By Scott Barancik, Editor

Here are your MLB highlights for the period beginning Opening day (July 23, 2020) through August 2, 2020:

Mazel tov

• CF Kevin Pillar, playing for his third team in the past 2 seasons, went 3-for-5 with a double and 3 RBIs in his Red Sox debut on July 24. His .387 batting average ranks #5 in the American League.

Other news

• P Richard Bleier, who amassed an 8-1 record with 4 saves and a 3.15 ERA since joining Baltimore in 2017, was caught by surprise August 1 when the O’s traded him to Miami (see article, interview). The Marlins haven’t played since July 26, thanks to coronavirus infections.

 At the plate

• CF Kevin Pillar (Red Sox) hit .387 (12-for-31) with a HR, 4 doubles, 5 RBIs, and a .406 OBP.
• C Garrett Stubbs (Astros) hit 1.000 (1-for-1) with an RBI, sacrifice fly, and a .500 OBP.
• 3B Alex Bregman (Astros) hit .211 (8-for-38) with 2 HRs, 2 doubles, one hit-by-pitch, 7 RBIs, and a .333 OBP.
• LF Ryan Braun (Brewers) hit .231 (3-for-13) with a double, 2 RBIs, and a .286 OBP.
• LF Joc Pederson (Dodgers) hit .227 (5-for-22) with one RBI, a stolen base, one hit-by-pitch, and a .346 OBP.
• 1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays) hit .182 (4-for-22) with a HR, 4 RBIs, and a .240 OBP.

On the mound

• Max Fried (Braves) went 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA over 2 starts, yielding 5 hits over 11.2 combined innings while striking out 12 and walking 3. His 0.69 walks/hits per inning rank #6 in the National League.
• Richard Bleier (Orioles) went 0-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA over 2 games, yielding one hit and no walks over 3 combined innings while striking out 4.

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