9/28: Baseball

I made a bunch of new highlight reels from the last week or so of baseball:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022-2

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022-3

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022-4

This one starts with the Judge highlights from the Yankees/Red Sox game we went to at Yankee Stadium:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022-5

In this one, Trey Mancini makes his return to Baltimore for the first time the night before we saw the Orioles, Mookie Betts has a pinch hit RBI single to walk it off for the Dodgers 104th win, and Hayden Wesneski throws the first immaculate inning for the Cubs since LaTroy Hawkins in 2004. It finishes with an incredible play by Victor Robles:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022-6

On Friday September 23, we went to the Orioles game and everything went perfect, with Dean Kremer throwing a shutout to prevent the cheaters from getting their 100th win of the season and the Orioles won 6-0, Albert Pujols hit #700, Shohei Ohtani got his 14th win of the season and his 200th strikeout of the season, along with an RBI single, and Judge was continuing his chase for 61 vs. the Red Sox. All of that was happening on the same night, along with a bunch of other great highlights all around baseball. Here is the highlight video I made for that night:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-23-2022-friday-night

And I made several more from the other plays of the last few days, including Cleveland clinching the AL Central in their first ever year as the Guardians, and Vladi Jr. walking it off vs. the Yankees:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022-7

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022-8

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022-9

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-27-2022-10

I also put together two videos specifically of the recent Orioles highlights:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/orioles-9-17-9-23-2022

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/orioles-vs-red-sox-9-26-9-27-2022

And one of the recent Angels highlights, starring Ohtani and Trout:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/ohtani-trout-9-17-9-25-2022

9/21: Baseball

I figured out how to make highlight reel videos on the MLB website!! This is the first one I ever made, it's a collection of really good highlights from the past few days:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-19-2022

Some notes:

• Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals saved a one-run game with an immaculate inning, that's the highlight of him throwing gas about halfway through the video.
• I included the highlight of the Joey Meneses inside the park home run for the Nationals because it looks like the whole play is literally in slow motion. Haha the outfielder is just jogging way too slowly after the ball and keeps looking up to watch the runner, looking almost like he's waiting long enough to get the ball in order to let Meneses get all the way around, and Meneses is really chugging it around the bases. 
• Hunter Greene in the highlight near the end of the video made a masterful return from injury, looking again like he was at the start of the season. He went 6 scoreless innings with 0 BB and 11 strikeouts, 9 of them coming on pitches 100+ mph, the most ever recorded in a game in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008), and he threw 47 total pitches 100+ mph, obliterating his own record of 39 that he set in his second career start in the majors earlier this year. He also threw 30 pitches 101+, breaking that record too, and 8 of his 9 strikeouts that were 100+ were also 101+, absolutely smashing that record. In the pitch-tracking era, no other pitcher has thrown more than 3 101+ mph strikeouts in the same game!!

I also made a couple top play videos out of the highlights I posted in the second blog post I made on here. This is the first one:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-16-2022

That one features a lot of rookies making spectacular plays, and finishes on a trio of Mookie Betts magical highlights that came in back-to-back games. I also made this one:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/9-16-2022-2

That one finishes on a trio of Cubs pieces of defensive wizardry that all came in the same game in a win over the Mets. 

From September 5 to September 14, Julio Rodriguez had a run of repeated top highlights. It finished on him becoming only the third rookie in history to have a 25 HR/25 SB season with his 25th stolen base on September 14, which came only a couple days after his 24th and 25th home runs and the same game he hit home run #26. I made a highlight video of the Julio Rodriguez plays:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/julio-rodriguez-9-5-9-14-2022

C.J. Abrams is a rookie shortstop for the Nationals who they got in the Juan Soto trade. I posted about him in my second blog post on here after he absolutely exploded the other weekend with a bunch of ridiculous defensive plays. I put all those plays together in a highlight video:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/c-j-abrams

The Guardians vs. Twins recent five game series over the weekend was extremely dramatic and full of really good highlights. The Guardians won 4 of the 5 in a critical clash at the top of the AL Central that opened up a wider lead for the Guardians and effectively eliminated the Twins from contention for winning the division. They are now 8.0 games back of first place in the Central and the White Sox are 5.0 back. Those games came in the middle of a 9 game stretch of games for the Guardians vs. only the White Sox and Twins that was always going to decide the season, the Guardians have now gone 5-2 in those games and have 2 left, both vs. the White Sox. 

