MLB: Judge, Stanton, Votto nearing historic marks
For Joey Votto and Giancarlo Stanton, Tuesday night was one of joy and continued success. For Aaron Judge it was one of extended failure.
Votto may have gone zero for two, but he walked three times in the Cincinnati Reds' 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. It marked the 20th straight game in which he has reached base at least twice. He is one game away from tying the modern record of 21 straight games set by Ted Williams in 1948.
Votto has been one of the most consistent producers in MLB since his career began, and while he often flies under the radar in Cincinnati, he is a favorite of both old and new baseball pundits.
One of the biggest reasons is because of his ability to get on base. Of Votto's 11 major league seasons, the 33-year-old has had an on-base percentage (OBP) of .400 in nine of those seasons. His OBP in 2017 currently stands at .448 and a lot of that has to do with his last 20 games.
As for Stanton this is becoming a broken record. The Miami Marlins outfielder homered for the sixth straight game in a 9-4 loss to the Giants. This was his 11th home run in his last 12 games. Stanton is the first player since Nolan Arenado to homer in six consecutive games (2015). Stanton has 18 homers since the All-Star Break, matching the Marlins single-season record (set by him in 2012).
Now we get to the dubious streak of the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge. While Judge did go one for three with a walk in Tuesday night's 5-4 win over the New York Mets, he struck out yet again marking the 32nd consecutive game he has recorded a strikeout. That ties Adam Dunn (2012) for the most consecutive games with a strikeout in MLB history.
While Votto and Stanton want to do all they can right now to keep their streaks going, Judge is doing everything he can to end his.
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Arizona Diamondbacks 4-9 Houston Astros
New York Yankees 5-4 New York Mets
Washington Nationals 3-1 Los Angeles Angels
Toronto Blue Jays 4-6 Tampa Bay Rays
Boston Red Sox 10-4 St Louis Cardinals
Miami Marlins 4-9 San Francisco Giants
Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 Pittsburgh Pirates
Texas Rangers 10-4 Detroit Tigers
Chicago Cubs 1-2 Cincinnati Reds
Minnesota Twins 1-8 Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies 3-4 Atlanta Braves
Oakland Athletics 10-8 Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 Chicago White Sox
Seattle Mariners 3-1 Baltimore Orioles
San Diego Padres 8-4 Philadelphia Phillies
SANTANA ROCKS CLEVELAND
Carlos Santana does two things very well. He walks and he hits home runs. He did both on Tuesday night. In fact, he did both twice.
The Cleveland Indians first baseman went three for three with two home runs, two walks and three RBIs in their 8-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. He also tallied a single on his way to a perfect night.
CRAWFORD SINKING IN THE BAY
While Minnesota's Joe Mauer did go 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, his night was a bit of an anomaly. For San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford though, his zero for four night with three strikeouts is a sign of something much more sinister.
Crawford is now hitless in his last 15 at-bats and is hitting .224, which is the lowest batting average he has had since he was a rookie in 2011.
RED SOX MAKE IT LOOK SIMPLE
The Boston Red Sox's 10-4 win over the Saint Louis Cardinals may have looked like a blowout, but for the first four innings it was a back-and-forth pitcher's duel.
With runners on first and second and no outs in the fourth, the Cardinals looked like they had something cooking. That is, until Yadier Molina hit a sharp ground ball to third base. The rest is just another line in Rafael Devers' dramatic first few weeks of MLB.
PIRATES AT BREWERS
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerritt Cole (10-8, 3.96 ERA) may have gone through a rough patch in the middle part of the year he has really put it together in recent weeks tossing seven straight quality starts.
The Milwaukee Brewers will counter with Jimmy Nelson (9-6, 3.72 ERA) in this afternoon game with potential National League Central postseason implications on the line.