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MLB Preview: Seattle Mariners (21-21) at Boston Red Sox (23-20)

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MLB Preview: Seattle Mariners (21-21) at Boston Red Sox (23-20)

SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue an 11-day, 9-game road trip (3-2) with the last of 3 games against the Boston Red Sox (1-1)…following an off-day, Seattle travels to play the Atlanta Braves (3 G, May 19-21) before heading home…the Mariners opened the road trip with a 3-game series win in Detroit (2-1)…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Mariners Hall of Famer Dan Wilson on the call and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped the middle game of the series against the Boston Red Sox by a score of 9-4…despite the loss, the Mariners are 10-5 over their last 15 games dating back to April 30, tied for the best record in the American League during that span (also: Texas)…Seattle is 10-12 at T-Mobile Park and 11-9 on the road this season…the Mariners are 7-2 over their last 9 road games (4/30-c).

  • 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 1.44 ERA (15 ER, 93.2 IP), 84 strikeouts, 20 walks, a 0.886 WHIP and 2.8 fWAR.
  • Marco Gets the Start – Marco Gonzales will take the ball for the Mariners and look to secure a series win…Marco is 3-0 with a 4.42 ERA (18 ER, 36.2 IP) and has turned in consecutive quality starts (May 6 and May 12).
  • Run Differential – The Mariners hold a +28 run differential this season, ranking 8th-best in the Majors… based on their run differential, Seattle holds a Pythagorean Expected Win-Loss record of 24-18.
  • On-Base Geno – Eugenio Suárez has been getting on-base at a .379 clip dating back to May 3, walking more (12) than he is striking out (11) during that span.
  • Rubber Duck – The Mariners are 1-3 in rubber games this season.
  • Programming Note – Following tonight’s game on ROOT SPORTS, the Mariners next two games will be featured on national broadcasts…Friday’s game between the Mariners and Braves will be aired on Apple TV+, and Saturday’s contest will be on FOX…the Mariners will return Sunday to regular programming on ROOT, featuring former Mariners outfielder Mike Cameron in the booth.

TY’s HITTING STREAK MARCHES ON…Ty France went 1-for-5 with 1 double in last night’s game, extending his hitting streak to a career-high tying 13 games (5/3-c)…he is batting .346 (19×55) with 7 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBI and 2 walks during the streak, getting on base at a .390 clip and slugging .473 with an .863 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 13-game streak by France is tied for 2nd-longest active streak in the Majors, trailing only an active 14-game Streak by Jonah HeimTEX (4/30-c)…with a hit in tonight’s game, France would become the first Mariners hitter with a 14+ game hitting streak since Kyle Seager (14 G, 8/4-20/2019).

CROSSING THEIR T’s AND DOTTING THE ZONE…the Mariners have the best pitching staff in the Major Leagues by fWAR (8.6), ranking ahead of 2nd-place Minnesota (7.0) by a wide margin…Seattle pitchers also rank 4th in the Majors in ERA (3.34), while leading the Majors in Fielding Independent Pitching (3.29), soft-contact percentage (19.1) and fewest barrels (60)…they rank 3rd in WHIP (1.16) and 2nd in SO/BB ratio (3.36) and tied for 1st in Outside Swing Percentage (34.5%)…Mariners starting pitchers are tied for the ML lead in fWAR (5.9) with Minnesota…Mariners relief pitchers rank 2nd in the Majors in fWAR (2.7) narrowly trailing Baltimore (2.9)…during the month of May, the Mariners pitching staff holds a 2.81 ERA, ranking 2nd in the Majors behind only San Diego (2.59).

J.P. THE CATALYST…J.P. Crawford has reached base safely in 13-consecutive games (4/30-c), batting .245 (12×49) with 8 runs, 2 doubles, 8 RBI and 9 walks while getting on base at a .362 clip during the streak…the Mariners are 9-4 during Crawford’s active on base streak…overall this season, the Mariners shortstop is batting .240 (31×129) with 22 runs, 9 doubles, 1 home run, 16 RBI and 26 walks, getting on base at a .368 clip and slugging .333 (.701 OPS) with a 109 wRC+ and a 0.8 fWAR…Crawford ranks 2nd in the Majors among qualified hitters with a .600 (9×15) batting average with runners in scoring position and 2 outs, trailing only Jonah Heim-TEX (.643/9×14).

ROLLING…dating back to April 30, the Mariners are 10-5 (.667), tied for the best record in the American League (also: Texas), and tied for 2nd best in the Majors, trailing only Los Angeles-NL (12-3, .800)… since April 30, Seattle has outscored opponents 78-49, averaging 5.20 runs/game on offense and limiting opponents to 3.27 runs/game…the Mariners have scored 4+ runs in 10 of 15 games during that stretch (4/30-c), including 8 games scoring 5+ runs…overall this season, the Mariners are 16-8 when scoring 4+ runs and 5-13 when scoring 3-runs-or-less.

BIG DUMPER…Cal Raleigh went 1-for-3 with 1 run and 1 walk in last night’s game…overall this season, Cal ranks tied for 3rd among catchers with 7 home runs (also: Shane Langeliers-OAK), 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 5.3 fWAR, trailing only Adley Rutschman-BAL (6.6 fWAR), while ranking 5th overall among all catchers in fWAR since 2022…since 2022, Raleigh’s .266 ISO ranks 9th in the Majors and leads all catchers (min. 200 PA).

TEO IS SHOW…Teoscar Hernández went 2-for-4 with 1 run, 1 triple, and 2 RBI in last night’s game, and has now reached base safely in 12 of his last 13 games (5/3-c), including 11 games with at least 1 hit during that span…since May 3, Teo is batting .333 (17×51) with 7 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 6 RBI, 4 walks and 1 stolen base, while reaching base at a .375 clip and slugging .471 with a .846 OPS in 13 games…during the 12-game stretch, he has reached base multiple times in 7 games, including 5 multi-hit games

AS YOU KNOW…Ty France and J.P. Crawford each have active on base streaks of at least 13 games, with France reaching in each of his last 14 (5/2-c) and Crawford reaching safely in 13-consecutive games (4/30-c), but, DID YOU KNOW?…that France and Crawford are 1 of 3 sets of teammates with active on-base streaks of at least 13 games?…they are joined by Texas trio Nathaniel Lowe (20 G), Jonah Heim (16 G) and Marcus Semien (15 G) and New York-AL duo D.J. Lemahieu and Anthony Rizzo, who have both reached in each of their last 14 games.

MARINERS STARTER – LHP MARCO GONZALES
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 3-0 4.42 7/7 36.2 39 21 18 12 25 4
Home 0-0 4.76 3/3 17.0 16 9 9 6 14 1
Road 3-0 4.12 4/4 19.2 23 12 9 6 11 3
vs. BOS 0-0 0.00 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ABOUT GONZALES…

  • 31-year-old left-hander is making his 8th start of the season, 1st against the Boston Red Sox…he is also making his 161st career appearance (153rd career start) and his 6th career start against Boston.
  • Acquired by Seattle from St. Louis in exchange for minor league outfielder Tyler O’Neill on July 21, 2017.
  • Native of Fort Collins, CO…attended Gonzaga University for 3 years (2011-13).
  • Originally selected by Colorado in the 29th round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of Rocky Mountain High School (Fort Collins, CO) but did not sign… drafted and signed by the Cardinals with the 19th overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft out of Gonzaga University…became the highest draft pick in the history of the Gonzaga baseball program.
  • Made his MLB debut with Cardinals on June 25, 2014 at Colorado.

LAST TIME OUT…W#3 in last start on 5/12 at DET…allowed 2 runs on 5 hits (1 HR) and 1 walk with 2 strikeouts over 6.0 innings.

SPRING FEVER…has thrown a quality start in each of his 2 starts in the month of May this season…Marco recorded a quality start in 4 of 6 starts in May of 2022, while posting a 3.44 ERA (14 ER, 36.2 IP) during the month…overall, he has been historically good in May, posting a 3.76 ERA (45 ER, 107.2 IP) during the month, his 2nd-lowest ERA in any calendar month during his career, ranking behind only his 3.34 ERA during Sept./Oct.

WINNING WAYS…his 3 wins this season are tied for the 3rd most wins in the first 7 starts to a season in his career…he also achieved this feat in 2014 (w/ STL) and 2018…his career high in wins in the first 7 starts to a season is 5 which he achieved in 2019.

SEASON-HIGH PUNCHIES…matched his career high in strikeouts with 9 on 4/19 against Milwaukee…it marks the 6th time he has achieved this feat, the last coming on 8/12/21 against the Texas Rangers when he pitched the third complete game of his career.

LET’S GET DEEP…The Mariners are 55-27 in starts when Gonzales goes 6.0 or more innings, compared to 24-42 when he tosses 5.2 innings or less over his career…when Gonzales tosses 7.0+ innings the Mariners are 25-9.

BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:

STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox won last night to snap a season-high-tying 4-game losing streak (also 4/10-13). The Sox are 2-6 in their last 8 games following a season-long 8-game winning streak from 4/29-5/6. The Sox are 1.5 games out of the AL’s 3rd Wild Card spot and rank 5th in the AL East…Their record (23-20, .535) would rank no lower than 3rd in any other division.

AL WILD CARD STANDINGS
Rk. Team W-L Pct. GB

  1. Baltimore 27-15 .643 +3.0
  2. Toronto 24-18 .571 –
  3. New York-AL 25-19 .568 –
  • Houston 23-19 .548 -1.0
  • Boston 23-20 .535 -1.5

SERIES BUSINESS: Tonight’s game will decide the 3-game series vs. SEA…The Red Sox are 4-1 in rubber games. With a win tonight, the Sox would improve to 9-4-1 in series play, including 6-2-0 at home…They have won 4 of their previous 5 home series (3-1 vs. LAA, -1 vs. MIN, 2-1 vs. LE, 4-0 vs. TOR, 1-2 vs. STL). With a loss tonight, the Red Sox would be winless in their last 3 series following a 3-series winning streak (2-1 vs. CLE, 4-0 vs. TOR, 2-1 at PHI, 1-1 at ATL, 0-3 vs. STL, 0-1 vs. SEA).

UPS AND DOWNS: The Red Sox are 18-12 (.600) in their last 30 games, beginning 4/14…They own the 5thbest record in MLB during that span. The Sox scored 3 runs before recording an out in the 1st inning last night, after they were held to 2 runs total over their previous 2 games. The Sox have been held to 3 runs or fewer in 5 of their last 8 games (3.6 runs/game), after scoring 4 or more runs in 20 of their previous 22 games (6.2 runs/game). Since 4/14, the Sox lead MLB in AVG (.282) and OBP (.349) and rank 3rd in runs scored (165) and OPS (.809).

HELP IS ON THE WAY: Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford made rehab appearances last night for Triple-A Worcester. Whitlock started for the WooSox and allowed 1 R in 4.0 IP (5 H, 4 SO, 49 pitches)…Crawford followed in relief, allowing 1 R in 3.0 IP (3 H, 4 SO, 41 pitches).

SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox lead MLB in doubles (96), rank 2nd in OBP (.349), and rank 3rd in AVG (.268), SLG (.447), OPS (.786), hits (395), and runs scored (236). The Red Sox have scored 5+ runs in 25 games, 2nd most in MLB behind TB (27). The Sox have recorded 10+ hits in 19 games, tied for 4th most in MLB (TB-22, TEX-22, STL-20).

RED SOX OFFENSIVE RANKINGS
Stat MLB Rank
236 R 3rd
395 H 3rd
96 doubles 1st
153 XBH 3rd
20.3 SO% 5th
Stat MLB Rank
.268 AVG 3rd
.339 OBP 2nd
.447 SLG 3rd
.786 OPS 3rd
111 wRC+ T-5th

SOX STRIKEOUTS: Red Sox’ batters have struck out 336 times, 2nd fewest in the AL and 5th fewest in MLB…They rank 2nd in the AL and 5th in MLB in SO % (20.3%). The Sox struck out 10+ times in each of their 6 games vs. TB and ATL (11.2 SO/game) but have done so just 5 times in their other 37 games (7.3 SO/game).

SOX SWINGS: The Red Sox have swung and missed at just 0.42 pitches per plate appearance, lowest in the AL and 4th-lowest in MLB (WSH-0.38, ARI-0.39, NYM-0.40). The Sox’ 23.5% whiff rate (695 swings and misses) is 2nd-lowest in the AL and 5th-lowest in MLB. The Sox have had 6,470 pitches thrown to them this season, 3rd most in the AL and 7th most in MLB.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Red Sox scored 9 runs last night, their most since 5/4 vs. TOR (11 runs)…It was their 9th game with 9+ runs scored this season, tied with LAD for 3rd most in MLB behind TB and TEX (11 each). The Sox hit 3 home runs last night, their 7th game this season with 3+ HR (previous: 5/2 vs. TOR-4 HR).

SOX & M’s: The Red Sox have won 9 of their last 11 games against the Mariners, beginning 9/14/21. The Sox are 7-2 vs. SEA since the start of 2022, winning each of their 2 series last season. Since the start of 2022, the Red Sox are 29-10 against AL West opponents (4-2 this season).

HOME COOKING: The Red Sox are 14-11 at Fenway Park, including 12-7 in their last 19 games at the venue. The Red Sox have hit 16 HR in their last 10 home games, despite not hitting a home run in 3 consecutive games from Saturday-Monday. The Sox have recorded 9+ hits in 10 of their last 11 home games and in 18 of their 25 home games.