I made a highlight reel video of the top plays from the Guardians Twins series:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/guardians-vs-twins-9-16-9-19-2022

The video includes the Guardians walking it off in the 15th inning in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Amed Rosario got 4 hits in each of the two games of the doubleheader, becoming only the third player in the divisional era (since 1969) to have 4+ hits in both games of a doubleheader. He ended up getting the walk-off knock.

Finally, I made a highlight video of the Orioles top plays from the last few games. There was a lot of amazing stuff in the middle of this playoff push for the Orioles, even more Orioles magic. The highlight reel ends with the Orioles' desperately needed big comeback vs. the Blue Jays on Sunday:

https://www.mlb.com/video/00u85z3g7nqw9W8oH356/reels/orioles-9-19-2022

9/21: Premier League Week 8

After every game in the Premier League was postponed last weekend because of the death of the Queen, there were only 7 games this weekend because three of the fixtures were deemed to need higher levels of policing than could be afforded with the Queen's funeral going on, including the Manchester United vs. Leeds derby clash. But there were still some great highlights and goals, here are some of the best of them.

Fulham 2nd goal vs. Nottingham Forest:

https://youtu.be/DL0DWwgmMBQ?t=334

Fulham 3rd goal vs. Nottingham Forest:

https://youtu.be/DL0DWwgmMBQ?t=457

City 1st goal vs. Wolves:

https://youtu.be/8EzG9PW0NdI?t=108

Wolves vicious red card vs. City:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxkBG8J-lMjbPozye6Sthku4WAxYWdk6rw

City 3rd goal vs. Wolves:

https://youtu.be/8EzG9PW0NdI?t=482

Newcastle 3 chances in a row vs. Bournemouth:

https://youtu.be/bgP1ncKK_wg?t=248

Bournemouth goal vs. Newcastle:

https://youtu.be/bgP1ncKK_wg?t=330

Newcastle perfect through ball vs. Bournemouth:

https://youtu.be/bgP1ncKK_wg?t=423

Leicester really nice run that led to penalty vs. Tottenham:

https://youtu.be/Ai-ern3Phe8?t=84

Tottenham 1st goal vs. Leicester:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxxtGZ38ikw1zhpv1m5_g9fotCZHTbNwLY

Leicester 2nd goal vs. Tottenham:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxLkxWnDtyjhTkWowiAklMmhQyrYZRyoCV

Heung Min Son hat trick vs. Leicester:

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx2Of9Mc9SZl_qzpvUcCp86ZEmT_jJxPT8

Tottenham 5th goal vs. Leicester:

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx_NebMcKe8gqLSBrVJvB2L4Kd1ZBXp7n4

Tottenham 6th goal vs. Leicester:

https://youtu.be/Ai-ern3Phe8?t=808

Everton goal vs. West Ham:

https://youtu.be/7qNJ68efqUs?t=256

Arsenal 3rd goal vs. Brentford:

https://youtu.be/a8DIc1ESvEs?t=568

Arsenal 15 year old midfielder Ethan Nwaneri made his debut in this game and broke the Premier League record!!!! He was 15 years and 181 days old.

