National sportswriter says … Dustin Pedroia is your AL MVP thus far

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By Craig CalcaterraJul 1, 2013, 4:03 PM EDT

From the man who picked the Philadelphia Phillies to finish ahead of the Braves and the Kansas City Royals over the Tigers, we get this:

 

We don’t know his reasoning yet. When questioned on Twitter he played coy, so I assume a column is forthcoming.

It’s not as crazy as the Phillis pick I suppose — Pedroia has considerable defensive value and, at present, is third in the American League in WAR if you’e into that sort of thing — but it definitely is an offbeat choice what with Miguel Cabrera, Manny Machado and Chris Davis walking the Earth.

And people say I like to troll on Twitter.

Aaron Judge’s record strikeout streak ends at 37 games

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By Bill BaerAug 22, 2017, 11:40 PM EDT

For the first time in a month and a half, Aaron Judge went an entire game without striking out, ending his record streak at 37 games. Judge had an RBI single and three walks in Tuesday night’s 13-4 victory over the Tigers.

Judge went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and zero strikeouts in a 9-4 loss to the Brewers on July 7. Between July 8 and August 20, Judge would strike out in all 37 games, breaking the record previously held by Adam Dunn, who struck out in the first 32 games of the 2012 season. If one counted streaks extending into multiple seasons, Dunn held the record at 36 games as he struck out in his final four games in 2011 as well.

After Tuesday’s performance, Judge is now hitting .284/.417/.594 with 37 home runs, 81 RBI, and 93 runs scored in 525 plate appearances on the season. He’s had a particularly rough second half, as he entered Tuesday with a .684 OPS since the All-Star break, a far cry from his 1.139 OPS before the break.

Video: Adrian Gonzalez doubles for his 2,000th career hit

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By Bill BaerAug 22, 2017, 10:35 PM EDT

Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was able to get a ground ball past Pirates first baseman Josh Bell for a double leading off the top of the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s game. He would come around to score later in the inning on a Corey Seager single, breaking a 1-1 tie.

The double gave Gonzalez 2,000 hits for his career. He is the 282nd player in baseball history and the 11th active player to reach 2,000 career hits. Gonzalez also has 300 home runs, making him one of 94 players with at least 300 dingers and 2,000 hits.

Gonzalez, who was recently activated from the disabled list, entered Tuesday’s action hitting .247/.295/.330 with one home run and 25 RBI in 201 plate appearances on the season.