Don’t worry folks. There were no illegal substances used to compile this list of the week’s top plays. Mammoth home runs, dazzling defense, and heads up baseball are all that was required. There always seems to be history in the making in the Major Leagues and this week was no different. Let’s take a stroll over the past seven days that was with the plays that defined the week in baseball.
5. Bumgarner Wins The Battle Of The MVPs
Thursday’s matchup between rivals San Francisco and Los Angeles was properly billed as a pitching fan’s dream. San Francisco’s World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner would be squaring off with Los Angeles’s reigning NL MVP & Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. Bumgarner wasn’t the most welcome sight for the Dodgers’ struggling offense, but his arm ended up being the lesser of LA’s worries. Kershaw has had a down year by his supremely lofty standards, but is still one of the best in the business. That is what makes what happened Thursday that much more surprising. The two lefty aces traded zeroes through the first two innings and it looked like it was going to be three when Bumgarner stepped to the plate with two outs in the third. AT&T Park erupted when MadBum launched the first pitch he saw from Kershaw over the left field fence to take a 1-0 lead. It was Kershaw’s first ever home run allowed to an opposing pitcher. Bumgarner is the incumbent NL Silver Slugger, but his 6 1/3 innings of shutout baseball were much more expected than this homer.
4. Pedro Alvarez Signs Up For Trick Shot Derby
If you saw last week’s top plays, you are aware of the little game of trick shot home run derby that Giancarlo Stanton has been playing by himself lately. This week showed that the mighty Marlin may have a partner in his game. Pirates’ fans had little to cheer for Tuesday afternoon. They were down 8-1 before the hot dog vendor even made his second rounds. However, that should not discount what Pedro Alvarez did for those who stuck around in the fourth inning. Alvarez took a 2-0 Ricky Nolasco offering and drove it deep to PNC Park’s right field. I should rephrase that. He drove it deep OVER PNC Park’s right field. Alvarez became the third player to reach the Allegheny River on the fly, the last being now-Yankee (and pitching “dynamo”) Garrett Jones. That wasn’t the trick shot part of it though. Not only did Alvarez’s shot leave PNC and clear the walkway outside the stadium, it landed square in a boat docked outside. Your move Giancarlo.
3. Aaron Hicks Does His Best Torii Hunter Impression, In Front of Torii Hunter
The Twins have defied pundits throughout the first two months of the season and are challenging for the AL Central lead. They’ve somehow done this while being in the middle of the pack offensively, pitching-wise, and defensively. This play from Saturday’s game though may have you rethinking their ranking in that last category. Minnesota was protecting a 4-3 lead when lefty specialist Aaron Thompson came in to relieve starter Trevor May in the eighth inning. The first pitch Thompson threw looked to be a troublesome one as Chicago’s Adam Eaton hit a tailing shot to deep center field. Aaron Hicks was unamused. He raced back across the entirety of center field to make a diving catch in the gap and sliding into the warning track. It was shades of Torii Hunter for Twins fans. That is what made it fitting that Hunter was flanking Hicks in right field at the time and came over for congratulatory daps following Hicks’ remarkable catch.
2. Randal Grichuk & Matt Adams Dual-Diving Double Play
There have been several outfielder started double plays here on Top of the Heap over the past month and change. However, all of those have come from the right side of the outfield. Randal Grichuk showed Thursday that the left side of the outfield needs some love too. The Mets’ offense has been struggling lately. They’ve fallen out of first place and are desperate to stop the bleeding. The Cardinals had no sympathy for them on Thursday. In the second inning, Michael Cuddyer led off with a walk. After an out, John Mayberry Jr. hit a ball towards the left field gap. Grichuk made a full sprint from his position in center field and dove to make the catch sliding into left. Showing great situational awareness, Grichuk fired a strike to first as Michael Cuddyer had strayed much too far off the bag. The throw wasn’t exactly on target, but hefty first baseman Matt Adams made a great play of his own to complete the double play and end the inning. Adams went full snow angel to snag the throw and keep the edge of his foot on the bag to retire Cuddyer. Time for the swerve. The Mets won 5-0 as Jacob DeGrom and Jeurys Familia combined on a two hitter and Lucas Duda went deep twice. That takes a little bit of the sting out of that play now doesn’t it Mets fans?
1. Houston Goes Around The Horn For A Triple Play
The Tigers were number one last week for their amazing infield work. They are part of the number one play this week, just on the other side of the coin. The Astros were down 2-1 and starter Lance McCullers was laboring in the fifth inning. The Tigers already had a run in the inning on a Jose Altuve error and were threatening for more with men on first and second and no outs. Ian Kinsler stepped up looking to make matters worse. He did make them worse, just not for the Astros. He chopped an 84 MPH McCullers pitch towards Jonathan Villar at third base. Villar got the easy out at third by taking a step back before throwing to Altuve for the another out at second. If they were going to turn three, it would be no easy task as Kinsler is fleet of foot. As you would expect though, Altuve atoned for his earlier error and delivered a howlitzer-like throw to Chris Carter at first to complete the triple play. The Astros would take the lead in the next half inning and not look back in an eventual 3-2 win.