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Having recently been promoted to AA, I was eager to get my first look at Justin Crawford when Reading visited Binghamton.  The Phillies 1st round draft pick in 2022 has done well moving up the ladder -- and absolutely dazzled Saturday night.  The most impressive of his three hits was this perfectly executed bunt that he beat out for a hit.  
The 20-year old then turned that into Reading run, stealing 2nd, moving to 3rd on an error and scoring on a sacrifice fly.  The son of Carl Crawford plays the same speed-and-contact hitting game that made his dad one of the game's most feared hitters.  Don't be surprised if Justin does the same when he arrives in the majors in the next year or two.

I was also eager to catch Eddie Rosario in action; after being cut by the Nationals and Braves, he'd recently joined the Mets top farm club in Syracuse.  I thought things were going well.  Hoping to catch on as an extra bat in September, the 2021 NLCS MVP smacked a game-tying bottom of the 9th home run with this swing against Durham, setting the stage for DJ Stewart's walk-off bomb two batters later.  But that would be Rosario's last big Syracuse moment.  The Mets released the outfielder -- who hit just .103 in a Syracuse uniform -- on Sunday.

While I haven't yet seen Jesse Winker in a New York uniform, I did catch him back in May when he still played for the Nats.  After moving in a deadline deal, the lefty hitter had his first big Mets moment Wednesday afternoon, when he crushed a walk-off homer off Seranthony Dominguez for a 4-3 New York victory.

Gerrit Cole reached a career milestone the next day with his 150th victory.  He tossed the first six innings of the Yankees 6-0 shutout of the Guardians.  With pitchers working fewer innings and getting fewer chances to tally victories, the Yankees ace is now 3/4 of the way to 200 wins.  That total should make him a lock for Cooperstown.
Time to tap the Time Machine: from my May 2021 visit to "The Trop," some upper deck views of the Rays home ballpark as they hosted the Mets for a weekend series -- while COVID seating restrictions were still in effect.

Marcus Stroman, warming up for his start along the left field line.  
(Below:) Across the field, the Rays get ready under the dome...




 





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