May 14 MLB News and Notes

May 14 MLB News and Notes

Ryan Knupple
3 years ago
2 min read

One minute it’s opening day, and the next, it’s nearing the middle of May. The 2021 MLB season has started out with a lot of excitement and a number of surprise teams beginning to rise to the top. Let’s take a look at some of the recent headlines and noteworthy stories.

The Red Sox are Back

In true Red Sox fashion, the team has taken a poor season and come back with a big one in the following campaign. They went 24-36 in the shortened year and have managed to start 2021 off with a strong 23-16 record. They are currently atop the AL East and still don’t even have Chris Sale pitching yet.

The keys have been JD Martinez and Xander Bogaerts, the two hottest hitters in the AL for the first 39 games. They are leading the AL in hits, with Martinez having a league-leading 33 RBI’s. Rafael Devers is not far behind with 30.

Baseball is always at its best when both the Red Sox and Yankees are competitive. NY is still on their way to doing so, while Boston is looking dangerous out of the gates.

Mets Have Won Seven in a Row

What has gotten into these Mets? The Amazins had been struggling to hit consistently, and their pitchers having to take the brunt of the blame for narrow losses. They are finally coming around and looking like a team that can contend within the competitive NL East.

Francisco Lindor isn’t being booed as frequently and is perhaps showing the fans why he was signed to a 12-year deal prior to the beginning of the year. They have some real playmakers in JD Davis and Pete Alonso, two very capable offensive players.

Another thing that has really helped is the fact that Edwin Diaz is back as a top-tier closer. He led the majors in saves during his final season in Seattle. His warmup song, Narco, is back, and so is the swagger.

Shohei Ohtani Continues to Make Magic

Against the Astros on Tuesday, Shohei Ohtani did something you don’t see after high school baseball and might rarely see in college. He started the game on the pitcher’s mound, firing seven innings of one-hit ball. He struck out ten batters along the way, having a strong outing.

And then, after he was done as the starter, the team moved him into the right field. Ordinarily, this isn’t something we make a big deal of. But with Ohtani, this is huge. We also know that he had Tommy John two years ago, so the fact that he is now all the way back to the point that the team trusts his arm from the right field is huge.

Mike Trout has a .477 OBP, and the team also has David Fletcher and Anthony Rendon. But, because the rest of the staff is sub-par, the team has a losing record again. At 16-20, the LA Angels are at the bottom of the AL West. They will need to get better, and soon. If not, it’s another lost season for one of the best players in the world.

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