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MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (31-30) at Cleveland Guardians (27-33)

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MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (31-30) at Cleveland Guardians (27-33)

BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:

STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox snapped a 3-game losing streak last night…They are 3-3 in their last 6 games after losing 7 of their 9 games from 5/21-31. At 31-30 (.508), the Sox rank 5th in the AL East and are 4.5 games back from the AL’s 3rd Wild Card spot. Boston has been at or above .500 since 4/29 (14-14).

SERIES BUSINESS: The Red Sox have lost each of their last 2 series (1-2 vs. CIN, 1-3 vs. TB)…It is the 1st time they’ve lost back-to-back series this season. With a win tonight or tomorrow, the Sox would improve to 12-7-1 in series play, including 8-4-0 in series against AL opponents. The Sox have alternated series results on the road (W, L, W, L, W, T, W, L, W): 3-0 at DET, 0-4 at TB, 2-1 at MIL, 1-2 at BAL, 2-1 at PHI, 1-1 at ATL, 2-1 at SD, 0-3 at LAA, 2-1 at ARI. The Sox are 8-1-0 in series when they win Game 1.

SOX & GUARDIANS: The Red Sox won their 3rd consecutive game vs. CLE last night…The Sox won a 3-game series vs. CLE at Fenway Park from 4/28-30 (2-1). The Red Sox are 12-5 vs. CLE since the beginning of 2021, including 6-1 at Progressive Field. The Sox have won 8 of their last 9 games at Progressive Field, beginning on 8/13/19. Alex Cora is 1 of 7 current MLB managers to have played for Terry Francona during his 8-year stint as manager of the Red Sox from 2004-11: Alex Cora (2005-08), Rocco Baldelli (2009), Kevin Cash (2010), Gabe Kapler (2003-06), Mark Kotsay (2008-09), Dave Roberts (2004), and David Ross (2008).

CENTRAL TIME: The Red Sox are 8-2 against AL Central teams this season, after going 18-15 in 2022. The Sox are outscoring AL Central opponents this season by a score of 66-45. They are 3-0-0 in series against AL Central opponents (3-0 at DET, 2-1 vs. MIN, and 2-1 vs. CLE). The Sox have won 4 consecutive series against AL Central opponents, beginning on 9/16/22 vs. KC.

GETTING BUSY: After Friday’s game was postponed and made up on Monday, the Red Sox are now in a span of 13 games in 12 days, from 6/3-14 (2-3 so far). The Sox are in a span of 26 games in 27 days, from 5/30-6/25, including 23 games in 23 days from 6/3-25. 3 of the Sox’ 5 series (10 of 16 games) from 6/3-18 are against AL East opponents (1-3 vs. TB, 3 games at NYY, 3 games vs. NYY)…Just 1 of their 9 series from 4/28-6/1 was within the division (5/1-4 vs. TOR).

COMEBACK KIDS: Last night, the Red Sox trailed 2-0 through 5 innings and 2-1 through 7 innings before scoring 4 runs in the 8th and going on to win, 5-4. They have trailed in each of their last 4 wins. The Red Sox have 18 come-from-behind wins this season, tied for 2nd most in MLB (BAL-20).

CLOSE SHAVES: 7 of the Red Sox’ last 10 games have been decided by 3 runs or fewer, including 4 one-run games and 2 two-run games. Last night, the Sox won only their 2nd one-run game since 5/3 (also 5/27 at ARI, 2-1 win). Boston’s 10 losses by 1 run are tied for 4th most in the AL behind CLE (17), SEA (12), and MIN (11).

UPS AND DOWNS: The Red Sox have been held to 2 runs or fewer in 10 of their last 21 games, compared to just 8 of their first 40 games. The Sox recorded 10 hits last night, snapping a season-long streak of 3 straight games with 6 hits or fewer. The Sox have a .236 AVG/.313 OBP in their last 17 games, after entering that span with a .272 AVG/.342 OBP.

RED SOX OFFENSE
Dates Record AVG OPS Runs/Game
3/30-4/13 5-8 .235 .731 5.5
4/14-5/6 16-6 .295 .840 6.2
5/7-pres. 10-16 .246 .712 4.0

SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox lead MLB in doubles (139) and rank top 5 in runs (4th, 311), AVG (5th, .262), OBP (3rd, .334), OPS (5th, .763), and XBH (4th, 211). The Sox rank 3rd in the AL and 6th in MLB in SO% (20.8). The Sox rank among league leaders in pitches per PA (7th, 3.96) and swinging strike percentage (4th, 17.0%).

FOUR SCORE AND…: The Red Sox are 29-10 when they score 4 or more runs, compared to 2-20 when they don’t. The Sox’ 39 games with 4+ runs scored are tied for 3rd most in the AL behind TB (46) and TEX (43). They have scored 4+ runs in 5 of their last 8 games, after doing so in just 1 of their previous 7 games.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Red Sox players age 27 or younger have combined to hit 40 of the team’s 66 HR (Devers-13, Casas-6, Wong-6, Verdugo-5, Valdez-4, Duran-3, Chang-3). Their 40 HR rank 5th in MLB behind CWS (49), HOU (47), TB (45), and KC (42). Pitchers age 27 or younger have started 28 of Boston’s 61 games (Houck-11, Bello-9, Whitlock-5, Crawford-3).

RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Red Sox rank 4th in the AL and 7th in MLB in SB% (82.5%, 33-for-40). The Sox ranked 22nd in MLB with a 72.2 SB% in 2022.
34% of the Red Sox’ baserunners have scored, tied for the 5th-highest percentage in MLB.

TOUGH TEST: The Red Sox have played 42 games against teams with a current winning percentage of .500 or better, 5th most in MLB (OAK-48, TOR-44, STL-44, NYY-43). The Red Sox are 20-22 (.476) against teams that currently have a .500 winning percentage or better. 7 of the Sox’ 10 series from 6/2-7/6 are against opponents who are currently above .500 (vs. TB, at NYY, vs. NYY, at MIN, vs. MIA, at TOR, vs. TEX).

ON THE MEND: Yu Chang began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester last night vs. Rochester, starting as the DH (0-for-4). Adam Duvall has played in 6 games on a rehab assignment with Worcester, making 5 starts in CF and 1 as the DH…In his last 4 games with the WooSox, Duvall is 4-for-14 with 2 HR, a double, 3 RBI, and 4 BB.

TONIGHT’S STARTER: 50 KUTTER CRAWFORD – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 1-2 3.48 11 3 33.2 13 6 6 33 0.95 .203
CAREER 4-9 5.18 33 16 113.0 65 19 37 112 1.32 .256
Will start in back-to-back appearances for the first time since 4/3 vs. PIT and 4/9 at DET. Started Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader vs. TB (3.0 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 SO). In 8 relief appearances, has a 1.66 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, and .143 opponent AVG (21.2 IP, 4 ER, 11 H), compared to a .75 ERA (9 ER/12.0 IP) in 3 games as a starter. Opponents are 3 for their last 24 against him (.125)…Overall, opponents are batting .203 against him (26-for-128). Among the 170 pitchers with at least 30.0 IP, ranks 10th in WHIP (0.95), 11th in walk rate (4.5%), and T-11th in SO/BB ratio (5.50). In 5 road games (1 start), has a 1.88 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and .189 opponent AVG (14.1 IP, 3 R, 10 H, 1 BB, 16 SO).

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:

GUARDS FALL SHORT IN HOMESTAND OPENER
Coming off back-to-back wins in Minnesota that capped a 4-3 road trip, the Guardians opened a 6-game homestand with a 5-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night at Progressive Field… club has dropped 4 of last 6 at home (12-16 overall).

Cleveland jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the 1st inning, as a lead-off single from STEVEN KWAN paved the way for a pair of 2-out RBI-doubles by JOSH NAYLOR and JOSH BELL… those would turn out to be the only tallies allowed by southpaw James Paxton across his 7.0 frames (7.0IP, 6H, 2R-ER, 2BB, 9SO, 106 pitches)…SHANE BIEBER (5.2IP, 5H, 1R-ER, BB, 2SO, 95 pitches) surrendered his lone tally in the 6th before exiting with a 2-1 lead, as Masataka Yoshida led off the inning with a double and later scored on a 2-out double by Enrique Hernandez…the Red Sox blew the contest open with a 4-run rally in the 8th, as ENYEL DE LOS SANTOS started the inning by allowing a double, walk and single ahead of a game-tying bases-loaded walk…NICK SANDLIN then relieved De Los Santos and Boston capitalized on a pair of RBI-singles by Rob Refsnyder and Pablo Reyes, followed by Alex Verdugo’s sac fly to take a 5-2 advantage…Cleveland tightened the margin by answering with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 8th, which came on a pinch-hit RBI-single from AMED ROSARIO and RBI-double by WILL BRENNAN, but Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the 9th for his 13th save.

Cleveland (27-33) sits in 2nd place in AL Central standings, 3.5 games behind 1st-place Minnesota (31-30) & one half-game ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (26-33)…despite winning 5 of last 9, Guardians have dropped 27 of last 45 overall since starting the year 9-6…club is 0-1 to begin a 6-game homestand against Boston & Houston (3 games each).

THE GUARDIAC KIDS
The Guardians lead MLB with 29 one-run games out of their first 60 games this season, owning a 12-17 record in such contests… their 17 one-run losses are T5th-most in MLB history through 60 games, last done by the 1985 San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies…the Guards 12 one-run victories rank T2nd in MLB this year behind Miami (16), and are the club’s most one-run wins through 60 games since 2011 (12-8, .600)…Cleveland’s 29 one-run contests are tied for most in club history through the first 60 games of a season, the most since 1918 (15-14)…the Guardians are the first MLB team with 29 one-run contests in their first 60 games since the 1993 Kansas City Royals (20-9, .690)…the 29 one-run contests are T8th-most in MLB history within the first 60 games of a season.

MOST G BY ONE-RUN THRU 60G SINCE 1989
TEAM YEAR COUNT RECORD
Los Angeles-NL 1994 31 16-15 (.516)
Cleveland 2023 29 12-17 (.414)
Kansas City 1993 29 20-9 (.690)
Houston 1989 29 19-10 (.655)

The Guards also lead MLB this season with 41 games decided by 2-or-fewer runs, holding a 20-21 record…Cleveland’s 41 contests decided by 2-or-fewer runs are tied for most in club history through the first 60 games of a season, also done in 1944 (20-21)…the 41 games decided by 2-or-fewer runs are T5th-most in MLB history with Pittsburgh (1984), Baltimore (1957), Cleveland (1944), the Boston Braves (1943) and the Washington Senators (1905).

MOST G BY 2-OR-FEWER RUNS THRU 60G SINCE 1971
TEAM YEAR COUNT RECORD
Houston 1971 43 18-25 (.419)
Seattle 2015 42 19-23 (.452)
Cleveland 2023 41 20-21 (.488)
Pittsburgh 1984 41 12-29 (.293)

HOT IN CLEVELAND
Since May 29, WILL BRENNAN (14-for-25) is on a 7-game hit streak, raising his average this season from .222 to .268…he leads all MLB hitters (min. 10AB) with a .560 batting average since May 29, ahead of current MLB batting average leader Luis Arraez (.548) and Houston’s Yainer Diaz (.533)…he also leads all MLB hitters (min. 10AB) with a .593 on-base percentage, ahead of Minnesota’s Alex Kiriloff (.586) and Arraez (.559)…his 14 hits during the span are T2nd in MLB with Texas’ Adolis Garcia and trails Arraez (17)… his 1.433 OPS during the span ranks 3rd in MLB, trailing New York AL’s Aaron Judge (1.514) and Diaz (1.666)…he also ranks T6th with 4 doubles, T7th with 21 total bases and 9th with a .840 SLG since May 29…Brennan is the first Cleveland hitter to have 14+ hits and a .560-or-higher batting average within a 7-game span since

JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (19 hits, .576 average) from June 15-20, 2017.
Since May 30, JOSH NAYLOR’s 10 RBI ranks T3rd in MLB with Miami’s Luis Arraez and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr., and trails only Texas’ Jonah Heim (12) in the AL…his .560 OBP ranks 3rd, his 1.424 OPS ranks T3rd and his .500 average (11-for-22) ranks T4th amongst MLB hitters since May 30…with a go-ahead RBI in yesterday’s game, he now has an MLB-leading 16 go-ahead RBI in 2023, two ahead of Ramírez…his 21 RBI in the 7th-inning-orlater this year ranks T2nd in MLB with New York-NL’s Pete Alonso, behind St. Louis’ Nolan Gorman (22)…since April 29, he is T1st in MLB with 30 RBI, along with Los Angeles NL’s Freddie Freeman.

TITO TERRIFIC
From 2004-11, Guardians manager Terry Francona served as manager for the Red Sox…in 8 seasons with Boston, Francona won two World Series (2004, 2007) and one AL East title (2007), while tallying a 744-552 (.574) overall record…amid his 11th season in Cleveland, Francona has made one World Series appearance (2016) and has won four AL Central titles (2016-18, 2022), while tallying an 872-704 (.553) overall record…the 64-year-old leader has a 27-36 record against Boston since taking over the helm for Cleveland in 2013.

With one more win, Tito (1,901-1,619) will pass Gene Mauch (1,901-2,037) for 14th-most wins in MLB history…among active managers, he ranks 3rd, behind TEX’s Bruce Bochy (2,043-2,049) and HOU’s Dusty Baker (2,129-1,815).

RAMÍREZ RE-WRITING RECORD BOOKS » JOSÉ RAMÍREZ enters today needing one extra-base hit to pass Ken Keltner (538) for 5th-most extra-base hits in Cleveland history…since 2018, Ramírez leads all MLB hitters with 349 extra-base hits…he is also two doubles away from passing Keltner (306) for 6th-most doubles in club history…he has 198 career home runs as a Clevelander, and is 3 homers away from passing Travis Hafner (200) for 9th-most in franchise history…he is 2 go-ahead RBI away from passing Carlos Santana (172) for 9th-most go-ahead RBI by a Cleveland hitter

TONIGHT’S STARTER – 61 TANNER BIBEE RHP
BIBEE AT HOME
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 0-0 2.74 4 4 23.0 17 7 7 5 26
Career 0-0 2.74 4 4 23.0 17 7 7 5 26

BIBEE’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-1 3.20 7 7 39.1 34 14 14 10 40
Career 1-1 3.20 7 7 39.1 34 14 14 10 40

TONIGHT’S START
The 24-year old right-hander is making his eighth career start, fifth at Progressive Field, in the second matchup of this 3-game set with the Boston Red Sox…making his first career start against Boston and second against the AL East…allowed 2 runs (earned) over 5.1 innings on May 2 at New York-AL.

Has pitched 5.0+ innings with 3-or-fewer earned runs allowed in 6 of his first 7 career starts…seeking his first win since his Major League debut on April 26 vs. Colorado.

Bibee was originally selected by Cleveland in the 5th Round (156th overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal State Fullerton… entered the 2023 season as Cleveland’s #5 prospect according to MLB.com…he is starting on extended 5 days’ rest; is 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA (8ER/22.2IP) in 4 starts on 5 days’ rest.

LAST TIME OUT
He took the hill in a 7-6 defeat on June 1 at Target Field against the Minnesota Twins…he did not factor into the decision for the fourth start in a row after allowing 3R/ER on 6 hits over 5.0 innings with 6 strikeouts and one walk…retired 9 of his first 10 batters faced before walking Alex Kiriloff to open up the third frame… Kiriloff advanced to second after Byron Buxton was hit by a pitch… Kiriloff scored following an RBI-single from Max Kepler…the Twins scored twice more in the 5th frame after a solo home run from Michael A. Taylor opened up the inning and an RBI-single from Kiriloff, scoring Christian Vasquez later in the frame…Bibee has allowed 4-or-more runs just once this season, his start against Detroit on May 8, which resulted in his only loss of the season.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Bibee is holding hitters to a .138 (8-for-58) average with 20 of his 40 strikeouts coming the first time through an opposing team’s lineup…his 8 hits allowed the first time through a lineup are 2nd among MLB starting pitchers (min. 55 BF), behind Tampa Bay’s Yonny Chirinos…opposing clubs are hitting .263 (15-for-57) when facing the rookie a second time and .367 (11-for-30) the third time through the order.

Among MLB starters in the first 2 innings of games (min. 14.0IP), he is 1st in WHIP (0.57), 1st in opposing average (0.89) and 2nd in ERA (0.64, 1ER/14.0IP)…Bibee is the only pitcher to allow 7-orfewer hits and one-or-fewer run in the first two innings this season (min. 12.0IP).

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Among qualified rookie starting pitchers he ranks 2nd in ERA (3.20) behind LOGAN ALLEN (2.76), 2nd in WHIP (1.12), 3rd in SO/BB (4.00) and 5th in opposing batting average (.234).