RED SOX IN HOME GAMES
Stat MLB Rank
14 wins T-4th
5.8 R/game 3rd
10.2 H/game 1st
3.9 XBH/game 2nd
Stat MLB Rank
.290 AVG 1st
.356 OBP 1st
.479 SLG 2nd
.835 OPS 2nd

BACK ON ROAD: Following tonight’s game, the Red Sox will embark on an 11-day road trip to SD (3 games), LAA (3 games), and ARI (3 games).
The upcoming trip is tied for the Sox’ longest of the season by days…It is their 2nd-longest trip of the season by games played (10 games in 11 days from 8/14-24).

RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Red Sox rank 2nd in MLB in SB% (87.1%, 27-for-31), trailing only CWS (91.7%, 22-for-24). The Sox ranked 22nd in SB% in 2022 (72.2%, 52-for-72).

YOUTH MOVEMENT: The Red Sox have an MLB-leading 6 players age 27 or younger with an OPS above .700 (min. 50 PA; Casas, Devers, Duran, Valdez, Verdugo, Wong). Players 27 or younger have combined to hit 34 of the team’s 54 HR (Devers-11, Casas-6, Verdugo-5, Wong-4, Duran-3, Chang-3, Valdez-2). Position players 27 or younger have posted 4.5 fWAR for the Red Sox, 2nd most of any team (TB-7.0)…Their 34 HR rank 3rd in MLB behind CWS (36) and TB (35).

ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD: The Red Sox’ outfielders lead MLB in AVG (.306), OBP (.376), SLG (.516), OPS (.892), hits (155), doubles (46), XBH (67), runs (95), and RBI (90). In 2022, Sox outfielders batted .243 with a .301 OBP, .375 SLG, and .676 OPS.

START ME UP: Red Sox’ starting pitchers have tossed at least 5.0 innings in 19 of their last 20 games. Sox’ starters have allowed no more than 4 runs and recorded at least 5 strikeouts in each of the last 6 games. Sox’ starters posted a 4.46 ERA in the last 6 games (17 ER/34.1 IP), after entering that span with a 5.71 ERA.

DON’T START WITH US: Starting pitchers have completed at least 6.0 innings in just 8 starts against the Red Sox this season, fewest of any team in MLB…They have done so in 4 of the Sox’ last 8 games, compared to 4 of their first 35. Starters have lasted fewer than 4.0 innings in 12 starts vs. BOS this season, most in MLB…No other team has more than 8 such starts against them. Starting pitchers are 14-14 with a 5.77 ERA vs. BOS. Right-handed starting pitchers have a 5.70 ERA vs. BOS; left-handed starters have a 5.97 ERA.

TONIGHT’S STARTER: 66 BRAYAN BELLO – RHP
Held ATL scoreless through the first 5.0 IP before allowing 2 runs in the 6th inning last Wednesday (6.0 IP, 6 H, BB, 5 SO)….Earned his 2nd win of the season. Has allowed 5 ER over 16.0 IP in his last 3 starts (2.81 ERA), after giving up 8 ER over 7.1 IP in his first 2 (9.82 ERA).
Has issued 2 BB or fewer in each of his last 9 starts since 9/14/22 (43 SO, 14 BB), after walking 3+ batters in 5 of his first 9 outings (36 SO, 20 BB). In his MLB career, opponents are 14-for-80 (.175) with 13 singles and 1 double against his changeup (5-for-23 with 10 SO in 2023). Only 5 of the 73 batted balls against him in 2023 have been barrelled (6.8%).

Boxing Preview: Otar “Pitbull” Eranosyan (12-0-0, 6 KOs) vs Edy “Dinamita” Valencia (20-10, 7 KOs)

Fight Editor
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Boxing Preview: Otar “Pitbull” Eranosyan (12-0-0, 6 KOs) vs Edy “Dinamita” Valencia (20-10, 7 KOs)

In the main event of ProBox TV’s May 17 “Wednesday Night Fights,” undefeated Otar “Pitbull” Eranosyan battles rugged veteran Edy “Dinamita” Valencia in a ten-round super featherweight bout. Wednesday’s event takes place at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida and will be streamed live on ProBox TV beginning at 8 pm ET.

In the co-feature, undefeated Darrelle Valsaint and Eric Moon will convene in a six-round middleweight bout. Additionally, Marquez Valle will lay his perfect record on the line against Demarcus Layton in a six-round clash of super middleweights. Opening the live stream will be a battle between two fighters coming off knockout wins in their pro debuts – De Von Williams vs William Davis – in a four-round lightweight bout. Tickets, starting at $50, are available HERE

How to watch Wednesday’s Show: (1) ProBoxTV.com, (2) the ProBoxTV app, available on all app stores (3) ProBox TV is also available on Roku TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV.

“Pitbull” Eranosyan, (12-0, 6 KOs) living and training in Miami, Florida, by way of Akhalkaki, Georgia, made his professional debut on August 20, 2020, and has not looked back. As an amateur, Eranosyan, medaled in the 2014 and 2015 European Boxing Championships, 2017 AIBA World Championships and the 2019 European games. He fought his first seven professional fights in seven months, took a three-month break, then fought seven times in the next seven months!

“Dinamita” Mercado (20-10, 7 KOs) born and raised in the boxing hotbed of Culiacan, Mexico, is a former Mexican Featherweight champion. He will be fighting an undefeated boxer for the eighth time, and against those, has a formidable two wins, four loses and a draw.

Valsaint (7-0, 5 KOs) made it to the quarter-final in the 2020 Olympic games and has become a ProBox TV staple, having fought four of his last five on the platform. His last three fights have been against tough competition – opponents with records of 14-2, 21-3, 6-1 and 12-1, a rarity for such a young fighter. Eric Moon (11-4, 6 KOs) was born in Mobile, Alabama and now resides in Marietta, Georgia.

Marques Valle (8-0, 6 KOs) from Wesley Chapel, Florida, has fought all but his pro debut at the ProBox Events Center on ProBox TV. In his first six fights, only one made it past the first round, but only making it to round 2. Demarcus Layton (8-4, 5 KOs) is from Little Rock, Arkansas and also dabbles in MMA.

De Von Williams (1-0, 1 KO) was born, raised and resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The twenty-year-old made his pro debut on June 11 and won by fourth-round knockout. William Davis (1-0, 1 KO) is from Oakland, California.

MLB Preview: Los Angeles Angels (22-21) at Baltimore Orioles (27-15)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Los Angeles Angels (22-21) at Baltimore Orioles (27-15)

LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:

LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the sixth (2-3) of seven games on a road trip to Cleveland (1-2) and Baltimore (1-1; May 15-18)…Halos went 2-4 on last homestand against the Rangers (1-2) and Astros (1- 2)…LAA was 4-2 on last road trip at Milwaukee (1-2) and St. Louis (3-0).

FACING A FORMER PICK: Today’s starting pitcher for Baltimore, Kyle Bradish was the Angels fourth round selection in the 2018 Draft out of New Mexico State University…He was traded to the Orioles on Dec. 4, 2019 as part of the deal which brought Dylan Bundy to the Halos.

THE LEAD OFF MAN: Mickey Moniak has hit leadoff home runs in two of his three games played 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.

.500 BASEBALL: With a 22-21 record, Halos are looking to avoid falling back to .500 mark for a 10th time this season (1-1, 5-5, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12 & 14-14).

A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS: Angels enter play today in third place in the American League West standings (-4.5 games behind Texas; matches largest deficit of season).

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. BALTIMORE: Today is the third (1-1) of seven matchups this season between the Angels and Orioles…In addition to the current series in Baltimore, the teams will meet again Sept. 4-6 at Angel Stadium… Last season, Halos went 1-6 against Orioles…LAA has lost nine of last 11 games vs. O’s.

STREAK SNAPPED: Angels victory Monday night snapped a six game losing streak at Camden Yards, which dated back to Aug. 24, 2021 (streak finished tied for Angels longest at the ballpark; also had six game losing streak at Camden Yards in 2003).

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 36 of 43 games played this year.

GOING DEEP: Angels have hit 56 home runs this season, which are fourth-most in the A.L, behind the Rays (84), Yankees (65) and Twins (58).

SINGLE HANDED: Gio Urshela has hit 37 singles this year plus six extra-base hits (five doubles & one home run)…Urshela ranks second, behind Toronto’s Bo Bichette (39), for the American League lead in singles.

ESTÉVEZ ENDING: This season, Carlos Estévez is pitching to a 1.42 ERA (19 IP – 3 ER) and has converted all nine of his save opportunities…Is looking to become first Angels pitcher to convert his first 10 save opportunities of a season since Ernesto Frieri converted his first 12 opportunities in 2012.

WALSH ON REHAB: Jared Walsh (headaches and insomnia) has played four games on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake and is batting .462 (6/13) with three runs scored, one home run, three RBI and three walks.

THE INJURED LIST: Halos currently have 11 players on the injured list and have used the IL 14 total times this year.

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, 12 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 30 fielding errors this season, which is tied with Oakland for the most in the Majors.

ON THE BOARD: Halos have not been shut out since Aug. 21, 2022 at Detroit…Current streak of 84 games without being shut out is the longest active streak in the Majors and fifth-longest streak in Angels history.

NET-OW: Zack Neto has been hit by seven pitches this season, which is tied for third-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).

TWINS ON DECK: Following the current series in Baltimore, the Angels will return home and begin a nine game homestand with a three game set against the Minnesota Twins…Last season, Halos went 4-2 against Minnesota to take the season series for a second consecutive year.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – RHP GRIFFIN CANNING
2-1, 6.38 ERA
Holding right-handers to a .235 (12/51) average this season

  • TODAY’S GAME: Making sixth start of the season and third on the road…Is in fourth Major League season with Angels.
  • HE’S BACK: Made season debut on April 12 vs. Washington; first Major league appearance July 2, 2021… Missed Angels first 11 games of the season on injured list with a left groin strain…Spent entire 2022 season and final two months of 2021 season on IL with a low back stress reaction.
  • UNDER SEVEN HITS: Has allowed seven-or-fewer hits in all 46 career pitching starts…Streak of 46 straight starts with seven-or-fewer hits allowed is second-longest in Angels history (Rickey Clark had a 50 game streak between the 1967-1971 seasons).
  • CURRENT TRENDS: Allowed three-or-fewer runs in each of first three starts this season, but has yielded five runs in each of last two starts.
  • LAST TIME OUT: Took the loss in last start on May 10 vs. Houston after tossing 3.2 innings and allowing five earned runs on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts…Marked shortest start of season and matched season high in runs allowed…First losing decision since June 3, 2021.
  • STREAK SNAPPED: Had career-best streak of three consecutive winning decisions snapped in last start last Wednesday vs. Houston…The streak dating back to June 9, 2021 and included wins in consecutive starts this season on April 25 and May 4.
  • VS. BALTIMORE: In three career games (two starts) vs. Orioles, is 0-2 with a 14.46 ERA (9.1 IP – 15 ER)…Took first career Major League loss in start on May 12, 2019 at Camden Yards (4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO)…Also was tagged with loss in first career relief appearance on July 25, 2019 after entering in 15th inning (2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO)…Last outing vs. Baltimore was July 2, 2021 in final outing before injured list placement.
  • AT CAMDEN YARDS: Today marks second career appearance in Baltimore…Is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA (4.2 IP – 4 ER) following only previous outing on May 12, 2019 in third start of Major League career (first loss).
  • THAT’S RIGHT: Through five starts this year, has held righties to a .235 average (12/51) compared with a .293 (12/41) opponent average against left-handers.
  • GETTING AHEAD: Recorded a first pitch strike on 62.5% (65/104) of his batter faced this season.
  • UNFAMILIAR FOES: In his career as a starter, has held opponents to a .207 average (74/358) in opposing
    batter’s first plate appearances of a game.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:

BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: The Orioles defeated the Angels last night, 7-3, in the second game of the four-game set at Oriole Park…Snapped a two-game skid.

Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle each homered from the nine spot, the fifth time in O’s history (since 1954) that the Birds have had two different players homer out of the final spot in the lineup and first since April 18, 1992, when Chris Hoiles and Jeff Tackett did so against the Tigers at Oriole Park.

Dean Kremer has won three straight starts for the first time in his career; the O’s are 6-3 in Kremer’s starts this season.

O’s pitchers did not walk a batter last night, their third game of the year with zero free passes allowed, along with April 18 at Washington and May 3 at Kansas City.

WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won 18 of their last 26 games, 21 of 30, and 23 of 33… The 27-15 overall record ranks second in MLB to start the season.

Last season, the Birds did not reach 27 wins until the 63rd game on June 14 (27- 36); they did not reach 28 wins until the 65th game on June 16 (28-37).

The Orioles are 89-64 since June 1, 2022, a 94-win pace; the .582 winning percentage during that time is the second-best in the AL and fourth- best in MLB, trailing the Braves (.675, 104-50), Dodgers (.673, 105-51), and Astros (.630, 97-57).

AGAINST THE ANGELS: The O’s and Angels continue a seven-game season series tonight with the third of four games at Oriole Park through tomorrow…The Orioles will travel to Angel Stadium for three games from September 4-6…The Birds went 6-1 against the Angels in 2022, including sweeping a four-game series from July 7-10 at Camden Yards for the first time against the Angels since 2003.

FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME: The Orioles are nearing the end of an 11-day, 10-game homestand, their longest of the season, which concludes tomorrow with the finale of a four-game set against Los Angeles-AL…The O’s have gone 5-3, winning four straight games from May 9-13.

LOOKING AHEAD: The O’s hit the road for a seven-day, six-game road trip beginning on Friday in Toronto, the first meeting between the O’s and Blue Jays this season… After an off day next Monday, the Orioles make their first trip to Yankee Stadium this year with three games against the Yankees from May 23-25.

WHAT A RELIEF: The Baltimore bullpen owns a 2.94 ERA (52 ER/159.1 IP), second-best in MLB behind Seattle (2.83)…Baltimore’s 2.29 reliever ERA (20 ER/78.2 IP) at home ranks as the second-best in the majors behind Toronto (2.24)…O’s relievers have 12 wins this season, tied with Arizona and New York-AL for second in MLB, trailing Cincinnati and Miami (13)…The O’s are second in MLB with 188 strikeouts from the ‘pen, trailing Kansas City (198).

LET BRYAN BAKE: After allowing a career-high-tying three earned runs on Opening Day in Boston, Bryan Baker has allowed just one earned run over his last 20 appearances (19.2 IP)…Among pitchers with at least 18.0 innings pitched since March 31, Baker’s 0.46 ERA (1 ER/19.2 IP) ranks second in MLB, behind only teammate Yennier Cano (0.00) and ahead of fellow O’s hurler Félix Bautista, whose 1.00 ERA (2 ER/18.0 IP) in that span ranks tied for fifth.

Baker’s 21 appearances lead the team and are tied for third in MLB.

According to Statcast, Baker ranks in the top six percent of MLB in xBA (.174) and xSLG (.270), the top 11 percent in strikeout rate (32.1%), and the top 12 percent in Hard-Hit Percentage (30.2%).

His changeup has a 69.2 percent strikeout rate and a .058 xBA, the highest strikeout rate and lowest xBA on a pitch by an Oriole in 2023; it also has a 46.2 percent Whiff Rate, the second-highest on a pitch by an O’s hurler behind Bautista’s splitter (58.3%).

THE CANO SHOW: Yennier Cano has surrendered just four hits and one hit batter in 20.2 scoreless innings over 16 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 .063/.078/.079 (4-for-63) against him, all of which lead MLB pitchers with at least 15 appearances…His .157 OPS against is less than half of the next closest player (SD’s Josh Hader, .361).

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

Cano’s 16-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.

CED AND DONE: Cedric Mullins became the seventh player in Orioles history (since 1954) to hit for the cycle on Friday night…Mullins capped off his historic night with a three-run homer in the eighth inning after singling in the third, tripling in the fifth, and doubling in the seventh.

Mullins joined Austin Hays (6/22/22 vs. WSH), Jonathan Villar (8/5/19 vs. NYY), Félix Pié (8/14/09 vs. LAA), Aubrey Huff (6/29/07 vs. LAA), Cal Ripken, Jr. (5/6/84 at TEX), and Brooks Robinson (7/15/60 at CWS) as Orioles to hit for the cycle; he is the second MLB player to hit for the cycle this season, along with Miami’s Luis Arraez (4/11 at PHI).

Has hit safely in nine of his last 11 starts and 15 of his last 19.

His 33 RBI rank sixth in the AL and tied for seventh in MLB; the 32 RBI as the center fielder lead the majors.

He leads the O’s with 1.5 fWAR, per FanGraphs.

BIG TIME RUTSCH: Adley Rutschman has appeared in all 42 Orioles games this season, the most by a player who has played at least half of his games at catcher…His 75 times on base lead the AL and are tied for fifth in MLB…He leads the AL and is tied for third in MLB with 32 walks while ranking fourth in the AL and 10th in the majors with a .405 on-base percentage.

STARTING PITCHER – #39 KYLE BRADISH RHP
1-1, 4.56 ERA

QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his seventh start of the season, third at home, and first career start against the Angels tonight…Made 23 starts in his rookie season with the Orioles in 2022…Went 4-7 with a 4.90 ERA (64 ER/117.2 IP) with 111 strikeouts to 46 walks…Was one of 13 O’s players (7 pitchers) to make their debut in 2022…Started on the bump for Adley Rutschman’s debut on May 21 vs. Tampa Bay…Tossed 16.0 consecutive scoreless innings across four starts from August 26 to September 6… Acquired by the Orioles along with RHP Kyle Brnovich, RHP Zach Peek, and RHP Isaac Mattson from Los Angeles-AL in exchange for RHP Dylan Bundy on December 4, 2019…Originally drafted by the Angels in the fourth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of New Mexico State…Teammates at NMSU with INF Joey Ortiz.

LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in his first career start against the Pirates on May 12 at Oriole Park…Allowed one run on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 6.0 innings…Threw 89 pitches, 61 strikes.

CAREER AGAINST ANGELS/AL WEST: Making his first career start against the Angels and sixth career start against the AL West…Did not factor into the decision in his season debut on April 3 at Texas, allowing one hit with one walk and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings…Exited the game in the second inning with a right foot contusion after being hit by a line drive from Jonah Heim…Made four starts against the division as a
rookie in 2022, pitching to a 1.03 ERA (3 ER/26.1.2 IP) and a 2-0 record… Earned his first career win at Oriole Park on September 22 vs. Houston, allowing just two hits while striking out 10 in 8.2 scoreless innings.

SWING AND A MISS: In his last start on May 12, Bradish registered 16 swings and misses, his second-most in a game in his career behind the 17 he recorded on August 26, 2022 at Houston…Bradish has tallied 31 swings and misses over his last two starts after recording 27 in his first four outings this season.

SAVING HIS BEST FOR THE BEST: Made 14 starts against teams that qualified for the 2022 playoffs in his debut season, going 4-4 with a 4.24 (36 ER/76.1 IP) ERA…The Orioles owned a 9-5 record in those games…He went 2-0 against Houston, tossing 8.0 scoreless innings on August 26 at Minute Maid Park and throwing another 8.2 shutout frames on September 22 at Oriole Park

Diamondbacks make several roster moves

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Diamondbacks make several roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:

Recalled RHP Luis Frías from Triple-A Reno.

Optioned OF Alek Thomas to Reno following last night’s game.

The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.

Yankees exercise roster moves

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Yankees exercise roster moves

Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:

  • Placed RHP Ian Hamilton on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain.
  • Recalled LHP Nick Ramirez (#63) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

MLB Preview: Kansas City Royals (13-31) at San Diego Padres (20-23)

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MLB Preview: Kansas City Royals (13-31) at San Diego Padres (20-23)

KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:

HIGH HEAT: The Royals bullpen helped stave off a late Padres comeback bid as Kansas City held on for a 5-4 win in San Diego last night…after being shut out on 2 hits Monday night, the Royals recorded 4 hits and 2 walks in their 5-run 2nd inning last night, which was capped by a 2-run double by Captain Salvador Perez… that proved to be the difference in the game, as the Padres scored 2 unearned runs in the 5th off Brady Singer thanks to a comedy of errors, and they scored twice more in the 6th to make it a 1-run game…the Royals bullpen was deployed starting in the 7th, as Aroldis Chapman, Taylor Clarke and Scott Barlow combined for 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and 2 walks while recording 2 pickoffs and 5 strikeouts to snap a 4-game skid.

ROSTER MOVES: The Royals announced prior to today’s game that right hander Mike Mayers was selected from Triple-A Omaha…Mayers, 31, was 2-1 with 8 starts with the Storm Chasers, and last pitched a week ago tonight, throwing 78 pitches over 4.0 innings…he has not appeared in the Majors since last Sept. 24 with the Angels.

In a pair of corresponding moves, left hander Ryan Yarbrough was transferred to the 60-day Injured List with skull fractures, and left hander Amir Garrett was placed on the Family Medical Emergency List.

ROYALS ON THE MEND: Infielder Nicky Lopez went 0-for-3 with a walk while playing 7.0 innings at second base last night vs. Toledo in his 1st game on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha…Lopez has not played with the Royals since April 29 and was placed on the 10-day Injured List on May 2 with appendicitis.

Left hander Daniel Lynch is expected to make his 4th rehab start tonight, as he continues his recovery from a left rotator cuff strain…in his previous 3 rehab starts, Lynch has pitched to a 3.38 ERA (4 ER in 10.2 IP) with 11 strikeouts, and most recently threw 73 pitches over 5.0 innings in a win last Friday night.

Drew Waters, who suffered a strained left oblique in February, is 1-for-22 in 6 rehab games with Omaha.

WHERE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD: After splitting the 1st 2 games of this series, the Royals will play their 4th rubber game of the season today in San Diego…this will mark the fourth time in their last six 3-game sets that the Royals are playing a series-deciding game, after their first five 3-game series were all decided before the final game…they’re 0-3 in rubber games this season, including losses in Anaheim, at Arizona and vs. Baltimore.

The Royals are 3-0 all-time in series-deciding games vs. the Padres, including wins in 2017 and 2014 here in San Diego and in 2002 in Kansas City…they are 3-3 in all series vs. the Padres, last winning one in 2017.

The Royals are 8-12 all-time vs. San Diego—despite out-scoring them 114-104 (+10)—including a 5-9 record at Petco Park…the Royals average of 5.7 runs per game is their 2nd-highest mark vs. any opponent.

WHAT A RELIEF!: The bullpen continued its run of dominance last night with 3.0 scoreless innings to secure a 1-run win in San Diego…over the Royals last 10 games, the bullpen has recorded a 2.55 ERA (12 ER in 42.1 IP), .208 opponents’ average (31-for-149) and 53 strikeouts (11.3 K/9)…nine different relievers have thrown a pitch during this 10-game stretch, including Carlos Hernández, who is starting in the opener role today…Hernández, who last pitched on Sunday in Milwaukee, has recorded 7 scoreless outings in his last 9 appearances, a stretch in which he owns a 1.54 ERA (2 ER in 11.2 IP), .150 opponents’ average (6-for-40) and 16 strikeouts (12.3 K/9).

Taylor Clarke pitched a scoreless 8th inning last night to run his scoreless streak to 6.1 innings over 5 appearances, during which he’s held opponents to a .190 average (4-for-21) with 3 walks and 11 strikeouts.

Scott Barlow went 1-2-3 in the 9th last night to record his team-high 5th save, while extending his scoreless streak to 9.2 innings over 9 outings, during which he’s allowed 4 hits and 2 walks with 15 strikeouts.

Royals relievers lead the Majors with 183 strikeouts and a 10.8 K/9, which marks a big improvement over last season, when the Royals bullpen ranked 25th in the Majors with 552 strikeouts and 21st with an 8.5 K/9.

HE’S STILL GOT IT!: Aroldis Chapman held a 1-run lead in the 7th inning last night to record his 13th scoreless outing in 17 appearances with the Royals…after issuing a leadoff walk to Nelson Cruz, he struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. and picked off pinch runner Adam Engel, who was attempting to steal second base… after getting ahead 0-2 on Jake Cronenworth, Chapman delivered a called third strike that registered at 103.8 mph, marking the fastest pitch thrown by a Royal since 2008, when pitch velocity was first tracked.

Chapman’s 103.8 heater last night surpassed the previous Royals record (since 2008) set by Kelvin Herrera at 103.5 mph in 2012, which Chapman has matched twice this season, including last Saturday in Milwaukee…it also matched St. Louis’ Jordan Hicks for the fastest pitch thrown in the Majors this season.

In 17 appearances, Chapman already has 13 of the 16 fastest pitches recorded by a Royal since 2008.

MAY FLOWERS: The Royals offense has blossomed in the month of May, and that trend continued last night with their 5-run 2nd inning, which proved to be the difference in a 5-4 win…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 top 10 this month in on-base percentage (.331), slugging percentage (.469), OPS (.800) and runs per game (5.5), and their 6 wins in May are 1 shy of their March/April total.

In 15 games this month, the Royals rank tied for 5th in the Majors with 23 home runs, already 3 more HR than the 20 they hit in 29 games during March/April…they are homerless in their last 2 games 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.

Of the Royals 23 homers in May, 18 have traveled at least 400 ft., which matches the Braves for the most 400-ft. HR in the Majors this month, and is 6 more than the next closest American League team (12).

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.

ON DECK: Following today’s series finale in San Diego, the Royals will fly east for an off day tomorrow in Chicago, before they begin a 3-game series vs. the White Sox on Friday night…this will end a run in which the Royals will have played 26 games in 27 days, and will mark their first off day since May 1… tomorrow will be the first of four off days over a 15-day span, including May 25 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, which followed a season-opening series on April 3 and 5.

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 began last week in Milwaukee…after hosting the Tigers next week, the Royals will play the Nationals, Cardinals, Rockies and Marlins in consecutive series through the first week of June.

TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP CARLOS HERNÁNDEZ (0-1, 4.50)
Is making his 1st start of the season today and the 22nd of his career, after making 7 starts last year, 11 in 2021 and 3 in his rookie 2020 season.

Hernández is 5-6 as a starting pitcher with a 5.61 ERA (60 ER in 96.1 IP), including an 0-3 record with a 9.10 ERA (30 ER in 29.2 IP) in 2022.

He last pitched on Sunday in Milwaukee and worked a 1-2-3 6th inning with strikeouts of Brice Turang and Tyrone Taylor.

