There is a full slate of baseball on the schedule Sunday as the weekend comes to a close. Here is our daily recap post of the day in the baseball.

Sunday's scores

Anthony Rendon's huge day puts him in elite company

After the grim news about Adam Eaton's knee injury, the Nats on Sunday found themselves in need of a bit of uplift. Let's just say they got it at the expense of the rival Mets. In case you missed it up top, the Nats keelhauled the Mets by a score of 23-5. As you would expect when a team hangs 23 on the board, a lot of hitters enjoyed fruitful days. In particular, Washington third baseman Anthony Rendon couldn't and wouldn't stop ... 

player headshot
Anthony Rendon
LAA • 3B • #6
vs. NYM, 4/30
AB6
H6
HR3
2B2
R5
RBI10
TB16
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Yeesh. And now for some relevant moving pictures ... 

Suffice it to say, that was a legendary performance by Rendon. Framed another way, Rendon entered Sunday's tilt with a disappointing 2017 slash line of .226/.316/.250. After the bestowals above, he lifted that line to .278/.356/.411 -- i.e., downright solid overall numbers. But wait!: There's more ... 

  • Rendon's 10 RBI is a Nationals record. 
  • Rendon became the first player since at least 1913 (the back end of searchable data) to go 6 for 6 with three homers and 10 RBI.
  • He became the first player in almost a decade to notch 10 RBI in a game (Garret Anderson of the Angels was the last, on Aug. 21, 2007). 
  • Rendon is now one of just three hitters to rack up at least 16 total bases and 10 RBI in the same game. 

Did Anthony Rendon have a good game? Yes and also verily, Anthony Rendon had a good game. 

Andrew Benintendi is living up to the hype

Coming into this season, Red Sox outfielder was pretty much a unanimous pick as the AL Rookie of the Year favorite. He had a strong prospect pedigree, he thrived in limited action at the highest level last year and he had a clear path to playing time. That said, Benintendi needed to get off to a fast start because the Sox are all-in on winning the World Series in 2017, and manager John Farrell had veteran options on the bench in case Benintendi looked overmatched. Well, no worries on that front. 

Benintendi was already producing coming into this weekend's high-profile home series against the Cubs, and then he proceeded to go 4 for 11 with two home runs over those three games (of which the Sox won two). After Sunday's 2-for-4 performance, Benintendi is now batting an impressive .333/.392/.478 in this, his age-22 season. That's in addition to striking out in just 14.7 percent of his plate appearances, which is an impressive figure in this high-K era. Over Benintendi's 34-game stay in Boston last season, he struck out 21.2 percent of the time. Yes, it's still early, but strikeout percentage is a stat that stabilizes very early. As such, we may be some genuine skills growth on Benintendi's part when it comes to making contact. He's going to need those skills if he's going to maintain that high batting average. 

So shall we make with the comparisons ... 

And speaking of the 1975 AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP ... 

Fred Lynn turned out pretty good, you know. As for Benny Knocks, he's barely 200 plate appearances into his big-league career, but when a high draft position (he was the No. 7 overall pick in 2015) meets strong minor-league numbers, universal praise from prospect ranking system, and not a sign of struggles in the majors, then you have a special player on your hands. So it is with Benintendi. 

The Yankees had a pitcher play first base, and it didn't go well

The Orioles topped the Yankees in extras on Sunday (as you see above), and as a result the two teams will exit April in a tie atop the AL East standings. The series finale in the Bronx had its share of late-inning drama, and playing a central role was a very unconventional decision by New York skipper Joe Girardi. 

Yanks righty reliever Bryan Mitchell pitched a scoreless ninth, which allowed his team to tie the score and force extras on a Didi Gregorius two-RBI single. To start the 10th, Girardi's wheels began spinning. Instead of letting Mitchell keep going on the mound, he installed him at first base. By doing so, the Yankees by rule lost their DH, so new hurler Aroldis Chapman was slotted in the lineup at the three hole in place of DH Matt Holliday, who had homered earlier in the game. 

So how'd all that work out? Read (and see) more here. 

D-Backs end pitcher's duel with walk-off bomb

While that Orioles-Yankees series hogged the bandwidth, it wasn't the only weekend clash of early-season titans. In Phoenix, the Rockies and Diamondbacks got together for a three-game set with first place in the NL West hanging in the balance. The Rox took the first two and entered Sunday with a 1 1/2-game lead over the Snakes. 

While we typically associate these two teams with football-level scores, thanks mostly to their home ballparks, this series finale was scoreless until the bottom of the 13th. That's when this happened ... 

Yep, that's Daniel Descalso giving the business to his former team. As a result, the D-Backs find themselves just a half-game back of Colorado in the standings. As for the win probability chart, typically we point to them when a late-inning comeback yields a wild and steep swing. This one, though, was pretty much "steady as she goes" until Descalso's clutch bomb ... 


