By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun was 1-for-5 as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the host St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4, in 10 innings. He also tossed out a hitter trying to stretch a double into a triple (see below). According to ShepherdExpress.com, “Braun needs five more runs batted in to become the 285th player in MLB history, the…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Crazy weekend for the boys. How about Alex Bregman‘s game-winning “hit” on Saturday for the Houston Astros (8-2)? Bregman’s single gave the team a 1-0 win in 10 innings. He had two of the Astros’ six hits, but they were his only ones in 13 at-bats from April 6-8 as Houston…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun had his first double and first stolen base of the season as the Milwaukee Brewers (4-3) lost to the visiting Chicago Cubs, 8-0. He basically walked to second against Jon Lester, who is notoriously bad at holding runners on. But when Braun tried stealing third, Lester threw a well-practiced bounce…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman gave the Houston Astros (6-1) the 3-2 win with his tie-breaking single in the seventh over the visiting Baltimore Orioles (1-5). It was his sole hit in three at-bats (plus a walk). Danny Valencia got the start, playing left field and batting sixth. He was 0-for-2 with a walk and scored a run….
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel Tov of the day goes to Ryan Braun, whose solo home run provided a 5-4 walk-off win for the Milwaukee Brewers (4-1) over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals (2-3), who took a 4-0 lead going into the fifth. The blast — Braun’s second of the season — came with two outs…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman had a double in three at-bats, drove in a run, and walked twice to help the Houston Astros beat the visiting Orioles, 6-1, on April 2. Baltimore reliever Richard Bleier gave up a run on two hits and struck out one in one inning. Fellow Oriole Danny Valencia did not appear in the…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor The first weekend of the season saw an interesting mix of drama. Mostly ups, thank goodness, but a couple of downs. Let’s get the downs out of the way… The Cincinnati Reds demoted pitcher Zack Weiss before he had a chance to make his Major League debut, sending him to the Louisville…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Let the games begin! Richard Bleier picked up the win for the Baltimore Orioles, who beat the visiting Minnesota Twins, 3-2, in 11 innings thanks to a walk-off home run by cleanup hitter Adam Jones. Bleier gave up one hit in his single inning of work. Danny Valencia appeared as a pinch…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor (Note: This entry covers just the last weekend of the 2017 regular season.) Well, this was a letdown. Only three JMLs participated in their teams’ final games on Sunday: Max Fried, Joc Pederson and Alex Bregman. Fried started the game for the Atlanta Braves. He pitched — mixed. On the one hand, he struck out…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman had just one of the 17 hits by the Houston Astros (99-60), but it went for his 18th home run in a 12-2 pasting of the host Boston Red Sox, a possible opponent in the post-season. The shot over the Green Monster was good for two runs in the second inning. Bregman…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman singled, doubled (#38), and drove in a run as the Houston Astros (98-60) once again roughed up their intrastate rivals, the Texas Rangers, this time by a score of 12-2. Richard Bleier gave up a hit in one scoreless inning of relief as the Baltimore Orioles (75-84) lost to the host…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor A Danny Valencia sighting! He got the start in right field and was 1-for-2 with his 15th home run, a a three-run blast to center in the seventh that helped the Seattle Mariners (77-81) beat the host Oakland As, 6-3. It was Valencia’s first home run in almost a month (8/28), but that’s…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Max Fried made his third start and didn’t do badly. He gave up one earned run (two total) on seven hits in 5.1 innings, striking out two and walking one while taking the first loss of his Major League career as the Atlanta Braves (71-85) fell to the host NY Mets, 3-2,…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Can it really be that we’re down to the last week of the regular season? Where did the time go? Ian Kinsler picked a bad time to get hot. Over the weekend, the second baseman was 4-for-13 with a double (#35), two home runs (#22), four RBIs and three runs scored. But the Detroit Tigers…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun had two singles and a walk as the Milwaukee Brewers (81-70) once again shut out the host Pittsburgh Pirates, this time by a score of 1-0 thanks to a Domingo Santana home run in the fourth inning. The Brewers are now one game behind the Colorado Rockies for the second…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Only two Jewish hitters were in action yesterday, and both hit home runs. Ian Kinsler blasted his MOT-leading 19th (another solo job), but the Detroit Tigers (62-88) fell to the visiting Oakland As, 8-3. Kinsler drove in another run with his 24th double, so he accounted for 67 percent of his team’s scoring….
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Star honors for the weekend go to Ryan Braun, who was 5-for-13 with his 16th homer. He also had two doubles (24) and his second triple of the year. He drove in two, scored three, and walked twice as the Milwaukee Brewers (79-70) took two of three from the host Miami Marlins. Ian Kinsler was 3-for-11 with…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler hit home run #18, but the Detroit Tigers (60-86) nevertheless lost to the visiting Chicago White Sox, 17-7. Kinsler, who served as DH in this one, clubbed his shot in the ninth inning for his only hit in five at-bats. Prior to the game, Kinsler was presented with the 2017 Heart…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler was 0-for-5 as the Detroit Tigers (60-85) gave the host Cleveland Indians (90-56) their A.L. record 21st-straight win, 5-3. Craig Breslow did not appear for the Indians. St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie pitcher Ryan Sherriff had the first rough outing of his young career. He allowed two inherited runners to score, along with two of…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler hit his 22nd double in four at-bats, but it didn’t matter: the Cleveland Indians (89-56) won their 20th in a row by beating the Detroit Tigers (60-84), 2-0. Craig Breslow did not appear for the Indians. Meanwhile, the Tigers still talking about whether or not to bring Brad Ausmus back as manager next year. Alex Bregman was…
