Carlos Gonzalez's bat drop, and the other coolest things in baseball last night

Dan Bernstein

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Carlos Gonzalez's bat drop, and the other coolest things in baseball last night image

The Indians drew plenty of fan ire for their most recent offseason approach, when they spent minimally in hopes their stars could carry to the postseason a squad otherwise made up of veterans and misfits.

Cleveland's plan hasn't looked great so far, with All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez in particular struggling and the division-rival Twins ahead in the early going.

But a newcomer made a difference Tuesday: Longtime Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, signed to a one-year, $2 million deal in spring training, crushed a long home run in a 7-4 win over the Marlins.

Gonzalez's ensuing bat drop made our list of coolest things in baseball last night. Here's the full collection of moments we enjoyed:

5. Mookie Betts, Red Sox using A's downturn as springboard

Boston had not encountered a team in a similarly bleak place in recent weeks, perhaps preventing it from escaping its own funk. The Yankees, Rays and Tigers, for the most part, handled their business against the Red Sox, one series at Tampa Bay notwithstanding. 

Then the Red Sox began a series against a downtrodden A's group that was coming off being by the Blue Jays. They took advantage of Oakland's defensive mishaps in a comeback win Monday before earning a 5-1 victory on Tuesday. They're four games under .500 now, which is progress for the defending champions.

Betts hit this first-inning home run Tuesday to get Boston going.

That was enough for right-hander Rick Porcello, who went eight shutout innings and struck out eight.

4. Jesus Aguilar goes deep for third time in two days

As we wrote Monday, it has been a rough first month for Aguilar, who entered the week with no home runs after hitting 35 in 2018.

He seems to be turning a corner, with this three-run shot Tuesday another step forward.

3. Franmil Reyes warns league of his potential

It's only a matter of time until Reyes, who ranks near the top of the MLB exit velocity leaderboard, picks up his .232 batting average.

Until then, he'll just keep mashing home runs. He hit two Tuesday against the Braves and added an RBI double to his line.

"I was just seeing the ball well, man," Reyes said in a postgame interview with Fox Sports San Diego. "Every time I feel like that, I'm going to do a lot of damage, so be careful."

That should send shivers through the NL West.

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2. Carlos Gonzalez hits Marlins with majestic bat drop

Once a 40-home run hitter, always a 40-home run hitter.

Gonzalez hasn't lost his mid-career swagger, as evidenced by this swing and bat drop.

1. CC Sabathia reaches 3,000 strikeouts

It didn't really matter the Yankees lost, at least in the grand scheme of a long season and the even longer history of baseball.

No one will remember New York dropping an April 2019 game to the Diamondbacks. People will remember, even decades from now, that Sabathia struck out 3,000 batters in his career.

We wrote about the special scene, which included a sweet moment with his family.

Dan Bernstein