PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #3 RECAP: The Phillies fell to the Texas Rangers, 2-1, on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball in Arlington, TX … Starter Bailey Falter (L, 0-1) turned in 5.1 innings and allowed 2 runs on 7 hits with 0 walks and 3 strikeouts … Trea Turner, Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott all had two hits but the Phillies went just 1-for8 with RISP … Andrew Bellatti (0.2 IP), Connor Brogdon (1.0 IP) and Gregory Soto (1.0 IP) all made scoreless appearances in relief of Falter.
HOMECOMING KING: Tonight, Rob Thomson will return to Yankee Stadium and manage his first ever game against the Yankees after spending 28 years (1990-2017) with New York … Thomson, the 56th manager in Phillies history, signed a two-year contract for the 2023 and 2024 seasons on 10/10/22 after being named interim manager on 6/3/22 … After he took over, Thomson guided the Phillies to a 65-46 record (.586 win %) and the franchise’s first postseason berth since 2011 … Thomson became only the fourth manager in history to take a team at least seven games under .500 and lead them to the postseason, joining Dick Howser (KC, 1981), Cito Gaston (TOR, 1989) and Jim Tracy (COL, 2009) … Thomson also became just the eight manager (9th time) to lead a team to a World Series after the club began the season with a different manager and the first since Jack McKeon in 2003 with FLA … This is Thomson’s sixth season with the Phillies after originally being hired as bench coach on 12/5/17 … Over his almost three-decade run in New York, Thomson served many roles including 10 seasons on the ML staff as bench coach (2008, 2015-17) and 3rd base coach (2009-14).
BACK IN THE GREAT NORTHEAST: After spending the last 47 days between Clearwater, FL and Dallas, TX, the Phillies are back in the Northeast to begin a three-game set against the Yankees … The Phils will return home to Philadelphia for the home opener at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds … The Phillies are 0-3 to start a season for the 15th time since 1900, the last coming in 2016.
99 ON THE HILL: Tonight, RHP Taijuan Walker will make his Phillies debut after signing a four-year contract with the club on 12/16/22 … Last season with the New York Mets, Walker tied career bests in starts (29) and ERA (3.49) and set a new career high with 12 wins … A 2021 All-Star with the Mets, Walker has pitched parts of 10 seasons for the Seattle Mariners (2013-16; 20), Arizona Diamondbacks (2017-19),
Toronto Blue Jays (2020) and Mets (2021-22) … He was originally drafted by the Mariners in the 1st round (43rd overall) of the 2010 MLB Draft out of Yucaipa High School (CA) … Since 2017, Walker has appeared in 102 games (101 GS) and is 32-28 with a 3.69 ERA (222 ER, 541.0 IP) – his teams are 57-45 (.559 win %) in those 102 games … Since 2017, 84 pitchers in baseball have made at least 100 starts and of those 100, Walker ranks 29th with a 114 ERA+ (league average is 100) – Yu Darvish ranks 28th with a 115 ERA+ … Finally, when Walker takes the mound tonight, he will do so wearing #99 and will be only the fourth player in franchise history to do so, joining Mitch Williams in 1993, Turk Wendell in 2001 and So Taguchi in 2008.
