By Ron Kaplan, contributor
The Legend of Rowdy Tellez just keeps growing. On Saturday, he went 3-for-4 with his ninth double and third home run, driving in three runs in a 5-2 win by the Toronto Blue Jays (71-85, fourth in the AL East) over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.
Tellez was 1-for-8 in the other two games, both Blue Jays losses.
Kevin Pillar was 3-for-8 in the second and third games after not appearing in the first.
Ian Kinsler did not appear in Friday’s game for the Boston Red Sox (105-51, clinched first in the AL East) , a 7-5 win over the host Cleveland Indians. He was 0-for-6 in an 11-inning, 5-4 loss on Saturday and 0-for-5 yesterday, a 4-3 loss.
Ryan Braun was 1-for-2 with an RBI on Friday as the Milwaukee Brewers (89-67, second in NL Central) beat the host Pittsburgh Pirates (78-76, fourth in the NL Central), 8-3. He was 1-for-4 on Saturday in a 4-3 loss and drove in a run with a pinch-hit walk in a 13-6 win Sunday.
The Pirates’ Ryan Lavarnway struck out as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning yesterday, the first time he failed to get a hit in 2018, dropping his average to .750.
Joc Pederson doubled and scored a run on Friday in the LA Dodgers’ 5-3 loss to the visiting San Diego Padres (62-94, fifth in the NL West). He stayed in the game and was hitless in a subsequent at-bat. Pederson had his 24th home run and 26th double in the next game, a 7-2 win. The home run came on the second pitch of the game and was the seventh time he’s led off a game thusly. Pederson entered yesterday’s game as a defensive replacement and drove in a run on a groundout in a 14-0 romp. The Dodgers lead the NL West with a record of 87-69.
Robert Stock — whose playful Twitter account is drawing folowers — retired the only batter he faced all weekend. That came in Friday’s Padres’ win and earned him his fourth hold of the year.
Alex Bregman was 3-for-12 with two walks and two runs scored as the Houston Astros (98-57, first in the AL West) swept the visiting LA Angels. Oh, and I’ve got to get me one of these:
Max Fried picked up his first hold in his only appearance for the Atlanta Braves. That came Sunday in a 2-1 win over Gabe Kapler’s Philadelphia Phillies. Fried gave up two hits, walked one, and struck out two in two innings. The Braves (88-68) took all three games to clinch first place in the NL East. The Phils (78-77) could slip to third before the end of the year, a disappointment considering they were in contention not that long ago.
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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