Major League Baseball - Week In Review

As April draws to a close, things are staying pretty bunched up in the divisional races around Major League Baseball.
The National League East is really tight with four teams separated by just two games. The entire NL Central has just a four game difference between the five teams. The three American League divisions are a little more spread out with each race having two teams neck and neck and the other three further back.
In the American League East, the Tampa Bay Rays are holding serve and lead the injury riddled New York Yankees by a game and a half as of April 26.
Over in the National League West, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres are within a game of each other.
Last night in Toronto, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. made his MLB debut (going 1-for-4 with a double) as the host Blue Jays defeated the Oakland A's 4-2 as Brandon Drury hit the game-winning home run. Meanwhile, there was another "walk off" home run in Chicago as White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson belted one out to win the game, 12-11 against the Detroit Tigers. The ChiSox trailed 9-1 at one point during the game.
The Milwaukee Brewers have stumbled upon hard times recently after their torrid start and fell to fourth place in the NL Central before rebounding on April 26 with a victory against the New York Mets to get back over the .500 mark. The St. Louis Cardinals have taken control of first place in division race over the past week.
Over in the AL West, the Seattle Mariners moved back ahead of the Houston Astros as they rebounded from a slump that saw them cough up an early divisional lead with their 13-2 start. In the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins took advantage of beating up on the Baltimore Orioles (four wins in four games over an eight day period) as they now share first place with the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe beat the Houston Astros, 6-3 on Friday night to keep pace. 
 



AL STANDINGS (through April 26)                                NL STANDINGS (through April 26)
East                                                                                     East
Tampa Bay 16-9                                                                  Philadelphia 14-12              
NY Yankees 15-11                                                              NY Mets 13-12
Toronto 12-14                                                                     Atlanta 12-13
Boston 11-15                                                                      Washington 11-13
Baltimore 10-17                                                                  Miami 8-18


Central                                                                                Central
Minnesota 14-9                                                                    St. Louis 15-10
Cleveland 15-10                                                                   Milwaukee 14-13
Detroit 12-13                                                                        Chicago 12-12
Chicago 10-14                                                                      Pittsburgh 12-12                                       
Kansas City 8-18                                                                  Cincinnati 11-14      


West                                                                                      West
Seattle 18-11                                                                          LA Dodgers 17-11
Houston 15-11                                                                       Arizona 16-11
Oakland 14-14                                                                       San Diego 15-11
Texas 12-13                                                                           Colorado 12-14
LA Angels 11-16                                                                   San Francisco 11-15  

Major League Baseball - Week In Review

As most teams reach or approach the 20 games played mark for the season, the standings around
Major League Baseball are still pretty much bunched up, but the hottest teams this week were the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies in the National League West division.
The Dodgers won their sixth straight game on April 19 in Milwaukee as Kike' Hernandez hit a three-run home run off Brewers ace relief pitcher Josh Hader to propel the 5-3 victory. The Brewers are a game behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central while the Dodgers now lead the NL West once again with San Diego in second place. The Padres have dropped five in a row following their hot start. The Colorado Rockies rode a walk-off two-run homer from outfielder Charlie Blackmon in a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Phillies, who are tied with the New York Mets for first place in the NL East.
The Chicago Cubs won their fourth straight game as they toppled the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-1 at frigid Wrigley Field on April 19. They are now back in the thick of the NL Central race with the Pittsburgh Pirates leading the way as they also won their fourth consecutive game.
Over in the American League, the Houston Astros had their 10-game winning streak snapped, but they got right back in the win column with a victory against the Texas Rangers on April 19. Seattle is right there in a first-place tie with the Astros in the AL West division while Texas and the Oakland A's are within three games of the top spot.
The Tampa Bay Rays lost their second straight game as the Boston Red Sox beat them 6-4 thanks in big part to a home run by Mookie Betts. However, the Rays still enjoy a 4 1/2 game lead over the second place New York Yankees. Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis finally broke his 0-for-54 slump as he got his first hits of the season in a rout of the host Boston Red Sox on April 13, going 3-for-5 with four RBI and then followed up with his first home run of the season as the O's and Bosox split the four-game series.
The American League Central division is bunched up as all five teams are within five games of each other. The Cleveland Indians have won three consecutive games to move atop the division with Minnesota just one game back. Detroit and Chicago are right there as well with Kansas City five games back.
The White Sox and Royals had some fireworks in their game in Chicago on April 17 when Royals pitcher Brad Keller plunked Tim Anderson with a fastball following a home run hit by Anderson in which he did the bat flip and exuberantly shouted in the direction of his teammates in the White Sox dugout. Both players were suspended (Keller got five games and Anderson and ChiSox manager Ricky Renteria one game each) by MLB officials for their part in the dust up as the benches emptied.  The Royals eventually won that game.





