By Scott Barancik, Editor

Here are your MLB highlights for the week of August 10-16, 2020:

Mazel tov

• P Rob Kaminsky was called up by the COVID-depleted St. Louis Cardinals on August 15 and made his MLB debut the following day. A 1st-round pick out of St. Joseph Regional High School (Montvale, NJ) in the 2013 draft, the 25-year-old southpaw has accumulated a 29-21 record with 6 saves and a 2.82 ERA over seven minor-league seasons with St. Louis and the Cleveland Indians. Kaminsky is the 11th Jewish player in the Majors this season and the sole rookie.
• The Boston Red Sox called up P Robert Stock on August 11 and put him on the mound the same day. A 30-year-old flamethrower, he compiled a 2-1 record with a 4.11 ERA for the San Diego Padres in 2018 and 2019.

Stats to share

• With a 1.24 ERA this season, Max Fried (Braves) leads the National League and ranks #2 in the Majors. He also is one of just two MLB pitchers with 3 pickoffs in 2020, including this one on August 15. Meanwhile, Fried has yet to yield a home run.
• Collectively, Jewish pitchers are 3-0 this season with a 1.25 ERA and 37 strikeouts across 36 innings. Major League pitchers overall have a combined 4.40 ERA.
• Kevin Pillar (Red Sox), playing in his first season with Boston, leads the team with a .313 batting average.
• Joc Pederson (Dodgers) is the only Jewish player to steal a base so far this season. Kevin Pillar (Red Sox), Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays), and Garrett Stubbs (Astros) each tried once but were tossed out.

At the plate

• 3B Alex Bregman (Astros) hit .444 (8-for-18) last week with a home run, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, and a whopping .600 OBP. Houston won 5 of 6 games during the stretch.
• 1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays) hit .412 (7-for-17) with 2 HRs, 2 doubles, 5 RBIs, and a .412 OBP.
• OF Kevin Pillar (Red Sox) hit .320 (8-for-25) with a home run, triple, double, hit by pitch, and a .393 OBP.
• C Ryan Lavarnway (Marlins) hit .333 (1-for-3) with a .333 OBP.
• Back from the injured list, LF Ryan Braun (Brewers) hit .188 (3-for-16) with 2 doubles, one RBI, and a .235 OBP.
• OF Joc Pederson (Dodgers) hit .056 (1-for-18) with a .150 OBP.
• C Garrett Stubbs (Astros) hit .000 (0-for-1).

On the mound

• Max Fried (Braves) pitched 6.1 scoreless innings on August 15, holding the Marlins to 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7 on 103 pitches (see video). Fried didn’t get credit for the 2-1 win, however.
• Rob Kaminsky (Cardinals) pitched a perfect inning of relief in his MLB debut on August 16, striking out one (see video) and retiring all three batters on a total of just 8 pitches.
• In his Red Sox debut on August 11, Robert Stock tossed 1.1 innings of relief, yielding 2 walks, 3 hits, and no earned runs while striking out 3, all on a total of 42 pitches.
• Richard Bleier (Marlins) remained on the injured list with a left triceps strain.

Injured list

• P Richard Bleier (Marlins), since August 8.

Miscellanea

• Former L.A. Dodgers star Shawn Green used to toss his batting glove into the stands after a home run. Click here to read the origin story.
• Lou Gehrig was of German heritage and not Jewish. But in 1938, the New York Yankees great spoke before 20,000 at a Madison Square Garden fundraiser for Jews fleeing Hitler. “I’m glad to be in a country where I can wear the World’s Fair emblem on my sleeve and play baseball, and not in a country where I’d have to wear the swastika,” Gehrig said.
  Last Ride of the Iron Horse author Dan Joseph discusses the event in this interview.

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