Jewish Baseball News

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The 2011 MLB season opened Thursday (3/31/2011), and Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun started things off on the right foot.

Braun, 27, went 2/3 with a long blast over the center-field fence, two walks, and 3 runs scored in a 7-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. In 2010, Braun went 2/4 on Opening Day, with a double, sacrifice fly, and two RBIs.

Braun is one of 9 Jewish players to make this year’s Opening Day rosters. They are:

• 3B Danny Valencia (Minnesota Twins)
• 2B Ian Kinsler (Texas Rangers)
• 1B Ike Davis (New York Mets)
• 3B Kevin Youkilis (Boston Red Sox)
• CF Sam Fuld (Tampa Bay Rays)
• P Jason Marquis (Washington Nationals)
• P John Grabow (Chicago Cubs)
• P Craig Breslow (Oakland A’s)
• LF Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers)

Several players who were on major-league teams in 2010 didn’t make an Opening Day roster this year. The Boston Red Sox sent LF Ryan Kalish to the team’s AAA affiliate, the Los Angeles Dodgers cut RF Gabe Kapler, and Texas Rangers P Scott Feldman is on the disabled list.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — At least 19 Jews got playing time during Spring Training 2011, including five pitchers and 14 position players.

Here are our awards honoring the best, worst, and most surprising performances:

Best All-Around Offense: Ian Kinsler. The Texas Rangers 2B didn’t look like the same player who sat out nearly 100 games last season with injuries. Kinsler, 28, led all Jewish batters with 7 doubles, 5 HRs, 13 RBIs (tied), and a .389 on-base percentage. Although Jewish batters as a group struck out way more than they walked (94 vs. 41), Kinsler was one of just two players who didn’t, matching his 5 Ks with 5 BBs.

Best All-Around Offense (runner-up): Ryan Braun. The Milwaukee Brewers LF batted only 40 times, but that didn’t stop him from hitting 4 HRs, driving in 11 runs, and leading all Jews with 15 runs scored, a .325 batting average, .700 slugging percentage, and 1.072 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage).

Best All-Around Offense (honorable mention): Ike Davis. The New York Mets 1B pretty much matched the productivity of his 2010 rookie season, hitting .273 with 3 HRs, 13 RBIs (tied/1st), and a .344 on-base percentage.

Breakout offense: Sam Fuld. At 29, you can’t quite call the Tampa Bay Rays CF an up-and-comer. But Fuld made the most of what turned out to be his best chance in years to make an opening-day roster, hitting .277 with 1 HR, 5 extra-base hits, 8 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases. And he got his wish: a seat on the Rays’ bench.

Most disappointing offense: Kevin Youkilis. Whatever you chalk it up to — bad thumb, the distraction of switching from 1B to 3B, etc. — the Boston Red Sox stalwart, normally an on-base machine, struggled at the plate this Spring. Youk hit  just .175 with no HRs, 4 RBIs, a Jew-high 15 strikeouts, and just 4 walks. Teammate Ryan Kalish was a close second in this category, hitting .235 with 0 HRs and one lonely RBI.

Weirdest stats: Ben Guez. The Detroit Tigers CF has yet to play a regular-season MLB game and saw only limited playing time in Spring Training, getting 12 plate appearances and 7 at-bats. But oh, what Guez did with them. The 24-year-old singled twice, doubled once, and walked five times, good enough for a .429 batting average and .667 on-base percentage.

Nicest surprise: John Grabow. After a dismal 2010 in which he went 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA and “held” opposing batters to a .321 average, the Chicago Cubs reliever must have grown tired of being Public Enemy #1 in the Windy City. How else can you explain Grabow’s 2.57 ERA in Spring Training? A close second to Grabow in this awards category is Washington Nationals starter Jason Marquis, who went 2-9 with a 6.60 ERA in an injury-plagued 2010 season but finished Spring Training with a 1-1 record and a 4.02 ERA.

Worst surprise: Craig Breslow. Arguably the only Jewish MLB pitcher who didn’t embarrass himself last year, the Oakland A’s reliever went 4-4 in 2010 with a 3.01 ERA, holding opposing batters to a meek .194 batting average. But Breslow had an awful spring, with an 11.25 ERA and an opposing-hitters batting average of, believe it or not, .500. The saving grace? We’re only talking about 5 appearances and 4 innings pitched, not a lot to go on. Still, the Freaky Friday switcheroo Breslow and Grabow did this Spring has got us mighty confused.

