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NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Playoffs Edition – May 27, 2023

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NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Playoffs Edition – May 27, 2023

* A tightly-contested victory in Game 4 helped Dallas stave off elimination. The Stars now look to force Game 6 to keep their championship aspirations alive in the Conference Finals, something the franchise has already done in their history. 

* The Golden Knights return home with another opportunity to close out the Western Conference Final and join rare company in NHL history with their second Stanley Cup Final appearance within their first six seasons.

* This round has the potential to be the closest Conference Finals in NHL history. Games in the 2023 Conference Finals have been tied or separated by a one-goal margin for 90.0% of total playing time (511:00 of 567:43), including 99.2% in the East (318:58 of 321:38) and 78.0% in the West (192:02 of 246:05). In the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44), the highest percentage of time teams have spent separated by no more than a one-goal margin in the round before the Stanley Cup Final is 87.7% (2002 Conference Finals).

STARS, GOLDEN KNIGHTS READY TO JOSTLE FOR A GAME 5 WIN

T-Mobile Arena is set to play host to an all-important Game 5 in the Western Conference Final when the Stars and Golden Knights take to the ice. Vegas eyes its second Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history while Dallas looks to stave off elimination once again and force a Game 6 back at American Airlines Center.



* The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are the sixth postseason in NHL history to feature at least 13 series without a best-of-seven sweep (excluding 2020 SCQ). The others: 2020 (15), 2016 (15), 2002 (15), 1991 (15) and 2010 (13).


* Dallas, which looks to force a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 in a series for the second time in franchise history (4-2 L vs. DET, 2008 CF), can be the first team to do so since Philadelphia in the 2016 First Round (4-2 L vs. WSH). The Stars/North Stars are already one of four franchises to do so in the Conference Finals/Semifinals: also Sabres (4-2 L vs. NYI, 1980 SF), Islanders (4-3 L vs. PHI, 1975 SF) and Rangers (4-3 L vs. BOS, 1939 SF).

* Miro Heiskanen factored on two of three Stars goals in Game 4, including the primary assist on Joe Pavelski’s winner in overtime, and now owns nine career multi-point games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Only six defensemen in NHL history have registered more at age 23 or younger: Paul Coffey (20), Cale Makar (12), Ray Bourque (12), Denis Potvin (11), Bobby Orr (11) and Al MacInnis (10). 

* Six players who appeared in at least one game for the Golden Knights during their historic run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final remain with the team: Reilly Smith (5-17—22 in 20 GP), Jonathan Marchessault (8-13—21 in 20 GP), William Karlsson (7-8—15 in 20 GP), Shea Theodore (3-7—10 in 20 GP), Brayden McNabb (2-3—5 in 20 GP) and William Carrier (0-0—0 in 7 GP). Vegas can join Tampa Bay (2022, 2021, 2020 & 2015) and Pittsburgh (2017 & 2016) as the third team with multiple berths in the Final since the NHL realigned its format in the 2013-14 season.

* Karlsson sits tied with Marchessault with a team-leading eight goals during this postseason and has scored in each of Vegas’ three potential series-clinching games in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs (1-0—1 in Game 4 at DAL, 1-0—1 in Game 6 at EDM & 1-0—1 in Game 5 vs. WPG). Should he find the back of the net in Game 5, Karlsson can become the third player in the past 30 years to extend his stretch to four consecutive contests (Martin Gelinas: 4 GP in 2004 w/ CGY & Tomas Holmstrom: 4 GP in 2002 w/ DET).

WILL WE SEE MORE OT IN ROUND THREE?

Three of four games in the Western Conference Final – and five games overall in the Conference Finals – have required more than 60 minutes of play, with the Golden Knights skating to overtime victories in Games 1 and 2 while the Stars did so to stave off elimination in Game 4.

* There have been 23 overtime games in total throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs – the ninth most in a single postseason in NHL history and five shy of the League record (1993 & 2020 w/ 28). Five of the past eight playoff years have seen at least 20 such contests: also 2021 (27), 2020 (28), 2017 (27) and 2016 (20).

* Should the Golden Knights and Stars require another overtime period in Game 5, the Western Conference Final would become the fourth Conference Finals/Semifinals series to feature four such contests following the 1933 Semifinals (TOR vs. BOS, 4 GP), 1939 Semifinals (NYR vs. BOS, 4 GP) and 1968 Semifinals (STL vs. MNS, 4 GP).
 

QUICK CLICKS


* NHL to commemorate anniversary of NHL Draft with ’60 Diamonds’ series

* How Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers were built

* ‘Quest for the Stanley Cup’ sees history made in Conference Finals

* Stars confident they can make historic comeback in West Final
* Lucas Raymond to play host with Red Wings in NHL Global Series in Stockholm

MLS Preview: FC Cincinnati (9-1-3) at Colorado Rapids (2-6-6)

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MLS Preview: FC Cincinnati (9-1-3) at Colorado Rapids (2-6-6)

The Colorado Rapids have one each of their first two matches against FC Cincinnati, recording a 3-1 home win in 2019 and a 2-0 away win in 2021. Diego Rubio was involved in three of the five goals, scoring once in each match, and assisting on an additional goal in the 2019 home win.

The Colorado Rapids is the only team without a home win this year (D3 L3) after a 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday. The Colorado Rapids are looking to avid becoming the fourth team in MLS history to go winless in their first seven home games of a season, with FC Cincinnati in 2021 (9 straight) the last team to do so.

FC Cincinnati is the eighth team in MLS history to collect 30 points through its first 13 matches of a season (W9 D3 L1). Five of the previous seven went on to win the Supporter’s Shield, with the Columbus Crew SC in 2020 the only team since the Los Angeles Galaxy in the league’s inaugural 1996 season yo fail to do so.

Connor Ronan recorded assists on both of the Colorado Rapids’ goal against Real Salt Lake on Saturday and has now contributed to each of the Colorado Rapids’ last six MLS goals (1 goal, 5 assists). Ronan’s six goal contributions in May are tied for the most in MLS with Hany Mukhtar (5 goals, 1 assist).

Luciano Acosta scored two of FC Cincinnati’s three goals in its win over the Columbus Crew SC on Saturday and has contributed to five goals in his last three MLS appearances (4 goals, 1 assist). Since the start of last September, Acosta has 16 goal contributions in 18 regular season games (9 goals, 7 assists).

MLB Preview: Miami Marlins (26-26) at Los Angeles Angels (28-24)

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MLB Preview: Miami Marlins (26-26) at Los Angeles Angels (28-24)

MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:

MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins today play the second of three games at the Angels as the final stop on a three-city, 10-game road trip that began with three at San Francisco (1-2) and four at Colorado (1-3). Following an off-day on Monday, Miami will begin its first three-leg homestand with three-game sets vs. San Diego (May 30-June 1), Oakland (June 2-4), and Kansas City (June 5-7).

  • Miami is in a current stretch of 13 straight days with games until the next off day on Memorial Day (May 29).

YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Miami recorded a season-high 16 hits in its series opening victory at the Angels, 6-2. LHP Jesus Luzardo tossed 5.0 innings of 1-run ball with 7 strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season. The Marlins bullpen kept the Angels to just 1 more run through the next 4.0 innings, finished by RHP Dylan Floro who struck out 2 in a scoreless ninth. RF Jorge Soler (1×5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI) hit his 16th home run of the season and 11th in starts made by Jesus Luzardo, and LF Bryan De La Cruz (4×4, 3 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI) recorded his second 4-hit game of the road trip.

SIX/ELEVEN
The Marlins recorded a season-high 16 hits last night at Angels, marking the sixth consecutive game in which the offense has produced at least 11 hits. Is longest streak in club history. Had 11+ hits in 5 straight games three times – Aug. 13-18, 2000, July 18-23, 2005, and June 10-14, 2009.

  • Miami’s 16 hits last night are the most since June 1, 2022 in G1 of a DH at Colorado. Recorded 16 hits just twice in 2022.
  • The current 6-game streak of 11 or more hits marks the longest in MLB this season. No other team has had 10+ in six straight.

THEY’RE COMING HOME
Miami has scored at least 6 runs in three consecutive games, the club’s longest such streak since July 25-28, 2021.

  • At least 4 hitters have recorded multi-hit games in each contest; 1B Yuli Gurriel in all 3 games.

THE POWER OF ZEUS
LHP Jesus Luzardo has held opponents to one or no runs in five of his 11 starts this season. Is one off the lead for most such starts in the NL this season (Steele, Gray, Elder each with 6).

BACK TO CALI
The Marlins are playing a series at Angel Stadium in consecutive years for the first time in club history due to the new schedule alignment. Miami took 1 of 2 here and 1 of 2 against the Angels at loanDepot park last year.

  • Have gone 8-12 all-time against LAA and now 3-6 here at Angel Stadium. Are looking to win their first series here.

