By Ron Kaplan, contributor
The descendants of Samson put on a power display last night, with three of the five hits accrued going for home runs.
Alex Bregman hit his MOT-leading 16th, a three-run shot in the eighth inning to put the icing on the cake and give the Houston Astros (77-48) a 6-1 win over the visiting Washington Nationals. Bregman, who also singled, has gone yard in three of his last five games.
Kevin Pillar‘s #13 was indeed lucky. His only hit in four at-bats broke a 7-7 tie and gave the Toronto Blue Jays (60-66) an 8-7 win over the host Tampa Bay Rays. I’m somewhat shocked that MLB.com didn’t deem the blow worthy enough to include as a highlight clip for the game. What were they thinking? Pillar was still smarting from the previous game’s ejection.
Ian Kinsler matched Pillar’s total but it wasn’t lucky for the Detroit Tigers (54-71), who once again gave up double-digit runs to the visiting NY Yankees in a 10-2 loss. It was Kinsler’s only hit in four at-bats. He came out for a defensive replacement late in the laugher. At least it broke up the shutout. Some are still talking about his ejection.
Not getting in on the fun: Ryan Braun, who was 0-for-4 for the Milwaukee Brewers (66-62) in their 4-2 loss to the host San Francisco Giants. Although he has 13 home runs this season and is just two shy of the “magic” 300 number, the Hammer has hit just one round-tripper since July 23. Not to worry, he still has his fans (read this story; it’s very charming).
Danny Valencia started in right field and batted cleanup for the Seattle Mariners (65-63) in their 9-6 win over the Atlanta Braves. He was 1-for-5 with a run scored. The Braves farmed out pitcher Max Fried, who had appeared in four games since his MLB debut on August 8.
Richard Bleier walked the only batter he faced as the Baltimore Orioles (62-65) beat the visiting Oakland As in 12 innings, 8-7, on walk-off home run by Manny Macachdo.
And as I suggested recently, Scott Feldman is done for the year as he goes under the knife for knee surgery. He ends the season with a lot of sevens and ones in his record: 7-7 with a 4.77 ERA, giving up 21 home runs in 111.1 innings. He did manage to throw one shutout.
Ryan Sherriff" width="300" height="230" /> Team Israel alum Ryan Sherriff (right)
Fried and Chicago White Sox property Brad Goldberg may be gone, but there’s a new Sherriff in town: Ryan Sherriff, to be precise. He was called up Tuesday by the St. Louis Cardinals. The 27-year-old, 6’1″, 215-pound lefty reliever from Culver City, California, was 5-1 with a 3.19 ERA in 48 appearances for the Memphis Redbirds. Mazel tov, Ryan.
Speaking of home runs…although the only MOT connection is that the LA Dodgers recently sent down Joc Pederson, they lost in stunning fashion after Rich Hill had pitched no-hit ball for nine innings, only to give up a walk-off, lead-off homer to Josh Harrison in the 10th for a 1-0 loss. The feat is worthy of a mention here, don’t you think? As the announcer said, “No-hitter gone, shutout gone, and now the game is gone.”
Ron Kaplan (@RonKaplanNJ) hosts Kaplan’s Korner, a blog about Jews and sports. He is the author of three books, including The Jewish Olympics: The History of the Maccabiah Games and Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War.
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