To help fill the baseball void, we’re flipping the calendar back one year to remind us all just how awesome our great game is. Here's a look back at the best of April 9, 2019:

Jacob deGrom was cruising. His 26 straight quality starts matched Bob Gibson for the all-time record, and he had thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to the 2018 season. Then, he ran into the Bomba Squad.

The Twins homered off deGrom three times, including two by catcher Mitch Garver, and scored six runs in four innings against the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner in their 14-8 win at Citi Field one year ago today. deGrom's streak of quality starts officially ended on Eddie Rosario's homer in the third inning.

Minnesota hit another three homers after deGrom's exit, and there would be plenty more to come. The Twins not only went on to lead all of MLB in home runs, they set a Major League record with 307 big flies.

As for deGrom, he'd be just fine. The right-hander finished 2019 with a 2.43 ERA over 204 innings and took home another NL Cy Young Award.

Best of the rest

Young Nats upstage Bryce, Phils: With Bryce Harper gone, the Nationals needed youngsters like Juan Soto and Victor Robles to fill the void. They did just that on this night, helping Washington rally for a 10-6 win over Harper (who hit a three-run homer off Stephen Strasburg) and Philadelphia.

The Nats trailed 6-1 at one point and were down to their final strike in the ninth inning, but Robles tied the game with a solo homer off Edubray Ramos. In the 10th, Soto put Washington ahead with a towering three-run blast down the right-field line, and Robles padded the lead with an RBI double.

Castillo tosses gem vs. Marlins: For all of Luis Castillo's outstanding starts in the first month of the 2019 season, this arguably was his most dominant. Castillo held Miami to two hits over seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and one walk, recording 21 swings and misses on 95 pitches along the way. Michael Lorenzen then threw two shutout frames to finish off the 14-0 romp.

Castillo was named the National League's Pitcher of the Month for April after posting a 1.45 ERA with a 0.99 WHIP.

Gurriel steals home off Sale: With Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale working from a full windup, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. got a great jump from third base and dashed to the plate to swipe home with two outs in the third inning, putting the Blue Jays up 5-2 in a game they'd win, 7-5.