AL STANDINGS (through April 19)                                  NL STANDINGS (through April 19)
East                                                                                      East
Tampa Bay 14-6                                                                   NY Mets 11-8              
NY Yankees 9-10                                                                 Philadelphia 11-8
Toronto 9-12                                                                        Atlanta 9-9
Baltimore 8-12                                                                     Washington 9-9
Boston 7-13                                                                          Miami 5-15


Central                                                                                  Central
Cleveland 11-7                                                                       Pittsburgh 11-6
Minnesota 9-7                                                                        Milwaukee 12-9
Detroit 9-10                                                                            St. Louis 10-9
Chicago 8-11                                                                          Chicago 9-9                                       
Kansas City 7-13                                                                    Cincinnati 7-12      


West                                                                                       West
Houston 13-6                                                                          LA Dodgers 14-8
Seattle 15-8                                                                             San Diego 11-10
Texas 10-8                                                                              Arizona 10-10
Oakland 11-11                                                                        Colorado 8-12
LA Angels 8-12                                                                      San Francisco 8-13 

Major League Baseball - Week In Review

The Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners continued to dominate the American League as the season rolls into the third full week while the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers were cooled off following their hot starts.
The Mariners rode a six-game winning streak before falling to the Houston Astros, 10-6 on Friday night. The Astros have a seven-game win streak and are closing in on the first-place Mariners in the A.L. West division. The Rays increased their current win streak to five in a row as they pasted the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-7 on Friday.
Two of the hotter teams in the National League had been the Brewers and Dodgers, who square off this weekend. Milwaukee took the opening game, 8-5 on April 12 in Dodger Stadium. The Brewers were swept by the Los Angeles Angels earlier this week while the Dodgers got swept in a four-game set in St. Louis. The Cardinals are right on the heels of the Brewers in the N.L. Central.
The San Diego Padres have been hot in the N.L. West and have a two-game lead on the Dodgers after beating Arizona (on the road) on April 12. The Padres star third baseman Manny Machado hit a home run and made a sparkling defensive play to lead the way.
Another big performance during the past week occurred in Baltimore when Oakland A's outfielder Khris Davis crushed two home runs in consecutive games as the A's took three of four games from the swooning Orioles, who have lost eight of their last nine games after a hot 4-1 start to the season. Davis leads the majors with 10 home runs so far this season.
In a rain shortened 9-6 victory at Yankees Stadium on Friday night, Chicago White Sox rookie outfielder Eloy Jimenez slugged a pair of home runs (the first of his career) to lead the comeback win for the ChiSox, snapping a five-game losing streak.



AL STANDINGS (through April 12)                                   NL STANDINGS (through April 12)
East                                                                                      East
Tampa Bay 11-3                                                                   NY Mets 9-4              
NY Yankees 5-8                                                                   Philadelphia 8-4
Baltimore 5-9                                                                       Atlanta 7-6
Boston 5-9                                                                           Washington 6-6
Toronto 4-10                                                                        Miami 3-11


Central                                                                                  Central
Cleveland 8-5                                                                        Milwaukee 9-5
Detroit 8-5                                                                             St. Louis 8-5
Minnesota 6-4                                                                       Pittsburgh 7-5
Chicago 4-8                                                                           Chicago 5-8                                       
Kansas City 2-10                                                                   Cincinnati 4-8      


