The Toronto Blue Jays have made the following roster moves:
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:
Recalled OF Jake McCarthy from Triple-A Reno.
Optioned OF Dominic Fletcher to Reno yesterday.
The D-backs’ 40-man roster remains at 40.
After losing the first three games of the Eastern Conference finals, the Boston Celtics didn’t look like a team ready to flash some dominance.
But after winning the past two games by an average of 15 points, the Celtics are very much alive. They will seek to tie the best-of-seven series at three victories apiece with the Heat on Saturday when the teams play Game 6 in Miami.
No NBA team has overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series but Boston is now halfway there after staving off elimination for the third and fourth times this postseason. The Celtics also recorded two such wins against the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semifinals.
The Celtics never trailed and led by as many as 24 points in Thursday’s game. Two nights earlier, they led by as many as 18 during a 116-99 road win.
The stellar play comes after Boston appeared ready to start the offseason after it was whipped 128-102 in Game 3.
Suddenly, the pressure is on the Heat.
The thought of possibly playing a Game 7 in Boston in a winner-take-all affair isn’t appealing.
And that makes Saturday’s contest feel like a must-win for both teams.
Yet Miami star Jimmy Butler is downplaying his team’s recent issues.
Butler scored a series-low 14 points and has failed to reach 20 in two of the past three games.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra befuddled Joe Mazzulla over the first three games but it was the first-year Celtics coach pushing all the right buttons over the past two games.
Mazzulla didn’t have any profound explanation for the turnaround.
Heat center Bam Adebayo made it clear that his club’s confidence remains high.
Boston had four 20-point scorers in Game 5. Derrick White made six 3-pointers and led the way with 24 points, Marcus Smart scored 23 and Tatum and Brown each scored 21.
Duncan Robinson led Miami with 18 points.
Heat guard Gabe Vincent (ankle) missed Game 5 and his status for Saturday hasn’t yet been firmed up.
* After Jason Robertson pulled the Stars even twice, Joe Pavelski netted the overtime winner to help his team stave off elimination and climbed multiple all-time lists in the process.
* Game 4 of the Western Conference Final marked the 23rd overtime contest of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the ninth-highest total in a single postseason in NHL history.
* The 2023 Stanley Cup Final will open either Wednesday, May 31st or Saturday, June 3rd. Click here to view the different schedule scenarios.
ROBERTSON, PAVELSKI HELP STARS STAVE OFF ELIMINATION
After Jason Robertson scored two game-tying tallies, Joe Pavelski found the back of the net in overtime to help the Stars stay alive in the Western Conference Final and force a Game 5 in Vegas on Saturday. Dallas earned a comeback win to stave off elimination for the sixth time in team history and first since Game 5 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
* Robertson became the second player in Stars/North Stars history to score two tying goals in a game when his club is facing elimination, following Joel Kiviranta (2 in Game 7 of 2020 R2). Robertson also became the 10th player in Stars team history with multiple goals in a contest when facing elimination and the first since Corey Perry in Game 5 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
* Pavelski scored his fourth career playoff overtime goal, tying Nicklas Backstrom and Patrice Bergeron for the second most among active players behind only Patrick Kane andPerry(both w/ 5).
* Pavelski’s goal marked the 73rd of his career in the postseason, moving him past Alex Ovechkin for sole possession of the most among all active players. He also tied Dino Ciccarelli for 13th place on the NHL’s all-time playoff goals list.
* Pavelski, who now has the 10th-most points among all active players when facing elimination (8-10—18 in 29 GP), also surpassed Mario Lemieux and tied Nicklas Lidstrom (30) for the fifth-most playoff power-play goals in NHL history.
LEAGUE TRENDS FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured a number of League trends as Game 4 of the Western Conference Final between the Stars and Golden Knights became the 23rd to require overtime in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* Seven of eight games so far in the Conference Finals have been decided by one goal, including five that required overtime. Only five postseasons have seen more one-goal contests in the round before the Stanley Cup Final, with each of those accumulated from a minimum of 11 games played: 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals (9 in 13 GP), 2002 Conference Finals (9 in 13 GP), 2017 Conference Finals (8 in 13 GP), 2007 Conference Finals (8 in 11 GP) and 1945 Semifinals (8 in 13 GP).
QUICK CLICKS
* Jon Hamm talks playoffs, Blues fandom, hockey memories and more
* Stanley Cup guest stars on Kelce Brothers’ podcast
* Scotty Bowman says Panthers are ‘a team of destiny’
* Panthers recovering, waiting on Stanley Cup Final opponent
* Oliver Moore among U.S. prospects discussed on ‘NHL Draft Class’ podcast
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL CONTINUES ON SATURDAY
The Western Conference Final will shift back to T-Mobile Arena for Game 5 on Saturday as the Stars continue their pursuit to become the fifth team in NHL history to rally from a 3-0 series deficit to win a best-of-seven. Vegas has an all-time record of 5-3 in potential series-clinching games on home ice, while the Stars/North Stars are 14-17 when facing elimination on the road.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have lost 4 consecutive games following a 4-game winning streak from 4/29-5/6. They have been outscored 20-4 in the last 4 games, after outscoring opponents 31-10 in the previous 4. The current losing streak ties the Sox’ longest of the season (also 4/10-13 and 5/12-15)…Their last losing streak of 5+ games was from 9/21-26/22 (6 games).
STAND BY ME: The Red Sox (26-24, .520) rank 4th in the AL East and are 2.5 games back from the AL’s 3rd Wild Card spot. The Sox’ record would rank T-1st in the AL Central and 2nd in the NL East and NL Central…They would hold the NL’s 2nd Wild Card spot.
AL WILD CARD STANDINGS
Rk. Team W-L Pct. GB
SOX AND SNAKES: The Red Sox are 13-8 all-time against the Diamondbacks, including 3-3 at Chase Field. The teams last met from 4/5-7/2019, when the Sox visited Chase Field for a 3-game series and went 1-2… Boston’s only other visit to Chase Field was a 3-game series victory from 6/8-10/2007 (2-1). Since the start of 2007, the Red Sox are 13-5 vs. ARI.
WILD WEST: Since Interleague play began in 1997, the Red Sox are 63-42 against NL West opponents…They are 43-23 vs. the NL West since the start of 2010. The Red Sox are 27-24 all-time at NL West ballparks, including 7-2 in their last 9 games at the venues.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS: The Red Sox are in a stretch in which 17 of 23 games from 5/5-6/1 are against NL teams (2-1 at PHI, 1-1 at ATL, 0-3 vs. STL, 2-1 at SD, 3 games at ARI, 3 games vs. CIN). The Red Sox are an MLB-best 295-205 (.590) all time in Interleague play.
ROAD TRIPPING: The Red Sox are 2-4 so far on their 9-game, 11-day road trip to SD (2-1), LAA (0-3), and ARI (3 G). The trip is tied for the Sox’ longest of the season by days…It is their 2nd-longest trip of the season by games played (10 games in 11 days from 8/14-24).
SERIES BUSINESS: After being swept in the 3-game series at LAA from Mon.-Wed., the Sox are 10-5-1 in series play… They are 8-3-1 in their last 12 series and 5-2-1 in their last 8. 4 of the Red Sox’ 5 series losses have been sweeps (0-3 vs. PIT, 0-4 at TB, 0-3 vs. STL, 0-3 at LAA). The Sox have alternated series results on the road (W, L, W, L, W, T, W, L): 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.
TOUGH TEST: The Red Sox are tied with OAK for 2nd in MLB in strength of schedule, trailing only TOR. The Red Sox are 17-18 (.486) against teams with a .500 winning percentage or better…Their 17 wins are tied for 4th most in MLB (TB-20, BAL-18. NYY-18). After the current series at ARI (29-21), 5 of the Sox’ following 9 series (though 6/29) are against opponents with a record currently below .500.
AMERICA’S MOST BELOVED: Fenway Park was named 2023 Sports Facility of the Year at Sports Business Journal’s annual Sports Business Awards. The venue hosted 438 events in 2022, and became the first 2-time host of the NHL Winter Classic…It also became MLB’s first carbon-neutral ballpark.
UPS AND DOWNS: The Red Sox are 13-10 in their last 23 games, since 4/29…That span includes the Sox’ 2 longest winning streaks of the season (8 games, 4/29-5/6 and 4 games, 5/15-20) and 2 season-high-tying 4-game losing streaks (5/12-15 and 5/21-present). The Sox have been held to 4 runs and 5 XBH in their last 41 offensive innings, after scoring 31 runs with 19 XBH in their previous 34 offensive innings.
