Blake Snell Holds 1st Place After Wins in Saturday's MLB The Show Players League
April 26, 2020
Tampa Bay Rays left-handed starting pitcher Blake Snell suffered a rare defeat Saturday but maintained his hold on first place after going 2-1 to move to 21-4 overall, a full game better than the Texas Rangers' Joey Gallo at 19-4.
Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto pulled off the upset over Snell, who has already clinched a top-eight spot in the 30-team standings for a playoff berth.
The rest of the scores can be found below:
Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
vs. Carpenter (STL) 2-0 Win
vs. Santana (CLE) 5-1 Win
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
vs. Soto (WAS) 4-0 Loss
vs. Buttrey (LAA) 8-0 Win
vs. Dahl (COL) 1-0 Loss
vs. Happ (CHI) 1-0 Loss
Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays
vs. Dahl (COL) 13-0 Win
vs. Soto (WAS) 2-0 Loss
vs. Buttrey (LAA) 6-0 Win
Ty Buttrey, Los Angeles Angels
vs. Tucker (PIT) 2-0 Loss
vs. Tatis Jr. (SD) 8-0 Loss
vs. Carpenter (STL) 3-1 Win
vs. Giolito (CWS) 1-0 Win
vs. Pence (SF) 1-0 Loss
vs. Snell (TB) 6-0 Loss
Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
vs. Santana (CLE) 5-2 Win
vs. Giolito (CWS) 2-0 Loss
vs. Buttrey (LAA) 3-1 Loss
vs. Garrett (CIN) 2-1 Loss
vs. Soto (WAS) 1-0 Loss
David Dahl, Colorado Rockies
vs. Goodrum (DET), 1-0 Loss
vs. Snell (TB) 13-0 Loss
vs. Tatis Jr. (SD) 1-0 Win
vs. Santana (CLE) 7-4 Loss
Niko Goodrum, Detroit Tigers
vs. Dahl (COL) 1-0 Win
vs. Happ (CHI) 2-0 Loss
vs. Lux (LAD) 2-1 Loss
Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs
vs. Lux (LAD) 3-1 Win
vs. Goodrum (DET) 2-0 Win
vs. Tatis Jr. (SD) 1-0 Win
vs. Santana (CLE) 2-0 Win
Gavin Lux, Los Angeles Dodgers
vs. Happ (CHI) 3-1 Loss
vs. Tucker (PIT) 3-2 Win
vs. Goodrum (DET) 2-1 Win
Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
vs. Santana (CLE) 3-1 Loss
vs. Soto (WAS) 2-1 Win
vs. Buttrey (LAA) 1-0 Win
Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
vs. Carpenter (STL) 5-2 Loss
vs. Pence (SF) 3-1 Win
vs. Giolito (CWS) 5-1 Win
vs. Happ (CHC) 2-0 Win
vs. Dahl (COL) 7-4 Win
Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
vs. Tatis Jr. (SD) 4-0 Win
vs. Snell (TB) 2-0 Win
vs. Pence (SF) 2-1 Loss
vs. Carpenter (STL) 1-0 Win
Cole Tucker, Pittsburgh Pirates
vs. Buttrey (LAA) 2-0 Win
vs. Lux (LAD) 3-2 Loss
Soto went 3-1 himself to move to 14-12 overall, but he's likely too far behind to make the playoffs.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett and San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. are tied for the eighth seed at a 17-10 record in this 29-game season, and six teams sit between that duo and Soto on the ledger.
Elsewhere, Chicago White Sox right-handed starter Lucas Giolito kept his playoff hopes alive after a 2-0 night to improve to 16-9 and move to seventh in the standings.
Back-to-back home runs against the Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana in a 5-1 win helped the cause, and that elicited some praise from White Sox play-by-play man Jason Benetti:
He has next to no breathing room, however, with the Garrett-Tatis combo mere percentage points behind.
Giolito was helped by a rough outing from Tatis, however, as the future superstar went 1-3 on the night to fall onto the playoff border.
Tatis didn't get any help from his real-life partner on the left side of the diamond in third baseman Manny Machado, who botched this play in a game against Soto:
Céspedes Family BBQ @CespedesBBQJuan Soto just beat Fernando Tatis Jr. to move to 11-9 key moment was Manny Machado not making this play with two outs -- much to Soto's surprise -- allowing the inning to continue "if Manny is missing a ball, that's a good sign!" https://t.co/RRi1596s2Z https://t.co/14FMR3fpOC
Still, Tatis made his one win count, hitting a home run as his virtual self and making a diving catch in left field to seal a 6-0 no-hitter versus Ty Buttrey and the Los Angeles Angels:
The MLB The Show Players League is occurring as the season undergoes a delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One player from each MLB club is representing his franchise and playing for a $25,000 donation to be made to his city's Boys & Girls Club. The league format is a 29-game round robin with three-inning games.
All players' local Boys & Girls Clubs will get $5,000 each regardless of player performance.
The top eight teams in the overall standings will make the playoffs, and a postseason tournament will emerge from there. At the end, a tournament victor will be crowned with the $25,000 donation in his name being made.