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NWSL Match Preview: Racing Louisville FC (1-2-4) at Kansas City Current (2-5-0)

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NWSL Match Preview: Racing Louisville FC (1-2-4) at Kansas City Current (2-5-0)

Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas – Saturday, May 20 at 8:00 PM ET

Players to watch:

Kansas City midfielder Debinha scored in the club’s 3-2 loss to Louisville in the Challenge Cup on Wednesday, her seventh goal against Racing in all competitions. Since Louisville joined NWSL in 2021, the only players with seven or more goals against a single club (all competitions) are Debinha (also 8 vs. Gotham) and Ashley Hatch (9 vs. North Carolina). The Brazilian leads the way in scoring for Kansas City with four goals, while former Racing forward Cece Kizer is right behind her with three of her own. 

Racing attacker Wang Shuang became the first Chinese goalscorer in NWSL history with her penalty kick just before halftime against Chicago. Prior to the goal, only Australia and Japan had produced an NWSL goalscorer among countries in the Asian Football Confederation. In the goals department, Wang Shuang is one of seven different goalscorers for Racing through its seven games played, and only midfielder Savannah DeMelo has scored more than once, with one of her two goals also coming from the penalty spot.

Match facts: After meeting Wednesday night in Louisville in the Challenge Cup, the Kansas City Current now return home to host the reverse fixture in the regular season, though the visitors Racing Louisville FC are who enter with momentum on their side. 

The Current attempted 20 shots in their 2-0 loss to San Diego, their second most shots ever in a league match (26 vs. NC in 2021). Fifteen of those 20 shots came in the second half, the club’s second most attempts in a single half (18 in second half vs. NC in 2021) of a league match. Kansas City has now also lost three straight in all competitions, falling 3-2 at Angel City a week prior to the San Diego match in addition to the midweek loss to Racing.

Louisville notched its first win of the season on Friday, scoring a 3-0 home win against Chicago. Racing’s goals included both an own goal and a penalty kick, marking the first time the team has scored on both of those types of goals in the same game. Though the club had not won any of its first six games matches, it managed to draw four of those six to lead the league in that category and help it avoid the bottom of the league standings. Louisville can also boast in the fact that it has succeeded in earning at least a point in each one of the games it has scored in. 

Racing Louisville defeated Kansas City, 3-2, in the Challenge Cup on Wednesday. It is the first time that Kansas City has ever played the same opponent in consecutive games (all competitions) in the same season, while Racing has done so once (vs. Gotham in October 2021).

NWSL Match Preview: Washington Spirit (4-0-3) at Orlando Pride (2-4-1)

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NWSL Match Preview: Washington Spirit (4-0-3) at Orlando Pride (2-4-1)

Exploria Stadium | Orlando, Florida – Saturday, May 20 at 7:00 PM ET

Players to watch:

Orlando midfielder Erika Tymrak made her 100th start in NWSL regular season play in the Pride’s scoreless draw over the weekend. Of the 56 players with 100+ starts in league history, Tymrak is the only one who has also made more than 40 appearances as a substitute (61). From an attacking standpoint, only forward Messiah Bright (2) has scored more than one goal on the year, though it is teammate Adriana who leads the league in chances created (17). The Brazilian is the only player in the side with at least one goal and one assist through seven games as well. 

Washington forward Ashley Hatch has scored nine career goals against Orlando in all NWSL competitions, including scoring in each of her last six regular season matches against the Pride. That’s the longest streak of appearances with a goal against a single opponent in NWSL history. Hatch leads the Spirit attack with five goals on the year, with teammate Trinity Rodman just behind her with three goals over her own. 

Match facts: The Orlando Pride welcome the Washington Spirit to Exploria Stadium on Saturday night as one of two games to kick off a six-game slate across the league this weekend. The Pride, who are tied for the lowest-scoring team in the league (5), have not lost in three straights and managed to pick up two wins those games, scoring four of their five then. On the other side, the Spirit have won two straight and are still without a loss in their first seven in total.

A 0-0 draw with Gotham moved Orlando’s unbeaten streak in league play to three consecutive matches (W2 D1), conceding just once in that span. It is the first time since May 2018 that the Pride have allowed one goal or fewer in a three-game span. Commendably, after four straight losses, Orlando’s seven points are among the best in the league in the last three games as well. 

The Spirit lead the NWSL with 15 points (W4 D3) as they are the lone remaining unbeaten team in league play. Washington is the sixth team in league history to have zero losses through the first seven games of a season but only three teams have made it to eight games unbeaten – North Carolina in 2018, Portland in 2016, and OL Reign in 2014.

Washington is unbeaten in its last eight games against Orlando across all NWSL competitions (W3 D5), including a 4-2 win in the Challenge Cup on May 10. All four goals in that game came from outside the box, the only time in NWSL history (all comps) a team has scored more than two such goals in a single game.

NWSL Match Preview: Angel City FC ( 2-3-2) at North Carolina Courage (3-3-1)

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NWSL Match Preview: Angel City FC ( 2-3-2) at North Carolina Courage (3-3-1)

WakeMed Soccer Park | Cary, North Carolina – Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00 PM ET

Players to watch:

For the second time this season, North Carolina forward Tyler Lussi scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory for the Courage, doing so on Mother’s Day against the Reign after accomplishing the same feat against Houston earlier in the year. Both goals came with Lussi as a starter, with the forward entering 2023 with just one career regular-season goal as a starter (August 2017 for POR vs. HOU). However, Brazilian attacker Kerolin is who leads the Courage in scoring through its seven games played this season, though two of those goals have come from the penalty spot.

Angel City attacker Jun Endo had three chances created against Washington on Saturday, the most of any player on either team. For the season, Endo has created 16 chances now, putting her one shy of the league leader, Orlando’s Adriana (17). In total, Endo has one goal and two assists on the year with only forward Claire Emslie contributing more goals and assists (4 – 2G, 2A) than the Japan international. In the scoring department, forward Alyssa Thompson leads the way with three goals. 

Match facts: The North Carolina Courage host Angel City FC at WakeMed Soccer Park to kick off a full six-game slate across the league on Saturday and Sunday. An up and down start to the year for North Carolina has seen the side stretch an unbeaten run to three games (W2 D1) approaching this weekend’s match. Meanwhile, Angel City has won, drawn, and lost all in its last three games, most recently falling 1-0 to the Spirit in Washington.

North Carolina has won 20 of the 31 all-time home games it has played in the regular season when hosting teams from west of the Mississippi River (D4 L7). The Courage have allowed just five goals in those 20 victories (0.25 per game) compared to 22 in the 11 draws and losses (2.0 per game). This will be North Carolina’s last home match until June 18 with the club heading on the road for three straight after Saturday night. 

Angel City has played just two road games so far this season in league play, a 2-1 win over Orlando and a 3-3 draw with Portland. The five goals are the team’s most ever over a span of two road games and the second most by any NWSL team in a two-game span on the road this season (Thorns – 7). 

The home team has won each game between Angel City and North Carolina with ACFC winning 2-1 last April and the Courage taking a 1-0 win in September. All four goals in the fixture’s history have been scored by international players (Brazil’s Debinha & Kerolin, Japan’s Jun Endo, and Canada’s Vanessa Gilles). 

MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (24-20) at Los Angeles Angels (23-22)

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MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (24-20) at Los Angeles Angels (23-22)

MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:

THE TWINS: After completing their six-game homestand with a record of 4-2 (2-1 vs. San Diego and 2-1 vs. Chicago-NL), the Twins began their six-game, seven-day road-trip with a series loss at Dodger Stadium…tonight, the Twins will continue the trip with the first of three in Anaheim over the weekend…the Twins have gone 14-8 at Target Field and 10-12 on the road.

BASES LOADED, STILL A PROBLEM – ON BOTH SIDES: The Twins lost to the Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles by a score of 7-3, dropping the three-game series 2-1, making them 7-6-1 in series play, 1-5-1 on the road…Sonny Gray was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing two runs on five hits in 4.0 innings pitched…Emilio Pagán allowed five runs to score with two outs in the seventh inning, two of which were inherited from José De León…the dagger was a James Outman grand slam to centerfield…the offense recorded eight hits, including home runs from Byron Buxton (9) and Joey Gallo (10)…Minnesota was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left the bases loaded with nobody out in the sixth inning.

TWINS ADD GARLICK: The Twins have placed utility player Nick Gordon on the 10-day Injured List with a right tibia fracture (retroactive to May 18)…Gordon, who sustained the injury after fouling a pitch off his leg in the fifth inning of Wednesday afternoon’s game at Dodger Stadium, played in 34 games for the Twins this season, hitting .176 (16-for-91) with five doubles, one triple, two home runs, seven RBI, 13 runs scored and one walk…to replace Gordon on the 26-man roster, the Twins have recalled outfielder Kyle Garlick from Triple-A St. Paul…Garlick, who will be making his second stint with the Twins this season, recently played in 18 games for the Saints, hitting .197 (13-for-66) with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 10 RBI, 12 runs scored, 13 walks and a .329 on-base percentage…he played in three games for the Twins from April 13-19, going 1-for-7 with one home run.

TWINS-ANGELS: Tonight marks the first of six meetings with the Angels this season…after this weekend, the Twins will host the Angels for three from September 22-24…Twins went 2-4 vs. Los Angeles last season, going 1-2 at Angel Stadium (August 12-14) and 1-2 at Target Field (September 23-25).

Carlos Correa is hitting .302 (103-for-341) with 24 doubles, 17 home runs, 68 RBI, a .374 on-base percentage, a .522 slugging percentage and an .896 OPS in 91 career games against the Angels…the 68 RBI are his most vs. any opponent and the 17 home runs are his second most (Texas – 20)…additionally, his 68 RBI are tied for fifth most among actives.

Jorge Polanco made his major league debut in this ballpark as a 20-year-old, 10 days before his 21st birthday…he entered the game as a pinch hitter for Pedro Florimón, drew a walk against Ernesto Frieri and eventually scored…Twins first base coach Hank Conger was the starting catcher for the Angels in that game, going 0-for-4.

Angels manager Phil Nevin played 16 games for the AL Central Champion Twins in 2006… Nevin was acquired by the Twins via trade with Chicago-NL (for RHP Adam Harben) at the trade waiver deadline on August 31 and hit .190 (8-for-42) with one double, one home run, four RBI, 10 walks and a .340 on-base percentage down the stretch.

WEST FRIENDS: The Twins are playing an AL West opponent for just the second time this season…their only series vs. this division was a three-gamer vs. Houston at Target Field to open the home portion of their 2023 schedule from April 7-9, taking two of three…the Twins went 13-19 vs. the AL West last season, going 0-6 vs. Houston, 2-4 vs. Los Angeles, 5-1 vs. Oakland, 4-3 vs. Seattle and 2-5 vs. Texas.

JOE CY-AN: Through eight starts, Joe Ryan has gone 6-1, 2.16 ERA (50.0 IP, 12 ER) with seven walks and 57 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .190 (35-for-184) batting average… below are his ranks among AL starting pitchers in a few notable categories:

ERA OPS SLG WHIP FIP WAR
Gray – 1.64 Ryan – .507 Gray – .282 Wells – 0.79 Gray – 2.01 Eovaldi – 2.3
Cole – 2.01 Rodriguez – .523 Ryan – .283 Ryan – 0.84 Gausman – 2.40 Gray – 2.2
Rodriguez – 2.06 Wells – .560 Rodriguez – .291 Rodriguez – 0.86 Eovaldi – 2.46 Gausman – 2.1
Ryan – 2.16 Gray – .564 Ohtani – .307 Germán – 0.90 Ryan – 2.53 Ryan – 1.8
McClanahan – 2.34 Ohtani – .572 Cole – .309 Ohtani – 0.91 Kirby – 2.55 Cole – 1.8

OFFENSIVE COORDINATORS: After eight more hits on Wednesday afternoon, the Twins now have totaled 63 hits (13, 18, 13, 11, 8) in their last five games…below are the Twins first 39 games from March 30-May 12 and their last five games since Saturday:

AVG R/G H 2B HR RBI BB K OBP SLG OPS
FIRST 39 .218 4.2 281 58 47 157 131 367 .298 .381 .679
LAST 5 .317 8.6 63 14 13 41 19 55 .385 .583 .968

NOTE: Since Saturday, the Twins lead baseball in hits (63), batting average (.317), on-base (.385), slugging (.583) and OPS (.968).

BUCK TRUCK, U.S. TOUR: Byron Buxton homered in the three-game series finale at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, marking just his second road homer of the season after hitting 13 last season…his final road homer of 2022 came in this ballpark on August 14, off Tucker Davidson…that homer was the final one in a stretch of 10-straight road series with a homer.

Buck finished the three-game series with the Dodgers hitting .385 (5-for-13) with two doubles, one home run, two RBI, two walks and two stolen bases.

HOOK, LINE AND DINGER: After hitting two home runs on Wednesday afternoon, the Twins have now hit 13 homers in their last five games… they have homered 60 times on the season, the third most in the AL and seventh most in baseball…50 of their home runs have come in their last 32 games since April 13…since that date only the Rays (57) have hit as many among AL teams.

KIRILLOFF THE HOOK: Since being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on May 5, Alex Kirilloff has hit .333 (12-for-36) with six walks, a .455 on-base percentage and an 1.010 OPS in 11 games…in his last 21 games between Triple-A (April 18-May 4) and Minnesota (May 6-17), he has combined to hit .324 (24-for-74) with four doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI, 12 walks, a .444 on-base percentage and a 1.026 OPS.

THE LEFTORIUM: The Twins are scheduled to face back-to-back lefties in Anaheim, which will mark the first time facing two southpaws in a series since September 30-October 2, 2022 at Detroit (Tyler Alexander and Joey Wentz)…the last time they faced lefties in back-to-back games was September 24-25, 2022 vs. Los Angeles-AL (Reid Detmers and José Suárez)…tonight marks the ninth time Minnesota has faced a lefty, the previous eight being Jesús Luzardo on April 5 at Miami (5-2 loss), Nestor Cortes on April 14 at New York-AL (4-3 win), Chris Sale on April 18 at Boston (5-4 loss), Patrick Corbin on April 23 vs. Washington (3-1 win), Cortes again on April 25 (6-2 win), Logan Allen on May 6 at Cleveland (4-3 loss), Drew Smyly on May 12 vs. Chicago-NL (6-2 loss) and Clayton Kershaw on Tuesday (5-1 win)…the Twins have the fifth-fewest at-bats in baseball vs. left-handed pitching at just 317.

Twins are slashing .221/.290/.375 with 11 homers vs. lefties, compared to .234/.315/.417 with 49 homers vs. righties.

Jorge Polanco is hitting .350 (7-for-20) with a .950 OPS against left-handed pitching this season.

In his last 41 games against left-handed pitching (since August 9, 2022), Carlos Correa is hitting .313 (25-for-80) with six doubles, one triple, six home runs, 15 RBI, 13 walks, a .396 on-base percentage, a .638 slugging percentage and a 1.033 OPS.

STARTING PITCHER – JOE RYAN 41
2023: 6-1, 2.16 ERA CAREER: 21-10, 3.30 ERA
Making his ninth start and appearance of 2023 and his sixth road start of the year…also his 41st career start and appearance.

Facing Los Angeles-AL for the second time in his career…last faced September 24, 2022 at Target Field (ND; 4.0 IP, 3 R/ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 K).

Owns most strikeouts (238) and second-most wins (21) through a pitcher’s first 40 career games in Twins history (since 1961).

