Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander

Braves First to 40 Wins + White Sox Are LEGIT! Tatis Finally Homers | Flippin’ Bats

The Atlanta Braves became the first team in MLB to 40 wins and continue to look like the best team in baseball.

Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox are officially for real, they’ve already matched their entire 2024 win total before June, Munetaka Murakami is smashing records with 20 HRs as a rookie, and the energy on the South Side is back.

Plus:
- Fernando Tatis Jr. finally ends his homer drought with a massive 451-foot bomb
- The Mariners have taken control of the AL West
- Christopher Sanchez vs Jacob Misiorowski — Who had the better month?
- Full Power Rankings + Team of the Month

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:24 Around the MLB
6:28 White Sox On Fire
9:30 Fernando Tatis Jr Homers
11:43 Sanchez or Miz in May?
16:14 New MLB Power Rankings
26:20 Team of the MONTH
31:00 Outro
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John Smoltz joins Ben Verlander for another great weekly breakdown.

We discuss:
- Does a combined no-hitter actually count as a real no-hitter?
- The wild NL Central race... Why the Cubs are such a rollercoaster while the Brewers remain the model of consistency (and how they turned Kyle Harrison into an ace).
- Who's the best in the NL Central?
- One of the craziest celebrations you’ll ever see! Abner Uribe’s over-the-top, derogatory strikeout celebration + the craziest thing Smoltz ever saw or did

Smoltz also shares his unfiltered thoughts on what counts as “disrespectful” in today’s game and his most memorable celebration stories from his playing days.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:34 Smoltz Joins
1:47 Do Combined No-Hitters Count?
4:21 Cubs or Brewers in NL Central?
7:04 How Do The Brewers Do It?
9:23 Most Disrespectful Celebration Ever?
13:00 Outro
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Shohei Ohtani continues to do things no one has ever seen before.

For the second straight week, Ohtani hit a leadoff home run on the day he pitched, becoming the only starting pitcher in MLB history to do it in back-to-back games. He now ranks 3rd in Dodgers history for career leadoff homers in less than 2.5 years.

On the mound, he delivered another strong outing, lowering his ERA to an incredible 0.82! That's the 4th lowest through 9 starts since earned runs became an official stat in 1913.

We also dive into:
- Ohtani’s fiery emotions on the mound (including some loud F-bombs)
- His insane two-way dominance compared to Babe Ruth
- Why we should never take for granted what Shohei is doing right now

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:41 Shohei Keeps Making History
1:24 Shohei Ohtani Leadoff Homerun
4:48 Shohei Ohtani 6 No-Hit Innings
11:01 Shohei Ohtani is the GOAT
14:04 Outro
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Tigers Nightmare Season: Might Have to Trade Tarik Skubal? + Christopher Sanchez is UNSTOPPABLE | Flippin’ Bats

The Detroit Tigers are in a full collapse, sitting at 21-33 after losing 8 games in a row. In this episode we discuss the nightmare scenario they’ve been dreading: whether the Tigers will be forced to trade Tarik Skubal if they can’t turn things around soon.

Plus:

- The Milwaukee Brewers are a Factory! How they turned Kyle Harrison into an absolute ace (1.77 ERA) with a simple mechanical tweak.

- Christopher Sanchez is the most underrated player in sports on a 37.2 scoreless inning streak, currently the favorite to win the NL Cy Young, and putting up historic numbers.

- Full Power Rankings + Team of the Week included.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

0:33 Tigers playing BAD baseball

6:10 Brewers are a FACTORY

9:50 Cristopher Sanchez is ELITE

12:55 New MLB Power Rankings

21:45 Team of the Week

26:28 Outro

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This Week in Shohei Ohtani News: Leadoff HR + ERA Drops to 0.73… He’s BACK!

Shohei Ohtani delivered the full superstar experience in the 1st inning! Hitting a leadoff home run (the 2nd time a pitcher has ever done it in MLB history, joining himself) and dominating on the mound.

On the mound:
5 IP, 0 ER, 4 K, lowers his season ERA to a ridiculous 0.73 — the lowest through 8 starts in the live-ball era (since 1920) outside of a few all-time great seasons.

At the plate:
He’s absolutely on fire lately! 13 hits in his last 24 at-bats, and he DOMINATED his former team the LA Angels. A “down year” for Ohtani is still a career year for most players.

Plus:

- The crazy story of the Angels almost trading Ohtani to the Rays for Junior Caminero right before the 2023 deadline
- Ohtani’s honest post-game comments
- Historic two-way dominance

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:43 1st Inning Ohtani Experience
1:30 Pitching Performance vs Padres
6:32 Shohei’s Offense is BACK
13:40 Ohtani almost traded WHERE?!
18:18 Outro
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