May 2, 2021
Myles Straw grew up a big Tampa Bay Rays fan and has been to hundreds of games at Tropicana Field. Much for that reason, he’s more than a little familiar with Brandon Guyer. Which isn’t to say that Straw emulates the recently-retired outfielder. Guyer reached base via HBP a bruise-worthy 85 times from 2014-2018, and he did so despite never getting as many as 400 plate appearances in a single season. The bulk of his plunkings came in a Rays uniform.
When I talked to Straw this past Wednesday, he had played in 120 big-league games, all with the Houston Astros. He had never been hit by a pitch.
April MLB Quirkjians From Jazz and Pop to Ryan, Ryan, Ryan and Brian
play
Breaking down some of the biggest Quirkjians from April (1:31)
Tim Kurkjian gives some of his biggest Quirkjians, including a France vs. Fry matchup and Joe Musgrove playing left field. (1:31)
Analyst/reporter ESPN television
The Quirkjians are of my own making, an obsession for nearly 60 years. I ve always loved arcane stats, odd connections of arbitrary names and numbers, amazing coincidences that baseball, more than any other sport, always provides. Every night that you go to a major league game, or watch one on TV, you might see something you ve never seen before. Some Quirkjians are pointless. There will be no apologies for that here. Baseball can be pointless some days, and some days it s another marvelous feature of a beautiful game. So, with some stat confirmations from the Elias Sports Bureau, here are The Quirkjians for April.
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Emanuel goes 8 2/3 in relief in MLB debut, Astros bop Angels
By KRISTIE RIEKENApril 25, 2021 GMT
HOUSTON (AP) Kent Emanuel had just sat down in the bullpen and was preparing to enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee during the first inning on Saturday.
“All of the sudden they were like: ‘Hey, you better start loosening up,‘” he said. “I was like . here we go.’”
After toiling in the minors for seven long seasons, the Houston Astros pitcher was thrown into his major league debut at a moment’s notice.
And what a moment it was.
Emanuel worked 8 2/3 innings in relief, saving Houston’s bullpen after Jake Odorizzi left early with an injury, and the Astros routed the Los Angeles Angels 16-2.