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Brusdar Boosts the Boys in Blue and 4 Fun Things from Monday

Sometimes you need a friend. It helps when they throw 100.

Mondays, am I right? While yesterday was largely a travel day around MLB, there was still plenty of fun to go around in the world of baseball. Let’s get you up to speed with the best things you missed from Monday’s action.

 

Markakis Knocks 500th Double

 

 

Nick Markakis continued his eternal climb to counting stat glory as he notched double No. 500 on his career Monday night. Markakis has been a fan favorite and the model of consistency ever since his debut in 2006, and is fourth among active players in doubles (Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and Robinson Cano ahead of him). Monday’s two-bagger was his first on the season, and his 2359th hit in his career (for those of you on the 3000 watch).

Markakis has hit .250 (4-for-16) since his return to the Braves this year.

 

Brusdar the Bullpen Buddy

 

 

“Bazooka” Brusdar Graterol is already known far and wide for his ability to seemingly throw 100 mph in his sleep, but did you also know he’s an 80-grade cheering section too? Watch here as Graterol hyped up his teammate Joc Pederson for a running catch in the top of the first inning Monday night, and gave him a Tiger-esque fist pump after he tracked the ball down.

Just get another look at the form on that fist pump:

 

 

Just a pro. Something tells me the NL West will be seeing a lot of that fist pump for years to come.

 

Guillorme Pitches the Ninth

 

https://gfycat.com/unnaturalfemininegrison

 

The Mets got mollywhopped Monday by a 16-3 margin, and elected to save the bullpen by turning to infielder Luis Guillorme to pitch the top of the ninth inning. Guillorme made his first pitching appearance count as he retired Josh Harrison, Starlin Castro, and Michael A. Taylor in order, establishing his ERA at a perfect 0.00. I’m not sure why the Mets let the Nationals score 16 before calling on their secret weapon out of the bullpen, but maybe Guillorme’s good outing tonight will inspire Luis Rojas to increase his workload down the stretch.

 

L.M.C. loses the No-No

 

https://gfycat.com/academiccoldaustraliancurlew

 

Lance McCullers, Jr. had it all working in his start against the Giants last night, and was even able to suppress the scorching hot Donovan Solano through his first two times through the order. Solano eventually found a way to crack through, and banged this 1-2 pitch down the third base line for a double to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Solano has hit .466 during his streak, and currently leads all of baseball with a .429 average.

It looked like Alex Bregman might have had a play on the ball there, but he couldn’t save McCullers’ no-hit bid, and the pitcher was replaced at the start of the eighth inning. It was still a strong night for McCullers, however, who threw seven shutout innings coming off of one of the worst performances of his career the start before. Despite a three-run comeback attempt by the Giants at the top of the ninth inning, the Astros held on to this one, winning 6-4 and snapping a five-game losing streak following a dreadful road trip through the west.

 

Have a great Tuesday.

 

(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

Noah Scott

Noah Scott is a long-suffering baseball writer and knuckleball connoisseur. If you want to talk old timey baseball names, traffic on the 405, or lukewarm hip-hop opinions you can find him on Twitter @noahascott6

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