3 Up/3 Down: 3 Things I Liked, Disliked About Baseball's First Week
The first week of baseball is in the books, and we've survived it just fine. We've all wondered what the game would be like with the new rules meant to speed up play, and they went off basically without a hitch.
The new pitch clock shaved about 25 minutes off of game times, and that's a wonderful thing. I watched about a half-dozen games from start to finish and it was never an issue at all. It seems like players are adapting quickly to the new pace.
The new strategy involved with holding runners on base certainly had a profound impact in the first weekend. Runners stole 21 bases on Opening Day, only getting caught twice. A day like that — 20 or more steals at a 90 percent success rate — only happened once all year in 2022.
And after four days of great baseball and three games for 20 of the 30 teams, there was a lot to like — and a few things to shake your head at. There are only three unbeaten teams remaining, and they dominate my ''like'' list.
Here we go with my Monday morning tradition every week throughout the season:
3 things I liked
1. Rangers thump their way to sweep
The Texas Rangers are an interesting team that's added several expensive pieces the past two years, and they seem dead-set on improving on that 68-win total from a year ago. They absolutely thumped the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend, and let's remember that this is the defending National League pennant winner.
The Rangers scored 11 runs on Thursday and then 16 more on Saturday. Then they swept the series on Sunday night — on national TV, no less — with a 2-1 victory that was full of great pitching and solid defensive plays. There's been a lot of talk about Seattle and the Los Angeles Angels being better in the AL West this year, but the veterans on the Rangers are making us think otherwise.
“The whole weekend, we executed so well,” first-year manager Bruce Bochy said. “The guys just did a great job of picking each other up.” Next up for the Rangers is a three-game home series with the Baltimore Orioles.
Texas catcher Mitch Garver (18) and third baseman Josh Jung (6) celebrate after Garver hits a three-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
2. Rays' starters completely dominate
We've known all about Tampa Bay's great pitching for years, but their three starters were flat out filthy in their sweep of the Detroit Tigers this weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Starters Shane McClanahan, Zach Eflin and Jeffrey Springs combined to pitch 17 innings, allowing just one run and seven hits. That's an 0.53 ERA. They had 23 combined strikeouts and just three walks while the Rays outscored Detroit 21-3 over the weekend. The three runs allowed are the fewest in baseball, tied with the Los Angeles Angels.
Tampa Bay has baseball's easiest schedule to start the season, with series against Washington, Oakland and Boston to follow. All four opponents are projected to finish last in their respective divisions. Is a 10-3 or 11-2 type of start an option for the Rays, who are looking to make the playoffs for the fifth straight year? With all that pitching, don't be surprised if they do it.
It's also nice to see shortstop Wander Franco get off to such a hot start after missing so much time in 2022. He's 7-for-11 so far — a .636 clip — and has three doubles and a home run.
Tampa Bay pitcher Jeffrey Springs didn't allow a hit in six innings on Sunday and struck out 12 Detroit batters in the Rays' win. (Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sports)
3. Twins put up zeroes in bunches
The Minnesota Twins turned some heads over the weekend, tossing a two-hit shutout on Thursday against the Kansas City Royals and then a four-hit shutout in the second game. They won 7-4 on Sunday to start the season 3-0.
Starters Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray had scoreless starts, and even Joe Ryan was good on Sunday, allowing just one run in six innings and leaving with a 6-1 lead.
It's going to be interesting to see how the Twins get out of the gate. They were a bit of a forgotten team a year ago because all the injuries, but they definitely could make some noise in the soft-ish American League Central this season. They have three games with the world champion Houston Astros in April and play all seven of their games against the New York Yankees this month, too. And we know all about how much the Yankees have owned them through the years.
But this is a great start, and if the starting pitching can hold up, they will definitely contend for the division crown.
3 things I didn't like
1. Waiting on that first hit
We never panic about guys who struggle in narrow windows, and the first weekend of a very long 162-season certainly fits that bill. But it's still something that gets between the ears of hitters when they stagger out of the gate.
There were plenty of guys who took the collar all weekend, and no one had it worse that Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, who went 0-for-16 in four games against the Chicago White Sox. Max Kepler of the Twins went 0-for-13 even though they swept the Royals. Kansas City hitters Bobby Witt Jr. (0-for-10) and MJ Melendez (0-for-9) had quiet weekends, too.
Cody Bellinger was 0-for-11 for the Chicago Cubs against Milwaukee. Phillies sluggers Kyle Schrwarber started out 0-for-12 too, before finally getting a hit late on Sundy night. All of these guys are good hitters, so don't expect this cold-streak to continue.
Houston third baseman Alex Bregman (2) reacts after striking out against the Chicago White Sox at Minute Maid Park. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
2. Orioles get knocked around all weekend
Lots of good things are expected of the Baltimore Orioles this season, but they dropped two of three games to the Boston Red Sox and gave up nine runs in all three games. That's a shocker.
And it should be. That's the first time a team allowed nine runs or more in their first three games since 2005.
“We just didn’t have our best series on the mound and need to improve on that,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “But I think we will.” It's going to be interesting to see if this trend continues because Baltimore plays at Texas the next three nights. The Rangers scored 11 and 16 runs in their first two home games.
3. Bullpen woes reason for concern
It was a bad weekend for the Phillies, getting swept at Texas. There's a lot to be concerned about, but this one statistic might be the most worrisome of all: Philly's bullpen had an 11.81 earned run average over the weekend, giving up 14 earned runs in just 10 2/3 innings.
Phillies relievers allowed three home runs and gave up nine walks, putting far too many runners on base around the homers.
Both Chicago teams didn't get much from their bullpens either. The White Sox had an 8.25 ERA and the Cubs were third-worst in all of baseball at 7.36.
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