Last Friday final:

 

True enough. I would be a little more concerned with the 3 pitchers on the DL currently and without a strong bullpen, you ain't got shit ...

 

How awesome for you! And to think we're happy just to have season tickets!

Our guys are still quite little, so I suppose anything can happen... Mr. Mischief may well rule the world one day, let alone a baseball team, and Little Guy would be quite happy just to be part of the grounds crew! (We know someone on the crew who's let the kids "help", and Little Guy is just fascinated by the process and the enormity of the field.)

Our daughter is a bit older than the boys, and is quite the athlete (while still retaining her "princess" qualities!). She knows all of the Mets' and (Brooklyn) Cyclones' players' names, their uniform numbers, which positions they play, and some of their stats. She knows most of the rules of the game, and yesterday was the perfect opportunity to discuss the infield fly rule (for those who didn't see the game/news, the Phillies' Cesar Hernandez seemingly forgot the rule and handed the Mets a double-play). Baby Girl's first question was "What position does he play?" and, when told he's at second, she exclaimed "An INFIELDER should have KNOWN that rule"!

She really gets into the game, while her brothers are there mostly for the hot dogs, Cracker Jack, and singing (shouting?) "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" with gusto!

It was a great day and a great game!

 

Blue Jays drop 4th straight as Red Sox punish Dickey knuckleball



The Boston Red Sox punished R.A. Dickey's knuckleball en route to an 8-4 win Saturday afternoon as the Toronto Blue Jays wasted a two-homer performance by Jose Bautista to lose their fourth straight.

 

Saturday scores and finals:

 

Apr 8, 2016

Jays' Josh Donaldson hits grand slam in home opener

First player in Blue Jays history to hit grand slam in home opener.

For the video:http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/video#id=662173251698

 

Estrada returns in style as Jays beat Red Sox




Toronto right-hander Marco Estrada, making his season debut after a sore back, threw seven shutout innings to halt the Blue Jays' four-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

 

Unbeaten O's beat Rays for fifth straight win
BALTIMORE - The last time the Baltimore Orioles got off to a start like this, they ended up winning the World Series.

It's way too soon for the Orioles to be thinking about things like that because, after all, they've still got 157 games left. For now, however, Baltimore is the only unbeaten team in the major leagues.

Manny Machado went 4 for 4 with a two-run homer, and the Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 Sunday for their fifth straight victory.

The torrid start matches the 1970 team for the best in Orioles history. After sweeping Minnesota in three games to open the season, Baltimore completed the homestand by taking two from Tampa Bay in a rain-abbreviated series.

"It's still early. You don't win a championship in April, but you definitely do learn to play as a team," Machado said. "We're going to continue to do that, hopefully.

Vance Worley gave up three runs over 4 2-3 innings in his Orioles debut and the bullpen blanked the Rays on one hit the rest of the way. Brad Brach (1-0) entered in the fifth and Zach Britton worked a perfect ninth for his second save.

Baltimore's starting rotation was supposed to be the team's weakest link, but the group is a collective 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA.

"They gave us a chance to win, all five games," manager Buck Showalter said. "If we do that we'll have some fun this summer."

South Korean outfielder Hyun Soo Kim made his major league debut for Baltimore, starting in left field and batting ninth. He got two infield hits and went 2 for 3 before being lifted for a pinch runner in the seventh inning.

It's been a tough transition for Kim, who struggled in spring training and was the last position player on the Orioles to get in a game during the regular season.

"I was slightly concerned the team might lose today with me in it," Kim said through a translator. "So to make sure that didn't happen, I tried my best."

Corey Dickerson homered for the Rays, who struck out 12 times and stranded nine runners.

"We battled," Dickerson said. "It's really early in the season. Once everyone gets clicking, everything will be good."

Down 4-3, Tampa Bay loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth against Darren O'Day before pinch hitter Hank Conger whiffed on the sidearmer's 33rd pitch of the inning.

