By Ron Kaplan, contributor MOT of the Weekend honors go to Danny Valencia, who was 4-for-5 on Sunday with his fifth home run, three runs scored, and four RBIs to help the Baltimore Orioles (13-28, last in the AL East) annihilate the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, 17-1. The solo shot came in the second inning…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of May 7-13, 2018: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Nick Rickles* C Nick Rickles* (Phillies/AAA) hit .714 (5-for-7) last week with 2 HRs, 2 RBIs and a walk, with both home runs coming on May 9. He is hitting .314 this…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Maybe moving down in the lineup helped: Ian Kinsler was 3-for-4 with his second homer of the year as the LA Angels (23-14) beat the visiting Minnesota Twins, 7-4 (see article). The two-run blast put the Angels on the scoreboard in the second inning. Kevin Pillar hit his A.L.-leading 16th double of the…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Richard Bleier picked up his third win against no losses as the Baltimore Orioles (9-27) beat the visiting KC Royals, 5-3. Bleier tossed two more shutout innings, giving up two hits and lowering his ERA to an A.L.-best 0.40. Danny Valencia was 0-for-4 as the third baseman, batting seventh. The win broke a…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor For the second time in less than a week, an MOT was involved in a no-hitter. First it was Joc Pederson, in a May 4 game in which four LA Dodger pitchers combined to stymie the San Diego Padres, 4-0. This time on the wrong end was Kevin Pillar, who went 0-for-3…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor The usual light schedule for a Monday… Alex Bregman had two doubles and a walk in six trips to the plate as the Houston Astros (22-15) crushed the host Oakland A’s, 16-2. Bregman drove in the last of his team’s two runs. He also had two more errors, both coming on wild throws….
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman hit his second home run of the season yesterday, his only hit in four at-bats and the only run for the Houston Astros (21-15, second in AL West) in a 3-1 loss to the host Arizona Diamondbacks. He also made his fifth error of the season when he was called for obstruction…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of April 30-May 6, 2018: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Rhett Wiseman RF Rhett Wiseman (Nationals/High-A) hit .357 (5-for-14) with 2 HRs, 2 RBIs, 3 walks and a stolen base. For the season, he is hitting .277 with 5 HRS, 15…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor The Toronto Blue Jays (18-14) and host Cleveland Indians played a wild doubleheader yesterday. The Jays won the opener, 13-11, in 14 innings, scoring four times in the last frame. The Indians came up just short, putting two over in their last ups. In the nightcap, though, the Indians prevailed in…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Kevin Pillar had one-third of the Toronto Blue Jays’ offense Wednesday, going 2-for-3 with a walk in a 4-0 loss to the host Minnesota Twins. It’s been a long time since we were treated to a defensive highlight from Pillar, so here you go: You just have to hope he didn’t hurt…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Kevin Pillar had two more doubles — he is second in the A.L. with 12 — a sacrifice fly, and a run scored as the Toronto Blue Jays (17-12) beat the host Minnesota Twins, 7-4, in 10 innings. His latest two-bagger led off the final inning. He immediately stole third base and scored…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun was 1-for-3 with two walks and his fourth stolen base as the Milwaukee Brewers (17-13) edged the host Cincinnati Reds, 6-5. Braun scored the game-tying run in the seventh. Here are his stats through the first two months of the 2018 season: Braun: March/April stats Games PA AB R H…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor MOT of the weekend honors goes to Kevin Pillar of the Toronto Blue Jays (15-12, third place, AL East), who had another great series. On Friday, he doubled (#9) and tripled (#1) in four at-bats, driving in a run in a 6-4 loss. The next day he hit two solo homers…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of April 23-29, 2018: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: None No standout performances worth noting last week. Jewish Baseball News Pitcher of the Week: Robert Stock P Robert Stock (Padres/AA) had 2 perfect relief appearances, yielding no hits or walks across…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Danny Valencia — batting seventh and playing third base — was 2-for-4 and hit his third home run, but the Baltimore Orioles (6-19) lost to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, 9-5. Richard Bleier did not appear for the O’s. Kevin Pillar walked, doubled, and had a sacrifice fly in four plate appearances as the Toronto Blue Jays…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Jew vs. Jew: Alex Bregman had a bases-clearing double (see video below) in the fourth inning to give the Houston Astros (17-9) a 3-0 lead and all the runs they would need in a 5-2 win over the visiting LA Angels (16-9). Ian Kinsler was 0-for-4 in the losing cause. Ryan Braun shows signs of…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor In another meeting of MOTs, Ian Kinsler was 1-for-3 for the LA Angels (16-8), who edged out the host Houston Astros, 8-7. Kinsler also walked twice and scored two runs, including the one that tied the game at 5-5 in the seventh when the Angels scored four times for an 8-5 lead….
By Ron Kaplan, contributor In a meeting of MOTs on first-place teams. Ian Kinsler was 0-for-4 for the LA Angels (15-8), who beat the host Houston Astros, 2-0. Alex Bregman was 0-for-3 with a walk for the ‘Stros (16-8), ending his brief (five-game) hitting streak. Richard Bleier — one of the few bright spots for a dismal franchise — tossed…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman gets MOT of the Weekend honors. He had six hits in 13 at-bats plus two walks. Bregman had one double, scored twice, and drove in a pair as the Houston Astros (16-7, first in the AL West) swept the host Chicago White Sox — outscoring their opponents 27-2 — and extended their…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of April 16-22, 2018: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Zach Borenstein OF Zach Borenstein* (Mets/AAA) is making a strong case for a call-up this season. Last week, he hit .348 (8-for-23) with a home run, 5 doubles and 6 walks. For…
