April 24, 2021
1. Are the Yankees back?
Giancarlo Stanton hit one of his most Giancarlo Stanton home runs last night — complete frozen rope, shot straight into the steep bleachers in left field, and then another later in the game.
Two-game win streak. Home runs re-emerging. Yankees fans here, are they back?
And then there was Rougned Odor, bat drop-flop and all:
2. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit two home runs off Kershaw, on a historically coincidental night
On this same date in 1999, his dad hit the famed two grand slams in one inning. Same ballpark. Dodger Stadium. And now Junior. Hitting two himself, in two different innings, no grand slam, but — the coincidence was pure poetry:
Earlier in the day yesterday, the MLB Twitter account put out the original video, well before the Padres/Dodgers game. If you’ve never seen it, it’s wild:
3. Jacob deGrom is still pitching out of his mind
He’s on pace for being Hall of Fame good, if he keeps this up. Fifteen strikeouts last night through seven innings. 0.37 ERA. Two hits.
4. A kid stole a catch from Kole Calhoun and got the fist bump of the year
This needs to be slotted into MLB commercials on TV for years to come:
5. Tyler Glasnow had a very bizarre first inning
Four earned runs. And four strikeouts. Even on a bad night, he’s setting some kind of astounding pitching record.
6. The Oakland A’s win streak continues to 12 games
No walk-off dramatics this time, just a quiet, solid win in Baltimore. Twelve in a row . Time to get out the jumbo permanent marker, the poster board, and make a sea of signs for the next home stand: “WE MIGHT NEVER LOSE AGAIN!”
Third-longest winning streak in Oakland’s history — a stat that cleverly cuts out the Kansas City and Philadelphia portions of A’s-dom, but still amazing.
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8. Masahiro Tanaka won his 100th Japanese game (NPB)
Tanaka was sitting on 99 wins, from his pre-Yankees days. And now he has number 100. Receiving in return a literal (and giant) token of appreciation, for the honor. Very Penn Relays wooden wheel-like, if you’ve ever followed track & field:
9. Quote of the Day: “Gasolina, papá.”
La Tortuga. The tortoise. The greatest. The guy who came in the other night and threw 46-mph strikes to get out of an inning.
“Gasolina, papá.”
10. The Cubs blew out the Brewers at Wrigley, the offense has finally woken up
They were setting records for inept offense, and then this week came around — a 13–4 win, a 16–4 win, and now 15–2. And not a single Cubs fan knows if the goods or bads come next.
They’re back over .500, at least for a moment.
11. Speaking of that game, here’s the sign of the year
12. Randy Arozarena made a circus catch, at his circus ballpark
The ball bouncing around like the inside of a pachinko machine, or lost in the lights, somehow— and then, a flash from the left side of the screen.
Watch Tyler Glasnow at the end: “Holy f***!!!”
13. Fernando Tatis Jr. is releasing NFTs this Monday
The better move is putting all of your money in the Tatis Jr. beanie baby.
14. Bad call of the day: Jared Walsh was “outside the baseline”
Eerily reminiscent of the Trea Turner play in the 2019 World Series. Same ballpark, same baseline. Completely bizarre rule. And it mattered a lot — close game, tied into the ninth, with the Angels losing by a run in extra innings.
15. Lastly, the D-Backs have the most fun locker room in baseball right now
What’s the limit on games under .500 a team can go before the dance parties start to feel absurd?
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I’ll be doing these all year, to package the best highlights and stories from around the league — and to make baseball easier and quicker to follow.
Twitter: @bbletter