PODER SOLER
DH/OF Jorge Soler ranks 2nd in MLB with 16 HR, including a league-most 11 in the month of May. His 16 home runs are the most by a Marlins player in the first 50 games played (also, Dan Uggla, 2008)

  • Leads MLB with 9 HR vs. left-handed pitching; also ranks atop MLB in slugging (1.070) and OPS (1.550) vs. LHP.
  • Soler has homered in 8 of Luzardo’s 11 starts this season, including 2 multi-HR games. Owns a .467 batting avg. (21×45) in these starts with 10 HR and 22 RBI.
  • His 11 HR in his last 21 G is the most by a Marlin in that span since Giancarlo Stanton also
    had 11 from Aug. 14-Sept. 4, 2017.
  • Became the first Marlin to homer in at least 4 consecutive games since Justin Bour from Sept. 19-23, 2017. The only player with a longer streak of consecutive games with a homer is Giancarlo Stanton (6 gms, Aug. 10-15, 2017). Ties the second longest streak this season in MLB, behind only CHC’s Christopher Morel and STL’s Nolan Arenado who each homered in 5 straight games.

DO YOU LIKE PIÑA COLADAS?
1B Yuli Gurriel has started in 5 of 8 games on this road trip, going 12×21 (.571) with 3 runs scored, 1 double, 2 triples, 2 RBI, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout. Has four consecutive multi-hit games, his longest such streak since he recorded five straight multi-hit efforts from July 27-Aug. 1, 2021.

  • Recorded triples in back-to-back games (6th inning at COL on 5/24, 3rd inning on 5/25 at COL), becoming the oldest player (38-350) to triple in consecutive games since CLE’s Kenny Lofton on 9/27-28, 2007. Marks first time in his career he’s tripled in back-to-back games, and the first Marlin to do so since Jazz Chisholm Jr. on April 15 & 17, 2022. Were just the sixth and seventh triples of his career and his first since Aug. 14, 2020 vs. Seattle.
  • Last night became the fourth-quickest Cuban-born player to reach 900 career hits, doing so in 831 games. Only Jose Abreu, Tony Oliva, and Rafael Palmeiro did so in fewer games than Gurriel.

DE LA CRUZIN’
OF Bryan De La Cruz has hit safely in 19 of 23 gms played in May, batting .361 (30×83) with 15 runs scored, 5 doubles, 4 HR, 11 RBI, and a .977 OPS. Has raised his batting avg. from .253 entering May to .305 for the season.

  • De La Cruz’s 13 multi-hit games are tied for 2nd on the team with Soler and are behind only Arraez’s 19. Ranks t-2nd in MLB with 7 games of 3+ hits. Is one off the MLB lead (Toronoto’s Bo Bichette has 8).
  • Recorded his second 4-hit game of the road trip last night and the third of his career (4 H on May 22 at COL and 4 H on Sept. 24, 2022 vs. WSH). Marked the fourth 4-hit game by a Marlin in the last 6 games.

MIAMI MARLIN, JONATHAN DAVIS
OF Jonathan Davis is 7×11 with 4 runs, 1 triple, 1 home run and 3 walks through his first 3 starts as a Marlin after making his Marlins debut as a pinch-runner in Tuesday’s game.

  • Davis went 3×4 with 2 runs scored and a 2-run homer to boost the Marlins to victory Wednesday night. Became just the eighth player in club history to record at least 3 hits in first start as a Marlin, and the first since JB Shuck’s 4×4 debut in 2018.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
2B Luis Arraez leads MLB with his .374 batting avg. (65×174), ranks 2nd with a .427 OBP and 4th with 62 hits. Is tied for 4th with 19 multi-hit gms. Has struck out 9 times in 192 PA (.047 K/PA), the lowest mark in MLB among qualified batters. The second-least is 15 SO by WSH’s Keibert Ruiz.

  • Is the highest avg. through a player’s first 47 gms to start a season since Cody Bellinger’s .404 avg. with the Dodgers in 2019.
  • Only Dee Strange-Gordon (76) has more hits for a Marlins player through his first 47 games of a season.
  • Is batting a National League-best .386 (34×88) and tied with Aaron Judge for best avg. on the road this season. Has hit safely in 19 of 23 games away from Miami.

TODAY’S STARTER – #27 EDWARD CABRERA

  • Edward Cabrera, 25, will make his first career start against the Los Angeles Angels tonight and his 11th start of the season.
  • In his most recent start on May 22 at Colorado, tossed a quality start, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing just 3 runs. Allowed 5 hits and 1 walk. Struck out 6.
  • Has pitched 7 consecutive games with 5+ strikeouts (4/18 – 5/22), tied fifth in MLB among active streaks since 2022 (w/ Christian Javier – HOU, Clayton Kershaw – LAD, Mitch Keller – PIT, and Eduardo Rodriguez – DET).
  • Walked a combined 20 batters in his first 5 starts of 2023. Has walked 5 in last 3 outings, including back-to-back outings of 1 walk or less for just the second time in his career.
  • Has allowed 3 or less runs in 8 outings this season (10 apps.); ranks second among Marlins starters behind Jesus Luzardo – 9.
  • In 14 career starts at home, owns a 4.37 ERA (68.0 IP/31 ER) and has gone 6-4 with 69 strikeouts. In 17 starts away is 3-7 with a 4.01 ERA (76.1 IP/34 ER) and 95 strikeouts.
  • Left-handed batters are hitting .174 (17×98) vs. Cabrera in 2023 with 4 home runs and 35 strikeouts while right-handed batters are hitting .290 (22×76) with 3 home runs and 26 strikeouts.
  • Through 10 starts in 2022 pitched to a 5-2 record, with a 2.63 ERA (54.2/16), 59 SO, and 6 HR. Through 10 starts in 2023 has a 3-4 record, with a 5.05 ERA (46.1/26), 61 SO, and 7 HR.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:

LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the eighth (5-2) of nine games on a homestand against the Minnesota Twins (2-1), Boston Red Sox (3-0) and Miami Marlins (0-1; May 26-28)…Halos went 3-4 on last road trip to Cleveland (1-2) and Baltimore (2-2)…LAA was 2-4 on last homestand against the Rangers (1-2) and Astros (1-2).

BEACH WEEKEND: This weekend is Beach Weekend at Angel Stadium, featuring beach-themed entertainment and promotions…Additionally, tonight’s game features coverage from Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.

BACHMAN IN THE SHOW: Sam Bachman made his MLB debut last night with 2.0 innings pitched in relief… The Angels first round pick (ninth overall) in the 2021 Draft, Bachman is currently rated by MLB Pipleline as the #5 prospect in the Halos system…He is the highest drafted player from the 2021 Draft to debut and the only pitcher from the first two rounds of that Draft to appear in the Majors.

VS. MIAMI: Today is the second (0-1) of three games this season between the Angels and Marlins…Last season, Halos won three of four games against Miami… LAA is 12-8 all-time vs. Miami (6-3 at Angel Stadium)… Halos are looking to avoid losing consecutive games to the Marlins for the first time ever.

SWEEPIN’ THE SOX: In their last series, the Angels completed a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox at The Big A…It marked the Halos first series sweep against Boston since taking four straight from July 16- 20, 2015 and the first three-game sweep of the Red Sox since Aug. 28-30, 2012…Angels won a season series vs. Red Sox for the first time since 2017.

LEAGUE LEADER: Shohei Ohtani, leads the Majors in opponent batting average (.142), is second in WHIP (0.90) and ranks tied for fourth in strikeouts (80).

SERIES STATS: After winning two of three vs. Twins in last series and sweeping the Red Sox, Halos have won consecutive series for the first time since beating the Royals (April 21-23) and A’s (April 24-27) last month… LAA is looking to win three straight series for first time this season.

PLAY FROM AHEAD: Halos have held leads in 42 of 52 games played this year.

‘PEN PALS: The Angels bullpen is pitching to a 3.64 ERA (188 IP – 76 ER) this season, which is the eighth-best ERA in the Majors.

THE MICK: Mickey Moniak has hits in all eight of his starts for the Angels this season, including three leadoff homers and seven total extra-base hits…He’s one of three players in the Majors with three leadoff HR this year, along with Mookie Betts (LAD) and Christian Yelich (MIL)…On May 13 at Cleveland, became the first player in MLB history to make his season debut on his birthday and hit a leadoff home run.

WINNING WAYS: Halos have won four of last five games and six of last eight overall…With a win today, Angels would match season high at five games over .500 (were 28-23 on May 25 and 19-14 on May 5).

LEAD ASSISTANT: Hunter Renfroe is tied for second in the American League with five outfield assists this season…Since 2017, his 61 outfield assists lead the Majors (Starling Marte is second with 52 assists).

SINGLE HANDED: Gio Urshela has hit 46 singles this year plus seven extra-base hits (six doubles & one home run)…Urshela ranks second, behind Toronto’s Bo Bichette (52), for the American League lead in singles… Since May 5, Urshela has hits in 16 of 19 games with a PA and is batting .364 (24/66) in that span.

ON THE BOARD: Halos have not been shut out since Aug. 21, 2022 at Detroit…Current streak of 93 games without being shut out is the longest active streak in the Majors and is the fourth-longest streak in Angels history (third longest streak was 97 games in 1997).

NET-OW: Zack Neto has been hit by eight pitches this season, which is tied for fourth-most in the Majors… Since 1901, Neto’s seven HBP through his first 15 career games are the most in MLB…He also was the first player in Angels history to be hit a pitch in four consecutive games (April 18-21).

LATE COMEBACKS: Halos have three wins this season when trailing after eight innings, which matches the Angels total from each of the last two seasons…Last time LAA had more than three wins in a season when trailing after eight frames was 2017 (5).