Source: FanGraphs

As well, D-Backs pitchers combined to strike out 17 Rockies on the day. According to Elias Sports Bureau, in doing so the D-Backs became the first NL team to strike out at least 11 batters in seven consecutive games and the first to do it in the majors since 1893. As for the Rockies, the consoling knowledge is that Ian Desmond came off the DL and made his 2017 debut. He went 1 for 5 in the loss.

Syndergaard leaves with injury

Just a few days after refusing an MRI on his balky biceps, Mets righty Noah Syndergaard had to leave Sunday's start with an injury in the second inning. He pointed to -- you guessed it -- his biceps while speaking to the trainer on the mound, though the Mets say it is a "possible" lat strain.

Syndergaard was blasted for five runs in the first inning before leaving with one out in the second.

Mets GM Sandy Alderson acknowledged Syndergaard refused an MRI on his biceps Saturday. Teams can not force their players to go for an MRI any more than your employer can force you to go for an MRI. Still, it sure seems like some more caution was warranted here, perhaps a quick 10-day DL stint to make sure Syndergaard was 100 percent before taking the mound again.

Desperate Blue Jays lose Sanchez after one inning

Even after beating the Rays on Saturday, the Blue Jays came into Sunday with a 7-17 record, worst in MLB. If we assume it'll take 89 wins to clinch an AL wild-card spot again this season -- the Blue Jays and Orioles were the two wild card teams last year with identical 89-73 records -- the Blue Jays need to go 82-56 from here on out. That's a 96-win pace across a full 162-game season. Doable? Sure. But Toronto has dug themselves a mighty big hole already.

Sunday was supposed to be a good day for the Blue Jays because they were welcoming right-hander Aaron Sanchez, arguably their best starting pitcher, back from the disabled list. He missed the last two weeks with a blister. Sanchez, 24, led the AL with a 3.00 ERA and finished seventh in the Cy Young voting in 2016. He returned Sunday, threw 13 pitches in a scoreless first inning, then had to exit the game.

The good news is Sanchez did not suffer any real injury. He didn't feel soreness or anything like that with his arm. A split fingernail will heal in time. It's unclear whether he will be able to make his next start.

Mat Latos and Casey Lawrence, who have been filling in for Sanchez and J.A. Happ (elbow), have combined to allow 15 runs in 22 1/3 innings in four starts so far. Getting Sanchez back will be a huge boost, though his return was cut short Sunday afternoon.

Blue Jays win first series of 2017

The Aaron Sanchez injury is the bad news. The good news? The Blue Jays beat the Rays on Sunday to earn their first series win of the 2017 season. They also won back-to-back games for the first time this year. Toronto rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 win. Jose Bautista's 1,000th career hit was the game-tying double.

Here's the video:

Like I said earlier, the Blue Jays have dug a pretty deep hole early in the season. The only thing they can do is move forward and keep winning series. That's the best way they can help themselves.

Marlins honor Ichiro with cool gift for 3,000th hit

Last summer Ichiro Suzuki became the 30th player in baseball history to reach the 3,000th hit plateau. On Sunday, the Marlins gave him a pretty neat gift to commemorate the event. It's a piece of art made up of photos of all 3,000 career hits. Check it out:

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The Marlins presented Ichiro with a piece of art commemorating his 3,000th hit. USATSI

That's pretty awesome. Way to go, Marlins.

Quick hits

  • Derek Jeter's and Jeb Bush's efforts to purchase the Marlins are increasingly looking futile. 
  • The Nationals confirmed center fielder Adam Eaton's season-ending injury. The official diagnosis is a torn ACL, a torn meniscus, and a high ankle sprain. Eaton is expected to miss 6-9 months. He suffered the injury legging out an infield single Friday.
  • Yankees manager Joe Girardi said it's possible catcher Gary Sanchez will be activated off the 10-day DL this coming week, according to MLB.com.Sanchez is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday. He's been out three weeks with a biceps issue.
  • Mets left-hander Steven Matz and right-hander Seth Lugo are scheduled to throw off a half-mound Sunday, reports the New York Daily News. Both pitchers are on the disabled list with elbow injuries. Matz and Lugo will not be throwing with full effort as part of Sunday's workout.
  • Mets first baseman Lucas Duda is sitting out a second straight rehab game, according to MLB.com. Duda, who is on the 10-day DL with an elbow injury, played a rehab game Friday but has been out of the lineup since. 
  • The Athletics have placed lefty Sean Manaea on the 10-day DL with a left shoulder strain, the team announced. He is expected to miss only one start, however.
  • The Rangers have claimed infielder Pete Kozma off waivers from the Yankees, both teams announced. Jurickson Profar, who has struggled all year, is expected to be optioned to Triple-A to clear a roster spot.
  • Rockies first baseman Ian Desmond was activated off the 10-day DL, the team announced. Desmond was hit by a pitch in spring training and broke his hand. He had not played since.
  • The Dodgers are expected to keep Rich Hill in the rotation, according to the Orange County Register. He's been battling blisters all season and there'd been some talk the club would use him out of the bullpen temporarily.
  • Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson (groin) and second baseman Logan Forsythe (toe) are expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment this week, reports the Southern California News Group. Both could be activated off the disabled list Friday.