On May 27, Bibee became the first Cleveland pitcher and 4th MLB pitcher in history to record multiple outings of 6.0+IP, 7+ strikeouts and 2-or-fewer-hits within the first 6 starts of a career, also done by Eric Gagné (1999), Freddy Peralta (2018) and Jordan Yamamoto (2019)…on April 26, after striking out 5 straight in the 2nd and 3rd innings, he became the first Cleveland pitcher since at least 1920 to strike out 5 straight hitters in their MLB debut… Bibee became the 2nd Cleveland pitcher with an 8+ strikeout, zero walk debut, last done by Floyd Weaver (W, 5.0IP, 3H, 1R/ER, 0BB, 8SO) on September 30, 1962 vs. Los Angeles-AL in G2 of a doubleheader.

PITCH TO YOUR STRENGTHS
Bibee’s secondary pitches have been successful through his first seven starts…opposing batters are hitting .195 (8-for-41) with 15 strikeouts in at-bats ending with the slider and .148 (4-for-27) with 12 strikeouts against his changeup…he’s throwing his slider 29% of the time and his changeup 15% of the time…his slider’s 11.4 inches of break are 5.7 inches better than average.

MLB Preview: Chicago White Sox (27-35) at New York Yankees (36-26)

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MLB Preview: Chicago White Sox (27-35) at New York Yankees (36-26)

CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:

WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have won a season-high four straight games, five of their last six and 20 of 34 as they continue a brief three-game series tonight at Yankee Stadium.

RHP Lance Lynn is scheduled to start for the White Sox, who are in fourth place in the American League Central, 1.0 game behind second-place Cleveland and 4.5 behind first-place Minnesota.

The Sox opened the trip last night with a 3-2 victory over the Yankees behind 6.0 hitless IP by Lucas Giolito and two home runs by Seby Zavala.

Following tomorrow’s game, the White Sox return home for three games vs. Miami (6/9-11) before taking a six-game trip to Los Angeles-NL (6/13-15) and Seattle (6/16-18).

The Sox went 4-2 on their last homestand vs. the Angels (1-2) and Detroit (3-0) from 5/29-6/4 and 3-4 on their last trip to Cleveland (2-1) and Detroit (1-3) from 5/22-28.

TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
The White Sox are 20-14 (.576) since 4/30, the fifth-best record in the American League and best in the AL Central.

The Sox are looking for their first five-game winning streak since 8/12-16/22.

The White Sox are 7-6 at Yankee Stadium since 2018 … they have won three straight games at Yankee Stadium (11-3 margin) for the first time since a four-game run from 6/15-18/00

Sox pitchers have recorded a 2.97 ERA (65 ER/196.2 IP) in 22 games since 5/13, the best mark in MLB … the bullpen owns a 2.48 ERA (21 ER/76.1 IP) during that span, while the starting rotation is at 3.29 (44 ER/120.1 IP).

Eloy Jiménez is a .350/.400/.725 (14-38) with five homers and 14 RBI in 11 career games against the Yankees.

LAMBERT ON ASSIGNMENT
The White Sox have sent RHP Jimmy Lambert to Class AAA Charlotte on an injury rehab assignment … Lambert, 28, has been on the 15-day injured list since 5/29 (retro to 5/28) with right ankle inflammation.

LAST NIGHT’S RECAP
Lucas Giolito threw 6.0 hitless IP, and Seby Zavala homered twice and drove in all three runs as the White Sox won their fourth straight game, 3-2, over the Yankees.

Giolito walked three batters and struck out seven as he finished with 6.0-plus hitless IP for the second time in 2023 (see note below) … Kendall Graveman posted his eighth hold, pitching a 1-2-3 eighth inning for 14th straight scoreless appearance, and Liam Hendriks earned his first save since returning from cancer despite allowing a leadoff homer to Josh Donaldson in the ninth.

Zavala hit a solo homer off Clarke Schmidt in the third and a two-run shot off Schmidt in the fifth for his second career multi-homer game … Zavala became the 10th catcher in White Sox history to record multiple multi-homer games.

NEAR NO-NO’S
Lucas Giolito threw 6.0 hitless IP last night for the second time this season, marking the eighth time since 2020 that a White Sox pitcher has carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning or later (STATS).

Lance Lynn threw 6.0 hitless IP on 4/29 vs. Tampa Bay, Giolito threw 6.0 hitless IP on 4/18-2/22 vs. Philadelphia, Dylan Cease went 8.2 IP on 9/3/22 vs. Minnesota, Michael Kopech went 6.0 IP on 8/12/22 vs. Detroit, and Carlos Rodón went 6.1 IP on 6/13/21 at Detroit … prior to those five games, Rodón threw a no-hitter on 4/14/21 vs. Cleveland, and Giolito threw a no-hitter on 8/25/20 vs. Pittsburgh.

Giolito is the first MLB pitcher this season to record multiple starts of 6.0-plus IP and the first pitcher in White Sox history to record two such starts in one season (first in MLB since Max Scherzer also had two in 2015).

MIND THE GAP
The White Sox are 20-14 (.588) since 4/30, the best record in the American League Central and fifth-best overall in the AL.

A breakdown of the Sox first 28 games and last 34:
W-L AVG R R/G HR OBP SLG OPS ERA IP QS ER HR SO
20-14 .250 159 4.7 37 .304 .403 .707 3.75 305.0 16 127 42 305
7-21 .227 106 3.8 26 .288 .367 .655 5.88 243.1 8 159 44 272

POSTING PUNCHOUTS
White Sox pitchers rank fifth in MLB with 577 strikeouts, including 29 games with 10 or more … Sox starters are tied with Toronto for second in MLB with 354 strikeouts, nine behind Minnesota (363).

WHITE SOX VS. NEW YORK YANKEES
The White Sox lead the season series, 1-0, after recording their third straight victory at Yankee Stadium last night.

The Sox went 3-4 in 2022, losing three of four games at home from 5/12-15 and splitting four at Yankee Stadium from 5/21-22 … they batted .255/.297/.382 (64-251) with a 5.81 ERA (40 ER/62.0 IP) and were outscored, 40-28.

The White Sox are 1-6-1 in the last eight season matchups (since 2014), going 21-33 during that span (10-16 on the road).

LOOKING FOR AN EDGE VS. THE EAST
The White Sox are 3-11 against the American League teams this season, going 2-5 at home and 1-6 on the road … they have been outscored, 96-52.

By comparison, the White Sox combined to go 34-31 vs. the AL East in 2021-22.

THE RIGHT STUFF
Tonight marks the 181st consecutive in which a right-handed pitcher has started for the White Sox … per Elias, it is longest active streak in baseball (Minnesota is second at 130), second-longest in franchise history (194 from 9/7/33-5/19/35) and longest in MLB since Cleveland (417) from 2017-21.

Dallas Keuchel (5/26/22 vs. Boston) was the last left-hander to start a game for the Sox.

By comparison, from the beginning of the 2007 season until Keuchel’s start on 5/26/22, 1,021 of the White Sox 2,372 games (43.0 percent) were started by lefties.

ROTATION SENSATION
White Sox starting pitchers own a 3.29 ERA (44 ER/120.1 IP) with a .206 (90-436) opponents average and 125 strikeouts in 22 games since 5/13 … they lead MLB in opponents average, rank third in WHIP (1.13) and fourth in ERA and OPS (.651).

During that stretch, Sox starters have made six scoreless outings, have allowed one run twice and two runs six times … the rotation since 5/11:

W-L ERA WHIP QS IP H R ER HR BB SO SO/9.0 AVG OPS
10-5 3.29 1.13 12 120.1 90 48 44 15 46 125 9.3 .206 .651

BULLPEN RELIEF
The White Sox bullpen has posted a 2.48 ERA (21 ER/76.1 IP) with a .179 (48-268) opponents average and a 1.02 WHIP in 22 games since 5/13 … during that stretch, the pen leads MLB in opponents average, ranks third in WHIP and fourth in ERA.

The bullpen owns a 0.48 ERA (2 ER/37.2 IP) with a .128 (16- 125) opponents average in the last 13 victories (since 5/16) and a 0.63 mark (4 ER/57.0 IP) in the last 19 wins (since 5/2).

The White Sox bullpen since 5/13:
W-L ERA WHIP SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HR/9.0 AVG OPS
4-3 2.48 1.02 6 76.1 48 22 21 6 30 67 0.71 .179 .571

RISING TO THE TOP
The White Sox are in the beginning of a stretch from 6/6-29 where they play seven consecutive series (22 games) vs. teams at or above .500 (1-0 so far).

The stretch includes 13 games on the road against the Yankees, Dodgers, Seattle and Angels and nine at home vs. Miami, Texas and Boston.

HOME BODY
Jake Burger is hitting .346/.395/.846 (27-78) with 11 home runs, 26 RBI and a 1.242 OPS over 26 games at home this season.

Burger is tied for the MLB in home runs at home and is tied for third in RBI … among players with at least 85 plate appearances, he leads MLB in slugging percentage and OPS at home.

ANDREW, ANDREW … HE’S OUR MAN!
Andrew Vaughn is slashing .383/.456/.872 (18-47) with nine doubles, four homers and 34 RBI with RISP this season and .471/.609/1.000 (8-17) with RISP/two outs.

Vaughn ranks among the American League leaders with RISP in slugging percentage (4th), OPS (5th, 1.328) and RBI (T6th).

He is tied for third in MLB with 13 go-ahead RBI and tied for fifth with seven game-winning RBI.

SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
The White Sox are batting .273/.338/.443 vs. left-handed pitching since the start of the 2019 season … during that span, the Sox lead MLB in average, rank second in on-base percentage, third in OPS (.781) and fifth in slugging percentage.

Tim Anderson leads MLB with a .353 (152-431) average vs. left-handers since 2019.

STARTER – #33 LANCE LYNN RHP
LYNN AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his 13th start of the season, seventh on the road and first against the New York Yankees.

Has earned the win in four of his last six starts after going 0-4 in his first six starts of the season … is 3-1 with a 4.70 ERA (12 ER/239.0 IP) in his last three starts.

Has surrendered 15 home runs this season … has allowed a homer in nine of his 12 starts, including seven on the road.

Ranks among MLB active pitchers in HR/9.0 IP (7th, 0.94), SO/9.0 IP (7th, 9.09), opponents average (9th, .242), wins (9th, 127), starts (9th, 297), opponents SLG (10th, .385), IP (10th, 1,772.2), strikeouts (11th, 1,791), opponents OPS (11th, .697), ERA (12th, 3.64), WHIP (12th, 1.27) and opponents OBP (13th, .312).

Signed a two-year contract extension with a club option with the White Sox on 7/17/21 … the Sox hold an $18-million option for 2024 with a $1-million buyout.

Is a two-time All-Star (2012 and 2021) … has finished fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019, sixth in 2020 and third in 2021 … was a member of the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

LAST START
Suffered the loss on 5/31 vs the Los Angeles Angels, allowed a season-high eight runs on eight hits (three home runs) with two walks and four strikeouts over 4.0IP … it was his shortest outing of the year.

Left the game in the fifth with the Sox trailing 8-1 … threw 89 pitches (51 strikes).

Owned a 56.5 first-strike percentage and 10.1 swinging-strike percentage (11 swing and misses) vs. 23 batters … threw 37 four-seam fastballs (92.8 mph avg; 94.2 mph max), 19 cutters (89.4 avg; 92.0 max), 18 sinkers (91.4 avg; 93.0 max), 10 changeups (85.4 avg; 85.9 max) and five curveballs (79.9 avg; 81.8 max).

GRAB SOME BENCH
Recorded his 24th career double-digit strikeout performance and fifth with the Sox on 4/29 vs. Tampa Bay.

Ranks 12th in the majors with 711 strikeouts since 2019 … teammate Lucas Giolito (779) ranks fifth.

Has struck out at least five batters in 87 of his 106 starts since 2019, the 10th-highest total in the majors.

ROAD TRIPPIN’
Is 2-2 with a 5.50 ERA (20 ER/28.1 IP) and .261 (35- 134) opponents average in six road starts in 2023 … has allowed four runs or more in three of his six starts on the road and three or less in the other three.

Has gone 10-9 with a 3.88 ERA (71 ER/164.2 IP), .248 (161-648) opponents average and 168 strikeouts over 29 starts on the road since 2021 … has allowed two runs or less in 17 of those starts and one run or less in nine.

ORTHODOX HITTERS
Owns a career .228/.284/.351 (813-3,567) opponents slash line against right-handed hitters.

His .228 opponents average vs. right-handers is the ninth-lowest mark among active pitchers in the majors.

WORK HORSE
Ranks sixth in MLB with 1,772.2 IP since 2011 … is one of 10 active pitchers with 1,700.0-plus career IP.

Has thrown 100-plus pitches 69 times since 2019, the most in the majors during that span.

Has thrown 30,298 pitches since 2011, sixth-most during that span, and the most among MLB pitchers with less than 1,900.0 IP during that span.

AMERICA’S ACE
Pitched for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic … went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP), .188 (6-32) opp. average and eight strikeouts in two starts.

Started on 3/13 against Canada in pool play, earning the win after allowing one run over 5.0 IP.

Was the starting pitcher for USA’s quarterfinal contest vs. Venezuela … received a no decision after allowing two runs in 4.0 IP … USA would go on to win, 9-7.

VS. NEW YORK YANKEES || A.L. EAST
Is scheduled to make his sixth career start against the New York Yankees and third at Yankee Stadium.

Has not faced the Yankees since 2021 … received a no decision in his last start on 8/12/21 at Guaranteed Rate Field (4 ER/5.0 IP) … last start at Yankee Stadium came on 9/4/19 with Texas (L; 3 ER/5.0 IP).

Struck out 10 Yankees on 9/29/19 in Texas, earning his last win against New York-AL (1 ER/7.1 IP).

Is 10-12 with a 3.62 ERA (101 ER/224.0 IP) and .231 (195-845) opponents average in 41 career games (36 starts) vs. the American League East.

NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:

No team release available.

MLB Preview: Houston Astros (36-25) at Toronto Blue Jays (34-28)

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MLB Preview: Houston Astros (36-25) at Toronto Blue Jays (34-28)

HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros continue their 4-game series here in Toronto tonight with RHP Ronel Blanco (1-0) taking on Jays RHP Chris Bassitt (6-4)…tonight will be Blanco’s 1st career app. vs. the Blue Jays…the Astros will face Bassitt for the 13th time in his career…Bassitt has tallied a 3.90 ERA (29ER/67IP) in his 12 career appearances against the Astros.

GRINDERS: Tonight is the 13th day in a streak of 17 consecutive days with a game for the Astros, with Houston going 8-4 thus far in that stretch…prior to this streak, the most days the Astros had played in a row was seven, a streak that opened the season from March 30-April 5.

ABOUT BLANCO:RHP Ronel Blanco will be making his second Major League start tonight in what will be his 18th career appearance…Blanco made the Astros as a reliever out of Spring Training this season and made nine appearances before being optioned to Triple A on May 6…at Triple A, he worked to get extended, making appearances of 2.1 innings, 3.1, 5.0 and finally 5.1 in his last appearance on May 26…he had huge success in this role, going 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA (1ER/16IP) and an .098 opponent average (5×58)…Blanco’s transition as a starter can be credited to Astros General Manager Dana Brown, who identified Blanco in Spring Training as a potential starter.

LAST NIGHT’S RECAP: The Astros fell to the Blue Jays, 5-1, last night at Rogers Centre…RHP Hunter Brown (3ER/6IP) tallied his sixth quality start of the season despite suffering the loss…2B Mauricio Dubón (2×4, HR) recorded his first career leadoff home run…LF Corey Julks (2×3) also contributed offensively for the Astros.

VS. THE JAYS: The Astros are 3-2 vs. the Blue Jays thus far this season, taking 2 of 3 in Houston in April…Familiar Faces: Two members on the Jays roster have ties to the Astros…OF George Springer played his first seven years (2014-20) in an Astros uniform while IF Cavan Biggio is the son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio.

HOT CORNER HEATER: Since May 13, 3B Alex Bregman is batting .330 (29×88) with three doubles, four home runs, 20 RBI, 14 runs and an .894 OPS…has raised his season batting average from .201 to .254 in that span…also recorded a 12-game hitting streak from May 24-June 5, batting .400 (18×45) with 2 HR, 13 RBI and 6 BB, while posting a 1.048 OPS (.471 OBP/.578 SLG).

MR. CLUTCH: LF Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in RBI with 53 in just 55 games played…he has been at his best in the big moments in his career, especially this season…he’s hitting .422 (19×45) with RISP, .500 (10×20) with RISP and two outs, .600 (6×10) with the bases loaded, and .370 (10×27) in close and late situations.