9/19: Europa League Week 2

Jadon Sancho goal vs. Sheriff Tiraspor (Manchester United win 2-0):

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx6p0SH7gle6M4DFvJ4Cxj1ivK2nHh6pjY

Trezeguet shot vs. Red Star Belgrade:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxAKWzUZtlMMVDwtn4jOUrIEF6p-Wcf8Ak

Trezeguet goal vs. Red Star Belgrade: 

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxWmMEwrLU849Ro4j1a1QuTwzZx1gsTvUY

Feyenoord 2nd goal vs. Sturm Graz:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxoO3PZYjy_PVZfQYE6qcLoUZYPggmnz4w

Feyenoord 3rd goal vs. Sturm Graz:

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxp9C2J_w9Vt_0_fnwQcDZrsNM5E6LYz1X

Real Sociedad 1st goal vs. Omonoia:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxBpXwlfO_gBzntA5P74WbVPPjiWpyJyf7

Malmo 2nd goal vs. Saint-Gilloise:

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx0ZI1a0NQSNMLOYa0BI3zk_Px9sfLTa-E

Real Betis 1st goal vs. Ludogorets:

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxy70Lj2ViM8tyHo6gunVKDvUfmRFvtPnF

Real Betis 2nd goal vs. Ludogorets:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxwCFw2-iepsvuDszZ21L-kPqQ5AiyPlaP

Ludogorets 2nd goal vs. Real Betis:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxlLi_7rKjZocopxB5wxAX7QEQcpAWZTjK

Fenerbahce 1st goal vs. Rennes:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxMBvsSC-LwVh1azuyuxcbLnacA0qESdGg

AEK Larnaca goal vs. Dynamo Kyiv:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxBuFH9YY-kwcgBOrWH0Pkc98JThPBsiz1

Midtjylland 1st goal vs. Lazio:

https://youtu.be/STkEcGRbxos?t=36

9/17: Champions League

Liverpool vs. Ajax was a really intense game. After being crushed 4-1 by Napoli on the opening day of the Champions League and starting off shaky in 7th place in the Premier League, Liverpool were desperate for a win. It started off well for Liverpool with this goal by Salah in the 17th minute:

https://youtu.be/s_qfbgMYCFg?t=41

But ten minutes later Ajax equalized, once again having one of the best goals of the week, with this absolutely smashed finish:

https://youtu.be/s_qfbgMYCFg?t=155

The rest of the way Liverpool had chance after chance but could not get the ball in the back of the net. This included a looping effort by Salah in the 88th minute that hit the very top corner of the bar and somehow stayed out:

https://youtu.be/s_qfbgMYCFg?t=523

Finally, unfortunately, on the resulting corner kick Liverpool broke through. They got a header that yet yet again looked like it had been miraculously cleared off the line, but it crossed the line before the defender blocked it out:

https://youtu.be/s_qfbgMYCFg?t=545

A huge roar went up and the Liverpool fans went wild, with the players running over and celebrating with the crowd.

But probably the best highlight of the whole week in the Champions League came in the Sporting Lisbon vs. Tottenham game. After a really nice early passing move counterattack for Sporting Lisbon that resulted in a chance at goal (the video doesn't show the whole counter):

https://youtu.be/iVGCbK7TvRA?t=42

This happened:

https://youtu.be/iVGCbK7TvRA?t=130

That is one of the nicest individual runs I've ever seen on a soccer pitch. It's such a shame that it didn't finish in a goal, but it shows how nice it was that I think it was the highlight of the week and it wasn't even a goal. That is Marcus Edwards, who I did not know at all until I saw that highlight. He's a 5'6" 23 year old English midfielder who plays for Sporting Lisbon, one of the few Englishmen who play abroad, he's been playing in Portugal since 2019 after coming up through the Tottenham Hotspur system. He's also of Greek Cypriot descent through his mother. It says Mauricio Pochettino compared him early on to a young Messi, and it's easy to see why, he has the ball on a string there so Messi-like.

Tottenham repelled waves of Sporting attack all game, including this really nice Hugo Lloris save in the 90th minute:

https://youtu.be/iVGCbK7TvRA?t=417

But Sporting finally broke through with a header goal on the resulting corner. And then they put it away with this really nice goal in stoppage time to win 2-0:

https://youtu.be/iVGCbK7TvRA?t=546

In their clash of the titans, Barcelona had tons of chances against Bayern Munich, but couldn't put any of them away, and they ended up losing 2-0. Stupid Bayern's second goal was really nice, another sudden burst from Sane:

https://youtu.be/WuJhr9QRoMk?t=425

In a David vs. Goliath matchup, Maccabi Haifa struck first against PSG with this wonderful goal:

https://youtu.be/TM2CXoCuCu4?t=88

And a few minutes later, it looked like they made it 2!! However, the goal was called off for offsides, and the game stayed at 1-0.

