Kuzul

It’s no secret Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester doesn’t like throwing over to first base when he’s on the mound. Knowing that, Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte decided to test the southpaw.

While it’s hard to blame Marte for doing so, it didn’t work out well.

Before this season, Lester’s last pickoff attempt had come early in the 2013 season. He broke the incredible streak by throwing over to first base against the Cincinnati Reds back in April. His first pickoff attempt that night went well, but his second throw over to first base resulted in an ugly error.

Lester may be in the process of getting over the yips, but he is still no Andy Pettitte when it comes to picking off runners.

In the bottom of the third inning of Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, Marte challenged Lester by taking off for second while the left-hander was staring right at him. To his credit, Lester didn’t panic. He calmly stepped off the rubber and fired a strike to first base. That gave the Cubs an opportunity to catch Marte in a rundown.

This marked the first time in four years that Lester had recorded a pickoff, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

It was a bold move by Marte to take off when he did, but it wasn’t necessarily bad baserunning. Running when Lester still had the ball forced the Chicago pitcher to either make a throw over or just throw the pitch. Knowing Lester’s reputation, there was no guarantee the pitcher was going to go for the pickoff—or even make a good throw.

This was just Lester’s night. The Cubs star picked up a win after throwing a complete game, allowing just one run on five hits in the 2-1 victory.

[MLB.com]

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Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon was one of the stars of his team’s 9-3 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night, which put him in a dancing mood.

Gordon didn’t wait until he got back to the clubhouse to dance, however. He broke out the popular “Hit the Quan” dance right there on the diamond—and had his teammate “film” him.

Gordon went 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.

[MLB GIFs]

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Shooting off fireworks for a home run is pretty common—when the dinger is hit by the home team.

Fireworks for a visiting player? Not so much. 

Well, that happened at Progressive Field on Tuesday night. And the fans didn’t like it one bit.

In the top of the fifth inning, Kansas City Royals right fielder Alex Rios crushed a solo shot to left field. The home run alone drew boos from the home crowd. But those boos grew louder when fireworks started to go off as Rios rounded the bases.

You had one job, fireworks guy!

Once the guy setting off the fireworks realized what he had done, he couldn’t help but be upset with himself. It’s not like Rios is a former Indian or something. The worker just had a lapse in concentration.

Rios’ homer gave the Royals a 2-0 lead.

[MLB.com]

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The NL East rivalry between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies doesn’t involve just the players—it extends to the mascots as well.

Before Tuesday night’s game, Nationals star Bryce Harper pulled a prank on the Phillie Phanatic, stealing the keys to the mascot’s ATV. That got the fun started.

The Phillie Phanatic came back to his vehicle only to find that he had no way of starting it. He did what he could to try to find out who took the keys, even getting the police and security involved.

Eventually, the Phillie Phanatic got his keys back and went on his way. He has until Wednesday night to find a way to get back at Harper with a prank of his own.

[MLB.com]

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Corey Seager may be the Los Angeles Dodgers’ top prospect, but he’s still just a rookie.

That means his teammates are going to mess with him when they get the opportunity. Saturday night was the perfect example.

In the top of the fifth inning, Seager crushed the 1-2 pitch from Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Josh Collmenter over the right-field wall for his first big-league homer. He was probably eager to celebrate the special moment, but when he got back to the dugout, all of his teammates were giving him the silent treatment.

It was all in good fun, of course. Dodgers players would eventually break their silence and congratulate the 21-year-old shortstop on his first career homer.

Seager‘s blast gave the Dodgers an 8-3 lead. The rookie went 4-for-4 with a walk, a home run, a double and three RBI in Los Angeles’ 9-5 victory.

[MLB.com]

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The Baltimore Orioles entered the bottom of the eighth inning of Friday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals trailing by two runs, but with the help of three big swings, they strolled into the ninth with a comfortable lead.

It helped that two of those big swings were grand slams.

Baltimore left fielder Nolan Reimold got the craziness started when he stepped to the plate with one out. He blasted a 2-0 pitch from Royals right-hander Kelvin Herrera off the foul pole down the left field line.

Just like that, a 6-4 deficit turned into an 8-6 lead. But the Orioles weren’t done.

Royals manager Ned Yost yanked Herrera in favor of Franklin Morales following the grand slam. Morales promptly gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Manny Machado. And it wouldn’t get any better for the southpaw.

