By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Just three MOTs in action last night:
Mazel of the day: is this a turnaround, or a tease? Danny Valencia had four hits, including his third home run of the season — a solo upper deck job — to lead the Seattle Mariners (13-16) to an 11-3 bludgeoning over the visiting LA Angels. He also had two run-scoring singles.
Craig Breslow pitched two innings in relief for the Minnesota Twins, giving up two hits, including a solo home run. He also struck out two as the Twins (14-12) lost to the visiting Oakland A’s, 8-6.
Alex Bregman singled in three official at-bats and also walked twice for the Houston Astros (19-10) in their 10-4 loss to the visiting Texas Rangers. Bregman also made his third error of the season.
Ian Kinsler and the Detroit Tigers (14-13) saw their game against the visiting Cleveland Indians rained out. Good thing; Kinsler could use the extra rest to get over his hamstring tweak.
Ryan Braun, still nursing a bad back, did not play for the Milwaukee Brewers (15-14) in their 5-4 win over the host St. Louis Cardinals. Seems that the injury has had an effect on his throwing. Too bad the Brewers aren’t in the AL any more.
Scott Feldman did not appear for the Cincinnati Reds (14-14) in their 4-2 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. And by the way, starting pitcher Tim Adelman? Not a Member of the Tribe.
Kevin Pillar #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a soft single in the first inning during MLB game action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on April 28, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski\/Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"2017 Getty Images","focal_length":"350","iso":"5000","shutter_speed":"0.000625","title":"Tampa Bay Rays v Toronto Blue Jays","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="050417-674589800-56222224-674589800-W.jpg" data-image-description="<p>Kevin Pillar shoots a flare for a single in the first inning of the April 28 game against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Rogers Centre.</p> " data-medium-file="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/05/tampa-bay-rays-v-toronto-blue-jays.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=300" data-large-file="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/05/tampa-bay-rays-v-toronto-blue-jays.jpeg?quality=75&strip=all&w=620" />Kevin Pillar and the Toronto Blue Jays (9-19) had the day off, as did Joc Pederson and the LA Dodgers (15-14). Pederson is expected to rejoin the team today after a stint on the disabled list with an upper-leg injury. Could Pillar, right, join Pederson (and Braun) on the trading block? Maybe he should go back to hockey.
The Baltimore Orioles sent Richard Bleier back to the minors yesterday. He made one appearance during his brief time with the team, tossing four innings of relief on Wednesday when starting pitcher Kevin Gausman was ejected for hitting a Red Sox batter. Here Tigers manager Brad Ausmus picks sides in that incident.
In non-JML news, Rabbi Jason Miller, who helped me resurrect (can I use that word?) Kaplan’s Korner after I left the NJ Jewish News in September, conducted this interview with Peter Kurz, president of the Israel Association of Baseball, on that nation’s amazing run at the recent World Baseball Classic.
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 the forthcoming Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War.
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