4/26-4/28 MLB Newsletter

American League

East

• Yankees (19-10, @ MIL): A controversial non-call for the Yankees led to them scoring seven runs in the inning and 15 runs in back-to-back games for the first time since 2007. Anthony Rizzo contributed, going 4-4 and hitting his 300th career home run.
  

• Orioles (17-10, v. OAK): Craig Kimbrel blew his second straight save and had to leave the game with back tightness as the Orioles lost the series to the A’s. They will face the Yankees to start the week and battle for the AL East.

• Red Sox (16-13, v. CHC): Tanner Houck went 6.2 IP of one-run ball while striking out nine and walking none, helping open the doors for the series win, which Tyler O’Neill capitalized on with his walk-off single.

• Blue Jays (14-15, v. LAD): Kevin Gausman pitched seven innings, allowing just five hits and one run while striking out five to help this team avoid its sixth straight loss and a series sweep. Jordan Romano got his 101st career save, the fourth-most in franchise history.
  

• Rays (13-16, @ CWS): The White Sox swept the Rays this weekend (yes, you read that right) as they were outscored 21-13. It was the first time they had been swept in the regular season since last July. 😱

Central

• Guardians (19-9, @ ATL): Having won their last four road series, Cleveland had some miscues on the base paths from Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez, fell to the Braves, and lost the series in extras.
  

• Royals (17-12, @ DET): Despite losing their fourth rubber match of the year and dropping the series, there were some positives this weekend. Salvador Perez extended his on-base streak to 18 games while moving to fifth all-time in Royals RBIs.
  

• Tigers (16-12, v. KC): Tarik Skubal continued his bid for Cy Young, pitching seven innings of one-run ball on Sunday to lead this team to a series victory. ⛽️

• Twins (14-13, @ LAA): After logging their second straight series sweep, this team has an MLB-leading seven-game win streak. Their good luck charm in that span? Sausage.
  

• White Sox (6-22, v. TB): They doubled their win total for the year in a series sweep of the Rays, their first series sweep since last June. Erick Fedde was dominant on the mound Sunday, striking out nine and allowing just two runs through 8.1 IP.

West

• Mariners (15-13, v. AZ): This pitching staff has been putting up franchise record-breaking numbers with a 1.47 ERA over their last fifteen games, but as was the case last year, strikeouts on offense continue to be the problem, as they lead MLB in that stat. They were sat down on strikes fifteen times on Sunday and could not complete the sweep.

• Rangers (15-14, v. CIN): Wyatt Langford became the 14th player since 2000 to have his first career home run be inside the park. Dane Dunning had his season-high ten strikeouts, allowing three hits and one earned run through 5.1 IP, winning Sunday’s series rubber match.

• Athletics (12-17, @ BAL): Kyle McCann hit a go-ahead two-run homer on Sunday to win the series and end a road trip through the current best three teams in the AL (CLE, NYY, BAL).

• Angels (10-18, v. MIN): After allowing 32 combined runs through a three-game series and getting swept by the Twins, this team has won just one of its last ten games and will host Philly, which has won eight of its last ten. 🫣

• Astros (9-19, @ COL): After scoring the most runs (12) of their season on Saturday, they completed the series sweep in Mexico City, aka Coors Field 2.0 (~2,000 feet higher in elevation than Coors). Framber Valdez got his first start since April 2nd, throwing five innings and allowing two runs.

Source

National League 

East

• Braves (19-7, v. CLE): Continuing the trend of scoring over 40% of their runs in the seventh inning or later, Atlanta scored two late runs Sunday, eventually leading to a walk-off hit by Austin Riley in the tenth to win the series against the ALs best team by win percentage.
  

• Phillies (19-10, @ SD): On Saturday, Trea Turner snapped his 41 consecutive successfully stolen base streak while being thrown at third base after a delayed steal attempt at home. On Sunday, Alec Bohm extended his MLB-leading active hit streak to 12 as the Phils completed the sweep. 📈

• Mets (14-13, v. STL): With a home run on Saturday, Pete Alonso became the fourth player to hit 200 homers in a Mets uniform. Mark Vientos hit a walk-off homer in the 11th inning on Sunday, helping the Mets avoid a series sweep.

• Nationals (13-14, @ MIA): After going down 7-0 on Sunday, they came back to win and secure a series win, thanks to Nick Senzel’s two-homer game with five RBIs.

• Marlins (6-23, v. WSH): This team is currently on the MLB's worst six-game losing streak and has the worst record in baseball. I'm sure giving up a seven-run lead in yesterday’s game didn’t help this team’s confidence. They’ll look to avoid their second straight series sweep against the Nats tonight.

Central

• Brewers (17-10, v. NYY): After coming back from down four runs on Sunday, a missed interference call on Aaron Judge was followed up by a seven-run inning, ending in a loss for Milwaukee. After winning the series opener in extras, they allowed 15 runs in back-to-back games.

• Cubs (17-11, @ BOS): The injuries are starting to pile up. Jordan Wicks was a late scratch in Sunday’s bottom-of-the-ninth loss, which sealed a series defeat after Chicago lost 17-0 on Saturday.

• Reds (15-13, @ TEX): Andrew Abbott opened Sunday’s game by allowing four runs in the first inning. These were the Rangers’ only runs of the day, but they were still enough to win and take the series from the Reds.

• Pirates (14-15, @ SF): Back-to-back homers in the tenth inning on Saturday helped the Bucs avoid a series sweep as they went just 2-22 with RISP throughout the three games. 😬

• Cardinals (13-15, @ NYM): Unable to use their best bullpen arms on Sunday because they had pitched the prior two days, the Redbirds were just one out away from sweeping the series but fell to the Mets in extra innings.

West

• Dodgers (18-12, @ TOR): Tyler Glasnow leads MLB in strikeouts and innings pitched after another dominant start on Saturday as LA won two of three in Toronto. Shohei Ohtani hit the hardest ball of the year at 119.2 mph.
  

• Giants (14-15, v. PIT): Keaton Winn went six innings and allowed just one run for the third consecutive time in Sunday’s series win. Mike Yastrzemski, who homered in yesterday’s win, and the team will now head to Fenway, where his grandfather Carl used to play.

• Padres (14-17, v. PHI): After getting swept for the first time this year, San Diego will host Cincinnati, hoping to snap its four-game losing streak. Michael King and Joe Musgrove lead MLB in home runs allowed at 10 & 9, respectively.
  

• Diamondbacks (13-16, @ SEA): They avoided a sweep on Sunday after Brandon Pfaadt threw a career-high 11 K’s while not walking a single batter. This team must get the offense going, as they scored just five runs through the three-game series, which certainly won’t be enough as the Dodgers come to town.
  

• Rockies (7-21, v. HOU): Losing the two-game Mexico City series a combined 20-6, this team will head to Miami in a matchup of two of the three worst teams by win percentage. 🙈

🥔 Tater’s Top Three

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