Toronto Blue Jays rookie Spencer Horwitz has continued to tear through major league pitching this month. The 26-year-old Team Israel alum added to his American League Rookie of the Year case with a monster showing against the Atlanta Braves last week, racking up two home runs and 11 total bases in one game. That number is tied for fifth across all MLB players this season. In the past two weeks, Horwitz has the third-highest slugging percentage (.806), the ninth-highest wins above replacement and the fourth-highest weighted runs created, a measurement of overall offensive production. Currently, Fox Sports gives the infielder the fifth-best odds to win the award. A Jewish player has not finished in the top five in American League Rookie of the Year votes since fellow Team Israel alum Danny Valencia placed third in 2010. Horwitz looks like the next.
Pro of the Week: David Lipsky
On Saturday, David Lipsky finished second in the annual PGA Tour Procore Championship. Entering the tournament as an underdog, Lipsky performed far higher than his 163rd-points rank would have indicated. The half-Jewish golfer sought his first win in two years of PGA competition and redemption from a 30th-place finish in the 2023 iteration of the event. Lipsky detailed his growth in the last year to NBC Golf.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun…I sort of forgot that along the way…You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out,” said Lipsky.
Although he finished five strokes shy of a Procore victory, Lipsky had plenty to celebrate afterward. His tournament success boosted his points rank by 60, putting him on the verge of cracking the top 100. Lipsky’s next tournament is scheduled for the beginning of October with the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi.
Terp of the Week: Ellie Goldstein and Leah Horwitz
After two straight one-goal losses against two of the top five teams in the country, Maryland urgently needed a rebound. The #3 ranked Terps lost their opening game against the University of Virginia 1-0 on Friday, continuing an offensive slump. Against unranked Lock Haven, the Terps wanted to erupt on offense and reset before B1G play begins on Sept. 20. In the third quarter, Maryland piled onto their 2-1 lead with four unanswered goals. Ellie Goldstein lined the ball past Lock Haven’s goalkeeper, making the game 6-1 and registering as the 10th unique goal scorer for a loaded Terps field hockey squad. Junior Leah Horwitz outmaneuvered four Lock Haven defenders to record her first career goal in the fourth quarter. The Terps would win the game 8-1, scoring more goals in that one game than in the previous five matchups.
Highlight of the Week: Ryan Borucki
Jewish Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Ryan Borucki went viral for all the wrong reasons last week. In only his third appearance since returning from a five-month stint on the injured list, Borucki had been tasked with protecting a two-run lead. He needed to set down Washington Nationals first baseman Andres Chaparro for the final out of the seventh inning. With two strikes, Borucki missed his intended pitch location and Chaparro took full advantage, crushing the offering for a game-tying two-run home run. The lefty could not believe he gave up the Pirates’ lead and had an instantly iconic reaction.
