It feels like summer just started but in reality it is rapidly coming to a close as to is the Major League Baseball season. Just a month and a half remain in the campaign and there is still plenty of playoff positions to be had (except the Central Divisions, we think those two Missouri teams got those deals all but locked up). As always, another week means another crop of astounding accomplishments across the baseball landscape. There were some great catches, tremendous offensive displays, and well, we won’t spoil it all here. Without further ado, here are the five plays that defined the week that was in baseball.
5. Michael Bourn Lays Out In The Dirt
Making a diving catch is one of the most surefire ways to get yourself onto any highlight reel. The timing and precision it takes along with the selflessness you need to fling yourself onto the ground or into a wall to record an out is more than commendable. Michael Bourn has made many of these catches over the course of his career, but not too many ended like one of his many stolen base attempts. Here’s some clarification of that last statement. In Sunday’s game against Arizona, Shelby Miller took a no-hitter into the eighth inning only to not factor in the decision. In the first inning however, he looked anything but a potential no-no thrower as he walked the game’s first two batters. The third would hit a fly ball down the left field line that could have potentially made a chalk cloud on the left field foul line. Michael Bourn didn’t leave any of that to chance. He raced from his left-center position as left-handed David Peralta was at the dish. He made it all the way to the ball and dove into the foul territory dirt to make the catch and slid into the wall like he was sliding into second base. The runners didn’t advance and Miller took over from there.
4. Kyle Seager Preserves The Iwakuma Gem
If you watched any baseball last week you can probably guess what the number one play is this week. Well, that couldn’t have happened without some cheeky glovework from his third baseman. In the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Orioles, Hisashi Iwakuma still had a no-hit bid going. The first batter of the inning, David Lough popped a ball into foul territory trying to keep his at-bat alive. The ball seemed to knuckle as it headed closer to the stands and descended precariously between third baseman Kyle Seager and shortstop Ketel Marte. Seager would get a beat on the ball at the last minute though and make a harder-than-it-looked basket catch to preserve the no-hitter deep in foul territory, even deeper into the game.
3. Jackie Bradley Jr.’s Big Day
The Red Sox 2015 season and Jackie Bradley Jr.’s career arc have had similar trajectories. Both started off with high expectations and have been subsequently followed with a lackluster payoff. However, the underwhelming play of the team took a back seat this past week to the unfortunate news that manager John Farrell was diagnosed with lymphoma and would take a medical leave for the remainder of the season. The Red Sox bats rallied behind their manager with two consecutive fireworks displays against the Seattle Mariners, a team that in the previous series…well wait for play number one. No player had a bigger day for the club than Jackie Bradley Jr. did in the second game, a 22-10 football score of a beating. Bradley not only had a banner day for the 2015 Red Sox, he had one that put him in the Red Sox and MLB history books. Firstly, ten of those 22 runs came off Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez in just 2 1/3 innings, the most he’s ever given up in his illustrious career. Bradley went 5-for-6 in the game with five extra base hits (two home runs, three doubles). At 25, he was the youngest player in MLB history to accomplish the 5 XBH feat and the first Red Sox player to do so. He drove in 7 runs in total, all from the NUMBER NINE hole in the lineup. JBJ, have yourself a day. Just to show what Bradley is normally known for, his defense, here’s him making a great catch in the Sox’ previous series against another set of M’s, the Marlins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwJvU5FbBfY
2. Enough With The Cycles Already!
We here at Top of the Heap enjoy the sport of baseball and all the history and excitement surrounding various statistical accomplishments that occur. With that being said, there is a cycle epidemic in the sport right now and it seriously needs to be curtailed. After two cycles in three weeks from the AL West’s Texas Rangers, we go to the NL West for a piece of San Diego history. Matt Kemp was one of many offseason acquisitions by the Padres meant to propel them into immediate contention. Well, that hasn’t entirely happened but the former Dodger did do something last Friday that no previous Padre had ever done. Hall of Famers Dave Winfield and Tony Gwynn could not put such a feat on their resume. Kemp’s cycle started innocuously enough with a nice Coors Field homer, making the Rockies’ ballpark stand alone as his second favorite park to go deep in for his career. He would follow that with a single and a double before coming to the plate in the ninth needing that illusive triple to seal Padre immortality. As with most cycles, and triples, he got a little bit of luck to help the cause. Kemp hit a ball to deep center off Justin Miller that was a guaranteed double. That was until the ball hit a lip on fencing on the wall and bounced over the head of Charlie Blackmon. Kemp sped to third, sliding in for a place in Padres lore.
1. Hisashi Iwakuma Throws An Afternoon Delight
An occurrence just as frequent as the cycle this season has been the no-hitter. There have been four of each in 2015, but have been in perpendicular patterns. The first three cycles came from AL hitters before Kemp’s broke that trend. The first three no-hitters came from NL pitchers before Iwakuma put forth his performance last Wednesday. Iwakuma not only broke the 2015 streak of no-no’s from the NL, he was the first AL pitcher in three years to complete the task with a stretch of 11 no-hitters from the senior circuit in the interim. The last AL pitcher to do so? Iwakuma’s teammate Felix Hernandez who tossed a perfect game in 2012 and got roasted in play number three earlier in the article. Iwakuma stifled the Orioles to become the second Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter at all as well as against the O’s (Hideo Nomo). He was the oldest hurler (34) since Randy Johnson threw one at age 40. Needless to say further, Iwakuma had quite the afternoon on Wednesday. The Mariners may not make the playoffs because of it, but at least he’s Top of the Heap.