Carlos pitched to an 8.64 ERA (8 ER in 8.1 IP) over his 1st 9 appearances, but owns a 1.54 ERA (2 ER in 11.2 IP) with 16 strikeouts in 9 outings since.

He took his 1st loss of the year last Saturday after allowing 2 hits and a walk-off sac. fly by Joey Wiemer to break a 3-3 tie in the 9th in Milwaukee.

Carlos helped Team Venezuela reach the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic this spring, where they fell to Team USA 9-7…he made a pair of appearances in the tournament, once on March 14 against Nicaragua, when he threw 2.0 scoreless frames with 4 strikeouts, and in the quarterfinal game vs. the United States on March 18, when he got 2 outs, including a strikeout of Team USA Captain Mike Trout.

SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:

Seth Lugo exits game with a left calf strain and Padres mount 4-run comeback, but fall short 5-4 to the Royals

  • Starter Seth Lugo allowed 5 runs in the 2nd inning and at the end of the frame, he suffered a mild calf strain when covering 1B on a ground ball…Lugo allowed 5 hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts.
  • With 2 outs and runners on the corners in the B-8th, Rougned Odor was picked off at 1B, ending the Padres late-game comeback attempt.
  • Juan Soto went 2-for-4 with a double, but San Diego overall went 0-for-5 with RISP.

Today is the Padres’ 6th rubber game, are 1-4 so far in 2023

  • The Padres are in search of their 1st series win since they took 2 of 3 from the Reds from May 1-3 in San Diego, and today will be their 6th rubber game of the season, having gone 1-4 thus far…they’ve played a rubber game in 4 of their last 5 series played (including this one), and their 4 rubber game losses this year are the most of any National League team (Elias).

Padres go 0-for-5 with RISP last night, have gone 2-for-23 in last 3 games

  • The last 2 games in which the Padres have had multiple hits with RISP, they’ve won those games (May 9 @ MIN and May 15 vs. KC).
  • SD went 0-for-5 last night with RISP, have gone 2-for-23 (.087) in their last 3 games with RISP, and their .195 clip (68-for-348) overall this year is the lowest in baseball…43 games into the 2022 season, the Padres had hit .252 with RISP (88-for-349).

Happy Darvish Day

  • Yu Darvish makes his 8th start of the season today, and he went 6.0 innings with 2 runs allowed in his last outing on May 11 @ Minnesota…Darvish is in search for his 3rd straight quality start.
  • He leads the Padres’ rotation in ERA (3.16) and strikeouts (47), and his 42.2 innings pitched trails just Michael Wacha’s 44.1 for the most on the team.

Friars have lost 8 of their last 10 games

  • San Diego hasn’t won consecutive games since May 3-5, and they’ve now gone 2-8 in their last 10 games…their 8 losses since May 6 tie with the A’s for the most defeats of any team in that time

STARTING PITCHERS
RHP YU DARVISH X RHP CARLOS HERNANDEZ
20-23 13-31
VS
2023 marks his 20th season
Entered ’23 with a 1,435-1,345 record
3x Manager of the Year (2007, ’12, ’18)
2001 World Series Champion (ARI)

Up Next: Padres to Red Sox in Armed Forces Weekend

  • The Padres will host the Boston Red Sox for the 1st time since 2019, and they’ll look for their 2nd-ever series win over Boston (sole series win so far was when they took 2 of 3 in Boston back in 2011.
  • Xander Bogaerts, who will face his former club for the 1st time since being signed by the Padres, will receive his 2022 Silver Slugger Award
    in Saturday’s pregame ceremony…the weekend will be “Armed Forces Weekend” with “Armed Forces Day” on Sunday, May 21st.

STARTING PITCHER – YU DARVISH 11
Darvish in search of 5th winning decision vs. Royals
36-year-old right-hander Yu Darvish is slated for his 8th career start and his 5th career winning decision vs. the Royals… Darvish has 5+ winning decisions against 6 other teams, including 10 vs. LAA, 8 vs. ARI, 7 vs. both DET and SEA, and 5 vs. both NYM and HOU…he has quality starts in all 7 of his career outings vs. KC, including his start last season at Kaufmann Stadium, when he tossed 7.0 innings of 5-hit, 3-run ball in SD’s 4-3 victory….he is 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and .202 opp. AVG in the 7 career starts vs. the Royals.

Darvish’s quality outing in MIN not enough
Last Thurs @ MIN, Darvish made his 5th career start vs. MIN, and his 2nd at Target Field, tossing 6.0 IP of 2-run, 4-hit ball in SD’s 5-3 defeat…he allowed his first home run of the season outside of Mexico City, a solo shot to Kyle Farmer in the 4th inning…his other run allowed came in the 2nd inning on a bases loaded walk…it was his first bases loaded situations of ’23, and he’s now faced 84 career batters with the bases loaded with 5 BB.

Breaking bad
Since last season, Darvish has thrown the 2nd-most breaking balls (1,933) in MLB, trailing only CWS Dylan Cease’s 2,279 …he has the 4th-highest spin rate (2,757 rpm) on breaking balls among all NL pitchers (min. 1,000 pitches) since the start of ’22…rotation mate Joe Musgrove (2,721) has the 5th-highest spin rate on breaking balls among NL starters.

Stingy against the righties
So far this season, Darvish has limited righties to a .150 clip (9-for-60), the lowest opp. AVG vs. RHH in NL and 4th-lowest in the Majors (min. 65 righties faced), trailing only Chris Bassitt (.138), Shohei Ohtani (.140) and Taylor Wells (.144)…lefties are hitting .256 (23-for-90) against Darvish.

Expect the unexpected
Darvish has a .200 xBA and ranks in the top 15 percentile, his lowest since he had a .197 xBA in 2016 in the top 6 percentile.

MLB Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (20-22) at San Francisco Giants (19-23)

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MLB Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (20-22) at San Francisco Giants (19-23)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:

GAME #42 RECAP: The Phillies fell to the San Francisco Giants, 4-3, at Oracle Park in San Francisco … Starter Zack Wheeler (L, 3-3) went 6.0 innings and allowed 4 runs on 9 hits with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts … Wheeler generated 51 swings and had 20 whiffs (39%) including 13 whiffs on 27 swings against his four-seam fastball (48%) … Of the Giants’ 9 hits on the night, 6 were hit under 90 MPH including a 66.1 MPH single in the 5th and a 56.0 MPH single in the 6th …. The Phillies went 1-for-11 with RISP.

BULLISH ON THE PEN: Over the last month (since 4/16), the Phillies bullpen has combined to post an MLB-best 2.37 ERA (24 ER, 91.0 IP) in 27 games with 109 strikeouts to 26 walks (4.19 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 0.68 ERA (6 ER, 79.2 IP) in 24 games.

RIDING THE SEESAW: Since April 26, the Phillies have played 18 games and are an even .500 at 9-9 … This 18-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 three-game losing streak (since 5/14) … Per Elias April 26 through May 13 marked only the fourth time in franchise history that the Phillies
bookended a single-season losing streak of six or more games with two single-season winning streak of four or more games … Prior to this season, it last happened in 1991 (7/15-8/12) and before that in 1979 (7/30- 8/10) and 1962 (7/28-8/15) … 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.

WHAT A RELIEF: Through the first five games of this six-game trip, the Phillies bullpen has not allowed an earned run in 18.1 IP – 7 runs have been scored against them, but none have been earned … The Phillies pen has limited the 70 batters they have faced on this road trip to a .197 AVG and .532 OPS with 22 strikeouts to 2 walks (11.0 SO/BB ratio) … The last time the Phillies bullpen had a road trip of six or more games with 0 earned runs allowed was July 27-August 2, 2012 (11.0 IP).

HARP ON IT: In his first game back from Tommy John Surgery (160 days from the procedure), Bryce Harper went 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts on 5/2 at Dodger Stadium … Since then, he is 15-for-43 at the plate with 12 runs scored, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 5 RBI and 6 walks to 12 strikeouts … He is slashing .349/.429/.558 with a .987 OPS in 49 plate appearances in that span (since 5/3) … Saturday night, Harper hit a 2-run 9th inning home run to put the Phils up 7-4 (110.2 MPH/439 feet) … In “Close & Late” situations (7th inning or later with the batting team ahead by one run, tied, or with the tying run on base, at bat or on deck), Harper is 6-for-12 with a 1.333 OPS this season … Since the start of last season (regular and postseason combined), Harper has come to the plate 79 times in close and late situations – he is 22-for-67 with 6 doubles, 6 home runs, 21 RBI and 10 walks to 17 strikeouts (.328/.418/.687) … His 1.104 OPS ranks 1st among 219 players in MLB with at least 75 PA in close and late situations since 2022 (regular and postseason combined).

YOU GOT THAT RIGHT: In 32 plate appearances against right-handers in 2023, Bryce Harper has reached base safely 19 times (.594 OBP) – he is 13-26 at the plate against RHP with five extra-base hits (3 2B, 2 HR) and has more walks (6) than strikeouts (5).

ANGEL IN THE OUTFIELD: Center fielder Brandon Marsh has almost tripled his walk rate from 6.1% last season to 16.2% entering play tonight … His 10.1% jump in walk rate from last year is the largest spike of any player in baseball from 2022 to 2023 and his 16.2% walk rate ranks 6th in the National League and 10th in MLB … Marsh, who has walked in four straight games (since 5/13) and six of his last seven (9 BB, since 5/9) reached 23 walks for the season last night in his 139th plate appearance … Last season, Marsh reached 23 walks on July 30th in his 331st plate appearance (192 plate appearances faster in 2023) … Marsh is slashing .288/.408/.525 with a .934 OPS this year – his 154.9 OPS+ ranks 3rd among National League outfielders, trailing only ATL’s Ronald Acuna Jr. (181.6) and SF’s LaMonte Wade Jr. (161.5) … Per Statcast rankings, Marsh ranks in the 95th percentile in walk rate, 90th percentile in sprint speed (28.7 ft/sc), outs above average (2) & average exit velocity (92.5 MPH), 89th percentile in hard hit rate (50.6%) and 80th percentile in arm strength (89.3 MPH).

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 5th out of 223 MLB players with at least 40 plate appearances that start 1-0 … 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.

ON THE DOORSTEP OF HISTORY: Right-hander Craig Kimbrel has 1,122 career strikeouts which currently ranks 12th all-time among MLB relievers – Kenley Jansen ranks 11th at 1,124 and Hall-of-Famer Trevor Hoffman ranks 10th at 1,133 … Over his last 11 appearances (since 4/16) Kimbrel has struck out 20 of the 39 batters he has faced (51.3%) while walking only three (7.7%) … Kimbrel is two saves away from 400 for his career as he looks to become only the 8th pitcher in MLB history to reach 400.

TODAY’S STARTER – TAIJUAN WALKER • RHP #99
2023: 3-2, 5.97 ERA Career: 57-52, 3.97 ERA

LAST START: 5/12 at COL: ND, 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO … Walker vs Gomber … The Phillies defeated the Colorado Rockies, 6-3, on a blustery night in Denver … Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber homered for the Phillies as Bryce Harper’s 300th career double came in the 8th inning when he laced a ball off the right field fence that scored two and put the Phillies up 5-3 … Harper would then steal 3rd and score on a throwing error to make it 6-3 Phils … Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the 9th for his 398th career save.

TODAY’S START:

  • No Free Passes: Walker has not issued a walk in 2 straight starts and has averaged just 13.2 pitches per inning across those starts after averaging more than 18.6 pitches per inning in his first 6 starts of the year. He last went 2 straight games without walking a batter from 9/11-16/22 while with the Mets.
  • Doing the Splits: Walker has used his splitter 35.6% of the time in 2023, by far the highest rate of his career (previous: 27.6% in 2022) … He has thrown it more often than any other pitch (247 times, next: 4-seam, 159 times) and has surrendered just 2 XBH (2B, 3B) on it. Walker threw his splitter for 46 of 85 pitches on 5/7 and 46 of 105 pitches on 4/9, the most he has ever thrown the pitch in a game in his career (previous: 43 times, 6/2/22 & 8/8/16).
  • Finding his Strikeout Stuff: Walker, who had 17 strikeouts in his first 4 starts (5, 5, 4 ,3) has 21 in his last 4, (6, 6, 6, 3).
  • From the Ground Up: Walker’s 51.7% ground ball rate is the 9th- highest among all NL pitchers (min. 30.0 IP).
  • Pick ‘em Off: Walker’s 19 successful pickoff attempts since the start of the 2015 season are tied for the 7th-most among active major league pitchers in that span.
  • vs NL West: 12-11, 3.63 ERA (77 ER, 191.0 IP) in 34 starts.

ROAD:

  • 2023: 2-2, 6.23 ERA (18 ER, 26.0 IP) in 5 starts.
  • Career: 32-31, 4.08 ERA (219 ER, 482.2 IP) in 92 games (90 starts).

2023 SEASON:

  • Made his Phillies debut on 4/3 at NYY after signing a 4-year contract with the club in December.
  • Pitched for Team Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, making 1 start in Pool Play against Great Britain … He threw 4.0 scoreless IP with 2 baserunners allowed and recorded 8 of his 12 outs via strikeout.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: With wins in the first two games of this series the Giants have secured their fifth series win of the season and seek their first sweep of the season with a win over the Phillies this afternoon at Oracle…SF swept the Phils in a three-game series here last September and has won six straight overall against the Phils here at Oracle Park dating to June 20, 2021… the last time the Giants won seven or more consecutive home games against the Phillies was August 31, 1998-August 3, 2001 when they won 12 straight home games vs. Philadelphia.