Here are the final 2011 Spring Training stats for position players:

And the final 2011 stats for pitchers:

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Spring Training 2011 is just two weeks old. Many players are still shedding their off-season rust. But a couple Jewish players are already tearing the stitching off the ball.

Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler, who was hobbled by injuries last season, leads all MLB players with 4 HRs, is tied for second with 7 RBIs, and is batting .444 (8/18). Figure in walks, and he has a nifty on-base percentage of .545.

Also hitting well is Minnesota Twins 3B Danny Valencia. After finishing 3rd in voting for the A.L. Rookie of the Year award last year, Valencia is batting .500 (6/12) with 3 RBIs and is tied for the A.L. lead in doubles, with four.

Here is how all Jewish position players were doing through Mon., March 7:

Among pitchers, Washington Nationals starter Jason Marquis followed up a difficult 2010 with a strong spring-training outing, giving up just 1 hit over 3 innings in his only game played so far. Here’s how all Jewish pitchers were doing through March 7:

To track Jewish players in Spring Training, visit Jewish Baseball News for our daily box score.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — When the Milwaukee Brewers signed undrafted free agent Steve Braun to a minor-league contract in 2008, older brother Ryan Braun‘s fingerprints were all over the deal.

Steve Braun had hit just .276 that year at the University of Maryland and was not among the 1,500 amateurs selected in the annual MLB draft. But Ryan Braun said his brother was better than that, and he lobbied the Brewers to sign him.

Perhaps against their better judgment, the Brewers relented. Anything to keep Ryan — the 2007 N.L. Rookie of the Year — happy, I suppose.

“If it all works out and we got to play together one day at this level, it would be pretty cool,” Ryan told MLB.com at the time.

Unfortunately, Steve didn’t live up to Ryan’s expectations. He hit just .175 in rookie-league ball in 2008. After being promoted to “A” ball in 2009, he  hit .265 in 34 at-bats before fracturing his ankle.

When Steve returned to baseball in 2010, the Brewers inexplicably stepped him up to the “A-advanced” Florida State League, where he batted an anemic .140, with 2 RBIs in 107 at-bats.

Earlier this month, the Brewers finally released Steve. Hopefully he’ll find his groove and catch on with another team due to his bat, not his name.

— Scott Barancik

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun has won his 3rd straight Silver Slugger award.

Issued by Major League Baseball, the award recognizes the best hitter at each position in the National and American leagues. Braun hit .304 in 2010 with 25 HRs, 103 RBIs, 101 runs, a career-high 45 doubles, 14 stolen bases, a .365 on-base percentage, and .501 slugging percentage.

Here are the 2010 N.L. winners, and the total number of Silver Slugger awards each has won:

As these articles explain (one, two), Braun, 26, owes his 2010 Silver Slugger award to a late-season surge at the plate. The 4th-year player hit .364 over his last 55 games, including an MLB-high .424 in August.

Only 5 the 18 players named Silver Sluggers in 2010 were repeat winners from 2009.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Cleveland Indians prospect Jason Kipnis hit a 3-run HR and a 2-run triple Friday (10/16/2010) as the Peoria Javelinas routed the Peoria Saguaros 13-5.

The 5 RBIs were a welcome relief for the promising second baseman, who had gone hitless in his first 11 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League before smacking a triple. “I got to the point where I stopped trying to do too much,” Kipnis told MLB.com after the game. “I just worried about hard contact today.”

Fellow 2B (and Hebe) Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers had a tougher day. In the opening game of the American League Championship Series, the Rangers were leading the New York Yankees 5-1 when the Yanks scored 5 runs in the 8th inning. Kinsler led off the bottom of the 8th with a walk, but a baserunning error got him caught in a rundown and tagged out.

In non-baseball news, bachelor Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers reportedly attended a bash at Doug Reinhardt’s Hollywood Hills mansion. Reinhardt, a former minor-leaguer, is better known as an ex-boyfriend of socialite Paris Hilton. RadarOnline.com said the party guests included Brody Jenner, Stacy Keibler, Jasmine Waltz, and other young people Jewish Baseball News neither knows nor cares about.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here is your Player of the Day for Saturday (10/3/2010):

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers hit a double, drew a walk, and scored a run in a 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Braun’s double was his 45th, tying him for 2nd most in the N.L. The 2010 All-Star is batting .305 with 25 HRs, 103 RBIs, and 101 runs scored.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Thursday (10/1/2010).