ESTÉVEZ ENDING: This season, Carlos Estévez is pitching to a 1.23 ERA (22 IP – 3 ER) and has converted all 12 of his save opportunities (the 12 saves are a new career high)…He is the first Angels pitcher to convert his first 12 save opportunities of a season since Ernesto Frieri in 2012 and is looking to become the first Halos closer to convert his first 13 save chances since Troy Percival had 16 straight successful save opportunities to begin the 2001 season.

ALL OVER THE INFIELD: Gio Urshela is one of six players in the Majors to appear at all four infield positions this season…He has made 19 starts at third base, 16 starts at first base, eight at shortstop and one at second base.

INTERLEAGUE PLAY: LAA owns a 267-227 (.540) all-time Interleague record (6-4 in 2023)…The 267 all-time Interleague wins are third most all time behind Red Sox (296) and Yankees (288).

STEFANIC’S STREAK: INF Michael Stefanic currently has a 51-game on-base streak for Triple-A Salt Lake dating back to last season.

WHITE SOX ON DECK: Following the current series vs. Miami, the Angels will travel to Chicago and open the next road trip with a three-game series against the White Sox…Last season, Halos went 4-3 against Chicago to win a sixth consecutive season series…Since 2011, Angels are 51-27 (.654) against the White Sox.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – RHP SHOHEI OHTANI
5-1, 3.05 ERA
Leads the Majors with a .142 (28/197) opponent batting average this season

  • SHO TIME: Making 11th pitching start of the year and sixth at home…Is in sixth Major League season with LAA.
  • LEAGUE LEADER: Enters today’s start leading the Majors in opponent batting average (.142), and ranks second in WHIP (0.90) and tied for fourth in strikeouts (80).
  • HOME SWEET HOME: Has a career 2.08 ERA (229 IP – 53 ER) in home games, which is the second lowest total of the
    last 100 years (min. 30 GS)…Only Miami’s José Fernández (1.49 ERA; 272.1 IP – 45 ER) has a lower home ERA.
  • LAST TIME ON THE MOUND: Did not factor in decision in last start on Sunday vs. Minnesota after tossing 6.0 innings
    and allowing one earned run on two hits with three walks and nine strikeouts.
  • PASSING THE BABE: With seven strikeouts on May 9 vs. Houston, surpassed the career total for Babe Ruth (according to ELIAS, Ruth had 501 career pitching strikeouts)…Ruth and Ohtani are the only players with 500+ pitching strikeouts and 100+ home runs in a career.
  • 10 K: Since start of 2022 season, leads MLB with 13 games with 10+ strikeouts (has three this season)…Recorded 10+ strikeouts in 10 starts last season, which was the most such games in the A.L.; joined Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers in franchise history with 10+ strikeouts in at least six consecutive games.
  • UNFAMILIAR: This season, is holding opponents to an .080 (6/75) average the first time through the order, a .254 (16/63) average the second time through the order and an .089 (5/56) average the third time through.
  • VS. MIAMI: Today is second career pitching start vs. Marlins; is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA (7 IP – 0 ER) following only previous start against Miami on July 6, 2022 at loanDepot park (W; 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 SO).
  • AT ANGEL STADIUM: In 38 career starts at The Big A, is 18-6 with a 2.08 ERA (229 IP – 53 ER) and 293 strikeouts…This season, is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA (33 IP – 9 ER) and 41 strikeouts after five starts…In 14 starts last season, was 7-4 with a 1.82 ERA (89 IP – 18 ER)…In 2021, went 6-0 with a 1.95 ERA (78.1 IP – 17 ER) and 93 strikeouts after 13 home starts.
  • 500K: Reached 500 total MLB strikeouts for career with a 13 strikeout performance on May 3 at St. Louis…Fourth game in MLB history where a pitcher recorded 13+ strikeouts in 5.0-or-fewer innings (also, Jacob deGrom in 2022, Alex Cobb in 2013 and Zack Greinke in 2012).
  • OFF THE BOARDS: Had franchise record streak of 12 straight pitching starts allowing two-or-fewer runs snapped on April 27 vs. Oakland (Nolan Ryan had previous record with nine game streak across the 1972-73 seasons)… Overall, has yielded two-or-fewer runs in 21 of last 26 starts and one-or-fewer runs in 18 of last 26 starts.
  • CAN’T HIT THIS: Had streak of 10 straight pitching starts allowing three-or-fewer hits from Sept. 17, 2022 – April 27, 2023…The streak was snapped May 3 at St. Louis and finished tied with Jacob deGrom (10 game streak for Mets in 2021) for the longest streak all-time (excluding Openers).
  • SCORELESS AT THE BIG A: Had streak of 35.0 consecutive scoreless innings pitched at Angel Stadium snapped April 27 by A’s…Finished as second longest streak in ballpark history, behind a 36.2 IP streak by Mark Clear in 1979.

A’s Recall LHP Harris from Las Vegas; Option RHP Martínez to Las Vegas

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A’s Recall LHP Harris from Las Vegas; Option RHP Martínez to Las Vegas

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland A’s recalled left-handed pitcher Hogan Harris from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned right-handed pitcher Adrián Martínez to Las Vegas, the club announced today.

Harris joins the A’s for the second time this year.  He 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.  The 26-year-old left-hander is 0-1 with a 3.77 ERA and .699 opponents OPS in eight starts with the Aviators, including 0-0 with a 1.83 ERA and .533 opponents OPS in four starts in May. 

Martínez was reinstated from the 15-day injured list May 15 and compiled a 2.84 ERA in five relief appearances since his return.  He 0-0 with a 5.70 ERA and .751 opponents OPS in 11 relief appearances overall with Oakland.

Pirates Roster Moves

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Pirates Roster Moves

The Pirates today made the following roster moves:

  • RHP Vince Velasquez ended his rehabilitation assignment and was activated from the 15-day Injured List (right elbow inflammation) – STATS
  • Will start today’s game for the Pirates at Mariners.
  • To make room on the 26-man roster, RHP Duane Underwood Jr. was designated for assignment – STATS
  • With today’s moves, the Pirates 40-man roster is now at 38.

Diamondbacks make several roster moves

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Diamondbacks make several roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:

Reinstated RHP Zach Davies from the 15-day injured list (strained left oblique).

Recalled RHP Drey Jameson from Triple-A Reno.

Optioned RHP Brandon Pfaadt and RHP Luis Frías to Reno following last night’s game.

The D-backs’ 40-man roster remains at 40.

Red Sox reinstate Right-handed pitcher Garrett Whitlock from 15-Day injured list

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Red Sox reinstate Right-handed pitcher Garrett Whitlock from 15-Day injured list

Club Options Left-Handed Pitcher Brennan Bernardino to Triple-A Worcester

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today reinstated right-handed pitcher Garrett Whitlock from the 15-Day Injured List. To make room for Whitlock on the active roster, the club optioned left-handed pitcher Brennan Bernardino to Triple-A Worcester following last night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement.

Whitlock, 26, will start today’s game against the Diamondbacks. The right-hander allowed one run in 8.2 innings over two rehab appearances with Worcester, most recently tossing 4.2 scoreless innings in Game One of Sunday’s doubleheader against Lehigh Valley. Whitlock is 1-2 with a 6.19 ERA (11 ER/16.0 IP) in three Major League starts this season. Selected by Boston in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, he is 13-8 with a 3.06 ERA (57 ER/167.2 IP) in 80 career appearances (12 starts) with the Red Sox (2021-23).

Bernardino, 31, pitched a scoreless ninth inning last night. The left-hander has made 12 appearances for Boston since being claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners on April 16, posting a 3.38 ERA (5 ER/13.1 IP) with 11 strikeouts and four walks. He has also made two relief appearances with Worcester, allowing one run in 3.0 innings.

MLB Preview: New York Mets (27-25) at Colorado Rockies (22-30)

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MLB Preview: New York Mets (27-25) at Colorado Rockies (22-30)

NEW YORK METS NOTES:

METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the Rockies, 5-2, on Friday Night…New York has won back-to-back games and seven of their last nine games…New York continues a six-game road trip (2-2) to Chicago NL (1-2) and Colorado (1-0)…Following this road trip, the Mets enjoy Memorial Day off before beginning a six-game homestand against Philadelphia (three games) and Toronto (three games).

TRIPLES MAKES IT SAFE. TRIPLES IS BEST: Brandon Nimmo tripled twice in last night’s victory…He became the 15th player in franchise history to record two triples in the same game and the first since Amed Rosario did so on July 10, 2018 vs. Philadelphia…Since 1901, Brandon Nimmo is the fifth player in MLB to record two triples and walk thrice in the same game joining Dexter Folwer (7/4/10), Shane Victorino (5/10/10), Mike Schmidt (7/23/77) and Mike Mitchell (9/26/1909 – G1)…He has recorded three triples in the last two games and now has 27 in his career…That places him tied for seventh with Lance Johnson on the Mets all-time list.

TAP THE ROCKIES: Brandon Nimmo, who grew up around 100 miles from the ballpark, is a .386 (22-57) lifetime hitter with 15 runs, two triples, four home runs, 11 RBI, seven walks with a .446 OBP and a .667 SLG in 15 games at the ballpark…After going 0-1 with a run in his career game at Coors Field on August 2, 2017, Nimmo has hit in 14 straight games at the ballpark…He is 22-56 (.393) in that span with 13 runs, two triples, four home runs, 11 RBI, and seven walks with a 1.132 OPS.