MLB RBI Leaders

  1. Y. Alvarez – 53 3. M. Semien – 50
  2. A. Garcia – 52

TEXAS STRONG: Over the past month or so, the Astros and Rangers have been the two best teams in baseball…since May 9, the Astros are an MLB-best 19-7 tied with Rangers who are also 19-7…with an overall record of 36-25, the Astros would be in first place in three of the six MLB divisions.

Best Win Pct. Since May 9 – MLB

  1. Houston: 19-7 (.731)
  2. Texas: 19-7 (.731)
  3. NY Yankees: 17-9 (.654)

VS. THE BEST: The Astros are 19-15 (.559) vs. teams that are currently at .500 or above…the Astros have played 5 of the 6 clubs currently in first place in their respective divisions, going a combined 10-8 vs. those teams.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Astros are 18-11 (.621) on the road this season, which ranks 3rd in the Majors behind ATL (20-10, .667) and BAL (20-11, .645)…since 2021, the Astros are a combined 113-78 (.592) on the road, which is tops in the AL.

PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.25) and have allowed the fewest runs (218) in the Majors…the Astros starters rank third in Majors in ERA (3.24) and have allowed one-or-fewer earned runs in 11 of their last 18 games…also, the Astros bullpen ranks third in the AL in ERA (3.27).

Lowest Team ERA – MLB Runs Allowed – MLB

  1. Houston: 3.25 1. Houston: 218
  2. Minnesota: 3.48 2. Minnesota: 229
  3. Tampa Bay: 3.60 3. Texas: 231

HECTOR’S HOT STREAK: RHP Hector Neris has not allowed a run in his last 16.2 innings of work, which is the longest scoreless streak of his career and is the 2nd-longest active streak in the Majors…the streak, which spans 19 apps., also is the longest by an Astro this season.

SECOND TO NONE: SS Jeremy Peña has hit second in 11 consecutive games, with the Astros going 7-4 in those games, and has hit second 16 times overall in 2023 (9-7)…over the last two years, including the postseason, the Astros are 62-16 when he hits second…Peña is hitting .306 (19×62) with five homers and a .999 OPS in his 16 games hitting second this season.

ON THE LEADERBOARD: In addition to leading the Majors in RBI with 53, Yordan Alvarez also ranks tied for second in the AL in HR (16), second in SLG (.574), third in OPS (.962) and fifth in walks (32)…Alex Bregman ranks third in the AL in walk/strikeout ratio (1.10), fourth in PA/SO (8.68) and 4th in walks (34).

TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP RONEL BLANCO
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023: 1-0 4.15 10 1 17.1 23 11 8 10 21
CAREER: 1-0 4.94 17 1 23.2 31 16 13 14 28
VS. TOR W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO

2023: – – – – – – – – – –
CAREER: 0-0 0.00 1 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 0

LAST START – 6/1 VS LAA: made his first career MLB start and tossed 5.1 IP, while striking out 5 batters and allowing 7 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks.

RELIABLE RONEL: picked up the 1st winning decision of his career…became the 20th pitcher in Astros history to go 5+ IP while allowing 2-or-less runs in his starting debut…was the 2nd to do so this season, joining J.P. France (5IP, 3H, 0R, 1BB, 5SO, 5/6 at SEA).

FROM THE START: is set to make his second career start in the Majors after appearing predominantly as reliever through the first 8 seasons of his professional career…moves to the Astros rotation to form a six-man starting staff with the team amidst a stretch of 17 games in 17 days (5/26-6/11)…entering the ‘23 season had made just 21 starts at the minor league level, with the last coming in ‘19 and none above the Single A level.

VS TOR: is set to make his 2nd career appearance against TOR…has faced C Alejandro Kirk and OF George Springer in his 0.2 IP of relief vs TOR in 2022… will be his 3rd career appearance against an AL East team, also faced @TB (4/24) this season.

WHERE IT STARTED: worked as a starter toward the end of Spring Training, making 2 starts out of his 6 appearances and working up to 50 pitches…had a fantastic Spring Training, recording a 0.64 ERA (1ER/14IP) and did not allow a run through his two starts (6.1IP).

WHIFF: has generated a 51.5 percent whiff rate on his slider while in the Majors this season, which he’s thrown 55.8 percent of the time…ranked in the 94th percentile in whiff percentage in the Majors this season.

WITH THE ‘STROS: has made the Astros’ Opening Day roster in each of the last two seasons, with last year’s appearance serving as his Major League debut… made 7 appearances in ‘22 before spending the majority of the season with Triple A Sugar Land and made 9 appearances in relief this season prior to being optioned to Sugar Land on 5/6…has recorded a 4.94 ERA (13ER/23.3IP) in his MLB career…averaging 10.65 K’s-per-nine-innings throughout his MLB career.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:

THE LATEST: The Blue Jays took the 2nd match of this four-game series vs. Houston by a score of 5-1 last night… Improved to 5-1 in June. Toronto has won five of its last six games, seven of its last nine, and eight of its last 11 contests…Is now 28-13 vs. non-division rivals.

LOOKING GEORGEOUS: George Springer gave Toronto a 2-1 lead in the 3rd inning last night with a two-run homer…Marked his 9th home run of the campaign and his 187th while batting 1st, currently 4th most all-time…Has gone 35-for-122 (.287) with four doubles, a triple, six home runs, 15 RBI, and 13 walks during his last 31 contests (.360 OBP, .844 OPS).

VAR-OUT, MAN: Daulton Varsho connected for a solo shot in the 4th inning last night, his 11th longball of the year…Has homered in consecutive games for the 2nd time this season (9th career), also doing so from May 2-3 at BOS. The outfielder has extended his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games (9G, 2x), currently tied for the 2nd-longest active streak in MLB…Is 11-for-38 (.289) with a double, four homers, and six RBI over that span (.957 OPS).

BO-ING FOR DISTANCE: Bo Bichette led off the 8th last night with his team-leading 13th home run of the season…His 13 homers lead all shortstops while his 41 RBI are one back of Francisco Lindor (42) for the most. The 25-year-old leads all MLB hitters with 88 hits (2nd: Luis Arraez – 85)…Also leads the Majors with 140 total bases, one up on Freddie Freeman (135)… His .332 batting average ranks 1st in the AL (trailing only Arraez’s .401 for the best in MLB) while he is currently 5th in SLG (.528), T-5th in home runs, 6th in OPS (.884), 9th in RBI, and 10th in OBP (.366)… His 103 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) trail only Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 110 for the most in the AL.

ANOTHER GAUSOME OUTING: Kevin Gausman tossed 7.0 frames of one-run ball, scattering four hits with no walks and a career-high-tying 13 strikeouts (also: April 29, 2023 vs. SEA)… Became the 4th player (8th time) in franchise history to punch out at least 13 batters without any walks in a single game (last: José Berríos on July 12, 2022 vs. PHI)…Marked his MLB-leading 6th game with double-digit strikeouts this season…His 113 strikeouts for the year are tied with Spencer Strider for the most in the Majors. The righty now leads MLB with 82.0 innings pitched (2nd: Aaron Nola – 81.2)…Among AL pitchers, is currently 1st in FIP (2.28), 3rd in SO/BB (6.28), and 8th in ERA (2.63).

BBRANDON BBELT: Brandon Belt doubled and walked last night…Had a .235 OBP on May 1 but has since boosted that to .382 for the season, 8th best in the AL (min. 150 PA)…His 6.35 PA/BB is 5th best…Over his last 26 contests, has batted .342 (26-for-76) with nine doubles, two homers, nine RBI, and 20 walks (.485 OBP, 1.024 OPS).

HOME WORK: The Blue Jays are on a seven-day, seven-game homestand (1-1 so far)…Have gone 16-11 this season at Rogers Centre…The .593 win% at home is 3rd best in the AL…After these four games with the Astros, will welcome in the Twins (31-30) for three contests over the weekend.
Toronto batters rank 3rd in the AL in home AVG (.265), while also 4th in home OBP (.336), 7th in home OPS (.746), and 8th in home SLG (.410)…The pitching staff ranks 1st among MLB teams a .211 home opponents’ average (2nd: PHI – .212)…Are sitting 2nd among AL clubs with a 3.31 home ERA and 3rd with a 1.16 home WHIP.

THE 300 CLUB: Whit Merrifield doubled, walked, and drove in a run for a 1-for-3 evening…Over his last 18 games, is hitting .381 (24-for-63) with four doubles, a homer, eight RBI, and five walks (.435 OBP, .927 OPS)…Has upped his batting average to .300 for the season, good for 8th among AL hitters.

A HOUND ON THE MOUND: Chris Bassitt starts tonight, coming off 7.2 shutout frames in his return to Citi Field last Friday before returning home for the birth of his son, Colson… Allowed three hits while recording a season-high-tying eight strikeouts without a walk…His four starts of 7+ shutout innings this season are tied with Alex Cobb and Eduardo Rodriguez for the most in the Majors…His .198 opponents’ batting average for the year is 3rd best among AL pitchers (6th in MLB) while his 74.0 innings pitched are currently 9th most.

LAYING OFF THE DONUTS: The Blue Jays have notched 572 hits this season, behind only Texas (586) for the most in the Majors… Are currently 3rd in the AL in team AVG (.265), 4th in OBP (.333), 4th in OPS (.759), 4th in extra-base hits (193), and 5th in SLG (.426). The Blue Jays are one of two MLB teams to have scored in every game this season (also: ARI)…Have gone 80 straight games without being shut out, the longest active streak in the Majors (2nd: ARI – 62G)…Is their longest such streak since scoring in 85 consecutive games from May 19-Aug. 23, 2000.

TOUGH SCHEDDING: The Blue Jays are in the midst of playing 30 games over the course of 31 days…All opponents during this stretch have been over .500 at game time…Are 13-12 through 25 contests.

VS. THE ASTROS: All-Time: 31-39
2023: 2-3 Home: 19-15
Home: 1-1 Rogers Centre: 18-13
The Blue Jays lost two of three to the Astros when the teams met in Houston in April…Went 4-2 in their six meetings with the Astros last season, taking two of three games at each ballpark.

Matt Chapman went 3-for-11 (.273) with a double and two homers in Houston in April…In 76 career meetings, has gone 65-for-276 (.236) with 19 doubles, one triple, 16 homers, and 35 RBI (.787 OPS).

Whit Merrifield had a pair of hits in each of his two games in Houston earlier this year…Is now batting .309 (46-for-149) with 11 doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 22 RBI for an .831 OPS across 36 career matchups.

George Springer played seven seasons for Houston and hit .270 with 137 doubles, 13 triples, 174 home runs and 458 RBI (.852 OPS)…In his 10 games against them, has gone 6-for-37 (.162) with a double, four homers, five RBI, and three walks (.775 OPS).

STARTING PITCHER – Chris Bassitt, RHP #40
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 13th start of the season and his 6th at Rogers Centre…Earned his 6th win of the year his last time out, on 6/2 at NYM, throwing 7.2 frames of shutout ball with 3 hits, no walks, and 8 strikeouts…His 5 scoreless starts this year are tied for the most among MLB hurlers
(5 others)…Returned home immediately after his start for the birth of his son, Colson, and was placed on the Paternity List from 6/3-6/5.
Ranks 3rd in the AL with a .198 opponent average this year…Has held opposing RHH to a .151 AVG, the lowest mark in the Majors. Over his last 11 starts, has gone 6-3 with a 2.42 ERA (19 ER/70.2 IP) and a 0.98 WHIP.

2023 HIGHLIGHTS:
Took the loss on 5/27 at MIN, giving up 7 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks over 4.0 innings with 5 punchouts. Allowed 6 runs (2 earned) across 6.1 frames of work on 5/22 at TB…Had his career-best scoreless innings streak ended at 28.0…Marked the 2ndlongest single-season streak in franchise history (Roger Clemens: 33.0 IP from 8/15-9/5/98), and the 3rd-longest overall (Dave Stieb: 34.0 IP from 9/13/88-4/5/89). Tossed 7.0 shutout innings on 5/17 vs. NYY, giving up 3 hits, a walk, and a hit batter with 7 strikeouts…Became just the 4th non-opener in Blue Jays history to throw 3 consecutive scoreless starts in a single season, joining Roger Clemens (1998), Al Leiter (1995), and Dave Stieb (1988).
Threw a complete game shutout on 5/12 vs. ATL, the 2nd CG SO of his career (also: 5/27/21 vs. LAA), and the 1st nine-inning complete game shutout by a Blue Jay since Mark Buehrle on 6/3/15 at WAS…Scattered 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 hit batters while striking out a season-high 8 on 103 pitches (70 strikes). Improved to 4-2 on the year on 5/5 at PIT…Threw a then season-high 7.0 shutout innings, scattering 4 hits and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts. Logged 6.1 innings of work on 4/24 vs. CWS, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, while walking 3 and recording 4 strikeouts…Left the game in the 7th with right lower back tightness…Was his 4th straight quality start, going 3-1 with a 2.19 ERA (6 ER/24.2 IP) over that span. Picked up his 2nd win of the year on 4/18 at HOU, throwing 6.1 innings of shutout ball with 3 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts…Marked his 3rd straight quality start, and his 1st scoreless outing of the season. Earned his 1st win as a Blue Jay on 4/7 at LAA, allowing 3R/2ER on 2 hits and 5 walks over 6.0 frames with 5 strikeouts. Took the loss in his Toronto debut on 4/2 at STL, giving up career highs in runs (9) and homers (4) over 3.1 innings (10H, 0BB, 0K).

MLB Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks (36-25) at Washington Nationals (25-35)

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MLB Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks (36-25) at Washington Nationals (25-35)

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:

BEST IN THE WEST
♦ The D-backs are first place in the NL West and carry the NL’s second-best record, behind the Braves (36-24) as well as MLB’s tied for fifth-best record (also: Astros).

  • Arizona has spent 29 days in/tied for first place this season.

VS. NATIONALS
♦ The D-backs have won 7 of their last 9 games vs. Nationals since April 20, 2022.

SERIES-LY SPEAKING
♦ With a win today, the D-backs will claim their second consecutive series of the season vs. Nationals and third consecutive since their last series in 2022 (July 22-24; 2-1)… it will also mark their first series win @ Nationals Park since April 27-29, 2018 (2-1).

♦ Arizona split a 4-game series @ Nationals each of the previous 3 visits (2022, ’21, ’19).

ANSWER-BACKS: NATION’S CAPITAL EDITION
♦ The D-backs’ 18 comeback wins are tied for the most in the NL (also: Reds and Mets).

♦ Since 2022, the D-backs’ 55 comeback wins are tied for the third most in the Majors (also: Yankees), behind the Dodgers (64) and Orioles (56).

RUN SUPPORT
♦ Last night, the D-backs plated 2+ runs in 4+ consecutive innings for the fi rst time since May 24, 2019 @ Giants when they scored 2+ runs in 6 straight innings (2-7).

BASE THIEVES
♦ The D-backs’ 5 stolen bases last night tied their season high (also: April 9 vs. Dodgers and April 4 @ Padres).

♦ Arizona’s 59 stolen bases through the team’s first 61 games are the most in franchise history, ahead of 1999 (55), 2015 (54) and 2009 (54).

♦ The D-backs’ 6 games with 4+ stolen bases are tied for the most in the Majors (also: Rays), ahead of the Blue Jays (3) and Orioles (3).

♦ The D-backs’ 11 games with a player having 2+ stolen bases are the most in the Majors, ahead of the Rays (9), and are tied for the third most games in a season in franchise history (also: 2015), behind 2016 (14) and 1999 (13)…the D-backs are the third team since 2019 with 11+
games with a player having 2+ stolen bases (also: Royals, 12 in 2021 and 16 in 2019; Rangers, 13 in 2019).

♦ Corbin Carroll’s 5 games with 2+ stolen bases is tied for the most in the Majors (also: Ji Hwan Bae/PIT and Ronald Acuña Jr./ATL) while Jake McCarthy is tied for fourth with 4 (also: Jazz Chisholm Jr./MIA, Esteury Ruiz/OAK and Taylor Walls/TB).

MCCARTHY MADNESS
♦ Jake McCarthy’s 9 stolen bases in his last 7 games (since May 29) tied the most in a 7-game span in franchise history (also: Tony Womack in 2000)… the most ever in an 8-game span by a D-back is 10 by Womack in 2000.

♦ The last time a player in the Majors had 10+ stolen bases in an 8-game span was in 2017 (Trea Turner, 10 with Washington & Cameron Maybin, 10 with Los Angeles-AL).

♦ Since 2022, the D-backs are 19-8 when McCarthy steals at least 1 base in a game.

ROAD WARRIORS
♦ The D-backs’ 16-11 (.593) road record through their first 27 road games is tied for the second best in franchise history (also: 2002 Division Champions), 1 win less than the 2001 World Series Champion D-backs at this point (17-10; .630).

