By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Open the door, Richard: Richard Bleier made his first appearance of the year for the Baltimore Orioles. He was pressed into service in the second inning after starting pitcher Kevin Gausman was ejected for hitting Boston Red Sox batter Xander Bogaerts on a very questionable decision by the umpire. Bleier did pretty well, considering the emergency nature of his service: four innings, five hits, one walk, and three runs (only one of which as earned). He also started a nifty double play. The O’s lost to the host Sawx, 4-2, with Gausman getting the decision.
Alex Bregman singled twice in four at bats, scored one run, and drove in another as the Houston Astros (19-9) crushed the visiting Texas Rangers, 10-1. But he’s still getting grief about comments he made about the other Lone Star State team.
Kevin Pillar was 1-for-4 with a walk, a run scored, and a strikeout as the Toronto Blue Jays (9-19) lost to the host NY Yankees, 8-6.
Danny Valencia was 1-for-4 with a run scored as the Seattle Mariners (12-16) held off the visiting LA Angels, 8-7.
Ian Kinsler might be headed for the Jewish disabled list. He came out of the game with a hamstring injury in the seventh ining of the game between his Detroit Tigers and the visiting Cleveland Indians. Kinsler was 0-for-3 as the Tigers (14-13) lost, 3-2. The Detroit News thinks Kinsler is starting to come out of his slump, but the numbers don’t back that up. P
Joc Pederson’s Dodgers fell to the visiting San Francisco Giants, 4-1, in 11 innings. In a rehab game Wednesday with L.A.’s High-A club, Pederson went 0-3 with a walk. He is expected to be activated by the Dodgers tomorrow.
Scott Feldman did not appear for the Cincinnati Reds (13-14) in their 7-2 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.
Craig Breslow did not appear for the Minnesota Twins (14-11) in their 7-4 win over the visiting Oakland A’s. The Twins moved into a first-place tie with the Indians in the AL Central.
The St. Louis Cardinals had another game postponed by rain, this one against Ryan Braun and the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, which is a good thing; gives him more time to recover from his latest injury.
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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