By Dan Hock
Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins Claims Play of the Week with Game-Saving Diving Catch
April 8, 2024
Starting pitcher Ronel Blanco of the Houston Astros has been selected the American League Player of the Wee**k presented by Chevrolet**, and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Spencer Steer has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet.
Blanco, who tossed the 17th no-hitter in Astros’ history on Monday night, won his first career weekly honor and is the first Astros player to take home a Weekly Award since Justin Verlander won on October 3rd last season. Steer also won the weekly honor for the first time in his career and is the first Cincinnati player to win since his teammate Elly De La Cruz won last year on June 26th.
Ronel Blanco, Houston Astros (@roneldj)
- The 30-year-old went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 15.0 innings, in which he allowed just one hit with six walks and 11 strikeouts across his eighth and ninth career Major League starts.
- A native of the Dominican Republic, Blanco led all Major League pitchers in innings pitched and opponents’ average (.022); tied for the MLB lead in ERA and wins; and ranked second among AL pitchers in WHIP (0.47).
- The right-hander did not allow a hit against the Blue Jays on Monday night at Minute Maid Park, striking out seven batters and issuing two walks. After walking former Astro George Springer to lead off the game, Blanco retired 26 batters in a row before Springer drew a two-out walk in the ninth. Blanco induced a ground out to second base to cap off the 13th solo no-hitter in Astros history.
- In his second start of the year on Sunday night in Arlington, Blanco did not allow a hit against the Rangers until the sixth inning, finishing his evening with four walks and four strikeouts over 6.0 scoreless innings. Per Elias, his 44 outs recorded before allowing a hit is the longest such streak to begin a season by any pitcher since 1893, when the mound moved to its current distance from home plate. It is the second-longest consecutive outs streak in Astros’ history behind Mike Scott’s 51 straight in 1986.
Opposing hitters are just 1-for-46 through Blanco’s first two starts this year. He is the first pitcher in Baseball history to win each of his first two starts of the season while allowing one-or-fewer total hits.
Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds (@spenc_er22)
- The 26-year-old hit .409 (9-for-22) with three home runs, nine RBI, a double, a triple, three walks, five runs scored, and a stolen base in six games last week.
- The California native led the Majors in slugging percentage (.955) and total bases (21); tied for the Major League lead with three home runs; ranked second in the Majors in OPS (1.455); ranked second in the NL in RBI; ranked third in OBP (.500); and tied for third in extra-base hits (5).
- The University of Oregon product slugged his first career grand slam in the 10th inning on Monday at Philadelphia. It was the Reds’ first extra-inning grand slam since Todd Frazier’s on June 17, 2015 and was the first of three go-ahead homers last week for Steer.
- The outfielder continued his tear with homers in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday against the Mets, marking the fourth time in his career that he homered in two straight games. His Friday night home run came in the first inning to give the Reds a 1-0 lead and his three-run blast on Saturday highlighted the Reds’ five-run eighth inning in a comeback victory.
- After finishing sixth in Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year voting in 2023, Steer is off to a blistering start in 2024, reaching safely in eight of his nine games so far and slashing .400/.500/.813 with a team-high 12 RBI. Overall, Steer recorded hits in five of his six games last week with multiple hits in three of the contests.
Other noteworthy AL performances last week included outfielders Jarren Duran (.481, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 4 SB, .517 OBP) and Tyler O’Neill (.333, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 8 R, .833 SLG) and starting pitcher Tanner Houck (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 17 SO) of the Red Sox; Blanco’s teammate outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (.364, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 4 R, .818 SLG) of the Astros; outfielder MJ Melendez (.286, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 4 R, .810 SLG) of the Royals; shortstop Carlos Correa (.455, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 7 BB, 4 R, .667 OBP) of the Twins; closer Emmanuel Clase (0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3 SV, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 4 SO) of the Guardians; and shortstop Anthony Volpe (.435, 1 RBI, 2 2B, 6 R, 3 SB) of the Yankees.
Other noteworthy NL performances for the week included outfielder Seiya Suzuki (.350, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1 2B, 4 BB, 5 R, .700 SLG, .500 OBP) and starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 10.0 IP, 12 SO, 4 H, 0 BB) of the Cubs; first baseman/designated hitter Bryce Harper (.360, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 1 BB, 4 R, .800 SLG) of the Phillies; designated hitter Marcell Ozuna (.429, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 1 BB, 6 R, .952 SLG) of the Braves; outfielder/infielder Brendan Donovan (.500, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 2B, 4 BB, 6 R, .636 OBP) and closer Ryan Helsley (0.00 ERA, 4 G, 3 SV, 4.0 IP, 3 SO) of the Cardinals; second baseman Ketel Marte (.320, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 2 BB, 5 R, .800 SLG) of the Diamondbacks; starting pitcher Sean Manaea (1-0, 0.82 ERA, 2 GS, 11. IP, 14 SO, 4 H) of the Mets; third baseman Ryan McMahon (.364, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 4 R) of the Rockies; and catcher William Contreras (.444, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 4 BB, 5 R, .833 SLG) of the Brewers.
Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet
Game-Saving Diving Catch by Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles
April 6th at PNC Park – Watch It Here
Center fielder Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles earned his MLB-best sixth career Play of the Week Award, and the Orioles now have an MLB-best 12 awards since 2019. Mullins was the last Baltimore player to win the award, after he was honored on September 18th of last year, marking the final of his four Play of the Week Awards in 2023. With the game tied, 4-4, and the go-ahead run on second base in the bottom of the 11th inning, Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a sinking line drive to center field, forcing Mullins to dive and make the catch for the first out of the inning. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Hunter Renfroe’s throw from the warning track to nab the tying run as Bobby Witt Jr. applied the tag; Ryan Mountcastle’s diving snare and race to the bag; José Abreu’s sprawling stop to preserve Blanco’s no-hitter; Nico Hoerner’s diving snag and throw to first; Brandon Nimmo’s outfield assist and Francisco Alvarez’s tag; and Witt Jr.’s impressive double play.
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