LAST TIME OUT: Earned his team-leading sixth win in the Twins 11-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on May 13 at Target Field…recorded his sixth-straight quality start, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with four hits allowed, one walk and a season-high-tying 10 strikeouts…allowed four hits in the first three innings, then retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced from the top of the third inning through the top of the sixth…struck out six of the last nine hitters he faced, including striking out the side in his final inning of work…threw a season-high 102 pitches, his most in a game since throwing 106 pitches vs. Kansas City on September 13, 2022…recorded 10-or-more strikeouts for the fourth time in his career and the second time vs. the Cubs (career-high 11 K at Chicago-NL on September 22, 2021)…was relieved by Jovani Moran to begin the top of the seventh inning with Minnesota leading 7-0…received seven runs of support, bringing his season total

LAST TIME OUT: Earned his team-leading sixth win in the Twins 11-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on May 13 at Target Field…recorded his sixth-straight quality start, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with four hits allowed, one walk and a season-high-tying 10 strikeouts…allowed four hits in the first three innings, then retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced from the top of the third inning through the top of the sixth…struck out six of the last nine hitters he faced, including striking out the side in his final inning of work…threw a season-high 102 pitches, his most in a game since throwing 106 pitches vs. Kansas City on September 13, 2022…recorded 10-or-more strikeouts for the fourth time in his career and the second time vs. the Cubs (career-high 11 K at Chicago-NL on September 22, 2021)…was relieved by Jovani Moran to begin the top of the seventh inning with Minnesota leading 7-0…received seven runs of support, bringing his season total to 46 runs of support, third most in baseball…the Twins offense recorded 13 hits, including a season-high five home runs, as Moran and Cole Sands combined to hold the Cubs to one run over the final 3.0 innings to seal the win.

Has pitched 6.0-or-more innings in each of his last nine starts, dating back to September 30, 2022…marks the longest streak of Ryan’s career and the longest active streak in baseball.

Current streak of six-straight quality starts also marks the longest streak of his career and the longest by a Twin since José Berríos recorded seven-consecutive quality starts in 2019…Ryan’s streak is tied with Texas’s Nathan Eovaldi for the third longest in baseball this season, trailing only Houston’s Framber Valdez (7) and Seattle’s George Kirby (7).

Has not allowed a home run in his last four starts…matches his career-long streak of four games without allowing a homer, done twice previously (September 13-20, 2022; April 21-May 10, 2022)…last allowed a homer in the sixth inning on April 19 at Boston to Kiké Hernández.

TWO STARTS AGO: Took his first loss of the 2023 season and snapped his career-long streak of eight- consecutive winning decisions on May 7 at Cleveland in a 2-0 Twins defeat…pitched 6.0 innings, allowing two runs and a season-high eight hits with no walks and four strikeouts…allowed both runs in the first inning on four singles; infielder José Ramírez and designated hitter Josh Bell each recorded RBI singles against Ryan…retired 15 of 17 batters from the bottom of the first inning to the bottom of the sixth…stranded two runners in the sixth inning by striking out outfielder Will Brennan to end his outing…Emilio Pagán and Brock Stewart each recorded scoreless innings out of the Twins bullpen but Minnesota had only one hit against three Guardians pitchers in the shutout loss…marked Ryan’s first loss since September 7, 2022 at New York-AL.

41 THROUGH 40: Ryan made his 40th career appearance and start on May 13 vs. Chicago-NL, earning his 21st career win in the Twins 11-1 victory…here are Ryan’s career numbers and how they rank in Twins history (since 1961) through a pitcher’s first 40 career games:

STATISTIC RYAN’S #’S TWINS RANK
Strikeouts……………………………………………… 238 ……………………………………………………………. 1st
Wins……………………………………………………… 21 …………………………………………………………….. 2nd
Win Probability Added …………………………….. 2.4 ………………………………………………………………5th
Quality Starts…………………………………………. 19 ………………………………………………………….. T-6th
Innings Pitched……………………………………. 223.2 …………………………………………………………. 13th

VS. THE ANGELS: Tonight is Ryan’s second career start vs. Los Angeles-AL…previously faced the Angels on September 24, 2022 at Target Field, taking a no-decision in an 8-4 Twins win; pitched 4.0 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits, with three walks and five strikeouts…allowed RBI hits to centerfielder Mike Trout and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani…threw a season-low 69 pitches and was relieved by Griffin Jax to start the fifth inning…the start matched four others for the shortest outing of his career and marked the only start of those five that the Twins won.

In six career starts vs. American League West opponents (SEA – 2, HOU – 2, TEX – 1, LAA – 1), Ryan is 1-4, 5.90 ERA (29.0 IP, 19 ER) with 17 walks and 31 strikeouts.

SMOOTH ROAD: Making his team-high sixth road start of the season tonight…is 3-1, 2.03 ERA (31.0 IP, 7 ER) with five walks and 30 strikeouts in five road starts this year…his 2.03 ERA away from Target Field in 2023 is the fourth-best road ERA in baseball (min. 25.0 IP), behind only SF’s Anthony DeSclafani (1.75), TEX’s Nathan Eovaldi (1.83) and SEA’s George Kirby (1.95)…making his first career appearance and start at Angel Stadium, marking his 13th different ballpark in his career; is 5-5, 4.96 ERA (61.2 IP, 34 ER) with 14 walks and 62 strikeouts in 12 previous starts when pitching at a new venue.

Ryan has gone 11-5 with a 3.28 ERA (107.0 IP, 39 ER), 24 walks and 106 strikeouts in 19 career road starts…has similar numbers in 21 career home starts, going 10-5, 3.32 ERA (116.2 IP, 43 ER) with 35 walks and 132 strikeouts.

Seeking his first career win at a ballpark in the Pacific Time Zone tonight…is 0-3, 11.93 ERA (14.1 IP, 19 ER) with four walks and 14 strikeouts in three career starts on the West Coast (SEA – 1, SD – 1, LAD – 1).

LEFT (AND RIGHT) OUT IN THE COLD: Left-handed hitters are batting just .181 (17-for-94) with a .480 OPS against Ryan this year…right-handed hitters are hitting .200 (18-for-90) with a .534 OPS… his .190 overall opponent batting average ranks sixth among all qualified American League pitchers this season, trailing LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (.145), NYY’s Domingo Germán (.165), BAL’s Tyler Wells (.168), TOR’s Chris Bassitt (.175) and DET’s Eduardo Rodriguez (.186)…over his career, Ryan has slightly better splits against left-handed hitters than righties, with lefties batting just .191 with a .597 OPS since his debut in 2021…right-handed hitters are hitting .211 with a .638 OPS off Ryan.

THE ARSENAL: Ryan has utilized a four-pitch mix in his first eight starts of the 2023 season…has leaned on his four-seam fastball and split finger, combining to throw the two pitches 86.1 percent of the time this year; the fastball-split duo accounted for 90 of his 102 pitches (88.2 percent) in his last start on May 13 vs. Chicago-NL…opponents are batting just .190 (32-for-168) with 51 strikeouts against Ryan’s four-seamer and split finger combined…here’s a look at Ryan’s repertoire, per Baseball Savant:

PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (92.5)………….58.7% (430 pitches, 210/220).. .189 (20-for-106), 3 2B, 3 HR, 38 K
Split Finger (83.3)………………….27.4% (201 pitches, 71/130)…………. .194 (12-for-62), 2 2B, 13 K
Sweeper (78.7)…………………………8.6% (63 pitches, 52/11)………………………….. .143 (1-for-7), 2 K
Slider (82.8)……………………………..5.3% (39 pitches, 30/9)………………….. .250 (2-for-8), 1 HR, 3 K

Ryan’s four-seam fastball has accumulated a run value of -10 this season, the second-best run value on a four-seam fastball in the majors (min. 50 PA), trailing NYY’s Gerrit Cole (-11).

LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:

LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the first of nine games on a homestand against the Minnesota Twins (May 19-21), Boston Red Sox (May 22-24) 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).

LONG HOMESTAND: The Angels current nine game (10-day) homestand is tied for the longest of the season…Halos will also host a nine game homestand immediately following the All-Star Break against the Astros (July 14-16), Yankees (July 17-19) and Pirates (July 21-23).

COUNTRY WEEKEND: This weekend is “Country Weekend” at the Big A…A postgame concert featuring Russell Dickerson will take place on the field following tomorrow night’s game.

BACK ABOVE .500: With a 23-22 record, Halos are back above the .500 mark on the season…LAA has been exactly .500 10 different times this season (1-1, 5-5, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 14-14 & 22-22).

DINGER DUO: Yesterday was the 25th time that Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani homered in the same game… It’s the fourth highest total among duos in Angels history (club record is 48 games – Trout/Pujols).

LEAD ASSISTANT: Hunter Renfroe is tied for the American League lead with five outfield assists this season…Sine 2017, his 61 outfield assists lead the Majors (Starling Marte is second with 51 assists).

LEAD OFF MICK: Mickey Moniak has hit leadoff home runs in two of his four starts for the Angels this season…He’s one of seven players in the Majors with multiple leadoff HR this year…He celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday and became the first player in MLB history to make his season debut on his birthday and hit a leadoff home run…Additionally, he was the first player in Angels history to hit a leadoff homer on his birthday.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER SHO: Monday night, Shohei Ohtani became the first pitcher to reach base safely five times in a game since Mel Stottlemyre for the Yankees on Sept. 26, 1964 at Washington…He finished a double shy of becoming the first starting pitcher in MLB history to hit for the cycle.

MORE HISTORY: Shohei Ohtani reached the 400 career innings pitched threshold on Monday night… According to ELIAS, his 509 strikeouts in his first 400 innings as a starter are the second-most all-time (Corbin Burnes had 539 strikeouts through his first 400 IP for Milwaukee).

VS. MINNESOTA: Today is the first of six matchups this season between the Angels and Twins…In addition to the current series, the teams will meet again Sept. 22- 24 at Target Field…Last season, Halos went 4-2 against Minnesota to take the season series for a second consecutive year.

LEAGUE LEADER: Shohei Ohtani, leads the Majors in opponent batting average (.145), and ranks third in strikeouts (71) and sixth in WHIP (0.91).

PLAY FROM AHEAD: Halos have held leads in 37 of 45 games played this year.

SINGLE HANDED: Gio Urshela has hit 39 singles this year plus six extra-base hits (five doubles & one home run)…Urshela ranks second, behind Toronto’s Bo Bichette (42), for the American League lead in singles.

FRESH ARM: RHP Zack Weiss was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday and is looking to make his season debut with the Angels…He has appeared in 10 \games for the Bees this season.

ESTÉVEZ ENDING: This season, Carlos Estévez is pitching to a 1.35 ERA (20 IP – 3 ER) and has converted all 10 of his save opportunities…He is the first Angels pitcher to convert his first 10 save opportunities of a season since Ernesto Frieri converted his first 12 chances in 2012.

WALSH ON REHAB: Jared Walsh (headaches and insomnia) has played six games on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake and is batting .500
(10/20) with eight runs scored, one double, one home run, five RBI, seven walks and a 1.343 OPS.

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 16 starts at first base, 13 starts at third base, eight at shortstop and one at second base.

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).

UNEARNED: Angels have allowed 26 unearned runs this season, which is the most in the Majors…Halos have committed 31 fielding errors this season, which is also the most in the Majors.

ON THE BOARD: Halos have not been shut out since Aug. 21, 2022 at Detroit…Current streak of 86 games without being shut out is the longest active streak in the Majors and fifth-longest streak in Angels history (fourth longest streak was 90 games in 1995).

NET-OW: Zack Neto has been hit by seven 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).

RED SOX ON DECK: Following the current series vs. Minnesota, the Angels will continue the homestand with a three game series against the Boston Red Sox… Angels went 1-3 against Boston during trip to Fenway earlier this season from April 14-17.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP REID DETMERS
0-3, 4.89 ERA
Pitched 12th no-hitter in Angels history on May 10, 2022 vs. Tampa Bay

  • TODAY’S GAME: Making eighth start of the season today and fourth at home…Made Opening Day roster for second consecutive season…Is in third Major League season with Angels.
  • LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor in decision in last start on Saturday at Cleveland after tossing 5+ innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts…Began the outing with 5.0 scoreless frames…Exited the 6th inning after allowing a walk and an RBI double to open the frame…The bequeathed runner would ultimately score as well.
  • END THE STREAK: Has taken the loss in each of last three decisions, which is longest streak of career.
  • STAY UNFAMILIAR: This season, opponents are batting .243 (28/115) the first two times through the order, but are batting .458 (11/24) the third time through the batting order.
  • EARLY SUCCESS: Has a 2.57 ERA (21 IP – 6 ER) in the first three innings of games, compared with an 8.36 ERA (14 IP – 13 ER) from the fourth inning on.
  • GOING OFFSPEED: In 2023, is holding opponents to a .260 (25/96) average against off-speed pitches, but has a .326 (14/43) average against his fastball.
  • VS. MINNESOTA: In two career games vs. Minnesota, is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA (9 IP – 6 ER) and 11 strikeouts… Both starts came last season.
  • AT ANGEL STADIUM: In 18 career games at Angel Stadium, is 5-5 with a 3.87 ERA (97.2 IP – 42 ER) and 94 strikeouts…This year, is 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA (14.2 IP – 9 ER) in three home starts…Last season, was 4-3 with a 3.22 ERA (72.2 IP – 26 ER) in 13 home starts, including no-hitter on May 10 vs. Rays (seventh individual no-hitter in Angel Stadium history).

MLB Preview: Kansas City Royals (14-31) at Chicago White Sox (16-29)

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MLB Preview: Kansas City Royals (14-31) at Chicago White Sox (16-29)

KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:

BULLPEN DAY DUB: Seven different Royals pitchers contributed to a 4-3 win in San Diego on Wednesday to clinch their third series victory of the season and second in their last three sets…Carlos Hernández had 4 strikeouts over 2.0 scoreless innings and Mike Mayers—who was selected from Omaha before the game— allowed 1 run over 2.2 innings in his Royals debut…with the game tied at 1-1 in the 6th, Vinnie Pasquantino hit a go-ahead, 2-run home run off Yu Darvish and Maikel Garcia added an RBI double later in the inning en route to a career-high-tying 3-hit game…Josh Taylor was charged with 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th, but the trio of Aroldis Chapman, Taylor Clarke and Scott Barlow combined for 3.0 scoreless frames for the 2nd consecutive game to secure the series win and mark Kansas City’s 1st series-deciding victory of the season.

The Royals seven pitchers combined for 9 walks and 13 strikeouts, both of which fell 1 shy of the team’s season high…Wednesday marked just the 33rd game in franchise history in which Royals pitchers issued 9 walks and won, and it was their 1st such win since they did it twice within a span of 11 days in April 2021, including their 14-10 Opening Day win over the Rangers and a 4-3 win in 11 innings at the White Sox.

Royals pitchers held the Padres to 4-for-23 (.174) with runners in scoring position during the 3-game set.

ROSTER MOVES: The Royals announced today that right-handed pitcher Brad Keller has been placed on the 15-day Injured List (retroactive to May 16) with right shoulder impingement syndrome…in a corresponding move, right hander Max Castillo has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha…Castillo was optioned earlier this week after throwing 122 pitches in a four-day span, most recently pitching 2.1 scoreless innings on Monday night in San Diego…in 3 appearances with the Royals this season, Castillo owns a 2.89 ERA (3 ER in 9.1 IP).

ROYALS ON THE MEND: In his 4th rehab start and 3rd with Triple-A Omaha, left hander Daniel Lynch allowed 5 runs on 9 hits and no walks in 3.2 innings on Wednesday, with 8 strikeouts…he’s allowed 9 runs on 20 hits in 14.1 innings over his 4 rehab starts, but has issued only 4 walks with 19 strikeouts…Lynch has not pitched in the big leagues this season, after being placed on the 15-day IL on March 30 with a left rotator cuff strain.

Nicky Lopez went 2-for-5 with a double last night in his 2nd rehab game with Triple-A Omaha, and played the entire game at shortstop…Lopez was placed on the 10-day IL on May 2 with appendicitis.

Drew Waters, who suffered a strained left oblique during the first week of Spring Training, is 6-for-32 in 8 rehab games with Omaha…that includes a 4-hit, 2-RBI game on Wednesday and a 1-for-4 game last night.

MAY FLOWERS: The Royals have won back-to-back games for the fourth time and tonight they’re seeking their 3rd straight win for the first time this season…they are 7-9 through 16 games in the month of May, already matching their win total from all of March and April, when they went 7-22 in 29 games…the Royals are 6-5 in their last 11 games—including 3 wins over the White Sox in Kansas City last week—after starting the season 8-26.

