The 3-2 pitch

Three observations …

• The trade of John Ryan Murphy to the Diamondbacks appears to make the Murphy-for-Aaron Hicks swap look like a steal for the Yankees. But Hicks, once he comes off the disabled list, must prove he can sustain his early season offensive spurt.

• It was a pretty comprehensive sweep of the Twins by the Dodgers last week, but Los Angeles still needs another quality starter to get them to the World Series.

• Miguel Sano has been struggling, but he entered the weekend with a higher on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.751) than the Yankees' Aaron Judge (.657). Home Run Derby hangover?

… and two predictions

• The Astros and Nationals will become the first teams since the 2009 Yankees to score more than 900 runs in a season, and the Rockies and Yankees will get close but fall short.

• The Twins will go 15-15 in August.