♦ The D-backs rank among NL teams on the road in WPCT (2nd, .593), fewest strikeouts (2nd, 218), stolen bases (4th, 25), SLG (5th, .424), XBH (8th, 91) and home runs (T-8th, 35).

STARTING PITCHER – RHP ZACH DAVIES ♦ #27
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Is making his fifth start of the season and second on the road…went decision-less in his lone road start @ Dodgers on April 2 (1 ER in 5.0 IP).

  • Looking for his first win in 2023 and first since May 13, 2022 vs. Cubs.
  • Is holding opponents to a .211 average (4-for-19) on the road.

LAST START: Did not factor in the decision in the D-backs’ 5-4 walk-off win vs. Rockies on June 1 (3 ER in 5.2 IP).

VS. NATIONALS: Is 4-0 with a 2.97 ERA (12 ER in 36.1 IP) in 6 starts… won his last start (his lone start as a D-back) on April 21, 2022 (2 ER in 5.0 IP, 7 K).

VS. NL EAST FOES: Has gone 13-8 with a 4.84 ERA (91 ER in 169.1 IP) in 31 career starts vs. NL East opponents. VS. RIGHTIES: Is limiting righties to a .188 average (6-for-32) with 9 strikeouts.

PITCH TRACKING: Opposing batters are hitting .185 (5-for-27) with 5 strikeouts off his sinker and .083 (1-for-12) with 2 strikeouts against his cutter.

2 OUTS, RISP: Owns a .167 average (1-for-6) with 2 outs and runners in scoring position.

WORKHORSE: Is 1 of 11 MLB pitchers with 27+ starts in 5 of the last 7 seasons since 2016.

FROM THE DESERT: His family moved to the greater Phoenix area when he was 7.

  • A 2011 graduate of Mesquite High School in Gilbert, Ariz.
  • Committed to play college baseball at Arizona State University before getting drafted in 2011.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:

SLAM AND SOLO
Stone Garrett clubbed his first career grand slam and Lane Thomas hit his ninth home run of the season, but the Washington Nationals fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10-5, in the first game of the series on Tuesday.

  • Following this series, the Nationals will travel to Atlanta for a three-game series this weekend before heading to Houston for a three-game series with the Astros next week.

ROSTER MOVE
The Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott from Triple-A Rochester and designated righthanded pitcher Erasmo Ramírez for assignment on Wednesday.

  • In his last two starts for Triple-A Rochester, Abbott allowed just two hits and one run in 10.0 total innings (0.90 ERA), with 12 strikeouts. Since April 28, Abbott has allowed more than one run in a game just once, working at least 5.0 innings in four of his five starts. Over that span, he has struck out 33 in 23.0 innings. In total, Abbott’s 51 strikeouts this season ranks third in Washington’s Minor League system.

MAY AND EVERYTHING AFTER
Lane Thomas is hitting .296/.345/.563 with seven doubles, one triple, nine homers, 18 RBI, nine walks, three stolen bases and 25 runs scored since May 1…He’s hit safely in 28 of the 33 games and has reached safely in 30 of the 33.

  • He ranks in the National League in hits (T4th, 40), homers (T6th, 9) and slugging percentage (8th, .563) since May 1.
  • All of his nine team-leading home runs have come since May 1.

ON-BASE MACHINE
Joey Meneses has reached base safely in a career-high 14 straight games…He is hitting .345 (19-for-55) with a .429 on-base percentage (8 BB, 7 SO) during this streak.

  • He’s reached safely in 24 of his last 25 games, hitting .350/.414/.480 with eight doubles, one triple, one homer, 20 RBI, 11 walks and 15 runs scored during the streak.
  • Meneses is tied for seventh in Major League Baseball (5th in the NL) with 71 hits and his .301 batting average ranks eighth in the NL…He’s recorded eight three-hit games this season, tied for third in Major League Baseball.

STATUS CHECK
The Nationals are 20-22 (.476) dating to April 21 at Minnesota and just capped a month of May in which they went 14-15 (.483).

  • Washington is 24-29 (.453) after losing six of seven games to start the season…That stretch included series against the Atlanta Braves (1-2) and Tampa Bay Rays (0-3) as well as a 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies on their Opening Day.
  • The Nationals are 10-9 (.526) in their last 19 home games dating to April 30…This run comes after starting the season 2-11 in their first 13 home games.

WE WANT CANDY!
Jeimer Candelario leads all National League third basemen in wins above replacement (1.9) and is third among National League third basemen with four defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs.com.

  • He also ranks second among NL third baseman with 17 doubles.

ROLLIN’ RUIZ
Keibert Ruiz has a .565 slugging percentage with two doubles, four home runs, 11 RBI, three walks, four strikeouts, two hit by pitch and eight runs scored in 13 games dating to May 19.

  • He leads all Major League catchers with a .565 slugging percentage since May 19 and his four home runs are tied for the most with NYM Francisco Alvarez and MIL William Contreras.

STARTING PITCHER – #46 PATRICK CORBIN
Left-handed pitcher signed a six-year contract with the Nationals on Dec. 7, 2018…Was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series…Is a two-time National League All-Star (2018, 2013)… Has started at least 30 games for five consecutive full seasons (2017-19, 2021-22), joining Gerrit Cole as the only pitchers since 2017 to accomplish the feat.

LAST START
Allowed three earned runs on seven hits and walked four hitters through 5.0 innings of work on May 31 at Los Angeles (NL)…He allowed three runs on four hits in the first inning and went on to allow one run on three hits over the next 4.0 innings…He took a no decision.

vs. ARIZONA
Is 0-2 with a 13.86 ERA in three games against the Diamondbacks…In his last start against Arizona, he took the loss and allowed five runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings at Chase Field.

DEUCES WILD
Corbin allowed exactly two earned runs in four starts from May 4 to May 20…He went 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA (8 ER/25.0 IP) with 13 strikeouts and one walk during this stretch.

BEST STRETCH
Corbin pitched to a 3.40 ERA (16 ER/42.1 IP) in seven starts from April 16 to May 20…He recorded 25 strikeouts and just four walks over this stretch.

DON’T WALK SIGN
Corbin ranks 13th in the National League with 2.39 walks per 9.0 innings…His 18 walks this season are tied for 10th-fewest among National League pitchers with at least 65.0 innings pitched.

THE SLIDE PIECE
Corbin’s signature slider has induced 64 swings and misses, fifth-most of any left-handed pitcher behind Clayton Kershaw (117), Reid Detmers (83), Jesús Luzardo (82) and Braxton Garrett (67).

  • The slider ranks second among MLB left-handers (14th in MLB) with a .170 opponents’ average (min. 50 PA).

1,500 STRIKEOUTS
With a strikeout of Jonathan Schoop on May 20 vs. Detroit, Corbin recorded his 1,500th career strikeout…He became the fourth Nationals pitcher to record 1,500 strikeouts in a Nationals uniform, joining Stephen Strasburg (2019), Gio Gonzalez (2017) and Max Scherzer (2015) according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

  • Corbin ranks 19th among active pitchers with 1,508 strikeouts, behind Carlos Carrasco (1,530)…He is one of 227 players in baseball history with at least
    1,500 strikeouts.

APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT, FELLAS
Since joining the Nationals in 2019, Corbin is 30-3 with a 2.80 ERA in 38 starts when he throws at least 6.0 innings and receives at least three runs of support… The Nationals are 35-3 in those games.

MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (31-30) at Tampa Bay Rays (44-19)

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MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (31-30) at Tampa Bay Rays (44-19)

MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:

BORN IN THE U.S.A.: After completing their short four-game homestand with a four-game series split with the Guardians, the Twins began their six-game U.S.A. and Canada road-trip with a loss to the Rays last night…tonight, the Twins will play the second of three against Tampa Bay…after tomorrow afternoon’s series finale, Minnesota will travel across the border to play a three-game series at the Rogers Centre in Toronto against the Blue Jays…the Twins have gone 18-14 at home and 13-16 on the road.

Twins are looking to avoid losing their fourth-straight game, which would mark a sea- son-long for a losing streak, done five times previously, last from May 21-23…Minnesota’s last four-game losing streak was October 1-4, 2022.

TWINS SEE BETTER DAYS: The Twins were shut out by the Rays last night at the Trop by a score of 7-0, marking their fifth time being shut out this season…they have now scored just four runs in their last four games…Louie Varland (3-2) was the starter and loser, allowing a career-high seven runs on six hits in 6.0 innings pitched, including two home runs (Luke Raley and Jose Siri)…the offense recorded just four hits, two going for extra-bases, doubles by Carlos Correa and Michael A. Taylor…the game was played in 2:07, tied for the second-quickest game for the Twins this season (2:07 – 4/16 at NYY, 1:57 – 4/4 at MIA).

HUNG’RAY’ HEART: The Twins are playing the Rays for the second of six times in 2023…after this three-game series, they will host the Rays at Target Field for three games from September 11-13…the Twins have won four of their last six against the Rays and 12 of their last 19, dating back to May of 2019.

Carlos Correa is hitting .300 (33-for-110) with eight doubles, five home runs, 14 RBI and an .862 OPS in 29 career regular season games against the Rays…he has hit safely in seven straight against Tampa, batting .500 (14-for-28) with a 1.319 OPS in that span.

Jorge Polanco is hitting .313 (20-for-64) with nine doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI in 16 career games at Tropicana Field…he has 12 RBI in his last 10 games in this building.

THE BOSS: Rocco Baldelli has a career managerial record of 12-8 against the Rays, going 6-5 at Tropicana Field and 6-3 at Target Field…since 2019, he has 319 managerial wins, the fourth most in the AL, trailing Kevin Cash (366), Aaron Boone (363) and Terry Francona (327).

When Rocco Baldelli was a Devil Ray, he played in 32 career games against the Twins, hitting .270 (34-for-126) with seven doubles, one triple, four home runs and 22 RBI with a .740 OPS…Rocco hit his first career home run at the Metrodome on April 30, 2003 off Brad Radke and finished the day with a career-high five RBI…he hit his only career grand slam also at the Dome on July 22, 2004 off Juan Rincon.

BAD MANS: Twins starters have averaged 5.7 innings-per-outing, up from 4.8 in 2022…they have also struck out 363 hitters and are on-pace to fan 964 batters, which would shatter the club record of 870, done in 1967…below are Twins starting pitching ranks in the AL:

INNINGS ERA BAA BB/9.0 FIP WHIP K’s OPS
TOR – 346.2 TB – 2.98 TB – .223 SEA – 2.01 TB – 3.46 MIN – 1.12 MIN – 363 TB – .643
MIN – 345.0 TEX – 3.19 MIN – .229 MIN – 2.35 MIN – 3.49 TB – 1.12 CWS – 354 MIN – .657
TEX – 344.2 HOU – 3.24 TEX – .233 TEX – 2.48 SEA – 3.50 SEA – 1.13 TOR – 354 SEA – .662
HOU – 344.2 MIN – 3.50 NYY – .236 CLE – 2.51 TEX – 3.80 TEX – 1.14 HOU – 347 TEX – .669
CWS – 336.1 TOR – 3.95 SEA – .238 HOU – 2.53 HOU – 3.86 HOU – 1.19 BOS – 320 HOU – .704
ONLY THE STRONG (SURVIVE): 183 of the Twins’ 475 hits have gone for extra bases, equaling 38.5% of their hits, third-highest percentage in the AL:

XBH HITS XBH%
Tampa Bay……………………………………….231 …………………………565 …………………………………40.9%
Boston……………………………………………..211 …………………………546 …………………………………38.6%
Minnesota………………………………………..183 …………………………475 …………………………………38.5%
Baltimore…………………………………………191 …………………………503 …………………………………38.0%
New York…………………………………………..181 …………………………480 …………………………………37.7%

I’M ON FIRE: Alex Kirilloff has reached base safely in 21 of his last 38 plate appearances since May 27, posting an on-base percentage of .553 in that span…since that date, he has 10 hits, 10 walks and one hit-by-pitch…in 27 games for the Twins, he has posted a .441 on-base percentage, which leads the AL among players with a minimum of 100 plate appearances.

WILLI-ANT DISGUISE: Willi Castro is hitting .318 (21-for-66) with two doubles, four home runs, eight RBI, 13 runs scored, nine stolen bases and an .873 OPS in his last 18 games.

INDE-‘PEN-DENCE DAY: Twins relievers have combined to post a .218 opponent batting average, the third lowest in baseball, trailing New York-AL (.212) and San Diego (.215)…they have allowed just 163 hits this season, the fewest in baseball.

BORN TO RUN: Twins have stolen 28 bases in 34 attempts this season, for a 82.4 success rate, the fifth best in the AL and ninth best in baseball…since May 15, they have successfully stolen 18 consecutive bases, their last caught stealing being Ryan Jeffers on May 13 vs. Chicago-NL (Barnhart/Wesneski)…since May 10, their 18 stolen bases are fifth most in the AL.

THUN-DURAN ROAD: Jhoan Duran has posted a 0.48 ERA (18.2 IP, 1 ER) in his last 16 games… in his last seven games, he has pitched more than 1.0 inning four times…he has struck out multiple batters in each of his last six games, marking a career-best for a multiple strikeout streak…the streak is tied with four others for seventh longest in club history (since 1961); the record held by Griffin Jax, who fanned two-plus in 11-straight from June 9, 2021-May 7, 2022.

Duran has an average pitch velocity of 96.8 mph, the highest in baseball among pitchers with a minimum of 300 pitches thrown…he has averaged 98.6 mph since May 24, reaching 102-plus 31 times since that date, 103-plus 18 times and 104-plus five times.

DANCING IN THE DARK: The Twins are playing their 32nd night game this season, going 15-16 in those previous 31…31 night games are tied for the third fewest in baseball…their 30 day games are tied for fourth most in the MLB…they have a .484 winning percentage at night compared to .533 in day games.

STARTING PITCHER – PABLO LóPEZ 49
2023: 3-3, 4.54 ERA CAREER: 31-34, 4.01 ERA

Making his 13th start and appearance and seventh road start of 2023…also his 107th career appearance (all starts) in his sixth major league season (Miami – 2018-22).

Facing Tampa Bay for the first time with Minnesota and sixth time in his career…is 1-3, 3.72 ERA (29.0 IP, 12 ER) with five walks and 29 strikeouts in five previous starts vs. Rays.

Acquired by the Twins from Miami on January 20, 2023, along with infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio, in exchange for infielder/outfielder Luis Arraez.

LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in the Twins 7-6 win over the Cleveland Guardians on June 1 at Target Field…opposed rookie Tanner Bibee, who also took a no-decision…pitched 5.2 innings, allowing a season-high-tying six runs and eight hits, with one walk and five strikeouts… retired the side in order in the first inning for the first time since Opening Day on March 30 at Kansas City…allowed one run in the second inning on an RBI single from rightfielder Will Brennan…retired 10-straight batters from the second through the fifth inning, but allowed five runs on six singles and one walk in the top of the sixth…was relieved by Emilio Pagán with two outs in the sixth and Minnesota trailing 6-3…Twins overcame the three-run deficit and won the series opener on a walk-off sacrifice fly from leftfielder Willi Castro in the ninth inning. His five runs allowed in the top of the sixth inning marked the most runs he has allowed in an inning since he allowed seven runs in the top of the fourth inning on September 10, 2022 vs. New York-NL.

His 76.1 percent strike rate vs. Cleveland was the second-highest strike percentage of his career, trailing only his 78.3 strike percentage (83 pitches, 65 strikes) on July 11, 2021 vs. Atlanta.

Through 12 starts this season, López is among the American League leaders in several statistical categories, including strikeouts (86 – 4th), innings pitched (71.1 – T-11th), pitches-per-inning (15.7 – 15th) and FIP (3.77 – 16th).

TWO STARTS AGO: Earned his first win of May in the Twins 9-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field on May 27…pitched opposite Chris Bassitt, who took the loss…went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits, with three walks and six strikeouts…allowed two home runs, a solo shot from shortstop Bo Bichette in the first inning and another solo homer to second baseman Cavan Biggio in the fourth; marked his second start this year in which he allowed multiple homers (3 on May 15 at Los Angeles-NL)…was relieved with two outs in the top of the sixth by Jovani Moran…marked just the second win of his career allowing four-or-more runs, also doing so on April 28 vs. Kansas City (6 R).

Marked his 10th start of 2023 in which he recorded six-or-more strikeouts; is tied with seven other pitchers for the second-most such starts in baseball this year, trailing only ATL’s Spencer Strider (12).

LÓPEZ VS. TAMPA BAY: Facing the Rays for the sixth time in his career tonight…in five previous starts vs. Tampa Bay, all with Miami, he is 1-3, 3.72 ERA (29.0 IP, 12 ER) with five walks and 29 strikeouts; Marlins went 1-4 in those starts…last faced Tampa Bay on May 24, 2022 at Tropicana Field, going 7.0 innings but taking the loss in Miami’s 4-0 defeat; allowed four runs on nine hits (including a career-high-tying 3 home runs), with no walks and eight strikeouts…looking for his first win against the Rays since his first career start vs. Tampa Bay on July 21, 2018; pitched 6.0 innings, allowing only one run on two hits (1 home run), with one walk and six strikeouts in a 3-2 Marlins win at the Trop.