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-present 5-10 .235 .679 3.7
PITCHING IN: Red Sox pitchers have allowed 4 ER or fewer in 7 of their last 8 games, posting a 3.31 ERA and .193 opponent AVG in that span (68.0 IP, 25 ER, 48-for-249). In that 8-game span, Sox relievers have posted a 2.73 ERA and .163 opponent AVG (8 ER/26.1 IP, 15-for-92). On Wednesday at LAA, the Sox snapped a streak of 7 straight games with 4 ER or fewer allowed, their longest such streak since 6/19-26/22 (also 7).
START ME UP: Red Sox starting pitchers have tossed at least 5.0 innings in 24 of their last 27 games…They have allowed 2 runs or fewer over 5.0+ IP in 5 of the last 7 games. Sox starters posted a 3.55 ERA in the last 12 games (28 ER/71.0 IP), after entering that span with a 6.09 ERA. The Sox are 11-3 when their starter tosses 6.0+ innings.
HELP IS ON THE WAY: Garrett Whitlock is scheduled to return from the 15-Day IL to start tomorrow…He allowed 1 R in 8.2 IP over 2 rehab starts for Triple-A Worcester, most recently throwing 4.2 scoreless innings on Sunday vs. Lehigh Valley (4 H, BB, 4 SO). Christian Arroyo is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with the WooSox tonight at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Yu Chang is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment for Double-A Portland tonight vs. New Hampshire.
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Red Sox have been successful in 30 of their 35 stolen base attempts (85.7%)…They are tied with CWS for the best SB% in the AL and 2nd best in MLB (ATL-87.5%, 35-for-40). The Sox ranked 22nd in MLB with a 72.2 SB% in 2022.
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox rank in MLB’s top 5 in runs scored (5th, 262) and doubles (2nd, 108). The Red Sox have scored 5+ runs in 27 games, tied for 5th most in MLB (TB-32, LAD-31, BAL-30, TEX-29).
RED SOX OFFENSIVE RANKINGS
Stat AL Rank
262 runs 3rd
447 hits 5th
108 doubles 1st
170 XBH T-2nd
20.3 SO% 2nd
Stat AL Rank
.262 AVG 4th
.332 OBP 4th
.433 SLG 3rd
.765 OPS 3rd
107 wRC+ T-5th
SOX STRIKEOUTS: Red Sox batters have struck out 387 times, 2nd fewest in the AL and 4th fewest in MLB. The Sox struck out 10+ times in each of their 6 games vs. TB and ATL (11.2 SO/game) but have done so just 5 times in their other 44 games (7.3 SO/game).
DON’T START WITH US: Starting pitchers have completed at least 6.0 innings in just 11 starts against the Red Sox this season, fewest of any team in MLB…They have done so in 7 of the Sox’ last 15 games, compared to 4 of their first 35. Starters have lasted fewer than 4.0 innings in 13 starts vs. BOS this season, most in MLB. Starting pitchers are 17-17 with a 5.66 ERA vs. BOS (right-handed starters: 5.10 ERA; left-handers: 6.88).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 41 CHRIS SALE – LHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 4-2 5.01 9 9 50.1 28 8 13 62 1.17 .238
CAREER 118-77 3.09 332 252 1728.1 593 186 400 2126 1.05 .220
Has a 3.05 ERA in his last 6 starts (38.1 IP, 13 ER, 28 H, 3 HR, 43 SO), after recording an 11.25 ERA in his first 3 (12.0 IP, 15 ER, 18 H, 5 HR). Earned the win on Saturday night at SD (7.0 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 SO). The Red Sox are 6-3 in his starts. Has thrown 6.0+ innings in each of his last 4 starts (3-0, 2.30 ERA, 32 SO, 3 BB). Has 4 BB in his last 5 starts (32.1 IP), after issuing 9 BB in his first 4 (18.0 IP). 33 out of his 62 SO this season have been recorded with a slider (.164 BAA, 9-for-55). Owns the Modern Era’s highest SO/9.0 IP rate (11.10) (min. 1,000 IP).
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:
HERE’S THE STORY
♦ The D-backs’ 29 wins are the third most in the NL, behind the Dodgers (31) and Braves (31)
♦ Arizona is 5-3 vs. AL opponents this season and have won 2 of its 3 series vs. AL teams.
♦ The D-backs have won 7 of their last 11 home games.
♦ The D-backs are second in the NL West (23 days in/tied for fi rst place from April 2-30).
♦ Arizona has won 4 straight series and 8 of its last 10.
ROSTER MOVES
♦ The D-backs made the following roster moves:
NEW HOME FOR D-BACKS’ SPANISH RADIO
♦ Starting today, D-backs’ live radio game broadcasts in Spanish will air on Latino Mix 100.3 FM KQMR Radio, Phoenix’s #1 Spanish contemporary hit radio station.
♦ The D-backs have produced live play-by-play radio coverage in Spanish since their inception in 1998, with Univision for the last 7 seasons as the flagship home, and feature Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Oscar Soria with former MLB pitcher Rodrigo López and long-time colleague Richard Saenz.
FACING THE ’SOX
♦ The D-backs face off with the Red Sox @ Chase Field for only the third time in team history.
♦ Arizona went 2-1 in its last series @ Chase Field from April 5-7, 2019 and 1-2 in their first series from June 8-10, 2007.
♦ Manager Torey Lovullo was Boston’s bench coach from 2013-16 and the Red Sox’ Triple-A manager in 2010.
THROUGH THE FIRST 50
♦ The D-backs’ 29-21 record is tied for the fifth-best start to a season through their first 50 games (also: 2006, ’05, 1999) and best since 2017.
2000: 32-18 record (.640) – finished 85-77 | 2002: 31-19 record (.620) – finished 98-64 [NL West Champs] | 2017: 31-9 record (.620) – finished 93-69 [Wild Card Champs] | 2008: 30-20 record (.600) – finished 82-80 |
2023: 29-21 record (.580)
♦ In seasons where the D-backs made a postseason appearance, they had 26+ wins through the fi rst 50 games.
HOME SWEET HOME
♦ The D-backs’ .284 average and .351 OBP as a team at home is best in the NL and third in MLB, behind the Red Sox (.296 AVG/.361 OBP) and Rangers (.285 AVG/.353 OBP).
SNAKES VS. LEFTIES
♦ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is hitting .358 (19-for-53) vs. lefties , the sixth highest in MLB this season.
♦ Christian Walker is hitting .306 (15-for-49) vs. lefties, which is fourth among MLB first basemen.
♦ Gabriel Moreno is hitting .417 (20-for-48)/1.088 OPS vs. lefties with 5 doubles, 2 homers and 8 RBI)… since May 8 (11 games), is batting .615 (8-for-13) vs. lefties, the highest in MLB (min. 15 PA), ahead of Anthony Rizzo/NYY (.563).
OH, LOURDES! HE’S AT 16
♦ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is riding a career-high 16-game hitting streak (since May 3), the longest active streak in the Majors and tied for third longest this season (also: Masataka Yoshida/BOS), behind Mauricio Dubón/HOU (20), Bryson Stott/ PHI (17)… in the span, is batting .387 (26-for-65)/1.304 OPS.
♦ Gurriel ranks among Major League leaders in average (7th, .317), slugging pct. (8th, .557) and OPS (9th, .929).
KETEL LOOKING TO CONTINUE
♦ Ketel Marte’s career-best 24-game on-base streak (since April 26) is tied for the longest active streak in the Majors ( also: Byron Buxton/MIN ) and tied for fourth longest by a D-back since 2014 (also: Josh Rojas from Aug. 1-28, 2022)…in the span, is hitting .290 AVG/.373 OBP with 1 double, 2 triples, 4 homers, 12 walks and 2 HBP.
STARTING PITCHER – RHP BRANDON PFAADT ♦ #32
AT A GLANCE: Entered this season as the D-backs’ No. 4 prospect by The Athletic (No. 38 overall) and MLB Pipeline (No.
59 overall).
LAST START : Did not factor in the decision in the D-backs win on May 20 @ PIT…surrendered all 3 runs on a bases-loaded triple to Ke’Bryan Hayes in the third…of his 6 hits, the triple was the only extra-base hit allowed.
LAST 2 STARTS: In his last 2 starts, has a 3.48 ERA (4 ER in 10.1 IP) while limiting lefties to a .182 average (4-for-22) and righties to a .200 average (3-for-16).
TEAM WINS: The D-backs are 3-1 in his 4 starts.
ATTACKING EARLY: Has a .167 average (4-for-24) with 0 walks and 9 strikeouts when he gets ahead in the count.