The Royals offense has blossomed in the month of May, and that’s still true even after they were held to 9 runs over 3 games in San Diego…after a slow start in March/April which saw the Royals rank among the worst teams in the Majors in several offensive categories, including 29th in runs per game (3.3) and 30th in OPS (.624), the Royals have been among the best offenses in the league since the calendar flipped to May…they rank 4th in the Majors in May in extra-base hits (61), 7th in slugging percentage (.468), 8th in OPS (.797), 9th in runs per game (5.4), and 10th in both average (.259) and on-base percentage (.330).

In 16 games this month, the Royals rank 6th in the Majors with 24 home runs, already 4 more HR than the 20 they hit in 29 games during March/April…they hit only 1 HR in the 3-game series in San Diego, after beginning the month with 13 straight games with a HR, which marked the 3rd-longest streak in the Majors this season and the 2nd-longest HR streak in Royals history, trailing a 15-game run from April 6-22, 2001.

Royals catchers have hit 12 home runs this season, the most of any position on the team and the highest total at the catcher position in the Majors, 2 more than the Athletics and Braves (10 each)…Salvador Perez leads the Royals with 9 home runs, including 8 as a catcher…MJ Melendez has homered once as a catcher and Freddy Fermin has 3 home runs in 9 games (6 starts) as a catcher since his May 2 recall.

Vinnie Pasquantino has 18 career HR, 12 of which have given the Royals a lead (66.7%), including 5 of his 8 HR this season…his 5 go-ahead HR in 2023 are only 2 behind Aaron Judge for the Major League lead.

WHAT A RELIEF!: The bullpen continued its strong run in Wednesday’s win in San Diego, in which six relievers combined to allow 3 runs over 7.0 innings, with 9 strikeouts…over the last 11 games, Royals relievers have recorded a 2.74 ERA (15 ER in 49.1 IP), .213 opponents’ average (37-for-174) and 62 strikeouts (11.3 K/9)… ten different pitchers have thrown a pitch in relief during this 11-game run, including Carlos Hernández, who started Wednesday’s win in San Diego as the opener and pitched 2.0 scoreless innings to mark his 8th scoreless outing in his last 10, a stretch in which he’s pitched to a 1.32 ERA (2 ER in 13.2 IP) and .167 opponents’ average (8-for-48) with a whopping 20 strikeouts (13.2 K/9), only 4 walks (2.6 BB/9) and no home runs allowed.

Taylor Clarke pitched a scoreless 8th inning on Wednesday to run his scoreless streak to 7.1 innings over 6 appearances, during which he’s held opponents to a .200 average (5-for-25) with 11 strikeouts.

Scott Barlow has retired 20 of his last 21 batters, and the only exception during that stretch was a single by Oakland’s JJ Bleday on May 7…he’s recorded 10.2 scoreless innings over his last 10 outings since April 22, a stretch in which he has 5 saves, a .111 opponents’ average (4-for-36) and 16 strikeouts…his save on Wednesday was the 49th in his career, tying him with Wade Davis and Steve Farr for 9th in Royals history.

Royals relievers lead the Majors with 207 strikeouts and a 10.9 K/9, which marks a big improvement over last year, when the Royals bullpen ranked 25th in the Majors with 552 strikeouts and 21st with an 8.5 K/9.

FOUR SCORE: The Royals are 12-11 this season when they score at least 4 runs, including 6-1 in their last 7 such games, after starting the season 6-10…their .522 win percentage when they score 4 runs—which is actually 2nd worst in the Majors—is more than 400 points higher than their 2-20 record (.091) when they score fewer than 4 runs, which is the 4th-worst record in the Majors, better than the Padres (2-21), Red Sox (1-12) and A’s (1-26).

The Royals are 6-5 in 1-run games this season and their .545 win percentage is 5th best in the American League…each of their last 3 wins have been by 1 run, including each of their last 2 games in San Diego.

VS. WHITE SOX: The Royals are visiting the White Sox this weekend for the first time this season, after hosting them in Kansas City last week, where they won 3 of 4 games and outscored the Sox 27-13…the Royals are 23-19 vs. the White Sox since the start of 2021, but they’re seeking their first series win here since April 2022.

After playing 7 games over a 14-day span, these teams won’t see each other again until September.

ON DECK: Yesterday’s off day ended a stretch in which the Royals played 26 games in 27 days, and was their first break in the schedule since May 1…yesterday also marked their first of four off days over a 15-day span, including one next Thursday at home and consecutive off days at home on May 31 and June 1, which will mark the first time the Royals will have scheduled back-to-back off days since April 6-7, 2016.

The Royals next two series, including this weekend in Chicago and a 3-game set next week in Kansas City vs. Detroit, will mark their only two American League opponents over a stretch of eight series, which includes upcoming sets with the Nationals, Cardinals, Rockies and Marlins.

TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP ZACK GREINKE (1-4, 5.01)

ZACK GREINKE is making his 10th start of the season and 524th of his career tonight vs. the White Sox, 3 starts behind Jerry Koosman and Hall of Famer Jack Morris for 37th on the all-time starts list…it’s his 33rd career appearance (30th start) vs. the White Sox and 2nd in two weeks…Greinke, now in his 20th season in the Majors, is a six-time All-Star, a six-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner and was named the American League Cy Young Award winner in 2009 with the Royals.

He is one of three pitchers in Major League history with at least six Rawlings Gold Gloves and six All-Star selections, along with Greg Maddux and Bob Gibson.

Among active pitchers, Greinke ranks 1st in starts (523) and innings (3293.2), 2nd in wins (224) and 3rd in strikeouts (2,914)…he is one of three pitchers in Major League history to win a Cy Young Award, a Rawlings Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award, along with Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser.

LAST START: Greinke did not figure into the decision of the Royals 4-3, walk-off loss last Saturday night in Milwaukee, in which he allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and no walks in 5.0 innings, with 5 strikeouts…he retired the first six batters before Brice Turang singled to begin the 3rd and scored on a 2-out, 2-run home run by Christian Yelich…Zack retired six of the next eight batters, including a double play in the 4th, and exited with a 3-2 lead…Yelich tied the game with his 2nd HR of the night in the 6th inning off Josh Taylor, and Milwaukee walked off on a sacrifice fly in the 9th.

Zack has exited tied or with a lead in his last 3 starts, after exiting at a deficit in 5 of his 1st 6 starts…he’s completed 5.0 innings in 8 of his 9 starts this year.

GRE1NKE: Zack’s last start ended on a called third strike of Milwaukee’s Joey Wiemer in the 5th inning, which marked the 1,000th different batter Zack has struck out in his 20-year career…he’s the fifth pitcher in Major League history, according to Kenny Jackelen of Baseball Reference, to fan 1,000 different batters, joining Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens.

Among the 1,000 batters he’s struck out includes Hall of Famers Chipper Jones, Frank Thomas, Scott Rolen, Derek Jeter, Iván Rodríguez, David Ortiz and Jim Thome…he’s fanned 10 sets of brothers, one father/son duo—Vladimir Guerrero Sr. and Jr.—and six current big league Managers, including Rocco Baldelli, Aaron Boone, Craig Counsell, Mark Kotsay, Phil Nevin & Skip Schumaker.

Greinke is 86 strikeouts shy of becoming the 20th pitcher to reach 3,000.

WALKING ON WATER: Zack’s pinpoint control has been on full display this season, his 20th in the Majors…the 39-year-old has issued only 7 walks to the 194 batters he’s faced through 9 starts (46.2 IP) for a 3.6% walk rate and 1.4 BB/9, which rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively, among American League pitchers this season.

BACK IN BLUE: Zack returned in 2023 for the second straight year to Kansas City, where he spent the first seven seasons of his Major League career, after being selected by the Royals 6th overall in the 2002 Draft…Greinke is the 33rd player to play for the Royals, leave the organization and later return…he missed time due to two stints on the Injured List in 2022, limiting him to only 137.0 innings, the 4th fewest in his career behind the shortened 2020 season (67.0 IP), 2006 (6.1 IP) and 2007 (122.0 IP)…he did, however, rank 2nd among Royals starters with a 3.68 ERA (56 ER in 137.0 IP).

Tonight marks Zack’s 205th start with the Royals, breaking a tie with Danny Duffy for the 7th most in club history, trailing Paul Splittorff (392), Mark Gubicza (327), Dennis Leonard (302), Kevin Appier (275), Bret Saberhagen (226) and Larry Gura (219).…his 1,036 strikeouts with the Royals rank 7th, 12 shy of Duffy.

VS. WHITE SOX: Tonight marks Greinke’s 33rd career outing (30th start) vs. the White Sox, and his 30 starts (including tonight) are tied with
Cleveland for his 2nd most vs. any opponent, trailing only the Rockies, vs. whom he has 36 starts…he’s 10-10 with a 3.84 ERA (83 ER in 194.2 IP) in his career vs. the Sox, including a no decision last week in a 12-5 Royals win in Kansas City, in which he was charged with 4 runs (3 ER) in 5.2 innings…Zack has not lost to the White Sox since Aug. 19, 2009 during his first stint with the Royals, and in 10 starts since, he’s 5-0 with a 3.20 ERA (25 ER in 70.1 IP)

CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:

WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost seven of their last 12 games and 18 of 27 as they continue a nine-game, 10-day homestand tonight with the series opener vs. Kansas City.

RHP Michael Kopech, who is looking for his first win at Guaranteed Rate Field this season, is scheduled to start for Chicago.

The White Sox have split the first six games of this homestand, winning two of three over Cleveland after losing two of three to Houston last weekend to open the homestand.

Following this series vs. the Royals, the Sox will take a seven-game trip to the Guardians (5/22-24) and Detroit (5/25-28).

The Sox went 3-4 on their last trip at Cincinnati (2-1) and Kansas City (1-3) from 5/5-11 and 3-4 on their last homestand vs. Tampa Bay (1-3) and Minnesota (2-1) from 4/27-5/4.

TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
The White Sox need two wins this weekend to clinch their first winning homestand of the season.

White Sox starters own a 3.21 ERA (15 ER/42.0 IP), .216 (33- 153) opponents average and 33 strikeouts over the last seven games … they have allowed three earned runs or less six times.

The Sox were outscored 27-13 in their four-game series loss to Kansas City from 5/-11, including seven and eight-run defeats.

Michael Kopech owns a 2.79 ERA (6 ER/19.1 IP), .179 (12-67) average, 0.98 WHIP and 15 strikeouts in fi ve career appearances (three starts) vs. the Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Jake Burger is hitting .339/.387/.911 (19-56) with three doubles, nine home runs, 18 RBI and a 1.298 OPS at home in 2023 … 17 of his 19 career homers have come at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Luis Robert Jr. has hit safely in 14 of 16 games in May, going 22-57 (.386) with six doubles, seven home runs, 15 RBI, five walks, seven multi-hit eff orts and a 1.321 OPS.

YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Cleveland limited Chicago to one hit over the final five innings and held on for a 3-1 win to avoid a series sweep.

The Sox were unable to convert on a bases-loaded, no outs situation in the second as Hanser Alberto popped out to first base before Seby Zavala and Jake Marisnick both struck out.

Seby Zavala gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead with a RBI single in the fourth but the Guardians answered with a run in the fifth and two runs in the seventh, all off starter Dylan Cease.

Cease suffered the loss despite allowing three runs on five hits with three strikeouts in 6.1 IP … Garrett Crochet worked a 1-2-3 ninth in his fi rst game since Game 4 of the 2021 ALDS.

Luis Robert Jr. recorded the White Sox only multi-hit effort … the Sox walked once, went 1-7 with RISP and left seven on base.

LONGBALL LOGISTICS
The Sox (Burger, Robert Jr.) are one of four MLB teams with multiple players to hit 10-plus home runs this season, joining Atlanta (Acuna Jr., Albies, Murphy, Olson), the Angels (Ohtani, Renfroe, Trout) and Tampa Bay (Arozarena, Díaz, Lowe).

The White Sox have homered in 14 of its last 17 games since 4/30 (24 total homers), and hit 27 in its last 20 games since 4/27.

The Sox have recorded nine multi-homer eff orts and been held without a home run just four times over the last 20 games.

Chicago is 14-17 when homering, 7-7 when hitting multiple homers and 2-12 when going homerless this season.

LONGBALL LOGISTICS, PART II
Luis Robert Jr. (T2nd, 12) and Jake Burger (T6th, 10) rank among the American League home run leaders this season.

Robert Jr. is tied for third in MLB with nine 400-plus foot homers in 2023, trailing Ronald Acuna Jr. and Pete Alonso (10 each) … he is averaging 407 ft. and 107.2 mph on his 12 homers, including max values of 430 ft. on 5/9 at K.C., and 113.6 mph on 5/14 vs. Houston.

Robert Jr. has recorded 400-plus foot distances on 34 of his 48 career home runs … he leads the Sox since the start of 2020 with homer averages of 412 feet and 107.6 mph exit velocity (min. 10 home runs).

Burger leads MLB with a 8.3 homers per at-bat this season (minimum 80 plate appearances) … he is averaging 405 feet on his 19 career home runs, and 13 have traveled an estimated 400-plus feet.

HOORAY FOR MAY
Luis Robert Jr. is hitting .386/.462/.860 (22-57) with six doubles, seven homers (averaging 421 ft. and 109.2 mph EV), 15 RBI, 17 runs scored, five walks and a 1.321 OPS in May (16 G).

He ranks among AL May leaders in on-base percentage (1st), slugging percentage (1st), OPS (1st), runs scored (1st), total bases (1st, 49), home runs (1st), extra-base hits (1st, 13), RBI (2nd), average (3rd), hits (T2nd) and doubles (T4th).

The last White Sox to win American League Player of the Month honors was 1B José Abreu in August 2021.

WHITE SOX VS. KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Kansas City won three of four from 5/8-11 at Kauffman Stadium in the fi rst matchup of the season between the clubs … following this series, the clubs don’t play again until September.

Chicago is hitting .212/.271/.333 with three home runs, owns a 7.29 ERA (27 ER/33.1 IP) with two quality starts and has been outscored by a 27-13 margin vs. the Royals this season.

The White Sox are 19-23 vs. the Royals since the start of the 2021 season (outscored 169-159), including a 9-9 home mark.

Chicago went 9-10 vs. Kansas City last season, going 5-4 at Guaranteed Rate Field and 4-6 at Kauffman Stadium.

CENTRAL DIVISION DYNAMICS
Chicago is 6-7 vs. the American League Central … it currently is in a stretch of 13 straight games vs. the division (2-1 record).

The White Sox went 37-39 vs. the AL Central in 2022 (18-19 at home; 19-20 on the road) after going 69-47 from 2020-21.

The Sox recorded three straight winning seasons vs. the division from 2019-21, their longest streak since 1997-2009.

REST WHEN YOU CAN
The Sox currently are in a stretch of 16 straight games without a day off and are 9-8 during the current stretch of 29 games in 30 days from 5/2-31 (only off days in May are 5/1 and 5/15).

The 29-game stretch includes 15 games at home, 14 on the road and 20 vs. the American League Central … the White Sox play six of seven series from 5/5-28 vs. teams below .500 (at Cincinnati, at/vs. Kansas City, vs./at Cleveland and at Detroit).

POSTING PUNCHOUTS
Chicago pitchers rank second in MLB with 422 strikeouts, trailing Minnesota (432) … White Sox starters rank second in the major leagues in strikeouts (255), trailing the Twins (280).

Lance Lynn is tied for sixth among American League starting pitchers with 61 strikeouts, and Reynaldo López is tied for sixth among AL relievers with 27 strikeouts.

SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
Chicago is 30-83 (.361) in the last 11 games vs. LHP.

The White Sox are batting .273/.339/.443 vs. left-handed pitching since the start of the 2019 season … during that span, the Sox lead MLB in average, rank second in on-base percentage, tied for fourth in OPS (.782) and sixth in slugging pct.

Tim Anderson owns a .350/.379/.555 (144-412) slash line vs. LHP since 2019, and Hanser Alberto is hitting .345/.364/.491 (172-499) … Anderson and Alberto rank 1-2 in MLB in average vs. left-handers since the start of 2019.

Luis Robert Jr. is 11-28 (.393) with three homers and seven RBI vs. LHP in 2023 and hitting .355/.417/.617/1.033 lifetime.

NO RISP, NO REWARD
The White Sox rank seventh in the American League and 13th in MLB with a .258 (92-357) RISP average.

The Sox are hitting .229/.310/.426 with 67 RBI and a .736 OPS with RISP over the last 25 games.

