Just Baseball Highlight Reel: April 23, 2022

Miguel Cabrera finally accomplished one of the rarest feats any hitter can dream to accomplish. He is now officially in the 3,000-hit club.

All you need to know about Cabrera’s hit and everything else that took place across the league on Saturday is right here in the Just Baseball Highlight Reel.

Game One: Rockies 0, Tigers 13

Yesterday’s game got rained out, so Miguel Cabrera had to wait 24 more hours than he likely wanted to, but he wasted no time against the Rockies today. In the first inning, Cabrera made history.

The Tigers rolled from there, as they racked up 20 hits as a team and piled 13 runs on the Rockies.

Giants 5, Nationals 2

The San Francisco Giants just find a way. In a game where they only had one extra-base hit, San Francisco was able to pile five runs on the Nationals. Alex Wood had another strong start for the Giants, pitching five innings with just two runs allowed. The Giants bullpen did the rest, putting up four scoreless frames to close out their 10th victory of the season.

Guardians 4, Yankees 5

Nestor Cortes had another great start for the Yankees on Saturday, pitching 6 1/3 with just one hit allowed and eight strikeouts. Unfortunately for Cortes, that one hit went a long way, as Josh Naylor hit a two-run shot to break a scoreless tie in the fifth.

The Yankees battled back in the bottom half of the fifth, tying the game before Josh Donaldson gave them a lead in the seventh with his second home run of the season.

The Guardians were not done though. Catcher Austin Hedges shocked us all when he hit his first home run of the season in the top of the eighth to put his team up by one.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Yankees tied the game on a double by Isiah Kiner-Falefa and then walked it off a batter later when Gleyber Torres drove in IKF with a single.

Pirates 0, Cubs 21

No this was not a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears, the Pirates actually gave up 21 runs in a baseball game.

Seiya Suzuki continued his hot start en route to becoming the Rookie of the Year favorite with a three-hit game. However he was just one of SEVEN Cubs with multi-hit games, five of which had three or more.

Rookie first baseman Alfonso Rivas had the best game of the bunch, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs. He also hit the only home run of the day for Chicago.

Brewers 5, Phillies 3

Zack Wheeler’s rough start to the season continued on Saturday. Last year’s runner-up in the NL Cy Young race made it unscathed through the first four innings and was even staked to a three-run lead.

The wheels came off for Zack in the top of the fifth inning, as he gave up four runs off five hits. Philly’s bats went cold, so those four runs proved to be enough to win the game, but Hunter Renfroe added an insurance run for good measure in the top of the sixth.

White Sox 2, Twins 9

If Vince Velasquez is making starts for you, it is time to question the depth of your starting rotation. Unfortunately for the Chicago White Sox, it was a typical Velasquez start on Saturday, where he allowed five runs on eight hits. He also gave up two home runs, both of which game in the fourth inning.

The Twins bullpen did not fare much better, as they came on in relief for Velasquez in the fourth and gave up two more runs before finally getting their team back to the plate. By that point, the deficit was insurmountable.

Rangers 2, Athletics 0

Games played in Oakland are boring. Probably because there is no fans in the stands and that just sucks any possible energy out of the ballpark. Only eight hits in this one. Two runs scored on a single by Brad Miller. Rangers win. No highlights.

Cardinals 5, Reds 0

The Reds are absolutely terrible. They move to 2-13 on the season and have now lost their last 11 games. St. Louis took advantage and won their second-straight game to take the series. They will look for a sweep on Sunday.

Blue Jays 3, Astros 2

The Blue Jays and Astros traded off home runs in the first inning. George Springer struck first, hitting a home run to lead off the game against his former team.

Alex Bregman returned serve, homering with a runner on base to put the Astros up by one.

Jose Urquidy was able to make that lead hold up for the Astros through five innings, but the Blue Jays finally got to him again in the top of the sixth.

Bo Bichette led things off with a single and then went first to third on a single by Vlad Guerrero. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. then tied the game with a sac fly. The Blue Jays would take the lead for good in the seventh, when Santiago Espinal hit what proved to be the game-winning home run.

Red Sox 2, Rays 3

The Tampa Bays Rays almost completed one of the craziest no-hitters of all-time. Six different pitchers held the Boston Red Sox hitless through nine innings, with just six strikeouts compared to five walks. Unfortunately their offense failed to score themselves.

Fast-forward to extras and the Red Sox finally put some runs on the board, scoring two thanks to a leadoff RBI triple by Bobby Dalbec (ghost runner scored) and a sacrifice fly. Once the no-hitter was off the table, the Rays finally decided to hit themselves.

After the first two batters struck out, Trevor Story made a throwing error that scored a run and extended the game long enough for Kevin Kiermaier to get one last at-bat.

He made the most of it.

