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🚨 What’s Inside This Week:

🔥 First Pitch — Braves. Orioles. Brutal.
💪 The Good — Nick Kurtz Went Nuclear
👎 The Bad — Fireworks Plunder in Anaheim
🙈 The Ugly — Hosed in Maryland: A Firefighter’s Meltdown
⚾️  Bat Flipping and the Court Flip
😵‍💫 Mayhem in Milford - Baseball or Fight Club?
🚙 One for the Road — Skenes & the Mini-GOAT

💪 THE GOOD — Nick Kurtz Went Nuclear

Friday night in Houston… wow.

Nick Kurtz didn’t just have a night—he turned Minute Maid Park into his personal Home Run Derby.

4 home runs. The first rookie in MLB history to do that.

In all, Kurtz had 6 hits. 8 RBIs. 19 total bases.

Let that sink in.
Only 20 players have ever gone deep four times in a game—none pulled it off in just their 66th career game… until now.

Oakland manager Mark Kotsay summed it up:

“It’s arguably the best game I’ve ever watched from a single player.”

Yeah, no argument here.

Here’s how his night unfolded:

• 2nd inning: Home run

• 6th: Home run

• 8th: Home run

• 9th: Home run

Oh—and he missed a fifth by inches.

The bat? Already on its way to Cooperstown.

Many players dream of a night like this.
Nick Kurtz just lived it.

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😵‍💫 Bat Flipping and the Court Flip

Little League Baseball, it’s been… a week.

It all started when 12-year-old Marco Rocco crushed a home run in a New Jersey state qualifier.
He celebrated with a bat flip.

The umpire was not amused.
Rocco was ejected.
Little League suspended him for the state final.

The family went to court.

Yep—this wasn’t just a bat flip anymore. It was a lawsuit.

Rocco’s family filed for an emergency restraining order against Little League International.
And they won.

A judge reversed the suspension just hours before the title game.
Little League was “extremely disappointed.” Rocco got to wear the uniform one more time.

The result? Not so magical.

His team lost 10–0 in just four innings, thanks to the mercy rule.
Rocco struck out twice.

A messy end to a messy week.

The original charge? “Unsportsmanlike conduct” and “horseplay.”
According to Appendix B of the Little League Safety Code:

“At no time should ‘horseplay’ be permitted on the playing field.”

But here’s the kicker: Little League has posted bat flip highlights on its own Twitter account—cheering them on like SportsCenter highlights.

So where do we land?

Where bat flips are cheered on ESPN—and even tweeted out by Little League itself—but get you benched in a state final?

Got it. Totally consistent.

😵‍💫 Baseball or Fight Club?
Mayhem in Milford

Definitely not one of American Legion Baseball’s finest moments.

A playoff game in Milford, MA turned into a full-blown brawl Monday night—and now two people are facing assault charges.

It all erupted in the 4th inning with Milford and East Springfield tied at 1.

According to Milford TV’s live broadcast, the chaos started near the third base dugout when a Milford fan reportedly shoved a player’s mom and swung at the dad.
One of the players saw it—and swung back.

Fans stormed the field. Punches flew. Total chaos.
Coaches and umpires tried to break it up—no chance.

The broadcaster summed it up:

“Absolute mayhem...”

Eliezer Rosario Lebron, 19, of Holyoke, has been charged with assault and battery.
A 17-year-old Milford teen is facing charges of assault, and disturbing the peace.

The game was suspended. Even after police arrived and the brawl was broken up, people were still arguing on the field.

🎶 Buy me some peanuts, and Cracker Jacks… and a solid legal team.

By the way—the game resumed two days later.
East Springfield won, 8–5, and advanced to the Legion state tournament.

Congrats. State tourney bound and battle tested.

⚾ ONE FOR THE ROAD — Skenes & the Mini-GOAT

Riley Wheaton has been through hell.

The 9-year-old lives and breathes baseball. But these past two years have been anything but easy.

Last year, Riley suffered complete heart failure and was rushed to Boston Children’s Hospital. He was diagnosed with myocarditis. Over four months, doctors inserted five chest tubes to drain fluid from around his heart and lungs.

Then came the gut punch: angiosarcoma. A rare, aggressive form of cancer.

Six rounds of chemo. Countless hospital stays. But today? Riley is in remission. And his heart is strong again.

His Make-A-Wish request was simple: meet his hero—Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes.

Skenes didn’t just meet Riley. He rolled out the red carpet.

The family got a full ballpark tour, clubhouse access, and Riley even had his own locker. A bullpen session—radar gun included. BP? Riley shagged fly balls like one of the guys.

And then came the first pitch. Thrown by Riley. Caught by Skenes.

“He throws hard,” Skenes smiled. “My hand was a little sore.”

“You could tell Paul read his story,” Riley’s mom said. “He really took the time to make this the best day ever.”

Skenes was humbled:

“When I was 9, I wasn’t worried about anything he’s been through.
His adversity? It’s different. He’s probably stronger than I am.”

Riley’s nickname is the Mini-GOAT: God Over All Things.

And now, he’s got a pretty famous ace in his corner.

For Riley, it was a day to treasure—
When the kid who beat the odds threw the first pitch—
And the hero who inspired him caught it.

or this week.