3 straight HRs to start is déjà vu all over again

0:00Yeah, I mean, every game's big for us. I'm going to feel like it's been like that since before the trade deadline. Um, but no, I mean, that's a really good team over there and a good series win here to start off the homestand is huge. From MLB.com, this is the Morning lineup podcast for Monday, September 7th. I'm your host Anthony Castrovins and it's my labor of love to tell you everything you need to know about baseball on this Labor Day, beginning with good things coming in threes for the swinging friars. If Gary Cole goes to the Hall of Fame, this won't be mentioned on his plaque. Cole and his Yankees were going for the series win Sunday against the San Diego squad fighting for its playoff lives and the Padres came out swinging. First, it was Fernando Tatis Jr. Taking the other way to right field, the Mingus going back at the watch. God. Home run. Home run number 20 of the season for Fernando. Next up, Jake Croninworth.

1:01Taking to the other way down the left field line towards the corner and that is gone. Home run for Croninworth. Padres go back to back in the first inning and then Manny Machado. To center. Jones going back. Look it up. They're going back to back to back. Tatis Croninworth Machado all leave the yard. How about that start? Three batters. Three homers. The Padres franchise had done this before way back in 1987 when Marvel win Tony Gwynne and John Cruck began the club's home opener against the Giants the same way. But more incredibly, Cole had served up back to back to back to back, jacks to open a game before. It also happened to him on June 9th, 2022 against the twins. He's the only MLB pitcher in history to begin two different games serving up three homers in a row. A strange sub-blot in an otherwise stellar career. Michael King's six-scoreless innings preserved the early lead and the Padres went on to win four to three to remain half a game back at the diamond backs in the NL Wildcard race.

2:03Labor day weekend? No. It was walkoff weekend in Cleveland. With the Guardians hosting the Division rival Tigers and trying to hang tough in the AL playoff race, they won both ends of a double header on Friday with walkoffs, a Brian Roqueo homer in Game 1 and a Travis Pazana RBI single in Game 2. After dropping Saturday's game, the guards were back at its Sunday. He was tied up at two in the bottom of the 10th with runners on the corners when Daniel Schneeman joined the fun. The three to two win Mark Cleveland's seventh walkoff win and the Tigers' 11th walkoff loss of the season. Meanwhile the royals helped out their AL central brethren with a six to one win over the visiting blue jays. That per Toronto a game behind the Guardians in the AL Wildcard race.

3:05But the first place White Sox weren't as helpful. They blasted the twins 10 to one to maintain their two and a half game edge on Cleveland atop the central. When a role this Chapman was demoted from the Yankees closing role more than four years ago, it would have been hard to imagine him doing what he did Sunday. In closing out the Red Sox three to one win over the Orioles, Chapman became the ninth member of the 400 saves club. He did it fittingly on a 101 mile per hour heater and he further padded his Hall of Fame case after setting the record for career relief strikeouts earlier this season. The team that could use some relief is the Orioles who were swept by the visiting Red Sox and have now dropped six in a row to fall four back of the Guardians in the AL Wildcard race.

4:05The good news is they host Cleveland in a three game set that begins at 135 this afternoon, so they've got a chance to make a direct dent in that deficit. And Philly, the brave star right filter might as well be known as a boonia. Philly's fans love to hate on Ronald Acunia Jr. and he loves to give it right back to them at the plate, especially when he can tie it up in the 8th. That tied it at four and Atlanta got the go ahead in the ninth on Austin Riley's RBI triple as the braves went on to beat the Philly's five to four. So this four game set wraps up the Zephthnoon at 105 Eastern. The braves have already secured the season series and the tiebreaker over the fills as it stands the braves NLE's lead on the Philly's is back up to five games.

5:07Coming up, Ellie Dela Cruz's latest heroics were for the birds. That's after the break. It was an impeccable Sunday for Ellie Dela Cruz. And the fourth inning of his reds home game against the brewers, an injured bird was on the field with pitcher Brady Singer, first based on Chris Gucioni and the reds bat boy unable to corral it. Suddenly, Dela Cruz, the DH for the day, sprinted out of the dugout. Ellie is coming up the steps. Ellie Dela Cruz, bird whisperer, the red zone bird man, a friend of fans and animals alike. People were still tweeting about Ellie's bird save when he came to the plate later that same inning and unlike the bird, took flight. The next inning, Ellie added go ahead to run double, a wing and a prayer and four

6:09RBI's for Dela Cruz and no birds were harmed in the reds 12 to 8 win. Labor Day weekend is a good time to have a burger or two of them. There's a swing and that's a drive to center field. It has a chance. Go! Boy is that a big two run homer. Jake Burgers two homer day and an eight to six win over the race was huge for a hungry Rangers team that had lost seven of 11 coming into Sunday. With the Astros three to two loss to the Diamondbacks, Texas is two games back of first in the AL West and also two back of the Guardians for the final AL playoff spot. Time for our latest PCA PSA and is ongoing bid for the NL MVP Pete Crow Armstrong reached a nice big round number in Miami. In the air, Jake right fell away back and it's homer number 40 for number four. With 40 homeruns, PCA is now seven steals away from a 40-40 season.

7:09The cubs weren't able to nail down a sweep against the Marlins who won this one 10-3 to get back to 500. The fish are four back of the D-backs for the NL's last wild card slide. Elsewhere in MLB. The Dodgers still aren't sure what to do with Shohei O'Tani. The superstar was out of the lineup for the four straight day for Sunday's win over the nationals. In dealing with knee, biceps and neck issues, O'Tani's pitching has not only been paused, but his bat has been benched. The Dodgers are trying to determine whether to put him on the injured list or keep playing short-handed. O'Tani has just a 130 average and 494 OPS with zero homers in his last 12 games play. Arizona's aforementioned win over the Astros came with a scary moment when Geraldo Pardomo was struck in the head on the base pass by a liner from teammate Katal Marteng. Katal hits it hard. Katal Pardomo who's down. 93 out the bat at Katal Pardomo. Just to close. It was right in the middle. Ran into it almost. No way to avoid that shot, a collision of baseball and base runner.

8:12Pardomo will continue to be monitored with a head contusion. In his first career start against the Angels, his childhood favorite team, Orange County native Paul Schienes through five and a third squireless settings with four hits and two strikeouts in a one-nothing pirate's win. The Mariners avoided a sweep by the visiting A's with a two-nothing victory, but their playoff hopes are fading at six back in both the division and wildcard. The Cardinals got four perfect innings from Cooper Jerpie in his MLB debut in a 10-8 win over the Rockies. Finally, Boba Schetz go ahead, three run homer in the eighth, sent the Mets to a four-to-two win over the Giants. That's all for today's show. AJ Casavelle is with you tomorrow. Until then, thanks for listening. Please be sure to leave us a rating and review. Share this episode with the baseball lovers in your life and have a great Labor Day everyone.