VS. RED SOX: Is making his first career start vs. Red Sox.
MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:
MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins today play the first 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 3 gms vs. San Diego (May 30-June 1), 3 gms vs. Oakland (June 2-4), and 3 gms vs. Kansas City (June 5-7).
YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Miami took its first walk-off loss of the season, 7-6, dropping the series at Colorado. LHP Braxton Garrett made another solid start, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits over 5.0 innings with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. The Marlins, who entered the eighth inning in a 2-2 tie, surrendered the lead and went into the ninth down by 4. DH Jorge Soler and PH Garrett Cooper each hit 2-run homers to tie it for Miami before a bases-loaded single in the bottom half that ended the game. CF Jonathan Davis went 3×3 with 2 walks.
BACK TO CALI
The Marlins are playing 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.
DO YOU LIKE PIÑA COLADAS?
1B Yuli Gurriel has started in 4 of 7 games on this road trip and gone 10×16 (.625) with 3 runs scored, 1 double, 2 triples, 2 RBI, 1 walk, and 0 strikeouts. Has three consecutive multi-hit games, his longest such streak since he recorded five straight multi-hit efforts from July 27-Aug. 1, 2021. His 9 hits in his last 3 gms, matches the most in his career in a 3-game span, done twice, from July 1-4, 2017, and June 10-13, 2018.
MIAMI MARLIN, JONATHAN DAVIS
OF Jonathan Davis is 6×7 with 3 runs, 1 triple, 1 home run and 2 walks through his first 2 starts as a Marlin after making his Marlins debut as a pinch-runner in Tuesday’s game.
PODER SOLER
DH/OF Jorge Soler is tied for 2nd in MLB with 15 home runs, including a league-most 10 in the month of May. Is slashing .338/.404/.738 with 22 RBI in his last 20 games, reaching safely in 15 of the contests with 8 multi-hit games. His 1.142 OPS in this span ranks 2nd in the National League (5th in MLB) behind only ARI’s Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (1.239).
IN A PINCH
1B/DH Garrett Cooper hit his first career pinch-hit home run yesterday at Colorado, a game-tying shot in the top of the ninth to keep the Marlins alive. Marked the second pinch-hit homer by a Marlin this season (also, Jorge Soler, April 17 vs. SF). Miami had just one pinch-hit home run all of 2022 (Jesus Sanchez, July 28 at CIN).
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
2B Luis Arraez leads MLB with his .371 batting avg. (63×170), ranks 4th with a .422 OBP and 4th with 62 hits. Is tied for 4th with 18 multi-hit gms. Has struck out 9 times in 187 PA (.048 K/PA), the lowest mark in MLB among qualified batters.
10 MARKS THE SPOT
Miami scored a season-high 10 runs on Wednesday night at Colorado, beating the previous high of 8 runs scored on April 11 at Philadelphia when Miami won 8-4. Marked the first time since Game 162 of last season that Miami scored 10 or more runs (12-9 W vs. Atlanta on Oct. 5). Also recorded 14 hits, matching a season-high (April 11 at Philadelphia).
DANCING ON A THIN LINE
Thus far in 2023, Miami is 24-3 when limiting opponents to 4 runs or less and has gone 1-23 when allowing 5 or more runs.
HE’S HERE AND HE’S PERFECT
RHP Eury Perez made his third Major League start Tuesday at Colorado, becoming the youngest starting pitcher in Coors Field history and third-youngest pitcher (TOR’s Elvis Luciano at 19 yrs, 105 days on May 31, 2019 and LAD’s Julio Urias at 19 yrs, 357 days on Aug. 3, 2016).
TODAY’S STARTER – #44 JESUS LUZARDO
LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the seventh (5-1) of nine games on a homestand against the Minnesota Twins (2-1), Boston Red Sox (3-0) and Miami Marlins (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).
HE’S HERE: Today the Angels selected the contract of RHP Sam Bachman…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 and would be the highest drafted player from the 2021 Draft to debut…Bachman has made six starts for Double-A Rocket City this year, averaging 9.9 SO/9 innings…In a corresponding move, RHP Reyes Moronta was designated for assignment.
VS. MIAMI: Today is the first of three games this season between the Angels and Marlins…Last season, Halos won three of four games against Miami…LAA is 12-7 all-time vs. Miami (6-2 at Angel Stadium)…Angels have won each of last four home games vs. Marlins.
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 third 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 51 games played this year.
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.
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.
‘PEN PALS: The Angels bullpen is pitching to a 3.57 ERA (184 IP – 73 ER) this season, which is the eighth-best ERA in the Majors.
WINNING WAYS: Halos have won each of last four games and six of last seven to improve to five games over .500 (28-23), which matches the season high (also, 19-14 on May 5)…With a win today, Angels would move to six games over .500 for first time since May 28, 2022 (27-21) and match season-high with five straight wins.
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 43 singles this year plus seven extra-base hits (six doubles & one home run)…Urshela ranks second, behind Toronto’s Bo Bichette (51), for the American League lead in singles… Since May 5, Urshela has hits in 15 of 18 games with a PA and is batting .339 (21/62) in that span.
ON THE BOARD: Halos have not been shut out since Aug. 21, 2022 at Detroit…Current streak of 92 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 second-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).
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 18 starts at third base, 16 starts at first base, eight at shortstop and one at second base.
INTERLEAGUE PLAY: LAA owns a 267-226 (.542) alltime Interleague record (6-3 in 2023)…The 267 all-time Interleague wins are third most all time behind Red Sox (295) and Yankees (288).
STEFANIC’S STREAK: INF Michael Stefanic currently has a 50-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 – LHP REID DETMERS
0-3, 4.87 ERA
Tied career high with 12 strikeouts in last start last Friday vs. Twins
SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
No release available.
NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees continue their six-game homestand tonight with the first game of a three-game set vs. San Diego (through Sun.)…are 1-2 on the homestand after dropping two-of-three games vs. Baltimore…after this homestand, will embark on a six-game road trip to Seattle (Mon.-Wed.) and Los Angeles-NL (6/2-4).
At 30-22 (.577), have the fourth-best record in the AL and the seventh-best record in the Majors.
Have lost back-to-back games for the first time since losing a season-high four straight games from 4/28-5/1…are still 5-2 in their last seven games, 7-3 in their last 10 games, 9-4 in their last 13 games and 12-5 in their last 17 games.
Are 15-7 (.682) in their last 22 games (since 5/2), the best record in the Majors in that span.
Have won or split four of their last five series (since 5/8), five of their last seven series (since 5/1) and 11 of their 16 series this season (going 9-5-2).
Each of their last three wins and nine of their last 15 wins have been come-from-behind wins.
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees fell to the Orioles, 3-1, on Thursday at Yankee Stadium…RHP Clarke Schmidt (5.0IP, 5H, 1ER, 2BB, 4K) started and took the loss despite allowing just 1ER in 5.0IP…Yankees batters recorded just 3H, matching their season low…DH Willie Calhoun (2-for3, 1 double, 1RBI, 1BB) reached base three times and drove in the Yankees’ only run with an RBI double in the ninth inning…2B Gleyber Torres (1-for-4) hit a lead-off single in the first inning…was the Yankees’ only hit over the first six innings…C Ben Rortvedt (0-for-0, 2BB) made his second start of the season and walked twice…RF Aaron Judge (0-for-3, 1R, 1BB) walked in the ninth inning to extend his on-base streak to 12 games…Manager Aaron Boone was ejected by HP umpire Edwin Moscoso in the third inning… LHP Nick Ramirez (0.1IP, 1H), RHP Jimmy Cordero (1.0IP, 1K), RHP Clay Holmes (0.2IP, 1H, 1K) were all scoreless in relief…LHP Wandy Peralta (1.0IP, 2ER, 2BB, 1K) allowed 2ER in the eighth inning.
NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo has hit .305/.390/.528 (60-for-197) with 28R, 16 doubles, 2 triples, 8HR, 29RBI, 22BB, 7HP, 2SF and 7SB in 53 career games vs. San Diego…since 2018, has batted .437/.481/.761 (31- for-71) with 12R, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 4HR, 19RBI, 3HP, 1SF and 1SB in 19 games vs. the Padres.
Is third in the AL and tied for seventh in the Majors in hits (58)…also ranks fifth in the AL and tied for 10th in the Majors in BA (.301)…is also sixth in the AL in OBP (.376), tied for sixth in the AL in multi-hit games (15) and seventh in OPS (.889).
Is batting .333/.380/.606 (22-for-66) with 13R, 3 doubles, 5HR, 15RBI, 4BB and 1HP in his last 16 games (since 5/8).
