman and Pederson each had 10+ home runs in the same month. Any two JMLs  ever done that before?

Robert Stack, San Diego Padres (37-49, last in the NL West)

  • June 29: Struck out 2 in one perfect inning of relief in a 6-3 loss to the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • June 30: DNP
  • July 1: Gave up one hit and retired the other batter he faced in a 7-5 loss.

Gabe Kapler’s Philadelphia Phillies took two of three from the visiting Washington Nationals. They stand at 45-37, second in the NL East.

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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