Baseball Connection

The Rays retain the #1 spot in this week's power rankings but the Braves are making things interesting at #2. Eury Perez has been lights out on the mound to start his MLB career. Perez tossed 6 scoreless innings on Saturday, extending his scoreless innings streak to 21. The Marlins currently hold a wild card spot, if the season were to end today. Jackson Holliday is tearing up the Orioles farm sys...

The Angels beat the Rockies 25-1 on Saturday. That's not a typo. A 13-run third inning was more than enough to put this game out of reach early on. The Cubs took the first game of the London Series, thanks to a multi-homer day from Ian Happ and strong pitching from Justin Steele. Balking in the go-ahead run with can't be fun - just ask the Astros. All this (and more) on today's episode.

What a difference 2 weeks makes. The Cincinnati Reds are the best show in town. The Reds extended their win streak to 12 games in front of a sellout crowd at Great American Ballpark. Reds beat the Braves 11-10 in this year's best MLB game so far. Elly De La Cruz hit for the cycle - the Reds' first since 1989. Shohei Ohtani is the MVP already, and it's not even close. Emmett Sheehan got the W in th...

Phase 1 of All-Star voting is complete. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Shohei Ohtani secured automatic starting spots as the leading vote-getters in their leagues. Which players got snubbed? Byron Buxton had a slow start to the season offensively, and can't play defense yet, but he's putting on a power display right now. All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Cincinnati Reds have a 10-game win streak and their young talent has stolen the show. The Giants have a 9-game win streak. The Red Sox have a 6-game win streak. The LA Dodgers are in third place. If the playoffs started today, the Astros would miss out. What's going on in 2023? All this (and more) on today's episode.

Pete Alonso was was set to be out for 3-4 weeks with a sprained wrist. He's back just 11 days later. Can the NL home run leader pick up where he left off? Blake Snell dazzled with a 12 strikeout performance against his former team. The Giants and Reds are baseball's two hottest teams. The divisional races are exciting in 2023, with surprise teams everywhere. All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Cincinnati Reds have won 6 straight games and sit only half a game out of first place in the NL Central. Outstanding rookies have been the theme in Cincinnati this year, and Andrew Abbott is one of them. The rookie LHP has now thrown 17 2/3 scoreless innings to start his career. The Red Sox brought out the bats in a 15-5 rout of the Yankees. Justin Turner (2 HRs, double, 6 RBIs) and Masataka Y...

Could the Cardinals trade the reigning NL MVP? Cody Bellinger has had a nice bounce-back season in Chicago but could he also be trade bait? We look at intriguing trade ideas for this summer. Shohei Ohtani is making a case to earn the biggest contract we've ever seen. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Carlos Correa hit a walk-off home run to win the game for the Twins. Correa has done this in the postseason before, but this was his first regular season walk-off homer. The A's have won 7 straight. Orioles 3B Gunnar Henderson has been on a tear lately, including a grand slam on Tuesday. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Shohei Ohtani is having a strong offensive season. After hitting 2 HRs to push LA over Texas on Monday, Ohtani now leads the American League with 20 HRs. J.T. Realmuto became the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since 2004. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Andrew McCutchen joined the 2000 hit club. Gunnar Henderson hit a mammoth blast onto Eutaw Street, continuing his strong month of June. The Marlins are playing winning baseball in 2023. Comeback wins, one-run wins... you name it. There's a different vibe in Miami this year. All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Rays have won 7th straight. Not even the next-best team in baseball (Rangers) could slow them down on Friday. Will Brennan delivered a walk-off victory for the Guardians in the 14th inning. Atlanta has a steady stream of young talent. AJ Smith-Shawver is next in line. Pay attention to Corbin Carroll because he might mess and win MVP. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Jose Ramirez hit three home runs in Thursday's victory over the Red Sox, including his #200 for his career. Who's the better team right now: Rangers or Rays? We'll find out this weekend as baseball's two best teams square off. Pete Alonso already has 22 home runs this season, but he'll now be sidelined for some time. Alonso has been placed on the injured list after taking a 97 mph fastball to the...