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers hit an RBI single, drew a walk, and scored his 100th run of the season in a 9-2 win over the New York Mets. Braun is batting .306 and leads all MLB Jews with 25 HRs and 103 RBIs. According to MLB.com, he is one of only 2 players in Brewers history to reach 100 RBIs and 100 runs in two consecutive seasons. Mets 1B Ike Davis entered the game as a pinch-hitter and went 0/2.
• Rookie 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins doubled, walked, and scored a run in a 13-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Valencia, a Rookie of the Year hopeful who recently began hitting for power, leads all MLB rookies with a .323 batting average.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Wednesday (9/29/2010).

It was Jew vs. Jew in a double-header between the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets. Here’s how the match-up went:

• LF Ryan Braun carried the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-1 win in Game 2 with a two-run double, his career-high 44th two-bagger. Braun is batting .306 this season and leads MLB Jews with 25 HRs and 102 RBIs. He went 1/5 in Game 1, which the Brewers won 8-7.
• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets went 0/4 in the double-header but drew 4 walks and hit a sacrifice fly. The 23-year-old has shown improving judgment at the plate in recent months; so far in September he has raised his batting average from .248 to .266, and his on-base percentage from .331 to .354.

In other games:

• Rookie 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins singled 3 times in a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. It was his 10th game with 3 or more hits since being called up from the minors in June but his first since Sept. 2. Valencia, who recently has been hitting more for power than average, leads all MLB rookies with a .323 batting average.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Sunday (9/26/2010):

• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets went 1/3, drew 2 walks, and scored once in a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Davis is 1st among N.L. rookies in strikeouts (133); 2nd in doubles (32), walks (67) and runs scored (71/tie); 3rd in RBIs (69), and 4th in HRs (18/tie). So far in September he has raised his batting average from .246 to .268.
• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers pounded two 2-run HRs (one, two) and drew a walk in a 7-1 win over the Florida Marlins. The power burst left Braun with 100 RBIs, making him the 3rd player in Brewer history to reach that plateau for three consecutive seasons. The 2007 N.L. Rookie of the Year has had a remarkable August and September so far, hitting 9 HRs, driving in 36 runs, and boosting his batting average from .274 to .307. With the 2010 season nearly done, he has a career-high 43 doubles but is at career lows in HRs (25), triples (1), and slugging percentage (.508).

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Friday (9/24/2010):

• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets went 3/4 and scored once in a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. A 9th-inning double was his 32nd two-bagger of the season, second-highest among N.L. rookies. Davis is tied for 3rd among N.L. rookies in HRs (18), RBIs (69) and runs (69), but also has the most strikeouts (132).
• 2B Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers doubled, singled, and scored a run in a 10-3 win over the Oakland A’s. In a season shortened by injury, the 28-year-old Tucson, Ariz., native is batting .290 with 9 HRs, 45 RBIs, a .381 on-base percentage and 13 stolen bases in 18 tries.

And now, your Jewish Star of the Day:

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers smacked a 2-run single and an RBI double in a 6-2 win over the Florida Marlins. The 2007 N.L. Rookie of the Year is batting .308 with 23 HRs, 96 RBIs, a career-high 43 doubles, and 14 stolen bases in 17 attempts.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Wednesday (9/22/2010):

• In his first game since a disastrous appearance on Yom Kippur, SP Jason Marquis of the Washington Nationals gave up 2 earned runs on 7 hits in a 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros. He held Houston to one run over six innings but was pulled after giving up a leadoff double in the 7th, which later turned into a run. Marquis, who spent several months on the disabled list after getting elbow surgery, is 2-9 with a 7.18 ERA.
• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets singled twice and scored once in a 7-5 loss to the Florida Marlins. Here is an interview with him about his first season in the Majors, plus an article on how he memorizes his at-bats against individual pitchers.
• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers hit his career-high 42nd double and reached base four times in a 13-1 laugher over the Cincinnati Reds. The 2007 N.L. Rookie of the Year was pulled in the 5th inning after being hit on the left elbow with a pitch. Braun’s 42 doubles rank 3rd in the N.L.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Monday (9/20/2010):