EYES OF THE NATION: Tonight, the Phillies will make their third of four straight appearances on National television after making their first appearance on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last night … On Saturday at TEX, the game was broadcast exclusively on FOX, (ESPN last night) followed by a co-exist broadcast tonight with MLB Network and NBC Sports Philadelphia and another co-exist tomorrow night with TBS and NBC Sports Philly +.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE: Through three games and 13 plate appearances, Nick Castellanos has seen 57 total pitches for an average of 4.38 pitches per plate appearance … Last night at TEX, Castellanos saw 18 pitches in four plate appearances and walked twice … This spring, Castellanos drew 11 walks in 62 plate appearances (17.8 % BB rate) and posted a .371 OBP … In Spring Training from 2017-22, Castellanos walked 12 times in 269 plate appearances (4.5% BB rate)
FLAGS FLY FOREVER: The Phillies were National League champions in 2022 for the eighth time in franchise history (1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, 2009, 2022) … The road to the pennant began with a two-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Series at Busch Stadium, followed by a three-games-to-one Division Series win over the Atlanta Braves and a victory over the San Diego Padres in the NLCS, four games to one, clinching the series with three straight wins at Citizens Bank Park … In the Fall Classic, the Phillies fell to the Houston Astros in six games; it was only the second postseason meeting between the two clubs, the first being the 1980 NLCS …On May 31, the Phillies were eight games under .500 at 21-29 with a .420 winning percentage that ranked 11th in the National League and 22nd in MLB … Starting June 1, the Phillies went 66-46, 20 games over .500 with a .589 winning percentage that ranked 4th in the NL and 7th in baseball … The Phillies clinched their first postseason berth since 2011 with a 3-0 win against the Astros on Oct. 3 … The Phillies became only the fifth team in MLB history to start 21-29 or worse through their first 50 games and then make the World Series, joining the 2019 Washington Nationals (19-31 start), 2005 Houston Astros (18-32 start), 2003 Florida Marlins (21-29) and 1914 Boston Braves (20-30).
NEW TONIGHT, AT (THE) 6: On 12/8/22, the Phillies signed SS Trea Turner to an 11-year contract, taking him through the 2033 season … Last year with LAD, Turner was selected as an All-Star for the second time in his career, was named All-MLB First Team and won his first career Louisville Silver Slugger Award after slashing .298/.343/.466 with a 121 OPS+ and 27 steals in 30 attempts … Per Statcast, his average sprint speed of 30.3 feet per second ranked 5th out of 582 qualified players … In 2021, Turner led the majors in AVG (.328) and hits (195), led the NL in stolen bases (32) and total bases (319) and posted a career-best 6.8 fWAR (FanGraphs) which ranked 3rd among all ML position players … Since 2018, Turner has accrued a NL-best 25.2 fWAR among position players (teammate J.T. Realmuto ranks 4th at 23.3) … In 2019 with WSH, he reached base safely in 15 of 17 postseason games and won his first World Series championship.
TOLLS OF BRILLIANCE: Catcher J.T. Realmuto was named All-MLB First Team last season, took home his third Silver Slugger Award and second Gold Glove Award and finished 7th in NL MVP voting … Additionally, he finished with 6.5 fWAR, 3rd in MLB history for a catcher aged 31 or older, led MLB with 1281.2 innings at catcher (regular and postseason combined) which was 240.0 innings more than HOU’s Martin Maldonado who ranked 2nd at 1041.2, and finally, became only the second catcher in MLB history with 20 HR and 20 SB, joining Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez (1999).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – TAIJUAN WALKER • RHP #99
TONIGHT’S START:
• Welcome to Philly: Walker is making his season and Phillies debut after signing a 4-year contract with the club in December
• I <3 NY: Counting today, Walker’s last 3 Interleague starts will have come against NYY (others: 7/26/22 and 8/23/22), and last 2 at Yankee Stadium … Walker has \allowed 3 ER or fewer in 7 of his 8 career starts against NYY
• Keeping Them In The Yard: Walker surrendered only 15 home runs last season, T-8th fewest among NL pitchers with at least 150.0 IP
