Author: scott

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Three home runs erev Shabbos? Sounds good to me. Mazel of the weekend goes to Joc Pederson, who recently returned from the DL list. In three games against the host Cincinnati Reds, he was 4-for-12 with two home runs (one on Friday and four on the season), a double, four runs…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor A typically light Thursday night: only three MOTs in action, if you can call it that. Ian Kinsler was 1-for-4 with his third stolen base and two runs scored as the Detroit Tigers (31-34) beat the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, 5-3. Joc Pederson hit his seventh double in four at-bats and scored a…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Danny Valencia was 2-for-5, scored a run, and notched his 35th RBI to help the Seattle Mariners (33-34) beat the host Minnesota Twins (33-29), 4-2. Craig Breslow did not appear for the Twins in this one. Ian Kinsler hit his ninth double and scored the only run for the Detroit Tigers (30-34) in a 2-1…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Joc Pederson returned to the lineup as the LA Dodgers (40-25) beat the host Cleveland Indians, 7-5. Pederson — batting eighth in the lineup — was 0-for-4 with a walk. Ian Kinsler singled in five trips to the plate and scored a run, but the Detroit Tigers lost to the visiting Diamondbacks, 7-6, when…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Danny Valencia was not much of a chaver to landsman Craig Breslow last night as the Seattle Mariners (32-33) beat up on the host Minnesota Twins (32-28), 14-3. He hit a solo home run (#6) off of the suddenly struggling reliever in the eighth inning. Valencia also had a run-scoring single…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler had four singles in 14 at-bats as the Detroit Tigers (30-32) lost two of three to the host Boston Red Sox. He also scored twice and drove in a run. Kevin Pillar was 3-for-14 over the weekend. Two of those hits, both doubles (15 and 16), came in Sunday’s…

By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of June 5-11, 2017. Members of Team Israel’s 2017 squad are marked with an asterisk: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Cody Decker* 1B Cody Decker* (Mets/AA) hit .250 (3-for-12) with 2 HRs, 6 RBIs and a walk. With 7 HRs in 101 at-bats, he’s averaging one round-tripper…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor The “good” Scott Feldman showed up yesterday, throwing seven shutout innings, giving up four hits and no walks, and striking out four to lead the Cincinnati Reds (29-30) to a 5-2 win to sweep the four-game series over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. Feldman’s win, his fifth, was only the 13th…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Kevin Pillar launched a two-out, three-run homer (his 8th) in the top of the second to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 4-1 lead over the Oakland As. The home team came back to tie things up and send the game into extra innings. The Jays (29-31) ended up with a…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Welcome back, Kinsler. Ian returned to action for the Detroit Tigers last night. He hit his seventh double and walked in five trips to the plate in a 5-3 loss to the visiting LA Angels. The loss pushed the Tigers to a game under the .500 mark, at 28-29. Brad Ausmus’ concerns?…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Short and sweet: Just two MOTs in action last night. Alex Bregman entered the game between the Houston Astros (42-16) and host KC Royals as a defensive replacement. He singled in his only at bat and scored a run as his team stretched their winning streak to 11 with a 7-2…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Danny Valencia had the best weekend of the JMLs as the Seattle Mariners (28-30) swept the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. On Friday, he drove in a season-high five RBIs thanks to a three-run homer, bases-loaded walk and RBI single (see video below). He also added his ninth double in the 12-4…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Oh-no. Only two MOTs played last night, and they went a collective 0-for-8. Kevin Pillar‘s batting woes continued as the Toronto Blue Jays were blasted by the visiting NY Yankees, 12-2. Pillar was 0-for4. He will be making a donation to two Toronto-area LGBTQ organizations as an apology for his use…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel of the Day: Alex Bregman hit his third home run in three games and fifth in his last 10, one of six the Houston Astros (38-16) launched in their 17-6 pummeling of the host Minnesota Twins (26-23). He also singled and drove in a second run in six trips to the…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor With three MOTs on the disabled list, two others sitting in bullpens, and Scott Feldman starting every fifth game, there’s slim pickings when it comes to reporting on who did what these days. The Houston Astros keep tinkering with Alex Bregman’s spot in the lineup, including batting 9th last night. He…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor It had to happen sooner or later: Craig Breslow had a bad outing. Although looking at the highlights of the game, it seems the Minnesota Twins’ (26-21) defense let him down. They scored seven runs in the fifth against Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros to take a 7-2 lead. But…

By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of May 22-28, 2017. Members of Team Israel’s 2017 squad are marked with an asterisk: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Nate Freiman* 1B Nate Freiman*, a former Major Leaguer playing for Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League, hit .471 (8-for-17) with 2 HRs, a double,…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Kevin Pillar was 0-for-5 on Friday, striking out twice as the Toronto Blue Jays (23-27) held off the visiting Texas Rangers, 7-6. The Rangers scored three in the top of the ninth to make things interesting. On Saturday, Pillar was 0-for-4 with another strikeout in a 3-1 win.  He doubled and…