ROAD WARRIOR: Brandon Nimmo is batting .352 (43-122) with 18 runs, eight doubles, three triple, two home runs, 17 RBI, 14 walks with a .418 OBP and .516 SLG in 31 games on the road this season…His .352 road average ranks third in the majors…Nimmo owns a career .398 OBP on the road…That is the fourth-highest mark in the majors since the Wyoming native entered the league in 2016.

IF YOU START ME OFF: Max Scherzer tossed 7.0 innings yesterday, while Carlos Carrasco tossed 6.2 on Thursday…The Mets are 13-0 this season when the starter goes at least 6.0 innings and 4-0 when the starter goes at least 7.0 innings.

JUST DO IT: Justin Verlander is set to make his fifth start of the season tonight…He is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA (10 ER/25.0 IP)…This includes a 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA (3 ER/12.0 IP) with three walks and 12 strikeouts in two starts on the road…Verlander has made five career starts against Colorado including two at Coors Field…He is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA (8 ER/34.2 IP) with five walks and 36 strikeouts against the Rox…At Coors Field, he is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA (2 ER/15.0 IP) with one walk and 14 punchouts.

Rank Player Strikeouts

  1. Greg Maddux 3,371
  2. Phil Niekro 3,342
  3. Max Scherzer 3,232
  4. Justin Verlander 3,218
  5. Fergie Jenkins 3192

Rank Player Strikeouts

  1. Pedro Martinez 3,154
  2. Bob Gibson 3,117
  3. Curt Schilling 3,116
  4. CC Sabathia 3,093
  5. John Smoltz 3,084
    MOST STRIKEOUTS, ALL-TIME (NO. 10-19)

ROCKY ROAD: The Mets have won seven of their last nine games at Coors Field…Overall, the Mets are 42-57 at the ballpark…Starling Marte has hit .407 (48-118) with 27 runs, four doubles, five home runs, 22 RBI, five walks with a .453 OBP and a .568 SLG in 27 games at Coors Field….Pete Alonso has hit .359 (14-39) with six runs, two doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and one walk in 10 games in Denver.

FIRST IS THE BEST: The Mets are 16-3 when scoring first this season… The team’s .842 winning percentage when scoring first is tied for the second-best mark in the majors…On the other hand, the Mets are 11- 22 (.333) when their opponent scores first…Since the start of 2022, the Mets are 97-19 when scoring first…Their .836 winning percentage is the best in the majors.

HOMER HAPPY: After the Mets went five straight games without a home run, the Mets have homered in season-high 10 straight contests, hitting 17 home runs in that span…The Mets are 22-11 when hitting a home run this season and 9-5 when hitting multiple homers…In 2022, the Mets longest home run streak was nine games (September 9-17)… The team hit 14 home runs in that span…The last time the Mets had a longer streak was in 2019…From June 20-July 5 the Mets homered in 14 straight games, socking 24 dingers in that span…The 14-game homer streak is tied for the second-longest in franchise history.

HEY NINETEEN: Pete Alonso has homered in six of his last 10 games… Overall, he has hit 19 home runs this year, which leads the majors leagues…His 45 RBI are third in The Show and lead the National League…Alonso ranks 12th in franchise history with 425 career RBI…Next up is Kevin McReynolds (456) and Keith Hernandez (468)…Alonso has appeared in 52 games this year…See the chart below for the fastest Met to reach 20 home runs in a season and the fastest to 50 RBI…Courtesy of Elias.

NAME YEAR GAMES
Dave Kingman 1976 51
Mike Piazza 2000 59
Pete Alonso 2019 59
Darryl Strawberry 1987 63
Carlson Beltran 2006 65
Courtesy of Elias

NAME YEAR GAMES
Carlos Beltran 2006 53
Pete Alonso 2022 55
Todd Hundley 1996 57
Mike Piazza 2000 57
Gary Carter 1986 61
Bernard Gilkey 1996 61
FASTEST METS TO 2O HOME RUNS – FASTEST TO 50 RBI

ATTABOY ALVAREZ: Francisco Alvarez is on a six-game hitting streak, batting .429 (9-21) in that span with five runs, one double, three home runs, seven RBI, one walk with a .500 OBP, a .905 SLG and a 1.405 OPS… His six home runs are tied for the fifth-most by a rookie in the Majors and tied for the third-most in the National League…The backstop is batting .300 (21-70) with five doubles, six home runs, five walks with a .364 OBP and a .629 SLG against right-handed pitching this year…In 19 games in May, Alvarez is batting .305 (18-59) with nine runs, five doubles, five home runs, 11 RBI, six walks with a 1.032 OPS.

STEAL THIS BASE: The Mets are tied for third in the majors and are tied for the National League lead with a 85.4% stolen base rate this season… Starling Marte has swiped 14 bags this year, tied for fifth in the majors and tied for second in the National League…His 328 career stolen bases rank second among active players…Elvis Andrus is the active leader with 340 steals.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: New York has played 31 games on the road this year, the most in the majors…New York is 15-16 with a 4.50 ERA away from Citi Field in 2023…The team’s 264 strikeouts on the road are the most in the majors.

EIGHT IS GREAT: The Mets are 24-0 when leading after eight innings this season…The last time the Mets lost a game when they were ahead after eight innings was on September 6, 2021 at Washington…The Mets were up 3-2 and lost 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth…Since then the Mets have won their last 119 games when ahead after eight, the longest active streak in MLB…It’s the longest streak in franchise history, surpassing the previous high of 117 consecutive games…From October 1, 1990- September 2, 1992, the Mets also won 117 straight games when ahead after eight innings.

STARTING PITCHER – JUSTIN VERLANDER RHP #35
2023 STATS: 2-2, 3.60 ER A

VERLANDER PITCH ARSENL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 51% 55% 47% 94.4 mph
Slider 29% 24% 34% 87.5 mph
Curveball 17% 15% 19% 79.2 mph
Changeup 3% 6% 0% 85.1 mph

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER: In his last start, May 21 vs. Cleveland, Verlander earned his second win of the season after tossing 8.0 innings of one-run ball on three hits, zero walks and five strikeouts…At 40 years and 90 days, Verlander became the oldest Mets pitcher to complete 8.0 innings since Bartolo Colon on May 2, 2016 at 42 years and 344 days…Verlander became the sixth pitcher in franchise history 40 years or older to allow three or fewer hits over 8.0 or more innings…Miguel Batista was the last Mets pitcher to accomplish the feat after throwing a two-hit shutout at 40 years and 221 days on September 28, 2011.

PEAK PERFORMANCES: In five career starts against the Rockies, Verlander is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA (8 ER/34.1 IP) and a 0.89 WHIP…Verlander has allowed two or fewer runs in each of those starts and four of those five starts have been quality starts…Verlander is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA (2 ER/15.0 IP) in two career starts at Coors Field…On June 19, 2011, Verlander became the 22nd visiting pitcher in Coors Field history to toss a complete game after allowing one run on four hits, zero walks and five strikeouts with the Tigers…Verlander’s final Tigers start of his career came at Coors Field on August 30, 2017…In that start, Verlander pitched 6.0 innings and allowed one run on three hits, one walk and nine strikeouts…He was traded to Houston the following day.

30 FOR 3O: With a win on May 10th against the Reds, Verlander became the 21st pitcher in major league history to have at least one win against all 30 current major league teams…He joined Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke and teammate Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers to have at least one win against all 30 current major league teams…Courtesy of Elias.

3K AND COUNTING: Entering the 2023 season, Verlander was 12th on the all-time strikeout list with 3,198 strikeouts, five ahead of teammate Max Scherzer…Scherzer has since passed Verlander, but the pair remain close, with just 14 separating the two…Entering last season, Verlander ranked 19th on the all-time with 3,013 career strikeouts, seven behind Scherzer… During the 2022 season, Verlander passed all-time greats John Smoltz, C.C Sabathia, Curt Schilling, Bob Gibson, Pedro Martinez and Fergie Jenkins…See below for a chart of the No. 10-19 strikeout pitchers of all-time:

COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:

YOU OUGHTA KNOW

  • The Colorado Rockies continue their three-game set with game two against the New York Mets to conclude the seven-game homestand … coming of a 3-1 series win over the Marlins, the first of two four-game home series the Rockies have this season (also: Sept. 14-17 vs. San Francisco).
  • Colorado has won five of its last seven series since May 2 and six of their last nine series since April 24 … had lost or split each of their first seven series of the season prior to this stretch.
  • The Rockies have won 10 of their last 15 home games since April 30 after snapping a seven-game losing streak at Coors Field … their .667 home winning percentage across that span ranks tied for fifth in the Majors and tied for second in the NL.
  • The Rockies are in the midst of a stretch of 17 straight games without an off-day from May 19-June 4, their longest stretch without an off day this season.

I HOPE YOU HAD THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

  • The Rockies welcome back three alumni to Coors Field over the weekend as part of their 30th anniversary celebrations throughout the season … outfielder Brad Hawpe and pitchers Jason Jennings and Ubaldo Jiménez will be at the ballpark today and Sunday, and will all throw out a ceremonial first pitch prior to tomorrow’s game.