• Early Bird: Last season, Walker went 7-2, 2.55 ERA (26 ER, 91.2 IP) in 16 first half starts, the 8th-best among qualifying NL pitchers … He is 32-24 with a 3.49 ERA (186 ER, 479.0 IP) in his career prior to the All-Star break as opposed to 18-23 with a 4.59 ERA (186 ER, 365.2 IP) after
• Taijuan(a), Mexico: Pitched for Team Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, making one start in Pool Play against Great Britain … He threw 4.0 scoreless IP with 2 baserunners allowed and recorded 8 of his 12 outs via strikeout
• vs Al East: 6-9, 4.15 ERA (63 ER, 136.2 IP) in 26 starts
• vs Interleague: 10-6, 3.70 ERA (49 ER, 119.1 IP) in 21 starts
ROAD:
• 2022: 7-4, 3.54 ERA (34 ER, 86.1 IP) in 16 starts
• Career: 30-29, 3.96 ERA (201 ER, 456.2 IP) in 87 games (85 starts)
2022 SEASON:
• Tied career highs in starts (29) and ERA (3.49) and set a new career high with 12 wins
• Went 7-2, 2.55 ERA (26 ER, 91.2 IP) in 16 first half starts
• Had eight straight quality starts, 6/24-7/26, the longest such streak of his career
• Was 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA (12 ER, 51.0 IP) during his streak of quality starts
• Had a 13.0-inning scoreless streak, 7/4-16, tying his career long
• Surrendered only 0.86 HR/9.0 IP (15 HR, 157.1 IP)
• His five pickoffs were 2nd in MLB to Robbie Ray’s six
CAREER
• Signed a four-year contract on 12/15/22, taking him through 2026
• Made his first career All-Star team in 2021 while with NYM
• Originally selected by SEA in 1st round (43rd overall) of 2020 MLB Draft out of Yucaipa High School (CA)
NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees will continue their season-opening six-game homestand with the first game of a three-game set vs. the Phillies (through Wed.)…went 2-1 vs. the Giants in their first series of the season…will embark on their first road trip on Thursday, with stops in Baltimore (3G from Thurs., Sat.-Sun.) and Cleveland (4/10-12).
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees clinched a series win with a 6-0 victory over the Giants on Sunday at Yankee Stadium…RHP Jhony Brito (5.0IP, 2H, 0R, 1BB, 6K) made his Major League debut and tossed 5.0 scoreless innings to earn the win, becoming just the 12th Yankees pitcher in franchise history (and fifth since 1935) to toss at least 5.0 scoreless innings in his Major League debut…RF Aaron Judge (1-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI) hit his second HR of the season with a solo HR in the third inning…DH Giancarlo Stanton (1-for-3, 1R, 1HR, 2RBI, 1BB) homered in his second straight game, hitting a two-run HR in the third inning… according to Statcast, his HR had a projected distance of 485 ft., marking his second-longest HR in the Statcast Era…C Kyle Higashioka (1-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI) hit his first HR of the season with a solo HR in the fourth inning…1B Anthony Rizzo (1-for-1, 1R, 1RBI, 1BB, 1HP, 1SF) reached base three times for his second straight game…2B Gleyber Torres (1-for-3, 1R, 1BB) and LF Oswaldo Cabrera (2-for-4) reached base twice…CF Isiah KinerFalefa (0-for-4) made his first Major League appearance in the
outfield…RHP Jimmy Cordero (0.2IP, 1H, 2K, 1HP), RHP Ron Marinaccio (1.1IP, 3K) and RHP Colten Brewer (2.0IP, 1BB, 1K,
1HP) combined to toss 4.0 scoreless innings of relief.
FAST AND FURIOUS: INF Anthony Volpe recorded his third career stolen base on Sunday…became just the fourth Yankee in franchise history to steal three bases within his first three career games, joining Andy Fox (3SB in 1996), Fritz Maisel (3SB in 1913) and Harry Williams (3SB in 1913)…became just the second Yankee in franchise history to steal at least one base in each of his first three career Major League games (also Fritz Maisel – first three career games in 1913).
His 3SB are tied for the second-most by a Yankee through the team’s first three games of a season, trailing only Rickey Henderson’s 5SB in 1989 (also 3SB by Roberto Kelly in 1989, Bobby Murcer in 1974 and Jake Stahl in 1908).
Became the first Yankee in franchise history to steal at least one base in each of the Yankees’ first three games of a season.
FAST AND FURIOUS PART II: Yankees baserunners have recorded 5SB in their first three games…marks their most stolen bases within their first three games of a season in the last 34 years (since 1990) and their second-most in their last 48 seasons since 1976 (had 9SB in their first three games in 1989).
