Come here, be careful with the snake that bites my feet
Benny moré
Ninth chapter in the Bronx. Rivals in the initial and in the intermediate and minimal advantage to defend on the scoreboard. Ice creams melt in children’s hands, beers warm in their parents’ hands. From the mound, Aroldis chapman (16S, 27,1IP, 6ER, 16H, 47K, 14BB, 1.10WHIP, 1.98ERA) takes off his cap and looks inside at the keys to the second set of signs that the mask uses from behind the plate. An alternative sign game, which is indecipherable when bet on the second cushion.
He pulls on the Chapman cap again, initiates his intimidating pirouette, and drops a tight straight down and in, so that the log player only produces a loose spin, parallel to the left limb. The third baseman then catches it without difficulty, steps on the cushion and passes the ball to the intermediate, on which the waiter pivots when releasing it in turn towards the initial, where it arrives before the runner. Five, four, three: triple play and screech screech, Yankees win over Athletics, 2-for-1.
As if from the inside of the cap, instead of encryptions, Chapman (IP, 2BB) had taken a huge white rabbit, a magician.
What happiness he produced the same in the stands as in the bench and the grass! And what a relieved smile of his, saved when the Oaklands had him on the ropes.
It was the Yankees’ third triple playthrough so far this year – the second with Chapman on the mound – a mark they had not achieved since 1903, when the Marines nailed the first posts at their Caimanera base.
As for the one in Holguín, the set was the icing on the cake for a week on which he threw the hardest fastball of the year, at 103.4 miles per hour, and in which he closed four duels: twice knocked out the Blue Jays of junior of the Gurriel, Lourdes (.255, 7HR, 13 2B, 23RBI, .672OPS), and two sang them an arrowroot and put the Athletics to sleep.
Who gives more?
In fact, apart from hundred homers reached by JD Martinez (.309, 14HR, 2 3B, 17 2B, 44RBI, .919OPS) with a Red Sox leading the AL East – albeit with only half a game over the Rays of Yandy Diaz (.246, 2 HR, 7 2B, 25RBI, .681OPS) and Randy Arozarena (.259, 10HR, 3B, 12 2B, 37RBI, .763OPS) -, and a couple of catches of those that cause arrhythmias and dilate pupils signed by “Candelita” Iglesias (.266, 5HR, 9 2B, 21RBI, .668OPS) with the downcast Angels, the most spectacular of the week happened on the mounds.
Two rookies, Vladimir Gutierrez (3-1, 3.86) with the Reds and Johan oviedo (0-2, 4.58) with the Cardinals, they threw the best ball of their fledgling careers, and a veteran, the rodón Rodon (6-2, 1.83), cemented his name as a leader in earned run average in the American League.
It does not matter that the last two did not win.
On Friday Rodón (7IP, ER, 3H, 8K, 3BB) left the Astros gasping for air for seven chapters with a slider that, like that snake that Benny sang to, bit his feet. On Wednesday Oviedo (7IP, 6H, 4K) he threw one strike after another (72.4% of their launches fell in the area) until the Fish were de-scaled, which ended up painted white. And on Monday Gutiérrez confused the twins, that of fifty times they threw the ball, they missed 14 (28%).
It was, therefore, an atypical week for the alligator in the brightest diamonds, with the serpentineros taking center stage.
Finally, mention of the duels staged by the White Sox with Rayos and Astros, in which we could see in action a couple of thirds of a hypothetical lineup Cuban if in Cuba the ñángaras del pececé did not send. Those of “Whistle “Abreu (.246, 12HR, 3B, 12 2B, 53RBI, .769OPS), Moncada (.277, 5HR, 14 2B, 33RBI, .803OPS) and Grandal (.166, 10HR, 2 2B, 24RBI, .762OPS) in two of the three leaders against the first, and ended up swept in four challenges by the second, with Yordan alvarez (.308, 9HR, 3B, 16 2B, 38RBI, .871OPS) and Yulieski Gurriel (.316, 10HR, 17 2B, 48RBI, .900OPS), anticipating an autumn more Cuban than the hunger that right now is in this bastard Island.
Picking up the bat and balls
In short: the palms of the week for the rabbit and the snake, for the one who painted the Fishes and for the one who confused the Twins.
In total: of those from the alligator, they are Yulieski Gurriel (7, leader), ‘Pito’ (5) and the other Gurriel, Lourdes Jr. (4), the ones who raise her the most for sacrifice.
We met last monday, we’ll see you next.
National League
THIS: NY Mets (36-29), Philadelphia (34-35), Atlanta (33-36), Washington (33-36), Miami (31-40) CENTER: Chicago Cubs (40-32), Milwaukee (40-32), St. Louis (36-36), Cincinnati (35-35), Pittsburgh (25-45) WEST: San Francisco (46-26), LA Dodgers (44-27), San Diego (42-32), Colorado (30-43), Arizona (20-53).
American league
THIS: Boston (43-29), Tampa (43-30), NY Yankees (38-33), Toronto (35-35), Baltimore (23-48) CENTER: Chicago White Sox (43-29), Cleveland (39-30), Kansas (32-38), Minnesota (30-41), Detroit (30-42) WEST: Houston (43-28), Oakland (44-29), Seattle (38-36), LA Angels (36-36), Texas (25-46).
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