Top 10 games of 2019 (thus far)

One of the many joys of baseball is that you never know what you will see on any particular night. Maybe you’ll see a no-hitter; maybe you’ll see a slugfest; maybe you’ll see a relatively nondescript 5-1 snoozer. The unpredictability is what makes it great. Baseball always has a way of surprising you. All you have to do is watch.

Thus, a new feature here at MLB.com: The best 10 games of the year, so far. This will be regularly updated with all the great games each fortnight. Some of these games involved superstars and elite teams. Some of them featured unique individual performances. Some of them were just back-and-forth games of high drama. But all of them gave fans their money’s worth and more.

Because this is a regularly updating feature, and because there are a lot of baseball games, we’ll need your help to make sure we don’t miss anything. Email me at will.leitch@mlb.com to nominate a great game. Some nights at the park you never forget. Here are the top 10 so far.

1) A's 2, Reds 0, May 7

Mike Fiers isn't the first guy you'd think of to throw two no-hitters in his career, but then again: Isn't the fact that Fiers is one of 35 players to toss multiple no-hitters one of the great things about no-hitters? Fiers wasn't overwhelming, striking out just six and throwing 131 pitches, but the Reds were baffled by him all night long. Every no-hitter has a wonderful defensive play or two, and this one featured two in the same inning, a fantastic diving catch by Jurickson Profar in the sixth inning and then a breathtaking home run robbery by Ramón Laureano on the next pitch. A's manager Bob Melvin broke an unwritten rule by mentioning the no-hitter to Fiers in the seventh inning, warning him that he would pull Fiers if another runner reached after he walked two that inning. Fiers didn't. And his spot in history was secured.

2) Brewers 5, Cardinals 4, March 31

In the first inning, reigning National League MVP Christian Yelich homered off Michael Wacha, tying a Major League record with a homer in the fourth straight game to start the season. The Cardinals were so intent on hiding from him that they intentionally walked him in the third inning. But, with the Cardinals hanging on to a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, they were unable to avoid him when it mattered most, and Yelich smashed a two-run walk-off double off a Jordan Hicks 102 mph fastball to win a series he had dominated.

“I’ve never seen anyone this good at baseball for this long,” Yelich's teammate Ryan Braun said after the game.

3) Cubs 6, Cardinals 5, May 4

In a series sweep at Wrigley Field that would give the Cubs back first place in the NL Central, the pivot game was a wild back-and-forth contest on Kentucky Derby Saturday. The Cardinals jumped out to a 5-1 lead, and they looked like they'd hold it as backup catcher Taylor Davis, who'd had 25 Major League at-bats over three seasons, came to the plate with the bases loaded. (Cardinals manager Mike Shildt had walked Kyle Schwarber to get to him.) Davis subsequently hit his first homer of his MLB life, a grand slam that tied the game in front of a roaring Wrigley crowd. Javier Báez hit a homer in the bottom of the eighth to give the Cubs the lead, and they closed it out in the ninth over their hated rivals.

4) Dodgers 6, Brewers 5, April 21

The rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series absolutely did not disappoint, with the Dodgers jumping out to a 5-0 lead before the Brewers began peck, peck, pecking away. They finally evened it in the eighth when, on a full count with two outs, pinch-hitter Eric Thames blasted a game-tying three-run homer off Kenley Jansen.

But the Dodgers had their own comeback ready, with Cody Bellinger, battling Christian Yelich for the NL home-run lead, homering off the seemingly unhittable Josh Hader for a series win. These teams saw each other plenty in October last year. This game made you think there are more October games to come.

5) Astros 9, Athletics 8, April 7

It’s a little bit too early for baseball to be as weird as it got at Minute Maid Park between two returning playoff teams, but in a game in which the Astros scored five runs in the first, lost the lead in the sixth and tied the game in the eighth, the ending was perhaps inevitable. With all-world closer Blake Treinen on the mound, Jose Altuve earned the infamous walk-off walk to pull out a wild one. The Astros weren’t even quite sure what to do with themselves afterward.

“We don’t know how to celebrate a walk-off walk very easily,” manager AJ Hinch said.

6) Mariners 5, Athletics 4, March 21

In his Mariners debut, and in front of his home countrymen, Yusei Kikuchi pitched excellently in the Mariners’ second straight win over the A’s to begin the season. But this game was of course all about the emotion of Ichiro Suzuki’s last game, walking off the field to cheers and tears heard and felt on the other side of the world. We might not have gotten one more hit from Ichiro, but seeing him on the field one last time was something none of us will ever forget.

7) Padres 8, Dodgers 5, May 5

After two one-run losses to the vaunted Dodgers over the weekend, the Padres had to start feeling demoralized: Would they ever get over the hump against this team? They felt worse after Chris Taylor hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth, giving Los Angeles a 5-4 lead, with Kenley Jansen looming. But then, in the bottom of the ninth, Eric Hosmer, Manuel Margot and Wil Myers all singled, giving the Padres a based-loaded, nobody-out situation. Then: More pain. Greg Garcia struck out. Francisco Mejia popped out. Hunter Renfroe was called upon to pinch-hit, one last chance to salvage the series ... and he promptly launched a grand slam into the Western Metal Supply Co. Building as the Petco Park crowd went nuts. (As it turns out, hitting grand slams is kind of Renfroe's thing.)

8) Red Sox 2, Orioles 1, May 8

The Red Sox have fought their way all the way back after their wretched start, and you can trace much of that back to this game, a wild one at Camden Yards that was nearly ended on a Trey Mancini home run in the bottom of the 11th inning … until Jackie Bradley Jr. made one of the best catches you’ll ever see.

The next half-inning, Andrew Benintendi homered, and the Red Sox won a game they absolutely should not have. It’s a game you’ll remember if the standings come down to one game at the end of the season.

9) Brewers 12, Pirates 10, June 1

In a game that lasted nearly 5 1/2 hours, Brewers rookie Keston Hiura kept everyone at the ballpark on multiple occasions. First, he botched a double play in the third inning that helped blow a 5-0 lead. But then he hit a game-tying homer off Felipe Vázquez in the top of the ninth, sending the game into extra innings before Orlando Arcia hit his second two-run homer of the game in the top of the 13th. The game had 22 runs and 32 hits, and it put the Brewers in first place.

10) Braves 4, Brewers 3, May 18

The Braves went on a May run to essentially turn the NL East into a two-team race, and this game, won by their longtime leader, is a good example as to why. Down 2-0 in the first inning against a terrific team, the Braves clawed their way back and took over the lead in the sixth on a home run from rookie phenom Austin Riley. The Brewers tied it in the top of the ninth -- reminding of the Braves’ ongoing bullpen problem -- but against, again, Hader, Freddie Freeman deposited a ball into the center-field stands for a thrilling walk-off in front of a fanbase that is starting again to believe.