STANTON ISLAND: OF/DH Giancarlo Stanton homered in his second straight game on Sunday, hitting a two-run HR in the third inning…according to Statcast, his HR had a projected distance of 485 ft., marking his second-longest HR in the Statcast Era (since 2015)…trails only a 504-ft. HR he hit on 8/6/16 at Colorado with Miami in that span.
His HR on Sunday marked his third HR in the Statcast Era to have a projected distance of at least 480 ft. (also a 504-ft. HR on 8/6/16 at Colorado with Miami and a 483-ft. HR on 7/25/20 vs. Washington with the Yankees)…is one of only two Major League players to hit at least three home runs with a projected distance of at least 480 ft. in the Statcast Era (also Nomar Mazara has three).
His HR on Sunday also marked the third-longest HR at the current Yankee Stadium since 2015, trailing only Aaron Judge’s 496 ft. HR on 9/30/17 vs. Toronto and 495 ft. HR on 6/11/17 vs. Baltimore.
His HR also had an exit velocity of 117.8 mph…according to Statcast, he recorded 14 of the 62H in the Majors in 2022 that had an exit velocity of at least 115.0 mph.
MONUMENTAL FEAT: The 2023 season marks the 50th Anniversary of former Yankee Ron Blomberg becoming the first designated hitter in Major League history…to commemorate this historic accomplishment, Blomberg will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to tonight’s game vs. Philadelphia.
Blomberg became Major League Baseball’s first designated hitter on 4/6/73 against Boston at Fenway Park…in his first career plate appearance as designated hitter, he walked with the bases loaded.
He was originally drafted by the Yankees as the first overall selection in the 1967 MLB First-Year Player Draft…over parts of seven seasons in pinstripes (1969, ’71-76), Blomberg batted .302 (355-for-1,177) with 168R, 60 doubles, 8 triples, 47HR, 202RBI and 129BB in 400 games.
PEN PAL: RHP Ron Marinaccio retired all 4BF on Sunday…has not allowed a run or hit in 3.1 innings of relief this season…has retired 10-of-11BF (1BB).
BLANK SPACE: Yankees pitchers threw their second shutout of the season on Sunday…marks the first time in franchise history that the Yankees have recorded two shutouts within their first three games of a season.
Yankees pitchers have allowed just 7R over their first three games…marks their fewest runs allowed in their first three games of a season in the last 22 years since 2002 (allowed 5R over their first three games in 2001).
ALL RISE: OF Aaron Judge hit his second HR of the season on Sunday with a solo HR in the third inning…marked his 222nd career home run, tying Don Mattingly (222HR) for the 11thmost home runs in Yankees history…also tied Mattingly for the third-most home runs by a Yankee who was drafted and signed by the club (Jorge Posada-275HR, Derek Jeter-260HR).
Is batting .462/.462/923 (6-for-13) with 3R, 2HR and 4RBI in his first three games this season.
Since the start of 2019, 68 of his 139HR have tied the game (14) or given the Yankees the lead (54).
Has an 11.13 AB/HR ratio at home (1,302AB/117HR), the second-best ratio in home games in Major League history (min. 300AB), trailing only Mark McGwire (10.56)…is the best mark by any player at the current Yankee Stadium (min. 100AB).
Has hit 222HR in 732 career Major League games, tied with Ryan Howard (222HR) for the most home runs through a player’s first 732 career games in Major League history.
Has hit .303/.413/.619 (394-for-1,302) with 286R, 59 doubles, 1 triple, 117HR, 261RBI and 244BB in 367 career games in the Bronx…his 117HR at home are the most in Yankee Stadium history.
The Yankees have gone 146-49 in his career when he homers…since 2020, the Yankees are 74-20 in those games.
NEW YORK GIANTS: OF Aaron Judge and DH/OF Giancarlo Stanton both homered on Sunday…marked the 27th time during the regular season the pair has both homered in the same game with the Yankees going 25-2 in those games…12 of those games came in 2022…the duo has also homered in four Yankees postseason games, with the Yankees winning each of those games.
