By Scott Barancik, Editor

Here are your MLB highlights for the week of August 3-9, 2020:

Mazel tov

• C Ryan Lavarnway was called-up by the Marlins on August 4 and played the next day, making Miami his seventh MLB team in nine seasons. Lavarnway’s debut also marked his first MLB appearance since obtaining Israeli citizenship in late 2019, thus making him the first Israeli-American to play in the Major Leagues. He and roughly a dozen other Jewish-American players have become dual Israeli-American citizens in order to represent the country in international competition, including the upcoming Summer Olympics.

Other news

• Retired ballplayer Cody Decker made news on August 6 when he publicly criticized Oakland A’s bench coach Ryan Christenson for making what appeared to be a Nazi salute outside the dugout. “As a Jewish (now former) player, I cannot stress how quickly someone at @MLB need to address this,” Decker tweeted. “Perpetuating the same antisemitism that I dealt with throughout my career. This is truly disgusting.”

Stats to share

• Max Fried (Braves) is one of just five pitchers in the Majors to start the 2020 season with a 3-0 record. His 1.59 ERA ranks #4 in the National League, and he has held batters to a .169 average, ranking him #6.
• C Garrett Stubbs scored on a 13th-inning double by Astros teammate Alex Bregman on August 6 (see video)
• If Marlins teammates Richard Bleier (P) and Ryan Lavarnway (C) appear together in a game this season, they will become at least the 7th Jewish battery in MLB history. According to Bob Wechsler of Jewish Baseball Museum, others include:
  • Craig Breslow/Ryan Lavarnway (Red Sox)
  • Jason Hirsh/Brad Ausmus (Astros)
  • Larry Sherry/Norm Sherry (Dodgers)
  • Sandy Koufax/Norm Sherry (Dodgers)
  • Saul Rogovin/Joe Ginsberg (Tigers)
  • Harry Feldman/Harry Danning (Giants)

At the plate

• C Ryan Lavarnway (Marlins) hit .333 (2-for-6) with a .333 on-base percentage
• 3B Alex Bregman (Astros) hit .200 (6-for-27) with a home run, 3 doubles, 4 RBIs, and a .259 OBP (see video).
• OF Joc Pederson (Dodgers) hit .158 (3-for-22) with 3 HRs, 6 RBIs, and a .273 OBP. He blasted two of his home runs in a 7-6 win over the Padres on August 5 (see video).
• OF Kevin Pillar (Red Sox) hit .091 (1-for-11) with an .091 OBP.
• 1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays) hit .071 (1-for-13) with a double and a .250 OBP. We failed to mention last week that Tellez was ejected on July 29 for protesting a called third strike (see video).
• C Garrett Stubbs (Astros) hit .000 (0-for-2) with one RBI and a .000 OBP.
• LF Ryan Braun (Brewers) has not played since July 29, due to an infection in his right index finger.

On the mound

• Max Fried (Braves) went 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA across 2 games, striking out 9 batters and walking 3 over a combined 11 innings (see video). Sports Illustrated wrote that Fried is “proving to be Atlanta’s ace pitcher.”
• Richard Bleier (Marlins) went 0-0 with 3 holds and a 0.00 ERA across 3 appearances, yielding a hit and an unearned run over a combined 1.2 innings. Bleier was placed on the injured list August 8 with a left triceps strain.

Injured list

• P Richard Bleier (Marlins), since August 8.
• LF Ryan Braun (Brewers), since July 30.

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