ALL THE ROADS WE HAVE TO WALK ARE WINDING

  • Rockies Manager Bud Black is sitting at 439 wins with the Rockies since his first season with the club in 2017, one win shy of tying Don Baylor for the second-most managerial wins in franchise history … Baylor, the Rockies’ first manager in franchise history, went 440-469 in six seasons at the helm from 1993-98.

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

  • 21-year-old shortstop Ezequiel Tovar logged his first career walk-off hit Thursday vs. Miami with a bases loaded single in the ninth inning … was the Rockies’ first walk-off since Alan Trejo’s RBI single on Sept. 23, 2022.
  • Tovar has hit safely in six of his last seven games, snapping a streak of six in a row last night which was one game shy of tying his career-high seven game hit streak from April 26-May 4 of this year … has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 home games since April 28, slashing .273/.304/.481 with three doubles, one triple, two home runs and eight RBI across that span.
  • Per Sports Info Solutions, Tovar’s five defensive runs saved are the fourth-most among all shortstops while his five outs above average (Baseball Savant) are tied for the fourth-most … 0.8 dWAR (Baseball Reference) is tied for the fifth-highest among all National League position players.

BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY

  • The Rockies have dropped seven of their last nine home matchups vs. the Mets and have not won a home series against the club since a 3-1 series win June 18-21, 2018 … overall, the Rockies are 106-118 against the club from Queens, 63-45 in Denver.
  • The Rockies took two of three from the Mets May 5-7 at Citi Field, Colorado’s first series win over the Mets since 2018 when they went 6-1 overall in the matchup.
  • The 13-6 rubber match win over the Mets on May 7 was the Rockies highest scoring affair of the season, their most runs in a game since plating 13 on Sept. 9, 2022 vs. Arizona … was their highest scoring road game since also scoring 13 runs at Wrigley Field Aug. 25, 2021 in a 10-inning contest.

BABY GOT BACKSTOP

  • Prior to last night, catcher Elias Díaz had homered in at least two consecutive games for the first time this season and fifth time of his career … has three home runs over his last five games overall … ranks third in the Majors with a .331 batting average and ranks fourth with a .452 batting average (19-for-42) with runners in scoring position.
  • Díaz ranks second in the Majors with a .372 average (32-for-86) at home … has gone 14-for-24 (.583) with 14 RBI with runners in scoring position at Coors Field.
  • Ranks second among position players in the NL with a 2.2 WAR and fourth overall in the NL … his dWAR (1.0) is third-best in the National League.
  • Has appeared in 44 games at catcher, the second-most in the Majors … his 10 catcher caught stealing are third in the Majors, while his 40.7 caught stealing percentage ranks second (min. 20 games).

WILL IT EVER STOP? YO, I DONT KNOW.

  • Outfielder Jurickson Profar holds an active 33-game on-base streak since April 15, the longest active streak in the Majors and the second-longest streak this season, trailing Yordan Álvarez (36 games) … matches Eric Young Sr. for the 11th-longest on-base streak in club history (July 1, 1995-Aug. 10, 1995) and the longest since Connor Joe’s 35-game on-base streak last season (tied for the seventh-longest).
  • Profar is slashing .268/.356/.417 through the streak with 18 walks … over his last 16 games since May 7, is slashing .328/.388/.557 with eight doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and eight multi-hit games.

ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #45 CHASE ANDERSON RHP

HEADING OUT WEST

  • Chase Anderson will make his third start in a Rockies uniform today after being claimed off of waivers from Tampa Bay on May 12.
  • Designated for assignment by Tampa Bay on May 10 … was acquired by Tampa Bay via trade with Cincinnati in exchange for cash considerations
    on May 3.
  • Was signed by the Reds to a Minor League contract on Feb. 20 after spending the 2022 season with the club.

FISH ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD

  • Second start for the Rockies last Monday against the Marlins … went 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks with one strikeout.
  • Did not receive a decision in the 5-3 win … left with the game tied 2-2 … the two runs he allowed were the first he’s allowed this season,
    raising his ERA to 1.15.

ANNOUNCE HIS PRESENCE WITH AUTHORITY

  • Made his first career start with the Rockies on May 16 vs. the Reds, drawing a no decision in a 3-1 Rockies loss … pitched five scoreless innings with one hit allowed, one walk and three strikeouts … left after five innings with the game tied 0-0.
  • Became the ninth pitcher in franchise history to toss at least five scoreless innings in his first start with the club, the first since Antonio Senzatela did so in his Major League debut on April 6, 2017 … first Rockies pitcher to accomplish the feat in a home game since Drew
    Pomeranz on his Major League debut on Sept. 11, 2011.

QUEENS GAMBIT

  • In 11 career starts against the Mets, Anderson is 3-4 with a 4.22 ERA (53.1 IP, 25 ER) … New York hitters are slashing .248/.332/.422 in his
    career.
  • His last start against the Mets came on April 30, 2021 picking up a win in the 2-1 contest at Citizens Bank Park … pitched five innings giving up one run on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

RAYS OF SUNSHINE

  • Has tossed 15.2 total innings this season and allowed 10 singles and one double with four walks with six strikeouts.
  • Made two relief appearances for Tampa Bay on May 3 and May 9, both in relief after being acquired from Cincinnati on May 3.
  • Pitched five innings without allowing a run in his relief appearances … allowed two hits and one walk, while striking out two.
  • Tossed three scoreless innings on May 3 vs. Pittsburgh, garnering his first career save in an 8-1 Rays win.

HISTORY AT A MILE HIGH

  • Over his 10-year career he has made eight starts at Coors Field, going 2-3 with a 6.08 ERA (40.0 IP, 27 ER), 16 walks and 26 strikeouts … has allowed 46 hits in his 40.0 innings at Coors Field (.303 average), including five home runs.

JOURNEYMAN

  • The Rockies are Anderson’s seventh club in his MLB career.
  • Previously made stops with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2014-15), Milwaukee Brewers (2016-19), Toronto Blue Jays (2020), Philadelphia
    Phillies (2021), Cincinnati Reds (2022), and Tampa Bay Rays (2023).

MLB Preview: St. Louis Cardinals (23-30) at Cleveland Guardians (22-28)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: St. Louis Cardinals (23-30) at Cleveland Guardians (22-28)

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:

RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals continue their 7-game tour (2-2 at CIN, 0-1 at CLE) of the Buckeye State tonight when they play the middle game of their Memorial Day weekend 3-game series at Cleveland’s Progressive Field…the Cardinals came up short in last night’s series opener, losing 4-3…they gained a split of their 4-game series in Cincinnati with a 2-1 win on Thursday afternoon…St. Louis began the season 10-24 before going on their current 13-6 run…tonight’s game marks the 1/3 mark of their 162 schedule.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The Cardinals have lost the first game in 13 of their 16 series, including a franchise record 11-straight to begin the season…they are 4-0 when winning the series opener, but just 2-8-2 in series when losing the first game…they last won a series when dropping the opener April 10-12 at Colorado (2-1).

ERIE(LY) INFREQUENT: Cleveland is among the ballparks/cities the Cardinals have visited the least among the current MLB cities, playing just 14 games at Progressive Field (1998, 2001, 2009, 2015 & 2021)…other infrequent stops for the Redbirds include NY Yankees (6 total: 3 at original Yankee Stadium & 3 at current Yankee Stadium); 8 at Oakland Coliseum; 9 at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, 11 at St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field & Toronto’s Rogers Centre, 12 at Seattle’s T-Moblie Park & in Minneapolis (6 at Target Field & 6 at Metrodome).

ROAD TRIPPING REDBIRDS: This week’s roadtrip began a stretch in which the Cardinals will be playing 13 of 15 games on the road (May 22-June 7)…their only two home games over that time span are with cross-state rival Kansas City on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, and Tuesday, May 30.

LAUNDRY STOP COMING: The Cardinals two-game series/homestand with the KC Royals next week will be their shortest regularly-scheduled homestand since a two-game stay in the midst of a 12 of 14 game stretch on the road in July of 2002 when they stopped by St. Louis for a two-game home set with the San Francisco Giants (July 17-18) before hitting the road again.

FLIGHT PATTERN: Winners of 13 of their last 19 games (May 7-present), the Cardinals enter today in T4th place in the NL Central, 5.0 games behind first place Milwaukee…St. Louis had drawn to within 5.0 games of the division lead, gaining 5.0 games in the division since May 7… The Cardinals were in last place for 24 straight days (April 25-May 20) … Tonight’s game is the 16th game of a season-high stretch of 19 consecutive without an off-day (10-5 record). REDBIRD RESURGENCE: Since May 7, the Cardinals are 3rd in MLB in win pct. (.684, 13-6), 1st in runs scored (122), 2nd in runs per game (6.4), 1st in slugging (.483), 1st in OPS (.829), 1st in RBI (117), 1st in total bases (316), T1st in MLB in wins (13) and they rank 2nd in stolen bases (22) & homers (34).

ROOT FOR NOOT: Lars Nootbaar paced the Cardinals with three hits last night, extending his season-high hit streak to 5 games by hitting safely in every game on the current roadtrip…Noot has packed three multi-hit games into his trip, and is batting .450 (9-20) during the hit streak…He owns a team-best .404 batting mark (23-57) in his 14 interleague games this season with 11 runs scored and 5 2B’s.