Has 7RBI in his last six games (since 5/19), 10RBI in his last 10 games (since 5/14), 13RBI in his last 12 games (since 5/12) and 16RBI in his last 17 games (since 5/7).
Has reached base in 24 of his last 27 games and 43 of his 50 games this season.
Eight of his last 16 hits have been XBH (3 doubles, 5HR).
Has reached base in 26-of-28 games at home this season, hitting .362/.433/.638 (38-for-105) with 20R, 5 doubles,8HR, 19RBI, 11BB, 3HP and 1SF in those games…has hit safely in 24-of-28 home games…among Major League batters at home, ranks fourth in OPS (1.071, second in AL), tied for fourth in HR (tied for fourth in AL), fifth in BA (first in AL), tied for fifth in OBP (first in AL) and seventh in SLG (fourth in AL).
CALENDAR DAYS: The Yankees have hit 44HR in 23 games during the month of May, the most in the Majors in that span…also rank fourth in SLG (.466), runs scored (123) and runs scored per game (5.35).
NATIONAL TREASURE: The Yankees are 7-2 in nine Interleague games this season…have won each of their three series vs. NL Opponents this season (3-0-0).
Are facing the Padres for the first time since 5/27- 29/19…are 11-7 all-time vs. San Diego and 7-2 against the Padres in the Bronx.
GLEYBER DAY: INF Gleyber Torres has reached base in 19 of his last 20 games (since 5/5), batting .300/.363/.538 (24-for-80) with 4 doubles, 5HR, 15RBI, 8BB, 1HP and 2SF in that span…has also reached base in 29 of his last 33 games (since 4/20) and 32 of his last 37 games (since 4/15).
Has batted .318 (14-for-44) with 8R, 3HR, 6RBI, 3BB, 1HP and 1SF in his last 11 games (since 5/14).
Has multiple hits in three of his last five games, four of his last seven games and five of his last nine games.
ALL RISE: OF Aaron Judge walked in the ninth inning on Thursday to extend his on-base streak to 12 games (since 5/12)…is batting .349/.509/.953 (15-for-43) with 12R, 2 doubles, 8HR, 17RBI, 14BB/2IBB and 1SB in that span.
Leads the Majors in SLG (.630) and OPS (1.032), ranks second in AB/HR (10.43, first in AL), is tied for fourth in HR (14, tied for first in AL) and is ninth in OBP (.402, fourth in AL)…is also third in the AL in walks (30).
Has 12BB in his last nine games, 14BB in his last 12 games and 16BB in his last 15 games.
Has reached base multiple times in six of his last seven games, seven of his last nine games, eight of his last 11 games and nine of his last 14 games.
Has 3HR in his last six games, 6HR in his last nine games and 8HR in his last 11 games.
Has 17RBI in his last 11 games…has recorded 19RBI in 15 games since returning from the I.L. (since 5/9).
Has reached base safely in each of his last 18 Interleague games (since 8/5/22), batting .444/.524/.861 (32-for-72) with 20R, 6 doubles, 8HR, 20RBI, 12BB/2IBB and 3SB in that span…marks the second-longest on-base streak by a Yankee in Interleague play in the last eight seasons (since 2016), trailing only his own 21-game streak from 6/12/18-7/23/20.
Has batted .315/.406/.642 (117-for-371) with 78R, 18 doubles, 2 triples, 33HR, 66RBI, 56BB and 9SB in 102 career Interleague games.
Will be facing the Padres for the first time…the Padres are one of four opponents he has not hit a HR against in his career (0HR in 2G vs. Arizona, 0HR in 5G vs. St. Louis and 0HR in 10G vs. Washington).
BRONX BOMBERS: The Yankees have hit 78HR this season, the second-most home runs in the AL and the fourth-most in the Majors.
Were held homerless on Thursday after hitting multiple home runs in each of their previous six games…have still hit multiple home runs in 11 of their previous 13 games (since 5/12), 15 of their last 18 games (since 5/7) and 17 of their last 22 games (since 5/2).
Have hit 27HR in their last 13 games and 36HR in their last 17 games.
Have scored 106R in their last 18 games (since 5/7), averaging 5.89 runs per game in that span…scored 133R in their first 34 games of the season from 3/30-5/6 and averaged 3.91 runs per game over that span.
LEMACHINE: As a Yankee (since 2019), INF DJ LeMahieu has hit .324/.404/.500 (88-for-272) with 56R, 12 doubles, 3 triples, 10HR, 29RBI, 35BB, 4SB, 3HP and 2SF in 71 Interleague games…is the second-highest batting average (min. 100PA) by a Yankee in the history of Interleague play, trailing only Carlos Beltrán’s .326 BA.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: RHP Randy Vásquez will make his Major League debut tonight…will become just the 12th pitcher in the last 16 seasons (since 2008) to make his Major League debut as a starter for the Yankees… joins RHP Jhony Brito (4/2/23 vs. San Francisco), RHP Luis Gil (8/3/21 vs. Baltimore), RHP Deivi García (8/30/20-G2 vs. New York-NL), RHP Chance Adams (8/4/18 at Boston), RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (6/15/18 vs. Tampa Bay), LHP Jordan Montgomery (4/12/17 vs. Tampa Bay), RHP Chad Green (5/16/16 at Arizona), RHP Luis Severino (8/5/15 vs. Boston), RHP Chase Whitley (5/15/14 at New York-NL), RHP Masahiro Tanaka (4/4/14 at Toronto) and RHP Adam Warren (6/29/12 vs. Chicago-AL).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP RANDY VÁSQUEZ (MLB DEBUT)
RHP Randy Vásquez will make his Major League debut tonight vs. San Diego…was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre prior to tonight’s game…the 24-year-old will pitch on extended eight days’ rest…last pitched for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on 5/17 at Charlotte, earning his first win of the year after tossing 5.0 scoreless innings (2H, 3BB, 5K)…has made nine starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, going 1-5 with a 4.85 ERA (42.2IP, 44H, 27R/23ER, 23BB, 50K, 5HR)…will be the second Yankees pitcher to make his Major League debut this season (also Jhony Brito on 4/2 vs. San Francisco)…spent the 2022 season with Double-A Somerset, going 2-7 with a 3.90 ERA (115.1IP, 106H, 56R/50ER, 41BB, 120K, 11HR) in 25 starts…following the season, was tabbed by Baseball America as the Yankees’ No. 9 prospect and labeled as having the “Best Curveball” among Yankees farmhands…was added to the Yankees 40-man roster on 3/22/22…was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 5/21/18.
2023: Has made nine starts for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, going 1-5 with a 4.85 ERA (42.2IP, 23ER) and 50K…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in seven of his nine starts, 1R-or-fewer in three of those starts and two starts were scoreless.
Tossed 5.0IP-or-more in each of his last five starts with the RailRiders after not reaching 5.0IP in his first four starts of the season.
Did not allow a HR in each of his last four starts starts with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after surrendering 5HR in his first five starts.
Earned his first win of the season on 5/17 at Charlotte after tossing 5.0 scoreless innings (2H, 3BB, 5K)…his 2H marked a season low.
HOME SWEET HOME: In four home starts with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, has gone 0-3 with a 5.60 ERA (17.2IP, 15R/11ER) and 24K.
Made 13 home starts with Double-A Somerset in 2022, going 1-5 with a 3.36 ERA (59.0IP, 27R/22ER) and 61K.
FOR STARTERS: Will become just the 12th pitcher in the last 16 seasons (since 2008) to make his Major League debut as a starter for the Yankees…joins RHP Jhony Brito (4/2/23 vs. San Francisco), RHP Luis Gil (8/3/21 vs. Baltimore), RHP Deivi García (8/30/20-G2 vs. New York-NL), RHP Chance Adams (8/4/18 at Boston), RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (6/15/18 vs. Tampa Bay), LHP Jordan Montgomery (4/12/17 vs. Tampa Bay), RHP Chad Green (5/16/16 at Arizona), RHP Luis Severino (8/5/15 vs. Boston), RHP Chase Whitley (5/15/14 at New York-NL), RHP Masahiro Tanaka (4/4/14 at Toronto) and RHP Adam Warren (6/29/12 vs. Chicago-AL)…along with RHP Jhony Brito, will mark just the third time during that span the Yankees will have two pitchers make their Major League debut as a starter in the same season (also 2014: RHP Chase Whitley and RHP Masahiro Tanaka; 2018: RHP Chance Adams and RHP Jonathan Loáisiga).