But unfortunately, PSG ended up eventually rolling over Maccabi Haifa with a goal each from the trio of Messi, Mbappe, and Neymar. Messi's goal came after really nice work by Mbappe on the wing:

https://youtu.be/TM2CXoCuCu4?t=177

In the second half, Messi returned the favor:

https://youtu.be/TM2CXoCuCu4?t=443

And late on, Neymar put the game away:

https://youtu.be/TM2CXoCuCu4?t=571

Messi looks like he was back at essentially his top level all game. He was all over the highlights with Messi stuff, like this run:

https://youtu.be/TM2CXoCuCu4?t=76

And this chance:

https://youtu.be/TM2CXoCuCu4?t=409

And his nice goal and assist.

After losing in a shock defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the opening game, Chelsea still do not have a win after they drew 1-1 with Salzburg. Raheem Sterling opened up the scoring with this goal after the ball trickled all the way through to him:

https://youtu.be/xTXXI6lPEhQ?t=177

But the Chelsea defense was sloppy here and Salzburg got the draw by putting away this nice goal:

https://youtu.be/xTXXI6lPEhQ?t=273

AC Milan beat Zagreb 3-1, and their 2nd goal was really really nice:

https://youtu.be/DlukpLPqbdw?t=332

Orsic scored again for Zagreb off this really nice passing move and gave them hope:

https://youtu.be/DlukpLPqbdw?t=415

But Milan put the game away off a really good give-and-go with an absolutely smashed finish:

https://youtu.be/DlukpLPqbdw?t=521

Things looked great for a long while in the Dortmund vs. City game after the 19 year old Englishman Jude Bellingham scored this wonderful little flick on header goal for Dortmund:

https://youtu.be/dfVSbOtsMOs?t=151

But stupid City came back to win it with two ridiculous goals after the 80th minute. First, the center back John Stones launched this rocket:

https://youtu.be/dfVSbOtsMOs?t=351

And then it was Haaland yet again, for already absurdly his 13th goal of the season, with this ridiculous goal:

https://youtu.be/dfVSbOtsMOs?t=419

In the Copenhagen vs. Sevilla game, this guy for Copenhagen had a sparkling run: 

https://youtu.be/dkjAa23Pk20?t=259

But he didn't score and the game ended 0-0.

The young 21 year old Ukranian left winger Mudryk was a star again for Shakhtar Donetsk in their game against Celtic, he looks really good. He got the equalizing goal on this sweeping counterattack:

https://youtu.be/0Wi5hQZf3nQ?t=163

And then soon after he got to the ball on the line and put in a perfect sliding cross for what would have been the go-ahead goal:

https://youtu.be/0Wi5hQZf3nQ?t=225

But it was called off because it went out right before he could get the cross in.

Leverkusen opened the second half against Atletico Madrid by hitting the crossbar and then the post on the same play:

https://youtu.be/o3I2a5Ht-sY?t=186

Later in the second half, Atletico had this really nice passing move:

https://youtu.be/o3I2a5Ht-sY?t=265

In Atletico Madrid's first Champions League game of the season against Porto, it was 0-0 until stoppage time, when all of a sudden the game went insane. Atletico scored in the first minute of stoppage time, Porto unbelievably equalized in the 6th minute of stoppage time, and then Atletico somehow ridiculously scored the winner 11 minutes deep into stoppage time.