Morales would not record an out in the inning, allowing all four batters he faced to reach base. Yost then turned to Joba Chamberlain to try to stop the bleeding, but that move didn’t work either.

Chamberlain walked the first batter he faced, and then, on a 3-2 pitch, the next batter, Steve Clevenger, crushed a grand slam over the wall in right-center field.

Boom. 14-6.

In a span of eight batters in the bottom of the eighth, the Orioles faced three different relievers and scored 10 runs without recording an out. Not bad.

According to Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com, this marked “just the eighth time in baseball history two grand slams have been hit by the same team in one inning.” After Friday, Baltimore is now the only team to accomplish the feat twice (1986 and 2015).

Kansas City scored two runs in the ninth, but its rally came up short. Baltimore took the victory, 14-8.

[MLB.com]

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Thursday’s game between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves was delayed before it ever started—possibly because they don’t have canoes at Turner Field.

Earlier this year, Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez filmed a torrential downpour flooding the Kauffman Stadium dugout. It was pretty much the same scene in Atlanta on Thursday.

Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki shared a video from the tunnel leading to the visitor’s clubhouse. To say that it’s raining in Atlanta would be an understatement.

In fact, the game appears to be in serious jeopardy. Just look at these images of the field tweeted by 92.9 The Game’s Grant McAuley and ESPN’s Adam Rubin:

They won’t be playing baseball at Turner Field any time soon. However, the grounds crew is doing what it can to get the field in playing shape:

The teams were finally able to play ball after a delay of two hours and 25 minutes.

[Twitter]

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Like many professional athletes, New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes decided he didn’t want to settle for just an ordinary car.

His car is unlike any other you will see.

TMZ Sports shared a great look at Cespedes’ customized ride. Think of the craziest customizations you can, and you still won’t be able to top the outfielder’s car. Not only is the car itself pretty decked out, but it’s also only got three wheels.

Cespedes is in line for a big payday this winter, so there may be more wild cars in his future. 

[TMZ Sports]

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New York Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes has arguably the best arm in all of baseball, but in order to show it off, he’s got to field the ball first.

That’s a problem he ran into during Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Nationals.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Nationals center fielder Michael Taylor stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and just one out. On an 0-1 pitch, he hit the ball back up the middle.

Trying to keep a second run from scoring, Cespedes went after the ball aggressively—a little too aggressively. He ended up missing it and had to watch it roll all the way to the wall. Mets left fielder Michael Conforto raced to the ball but was unable to keep Taylor from circling the bases.

Taylor was credited with a single and an RBI, with the other three runs scoring on the error. The “Little League grand slam” gave Washington a 7-1 lead.

Had it not been for the error, the Nationals would have only gotten one run on the play. Knowing Cespedes’ arm strength, Washington third-base coach Bob Henley was holding up Clint Robinson. But when the ball got past the center fielder, Henley’s arm turned into a windmill.

The Nationals, however, were unable to hold the big lead. New York tied the game in the seventh inning and took the lead with a run in the eighth. Cespedes made up for his miscue in the field with a three-run double during a six-run rally in the seventh.

The Mets held on to beat Washington, 8-7.

Bizarrely, this was the second Little League grand slam in less than a week. Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts hit one Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

[MLB.com, Washington Nationals]

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Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto hit two home runs against Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Taylor Jungmann on Tuesday night, but the ways he circled the bases couldn’t have been more different.

In the bottom of the second inning, Realmuto earned himself a home run trot with a blast over the left field wall. That long ball tied the game at 2-2.

Realmuto’s next trip around the bases was not as relaxing.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, he crushed the ball to straightaway center. It just missed getting out of the park and caromed off the wall. Brewers center fielder Domingo Santana gave a good effort on the play, but once the ball hit the wall and rolled into the grass, there wasn’t much of a chance to stop Realmuto from scoring.

Two home runs, two totally different methods.

Oddly enough, the ball Realmuto hit on the inside-the-park home run went farther than the one he lashed over the left field wall, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

It doesn’t matter how far the ball goes, though—a home run is a home run.

By hitting both a traditional homer and an inside-the-parker, Realmuto joined some exclusive company, per Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald:

The feat is even rarer for catchers, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

Realmuto now has nine homers on the season.

[MLB.com, Twitter]

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