MLB Weekly Recap (April 6–12): Athletics Sweep, Yankees Losing Streak, Fighting on the Field??

Hey babes!!

Last week in baseball? A little chaotic… in the best way

In this weekly recap (April 6–12), we’re breaking down all the biggest moments—from dominant sweeps to surprise teams quietly making a name for themselves.

We talk:

•  The Rangers staying hot and sweeping the Mariners 
•  The Athletics and Nationals pulling off unexpected sweeps (don’t sleep on them!!) 
•  The Yankees’ early-season struggles and what that might mean 
•  The Rockies and Twins showing flashes of something interesting 
•  And the Red Sox trying to find their rhythm 

Plus, we have to talk about the tension...
From near fights to hit-by-pitch drama, this week had a little edge to it, and we’re getting into what that says about the game right now.

If you’re new to baseball or just want a soft, story-driven way to keep up with the season, you’re in the right place 

Thanks for hanging with me in the softest corner of sports media.

Follow me on Instagram!

Subscribe to my Substack!

Get my Baseball Score Log on Amazon!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey babe! Welcome to Baseball for Girls, where baseball meets soft girl energy. I'm Shawnessy, and here we do baseball with heart, humanity, and a little humor. So, whether you're brand new to the game or deep in your baseball era, you're in the right place. So grab something cozy and settle in. And let's get into today's episode. Let's play ball. So last week was pretty pretty interesting. I feel like tensions were high. We had some fights break out, an almost breakout last week. Um, so that was really interesting. We had a lot of sweeps during the weekday and the weekend series. So we're gonna go through that. Um, so for last week, the Orioles swept the White Sox, so that's not terribly surprising. The other sweep was with the Rangers, so the Rangers did sweep the Mariners. Unfortunately, I'm also a Mariners fan, um, so it was definitely hard to watch. Uh, the Rangers have definitely been on a tear. They also swept the Orioles recently, uh, the week before. So they've been doing pretty well. The Rockies, they actually swept the Astros. Super surprising. Um, the Rockies have actually been doing pretty well. Um, they are 6 to 10, so they've had six wins and 10 losses, which I mean I guess doesn't sound that great, but the Rockies, I feel like that's a pretty good start for the Rockies. The other team that had a sweep last week was the Twins. They swept the Tigers. The twins have also been doing pretty well. Um, they are they have won nine um and have lost ten game or have lost seven games, and so they're also trying to get warmed up over the weekend. There were a couple of surprising sweeps. Um, namely, the athletics swept the Mets, which was the first time in franchise history for the athletics. They've never swept the Mets before, and the Nationals they swept the Brewers, and that's the first time that's happened in 15 years. So the Nationals and the Athletics are definitely teams to look out for. They're some of the teams that you don't really think about as being super good. So, you know, like the White Sox or the like the Nationals athletics or like the Rockies, you don't really always think of them as being like those top teams or like a team to be afraid of when they come to your town. Um, but the athletics, they're they're stepping up, and the nationals are stepping up their game. I did get a chance to watch one of the National Nationals games and um Abrams. He's definitely super good. Um, that one of those games he he tried to hit it like there was a bases loaded situation and he grounded out, and then that ended the inning, but then the next time he got up, he had a solo home run. So, and I think that was a part of how they were able to win that game, too. So they are a bit of a sneaky bunch. Um, you definitely have to watch out for them, don't count them out too early in the game. They seem to have to come back a lot of the times. They don't score very early, but they really attack the other team's bullpen. So that just means that once the other team once once the other team's starter, so the other team's starting pitcher comes out of the game, which is around between like the fifth and the seventh inning, like the starting pitcher is usually removed from the game and then the bullpen. So the relieving pitchers will come in. Um, and it seems as though the nationals have been doing really well in those later innings when you're facing a different pitcher than the starting pitcher. Because remember, like your starting pitcher is one of your like your best pitchers, like you want them to um start the game so that you can have a good chance of winning. Um, the Padres swept the Rockies, which you know kind of sucked after the Rockies just swept the Astros. So, you know, maybe they were just tired, you know, they were a little tired. They uh the Rockies had swept the Astros at home, and so then the Astros had to go to San Diego, which is not really that far. Um, so maybe they were just they were tired. Um, and that actually was a four-game series um over the weekend. And the other oh, and when the twins swept the tigers, that also was a four-game series. So that's even more impressive when you win four games in a row against a team. And the Rays also swept the Yankees this past weekend. Glorious. The Yankees have been struggling a little bit, they have eight wins and seven losses. Um, and they've been on a bit of a losing streak, it seems. They have definitely at least lost those past three games, and um, they lost, oh, they lost to the athletics. I'm looking at my notes here during the week. They played the athletics and they lost that series to the athletics. So the Yankees have won have lost five games in a row. Um, so they are trying to