In this Atletico game, it was again scoreless until the 84th minute, until Leverkusen took the lead with this goal:

https://youtu.be/o3I2a5Ht-sY?t=427

And then they put the game away 3 minutes later with this wonderful goal:

https://youtu.be/o3I2a5Ht-sY?t=483

Leipzig held Real Madrid until the 80th minute, until those idiots broke it open with this goal after great work by Vinicius Jr. on the wing:

https://youtu.be/RImjTlsNwzA?t=261

And then put the game away 2-0 with this preposterously nice goal:

https://youtu.be/RImjTlsNwzA?t=437

The Napoli Rangers match got very wild. The Napoli keeper came up with this really good save:

https://youtu.be/mYBqdMx0cvk?t=103

Napoli had tons of excellent passing moves and chances, including hitting the post, hitting the crossbar here: 

https://youtu.be/mYBqdMx0cvk?t=189

And lots of cool passing moves like this:

https://youtu.be/mYBqdMx0cvk?t=360

And then things got insane:

https://youtu.be/mYBqdMx0cvk?t=375

After the American James Sands was sent off for Rangers and Napoli got a penalty, the Rangers keeper saved the penalty but the Napoli kicker put in the rebound. However, in the most mind-bogglingly absurd decision in soccer history, the ref called off the goal because the keeper jumped off the line early for the save, even though Napoli scored, so doing so was directly rewarding Rangers for no reason for breaking the rule. And of course:

https://youtu.be/mYBqdMx0cvk?t=435

The Rangers keeper saved it again, and this time Napoli did not put it back in. So the game somehow completely unjustly stayed 0-0, until Napoli got another penalty:

https://youtu.be/mYBqdMx0cvk?t=503

And this time they put it away for good. Although the keeper almost saved it once again.

A Napoli player had this really nice run:

https://youtu.be/mYBqdMx0cvk?t=605

They won the game 3-0 with these two really nice late goals:

https://youtu.be/mYBqdMx0cvk?t=731

https://youtu.be/mYBqdMx0cvk?t=797

Benfica took down Juventus with a surprise victory. They really nicely hit the post in the first half:

https://youtu.be/4AB7YSXgBOQ?t=173

And came back to win it with this goal produced from a unique little improvised pass:

https://youtu.be/4AB7YSXgBOQ?t=373

Inter's first goal was nice vs. Plzen in a 2-0 win:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQMS7fm1m8Y&t=91s

9/16: Baseball #2

This was a nice running catch by the outfielder Jose Azocar of the Padres:

https://www.mlb.com/video/jose-azocar-s-running-catch 

This was an absolutely insane double play the Cardinals turned, which included hitting a runner with the baseball. The Pirates are wearing vintage Pittsburgh Crawfords jerseys here.

https://www.mlb.com/video/jake-woodford-in-play-out-s-to-rodolfo-castro

That same game, Oneil Cruz drilled this 2 run laser triple to left-center field:

https://www.mlb.com/video/miles-mikolas-in-play-run-s-to-oneil-cruz

This was a really nice double play started by a behind the back stop by the pitcher Mike Minor of the Reds:

https://www.mlb.com/video/mike-minor-in-play-out-s-to-nick-madrigal-4vivjh

Julio Rodriguez has been having a lot of highlight plays recently. First he made this really nice catch vs. the White Sox on September 5:

https://www.mlb.com/video/julio-rodriguez-s-diving-catch

Then on September 11 vs. the Braves, he hit this leadoff home run on the second pitch of the game:

https://www.mlb.com/video/julio-rodriguez-homers-24-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field

Then in the 9th, he tied the game 7-7 with this absolute laser 117.2 mph home run for his second home run of the game and his 25th of the year:

https://www.mlb.com/video/kenley-jansen-in-play-run-s-to-julio-rodriguez

The Mariners would go on to win 8-7 with a walk-off home run. Three days later, on September 14 he crushed another leadoff home run on the very first pitch of the game: 

https://www.mlb.com/video/julio-rodriguez-homers-26-on-a-fly-ball-to-left-center-field

And later in the game he stole his 25th base of the season, becoming only the third rookie in history with a 25/25 season. The other two were Mike Trout in 2012 and Chris Young in 2007.

https://www.mlb.com/video/julio-rodriguez-makes-history

For reference of how good Mike Trout is, Trout did it with 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases, while hitting .326, scoring 129 runs, and leading the league with 19 defensive runs saved in center field.

