By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Welcome back, folks. Hope you had a great Labor Day holiday despite weather conditions and sundry global events.
Since most teams begin a new series on Mondays, I’m going to dispense with the usual long-weekend wrap. Too complicated.
Max Fried
's 5-1 win over the Cubs (9/3/2017)" width="300" height="220" srcset="http://www.jewishbaseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/fried-mlb-debut-start-vs-cubs-box-300x220.jpg 300w, http://www.jewishbaseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/fried-mlb-debut-start-vs-cubs-box-120x88.jpg 120w, http://www.jewishbaseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/fried-mlb-debut-start-vs-cubs-box.jpg 433w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> Box score from Max Fried’s 5-1 win over the Cubs (9/3/2017)However I just wanted to give a shout-out to Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried. He returned to the team after the September 1 call-up by which Major League rosters can expand to 40. Fried won his big-league first start by pitching five strong innings on Sunday against the first-place host Chicago Cubs, who were averaging 6.7 runs per game since August 1 and had won six straight. He gave up one run on a homer, one of four hits he allowed to go along with three walks and four strikeouts in a 5-1 victory (see video).
Now on to our regularly scheduled program..
Ryan Braun had three hits, including his 14th home run (and 299th of his career), as the Milwaukee Brewers (72-66) fell to the host Cincinnati Reds on a walk-off home run by Billy Hamilton. That puts Braun one shy of the 300 milestone.
Alex Bregman drove in two runs with his 32nd double to help the Houston Astros (84-53) beat the host Seattle Mariners (69-69), 6-2. It was his only hit in five at-bats. He also scored a run. Danny Valencia was 0-for-3 for the Mariners and came out of the game for a pinch-hitter in the ninth.
Kevin Pillar was 1-for-5 with an RBI (#38), as the Toronto Blue Jays (64-74) beat the host Boston Red Sox. This clip erroneously credits him with a double, a solid blast off the Green Monster hit so hard it rebounded right to the leftfielder who was able to hold Pillar at first.
The Detroit Tigers (58-79) scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to keep from losing to the visiting KC Royals, 7-6. Ian Kinsler was 0-for-4.
Craig Breslow did not appear for the Cleveland Indians (81-56), who beat the host Chicago White Sox, 8-5.
Richard Bleier did not appear for the Baltimore Orioles (70-68) who lost to the visiting NY Yankees, 7-4.
Ryan Sherriff did not appear for the St. Louis Cardinals (70-67) who shut out the host San Diego Padres, 2-0.
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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