• 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins continued his recent power display, going 1/4 with a solo HR in a 9-3 win over the Cleveland Indians. The 25-year-old rookie has just 5 HRs this season but has hit 3 in his last 4 games. He leads all MLB rookies with a .335 batting average and  MLB.com, he is hitting .431 with runners in scoring position. Valencia showed good power as a minor-leaguer, hitting 14 to 17 HRs per year from 2007 through 2009.
• RP Craig Breslow of the Oakland A’s pitched a scoreless 9th inning to preserve a 3-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox and earn his 3rd save of the season. The 30-year-old middle reliever has a 3.15 ERA, tops among MLB Jews, and is having one of his best months of the season. His September ERA is 1.74 so far, second only to his May ERA of 0.71.
• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers went 1/4 with a two-run double in a 5-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. The RBIs lifted his season total to 93, one behind team leader Casey McGehee. As Jewish Baseball News reader JackW notes, Braun’s 41 doubles are a career high; he hit 39 both in 2008 and 2009.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Sunday (9/19/2010):

• In his first major-league start since 10/4/2009, CF Sam Fuld went 2/6 with an RBI double and a single to help the Chicago Cubs defeat the Florida Marlins, 13-3. As Jewish Baseball News reader Jessica R. points out, Fuld may get a few more starts due to a bizarre, broken-bat injury suffered Sunday by RF Tyler Colvin. ‘
• 2B Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers reached base twice in a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Kinsler singled and drew a walk.
• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets singled twice and scored once in a 6-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.
• RP Craig Breslow of the Oakland A’s pitched a perfect 9th inning and struck out two batters to preserve a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins. The 30-year-old middle reliever has a 3.19 ERA, tops among MLB Jews, and is having one of his best months of the season. His September ERA is 1.93, second only to his May ERA of 0.71.

And now, your Jewish Baseball News Star of the Day:

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers hit his third HR in the past 5 games, a two-run shot that accounted for both of the Brewers’ runs in a 9-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants. More impressive was Braun’s leaping catch over the outfield fence to rob the Giants’ Cody Ross of a home run. The play was so spectacular it inspired a separate article on MLB.com.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — A number of Jews played baseball on Friday (9/17/2010), the eve of Yom Kippur. And while some played as if they were being punished, others performed quite well:

• SP Jason Marquis of the Washington Nationals may wish he hadn’t agreed to pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies. He failed to complete the first inning, giving up 6 earned runs on 6 hits and a walk while retiring just one batter in a 9-1 defeat. It didn’t help that a likely double-play ball struck the second-base umpire, allowing a run to score and keeping Philadelphia’s at-bat alive.
• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers went 3/5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored in a 3-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
• Rookie 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins had the opposite experience, going 2/3 with his 3rd major-league HR in a 3-1 loss to the Oakland A’s. Oakland RP Craig Breslow pitched 1-and-1/3 scoreless innings to earn his 16th hold of the season.
• Two Jewish major-leaguers — 2B Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers and rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets — both went 0/3. Davis had gotten press coverage a day earlier by saying that he was leaving the decision about playing on Yom Kippur to his mother, who lost family in the Holocaust.

In minor-league championship games:

• CF James Rapoport of the “AAA” Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals) hit 3 singles and stole 2 bases but couldn’t prevent a 10-6, extra-inning loss to the Tacoma Rainiers. Tacoma swept the Pacific League championship series, 3-0.
• RP Josh Zeid of the “A” Lakewood BlueClaws (Philadelphia Phillies) did not play in Friday’s 2-1 win over the Greenville Drive. But on Thursday (9/16/2010), he pitched 3 perfect innings in the BlueClaws’ 6-1 win, striking out four. Lakewood leads the South Atlantic League championship series 2-1.
• The “Rookie-league” Ogden Raptors (Los Angeles Dodgers) didn’t play Friday because they lost the Pioneer League championship series the day before. RP Andrew Pevsner provided one of Ogden’s few bright spots in Thursday’s 14-3 loss to the Helena Brewers, pitching 3-and-1/3 perfect innings and striking out 4. Teammate Jake Lemmerman went 1/5 and scored a run.