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Is the eighth Yankees pitcher to start against a National League opponent in his Major League debut, joining RHP Jhony Brito (4/2/23 vs. San Francisco: W, 5.0IP, 0R), RHP Deivi García (8/30/20-G2 vs. New York-NL: ND, 6.0IP, 1R/0ER), RHP Chad Green (5/16/16 at Arizona: L, 4.0IP, 6R/4ER), RHP Chase Whitley (5/15/14 at New York-NL: ND, 4.2IP, 0ER), RHP Tyler Clippard (5/20/07 at New York-NL: W, 6.0IP, 1ER), LHP Brad Halsey (6/19/04 at Los Angeles-NL: W, 5.2IP, 2ER) and LHP Brandon Claussen (6/28/03-G2 at New York-NL: W, 6.1IP, 1ER).
Is the eighth Yankee to draw a start at the current Yankee Stadium in his Major League debut (second this season), joining RHP Jhony Brito (4/2/23 vs. San Francisco), RHP Luis Gil (8/3/21 vs. Baltimore), RHP Deivi García (8/30/20-G2 vs. New York-NL), RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (6/15/18 vs. Tampa Bay), LHP Jordan Montgomery (4/12/17 vs. Tampa Bay), RHP Luis Severino (8/5/15 vs. Boston) and RHP Adam Warren (6/29/12 vs. Chicago-AL)
PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES: Had the day off yesterday in Seattle…Went 2-4 on their six-game homestand against Arizona (1-2) and Texas (1-2)…Won seven straight games from 4/17-23, their longest winning streak since 2018 (11 games)…Are 1.5 games behind the front-running Brewers in the National League Central coming into today.
THE MATURATION OF MITCH: One year ago yesterday Mitch Keller made the second of his two relief appearances of both 2022 and of his career before rejoining the starting rotation for good on May 31…Since May 31, Keller has produced the fifth-lowest ERA (2.95) in the National League (12th-lowest in all of MLB)…Keller’s 183 strikeouts since May 31 of last season are also the 11th-most among all National League pitchers.
MITCH’S MERRY MONTH OF MAY: Mitch Keller brings a 2-1 record and 1.00 ERA (27.0ip/3er) in four starts this month into his outing tonight…The only two pitchers in MLB with a lower ERA this month are San Diego’s Michael Wacha (0.36) and Toronto’s Chris Bassitt (0.61).
ON THE ROAD: Tonight will be Mitch Keller’s first start on the road since tossing 7.0 scoreless innings while striking out a career-high 13 batters on May 14 at Baltimore…Keller became the first Pirates righthander to strike out at least 13 batters in a game since Jose DeLeon had a club-record tying 14 on April 16, 1985, vs. the New York Mets…He also became the first Pirates pitcher in team history to have a start of at least 7.0 shutout innings with 13 strikeouts and no walks according to Baseball Reference.
SEATTLE’S BEST: This season the city of Seattle will host the Major League Baseball All-Star Game for the third time…Dave Parker represented the Pirates at the All-Star Game in 1979 at the Kingdome while taking home MVP honors…In 2001, Brian Giles was Pittsburgh’s All-Star representative when the game was held at Safeco Field…This year’s game will take place on July 11 here at T-Mobile Park.
CLOSING IN ON ANOTHER MILESTONE: Andrew McCutchen is two doubles shy of 400 in his career and two away from 300 as a Pirate…McCutchen ranks seventh all-time in team history in doubles…Paul Waner ranks first with 559, followed by Honus Wagner (556), Roberto Clemente (440), Willie Stargell (423), Max Carey (375) and Pie Traynor (371).
GO WEST YOUNG BUCS: This is the first of three trips to the west coast this season for the Pirates…In addition to this trip to Seattle and San Francisco, the Pirates will also have a seven-game road trip leading up to the All-Star break at Dodger Stadium and Arizona from July 3-9…The team will also return to the west coast from July 21-26 for a six-game road trip against the Padres and Angels.
SETTING UP THE SERIES: This is Pittsburgh’s fourth series ever in Seattle and the first since 2016 (the Pirates also visited the Emerald City in 2007 and 2013)…The Pirates are 4-3 all-time at T-Mobile Park…This is also the first time these two teams have met overall since a three-game series at PNC Park from September 17-19, 2019.
MAKE THAT A DOUBLE: Carlos Santana returns to Seattle for the first time since helping the Mariners advance to the American League Division Series in 2022…Santana went deep nine times in 47 games here at T-Mobile Park in 2022…He also comes into today two doubles shy of 350 in his career (he would become the 21st Dominican-born player with 350 career doubles).
THE HOT CORNER: Ke’Bryan Hayes comes into today leading all third basemen in MLB with nine Defensive Runs Saved according to FanGraphs (the next closest player is Toronto’s Matt Chapman with five)…Hayes and Mariners third basemen Eugenio Suarez are also the only third basemen in all of MLB with six Outs Above Average according to FanGraphs… Hayes and Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox each have nine Defensive Runs Saved regardless of position according to FanGraphs…The only player in all of MLB with more is Toronto’s Kevin Kiermaier (10).
STARTING PITCHER – 23 – RHP MITCH KELLER
MITCH KELLER: The 27-year-old righthander will make his 11th start of the season tonight…He was in line for the win (6.0ip/2er) in his last start but had a no-decision in the team’s 4-3 loss Saturday afternoon vs. Arizona.
VS. SEATTLE: 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA in one career start…Gave up two runs in 5.0 innings while losing a 6-0 decision to Marco Gonzales on 9/17/19 at PNC Park.
SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 10-game homestand (4-0) with the first of 3 games against the Pittsburgh Pirates…Seattle opened the homestand with a 4-game series sweep of the Oakland Athletics (4-0) and will also host the New York Yankees (3 G, May 29-31) following the current series vs. Pittsburgh… tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Ryan Rowland-Smith 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 defeated the Athletics by a 3-2 score last night to secure their 3rd series sweep of the season…the Mariners are 5-1 over their last 6 games and are 14-8 in May, tied for the 3rdbest record in the AL this month (also: Baltimore), trailing Texas (14-7) and New York-AL (15-8)…Seattle is 19-8 when scoring at least 4 runs and 7-16 when scoring 3-or-fewer.
YO-HO-YO-HO…the Mariners welcome the Pirates to T-Mobile Park for only the 4th all-time series in Seattle between the clubs: June 19-21, 2007 (3 G), June 25-26, 2013 (2 G) and June 28-29, 2016 (2 G)… Seattle and Pittsburgh have met for 7 series overall, with the first ever series taking place from June 18-20, 2004 in Pittsburgh…the Mariners are 3-4 against the Pirates all-time at T-Mobile Park and 11-6 overall… Seattle swept the Pirates in a 3-game series in Pittsburgh in the last series between the clubs from Sept. 17-19, 2019.
3-PEAT…the Mariners have limited opponents to 3 runs or less in 6 consecutive games dating back to May 20…during that span, the Seattle staff is 5-1 with a 2.21 ERA (13 ER, 53.0 IP) with 7 walks and 57 strikeouts with a 0.79 WHIP…the Mariners 6-game streak allowing 3 runs or fewer is the longest active streak in the Majors and tied for 4th-longest in the Majors this season behind Chicago-AL (9 G, May 15- 24), Toronto (8 G, April 21-29) and Pittsburgh (7 G, April 17-23).
ACE OF STAFFS…the Mariners have the best pitching staff in the Major Leagues by fWAR (10.2), ranking ahead of Minnesota (8.5)…Seattle also leads the Majors in WHIP (1.15), Fielding Independent Pitching (3.19), fewest walks (123), walks-per-9 innings (2.47), fewest home runs (34), home runs-per-9 innings (0.68), fewest barrels (78), barrel per plate appearance (4.2%), soft-contact percentage (19.0), swing percentage (49.5) and zone percentage (44.4) among other categories…Mariners starting pitchers are tied for 1st in the Majors in fWAR (7.0) with Minnesota…Mariners relief pitchers rank 2nd in the Majors in fWAR (3.2) trailing Baltimore (3.4).
DEUX POUR TY…Ty France went 2-for-4 with 3 runs, 2 home runs, and 2 RBI in last night’s game, recording his first multi-home run game with Seattle, 2nd of his career (also: Sept. 1, 2019 at San Francisco with San Diego)…during the month of May, Ty has reached base safely in 19 of 21 games, including 17 games with at least 1 hit and 7 multi-hit games…in the the month, he is batting .291 (25×86) with 13 runs scored, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 8 RBI, 5 walks and 3 hit-by-pitches, while reaching base at a .351 clip and slugging .477 with a .828 OPS).