ANDREW, ANDREW … HE’S OUR MAN!
All five of Andrew Vaughn’s home runs this season have tied the game or given Chicago the lead, including a game-ending, three-run shot in the ninth inning on 4/30 vs. Tampa Bay.

Vaughn leads the White Sox with 18 contests with a hit and RBI, and 35 games reaching base safely (hit, walk or HBP).

Vaughn ranks seventh (.417) and Andrew Benintendi ranks 11th (.391) among American League RISP average leaders.

AS TA GOES, SO GO THE WHITE SOX
Since the start of the 2020, the Sox are 157-119 when Tim Anderson is in the starting lineup (68-85 when he doesn’t start).

During that span, the Sox are 129-79 when Anderson records a hit, 75-32 when he records a multi-hit effort, 96-47 when he scores a run and 27-3 when he homers.

Anderson ranks second in MLB since the start of 2019 with 53 three-hit games (Sox are 37-16), trailing Freddie Freeman (60). Anderson needs three homers to become the fourth player in White Sox history to record 100 homers and 100 stolen bases

STARTER – #34 MICHAEL KOPECH RHP
KOPECH AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his ninth start of the season, fourth at home and first against the Kansas City Royals.

Has recorded 5.0-plus IP in six of his eight starts this season and 6.0-plus IP three times, allowing just one run in two of those outings.

Went 0-3 with a 7.01 ERA (20 ER/25.2 IP), 1.71 WHIP and .280 (28-100) opponents average in five April starts … the 7.01 ERA is his highest monthly ERA in his career.

Is limiting left-handed hitters to a .197 (13-66) batting average this season … his .197 batting average against lefties is the seventh-best in the American League among right-handed starters with at least seven starts.

Has received zero runs of support in four of his eight starts this season and more than three just twice … his four outings with zero runs of support are tied for second-most in the majors behind Ryan Yarbrough (5).

Has gone 8-14 with 4.03 ERA (85 ER/190.0 IP), .216 (150-695) opponents average and 184 strikeouts in 41 career starts … is 3-3 with 3.90 ERA (24 ER/55.1 IP), .225 (47-209) opponents average and 80 strikeouts in 40 career relief appearances.

Has recorded 100-plus strikeouts in each of his last two seasons (2021-22).

Spent his first full season in the major leagues in 2021, pitching out of the bullpen (40 games) while making four starts … opted out of the 2020 season for personal reasons … missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery (performed on 9/18/18).

Was acquired by the White Sox from Boston with OF Luis Basabe, RHP Víctor Díaz and INF Yoán Moncada in exchange for LHP Chris Sale on 12/6/16.

LAST START
Suffered the lost on 5/12 against the Houston Astros, allowing two runs on one hit with a season-high six walks and five strikeouts over 4.2 IP … allowed one run in the third inning without a hit (Kyle Tuckers led off with a walk and scored on Jeremy Peña’s sacrifice fly) and one in
the fourth on an RBI double from Tucker.

Departed the game in the fifth with the White Sox trailing, 2-1 … threw 94 pitches (48 strikes) … the Sox lost, 5-1.

Owned a 54.5 first-strike percentage and 5.3 swinging-strike percentage (five swing and misses) vs. 22 batters … threw 59 four-seam fastballs 95.9 mph avg; 97.9 mph max), 26 sliders (85.5 avg; 88.2 max), five changeups (89.9 mph avg; 91.8 max) and four curveballs (80.4 avg; 81.5 max).

WELCOME MAY
Has gone 2-2 with a 2.27 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, .134 (20- 149) opponents average and 40 strikeouts over eight career starts in May … his 2.27 ERA and .134 opponents average are career monthly bests.

Has allowed 11 runs as a starter in May, the least amount allowed in a single month for his career.

Went 1-1 with a 1.17 ERA (3 ER/23.0 IP), 0.78 WHIP, .103 (8-78) opponents average and 21 strikeouts over four May starts in 2022.

DAMAGE CONTROL AT RISK
Has limited the opposition to a career .201 (35-174) average with RISP and .213 (20-94) mark with RISP/two outs.

Opponents are batting a career-high .256 (10-39) with RISP and .360 (9-25) with RISP/two outs against him this season … in 2022, they hit .149 (10-67) with RISP and .125 (5-40) with RISP/two outs.

COMFORTS OF HOME
Has gone 3-8 with a 3.81 ERA (45 ER/106.1 IP), .191 (72-376) opponents average and 103 strikeouts over 22 career starts at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Is 0-1 with a 3.45 ERA (6 ER/15.2 IP), 15 walks and 16 strikeouts over his last three outings at home after allowing seven runs on eight hits over 4.2 IP in his first start of the season.

Went 2-5 with a 3.01 ERA (23 ER/68.2 IP), .157 (37- 235) opponents average and 52 strikeouts in 13 home starts (seven quality) in 2022 … allowed two runs or less eight times and one or fewer five times.

VS. KANSAS CITY ROYALS || A.L. CENTRAL
Is scheduled to make his fifth career start (11th appearance) vs. Kansas City and fourth (sixth) at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Has gone 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA (9 ER/16.0 IP), .207 (12-58) opponents average and 11 strikeouts as a starter … has allowed two runs or less in three of his four starts … did not make it out of the first inning in his last start on 8/22/22 (ND; 4 ER/0.0 IP).

Is 2-3 with a 3.66 ERA (29 ER/71.1 IP), .216 (56-159) opponents average and 75 strikeouts over 16 career starts against the American League Central.

MLB Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers (28-17) at St. Louis Cardinals (19-26)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers (28-17) at St. Louis Cardinals (19-26)

LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:

HOMERUN DERBY: The Los Angeles Dodgers were thumped last night, dropping the opener to the Cardinals 16-8 as St. Louis clubbed seven homers in the win. The Dodgers had their chances, scoring two runs in the first and five in the sixth, but a six-run third inning and a seven-run eighth inning by the Cardinals put the Dodgers away as they dropped their first game to St. Louis this season and snapped a five-game winning streak over the Red Birds. The Dodgers continued their road trip (0-1) with game two of the four-game series tonight at 7:15 p.m. Following the series conclusion on Sunday morning, the Dodgers will head south as they will have matchups with the first place Atlanta Braves (May 22-24) and Tampa Bay Rays (May 26-28). The nine homers last night set a new Busch Stadium record for homers in a game (previous high, 7, Cardinals vs. Reds on April 15, 2016). The Dodgers allowed 6+ runs in an inning twice last night, which was the first time they have allowed two 6+ run innings since May 14, 2014 vs. MIA.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Dodgers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the lead did not hold as the Cardinals clobbered starter Julio Urías (3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 K) for four homers in the third inning and chasing him out of the game. The four homers in the frame were the most allowed by a Dodger pitcher in the same inning since Ben Wade on May 28, 1954 at New York Giants (eighth inning). Down 9-2, the Dodgers showed signs of life in the sixth inning, scoring five runs, which were capped off by Freddie Freeman’s 300th career homer. His Grand Slam made it 9-7 in the sixth inning and Max Muncy clubbed his team-leading 15th homer of the year to make it 9-8 in the seventh inning. However, the Cardinals would score seven in the eighth and put the game away. The bullpen was forced to cover five innings of relief last night and they allowed a season-high 10 runs. Andre Jackson was solid was in his effort, tossing three scoreless innings before he was tagged for three runs in the eighth inning.

The right-hander was optioned this afternoon as the Dodgers selected the contract of Tyler Cyr. He appeared in 15 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, posting a 2-1 record with a 4.86 ERA (9 ER/16.2 IP) and 24 strikeouts. Last season, the righty made 12 appearances in the Major Leagues with Philadelphia and Oakland, allowing four runs in 13.1 innings with 16 strikeouts. He posted a 1-0 mark with a 2.08 ERA (3 ER/13.0 IP) and 16 strikeouts with Oakland. In eight minor league seasons, he is a combined, 19-13 with a 3.08 ERA (102 ER/298.1 IP) and 358 strikeouts in 233 games (three starts). He was originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 10th round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of Embry-Riddle University.

THE GLUE: Dodger catcher Will Smithwent 0-for-4 with a run scored yesterday and snapping his hitting streak at seven games. He batted .414 (12-for-29) with three homers, two doubles, seven RBI and three walks during his hitting streak. The Dodgers had their eight-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 20-7 (.741) when Smith is in the starting lineup this year. The backstop’s .741 winning percentage while in the lineup leads the National League and is third in the Majors:

Winning Percentage in the Lineup – MLB
Ryan McKenna BAL .750 (24-8)
Yandy Diaz TB .744 (29-10)
Will Smith LAD .741 (20-7)

FABULOUS FREDDIE: Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to eight games, finishing with two hits, four RBI and two runs. He is batting .444 (14-for-32) with three homers, three doubles, one triple, 13 RBI and seven runs scored during the streak and has hit safely in all but two games in May. Freeman is tied with Alex Verdugo for four in the Major Leagues with 36 runs scored, trailing just Ronald Acuña Jr. (40) and Marcus Semien (37). He clubbed his 300th career homer and became just the fifth player in franchise history to accomplish that feat in a Dodger uniform:

PLAYERS TO HIT HOME RUN NO. 300 IN A DODGER UNIFORM
DATE LOCATION PITCHER/TEAM
Duke Snider JULY 7, 1957 Ebbets Field Dick Drott, Cubs
Gil Hodges April 23, 1958 L. A. Coliseum Dick Drott, Cubs
Gary Sheffield July 21, 2001 Coors Field Denny Neagle, Rockies
Adrian Gonzalez Aug. 8, 2016 Dodger Stadium Junichi Tazawa, Red Sox
Freddie Freeman May 18, 2023 Busch Stadium Genesis Cabrera, Cardinals

LONG BALLS: The Dodgers connected for two more homers last night and have 74 on the season, which is tied for second in the Majors with Atlanta, behind only the Tampa Bay Rays (87). Los Angeles’ sixth Grand Slam of the campaign leads the Majors, ahead of Tampa Bay and Texas, who each have four. Los Angeles is also second in the Majors with 37 games with at least one homer, behind the Rays (40), who have homered in all but five games this season.

TONIGHT’S STARTER at CARDINALS: RHP TONY GONSOLIN (1-1, 1.42 ERA in 4 GS)
2023 SEASON NOTES:

  • 2022 All-Star tossed his first win of the season on Sunday against San Diego after firing five scoreless innings and giving up two hits, one walk, and tying a season-high six strikeouts
  • In his rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on April 20th, he hurled three innings, allowing one hit, two earned runs, two walks while sitting down seven
  • Made one Spring Training start, tossing 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on three hits, while walking two and striking out two

VS. CARDINALS:

  • Last faced St. Louis on July 13, 2022, tossing five innings and giving up seven hits, five runs, one home run and one walk while punching out six in the no decision
  • He is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA (6 ER/14.0 IP) and 16 strikeouts in three career games against the Cardinals

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:

RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers play the second game of a four-game series tonight at Busch Stadium … St. Louis opened it’s seven-game homestand by taking two-of-three from division-rival Milwaukee for its third consecutive series win.

FLIGHT PATTERN: The Cardinals enter today in fifth place in the NL Central, 6.0 games behind first place Milwaukee and 1.0 game back of third place Cincinnati and Chicago … Since May 6, St. Louis has won nine of their last 11 to improve 4.0 games in the division … The Cardinals have been in last place for 23 straight days (April 25-present).

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE: The Cardinals (+17), Cubs (+22, 19-24 record), and Mariners (+19, 21-22 record) are the only three MLB teams with losing records but positive run differentials.

ANGRY BIRDS: Since May 7, the Cardinals sport MLB’s best record (9-2) while leading the league in runs scored (85), runs per game (7.73), RBI (81), OBP (.357), slugging (.547), OPS (.904), extra-base hits (48), and total bases (214) … St. Louis also shares the league lead in hits (110) and home runs (27) and ranks 2nd in batting average (.281) and stolen bases (14) over that span.

RBI GUYS: Nolan Arenado has homered in six of his last seven games while hitting safely and recording an RBI in 11 of 12 games (.327/.357/.769, 7 HR, 20 RBI) since May 5 … Arenado’s eight-game RBI streak (May 10-present) is MLB’s longest this season and matches his career best (8, Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2015) … The last Cardinal to drive in a run in nine straight games was Carlos Beltrán (June 22-July 2, 2012) … Ripper Collins (12, June 17-29, 1935) holds the Cardinals record.

BURGER PHONE: The Cardinals have homered in a season-best seven consecutive games (May 12-present), tied with the Rays for MLB’s longest active homer streak … The Cardinals rank 5th in MLB in home runs (65) this season and share the homer lead for the month of May (33) with the Yankees and Braves … This season, St. Louis sports a 16-13 record when it homers, but 3-13 mark in homerless games.

TRIPLE BURGERS: The Cardinals have gone yard 3+ times in six of their last 11 games (6-0 record) … Overall this season, St. Louis has connected on 3+ homers in 11 games (10-1 record), tied with the Braves for MLB’s 3rd-most behind the Dodgers (13) and Rays (14).

DIRTY DOZEN: The Cardinals’ 16-run explosion last night marked the 4th time this season St. Louis has plated 12+ runs in a game, tied with the Pirates and Cubs for 2nd-most in MLB behind the Rangers (6) in MLB … The quartet of 12-run+ games are the most by a Cardinals team through their first 45 games since 2016 (5) … The 1937 and 2000 Redbirds share the franchise record (6) through their first 45 contests.

STORMIN GORMAN: Nolan Gorman, who has hit safely in a career-high nine straight games (13-30, .433/.514/1.033), ranks among NL leaders in slugging pct. (.629, 1st), RBI (36, 2nd), OPS (1.014, 2nd), OPS+ (176, 2nd), wOBA (.424, 2nd), and wRC+ (173, 2nd) … Only Ronald Acuña Jr. has a higher OPS (1.050), OPS+ (180), wOBA (.444), and wRC+ (180) than Gorman in the NL … Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of Gorman’s Major League debut (May 20, 2022 at Pittsburgh).

THE HEAT IS ON: The Cardinals have swiped 19 consecutive stolen bases and now boast MLB’s top stolen base percentage (87.2, 34-for39), which currently is their best single-season mark in franchise history, topping the 2021 Redbirds (89-for-111, 80.2%).

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP STEVEN MATZ (0-4, 5.62)
TONIGHT’S GAME
NL Ranks: Losses (4, T-9th), Hits (51, T-9th), Earned Runs (26. T-7th)

  • Makes his 165th career appearance (155th start) and 19th start as a Cardinal.
  • Facing the Dodgers for the first time since 2019 and first at Busch Stadium. Has made four of his last five starts at Dodger Stadium.
  • Ranks 10th in MLB in Pitch Tempo with bases empty (12.0 sec/pitch) and 41st with runners on base (16.7 sec/pitch), leading all Cardinals.
  • Limiting opposing left-handed batters to a .156 BA (5-32) with one home run.
  • Did not allow a home run in his last start, the second start this season without serving up a longball and the first after allowing one in five starts, one shy of a career-high.
  • Lifetime 9-7 with 3.41 ERA in May, his lowest ERA in any calendar month.
  • Since joining the Cardinals in 2022, is 5-7 with a 5.42 ERA in 23 appearances (18 starts) while leading Cardinals starting pitchers in strikeouts/9 IP (9.13).
  • Has not earned a winning decision as a member of the Cardinals since Sept. 17. 2022 vs. CIN, pitching one inning in relief. Last win as a starter was 7/23/22 at CIN.
  • Only win as a Cardinals starting pitcher at Busch Stadium came on May 2, 2022, a rescheduled game tossing 6.0 scoreless innings in a 1-0 win.
  • The Cardinals lost his first six games started this year, before posting a 12-6 win vs. Detroit (5/7).
  • Missed 102 games on the Injured List with a left shoulder impingement (5/23-7/16) and strained left knee (7/24-9/16). Was activated from his second stint in mid-September and was added to the bullpen where he made five appearances.
  • Prior to the 7/23/22 start at Cincinnati, Matz had missed approx. two months with a left shoulder impingement.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Pitched 5.1 innings allowing three runs on a two-RBI double by Rob Refsnyder and an RBI single by Rafael Devers. Did not allow a home run for the first time in five starts and has not allowed more than four runs in six straight starts.

DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
5/13 @BOS W 4-3 — 5.1 8 3 3 1 4 0 91-57

2023 SEASON

  • Has pitched 5.0 innings or more in 7-of-8 starts.
  • Suffered his 4th straight loss on 5/2 vs. LAA. All four of his runs allowed came in the opening frame, including a Taylor Ward 3-run homer.
  • Surpassed 800 career innings pitched in his start at SEA (4/21).
  • Surrendered a lead-off home run to Ke’Bryan Hayes, then settled in allowing just one run on two hits over the next 17 outs. Matched his career-high with five walks. Received a no-decision in a 6-3 Cardinals loss in 10 innings vs. PIT (4/15). Threw a season-high 110 pitches, 2nd most in MLB this season at the time (Ohtani, 111).
  • Allowed a season-high six runs on nine hits in a 7-4 loss at COL (4/10). Allowed only three doubles of his nine hits for extra bases.
  • Struck out a season-high seven batters over 5.1 innings in a 4-1 loss vs. ATL (4/4). Allowed a career-high 10 hits (6th time) for the first time as a member of the Cardinals. Surrendered two home runs, including a 479-foot blast to Austin Riley, the 2nd-longest opposing HR at Busch Stadium III in the StatCast Era.

MLB Preview: Seattle Mariners (21-22) at Atlanta Braves (27-16)

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MLB Preview: Seattle Mariners (21-22) at Atlanta Braves (27-16)

SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue an 11-day, 9-game road trip (3-3) with the 1st of 3 games against the Atlanta Braves, the last leg of the road trip before returning home for a 10-game homestand… Seattle opened the road trip with a 3-game series win in Detroit (2-1), followed by a series in Boston (1-2)… tonight’s game will be televised live on Apple TV+ with Wayne Randazzo and Dontrelle Willis on the call, and Heidi Watney reporting from the field…the game will also be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped Wednesday’s rubber game against the Red Sox by a score of 12-3…Seattle is 10-12 at T-Mobile Park and 11-10 on the road this season…the Mariners are 7-3 over their last 10 road games (4/30-c)…Seattle is 16-8 when scoring 4+ runs and 5-14 when scoring 3-or-fewer.

  • Instant Classic – The last time the Mariners and Braves met on Sept. 11, 2022, they provided one of the most memorable games of the 2022 season…both Julio Rodríguez and Eugenio Suárez homered twice, with Julio hitting a leadoff homer and a 117.2 mph game-tying home run in the 9th, while Suárez clubbed a walk-off blast later in the inning to seal a 8-7 Mariners win.
  • Recent Success Against the Braves – The Mariners have won 10 of their last 12 games against the Braves dating back to 2014, including winning 4 of their last 5 in Atlanta.
  • New Faces, Same Results – The Mariners pitching staff has been led by new faces this season, with players who had previously never pitched for Seattle combining to go 4-5 with a 1.78 ERA (19 ER, 96.0 IP), 85 strikeouts and 20 walks.
  • Consistent Crawford – J.P. Crawford has reached base safely in 14-consecutive games (4/30-c)…he and Ty France (15 G, 5/2-c) are 1 of 3 sets of teammates with active on base streaks of 12+ games.
  • Programming Note – Tomorrow’s game will air on FOX, with Jason Benetti and AJ Pierzynski on the call…the Mariners will return Sunday to regular programming on ROOT SPORTS, featuring former Mariners outfielder Mike Cameron in the booth.

THE BRYCE IS RIGHT…Bryce Miller will make his 4th career Major League start in tonight’s game… through his first 3 starts, Miller is 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA (1 ER, 19.0 IP), 1 walk and 18 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .111 (7×63) batting average…he is 1 of just 2 pitchers in Mariners history to post a sub-1.00 ERA in his first 3 starts, joining Félix Hernández (0.86 ERA)…Miller’s WHIP of 0.421 is the lowest in MLB history through a pitcher’s first 3 career starts (min. 15.0 IP)…he is the first pitcher in MLB history to tally at least 6.0 innings and allow 3-or-fewer base runners in each of his first 3 starts, and his 8 total baserunners allowed through 3 starts are the fewest in MLB history (min. 15.0 IP).

TY’s HITTING STREAK MARCHES ON…Ty France went 1-for-5 in Wednesday’s game, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games (5/3-c)…he is batting .333 (20×60) with 7 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBI and 2 walks during the streak, getting on base at a .375 clip and slugging .450 with an .825 OPS since May 3…the Mariners first baseman has 5 multi-hit games in that span…France and Nathaniel Lowe-TEX are the only players with multiple 10+ game hitting streaks this season…France also hit safely in 11 consecutive games from April 2-14…the current 14-game streak by France is the longest active streak in the Majors…with a hit in tonight’s game, France would become the first Mariners hitter with a 15-game hitting streak since Mitch Haniger (17 G, 8/18-9/5/2018).

CROSSING THEIR T’s AND DOTTING THE ZONE…the Mariners have the best pitching staff in the Major Leagues by fWAR (8.5), ranking ahead of 2nd-place Minnesota (7.2) by a wide margin…Seattle pitchers also rank T4th in the Majors in ERA (3.55), while leading the Majors in Fielding Independent Pitching (3.32), soft-contact percentage (19.1), fewest barrels (64) and barrel per plate appearance (4.0%)…they rank 4th in WHIP (1.19) and 2nd in SO/BB ratio (3.31) and tied for 1st in Outside the Zone Swing Percentage (34.4%)…Mariners starting pitchers are 2nd in the Majors in fWAR (5.8) trailing Minnesota (6.1)…Mariners relief pitchers rank 2nd in the Majors in fWAR (2.7) trailing Baltimore (3.1)…during the month of May, the Mariners pitching staff holds a 3.45 ERA, tied for 4th-best in the Majors (also: Colorado), trailing San Diego (2.69), Minnesota (3.29) and Cleveland (3.33).

FOR HE’S A RALEIGH GOOD FELLOW…Cal Raleigh went 1-for-3 with 1 double, 1 run scored and 1 walk in Wednesday’s game…over his last 6 games dating back to May 10, Cal is batting .350 (7×20) with 5 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 4 RBI and 4 walks, while getting on base at a .458 clip and slugging .750 (1.208 OPS)…overall this season, Cal ranks tied for 3rd among catchers with 7 home runs (also: Shea Langeliers-OAK, Adley Rutschman-BAL and Will Smith-LAD), trailing only Sean Murphy-ATL (10 HR) and Salvador Perez-KC (9 HR)…dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season, Cal leads all catchers with 34 home runs and ranks 2nd among American League catchers with 5.4 fWAR, trailing only Adley Rutschman-BAL (6.8 fWAR).

KELLING IT…Jarred Kelenic went 1-for-4 with 1 double and 1 walk in Wednesday’s game…overall this season, he is batting .282 (42×149) with 19 runs, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 8 home runs, 21 RBI, 6 stolen bases and 11 walks, getting on base at a .333 clip, slugging .537 with a .870 OPS…the 23-year-old outfielder ranks 6th among American League outfielders with a 141 wRC+, trailing only Brent Rooker-OAK (180), Randy Arozarena-TB (168), Aaron Judge-NYY (164), Yordan Alvarez-HOU (158) and Mike Trout-LAA (144).

SAVE A HORSE, RIDE WITH CABALLERO…Jose Caballero is batting .407 (11×27) with 6 runs, 2 doubles, 4 RBI and 5 walks in 11 games during the month of May, while getting on base at a .515 clip and slugging .482 (.997 OPS) during the month…overall since he joined the team on April 15, he is batting .298 (14×47) with 9 runs, 3 doubles, 5 RBI and 7 walks, while going 3-for-3 in stolen bases, getting on base at a .393 clip with a .755 OPS and a 122 wRC+.

WE’LL BE HOME SOON…the Mariners return for a 10-game homestand, beginning with 4 Value Games against the Oakland Athletics (May 22-25), including AANHPI Heritage Night on Tuesday, May 23… Seattle then welcomes the Pittsburgh Pirates for 3 games (May 26-28), featuring Sing- Along Fireworks Night on Friday, May 26, 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…you can find tickets for all upcoming games at Mariners.com/Tickets.

AS YOU KNOW…Jose Caballero walked twice in Wednesday’s game, once after seeing 9 pitches and again after seeing 10, but, DID YOU KNOW?…that Caballero is the first batter in the Majors this season to draw multiple walks in the same game, each after seeing 9+ pitches in each plate appearance?…he is just the second Mariners hitter to accomplish the feat since at least 1988 (the start of the Pitch Tracking era), joined only by Dylan Moore, who did so on July 1, 2022 vs. OAK.

ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Mariners tonight open a three-game weekend series in what is the only scheduled matchup between the clubs this season…The two teams played three games in Seattle last season.

  • Seattle took two-of-three from Atlanta last season at T-Mobile Park, and the two clubs are playing in back-to-back years for the first time in history… Prior to last season, the Braves and Mariners had not faced each other since 2017.
  • The two have played just 19 times in total since the advent of interleague play in 1997, with Atlanta going 8-11 (.421) all-time against the Mariners… Dating to 2014, the Braves are just 2-8 (.200) against Seattle.
  • The Braves have not won a series against the Mariners since 2011, when Atlanta swept a three-game set in Seattle.
  • The two clubs have played just one here at Truist Park…Seattle took two-of-three games here in 2017, in the stadium’s inaugural season.
  • RH Bryce Elder has never faced the Mariners, nor has he pitched against a member of Seattle’s current roster…The 6-foot-2, 225-pound righthander has made eight starts for Atlanta this season, posting a perfect 3-0 record with a 1.94 ERA (10 ER/46.1 IP), third lowest in baseball…In five career interleague starts, he is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA (9 ER/26.0 IP).
  • RH Bryce Miller is set to make just his fourth career major league start, and has never faced Atlanta…The 6-foot-2, 180-pound native of Mount Pleasant, TX, is 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA over his first three career starts, allowing just seven hits, one walk and one run over his first 19.0 innings… Each of his last two starts have been scoreless, and he enters tonight with 13.0 consecutive scoreless innings.

WIN: Atlanta rallied with two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth Wednesday night to beat the Rangers, 6-5…It marked the Braves’ third win this season when trailing entering the eighth.

  • Atlanta improved to 3-12 (.200) when trailing after seven innings this season, tied for the third-best record in baseball…Only the Reds (6-20, .231) and Dodgers (4-15, .211) have been better…For reference, teams are 63-531 (.106) when trailing after seven innings in total.
  • Orlando Arcia broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the ninth inning with a solo home run…It marked just the third go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later of his career.
  • The Braves improved to 8-9 in interleague play with the win, and are in the final three games of 14 consecutive games against the American League… Atlanta hosts Seattle at Truist Park this weekend before playing another N.L. team (Los Angeles).

ROSTER MOVES: The Braves today selected the contract of INF Charlie Culberson to Atlanta, returned INF Ehire Adrianza from his rehabilitation assignment and transferred him to the 60-day injured list with a left shoulder strain…Atlanta optioned INF Braden Shewmake to Triple-A Gwinnett yesterday.

  • Additionally, Atlanta today returned LHP Lucas Luetge from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list, and placed LHP Dylan Lee on the 15-day injured list, backdated to May 17, with left shoulder inflammation.
  • Culberson appeared in 230 games for Atlanta from 2018-20, and hit .265/.314/.454 with the team… Recorded pinch-hit, walk-off home runs on May 28 and June 3, 2018, becoming the first player in Atlanta-era franchise history (since 1966) with two such homers in the same season…Only one other Braves player, Brian Hunter, has had two such homers in his entire Atlanta career…No Braves have hit a pinch-hit, walk-off homer since Culberson did so in 2018.

BRYCE VS. BRYCE: Bryce Elder starts for Atlanta tonight, while Bryce Miller is set to pitch for Seattle…Per Elias, tonight marks the first time in history two pitchers that go by Bryce will start against each other.

  • Just seven players in history have gone by the first name ‘Bryce,’ including four who are currently active.
  • In addition to the two tonight, OF Bryce Johnson has appeared in 15 games for San Francisco this season, while OF Bryce Harper is a 12-year major league veteran and two-time MVP, and has played 13 games for Philadelphia this season.

ACUÑA JR. STREAK: Ronald Acuña Jr. drove a 1-2 pitch in Wednesday’s sixth inning out to center field, and has homered in a majors-best four straight games.

  • Just one player in baseball has a longer homer streak this season, as St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado did so in five straight games last week…The Mets’ Pete Alonso has the second-longest active run, homering in each of his last three games.
  • Four of Acuña Jr.’s last six hits have left the ballpark, and he is batting .375/.474/1.125 over his last four games.
  • He has one longer homer streak in his career, doing so in five straight games in August of 2018…He is the first Braves batter to homer in four straight since Matt Olson did so from September 28 to October 2 of last year.
  • Acuña Jr. also stole second base on Wednesday, his N.L.-leading 18th stolen base this season…It marked his first game this season with a homer and a stolen base, and the 15th such game of his career…Since his debut season in 2018, only Christian Yelich (18 times) has more games with a homer and stolen base.
  • Acuña Jr.is currently on pace for 41 homers and 68 stolen bases this season…No player in history has reached both of those marks in the same year.

Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #55 Bryce Elder RHP
2023 Record: 3-0, 1.94 ERA • 2022 Record: 2-4, 3.17 ERA
vs. RHB: .258 (25-97), 1 HR • vs. LHB: .176 (13-74), 2 HR
Home: 0-0, 1.96 ERA (5 ER/23.0 IP) • Away: 3-0, 1.93 ERA (5 ER/23.1 IP)

Tonight’s Game

  • Set to make his first career start against Seattle and ninth on the season.
  • Enters play with 13 consecutive outings of at least 5.0 innings pitched.
  • His 1.94 ERA on the season is tied for the lowest in the National League and tied for the second lowest in the majors among qualified starters.
  • Trails only Minnesota’s Sonny Gray (1.64).
  • Elder’s 2.78 ERA with runners on base is the lowest in the majors among qualified starters.
  • Scattered five hits and one walk over 5.0 innings of two-run ball while fanning three hitters in his last start at Toronto.
  • His groundball rate of 56.8% of balls put in play is the fourth highest in the majors among qualified starters.
  • Has recorded an out on 64.8% of those grounders put in play, the fifth highest rate in baseball among qualifiers.
  • Elder’s 2.39 ERA through 17 career starts is the lowest in Atlanta franchise history to begin a career.
  • The 98.0 innings pitched through his first 17 games started are the most by an Atlanta player to begin their career since Michael Soroka in 2018-19.
  • His 26 earned runs allwed are also the fewest during that span.
  • He has five starts in his career of at least 6.0 innings without allowing a run, the most such games in Atlanta franchise history (since 1966) in a player’s first 15 starts…Larry McWilliams (’78) and Ian Anderson (’20-21) both had four such starts.
  • Is 4-1 with a 1.82 ERA over his last 13 games started after being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, dating to his August 14, 2022.
  • In that stretch, Elder is averaging 6.0 innings pitched per outing, tied for the fourth highest rate in the National League (min. 10 starts).

2023 Recap

  • Elder has held opponents to one run or less in four of his six starts this season while pitching at least 5.0 frames in every outing.
  • His nine appearances of at least 5.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to one run or less are tied for the most through a player’s first 17 career games started with Michael Soroka.

MLB Preview: Cleveland Guardians (20-23) at New York Mets (22-23)

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MLB Preview: Cleveland Guardians (20-23) at New York Mets (22-23)

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:

GUARDS LATE RALLY FUELS WIN
After dropping the first two tilts of the road trip, the Guardians salvaged Thursday afternoon’s series finale on the Southside with a 3-1 victory over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

LOGAN ALLEN held the ChiSox to a single tally (5.2IP, 7H, 1R-ER, BB, 5SO, 102 pitches), which came in the 4th inning after Andrew Benintendi doubled and later scored on a 2-out RBI-single by Seby Zavala…GABRIEL ARIAS put Cleveland on the board in the 5th with a 2-out solo homer (2) off Dylan Cease (6.1IP, 5H, 3R-ER, BB, 3SO, HR, 91 pitches)…Arias also helped facilitate the Guardians decisive 2-run rally in the 7th, following a WILL BRENNAN single to put a pair of runners in scoring position; Cleveland’s go-ahead run then scored on a subsequent fielding error, while CAM GALLAGHER added an RBI-single to snap a personal 0-for-32 drought…NICK SANDLIN recorded the final out of the 6th and retired all 4 batters he faced to earn his second relief win…TREVOR STEPHAN followed with a perfect 8th… EMMANUEL CLASE worked around a 2-out single in the 9th to record his MLB-leading 15th save.