DID YOU KNOW?: Yesterday’s win was only the Giants second victory this season where they did not homer…the other victory came May 2 at Houston when they downed the Astros 2-0…the Giants two wins in homerless games this year are tied for 25th of 30 MLB teams with the Yankees, White Sox and A’s…the two teams that have fewer wins without homering this year (one win apiece) are the first place Rays and Braves.

WHY IS A BAKER’S DOZEN 13?: Today’s game ends a stretch of 13 straight games for SF without an off day dating to May 5…they have gone 6-6 in the 12 games thus far…they enjoy an off day tomorrow before starting another 13-game stretch with no days off on Friday vs. Miami that runs through the end of the month.

HOME SWEET HOME: SF has been much better at home with an 12-10 record at Oracle Park this season compared to a 7-13 record on the road…the winning home record is due to the fact that the Giants have won 10 of their last 14 contests on the shores of McCovey Cove dating to April 22…during this stretch of solid home play the Giants have averaged 4.4 runs per game and have homered in all but two of the 14 games…in its first eight home games, SF was 2-6 and averaged 3.0 runs per game.

FIELD OF DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES: SF has played well against the Phillies at Oracle Park in recent years…Stats, LLC notes that since 2014, SF’s 22-6 (.786) record at home vs. Philadelphia is tied for the fourth-best mark in MLB against a single opponent at home (min. 15 games)…with last night’s win giving SF the series victory, the Giants have won or split their last nine home series against PHI (Stats, LLC).

MLB Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks (24-19) at Oakland Athletics (10-34)

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MLB Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks (24-19) at Oakland Athletics (10-34)

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:

HERE’S THE STORY
♦ The D-backs’ 24 wins are tied for the third most in the NL (also: Brewers), behind the Dodgers (27) and Braves (26).

♦ Arizona is second in the NL West and has spent 23 total days in or tied for first place (April 2-30).

♦ A win today will secure the D-backs’ second straight series win and fifth in their last 7.

ROSTER MOVES
♦ The D-backs made the following roster moves:

  • Recalled RHP Luis Frías from Triple-A Reno.
  • Optioned OF Alek Thomas to Reno following last night’s game.

OH, LOURDES!
♦ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has a 10-game hit streak, tied for the fourth longest active streak in the Majors, and has an extra-base hit in 6 straight games (4 doubles, 2 homers)… is batting .436 (17-for-39) with 4 doubles (1 walk-off ), 6 homers, 13 runs, 12 RBI and 8 walks.

♦ His current streak is the second longest by a D-back this season (behind Corbin Carroll, 12 games) and ties for the second longest in his career (also: June 4-15, 2022 with Toronto)…his career long is 12 games (July 11-Aug. 24, 2018 with Toronto).

♦ In his last 9 road games, is hitting .333 (11-for-33)/1.086 OPS.

KETEL BEING KETEL
♦ Ketel Marte has a 17-game on-base streak (since April 26), the sixth longest active streak in MLB…has 1 double, 1 triple, 3 homers, 10 RBI, 9 walks and 2 HBP…he is 5 games shy of tying his career-long (22, Aug 2-29, 2019).

♦ He has reached base in 10 straight road games, since April 15, hitting .366 (15-for-41)/1.124 OPS with 1 triple, 4 homers, 8 RBI and 4 walks.

THE FLETCH SHOW
♦ Last night, Dominic Fletcher joined Gerardo Parra (2009), Mark Reynolds (2007), Chad Tracy (2004) and Matt Kata (2003) as the only D-backs with at least 20 hits in their first 15 career games.

♦ Fletcher is batting .377 (20-for-53)/1.004 OPS with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 7 runs, 13 RBI and 2 walks in his first 15 Major League games.

SEEING IT WELL
♦ Since April 23, the D-backs’ .360 OBP leads the Majors, ahead of Red Sox (.355), Rays (.340) and Braves (.338).

♦ Since April 23, the D-backs’ 11.0 walk pct. is second in the Majors, behind the Padres (11.7), compared to their 5.0 walk pct. (MLB low) from the start of season to April 22.

SNAKE BITES
♦ Christian Walker’s 8 homers since April 21 are the most in the Majors…since 2022, Walker ranks among NL players in home runs (3rd, 46) [T-5th in MLB], RBI (6th, 124), extra-base hits (10th, 81) and total bases (10th, 356).

♦ Gabriel Moreno, in his last 10 games, is hitting .400 (14- for-35)/.904 OPS with 2 doubles, 3 RBI and 2 stolen bases.

♦ Geraldo Perdomo is hitting .464 (13-for-28) with runners in scoring position and ranks third in the Majors [min. 35 PA], behind Marcus Semien/TEX (.525) and Yordan Alvarez/HOU (.500).

UNAVOIDED EXTRAS
♦ Last night, the D-backs entered their first extra-inning game of the season, marking the longest span of games in team history to start a season without going to extras (42 games)…the previous record was 38 games in 2020.

YOUNG ‘BACKS
♦ The D-backs and Athletics are tied for the third-youngest team in the Majors at age 27.8, behind the Guardians (26.4) and Orioles (27.5) and ahead of Nationals (27.9) and Angels, Nationals, Phillies, Mariners, Pirates, Rays (28.0).

♦ Arizona has featured the most players aged 23 or younger (5) in the Majors this season (Corbin Carroll/22, Gabriel Moreno/23, Geraldo Perdomo/23, Alek Thomas/23 and Carlos Vargas/23), ahead of Los Angeles-AL (4).

TODAY’S STARTER – RHP RYNE NELSON ♦ #19
AT A GLANCE: Selected by the D-backs in the second round (56th overall) of the 2019 draft.

  • Attended the University of Oregon, where he was a 2019 First-Team All-Pac-12 selection…finished his junior year with a conference-high 104 strikeouts and finished fourth in the nation with a 14.40 K/9 IP.
  • A Nevada native, attended Basic High School in Henderson where he was a shortstop and pitcher.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Making his fourth road start in 2023 and first against an AL West opponent.

  • Has exited 5 of his 8 starts with a lead or tied.
  • Has walked 3 batters in his last 4 starts after walking 8 in his first 4.

LAST START: Did not factor in the win on May 12 vs. Giants… allowed a game-tying single to J.D. Davis before exiting in the fifth inning.

VS. ATHLETICS: Making his first career start.

PITCH TRACKING: Opposing batters are 2-for-9 (.222) with 2 strikeouts off his changeup and 6-for-36 (.167) with 6 strikeouts off his cutter.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: The A’s defeated the Diamondbacks last night 9-8 in 12 innings for their 10th win of the season…eight of those 10 wins have come when tied or trailing after seven innings, seven are one-run wins, seven are last at bat wins and four are walk-off wins…have lost eight of the last 10 games and are 4-11 (.267) in May after going 5-23 (.179) in April…are 10-34 (.227) overall, which is the worst record in the majors (Royals, 13-31/.295)… it is the worst record in Athletics history after 44 games and is tied for ninth worst by an AL, NL or FL team since 1901…it is the worst since the 2006 Royals also started the year 10-34…the lowest winning percentage in American League history is .235 by the 1916 Philadelphia A’s (36-117)…are 1-12-0 in series play and have been swept six times…lost each of the first 10 series, won two of three at Kansas City from May 5-7, and have lost each of the previous two series.

WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in seven of their 10 wins…had their fourth walk-off win of the season last night, which is tied with the Red Sox for the most in the majors…have five wins when tied after seven innings, three when trailing after seven innings and two when leading after seven inning…lead the majors in wins when tied after seven innings and are tied for sixth in wins when trailing after seven innings…however, no other team has fewer than 10 wins when leading after seven innings…are 3-4 (.429) in extra inning games…are tied with the Mariners and Twins for the most extra inning games in the majors (7), are tied for the second most losses and tied for fourth in wins.

RUN DIFFERENTIAL: Seven of the A’s 10 wins have been by one run and Oakland is 7-7 (.500) in one-run games…are tied for sixth in the majors in one-run games (14), tied for eighth in wins and tied for ninth in losses…however, have lost six games by 10 or more runs, which matches the A’s combined total from the previous four seasons and is the most since 2008 when they had eight such losses…have a run differential of -159, which is the lowest in the majors (White Sox, -66)…the lowest in Athletics history is -344 by the 1915 Philadelphia A’s and the lowest by an AL or NL team since 1901 is -349 by the 1932 Boston Red Sox.

TIME OF GAME: The A’s and Diamondbacks played the first four-hour game in the majors this year last night, clocking in at 4 hours and 9 minutes (previous, 3:50 by Tigers and Giants on April 14)…the A’s have an average time of game of 2:49, which is the longest in the majors by six minutes (three teams with 2:43)…however, have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:43).

NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 9-17 (.346) in night games and 1-17 (.056) during the day…are batting .259 (236-for-911) with 125 runs in 26 night games (4.8 runs per game), .184 (106-for-576) with 45 runs in 18 day games (2.5 runs per game)…have the lowest day batting average in the majors and the ninth best night batting average.

OFFENSE: The A’s have the fifth lowest batting average in the majors (.230), the eighth lowest OPS (.694) and on-base percentage (.310) and ninth lowest slugging percentage (.384)…have the most strikeouts (415), the fifth fewest doubles (61), are tied for the fifth fewest runs (170) and have the ninth fewest extra base hits (119)…have the most sacrifice hits (10), are tied for the most hit by pitches (27), tied for third in intentional walks (7) and tied for ninth in walks (149)…the seven intentional walks match the A’s season total from last year…have been shut out twice on the homestand and six times overall, which is tied for third most in the majors (Mets and Royals, 7)…A’s pinch hitters are 10-for-38 (.263) with eight walks (.391 on-base percentage)…lead the majors in pinch walks and rank third in pinch hits.

PITCHING: The A’s have compiled a 6.15 ERA (93 er in 136.0 ip) in May after posting a 7.97 ERA in April…have a 7.18 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors (White Sox, 5.40)…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the highest ERA by an AL or NL team since the earned run became an official stat is 6.70 by the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies…the A’s have allowed 329 runs, which is an average of 7.5 per game…are on pace to allow 1211 runs and the modern Major League record is 1199 by the 1930 Phillies…also have the highest opponents OPS (.886), batting average (.287), on-base percentage (.380) and slugging percentage (.506) in the majors this year…lead the majors in most walks (214), hit batters (33) and wild pitches (24) and have the fifth fewest strikeouts (331).

THE LONG BALL: The A’s have allowed at least one home run in each of the last 20 games (34 home runs total), which is the longest streak in Athletics history (previous: 17, July 26-Aug. 14, 1964)…have yielded 77 home runs for the season, which is the most in the majors (White Sox, 66)…surrendered their sixth grand slam of the season Sunday, which is the most in the majors (Diamondbacks and Yankees, 3) and tied for fifth most in a season in Athletics history (8 in 1993 and 1999, 7 in 1954 and 1997).

STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-7 with a 6.84 ERA (39 er in 51.1 ip) in the nine games since recording their only two wins of the season on May 5 and 6 at Kansas City…are 2-23 with a 7.62 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors (Reds, 6.05) and no other team has fewer than six wins from its starters…have the seventh fewest innings pitched (213.2)…went 0-16 over the first 32 games.

THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen tossed a season-high 8.0 innings last night and now has 176.1 innings pitched for the season, which is second most in the majors (Rays, 186.2)…has a 6.64 ERA, which is the highest in the majors (White Sox, 5.76)…is 4-for-13 (30.8%) in save opportunities…has the lowest save percentage and fewest saves and the nine blown saves are tied for third most…has allowed 39-of-88 (44.3%) inherited runners to score, which is the fifth highest percentage…has the second most inherited runners.

ON THE BASES: The A’s are 42-for-51 (82.4%) in stolen base attempts…are tied for second in the majors in stolen bases (Pirates, 50), rank third in attempts and tied for 10th in percentage…the 42 steals are the most by an A’s team over the first 44 games since 1992 (49)…A’s opponents are 38-for-53 (71.7%) in stolen base attempts, which is the ninth lowest success rate in the majors…the 15 caught stealings are second most (Rockies, 18) but the A’s have the fourth most stolen bases allowed…A’s pitchers have four pickoffs, which is tied for third most in the majors (Brewers and Royals, 5). HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 2-4 on this seven-game homestand against Texas (1-3) and Arizona (1-1)…went 1-5 on the last homestand against Cincinnati (1-2) and Seattle (0-3) and are 5-19 (.208) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors (Royals, 6-17/.261)…leave following the game today for a seven-game road trip to Houston (three games) and Seattle (four games) that begins on Friday…went 2-4 on the last road trip to Kansas City (2-1) and New York-AL (0-3) and are 5-15 (.250) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors (White Sox, 7-16/.304)… have compiled a 6.03 ERA (150 er in 224.0 ip) at home compared to 8.73 on the road…are hitting .213 (171-for-802) with 79 runs in 24 home games (3.3 runs per game) compared to .250 with 91 runs in 20 road games (4.6 runs per game).

