April 10, 2021
1. Joe Musgrove throws the first no-hitter in Padres history.
The Padres started all the way back in 1969. They were the last team without a no-hitter in their history. And now, Joe Musgrove, the San Diego native, in his second start after coming over from the Pirates — he’s done it:
No hits. No walks. Ten strikeouts. One HBP keeping it from being a perfect game. Here’s the final out:
2. Johnny Cueto had himself a day
118 pitches, 8.2 innings, and talked his way into staying on the mound to go for the complete game, after Gabe Kapler came to take him out.
More importantly though, the Cueto Shimmy is better than ever. With a brilliant overlay from Pitching Ninja — must watch:
To top it off, check out the snag he made earlier in the game:
3. Ken Griffey Jr. did the Joe Kelly face at the Dodgers ring ceremony
Each 2020 Dodger got introduced by a different retired player, Griffey got assigned to Joe Kelly, and well — he knew what he was doing:
4. Charlie Blackmon gets ejected
5. Ronald Acuña Jr. is dominating in 2021
Batting .393 with three HRs, 1.290 OPS. And last night — four hits in the Braves home opener, and he hit one 456 feet to dead center field:
And then, this. At the warning track:
6. In memoriam, at the ballpark
7. Freddie Freeman, a fan, his dad — wholesome moment of the year
First Freeman goes yard to deep center field, right into the glove of a Phillies fan sitting with his dad. The kid drops it, the dad starts raising his arms right away, dumbfounded, and then the bullpen tosses the ball back up, which the kid drops again.
The dad’s cracking up, asking the bullpen for another ball, finally they get one, and then — the wholesome moment of the year so far. The kid walks over to a young Braves fan, and gifts the ball over to him:
8. More from the Dodgers ring ceremony: the rings come with their own highlight boxes
A video highlight you can take home in a box — are these the “NFTs” the “kids” keep talking about?
Also, Bronson Arroyo serenaded Walker Buehler with “Wonderwall” on the big screen at Dodger Stadium. Easily the weirdest moment of the year, but we are, as they say “here for it”:
9. Shohei Ohtani clears the bases, almost accidentally
All pitching aside, he’s batting .300 so far, three HRs, 1.044 OPS, and he just missed a grand slam last night in Dunedin — on a pitch he almost missed:
You have to love the pose after:
10. Quote of the day, from yesterday: Don Mattingly
On the Michael Conforto “Elbowgate” Incident:
11. Jesse Winker almost goes deep on his first pitch back from the flu
The first at-bat, first pitch, after his “sunlight and soup” remedy brought him back from a flu illness — and he’s about an inch short of a HR, if that. In one of the deepest parks in baseball.
Look at him in the pregame, crushing it to exactly the same part of the park. Practice, as we all know, makes perfect:
12. These players are still all unsigned, more than a week into the season
13. The Rays have a huge day at the plate in their home opener
2020 turns into 2021, and they continue to have the Yankees number. A four-run bottom of the 4th inning, a 9–4 lead, and they never looked back.
On the day their banner was raised, no less:
14. Lastly, a cool graphic of who’s led the career hits category, since 1871
The fun of watching Derek Jeter pop into the top 10 at the very end is great — give it a look:
If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, send me a DM on Twitter! I’ll be doing them all year, to package the best highlights and stories from around the league — and to make baseball easier and quicker to follow. I’ll likely start an email list soon, or a Patreon, and would appreciate any and all feedback and support 🙏
Twitter: @bbletter