Coming off a 5-4 homestand, the Guardians are 1-2 half-way into this 6-game trip thru Chicago-AL & New York-NL…Guardians have won 6 of last 11, though club has still dropped 17 of last 28 overall since starting year 9-6…Guardians (20-23) are T2nd place in AL Central standings alongside Detroit (19-22), 3.5 games behind 1stplace Minnesota (24-20)…last season, club went 9-12 in April & 12-12 in May.

BACK IN QUEENS
The Guardians are traveling to Citi Field for their only matchup against the New York Mets this season…the clubs have not faced each other since 2019 when the Mets swept the Guards in 3 games from August 20-22 at Citi Field…the Clevelanders are 5-13 all-time against New York-NL and have lost four straight and six of their last seven…this is the club’s third time playing the Mets on the road, playing three games at Shea Stadium from June 15-17, 2004, and second time at Citi Field…the Guardians have never won at Citi Field (0-3)…Cleveland is 1-5 in series against New York-NL and has not won a series since taking two of three at Progressive Field from September 6-8, 2013.

During the Terry Francona era (since 2013), the Guardians are 109-100 all-time in Interleague play and 4-5 this season with a 1-2 series record…their most recent Interleague series was against the Colorado Rockies from April 24-26 at Progressive Field…the Rockies won the first 2 games of the series, 6-0 and 5-1 before TANNER BIBEE powered Cleveland to a win with 8 strikeouts over 5.2 innings in his Major League debut.

FAMILIAR FACES, NEW PLACES
The Mets and Guardians meet for the first time since a blockbuster deal on January 7, 2021, that sent Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets for ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ, AMED ROSARIO, and minor leaguers JOSH WOLF and ISAIAH GREENE. » Since joining Cleveland in 2021 Rosario owns a .278 batting average, a 6.0 bWAR and a .712 OPS while hitting 23 home runs… his 19 triples lead MLB over that period…Giménez has hit for a .269 average with a 9.5 bWAR and a .762 OPS…in 2022, he finished 6th in AL MVP voting, made the All Star team for the first time in his career and earned a Gold Glove…since Lindor has been in New York, he is hitting .249 with a 9.8 bWAR and a .759 OPS while connecting for 52 home runs, finishing 9th in NL MVP voting in 2022.

Carrasco, who is scheduled to start on the mound tonight, spent parts of 11 seasons with Cleveland (2009-20). He’s fourth on Cleveland’s all-time strikeout list at 1,305 behind only Bob Feller, Sam McDowell and Corey Kluber.

OUR BRAND OF BASEBALL
Cleveland’s 44 steals currently rank 3rd in MLB behind Pittsburgh (50) and Tampa Bay (47)…the last time a Cleveland team had 44-or-more steals through the team’s first 43 games was 1996 (49)…that team went on to win the AL Central…the Guardians 13 multi-steal games this season is 2nd in MLB behind Pittsburgh (15)…the Guards hold an 11-2 (.846) record in such games, holding the highest win percentage among teams with 9-or-more multi-steal games…since 2022, Cleveland leads MLB with 163 stolen bases, ahead of Texas (157) and Miami (160).

Since the start of 2019, Cleveland’s 165 sac flies rank 2nd in the AL and 3rd in MLB behind Los Angeles-NL (171) and Houston (178)…JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (25) is T3rd and JOSH BELL (21) is T12th in MLB during that stretch…the Guardians have 15 sacrifice flies this season, ranking T3rd in the AL and T7th in MLB.

The Guardians 42 infield hits rank 2nd in the AL behind Tampa Bay (47) and 5th in MLB…Cleveland is pacing MLB with 358 infield hits since the start of 2021, 13 ahead of Tampa Bay (345)…AMED ROSARIO (59) is 2nd and MYLES STRAW (48) is T7th in MLB over that period…both Rosario and Straw along with ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ lead the club with 6 infield hits this season…the club’s 190 infield hits led MLB in 2022, 40 ahead Tampa Bay (150).

PATIENCE AT THE PLATE
The Guardians are currently 1st in the AL and 4th in MLB with a 23.2 swing and miss percentage, trailing New York-NL (22.9%), Arizona (22.0%) and Washington (21.9%)…Cleveland is the only team in MLB with 3 players ranking in the top-15 for lowest swing and miss percentage with STEVEN KWAN (3rd, 10.7%), MYLES STRAW (6th, 12.3%) and JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (15th, 15.2%)…only Tampa Bay has more than one player in the top 15.

Kwan is also second in MLB behind Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman (6.3%) with a 6.7% first pitch swing rate…since debuting last season, Kwan has an 8.4% first pitch swing rate, taking first pitches at a higher rate than any other MLB hitter, as no other player has a mark below 12.0% in that span…as a club, the Guardians swing at the first pitch at a 27.5% rate, the 2nd-lowest rate in the AL and 6th-lowest rate in MLB.

A MASTER-CLASE IN THE NINTH
EMMANUEL CLASE’s 15 saves currently lead MLB, four ahead of BAL’s Félix Bautista, SF’s Camilo Doval and SD’s Josh Hader…since 2021, he ranks 1st among relievers with a 1.53 ERA (28ER/164.2IP) ahead of Evan Phillips (1.64 ERA) and his 81 saves is T2nd with Hader, behind BOS’s Kenley Jansen (88)… the 25-year-old right-hander has a 2.82 ERA (7ER/22.1IP) with 14 strikeouts in 23 appearances this season.

TONIGHT’S STARTER – 47 CAL QUANTRILL RHP
QUANTRILL’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 2-2 3.97 8 8 45.1 46 21 20 15 23
Career 33-18 3.57 121 83 516.1 490 227 205 145 392

QUANTRILL ON THE ROAD
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-0 3.38 4 4 24.0 24 10 9 6 12
Career 12-13 3.90 55 33 219.0 224 111 95 67 171

TONIGHT’S START
The 28-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his ninth start, fifth on the road, this evening in the opener of a 3-game series with the New York Mets…is starting on extended 5 days rest; is 15- 10 with a 4.05 ERA (87ER/195.2IP) in 35 career starts on 5 days rest…the Guardians are 6-2 in Quantrill starts this season.

LAST TIME OUT
His last start came on May 13 vs. Los Angeles-AL in an 8-6 Guards win…Quantrill did not factor into the decision after throwing 6.0 innings, allowing 3 runs (earned) on 6 hits, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts…he let up a leadoff home run to Mickey Moniak to begin his outing, before retiring the side in order…after an unblemished 2nd inning, Quantrill ran into some trouble in the 3rd…after a walk and hit by pitch, Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI-double and Anthony Rendon hit a sacrifice fly to put Los Angeles-AL ahead 3-0…he allowed a hit in each of the 4th, 5th and 6th innings, but avoided any further damage…Quantrill is the second Guardians pitcher this season to throw 3 consecutive quality starts, joining SHANE BIEBER (4, 3/30-4/16/2023)…this is the 5th time in his career he has tossed 3+ consecutive quality starts.

IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE’VE MET
This will be his 2nd career start against New York-NL…his lone previous contest against the Mets came on May 7, 2019 when he was on the San Diego Padres…Quantrill finished the outing with 2 earned runs in 4.1 innings (4.15 ERA), allowing 7 hits and 2 walks while recording 5 strikeouts…marked the first outing of Quantrill’s career where he struck out 5-or-more hitters in an outing of 4.1-orfewer innings…he has done this three more times since.

In 5 career starts against the NL East, Quantrill holds an 0-1 record with a 3.00 ERA (9ER/27.0IP)…when Quantrill was a Padre, they went 0-4 in his starts against the NL East, but the Guardians won in Quantrill’s lone start for Cleveland against the division on April 14, 2023 when they downed the Nationals 4-3 in Washington D.C…Quantrill’s last two outings against NL East teams resulted in quality starts, including
against Washington (6.0IP, 3R/ER, 2BB, 3SO)…has allowed 3-or-fewer runs in 5 straight starts against the NL East.

CLEVELAND’S CONSISTENT CAL
In Quantrill’s last 25 games, he has a 13-2 (.867) record, holding the 2nd-highest win percentage among all MLB pitchers in their last 25 starts, behind Los Angeles-NL’s Tony Gonsolin (16-2, .889)…as a club, Cleveland has won 22 of Quantrill’s last 25 starts.

ROAD WARRIOR
Since starting 2022 with a 1-5 record in his first 7 road tilts, including 5 straight losses, Quantrill has turned things around and won 6 consecutive decisions across his last 10 starts away from home…since July 22, 2022, Quantrill holds an unblemished 6-0 record with a 2.73 ERA (18ER/59.1IP), along with 44 strikeouts and 14 walks in his road starts during that span…only Quantrill and Houston’s Framber Valdez (8-0) are unbeaten in road starts since July 22, 2022…he has received 4-or-more runs of support in 6 of those 10 starts…Quantrill has had a 7.13 RSA on the road since July 22, 2022, leading all MLB pitchers with 10-or-more road starts during that timeframe.

MAY-BE IT’S YOUR MONTH
Quantrill has opened May with three straight quality starts…he is one of 15 MLB pitchers and 9 AL pitchers to begin the month with 3 quality starts…among AL starters this month, he ranks 7th with a .180 BABIP, 9th with a .186 average against, 9th with 5.75 H/9 and T9th with 20.1 innings pitched…he holds a 2.21 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in his last three starts.

NEW YORK METS NOTES:

METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the Rays, 3-2, yesterday to earn their sixth series victory and the third series victory at home…The victory snapped a streak of seven series without a victory…The Mets continue a six-game homestand (2-1) against Tampa Bay (2-1) and Cleveland (three games)…The Mets are off on Monday before they begin a six-game road trip to Chicago-NL (three games) and Colorado (three games).

AND I WOULD WALK .500: With a victory tonight, the Mets would move back to .500…It would be the first time the club is at .500 since they were 17-17 on May 6.

MAKING MOVES: Prior to tonight’s game, the Mets are expected to make a series of roster moves…RHP Carlos Carrasco is expected to be reinstated from the 15-Day IL…He has been on the IL since April 16 with Right elbow inflammation…He made two rehab appearances with Double-A Binghamton where he posted a 1.29 ERA (1 ER/7.0 IP) with two walks and five strikeouts…Catcher Gary Sánchez will be selected to the major league roster…Sánchez was signed to a minor league contract on May 9…In eight games with the Syracuse Mets, he went 9-26 (.308) with
three runs, two doubles, a home run and five RBI…The two-time All-Star has hit 154 career home runs in 666 career major league games.

HELLO OLD FRIENDS: Carrasco will face his former team in Cleveland for the first time in his career…Cookie went 88-73 with the team and posted a 3.77 ERA and struck out 1,305 batters…However, having pitched for the Guardians for the first 11 years of his career, he has faced AL Central opponents 115 times, including 95 starts and has pitched to a 41-40 record with a 3.89 ERA (249 ER/576.2) in those appearances…He has fanned 587 AL Central batters in his career…Francisco Lindor played six seasons and 777 career games with Cleveland…He was drafted with the eighth overall pick by the team in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft…Today will mark his first game with the club.

EIGHT IS GREAT: The Mets are 20-0 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, 2012…The Mets were up 3-2 and lost 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth…Since then the Mets have won their last 115 games when ahead after eight, the longest active streak in MLB…It’s the second-longest streak in franchise history….From October 1, 1990- September 2, 1992, the Mets won 117 straight games when ahead after eight innings.

HOMER HAPPY: After the Mets went five straight games without a home run, the Mets have homered in three straight contests, hitting seven home
runs in that span…The Mets are 18-9 when hitting a home run this season and 7-5 when hitting multiple homers.

HOMERS ARE SICK: Pete Alonso has homered in three or more consecutive games for the second time this season (Also: April 5 – April 8) and the sixth time in his career…Is one of five Mets to homer in three or more consecutive games six or more times joining Howard Johnson (six), David Wright (eight), Mike Piazza (nine) and Darryl Strabwerry (nine)… Alonso homered in four straight games from August 5-9, 2019.

SWEET 16: Alonso has hit 16 home runs this season, which leads the majors leagues…His 16 home runs are the most by a Met in franchise history through the team’s first 45 games of the season…His 37 RBI are fourth in The Show and lead the National League…Alonso ranks 12th in franchise history with 417 career RBI…Next up is Kevin McReynolds (456) and Keith Hernandez (468).

CITI BOMBS: Alonso has 70 homers at Citi Field, the second-most in the ballpark’s history…Lucas Duda is first with 71.

INTERLEAGUE PETE: Pete Alonso has hit 34 home runs in Interleague Play since the 2019 season…His 34 home runs against the American League is a franchise record, and the most among any player since 2019…Mike Piazza was the previous record holder with 28 Interleague home runs.

THEY’RE OUT OF MY LEAGUE: The Mets are in a stretch of six straight games against the American League…The new schedule format has New York playing a total of 43 Interleague games in 2023, more than double their previous high for a single season (20)…The Mets are 5-4 against the
American League this year…Overall, New York owns a 240-231 record in Interleague play…The team’s .510 winning percentage is the second-best among National League clubs.

EL JEFF-E: Jeff McNeil is on a five-game hitting streak, batting .400 (8-20) in that span with four runs and RBI…He recorded his 14th multi-hit game of the year, which is tied for the eighth-most in the National League…He has 177 multi-hit games in his career, which is 19th all-time in Mets history… Wally Backman is next with 179 multi-hit contests…He is batting .333 (19- 57) with nine runs, three doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBI and 11 walks in 18 games at home this year.

FEELING A LITTLE DRAFTY: The Mets have a homegrown player on their roster from the 2019 (Brett Baty), 2018 (Tylor Megill), 2017 (Mark Vientos,
Josh Walker), 2016 (Pete Alonso), 2013 (Jeff McNeil), 2012 (Tomás Nido) and 2011 (Brandon Nimmo) drafts.

IN THE CITI: The Mets are 9-9 at Citi Field this year…The team’s 18 home games are tied for the fewest in the major leagues…The team won 54 games at home last year…That was their highest total at Citi Field in franchise history…The last time the team won more than 50 games in New York was in 2000 when they went 55-26…Overall, the Mets went 54-27 at Citi Field…The team’s .667 winning percentage was the fourth-highest in team history…Only the 1988 (56-24, .700), 2000 and 1986 teams (both 55- 26, .679) had a better home winning percentage.

D-FENCE: The Mets have committed 15 errors in 25 games this year…That gives the team a .990 fielding percentage….Their .990 fielding percentage ranks fourth in the majors and third in the NL…Their 15 errors are the second-fewest committed…Only the Padres (11) have committed fewer.

TONIGHT’S STARTER – CARLOS CARRASCO RHP #59
2023 STATS: 0-2, 8.56 ER A

CARRASCO’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 31% 35% 28% 91.3 mph
Changeup 25% 36% 18% 86.6 mph
Slider 20% 3% 32% 83.6 mph
Sinker 17% 14% 18% 90.7 mph
Curveball 7% 12% 4% 78.9 mph

REHAB ASSIGNMENT RECAP: Made two appearances with Binghamton (AA) as part of his rehab assignment after being placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation, both against the Hartford Yard Goats…Threw 33 pitches in his first rehab start on May 9, allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk…On May 14, threw 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk while fanning four batters.

FACING A FAMILIAR FOE: Carrasco will face his former team in Cleveland for the first time in his career…However, having pitched for the Guardians for the first 11 years of his career, he has faced AL Central opponents 115 times, including 95 starts and has pitched to a 41-40 record with a 3.89 ERA (249 ER/576.2) in those appearances…He has fanned 587 AL Central batters in his career.

