SHORT HOPS
April 19
Catcher A.J. Ellis, after the Dodgers hit three home runs in the sixth inning of a 7-0 win vs. the Rockies: “I haven’t seen the ball fly here at Dodger Stadium like the way it’s done so far this year. … I hope they’re not talking about putting in a humidor or anything like that.”
Monday
The Triples Machine, a.k.a. rookie Paulo Orlando of the Royals, does it again. He triples in the eighth inning of a 7-1 win vs. the Twins to give him five in his first 26 major league at-bats over seven games. No other player since 1900 has had five triples in his first seven games.
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The Padres jump-start a 14-3 rout of the Rockies with a five-run first inning. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it is the first time the Padres score at least five runs in a first inning in 883 games — easily the longest active streak
Tuesday
To the good, the Indians have hit 11 home runs this season after Carlos Santana and David Murphy connect in a 6-2 win vs. the White Sox. To the bad, all 11 have been solo homers. According to Elias, no team has started a season with such a streak since the 1988 Reds, whose first 15 homers were solos.
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In a 16-10 win vs. the Brewers, the Reds — from the third through seventh innings — score 4-4-3-2-3 runs. According to Elias, it is the first time since Aug. 18, 1894 that the Reds — the oldest franchise in professional baseball — score more than one run in five consecutive innings.
Wednesday
After giving up eight runs and 10 hits in 2 1⁄3 innings of a 13-4 loss to the Yankees, Tigers P David Price owns his line and remains in the dugout on a snowy, cold night at Comerica Park rather than retreating to the warmth of the clubhouse: “You throw the ball as bad as I did and you give up more runs than you get outs, you don’t deserve to come up here.”
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After a 9-2 win vs. the Angels, the Athletic’s pattern of big wins and big losses continues. The A’s have outscored their opponents, 62-5, in their eight victories, and have been outscored, 56-21, in their eight losses.