Monday’s 6-pack:
Over/under win totals for baseball:
83.5— Tigers, Twins
82.5— Guardians, Royals, Brewers
80.5— Tampa Bay
79.5— Reds, Giants, Blue Jays
75.5— Pirates, Cardinals
72.2— Angels
Quote of the Day
“They’re absolutely good for baseball. I believe that issues like the torpedo bat and the debate around it demonstrate the fact that baseball still occupies a unique place in our culture, because people get into a complete frenzy over something that’s really nothing at the end of the day.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred
Monday’s quiz
Houston lost consecutive national title games in 1983/1984; who did they lose to in those two championship games?
Sunday’s quiz
Florida won consecutive national titles in 2006 and 2007; they beat UCLA, Ohio State in those championship games.
Saturday’s quiz
Last time Detroit Pistons made the NBA playoffs, Milwaukee Bucks swept them in the first round.
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— Before a game, TV crews give a brief synopsis of the home plate umpire for that game; does he favor hitters/pitchers? lefties/righties? inside/outside?
CB Bucknor had the plate for the A’s-Rockies game Sunday; he is not viewed as one of the game’s better umpires. The Colorado TV people put this analysis up:
“Consistently inconsistent” a pretty stern criticism of an umpire, especially before a game.
— You can bet on whether or not a team will score in the first inning of a game; with the season 11 days old, here are each teams’ results for first inning scoring:
NL
Braves 2-9
Marlins 4-9
Mets 2-9
Phillies 2-9
Nationals 2-9
Cubs 4-12
Reds 3-10
Brewers 1-10
Pirates 1-10
St Louis 4-9
Arizona 4-10
Colorado 2-9
Dodgers 3-11
Padres 4-10
Giants 2-9
AL
Orioles 5-10
Red Sox 3-10
New York 5-9
Rays 2-9
Toronto 3-10
White Sox 5-9
Cleveland 4-9
Detroit 5-9
Royals 3-9
Twins 4-9
A’s 3-10
Astros 2-9
Angels 4-9
Seattle 2-9
Texas 3-10
— In the history of the major leagues, pitchers have thrown 326 no-hitters, batters have hit for the cycle 349 times.
— Dodgers put P Blake Snell (shoulder) on the IL; he allowed seven runs in 9 IP in his first two starts this season.
— Duke’s last 11 basketball seasons:
2015- 35-4, won national title
2016- 25-11, lost in Sweet 16
2017- 28-9, lost in 2nd round
2018- 29-8, lost in Elite 8
2019- 32-6, lost in Elite 8
2020- 25-6, NCAA Tournament cancelled
2021- 13-11, missed NCAA’s
2022- 32-7, lost in national semi-finals, then
Mike Krzyzewski retired
2023- 27-9, lost in second round
2024- 27-9, lost in Elite 8
2025- 35-4, lost in national semi-finals
—
Famous birthdays, April 7th:
Bo Lamar, 74
Jackie Chan, 71
Thurl Bailey, 64
Russell Crowe, 61
Ricky Watters, 56
Ronde Barber, 50
Tiki Barber, 50
Adrian Beltre, 46
Eduardo Rodriguez, 32
Josh Hader, 31
— Lot of runs scored Sunday; over was 10-5 in Sunday’s baseball.
— Padres 8, Cubs 7
Cubs led this game 7-2 after the second inning.
Luis Arraez went 4-5 with a walk.
San Diego is off to an 8-2 start.
— Astros 9, Twins 7 (10)
Minnesota led 7-1 after the fourth inning.
Yordan Alvarez tied game with a 2-run homer in 9th inning.
Top three guys in Houston’s order went 8-16, with 7 RBI
— Red Sox 5-18, Cardinals 4-3
Boston scored 36 runs in its three-game series sweep.
Wilyer Abreu had a walk-off single in the opener.
— Tigers 4, White Sox 3
Spencer Torkelson’s 2-run double was a walk-off for Detroit.
Martin Perez got 19 outs for Chicago, giving up only one run.
— Phillies 8, Dodgers 7
Phillies blew a 6-2 lead, scored twice in 7th inning for the win.
Nick Castellanos hit a grand slam in the 3rd inning.
— Rangers 4, Rays 3
Jonah Heim had a walk-off homer for Texas.
Rangers have won five games in a row.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL- Phillies, Cubs, Giants Wild Cards- Dodgers, Padres, Mets
AL- New York, Tigers, Rangers Wild Cards- Angels, Red Sox, Blue Jays
