Jon Jay was not at all unprepared for Hamilton to run, and his throw to home was a perfect strike.

They left out the part in the middle where the outfielder wasn't optimally positioned and that cost him the time needed to throw 'im out.

Still very impressive though!

Kouz had a productive spring. I was surprised he didn't make it right out of spring training as a reserve.

Rondon riding 14-inning scoreless streak


By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com | 4/10/2014 2:35 P.M. ET


CHICAGO --

It took some extra work in Venezuela for Cubs reliever Hector Rondon to find his breaking pitches.

Rondon entered Thursday's game with a 14-inning scoreless streak, dating back to Sept. 3 of last season. It's third longest such streak in the Major Leagues.

"My mentality is way different," Rondon said Thursday. "I think I trust myself and my command of my pitches. That's the difference right now."

Last September, Rondon, a Rule 5 Draft pick, did not give up a run -- and only served up one hit -- over nine innings in nine relief outings.


"I put in my mind last year, the last month of the season, when it was over, I told [former manager Dale Sveum] that I was going to play winter ball in Venezuela, and I worked on my breaking ball," Rondon said. "I went there and worked on that, and came into Spring Training and I feel really good about how I throw my breaking balls. I did the same thing that I did last September. I think that helped me a lot."


In four games so far, Rondon has given up three hits, walked two and struck out six over five innings.

"Everything is really good right now," he said.

Avisail Garcia will be out for the remainder of the season after the White Sox right fielder sustained a torn labrum in his left shoulder during Wednesday's game in Colorado.

WoW! That's a big blow to the white sox chances this season.

CSNCHICAGO (COMCAST SPORTSNET)

Did Jose Abreu really knock the cover off a baseball?

It's no secret Jose Abreu is one of the best young power hitters in baseball. In fact, he allegedly once crushed a home run in Cuba that traveled nearly 500 feet before it hit the ground.

The White Sox rookie slugger hit two homers Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies, and could've knocked out a third had he not ripped the cover off the baseball in the first inning. Literally.

Abreu doesn't believe it, but we have photographic proof that says otherwise.

"I hope people don't think I do that to balls," Abreu said. "I don't think that was me. ... I'm just thankful that I'm having the start that I've had and we're doing as well as we can, but I don't think I did that. I don't think that's something I could've done, but if I did, 'Wow.'"
(Photo credit: AP Images)

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Jose Abreu is equal parts Thor and Benny 'The Jet' Rodriguez

On October 1, 1932, Babe Ruth called his shot. On September 28, 1955, Jackie Robinson stole home off Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra. And, some time in the second half of the summer of 1962, Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez knocked the cover off a baseball.

Half a century later, it looks like Cuban phenom Jose Abreu is taking that "legends never die" adage to heart.

Abreu continued his ascent into baseball lore this week by following in The Jet's footsteps and busting the guts out of a baseball during Tuesday's game against the Rockies.
He's gone 6-for-13 with eight RBIs since knocking the cover off that ball and leads the Majors with 14 ribbies after posting his second multi-homer game in three days on Thursday. Coincidence? We think not.

Back in October, Abreu followed in the footsteps of recent Cuban stars Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig (this is the part when old timers shake their fists), sparking a bidding war between a handful of clubs and eventually commanding a six-year, $68 million contract to play his home games on Chicago's South Side.

It's obviously early in the 2014 campaign -- and putting too much stock in small sample sizes can be as dangerous as forgetting that wins in April count the same as wins in September - but at 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds, Abreu has the look of a guy who will keep knocking the cover off baseballs all summer, and maybe keep his average around .300 too. And, really, it's pretty much impossible to taper your excitement about a first baseman who keeps drawing comparisons to Thor:

NINE homers in 5.5 innings in Cincy so far - and it's been raining heavily most of the game!

I counted 10.

The all time record by both teams in a single game is 10 Toronto and Baltimore (1987).

The most homers in one game by one team is 10 by the Toronto Blue Jays (1987).

It's a good thing the records all count even though the game wasn't completed!

CINCINNATI -- Maybe it's good this one got suspended. Gave everybody a chance to dry off a bit, catch their breath and let those unbelievable numbers start to sink in.

Ten homers in only six innings. Three sets of back-to-back homers, tying a record. The most combined homers in a major league game since 2006.

And the Pirates and Reds still have a long way to go.

Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez hit back-to-back homers twice, and the Pirates and Reds hit 10 in all before rain forced a suspension after six innings with the score tied 7-all Monday night.

"I saw a lot of crazy stuff in Coors Field over the years," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who managed in Colorado for eight years. "I spent a lot of years there, saw a lot of homers, saw a lot of weather.

"This was as good as any of that, jammed into one evening."

The shocking slugfest will resume on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the top of the seventh inning. Conditions are expected to be drier but much colder.

Not that the weather seems to matter much when these two rivals get together.

"I've never seen anything like that," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "The way we got started, one team going in front of the other with home runs. I've seen a lot of home runs hit, but not in those conditions. You wouldn't imagine they would carry that far."

Pittsburgh hit six solo shots and Cincinnati had four homers, most of them into a heavy rain. Already, it's the most homers in a major league game since 2006 and the most combined homers for a game in Great American Ball Park's 12-year history.

Pittsburgh had three sets of back-to-back homers, only the third time that's happened in major league history.

