The Day in Baseball - April 3rd
Today we’re going to get quick hits on as many games as possible. Life is taking me away after work so we’re going for singles and manufactured runs for reviews.
Mets @ Brewers
How Milwaukee Won: 7 run innings are a great help but so is holding the other team to 3 hits also helps. Freddy Peralta hurled a great game. It was nice to see a pitcher throw such a great game and be rewarded with some grandiose run support. Giving your bullpen a chance to use lower-leverage arms and delay the onset of mid-season fatigue is always good for the pitching staff. This game, for the Brewers, was not complicated. great pitching from their starter and runs and more runs from the offense.
How New York Lost: The offense never got going. In order inning the Mets sent 5,3,4,4,3 from the 1st to the 5th then the Brewers had their big inning. The Mets were in the game up to that point. Once the team is down by ten runs, it takes a lot of energy to keep your mind in the game. Peralta closed the game in the top of the 6th by striking out 2 and getting a flyout. Getting quick outs after your team scores 3+ runs the inning before is an exclamation point. Quick outs after your team scores 7 and leads by 10, is game ending.
Hot Takes: This was my first Brewers game this season. They have set the bar high! Not really, I am a reasonable human being. i hope this is close to what we can expect from another team in the NL Central. After seeing three games with the Cardinals, I would like to see these two go at it for the NL Central crown all season long. Brewers, you have my attention. I’ve not yet seen an identity win or loss from the Mets just yet. We saw one yesterday from the Yankees. I don’t mean to salt the wound, I just have a good example to point you to. The Mets spent big this offseason and the quicker they can establish their identity, the more confident I would be in their ability to make good on the promises the team’s dollars are making.
Giants @ White Sox
How San Francisco Win: Please see the game above for a description, just change some names.
DeSclafani didn’t let anyone on the basepaths while the bats got their damage done for the Giants’ offense. Impressive is DeSclafani keeping the White Sox off the board with “only” 4 Ks. I love me a good defensive game. The game was over when the Giants went ahead and hit 4 solo home runs in the fifth inning. We can ignore the fact that Chicago scored three runs in the late innings because San Francisco scored FIVE MORE in the top of the ninth.
How Chicago Lost: Pretty simple, DeSclafani was better than the White Sox batters today. In only one inning did the White Sox send more than 4 batters to the plate. That’s being beaten, soundly. Tip your cap and move on. I was thinking they might carry some momentum off the series with Houston, but DeSclafani had other plans.
Hot Takes: Meh, not enough information for any hot takes. I like the potential I see in both of these teams. It’s too soon to make a bullet point on either of the team’s identities. I secretly hope the Giants stick around for the NL West race this season. When divisions are so one-sided for so long, when they show signs of being a real competition, I’m excited for the fan bases to feel like change is coming and the extra energy the teams put into the race because of that potential change.
Cubs @ Reds
This is my first game with these two teams but what a fun game to watch. A loud opener, some calm, a big punch in the fifth immediately followed by a counter punch. I love the game chart where every peak and valley represents hope for one fan group or another.
The story in this game was the starting pitching. Better jumped on them and did all their damage while the starters were in the game. The lesson here is that both these teams can score some runs if the players on the mound are not bringing decent stuff.
Twins @ Marlins
You can’t win if you don’t get runners on base. The Marlins have sent the minimum +1 through four innings while the Twins scored 8 runs. The Marlins are falling victim to an early season trend where a team will send 3 or 4 batters to the plate for 5 innings in a row and the other team scores a bunch of runs in their half of one of those innings. This is being written in the sixth inning when the Marlins are down 8-1. The Marlins have not scored more than three runs in a game to start this season. The Twins have done their job, the Marlins are setting a pattern for the season that will take Koufaxian performances each time this take the rubber if the Marlins are going to win any games this season.
Rays @ Nationals
The Yankees are winning in the Yankee way and the Rays are winning in the Rays way. Fewer runs for everyone but the Rays are good at making sure those runs happen then the bats are in their hands. Washington was never in this game. This is the version of the Rays I’m most worried about. They are taking advantage of their early season schedule while the Jays are getting off to a slow start. Where have I seen this movie before?
Phillies @ Yankees
Another Yankee win. The bats batted and Nestor Cortes didn’t let the Phillies do anything. There isn’t a lot to it, the Yankees are good. They won another game in the way they want to win games and that is terrifying for the rest of the league.
Are the Phillies bad?
The Phillies and Jays are two teams off to bad starts. The starting staff has a babip of .353 which is some rotten luck but the hitters have a babip of .374 so that is kind of offset. The batters are hitting .287 but have only one home run. I don’t think this team is bad, they have too much talent to look at this start and think they are worse than the roster would suggest. Still, looking at the Braves and Mets with fewer combined losses than the Phillies have on their own must be tough.
Pirates @ Red Sox
I declare the Red Sox season to be over but it’s going to be a blast to watch. Seriously, just enjoy the ride as much as possible. Enjoy the baseball being played on the field and know that while you may think you are paying to see your team win, you are in fact paying to see baseball being played. 63 runs total have been scored in their games. That’s almost 16 runs per game in four games. Expectations were minimal to start the season, embrace the chaos this year and enjoy the show.
Pittsburgh showed some fight and they got the win. Their starter did not have a good game score but the rest of the staff posted positive numbers and the batters brought enough power with base runners to get the win. It’s the Red Sox in the other dugout so temper the ideas of division crows, but a win is a win and this was a fun one to watch.
Blue Jays @ Royals
The Jays are officially off to a bad start. I see the signs of trying to press at the plate. The patience they showed in St. Louis is gone. They press because Berrios gives up three runs in the first inning. This is where the new maturity of this team needs to show up. Who will lead the way out of this slow start and who will start hitting for power? I see a lot of grounders and what feels like nothing getting into the air. Everything feels difficult and just out of reach for the Jays right now. An incredibly frustrating way to watch and it must be infinitely more frustrating for the players.
Berrios is just up in the zone to everyone. He looks hittable and he just has to be better. When he starts falling apart in a game, it snowballs. What happens if he has two or three bad starts in a row? Will the entire season fall apart because he can’t get settled in?
The fourth inning just ended and if the Jays don’t score in the top of the fifth, this is another write-off. One bad trip through the rotation happens. Two bad trips to start the season will dig a deep hole they will have to get themselves out of while the Rays and Yankees are busy trying to bury the Jays’ season before it even has a chance to start.
T5: Bases loaded and zero outs. GIDP for one run followed by a groundout to the shortstop. Bad luck, bad timing, bad hitting, bad pitching. Can’t win games playing like this. Need to be better.
Wore the Black Jersey for this one, and it also starts off the season 0-1. The Red & White Team Canada Jersey is up next.