And now, your Jewish Baseball News Star of the Day:

• 2B Jason Kipnis of the “AAA” Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Indians) hit for the cycle — single, double, triple and HR — en route to a 13-2 win over the Durham Bulls and Columbus’ first International League championship in 14 years. The 23-year-old was called-up to Columbus for the post-season after spending the regular season on Cleveland’s “AA” and “A-advanced” clubs. He batted .389 during the 4-game championship series while playing in the DH role.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Wednesday (9/15/2010):

It was a productive day for the four MLB’ers who took the field yesterday. The group went a combined 7/14 with 2 HRs, 8 RBIs and 4 runs scored, and all four players’ teams won:

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers went 2/5 with his 22nd HR and a game-tying, 9th-inning double in an 8-6 victory over the Houston Astros. It was the 4th straight two-hit game for Braun, who raised his average to .306 for the first time since June 29.
• 2B Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers went 2/3 with a 2-run HR in an 11-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers. A year after joining baseball’s elite “30/30” club — he had 31 HRs and 31 stolen bases in 2009 — Kinsler has just 9 HRs and 13 stolen bases. But two lengthy stints on the disabled list in 2010 have shortened the 28-year-old’s season. Meanwhile, he has boosted his batting average from .253 in 2009 to .299 this season.
• Rookie 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins went 2/4 with a double and a sacrifice fly in a 9-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. The 25-year-old also saved a run by forcing out a runner at home plate. Valencia leads all A.L. rookies with a .333 batting average and is a top contender for Rookie of the Year.
• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets went 1/3 with an RBI double in an 8-7, come-from-behind win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. A 1st-round pick (18th overall) in the 2008 amateur draft, Davis is batting .261 with 31 doubles, 2nd-most among N.L. rookies.

In minor-league championship games:

• Playing in the DH role, 2B Jason Kipnis of the “AAA” Columbus Clippers went 1/4 with a double in a 4-0 triumph over the Durham Bulls. Columbus leads the five-game International League championship series 2-0.
• CF James Rapoport of the “AAA” Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals) went 1/4 with a sacrifice fly in an 11-7 loss to the Tacoma Rainiers. Tacoma leads the five-game Pacific Coast League championship series 2-0.
• SP Jason Knapp of the “A” Lake County Captains (Cleveland Indians) struck out 6 batters over 3 and 1/3 innings and gave up 2 earned runs in a 9-6 win over the Clinton LumberKings. Lake County leads the five-game Midwest League championship series 1-0.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Tuesday (9/14/2010):

• In his fourth game back since injuring a hamstring, rookie 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins hit a game-tying single, drew a walk, and scored 2 runs in a 9-3 defeat of the Chicago White Sox. Valencia leads all A.L. rookies with a .329 batting average and is a top contender for Rookie of the Year, despite having only 231 at-bats.
• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers hit a single and a solo HR in a 3-2 loss to the Houston Astros. It was the third straight two-hit game for Braun, who is batting .390 over the past 10 games. For the season, the 26-year-old is hitting .305 with 21 HRs, 37 doubles, 86 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He is one of five Brewers with more than 20 HRs.

And now, your Jewish Star of the Day:

• 2B Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers reached base four times in an 11-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers, hitting an RBI single and walking three times. Separately on Tuesday, the MLB issued Kinsler a one-game suspension for participating in an on-field celebration of Saturday’s 7-6 win over the New York Yankees after being ejected earlier in the game. Kinsler is appealing the suspension (see interview).

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Monday (9/13/2010):

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers went 2/4 and drew a walk in a 4-2 loss to the Houston Astros. Braun had a chance to close the gap when he came to bat with two outs and a man on second base in the 9th inning, but he flied out to end the game. The fourth-year player and former Rookie of the Year tore up August with a .424 batting average and is hitting .318 in September. Braun is ranked 6th in the N.L. in doubles (37) and 9th in batting average (.304) and runs scored (90/tie). He also has 20 HRs, 85 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.
• RP Craig Breslow of the Oakland A’s pitched a scoreless 8th inning and earned his 15th hold of the season in a 3-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. The 30-year-old middle reliever is 4-4 with 2 saves and a 3.31 ERA, best among Jewish MLB pitchers this season. He has 64 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings and has held opposing hitters to a .197 batting average.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Wednesday (9/8/2010):