HE’S GOT THE MONTH OF MAY: In 38 appearances and 31 starts in the month of May, Carrasco has pitched to an 18-8 record with a 4.20 ERA (97 ER/208.0 IP)…His .692 winning percentage in May is the best split of any month during the season…In those appearances, Carrasco has thrown three complete games, including one shutout, and has tallied 198 strikeouts compared to 46 walks.

MLB Preview: Baltimore Orioles (28-16) at Toronto Blue Jays (25-19)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Baltimore Orioles (28-16) at Toronto Blue Jays (25-19)

BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:

YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Orioles split the four-game series against the Angels after dropping yesterday’s finale, 6-5…Fell to 24-3 when leading after seven innings… Dropped to 8-9 in day games.

Tyler Wells did not factor in the decision after allowing three runs on six hits (2 HR) with one walk and seven strikeouts in 5.0 innings…Set a career high with 19 swings and misses, surpassing his previous career high of 18 set in his last start on May 13 vs. Pittsburgh; marks the most swings and misses induced by an O’s hurler since Bruce Zimmermann also had 19 on June 1, 2021 vs. Minnesota…Has thrown at least 5.0 innings in all nine appearances (eight starts) to begin the season; had 12 career games of 5.0+ innings (all in 2022) entering 2023…Entering today’s games, Wells leads qualified MLB pitchers with a 0.79 WHIP.

Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander each homered in the loss; Rutschman has hit safely in eight straight starts since May 9, slashing .357/.471/.750 (10-for-28) in those games, and Santander has homered six times in his last 19 games after homering just once in his first 22 and is slashing .339/.406/.645 (21-for-62) in May while hitting safely in 13 of 16 games, compared to slashing .213/.280/.362 (20-for-94) in March/April.

WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won 19 of their last 28 games, 22 of 32, and 24 of 35… The 28-16 overall record ranks second in MLB to start the season (see box at right).

Last season, the Birds did not reach 28 wins until the 65th game on June 16 (28- 37); they did not reach 29 wins until the 66th game on June 17 (29-37).

The Orioles are 90-65 since June 1, 2022, a 94-win pace; the .581 winning percentage during that time is the second-best in the AL and fourth-best in MLB, trailing the Braves (.677, 105-50), Dodgers (.671, 106-52), and Astros (.632, 98-57).

AGAINST THE BLUE JAYS: The O’s and Jays meet for the first time this season with a three-game set at Rogers Centre…The Orioles will travel to Toronto again for four games from July 31 to August 3 and will host the Jays in Baltimore for a pair of three-game sets from June 13-15 and August 22-24…The O’s went 9-10 against the Jays in 2022; the season series was not decided until game 162 on October 5 (G2).

Ryan Mountcastle has slashed .323/.381/.634 (52-for-161) with eight doubles, 14 homers, 26 runs scored, 33 RdBI, 14 walks, and a 1.014 OPS in 42 career games against the Jays; marks his most home runs, RBI, extra-base hits (22), and total bases (102) against a single opponent, as well as his highest batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS against a team with at least 15 games played.

WRAPPING UP THE HOMESTAND: The Orioles finished up their longest homestand of the season yesterday…The 11-day, 10-game homestand began with three games against the Rays from May 8-10 (2-1) before an off day on May 11 and continued with a three-game weekend series against the Pirates from May 12-14 (2-1) before a four-game set against the Angels from May 15-18 (2-2)…The O’s went 6-4 on the homestand and won four straight from May 9-13.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Orioles begin a seven-day, six-game road trip tonight with the first of three games in Toronto…After an off day Monday, the Orioles make their first trip to Yankee Stadium this year with three games against the Yankees from May 23-25.

LOOKING AHEAD: After the current road trip, the O’s return to Charm City for a six-game homestand with three games against the Rangers from May 26-28 and three against the Guardians from May 29-31.

WHAT A RELIEF: The Baltimore bullpen owns a 2.99 ERA (55 ER/165.2 IP), second-best in MLB (see box at right)…Baltimore’s 2.44 reliever ERA (23 ER/85.0 IP) at home is tied with Philadelphia for second in the majors behind Toronto (2.19)…O’s relievers have 12 wins this season, tied with New York-AL for first in the AL and fourth in MLB, trailing Arizona, Cincinnati, and Miami (13)…The O’s are second in MLB with 198
strikeouts from the ‘pen, trailing Kansas City (207).

THE CANO SHOW: Yennier Cano has surrendered just four hits and one hit batter in 21.2 scoreless innings over 17 appearances to begin the season after being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on April 14…He allowed his first extra-base hit of the year on a one-out double from Pittsburgh’s Tucupita Marcano on Saturday…Opponents are slashing .061/.075/.076 (4-for-66) against him, all of which lead MLB pitchers with at least 15 appearances…His .150 OPS against is less than half of the next closest player (SD’s Josh Hader, .361).

Cano’s 17-game scoreless streak is the third-longest to begin a year by an O’s pitcher in team history (since 1954), trailing Donnie Hart (18 G) in 2016 and Will Ohman (25 G) in 2010.

His streak of 17 straight games without allowing a run or a walk is tied with Toronto’s Paul Quantrill (2001) for the second-longest to start a season since at least 1901, behind a 19-game streak by Houston’s Ryan Pressly to open the 2019 campaign.

He leads all O’s and ranks eighth among all MLB pitchers with 1.9 bWAR, per Baseball Reference.

His sinker is worth -10 Run Value, the best pitch by an Oriole and tied for the fourth-best pitch in MLB, per Statcast.

His changeup has a Run Value of -4 and a 45.3 percent Whiff Rate, per Statcast; the pitch also has the second-highest Put Away percentage on the team at 36.2 percent and he has yet to allow a base hit with it.

TOP GUNN: Gunnar Henderson has hit safely in six straight games for the first time in his career and has also reached base safely in nine straight games since May 9…In 16 May games, he has slashed .208/.333/.458 (10-for-48) with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, eight runs scored, four RBI, and nine walks compared to .189/.348/.311 (14-for-74) with three doubles, two home runs, 15 runs scored, four RBI, and 17 walks in his first 23 games of the season…Owns a .792 OPS in May compared to a .659 OPS in March/April.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #48 KYLE GIBSON RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 10th start of the season, sixth on the road, and 12th career start against the Blue Jays tonight…Became the first O’s pitcher in club history (since 1954) to start and win each of his three first appearances with the team…Started a season 4-0 for the second time in his career, joining a 6-0 start with Texas in 2021; became the fifth Oriole starting pitcher since 2004 to begin a year 4-0, joining John Means (4-0 in 2021), Bud Norris (4-0 in 2013), Wei-Yin Chen (4-0 in 2012), and Erik Bedard (4-0 in 2006)…Since his debut in 2013, Gibson ranks among active MLB pitchers in starts (4th, 270), innings (6th, 1556.0), and quality starts (T-14th, 121)…In 276 career appearances (270 GS), Gibson owns a 93-94 record with a 4.52 ERA (782 ER/1556.0 IP)…The O’s signed Gibson to a one-year contract on December 5, 2022…He has also spent time with the Twins, Phillies, and Rangers across 10 Major League seasons.

LAST TIME OUT: Dealt the loss in his last start on May 14 vs. Pittsburgh after allowing four runs on seven hits with three walks, five strikeouts, and a wild pitch in 5.0 innings of work…Marked his third straight loss after winning his first three starts and four decisions this season…Threw 95 pitches, 57 strikes.

CAREER AGAINST THE BLUE JAYS: Dealt the loss in his last start against Toronto on September 20, 2022 with Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park; allowed seven runs on a career-high-tying 12 hits (1 HR) with one walk and three strikeouts in 5.0 innings… Threw 79 pitches, 52 strikes…Sports a 5-2 record with a 4.81 ERA (34 ER/63.2 IP) and four quality starts through his first 11 career starts against Toronto…Making his 5th career start at Rogers Centre…Holds a 2-1 record with two quality starts at Toronto…Earned the win in his last start at Rogers Centre on May 8, 2019 with the Twins; allowed one run on two hits (1 HR) with one walk and a career-high 11 strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.

CAREER AGAINST THE AL EAST: Making his 57th career appearance (56th start) against the AL East…Sports a 22-20 record with a 4.57 ERA (161 ER/317.0 IP) and 21 quality starts through his first 56 career outings against the division…Dealt the loss in his last start against the AL East on May 8 vs. Tampa Bay…Allowed two runs on six hits (1 HR) with two walks and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.

LIFE ON THE ROAD: Making his sixth road start of the 2023 campaign tonight…Dealt his first loss of the season in his last start away from Oriole Park on May 3 at Kansas City…Allowed six runs on 10 hits (1 HR), both season highs, in 6.2 innings of work… Threw 74 pitches, 49 strikes…Owns a 45-44 record with a 4.56 ERA (395 ER/780.0 IP) and 62 quality starts in 139 career road appearances (135 starts)…Tossed his first career complete-game shutout on September 16, 2020 at Houston with Texas… Allowed just four hits with three walks and nine strikeouts in 9.0 scoreless innings… Threw 114 pitches, 74 strikes.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:

THE LATEST: The Blue Jays were doubled up, 4-2, by the Yankees in the final match of a four-game series last night… Outhit the Yankees, 33-29, during the series but lost three of the four contests…Marked their 1st home series loss of the season, now 5-1-0 at Rogers Centre and 9-5-0 overall. Toronto has still won seven of its last 12 games and 13 of its last 23…Its .568 win% currently sits 4th in the AL and T-6th in MLB.

WE CALL THEM BO-ING BOMBS: Bo Bichette got Toronto on the board last night with a solo homer in the bottom of the 1st, his team-leading 9th longball of the season…Also added singles in the 3rd and the 6th to finish 3-for-4…His 17 multi-hit efforts and six games with 3+ hits are both the most in the AL. The shortstop has now gone 61-for-186 (.328) with 10 doubles, nine homers, and 29 RBI while playing in all 44 games this season…The .328 AVG is the best in the junior circuit…Leads all MLB hitters with 61 hits (2nd: Ronald Acuña Jr. – 58) and leads the AL with 98 total bases (2nd: Luis Robert Jr. – 93)… Among AL hitters, is also 9th in OPS (.899) and 10th in SLG (.527).

JOSÉ STEADYING: José Berríos allowed three runs on six hits and a walk while recording eight strikeouts over 6.2 innings last night…Marked his 4th quality start of the season… Has given up three runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts, posting a 3-2 record and a 3.14 ERA (15 ER/43.0 IP) with nine walks and 40 strikeouts for a 1.12 WHIP and a .239 opponents’ average.

IN A PINCH: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. missed Wednesday’s game with right knee discomfort but came in to pinch-hit with the bases loaded in the 7th inning last night…Drove in Toronto’s 2nd run with a sacrifice fly to center field. The 24-year-old is 49-for-157 for the season with 11 doubles, seven homers, and 27 RBI for a .312 AVG (4th in the AL), a .383 OBP (8th), and an .899 OPS (8th)…His 49 hits are tied for 7th most in the AL…Has also recorded an AL-best 75 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) this season, one ahead of teammate Bo Bichette (74).

ONE NOTCH AT A TIME: Brandon Belt notched a single off lefty Nestor Cortes to lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning last night, his 1st hit off a southpaw this season (now 1-for-11)…Over his last 12 games, has batted .412 (14-for-34) with four doubles, a homer, four RBI, and six walks (.512 OBP, .618 SLG)…His 1.045 OPS for the month of May ranks 7th among AL batters (min. 40 PA).

DANNY DIGGING IN: Danny Jansen picked up a single in the 7th inning last night as he finished 1-for-4…Has gone 8-for-31 (.258) with three doubles, a homer, and eight RBI in his last eight games…Has registered a hit in all six of his games vs. NYY this season, going 6-for-20 (.300) with two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI.

AT DOME FOR DAYS: The Blue Jays are on a 10-day, 10-game homestand (4-3 so far)…Have gone 13-6 this season at Rogers Centre, tied for the 3rd-best record through 19 home contests in team history…The .684 win% at home is 3rd best in MLB (TB – .864, LAD – .708)…After completing this weekend series with the Orioles, will head out on a seven-game road trip to Tampa Bay (32-13) and Minnesota (24-20). Toronto batters rank 5th in the AL in home AVG (.259), while sitting 6th in home OBP (.332), 9th in home OPS (.724), and 10th in home SLG (.392)…The pitching staff ranks 2nd among AL teams with a 2.88 home ERA (TB – 2.52), 2nd in home opponents’ average (.194), and 2nd in home WHIP (1.11).

WEEKEND WARRIORS: The Blue Jays swept the Braves last weekend and swept the Pirates the weekend prior…Dating back to last September, have won each of their last 10 series that began on a Friday, the longest such streak in team history (2nd: nine straight from Aug. 2021-May 2022)…courtesy Stats Perform.

QUITE A STRETCH: The Blue Jays are in the midst of playing 17 games in 17 days, their most consecutive days with scheduled games this season…Have gone 4-3 so far…Their opponents over this 17-game stretch (ATL, NYY, BAL, TB, MIN) have a combined record of 137-85 (.617).

HITTING IT: The Blue Jays have notched 390 hits so far this season, 5th most in the AL…Are also 5th in the AL in team AVG (.256), 6th in OBP (.330), 6th in OPS (.735), and 8th in SLG (.407). The Blue Jays are one of two AL teams who have scored in every game this season (also: LAA)…Have gone 62 straight games without being shut out, the 2nd-longest active streak in the Majors (LAA – 86G).

DIVISIONAL DETAILS: The Blue Jays have now gone 5-9 against divisional opponents this season…Have still won 28 of their last 47 games vs. AL East foes, dating back to Aug. 17, 2022…Went 43-33 (.566%) in divisional play in 2022, the 2nd-best winning percentage within the division (NYY – .618) and the club’s best since registering a .581 win% in 2006 (43-31).

VS. THE ORIOLES: All-Time: 318-387
2022: 10-9 Home: 168-184
Home: 5-5 Rogers Centre: 130-130
The Blue Jays went 10-9 against the Orioles last season while splitting the 10 contests here at Rogers Centre…Have claimed each season series since 2018, going 57-29 since then…Their .663 win% vs. BAL over that span is their 2nd best vs. an AL opponent (.719 vs. KC).

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit .329 (25-for-76) with two doubles, six home runs, and 12 RBI in his 18 games played against the O’s last season (.985 OPS)…In 63 career meetings, is 86-for-258 (.333) with 13 doubles, 22 homers, and 53 RBI (1.025 OPS).

Bo Bichette kept a .315 (23-for-73) batting average in 18 games vs. Baltimore last year, including two doubles, six home runs, and 15 RBI (.940 OPS)…The team has gone 30-16 during his 46 career games against them while he has batted .326 (62-for-190) with 12 doubles, 10 homers, and 34 RBI (.920 OPS).

Matt Chapman picked up 15 hits in 16 games against the Orioles last year, including seven extra-base hits and 12 RBI (.571 SLG)…Is a lifetime .269 (39-for-145) hitter across 42 meetings with 12 doubles, seven home runs, and 24 RBI (.860 OPS).

STARTING PITCHER – Yusei Kikuchi, LHP #16
TODAY’S GAME: Making his 9th start of the season and his 4th at Rogers Centre…Lasted 4+ frames his last time out, on 5/14 v.s ATL, allowing 5R/4ER on 9 hits… Struck out 7 without issuing a walk. Is 1 of 3 AL hurlers with at least 5 wins and no losses this season, joining Shane McClanahan (7-0) and Gerrit Cole (5-0).

2023 HIGHLIGHTS:
Improved to 5-0 his on 5/7 at PIT, tossing 6.1 shutout frames with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts…Marked his longest outing as a Blue Jay, and his 3rd quality start this season. Took a no-decision on 5/2 at BOS, giving up 5 runs on a season-high-tying 9 hits with a pair of strikeouts. Improved to 4-0 on 4/26 vs. CWS, throwing 5.2 frames of shutout ball while scattering four singles and a walk along with eight strikeouts…Has allowed one run or fewer in four of his five starts this year while the Blue Jays have won all five of his outings. Earned his 3rd win of the year on 4/21 at NYY, tossing 6.0 frames of one-run ball with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts…Has back-to-back starts of 6.0+ innings and 0-or-1 runs allowed for the first time since 6/18-25 of his 2021 All-Star campaign. Improved to 2-0 on 4/15 vs. TB, throwing 6.0 innings of one-run ball with 4 hits, a walk, and a season-high 9 strikeouts…Marked his most punchouts in a single game as a Blue Jay…Completed 6.0 frames for the 1st time since 6/30/22 vs. TB. Took a no-decision on 4/9 at LAA, giving up 6 runs on 9 hits and a walk over 4.1 innings with 6 strikeouts…Threw 99 pitches (59 strikes) on the day, his most pitches in a single outing since 7/28/21 vs. HOU (101). Picked up the win in his season debut on 4/4 at KC, tossing 5.0 innings of one-run ball with 3 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts…Was his 1st start since 8/15/22 vs. BAL, and his 1st win as a starter since 7/28/22 vs. DET.

