Baseball Connection

Aaron Nola was brilliant as the Phillies completed a 3-game sweep on the Yankees. The Phillies offense has been great because of the table-setters atop their lineup. The Blue Jays belted 8 homers in a rout of the Red Sox. Toronto has the most dangerous lineup in the MLB so far this season. Spencer Torkelson and Hunter Greene have been promoted to AA and AAA, respectively. When can we expect to see...

A day after losing to the Dodgers by a score of 12-1, the Rangers returned the favor and beat LA by a score of 12-1. Kolby Allard has settled in nicely for the Rangers this year. Matt Chapman got off to a slow start with the bat, but lately he's joined Matt Olson to form a lethal 1-2 punch in for Oakland. All this (and more) on today's episode.

It was a great night for pitchers. Anthony DeSclafani threw a complete game shutout against the Nats thanks to another home run robbery by Mike Tauchman. Shohei Ohtani, Jacob deGrom, and Clayton Kershaw had great nights at the plate to help their own cause. Elvis Andrus delivered Oakland's MLB-leading 6th walk-off victory of the year. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Some teams have needed to begin wheeling and dealing. As injuries mount and division races emerge, more trades will happen. The White Sox are facing another blow with yet another major injury. Nick Madrigal has been placed on the 60-day IL. Can Chicago stay on top of the AL Central without Jimenez, Robert, and Madrigal? All this (and more) on today's episode.

In a back-and-forth contest with several surprises, the Red Sox prevailed and salvaged the final game of their series against the Astros. Mookie flashed all his tools as he led the way for the Dodgers. The Phillies walked off for the second straight night and the Twins joined in on the fun as well. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Jake Fraley was the man of the night in the Mariners' victory over the Tigers. Fraley got it done with both his glove and bat as he single-handedly turned the game around. Joc Pederson came to San Diego and stole the Tatis trot. After a rough few days of speculation, Gerrit Cole turned in a strong start to help the Yankees win in Minnesota. All this (and more) on today's episode.

After much controversy surrounding his recent decline in spin rate, Gerrit Cole was directly asked if he's ever used Spider Tack (a sticky substance) while pitching. Cole's answer was a bit unusual. Could Chris Sale be back in time for a playoff push? Mike Trout is working his way back from a calf strain. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Jesse Winker hits home runs in bunches. He collected his second hat trick of the season as he belted three home runs as the Reds swept the Cardinals in St. Louis for the first time in 31 years. The Yankees got swept by the Red Sox. The problem seems to be the offense. Besides Aaron Judge, most hitters in their lineup haven't met expectations. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Cedric Mullins was a tough out all weekend long. He tormented the Cleveland Indians as he collected hits in 9 straight at-bats and reached base in 11 straight. He even flashed the leather on defense too. Mullins has been great for Baltimore all season. What kind of production can he sustain in the long term?

Shohei Ohtani delivered a strong outing for the Angels as he turned in the first walk-free start of his career. Freddy Peralta flirted with a no hitter on his 25th birthday. Blake Snell finally pitched deep into a game as he was strong through seven innings for the Padres. San Diego will need more of that from him moving forward.

MLB says they will begin cracking down of foreign substance use in earnest. They might be serious this time - we've seen a confiscated hat and even a few minor league suspensions over the past week. With strikeout rates at an all-time high, something fishy is clearly happening. Will this new stance bring forth the much-needed jolt in offense?

The Cubs swept the Padres as they picked up their 9th win in 10 games. Before the season started, we figured the Cubs would be rather mediocre. Where did this strong play come from?  Sean Manaea pitched a complete game shutout and a Bichette/Panik combo led to a Blue Jays walk-off victory in Buffalo.

MLB will be celebrating the first annual Lou Gehrig's Day. Gehrig will be honored across the league in memory of his brilliant career and brave battle with ALS. Fernando Tatis Jr and Marcus Semien took home Player of the Month honors for May. The Cardinals will be without Jack Flaherty for some time and the Vlad/Acuna HR chase continues. All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Mets had an eventful win in the desert. deGrom showed his typical dominance and Kevin Pillar returned to the lineup two weeks after suffering a gruesome facial injury. The Astros are getting healthy and the early returns are good. The home run leaderboard is getting crowded. Chris Taylor's bases-clearing double punctuated an epic 14-pitch at-bat. All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Yankees probably expected to rack up a few wins over the weekend in Detroit but the Tigers had other ideas. The Tigers swept the Yankees in Detroit for the first time in two decades. The Giants are for real - they took 3 out of 4 in LA. Nobody is hotter than the Rays though, Brett Phillips' birthday blast paved the way for their 15th win in 16 games.

The shortened season in 2020 made us take many results with a grain of salt. With such a small sample size, it was hard to tell if some breakout players were for real or not. We look at the breakout players who have continued their strong play and proven to be legit in 2021.

Robbie Grossman delivered a walk-off home run as the Tigers defeated the Yankees in the series-opening game. Gerrit Cole was great, but Casey Mize was strong as well. The Giants won a thriller in LA. Mike Tauchman forced extra innings by robbing what would've been an Albert Pujols walk-off HR. The Devers cousins faced off for the first time at the MLB level. All this (and more) on today's episode.

They don't call him El Mago for nothing. Javier Baez pulled off perhaps the most magical baserunning feat we've ever seen. Alek Manoah looked sharp in his MLB debut - the Blue Jays expect him to be a future ace. We discuss the results of a few doubleheaders around the league. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Yasmani Grandal has put together a perplexing stat-line so far this season. Coming into today with a .136 batting average, an untrained eye would believe he's struggling. Looking closer, Grandal is providing well-above-average offensive value. We discuss how to understand the metrics behind this bizarre situation.

Noah Syndergaard exited his rehab start after just one inning because of elbow discomfort. His velocity plummeted, so this is certainly a concern for the Mets, who had hoped to have him back next month. Rich Hill racked up 13 strikeouts against the Royals, but he was outdueled by Brad Keller as the Royals snapped Tampa Bay's win streak.

The Rays notched their 11th straight win, thanks to a massive rally in extra innings against the Blue Jays. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. blasted two home runs and now finds himself atop the MLB leaderboard. Is the AL East the strongest division in baseball? All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Rays extended their win streak to 10 games and now share a piece of first place. From sweeps to pitcher duels, slugfests, and walkoffs, we saw it all yesterday. All this on today's episode.

After almost 5 years away, Scott Kazmir is back in the big leagues. Kazmir's comeback was complete once he took the mound for the Giants yesterday. He pitched a brief and solid outing. Adolis Garcia continues to haunt the Houston Astros. Garcia delivered 2 more home runs yesterday as the Rangers took another game in the series. Yankees starters have put together an interesting streak this week. Al...

Jesse Winker led the way for Cincinnati with his first career 3-homer game. Winker has thrust himself into early MVP consideration, but there's still a long way to go. The Braves scored 20 runs including 7 homers and 2 grand slams against Pittsburgh. Adolis Garcia's legend continues to grow in Texas. The Rangers CF delivered a walk-off 3-run homer to stun the Astros. All this (and more) on today's...

The Rays have traded Willy Adames to the Brewers. This makes a clear pathway for Wander Franco, baseball's #1 prospect to begin his MLB career. The Rays say Franco won't be called up just yet, but it's becoming obvious that Franco will be up sooner rather than later.