MLB Notebook: Ronald Acuna Jr. may not be human

The MLB season is in full swing. With fans beginning to return to ballparks and the grind of a 162-game season upon us, let’s take a look at some of the biggest storylines this week from around the big leagues.

Dodgers, Padres Lock Up Again

Just a few days after taking two of three from their division rivals, the L.A. Dodgers are hosting the Padres in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium. The Padres eked out a 3-2 squeaker Thursday with the help of a clutch double play in the eighth inning, and a few more wins in the City of Angels would help San Diego close the current four-game gap in the NL West.

Ronald Acuna Jr. May Not Be Human

Before the season started, we took a look at Acuna’s home run prop, where the number was 37.5 dingers over the course of the season. He’s started the 2021 campaign on an absolute tear, and is currently hitting .419 with seven homers, 16 RBIs, a .486 on-base percentage, and an .887 slugging percentage.

The season is still young, but he got to seven homers in just 16 games and looks poised for a monster campaign.

What’s Happening to the Yankees?

After a 3-2 start, the Bronx Bombers proceeded to drop nine of 12 games before topping the Cleveland Indians 6-3 on Thursday. The AL East is very much up for grabs, and no team has made an effort to separate itself from the others.

Despite this poor start, the Yankees are just four games behind Boston as of this writing. Can the Yankees capitalize on opportunities against Cleveland, Baltimore, and Detroit over the next week and a half?

Seven Runs on Three Hits?

Thursday night saw one of the most bizarre games of the season to date. The Seattle Mariners improved to 12-7 on the season with a 7-3 win over the Boston Red Sox, and somehow scored their seven runs on just three hits. Two of those hits came in the decisive 10th inning, when Seattle scored four runs to break open a 3-3 tie.

According to ESPN, it’s the first time a team has scored seven or more runs on three or fewer hits since 1994.