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MLB: The biggest moments of week 2, April 11 through April 17

By Jonas Thoms

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 15: Joe Maddon #70 of the Los Angeles Angels talks to umpire John Tumpane #74 after a balk was called in the fourth inning of the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on April 15, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. All players are wearing the number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 15: Joe Maddon #70 of the Los Angeles Angels talks to umpire John Tumpane #74 after a balk was called in the fourth inning of the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on April 15, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. All players are wearing the number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Best hitting week in MLB … Owen Miller, Cleveland Guardians

Miller crushed pitching all week, going 11-for-22 with six doubles and two home runs in six games and slashing .500/.538/1.045. The 25-year-old had four multi-hit games and three games with multiple extra-base hits. After a disappointing rookie season where he tallied -1.1 bWAR and hit .204/.243/.309, Miller has impressed in the early going and received starts at both first and second base.

Worst hitting week in MLB … Franmil Reyes, Cleveland Guardians

This award could have gone to a lot of guys. Aristides Aquino, for one, went 1-for-21 with 14 strikeouts but his one hit happened to be a home run. Reyes arguably added no offensive value for the entire week going 3-for-26 with nine strikeouts and slashing an awful .115/.148/.115. It gets worse for the designated hitter as he also grounded into three double plays. In 27 trips to the plate last week he accounted for 26 outs. All in all, the 26-year-old produced a -28 wRC+.

Best MLB start of the week … Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

A lot has already been said about Kershaw being removed from the game after needing only 80 pitches to toss seven perfect innings while striking out 13 on Wednesday. I can see why the Dodgers would make that move. They have a lot of money invested in Kershaw for this season, it was his first start, he has been limited by injuries recently and the lockout led to a shortened Spring Training. That said, I can’t come up with a great reason why this was a good move for Kershaw.

The lefty has won three Cy Young Awards, a Most Valuable Player award and has a no-hitter and a World Series Championship ring. Only 21 pitchers in the modern era have thrown a perfect game and none since 2012. This was a chance for the future Hall-of-Famer to get a notch in his belt that he doesn’t already have and may never have the chance for ever again. Certainly, there is risk involved, but what else does he have to prove at this point?

Worst MLB start of the week … Yu Darvish, San Diego Padres

After not allowing a hit in his first start of the season, it seemed like all Darvish did in his second start was allow baserunners. On Tuesday, 11 of the 15 batters he faced reached base as the righty allowed nine runs on eight hits, two walks and a hit batsman. Darvish bounced back with a great start Sunday but he will have an inflated ERA for sometime because of Tuesday’s mess.

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