GORMAN STILL STREAKING: Despite going hitless last night, snapping his career-best 15-game hit streak, Nolan Gorman drew a 1st inning walk and has now reached base in 17-straight games, one shy of Paul Goldschmidt’s club season-high mark of 18 consecutive games reaching safely…“GO-AHEAD” GORMAN: Gorman has collected 19 of his team-high 40 RBI in the 7th inning or later and has posted a .375 BA (9-24) with 4 HR & 11 RBI in close & late situations…Gorman leads the team with 10 go-ahead RBI and is the National League co-leader with his 7 game-winning RBI…7 of his 13 HR’s have been go-ahead blasts, 2nd in MLB to Aaron Judge & Jorge Soler, both with 8.

BURGER PHONE HOTLINE: The Cardinals have used their dugout Burger Phone to place an order for 72 home runs this season, 5th most in the MLB…they rank 3rd iin homers for the month of May (40) to the Yankees (44) & Braves (44)…The Redbirds sport a 19-15 record in games when they go yard this season, but are 4-15 in homerless games. REDBIRD RIBEYES: The Cardinals have had six players enjoy 4+ RBI games in their last 13 games, as Andrew Knizner (4), Nolan Gorman (5), Nolan Arenado (4), Willson Contreras (6), Paul DeJong (4, twice) and Óscar Mercado (5) all had games with 4 or more RBI in that span

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP JACK FLAHERTY (3-4, 5.29)
TONIGHT’S GAME
NL Ranks: Runs (32, 11th), Earned Runs (30, 10th), Ground Into Double Plays (14, 1st), GIDP/9 IP (2.47, 1st), Walks (33, 1st)

  • Making his 11th start of the season and his 3rd career start vs. Cleveland. Marks his 109th career start (113th app.). This will be his first career start at Progressive Field.
  • Needs nine strikeouts to tie Ray Washburn (663) and 11 to tie Ray Sadecki for 24th and 23rd all-time in Cardinals history.
  • His 14 ground into double plays induced leads all Major League pitchers and is one shy of establishing a new personal single-season high.
  • Has walked 5 or more batters in three of his 10 starts.
  • Owns a career mark of 8-4, 3.66 ERA in 19 career starts in the month of May.
  • Trails only Wainwright & DeJong in years of Cardinals service on 40-player roster.
  • Has held his opposition to a .211 career batting average, ranking 29th among MLB pitchers with more than 500 career innings pitched in the Live Ball Era (post-1920).
  • Missed a total of 122 games in 2022 due to a right shoulder injury (64 games from April 7-June 14 and another 58 games from June 27-Sept.4). Missed 88 games in 2021 with an oblique injury.
  • Since becoming a full-time starting pitcher in 2018, ranks 14th among MLB pitchers with a 10.33 strikeouts/9 IP (min. 500 IP).
  • St. Louis sports a 58-50 overall record in Flaherty’s 108 career starts. In his first 51 starts from his MLB debut (9/1/2017) until the 2019 All-Star Break, St. Louis went 21-30 (.412). In his last 57 starts (July 16, 2019-present), St. Louis is 37-20 (.649).
  • In 108 career starts, is 35-10 when receiving 2+ runs of support, 28-1 when receiving 3+ runs, and 24-0 with 4+ runs of support. Has received 2 or fewer runs of support in 64 of 108 (59.2%) career starts. Has 23 starts with zero runs of support.
  • Is 21-15 in 54 career games (51 starts) at Busch Stadium. His .193 opponent batting average is the lowest in stadium history (min. 100 IP), while his 314 strikeouts (8th) ranks in the Top 10 among all pitchers in the ballpark’s history (since 2006). Trails Chris Carpenter (356) by 42 for 7th all-time in stadium history.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Pitched 4.2 innings allowing three runs. Loaded the bases in the 5th inning, but couldn’t squeeze out the final out for the win as Drew VerHagen stranded the runners following a balk. Passed Slim Sallee into 25th place in Cardinals history with 654 strikeouts.

DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
5/21 LAD W 10-5 — 4.2 4 3 3 4 5 0 103-61

2023

  • Moved passed Slim Sallee (652) into 25th place in Cardinals history against the Dodgers (5/21) recording five strikeouts in the game.
  • Struck out a season-high 10 batters vs. MIL (5/15), his 10th career double-digit strikeout game and 4th against the Brewers. Was his 24th
    career scoreless start.
  • Surrendered career-highs in runs (10), earned runs, tied his career-high in hits (9) and was removed after 2.1 innings as the Cardinals lost 11-7 at home to the Angels.
  • Allowed 7 hits in 4.2 IP on 4/28 at LAD, snapping his string of allowing six or fewer hits in 30 consecutive starts dating back to Sept. 20, 2020, longest such streak in Cardinals history. Jack hold the top three streaks in Cardinals history (22 from 2019-20 & 21 in 2018). His streak of 30 such games was one game shy of tying Shohei Ohtani and Nolan Ryan (31) for 5th place all-time in MLB history.
  • Earned his 2nd win of the season and struck out a season-high nine batters allowing just three runs on five hits over 6.0 IP on 4/23 at SEA. All the action but one single occurred in the first two innings and he retired 12 of his last 13 batters faced including seven by strikeout.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:

GUARDS HOLD ON TO WIN SERIES OPENER
Cleveland edged St. Louis by a 4-3 margin in front of 31,303 on Friday night at Progressive Field to take the opener of a 3-game series vs. the Cardinals…marked the largest crowd for a [non-Opening Day] April or May home game in Cleveland since since May 17, 2013 vs. Seattle (34,282)…club is 2-2 on current 6-game homestand against Chicago-AL (1-2) & St. Louis (1-0)…Cleveland has won 4 of 6 and 7 of last 12 home games (11-14 overall).

SHANE BIEBER turned in his 9th quality start of the year to earn his fourth victory (6.2IP, 5H, 2R-ER, 4BB, 2SO, WP, 108 pitches)…held the Cardinals scoreless through 5.0 until allowing single runs on sac flies in both the 6th and 7th frames…Cleveland broke a scoreless tie after staging a 4-run rally against Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (5.0IP, 5H, 4R-ER, 2BB, 2SO, HB, 91 pitches) in the bottom of the 5th…the Guardians first 3 batters of the frame reached safely after ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ was hit by a pitch before consecutive singles from MIKE ZUNINO and MYLES STRAW… STEVEN KWAN singled home the club’s first tally ahead of AMED ROSARIO’s bases-clearing 3-run double.

Guardians have dropped 22 of last 35 overall since starting year 9-6…Guardians (22-28) sit in 3rd place in AL Central standings, 3.5 games behind 1st-place Minnesota (26-25) and 1.5 games behind 2nd-place Detroit (-2.0G, 23-26)…last season, club went 9-12 in April & 12-12 in May (21-24).

THE GUARDIAC KIDS
With another one-run victory last night, the Guardians lead MLB with 23 one-run games out of their 50 games played this season, owning a 10-13 record in such contests…Cincinnati (20, 8-12), Miami (19, 15-4) and Los Angeles-AL (19, 10-9) are the next closest teams…Cleveland’s 23 one-run contests are the club’s most through the first 50 games of a season since 1967 when they went 9-14 over 23 one-run contests…the Guards 10 one-run victories rank T4th in MLB and T1st in the AL with Los Angeles-AL (10-9).

The Guards also lead MLB this season with 34 games decided by 2-runs-or-less, holding an even 17-17 record…Cleveland has the most games decided by 2-runs-or-less in the first 50 games of a season since the 2015 Seattle Mariners played 35 such games (17-18 record)…Cleveland’s 17 wins by 2-runs-or-less rank 2nd in MLB behind Miami (18)…Los Angeles-AL (32, 16-16) is the only other club this season with 30+ games decided by 2-runs-or-less… since 2022, the Guards 60 wins in such games only trails New York AL’s 63…since 2013, Cleveland’s .547 win percentage (381-315) in games decided by 2-runs-or-less ranks 3rd in MLB/2nd in the AL… the Guardians 34 contests decided by 2-runs-or-less are the most through the first 50 games of a season in franchise history.

MOST CLE 2-RUNS-OR-LESS GAMES IN FIRST 50G
YEAR COUNT RECORD (W%)
2023 34 17-17 (.500)
1910 33 17-11-5 (.591)
1943 33 16-17 (.485)
1944 33 16-17 (.485)
1967 33 15-18 (.455)

RAMÍREZ RE-WRITING RECORD BOOKS
As Cleveland’s longest-tenured player on its roster, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ ranks near the top of several categories in the franchise’s record book…Ramírez (534) needs just two extra-base hits to pass Nap Lajoie (535) for 6th-most extra-base hits 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…with 169 career go-ahead RBI, he is two goahead RBI away from passing Carlos Baerga (170) for 5th-most in Cleveland history.

TITO TERRIFIC
Terry Francona currently owns a career record of 1,896-1,614, putting him at 16th all-time in manager wins (Elias)…with 6 more victories he will pass both Hall-of-Famer Bill McKechnie (1,899- 1,724) and Gene Mauch (1,901-2,037), cementing himself at 14th all-time…among active managers, he ranks 3rd, behind TEX’s Bruce Bochy (2,035-2,047) and HOU’s Dusty Baker (2,122-1,811).

