May 18, 2021

1. Joey Gallo sprinted to first on ball four and was almost thrown out

A 3–1 count. A wild pitch. A sprint to first, thinking he might make it to second, and then tripping. Falling onto his face. Almost thrown out on a walk.

Here’s your funny clip of the night:

2. Albert Pujols hit an RBI single in his Dodgers debut

On the broadcast, there were already many (counterfeit) #55 Pujols jerseys in the crowd. And so the new era begins:

3. Kevin Pillar was hit in the face by a fastball

You’ve probably seen it already, but if you haven’t — it looks awful. Turns out he’s completely okay, as of last night, but this is tough:

Warning: Don’t watch the video below, if stuff like this upsets you.

4. Willians “The Tortoise” Astudillo threw a 47mph pitch for a HR

Ninth inning, a reeling last-place Twins team, a 16–4 White Sox lead, and the Minnesota broadcast crew wasn’t happy:

5. Moronic injury of the season, hand’s down (pun intended)

6. Jon Lester and Kyle Schwarber made a return to Wrigley Field

7. And Schwarber, in his second at-bat, hit a HR to center field — Cubs fans still threw it back onto the field

8. “Panda hugs” and a panda hat in the Braves dugout

The immediate chemistry boost when you have Pablo Sandoval on your team is immense, magnetic, pandastic:

9. Gerrit Cole breaks the all-time record for strikeouts without a walk

And wait, the record literally ended with the video at the top of this newsletter, I’m just realizing now. That Joey Gallo walk and stumble. That was the finale, of this 61-strikeout run:

10. Jacob deGrom is shifting Freddie Freeman on the infield

11. Post-catch pose of the day: Mookie Betts

He believes he can fly. He believes he can touch the sky.

12. Shohei Ohtani now leads the league in HRs (#13)

60 Minutes ran a segment on alien UFO’s the other night, and meanwhile we’ve already found our space alien:

It was the highest pitch hit for a home run by anyone all season:

13. Randy Arozarena has a brother playing pro soccer in the U.S.

Goalkeeper for the Tampa Bay Rowdies — whose stadium is just a few blocks from Tropicana Field:

14. Press conference of the week: Joe Girardi

Reporter: “Conversation or confrontation?”

Girardi: “Next question. Next question!”

15. Giancarlo Stanton heads to the 10-day IL

What is it with this guy? Playing a non-contact sport, not diving for catches or colliding on the basepaths, and he keeps getting injured.

He’s out again, after a great start to the year:

16. Lastly, a few more moments from Jon Lester’s return to Wrigley