THE J-ROD SHOW…Julio Rodríguez went 2-for-4 with 1 double in last night’s game…he has hit safely in 4 consecutive games (5/22-c), including 3 multi-hit games during that span, batting .471 (8×17) with 3 runs scored, 3 doubles, 2 RBI and 1 hit-by-pitch while reaching base at a .500 clip and slugging .647 with a 1.147 OPS…dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season, Julio has recorded 53 multi-hit games, 2nd-most among all Mariners behind only Ty France (54) during that span.
JARRED IS SHINING ON THE DIAMOND…Jarred Kelenic has been one of the top outfielders in the American League this season…overall, Kelenic is batting .284 (50×176) with 25 runs, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 25 RBI, 6 stolen bases and 14 walks in 48 games, while getting on base at a .339 clip, slugging .534 with an .873 OPS…he has tallied 1.4 fWAR, and 1.6 Baseball Reference WAR…the 23-yearold outfielder leads the ariners in total bases (94), extra-base hits (23), hits, home runs, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS…among qualified AL outfielders, his 143 wRC+ ranks 6th, trailing Aaron Judge-NYY (178), Yordan Alvarez-HOU (175), Randy Arozarena-TB (172), Brent Rooker-OAK (154) and Mike Trout-LAA (144).
GLOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD…the Mariners defense is the best in the American League by Outs Above Average (13) this season, and tied for 2nd in the Majors (also: Milwaukee), trailing only San Diego (19)… they have had the 3rd best outfield (5 OAA) and are tied for the 8th-best infield defense (6 OAA)…Eugenio Suárez is the top-rated third baseman in the AL by OAA (6) and is tied for 3rd among all positions…Julio Rodríguez is tied for 4th among AL center fielders with 4 OAA…Seattle’s .991 team fielding percentage is tied for the MLB lead with Tampa Bay and New York-NL (.991), while Seattle’s 11 Defensive Runs Saved ranks 6th in the Majors.
HOME SWEET HOMESTAND…the Mariners continue a 10-game homestand (4-0) tonight with SingAlong Fireworks Night, the first fireworks night of the summer…Seattle will also hold J.P. Crawford POP! Collectible Night on Saturday, May 27 and Little League Day on Sunday, May 28…the Mariners wrap up the homestand with 3 games against the New York Yankees from May 29-31…tickets for all upcoming games can be found at Mariners.com/Tickets.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…George Kirby has recorded a quality start in each of his last 8 outings dating back to his 2nd start of the year on April 9 at Cleveland…during the 8-game streak, George is 5-2 with a 2.17 ERA (13 ER, 54.0 IP) with 4 walks and 42 strikeouts, and…DID YOU KNOW?…Kirby has pitched into the 7th inning each of his last 5 quality starts (4/27-c)?…Kirby’s streak of 8 consecutive quality starts is longest in the Majors this season and his streak of 5 consecutive quality starts of 6.1+ innings is tied for longest in the Majors this season (also: Nathan Eovaldi-TEX)…overall, Kirby has made 4 starts of 7.0+ innings, tied for 5th-most in the Majors
MARINERS STARTER – RHP GEORGE KIRBY
ABOUT KIRBY…
LAST TIME OUT…L#3 on 5/21 against Atlanta after turning in a quality start where he allowed 3 runs on 6 hits (1 home run) and 1 walk while striking out 6 over 7.0 innings of work.
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…in 9 starts this season Kirby has only allowed 5 walks while striking out 47…his 9.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 1st in the Major Leagues among starting pitchers with at least 9 starts this season…he ranks ahead of Zach Eflin-TBR (7.43).
QUALITY KIRBY…has pitched 8 consecutive quality starts, his longest quality start streak in his career…his previous high in consecutvie quality starts was 2 (last: 9/10-9/17/22)…his 8-game quality start streak is the longest streak in the Majors this season…his 8 quality starts this season are tied for the 2nd most in the Majors and trails only Marcus Stroman-CHC (9).
HOME SWEET HOME…is set to make his 18th career start at T-Mobile Park… when pitching at home Kirby is 6-4 with a 3.22 ERA (34 ER, 95.0 IP) with 11 walks and 99 strikeouts…his 9.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio at T-Mobile Park is the highest in franchise history among pitchers who have made at least 10 starts… he ranks ahead of Luis Castillo (7.15) and Logan Gilbert (6.48).
MARVELOUS MONTH OF MAY…in 9 career starts in the month of May Kirby has a 4-2 record with a 2.85 ERA (17 ER, 43.2 IP) and has allowed 6 walks while striking out 51…his 51 strikeouts is the most in any month that he has pitched.
TRIPLE SEVENS…pitched at least 7.0 innings in 3 consecutive starts (4/27-5/9)…this marks a career high in consecutive games with at least 7.0 innings pitched…before then Kirby had never pitched 7.0+ innings in consecutive games…during those 3 games Kirby was 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA (4 ER, 22.0 IP) and had allowed 2 walks while striking out 18.
KIRBY’S COMPLETE…pitched his first career complete game on 4/27 against Philadelphia…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.
MAKING MARINERS HISTORY…his 12.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio in March/April was the best to start a season in Mariners history among starting pitchers with at least 2 starts…he ranks ahead of Taijuan Walker who had an 8.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2016.
MISSION CRITICAL…the Mariners own a 14-5 record in games that Kirby tosses at least 6.0 innings…in games Kirby goes 5.2 innings or less, the Mariners are just 8-7.
PLAYOFF KIRB…made two appearances in the postseason…earned the save in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series at Toronto, his first professional save…also started in Game 3 of the AL Division Series vs. Houston, tossing 7.0 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts…became just the 2nd player in franchise history to throw at least 7.0 shutout innings in the postseason, joining Luis Castillo (10/7 at TOR, G1 ALWCS).
AUGUST ROOKIE OF THE MONTH…was named Rookie of the Month for August 2022, after going 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA (7 ER, 29.1 IP) with 34 strikeouts and 3 walks in 5 August starts…he led AL rookies in fWAR (1.4), ERA, wins, WHIP (1.13) and SO/BB ratio (11.33)…becomes just the 3rd Mariners pitcher to win Rookie of the Month joining Michael Pineda (April 2011) and Rafael Soriano (Aug. 2003), and the 2nd Mariner to win the award in 2022 (also: Julio Rodríguez, May and June).
GOING ON STRIKE…began his outing on 8/24/22 vs. Washington by throwing 24-consecutive strikes, the most to start a game since the pitch
tracking era (1988-current), passing the 21 thrown by Joe Musgrove on 8/30/18 vs. STL with PIT.
WALK LESS, LISTEN MORE…did not allow more than 1 walk in each of his first 22 career starts, the longest streak to begin a career in MLB history…it was the 2nd-longest streak to begin a season in MLB history trailing the 27 done by Carlos Silva-MIN in 2005.
NO DINGERS HERE…did not allowed a home run in 14-consecutive starts from 7/2-9/28/22, which was the longest streak in the Majors in 2022…the 14-start streak without allowing a home run was a franchise record passing Erik Hanson (12, 9/20/89-5/23/90)…he went 75.0 innings without allowing a long ball.
A HISTORIC SEASON…his 6.05 strikeout to walk ratio is the highest in a rookie season in MLB history since the start of the Modern Era (1900-c.), ranking ahead of Chris Paddack-SD (4.94) in 2014 (min. 25 GS).
MARINERS ROOKIES…among Mariners rookie pitchers who have made at least 15 starts as a rookie, he ranks among the leaders in ERA (5th, 3.39),
SO/9 (2nd, 9.2), SO (5th, 133), WHIP (4th, 1.208) and SO/BB (1st, 6.05).
BY GEORGE!…his 7.79 SO/BB ratio through his first 20 starts is the highest mark in MLB history, ranking ahead of Roy Oswalt-HOU (7.65 in 2001) (excludes openers).
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros continue their six-game road trip with the first game of a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics…tonight’s pitching matchup is between rookie RHP Hunter Brown and RHP James Kaprielian…Brown will make his second consecutive starts against the Athletics…in his last start on May 20 at Minute Maid Park, Brown allowed one earned run in six innings with a career-high nine strikeouts.
ABOUT BROWN: Rookie right-hander Hunter Brown entered the season as the top prospect in the Astros system and one of the top pitching prospects in baseball…was ranked as the No. 28 prospect in baseball in Baseball America’s preseason top 100 rankings…was also rated as the No. 8 RHP prospect in MLB Pipeline’s preseason positional prospect rankings…his 2.54 career ERA ranks second in Astros history by a pitcher through his first 16 career apps. (min. 70 IP), trailing only RHP Bo McLaughlin (2.28 in 1976).
