ESPN fires pitcher-turned-broadcaster Curt Schilling after another controversial rant on social media, this one regarding transgender people and their right to access public bathrooms. Schilling is a repeat offender, having already been suspended late last year for his inopportune political rantings.
Chris Sale of the White Sox becomes the first four-game winner in the majors in defeating the Angels, 2 – 1. Sale gives up only 2 hits in 7 innings, both by Mike Trout, and one unearned run.
The Rays hold the Red Sox to only one hit over 10 innings before winning, 3 – 0. Starter Drew Smyly allows the lone safety, a single by Jackie Bradley in the 3rd, and strikes out 11 over 8 scoreless innings. For Boston, Joe Kelly has to leave the game with shoulder stiffness in the 1st, but four relievers keep the Rays from scoring until Kevin Kiermaier opens the top of the 10th with a homer off Matt Barnes. Erasmo Ramirez is the winner while Alex Colome picks up the save.
The Reds use the running game to defeat the Rockies, 4 – 3. In the 2nd inning they steal five bases against a helpless Jorge De La Rosa, with Jay Bruce picking up two, and Billy Hamilton, Tyler Holt and Eugenio Suarez one each. The Reds had never stolen five bases in an inning since at least 1920, the period for which play-by-play accounts are available. The last team to accomplish the feat had been the 2010 Texas Rangers.
April 18, 2016 Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia turned five double plays in a 9-inning game on it tied the team record for most in a game by a second baseman. He tied record was set by Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr on August 8, 1946. The Red Sox will lose the game…
Bryce Harper makes the 100th home run of his career his first-ever grand slam as the Nationals hand the Braves their 9th straight loss since the start of the season, 6 – 2. At 23 years and 181 days, Harper is the 8th youngest player to hit 100 homers.
There are two great pitching efforts today. Vince Velasquez strikes out 16 batters and pitches a three-hitter and leading the Phillies over the Padres, 3 – 0. The Padres have already been shut out an unprecedented 5 times in 10 games this season. Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals does not fan quite as many, but he pitches a one-hit shutout to defeat the Brewers, 7 – 0. Still, he strikes out a career-high 13 opponents as Domingo Santana has Milwaukee’s lone hit, a single in the 6th.
Braves OF Hector Olivera is arrested in Arlington, VA after a woman with visible bruises complains to police that the ballplayer assaulted her at the team’s hotel while in the Washington, DC area to play the Nationals. Olivera is immediately placed on paid leave by Major League Baseball under its new domestic violence policy and will remain there for the length of the investigation while also facing a possible suspension. He will be traded and released before the end of the suspension and will not return to the majors.
2016 – The Orioles maintain their status as the last unbeaten team in the majors with a 9 – 5 win over the Red Sox. J.J. Hardy homers twice and drives in 5 and Mark Trumbo also homers for the Birds, who are now 7-0.
At the other end of the scale, the Twins lose their seventh straight, bowing 4 – 1 to the White Sox in their home opener. It is the worst start in franchise history since the 1904 Washington Senators opened the season with 13 straight losses.
Enjoy our free trial and start listening to games, interviews and shows! Ruth, Mantle, Aaron, and Seaver!