López has limited the 11 current Rays hitters who have faced him previously to a .167 (7-for-42) batting average with eight strikeouts.

In 10 career starts vs. American League East opponents (TB – 5, NYY – 2, TOR – 2, BAL – 1), he is 3-4, 3.40 ERA (55.2 IP, 21 ER) with 11 walks and 62 strikeouts…Twins have split his two starts against the AL East this season (L, 2-0 at New York-AL on April 16; W, 9-7 vs. Toronto on May 27), with López going 1-1, 4.63 ERA (11.2 IP, 6 ER) with four walks and 13 strikeouts.

TRIP TO THE TROP: Tonight is López’s seventh road start of 2023, going 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA (36.0 IP, 12 ER), nine walks and 44 strikeouts in his first six road outings; Twins have gone 2-4 in his six road starts…making his fourth career start at Tropicana Field, going 1-2, 5.29 ERA (17.0 IP, 10 ER) with three walks and 20 strikeouts in his previous three starts in St. Petersburg…in six home starts this year, he is 2-1, 6.11 ERA (35.1 IP, 24 ER) with 12 walks and 42 strikeouts; Minnesota owns a 5-1 record in his six starts at Target Field in 2023…in 50 career road starts, he is 15-18, 4.33 ERA (262.0 IP, 126 ER) with 72 walks and 265 strikeouts…is 16-16, 3.75 ERA (319.1 IP, 133 ER) with 91 walks and 310 strikeouts in 56 career home starts.

Seeking his first road win since earning the victory on Opening Day at Kansas City on March 30 (5.1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 8 K)…his current five-start streak without a road win is the second longest of his career, one short of his six-start stretch without a road victory from May 24 to July 3, 2022.

Averaging only 2.00 runs of support in his six road starts this season while receiving an average of 6.11 runs of support in his six home starts…his 2.00 run support average on the road is the second lowest in the majors this season (min. 5 road starts), behind COL’s Kyle Freeland (1.87).

RIGHT ON: López has limited right-handed hitters to a .213 (33-for-155) batting average this season… his 56 strikeouts against righties are the fifth most in the American League this year, trailing only TB’s Shane McClanahan (76), HOU’s Framber Valdez (73), TOR’s Kevin Gausman (69) and BOS’s Chris Sale (58)…his .213 opponent batting average vs. righties this season ranks 17th in the AL (min. 10 GS)…left-handed hitters are batting at a .261 (29-for-111) clip against him in 2023…over his career, he has better numbers against right-handed hitters (.660 OPS) than left-handed hitters (.748 OPS).

PITCH BREAKDOWN: Used a five-pitch mix in his first 12 starts this season, according to Baseball Savant…has exclusively used his sinker against right-handed hitters, favoring his changeup and curveball when facing left-handed hitters…threw 16 curveballs in his last start on June 1 vs. Cleve- land, the second-most curveballs he has throw in a start this year (19 – April 28 vs. Kansas City)…here is a look at his 2023 arsenal:

PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (95.0)……………..35.5% (397 pitches, 202/195)….. .289 (24-for-83), 4 2B, 6 HR, 26 K
Sweeper (84.2)…………………………22.6% (253 pitches, 224/29) .204 (11-for-54), 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 22 K
Changeup (88.4)………………………20.4% (228 pitches, 91/137) …… .127 (8-for-63), 1 2B, 1 HR, 23 K
Sinker (94.5) …………………………….11.7% (131 pitches, 131/0) ………….. .257 (9-for-35), 2 2B, 3 K
Curveball (81.9)…………………………9.7% (108 pitches, 17/91) .. .323 (10-for-31), 1 3B, 1 HR, 12 K

Lopez’s changeup has accumulated a run value of -6 this year, tied with four other pitchers for the fifth-best run value on a changeup in baseball, according to Baseball Savant.

In his first 12 starts this year, López has an average fastball velocity of 94.8 mph, a 2.1 mph increase from last season and the largest year-to-year jump of his career.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: López is making his second start on turf this season and 40th of his career…in his last start on turf at loanDepot Park on April 5, he took a no-decision despite recording a quality start in a Twins 5-2 defeat to the Marlins (7.0 IP, 1 R/ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 K)…in 39 career starts on turf, he is 11-12, 3.71 ERA (218.1 IP, 90 ER) with 57 walks and 224 strikeouts; 34 of those starts were at loanDepot Park, his former home ballpark…his 39 starts on turf rank seventh most in baseball since the start of 2018, and his 9.25 strikeouts-per-9.0 innings on turf since 2020 ranks seventh best in that span (min. 20 GS).

TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:

PRETTY EFLIN GOOD — Rays starter RHP Zach Eflin (6.2IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 9SO) fanned nine over 6.2 scoreless frames as Tampa Bay coasted to a 7-0 win over Minnesota in last night’s series opener…after the Rays plated three runs in the fourth inning, including RBI-singles by LF Randy Arozarena (1-for-4, 2RBI, R) and C Christian Bethancourt (1-for-4, RBI), RF Luke Raley (2-for-3, 3B, HR, 2RBI, 2R, BB) connected on a two-run homer in the fifth for a 5-0 Rays lead…CF Jose Siri (1-for-3, HR, RBI, R) added his 11th home run to lead off the seventh before Arozarena closed the scoring with an RBI-groundout later in the inning.

Both Raley’s (450 ft.) and Siri’s (457 ft.) home runs were projected at 450+ feet, marking the first game in the Statcast Era (since 2015) in which the Rays launched multiple 450+ foot homers…entering the day, Tampa Bay had recorded one such home run all season (Josh Lowe, 455 ft. on 5/3 vs. PIT).

BLANK SPACE — The Rays recorded their ninth shutout win of the season last night, tying Toronto for most in the majors, ahead of five clubs tied at six…at 63 games, it marks the fastest the Rays have reached nine shutouts in club history, ahead of the 2014 team (76G)… since 2020, Tampa Bay’s 36 shutout wins are second most in the AL behind Chicago-AL (37).

HOME COOKING — Tampa Bay’s 27-6 record at Tropicana Field marks MLB’s best start at home since the 1998 New York Yankees (also 27-6)…the Rays are one of 11 teams since 1901 to win at least 27 of their first 33 home games in a season…have won five of six, nine of 12, and 13 of their last 17 home games overall.

With a win tonight, the Rays would improve to 10-1-0 in home series, becoming the first team since the 2016 Texas Rangers (10-1-0) to win 10 of their first 11 home series in a season…Tampa Bay’s previous best start through 11 home series was 8-3-0, done in 2008 (Elias).

The Rays have plated 5+ runs in six straight home games, their longest streak since 8/16-9/17, 2021 (9G)…on the season, Tampa Bay has scored 5+ runs 38 times, tied with Los Angeles-NL for most in the majors; the Rays are 32-6 in those games.

Tampa Bay hitters rank among MLB leaders at home in several categories, including stolen bases (1st, 43), homers (T1st, 55), extra-base hits (2nd, 127), runs per game (2nd, 5.97), OPS (2nd, .839), SLG (2nd, .493) and OBP (3rd, .346).

BETTER AGAINST THE BEST — The Rays have gone 25-13 (.658) against teams that currently have a record of .500 or better, the best mark in the majors, ahead of Texas (19-11, .633)…since 5/2, nine of Tampa Bay’s 11 series have been against clubs that are currently .500 or better; the Rays are 21-13 in that span, including 6-4 in series play.

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE — Tampa Bay is 10-1 against the AL Central, outscoring opponents, 82-36 (+46)…it marks the best winning pct. against the division by any AL club, ahead of Boston (7-2, .778)…the Rays opened the year with a nine-game winning streak against the division, tying their longest streak against the AL Central in club history (also: 6/29-7/11, 2013)…dating back to 8/20/22, Tampa Bay has won nine straight
home games over AL Central opponents, the second-longest such streak in club history (longest: 10G, 6/29/13 – 4/22/14).

The Rays lead the AL in runs per game (7.45), SLG (.552), OPS (.906) and run differential (+46) vs. the AL Central this season.

RIGHTING THE SHIP — After pitching to a 9.58 ERA (10.1IP, 11ER) from 5/27-28, Rays starters have recorded a 1.90 ERA (42.2IP, 9ER) over the club’s last nine games, the best mark in MLB during that span (since 5/29)…this season, Tampa Bay’s rotation paces the majors in ERA (2.98), opp. average (.223), opp. OBP (281), opp. SLG (.362) and opp. OPS (.643)…the Rays are 21-1 when their starter tosses 6.0+ innings, including nine straight wins; the lone loss came on 5/9 at Baltimore.

Tampa Bay’s bullpen has allowed one earned run in its last 14.0 innings since yielding six runs in the bottom of the sixth frame on 6/3 (G1) at Boston.

BAG BANDITS — The Rays have stolen 30 consecutive bases without being caught dating back to 5/22, the longest streak in club history…they had achieved the previous mark of 21 straight steals on two separate occasions (6/3-27, 2007 & 7/1-23, 2010)…according to Elias, the last major league club to steal 30 straight bases was Cleveland (36SB) from 8/11- 9/17, 2021…the Rays have been successful on 44 of their last 46 stolen base attempts (95.6%) overall since 5/14 after opening the season 38-for-52 (73.1%).

Tampa Bay’s 82 stolen bases are the most by any major league club through 63 games since the 2009 Rays (101SB).

NUKE RAKEY — In addition to notching his first career triple last night, Luke Raley clubbed the second-farthest homer of his career in the fifth inning (450 ft.), trailing only his 472-foot blast on 9/21/22 against Colorado at Coors Field…has reached base safely in a career-high 12 straight games since 5/21, slashing .313/.463/.781 (10-for-32) with five extra-base hits, 7 RBI, 13 runs scored, six walks, 4 SB and 3 HBP in that span…since the streak began on 5/21, his 1.245 OPS leads the AL, trailing only LAD J.D. Martinez (1.254) in all of baseball (min. 40PA).

Min. 150 PA, Raley ranks among MLB leaders in barrel rate (2nd, 21.3%), SLG (3rd, .590), hard hit pct. (7th, 56.2%), OPS (8th, .944) and avg. exit velocity (9th, 93.4 mph).

WANDER STRUCK — Wander Franco has hit safely in a season-best 10 straight games, tied for the second-longest streak of his career behind his 13-game run from 9/14-27, 2022…it trails only TEX Marcus Semien (25G) for the longest active streak in the majors… Franco is batting .474 (18-for-38) with four doubles, one triple, 6 RBI, seven steals and seven walks against five strikeouts during the streak…he has doubled in three straight games, one shy of the longest streak of his career (4G, 2x, last: 9/20-23, 2022).

THE BAY BOMBERS — The Rays have hit a major league-best 105 home runs, tied for the seventh-most long balls through a club’s first 63 games in MLB history (since 1901)…they reached 100 homers in their 54th game of the season, becoming the fifth-fastest team to reach the milestone in MLB history (since 1901).

The Rays have 31 multi-HR games, tied with New York-AL for most in the majors; they are 26-5 in those contests…this includes 16 games with 3+ homers, most in the AL and trailing only Los Angeles-NL (18G) in all of MLB.

TWINNING — The Rays and Twins continue their six-game season series tonight…the two clubs will also meet from 9/11-13 in Minnesota…the Rays hold a narrow lead in the all-time series, 88-87, but the Twins have had the upper hand in recent years, winning five of the last eight matchups and posting a 12-8 mark since the beginning of 2019.

TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP SHAWN ARMSTRONG (0-0, 0.00)
WELCOME BACK — RHP Shawn Armstrong made his season debut on 6/4 at Boston following his activation from the 60-day injured list the day prior…he threw 2.0 scoreless innings at Fenway Park, allowing no hits and one walk with three strikeouts.…he was initially placed on the 15-day injured list on 3/29 (retroactive 3/27) with neck tightness and was later placed on the 60-day injured list on 4/17.

DOWN ON THE FARM — In seven rehab appearances for Triple-A Durham, Armstrong went 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA (9.0IP, 2ER) with eight strikeouts against two walks while holding opponents to a .069 batting average (2-for-29)

SHAWN THE STARTER — Armstrong is set to make his fourth career start tonight vs. the Twins…of his 204 career appearances, his only three starts came with Tampa Bay last season…in those three outings, Armstrong has pitched to a 1.17 ERA (7.2IP, 1ER) with six strikeouts against one walk while holding opponents to a .192 batting average (5-for-26).

In his last start 9/17 vs. Texas, he threw 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks and three strikeouts.

He worked 3.0 innings in each of his other two starts on 8/30 at Miami and 9/4 vs. New York-AL.

THE TWINKIES — In 11 career appearances against Minnesota, Armstrong has pitched to a 2.13 ERA (12.2IP, 3ER), striking out 15 batters against four walks while holding opponents to a .205 average (9-for-44)

In his lone appearances against the Twins last season on 6/11 at Target Field, Armstrong threw 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk with two strikeouts.

MLB Preview: Kansas City Royals (18-43) at Miami Marlins (34-28)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Kansas City Royals (18-43) at Miami Marlins (34-28)

KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:

ERROR IN THEIR WAYS: The Royals committed a season-high 3 errors in last night’s 6-1 loss in Miami, falling to 3-16-1 in series play this season…Zack Greinke retired 12 of his first 13 batters—the only baserunner reaching on an error in the 1st—before the Marlins got their 1st hit to begin the 5th, a solo home run by Jesús Sánchez… that was the 1st of 3 straight hits to begin the frame, the 2nd of which included an error by Edward Olivares that allowed the runners to advance to second and third…Nick Fortes then reached on a fielder’s choice when Bobby Witt Jr. failed in his attempt to get the runner at third, loading the bases with no outs…Greinke got the 1st out of the inning on a strikeout before Luis Arraez hit an RBI single, after which Jackson Kowar was summoned and allowed a 2-out, bases-clearing double to Bryan De La Cruz, capping Miami’s 5-run inning that broke a scoreless tie…Zack was originally charged with only 1 earned run in the frame, but the official scorer after the game made all 5 runs earned, raising his season ERA more than half a run from 4.05 to 4.59.

The Royals were held to 5 hits on offense and their only run scored on a wild pitch in the 6th inning.

ROSTER MOVE: The Royals today placed right hander Josh Staumont on the 15-day Injured List retroactive to June 6 with a neck strain…in a corresponding move, left hander Austin Cox has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha, Cox, 26, made his Major League debut on May 4 vs. Baltimore with 2.0 scoreless innings…he was optioned the following day and has recorded a 5.32 ERA (13 ER in 22.0 IP) in 5 outings (4 starts) with Omaha since…he last pitched a week ago tonight vs. Memphis and allowed 6 runs (5 ER) on 5 home runs in 5.0 innings.

SERIES SPEAKING: The Royals are winless in their last six series including this one, a stretch in which they’ve lost five sets and split one since they won 2 of 3 games in San Diego from May 15-17…they are 4-12 during this six series skid and have been outscored 75-54 (-21), despite hitting 17 home runs while allowing only 9 of them.

Last night’s loss clinched the Royals first series loss in Miami, as they won their three previous visits in 2008 at Dolphin Stadium and in 2016 and 2019 here at loanDepot Park…the Royals are 10-10 in 20 all-time meetings vs. Miami, but they’re 5-6 since the Marlins new look debuted in 2012 and have lost 3 straight.

The Royals have been swept in a 3-game series five times this season, but they’ve won the series finale to avoid a sweep four times, including their last two 3-game sets vs. Washington and Colorado.

LEADS LOST: Monday night marked Kansas City’s 20th blown lead loss of the season, which is 1 behind St. Louis and Oakland (21 each) for the most in the Majors…they blew a 4-0 lead in Monday night’s 9-6 win, marking their largest blown lead loss of the season, leaving the Astros, Tigers, Twins and Nationals as the only remaining teams who have yet to lose a game in which they led by 4 runs…Monday night marked Kansas City’s largest blown lead loss in 143 games, since last July 4 at Houston, where they had a 5-0 lead in the 4th, but lost 7-6.

The Royals have held a lead in 23 of their last 32 games since the start of May, but they’re just 11-21 during that stretch with 12 blown lead losses…they’ve had blown lead losses in 3 of their last 6 road games.

INTERLEAGUE INTRIGUE: Tonight is the Royals 26th Interleague game, which represents more than 40% of their 62 games this season and matches Milwaukee for the 2nd-most Interleague games in the Majors, trailing only Pittsburgh (29)…the Royals will play 46 Interleague games this season after playing 20 every year from 2013-22.

