This article has the unique honor of being both the first in its series and number 100 for this site. In Around the Horn we’ll bring you four stories (one for each base) that stood out from Major League Baseball on a weekly basis. We will try to steer clear of talking about the Mets and Yankees in this piece, as they will be covered in their own weekly release this summer. With all that said, let’s dive into our stories from the first few days of the season.

First Base

Little League Round Tripper: On Monday the Cubs hosted the Rockies in their home opener at Wrigley Field. After watching the contest, there were two takeaways. The first is that the Rockies are in for a long summer, see their 14 runs allowed in one inning Thursday in Arizona. The second is that the Cubs may really have something in Japanese import Shota Imanaga who struck out nine over six shutout innings. While the lefty was impressive, the play of the game was Christopher Morel’s little league homer to put Chicago ahead for good, making it a happy day on the Northside.

Second Base

Back-to-Back Jacks: As we hit second base, we stick with the NL Central and take a look at the Reds dramatic win over the Nationals on Sunday. Cincinnati entered the bottom of the ninth down two, but after getting a man on base, Will Benson came to the plate and smashed one over the wall to dead center field knotting the contest at five. With the game now tied, Christian Encarnacion-Strand was up next, and he put a cap on the ballgame. In the words of the great Marty Brennaman, “THIS ONE BELONGS TO THE REDS,” as they took it 6-5 to win the series.

Third Base

Raise the Jolly Roger: As we round third and head towards home, let’s talk about the scorching hot Pirates, who for the second year in a row are off to a good start. Pittsburgh went down to Miami this weekend and off the back of a couple of come from behind wins, swept the Marlins. Sunday’s rally was punctuated by a “cannonball grand slam” off the bat of big Rowdy Tellez. The key for the steel city club will be avoiding the letdown that followed last year’s 21-8 start.

Home Plate

No-No Ronel: Our fourth and final story takes us to the AL West, as we feature a newfound hero in Houston. The Astros got the first win of the season (after being swept by the Yankees) in dramatic fashion, as 30-year-old Ronel Blanco threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays. This is the 17th no-hitter in Houston’s franchise history, adding Blanco to a list that features the likes of Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Roy Oswalt, and Justin Verlander…pretty good company to keep after just eight major league starts.

You can find me on Twitter @YNWA9623 and subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Also, check out our new Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. We have also launched a new podcast which carries the same name as the Instagram account. While this piece puts us at the century mark, we are just getting started here and have exciting things in store with our friends at the Rangers Ed Podcast. We’ll be back with more soon!