RECENT ‘STROS: The Astros have won 11 of their last 14 games to put them seven games above .500…much of this damage was done on the Astros last homestand, in which they went 6-0 with three-game sweeps of the Cubs and A’s.
INJURY UPDATE:RHP Forrest Whitley left last night’s game in Sugar Land after feeling some discomfort in his right shoulder.. his velocity was normal (93-96 mph), but he was removed from the game as a precaution. He is currently being evaluated.
ROAD RAGE: The Astros are 14-10 (.583) on the road, which ranks as the third-best road record in the AL, trailing the Orioles (18-9, .667) and the Rangers (15-10, .600)…this falls in line with what the Astros did last season, as they led the AL in road winning percentage with a 51-30 (.630) mark.
VS. OAKLAND: The Astros are taking on the A’s for the second time in 2023…in the first series in 2023 last weekend at Minute Maid Park, the Astros swept the series, 3-0…HOU was 12-7 vs. OAK last season with a 7-3 mark at Minute Maid Park…excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Astros have won the season series vs. the A’s in seven consecutive years (2015-22).
AL RANKINGS: Among AL players, LF Yordan Alvarez ranks second in RBI (46), second in SLG (.600), third in OPS (1.003) and third in OBP (.403)…3B Alex Bregman ranks tied for fifth in walks (27) and third in walk to strikeout ratio (1.27)…additionally, IF Mauricio Dubón ranks tenth in batting average (.297).
STUFF OF NIGHTMARES: LF Yordan Alvarez has been at his best in the big moments in his career, especially this season… he’s hitting .444 (16×36) with RISP, .526 (10×19) with RISP and two outs, .625 (5×8) with the bases loaded, and .400 (10×25) in close and late situations.
WEDNESDAY’S RECAP: The Astros were shutout in consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 22-23, 2022 at Baltimore… The Astros fell to the Brewers, 4-0, in the final game of their three-game series…RHP Brandon Bielak(4ER/6.2IP) made another strong start for the Astros, setting his career-high for a single game in innings (6.2)…3B Alex Bregman (1×3, 2B) had the only extra-base hit for Houston on Wednesday.
MAY FLOWERS: During the month of May, Astros catcher Martín Maldonado is batting .298 (14×47) with six runs, two doubles, two home runs, four RBI and a .845 OPS in 15 games… he’s reached base safely in 13 of his 15 games in the month.
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.23) and have allowed the fewest runs (175) in the Majors…the Astros starters rank third the Majors in ERA (3.25) and have allowed one-or-fewer earned runs in five of the last six games.
Lowest Team ERA – MLB Runs Allowed – MLB
HECTOR’S HOT STREAK: RHP Hector Neris has not allowed a run in his last 15 appearances (13.0 IP)…that ties as the longest scoreless inning streak by an Astro this season, along with a streak produced by RHP Luis Garcia…Neris’ streak ties as the second-longest active streak in the AL.
BULLPEN WEAPONS: RHP Phil Maton and RHP Bryan Abreu have been outstanding this season…Maton has allowed just 10 hits and two runs in his first 20 appearances (23.1 IP) for a 0.77 ERA and a .127 (10×79) opponent average…meanwhile, Abreu has tallied 38 strikeouts in his 23.2 IP while allowing just three earned runs for a 1.14 ERA, and also posting a .138 opponent average (14.45 SO/9IP ratio ranks fourth in the AL).
AIR YORDAN: On Mon. night, Yordan Alvarez recorded his 14th career multi-homer game…it was his first multi-homer game of the season, last was on Sept, 16, 2022 vs. OAK…Alvarez’s 14 multi-homer games are tied with Gary Sanchez for the second-most multi-homer games in a players’ first 409 career games in MLB history behind only Ralph Kiner (17).
STEAK SANDWICHES: LF Yordan Alvarez has 46 RBI in his 43 games (49 team games) to put him on pace for 152 RBI… he’s the second Astro to record 46 RBI within the team’s first 49 games, joining 1B Jeff Bagwell (48 RBI), who also did so in 1997…Bagwell finished that year with 135 RBI, the second-highest total in club history (Lance Berkman, 136 RBI in 2006).
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP HUNTER BROWN
LAST START – 5/20 VS OAK: struck out a career-high 9 batters through 6 IP, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits without surrendering a walk…has struck out 17 batters over his last 2 starts (11.2IP)…was his 1st start of the year without allowing a walk and was the longest outing of his career without allowing a walk…logged his 4th quality start of the season.
ABOUT BROWN: rookie right-hander entered the season as the top prospect in the Astros system and one of the top pitching prospects in baseball…was ranked as the No. 28 prospect in baseball in Baseball America’s preseason top 100 rankings… was also rated as the No. 8 RHP prospect in MLB Pipeline’s preseason positional prospect rankings.
DIESEL: is averaging 91.9 mph with his slider, which is the hardest slider among all MLB pitchers, directly ahead of Philadelphia’s RHP Zach Wheeler (91.2 mph) and Los Angeles’ RHP Reid Detmers (90.3 mph) (among qualified players)…is averaging 95.9 mph with his fastball, which is 6th-hardest among AL starters.
HISTORIC START: his 2.54 career ERA ranks 2nd in Astros history by a pitcher through his first 16 career apps. (min. 70 IP), trailing only RHP Bo McLaughlin (2.28 in 1976).
THE LEADERBOARDS: ranks inside the top 10 in many categories among AL rookies… is T-1st in wins (4), 2nd in strikeouts (56), and 2nd in innings (50.2).
TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE: opponents are hitting .226 (14×62) against his curveball this season, which makes up 29% of his pitches this season.
SOLID STREAK: made back-to-back starts on April 9 and April 15 in which he recorded at least 7.0 IP without allowing an ER…the last Astros pitcher to do so was LHP Scott Kazmir, who made 2 such starts in a row in 2015 (7/24/15-7/30/15).
VS. OAK: struck out a career-high 9 batters through 6 IP in his first career start against the A’s…it was his 4th quality start of the season, second straight against an AL West opponent at Minute Maid Park.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Were swept in a four-game series at Seattle to end the last road trip and have been swept seven times this year…have a season-high eight-game losing streak and have also lost 11 of the last 12 and 16 of the last 18…are 10-42 (.192) overall, which matches the 1932 Red Sox for the second worst record after 52 games by an AL, NL or FL team since 1900…the worst is 9-40 (.184) by the 1904 Senators (had three games called with the score tied)…the Red Sox won game 53 to improve to 11-42 but the Senators lost to fall to 9-41…the lowest winning percentage by an AL or modern NL team is .235 by the 1916 Philadelphia A’s (36-117) and the most losses is 120 by the 1962 Mets…are 1-15-0 in series play…lost each of the first 10 series, won two of three at Kansas City from May 5-7, and have lost each of the last five series.
A’s IN MAY: The A’s are 4-19 (.174) in May after going 5-23 (.179) in April…had the worst record in the majors in April and currently have the worst mark in May (Pirates, 5-15/.250)…have lost 20 or more games in a month 15 times in Oakland history including three times in the last two years…had 21 in May and June last year, which was the first time since 1954 that the A’s had back-to-back 20-loss months.
OFFENSE: The A’s have scored two runs or fewer in each of the last seven games, which is the third longest streak in Oakland history…it is the longest since an eight-game streak from May 10-18, 1979 and the longest is nine games from Sept. 10-17, 1978…snapped a six-game homerless streak and a Oakland-record tying six-game streak with one extra base hit or fewer with a double and a home run last night…are batting .177 (39-for-220) with 10 runs scored, six doubles, one home run and 10 walks over the last seven games…overall, have the lowest batting average in the majors (.222), third lowest slugging percentage (.362) and OPS (.661) and fourth lowest on-base percentage (.299)…rank third in most strikeouts (489), fewest runs (183) and fewest doubles (68) and are tied for the fourth fewest extra base hits (128)… are tied for the most sacrifice hits (11), tied for fourth in hit by pitches (28) and tied for sixth in intentional walks (7)…the seven intentional walks match the A’s season total from last year…have been shut out three times in the last 14 games and seven times this year, which is tied with the Mets and Brewers for second most in the majors (Royals, 8)…A’s pinch hitters are tied for the most hits (12) and walks (8) in the majors.