break that losing streak today. Um in well, I guess not today. They're probably they don't play today, which is April 13th, they play tomorrow, and it'll be the Angels versus the Yankees, so they'll be playing at home. So they're definitely hoping for some of that home home field advantage. Um, because both well, because when they were swept by the Rays, they were playing at the Rays Stadium Tropicana. So they're probably hoping that they can come back and win a game. So those were like the most interesting sweeps. So last week, um, during the weekday series, the Dodgers won their series against the Blue Jays, the Cubs won their series versus the Rays, the Guardians won their series against the Royals, the Padres won their series against the Pirates, so the that means that the Padres were actually on a five-game winning streak right now. The Cardinals um won their series against the Nationals, and the Red Sox won their series against the Brewers. Um, let's take a beat to talk about the Red Sox though. They have definitely been struggling over the start of this season, um, but they were able to win the series against the Red Sox. Um, sorry, they're able to win the series against the Brewers, and they were able to win their series against the Cardinals this past weekend. So they are trying to get warmed up and really come back. I mean, it's the Red Sox, you know. They there's high expectations for this clubhouse, um, always, and so they really are trying to live up to that. The Braves won their series against the Angels, and the Giants won their series against the Phillies. Um, oh, and the D-Backs won their series against the Mets last week as well. The Reds um and Marlins split their four-game series that they had last week, and like I mentioned, the twins swept the Tigers in their four-game series last week. And then over this past weekend, the Orioles won their series against the Giants. So the Giants had won their series against the Phillies um at home, but then when they traveled to Baltimore, they, you know, they uh they realized that the O's are not a force to be reckoned with, okay. Um, and then the Dodgers won their series against the Rangers. Um, definitely loved to see that after the Rangers swept the Mariners earlier in the week. So loved that. Um, also I love the Dodgers too. Um, and the Pirates won their series against the Cubs. The D-Backs won another series against the Phillies, so they won their series against the Mets during the week, and then they came back and won against the Phillies over the weekend. So the D-Backs are doing pretty well. The Twins won their series against the Blue Jays. They lost the first game, but then they won the last two. So the Twins won, let's see, four, five, six, six out of the seven games um from this past week. The Guardians lost their series against the Braves. It was actually a pretty interesting. Well, I guess it wasn't really that interesting of a game, but the Braves versus Guardians or Guardians versus Braves game was the primetime game for Sunday night, and the Braves really um they won by a lot, so it ended up being a 13-1. So the Guardians didn't have a good night last night, but we know overall the Guardians are pretty good. They did win their series against the Royals earlier in the week. Um, and in general, we know the Guardians to be a good team. They've won nine and lost seven games as of today. Um, so we're not terribly worried about the Guardians, but it was just it's always hard when your game is uh the prime time game on a Sunday night what everybody's gonna be watching. It's not just on like a local channel, like it's a broadcasted channel, and then you get pummeled like that. I'm sure Guardians fans were not not happy with that. Um, but it was a Braves game, it was at um truist park. So I always like it when the home team wins, you know, at home. Um because I know what it feels like to be the home team and your team is losing, and it's just really sad. So good for them. Let's see. Um, like I mentioned, the Red Sox um won their series against the Cardinals, um, the Tigers swept the Marlins, the Angels won their series against the Reds, and like I mentioned before, the Athletics swept the Mets. So those are all the games from the past week. Some interesting things that happened during the week. Um, so at the beginning of the week, when the Reds won four games in a row, that was their best 10 game start in a really, really long time. Um, Jose Ramirez, who plays for the Guardians, um, has played um 1,620 games, and that was as of last Monday. So obviously now he has even more, but that was their franchise record, so no one else in a Guardians uniform has played that many games. Um, and like I was mentioning with the Nationals on Monday, the Nationals had the biggest comeback um so far this year. So the Nationals last week, um, they were playing the Guardian or they're playing the Cardinals, and even though they lost that series, they won that game nine to six. I do believe I was I don't think I watched the entire game, but I remember watching that game on MLB Big Inning. So I was, you know, watching it as much as they allow you to watch it. I'm pretty sure that game was three to six. Um, or you know, um, like the Nationals had three and the Cardinals had six, and then they came back, like I was talking about earlier, they came back in the last couple of innings and they um had one inning where they uh scored six times. Um I believe it was it was either the eighth or the ninth inning where they scored um six times, and so then they had to it forced into uh the bottom of the ninth and the Cardinals ended up losing. So the Nats are not a force to be working with either, you know. You gotta watch out, you really do. Um I also wanted to mention some of the interesting things that kind of happened over the week. So, like I said