Friday brings us an odd schedule. There are only 12 games, thanks to lingering funkiness from early-season schedules mostly due to home openers. Speaking of, the Cardinals, White Sox, Rockies, Giants, Diamondbacks and Astros all play their first home game on Friday.
There's also a surprisingly -- since it's so early -- big game in Milwaukee (here's why it's big). The Astros surely would like to right the ship against the 6-4 A's and there's a fun interleague matchup in Philly with two 4-1 teams.
The day started with a wild one on Chicago's south side.
Select games can be streamed regionally via fuboTV (Try for free). For more on what channel each game is on, click here.
Baseball schedule/scores for Monday, April 1Bellinger's hot start continues
There is no one hotter than Dodgers first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger so far this season. Bellinger went into Friday's game against the Rockies with a .438/.455/.906 batting line while leading the majors in runs (nine), home runs (five), RBI (13), and total bases (29). He's been a one-man wrecking crew.
Bellinger adding to those MLB-leading totals with a three-run home run against Tyler Anderson on Friday. Check it out:
Last year Bellinger hit his sixth home run in his 41st game. This year he has six in eight games. Also, Bellinger has already hit two home runs against lefties this year (Anderson and Madison Bumgarner). He hit six homers against lefties all last season.
Bellinger attributed his hot start to improved preparation -- "I think it's the consistency factor of the cage work that the coaches have helped me with that I'm learning, and I've been feeling pretty good," he told NBC 4's Eric He -- though it's also worth noting the Dodgers have a new hitting coach: Robert Van Scoyoc, the man who helped turn J.D. Martinez into one of the game's elite hitters.
The season is very young and inevitably Bellinger will slump at some point. Right now, the Dodgers have to be encouraged by what they're seeing after a disappointing (but not dreadful) sophomore year from their young slugger.
Moncada helps ChiSox outlast Mariners is wild game
The home opener on Chicago's south side was one of the wildest games so far this season. The White Sox led 6-1 after two innings, the Mariners rallied to take an 8-6 lead in the sixth, then the ChiSox came back to win the game 10-8.
Yoan Moncada had a two-run double in the second inning and the go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning. Tim Anderson went 3 for 4 with a home run as well. He scored four runs and drove in three.
Six games into the season, Moncada is hitting .458/.519/.875 with a mere 14.8 percent strikeout rate. Last year he struck out in 33.4 percent of his plate appearances. The year before it was 32.0 percent. Moncada's always made great contact. Consider his 2018 Statcast ranks:
Average exit velocity: 90.6 mph (82nd percentile)Hard-hit rate: 44.2 percent (85th percentile)The problem was Moncada didn't make enough contact. It's early and this could be nothing more than a conveniently-timed hot streak. Then again, Moncada is still only 23, and he wouldn't be the first player to improve his contact rate as he gains experience. Maybe this is nothing. Or maybe it is a sign Moncada is poised to break out as a star.
As a reminder of how early it is in the season, Anderson's 3 for 4 game raised his batting line 409 OPS points Friday. 409! He has one strikeout in 17 plate appearances this year. His strikeout issues weren't as extreme as Moncada's (24.6 percent last year), but more contact is obviously a good thing. At the very least, keep an eye on these two young ChiSox infielders. They might be on the cusp of becoming special players.
Quick hits