The Royals are 8-17 in Interleague play this season and have lost 5 of their last 6 after winning 4 of 6.

This trip to Miami marks the Royals fourth consecutive series vs. a National League opponent, a streak that will run to 10 straight games tonight…when this trip continues to Baltimore this weekend, it will end a stretch in which the Royals will have played six of eight series vs. National League opponents.

Salvador Perez is Kansas City’s all-time leader in Interleague play in HR (36) and RBI (112), and his 197 hits rank 2nd to Alex Gordon (210)…Salvy, who makes his offseason home in nearby Weston, Fla., has homered vs. 25 of 29 opponents, the only exceptions being the Marlins, Braves, Mets and Phillies.

FOR STARTERS: Royals starting pitchers recorded 15.2 consecutive scoreless innings until Miami’s 5-run 5th inning last night vs. Zack Greinke, which marked the 1st runs scored against a Royals starter since Colorado’s 5-run 1st inning last Saturday vs. Daniel Lynch…Royals starters combined to allow just 8 hits and 1 walk with 18 strikeouts during those 15.2 scoreless innings, but the team went 1-3 in the 4 games covered by the streak.

The Royals have had a starter complete 6.0 innings only 12 times in 61 games (19.7%), the fewest in the Majors, and it’s been 17 games since their last start of at least 6.0 innings, by Brady Singer on May 16 at San Diego…as a result, the bullpen has been worked for 241.1 innings, 4th most in the Majors this season.

Royals starters have allowed 1 run or fewer in 6 of the last 12 games, a stretch in which their 3.40 ERA (20 ER in 53.0 IP) ranks 4th in the Majors…Royals starters have 63 strikeouts in 53.0 innings over the last 12 games for a 28.6 K% and 10.7 K/9, which 1st and 2nd, respectively among starting staffs since May 23.

ON DECK: Following tonight’s series finale in Miami, the Royals will fly to Baltimore to enjoy an off day tomorrow with their dads, many of who are traveling with the team this week for the annual Father’s Trip…starting Friday night, the Royals will play a 3-game series vs. the Orioles, who enter today with a 37-23 (.617) record, 3rd best in the Majors behind only Tampa Bay (44-19) and Texas (40-20)…the Royals lost 2 of 3 games to the Orioles at Kauffman Stadium last month, and have not won a regular season series in Baltimore since 2014.

COUNTDOWN TO 50,000: The Royals enter tonight with 49,987 pitching strikeouts in 55 seasons, and are just 13 shy of becoming the 24th franchise to reach 50,000…the Royals have recorded at least 13 strikeouts five times this season, including a season-high-tying 14 strikeouts on Sunday vs. Colorado…the Royals all-time strikeouts leader is Kevin Appier with 1,458, and Zack Greinke is the Royals active leader with 1,054 strikeouts with the club, which are 3 strikeouts shy of Paul Splittorff (1,057) for 5th place on the club’s all-time strikeouts list.

DUEL THREAT: It might be tempting to look at Bobby Witt Jr.’s .237 batting average and second guess all the buzz that surrounds the shortstop, who turns 23 a week from today…but those who watch him every day can appreciate the flashes of greatness and the wide array of tools he displays…his combination of 10 home runs and 19 stolen bases, for example, are matched only by National League MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr., who has 12 HR and 26 steals…in fact, Witt Jr.—who graduated high school four years ago—is on pace for 26 home runs and 50 stolen bases, a combination that has been matched only 10 times in Major League history, and not since the Marlins Hanley Ramírez went for 29 home runs and 51 steals in 2007…Bobby’s pace of 26 home runs and 50 steals has been matched only twice in American League history, by Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who had 28 home runs and 87 steals with the Yankees in 1986 and won the American League MVP Award with the A’s in 1990 with 28 home runs and 65 steals.

Bobby has had 6 games this season with at least 3 hits, tied for 3rd most in the American League, trailing only Bo Bichette (9) and teammate Vinnie Pasquantino (7)…his 19 steals are 4th most in the Majors this season behind Esteury Ruiz (29), Acuña Jr. (26) and Wander Franco (21).

TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP JORDAN LYLES (0-0, 6.89 ERA)

JORDAN LYLES is making his 13th start of the season and 334th appearance (227th start) of his career tonight vs. the Marlins…he was originally selected by Houston in the 1st round (38th overall) of the 2008 Draft out of Hartsville High School (S.C.), and signed a two-year contract with the Royals on Dec. 28, 2022.

LAST START: Lyles did not figure into the decision of Kansas City’s 7-2 loss to Colorado last Friday night at Kauffman Stadium, in which he held the Rockies to a season-low 1 run on a season-low 2 hits in 5.0 innings, with just 1 walk and 8 strikeouts…he yielded a 2-out, solo home run to Ryan McMahon in the 1st inning, his Majors-most 17th HR allowed this season, but retired 13 of the next 15 batters, stranding a 1-out single in the 2nd and a 2-out walk in the 5th…he exited with a 2-1 lead and was in line for his 1st win, but the Rockies scored 6 runs in the 8th inning.

Last Friday night was the 2nd start of the year in which Lyles exited with a lead, including May 4 vs. Baltimore, when he led 8-7 before the Royals lost 13-10.

Lyles has allowed at least 1 home run in 9 of his 12 starts this season and his 17 HR in 66.2 innings (2.3 HR/9) are tied for the Major League lead with Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi, and he’s allowed multiple homers in 7 of his 12 starts.

SEEKING SUPPORT: Jordan has received 25 runs of support in his 66.2 innings this season for a 3.38 run support average, which is the 6th lowest among qualified pitchers…the Royals offense has supported Lyles with 2 runs or fewer in 9 of his 12 starts, including each of the last 3…that lack of support is part of why Lyles has a Majors-most 9 losses, and his 12 winless starts are the 4th most to begin a season in Royals history, trailing Vida Blue in 1983 (14), José Lima in 2005 (13) and Darrell May in 2003 (13)…the Royals are 0-12 in games started by Lyles this year.

He’s seeking his 1st win since his final start of 2022, a 2-1 victory last Sept. 30 at the Yankees with the O’s…his 9 straight losing decisions since are a career high.

THE ROLLER COASTER: Lyles has begun his Royals career with an 0-9 record through 12 starts, setting a career-worst losing streak…in those starts, a troubling trend has emerged, as his struggles have come in the beginning and end of his outings, while he’s been largely dominant in the middle innings…through his first 15 pitches, he has allowed opponents to hit .390 (16-for-41) with 6 home runs, and from pitches 61 and up, opponents are batting .275 (25-for-91) with 9 doubles, 9 home runs and a triple…the good has come between pitches 16-60, when he has held opponents to a .180 average (23-for-128) with only 9 extra-base hits and 27 strikeouts.

His opponents’ OPS of 1.386 from pitches 1-15 is the highest in Major League Baseball (min. 10 starts), as are his 11 extra-base hits allowed, which are 3 more than the next closest pitchers (Austin Gomber and Rich Hill, 8 each).

PLEADING THE 5TH: He has thrown at least 5.0 innings in 10 of his 12 starts as a Royal, and in those 10 starts, he’s allowed 24 earned runs through the 5th for a 4.32 ERA… but from the 6th inning on, he’s allowed 13 earned runs in 10.1 innings (11.32 ERA).

ON STRIKE: Lyles has issued 24 walks in 66.2 innings this year for an 8.3 BB%, which would be his highest mark since 2020 (8.6), and is slightly higher than his career mark of 7.7%….he’s improved with age, as his BB% of 7.2% since the start of 2021 ranks 3rd in the AL (min. 400.0 IP), behind José Berríos (6.1%) and Gerrit Cole (6.5%).

READY FROM THE JUMP: Despite ranking 26th in the American League in 1st pitch strikes (60.6%), opponents have swung at 33.9% of Lyles’ 1st pitches, which is the 10th-highest rate in the American League…in 0-0 counts, opponents are slashing .400/.381/.850 (16-for-40) with 9 extra-base hits for a 1.231 OPS, which is his 3rd highest in any count, trailing 3-0 counts (2.800 OPS) and 3-1 counts (1.825 OPS).

WORKHORSE: The Royals are the eighth club Lyles has pitched for during his 13-year big league career that has included stops with Houston (2011- 13), Colorado (2014-17), San Diego (2017-18), Milwaukee (2018-19), Pittsburgh (2019), Texas (2020-21), Baltimore (2022) and Kansas City (2023)…since the start of 2021, his 425.2 innings rank 3rd among American League pitchers behind Gerrit Cole (461.2 IP) and José Berríos (435.1 IP).

He was one of only four American League pitchers to record at least 175.0 innings from 2021-2022, along with Cole, Cole Irvin and Robbie Ray.

Across his 13 seasons and 333 Major League appearances, he has only been placed on the Injured List on five occasions: June 10-29, 2019 (left hamstring tightness), March 28-April 4, 2019 (right side discomfort), June 24-July 29, 2018 (right elbow inflammation), June 1-end of season, 2015 (sprained left big toe) and June 5-Aug. 6, 2014 (fractured left hand).

GONE FISHIN’: In 7 career outings (5 starts) vs. Miami, Jordan is 2-1 with a 5.22 ERA (17 ER in 29.1 IP) and his teams are 4-1 in his 5 starts….he last started against the Marlins on Sept. 9, 2019 with Milwaukee, but did not factor into the decision of an 8-3 win after he allowed 1 run on 4 hits in 4.1 innings.

Jordan is one of 16 active pitchers with at least 1 start against the Marlins pre-2012—when they were the Florida Marlins—a group that includes teammate Zack Greinke (3 starts) and is led by Adam Wainwright and Charlie Morton (6 starts)…Lyles 1 appearance vs. the Florida Marlins came in his 8th career appearance with Houston on July 8, 2011 at Sun Life Stadium, where he suffered a 6-3 loss after allowing 5 runs in 6.0 innings.

FAR FROM HOME: Over the course of his 13-year career, Lyles has fared better when pitching in front of his home fans, going 36-42 (.462) with a 4.79 ERA (383 ER in 720.0 IP) in 170 appearances…in 163 appearances (114 starts) on the road, he’s 30-57 (.345) with a 5.62 ERA (420 ER in 673.0 IP)… in 2022 while pitching for the Orioles, Lyles pitched extremely well at Camden Yards, with a 3.47 ERA (32 ER in 83.0 IP) across 14 starts…he was hit hard last year on the road, where he posted a 5.25 ERA (56 ER in 96.0 IP) in 18 starts, but he did go 7-8 and only 10 AL pitchers had more road wins

MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:

MARLINS MINUTE – The Marlins today play the final of three games vs. Kansas City as they conclude a nine-game homestand – matching their longest ‘stand of the year (also Sept. 15-24). Are coming off a 3-game sweep vs. Oakland since dropping the first series to San Diego (1-2). After an off day on Thursday, will begin their second consecutive three-city road trip to play the White Sox (June 9-11), Mariners (June 12-14), and Nationals (June 16-18).

  • Have won 10 of their last 12 games at loanDepot park and are tied for the most home wins in the National League in 2023 with both ARI and LAD.
  • Are 12-2 (.857) in Interleague play this year, the highest winning pct. among MLB teams in such games this year. The Marlins’ 103-148 record in Interleague play dating back to 2010 marked the worst in MLB.
  • The Marlins are 10-10 all-time vs. Kansas City. Secured their first series win against the Royals since 2013 (Took 2 of 3 at Kauffman Stadium).

UP THE RANKS – At 34-28 through the club’s first 62 games, tied for the third-best start to a season in club history. See chart to right for the top starts in Marlins history.

  • Is their most games over .500 since July 31, 2016 (9 over).
  • Miami currently has the 4th-best record in the NL, behind only ATL, ARI, and LAD.

SWEEPING SENSATION – The Marlins today will look to sweep back-to-back series at home for the first time since 2008, when they swept WSH
in 3 and HOU in 3 from Sept. 12-18. Last swept consecutive series in 2019, when the Marlins took 3 vs. NYM and 3 at DET.

YESTERDAY’S RECAP – Miami extended their winning streak to a season-high 5 games with a 6-1 win over Kansas City on Tuesday night. LHP Jesus Luzardo went 7.0 innings for the second time this year, allowing just 1 run on 2 hits with 8 strikeouts. The difference of the night came in the fifth inning for Miami which began with a solo home run by RF Jesus Sanchez (1×4) and was concluded by a bases-clearing double from LF Bryan De La Cruz (1×3). 2B Luis Arraez (2×4) also added an RBI single, recording his 26th multi-hit game and raising his season batting avg. to .401.

LA REGADERA – 2B Luis Arraez leads MLB with his .401 AVG (85×212) and .451 OBP, and 2nd with 85 hits. Also ranks tied for 1st with 26 2-hit games and is tied for 3rd with 8 games of 3+ hits. Has struck out just 11 times in 235 PA (.047 K/PA), the lowest mark in MLB among qualifiers.

  • Arraez is 1 of 7 non-U.S.-born MLB players all-time to post a batting avg. of .399 or higher through 57 games of a season (in which the player registered at least 1 AB), joining Larry Walker (.417, 1997) Andres Galarraga (.414, 1993), Roberto Alomar (.410, 1996), Rico Carty (.404, 1970), Rod Carew (.409, 1983), and Tony Fernandez (.403, 1999).
  • His .401 avg. marks the highest through a player’s first 57 games in Marlins history. The second-highest mark was set by Luis Castillo (.365) in 2000.
  • Arraez has recorded 150 multi-hit games in his career and 142 strikeouts in 446 career games since his debut in 2019. There have been only five players to debut since 1980 to strike out fewer than 150 times within their first 450 career games – see chart to right.

GETTING OFFENSIVE – The Marlins’ offense has posted an NL-best .301 AVG (167×554) since May 21 at SF. Their 167 hits also rank 1st among MLB teams and the club’s 89 runs rank 2nd in MLB behind only Texas (102). In this same span, Miami also leads all MLB teams with 23 GIDP.

  • Miami’s 7-8-9 hitters in the batting order have combined to hit .341 in the same span (since May 21), marking the best AVG among the bottom third of the order among all MLB teams. The second-best mark is owned by Toronto (.301).
  • Overall, Miami leads the NL with 546 H, ranks 2nd with .261 AVG, and t-4th with 11 3B.
  • The Marlins have scored at least 4 runs in 5 consecutive games for the second time this season (other, May 23-27). Went 3-2 in the first stretch and are 5-0 on the current stretch, marking the first time since 2011 the club has scored 4+ runs and gone 5-0 (July 23-28).

LEFTY LOVE

  • LHP Andrew Nardi has not allowed an earned run in his last 16 apps. (May 2 to June 5) with a 0.89 WHIP and 18 strikeouts in this span. His 30 relief apps. are tied with Cleveland’s Emmanual Clase for most in the Majors.
  • LHP Tanner Scott is ranks 3rd among NL relievers with 40 strikeouts. Led the Marlins ‘pen with 90 strikeouts in 2022. Has held opponents scoreless in last 12 apps. (11.2 innings). Marks his longest career scoreless innings streak (previously, 9.1 IP from 8/26-9/18/20).
  • LHP A.J. Puk was returned from rehab and reinstated from the IL prior to yesterday’s game. Missed 21 games with left elbow nerve irritation. Prior to his injury, Puk had 19 strikeouts in 14.2 innings and 6 saves for Miami.

DE LA CRUZIN’
OF Bryan De La Cruz is 2×6 with 5 RBI during this series vs. KC, including his 8th home run of the year on Monday and a bases-clearing double on Tuesday. Ranks 2nd on team with 16 multi-hit games (behind only Arraez) and is tied for 3rd in MLB with 8 multi-hit games on the year.

  • In his last 30 G (May 5 – June 6), has posted a .972 OPS. Is the fourth-best mark in the MLB (min. 100 AB) in this span behind only LAD’s Freddie Freeman (1.052), HOU’s Yordan Alvarez (1.017), and CIN’s Spencer Steer (.990).

JOEY!
SS Joey Wendle is batting .500 (8×16) with 4 doubles and 3 multi-hit games in his last 4 starts since June 3. Had not recorded a multi-hit game yet this season. Had 26 multi-hit efforts in 101 games in 2022.

DON’T COUNT THEM OUT
Miami overcame 4-run deficits to win Sunday (down 5-1, won 7-5) and Monday (down 4-0, won 9-6). Marked the third time the club has come back by 4+ runs to win back-to-back games (2 games; 6/17/01 vs. TB & 6/18/01 vs. ATL and 3 games; 8/9/99, 8/10/99, & 8/11/99 vs. SF). Have made 17 total comeback wins.

