Author: scott

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Remember when they used to have holiday doubleheaders? Two of the first games I ever went to were comprised of a July 4 twinbill at Yankee Stadium against the Cleveland Indians. This was a reward for perfect attendance at Hebrew school at the Woodruff Avenue Temple in Brooklyn, so I must…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Joc Pederson collected his first home run of July and 12th overall as the LA Dodgers (45-39) crushed the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates, 17-1. It was Pederson’s only hit in five at-bats and led off the fourth inning. He also made this nice catch. Ryan Braun was 1-for-5 as the Milwaukee Brewers (49-35) beat the visiting Minnesota…

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…

By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of June 25-July 1, 2018: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Ryan Gold C Ryan Gold (Blue Jays/A) hit .421 (8-for-19) last week with a double, triple, 4 RBIs, stolen base and a .450 on-base percentage. Jewish Baseball News Pitcher of the…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Sorry, kids, no home runs for the boys last night. Alex Bregman was 1-for-3 with a walk as the Houston Astros (55-28) beat the host Tampa Bay Rays, 1-0. According to the New Orleans Time-Picayune, Bregman’s walk-off home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 27 was his third walk-off hit…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor What in the name of Hank Greenberg is going on lately? Wowza! He done did it again! Not only did Alex Bregman hit his MOT-leading 14th home run last night, but it was the walk-off variety, a two-run, no-doubt blast with one out that won the game for the Houston Astros (54-28)…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Not quite as impactful as a couple of weeks back, when five different Jewish players hit HRs, but it was another homer-happy day for the fellas yesterday. Alex Bregman hit his 13th, second in two games, and eighth in June to lead the Houston Astros (53-28) in their 7-0 whitewash over the…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman hit his 12th homer (seventh in June) — a solo shot in the third inning — but the Houston Astros (52-28) lost to the visiting Toronto Blue Jays (37-41), 6-3. The home run tied the game at 2-2. Bregman, who also stole his seventh base, added an RBI single the next inning…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Down and dirty here because of the lateness of the hour: Welcome your newest JML: Robert Stock (as opposed to Robert Stack) of the San Diego Padres. The 28-year-old righty pitcher was called up yesterday and made his debut a good one: He came on in the 10th inning of a 2-2 tie…

By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of June 18-24, 2018: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Zach Borenstein* LF Zach Borenstein* (Mets/AAA) hit .450 (9-for-20) with a .542 on-base percentage last week. Highlights included a 4-for-5 performance on June 18, when he stroked a home run and 3…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor On a typically quiet Thursday… Ryan Braun received treatment for his chronically sore thumb and did not participate in the Milwaukee Brews’ 11-1 win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. In fact, the Brewers (44-30) sent him to Los Angeles for the treatment on Wednesday when their game with the Pittsburgh…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman hit home run #11 on Wednesday as the Houston Astros beat the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, 5-1. His solo shot came in the middle of a back-to-back-to-back run in the sixth, preceded by a George Springer HR and followed by a Jose Altuve HR. Danny Valencia had a single and a…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Joc Pederson got the LA Dodgers off on the right foot when he knocked the second pitch of their first game of a twinbill with the host Chicago Cubs out of the park for a home run, his ninth of the season and eighth this month. It was his only hit in…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman does it again! He had just one hit in five at-bats on Monday, but he made it count. Bregman’s two-run, walk-off double (#22) with one out in the bottom of the ninth gave the Houston Astros (49-25) their 12th straight win, a come-from-behind, 5-4 decision over the visiting Tampa Bay…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Not quite the fireworks we had last weekend… One of the very few bright spots for the Baltimore Orioles, Richard Bleier, is probably done for the year, the victim of a lat strain he suffered June 13. Here’s wishing him well. But the show must go one. The O’s — with the worst record in…

By Scott Barancik, Editor   Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of June 11-17, 2018:   Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Ryan Lavarnway* C Ryan Lavarnway* (Pirates/AAA) hit .438 (7-for-16) last week with 2 HRs, 3 RBIs and a .526 on-base percentage. He has hit safely in 8 straight games.  …

By Ron Kaplan, contributor In the only MOT player action Thursday, Alex Bregman, batting in the leadoff spot, was 0-for-4 with a walk and a run scored as the Houston Astros (45-25) completed a three-game sweep of the host Oakland As with a 7-3 win. In fact, it was the eighth straight win for Houston….

By Ron Kaplan, contributor That’s just great. Richard Bleier was having a terrific season for the Baltimore Orioles (19-48), perhaps the one bright spot in a disappointing year for the O’s. But in yesterday’s 5-1 loss to the visiting Boston Red Sox, the lefty reliever left the game with an apparent lat injury after retiring the two batters he faced….

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Where have all the home runs gone? Long time asking. After Friday’s glut, only one. On Tuesday, Joc Pederson blasted his 7th home run in the month of June, 5th in his last seven games, and eighth overall.  This time it was a two-run, two-out job off the Ageless Wonder, Bartolo Colon,…