MLB Preview: Chicago Cubs (19-24) at Philadelphia Phillies (20-23)

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MLB Preview: Chicago Cubs (19-24) at Philadelphia Phillies (20-23)

CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:

The Cubs and Phillies face each other in six games this season … following the three contests this weekend, the teams will also play June 27-29 at Wrigley Field … Chicago last year picked up the season sweep of the Phillies for the first time in franchise history … the Cubs have won four of the previous five season series against Philadelphia.

THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE: The Chicago Cubs tonight play the first of three games in Philadelphia in the final leg of a nine-game, three-city, 10-day road trip (1-5) … Chicago fell to Houston in walk-off fashion on Wednesday in the final game of the series, suffering a series sweep for the second time this yerar … the Cubs scored six runs through the first four innings, behind eight extra-base hits including a home run from Christoper Morel and two from Seiya Suzuki, but failed to score again … Drew Smyly threw 6.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits and eight strikeouts for his fourth quality start of the season and second in as many games … Smyly’s 14-straight batters retired (excluding the one reached by error) is the longest stretch of consecutive batters retired since he sat 21 in a row in his seven perfect innings on April 21. © Chicago has lost a season-high five games in a row, the first time since July 30-Aug. 42 of last season … they are looking to avoid losing six-straight for the first time since July 7-162 (9 G) of last year.

The Cubs went 10-3 in 13 games from April 4-19, but have gone 8-18 in 26 contests starting April 20 … Chicago has lost four-straight road series, with the last series victory coming April 17-19 at Oakland.

Today is the 20th game (5-14) of a stretch that sees the team on the road for 16 of 22 contests through May 21.

SEIYA LATER, BALL!: Between his ninth inning home run on Tuesday and home runs in the first and third innings on Wednesday, Seiya Suzuki went deep in three-straight plate apperances … according to Elias Sports Bureau, Suzuki is the first Cub to have a home run in three consecutive plate appearances since Kris Bryant May 17, 2019 … he is the first Japanese-born player to achieve the feat in the majors.

Seiya’s first home run on Wednesday was his 200th home run in the Nippon Professional Baseball organization (Japan) and Major League Baseball,
combined.

MORE FOR MOREL: Christopher Morel hit his fifth home run of the season Wednesday in his eighth game of the season … all five of his homers have gone for 400-plus feet (401, 402, 422, 429, 461) … Morel is the seventh Cub in franchise history (since 1901) to record five home runs in the first eight games of a season, joining Shane Andrews (1999), Dave Kingman (1980), Billy Williams (1964), Randy Jackson (1955), Rogers Hornsby (1931) and Gabby Hartnett (1925, 6 HR) … as you can see, onlyn Hartnett had more home runs in that span.

Morel has scored at least one run in each of his first eight games of the season … the only other Cub since 1900 to do so was Hank Sauer in 1954, who held the streak for 13 games. (credit: Elias Sports Bureau)

EXTRA FUN: The Cubs notched eight extra-base hits Wednesday (4 doubles, triple, 3 home runs) for the first time since April 21 (9 XBH) … Dansby Swanson hit the team’s first triple since April 30 and his first since April 23, 2022.

The club on Wednesday hit three home runs in a game for the first time since April 27 and have recorded eight long balls in the last four games.

UNDER ATTACK EARLY: Chicago has allowed at least one run in the first inning of each of the previous five games (May 13-17), totaling eight runs by the opponents in that span … the last time the Cubs allowed a run in the first inning in five consecutive games was April July 23-27, 2014 (10 runs allowed).

The last time the Cubs gave up first-inning runs in six-straight games? … May 5-12, 2006.

GETTING RISP-Y AGAIN: The Cubs in their last seven games (2-5) since May 10 have hit .278 (15-for-54) with RISP, compared to .182 (22-for-121) in the previous 14 games (4-10) from April 26-May 9 … in the recent seven-game uptick, Seiya Suzuki leads the team with six RBI with RISP, followed by Christopher with five.

In the recent stretch Suzuki has a .800 (4-for-5) batting average and a .750 OBP, both of which lead Cubs hitters.

Chicago’s .556 slugging percentage with RISP since May 10 ranks third in the majors and its .278 average in that span is good for fourth-best in the N.L.

HE’S HAPP-Y ON THE BASES: Ian Happ is fifth in the majors with a .422 OBP, while his .303 batting average ranks tied for 19th (tied with teammate Nico Hoerner) … the 119-point difference between the two stats ranks seventh-highest in the N.L.

Happ is tied for third in the majors with 33 walks … through 16 games in May, Happ has picked up 14 walks compared to 17 in all of April (25 games).

The Cubs as a team lead the N.L. in OBP (.340) and are third in the majors … the team’s 159 free passes ranks tied for sixth-most in the majors.

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: The Cubs have scored at least one run in each of their first 43 games in 2023, just the third time in the expansion era (since 1961) the team has gotten on the board in each of its first 43 contests … the longest season-opening streaks in this span: 47 G in 1995 and 43 G in 2020.

Chicago is one of four teams in the majors this season to have scored at least one run in every game played thus far (also the Diamondbacks, Angels and Blue Jays).

Below is a look at how each Cubs team stacks up through the first 43 games of their season-opening streaks with at least one run scored:
Year Record Win % R RA
2023 19-24 .442 206 184
2020 25-18 .581 197 181
1995 23-20 .535 194 185

Starting Pitcher – #0 RHP Marcus Stroman (2-4, 3.24)
Last Time Out
Marcus allowed a season-high six runs and seven hits in 2.2 innings May 14 in Minnesota … the 2.2 IP marked his shortest non-injury shortened start since Sept. 3, 2018 (1.2 IP) … has received two runs or fewer of support in four-straight starts and seven of his nine outings in 2023.

Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
5/14 @MIN L, 3-16 2.2 7 6 6 2 3 64-44 0-5, 1 on
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 2-3 2.79 5 5 29.0 20 9 9 10 31
Road 0-1 3.86 4 4 21.0 20 9 9 9 16
AVG vs. LHB: .209 (19-for-91) / AVG vs. RHB: .228 (21-for-92)

Marcus is scheduled to make his team-high 10th start of the 2023 season tonight, his fifth on the road … dating to Aug. 30, 2022, has allowed two runs or fewer in 12 of his last 16 starts, pitching to a 2.74 ERA (28 ER/92.0 IP), the fifth-lowest ERA in the majors during that span (min. 16 GS) … his seven quality starts are tied for the major league lead this season and his 16 such outings since the All-Star break of last season are tied for sixth-most in the MLB.

Recorded his 1,000th career strikeout April 23 vs. Los Angeles (N.L.), retiring Freddie Freeman looking in the third inning.

Became the second Cubs starting pitcher since 1901 (also Jake Arrieta, 2016) with three outings of at least 6.0 scoreless innings in the team’s first 16 games.

Became the third Cubs starting pitcher since 1901 to allow two or fewer combined runs over his first four starts of a season (also Steve Stone, 1976; Jason Hammel, 2016).

Posted a 14.0-inning scoreless streak to begin the season, the fourth-longest by a Cubs pitcher since 1901.

Made his third career Opening Day start March 30 vs. Milwaukee (0 ER/6.0 IP), earning the win … improved to 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA (3 ER/21.0 IP) in his three career Opening Day starts.

In three Cacuts League starts with the Cubs, went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA (1 ER/10.0 IP) and 10 strikeouts.

Made two starts for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:

  • GAME #43 RECAP: The Phillies fell to the San Francisco Giants, 7-4, on a getaway day at Oracle Park … Starter Taijuan Walker (ND) couldn’t make it through the 1st inning as he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks and a strikeout (40 total pitches) … The Phillies rallied to tie the game at 4-4 in the 5th but the Giants put 7 consecutive balls in play against reliever Gregory Soto and took a 7-4 lead in the 8th … The Phillies had the bases loaded in the 9th against Giants closer Camilo Doval but failed to score.
  • A REAL UNICORN: Since the start of last season (regular and postseason combined), J.T. Realmuto has played a total of 1281.2 innings at catcher (150 G, 147 GS) … That is 240.0 innings (almost 27 full games) clear of HOU’s Martin Maldonado who ranks 2nd in MLB at 1041.2 innings at catcher … The next closest National League catcher to Realmuto is LAD’s Will Smith who has caught 984.1 innings, which is 297.1 innings shy of Realmuto (33 full games) … Realmuto started this season slashing .205/.222/.364 (.586 OPS) through his first 11 games (45 PA, 3/30-4/13), but since then, he is slashing .351/.379/.574 (.953 OPS) over his last 26 games (103 PA, since 4/14) … He carries an active 10-game hitting streak into play tonight (14-35, .400 AVG, since 5/5).
  • I’M OFF ON THE ADVENTURE: Tonight, Ranger Suárez will step on the mound at Citizens Bank Park for the first time since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series against the Astros at CBP (7-0 Phils win, Suarez tossed 5.0 scoreless and got the win) … The Phillies have not lost a game at Citizens Bank Park that Suarez has pitched in since June 29, 2022 – they have won all eight games Suarez has pitched in at CBP since July 25, 2022 (including postseason).
  • LEGEND OF THE FALL: Last postseason, Ranger Suárez went 2-0 in 3 starts with a 1.35 ERA (2 ER, 13.1 IP) … In 2 relief appearances, Suarez was 1-for-1 in save opportunities and tossed 1.1 scoreless innings … All said, the Phillies went 5-0 in all 5 games Suarez pitched last postseason … He was summoned to close out Game 5 of the NLCS and helped secure the 8th pennant in club history.
  • TIME TO POKE THE BEAR: Last year, the Phillies went 0-6 against the Chicago Cubs which included three games at Citizens Bank Park and three games at Wrigley Field … The Phillies scored 10 total runs against the Cubs last season (1.7 per game) as they slashed .216/.286/.291 (.578 OPS) with only nine extra-base hits in 220 plate appearances … Philadelphia’s last win against the Cubs came on Sept. 16, 2021, in a 17-8 barnburner at CBP … This marks the Phils’ longest losing streak against the Cubs since a seven-game streak, July 7, 1995-June 3, 1996.
  • BEDLAM AT THE BANK: Through 18 games at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies are averaging 39,400 in attendance per game which ranks 2nd among all clubs in MLB behind only the Dodgers (47,879) … Of Philadelphia’s first 18 games at home, 10 have been sellouts (56%) and 13 have been over 35,000 (72%).
  • BULLISH ON THE PEN: Over the last month (since 4/16), the Phillies bullpen has combined to post an MLB-best 2.47 ERA (27 ER, 98.1 IP) in 28 games with 116 strikeouts to 29 walks (4.00 SO/BB ratio) … The bullpen is 10-for-12 in save opportunities in that span … This stretch includes three games at Dodger Stadium from May 1-3 – in those three games, the bullpen allowed 18 ER in 11.1 IP (14.29 ERA) with a blown save … If you subtract those three games from the bullpen’s totals, since April 16, they have a 0.93 ERA (9 ER, 87.0 IP) in 25 games.
  • RIDING THE SEESAW: Since April 26, the Phillies have played 19 games and are one game under .500 at 9-10 … This 19-game stretch consists of a four-game winning streak (4/26-29), a season-long six-game losing streak (4/30-5/6), a season-best five-game winning streak (5/7-13) and an active four-game losing streak (since 5/14) … Per Elias, the last time a major league team had a win streak, then losing streak, then winning streak and then losing streak of at least four games each within a season was the 100-win Tampa Bay Rays from June 11-July 3, 2021 (4W, 7L, 4W, 5L) … Prior to this stretch, the only other time a Phillies team did this was from July 30-August 14, 1979 (4W, 6L, 4W, 4L) … Additionally, the Phillies lost their first five games this month only to rebound and win their next five to move to 5-5 through their first 10 in May … That marked only the fourth time in franchise history the Phils lost the first five games (or more) in a month only to win their next five in that same month in the same calendar year – others: June of 1969, Sept. of 1911 and June of 1909.
  • PHILLY SPECIAL: Since Rob Thomson took over as manager on June 3, 2022, the Phillies have played 72 games at Citizens Bank Park (46-26 record) and are 16-5-2 in series play with a +74 run differential (373-299) … The Phils have scored 373 runs in those 72 games (5.18 runs per game) and are slashing .270/.336/.462 with a .798 OPS … Among all major league clubs at home since June 3, 2022, the date Thomson took over, the Phillies rank 2nd in SLG, 3rd in OPS & AVG, 5th in OBP and 6th in runs per game …Philadelphia’s .639 winning percentage at home since Thomson took over ranks 3rd in the National League behind the Dodgers (.716) & Atlanta (.708) and 5th in MLB.
  • CASTY’S BACK, TELL A FRIEND: Phils right fielder Nick Castellanos has gotten ahead 1-0 in 56 plate appearances this season – after taking ball one, Castellanos is slashing .460/.518/.760 with a 1.278 OPS that ranks 4th out of 225 qualified players in MLB this year … He has nine extra-base hits (6 2B, 3 HR) after getting ahead 1-0 … Last season, Castellanos got ahead 1-0 in 174 plate appearances and totaled only 10 extra-base hits as he slashed .197/.276/.299 with a .575 OPS that ranked 201st out of 203 qualified hitters.

TONIGHT’S STARTER – RANGER SUÁREZ • LHP #55
2023: 0-0, 6.75 ERA Career: 25-15, 3.16 ERA

LAST START: 5/13 at COL: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 4 SO … Suárez vs Feltner … The Phillies beat the Rockies, 7-4, at Coors Field in Denver … Offensively, Trea Turner walked twice and scored twice, Bryce Harper went 2-for-4 with 2 runs, a home run, 2 RBI & a walk and Nick Castellanos had 3 hits.

TONIGHT’S START:

  • Center Cut: Suárez has a career 1.85 ERA (14 ER, 68.0 IP) against the NL Central, including a 2.24 mark (14 ER, 56.1 IP) in 9 starts …His 1.85 overall ERA is the lowest of any of the 44 Phillies starters with at least 9 career starts vs the NL Central since the division was founded in 1994, and of the 645 major league pitchers with 9+ starts against the division, only Chris Sale (0.89) and Alex Cobb (1.58) have a lower ERA … The Phillies have won 7 of his 9 starts against NL Central clubs
  • Clear Skies: Suárez has never allowed a home run to a left-handed hitter at CBP (153 TBF) … In his career, at CBP, Suarez has limited left handers to a .180/.233/.223 slash line and only allowed six extra-base hits (all doubles)
  • Just Glovely: Ranger was selected as the 2022 Fielding Bible Award winner at pitcher… Suárez’s 9 defensive runs saved in 2022 were the most by any Phillies pitcher since 2002, when Fangraphs can track back to and most by any pitcher in MLB in 2022 by 3 (Taijuan Walker had 6) … He did not make an error in a career-high 44 chances over 155.1 IP and did not allow a stolen base
  • Start Your Engines: Since transitioning to a starter full time on 8/2/21, Suárez is 13-9 with a 3.08 ERA (77 ER, 225.0 IP) in 42 regular season starts … That ERA in that span is the 9th-lowest among all NL starters with at least 200.0 IP (best: Max Fried, 2.18)

HOME:

  • 2022: 4-4, 4.27 ERA (31 ER, 65.1 IP) in 13 starts
  • Career: 14-6, 3.08 ERA (56 ER, 163.2 IP) in 55 games (23 starts)
  • 2022 Postseason: 2-0, SV, 0.84 ERA (1 ER, 10.2 IP) in 3 games (2 start)
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