Mr. Smile rehabs, Franco goes deep, and proud papa Pudge
By Tab Bamford
A lot to smile about in Columbus
Francisco Lindor, who is recovering from preseason calf and ankle injuries, joined the Columbus Clippers (Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate) on Tuesday.
The three-time All-Star shortstop went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in his rehab debut.
Big Flies in Philly
Stephen Matz carved out a footnote in history Tuesday evening when he allowed eight runs without recording an out. The Mets starter served up three-run home runs to Scott Kingery and Maikel Franco in the first before getting an early trip to the showers. Franco is off to a blazing start for the Phillies this season, and his shot on Tuesday traveled 420 feet.
Happy anniversary
One year ago the Twins and Indians played a two-game series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico. José Berríos started one of the two games against Minnesota’s division rival in front of a packed house. The series was an incredible scene that Berríos will never forget.
Fan Post of the Day
Pudge is a proud papa! Hall of Fame catcher Iván Rodríguez brags about his son on social media like a Little League father. It’s great to see a legend able to follow his son’s success and be a fan.
Pro Post of the Day
Javy doing Javy things – again. This time in Miami.
Happy Birthday!
Ronny Rodríguez (b. 1992)
Jorge Piedra (b. 1979)
Pedro García (b. 1950)
Roberto Peña (b. 1937)
OTD
1954 – Nino Escalera, a native of Puerto Rico, becomes the first black player to appear in a Cincinnati Reds uniform. Escalera hit a pinch single in the Reds’ 5-1 loss to the Milwaukee Braves.
1955 – At Forbes Field, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 20-year-old rookie Roberto Clemente makes his major league debut. He played both ends of a doubleheader, ironically and perhaps fittingly, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team that first signed him. Clemente singled in his first career at bat against Johnny Podres.
1956 – Luis Aparicio of the Chicago White Sox, Don Drysdale of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds all play the first games of their Hall of Fame careers.
2006 – Albert Pujols ties a major league record by homering in four consecutive at-bats. The first inning homer for Pujols gave the Cardinals slugger nine on the young season; he and Detroit’s Chris Shelton each hit their ninth home runs, joining Mike Schmidt (1976), Larry Walker (1997) and Luis Gonzalez (2001) as the only players in major league history with at least nine home runs in their team’s first 13 games.
2006 – Pedro Martínez leads the Mets to a 4-3 victory over Atlanta, becoming the fourth Latino pitcher to earn 200 career victories. Pedro joins Dennis Martínez of Nicaragua (245-193), Dominican Juan Marichal (243-142) and Cuban Luis Tiant (229-172) in the 200 win club.
2010 – Ubaldo Jiménez pitches the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies history.
2010 – Johan Santana of the Mets and Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals match each other, each pitching seven scoreless innings. Unfortunately for both starters… and bullpens… the game wouldn’t end until the Mets walked it off in the bottom of the 20th inning.
2018 – Lindor hits an emotional two-run home run to lead the Indians to a 6-1 win over the Twins in the first game of a two-game series played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.