A’S VS. DIAMONDBACKS

  • The A’s have won seven of their last eight games against Arizona, which includes a six-game winning streak that was snapped on Monday…that win streak was their longest ever against Arizona.
  • Have won seven of the last eight and 10 of the last 13 in Oakland.
  • The A’s and Diamondbacks meet for the first time since 2021 when the A’s swept the four-game season series, winning two-game series’ in
    Oakland and Phoenix…it was the second time the A’s swept the season series (3-0 in 2001).

Year Home Road Totals
2023 1-1 0-0 1-1
2021 2-0 2-0 4-0
Oakland History: 24-19
at the Coliseum: 14-10
at Chase Field: 10-9

TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.404) and walks (29), ranks fourth in OPS (.837), sixth in runs (22) and slugging (.433), tied for sixth in doubles (8), tied for seventh in extra base hits (13) and 10th in RBI (14)…Brent Rooker leads the majors in OPS (1.042) and slugging (.624), ranks fifth in on-base percentage (.418) and tied for fifth in home runs (11)…Esteury Ruiz leads ML rookies in hits (47), stolen bases (20), doubles (11) and hit by pitches (10), ranks fourth in batting (.272) and RBI (22), tied for seventh in extra base hits (13) and ninth in on-base percentage (.333

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Luis Medina (0-2, 8.18 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last Thursday for his second stint with the A’s this year…is scheduled to make his second start since is return and his third of the season…was called up for the first time on April 25, started and lost the next day at Los Angeles (AL) in his Major League debut, and was optioned back to Las Vegas on April 27…is 0-1 with a 7.42 ERA in five games, four starts, with the Aviators.

FIRST START: He made his Major League debut on April 26 at Los Angeles (AL) and was the losing pitcher in the A’s 11-3 loss…became the 59th pitcher in Oakland history to start in his ML debut, the third this year (Fujinami on April 1, Miller on April 19)…allowed eight runs in 5.0 innings, which match the most runs in Oakland history by a pitcher in his debut…the first pitcher to do it was Fujinami earlier this year on April 1…it matches the most runs by an Athletics pitcher in his debut over the last 103 years (fifth time)…allowed five runs in the second inning, a solo home run to Renfroe in the third and a two-run home run to Drury in the fifth.

LAST START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 4-0 loss to Texas last Thursday in Oakland…retired the first 11 batters he faced before Lowe tripled with two outs in the fourth…then allowed a RBI single to Taveras in the fifth and two more runs in the sixth on a Semien home run and a wild pitch…Eovaldi shut out the A’s on three hits and a walk in 8.2 innings before Smith came on to get the final out.

OPPONENTS BATTING: His opponents batting average broke down to .232 (42-for-181) with a .732 OPS against right-handed hitters compared to .235
(39-for-166) with a .673 OPS against left-handers…had a .233 average with the bases empty, .234 with five of his seven home runs with runners on…opponents were 4-for-10 (.400) with two doubles and two walks with the bases loaded…had a .278 opponents batting average against the one through five hitters in the order, a .163 average against the six through nine hitters.

THIS AND THAT: Went 3-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 10 starts on five days rest or fewer, 2-6 with a 6.85 ERA in 13 starts on six days rest or more…was 1-2 with a 2.55 ERA in eight starts at home for Somerset but was 0-3 with a 20.25 ERA in three starts at home for Midland…was 4-2 with a 5.15 ERA in 13 starts on the road…his teams were 9-3 in his no decisions and had a 14-10 (.583) record in his starting assignments…tossed fewer than five innings in 15 of his 24 starts…walked at least one batter in every start.

MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (24-19) at Los Angeles Dodgers (27-16)

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MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (24-19) at Los Angeles Dodgers (27-16)

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 loss and a win to the Dodgers over the last two nights…today, the Twins will play the three-game series finale at Dodger Stadium…after today’s game, the Twins will travel south to spend the off-day tomorrow in Anaheim, then play the Angels for three games over the weekend… the Twins have gone 14-8 at Target Field and 10-11 on the road.

Twins have gone 3-3 in rubber games this season, winning each of their last two and securing series wins vs. San Diego on May 11 and vs. Chicago-NL on May 14.

TWINS GET OBER THE HUMP IN LA: The Twins beat the Dodgers last night in Los Angeles by a score of 5-1…Bailey Ober (3-0) was the starter and winner, allowing one run on six hits in 6.0 innings pitched, with one walk and six strikeouts…the offense recorded 11 hits as five different Twins had two-hit games (Solano, Buxton, Farmer, Gallo & Castro)…Kyle Farmer hit his third home run and drove in three…Willi Castro also drove in a run while recording a pair of singles…the win marked the Twins second-ever victory at Dodger Stadium, the other being a 5-3 win on June 11, 2005, a difference of 6,549 days…below are the lineups from that game:

TWINS DODGERS HIGHLIGHTS
Lew Ford – LF Cesar Izturis – SS Morneau two-run homer in third
Luis Rodriguez – 2B Hee-Seop Choi – 1B inning off Lowe. Hunter solo homer Justin Morneau – 1B J.D. Drew – CF in sixth inning off Lowe. Rodriguez Torii Hunter – CF Jeff Kent – 2B three hits and two runs scored.
Jacque Jones – RF Jason Werth – RF Morneau four RBI and five total bases.
Glenn Williams – 3B Antonio Perez – 3B
Mike Redmond – C Jason Grabowski – LF WP: Carlos Silva
Juan Castro – SS Jason Phillips – C LP: Derek Lowe
Carlos Silva – P Derek Lowe – P SV: Joe Nathan

DODGE BALL: The Twins are playing the Dodgers in the regular season for the 22nd time in their history today…the Twins are 7-14 all-time vs. LAD…in the regular season, Minnesota is 2-8 all-time at Dodger Stadium, 2-6 at Target Field and 3-0 at Metrodome…including the Postseason, the Twins are 2-11 all-time at Dodger Stadium, going 0-3 in this ballpark during the 1965 World Series…last night’s victory snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Dodgers, beating them for the first time since June 29, 2011, a 1-0 win at Target Field.

GET UP, IT’S SONNY DAY: Through eight starts, Sonny Gray has gone 4-0, 1.39 ERA (45.1 IP, 7 ER) with 16 walks and 56 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .201 (33-for-164) batting average…below are his ranks among AL starting pitchers in a few notable categories:

ERA OPS SLG HR FIP WAR
Gray – 1.39 Rodriguez – .481 Rodriguez – .264 Gray – 0 Gray – 1.90 Eovaldi – 2.5
Rodriguez – 1.57 Ryan – .507 Gray – .268 Eovaldi – 1 Eovaldi – 1.96 Gray – 2.1
Ryan – 2.16 Wells – .518 Ryan – .283 Kirby – 2 Gausman – 2.42 Gausman – 2.1
Cole – 2.22 Gray – .539 Rasmussen – .294 4 tied – 4 Ryan – 2.55 Ryan – 1.8
McClanahan – 2.34 Rasmussen – .567 Ohtani – .307 Kirby – 2.57 Kirby – 1.8

ALSO: Sonny’s 1.39 ERA is the lowest in Twins history (1961-) and fifth lowest in Twins/Senators history through a pitcher’s first eight games of a season (since 1913, min. 45.0 IP), trailing Walter Johnson (0.17 in 1913 and 1.37 in 1915), Milo Candini in 1943 (0.60) and Roger Wolff in 1945 (1.08).

GETTING OFFENSIVE: After 11 hits last night, the Twins now have double-digit hit totals in each of their last four games, their longest stretch since four-straight from September 24-28, 2022…the last time they had 10-plus hits in five-straight came May 26-30, 2022…in this current four-game stretch, they have totaled 55 hits (13, 18, 13, 11)…below are the Twins first 39 games from March 30-May 12 and their last four 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 4 .337 10.0 55 14 11 39 18 44 .413 .626 1.039

NOTE: Since Saturday, the Twins lead baseball in hits (55), batting average (.337), on-base (.413), slugging (.626) and OPS (1,039).

SERIES FINALE: The Twins are looking to win their eighth series of the season today, going 7-5-1 in series play in 2023 (results to the right)…they have gone 1-4-1 in six road series this season; their one win was a three-game sweep of Kansas City to open the season…a victory today would mark their third-straight series win over an NL team…the last time they did that was in 2017, when they won four consecutive series against the Brewers (twice), D-Backs and Padres from August-September.

THE OTHER GUYS: The Twins have gone 7-7 in Interleague Play this season, going 1-2 at Miami, 1-2 vs. Washington, 2-1 vs. San Diego, 2-1 vs. Chicago-NL and 1-1 vs. Los Angeles-NL…they have gone 6-3 in their last nine vs. the NL after starting 1-4…after this series, the Twins’ next NL opponent will be the Giants for three games at Target Field next Monday-Wednesday.

AND HE’S LOOSE!!!: The Twins stole four bases last night (Buxton – 2, Castro – 2), marking their most in a game since June 21, 2017 vs. Chicago-AL (also 4)…last night marked the first time the Twins had multiple players with multiple steals since July 29, 2012 vs. Cleveland (Brian Dozier – 2, Ben Revere – 2)…the Twins have stolen 15 bases on the season, 12 coming in their last 15 games…they have been caught six times overall…15 steals are the second fewest in baseball (Colorado – 14)…Twins are tied for eighth in baseball in stolen bases this month with 11…by comparison, in 2022, the Twins stole 38 bags, the fewest in baseball.

ROYCE ROLLS UP: Infielder Royce Lewis advanced his rehab assignment from Double-A Wichita to Triple-A St. Paul yesterday and went 3-for-5 with a home run, a stolen base and four RBI for the Saints…Royce has now played three games on rehab between the Wind Surge and Saints, going 5-for-11 with a double, a home run, five RBI, one walk and three stolen bases…he has played two games at shortstop and one game at third base…Lewis was originally placed on Minnesota’s injured list on May 30, 2022 and underwent right knee surgery last June.

I’M JUST GLADD TO BE HERE: Twins radio stud Dan Gladden played in 21 career games at Dodger Stadium, hitting .278 (22-for-79) with five doubles, no home runs and five RBI…at one point, he hit safely in 10-straight games in this ballpark, from October 2, 1983-Sep- tember 27, 1985…he also hit safely in 14 of 15 games at one point, from October 2, 1983-April 13, 1986…he recorded his first Dodger Stadium hit with a second inning single on October 2, 1983, off of good ol’ Sid Fernandez, while driving in John Rabb on the play…in his next at-bat he hit the second double of his career, off Fernandez, driving in Dave Bergman.

STARTING PITCHER – SONNY GRAY #54
2023: 4-0 1.39 ERA CAREER: 94-77, 3.49 ERA

Enters today leading all qualified major league pitchers in ERA…also ranks third in FIP (1.90), behind Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (1.63) and Arizona’s Zac Gallen (1.78).

Making his 256th career appearance and 247th career start.

Facing Los Angeles-NL for the first time this season, sixth in his career; is 1-3, 3.16 ERA (31.1 IP, 11 ER) with 10 walks and 39 strikeouts…looking for his first win against the Dodgers since July 28, 2015.

Making ninth start of the year and fourth on the road…is 5-3, 3.36 ERA (67.0 IP, 25 ER) with 20 walks and 53 strikeouts in 14 road starts since joining the Twins.

Acquired by the Twins on March 13, 2022 in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, along with right-handed pitcher Francis Peguero, in exchange for right-handed pitcher Chase Petty.

LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision against the Chicago Cubs on May 12 at Target Field, opposite Drew Smyly…pitched 5.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits, with one walk and nine strikeouts in a 6-2 Twin loss in the opener of the three-game series…recorded his first four strkeouts looking; marked his second-most looking strikeouts of the season (5 on April 7 vs. Houston)…allowed his only run on a sacrifice fly to outfielder Seiya Suzuki…relieved by Jovani Moran in the sixth inning after striking out infielder Dansby Swanson…Griffin Jax entered the game in the seventh inning and yielded two runs (an RBI double to infielder Matt Mervis and an RBI single to catcher Yan Gomes)… Jorge Alcala entered the game to pitch a scoreless eighth inning before yielding a two-run home run to infielder Chrstopher Morel in the ninth inning…Alcala was lifted from the game after the home run… Dereck Rodríguez entered in the ninth inning and allowed the final run off a sacrifice fly to outfielder Cody Bellinger.

Brought his ERA to 1.39, the fifth lowest in Twins/Senators history in ERA through a pitcher’s first eight games of a season (since 1913, min. 45.0 IP), trailing Walter Johnson (0.17 in 1913 and 1.37 in 1915), Milo Candini in 1943 (0.60) and Roger Wolff in 1945 (1.08).

TWO STARTS AGO: Did not factor into the decision against the Cleveland Guardians on May 6 at Progressive Field…pitched 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on four hits, with three walks and six strikeouts in a 4-3 Twins loss, opposite Logan Allen…marked the first start Gray has allowed more than one run this season…retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced…allowed all three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning…issued a walk to infielder Amed Rosario to start the inning; allowed three consecutive singles (two for RBI, one from designated hitter Josh Naylor followed by another from infielder Josh Bell)…allowed his final run on a bases-loaded walk to outfielder Myles Straw…
relieved by Jorge Alcala in the sixth inning…Twins tied the game thanks to two home runs (a two-run homer by Max Kepler in the top of the sixth and a solo shot from Carlos Correa in the seventh)…Alcala yielded the winning run to Steven Kwan in the bottom of the seventh for his first home run of the year.

