Monday was Memorial Day, so we were treated to far more day games than usual. Let's round it all up right here.
Final scores
Orioles 3, Yankees 2 (box score)
White Sox 5, Red Sox 4 (box score)
Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1 (box score)
Astros 16, Twins 8 (box score)
Mariners 6, Rockies 5 (box score)
Nationals 3, Giants 0 (box score)
Pirates 4, Diamondbacks 3 (box score)
Mets 4, Brewers 2 (box score)
Indians 5, Athletics 3 (box score)
Padres 5, Cubs 2 (box score)
Blue Jays 17, Reds 2 (box score)
Marlins 4, Phillies 1 (box score)
Tigers 10, Royals 7 (box score)
Rays 10, Rangers 8 (box score)
Braves 6, Angels 3 (box score)
Nationals-Giants brawl
OK, before you do anything else, go check out our story on the brawl between Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland. Here's action footage:
David Price's first start was mostly encouraging
Prior to Monday, Boston's $217 million lefty David Price had missed the entire season because of elbow and forearm inflammation. He hadn't been impressive in a two-start minor-league rehab stint, but the Sox activated him anyway in time to start against the White Sox on Memorial Day. Here's how his first start of 2017 went ...
Of Price's 88 pitches 58 went for strikes. He also hit a pair of batters and ran a fastball middle-in to Melky Cabrera, who turned it around for a 408-foot homer. All in all, though, it was a solid day for Price, especially on the velocity front ...
Overall, Price showed better command than he did on his rehab stint, and he also induced a number of swinging strikes. In fact, three of his strikeouts were of the swinging variety and the fourth was on a foul tip. Speaking well of his repertoire is that those three swinging strikeouts came on a cutter, fastball, and breaking ball. Some relevant moving pictures ...
Missed location on a few isolated pitches was the biggest issue, and that's one that tends to resolved with reps. It wasn't dominant, vintage Price on Saturday, but it was most assuredly a step forward given the seriousness of his injury and the long layoff.
The Dodgers are surging
The Dodgers are angling to notch their fifth straight NL West crown in 2017, but the prevailing goal -- more prevailing than ever, given recent playoff disappointments -- is to hoist the World Series trophy for the first time since 1988. On that front, things are looking pretty good at this laughably early juncture. As you see above, the Dodgers on Monday shoved around the Cardinals in Busch and in doing so have now won 10 of their last 12. Yes, the Rockies are still in first place (by one game at this writing), but the Dodgers have been making up ground in a hurry and project as the much better team going forward.
Speaking of which, here's a rundown of the top run differentials in MLB right now ...
- Dodgers: +82
- Astros: +66
- Nationals, Yankees: +57
- Diamondbacks: +51
The Dodgers are not only leading all comers, they're doing so by a gaping margin. Turn to the BaseRuns system at FanGraphs, which drills down beyond runs scored and runs allowed to get the more basic outcomes, and the Dodgers still look like the best team in baseball.
Yes, they'll probably deal with injuries in the rotation all year (see below for news on Alex Wood), but, just like last year, they have the roster depth to handle it. Corey Seager hasn't missed a beat since his standout rookie campaign, and the emergence of Cody Bellinger has given the lineup another frontline threat. Speaking of which ...
And ...
And this is to say nothing of, you know, Clayton Kershaw.
Regarding all of these merits, manager Dave Roberts recently indulged in a bit of boldness ...
And thus far, there's a lot suggesting that he's right. Developing, people. Developing.
Astros stun Twins with historic eighth
Entering the eighth inning, the Twins had an 8-2 lead and a 99.1 percent chance of winning the game over the MLB-best Astros. Houston had other ideas.
It started innocently enough, with Josh Reddick walking and then Jose Altuve getting hit with a pitch. Carlos Correa would pick up an RBI single and then it was on. How on? How about 11 runs in the inning. Just a monster frame that totally flipped the game on its head, leading the way to an Astros victory.
For more on that inning, click here.
