5 issues to know from the weekend in MLB: Aaron Decide, Shohei Ohtani and ... Pete Crow-Armstrong placed on a present

Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, 100 losses and … a man with a .220 batting common? It was an eventful weekend within the baseball world.

Let’s bounce proper into 5 main storylines from the weekend that was in MLB.

Aaron Decide can’t cease homering

Three video games, three extra residence runs for Aaron Decide, one of the best baseball participant on the planet.

Decide is at present on an absolute heater, with 9 homers in his previous 10 video games. He smacked two extra on Sunday at residence in opposition to the Colorado Rockies in a series-winning victory for his Yankees. Every time he connects for one, it is a fantastic mixture of awe and comedy. “No manner” rapidly turns into “after all he did.”

Until he will get harm or forgets the foundations, Decide is the runaway favourite for AL MVP. His second blast Sunday was his 51st of the year, which makes him simply the fifth participant in MLB historical past with three 50-homer seasons. The opposite 4 are both would-be Corridor of Famers stored out by steroid involvement (Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa) or actually Babe Ruth. Twelve extra homers, and Decide will break the American League document that he set in 2022.

And don’t neglect: Decide’s sensational season obtained off to a sluggish begin. By way of 35 video games, he had a .743 OPS and 6 homers. That’s a 28-homer tempo — productive for a lot of MLB hitters, woefully inadequate for Decide. Since that date, Decide has cracked 45 homers in 94 video games. Over a 162-game season, that’s good for a 77-homer tempo.

It feels irresponsible to explain Barry Bonds’ document of 73 large flies in a single season as “in attain,” however Decide is the primary participant in a very long time for whom that assertion doesn’t really feel like an absolute joke.

“If there’s any man within the league that may do it, I believe it’s going to be him,” Decide’s teammate Juan Soto informed reporters, together with MLB.com’s Brian Hoch, after Sunday’s win.

Shohei Ohtani goes 40/40 earlier than the tip of August

A yr in the past, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. grew to become the fifth participant in MLB historical past to crush 40 homers and steal 40 bases in the identical season, becoming a member of Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco in that unique membership. Lower than 12 months later, that membership has one other member: Shohei Ohtani, who grew to become the first player to notch the accomplishment before the end of August.

The Dodgers’ (momentary) designated hitter entered Friday’s recreation in opposition to Tampa Bay with 39 steals and 39 residence runs. He swiped second within the backside of the fourth after reaching on a single for his fortieth steal after which blasted a walk-off grand slam for his 40th homer. Los Angeles misplaced a squeaker to the Rays on Saturday earlier than successful the collection with a late cost Sunday.

There’s no query that the 40/40 membership has develop into much less unique with current modifications that make base-stealing simpler. Acuña, who stole 73 final yr, was in all probability getting there anyway. Perhaps that might’ve additionally been the case for Ohtani.

However a number of issues may be true: Going 40/40 is each simpler than it has ever been and nonetheless outrageously spectacular. It’s downright comical that when Ohtani realized he’d be out for this season as a pitcher after having elbow surgical procedure, he determined he’d steal a ton of bases as an alternative. To a point, it is smart. He has all the time had the velocity; now he has extra power and fewer disincentives.

Contemplating how rapidly he reached the mark, there’s an off-chance that Ohtani turns into the primary and solely member of the 50/50 membership.

Two shoo-in postseason teams going in different directions cut up a four-game set at Camden Yards over the weekend. Baltimore, which obtained off to a scorching begin this season, has been a middling endeavor for almost 10 weeks now. The O’s have a .500 document since June 11.

Houston, alternatively, has one of the best document within the American League since Could 1. If not for his or her horrible April — the ‘Stros went 10-15 that month — Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and crew can be within the combine for a playoff bye.

On Thursday, Astros rookie starter Spencer Arrighetti diced up the Birds within the opener, permitting simply three hits throughout six scoreless innings. In a postgame interview, the Houston-area child doubled down on his childhood membership’s resurgence, telling FOX Sports activities’ Ken Rosenthal that “The Astros are again.”

That proclamation appeared flimsy a day later, when Astros reliever Bryan Abreu surrendered a cacophonous, go-ahead grand slam to Anthony Santander within the eighth inning to ship Camden Yards a’rocking. It was an identical story Saturday, with the Astros dominating many of the afternoon till a bases-clearing, three-RBI double from younger buck Jackson Holliday gave the O’s a 3-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Late homers from Alex Bregman and the underrated Yainer Díaz helped Houston take the finale for a cut up.

Although each golf equipment left the encounter with two wins, Houston outplayed Baltimore for many of the collection. Ten of the 12 runs the O’s scored within the collection got here on three hits: Santander’s grand slam, Holliday’s double and a Ramon Urías three-run shot on Sunday. The Birds have actual issues within the ‘pen, nevertheless it all begins with their lineup, which has 5 weeks to seek out its mojo earlier than the video games actually begin to matter.

White Sox lose their a hundredth recreation

The substandard South Siders hold making historical past. With their 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, the Chicago White Sox reached the oh-so-horrible 100-loss plateau. Properly, “100-loss abyss” might be a extra apt description. Every loss is a strong reminder that this organization is in a dark and gloomy place.

The Sox, whose 21-game losing streak made national headlines earlier this month, are on tempo to complete the season 38-124. That may break the modern-era document for losses “held” by the 1962 Mets, a membership that misplaced 120 video games within the franchise’s first season.

Chicago beginning pitcher Jonathan Cannon, who earned the win within the membership’s landmark, schneid-stopping victory on Aug. 7, obtained cranked by the Tigers on Sunday. The rookie hurler surrendered eight hits and 4 walks in 4 innings. In the meantime, a hodgepodge of Tigers relievers restricted the Sox offense to 4 runs. Which, actually, was not the worst offensive displaying. The White Sox don’t rating 4 runs that usually.

Coincidentally, the White Sox are set to complete their unforgettable season with a three-game set in Detroit in late September. The 2003 Tigers maintain the American League document for many losses in a season (119) — may very well be destiny.

You can be forgiven for not being locked right into a Cubs-Marlins collection between the Nationwide League’s worst workforce (Miami) and maybe its most disappointing (Chicago). However one thing occurred Friday that ought to enter and stick in your mind.

Chicago rookie outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong raced around the sacks for an inside-the-park homer in just 14.08 seconds. That’s the second-fastest home-to-home time ever recorded and the quickest since a Byron Buxton 13.85-second mad sprint in 2017.

However whereas PCA has exceptional wheels that additionally enable him to play a few of the finest center-field protection in baseball, his bat has taken an enormous step ahead over the previous few months. Admittedly, the full-season numbers aren’t nice (.220/.270/.386), however the 22-year-old has tallied an OPS slightly below .800 since July 1.

That has come regardless of his being the sufferer of unhealthy batted ball luck over that span. PCA’s batting common on balls in play (BABIP) ought to, contemplating his velocity, be above the league-average mark of .300, however since July 1, he has a .255 BABIP.

All of the under-the-hood batted-ball and swing-decision metrics are additionally trending up for the electrifying younger speedster, who may very well be growing right into a core piece of the following good Cubs workforce.