4/12-4/14 MLB Newsletter

American League

East 

• Yankees (12-4): Aaron Judge blasted the 260th homer of his career on Sunday, tying Derek Jeter for ninth place on the Yankees' all-time leaderboard. However, the home run was not enough, as the Yankees were unable to complete the sweep against the Guardians 8-7 in an extra-inning thriller.
  

• Orioles (9-6): After starting 0-13, Jackson Holliday got his first big league hit and scored the tie-breaking run in an Orioles 6-4 win against the Brewers, avoiding a regular season sweep for the 96th straight series.

• Red Sox (9-7): On Sunday, Tyler O'Neill and Triston Casas hit back-to-back shots in the first inning, and Kenley Jansen closed out the game with his 424th career save, tied for fifth most in major league history. 💥
  

• Rays (9-7): They got the better of the former Ray, Blake Snell, scoring seven runs over four innings against him in a 9-4 win over the Giants. The Rays allowed 4+ home runs on Saturday, then hit 4+ home runs the following game for just the third time in franchise history.
  

• Blue Jays (8-8): José Berrios was dominant on the mound yesterday, allowing just 2 hits through 7 scoreless innings as the Blue Jays won their second straight series.

Central

• Guardians (10-5): Estevan Florial is the first Guardians player to hit a pinch-hit, go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later since 2013. In an exciting extra-inning win, he helped his team avoid being swept by the Yankees, his former team since 2016.
  

• Royals (10-6): The Royals lost to the Mets 2-1 on Sunday and now may be without catcher Salvador Perez after he appeared to injure his groin and hip on a home plate collision. He will undergo further evaluations today.

• Tigers (9-6): A.J. Hinch secured his 800th managerial win Sunday. Trailing 3-0 in the 7th, a four-run 8th inning carried the Tigers over the Twins 4-3 to split the four-game series.

• Twins (6-8): After winning both games in the doubleheader Saturday for the first time since 2020, the Twins lost Sunday's game due in part to the infield defense, or lack thereof, after Bailey Ober tossed six scoreless innings to start the game.
  

• White Sox (2-13): This team is off to the worst 15-game start in franchise history after losing the last four games. One bright spot (the only?) has been Garrett Crochet, who became the third pitcher since 1901 to record 30+ strikeouts with four or fewer walks in their first four career starts. 💨

West

• Rangers (8-8): A three-run blast in the top of the ninth by Marcus Semien was too little, too late, as the Rangers were unable to close the 8-5 deficit, falling to the Astros in Houston. The pitching will need to improve as they let up 8 or more runs every game of the series.

• Angels (7-8): Brandon Drury hit a 382ft solo homer in the second inning, which happened to be the 9,000th all-time home run in Angels history Sunday. However, the Angels allowed three taters themselves and lost to the Red Sox 5-4.

• Athletics (7-9): Down 6-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, the A’s scored 6 runs to take the lead and win the game 7-6. Don’t look now but the A’s have now won three consecutive series for the first time since 2021. You have to see this play by relief pitcher Lucas Erceg to help secure the win. 😲

• Mariners (6-10): The Mariners lost to the Cubs 3-2 on Sunday, having yet to win a series this season. Pinch runner Julio Rodriguez was picked off at first base to end the game after originally being called safe.

• Astros (6-11): Jose Altuve’s second straight three-hit game included two solo shots to help lift the Astros over the Rangers in an 8-5 victory and series win on Sunday. Justin Verlander, who has yet to play this year due to shoulder inflammation, could make his first start as early as Friday.

Source

National League 

East

• Braves (9-5): On their last strike, Marcell Ozuna blasted a three-run homer to take the lead and win the series against the Marlins. Spencer Strider underwent a UCL procedure, which will sideline him for the rest of ‘24.
  

• Phillies (8-8): Zack Wheeler struck out 10 batters but allowed a grand slam on Sunday as this team dropped the series to the Pirates. This offense hasn’t scored more than five runs since April 2nd.

• Mets (7-8): After Dwight Gooden had his number retired on Sunday, the Mets held on to the win after allowing their only run of the day, a solo shot in the top of the ninth inning off Edwin Díaz.

• Nationals (6-9): After MacKenzie Gore tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts on Saturday, this team lost the series rubber match after allowing a six-run inning to the A’s.

• Marlins (3-13): Within one strike of the series win against the reigning division champion Atlanta Braves, they allowed a three-run go-ahead tater to lose the game. Jesus Luzardo continues to struggle through his first four starts as he holds a 7.65 ERA through 20 IP. 🫣

Central

• Brewers (10-4): After scoring 11 runs in back-to-back games to open the series against Baltimore, the Brew Crew faced off against former teammate Corbin Burnes but were unable to do the same damage to him as previous nights in a loss on Sunday.

• Pirates (11-5): Andrew McCutchen hit his 300th homer, and Jack Suwinski crushed a grand slam to help win the series rubber match against Philadelphia. McCutchen became just the 26th player in baseball history to have 300 HR and 200 SB.

• Cubs (9-6): Michael Busch’s two-run homer helped power Chicago to a 3-2 win, which Adbert Alzolay secured with a pick-off at first base of Julio Rodriguez. Busch has now homered in four consecutive games, just one shy of tying the franchise record for consecutive games with a homer. 📈
  

• Reds (9-6): Cincinnati scored 11 runs in two out of three games to complete the franchise’s first sweep over the White Sox. The starting rotation's combined 0.98 ERA through 18.1 IP throughout the series didn’t hurt either.

• Cardinals (7-9): After winning Friday’s series opener, the Cards dropped the next two games and were held to zero runs on Sunday. This swim move by Masyn Winn to avoid being tagged while stealing second base was slick.

West

• Dodgers (11-7): For just the fourth time in franchise history, the Dodgers gave up 14 walks on Sunday, losing the series rubber match against San Diego. This Dodger fan who caught Manny Machado’s home run was caught by the telecast throwing back a different ball on the field than the one he caught. 😆 
  

• Padres (9-9): After being called irrelevant by Dodgers catcher Will Smith, Jurickson Profar smacked a three-run double, leading the Padres to the series win on Sunday.

• Diamondbacks (8-8): Zac Gallen's six scoreless innings on Sunday helped the Diamondbacks cap a series win against St. Louis. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is currently tied for second in RBIs across MLB.
  

• Giants (6-10): Blake Snell is still trying to find his stuff, as are the Giants, who have lost nine of the last thirteen games. Snell allowed a career-high, tying seven runs over four innings against his former team.
  

• Rockies (4-12): After scoring the most runs of their season Friday night (12), Colorado dropped the next two games and was only held to two hits on Sunday.

🥔 Today’s Tater

Aaron Judge had the furthest home run of the weekend at 450ft, beating out Elly De La Cruz by just one foot. And it was an absolute monster.

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