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By Ron Kaplan, contributor Only two MOTs in action last night. Both of their teams were involved in streaks of one sort or another. Craig Breslow pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Cleveland Indians (84-56), who won their 15th in a row by beating the lowly Chicago White Sox, 11-1. Breslow worked the ninth,…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler hit home run #15 to break a four-way tie for most among MOTs. It was one of the few highlights for the Detroit Tigers (59-80), who were pummeled by the visiting KC Royals, 13-2. The solo shot — his only hit in three at-bats (he also walked) — came in the fifth…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Kevin Pillar had a single and double (#34) and scored a run in seven at-bats as the Toronto Blue Jays (64-75) lost to the host Boston Red Sox, 3-2, in 19 innings. The winning single was hit in Pillar’s direction, but there was no superhuman effort in this story, and his throw…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Welcome back, folks. Hope you had a great Labor Day holiday despite weather conditions and sundry global events. Since most teams begin a new series on Mondays, I’m going to dispense with the usual long-weekend wrap. Too complicated. However I just wanted to give a shout-out to Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried….

By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of August 28 – September 3, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Zane Gurwitz 2B Zane Gurwitz (Angels/rookie), a 2017 draftee, hit .500 (8-for-16) with 2 HRs, 7 RBIs and a walk last week. His .386 average is tops among all Arizona Rookie…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Yesterday was the deadline for trades that would qualify players to appear in the post-season. The Detroit Tigers made a couple of big deals, parting ways with their ace Justin Verlander and outfielder Justin Upton, but Ian Kinsler remains mired with the last-place team, which was idle last night. There’s still a better-than-average chance that…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun hit his 21st double in four at-bats as the Milwaukee Brewers (69-64) held off the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5. Keon Broxton made a home run-saving catch to end the game, but I think the announcers got a little too enthusiastic. The hit would have given the Cards (66-66) a…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman was 3-for-5 with an RBI as the Houston Astros (79-52) were sextupled by the Texas Rangers, 12-2. He also made this nice play at shortstop, where he started the game before moving to his usual position at third base. Bregman is hitting .338 since the All-Star break, and he’s hitting home runs and…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Monday. Need I say more? Danny Valencia highlighted the doings for the few MOTs in action. He hit home run #14, good for one run, but the Seattle Mariners (66-65) lost to the host Baltimore Orioles (66-65), 7-6. Valencia, who played right field and first base (but not at the same time),…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Let’s start with pitching for a change. Welcome, Ryan Sherriff, who had a darned good debut for the St. Louis Cardinals (66-65) on Friday in a 5-1 loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. Sherriff — who toiled in the minors for seven years — came on in the 7-3 loss, tossing three shutout…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor This time it was the Detroit Tigers (55-71) that scored double-digit runs, beating the Yankees, 10-6. Ian Kinsler was hitless in five at-bats in a game that was marred by hit batsmen and brawls. Pretty intense stuff, as you can see from the video. Tigers skipper Brad Ausmus was one of those ejected. Kevin Pillar was…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor The descendants of Samson put on a power display last night, with three of the five hits accrued going for home runs. Alex Bregman hit his MOT-leading 16th, a three-run shot in the eighth inning to put the icing on the cake and give the Houston Astros (77-48) a 6-1 win over the visiting…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor First Ian Kinsler gets in trouble with the umpire, now it’s Kevin Pillar. He was ejected by the home plate ump as he returned to the dugout following a groundout in the third inning. The Toronto Blue Jays (62-64) lost to the host Tampa Bay Rays, 6-5. Meanwhile, Kinsler drove in his 36th run with…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun was 0-for-3 with a walk and the Milwaukee Brewers (65-61) mustered only four hits in a 2-0 loss to the host San Francisco Giants, 2-0. In one of his best performances since being called up in early June, Brad Goldberg allowed one hit in 1.1 innings as the Chicago White Sox…

By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of August 14-20, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Braden Bishop CF Braden Bishop (Mariners/AA) hit .458 (11-for-24) with a home run, 5 doubles, 4 RBIs and 2 walks. Since being promoted to Double-A on July 22, the 23-year-old is hitting .358 with…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler was 2-for-10 with his 20th double, three walks, and a stolen base as the Detroit Tigers (54-69) dropped two of three to the visiting LA Dodgers (87-35). Despite the token handshake with umpire Angel Hernandez, as well being fined by Major League Baseball, Kinsler stood by his comments that Hernandez might do…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Back from a great trip to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, where I spoke about my Hank Greenberg book. But, my, what a lousy night for the trio of MOTs who appeared yesterday (plus one as a defensive replacement). As they frequently say about games at Wrigley Field in Chicago,…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Poor showing by the boys. The only hit came off the bat of Kevin Pillar as the Toronto Blue Jays (57-61) beat the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1. As for the others: Ian Kinsler returned to the lineup after missing Sunday’s game (sore hand). But he was ejected in the fifth inning after going…

By Ron Kaplan, contributor Scott Feldman returned to action, as it were, when he started for the Cincinnati Reds (49-69) on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers (61-59). Feldman pitched just four innings, giving up three runs on a walk and seven hits including a home run. On the plus side, he also struck out six. Feldman…