earlier, tensions were running a little bit high. Um, there were uh there's one fight that broke out, and that happened during the Braves versus Angels game last week. So um that was a Wednesday game. Um, like I mentioned, the Braves did win that series against the Angels. And on that Wednesday, um, Jorge Soler hit a home run. So the score for that game was Braves 7 to 2, and Soler homered off of Lopez, ran all over Lopez in that first inning, and then in his next at bat, um, he was hit by a fastball by Lopez. And in his in the fifth inning, Soler ended up charging towards the mound um because Lopez threw another ball at him that like s like went right past his head. Um and it kind of looked like he was intentionally trying to hit him. Um, so they kind of had like this stare down for a moment, and then all of a sudden, Solaire starts walking towards Lopez um and they start fighting in the middle of the game. Um it was very um interesting to watch. I was watching it live. I looked away for like a minute and I look back and they're like everyone's rushing onto the field because of a fight just started. Um it was I think that, you know, it's we're living in a different time where fighting is not as cute as it was, you know, back in the 1900s. Like that was definitely something that went on a lot. Um, so that was interesting. And then another time that something happened was with William Wilson Contreras. So he plays for the Red Sox. He has been hit um 121 times in his uh over 10-year career, and 24 of those times have been by the Brewers. So, like I mentioned, the Red Sox won their series against the Brewers, and during one of those games that they won, uh Wilson Contreras was at the plate, and he was hit by the pitcher Woodruff, and that was the sixth time like in their uh careers uh that Woodruff had hit uh Contreras, um, and he has been hit 24 times overall by Brewer's pitchers. So Contreras is a little bit fed up to say the least. He ends up going on to talk to the media because you know they asked him about it after the game, and he said they always say I'm not trying to hit you. That gets old. So next time they hit me again, I'm gonna take one, take one of them out. That's a message, you know. I don't know if you're allowed to uh threaten people in the media, but nothing's happened to him. Um, so I guess it's fine. But I mean it makes sense, you know, like you feel like someone's trying to hit you intentionally all the time, especially especially with one specific pitcher or just one specific team, like you are constantly getting hit by them. It makes sense to be upset about that. Um, but they didn't end up in a fight or anything, but Contreras did have some words after that. Um, so then, like with the Soler Lopez situation, there was a suspension. Um, they were susp they were both kicked out of that game after that fight, and um they were given a suspension and they had to pay an undisclosed fine. Both of them appealed their suspension, and so then while it's an appeal, they can still play. So the next day, Solaire hits a home run in his game, and so I was like watching it, I was like, huh. Well, good for him, but also isn't he supposed to not be playing? Um, and you know, a few minutes later the announcer did mention that he was not supposed to he had um filed for that appeal and yet he was allowed to play. So very interesting that that kind of thing can happen. So, I mean, what do you think about hit by pitches? Back in the day, like if someone um got hit by a pitch by like by the pitcher, that just meant that the next person um when the teams switched sides um and the other team's pitcher was on, that first batter was definitely gonna get hit um as well, just as like a payback kind of thing. Um, or there would be a fight that would break out or something, like there would be um some sort of action that we don't say is okay anymore, but that used to be completely acceptable back in the day. So I in my opinion, you know, I think you know we should try to not fight. Um, but I whenever I'm watching very, very old games, and in one inning, one pitcher hits the batter, and they you know just kind of take it, and then the next inning, the other pitcher hits that team's batter, and then they're just like, okay, we're even. I mean, if that's how they want to play, then that's that's how they want to play, and it and then that way it feels resolved, I guess, for both teams. Like, okay, we both hit someone, so now we feel even, you know. But I don't know. Honestly, they should just try not to hit anybody, just don't hit anyone, and it'll be fine, but it can be tricky. I'm sure it's hard to throw a ball 100 miles per hour and not hit someone that's standing in front of you. So, those are the two main things that happened last week um that I thought were really interesting. Um, and so overall, I think this is a very good season so far. I mean, there's been a lot of surprising sweeps um and teams that are really getting hot, um, and the teams that are cooling down, like the Yankees. We thought that they were gonna be super hot um for the first part of this uh season, but we're not even through April and they're already cooling down, so we'll see what happens. Um, so thanks for tuning in for another episode of Baseball for Girls. I'll be back again next week with another recap of this week that's coming up. Um oh, I meant to mention the Astros are playing the Mariners in a four-game series that started on Saturday that ends today. So I didn't have the score for tonight's game. Uh, so I don't know if the Mariners are gonna sweep um or they're just gonna win this series, but they already have won three out of the four games. So either way, the Mariners have definitely won this series. So tonight they're looking for a sweep. But alright, thanks for tuning in, and I'll talk to you guys next time. Bye.