GOT YOUR NUMBER: OF Aaron Judge is 4-for-11 with 4HR and 2BB in his career off Philadelphia’s Taijuan Walker…Judge’s 4HR are the second-most HR by any player off Walker (Kyle Schwarber-5HR).
BRONX BOMBERS: Yankees batters have hit 7HR through their first three games this season, tied for their fourth-most HR through their first three games of a season in franchise history… trails only their 9HR in 2011, 8HR in 1932 and 8HR in 1981…also hit 7HR through their first three games in 2016, 2004 and 2003.
Have hit multiple home runs in each of their first three games of a season for the fifth time in franchise history (also 1969, ’81, 2003, ’11).
Their 7HR are tied with Baltimore and Los Angeles-NL for the most in the Majors.
NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo has reached base in 7-of-13 plate appearances this season, going 3-for-8 with 1R, 1 double, 2RBI, 3BB, 1HP and 1SF in three games.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: The Yankees have had two players make their Major League debut this season: INF Anthony Volpe and RHP Jhony Brito…marks just the second time in the last 58 seasons (since 1966) the Yankees have had at least two players make their big league debut within the club’s first three games of a season(also Hideki Matsui, Jason Anderson and José Contreras in 2003).
JHONY B. GOODE: RHP Jhony Brito made his Major League debut on Sunday and tossed 5.0 scoreless innings to earn the win…was just the 12th Yankees pitcher in franchise history (and fifth since 1935) to toss at least 5.0 scoreless innings in his Major League debut, joining Luis Gil (6.0IP on 8/3/21 vs. Baltimore), Jonathan Loáisiga (5.0IP on 6/15/18 vs. Tampa Bay), Sam Militello (7.0IP on 8/9/92 vs. Boston), Hank Borowy (5.0IP on 4/18/42 vs. Boston), Vito Tamulis (9.0IP on 9/25/34 at Philadelphia-AL), Russ Van Atta (9.0IP on 4/25/33 at Washington-AL), Neal Brady (5.2IP on 9/25/1915-G1 vs. Cleveland), Pete Wilson (9.0IP on 9/15/1908 at Boston), Tacks Neuer (9.0IP on 8/28/1907-G2 vs. Boston), Slow
Joe Doyle (9.0IP on 8/25/1906-G1 vs. Cleveland) and Barney Wolfe (5.0IP on 4/24/1903 at Washington-AL)…was just the ninth Yankees starting pitcher to toss 5.0 scoreless innings in his Major League debut and just the fourth since 1935.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP NESTOR CORTES (12-4, 2.44 ERA in 2022)
LHP Nestor Cortes will make his season debut tonight vs. Philadelphia…the 28-year old will make the start on extended six days’ rest after making his final spring training appearance in Tuesday’s exhibition game at Washington, taking the loss after allowing 1ER over 4.0IP (3H, 1BB, 1HR)…in 2022, went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA (158.1IP, 108H, 44R/43ER, 38BB, 16HR) and 163K in 28 starts for the Yankees…made 10 starts last season with 6.0-or-more innings pitched and 1R-or-fewer allowed… according to Elias, his 2.44 ERA was the third-lowest by a Yankees pitcher in a single season in the Divisional Era since 1969 (min. 25 games started), trailing only Ron Guidry’s 1.74 ERA in 1978 and Steve Jack Kline’s 2.40 ERA in 1972…was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on 12/10/20…was originally selected by the Yankees in the 36th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft…was selected by the Baltimore Orioles from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft and
returned to the Yankees on 4/13/18…was acquired by the Seattle Mariners from the Yankees in exchange for international bonus pool money on 11/25/19…over parts of five Major League seasons, has played with Baltimore (2018), the Yankees (2019, ’21-22) and Seattle (2020).