Elly De La Cruz made his MLB debut and showcased his electric power & speed combination. Cincinnati is suddenly a hotbed of young MLB talent. Marcus Semien has hit his way into the MVP conversation - a 25-game hit streak helps. Jacob deGrom will be getting Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. Alek Manoah has been demoted to rookie ball. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Reds top LHP prospect made threw 6 innings of one-hit ball in his MLB debut. Cincinnati has a steady stream of elite prospects making their way to the majors this season. Alek Manoah finished third in the AL Cy Young voting last year. This year, he's sporting a 6+ ERA. What happened? Luis Arraez rakes. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Sophomore slumps are common. Jonathan India dealt with one last year, but he's back in strong form this season. India's solid play means the Reds won't consider trading him this year. Key prospects have been called up in recent weeks. Reds LHP Andrew Abbott and Braves RHP AJ Smith-Shawver are the latest arms to watch for. Luis Urias and Willy Adames will return to the Brewers lineup in a few days....

The Yankees and Dodgers squared off to open a weekend series in LA. Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw led the way in the opening game. The Dodgers poured on the runs and Kershaw went 7 strong innings. Chris Bassitt made his return to Citi Field in a grand fashion, outdueling Justin Verlander before flying home for the birth of his child. Bartolo Colon has officially retired. All this (and more) on...

Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman homered and Kevin Gausman racked up 11K's as the Blue Jays cruised to a complete team victory. Chris Sale left his start after a velocity drop. The Red Sox await results of his left shoulder MRI. Don't look now, but the D-Backs are in first place in the NL West. All this (and more) on today's episode.

The calendar has flipped to June and the season is in full swing. It's time to pay attention to division leaders. The Texas Rangers are for real this year. Red shortstop Matt McLain has swung a hot bat through his first two weeks in the majors. Ohtani and Trout combined for 3 mammoth blasts in Chicago as the Angels maintain their strong play. All this (and more) on today's episode.

There were a few big names returning the MLB action on Monday, including Liam Hendriks, Michael Soroka, and Royce Lewis. Aaron Judge's MVP skills were on full display yet again as he homered twice and robbed a HR in Seattle. Marcus Stroman tossed a one-hit shutout against the best team in baseball. All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Oakland A's are on pace to lose the most games in a single season and the rest of the AL West is feasting on them. The Mariners have had the fourth best winning percentage among AL teams in May. Julio Rodriguez has heated up. Is there a more fearsome foursome than the top half of Atlanta's lineup right now? All this (and more) on today's episode.

Michael Soroka is nearing a return the MLB action for the first time is almost 3 years. Soroka tore his right Achilles twice since last pitching for the Braves. The Arizona Diamondbacks are the National League's surprise team this year. They have elite pitching, speed, and defense. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Grayson Rodriguez's first 10 MLB starts haven't gone well. The Orioles demoted the former top prospect to AAA after Friday night's shellacking from the Rangers. Rodriguez should figure things out and be up in the Majors again soon. The best team in baseball gets a big boost as Tyler Glasnow makes his season debut for the Rays. Soto and Tatis stole the spotlight at Yankee Stadium. All this (and mor...

The Phillies completed a comeback from a 5-run deficit and beat the D-Backs 6-5 in 10 innings. Zach Neto was playing college baseball one year ago. Today, he's flirting with cycles in the big leagues. The Giants have an on-base machine leading off; not many people have noticed just how good he's been. All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Astros won their 8th straight game. They brought out the bats on Monday against Corbin Burnes and the Brewers. Yordan Alvarez led the way with 2 HRs including a grand slam. Freddie Freeman rakes regardless of where he plays. He gave Braves fans a reminder. The Baltimore Orioles have the second best record in baseball. All this (and more) on today's episode.