Best- Shane Bieber SP Indians – 8IP 3H 0ER 0BB 13K 1W
Shane Bieber is lighting the world on fire, and no team can do anything about it, not even the mighty Twins. Bieber followed up his brilliant performance on opening day (6IP 4H 0ER 1BB 14K 1W) by having an even better pitching performance on Thursday. Bieber shut down the Twins, a team that has scored the 4th most runs in the league this season.
Bieber’s start in the 2020 season has tied the major league record of 27 strikeouts in two games. In 1954, Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers set this record, which has stood for 66 years until last night. Bieber tied Spooner’s record and will now have his name listed in the record books.
The three hits that Bieber gave up were all singles, which is a feat when you are up against the Twins’ high-powered offense. But to keep them from leaving the ballpark is mind-blowing. If this staff continues to pitch at this pace, Cleveland might be the team to beat in the AL. Pitching has always been the most significant factor in playoff matches, and right now, Cleveland has the best pitcher in the league.
Other Notables: Teoscar Hernandez OF Blue Jays – 3-4 2R 2RBI 2HR; Marco Gonzalez SP Mariners – 6.1IP 3H 0ER 1BB 6K 1W; Christian Vazquez C Red Sox – 2-4 2R 3RBI 2HR; Max Fried SP Braves – 6.2IP 3H 1ER 1BB 7K; Miguel Cabrera 1B Tigers – 2-4 2R 2RBI 2HR.
Worst- Ronald Acuna OF Braves – 0-4 0RBI
Ronald Acuna is one of the best players in all of baseball, a title he earned after only two big-league seasons. He has compiled an impressive record (267G 205R 302H 67HR 165RBI 53SB .287AVG) and has become the leader of the Braves franchise at the age of 22. But Acuna’s start to the 2020 season has been flat out awful.
Acuna went 0-4 on Thursday night, giving him a batting average of .143 to go along with 0HR and 0RBI to start this 2020 campaign. The Braves were able to win the game with a strong performance from their SP Max Fried, but the offense overall was only able to muster up two runs. Sitting at 4-3 on the season, the Braves are only leading the league by one game. Acuna will surely shake off this cold streak going, but a full week with no RBI’s and no HR’s from your best player can be disheartening, especially with Acuna batting leadoff. It may be time for the Braves to change the lineup and push Acuna back in the order and see if that jolts the Acuna of old back to the plate.
Other Trash: Hyun-JIn Ryu SP Blue Jay – 4.1IP 9H 5ER 1BB 5K 1L; Josh Donaldson 3B Twins – 0-4 3K; Tyler Rogers RP Giants – 1.0IP 3H 5ER 1BB 2K 1L; Edward Olivares OF Padres – 0-5 4K, Hansel Robles CP Angels – 0.1IP 2H 4ER 2BB 0K 1L.