Francona spent four years in Philadelphia from 1997-2000, amassing a record of 285-363…he spent eight seasons with Boston, winning 2 World Series, owning a record of 744-552 and boasting all but two seasons with 90+ wins…in his 11 years in Cleveland he has gone 867-699, winning 4 AL Central titles and reaching the World Series in 2016.

PUT 4 ON THE BOARD
Cleveland improved to 14-5 this season when scoring 4-ormore runs…since 2022, the Guardians are 92-18 when scoring 4+ runs, holding the 6th-highest win percentage among MLB clubs…Cleveland is 701-185 (.791) when scoring 4+ during the Terry Francona era (since 2013), holding the 2nd-highest win percentage in MLB behind Los Angeles-NL (767-157, .830).

WIN % WHEN SCORING 4+ RUNS, SINCE 2013
TEAM WIN% RECORD
Los Angeles-NL .830 767-157
Cleveland .791 701-185
New York-AL .783 734-203
St. Louis .780 704-198
Houston .778 699-200

WELCOME TO CLASE, I’M YOUR CLOSER, EMMANUEL
EMMANUEL CLASE’s 17 saves currently leads MLB, four ahead of San Francisco’s Camilo Doval and San Diego’s Josh Hader… the 25-year-old right-hander has a 3.60 ERA (10ER/25.0IP) with 18 strikeouts in 26 appearances this season, which ranks T1st with Miami’s Andrew Nardi…despite leading the league in saves, Clase has allowed 10ER this season after allowing just 11ER in 72.2IP (1.36 ERA) in 2022.

While Clase is holding right-handed batters to a .188 (9-for-48) average this season, left-handed hitters own a .353 (18-for-51) average with
9 RBI against him…for his career, he’s held lefthanded batters to a .212 (70-for-330) clip and right-handers to a .189 (71-for-376) mark.

Among relievers with 100.0+ IP since 2021, he ranks 1st with a 1.67 ERA (31ER/167.1IP), 174 appearances, 0.32 HR/9 and a .488 OPS allowed…he ranks 2nd with a .234 OBP allowed, 14.2 P/IP, 2.19 FIP, 8.23 BR/9 and 83 saves (T2nd)…his 0.91 WHIP and .254 SLG allowed ranks 3rd.

TONIGHT’S STARTER – 61 TANNER BIBEE RHP

BIBEE AT HOME
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-1 3.18 3 3 17.0 15 6 6 4 17
Career 1-1 3.18 3 3 17.0 15 6 6 4 17

BIBEE’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-1 3.18 5 5 28.1 26 10 10 8 25
Career 1-1 3.18 5 5 28.1 26 10 10 8 25

TONIGHT’S START
The 24-year-old right-hander is making his sixth career start, fourth at home, in the second matchup of this 3-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Looking to make his third straight quality start following his 6.0-inning outing at New York-NL…seeking his first win since his Major League debut on April 26 vs. Colorado…making his third career Interleague start; is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA (3ER/11.2IP).

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 3.78 ERA (7ER/16.2IP) on 5 days’ rest.

LAST TIME OUT
He last toed the rubber on in a 5-4 defeat on May 21 in Game 1 of a doubleheader with the New York Mets…he did not factor into the decision after allowing 2R/ER on 7 hits over 6.0 innings with 3 strikeouts and 4 walks…first saw trouble in the 2nd frame, loading the bases, but escaped with no damage incurred…Bibee would pick off Starling Marte to get the second out of the 4th inning before allowing the two next batters to reach base…Eduardo Escobar capitalized with an RBI-single, giving the Mets their first run…he would escape another bases-loaded jam in the 6th frame with one run allowed on a Gary Sanchez sac-fly…his 4 walks tied his season high…all 8 of his walks this season have come in 2 total starts…has allowed just 3R/ER over 13.2 innings (1.98 ERA) with 10 strikeouts and 4 walks in his past 2 outings.

ROAD TO THE SHOW
2023: Opened the season with Triple-A Columbus, totaling a 1.76 ERA (3ER/15.1IP) in 3 starts…he was one of 4 International League starters with 2 wins before being called up…his 19SO (T1st), 15.1IP (2nd), .151 AVG (4th) and 11.15 SO/9 (4th) all ranked in the top 5 among International League starters (min. 11.0IP).

2022: Split the season between High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron, ranking 2nd in the minor league system with 167 strikeouts, T2nd with 132.2 innings pitched, and tallied a 2.17 ERA, ranking 3rd in the system…his 167 punchouts were the 11th-most in all of Minor League Baseball.

With Double-A Akron, he became the third Cleveland pitcher to be named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, following Adam Miller (2006) and Jeanmar Gomez (2009), tallying a 6-1 record with a 1.83 ERA (15ER/73.2IP) and 81 strikeouts/14 walks.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Bibee is holding hitters to a .125 (5-for-40) average with 14 of his 25 strikeouts the first time through an opposing team’s lineup… opposing clubs are .286 (12-for-42) when facing the rookie a second time and .409 (9-for-22) the third time through the order…in his first five starts, he has not given up a run in the first two innings (10.0IP) as opposing batters have combined for a .094 (3-for-32) average in those frames.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Among Rookie starting pitchers (min. 25.0IP) he ranks T2nd in WHIP (1.20), 3rd in ERA (3.18), 4th in baserunners allowed per 9.0 innings, 5th in lowest H/9 (8.26) and 5th in K/BB (3.13)…has allowed just one home run over 28.1IP (0.32 HR/9), 4th in the AL and 9th in MLB (min. 28.0IP).

On April 26, after striking out 5 in a row across the 2nd and 3rd innings, he became the first pitcher in club history since at least 1920 to strike out five in a row in their MLB debut…Bibee became the 7th pitcher in Cleveland history to make their MLB debut with an 8+ strikeout performance, last done by LOGAN ALLEN on April 23 against Miami…he also became the 2nd pitcher in club history to debut with 8+ strikeouts and zero walks, last done by Floyd Weaver (W, 5.0IP, 3H, 1R/ER, 0BB, 8SO) on September 30, 1962 against Los Angeles-AL in Game 2 of a doubleheader.

MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (22-29) at Chicago Cubs (22-28)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (22-29) at Chicago Cubs (22-28)

CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:

RED HOTS

  • The Reds are playing a Saturday night game at Wrigley Field for the first time since a 4-3 walkoff loss on 6/13/15…Starlin Castro ended it with an RBI-single off Tony Cingrani…courtesy @EliasSports.
  • Reds baserunners in 48 attempts have scored 47 runs from second base on singles…both lead the Major Leagues.
  • In the first inning, Reds batters rank second among the Major League team leaders in batting average (.322, Atl .324) and third in hits (67;
    Atl 70, TB 70).
  • The Reds entered today ranked T28th in the Major Leagues with 38 HR (Cle 30, Wsh 38), their fewest in 51 games since the 1997 team produced
    33 HR through its first 51 games…from 4/18-4/25 did not produce a home run in a season-high 8 consecutive games, their longest team homerless streak since 1992.

TONIGHT’S GAME

  • Is Game 2 (1-0) of a 3-game series vs Tucker Barnhart’s Cubs and Game 2 (1-0) of a 6-game road trip to the two oldest ballparks in the Major Leagues, Chc’s Wrigley Field (1914) and Bos’ Fenway Park (1912).
  • The Reds will visit Fenway Park for the second straight season.
  • The Redlegs are coming off a 2-5 homestand vs the Yankees (0-3) and Cardinals (2-2).

SERIES NOTES

  • Since a 4-1 Reds win on 6/25/14 and beginning 9/15/14, the Cubs have won 30 of the last 42 night games vs the Reds at The Friendly Confines.
  • The Reds in 2022 went 8-11 vs Cubs, including 5-4 at Great American Ball Park, 3-6 at Wrigley Field and a 4-2 “home” loss on 8/11 in the Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa.
  • The teams met in the final 6 games of the 2022 championship season (3g at Wrigley Field, 3g at Great American Ball Park), the longest continuous stretch of games between the Reds and Cubs since they played 7 straight games from 8/29-9/5, 1931…courtesy @EliasSports.
  • The game scheduled for 4/5 at Great American Ball Park was postponed by threatening weather…it has been rescheduled as part of a day/night
    doubleheader on Fri, 9/1 (1:10, 6:40).

RED SOX UP NEXT

  • The Red Sox begin a 3-game series on Tue at Fenway Park.
  • The Sox lead the all-time series, 14-3, including a split of the home-and-home 2-game series last season.
  • The Sox won 5 of the 7 series, tied the other 2 series and swept 4 series.
  • The Reds’ 2-1 win on 5/31/22 was their first victory at Fenway Park since Game 7 of the 1975 World Series.
  • In the June 2005 series at Fenway, the Reds were outscored by the Sox, 23-4, and hit .167 (15-90, 32k) while posting an 8.25era (.340ba)…game-time temperature on 6/13/05 was 91 humid degrees, dropped to a chilly 54 for Game 2 and then plummeted to a frigid 49 for the series finale.