Machado doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half.

Baltimore went up 4-0 in the second inning. Pedro Alvarez beat out a grounder — his first hit with the Orioles — and scored on a double by Jonathan Schoop. After rookie Joey Rickard delivered a sacrifice fly, Machado hit his second homer of the season on a 1-2 pitch from Jake Odorizzi (0-1).

Odorizzi settled down, but the damage was done.

"When you have one bad inning and give up four runs, then have five solid innings it is kind of hard to complain," manager Kevin Cash said.

Dickerson homered in the fourth to make it 4-1 and extend the Rays' club-record streak of games with a longball to 20.

Tampa Bay used two-out RBI singles by Evan Longoria and Steve Pearce to chase Worley in the fifth.

HELLO AGAIN

Pearce played his first game in Camden Yards since signing as a free agent with Tampa Bay during the off-season. He spent the previous three seasons with Baltimore, and was a key contributor to the 2014 squad that went to the ALCS.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rays: Asked about the progress of RHP Brad Boxberger (hip) and RHP Alex Cobb (elbow surgery), Cash said, "They are going good, their rehab is going well."

Orioles: CF Adam Jones missed a third straight game with soreness in his ribcage. "It is a concern because one of our best players is not playing," Showalter said. "But it's close, we think."

UP NEXT

Rays: Matt Moore (0-0, 5.40 ERA) will make his second start of the season in the opener of a three-game series at home against Cleveland.

Orioles: Baltimore and right-hander Yovani Gallardo (1-0, 1.80) serve as the opposition for the Boston Red Sox in their home opener at Fenway Park.

 

Orioles still perfect after beating Red Sox


Chris Davis and Blake Swihart , The Canadian Press

Chris Davis hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off new Boston closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning and drove in five runs, carrying the Baltimore Orioles over the Red Sox 9-7 Monday in David Ortiz's final home opener.

 

Cubs break up Finnegan's no-hit bid, top Reds


Addison Russell , The Canadian Press

Reds left-hander Brandon Finnegan pitched 6 2/3 hitless innings before allowing a single to David Ross, but Addison Russell hit a three-run home run while Chicago roughed up Cincinnati's bullpen in a 5-3 victory Monday night in the Cubs' home opener.

 

Braves still winless after loss to Nats
WASHINGTON - Even if the Atlanta Braves are 0-6 for the first time in nearly 30 years, manager Fredi Gonzalez decided he didn't want his players moping around in a silent clubhouse.

Instead, he told them to crank up the music.

So a playlist consisting of Justin Bieber's "Sorry," Michael Jackson's "Black or White" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" filled the room Monday night after the Braves' 6-4 loss to the Washington Nationals, who used Wilson Ramos' four singles and two RBIs to help cover up a shaky start by Max Scherzer.

"I told the guys: Keep your heads up. ... Don't get down. We're playing good. If you have this in July — you lose five in a row or six in a row in July — nobody worries. It's the beginning of the season," Gonzalez said. "And I am worried, but I know that we're playing good baseball. We're close to playing good baseball. And, you know, we're going to be a lot better off for it."

The Braves, who led Washington 2-0 and 4-3, are off to their worst start since dropping their first 10 games in 1988.

Only three major league clubs have reached the post-season after starting 0-6, according to STATS LLC: Pittsburgh (1974), Cincinnati (1995) and Tampa Bay (2011).

"We've got to turn this thing around tomorrow," said starting pitcher Bud Norris (0-2), who allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings.

Scherzer (1-0), pitching on a full week's rest, won despite allowing two-run doubles to A.J. Pierzynski and Nick Markakis in the first two innings. The righty wound up going six innings and didn't let Atlanta score again in front of a sparse crowd announced as 18,119.

Ramos drove in the go-ahead run off Norris in the fifth, breaking a 4-all tie, and added insurance with an RBI single off Alexi Ogando in the seventh.

