Best – Charlie Blackmon OF Colorado Rockies – 3-4 1R 3RBI
The Colorado Rockies came into the 2020 season in a tricky spot. They recently gave Nolan Arenado an eight years, $260 million contract extension. This locks up Arenado until 2026, but it also ties up the Rockies financially. After a lackluster 2019, the Rockies went 71-91, the front office rumors of buyers remorse, and a rebuild started swirling during the offseason. Nothing ever came of these rumors, and as it stands right now, the Colorado Rockies are 1st in the National League West hold the best record in the league at 11-3.
Much of this season’s success is due to the excellent play of their star OF Charlie Blackmon. Blackmon is off to a blistering start offensively with a season batting average of .423, with 15RBI and 3HR, and Saturday night was much of the same against the Mariners. This raised his batting average to an unworldly .446, which is the second in the MLB behind Donovan Solano, who holds a batting average of .462. Saturday’s win was the Rockies’ 8th win in a row. Blackmon and the Rockies look primed and ready to make 2020 a year to remember.
Other Notables: Zach Plesac SP Cleveland – 6IP 0ER 7K 1BB 1W; Aaron Judge OF New York Yankees – 3-4 2R 2RBI 1HR; Jake Arrieta SP Phillies – 6IP 0ER 6K 1BB 1W; Miguel Cabrera 1B Tigers – 3-4 2R 3RBI 1HR; Anthony DeSclafani SP Reds – 6IP 0ER 6K 1BB 1W.
Worst – Derek Holland SP Pirates – 5IP 9ER 6K 1BB 1L
The Pirates didn’t have any high hopes for this season, which is good because if they did, Derek Holland’s performance might have crushed those hopes. Holland gave up five earned runs in the top of the first inning alone, four of them home runs; the rest of the game did not improve.
The Pirates went on to lose to the Detroit Tigers with a final score of 11-5, which now put the Pirates record at 3-12. Again, nobody expected the Pirates to be great, but the Tigers were also projected to be worse. I will give Holland credit for getting five innings; most other teams would have yanked him after the first inning.
Extra Trash: Beau Taylor C Cleveland – 0-4 4K; Drew Anderson RP White Sox – 1.1IP 6ER 2BB 2K 1L; Marcell Ozuna OF/DH Braves – 0-4 3K; Clayton Kershaw SP Dodgers – 4.1IP 4ER 6K 1BB 1L; Jon Jay OF Diamondbacks-0-4 3K.