The rookie Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals made this excellent play at third in a tie game in the ninth:

https://www.mlb.com/video/bobby-witt-jr-s-dirty-defense

Another rookie, Steven Kwan has been starring with his glove this year, but he blasted this home run on 9/11 for his 4th of the year:

https://www.mlb.com/video/josh-winder-in-play-run-s-to-steven-kwan

Mookie Betts has apparently been playing a little 2B recently, because all of a sudden he was popping up at second with this really nice glove flip:

https://www.mlb.com/video/tyler-anderson-in-play-out-s-to-alek-thomas-2mmvnv

Later the same game, he was crushing this 3 run home run in the 9th for his 34th of the season:

https://www.mlb.com/video/mookie-betts-homers-34-on-a-fly-ball-to-left-field-justin-turner-scores-c

Then the very next night, he was back in right field doing his normal thing, running a mile to make this ridiculous sliding catch:

https://www.mlb.com/video/jake-mccarthy-flies-out-to-right-fielder-mookie-betts

Jose Siri, a 30.3 sprint speed guy, made this absurd catch in center field for the Rays flying into the wall in a Wild Card showdown vs. the Blue Jays:

https://www.mlb.com/video/yonny-chirinos-in-play-out-s-to-teoscar-hernandez-we5b4h

Riley Greene, the rookie center fielder for the Tigers who has been relentlessly making unbelievable catches this year ever since making his debut on June 18, made yet another one on Tuesday with this absurd diving catch at the warning track:

https://www.mlb.com/video/andrew-chafin-in-play-out-s-to-alex-bregman

George Springer made this unreal catch in center for the Blue Jays, somehow still catching the ball despite his teammate flying right in front of him:

https://www.mlb.com/video/ross-stripling-in-play-out-s-to-corey-seager

Nick Pratto, the rookie first baseman for the Royals, made this really nice underhanded toss from the ground to get the guy at first:

https://www.mlb.com/video/scott-barlow-in-play-out-s-to-ryan-kreidler

After tying the record last week, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina broke the record for most starts together as battery-mates with 325 on Wednesday. It was cool to see Christian Yelich at the plate looking good in his uniform take the first pitch all the way for a perfect strike in the upper outside corner of the strike zone, it was a really nice moment:

https://www.mlb.com/video/wainwright-molina-break-record

In the 3rd inning of that game, Wainwright struck out Andrew McCutchen and Molina threw out Kolten Wong for a strike-em-out/throw-em-out double play to end the inning:

https://www.mlb.com/video/andrew-mccutchen-strikes-out-swinging-and-kolten-wong-caught-stealing-2nd

The same night, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. absolutely crushed his 100th career home run:

https://www.mlb.com/video/vladimir-guerrero-jr-homers-28-on-a-fly-ball-to-left-center-field

Jose Ramirez also absolutely crushed a home run Wednesday night, his coming in a 3-3 tie game in the bottom of the 8th vs. the Angels to win it 5-3:

https://www.mlb.com/video/jose-ramirez-homers-27-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field-amed-rosario-s

For the Cubs that night, rookie shortstop Chrsitopher Morel made two really nice plays, an improvised barehanded play and an amazing sliding play:

https://www.mlb.com/video/christopher-morel-s-great-defense

The Cubs' defense shined all over, as Michael Hermosillo made this insane catch in center in the ninth with his teammate Seiya Suzuki literally crashing into him:

https://www.mlb.com/video/mark-leiter-jr-in-play-out-s-to-eduardo-escobar

The Cubs hung on and beat the Mets 6-3.

Jorge Mateo made two more really nice plays that night vs. the Nationals, but they are so routine for him now that neither one is on the highlights page. 

