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What’s Occurrin’? Last Week in Baseball (4 April)

Baseball is back, and life is good unless you are an Atlanta Braves fan. The opening week of the 2025 season provided some incredible action. 

Here is your five-minute roundup of the week’s baseball news

Dodgers still on pace for 162-0

Having swept the Cubs, Tigers, and Braves, the Dodgers are enjoying the best-ever start to a season for defending World Series champions. And if we are being completely honest, they haven’t really played that well – 10th in hitting WAR and 5th in pitching WAR.

If they win against the Phillies on Friday, they will match the 1940 Dodgers, who started their year 9-0 only to finish 12 games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the NL pennant. I’m not sure that will see a repeat of that in 2025.

Yankees torpedo rivals

Yes, I know that other players are using the new “torpedo” bats, but I’ve never let details get in the way of a good headline. It was the Yankees who brought torpedomania to the mainstream with 18 home runs in their first four games. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Tony Bellringer used the new bats, but Aaron Judge (four homers in his first four games) is using his trusted bat from last season.

Another Opening Day, another O’Neill home run

Despite just one home run in 12 spring training games, Tyler O’Neill was more than ready for Opening Day and deposited a three-run homer into the stands off José Berríos. It was the sixth straight occasion that the Orioles outfielder has homered on Opening Day. In the seven days since the opener, O’Neill has not added to his home run tally.

Sacramento: Triple-A ground for a Triple-A team

Sutter Health Park is the home of the Sacramento River Cats, the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, and for the next three seasons, the soon-to-be Las Vegas Athletics. In the home opener on Monday, the Cubs scored 18 runs on 21 hits and 10 walks, with Carson Kellythe 44th fastest catcher – legging out a triple to complete the cycle.

A pre-season sleeper pick for many pundits, the Athletics looked dreadful, coughing up 35 runs in the three-game series against the Cubs. Sluggers on travelling teams will be excited to visit Sacramento – next up at Sutter Health Park are the San Diego Padres and then the New York Mets.

Second-best team in the NL have a mountain to climb.

Whether you think the Mets, Padres, Phillies, or Braves are the second-best team in the National League, only one of them is off to a 0-7 start. No team has ever started the season 0-7 and reached the playoffs, but no team that has started the season 0-7 was as stacked as the Braves. Even with the horrendous start, Atlanta is still the fifth favourite (13/1) to lift the Commissioner’s Trophy. They’re going to be fine.

In Other News

Despite 47 saves and a miniscule 0.61 ERA last year, Guardians closer, Emmanuel Clase blew a save in this first attempt of 2025.

After three years and a -0.1 WAR, Tigers slugger Spencer Torkelson’s MLB career looked in jeopardy, so four walks and a home run on Opening Day was precisely the start to the season the 25-year-old needed.

Another late developer is Jurickson Profar. The former number one prospect (from 2013), put together an All-Star campaign for the Padres last year with 24 home runs and a 135 OPS+. He signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Braves but has just picked up an 80-game suspension for PEDs.

The Twins conceded 28 runs in their first four games to start the season 0-4. Bailey Ober was pulled from his start after 2⅔ innings, having given up eight runs. Randy Dobnak threw 5⅓ innings of one-run ball to save the Twins bullpen in the blowout and then was booted off the 40-man roster a matter of hours later. Read more about it here.

Four large extensions were signed during the opening week with the Mariners throwing up a road block to GB’s catcher Harry Ford’s progression by signing Cal Raleigh to a six-year, $105 million deal. On the basis of last season, San Diego looks to have a steal by agreeing a nine-year, $135 million contract with 21-year-old centrefielder Jackson Merrill. Despite only making one start for the Red Sox, Garrett Crochet has decided Boston is where his heart is and signed a six-year, $170 million deal, and the Red Sox continued to splash the cash by agreeing on an eight-year, $60 million contract with 22-year-old rookie, Kristian Campbell.

Top performers

Hitter of the week: Kyle Tucker – seven games, four home runs, 10 runs, 10 RBI, two stolen bases and .500 OBP

Pitcher of the week: Nathan Eovaldi – two starts (incl., a complete game), 15 innings, two earned runs and 17 strikeouts.

Latest articles

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Latest podcasts

The podcast team continues to set the bar high for podcast content. Find these on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

What did I miss? Let me know in the comments below or hit Bat Flips & Nerds up on socials. 

NEXT WEEK: Will the Dodgers lose a game? Will the Braves win a game? Who else will the Red Sox extend? This and much more in next week’s What’s Occurrin’?

Photo credit by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images


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