The Cubs' trip West has been a disaster so far
The Cubs were fresh off a 7-2 homestand that moved them to 25-21 and back into first place when they headed to Dodger Stadium for a weekend series. The last time they were in L.A. they won Games 4 and 5 of the NLCS to move to a 3-2 advantage for the NL pennant and we know how that turned out. This trip would be quite a bit different.
Through the first two games of that series, the Cubs were shut out twice, losing 4-0 and 5-0, respectively. Then on Sunday, they were able to score four runs and chase Clayton Kershaw before he finished the fifth inning. Still, they allowed nine runs, all on home runs and were swept.
OK, so visiting San Diego would prove to be a lot easier, right? Especially once the Cubs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and Kyle Hendricks was perfect through three innings, it appeared the Cubs were set to get back on track. Instead, the Padres got a Hunter Renfroe grand slam in the fourth:
And the Padres would cruise to a 5-2 win.
The Cubs had plenty of opportunities, but failed to take advantage after the first inning. They drew 10 walks, but only had three hits. They stranded the bases loaded a few times and left Addison Russell on third after a leadoff triple. In all, they left 11 on base. That's unacceptable for an offense with this much talent.
Cutch walks off
It's been a rough season for former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, but he got the last laugh on Monday in PNC Park. With a 3-3 tie, Cutch stepped to the plate and won the game for his team:
He's still only hitting .215/.290/.398 after a down 2016 season, but there's always the chance he gets it going. He's still only 30 years old.
Blue Jays destroy Reds pitching
The Blue Jays would score 17 runs on 23 hits on Monday in an utter dressing down of the Reds. How rare was this type of a beatdown on the Reds?
There are two particular items of interest on the Jays' side. First off, Justin Smoak was 3 for 5 with a home run, three RBI and three runs. Have you happened to notice the quietly big season he's putting together? He's now hitting .288/.354/.564 with 12 homers and 34 RBI. He was seen as a guy with very nice upside early in his career, but now in his eighth season, many just kind of wrote off the chances of him ever breaking out. It might well be happening this season.
Also, the Troy Tulowitzki grand slam is what started this thing in the direction of a blowout:
This was only the third game back from the DL for Tulowitzki and the grand slam was his first extra-base hit since returning.
The Blue Jays now move to 24-27 after a 2-11 start. They keep scratching and clawing closer to .500 and they've almost made it.
Pujols closes in on 600
Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols is going to hit his 600th home run at some point in the near future, it's only a matter of when. On Monday, he clubbed his 598th.
Pujols is the active leader in homers (and RBI, runs, doubles, walks, total bases and intentional walks)
Only eight players in MLB history have hit at least 600 career homers. Pujols sits behind Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome and Sammy Sosa.
One thing to love about Pujols is the consistency. He's only led the majors in home runs one time and his league twice. He's never had a 50-homer season. Yet he's hit between 40-49 seven times and was in the 30s seven other times.
Though he's far from the all-around player he was in his Cardinals days, it's still worth admiring the total career that Pujols is still putting together.
Quick hits
- Mike Trout is on the DL with a torn thumb ligament, needs surgery and could miss up to eight weeks.
- The Rangers have finally activated Adrian Beltre from the DL. He hadn't yet played a game this season due to a calf injury.
- Sources tell Marc Carig of Newsday that Mets ownership has no immediate plans to fire manager Terry Collins.
- The Cardinals have activated OF/1B Jose Martinez from the DL and demoted OF Randal Grichuk all the way to the High-A level.
- The Rays will reportedly recall RHP Jose DeLeon in time for Monday night's game.
- The Dodgers have placed SP Alex Wood on the DL with an inflamed left SC joint in his elbow. Presently, he's expected to miss only one start.
- The NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament bracket has been released.
- Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia left Monday's game with a sprained left wrist.
- The Nationals have activated INF Stephen Drew from the DL.
- The Royals will reportedly place SP Danny Duffy on the DL with an oblique strain. He could miss up to two months.