YokelRidesAgain said:

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Whatever you call Reyes' last seven games, where he hit .036/.059/.036 with 18 strikeouts, I think we can all agree that it's terrible. Wonderfully, delightfully terrible.

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Whenever I see something like this I can't help but think I was born 20 years too early. I could absolutely match those numbers against major league pitching. Teams used to not be ok with it.

Checking in on the leading "Big Threes"

• Braves trio leading the way with 111 - Golden boy Dansby Swanson (40), Adam Duvall (38), Austin Riley (33).
• The sustainably good Seattle Mariners with 107 are rolling out Eugenio Suarez (38), Julio Rodriguez (37), and Jarred Kelenic (32) to stay hot on the Braves' trail
• Yanks at 99 - Stanton (35), Judge (33) and el Burro Grande (31). Joey needs to get rolling if he wants to stay king and help his team win this title.
• Dodgers staying in the race with 97 - Chris Taylor (38), Cody Bellinger (35), and Trea Turner a measly (24).

I want to give a special shout out to nobody's favorite whiffer, Cody Bellinger. He's pairing that sweet 35 Ks with a .214/.280/.418 slash line. Even though he's leading our king in Ks, he must be jealous of Donkey's .183/.284/.324 slash. EAD, Cody.

Honorable mention goes to the lovable losers from the Windy City, who lead all teams 1,596 strikeouts. Total team effort, as their top 3 have only reached 92. We'll keep an eye on them throughout summer.

Poor Franmil Reyes must be so lonely. No one else on the Guardians has gone over 20, yet.

note: Today's games have not been counted

redline248 said:

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I just watched our favorite DH Franmil Reyes strike out live on MLB network. It was as glorious as I expected. Swing and miss on a low slider. Beautiful

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Reyes finishes the night 0 for 5 with a golden sombrero on a night when his team has scored 12 runs. He is truly a virtuoso.

I have a chance to see him in the flesh this weekend.

Our King narrowly missed the Golden Sombrero with a single on a 3-2 count. Still a good effort, getting three strikeouts on a night when the Yankees scored 14 15 runs.

In my role as a designated strikeout correspondent, I will be in attendance for an exciting showdown at Target Field in Minneapolis tonight.

In the red corner, the current MLB strikeout leader with 48 strikeouts, Big Franmil Reyes!

And across the ring, starting for the Minnesota Twins, something called Devin Smeltzer, who hasn't pitched in the majors in 2 years and had to be added to the 40 man roster to pitch in this game!

Can the Franimal find a way to manufacture at least 2 strikeouts tonight? We'll find out soon!

ETA: In other strikeout news, Joey the Winemaker's sustained run of excellence earned him a start against a left-handed pitcher tonight. But it's Dallas Keuchel. Another thrilling matchup of incompetence!

Last week in strikeouts
5-8 to 5-14

Franny and Donkey
I got a chance to see our Kurrent leader in Ks, Big Franmil Reyes last night. Unfortunately, Minnesota's minor league refugee starter got the best of him. You could tell than Reyes wanted the strikeout-he had swings and misses that would make a beer league softball player blush. But in his first two at-bats, the Twins' starter fought him off by allowing an RBI single and a walk. For at bat number 3, Reyes faced soft tossing sidearm reliever Joe Smith, who is 75 years old and has been in the major leagues since the Nixon administration. Sometime you know you're beat: sensing no chance for a K, Reyes just grounded out weakly to short on the first pitch he saw. But at the last gasp, salvation was at hand! Minnesota brought in Jhoan Duran throwing 103, and Franny delivered the K swinging to send 'em home happy! (Well, it sent me home happy, at least.)

As for Donkey, I'm choosing to believe he's got a plan here. His slash lines the last seven days: .300/.462/.600, with 2 home runs, 6 walks, and 7 strikeouts. We have to hope that this burst of competence is an effort to avoid being sent to Platoonland, and that his strikeout rates will heat up as the weather does. Otherwise, the King is looking like an afterthought, currently in 3rd place for Ks on his own team.

Current MLB strikeout leaders (through 5-14)
1. Franmil Reyes, CLE 49
(He picked up Ks 50 and 51 today--the man is striking out like a tremendous machine.)
2. Patrick Wisdom, CHC 48
3. Eugenio Suarez, SEA 47
4. Dansby Swanson, ATL 45
5. Kyle Schwarber, PHI 43

Sombrero watch
Franny and a bunch of stiffs with Golden Sombreros, for the most part, although don't sleep on the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger.

5-8 Matt Chapman, 3B, TOR
5-8 Nathaniel Lowe, DH, TEX
5-9 Cody Bellinger, CF, LAD
5-9 Franmil Reyes, DH, CLE
5-9 Yasmani Grandal, DH, CWS
5-13 Jake Cronenworth, 2B, SD
5-13 Rhys Hoskins, 1B, PHI

I selected Donkey as my pick to get a hit in the MLB.com Beat the Streak game. That should cool him off.

thegoodolag15 said:

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Oooooh I like that idea.

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It's already working! He got a strikeout with the bases loaded AND a three base fielding error, just in the first inning.

UPDATE AB #2: K swinging!

UPDATE AB #3: K swinging again! Could be the Golden Sombrero next AB!

UPDATE AB #4: Grounds out on the first pitch. Looks like no sombrero tonight, but the experiment worked swimmingly. I'm riding King Donkey in Beat the Streak until he gets a hit or becomes the MLB strikeout leader.

UPDATE: And a Yankee rally brings Donkey to the plate for AB #5!

AND THERE IT IS!!! K SWINGING! THE SOMBRERO IS GOLDEN!

Donkey's stats since I hexed him:

0 for 9 10 in 9 10 plate appearances, 5 strikeouts

Top 5, Pico de Donkey is 0 for 2 with 2 swinging strikeouts. Clearly not trying to do too much.

UPDATE AB #3: Donkey with the K looking, for variety. Sombrero alert!

0 for 13 in 13 plate appearances with 8 strikeouts since the Hex

UPDATE AB #4: He steps to the plate to attempt the Sombrero!

Ugh. Baltimore's useless reliever walks Gallo on four pitches. Still a True Outcome and keeps the 0-fer intact.

Gallo has had only 1 pinch hit appearance since Thursday, in which he walked. No game Friday and did not play today. Boone is standing in the way of the chase.