• 2B Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers led off the game with a solo HR and added a single in the 5th inning en route to an 8-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Despite two lengthy stints on the disabled list this season, Kinsler is batting .296 with 8 HRs, 40 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and a .380 on-base percentage.
• RP Craig Breslow of the Oakland A’s retired all 4 batters he faced and earned his 13th hold of the season in a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners. The 30-year-old middle reliever is 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA and 2 saves. He has 61 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings and has held opposing hitters to a .202 batting average.
• SS Jake Lemmerman of the rookie-league Ogden Raptors (Los Angeles Dodgers) went 2/5 with an RBI single in a 4-2 loss to the Orem Owlz. The top Jewish pick in the 2010 draft (5^th round, 172^nd overall), Lemmerman leads the league in doubles (24) and runs scored (68), ranks 2nd in batting average (.364) and on-base percentage (.437), and is third in slugging percentage (.612).

And now, your Jewish Star of the Day:

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers blasted a three-run HR and smacked an RBI single in an 8-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, both hits coming with two outs. The fourth-year player and former Rookie of the Year tore up August with a .424 batting average and is hitting .321 in September. For the season, Braun is batting .304 with 20 HRs, 35 doubles, 84 RBIs, a .361 on-base percentage and .483 slugging percentage. His 20 homers are the most among MLB Jews this year — one ahead of injured 1B Kevin Youkilis of the Boston Red Sox, and two ahead of rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Sunday (9/5/2010):

In the majors:

• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets went 4/6 with an RBI single and a 2-run HR in an 18-5 laugher over the Chicago Cubs. The home run was Davis’ second in two days after a 6-week drought; the 4-hit game was his second this season. The 23-year-old son of former MLB reliever Ron Davis, Davis is 2nd among N.L. rookies in HRs (17), and ranked 3^rd in RBIs (61) and runs scored (61). He is batting .256 with an on-base percentage of .343.
• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers went 3/5 with a double and 2 runs scored in a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies the Cincinnati Reds. According to MLB.com, it was Braun’s 50th multi-hit game of the season, second most in the National League. The 26-year-old is hitting .301 with 19 HRs, 35 doubles (tied for 5th highest in the N.L.), 80 RBIs, a .359 on-base percentage and .479 slugging percentage.
• 2B Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers went 1/3 with a walk and 2 runs scored in a controversial 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins. He added a “trampoline” grab of a line-drive off the bat of J. J. Hardy. Despite two lengthy stints on the disabled list this season, Kinsler is batting .300 with 7 HRs, 39 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a .388 on-base percentage.
• Injury note: 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins sat out his second straight game with a tight hamstring but is expected to return to the lineup shortly.

In the minors:

• C Ryan Lavarnway of the “AA” Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) went 2/5 with a 2-run single in a 9-2 win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The 2 RBIs gave Lavarnway a combined 101 this season between the Sea Dogs and the “A-Advanced” Salem Red Sox. The 23-year-old Yale alum erased a teammate’s 5th-inning throwing error by picking off a baserunner at 1st.
• 1B Casey Haerther of the “A” Cedar Rapids Kernels (Los Angeles Angels) went 2/5 with a 2-run HR and a bases-loaded walk in a 13-5 win over the Beloit Snappers. A 5^th-round pick in the 2009 amateur draft (171^st overall), Haerther ranks 2nd on the Kernels in doubles (25), and 3rd in batting average (.305), HRs (8) and RBIs (73). He also has 10 stolen bases.
• 1B Nate Freiman of the “A” Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres) hit a 2-run double to give his team an early 2-0 lead, but the TinCaps eventually lost 5-4 to the West Michigan Whitecaps. A 6’7″ recruit from Duke University, Freiman is batting .295 with 14 HRs, 84 RBIs, an on-base percentage of .370 and a .458 slugging percentage. He also has 42 doubles, a franchise record.

And now, your Jewish Star of the Day:

• SP Jason Marquis of the Washington Nationals gave up six hits and one earned run in an 8-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the second straight victory for Marquis, who recently returned to the lineup after nearly four months on the disabled list. The 32-year-old veteran walked none and struck out two. He is 2-7 with an ERA of 7.14.

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