The game was suspended following a 1-hour, 38-minute delay, the second time in less than a year that a game was suspended in Cincinnati. The Reds and Phillies were scoreless last April 16 in the middle of the ninth inning when play was halted because of rain, and Cincinnati won 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth the following day.

The Ohio River rivals were known more for trading hit-by-pitches last season. The Pirates and Reds plunked each other 28 times -- most in the majors -- while nailing down the two NL wild-card spots.

Their first matchup of 2014 was more swing-away than get-out-of-the-way. Ten of the 17 combined hits so far have cleared the wall. All but one of the 14 runs has come on a homer.

"It wouldn't be a Pittsburgh-Cincinnati game without some drama," Walker said.

Pittsburgh went back-to-back three times. Walker and Sanchez did it in the second inning off Homer Bailey and again in the sixth off J.J. Hoover. Starling Marte and Travis Snider teamed up in the fifth off Bailey.

It was only the third time in major league history that a team had three sets of back-to-back homers in a game, according to STATS. The others: Cincinnati against the Braves in 1956, and Boston against the Yankees in 1977.

"I certainly wouldn't think that I would find my way attached to a home run record," Walker said. "The game's not even over yet, so I don't know how to express what's going on. But that's pretty cool."

Both teams had a chance to take a lead with the rain coming down heavier and the field getting muddier. The starters and bullpens failed to hold on.

Wandy Rodriguez gave up Joey Votto's two-out homer in the bottom of the fifth inning, putting Cincinnati up 6-5. The umpires inspected the infield, called for dry dirt and decided to continue.

Walker and Sanchez connected again off Hoover for a 7-6 lead in the sixth. It was only the second time that two Pirates went back-to-back twice in a game, according to STATS. Toby Atwell and Jerry Lynch also did it against the Reds on April 27, 1954.

Devin Mesoraco's solo shot off Bryan Morris tied it at 7 in the bottom of the sixth. It was the first time since June 18, 2006, that two major league teams combined for 10 homers in a game -- the Tigers hit eight and the Cubs three at Wrigley Field that day.

Something about Great American turns the Pirates into power hitters. They also hit six homers in Cincinnati last Sept. 28 during an 8-3 win that clinched home-field advantage for the NL wild-card game. Then they beat the Reds at PNC Park in the one-game playoff.

Pittsburgh has 14 homers in its last three games at Great American, four of them by Walker

JOE: Another one was hit after I posted that. Game resumes at 5:30 today, so they can break some records.

I'll be checking in from the library tonight.

It will resume at 4:30 Chicago time.

Another article on that game:

Reds and Pirates combine for 10 homers in weather-suspended slugfest


During a night filled with crazy games, only one had 10 home runs. Only one had a lengthy rain delay with sheets coming down that might have forced even Carl Spackler and Bishop Pickering inside. Only one didn’t end. Of course, all of that happened in the same game.

The Pirates and Reds traded homers for six innings on Monday night, with each one landing like a counterpunch. The lead went back and forth six times, which wouldn’t have been noteworthy if it were a basketball game. A baseball team, though, can go an entire week without seeing leads change hands that often. When it all ended, or, more accurately, was suspended, the teams were tied at seven. The game will be resumed at 5:30 ET on Tuesday.

Interestingly enough, the first run of the game was not by way of the longball. Andrew McCutchen kicked off the scoring with an RBI single that scored Starling Marte. It was the first and last run that did not come via a homer. Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez went back-to-back twice, with both of Walker’s homers tying the game, and both of Sanchez’ giving the Pirates a one-run lead. Marte and Travis Snider also went back-to-back in the fifth, giving the Pirates three sets of back-to-back jacks. Walker and Sanchez were two of four players on Monday to hit multiple homers. Walker’s second homer also contributed this wonderful GIF:

While Pittsburgh won the home run battle, at least for now, 6-4, the Reds got more buck for their bang, belting out three two-run homers and a solo shot. The first, a two-run shot by Todd Frazier, put them up 2-1 in the bottom of the first. After the first of the Walker-Sanchez back-to-backs, Ryan Ludwick crushed a two-run bomb of his own to center, putting the Reds back in front by a run. In the fifth inning, Joey Votto absolutely destroyed a Wandy Rodriguez offering, giving the Reds a 6-5 lead. Devin Mesoraco ended the home-run barrage with a solo shot in the sixth that saved the Reds, at least for one day.

The Great American Ballpark may play like a bandbox, especially in the summer, but the stadium had little to do with the outburst on Monday. The rain made it seemingly impossible for pitchers to get a good grip on the ball, resulting in a number of hanging breaking balls that the hitters did not miss. Luckily for both managers, they only used two pitchers apiece. With at least 12 innings of baseball spread across two games on Tuesday, they’ll need to have all hands on deck. Those who take the ball will have to hope for conditions that are just a bit more conducive to pitching.

Neither team led by more than one run. The Pirates were in front four separate times, and the Reds had three different one-run leads. The Reds managed to score seven runs on seven hits, even though it was the Pirates who binged on solo homers. It was the wildest game on one of the wildest nights of the young season, and it figures that such a wild night would drag into Tuesday. The Reds and Pirates made sure that would happen.

I'm amazed that the umps didn't stop the game earlier. It was raining very hard for quite awhile. Every half inning, the ground crew was using bag after bag of sand and drying agent.

I watched the highlights of those home runs last night. That was fun to watch.