SPRING FLING: Made just three official spring starts, going 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA (11.1IP, 6ER, 8H, 4BB, 11K, 3HR)…made his spring debut on 3/18 at Toronto, taking the loss after allowing 5ER in 3.1IP (3H, 3BB, 4K, 2HR)…made his second start on 3/23 at St. Louis, tossing 4.0 scoreless innings (2H, 7K) retiring 12 of 14 batters faced…made his final spring start in an exhibition game on Tuesday at Washington, taking the loss after allowing 1ER over 4.0IP (3H, 1BB, 1HR).
INTERLEAGUE/VS. PHI: Owns a 2.22 ERA (28.1IP, 7ER), 26K and a .190 (19-for-100) opponents’ BA without recording a decision in nine career appearances (four starts) in Interleague play…has allowed 2R-or-fewer in each of those outings.
As a starter, owns a 2.18 ERA (20.2IP, 5ER) and 16K in four Interleague starts…has allowed 2R-or-fewer while allowing 5H-or-fewer in each of those starts.
Has made one career appearance against the Phillies, allowing 1ER over 3.2 innings in relief (4H, 1BB, 6K) on 6/12/21 at Citizens Bank Park.
Has posted a 2.25 ERA (8.0IP, 2ER) and 10K in three appearances (one start) against NL East opponents…his most recent appearance against an NL East opponent came on 7/4/21 vs. New York-NL (ND, 3.1IP, 2H, 1ER, 4K).
HOME SWEET HOME: In 22 career starts at Yankee Stadium as a Yankee, is 7-2 with a 2.33 ERA (123.2IP, 32ER), 126K and a .183 opponents’ BA (80-for-437)…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in each of those 22 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in 18 of those games.
Has gone 7-2 with a 2.15 ERA (134.0IP, 32ER) and 142K in 27 home games (22 starts) since 2021…his 2.15 ERA at Yankee Stadium is the third-lowest in the Majors among any pitcher at a single ballpark since 2021 (min. 100.0IP), trailing only Los Angeles-AL’s Shohei Ohtani (1.88 ERA at Angel Stadium) and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (1.99 ERA at loanDepot park).
2022: Went 12-4 with one complete-game shutout and a 2.44 ERA (158.1IP, 108H, 44R/43ER, 38BB, 163K, 16HR) in 28 starts…opponents hit .189/.241/.313 (108-for572, 16HR); LH .110/.180/.159 (9-for-82, 1HR); RH .202/.251/.339 (99-for-490, 15HR)…recorded a career best in ERA and set career highs in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts…was named to his first career All-Star team.
Among pitchers with 150.0IP in 2022, ranked second in the Majors in opponents’ OBP (.241, second in AL) and opponents’ OPS (.554, second in AL), third in WHIP (0.92, second in AL) and opponents’ BA (.189, second in AL), sixth in opponents’ SLG (.313, fourth in AL) and seventh in ERA (2.44, fifth in AL).
Among left-handed pitchers vs. left-handed batters (min. 65BF), owned the lowest opponents’ OPS (.338), ranked second in opponents’ batting average (second in AL), OBP (first in AL) and third in opponents’ SLG (second in AL).
Had five starts in 2022 where he had allowed just 1H over at least 5.0IP (1H in 6.0IP on 9/25 vs. Boston, 1H in 5.1IP on 8/5 at St. Louis, 1H in 7.1IP on 5/9 vs. Texas, 1H in 6.1IP on 4/23 vs. Cleveland and 1H in 7.1IP on 10/1 vs. Baltimore)…is the most such starts in a season by a Yankee in franchise history (previous: three such starts by Luis Severino in 2022, David Cone in 1999 and Scott Sanderson in 1991)…his five such starts are tied for the most in Major League history.
Allowed 3R-or-fewer in 25 of his 28 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in 21 starts and 1R-or-fewer in 15 starts…tossed seven scoreless starts.
144 of his strikeouts ended with a fastball, the most in the Majors (next: Gerrit Cole – 141K).
