MLB Weekly Roundup: Tim Anderson stepped up with a 'dream' performance
By Ben Verlander
FOX Sports MLB Analyst
This past week ranks among the most magical that Major League Baseball has ever had.
The Field of Dreams Game at the movie site in Dyersville, Iowa, was a bigger success than anyone could’ve imagined or hoped for.
It was more than just a baseball game. For one night, we went back in time, and an incredible baseball game broke out as a result.
Now, let’s take a look back at the week that was in MLB and also look ahead at what’s to come this week.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
The entire time I was in Iowa, it felt like I was part of a movie.
The pregame show was incredible and started with Kevin Costner, the star of "Field of Dreams," walking out of the corn onto the new major-league field. He walked around for a bit with the "Field of Dreams" music playing in the background.
Then, next thing you know, the players from both the Yankees and the White Sox came walking out from the corn at the same time.
It was a really special moment, and the result was a really special photo.
I get chills just looking at it.
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TEAM OF THE WEEK
After entering the season with high expectations of winning the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals have been a disappointment.
They started off hot, then really struggled and were hit by some pretty tough injuries along the way. One of those big injuries was suffered by Jack Flaherty, their ace and one of the best pitchers in the league.
When he went down with an oblique injury in early June, the team slumped badly and couldn’t seem to figure it out, spiraling to fourth place in the division.
But this week, Flaherty started his first game since the end of May. He threw six brilliant innings, giving up zero runs and two hits.
That dominant outing proved that Flaherty is back, and perhaps his return was just the shot in the arm the Cardinals needed, as they won that game as well as every other game they played this week.
Too little, too late? Maybe.
You never know, though. The Cardinals just might have put themselves in position to start looking at a wild-card spot.
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SIX-TOOL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Field of Dreams Game was the most magical baseball game I've ever seen. And the most magical game ended in the most magical way possible.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, the Yankees scored four runs to take the lead, and then the White Sox, down 8-7, came right back in the bottom of the inning.
With a runner on base, Tim Anderson took the first pitch he saw and hit a home run into the corn as fireworks shot off in center field.
It made for one of the best moments I've ever seen in a regular-season MLB game.
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WHAT TO WATCH IN THE WEEK AHEAD
1. Miggy chases 500
One of the greatest right-handed hitters of this era hit his 499th home run last week, bringing him one shy of the incredible mark of 500. He hit the homer on the second-to-last day of the Tigers' series at Baltimore, which also happened to be the end of a road trip before a long homestand.
Miguel Cabrera was not in the lineup the following day, in hopes that he would hit his 500th home run in front of the home crowd in Detroit. He now has one home series left in which to do it before the team heads back on the road.
A three-game set against the Angels starts Tuesday for the Tigers, which means that Shohei Ohtani is in town. It would be so amazing for Cabrera to hit his 500th home run against Ohtani in front of a packed house in Detroit.
You won’t want to miss any Cabrera at-bats this week. I think he will get the job done at home.
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2. The New York Mets
Things haven’t been so easy for the Mets of late. The leaders in the NL East for most of the season find themselves in third place in the division, and this week, the Mets hit the road for a West Coast swing, taking on the first-place Giants and a great Los Angeles Dodgers team over the weekend.
We will find out a lot about the Mets this week. They can’t afford to lose both series, but honestly, nothing tells me that they won’t. They haven’t been good lately, and I expect them to struggle this road trip and fall even further in a division that was once theirs for the taking.
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3. Shohei Ohtani
This week could be special for Ohtani. Like Cabrera, he is one home run away from quite a milestone. Ohtani hit his 38th and 39th homers last week, so No. 40 is within his sights. He's also scheduled to pitch against the Tigers on Wednesday night.
What a night it would be if Ohtani starts on the mound, hits home run No. 40 and gives up home run No. 500 to Cabrera. That really isn’t too far-fetched, and it would result in a very special night in Detroit.
THIS WEEK ON THE POD
What a fun episode coming this week! The entire experience in Iowa at the Field of Dreams Game was truly like a dream. It was magical. There is no other way to describe it.
This week on Flippin’ Bats, FOX broadcaster Kevin Burkhardt joins me to talk about what it was like to be there, why it was so special and much more!
Here’s to another incredible week of Major League Baseball.
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Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @Verly32.