TODAY’S STARTER – #27 EDWARD CABRERA

  • Edward Cabrera, 25, will make his first career start against the Kansas City Royals and his 13th start of the season tonight.
  • In his most recent start on June 2 vs. OAK, tossed his first scoreless outing of the season, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk. Struck out 10 batters.
  • His 10-strikeout performance on June 2 vs. OAK marked the second of his career, both coming this season (other, 12 K on 4/29 vs. CHC.) Is the only Marlins pitcher to have multiple 10+ strikeout apps. this season.
  • Has allowed 3 or fewer runs in 10 outings this season; tied first in Club w/ Jesus Luzardo.
  • Ranks tied third in MLB in strikeouts with bases loaded with 4 SO.
  • Left-handed batters are hitting .167 (19×114) vs. Cabrera in 2023 with 4 home runs and 43 strikeouts while right-handed batters are hitting .277 (28×101) with 3 home runs and 33 strikeouts.
  • In 15 career starts at home, owns a 4.01 ERA (74.0 IP/33 ER) and has gone 7-4 with 79 strikeouts. In 18 starts away is 3-7 with a 4.06 ERA (82.0 IP/37 ER) and 100 strikeouts.
  • Has made 9 consecutive starts with 5+ strikeouts (4/18 – 6/2), tied fourth in MLB among active streaks since 2022 (w/ Clayton Kershaw – LAD).
  • Through 12 starts in 2022 pitched to a 6-3 record, with a 2.91 ERA (65.0/21), 67 SO, and 9 HR. Through 12 starts in 2023 has a 4-4 record, with a 4.50 ERA (58.0/29), 76 SO, and 7 HR.

MLB Preview: Seattle Mariners (30-30) at San Diego Padres (28-33)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Seattle Mariners (30-30) at San Diego Padres (28-33)

SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:

TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners continue an 11-day, 8-game road trip with the second of 2 games against the San Diego Padres (1-0)…Seattle is coming off a 3-game series at Texas (0-3)…they will also visit the Los Angeles Angels (3 G, June 9-11) on the road trip…today’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Aaron Goldsmith on the call…the game will also be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners picked up the win in last night’s game by a 4-1 score, and are 8-6 over their last 14 games…Seattle is 22-11 when scoring at least 4 runs and 8-19 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 17-15 at T-Mobile Park and 13-15 on the road this season.

  • Mo Munny Mo Problems – Andrés Muñoz made his first appearance since April 7 in last night’s game, tossing a scoreless inning with 2 strikeouts.
  • Friar Fryers – In 5 career games against the Padres, Julio Rodríguez is batting .381 (8×21) with 3 homers, 2 stolen bases and a 1.219 OPS…Tom Murphy has a 1.071 OPS with 3 homers in 10 games and AJ Pollock has 23 home runs and a .906 OPS in 108 career games against San Diego.
  • He Gets On Base – José Caballero’s .387 on base percentage through his first 35 career games is the 5th-best mark in franchise history, trailing Alvin Davis’s .467 on base percentage in 1984.
  • All-Star Rock? – In 12 starts this season, Luis Castillo is 4-3 with a 2.55 ERA (20 ER, 70.2 IP) with 16 walks and a team-leading 82 strikeouts.
  • Roster Moves – The Mariners yesterday activated RHP Andrés Muñoz from the 15-day Injured List and INF/OF Dylan Moore from the 10-day IL…to make room on the active roster, RHP Trevor Gott was placed on the 15-day IL with low back muscle spasm (retroactive to June 5) and INF/OF Sam
    Haggerty was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

THE PITCHING STAFF…in 60 games this season, the Mariners pitching staff has posted a 3.92 ERA (234 ER, 537.2 IP) with 155 walks and 541 strikeouts…Seattle pitchers lead the Majors in strikeouts-to-walk ratio (3.49), ranking ahead of Houston (3.33)…the Mariners have allowed 155 walks (fewest in MLB) and 53 home runs (fewest in MLB)…Seattle pitchers rank 1st in fWAR (10.1), 1st in FIP (3.50), 1st in walk rate (6.9%), 1st in soft-contact percentage (18.4) and 3rd in WHIP (1.21)…Seattle starting pitchers are 20-20 with a 4.08 ERA (152 ER, 335.0 IP) with 75 walks and 311 strikeouts…Seattle relief pitchers are 10-10 with a 3.64 ERA (82 ER, 202.2 IP) with 15 saves, 80 walks and 230 strikeouts.

HERNÁNDEZ HEATING UP…Teoscar Hernández went 2-for-4 with 1 HR and 2 RBI in last night’s game…Teo’s 2-out, 2-strike homer traveled 420 feet and was hit at 108.2 mph…over his last 9 games, Teo is batting .324 (11×34) with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 7 RBI, 2 walks and 1 stolen base, while getting on base at a .361 clip and slugging .529 (.890 OPS)…he has recorded 3-consecutive multi-hit games, and has hit safely in 8-of-9 during the span…dating back to May 3, Teo is batting .288 (34×118) with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and a .757 OPS.

JULIOOOOOOOO…Julio Rodríguez has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games dating back to May 22… uring that span, he is batting .373 (22×59) with 9 runs, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 12 RBI, 1 hit-by-pitch and is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts, getting on base at a .383 clip, slugging .644 with a 1.027 OPS… Julio is 1 of just 5 players in the Majors with 10+ homers and 10+ steals, along with Ronald Acuña Jr.-ATL, Bobby Witt-KC, Corbin Carroll-ARI and Josh Lowe-TB…Julio’s .951 career OPS in interleague games is the 6th-highest mark in the Majors (min. 150 plate appearances)

GLOVE ME…the Mariners defense has a .990 fielding percentage this season, tied for best in the Majors with New York-NL, Arizona and Houston…Seattle has committed 22 errors, 3rd-fewest in the big leagues trailing only New York-NL and Arizona (21) who are tied for the league lead…Seattle is tied for 2nd in Outs Above Average (12) with Arizona and Detroit, trailing only San Diego (18)…Eugenio Suárez ranks tied for 1st among American League third basemen with 5 OAA…Julio Rodríguez is tied for 3rd among MLB outfielders with 5 OAA…José Caballero ranks 3rd among AL second basemen with 3 OAA.

HEY NOW, YOU’RE A PAUL STAR…in 26 games this season, Paul Sewald is 2-0 with 12 saves and a 2.84 ERA (8 ER, 25.1 IP) with 8 walks and 35 strikeouts…he is 12-for-13 in save opportunities, and his 11 saves are 6th-most in the American League…Sewald has a 0.950 WHIP and has held opponents to a .178 batting average (16×90).

TY IS THAT GUY…over his last 13 games (5/22-c), Ty France is batting .340 (18×53) with 11 runs, 5 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 3 walks and 2 hit-by-pitches, getting on base at a .397 clip, slugging .604 with a 1.000 OPS…the Mariners first baseman has 7 multi-hit games (2 three-hit games) over that span… on the season, France is batting .273 (63×231) with 35 runs, 18 doubles, 5 home runs, 27 RBI, 16 walks and 9 hit-by-pitches, getting on base at a .342 clip, slugging .416 with a .758 OPS.

JARRED KELENIC: ALL-STAR OUTFIELDER?…Jarred Kelenic is batting .264 (55×208) with 27 runs, 14 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 27 RBI, 7 stolen bases and 19 walks, getting on base at a .328 clip, slugging .486 with an .813 OPS in 57 games this season…Kelenic has mashed left-handed pitchers this season, batting .321 (17×53) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs and 13 RBI with a 1.010 OPS in 57 plate appearances against southpaws…overall, Kelenic leads the Mariners in extra-base hits (25), slugging percentage and OPS

AS YOU MAY KNOW…George Kirby struck out 7 over 8.0 scoreless innings in his last start on May 31 vs. NYY, and now sits at 191 career strikeouts, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that with 9 strikeouts in today’s game, Kirby would be tied for the 3rd-fastest pitcher in franchise history to reach the 200 strikeout milestone, reaching the mark in just his 37th career game? He would match Logan Gilbert, while trailing Félix Hernández and Mark Langston, who both reached 200 strikeouts in their 35th career games.

MARINERS STARTER – RHP GEORGE KIRBY
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 5-4 3.04 11/11 71.0 66 24 24 6 58 7
Home 3-2 3.72 6/6 36.1 36 15 15 2 33 5
Road 2-2 2.34 5/5 34.2 30 9 9 4 25 2
vs. SDP 0-0 0.00 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ABOUT KIRBY…

  • 25-year-old right-hander is making his 12th start of the season, 1st against San Diego…he is also making his 37th career start, and 1st career start against the Padres.
  • Selected by the Mariners in the first round (20th overall) of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft; signed by Mariners scout Ty Holub.
  • Played 3 seasons (2017-2019) at Elon University (NC), going 19-8 with a 3.30 ERA (88 ER, 240.0 IP) in 45 games (34 GS) with the Phoenix.
  • Became the first rookie in MLB history to record a save in the postseason in his first career relief appearance.
  • Graduated from Rye HS (Rye, NY) where he was named to the all-metro, all-state, all-section and all-league baseball teams 3 times.

LAST TIME OUT…ND in last start on 5/31 vs. NYY…allowed just 3 hits with 7 strikeouts over 8.0 innings pitched…his 8.0 innings pitched matched a career high set earlier this year (4/27 at PHI).

CAREER-HIGH STRIKEOUTS…matched his career-high in strikeouts at 9 on 5/9 against Texas…this marked the 4th time George has struck out 9 batters in a game (last: 8/24/22 vs. WSN).

THESE BOOTS WERE NOT MADE FOR WALKING…leads all qualified pitchers in the Majors with a 9.67 strikeouts-to-walk ratio, ranking ahead of Zach Eflin-TBR (7.13) and teammate Logan Gilbert (6.64).

KIRBY ON THE ROAD…is set to make his 18th road start of his career…Kirby has a 7-4 record on the road with a 3.09 ERA (32 ER, 93.1 IP) with 16 walks and 81 strikeouts…his 3.09 ERA in away games is the best among Mariners pitchers with multiple road starts since he joined the league 2022.

QUALITY KIRBY…pitched 8 consecutive quality starts (4/9-5/26), his longest quality start streak in his career…his previous high in consecutive quality starts was 2 (last: 9/10-9/17/22)…his 8-game quality start streak is tied for the longest streak in the Majors this season with Logan Webb-SFG…his 9 quality starts this season are tied for the 3rd-most in the Majors, trailing Marcus Stroman-CHC (11) and Framber Valdez-HOU (10).

MARVELOUS MONTH OF MAY…in 11 career starts in the month of May, Kirby has a 4-3 record with a 3.26 ERA (24 ER, 66.1 IP) and has allowed 7 walks while striking out 62.

TRIPLE SEVENS…pitched at least 7.0 innings in 3 consecutive starts (4/27-5/9)…this marked a career high in consecutive games with at least 7.0 innings pitched…prior to the streak, Kirby had never pitched 7.0+ innings in consecutive games…during the streak Kirby was 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA (4 ER, 22.0 IP) and allowed 2 walks while striking out 18.

KIRBY’S COMPLETE…pitched his first career complete game on 4/27 against Philadelphia, tossing 8.0 innings allowing just 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walks with 7 strikeouts…he became the first Mariners pitcher to lose a complete game since Taijuan Walker on Sept. 24, 2014 in a 1-0 loss at Toronto.

SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:

No team release available.

MLB Preview: Oakland Athletics (13-50) at Pittsburgh Pirates (32-28)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Oakland Athletics (13-50) at Pittsburgh Pirates (32-28)

OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: Won last night by a score of 11-2, snapping a five-game losing streak…are 13-50 (.206) overall, which matches the 1932 Red Sox for the second worst record after 62 games by an AL, NL or FL team since 1900…the worst is the 1904 Senators (11-48/.186…had three games called with the score tied)… it is the worst over any 63-game stretch since the 2021 Diamondbacks went 12-50 from May 9-July 18…were swept in a three-game series at Miami over the weekend and have now been swept nine times…are 2-17-0 in series play.

HOME AND AWAY: Last night’s win snapped a 15- game road losing streak, which tied the Oakland record set from May 24-June 23, 1986…the last A’s team to lose more than 15 straight road games is the 1945 Philadelphia A’s, who lost 19 in a row from May 20-July 3, 1945…the A’s last road win came on May 6 at Kansas City…are 1-4 on this nine-game road trip to Miami (0-3), Pittsburgh (1-1) and Milwaukee (three games)…it is the first of two three-city road trips this year…went 0-7 on the last road trip to Houston (0-3) and Seattle (0-4)…it was the eighth time in Oakland history the A’s went winless on a road trip of seven or more games, the first time since Aug. 11-17, 2015 when they went 0-7 against Toronto (0-3) and Baltimore (0-4)…are 6-26 (.188) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors…went 2-4 on the last homestand against Houston (0-3) and Atlanta (2-1) and are 7-24 (.226) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors.

OFFENSE: The A’s hit four homers last night, which snapped a six-game homerless streak…matched the longest such streak by an A’s team over the last 13 years (last: May 19-24, 2023)…last went homerless in seven straight from Aug. 8-15, 2010…have 61 home runs overall, which is tied for eighth fewest in the majors…were hit by a pitch three times on Monday, their fourth game with three or more hit by pitches this year…lead the majors with 39 hit by pitches overall and are on pace for 100, which would break the Athletics record of 98 set in 2021…are batting .199 (114-for-571) with 48 runs scored over the last 18 games (2.67 runs per game)…have scored 221 runs for the season (3.51 per game), which is third fewest in the majors…have the third lowest OPS (.657) and second lowest batting average (.221) in the majors, the third lowest slugging percentage (.356) and fifth lowest on-base percentage (.301)…rank fourth in fewest extra base hits (153), fourth in most strikeouts (581) and fourth in fewest doubles (86)…have 12 sacrifice hits, which is tied for second most to the Pirates (14)…have been shut out eight times, which is tied for the most in the majors…A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (15) and walks (10) and rank second in plate appearances (66).

PITCHING: The A’s have a 6.59 ERA, which is the highest in the majors…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the highest ERA by an AL or NL team since the earned run became an official stat is 6.70 by the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies… also have the highest opponents OPS (.856), batting average (.278), on-base percentage (.369) and slugging percentage (.486) in the majors this year…lead the majors in most walks (290), home runs (101) and hit batters (42), have the second most wild pitches (31) and are tied for the fourth fewest strikeouts (471)…have surrendered six grand slams, which are the most in the majors and tied for fifth most in a season in Athletics history (8 in 1993 and 1999, 7 in 1954 and 1997)…also lead the majors with 12 walks with the bases loaded, which matches the most by an A’s team over the last 11 years.

STARTING PITCHING: James Kaprielian earned the win last night…prior to that starting pitchers were 0-16 with a 6.10 ERA (84 er in 124.0 ip) in the 26 games since recording their only two wins of the season on May 5 and 6 at Kansas City…went 0-16 over the first 32 games and are 3-32 with a 6.99 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors and no other team has fewer than nine wins from its starters…the fewest wins from a starting rotation in a full season in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year…the A’s have the third fewest innings pitched this year (292.1).

FOR OPENERS: The A’s have used an opener four times this year, all in the previous 12 games…A’s openers are 0-2 with a 11.25 ERA (4.0 ip, 8 h, 5 r, 5 er, 4 so) and the “main” pitchers in those games are 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA (18.0 ip, 21 h, 12 r, 12 er, 7 bb, 22 so)…have lost all four games…used an opener nine times in 2018 (all in September) and three times in 2019 (none after June 5).

THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen is 0-for-2 in save opportunities over the last 29 games…the streak of 29 consecutive games without a save is the second longest single-season streak in A’s history since the save became an official stat in 1969 (May 14-Aug. 10, 1981)…the longest single-season streak is a 30-game streak from June 1-July 2, 1980…the A’s last save was on May 6 at Kansas City… the pen is 4-for-15 (26.7%) in save opportunities for the season…has the lowest save percentage and fewest saves in the majors and the 11 blown saves are ied for ninth most…has the highest ERA in the majors (6.15) and the second most innings pitched (257.2)…has allowed 50-of-117 (42.77%) inherited runners to score, which is the third highest percentage.

ON THE BASES: The A’s are 58-for-73 (79.5%) in stolen base attempts…are tied for fourth in the majors in stolen bases and rank fourth in attempts…opponents are 48-for-66 (72.7%), which is the sixth lowest success rate in the majors…the 18 caught stealings are second most…A’s pitchers are tied for second in the majors in pickoffs (6).

WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in eight of their 12 wins…have five walk-off wins, which is tied with the White Sox and Yankees for the most in the majors…have six wins when tied after seven innings, three when trailing after seven innings and four when leading after seven innings…are tied for the third most wins in the majors when tied after seven innings and are tied for ninth in wins when trailing after seven innings…however, no other team has fewer than 14 wins when leading after seven innings…are 3-4 (.429) in extra inning games…are tied for third in the majors in extra inning losses and tied for seventh in wins and games (7).

