April 11

2019 – Dee Gordon hits a solo homer in the 6th inning and the Mariners set a new mark, having now homered in all 15 of their games this season, breaking the record held by the 2002 Indians; they also lead the majors with 35 long balls. Down 6 – 2 at one point, they come back to win 7 – 6 over the Royals in 10 innings and are now 13-2. In the game, Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield sees his club-record hitting streak snapped after 31 games.

Today’s MLB action is marred by a couple of bench-clearing brawls. In the Yankees’ 10 – 7 win over Boston, Tyler Austin charges the mound after Joe Kelly drills him with a 97 mph fastball in the 7th; he suspects that the pitch is in retaliation for a hard slide he made into SS Brock Holt, in the 3rd, which also cleared the two benches. Both Austin and Kelly are ejected, as are Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin and reliever Tommy Kahnle. And in Colorado’s 6 – 4 win over the Padres, the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado goes after Luis Perdomo after being grazed by a pitch in the 3rd, emptying the benches. That play follows a couple of hit batsmen in the first two innings, and feelings are still tense over a pitch that hit Padres OF Manuel Margot two days earlier, landing him on the disabled list. Arenado and Perdomo are sent off, as are Padres C A.J. Ellis and Rockies P German Marquez and OF Gerardo Parra. MLB will bring down the hammer, suspending Kelly for 6 games; Austin, Arenado and Perdomo for 5; and Parra and Padres pitcher Buddy Baumann for one each, in addition to handing out numerous fines to others involved in the two incidents.

In a likely unprecedented occurrence, two teammates hit for the cycle in the same game in a minor league contest between the San Jose Giants and Lancaster Jethawks of the California League. San Jose’s Gio Brusa and Jalen Miller both manage the feat, respectively with a triple in the 8th inning and 9th inning, in an 18 – 6 win.

2017 – Yoenis Cespedes hits three home runs to lead the Mets to a 14 – 4 win over the Phillies. He is the first player in team history with two three-homer games. His effort is part of a seven-homer night as Lucas Duda goes deep twice, and Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis d’Arnaud hit one out each.

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.

The Cubs continue their hot start with a 5 – 3 win over the Reds in their home opener at a revamped Wrigley Field, improving to 6-1 on the year. However, things don’t look so great for a while as Brandon Finnegan has a no-hitter going until David Ross hits a two-out single in the 7th. Finnegan is taken out of the game and the Cubs feast on the Reds’ bullpen, scoring twice before the inning is over. A three-run homer by Addison Russell off Jumbo Diaz in the 8th seals the win.

Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia is the latest major league player to be suspended for testing positive for a steroid as he is handed an 80-game penalty. He is the fourth pitcher to incur the penalty in a two-week span, following Ervin Santana, David Rollins and Arodys Vizcaino.

A bench-clearing brawl in the Dodgers’ 3 – 2 win over the Padres proves costly, as prize free agent signee Zack Greinke breaks his left collarbone in the melee. Greinke plunks Carlos Quentin on the left shoulder with a 6th-inning pitch and the slugger charges the mound and tackles the pitcher to the ground; they end up at the bottom of a huge pile of players from both dugouts. Greinke’s left shoulder took the brunt of the impact as Quentin first ran into him. Three players are ejected, including Quentin, while Greinke will be out for a number of weeks because of the injury. The Dodgers win the game on Juan Uribe’s pinch homer in the 8th. Quentin will receive an eight-game suspension.

P Aaron Harang is traded for the second time in a week, going from Colorado to Seattle in return for minor league P Steven Hensley.