But the main highlight of that game was the wild 3 run inside the park home run for Gunnar Henderson, more Orioles magic:

https://www.mlb.com/video/mason-thompson-in-play-run-s-to-gunnar-henderson

And then Mateo blasting the very next pitch of the game into the stands, and all of a sudden we'd broken the game open:

https://www.mlb.com/video/mason-thompson-in-play-run-s-to-jorge-mateo

C.J. Abrams is a rookie shortstop for the Nationals who they got in the Juan Soto trade. Recently, he has been exploding on defense. First, there was this nice play throwing across his body on August 15:

https://www.mlb.com/video/franmil-reyes-grounds-out-shortstop-cj-abrams-to-first-baseman-luke-voit

Then this weekend, he made an incredible play each day. 9/9:

https://www.mlb.com/video/patrick-corbin-in-play-out-s-to-alec-bohm-przwpg

9/10:

https://www.mlb.com/video/erick-fedde-in-play-out-s-to-jean-segura-pzx9pf

And 9/11:

https://www.mlb.com/video/bryson-stott-grounds-out-shortstop-cj-abrams-to-first-baseman-luke-voit

He also made a really impressive play on Wednesday vs. the Orioles, but just like Mateo it isn't on the highlights page for some reason.

Another rookie who has been starring of late is Oscar Gonzalez of the Guardians. He has been on a home run tear the last week, and he really distinctively goes down and gets the ball and blasts home runs.

Both in the same game September 9:

https://www.mlb.com/video/oscar-gonzalez-homers-6-on-a-line-drive-to-left-field-jose-ramirez-scores

https://www.mlb.com/video/oscar-gonzalez-s-two-run-homer-7

9/13:

https://www.mlb.com/video/jose-suarez-in-play-run-s-to-oscar-gonzalez

9/14:

https://www.mlb.com/video/oscar-gonzalez-homers-9-on-a-fly-ball-to-left-center-field

9/16

This was a great article I read about Munetaka Murakami and his home run chase in Japan the night before he got to 55 and tied Sadaharu Oh for his hallowed Japanese-born single-season home run record:

https://www.mlb.com/news/munetaka-murakami-nearing-home-run-record-in-japan

I've just now been learning all about him. He's a 22 year-old third baseman who's been having an insane season in Japan, and his home run chase has been going on at the same time as Judge here.  

Earlier this year, Murakami hit 5 straight home runs in 5 straight at bats and broke the record in Japan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0kkuHzYY9o

And this was a really good video about Murakami and Roki Sasaki, the 20 year old pitching phenom who threw a perfect game earlier this year and threw 8 perfect innings in his next start before he was pulled, and the historic seasons they are both having:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPDaSpGFFvU

Meanwhile, in his last start Ohtani came up against the Astros again for the last time this season, and continued his shutting down of the team with the best record in the American League. On Saturday (September 10), he went 5 innings with 1 run and 7 strikeouts vs. the Astros before he was pulled with a blister problem. In the bottom of the 3rd, he got a strikeout to end the inning on a 101.4 MPH fastball, the fastest pitch of his career:

https://www.mlb.com/video/ohtani-throws-101-4-mph-pitch

Here are the highlights of the whole game:

https://www.mlb.com/video/angels-vs-astros-highlights-x6381

https://www.mlb.com/video/shohei-ohtani-strikes-out-seven-x1715

The same game, Mike Trout was in the middle of his home run streak and crushed a 3 run home run for his 34th of the year to make it 6 straight games with a home run at that point:

https://www.mlb.com/video/mike-trout-homers-34-on-a-fly-ball-to-left-field-max-stassi-scores-luis-r

Exactly a week before, on September 3 Ohtani went 8 innings, 1 run and shut down the Astros, and the Angels won 2-1. In total, Ohtani utterly dominated the Astros this year, starting from Opening Day and never looking back. Here are his five starts against the Astros this season:

4/7: 4.2 innings, 1 run, 9 strikeouts

4/20: 6.0 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 12 strikeouts

7/13: 6.0 innings, 1 run, 12 strikeouts

9/3: 8.0 innings, 1 run, 5 strikeouts

9/10: 5.0 innings, 1 run, 7 strikeouts

That start on April 20 was probably the most electrifying, dominant start I've ever seen in a non-complete game. Ohtani took a perfect game into the sixth striking out Astros left and right with the nastiest stuff you could possibly imagine. For good measure he went 2-4 at the plate with 1 BB, 1 R, and 2 RBI, including slamming a double off the wall with the bases loaded, and the Angels won 6-0. 

https://www.mlb.com/video/angels-vs-astros-highlights-x6782

https://www.mlb.com/video/shohei-ohtani-s-dominant-game

In all, Ohtani allowed only 4 runs in 29.2 innings this year vs. the Astros, which is a 1.21 ERA, with about 6 innings per start and 45 total strikeouts, for 9 strikeouts per start at 13.7 K/9.

