It was a light schedule for Thursday, but that slate included plenty of day baseball. Here is everything you need to know about Thursday's MLB action.

Select games can be streamed regionally via fuboTV (Try for free). For more on what channel each game is on, click here.

Baseball schedule/scores for Thursday, May 2

Twins get statement series win

The Twins behind a strong Jose Berrios and a four-RBI effort from former Astro Jason Casto thumped Houston on Thursday and in doing so took three of four from the reigning AL West champs. Minnesota has now won six of its last seven, which gives the club a record of 19-10 on the season. That's tops not only in the AL Central but also the entire American League. That also scales to a 106-win pace, which would be a franchise record for wins in a season. 

The Twins have mostly done it with a productive offense. After Thursday's win, the Twins rank fourth in the AL in runs scored (and two of the teams ahead of them have played more games) and first in OPS. That's despite playing their home games in a ballpark that's suppressed offense thus far. Specifically, Jorge Polanco, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, and Nelson Cruz have all put up big numbers, and they've gotten some excellent production from the catcher position. Meantime, Berrios has looked every bit like the young ace: 

player headshot
Jose Berrios
TOR • SP • #17
2019
ERA2.91
IP46 1/3
BB8
K46
H37
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Thanks to that and more, the Twins have carved out a three-game lead over the Indians, and given Cleveland's rotation injuries (and an over-reliance on the rotation) they could build on that lead in the weeks to come. As for the SportsLine Projection Model (@SportsLine on Twitter), it still favors the Indians to win the AL Central title for a fourth straight year, but the Twins are certainly putting a dent in those expectations.  

Arenado's slow start is history

Fifteen games into the 2019 season, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was batting an uncustomary .246/.299/.311 and still hunting for his first home run. What made the struggles seem more acute is that Arenado has typically been a hot starter and that he was fresh off signing a $260 million extension with Colorado. 

Arenado's still just 28, so there's no reason to read too much into a fortnight and change of struggles. Indeed, he's flipped a switch. Coming into Thursday's series finale in Milwaukee, Arenado since those first 15 games had a line of .323/.358/.790 with eight home runs. That's lifted his overall OPS+ to 114, which isn't quite up to career norms but is impressive considering the depths of his start to the season. 

Then on Thursday he did this as part of the Rockies' early keelhauling of the Brewers: 

That's Arendo's third homer in the last two days, and since that 15-game homerless streak to start the season only Christian Yelich matches Arenado's tally of nine dingers. He's also now batting .288/.331/.576 while playing just 11 of his 31 games at Coors Field. 

Thor beats the Reds all by himself

Mets righty Noah Syndergaard hasn't been himself on the mound thus far in 2019. Going into Thursday's start against the Reds, he was lugging around an ERA of 6.35 (although his FIP of 3.70 suggests he's been a bit unlucky). In the NL, though, pitchers can rally to their own cause with the bat, and that's precisely when Thor did: 

Opposite field power! Some digits on that blast ... 

Yeah, 106 mph off the bat and more than 400 feet the other way means that was no cheapie. It was also the first time the Mets scored a run in the last 12 innings. On top of all that, it also conducted Syndergaard up the franchise ladder: 

Syndergaard entered Thursday's tilt with a career OPS at the plate of .533 -- very close to Madison Bumgarner's mark of .542. That's not good production in a broader context, but it's good as pitchers go. 

Oh, and let is be said that Syndergaard on this same day authored what's easily his best pitching performance of 2019: 

player headshot
Noah Syndergaard
CLE • SP • #34
vs. CIN, 5/2/19
IP9
H4
R0
SO10
BB1
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That's some dominance right there. More: 

That's also just the third complete game shutout of the 2019 season by any pitcher. That ERA of his noted above? He shaved darn near a run and a half off of it with Thursday's effort. And: 

So let's make that a final score of Thor 1, Reds 0. Matt Snyder has more on Syndergaard's quality afternoon here.

Strasburg becomes fastest to 1,500 strikeouts

No pitcher in history has reached 1,500 career strikeouts faster than Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals hurler fanned opposing starter Dakota Hudson on Thursday night to join the 1,500- strikeout club. Here is the milestone strikeout:

The milestone came in Strasburg's 1,272 1/3 inning pitched. Here are the quickest to 1,500 strikeouts in baseball history:

  1. Stephen Strasburg: 1,272 1/3 innings
  2. Chris Sale: 1,290 innings
  3. Kerry Wood: 1,303 innings
  4. Pedro Martinez: 1,337 innings
  5. Randy Johnson: 1,356 2/3 innings

Those are some brand names. Strasburg is currently third all-time with a 10.60 K/9 rate, trailing Sale (10.84) and Johnson (10.61). CC Sabathia became the 17th member of the 3,000-strikeout club earlier this week.

Anderson, Bellinger take home Player of the Month honors

The first full month of the 2019 season is in the books, so, on Tuesday, MLB announced their month award winners. The results:


ALNL

Player of the Month

Tim Anderson, White Sox

Cody Bellinger, Dodgers

Pitcher of the Month

Tyler Glasnow, Rays

Luis Castillo, Reds 

Rookie of the Month

Brandon Lowe, Rays

Pete Alonso, Mets

Reliever of the Month

Shane Greene, Tigers

Kirby Yates, Padres

Bellinger had a truly historic April. He currently leads MLB in batting average (.425), on-base percentage (.500), slugging percentage (.867), OPS (1.367), OPS+ (256), runs (32), hits (48), home runs (14), RBI (38), and total bases (98).

Quick hits