(They told him to) Walk This Wade
LaMonte Wade Jr. (SFG): 3-6, 2 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
LaMonte Wade Jr. wasted no time introducing Luis Castillo (did the Mariners find a BOGO deal on Castillos?) to the bigs by driving his first pitch sinker deep to right field for a double. One inning later, with the bases loaded after an error on Castillo, Wade ran the count full after six fastballs in a row and hit back to the same spot again for another double, driving in two runs. Castillo was removed for a lefty reliever in the 4th, but Wade remained in the lineup – rather than tap out for his platoon partner Casey Schmitt – only to strike out. This worked to his advantage, however, as another righty came in relief in time for his fourth at-bat in the bottom of the fifth, and he proceeded to hammer another hard shot into right field. Rather than settle for another routine double, he stretched this run into a triple, narrowly sliding in under Jorge Polanco’s glove. Finally, in the bottom of the ninth, tied 8-8, Victor Robles – tired of chasing Wade’s constant onslaughts to deep right – probably took pitcher Gregory Santos aside, and in the immortal words of Aerosmith and Run DMC, suggested to “Walk This Wade.”
Prior to Friday’s game, Wade had been struggling a bit at the plate, going 1-for-16 vs. right-handed pitching (albeit his one hit was a home run). He had another chance to walk off a win at the bottom of the 11th, but he struck out versus Carlos Vargas with two on, one out. Willy Adames finished the job for him with a two-run single right after to end a wild back-and-forth game featuring almost 100 at-bats total between the two teams.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday
Kerry Carpenter (DET): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI & Riley Greene (DET): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI
A packed schedule of games on Friday began early in Detroit for the Tigers home opener, and the duo of Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene were ready to put on a show. By the bottom of the 4th inning, both had a pair of hits totaling 11 bases, and they ended up scoring 4 of the 7 Tigers runs for the day. Carpenter was the first Tiger to score two home runs on opening day since Prince Fielder in 2013, his first caroming off the right foul pole and his second vs. a left-handed pitcher despite being hitless against lefties so far this season.
Wilyer Abreu (BOS): 3-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
Despite coming into this season questionable to even see opening day due to a severe stomach bug that resulted in drastic weight loss (did he go to dinner with Mookie Betts before he left for Tokyo?), Wilyer Abreu did start the season and has been Boston’s hottest player to date. Abreu had a team-leading 326 wRC+ rating going into Friday, and he and Kristian Campbell have been an ultra-productive power duo, producing together in the sixth and seventh spot in the lineup vs. right-hand pitching. Those eager to see top prospect Roman Anthony will likely need to continue to wait as both have seen time in the outfield.
Brendan Donovan (STL): 3-5, HR, R, 3 RBI
On the other side of the Boston game, the Cardinals continued to surprise on offense with large contributions by Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, and Iván Herrera, who produced another home run. Before this game, Donovan had gone 0-for-9 in his last two games, but he should continue to see ample RBI chances as long as Nootbaar remains productive in the leadoff spot.
Corbin Carroll (ARI): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
After having a relatively quiet series vs the Yankees over the past three days, Corbin Carroll had two 110+ mph home runs off Jake Irvin in consecutive at-bats. His swings are so quick and clean that it almost looks effortless:
Geraldo Perdomo (ARI): 3-4, 2B, 2 R, SB
Geraldo Perdomo might be one of the least exciting names on the Diamondbacks roster, but it may be time to talk about him being a low-key fantasy asset for your team. In a surprising move, he took Ketel Marte’s spot batting second in the lineup vs. the Yankees on Thursday and was rewarded with a bases-loaded opportunity that he turned into a grand slam off Ryan Yarbrough in the 7th inning. Friday, he continued to produce with a double and a stolen base, and now has three multi-hit games in his last five starts. His 11 total RBI are tied for second behind only Aaron Judge.
Julio Rodríguez (SEA): 3-6, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB, SB & Jorge Polanco (SEA): 3-5, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB
The day that those of you who drafted Seattle players finally arrived – when they play anywhere else other than at T-Mobile Park! After only having one game producing more than 4 runs as a team, it was nice to see them matching run-for-run with the Giants in this one. Julio Rodríguez produced his first combo meal of the season, and he and Jorge Polanco were responsible for driving in more than half of Seattle’s 9 total runs for the day. This was at the expense of Justin Verlander’s home debut, as he was pulled in the 3rd inning after 65 total pitches.
Oswaldo Cabrera (NYY): 3-4, 4 RBI, BB
Most of the Yankees’ fantasy assets are probably already claimed in your fantasy leagues, but if Oswaldo Cabrera is securing regular third base duties and gaining confidence to put up stat lines like these, he may be worth consideration. Currently only owned in 4% of Yahoo leagues, he’s one to watch or someone to stash and hold to see if he can be a multi-category contributor in the short term.
Marcell Ozuna (ATL): 3-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI
In case you had not noticed, Atlanta had been winless until yesterday and was the last team in the majors to get their first win this season. There was some debate over whether Ozuna’s home run was truly over the wall, but Ozuna didn’t have any doubts:
Matt Olson also added his first home run of the season, and Michael Harris II had a productive 3-hit performance at the top of the lineup.
José Ramírez (CLE): 3-4, 3 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB
José Ramírez has had what could be called a boom-or-bust season so far, either going for multiple hits per game or nothing. After this triple home run performance, he now has 6 extra-base hits out of 8 hits overall for the season. This was Ramírez’s second three-homer game of his career, and since it happened late on Friday, here are all three in case you missed them:
Notable Injury News:
Ketel Marte left Friday’s game with a left hamstring strain – expected to go on IL.
Cody Bellinger was scratched from Friday’s game due to back tightness – considered day-to-day.
Luis Rengifo left Friday’s game in the 4th inning with left hamstring tightness – considered day-to-day, but had issues with this same hamstring earlier in the spring.
Nolan Gorman has been placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to April 2nd) with a right hamstring strain. Thomas Saggese – the Cardinals top prospect – has been called up in his place and can play multiple positions.