Ohtani's next start is tomorrow, Saturday September 17 vs. the Mariners.

That last start, where he threw the fastest pitch of his MLB career, was the same night Pujols hit 696:

https://www.mlb.com/video/top-of-the-order-9-10-22

The next day, on 9/11 Pujols hit #697, and the Orioles lost to the Red Sox 1-0. But if you go to 1:06 in the highlights video, Mateo had a cool play:

https://www.mlb.com/video/orioles-vs-red-sox-highlights-x8888

He chases down a guy to complete a nice double play, showcasing his elite speed.

The MLB write-up of the Angels game on 9/11 came with this headline: "Shohei Ohtani hits 34th home run...a day after his 12th pitching win."

https://www.mlb.com/news/shohei-ohtani-hits-34th-home-run-vs-astros

Ohtani also hit a double that game. He is now at 188 strikeouts on the mound with 34 home runs at the plate, so he is very close to becoming the first player in history to have 30 home runs as a hitter and 200 strikeouts as a pitcher in the same season.

In other news, Zac Gallen's consecutive scoreless innings streak on the mound ended on Sunday (9/11) at 44 1/3, the 7th longest in the Live Ball Era. He pitched three more scoreless innings at Coors Field before finally giving up a run. Ultimately he went 6 innings, 3 runs, 11 strikeouts and the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies 12-6. Now, the only pitchers with a longer streak in the Live Ball Era are Orel Hershiser, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson, Zack Greinke, Carl Hubbell, and Sal Maglie.

https://www.mlb.com/news/longest-scoreless-inning-streaks-in-history

The last time he allowed a run was in his start against Cleveland on August 2, and his birthday was August 3 when he turned 27, so he hadn't allowed a run yet at age 27 for well over a month.

https://www.mlb.com/news/zac-gallen-d-backs-consecutive-scoreless-innings-record

He is now 12-2 on the year with a 2.50 ERA.

On top of everything else, Oneil Cruz is a 30 sprint speed guy!! He's listed at 30.0 ft/sec, one of only 11 players in the majors on the Sprint Speed Leaderboard at 30 or higher. Since making his 2022 debut on June 20, in just two months the 6'7" shortstop set the Statcast records for exit velocity (122.4 mph) and infield arm speed (97.8 mph). And apparently he's also almost the fastest player in the league.

On Tuesday, the Dodgers clinched the NL West division title by winning 4-0 and going to 98-43. Haha just wonderful.

I suddenly thought of the question the other day of whether twins had ever played for the Twins together. So I looked it up and apparently there have been 10 pairs of twins who both played in the majors in history. None of them played on the Twins at the same time, but there have been some interesting things. Stan Cliburn and Stew Cliburn were twins who both played for the Angels in the 80's, though not at the same time. Years later, Stan was the manager of the AA New Britain Rock Cats from 2001-05, and Stew was his pitching coach. Then from 2006-08, the twins held the same positions in AAA for the Rochester Red Wings. The major league team both of those teams were the affiliate of? The Twins.

Also, there is a pair of twins who are both in the major leagues right now, relief pitchers Taylor and Tyler Rogers. When Tyler made his debut in 2019, he pitched just a few minutes after Taylor had gotten a save for the Twins. Taylor played for the Twins every year of his career from 2016 until he moved teams this year.

In addition to all of that, the twins Marshall and Mike Edwards who played in the 70's and 80's had a younger brother Dave who also played in the majors, for the Twins.

https://www.mlb.com/news/twin-brothers-in-mlb-history

After an off day yesterday, starting today the Orioles have 20 games in 20 days, with no days off until the last day of the season.