MLB Weekly Recap: Aug. 25-Sep. 1, 2024
Players of the Week, Moments of the Week, Biggest Series Recaps, & News Recaps
Welcome to the first MLB Weekly Recap published by The Leadoff Sports Report. This week’s recap will feature the Players of the Week for the American & National League, the Moments of the Week, & a recap of the biggest matchups in Major League Baseball from Aug. 25th to September 1st, 2024.
Recap of the Biggest Matchups
Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies
This series was huge to determine who would end up winning the National League East. Entering the series opener on Thursday, the Phillies were up by 5.0 games for first place in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves. With a four game series, the Phillies could end up being 9 games up in first place or up by only 1 game after the series.
Game 1: After Alec Bohm was injured in the 1st inning, Atlanta scored 1 run in the second before Bohm left the game in the third due to left hand discomfort (x-rays were negative).Atlanta later took a 4-0 lead across the next few innings with an RBI double by Orlando Arcia & 2 homeruns by Matt Olson. Down by 4, Brandon Marsh hit a 3-run homerun in the bottom of the 6th which made it a one-run game. The following inning, Nick Castellanos hit a 2-run shot to center field which gave Philly a one-run lead. After this, Philly’s bullpen shut down Atlanta’s offense, giving the Phillies a win to open up a four-game series. Final Score: ATL 4 - 5 PHI
Game 2: After Ranger Suarez struck the first 5 batters he faced, Atlanta’s offense heated up. In the top of the 3rd, Orlando Arcia & Sean Murphy went back-to-back & got 2 more runs in the top of the 4th. Down 4-0, Bryson Stott hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth. In the 6th, Arcia hit his second solo shot of the game & Gio Urshela hit an RBI double which gave the Braves a 6-1 lead. In the 7th, hit an RBI double that broke the game open, 7-1. In the bottom of the 7th, J.T. Realmuto hit a solo homer, however, the Phillies couldn’t catch back up. Final Score: ATL 7 - 2 PHI
Game 3: In the third game of this four game series, two top pitchers were going head-to-head with Zack Wheeler starting for the Phillies & Max Fried for the Braves. In the bottom of the 3rd, Edmundo Sosa hit a long solo homerun to left-center field that gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Three innings later, Trea Turner hit a moonshot to left field that extended the Phillies’ lead to 2-0. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Austin Hays hit a long fly ball to center field. However, Michael Harris II practically jumped over the wall & robbed Hays of a solo shot. After the robbery, Weston Wilson walked before Edmundo Sosa hit a double & got his second RBI of the game. After Zack Wheeler’s dominant start, Jeff Hoffman pitched the 8th, & closer Carlos Estevez shut the door in the 9th inning, giving Philly a shutout victory. Final Score: ATL 0 - 3 PHI
Game 4: Going into this series finale, Atlanta was 5.0 games back from the Phillies in first place— a win would set them up for a good chance of winning the division while a lose could put them in a situation that would question fans if they would even make the postseason. Michael Harris II started scoring & gave ATL the lead with a solo shot in the top of the 3rd before the Whit Merrifield’s speed didn’t allow the Phillies to turn a double play, allowing another run to score in the 4th. Down 2-0, Nick Castellanos doubled in the bottom of the 6th that scored Trea Turner & Bryce Harper, tying the game up at 2. Tied 2-2, the game went to the 10th inning, where both teams were unable to score. Then, Phillies closer Carlos Estevez shut Atlanta down for the second straight inning. With Kody Clemens on second, Bryce Harper was able to leg-out a double play attempt after Atlanta had a lack of communication on the play. Then, Nick Castellanos came up to the plate and hit a walk-off single to win the game & extend the Phillies’ lead over Atlanta to 7 games. Final Score: ATL 2 - 3 PHI
Baltimore Orioles @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Going into the series opener on Monday, the Orioles held the first Wild Card spot in the American League & were 1 game back from the New York Yankees in first place of the AL East. On the other hand, the Dodgers held the top spot in the NL West by 5.0 games. Even though this inter-league match-up didn’t mean that much to the Dodgers, it was still a great match-up of two of the best teams in Major League Baseball.
