Last Night in Baseball: 2025 AL MVP Runner-Up in 36 At-Bat Hit Drought
There is always baseball happening almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves. Don't worry, we're here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn't have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball: Outside arguably New York Yankees superstar and 2025 American League MVP Aaron Judge, no one was more dangerous with a bat in their hands last season than Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who was the runner-up for the 2025 AL MVP Award. That has not been the case this season. In Seattle's Monday night matchup against the Houston Astros, Raleigh went 0 for 4 with one strikeout. He has now failed to record a hit in each of his last 36 at-bats, the longest such streak for a player in MLB this season. Through 39 games, Raleigh has totaled seven home runs, 18 RBIs, a 61 OPS+ and -0.2 wins above replacement, while owning a .157/.238/.320 slash line. He has just 24 hits, compared to 54 strikeouts. Moreover, he currently boasts a career-low in average exit velocity (86.9 mph), barrel percentage (11.9%) and hard-hit percentage (28.7%) over a full season, according to Statcast. Elsewhere for Seattle, Brendan Donovan made a slick play at the hot corner. Leading off the bottom of the seventh inning, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve hit a ground ball to the left side, and Donovan, who was playing near the infield grass, made a diving play to his right, got up and made the throw to first base for the out. Donovan finished 0 for 4 at the plate. On the season, the Mariners third baseman has totaled three home runs, eight RBIs and a 134 OPS+, owning a .257/.376/.429 slash line. And as for the entire game, the Mariners got a 3-1 win over the Astros, improving Seattle to 5-0 over Houston this season and 8-0 dating back to last season. The Mariners struck first in the top of the second with back-to-back RBI singles from designated hitter Dominic Canzone and second baseman Cole Young. Then, leading off the following inning, center fielder Julio Rodrguez blasted a solo home run up near the train in Daikin Park. The two-time Silver Slugger's long ball was his seventh of the season. Rodriguez and fellow outfielder Randy Arozarena each had two hits for the Mariners. Seattle got five innings from starter George Kirby, who gave up his one run to Astros' third baseman Isaac Paredes, who had an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth; Paredes and Altuve each had three hits for Houston, which got seven innings from right-hander Peter Lambert. The Mariners used four relievers to get through the final four innings: Nick Davila, Cooper Criswell, Eduard Bazardo and Andrs Muoz. Still, Seattle (20-22) and Houston (16-26) each have losing records. It wasn't revenge for losing the 2023 World Series, but the Arizona Diamondbacks silenced the Texas Rangers in their home park in the first game of a three-game series. D-backs right fielder Corbin Carroll doubled in the second at-bat of the game, and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo followed with a double of his own, driving in Carroll. And that would be the only run scored in a 1-0 Arizona win. Perdomo and third baseman Nolan Arenado each had a game-high two hits for Arizona, which got 6 shutout innings from Mike Soroka, marking the right-hander's second consecutive outing where he pitched 6 innings. Soroka, who has a 3.53 ERA on the season, has given up just one run over his last two starts. In all, Arizona held Texas to just five baserunners (four hits and one walk). For whatever reason, both of these teams have been involved in several shutouts over the last week-and-a-half. On May 2, the Diamondbacks lost to the Chicago Cubs, 2-0. Then, last week, Arizona beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-0, but the latter answered by shutting out the former in the ensuing game, 1-0. As the Rangers, they've been involved in a shutout in each of their last three games: 6-0 and 3-0 wins over the Cubs and a 1-0 loss to the D-backs. Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernndez made a diving catch on the first pitch of the game against the San Francisco Giants. That, however, would be one of the Dodgers' few high points on Monday night. Leading off the top of the second, Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers launched a solo home run to right field. Later, trailing 2-1 in the top of the sixth, Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos who has a team-high 20 RBIs drove in two runs on a double down the left-field line. After the Dodgers leveled the score at 3-all in the bottom half of the inning, Devers walked in a run in the seventh, with shortstop Willy Adames later driving in two runs on a single. In the ninth, Adames singled in another run, third baseman Matt Chapman walked in a run and catcher Jesus Rodriguez drove in a run on a ground out, capping off a 9-3 win for the Giants over their deep-rooted rival. It's tied for the second-most runs the Giants have scored in a game this season. San Francisco got two-hit nights from Devers, Ramos, Adames and infielders Luis Arrez and Casey Schmitt. While he surrendered 11 baserunners (nine hits and two walks), right-hander Trevor McDonald pitched 5 innings for the Giants, whose bullpen (Matt Gage, Keaton Winn and JT Brubaker) then gave up just one baserunner over the next 3 innings. The Giants are 3-1 against the Dodgers this season and have won three of their last four games altogether. Among the other "high points" for the Dodgers was third baseman Max Muncy hitting an opposite field, solo home run in the bottom of the sixth; Muncy also had an RBI single in the fourth. Muncy is in the midst of a peculiar offensive start. Through 39 games, the two-time All-Star has totaled 11 home runs but just 17 RBIs. Five of those homers were solo shots. Mind you, the Dodgers are second in MLB in on-base percentage (.344) and third in hits (367). Still, the Dodgers' star is having a highly productive season, boasting a 166 OPS+, 2.2 wins above replacement (WAR) and a .280/.375/.568 slash line. Muncy is on pace for a career-high in home runs and WAR, while his current batting average and OPS+ are career bests. Furthermore, Muncy ranks in the 97th percentile of MLB in barrel percentage (20%) and hard-hit percentage (55.8%) and the 94th percentile in average exit velocity (93.3 mph), according to Statcast. Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers was carving up the Baltimore Orioles, as he entered the bottom of the seventh with a no-hit bid and nine strikeouts. But after putting two of the first three batters on base, New York relieved Weathers for fellow southpaw Brent Headrick. Then, Orioles designated hitter Coby Mayo demolished a go-ahead, three-run home run, which would be good for Baltimore to get a 3-2 victory. Mayo's home run was one of just three hits for the Orioles, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Yankees dating back to last season. As for the pitching, Baltimore got 5 innings from starter Brandon Young, who gave up two runs. The Orioles then got 3 shutout innings from relievers Dietrich Enns, Rico Garcia and Anthony Nunez. Meanwhile, the loss marked the Yankees' fourth consecutive defeat and their fifth loss in their last six games. A positive for New York? Ben Rice continues to rake. In the top of the third, the Yankees first baseman hit a two-run home run to center field, which accounted for all of New York's scoring against the Orioles. The homer was Rice's 13th of the season. If the AL MVP voting were held today, Rice would be a finalist for the award. He has driven in 29 runs, owns a .312/.417/.696 slash line and leads the AL in slugging percentage (.696), OPS (1.113) and OPS+ (206). Staying on the power front, Rice ranks in the 99th percentile of the sport in hard-hard percentage (59.6%), 98th percentile in barrel percentage (21.3%) and 97th percentile in average exit velocity (94.5 mph), per Statcast. Last season, Rice hit 26 home runs, recorded a .499 slugging percentage, ranked in the 97th percentile in hard-hit percentage and ranked in the 95th percentile in average exit velocity. The Cleveland Guardians struck early against the Los Angeles Angels so they didn't have to strike often. With two outs in the bottom of the second, Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio brought in two runs on a single for the first runs of the game. Cleveland then had a five-run third inning, with catcher David Fry walking in a run, center fielder Daniel Schneemann driving in two runs on a single and second baseman Travis Bazzana doubling home two runs, which would lead the Guardians to a 7-2 win. Fry and first baseman Kyle Manzardo each had two hits for Cleveland, which got six shutout innings from left-hander Joey Cantillo. Meanwhile, designated hitter Rhys Hoskins drew three walks. The Angels got their two runs on an eighth-inning RBI single from right fielder Jo Adell and a ninth-inning RBI single from third baseman Vaughn Grissom. As for those who drove in runs for the Guardians, Bazzana, whom Cleveland selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, has recorded a hit in four of his last five games; Fry owns an .876 OPS over 55 at-bats; Schneemann boasts an .810 OPS; Rocchio is batting .277. As for its starting pitcher, Cantillo has recorded a 2.98 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, 41 strikeouts, 1.0 wins above replacement and a 139 ERA+ over 45 innings pitched (nine starts). While they're 22-21, the Guardians are in first place in the AL Central. The Tampa Bay Rays are cracking skulls and taking names. In defeating the Toronto Blue Jays for a fourth consecutive time this season (the Rays swept the Blue Jays in Tampa Bay earlier this month), 8-5, the Rays are now 27-13, which is good for the best record in the AL. As for its Monday night victory, Tampa Bay got three runs in the top of the first off a sacrifice fly from first baseman Jonathan Aranda and a two-run single from second baseman Richie Palacios. Aranda then drove in another run in the second on a single, with shortstop Taylor Walls driving in a run on a triple and another run coming around to score in the fourth on a Toronto error. Aranda later led off the sixth with a solo home run to center field, with Tampa Bay's other run coming via an RBI single from Palacios in the seventh. Palacios and left fielder Chandler Simpson who owns a .314 batting average and has hit an AL-high three triples each had a game-high three hits for the Rays, while Palacios and Aranda who has driven in an AL-high 32 runs and has a team-high 142 OPS+ each drove in three runs. Shockingly insert sarcasm here pitching has been the backbone of the Rays' success. Their starting rotation is first in MLB in WHIP (1.08) and third in ERA (3.15) and opponent batting average (.211). Granted, their rotation is just 20th in innings pitched (203.0). Nick Martinez owns a 1.70 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and a whopping 246 ERA+; Shane McClanahan boasts a 2.60 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and a 162 ERA+; Drew Rasmussen, who pitched through six innings on Monday night, has a 3.16 ERA and an 0.91 WHIP. Opponents are also hitting just .227 against the Rays' bullpen, good for eighth in the sport, with closer Bryan Baker (2.16 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 197 ERA+) first in the AL with 11 saves. For Toronto, right-hander Kevin Gausman hit a personal milestone in the top of the fourth when he recorded his 2,000th career strikeout. Meanwhile, Blue Jays' shortstop Andrs Gimnez had the first multi-home run game of his MLB career and drove in each of Toronto's five runs.
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