Game Two: Rockies 3, Tigers 2

The Colorado Rockies were shutout in the first game of their doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, but wasted little time getting the scoring going in Game Two. Connor Joe led things off for Colorado with his third homer of the season.

The Rockies weren’t done with the home run ball for the day, as Charlie Blackmon hit one of his own two innings later that cashed in two runs.

Three runs was more than enough support for Austin Gomber, who pitched six scoreless innings and racked up eight strikeouts. Alex Colome nearly blew the save in the ninth, giving up two runs on a triple by Austin Meadows, but was able to hold on for the Rockies ninth win of the season.

Marlins 9, Braves 7

Jazz Chisolm is the most exciting position player the Miami Marlins have had in some time. The 24-year-old is dripping with swag and is finally getting the chance to shine in the leadoff spot for the Fish.

This game was chock-full of highlights, so there is almost too much to put in one reel. Ozzie Albies and Alex Dickerson both homered to give the Braves an early lead and Austin Riley added to it with a homer of his own in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Marlins weren’t done though and neither was Chisolm.

The young Marlins star got his team right back into the game in the top of the sixth, getting a clutch hit to drive in two. Then Jorge Soler gave the Marlins a lead, driving in Chisolm with a single.

The Marlins didn’t get a chance to enjoy their 6-5 lead however, as the Braves came right back with a few runs of their own thanks to Dansby Swanson.

Did you think that was the last highlight?! Nope!

The Marlins found a way to take this back-and-forth affair from the Braves, as Garret Cooper drove in two in the top of the seventh to put the Marlins ahead for good.

Mets 2, Diamondbacks 5

Take it from someone who had to watch this game, there were no highlights to be seen. The Diamondbacks scored early and often in what was a bullpen game for the Mets and New York was never able to get back into the game.

Dodgers 2, Padres 3

Who doesn’t love when these two teams square up?

Over the last couple of years, there are few matchups in baseball that have been better than the Dodgers vs. the Padres. This is the first series between these two teams this year and so far the matchup has lived up to the billing.

After the Dodgers won the first game on Friday night 6-1, the Padres battled back to even the series behind a great pitching performance by Yu Darvish. Darvish struck out seven and allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings pitched.

The Padres also drew first blood offensively, scoring a run on a Wil Myers sac fly in the first and then another on a Jake Cronenworth homer in the second.

San Diego’s offense stalled after Cronenworth’s home run, as they struggled to get anything going against the Dodgers bullpen. With Darvish out of the game, Trea Turner finally got the Dodgers on the board, driving in two runs on a double in the eighth.

The game ended up going to extras, where the Dodgers failed to score a run in the top half of the 10th inning. This opened the door for the Padres to move their ghost runner to third on a bunt, before scoring him on a sac fly to win the game.

At 4:10 ET, the Dodgers and Padres will square off one more time to decide the series in a rubber match. That might be the must-watch game of the day on Sunday.

Orioles 5, Angels 4

The Los Angeles Angels got two home runs from Mike Trout and they still lost?!

I know it seems impossible, but the Orioles actually jumped out to an early lead scoring two runs in the first inning off Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard settled down from there and Trout’s two solo home runs reset the ballgame, tying things up heading into the sixth inning.

The Angels were eventually able to take a lead in the game when Brandon Marsh hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Angels lead was short-lived, as the Orioles battled back in their next turn up. Aided by a throwing error on a potential inning-ending double play by Anthony Rendon, the Orioles were able to plate three runs to take a 5-4 lead.

Baltimore’s bullpen was able to finish the job from there, blanking the Angels in their final three at-bats.

Royals 7, Mariners 13

The Seattle Mariners put their fans through a roller coaster ride on Saturday night.

First, they jumped out to an early lead.

After giving up a run in the top of the first, shortstop J.P. Crawford quickly put the Mariners up with a two-run homer. The Mariners went on to build their lead by scoring three more runs over the next two innings.

Kansas City didn’t just fold though. The Royals battled back into the game, scoring three runs in the top of the fifth inning to cut their deficit to just one run. Seattle would tack on another themselves in the bottom of the sixth, but the Royals tied everything up when Carlos Santana homered in the seventh.

The Royals then took a 7-6 lead, when Edward Olivares doubled home Hunter Dozier after Santana’s home run. Seattle fans went from having a huge lead, to watching it evaporate, to seeing their team trail heading into the seventh inning stretch.

The Mariners rewarded all the fans that stayed to watch all nine innings, as they put on a show in the later innings. Ty France tied things back up in the bottom of the seventh, driving in Julio Rodriguez with his fourth single of the game.

France was not done either. In the next inning, he capped off a six-run rally with a three-run homer for his fifth and most impactful hit of the day. Effectively winning the game for the Mariners.