Every Sunday, The Trailing Runner recaps the past week’s biggest headlines and most exciting performances. On Mondays, keep an eye out for The Leadoff, which breaks down the week ahead.
History is Made!
On Saturday, April 23, Miguel Cabrera became the 33rd player in MLB history to collect 3,000 career hits. He also became the seventh player in history to have 3,000 career hits and 500 home runs! The milestone occurred in the first inning of a home game against Colorado on a hard-hit single off of Antonio Senzatela to right field, and it’s hard not to have a huge smile on your face when watching this.
WELCOME TO THE 3,000-HIT CLUB 👏
Miguel Cabrera. Historic achievement. pic.twitter.com/0y9dYu9GBA
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 23, 2022
Miggy is the first Venezuelan player to ever reach this milestone in MLB history and adds another notch to his first-ballot hall of fame career. Cabrera made his debut in 2003 as a member of the Miami Marlins and quickly became one of the most feared hitters in the league. Cabrera has a career .310/.387/.532 slash line with 502 home runs and 1807 RBI. He’s won two MVP awards, seven Silver Slugger awards, and was the heart of the dangerous Tigers teams in the early 2010s.
Congratulations to Miguel Cabrera on this great accomplishment! We look forward to watching him and the Tigers for the rest of the season.
The Aces Are Back
The 2022 season started with some inconsistent pitching. Many of the arms who were expected to be aces struggled out of the gate, and concern grew that the shortened spring training would have a serious effect on these arms. This past week seemed to calm some of those worries:
- Kevin Gausman: 8 IP, 1 ER, 8 K
- Brandon Woodruff: 6 IP, 0 ER, 9 K
- Corbin Burnes: 7 IP, 2 ER, 10 K
- Max Scherzer: 7 IP, 1 ER, 10 K
- Max Fried: 7 IP, 0 ER, 8 K
- Carlos Rodón: 5 IP, 0 ER, 8 K
- Shohei Ohtani: 6 IP, 0 ER, 12 K
Every single start concluded with eight or more strikeouts. Nasty. For fans, these performances had to quell some fears that their aces had lost a touch. Names like Justin Verlander and Pablo López are continuing to impress as well, quickly showing that age and/or injury woes are behind them. We also can’t ignore Andrew Heaney’s dominance (although he is on the IL, for now), as well as the Rays taking a combined no-hitter into the tenth inning. And keep an eye on Carlos Carrasco, who looks to be flashing some vintage Cookie skills as he went 7.2 with 2 ER and 7 K against the Giants on Thursday.
This isn’t to say that the pitchers listed will collect eight or more strikeouts for every start or that all shortened spring training concerns are behind the league. And there are certainly still some arms that are finding their stride. However, it’s great to see some of the premier arms performing how we expect them to. As the weather continues to heat up, let’s hope these aces continue to shine.
Offense Galore
As the pitchers have woken up, so have the bats. The third week of the season is through, and the mashers have arrived. Ty France, Salvador Perez, Kyle Schwarber, Wander Franco, and Daulton Varsho all hit three home runs this week alone. This Kyle Schwarber home run is especially insane:
Kyle Schwarber just hit a solo homer into the third deck in right field. 468 feet. 110.3 mph. Game tied. pic.twitter.com/Y4chNcJcFY
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) April 20, 2022
Here are some other offensive highlights:
- To give some more love to Ty France, on Saturday night, he went 5/6 with 3 runs scored, 1 home run, and 5 RBI
- On Wednesday, The Angels and Guardians batted around against the Astros and White Sox en route to 6-0 and 11-1 victories, respectively.
- The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 21-0 on Saturday. Willson Contreras and Jonathan Villar both went 3/5 with 3 RBI, but don’t forget about Alfonso Rivas, who collected 5 RBI on the day.
- The Young Marlins are making some noise! Jazz Chisholm Jr. collected 5 runs, 2 homers, 8 RBI, and 3 steals this past week. Jesús Sánchez has been sneaky good this season, with a .340 average, 3 homers, and 9 RBI. On Thursday, he went 2/3 with 3 runs scored, a home run, and an RBI.
- Mike Trout is back after getting hit in the hand and proved his health by smacking 2 home runs on Saturday night.
- Brandon Crawford and the Giants continue to defy Father Time as he hit .310 this week with 3 runs scored and 7 RBI.
Injury Updates
The injury bug has been making its way around MLB. Here are some updates on some of the top names:
- Salvador Perez was hit in the hand by a pitch on Saturday night against the Mariners, but x-rays came back negative and Perez should be back in the next few days
- On Saturday, John Means announced he will be undergoing Tommy John surgery and will be out for the rest of the season.
- Blake Snell was scheduled to throw a simulated game yesterday as he returns from groin tightness. Keep an eye on the news as he aims to return in May.
- Jonathan India ran the bases on Friday, which leads some to believe he should be able to return on April 26 from a hamstring strain.
- Also, on Friday, Shane Baz continued to throw as he returns from arthroscopic elbow surgery. He won’t be back until around June, but it’s a good sign.
- Luis Robert suffered a groin strain on Thursday and has not played since. Though he is not on the IL, continue to monitor how La Russa and the White Sox handle the injury.
- Mike Clevinger will be throwing another rehab start on Tuesday as he looks to return for the Padres. So far so good, with 10 strikeouts and 1 run over 5 combined innings in two other rehab starts.
Around the League
- The Blue Jays are atop in the AL East with an AL-best 10-5 record, though the Yankees only trail one game behind. Cleveland leads the Central with a 7-7 record, but the Twins and White Sox are close behind. The Mariners sit at the top of the AL West with a 9-6 record.
- The New York Mets have the best record in the NL and are commanding the NL East with an 11-5 record. The Cardinals hold a 9-4 record and the number one spot in the NL Central, though the Brewers only trail one game. The Dodgers are atop the NL West with a 10-4 record, but the Giants are only .5 games behind with a 10-5 record.
- Nolan Arenado leads all hitters with 1.5 fWAR. Manny Machado is close behind with 1.3 fWAR.
- Kevin Gausman currently leads all pitchers with a 1.0 fWAR.
Featured image by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)