MLB Bullets never fails to surprise

Congratulations to the Iowa Hawkeyes baseball team, who were eliminated in the Houston regional after going 1-2. However, both of their losses went down to the ninth inning.

To all of my critics: The Cubs are undefeated since my nickname power rankings article was published. So take that.

• The first no-hitter of the season was thrown by Marlins pitcher Edinson Volquez. . .no, that can’t be right. (Checks) It says it actually was Edinson Volquez! Next I’ll find out that Dallas Braden actually did throw a perfect game. Emma Span notes how unexpected Volquez’s gem was, especially since he hurt his ankle covering first base on a play in the first inning and had to talk his way into staying in the game.
• David Schoenfield has some more facts about how extraordinary Volquez’s feat was.
• Volquez threw the no-no on the birthday of his former teammate Yordano Ventura. Volquez dedicated the game to the departed pitchers Ventura and Jose Fernandez.
• Zach Kram thought the no-hitter was surprisingly moving and emotional.
• The other big news that happened on Saturday was that Jon Lester actually picked a runner off first base. No, actually the big news was that Albert Pujols hit his 600th career home run. It was a grand slam.
• Some interesting facts on Pujols’ 600 home runs. Here’s an another (alternative) fact: Pujols hit 560 of the 600 home runs against the Cubs.
• Grant Brisbee believes that Pujols’ milestone is “a big freaking deal.” He also notes that it may be a while before we see anyone else hit 600.
• Michael Baumann tells the story of Pujols’s career through seven milestone home runs. Bob Howry makes an appearance.
• One more feat. The Mariners’ Danny Valencia got a hit in nine straight plate appearances, tying a Raul Ibanez team record. Funny. I would have thought it was Harold Reynolds.
• Sad news as former major league Jimmy Piersall died at age 87. Piersall had been a coach in the Cubs system in the 1980s.
• Looking back at last week’s Mr. Met controversy, Mike Oz talks to other mascots to get their take on the situation.
• Matt Ufford believes that Mr. Met should embrace his new villainy.
• The butcher’s bill: Mariners infielder Jean Segura could miss two months with a sprained ankle.
• Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander will have an MRI on his “tight right groin.”
• The Red Sox put Eduardo Rodriguez on the disabled list after he slipped before his last start but made his start anyway.
• One minor trade as the Dodgers got lefty reliever Jason Wheeler from the Twins for “cash considerations.”
• R.J. Anderson predicts a big sell-off by the Marlins at the trade deadline.
• The Reds are likely to want to deal shortstop Zack Cozart while his value is high, but Matt Snyder points out one problem: few, if any, contending teams are likely to be in the market for a shortstop this July.
• The Blue Jays signing free agent DH Kendrys Morales was criticized at the time (although I linked to articles that argued both ways this winter) but as Jonathan Bernhardt points out, the Morales deal looks like a bargain at the moment.
• Tom Haudricourt notes that the Brewers are succeeding so far this season without having a left-handed pitcher on their staff. The Brewers say that they aren’t going to worry about it for now.
• Stacey Gotsulias examines how the Orioles are staying in contention despite poor performances from some of their stars. At least Buck Showalter has a good reason for leaving Zach Britton in the bullpen this year.
• Paul Swydan argues that despite a recent slide, the Rockies are still in good shape. Of course. Nothing beats the Rockies.
• Andrew Baggarly looks at the poor state of the Giants farm system.
• Craig Calcaterra looks a throwaway line from that piece from Johnny Cueto and wonders if the Giants poor record of developing Latin players is really hurting their clubhouse chemistry?
• Marly Rivera has an interview with Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez about his experience as a Mexican in MLB, as well as the state of baseball on both sides of the border.
• Bob Klapisch has a theory about what is wrong with Masahiro Tanaka.
• I’ve linked to several articles over the past few months, mostly from Fangraphs, on launch angles. But Buster Olney wonders if some batters haven’t been hurt by trying to change their launch angle.
• Joe Sparacio makes up a team of “unlikely All-Stars” so far in 2017.
• Will Leitch looks at who would win the end-of-the-season awards if they handed them out today.
• Braves infielder Brandon Phillips called it a “slap in the face” that the Reds gave out his number 4 to another player.
• Jonah Keri has a look at what was fun in baseball in May.
• Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera says he’s willing to take a fastball to his ribcage in order to keep flipping his bat. My hero.
• The Pirates had to wait for someone to sing “God Bless America” before they could challenge an inning-ending play. The call got overturned, so as it turned out, they had to have a second 7th-inning stretch.
• Jerry Crasnick profiles Rays outfielder Corey Dickerson and his obsession with good wood bats.
• Michael Lortz looks at the Rays attendance problems.
• A game at Marlins Park was delayed as they had to fix a fish tank damaged by a foul ball.
• Former Diamondbacks (and Cubs!) outfielder Luis Gonzalez was a real hero as he pulled a woman out of a burning car wreck.
• And finally, here’s the cutest thing you’ll see today. A two-year old girl in a pink tutu doing baseball drills at a ballpark in Oklahoma City.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.