West                                                                                        West
Seattle 13-3                                                                             San Diego 10-5
Houston 9-5                                                                            LA Dodgers 8-7
Oakland 10-8                                                                          Arizona 6-8
LA Angels 7-7                                                                        San Francisco 6-9
Texas 6-7                                                                                Colorado 3-11

VIRGINIA WINS NCAA HOOPS TITLE

The Virginia Cavaliers did it again.
They pulled yet another rabbit out of the hat and for the third consecutive game, pulled out a win, this time over the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 85-77 in overtime to win the 2018-19 NCAA Men's Basketball championship.
After bowing out in the first round last year, becoming the first ever number-one seeded team to lose to a 16th seeded team, the Cavs rolled to the title this season, their first ever in school history.


     
    Congratulations to the VIRGINIA CAVALIERS - NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS!

Major League Baseball - Week In Review

The 2019 Major League Baseball season is underway and there were a few surprises around the league during the first week of action. The Baltimore Orioles took two out of three games in series against the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, both on the road. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs have been stumbling out of the gate, going 1-6 with a current six-game losing streak after getting hammered 13-10 in Milwaukee on April 5.
The Philadelphia Phillies are off to a great start, going 5-1 which included a three-game sweep of the visiting Atlanta Braves and a split of a two-game set at Washington, where former Nationals star Bryce Harper had a big game (including a mammoth home run) against his former team.
The Milwaukee Brewers (6-1) and Los Angeles Dodgers (6-2) are rolling strong in the early part of the season. The Brewers have been scoring runs in bunches, led by defending MVP Christian Yelich, who smashed four home runs in the teams first four games. The Dodgers have been bashing the ball as well, including hitting a record eight home runs in the opener against Arizona, a 12-8 victory. Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger has a league leading six home runs so far.
The Boston Red Sox have been struggling mightily after losing on April 5 in Arizona, a 15-8 decision. Boston is the defending World Series champions, but is off to a MLB worst 2-7 start. Also in the American League East division, the Tampa Bay Rays (6-2) lead the way as they took three out of four games in the opening series against the struggling Houston Astros (3-5).
The Minnesota Twins are off a to a good start (4-2) and lead the American League Central race (by percentage points) with the Detroit Tigers (5-3) right there. Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox are within a game of the top spot as well. The ChiSox rolled past Seattle in their home opener, 10-8 as the hot hitting Yoan Moncada (.458 batting average and 10 RBI in the first six games) led the way.



AL STANDINGS (through April 5)                                   NL STANDINGS (through April 5)
East                                                                                      East
Tampa Bay 6-2                                                                     Philadelphia 5-1              
Baltimore 4-3                                                                        NY Mets 5-2
NY Yankees 3-4                                                                   Atlanta 4-3
Toronto 3-6                                                                           Washington 3-3
Boston 2-7                                                                             Miami 2-6


Central                                                                                  Central
Minnesota 4-2                                                                        Milwaukee 7-1
Detroit 5-3                                                                              Pittsburgh 3-3
Cleveland 4-3                                                                         St. Louis 3-4
Chicago 3-3                                                                            Chicago 1-6                                        
Kansas City 2-4                                                                      Cincinnati 1-6      


West                                                                                        West
Seattle 7-2                                                                                LA Dodgers 6-2
Texas 5-3                                                                                 San Diego 5-3
Oakland 6-5                                                                             Arizona 4-4
Houston 3-5                                                                             Colorado 3-5
LA Angels 2-6                                                                         San Francisco 2-6

History In Chicago

History was made on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 as Lori Lightfoot became the first black woman elected as Mayor of Chicago as she crushed challenger Toni Preckwinkle.
Both women are black and members of the Democratic party, but it was all Lightfoot in this election as she had 74 percent of the vote with 83 percent of the precincts reporting.

                 


                               CONGRATULATIONS to Lori Lightfoot -- Mayor elect of Chicago.