PITCHING: The A’s have compiled a 5.82 ERA (130 er in 201.0 ip) in May after posting a 7.97 ERA in April…have a 6.88 ERA overall, 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…have allowed 367 runs (7.06 per game) and are on pace to allow 1143 runs…the only modern (since 1900) Major League teams to allow 1100 or more runs are the 1930 Phillies (1199) and 1996 Tigers (1103)…also have the highest opponents OPS (.873), batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.377) and slugging percentage (.497) in the majors this year…lead the majors in most home runs (88), walks (251), hit batters (38) and wild pitches (27) and have the sixth fewest strikeouts (391)…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).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-11 with a 5.82 ERA (58 er in 89.2 ip) in the 18 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 2-27 with a 7.14 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors and no other team has fewer than seven wins from its starters…are tied for the seventh fewest innings pitched (252.0).
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen had a blown save last night, snapping a 17- game streak with no saves or blown saves, which was the longest such
streak by an A’s team since the blown save was first tracked in 2004…the pen is now 4-for-14 (28.6%) in save opportunities…has the lowest save percentage and fewest saves in the majors and the 10 blown saves are tied for ninth most…has the highest ERA in the majors (6.56) and is tied for the third most innings pitched (203.0)…has allowed 42-of-102 (41.2%) inherited runners to score, which is tied for the fifth highest percentage…is tied for the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: A’s pitchers had their fifth pickoff of the season last night, which is tied for second most in the majors (Yankees, 6)…opponents are now 41-for-58 (70.7%) in stolen base attempts, which is the fourth lowest success rate in the majors…the 17 caught stealings are second most (Rockies, 18) but the A’s are tied for the ninth most stolen bases allowed…offensively, the A’s are 49-for-60 (81.7%) in stolen base attempts…rank third in the majors in stolen bases and attempts and 10th in stolen base percentage…the 49 steals are the most by an A’s team over the first 52 games since 1993 (50).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s begin a six-game homestand against Houston (three games) and Atlanta (three games) tonight…went 2-5 on the last
homestand against Texas (1-3) and Arizona (1-2) and are 5-20 (.200 at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…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)…now have an 11-game road losing streak, which is tied for the fourth longest road losing streak in Oakland history… it is the longest since May 21-June 9, 2005 when they also lost 11 straight… are 5-22 (.185) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors… have compiled a 5.99 ERA (155 er in 233.0 ip) at home compared to 7.82 on the road.
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in seven of their 10 wins…have five wins when tied after seven innings, three when trailing after seven innings and two when leading after seven inning… are tied for the second most wins in the majors when tied after seven innings and are tied for seventh in wins when trailing after seven innings… however, no other team has fewer than 12 wins when leading after seven innings…are 3-4 (.429) in extra inning games…are tied for second in the majors in extra inning games (7) and losses and tied for sixth in wins…have four walk-off wins, which is tied for the most in the majors.
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: Seven of the A’s 10 wins have been by one run and Oakland is 7-10 (.412) in one-run games…are tied for fourth in the majors in one-run losses and tied for seventh in one-run games (17)…however, have lost eight games by nine or more runs, which matches the most such losses by an A’s team over the last 27 years (also 2008 and 2022)…have a run differential of -184, which is the lowest in the majors…the lowest by an AL or NL team since 1901 is -349 by the 1932 Boston Red Sox.
THIS AND THAT: A’s outfielders had their 11th assist of the season last night, which is tied for second most in the majors (Royals, 12)…the A’s have committed just three errors in the last 10 games, but have 33 for the season, which is third most…have employed 43 players, which is the most in the majors (Mets, 41)…28 of the 43 have been pitchers, which is also the most (Rays, 26)…have used 12 rookies and seven players have made their Major League debuts…have used the injured list 15 times, including 11 times for pitchers…currently have eight players on the IL, including seven pitchers…are 9-22 (.290) in night games and 1-20 (.048) during the day…have an average time of game of 2:47, which is the longest in the majors…however, have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:43).
A’S VS. ASTROS
Oakland History: 90-100
at the Coliseum: 50-46
at Minute Maid Park: 40-54
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda is tied for eighth in the majors in walks (32)…leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.398) and walks…Esteury Ruiz leads ML rookies in hits (56), stolen bases (25) and hit by pitches (11), is tied for second in doubles (13), ranks fifth in batting (.275), sixth in RBI (22), tied for seventh in extra base hits (15), tied for eighth in runs (23) and ninth in on-base percentage (.336)…the 26 steals match the most by an Athletic over the last 11 years (Burns in 2015, Davis in 2017).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: James Kaprielian (0-4, 8.68 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last Saturday for his third stint with the A’s this year…is 0-2 despite a 3.00 ERA (12.0 ip, 9 h, 4 r, 4 er, 5 bb, 12 so) in two starts over his last two stints after going 0-2 with a 12.94 ERA in six games, including three starts, over his first stint…was on the A’s Opening Day roster and went 0-2 with a 12.15 ERA in three starts before moving to the bullpen…posted a 16.88 ERA in three relief appearances before he was optioned to Las Vegas on April 25…returned on May 13, started at lost to Texas that day and was optioned back to Triple-A the next day…did not pitch with the Aviators before he was recalled by Oakland on May 20 SEVEN INNINGS OR FEWER: Has tossed 7.0 innings or fewer in each of his five starts this year and has now pitched seven innings or fewer in all 52 of his career starts…that is the longest streak of consecutive starts of seven innings or fewer in Athletics history (previous: 47, Montas, Sept. 25, 2019-April 18, 2022).
THIS AND THAT: The A’s have been shut out in each of his last two starts and three of his five starts this year…left with an 8-5 lead in his first start but the bullpen allowed seven runs for the blown save…left with the lead in five of his starts last year only to have the bullpen blow the save…now has 21 career no decisions as a starter and has left with the lead and was the pitcher of record in 10 of those no decisions…has allowed five of his six home runs to left-handed hitters.
2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Allowed a season-high seven hits in his first start on April 3 against Cleveland but had a no decision in the A’s 12-11, 10-inning loss… left with an 8-5 lead but the bullpen blew the save…allowed a season-high seven runs on a season-high tying seven hits in an 11-0 loss at Tampa Bay on April 9…surrendered a career-high tying three home runs and logged a career-high 106 pitches…walked a career-high seven batters in a 17-6 loss to New York (NL) on April 14…the walks were the most by an A’s pitcher since Sonny Gray also walked seven on May 3, 2015…tossed 3.2 innings, which is a season-low as a starter…was 0-2 with a 12.15 ERA in three starts when he was moved to the bullpen following the start against the Mets…allowed at least five runs in each of those starts to join Todd Van Poppel (1994) as the only pitchers on an Opening Day roster in Oakland history to allow five or more runs in each of their first three starts…tossed a scoreless inning of relief on April 18 against Chicago (AL), but then allowed three runs in 1.0 inning on April 22 at Texas and two in 0.2 innings on April 24 at Los Angeles AL) and was optioned to Las Vegas on April 25…was recalled on May 13 and struck out a season-high seven in a career-high tying 7.0 innings that day against Texas…allowed three runs and took the loss in a 5-0 decision and was optioned back to Las Vegas the next day.
LAST START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 2-0 loss at Houston last Sunday…blanked the Astros on four walks over the first four innings…Meyers then led off the fifth inning with a single and scored three batters later on an Altuve RBI single…that would be the only run Kaprielian would allow in five innings of work but Valdez tossed a four-hit shutout for the Astros.
The Dallas Wings will travel west for a Commissioner’s Cup matchup with the new-look Seattle Storm on Friday.
Seattle welcomes Dallas to town in the Storm’s second regular-season outing of a new era without former Most Valuable Player and two-time Finals MVP Breanna Stewart.
The Storm opened 2023 sans Stewart, who left for New York in the offseason, and lost last Saturday to the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, 105-64. Jewell Loyd, who finished with 22 points, was Seattle’s only double-figure scorer in the loss.
Seattle tries to come out of the opening-game shock against a Dallas team that won its opener last Saturday, 85-78 against Atlanta.
While the Storm had just one double-figure scorer in their opener, three Wings went for 20-plus points Saturday: Arike Ogunbowale (27), Satou Sabally (25) and Natasha Howard (20).
Ogunbowale had games of just two and 12 points in two of Dallas’ four meetings with Seattle last year — well off the two-time All-Star’s 2022 scoring average of 19.7 points per game — albeit against a different Storm lineup.
The Wings have their own new faces, as well, including Howard — a member of Seattle’s 2018 and 2020 WNBA championship-winning lineups — and the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s draft, Maddy Siegrist of Villanova.
Dallas also welcomed a new head coach in the offseason, Latricia Trammell, a former Los Angeles Sparks assistant whose credentials include winning two NAIA collegiate championships as head coach at Oklahoma City University.
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