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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates his second home run of the game during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at TD Ballpark on April 27, 2021 in Dunedin, Florida. Photo by Sam Greenwood /Getty Images
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There were no dog days in the summer to watch the Major League Baseball All-Star Gala.
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In fact, it’s been a crazy week revolving around the old ball game.
That return from hiatus brought home run clinics, DC drama, loads of runs, and loads of important divisional race meetings.
Right in front of goal, the Toronto Blue Jays phenomenon Vladimir Guerrero Jr. beat up two homers last Friday to get him one blow closer (32) to front runner Shohei Ohtani, 34, who is keeping the evidence alive that there is indeed one Home Run Derby Jinx there. The Los Angeles Angels superstar has only smashed one homer in the past week.
That same night, a franchise record was set by the San Diego Padres (57-42) for most runs in a 24-8 smush hosted by the hosts Washington Nationals (45-51). Frair’s second baseman Jake Cronenworth hit for the cycle in this goofy lineup.
But what came up the next night in DC was serious stuff, when gunfire rang out right outside the ballpark, terrifying everyone in and around the area.
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From the WTOP-Nachrichten: “Three people were injured in the shooting on Saturday, including a Nationals fan who was hit by a bullet. Gunshots could be heard in the ballpark forcing the suspension of Washington’s game against San Diego and the evacuation of Nationals Park. “
On Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals (49-48) all-star seamstress Alex Reyes made his 24th save on his first 24 opportunities to start his career, an all-time high in the Big League. His next appearance two days later didn’t go as well as the Cardinals lost a 6-1 lead against the Chicago Cubs (48-50) in game nine and Reyes was blessed with defeat to end his brilliant record run.
More news from Nationals came on Monday as they vented their frustrations with the Miami Marlins (41-56) and undoubtedly drilled them 18-1.
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That same night, the Boston Red Sox (59-38) beat the Blue Jays (48-45) 13-4, the New York Mets (51-43) beat the Cincinnati Reds (49-47) 15-11 and the Detroit Tigers ( 47-51) destroy the Texas Rangers (35-62) 14-0.
These were great scores that came out on hiatus and gave batters a confidence boost in this age of pitching skills.
Or is it a case of spin rates? They are lower and the scores are higher.
Some say it’s the heat of July when the ball moves on.
Anyway, it made the season look different than all the low scores before.
And it came during a week in which major division matches were in the foreground: a strike by the Milwaukee Brewers (56-41) of the Reds to take the lead in the National League Central Division; a split – so far – between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees (50-45) over two series over two weekends; and a dazzling four-game set won the San Francisco Giants (61-35) 3-1 against the LA Dodgers (59-39) in a hot race in NL West.
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“It’s a big series. They’re Dodgers Giants, ”Dodgers starter Walker Buehler told reporters.
“You come first. Obviously we are used to being in this position. We just have to keep going. Obviously we still have a lot of baseball to play.
“It is what it is. But these stink of losing. We want to win. We want to play well. It just didn’t go our way.”
ALL ABOUT THE BASE
The July 30th trading deadline (is that the first of two or three? We always forget that) is getting closer, but there is still no movement among some of the big names in the trading bloc. Kris Bryant is still with the Cubs, Byron Buxton is still with the Minnesota Twins (41-56) and Trevor Story is still with the Colorado Rockies… Speaking of which, the Rockies (42-54) aren’t exactly victorious, but 10 out of them they’ve come across the walk-off leading the majors. That begs the question, where would they be without the pressure in the late inning? … One big name that was moved was Nelson Cruz, who made his mark against a longtime rival on Friday night when the 41-year-old bombed one over the fence for his new team, the Tampa Bay Rays (58-39). against the Cleveland Indians (48-46)… Another trade that took place on Friday was 17 year old veteran starter Rich Hill (6-4, 3.87 ERA), which was dealt to the Mets by the Rays.
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ADDITIONAL INNINGS
Randy Arozarena’s grounder in the middle turned into a homer for him in the Rays game against the Indians on Friday night. His hit took a run home, but another scored a hit due to a tribe throwing error which then resulted in a game on home plate slip that allowed Arozarena themselves to score a third run … Just do it us or does the name Guardians leave a lot to be desired? desired? We get all the Guardians to sound like Indians to keep consistency in Cleveland, but it sounds like a gang name from a cheesy ’80s movie. I don’t like it … From the file “Stop me, if you’ve heard that before”, Nat’s thrower Stephen Strasburg is injured. This time it’s neck pain. Injuries could keep him out of the Baseball Hall of Fame … A short drive north of Cooperstown and right through Buffalo is Oh Canada, and the Blue Jays return to Toronto on July 30th. Bye, Buff. Thanks for the memories … Since you’re back at the Rogers Center, we’re out of here!
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