AND STILL: Gray is still the only pitcher in the majors who has yet to allow a home run this season (min. 45.0 IP)…is the second pitcher in Twins history to allow zero home runs through their first eight starts and ties the longest streak from a Twins starter (Frankie Rodriguez at eight games and 45.1 IP in 1995)…is the 17th pitcher since 1995 to allow zero home runs through their first eight games of the season (min. 45 IP).

AGAINST LOS ANGELES-NL: Gray is facing the Dodgers for the sixth time in his career, going 1-3, 3.16 ERA (31.1 IP, 11 ER) with 10 walks and 39 strikeouts in his five previous appearances…last faced Los Angeles-NL on August 10, 2022 at Dodger Stadium, taking a no-decision in an 8-5 Twins loss after allowing four runs (3 earned) on seven hits (1 HR) with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings…relieved in the fifth inning by Caleb Thielbar as the bullpen combined to pitch 3.1 innings and allowed four runs.

Looking for his first win against the Dodgers since July 28, 2015 when he led the Oakland Athletics to a 2-0 win at Dodger Stadium after pitching his fourth career complete-game shutout.

Four of Gray’s five starts against the Dodgers have been at Dodger Stadium…is 1-2, 2.84 ERA (25.1 IP, 8 ER) with eight walks and 34 strikeouts in those starts.

Gray is 12-8, 3.38 ERA (191.2 IP, 72 ER) with 61 walks and 192 strikeouts in 33 career Interleague games (32 starts)…is 1-0, 2.70 (20.0 IP, 6 ER) with eight walks and 23 strikeouts in four Interleague starts since joining the Twins.

BACK TO THE ROAD: Gray is making his fourth road start of the season today, going 1-0, 2.40 ERA (15.0 IP, 4 ER) with nine walks and 14 strikeouts in his three prior road outings…went 4-3, 3.63 ERA (52.0 IP, 21 ER) with 11 walks and 39 strikeouts in 11 road starts in 2022 and is 41-39, 3.23 ERA (673.2 IP, 242 ER) with 251 walks and 651 strikeouts in 121 career road appearances, including 116 starts. A Is 5-3, 3.36 ERA (67.0 IP, 25 ER) with 20 walks and 53 strikeouts in 14 road starts since becoming a Twin.

Tied for seventh in lowest road ERA in the American League this season (min 15.0 IP).

THE ARSENAL: Gray is currently using a six-pitch mix, per Baseball Savant…continues to use his curveball the most at 23.8 percent…primarily uses his curveball (110 pitches) and changeup (52 pitches) against lefties and his cutter (115 pitches), sinker (116 pitches) and sweeper (113 pitches) against righties…here’s a look at his repertoire so far:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
Curveball (79.0)…………………….23.8% (177 pitches, 67/110)…………… .167 (6-for-36), 3 2B, 12 K
Cutter (87.4) …………………………19.1% (142 pitches, 115/27)…………….. .160 (4-for-25), 1 2B, 5 K
Sinker (92.5) …………………………17.4% (129 pitches, 116/13)…………… .200 (6-for-30), 2 2B, 14 K
4-Seam Fastball (92.7)……………16.4% (122 pitches, 40/82)……………… .381 (8-for-21), 2 2B, 2 K
Sweeper (83.3)……………………….16.0% (119 pitches, 113/6)……………. .175 (7-for-40), 2 2B, 22 K
Changeup (87.0)……………………….7.3% (54 pitches, 2/52)………………… .167 (2-for-12), 1 2B, 1 K

Tied for fifth for the lowest opponent batting average against a cutter in the American League, sixth against a sweeper, tied for 11th against the curveball and tied for 13th against a changeup (min 500 pitches).

Ranks second for the most strikeouts off a sweeper, trailing Shohei Ohtani (36) tied with three others for 10th on sinkers (min 500 pitches).

LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:

GET THE SERIES: The Dodgers saw their season-high tying six -game winning streak snapped last night as they were held off by the Minnesota Twins, 5-1, in front of a sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd on Mexican Heritage Night. Clayton Kershaw worked a season low 4.0 innings, giving up seven hits and two runs in the loss, his third of the 2023 campaign and first at Dodger Stadium since June 16, 2021 (a span of 17 starts). Los Angeles still has 14 wins in its last 17 games and this afternoon will try to win its sixth consecutive series in the finale with Minnesota. Following today’s 12:10 p.m. game to close out the homestand (4-1), the Dodgers fly overnight to St. Louis and begin an 11-day, 10-game road trip against the Cardinals (4), Braves (3) and Rays (3) tomorrow night at Busch Stadium. Freddie Freeman collected two hits last night, his 16th multi-hit game of the season, which ties him with Nick Castellanos and Paul Goldschmidt for second in the National League, two behind Ronald Acuña Jr. (18). Freeman’s 53 hits rank third in the NL and he currently owns a six-game hitting streak in which he’s batting .478 (11-for-23) with two homers, three doubles, eight RBI and six runs scored. Max Muncy’s 14 home runs are tied with Pete Alonso for the most in baseball while his 28 walks are tied for fifth in the Majors. His 32 RBI ranks fourth on the Senior Circuit and he already has a league-leading four games with two or more home runs this season. The Dodgers have the best home record in the National League (16-7, .696) and last night saw their season high 10-game home winning streak come to an end. Los Angeles enters play today with a season-high tying 3.0-game lead on the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the National League West. The Dodgers have the second best run differential in the National League (+53), trailing just the Atlanta Braves (+61). Dodger catcher Will Smith had the night off Tuesday, but went 2-for-6 with a homer, two RBI and three runs scored Monday night. He’s hitting .400 (10-for-25) with three homers, two doubles, seven RBI and three walks during his current six-game hitting streak. The Dodgers are 19-6 (.760) when Smith is in the starting lineup this year.

MAY DAY: Dodger right-hander Dustin May is seeking to extend his career high in wins, gunning for his fifth victory. May hasn’t lost a decision since April 11 in San Francisco and last outing gave up two runs on five hits in 6.2 innings vs. the Padres (no-decision). He has never faced the Twins in his career. May’s 0.94 WHIP ranks third in the National League and his .171 opponents’ average (28-for-164) ranks second. The native of Texas boasts an opponents’ OPS of .501, which leads the NL and ranks second in the Major Leagues (Eduardo Rodriguez, .481).

RELIEF REPORT: The Dodger bullpen had to cover 5.0 innings last night and allowed three runs on four hits while striking out five. Since allowing a season high-matching eight runs on April 26 at PIT (also, April 21 at CHC), the Dodger ‘pen has posted a 2.81 ERA (21 ER/67.1 IP) with 77 strikeouts against 30 walks. The bullpen is among the leaders in multiple categories since April 27, including ERA (3rd), batting average against (.185, 2nd), opponents slugging percentage (.288, 2nd) opponents OBP (.280, 2nd) and opponents OPS (.568, T-1st). Caleb Ferguson currently has a Dodger season high 11.2-inning scoreless streak and since being recalled on April 22, Victor González has fired 10.1 scoreless innings.

FABULOUS FREDDIE: Freddie Freeman went 2-for-3 and drove in the Dodgers’ only run last night, his 22nd RBI of the season, which is tied with Will Smith for fourth on the team. Freeman did not score a run, snapping his Dodger season-high of eight straight contests with a run. Freeman is tied with Matt Olson and Alex Verdugo for third in the Major Leagues with 35 runs scored, trailing just Ronald Acuña Jr. (38) and Marcus Semien (36). With 299 career homers, he’s on the doorstep of 300 and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, would become 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

WE’RE GOING INTERLEAGUEING!: This series marks the first Interleague tilt of the season for the Dodgers in the new balanced schedule format, which will see the club play 46 games vs. the AL. Last season, the Boys in Blue went 15-5 (.750) vs. the American League, which was tied for the best mark in baseball with Milwaukee. Since the beginning of Interleague play in 1997, the Dodgers hold a 240-216 record (.526 winning percentage), which is the best mark amongst National League teams. Los Angeles is 14-7 all-time vs. Minnesota in Interleague play, including an 8-2 mark at Dodger Stadium.

LONG BALLS: The Dodgers failed to hit a home run last night, snapping their season-high tying streak of nine straight with a big fly. The club has 71 homers on the season, which is second in the Majors, behind only the Tampa Bay Rays (84). The Dodgers have recorded 3+ homers in 13 games this season, which is one behind the Rays for the most in the Majors. Los Angeles is also second in the Majors with 34 games with at least one homer, behind the Rays (38), who have homered in all but five games this season.

TODAY’S STARTER vs. TWINS: RHP DUSTIN MAY (4-1, 2.68 ERA in 8 GS)
2023 NOTES:

  • Notched his fourth win of the season on May 6 against the Padres, tossing six scoreless innings, giving up three hits and one walk while sitting down six…tied his season-high strikeouts
  • Ranks third in the National League in WHIP at 0.942 and second in the NL in opponents’ batting average at .171
  • Texas native took the mound in five games (four starts) during Cactus League play, posting a 5-4 record with 2.95 ERA (6 ER/18.1 IP) and 20 strikeouts against just seven walks…pitched in Spring Training for the first time since 2021…missed 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery

vs. TWINS:

  • Will make his first career start against Twins today

MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (19-23) at Colorado Rockies (18-25)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (19-23) at Colorado Rockies (18-25)

CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:

RED HOTS

  • In last night’s 3-1 win, Brandon Williamson became only the 10th visiting pitcher to make his Major League debut with a start at Coors Field, the first since Hou’s José Urquidy debuted here on 7/2/2019…Williamson became only the fourth Reds pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to retire at least 14 consecutive batters in his Major League debut, joining Wayne Simpson (16, 4/9/1970 at LAD), Rob Bell (16, 4/8/2000 vs Cubs) and Johnny Cueto (15, 4/3/2008 vs Ari)…courtesy @EliasSports.
  • Reds relievers are tied with the Marlins for the Major League lead in wins (13) while ranking second in the National League in both innings Pitched (170.0, Col 170.1) and bullpen ERA (3.60, Pit 3.57).

TODAY’S GAME

  • Is Game 3 (1-1) of a 3-game series vs Mike Moustakas’ Rockies and Game 5 (3-2) of a 6-game road trip that included a 2-1 series win at Mia’s
    loanDepot park.
  • After tomorrow’s off day, the Redlegs return home to Great American Ball Park for 7 games vs the New York Yankees (3g) and Cardinals (4g)…on Fri vs NYY, the Reds will debut their new City Connect uniforms.

SERIES NOTES

  • The Reds’ 3-1 series win from 5/30-6/2, 2016 is their only series win at Coors Field since 8/27-8/29, 2012.
  • Beginning in 2002 and with a minimum of 40 games, the Reds’ .343 winning percentage at Coors Field (23-44) is the third-lowest at any current road ballpark in that span (Phi’s Citizens Bank Park, 21-43, .328; LA’s Dodger Stadium, 22-43, .338).

YANKEES UP NEXT…

  • The Reds and Yankees this weekend at Great American Ball Park will meet for the first time since a 2-1 Reds series win last July at Yankee Stadium…will be Cin’s first ever home weekend series vs NYY.
  • Will be former Red Aaron Boone’s first visit to GABP as Yankees manager.
  • The Redlegs are 10-12 all-time vs NYY, including 4-4 at Great American Ball Park, and 4-3 in 7 season series.
  • During the New York Yankees’ visit to Cincinnati on 6/3/2003, Hall of Famer Derek Jeter was named the team’s 11th captain.
  • The teams met in 3 World Series, including Yankees wins in 1939 (4-0) and 1961 (4-1) and the Big Red Machine’s 4-0 sweep in 1976.
  • Before the interleague schedule expanded this season to include games vs all 15 American League teams, from 1997-2022 the Redlegs went 188-
    247 vs the American League, at .432 the lowest interleague winning percentage of any Major League team…in 2022 the Reds went 12-8 vs AL teams (0-2 vs Cle, 2-0 at Cle, 1-2 at Tor, 1-1 at Bos, 3-0 vs TB, 2-1 at NYY, 2-1 vs Bal, 1-1 vs Bos)…last season’s was their first winning record vs the American League since 2013 (11-9)…in the 8 seasons between the 2013 & 2022 season series wins, the Reds went 61-99 vs AL teams (.381).

…FOLLOWED BY THE CARDINALS

  • In 2022, the Cardinals won 12 of the 19 games and 5 of the 6 series.
  • From 7/15-7/24 and surrounding the 2022 All-Star break, the Reds and Cardinals played 5 straight games for the first time since 9/7-9/11, 1962.
  • From 9/15-9/18, 2022 at Busch Stadium, the Reds and Cardinals faced off in a 5-game series (3-2 Cardinals series win) for the first time since 7/25-7/27, 1958 (3-2 Reds series win).
  • The Cardinals’ .506 winning percentage at Great American Ball Park (85-83) is the highest among NL Central Division opponents.