RUN DIFFERENTIAL: The A’s are 8-11 (.421) in one-run games…are tied for fifth in the majors in one-run losses and tied for eighth in games (19)…are 5-39 (.113) in games decided by two or more runs, including 1-14 in games decided by six or more runs…have a run differential of -204, which is the lowest in the majors…had a run differential of -202 all last year, which was second lowest in Oakland history (-287 in 1979).

A’s IN MAY: The A’s went 6-23 (.207) in May after going 5-23 (.179) in April…both records were the worst in the majors…set an Athletics record for losses in May after matched the A’s total from April this year for second most in any month in Oakland history (24 in June, 1979)…it is the 16th 20-loss month in Oakland history, the fourth in the last two years…it is the second time since 1954 the A’s had back-to-back 20-loss months…the other time was in May and June last year when they had 21 each month…the May winning percentage was second lowest in May in Athletics history (4-17, .190 in 1919)…compiled a 5.54 ERA in May after posting a 7.97 ERA in April, both of which were the highest in the majors…surrendered 49 home runs, which is second most in May in Athletics history (57 in 1964) and second most in any month in Oakland history (50 in April, 2023)…batted .208, which was the lowest mark in the majors and second lowest for any month in Athletics history (.207 in Aug. 1906)…struck out 264 times, which is the most in May in Athletics history…scored 87 runs, which was second fewest in the majors and third fewest in May in Oakland history…it was the fewest since 1978 (79).

A’S VS. PIRATES

  • The A’s and Pirates meet for the first time since 2019 when Oakland lost two of three at Pittsburgh.
  • Have lost three straight and seven of the last eight games after winning each of the first 11.
  • Have dropped four of the last five games in Pittsburgh.

Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-1 1-1
2019 0-0 1-2 1-2
Oakland History: 13-7
at the Coliseum: 6-3
PNC Park: 7-4

TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.408) and walks (40), ranks fourth in OPS (.861), is tied for sixth in doubles (13), fifth in runs (30), sixth in slugging (.453), tied for ninth in home runs (6), is tied for seventh in extra base hits (20) and is 11th in RBI (21).…Esteury Ruiz leads Major League rookies in stolen bases (29), hit by pitches (12), is third in hits (63), fifth in doubles (14) and batting (.260), ninth in on-base percentage (.321), tied for seventh in RBI (25), tied for 10th in extra base hits (16) and 11th in runs (26).

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Hogan Harris (0-0, 6.97 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make the first start of his career today…it will be his fourth appearance, as his previous three outings came in relief…the last two of those were in games started by an opener (10.0 ip, 6 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 10 so, 1.80 ERA)…was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas May 27 for his second stint with the A’s this year…was recalled for the first time on April 14, made his Major League debut that day in relief against the Mets (0.1 ip, 1 h, 6 r, 6 er, 5 bb, 0 so) and was optioned back to Las Vegas the next day…is 0-1 with a 3.77 ERA and .699 opponents OPS in eight starts with the Aviators.

MAJORS AND MINORS: Went 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA and 1.040 opponents OPS over his first five games this year at the Major League and Minor League level…is 0-0 with a 1.82 ERA and .493 OPS in six games since then…walked 19 batters, struck out 11 and yielded three home runs in 11.2 innings over his first five games…has walked just seven in 29.2 innings since then (30 so, 1 hr).

MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT: Made his Major League debut earlier this year on April 14 against New York (NL)…entered the game to start the fifth inning
with the A’s trailing 6-3…retired the first batter he faced (Vogelbach ground out) but his next seven batters were BB, BB, BB, HBP, BB, 2B, BB…walked five batters in 0.1 innings to become the sixth AL, NL or FL pitcher since 1901 to walk five or more his debut while pitching less than an inning (last: Justin Dunn, Sept. 12, 2019 for Seattle)…allowed six runs, which matched the most by A’s pitcher in debut of fewer than one inning (Sam Gray, April 19, 1924 at Boston; James York, Sept. 12, 1919 vs. CWS).

SECOND APPEARANCE: He had a no decision in the A’s 6-3 loss to Houston on May 27 in Oakland…entered the game to start the second in relief of opener Austin Pruitt…Pruitt allowed two runs in the first and Harris shut out the Astros in five innings of work…walked the second batter he faced (Maldonado) but then retired 12 straight before Bregman singled with one out in the sixth.

LAST APPEARANCE: He had a no decision in the A’s 4-0 loss at Miami last Friday…entered the game to start the second inning in relief of opener Shintaro Fujinami, who allowed two runs in the first…Harris retired each of the first seven batters he faced and did not allow a run until yielding two in the fifth on a Soler RBI double and a De La Cruz RBI single…those were the only two runs he allowed in five innings of work

PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:

THE PIRATES: Had their six-game winning streak snapped with last night’s loss…Have had four separate winning streaks of at least four games this season, including a season-high seven-game winning streak from 4/17-23, their longest winning streak since 2018 (11 games)…Are 0.5 game behind the first place Brewers in the National League Central coming into today.

WHAT’S AT STAKE: The Pirates will look to win their third straight series in today’s finale against the A’s…The Pirates swept the Cardinals in three games this past weekend and also took two of three games at San Francisco on the final stop of their previous road trip from May 29-31…Pittsburgh won four straight series earlier this year from April 17-30.

ON DECK: The Pirates are off tomorrow but will return to action Friday night for the beginning of a three-game series against the Mets…This will be just the second series the Pirates have played against the NL East the season after taking two of three games against the Nationals on the road in May…Pittsburgh lost two of its three games against the Mets at PNC Park last year from September 6-7.

A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE: Tomorrow night the Bradenton Marauders will host the Dunedin Blue Jays at 6:30 in the MLB Pipeline Game of the Month…This first Game of the Month glimpse at the Florida State League will be available for free on MLB.com and the MLB Pipeline homepage and can also be viewed through MLB.TV, MiLB.TV and the First Pitch app… Bradenton’s roster is highlighted by Termarr Johnson, who the Pirates selected fourth overall in the last year’s draft and is currently rated No. 20 among MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects.

RULE 5 ROLLING: Rookie lefthander Jose Hernandez extended his scoreless streak to 9.0 innings in Tuesday night’s game… Hernandez, who was selected by the Pirates in the Rule 5 Draft during last year’s winter meetings, comes into today with the lowest ERA (2.13), third-lowest batting average against (.207) and tied for the fourth-most strikeouts (24) among all National League rookie relievers.

LOVING LEFTIES: Rodolfo Castro comes into today ranked fifth in OPS (1.091), eighth in slugging (.651) and ninth in batting (.349) among all National league players against lefthanded pitchers…The Pirates have gone 11-6 in games started by lefthanders this season.

I WANT TO RUN: The Pirates had one stolen base last night and have now swiped 10 bags in their last six games…Pittsburgh is 21-14 in games when the team records at least one stolen base this season…Pittsburgh ranks first in the National League (68) and second in MLB behind the Rays (82) in stolen bases this season.

CLOSING IN ON 2000 HITS: Andrew McCutchen comes into today just three hits shy of 2000 in his career…McCutchen has recorded 1512 of his 1997 hits with the Pirates organization…McCutchen’s 1512 hits with Pittsburgh ranks 12th in team history…Hall-of-Famer Roberto Clemente is first with 3000 while Tommy Leach is 11th (1603).

KEEPING UP WITH CUTCH’S MILESTONES: Andrew McCutchen is just one double shy of 400 in his career (his next double will also be his 300th as a Pirate)…McCutchen ranks seventh all-time in Pirates history in doubles (Hall-of-Famer Pie Traynor is sixth with 371).

BAE, BAE, BAE: Ji Hwan Bae is hitting at a .370 clip (17-for-46) in his last 15 games…Bae’s .370 average since May 19 ranks sixth in all of MLB behind Luis Arraez (.453), Josh Jung (.394), Whit Merrifield (.381), Freddie Freeman (.373) and Spencer Steer (.373).

THE HOT CORNER: Ke’Bryan Hayes has hit safely in each of his last six games, going 11-for-24 with a double, triple, home run and seven RBI…Hayes ranks fifth among all National League third basemen in total bases (87) behind Austin Riley (106), Jeimer Candelario (98), Max Muncy (98) and Nolan Arenado (92).

THE RENEGADE: David Bednar earned a save in each of the three games in this past weekend’s series sweep against St. Louis…Bednar is one of just seven different Pirates to record three saves in a three-game series since saves became an official statistic in 1969… Mark Melancon was the last Pirate to accomplish three saves in a three-game series from June 1-3, 2015, while Jose Mesa accomplished it twice in 2004…Courtesy of @OptaStats.

STARTING PITCHER – 59 – RHP ROANSY CONTRERAS
YEAR W-L ERA G GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB SO
2023 3-4 4.82 11 10 0 0 56.0 56 30 30 23 42

ROANSY CONTRERAS: The 23-year-old righthander is making his 11th start (12th appearance) of the season today…He had a no-decision (4.0ip/5r) in the team’s 7-5 comeback win Friday night against the Cardinals.

vs. OAKLAND: Has never faced the A’s.

NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 7, 2023

NHL Editor
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NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 7, 2023

* Game 3 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final goes Thursday at FLA Live Arena, with the Panthers hosting the Golden Knights in their first Final game on home ice in nearly three decades.

* The Panthers enter Game 3 trailing 2-0 and will look to become the sixth team in NHL history to erase a series deficit of that length in a best-of-seven to win the Stanley Cup.

* Game 1 of the Panthers-Golden Knights series on WBD Sports (TNT, TBS & truTV) delivered the second-most watched Stanley Cup Final Game 1 ever on cable.
 

FINAL SHIFTS TO FAMILIAR FLORIDA FOR THURSDAY’S GAME 3
After a raucous opening two games in Las Vegas that saw the home side take a 2-0 series lead, the Stanley Cup Final shifts to FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla., on Thursday for Game 3. The contest will mark the Panthers’ first Stanley Cup Final home game since 1996 and will be played exactly 27 years to the day of the first time they hosted a game in the championship series on June 8, 1996 (3-2 L vs. COL in Game 3 of 1996 SCF).


* The state of Florida is no stranger to hosting games of this magnitude as well as other major NHL events. Over the last 30 years, when Florida’s two franchises entered the NHL in consecutive seasons (Tampa Bay in 1992-93 & Florida in 1993-94), the state has hosted four NHL All-Star Games (TBL: 1998-99 & 2017-18; FLA: 2002-03 & 2022-23), the NHL Draft twice (FLA: 2001 & 2015) and 15 Stanley Cup Final games. After Games 3 and 4 are completed, Florida will be tied for the most Final games hosted in one state or province over the past 30 years.



* According to USA Hockey, participation in the state of Florida has grown since the arrival of the two franchises and with it the League has seen more Florida-born NHL players. In 1993-94, the first Panthers season, there were 4,278 hockey players in the state of Florida including 2,908 age 18 and younger. In 2022-23, there are 19,550 players, including 8,769 age 18 and younger – a growth of 357% and 202%, respectively.


* In the first Panthers season of 1993-94, there was just one Florida-born player in the NHL (Dallas Eakins), one of two in NHL history up to that point (also Val James). In both 2021-22 and 2022-23 there have been 12 Florida-born NHL players – tied for the highest total in NHL history.


* As a legacy to the 2023 NHL All-Star Game recently held in South Florida, the Panthers and NHL contributed a joint donation to refurbish and revitalize an outdoor hockey rink at Holiday Park, directly behind the Panthers future practice facility and community ice facility, Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale. The surface will be suitable for both shoes and inline skates to increase access and exposure to the sport.

PANTHERS CAN LOOK TO HOCKEY HISTORY FOR INSPIRATION

The Panthers head home trailing in the series but overcoming a 2-0 series deficit in a best-of-seven to win a Stanley Cup is not unprecedented – five teams have accomplished the feat. A look back at those comeback stories:

1942 Stanley Cup Final (TOR 4, DET 3)
* In a comeback story for the ages, the Maple Leafs stormed back from a 3-0 series deficit to force the first Game 7 in a Stanley Cup Final in NHL history, which they would ultimately win to secure their fourth championship. In the winner-take-all showdown, the Red Wings were up 1-0 in the third period but Sweeney Schriner pulled the Maple Leafs even, setting the stage for Pete Langelle to score the winning tally. The 1942 Maple Leafs remain the only team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup.
 
1966 Stanley Cup Final (MTL 4, DET 2)
* Facing a 2-0 series deficit, the Canadiens rallied to win four straight games against the Red Wings en route to consecutive Stanley Cup championships. Franchise legend Henri Richard played overtime hero in Game 6, scoring the series-clinching goal just over two minutes into the extra frame.

1971 Stanley Cup Final (MTL 4, CHI 3)
* After dropping their first two games in Chicago, the Canadiens picked up two straight victories at home to even the series, only to face a 3-2 deficit a couple days later. However, Montreal staved off elimination in Game 6 to force a winner-take-all showdown at Chicago Stadium. Richard scored both the tying and winning goal to help the Canadiens claim another Stanley Cup – he became the fifth player in NHL history to score two championship-clinching goals (also 1966 SCF).

2009 Stanley Cup Final (PIT 4, DET 3)
* Eager not to repeat their fate from the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, the Penguins rallied from series deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to triumph over the Red Wings in Game 7 and win the franchise’s third Stanley Cup – their first with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Max Talbot scored twice for Pittsburgh in the decisive contest, both of which came in a span of 8:54 – the third-fastest two goals by one player in a Game 7 during the Stanley Cup Final.

2011 Stanley Cup Final (BOS 4, VAN 3)
* After rallying from series deficits of 2-0 and 3-2, the 2011 Bruins defeated the Canucks in Game 7 to end a 39-year Stanley Cup drought courtesy of a shutout by Tim Thomas and multi-goal games by Brad Marchand (2-1—3) and Patrice Bergeron (2-0—2). Marchand became the first rookie in League history with multiple goals in a Game 7 of the Final.



GAME 1 OF FINAL MOST-WATCHED CABLE OPENER IN 21 YEARS

Game 1 of the Panthers-Golden Knights series on WBD Sports (TNT, TBS & truTV) delivered cable’s most-watched Stanley Cup Final opener in 21 years and the second-most watched Stanley Cup Final Game 1 ever on cable.
 


NHL SCOUTING COMBINE UNDERWAY IN BUFFALO
Over 100 of the top prospects for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft are in Buffalo this week for the 2023 NHL Scouting Combine presented by adidas, which will conclude with fitness testing on Saturday. The event has returned to KeyBank Center and HarborCenter in Buffalo, N.Y., with the prospects taking part in team and media interviews, fitness testing and more.

* There is plenty of on-site coverage from NHL.com throughout the week, including an update on Brandon Wheat Kings teammates and Combine roommates Carson Bjarnason, the No. 1-ranked North American goaltender and Nate Danielson, the No. 7-ranked North American skater. The crew from NHL.com also catches up with Gavin Brindley, the University of Michigan forward who grew up in Estero, Fla.



QUICK CLICKS

* Panthers ‘excited’ heading home, look to respond in Game 3 of Cup Final

*Matthew Tkachuk of Panthers, Golden Knights’ Brendan Smith receive NHL brothers’ support

* NHL Blast on Roblox to include goal recreations for Stanley Cup Final 
*Lane Lambert ‘under contract’ as Islanders coach, Lou Lamoriello says
* Devils to begin contract talks with Timo Meier this week, GM says

Maverick Games Debuts Ambitious Poker Software

Gaming Editor
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Maverick Games Debuts Ambitious Poker Software

Known for its next-gen crypto sportsbook and casino, Maverick Games is now taking on a new segment, hoping to introduce a groundbreaking poker software

The company has confirmed the arrival of its newest solution that will focus on the vertical and dubbing it a “game-changer” right out the door. According to Maverick Games, this client will offer a 70% rakeback promotion upon signing up and depositing for the first time.

Maverick has argued that this is aligned with its pro-player policy which has established the company as focused on creating value for its players. The company is similarly confident that this new client will offer players excellent social experiences, not only because of the competitive rake opportunities but also owing to the way the platform is built to promote transparency and integrity.

Licensed by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, Maverick Games holds this as a hallmark of the care it takes to ensure that consumers can play in a safe and reliable online gaming environment while offering them the added benefit of depositing, playing, and withdrawing in a number of digital currencies.

Commenting on the launch of this new product, Maverick Games director of poker Dan Kent said that he was excited to reveal the latest vertical for the company and offer players a chance to enjoy their favorite game as they have never before.

Kent reiterated that Maverick Games is fully committed to protecting consumers and offering the highest quality of online gaming products.

He was joined by Maverick Games managing director Kendra Ross who said that the process of building the new poker solution was long but worthwhile. Ross said she was confident that the new poker client would strike home with players right from day one. 

“As a crypto gambling brand, it’s also important for us to assure players that we are secure, safe and reputable, and our Isle of Man license allows us to do just that,” she added.

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