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NewsAnthony Castrovince has been a reporter for MLB.com since 2004.
 | There will be picnics and barbecues and beach visits and pool parties aplenty to mark the unofficial start of summer this Memorial Day Weekend. And yes, of course, there will be baseball. And lots of it. Here are 10 things to know as MLB accompanies you on your long weekend.
More»Memorial Day hits home for MLB players |
 | It happened twice last week. The Yankees and Cubs played for 18 innings -- on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball," no less. The Giants and Reds followed that up five days later with their own 17-inning affair. Such a cluster of crazy-long games is fundamentally infrequent. But against the backdrop of an ongoing conversation about working conditions in Major League Baseball, the influx of unexpected innings added ammunition to the argument for a change to the game's longstanding format for extras.
More» |
 | First-place Minnesota Twins. How do we explain that phrase in the third week of May, as they return to Target Field on Tuesday to open up a three-game series against the equally surprising Rockies?
More»Castrovince on Twins use of advanced reports |
 | With the weekend battles come some ballot battles. The Esurance MLB All-Star Game ballot is packed with tough choices for those who don't just defer to their home nine, and some of the players behind those choices just so happen to be pitted against each other the next few days.
More»Castro, Altuve top AL second base candidates for ASG |
 | The Astros shook things up at the 2010 Trade Deadline by shipping off Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt, initiating the painful-but-necessary rebuilding process that lasted three consecutive 100-loss seasons and four straight losing seasons overall. The Yankees shook things up at the 2016 Trade Deadline by shipping off Carlos Beltran, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, initiating the painful-but-necessary rebuilding process that lasted … um … two months? Maybe?
More» Keuchel to pitch against Pineda in the Bronx |
 | Do you see now why the Yankees love Aaron Judge? The homers are fun, the puns are funny (well, some of them). But the dedication is what will allow this early season star to stick.
More» Judge lines long RBI triple to deep center |
 | Like pretty much everybody else, Eugenio Suarez doesn't know what to make of seeing his name among the Major League leaders in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at this still early but not totally early stage of the 2017 season.
More» Suarez hits a line-drive solo home run |
 | The week ahead will feature plenty of sights that are familiar and unfamiliar all at once. From players facing their former clubs for the first time to upstart contenders trying to prove their staying power, a typically packed slate of action has some atypical images in store for us.
More» Encarnacion smashes a home run to left field |
 | They arrived easily. It wasn't especially difficult for the Nationals and Orioles to lose 103 and 98 games, respectively, in 2009, and it wasn't especially difficult for them to decide what to do with the prominent Draft picks that accompanied those unsatisfactory showings.
More» Machado mashes 466-ft. shot over the Monster |
 | It would have been seemingly absurd to label the Yankees-Cubs series that begins today a potential World Series preview at the start of the season, but the Yankees have one of the best records in baseball. Here are 10 plot points heading into the three-game series.
More»Cubs set to host Yankees at historic Wrigley Field |
 | The Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot is out, and we all get to have our say in who starts the MLB All-Star Game presented by MasterCard.
More»Catch the latest #ASGWorthy action around the league |
 | It's May now, which means many of the early-season statistics soon won't be quite so eye-popping. But it is fun to feast on April stats. Whether they prove telling or deceiving remains to be seen, but here are 10 metrics that have caught my eye.
More»Thames sets Brewers record with 11 homers in April |
 | They were born near each other, made their debuts within a week of each other, finished first and second in the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year Award race, play the same position, took the field next to each other for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and had this fun little moment on the basepaths Wednesday.
More» Correa and Lindor play around at second |
 | So the latest triumph in Michael Brantley's comeback campaign -- 2-for-4 with three RBIs in the Indians' 7-6 win over the Astros on Wednesday night -- had a little luck attached, as Brantley himself would acknowledge. But who deserves the occasional break more than Brantley?
More» Brantley opens scoring with an RBI double |
 | The Indians tried to counter the Dallas Keuchel phenomenon on Tuesday night with that rarest of results -- the fly ball.
More» Keuchel coaxes 30 called strikes |
 | Chris Sale's first strikeout as a member of the Red Sox came on a pitch that, well ... just watch it.
More» Sale fans 13 over eight scoreless innings |
 | It's early enough that we don't know enough, but there's juice to be squeezed from the Yankees-Red Sox matchup again.
More» Judge launches a 457-foot homer into orbit |
 | We learned this week that Major League Baseball could soon follow the lead of the NFL in having its umpires wear microphones to explain decisions on replay challenges, which were themselves an innovation on the gridiron.
More»Castrovince discusses managers wearing headsets |
 | Had Javier Baez succumbed to his sorrow and let it distance himself from his dream, his wonderful performance that helped the Cubs win the World Series would not have been possible. And had Grace Davis not maintained her awesomely optimistic outlook in the face of serious medical difficulty, she would not have been there to give Baez his championship ring.
More»Baez on getting his ring from 20-year old Grace Davis |
 | Mookie Betts hasn't struck out in a game since Sept. 12 -- that's 28 games ... and counting.
More» Betts continues streak without striking out |
