Sweet Spot’s David Schoenfield reminds us of another reason why everybody loves the Rays: Joe Maddon had Carlos Pena (!!!) lead off in last night’s game against the Jays. (Pena went 2-for-5 with a home run in Tampa’s 8–5 triumph.)

David Laurila of Fangraphs interviews Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan about what has allowed him to become a defensive stalwart.

DL: What is the proper way to catch a ball hit in the air, behind you?
BR: For me, the biggest thing about going back on fly balls is communication. It’s knowing that I’m not going to be the one who ends up in the hospital. Not that anyone should be, obviously, but I’m over the top with communication out there. That makes it so much easier on the guy who’s going to get the ball, whether it’s an in-betweener or a pop up in no-man’s land.
I want the outfielder telling me. If he’s saying, “You, you, you,” he’s taking himself out of the play. I know he’s under control and isn’t going to run into me, so I can completely sell out and make the most athletic play I’m capable of making.

On Monday night, Giancarlo Stanton turned around a Jamie Moyer change-up for a grand slam, in the process knocking out lights on the scoreboard beyond the left-field stands. The Marlins won the game, 7–4. Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post writes that, according to hittrackeronline.com, the ball rocketed off of Stanton’s bat at 122.4 miles per hour, the fastest a home run has traveled since measurements started being recorded in 2006.

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Via “templeusox” of Baseball Think Factory, the Adrian Beltre GIF below is way funny, as Elvis Andrus will attest. See here for another classic Beltre moment when he and Victor Martinez were teammates on the Red Sox.