Today’s Pitcher – #51 Graham Ashcraft, RHP

  • This afternoon will make his first career appearance vs the Rockies…never has faced any Rockies batters.
  • Produced 5 of the Reds’ 8 quality starts.
  • Became the first Reds pitcher to begin a season with 6 starts without allowing more than 2 earned runs in any of those starts since Luis Castillo began the 2019 campaign by allowing 2 ER or fewer in each of his first 7 starts.
  • In his first 3 starts (19ip, 3er) became the eighth Reds pitcher, since 1901 and including Nick Lodolo in 2023, to begin a season with at least 17.0 innings while
    allowing 4 earned runs or fewer.
  • Between a solo HR by Pit’s Bryan Reynolds in his season debut and a 2-run HR by WSox’ Hanser Alberto’s on 5/7 in his seventh start, Ashcraft recorded a career-high homerless streak of 33.0 innings.
  • In the 17-4 loss on 5/7 vs WSox allowed a career-high 8 runs in 1.2 innings…was the shortest start of his career and the shortest start by a Reds pitcher to that point in the season…was charged with all 8 runs in the second inning after throwing a perfect first…entered that 5/7 start leading all National League pitchers in bWAR (2.1), the third-best bWAR among all players in the Major Leagues (Gerrit Cole 2.5, Ronald Acuña Jr. 2.2).
  • Became the first Reds pitcher to begin a non-COVID season with 3 consecutive quality starts since Amir Garrett in 2017 (3qs).
  • Started the third game of the season and on 4/2 earned the 3-1 win vs the Pirates…following 2 rainouts, didn’t pitch again until 4/10 at Atl.
  • In the 5-3 walkoff win on 4/26 vs Tex, was pitching 2 days after the death of his 82-year-old grandmother, Ann Ashcraft, a Rangers fan who lived in Fort Worth… the next day went on the bereavement list…in his next start, on 5/2 at SD, allowed 1 run in 6.0 innings.
  • In his last start of spring training, on 3/22 vs SD, allowed 1 hit while recording 10 strikeouts without a walk in 6.0 innings…time of game was 1:52.
  • In 2022, in his Major League debut ranked among the National League rookie pitching leaders in starts (T3rd, 19gs), innings pitched (4th, 105.0), ERA (7th, 4.89), strikeouts (11th, 71), opponents’ BA (8th, .281) and WHIP (1.42, 8th).
  • In 2021 was an MiLB.com Organization All-Star, MLB.com’s Reds Pitching Prospect of the Year, the Reds’ Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June and a 3-time league Pitcher of the Week.
  • His fastball, slider and curveball all have been rated by Baseball America the best among Reds minor league pitchers.
  • Was selected by the Reds in the sixth round of the June 2019 draft…was signed by Jonathan Reynolds.

COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING LATELY

  • The Colorado Rockies wrap their six-game homestand today with the rubber match of their three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds, their first series facing the NL Central opponent this season.
  • The Rockies dropped two of three to Philadelphia to begin the homestand, their first series loss in the month of May … the Rockies had won three-straight series entering this homestand after losing or splitting each of their first seven series of the season, a franchise record.
  • Following today’s game and an off-day tomorrow the Rockies will embark on a short three-game road trip to Texas to face the Rangers Friday-Sunday.

MAY FLOWERS

  • The Rockies are off to an 9-5 start in May, a .643 winning percentage that is tied for the fourth-best mark in baseball this month trailing the Dodgers, Tigers and Yankees … Colorado went 9-20 in April, their worst record in the month of April in franchise history.
  • The Rockies have won 10 of their last 15 and are 12-8 through their last 20 since April 24, a .600 winning percentage that is tied for the fourth-best mark in the Majors over that span.
  • Colorado has posted a 3.66 team ERA (177.0 IP, 72 ER) over its last 20 games, the fourth-lowest mark in the NL over that span … Rockies starters have posted a 4.00 ERA (96.2 IP, 43 ER) with seven quality starts over this span after posting five quality starts over the first 23 games of the season.

DOYLE DOES

  • Monday, OF Brenton Doyle connected on two home runs, his third and fourth of the season, while going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, one double and three RBI … third time this season a Rockie has had a two-home run game (last: Jurickson Profar, May 9 at Pittsburgh).
  • Became the fourth Rockie all-time to hit two home runs from the ninth spot in the order (last: Brian Serven, May 21, 2022 in game two of a doubleheader) … 10 total bases and three extra-base hits the most in franchise history from the ninth-spot in the order in Rockies history.
  • His 10 total bases also tied for fourth-most by a Rockies rookie in team history, the most since Ben Paulsen’s 12 on July 26, 2015 vs. Cincinnati.
  • Doyle’s four home runs are tied for fifth-most among NL rookies while his six stolen bases are tied for the fifth-most among all Major League rookies.
  • Is the only Rockie in franchise history to record four home runs and six stolen bases through his first 17 career games.

GLOVELY

  • After committing 20 errors through their first 27 games, the most in the Majors, the Rockies’ five miscues through 16 games since April 29 are tied for the fifth-fewest in the Majors while their .991 fielding percentage is also fifth-best.
  • SS Ezequiel Tovar and C Elias Díaz lead the team with three defensive runs saved this season while the Rockies’ nine DRS as a team are the eighth-most in the Majors … their five DRS at pitcher are tied for the second-most in the Majors while only 13 other teams are in the positive at that position (per Sports Info Solutions).

THROW THE BALL

  • Jake Bird leads all NL relievers with 27.0 innings and is tied for fourth in the NL with teammate Justin Lawrence with 28 strikeouts out of the bullpen … has posted a 0.84 ERA (21.1 IP, 2 ER) with seven walks and 24 strikeouts over his last 14 appearances since April 11.
  • Brent Suter’s 26.2 innings of relief are third in the Majors and second in the NL behind Bird … his 1.01 ERA (26.2 IP, 3 ER) is the second-lowest in the Majors among relievers with at least 20 innings pitched … it is also the second-lowest through a Rockies pitcher’s first 17 games (min. 17 IP) with the club, trailing Chuck McElroy’s 0.53 ERA in 1998.

BLACK, WHITE & RED ALL OVER

  • The Rockies lost their streak of four-straight wins at home against the Reds with last night’s loss … had swept Cincinnati April 29-May 1, 2022 at Coors Field … have won five of their last eight against the Reds overall … the Rockies are 69-45 overall against Cincinnati in Denver, winning 10 of the last 15 meetings at Coors Field since 2018.
  • Through 95 career games against the Reds, OF Kris Bryant is slashing .304/.402/.564 with 26 doubles, 23 home runs and 63 RBI, his most home runs and RBI against any single opponent in his career … has three multi-homer games against the Reds including a three-homer game on June 27, 2016 in Cincinnati.

ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #26 AUSTIN GOMBER LHP
HI, I’M AUSTIN

  • Winter Garden, Fla., native is in his 10th professional season, his fifth in the Majors and his third with the Rockies.
  • Acquired by Colorado, along with four other players including INF Elehuris Montero in exchange for 3B Nolan Arenado.
  • Originally selected by St. Louis in the fourth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Atlantic University.

MOTIVATION

  • Has earned the win in three of his last four starts … has allowed six runs over 23.2 IP for a 2.28 ERA … seven walks and 16 strikeouts across that span with opponents batting .195 (16-for-82).
  • Tossed a quality start last time out, allowing three runs over a season-high 6.2 innings, striking out six and walking none.
  • Was on the losing side of each of his first four starts of the season, the eighth time a Rockies starter has started 0-4 through their first four starts of a season … first since Roy Oswalt (five straight, June 20-Sept. 14) and Jeff Manship (four straight, Aug.8-24) in 2013.

HOW THE TURNTABLES…

  • Since his first win on April 24, his 2.28 ERA ranks as the 10th-best in the National League while his .195 opponents’ batting average ranks as the sixth-lowest in the senior circuit.
  • Over his last four starts, opponents have a .206 batting average on balls in play against the lefty, eighth-best over that span in the Majors and third in the National League.
  • Also over his last four starts, holding NL hitters to a .258 on-base percentage (10th-best) while his 0.97 WHIP over that span is the ninth-best in the league.
  • His 53.0 ground ball percentage ranks fifth in the NL since April 24.

CINCY

  • Today’s start will be his seventh career outing against the Reds (third career start) … overall vs. Cincinnati, has gone 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA (16.2 IP, 5 ER) with 12 strikeouts and five walks. • In his two career starts against the Reds, both in 2018, is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA (13.1, 4 ER), striking out nine and walking two … also hold a 2.70 ERA in his four relief outings against the Redlegs, allowing one run over
    3.1 innings.
  • Last faced Cincinnati on Sept. 2, 2020, a relief outing which saw the southpaw toss a scoreless 0.2 innings.

ON YOUR LEFT

  • Since joining the Rockies, has held left-handed hitters to a .237/.289/.402 slash line with 11 home runs allowed.
  • Held opposing left-handed hitters to a .221 average in 2022 (30-for136), the lowest lefty opponent average by a Rockies left-hander since Kyle Freeland in 2018 (.185) and the ninth-lowest in a single season in franchise history (min. 140 batters faced).

HAPPY HOME VS. ROCKY ROAD

  • In 53 career home games (28 starts) with both St. Louis and Colorado, is 12-9 with a 4.39 ERA (184.1 IP, 90 ER).
  • Since joining the Rockies, has gone 9-7 with a 4.61 ERA (138.2 IP, 71 ER) at Coors Field with 35 walks and 100 strikeouts … in 2021, went 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA (47.1 IP, 11 ER) in nine starts at home, posting a 0.95 WHIP.
  • Since 2020, is 9-7 with a 4.25 ERA (152.1 IP, 72 ER) in 37 games (24 starts) in his home ballpark … in road games through the same span, is
    8-14 with a 5.67 ERA (150.2 IP, 95 ER) in 40 games (27 starts).

GO GO GOMBER

  • Last season, made 17 starts and 16 appearances out of the bullpen in his second season as a Rockie … went 5-7 (Rockies 9-24) while posting a combined 5.56 ERA (124.2 IP, 77 ER) across his 33 appearances … his 124.2 innings pitched set a new career-high.
  • Began the season in the Rockies rotation, making 12 starts through June 15 and going 3-7 with a 6.43 ERA (63.0 IP, 45 ER), 20 walks and 49 strikeouts.
  • Moved to the bullpen at the end of June and made two relief appearances June 22 at Miami and June 26 at Minnesota … allowed four runs over a combined 4.1 innings (8.31 ERA).
  • Went back to the rotation in July and made four starts prior to the All-Star Break, going 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA (21.2 IP, 10 ER), four walks and 15 strikeouts … allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last three starts prior to the Break, pitching to a 3.38 ERA (16.0 IP, 6 ER).
  • Returned to the bullpen following the All-Star Break and posted a 4.68 ERA (32.2 IP, 17 ER) with seven walks and 24 strikeouts across 14 relief outings in the second half.

START IT UP

  • As a starter in 2022, went 5-7 (Rockies 7-10) across 17 starts while pitching to a 5.75 clip (87.2 IP, 56 ER) … walked 25 and struck out 68 while opponents hit .292 (101-for-346) with 13 home runs … seven of his starts were quality.
  • Posted a 5.72 ERA (50.1 IP, 32 ER) with 14 walks and 32 strikeouts across nine starts at Coors Field … 5.79 ERA (37.1 IP, 24 ER) with 11 walks and 36 strikeouts in eight starts on the road.
  • 8.68 SO/9 on the road compared to a 5.72 SO/9 at home.

BACK IT UP

  • Made 16 appearances out of the bullpen in 2022, his most since 18 relief outings as a rookie with St. Louis in 2018 … posted a 5.11 ERA (37.0 IP, 21 ER) out of the bullpen with nine walks and 27 strikeouts … opponents hit .254 (36-for-142) with seven home runs.
  • Made 12 appearances of two or more innings, four with three or more innings and one career-long outing of 4.2 IP (Aug. 24 vs. TEX).
  • In his outing against Texas on Aug. 24, became the first Rockie in history to toss 4.2 or more scoreless frames out of the ‘pen while allowing one or fewer hits.

WALK IT OUT…OR DON’T

  • 2.45 BB/9 in 2022 was the lowest of his career while his 2.79 SO/BB ratio was his highest … BB/9 was the sixth-lowest among National League
    lefties and his SO/BB ratio ranked 10th (min. 120.0 IP).
  • Did not issue a walk in seven-straight relief outings from Aug. 31-Sept. 29, the longest single-season streak by a Rockies lefty since James Pazos from Sept. 6-28, 2019 (seven games).
  • Has walked three or more batters 12 times in 47 starts since joining the Rockies, going 1-9 with an 10.22 ERA (46.2 IP, 53 ER) in those starts … has walked two or fewer batters 36 times over that span, going 16-11 with a 4.08 ERA (196.1 IP, 89 ER) in those starts.

EARLY GOINGS

  • Of his 52 career Minor League starts in which he pitched six or more innings, 49 were quality starts and 13 were scoreless.
  • Made his Major League debut on June 2, 2018 vs. Pittsburgh and pitched three scoreless, hitless innings of relief for the Cardinals.
  • In 2018, became the first Cardinals rookie left-hander since 1912 to win five games in the month of August … did not allow a hit to the first 14 right-handed batters he faced prior to June 25 (Rajai Davis, ninth-inning single).

THIS N’ THAT

  • Did not allow more than five hits in any of his first eight starts at Coors Field in 2021 and allowed five hits just once (Aug. 7 vs. Miami) … recorded eight-straight starts allowing five or fewer hits at home, tied for the second-longest streak in franchise history (Ubaldo Jiménez, 2008).
  • Posted a 3.27 ERA with 238 strikeouts in his collegiate career at Florida Atlantic University.
  • First team All-Sun Belt Conference during his junior year with a league-leading 2.97 ERA.
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