Tonight’s Pitcher – #55 Brandon Williamson, LHP

  • Tonight is making his third Major League appearance.
  • On 5/16 at Col, became only the 10th visiting pitcher to make his Major League debut with a start at Coors Field, the first since Hou’s José Urquidy on 7/2/19.
  • Became only the fourth Reds pitcher to make his Major League debut with at least 5.2 innings, 2 hits or fewer allowed and at least 6 strikeouts, joining Tom Carroll (7/7/1974 vs StL, 7ip, 2h, 6k), Mo Sanford (8/9/1991 at SD, 7ip, 2h, 8k) and Johnny Cueto (4/3/2008 vs Ari, 7ip, 1h, 10k).
  • Became only the fourth Reds pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to retire at least 14 consecutive batters in his Major League debut, joining Wayne Simpson (16, 4/9/1970 at LAD), Rob Bell (16, 4/8/2000 vs Cubs) and Johnny Cueto (15, 4/3/2008 vs Ari).
  • In that 3-1 win on 5/16 at Col, allowed a single to Charlie Blackmon, his first career batter faced, but didn’t allow another hit until Ezequiel Tovar’s solo HR in the sixth inning snapped the scoreless tie…Williamson retired 14 consecutive batters leading up to Tovar’s home run.
  • Turned 25 years old on the fourth day of the season.
  • Entered the season rated by Baseball America the 10th-best prospect in the organization.
  • Began the season at Class AAA Louisville (8gs, 2-4, 6.62, 34ip, 44h, 20bb, 27k, 7hr, 1.88whip, .310baa).
  • Was selected by the Mariners in the second round (59th overall) of the 2019 first-year player draft.
  • Was an MiLB.com Mariners Organization All-Star in 2019 and 2021.
  • On 3/14/22 was acquired from the Mariners, along with RHP Justin Dunn, OF Jake Fraley and a player to be named, for 3B Eugenio Suárez and OF Jesse Winker.
  • On 3/29/22 the Reds completed the trade by acquiring minor league RHP Connor Phillips as the player to be named.
  • When acquired by the Reds in March 2022, his curveball was rated by Baseball America the best in the Mariners’ organization.

CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:

Cubs vs. Reds
The Cubs and Reds play 13 games spanning four series … the teams played a weather-shortened two-game set in Cincinnati, April 3-4, splitting
the series … following this series, the clubs meet here again for a four-game set, July 31-Aug. 3 … Chicago last season went 11-8 vs. the Reds, its first season series victory over Cincinnati since going 11-8 in 2018

SATURDAY AT THE PARK: The Chicago Cubs today play the second of three games against the Cincinnati Reds after yesterday getting blanked for the first time this season in a 9-0 setback … Chicago has dropped two-straight games after winning two consecutive contests against the Mets to start this homestand … Chicago fell to New York 10-1 on Thursday prior to yesterday’s setback … the Cubs’ series win over the Mets (2-1) marked Chicago’s first series victory since taking two of three vs. the Marlins May 5-7.

Following this three-game set against the Reds, the Cubs continue the homestand with three games against the Tampa Rays, including a Memorial Day matinee this Monday.

After the game on April 21, Chicago was 12-7 and 1.5 games behind the division lead … since, the club is 10-21 and enters today 4.5 games behind the division-leading Brewers, sitting at 27-24.

SUZUKI AT THE DISH: Seiya Suzuki has a .400 average (14-for-35) with a 1.004 OPS against lefties this year … Suzuki has hit .346 (18-for-52) with five doubles, five homers, 11 walks, a .453 OBP and a .731 slugging mark in his last 15 games since May 8.

Suzuki is hitting .300 (12-for-40) with three doubles, two homers and 15 RBI with runners in scoring position.

SOMETHING OF QUALITY: Marcus Stroman’s 8.0 innings with two runs allowed on Wednesday marked Chicago’s 24th quality start of the season, the second-most in the N.L. (Pittsburgh, 25) and tied for sixth-most in the majors.

Stroman is tied for the major league lead with nine quality starts (also Cleveland’s Shane Bieber) … Justin Steele’s eight quality starts are tied for third-most in the majors.

FIRST FRAME FUNK: Including two runs allowed yesterday, the Cubs have surrendered first-inning runs in 11 of their last 15 games dating to May 9 (20 runs total) … Chicago has plated first-inning runs in three of those contests (5 runs total).

Cubs pitching has posted a 5.76 ERA (32 ER/50.0 IP) in the first inning this season … the team has a 4.04 ERA (176 ER/392.0 IP) in the rest of the innings.

RUMINATIONS REGARDING RUNS ALLOWED: Including Thursday’s 10-1 setback, the Cubs have allowed 10 or more runs in four of their last 12 games since May 13 after not doing so in the team’s first 38 contests to begin the season.

On the other side of the coin, Chicago this season has surrendered two or fewer runs in 21 games, tied for the fourth-most such games in the majors behind only Seattle (22), Tampa Bay (22) and Texas (22).

AT THE PLATE: The Cubs have drawn 191 free passes this season, fourth-most in the majors behind the Dodgers (226), Padres (214) and Cardinals (194) … that’s contributed to a .335 team OBP that ranks fourth in the majors and a .755 OPS that is fifth in the N.L. and eighth in the majors.

Ian Happ’s .405 OBP is sixth in the N.L. and ninth in the majors … his 36 walks are tied for fourth-most in baseball.

Nico Hoerner’s 12 stolen bases are seventh in the Senior Circuit.

Patrick Wisdom’s 12 homers are tied for sixth in the N.L. while his .517 slugging percentage is ninth.

STINGY IN VICTORY: The Cubs have allowed two or fewer runs in 15 of their last 16
victories dating to April 14 … the lone win in that span in which Chicago allowed more
than two runs came in a 10-4 win vs. the Cardinals on May 10.

PLAYING THE MARGINS: Chicago is 17-13 (.567) in games decided by three or more runs, the fourth-best record in the N.L. … however, the team is just 5-15 (.250) in games decided by two or fewer runs, the lowest winning percentage in the majors in those contests … that includes a 2-10 (.167) mark in one-run games.

ALL GOOD THINGS…: Christopher Morel was 0-for-4 Thursday night to snap his career-high 14-game hitting streak dating to the final day of the 2022 season … Morel batted .345 (20-for-58) with three doubles, nine homers, 16 RBI and 17 runs scored during the run.

Morel recorded a hit and scored a run in each of his first 12 games this season, just the second time since 1901 a Cub has done that anytime in a single-season (Hank Sauer, 12 games in 1954).

Morel’s stretch of 12-straight games with a run scored was the second-longest in franchise history since 1900, joining Hank Sauer (13 games in 1954).

Morel recorded nine homers in first 12 games of the season, becoming one of just four players to accomplish that feat … he joined: Luis Gonzalez (9 HR in 2001), Larry Walker (9 HR in 1997) and Mike Schmidt (11 HR in 1976).

…COME TO AN END: The Cubs yesterday were shut out for the first time this season and for the first time since Sept. 24 of last season in a 6-0 loss at PNC Park against the Pirates … the team’s 59-straight games since it was previously shut out marked its longest stretch since scoring in 70-consecutive contests from Aug. 12, 2021-May 4 of last year.

This 49-game run with at least one run scored to start the season marked Chicago’s longest season-opening stretch since way back in 1898, a season in which that team plated a run in each of its first 91 contests.

IN THE FIELD: Dansby Swanson has gone 33-straight games since April 20 without committing an error (111 TC) and his six defensive runs saved are tied for second-most among the major league shortstops, trailing only Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco (8), according to Fangraphs.

Starting Pitcher – #50 RHP Jameson Taillon (0-3, 8.10)
Last Time Out
Jameson suffered his third loss of the season after giving up a season-high six earned runs … was his shortest start of 2023 (previous, 2.2 IP May 9 vs. St. Louis) … has allowed four or more runs in three-straight starts … has allowed three or more runs in four-straight starts for the fourth time in his career (last, Aug. 2, 2022-Aug. 19, 2022) … his three walks were a season-high … struck out one batter or fewer in a game for the sixth time in his career (last May 15, 2023 at Houston).

Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
5/20 @PHI L, 3-12 2.1 6 8 6 3 1 62-35 0-6, 2 on

2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 0-2 8.49 3 3 11.2 18 12 11 4 14
Road 0-1 7.80 4 4 15.0 18 15 13 6 13
AVG vs. LHB: .359 (19-for-53) / AVG vs. RHB: .274 (17-for-62)

Jameson will make his eighth start of the 2023 season today … is looking for his first win as a Cub … has gone seven-straight starts without a win to begin the 2023 campaign, the third time in his career that he has failed to earn a win in at least seven-straight starts in the same season (last 8, May 7-June 18, 2021) … opposing hitters are batting .158 (3-for-19) with eight strikeouts against his curveball.

Walked two or fewer batters in 16-straight starts from Aug. 14, 2022-May 9, 2023 … at the time, marked the fifth-longest active streak among major league starting pitchers.

Began his stint on the 15-day injured list April 20 (retroactive to April 17) with a left groin strain … was activated on May 4.

Went 2-0 with a 3.93 ERA (8 ER/18.1 IP) with 23 strikeouts, compared to no walks, during Spring Training … was the only pitcher in the Cactus League with at least 10.0 IP to not walk a batter.

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