Baseball fans and colleagues recognized writer Sarah Langs on her birthday this week. Lindsey Adler published an essay detailing Langs' passion for the sport and her approach to life while facing a terminal illness. Adler described Langs as someone who celebrates unique human feats in baseball history and encourages open kindness among those around her.On the field, pitching highlighted recent action. Hunter Greene delivered a strong outing for the Cincinnati Reds against the Washington Nationals. Greene struck out 12 batters over six innings, throwing 114 pitches. It was his 10th career game with double-digit strikeouts.April's top pitchers in each league began May with solid performances. National League Pitcher of the Month Max Fried pitched seven innings for his sixth win, allowing only one hit for the Tampa Bay Rays. American League Pitcher of the Month Yoshinobu Yamamoto carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers against Atlanta, finishing with six strikeouts in six innings.
Offenses featured multiple home runs from some players. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two solo home runs for the Chicago Cubs in their win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Michael Busch added a grand slam for the Cubs. Cal Raleigh also hit two home runs, including a grand slam, driving in five runs for the Seattle Mariners in their win against the Texas Rangers. Raleigh now leads MLB in home runs.
Oakland Athletics pitcher Gunnar Hoglund won his Major League debut. Hoglund pitched six innings with seven strikeouts against the Miami Marlins in his home state of Florida. The 25-year-old was acquired in the Matt Chapman trade with the Toronto Blue Jays and returned after elbow surgery in 2022.Several players faced injuries. José RamÃrez suffered a sprained right ankle during a play at first base. Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit on the forearm. Tests were negative for Tatis. Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Yankees was placed on the 10-day IL with an injury expected to sideline him for four to six weeks.
Ketel Marte returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup. The New York Mets are calling up pitcher Blade Tidwell. The Cincinnati Reds activated catcher Tyler Stephenson from the IL and placed outfielder Austin Hays on the IL.
Memorable plays included Johan Rojas of the Philadelphia Phillies making a leaping catch at the wall in deep center field against the Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Several teams also wore City Connect jerseys, with the Chicago White Sox debuting a uniform drawing inspiration from the Chicago Bulls, owned by the same person.As Adler wrote about Langs, "Sarah loves celebrating surprising human feats and the experience of witnessing something unexpected. For this, she chose the right profession."