Allowed 3R-or-fewer in 19 consecutive starts from 8/15/21-6/2/22-G1, the second-longest streak in franchise history by a Yankees starting pitcher, trailing only Russ Ford (20 starts from 8/9/1910-G2-5/27/1911-G2)…allowed 2R-or-fewer in 16 of those 19 starts…went 7-3 with a 2.22 ERA (109.2IP, 27ER), 125K and a .200 (80-for-401) opponents’ BA over that span.
Allowed 2R-or-fewer in nine consecutive starts from 9/25/21-5/15/22, tied with Luis Severino (nine starts from 9/12/18-4/20/22), Michael Pineda (nine starts from 4/5-9/5/14) and Art Ditmar (nine starts from 7/26-9/9/59) for the longest such streak in franchise history by a Yankees starting pitcher (excludes Chad Green’s 12-start streak as an opener from 6/11/17-8/12/19-G2).
Made his first three career postseason starts, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA (12.0IP, 6ER)…started on short rest in ALDS Game 5 vs. Cleveland and earned his first postseason win (5.0IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 2K, 0HR)…was just the sixth Yankees starting pitcher to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 1R-or-fewer in a “winner-take-all” game, joining Gerrit Cole (5.1IP and 1R in 2020 ALDS Game 5 at Tampa Bay in San Diego), CC Sabathia (9.0IP and 1R in 2012 ALDS Game 5 vs. Baltimore), Roger Clemens (6.1IP and 1R in 2001 World Series Game 7 at Arizona), Ralph Terry (CGSHO in 1962 World Series Game 7 at San Francisco) and Johnny Kucks (CGSHO in 1956 World Series Game 7 at Brooklyn).
NASTY NESTOR: Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 38-of-42 starts since the beginning of 2021 and 2R-or-fewer in 32 of those starts…in 50 appearances (42 starts) since the beginning of 2021, has gone 14-7 with a 2.61 ERA (251.1IP, 73ER), 266K and a .200 (183-for-917) opponents’ BA…his 2.61 ERA in that span is the second-lowest in the AL and the fourth-lowest in the Majors (min. 200.0IP)…his 0.98 WHIP in that span is the lowest in the AL and third-lowest in the Majors…his .200 opponents’ BA in that span is the fourth-lowest in the AL and eighth-lowest in the Majors over that span (min. 200.0IP).
Recorded a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts in 2022…according to Elias, his 2.44 ERA is the third-lowest ERA by a Yankee pitcher in a single season in the Divisional Era since 1969 (min. 25 games started), trailing only Ron Guidry’s 1.74 ERA in 1978 and Steve Jack Kline’s 2.40 ERA in 1972.
Over his last 37 starts since 8/15/21, has gone 14-6 with a 2.60 ERA (208.0IP, 60ER), 220K and a .198 (150-for759) opponents’ BA…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 34 of those 37 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in 28 of those starts…his 2.60 ERA over that span is the fifth-lowest in the AL and the 10th-lowest in the Majors in that stretch (min. 150.0IP).
LEFT OUT TO DRY: Left-handed batters hit just .110/.180/.159 (9-for-82) against him in 2022…among left-handed pitchers vs. left-handed batters (min. 65BF), owned the lowest OPS (.338), ranked second in opponents’ batting average (second in AL), OBP (first in AL) and third in opponents’ SLG (second in AL).
CAREER NOTES: Has appeared in parts of five Major League seasons with the Baltimore Orioles (2018), the Yankees (2019, ’21-22) and the Seattle Mariners (2020).
Has made four Opening Day rosters (2018 with Baltimore, 2020 with Seattle, 2022-23 with the Yankees).
Was originally selected by the Yankees in the 36th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft.
Was selected by Baltimore from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft…made his Major League debut with Baltimore on 3/30/18 vs. Minnesota before being returned to the Yankees on 4/13/18.
Was designated for assignment by the Yankees on 11/20/19 and traded to the Seattle Mariners for international signing bonus pool money on 10/25/19.
Was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on 12/10/20.