Game 1: In the series opener, the Orioles started scoring in the top of the 2nd with a solo homerun from Ryan O’Hearn. The Dodgers later responded with a sac-fly in the bottom of the second that evened up the score 1-1 before Teoscar Hernnadez doubled in another run in the bottom of the third. However, in the top of the fifth inning, red-hot Ramon Urias hit a 2-run homerun that gave Baltimore a 3-2 lead. The Orioles’ bullpen then stayed dominant & gave the O’s a win. Final Score: BAL 3 - 2 LAD
Game 2: After his dog threw out the first pitch, Shohei Ohtani started the the scoring with a leadoff homerun, his 42nd of the year. Baltimore then responded with a 2-run double by Ramon Urias & a single by James McCann that gave B-More a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the third, Mookie Betts singled home a run before Teoscar Hernandez hit a 3-run shot that gave the Dodgers a 2-run lead. However, in the top of the fifth, the Orioles got closer to tying the game up with a double by Ryan O’Hearn. However, the Orioles could not tie the game up & LA got another run off of an error by Baltimore’s star shortstop Gunnar Henderson in the bottom of the 5th that helped secure a win. Final Score: BAL 4 - 6 LAD
Game 3: In an rubber match between two of the top teams in the league, Chris Taylor gave the Dodgers the first run of the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the 2nd. The Dodgers got 4 more runs in the fourth from a double by Austin Barnes & a pair of singles from Mookie Betts & Miguel Rojas, making the score 5-0 LA. However, Baltimore made it a game again in the 5th with a 3-run homerun from “The Milkman”, Colton Cowser. However, the Dodgers got another run in the 8th inning before their closer Evan Phillips. Final Score: BAL 3 - 6 LAD
Players of the Week
National League: Shohei Ohtani | LAD | DH
This was a very difficult pick between two superstars— Matt Olson & Shohei Ohtani. When looking at stats, Olson’s numbers were almost identical to Ohtani’s. However, with Ohtani being the superstar he is & becoming the first player in history to record a 43-43 season (43 homeruns, 43 stolen bases), I couldn’t not pick him. In Ohtani’s last week of playing, he has hit .241/.281/.586 (7 for 29) which is not as good of stats as we are used to with Ohtani this season. However, in this stretch, Ohtani has 7 hits, 8 runs scored, with 3 homeruns & 4 RBIs along with 3 stolen bases which have helped him get to the 43-43 mark.
American League: Lawrence Butler | OAK | OF
Bulter is an extremely underrated player; perhaps it’s because he plays for the Athletics or maybe it’s because he’s such a young player. Nevertheless, Butler has been absolutely raking this past week. In his past 7 games, Butler has gone 15-32 (.469/.485/1.125) with 15 hits, 9 runs scored, 6 homeruns, 10 RBIs, 1 walk, & 2 stolen bases. Butler has been a huge part of the Athletics’ turnaround of their season. Even though Oakland will not make the playoffs this season, Butler has still been impressive this season & will look at next season.
Moments of the Week
Decoy Day at Dodger Stadium
After Shohei Ohtani’s dog, Dekopin went viral when Ohtani was awarded his second MVP award last year, Ohtani gave his pet an “American name”, Decoy. Fast forward to August 28th, when the Dodgers played the Baltimore Orioles. Fans started lining up extremely early & by 3 p.m., around 20,000 fans were lined up to receive the game’s promotional giveaway— a bobblehead featuring Ohtani & Decoy. Before the 7:10 first pitch, Decoy ran from the pitcher’s mound to home plate with a ball in his mouth to Ohtani, who was crouched down like a catcher. After arriving at home, Decoy delivered the ball to Ohtani in exchange for a treat! It looked like Decoy learned a thing or two about pitching from his owner as he threw a perfect strike!
Ohtani Become First to Record 43/43 Season
After recently reaching the 40/40 mark, Ohtani stole his 43rd base of the season & hit his 43rd homer of the season during the Dodgers win over the Diamondbacks on Friday night at Chase Field. With this, he became the first player in MLB history to have 43 homeruns & 43 stolen bases in one season.
Corey Seager Hits His 200th Career Homerun
The 2023 World Series MVP, Corey Seager hit his 200th career homerun on Thursday which helped the Rangers sweep the Chicago White Sox. The 406-foot solo shot made Corey Seager the first left-handed hitting shortstop in MLB history to hit 200 career homeruns (minimum 50% games at SS & must be purely left-handed).
Dylan Crews Make His MLB Debut
Dylan Crews, who was drafted second overall in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Nationals recently made his MLB Debut on Monday, August 26th, 2024. The Nationals’ top ranked prospect & MLB’s No. 2 ranked prospect, didn’t collect a hit on Monday but did collect hit first career hit on Tuesday night before hitting his first career homerun on Wednesday.