Daniel Murphy hit a two-run shot off Norris in the first. He is hitting .471 with two homers and seven RBIs in the first season of a $37.5 million, three-year contract.

"Good at-bats up and down the lineup," Murphy said. "As an offence, I feel like we're able to put pressure on the pitcher continually."

Four Nationals relievers combined for three scoreless innings, including Jonathan Papelbon, who earned his fourth save.

Mallex Smith had an eventful major league debut on the day he was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett and immediately put in Atlanta's starting lineup as the centre fielder and leadoff hitter.

The 22-year-old Smith, at Double-A for part of last season, struck out on three pitches in his first at-bat. He reached on an infield single in the second and came around to score. Then, in the fourth, he got thrown out by Ramos while trying to steal second base. On that play, Smith was cut above the left eye while sliding and left the game.

He wound up needing five stitches.

"It probably looked worse than what it was," Smith said. "I still haven't really felt too much pain. They numbed me up, got me some stitches. But I'm fine. I'll play with this seven days a week."

HARPER'S DAY

NL MVP Bryce Harper went 0 for 3 with two walks and two stolen bases and struck out for the first time in 2016.

DUSTY ON CLOSERS

Baker spoke before the game about the "special mentality" it takes to be a successful closer in the majors, because "as soon as you blow one, or whatever it is, people forget about the other five or six that you saved." Thinking back to his days as San Francisco's manager, Baker said: "I had Rod Beck that saved 50-something in a row and he scared me to death (in) about 30 of 'em. So you just learn that, 'Hey, man, if he's not nervous, then I'm not nervous.'"

TRAINER'S ROOM

Braves: RHP Dan Winkler went on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right elbow. He was injured Sunday.

UP NEXT

LHP Gio Gonzalez finally gets a chance to pitch Tuesday, making his first start of the season in Washington's sixth game. It's been more than two weeks since his last appearance in a game — a March 27 Grapefruit League exhibition.

 

Yikes! My Mets had a rough day! The Marlins, whose record high for a single inning was previously three runs, scored SEVEN runs in the 2nd inning, and we never caught up... never even came close, actually. *sigh*

But on a happier note, it looks like deGrom is gonna be a Daddy soon! Woo-Hoo... best wishes to them!

 

And how about this? Talk about being in the right place at the right time...time after time after time after time...


Tigers fan catches five foul balls in a single game, gives them all to kids

By Nick Schwartz Apr 11, 2016 at 4:41p ET

Detroit Tigers fan Bill Dugan had the perfect seat behind home plate in Comerica Park for Monday's Pirates-Tigers game. Dugan caught five foul balls Monday during the game, and even snagged a ball during batting practice. Rather than keep them all to himself, Dugan gave all of the balls away to young fans.



This isn't the first time Dugan's caught more balls than many outfielders will in a single game.



Via the Detroit Free Press:

"At home, he has 200-300 baseballs he's caught from games over the years.

(After he caught the fourth one that day...and minutes before his fifth)

"My record's eight - four during a game and four during batting practice," he said. "So I tied my record during a game just now."
​

 

It's lucky for his team that he isn't sitting in fair ball territory lol.

 

Curling fan Hans Madsen of Yorkton, Sask., was shown on the Jumbotron at the Rogers Centre, sporting a Blue Jays logo on his famous long beard.

Madsen modifies his beard depending on the colours of the team he's supporting, which is often green for Saskatchewan.

We're guessing that Madsen is in town this week to watch the Players' Championship curling event at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, located in the building formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens.

 

Tuesday finals:

 

Braves' Hector Olivera arrested, charged with assault



Atlanta Braves outfielder Hector Olivera was placed on paid administrative leave by Major League Baseball after he was arrested and charged with assaulting a woman at a hotel outside Washington. Apr 13, 5:52 PM ET

• Jose Reyes's domestic abuse case to be dropped
• Aroldis Chapman suspended 30 games by MLB for domestic incident

 

A few finals for the 13th: