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NFL indefinitely suspends Three Players and Two others six games for Gambling Policy Violations

Football
NFL

April 22, 2023

NFL indefinitely suspends Three Players and Two others six games for Gambling Policy Violations

The NFL confirmed today that three players have been indefinitely suspended for violating the league’s gambling policy. Two other players were each suspended six games.

Quintez Cephus and C.J. Moore of the Detroit Lions, and Shaka Toney of the Washington Commanders, are suspended indefinitely through at least the conclusion of the 2023 season for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season. These players may petition for reinstatement at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams of the Lions are suspended for the team’s first six regular season games of the 2023 season. These players are eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason activities, including preseason games. The suspensions will take effect at the roster reduction to 53 players.

The gambling policy, which is annually reviewed with all NFL personnel, including players, prohibits anyone in the NFL from engaging in any form of gambling in any club or league facility or venue, including the practice facility.

A league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.

MLB Preview: Houston Astros (9-10) at Atlanta Braves (14-5)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 21, 2023

MLB Preview: Houston Astros (9-10) at Atlanta Braves (14-5)

HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:

No release available.

ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Astros tonight open a three-game interleague series in what is scheduled to be the only meetings between the two clubs this season.

• Atlanta and Houston are meeting in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011 & 2012, the Astros’ final two years in the National League… Atlanta took two-of-three games from Houston here at Truist Park last year.

• The two clubs have met 10 times in interleague play, with Atlanta going 4-6 in those games.

• This series matches up the previous two World Series winners, with Atlanta taking the 2021 title over Houston before the Astros rebounded to win a year later over the Phillies…Both series were decided in six games.

• Atlanta manager Brian Snitker skippers against his son this weekend, as Troy Snitker serves as a hitting coach for the Astros.

• RH Bryce Elder has never faced the Astros, nor has he pitched against a member of Houston’s current lineup…The 6-foot-2, 225-pound native
of Denton, TX, has made three starts for Atlanta this season posting a 2-0 record with a 1.53 ERA (3 ER/17.2 IP)…Atlanta has won all three games in which he has started.

• RH Hunter Brown has also never faced Atlanta, nor has he pitched against a member of the Braves current roster…The 6-foot-2, 212-pound righthander has made three starts for Houston this season, going 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA (4 ER/18.2 IP), and has a perfect 4-0 record with a 1.38 ERA (6 ER/39.0 IP) in 10 career major league games… He entered 2023 as Houston’s top overall prospect, and as the No. 43 prospect in baseball per MLB. com.

LOSS: Atlanta lost to San Diego, 1-0, on Wednesday afternoon…Four of Atlanta’s five losses this season have come against the Padres…The Braves are 11-1 against every other team.

• The loss was Atlanta’s first shutout of the season.

• The loss also snapped the Braves’ eight-game winning streak, which stands as the second-longest winning streak in baseball this season…It trails just a 13-game stretch by Tampa Bay, after the Rays won each of their first 13 games of the season.

• Atlanta had just one longer winning streak all of last season, winning an MLB best-tying 14 consecutive games in June.

• The Braves batted .277/.359/.511 during the run, and averaged 6.4 runs per game…Atlanta had 15 homers in that span, and homered in all eight games.

• Atlanta pitchers compiled a 2.84 ERA (23 ER/73.0 IP) during the streak, allowing opponents to bat just .224 (61-for-272) and fanning 10.2 batters per 9.0 innings.

INTERLEAGUE: The Braves are set to play their second interleague series of the season this weekend, after sweeping three games from Kansas City, April 14-16.

• Major League Baseball introduced a balanced schedule for the first time in 2023, meaning all 30 teams will play each other this year.

• The Braves went 13-7 (.650) against the A.L. last season, tied for the third-best interleague record in the majors…Only the Brewers and Dodgers, both at 15-5 (.750), were better.

• Atlanta opened the season 1-3 against the A.L. last year, before going 12-4 over its final 16 games against the opposing league, including five series wins.

BASES LOADED: Atlanta had the bases loaded with one out in the third inning on Wednesday afternoon, and failed to produce a run…Matt Olson popped out on an infield fly, before Austin Riley struck out on a foul tip.

• In 22 at-bats with the bases loaded this season, Atlanta is batting .136/.296/.136 with 10 strikeouts and just 13 runs scored.

• The Braves have just three hits with the bases loaded this year, all of which are singles, and five walks… Atlanta’s .136 average in such situations is fourth lowest in the majors.

• Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Sean Murphy, Atlanta’s No. 2-4 batters in tonight’s lineup, are a combined 0-for-10 with five walks with men on every base.

FOUR OR MORE: Atlanta has played to a 13-1 (.929) record when scoring at least four runs this season, the most such wins in the National League…Only Tampa Bay, who has 15 wins when scoring at least four runs, has more.

• Conversely, the Braves are just 1-4 when scoring three runs or fewer.

• Atlanta has combined for just eight total runs in its four losses this season…In wins, the Braves are averaging 6.4 runs per game.

OLSON RUNS BATTED IN: 1B Matt Olson has a National League-most 20 RBI on the season, and is just one short of Yordan Alvarez’s majors-high total…Alvarez, who plays against Olson with the Astros tonight, has 21 RBI on the year.

• Olson has his 20 RBI in just 19 games, and is on pace for 31 RBI before the calendar flips to May… Since the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, no player has tallied 30-or-more RBI before the start of May.

• Dale Murphy and Chipper Jones have the most RBI for an Atlanta player in March/April, collecting 29 runs batted in during the 1985 and 1998 seasons, respectively.

• No player in baseball has reached 30 RBI before May since the 2019 season, when Cody Bellinger (37), Christian Yelich (34) and Domingo Santana (30) all reached the mark.

Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #55 Bryce Elder RHP
Tonight’s Game
• Set to make his 13th career start, 14th appearance and first outing against Houston.

• Enters play with eight consecutive outings of least 5.0 innings pitched.

• Is 3-1 with a 1.61 ERA over his last eight starts after being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, dating to August 14, 2022.

• His 1.61 ERA is the third lowest in the National League among pitchers with at least five starts during that span.

• In that stretch, Elder is averaging 6.1 innings pitched per outing, tied for the fourth highest rate in the majors.

• Allowed three runs while scattering eight hits and earning the win against Kansas City in his last turn.

• Through 12 career starts, Elder has pitched 69.1 innings.

• The 69.1 innings pitched are the most by an Atlanta rookie through their first 12 starts since Michael Soroka in 2018-19.

2023 Recap
• Scattered six hits while fanning seven hitters and issuing just one walk through 6.1 scoreless innings against Cincinnati on April 10.

• The outing against the Reds marked the sixth time through 11 career starts that Elder held an opponent to one run or less while pitching at least 5.0 innings… Tied for the second most such games in Braves franchise history through a players first 12 games, trailing only Michael Soroka with eight.

MLB Preview: Miami Marlins (10-9) at Cleveland Guardians (10-9)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 21, 2023

MLB Preview: Miami Marlins (10-9) at Cleveland Guardians (10-9)

MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:

No release available.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:

GUARDS HOLD ON TO DEFEAT DETROIT
The Guardians capped a 6-game road trip thru Washington (2-1) and Detroit (1-2) with a 3-2 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon at Comerica Park, snapping a brief 3-game skid.

JOSÉ RAMÍREZ drilled a pivotal 3-run homer (2) off Spencer Turnbull (5.1IP, 3H, 3R-ER, 3BB, 3SO, 1HR, 1HB, 82 pitches) in the 6th, plating STEVEN KWAN and ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ, who reached on a lead-off walk and single, respectively…the timely blast stood up as enough to back CAL QUANTRILL’s first win of the ’23 campaign, as the right-hander scattered 4 hits across 6.0 scoreless frames (6.0IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 4SO, 83 pitches)…Spencer Torkelson and Zach McKinstry added a pair of late solo homers in the 7th and 8th frames to tighten the margin before EMMANUEL CLASE worked around a pair of singles in the 9th for his 6th save.

The Clevelanders return home to begin a 6-game homestand tonight against Miami & Colorado after dropping 4 of first 6 tilts at Progressive Field…Guardians (10-9) are 5-5 over last 10 games despite dropping 3 of last 4…club holds sole possession of 2nd place in AL Central standings, 1.0 game behind Minnesota (11-8).

SOUTH BEACH COMING NORTH
The Guardians play host to the Miami Marlins for a 3-game set at Progressive Field…the two clubs last squared off from April 30-May 1, 2019 in Miami, splitting the 2-game series…the Guardians are 11-11 all-time against the Marlins, holding a 6-5 record at Progressive Field and a 5-6 record on the road…the two squads first squared off in 2002, when Miami went by the Florida Marlins… Cleveland is an even 3-3 in season series against Miami and split a 4-game season series in 2019.

CUTTING IT CLOSE
After securing a 4-3 victory over Detroit on Wednesday, the Guardians have now gone 6-6 in 12 games this season decided by one run, leading MLB in such games, with 5 teams currently T2nd in MLB in one-run games at 7…Cleveland is the first team since the 1998 Philadelphia Phillies to have 12 games decided by one run through the team’s first 19 contests, going 6-6 in that span as well.

In 2022, Cleveland went 45-28 in games decided by one-run, finishing with the 4th-best winning percentage in MLB…Cleveland owns a .539 winning percentage (214-183) in one-run games during the Terry Francona era (since 2013), ranking 5th in MLB and 2nd in the AL behind New York-AL.

WINNING % IN ONE-RUN GAMES, SINCE 2013
TEAM W-L% RECORD
ATL .548 239-197
MIL .547 229-190
STL .542 239-202
NYY .542 231-195
CLE .539 214-183
7, 8, AND 9 ARE DOIN JUST FINE

Cleveland has seen consistent production this season from their 7-8-9 hitters who rank highly in several categories through 19 games…entering Friday, the Guards rank 1st in MLB with a .382 on-base percentage and 17 doubles from their bottom three hitters…they also rank 2nd in MLB with a .275 batting average, trailing Tampa Bay (.291)…their 29 walks rank 2nd in MLB/1st in the AL trailing only Los Angeles-NL (32)…the Guardians 53 hits from the bottom three is T3rd in MLB/2nd in AL behind Philadelphia (56) and Tampa Bay (59).

Among batters with 35-or-more at-bats out of the ninth spot in the lineup, MYLES STRAW ranks 1st in MLB in OBP (.413), 2nd in batting average (.270), 2nd in stolen bases (5), 2nd in walks (8), T2nd in runs (7), T3rd in RBI (4), and T3rd in doubles (3).

JOSÉ BEING JOSÉ
JOSÉ RAMÍREZ remains just one double away from tying Charlie Jamieson (296) for the 7th-most doubles in franchise history…he leads MLB this season with 4 intentional walks after tallying the most in baseball last year with 20…his 6 go-ahead RBI rank 1st in MLB this year and his 6 doubles rank T13th in MLB/T6th in the AL.

After his 194th career home run on Wednesday, Ramírez is only 6 away from tying Travis Hafner (200) for 9th all-time in club history…with 12 more extra-base hits, he will tie Nap Lajoie (535) for 6th all-time in franchise history… Ramírez also needs four more hits to pass Jack Graney and Brook Jacoby (1,178) for 20th in Cleveland history.

GUARDIANS OF THE BASEPATHS
With another steal Wednesday, Cleveland maintains the MLB lead with 26 stolen bases, just one swipe ahead of Baltimore’s 25… this marks just the 11th time in club history and the first time since tallying 27 steals in 1994 that Cleveland has 26+ steals in the first 19 games of the season…the last MLB teams before the Guards to tally 26+ steals through the team’s first 19 games of a season were the 2011 Royals (26) and the 2011 Padres (27).

MYLES STRAW ranks T6th in MLB with 7 stolen bases…the Guardians feature three players with 5+ SB (Straw, Giménez and Kwan) ahead of New York-AL (2) and Baltimore (2)…Straw has also showcased his speed out of the batter’s box as his 6 infield hits are T1st in MLB with NYM’s Brandon Nimmo.

ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ’s 18 runs are currently T1st in MLB with ATL’s Ronald Acuña Jr. and TEX’s Marcus Semien…he is the first Cleveland player to have 18 runs through the team’s first 19 contests since Travis Hafner had 24 runs in 2006.

PATIENCE AT THE PLATE
STEVEN KWAN leads the AL with 377 pitches faced this season…as a team, the Guardians rank 3rd in the AL behind Los Angeles-AL (2,977) and Boston (2,991) with 2,942 pitches seen… Cleveland’s 23.1% swing and miss rate ranks 3rd in MLB behind MIA’s Luis Arraez and ChC’s Nico Hoerner and best in the AL, led by Kwan (9.9%, 3rd in MLB, 1st in the AL), JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (15.1%, 14th in MLB, 6th in the AL), and MYLES STRAW (15.4%, 17th in MLB, 7th in the AL).

TONIGHT’S STARTER – 34 ZACH PLESAC RHP
TONIGHT’S START
The 27 year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season, his second at Progressive Field, on Friday night in the first contest of a 3-game series with Miami and the opener of a 6-game homestand…will be starting on an extended 5 days rest; is 11-10 with a 3.70 ERA (74ER/180.0IP) on 5 days rest…his best start of the season came at Progressive Field in a 7-6 victory over Seattle on April 9…he did not factor into the decision, despite twirling 7.0 innings, allowing 2R/ER.

LAST TIME OUT
Earned his first win of the year on April 15 at Washington in a 6-4 Cleveland victory…allowed 4R/2ER over 5.0 innings of work (5.0IP, 7H, 4R/2ER, 1SO, 79 pitches)…Washington did most of its damage on in the 1st frame, plating 3 runs, highlighted by an RBI-double from Jeimer Candelario…the Nationals would strike again in the 4th inning with an RBI-double from Keibert Ruiz…the Guardians bats would provide Plesac with 5 total runs of support en route to his first victory since August 27, 2022, a 4-3 win over Seattle.

MEETING THE MARLINS
This will be his first career start against the Marlins…it’s his fourth career start against the NL East, owning a 1-0 record and a 5.02 ERA (8ER/14.1IP) in 3 career starts, with his last outing against the division on April 15 at Washington.

Today marks his 13th interleague start, going 2-5 with a 3.71 ERA (28ER/68.0IP) in those outings…has only made consecutive interleague starts once in his career, dating back to his rookie year, facing Philadelphia and Washington in back-to-back starts…he did not factor into either decision while combining to allow 6R/ER over 9.1 innings with 9 strikeouts…Cleveland dropped both contests.

He made 4 interleague starts in 2022 with his last start coming on June 17 at Los Angeles-NL…Plesac did not factor into the decision after holding the Dodgers to one earned run across 6.0 innings with one strikeout and 2 walks in a 2-1 victory, becoming the first Guardians pitcher to allow one-or-fewer earned runs with one-or-fewer strikeouts across 6.0-or-more innings in an interleague start since Aaron Laffey (6.2IP, 4H, 1R/ER, 3BB, 1K 108 pitches) on June 24, 2008 vs. San Francisco.

JUST WARMING UP
Over his career, Plesac’s highest ERA by month has come in March/April, posting a 5.34 mark (36ER/60.2IP) across 12 starts in the season’s opening month…he improved on those numbers in 2022, going 1-2 with a 3.80 ERA in 4 March/April starts.

Through his first 3 starts of April in 2023, Plesac has gone 1-0 with a 6.92 ERA (10ER/13.0IP)…owns a 3.00 ERA (4ER/12.0IP) in his last 2 starts.

PLESAC BY MONTH, CAREER (since 2019)
Month Record GS ERA IP ER
March/April 3-5 12 5.34 60.2 36
May 3-2 11 3.97 65.2 29
June 4-4 11 3.09 67.0 23
July 5-4 15 4.04 78.0 35
August 6-6 17 4.30 96.1 46
September 5-4 14 4.19 86.0 40

KEEP IT ON THE GROUND
In his career, Plesac has yielded a 42.3% ground-ball rate…that is up to par with the rest of Cleveland’s pitching staff over the last two seasons, owning a 42.5% ground-ball rate in 2022 and 42.6% rate in 2021 as a staff…the righty has seen an uptick in groundballs through his first 3 starts of the 2023 campaign, posting a 58.0% mark, 13.3% higher than his career-high of 45.0% in 2021.

WHITE CASTLE SPECIAL
Since the beginning of 2021, batters are hitting .198 (68-for-344) in at-bats ending with Plesac’s slider…the pitch has accounted for 99 of his 208 strikeouts in that span…to start the 2023 campaign, batters are hitting .171 (6-for-35) against the pitch, with all 8 of his strikeouts this season coming by way of his slider.

MLB Preview: Toronto Blue Jays (11-8) at New York Yankees (12-7)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 21, 2023

MLB Preview: Toronto Blue Jays (11-8) at New York Yankees (12-7)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:

THE LATEST: The Blue Jays played a close game through seven innings in Houston on Wednesday until they allowed six runs in the 8th, leading to an 8-1 loss…Have allowed 6+ runs in two innings this season, both as part of that three-game series with the Astros (also: 7R 1st inning on April 17). Toronto is now 1-2 in rubber games and 2-4 in series finales…Had its four-series win streak snapped…Has still won 10 of its last 15 contests.

ALL-EJANDRO ABOARD: Alejandro Kirk went 1-for-3 via an 8th-inning single Wednesday night…Was lifted for pinch-runner Santiago Espinal who scored Toronto’s lone run of the night. The All-Star catcher has reached base in all 14 of his games with an at-bat for a .370 OBP while going 11- for-44 (.250) with a homer, nine RBI, and an 8BB/9K ratio…Last season, struck out just 58 times over 541 PA while drawing 63 walks as his 9.33 PA/K was 4th best among qualified MLB hitters.

TWO-HIT WHIT: Whit Merrifield drove in Toronto’s run on Wednesday with a double in the 8th, his 4th double of the season… Also singled to finish 2-for-4 for his 4th multi-hit game of the season, three of which have come in his last three contests…Extended his hitting streak to seven games, going 11-for-27 (.407) with three doubles and five RBI over that stretch (.911 OPS)…Has reached base safely in all 14 of his games played this season, batting .314 (16-for-51) with four doubles, seven RBI, and three walks.

A BERRÍ GOOD OUTING: José Berríos allowed two runs in the 2nd inning and nothing more through a season-high 7.0 frames of work on Wednesday…Allowed three hits and a walk while striking out three batters on 77 pitches (52 strikes)…Was his longest outing since July 31, 2022 vs. DET (7.0 IP)…Has allowed three earned runs over 12.0 innings in his last two starts after allowing 12 over 9.2 innings in his first two starts.

AN EXTRAS-SPECIAL START: Matt Chapman has 14 extra-base hits to lead the Majors (2nd: Rafael Devers/J.D. Martinez – 13)…Is batting .397 (27-for-68) with nine doubles, five homers, seven walks, and 17 RBI…His .750 SLG, his 1.211 OPS, and his 51 total bases are all the highest in the Majors…Ranks 1st in the AL in batting average, OBP (.461), and doubles while sitting 2nd in hits and 7th in RBI. The 29-year-old also leads all MLB hitters in barrel rate (23.7%), hard-hit (95+ MPH) percentage (65.4) and is 2nd in average exit velocity (97.0 MPH)…Boasts a 1.4 fWAR, the highest in the AL (2nd: Gerrit Cole – 1.3).

ROMANO-MATIC: Jordan Romano has closed out each of Toronto’s last three victories…All nine of his appearances have come in Blue Jays wins…Has seven saves to lead the Majors…Led the AL last year with 10 saves in the opening month of the season.

HITTING THE ROAD: The Blue Jays are on a six-game road trip (1-2 so far), holding a 7-6 record while away from Rogers Centre… Their 13 road games played are tied for the most in the AL…After this weekend set in New York, will return home for a six-game homestand to battle the White Sox (7-12) and Mariners (8-11) for three games apiece. Toronto’s .538 road win% currently ranks T-6th in the AL…Blue Jays hitters lead the AL in road hits (123) while ranking 2nd in AVG (.266), 5th in OBP (.330), 6th in OPS (.734), and 7th in SLG (.404)…The pitching staff ranks 13th in the AL in road ERA (5.54), 13th in opponents’ batting average (.267), and 12th in WHIP (1.41).

HITTING IT: The Blue Jays have notched 173 hits so far this season, 2nd most in the AL (1st: TB – 188)…Are also 2nd in the AL in team batting average (.263), 3rd in OBP (.332), 5th in OPS (.747), and 7th in SLG (.400)… Have had 243 batters reach base safely (T-3rd in the AL)…Had their streak of 33 games with 8+ runners on base ended on Wednesday (seven runners on base), which was the longest active streak of all MLB clubs.

BO KNOWS BASE HITS: Bo Bichette has gone 29-for-82 (.354) with four doubles, four homers, and 12 RBI while playing in all 19 games this season…The 29 hits are the most in the AL (2nd: Matt Chapman – 27)…Among AL batters, currently ranks 3rd in AVG, 3rd in total bases (45), and 11th in SLG (.549).

READY TO REBOUND: Toronto has lost consecutive games just twice this season…Since 2021, is 88-60 following a loss for a .595 win%, 2nd best among AL clubs behind Houston’s .617 (82-51) mark (courtesy Stats Perform).

AN EARTHY TONE: The Blue Jays have been awarded the Green Glove Award for the AL East for the 4th consecutive year… This award goes to the club with the highest rate of waste diverted away from landfills through recycling, composting, and donation efforts…The club’s impact through day-to-day operations during recent construction has helped divert approximately 1,791 metric tonnes (3,949,845 pounds) of waste from landfills.

VS. THE YANKEES: All-Time: 315-384
2022: 8-11 Road: 148-202
Road: 1-1 Yankee Stadium: 48-78
The Blue Jays went 8-11 in their 19 meetings with the Yankees last season but were an even 5-5 while in the Bronx…Have won five of the last eight matchups overall…Are equal at 24-24 vs. NYY since the start of the 2020 season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 19-for-73 (.260) with four
doubles, five homers, and 13 RBI in the 19 games vs. New York last year…Is a lifetime .289 (72-for-249) hitter against the Pinstripes, with 14 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, and 41 RBI in 65 meetings (.864 OPS)…Has gone 35-for-121 (.289) with five doubles, 10 homers, and 17 RBI in his 31 games at Yankee Stadium (.922 OPS).

Bo Bichette played in 18 of the games vs. NYY last year, going 22-for-77 (.286) with seven doubles and three RBI…Hold a career average of .316 (66-for209) across 51 games vs. the Yankees, including 17 doubles, 10 home runs, and 33 RBI (.893 OPS).

Keivn Kiermaier leads all current Blue Jays with 107 career games vs. New York…Has hit .234 (86-for367) with 11 doubles, six triples, 13 homers, and 28 RBI in those contests.

STARTING PITCHER – Yusei Kikuchi, LHP #16
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 4th start of the season and his 3rd on the road…Improved to 2-0 his last time out, on 4/15 vs. TB, throwing 6.0 innings of one-run ball with 4 hits, a walk, and a season-high 9 strikeouts…Marked his most punchouts in a single game as a Blue Jay…Completed 6.0 frames for the 1st time since 6/30/22 vs. TB. Over 7 Grapefruit League appearances this year (6 starts), went 2-1 with a 0.87 ERA (2 ER/20.2 IP), 10 walks, and 31 strikeouts…Led all qualified hurlers in Spring Training ERA and punchouts, while ranking 2nd in OPP AVG (.130) and 4th in WHIP (0.92).

2023 HIGHLIGHTS:
Took a no-decision on 4/9 at LAA, giving up 6 runs on 9 hits and a walk over 4.1 innings with 6 strikeouts…Threw 99 pitches (59 strikes) on the day, his most pitches in a single outing since 7/28/21 vs. HOU (101). Picked up the win in his season debut on 4/4 at KC, tossing 5.0 innings of one-run ball with 3 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts…Was his 1st start since 8/15/22 vs. BAL, and his 1st win as a starter since 7/28/22 vs. DET.

NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:

AT A GLANCE: The Yankees continue their season-high 10-game homestand tonight with the first game of a three-game series vs. Toronto (through Sun.)…are 4-3 on the homestand after splitting their four-game set with Minnesota and winning two-of-three vs. Los Angeles-AL…following this homestand, will embark on a seven-game road trip to Minnesota (3G from Mon.-Wed.) and Texas (4/27-30).

Have scored first in 12 of their 19 games this season, going 9-3 in those games.

Have won four of their last five games…are 6-3 in their last nine games (since 4/11) and 8-4 in their last 12 games (since 4/8).

Their 12-7 (.632) record is the third-best in the AL.

YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees clinched a series win with a 9-3 victory over the Angels on Thursday at Yankee Stadium… LHP Nestor Cortes (6.0IP, 4H, 3ER, 2BB, 7K, 0HR, 1HP) started and recorded his third win of the season…C Jose Trevino (1-for-4, 1 double, 3RBI, 1BB) hit a bases-clearing double in the first inning…1B Anthony Rizzo (3-for-3, 2R, 1RBI, 2BB) reached base a career-high-tying five times and tied his season high in hits…2B Oswald Peraza (1-for-4, 1R, 2RBI, 1BB) drew a bases-load walk in the first inning and hit an RBI single in the eighth…CF Isiah Kiner-Falefa (1-for-3, 2RBI, 1BB) hit a two-run single in the seventh inning…3B DJ LeMahieu (1-for-3, 2R, 1 double, 1RBI, 1BB, 1HP) reached base a season-high-tying three times and hit an RBI double in the seventh…RHP Ron Marinaccio (0.2IP, 1H, 1K), LHP Wandy Peralta (0.1IP, 1H, 1BB), RHP Ian Hamilton (1.0IP) and RHP Greg Weissert (1.0IP, 1H, 1K) combined to toss 3.0 scoreless innings of relief.

SERIES BUSINESS: The Yankees have won or split each of their first six series of a season for just the third time in the last 67 years (since 1957)…won or split each of their first nine series in 2003 and their first six series in 1976 (credit: Elias).

Are 10-0 in games this season when facing a series loss.

GOT YOUR NUMBER: INF Gleyber Torres has hit .444/.444/.667 (8-for-18) with 1 double and 1HR in his career off Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi…INF DJ LeMahieu owns a career .368/.455/.474 slash line with 2 doubles and 3BB off Kikuchi.

PITCH PERFECT: Yankees pitchers have allowed just 59R in 19 games this season (3.11 R/G), matching their fewest runs allowed through their first 19 games in a season in the last 59 years since 1965 (also 59R in 2022)…have allowed 3R-or-fewer in 13-of-19 games this season and 2R-orfewer in nine of those games.

Their 3.02 ERA is the second-lowest in the AL and third-lowest in the Majors.

Also rank second in the Majors in opponents’ OPS (.628), third in opponents’ BA (.213), opponents’ OBP (.288), opponents’ SLG (.340), WHIP (1.10) and K/9.0IP (9.90), tied for third in strikeouts (187), fourth in K/BB (3.34) and fifth in HR/9.0IP (0.74).

Have allowed just 1HR in their last five games.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Yankees have scored in the first inning in nine of their 19 games, with 17 of their 88R coming in the first inning…their 17R in the first inning are tied for the fourth-most in the Majors.

Are 6-3 when scoring in the first inning.

WALK IT OUT: Yankees batters recorded a season-high 11BB on Thursday, marking just the third time since 2018 the club walked at least 11 times in a game (also 14BB on 7/11/21 at Houston and 11BB on 6/23/21 vs. Kansas City)…recorded 23BB in their three-game series vs. the Angels after recording 50BB in their first 16 games of the season.

INF Gleyber Torres has 15BB in 19 games this season, tied for the second-most in the AL and tied for the fourth-most in the Majors…did not record his 15th walk in 2022 until 64th game on 6/23/22 vs. Houston.

INF Anthony Volpe and OF Aaron Judge are tied for fifth in the AL with 13BB.

HIP HIP JOSE: C Jose Trevino hit a bases-clearing double in the first inning on Thursday…is 5-for-15 with 1 double and 5RBI with RISP this season…as a Yankee (since 2022), has hit .352 (38-for-108) with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 2HR, 6BB and 1HP with runners in scoring position.

Yankees catchers are tied for fourth in the AL and tied for sixth in the Majors with 11RBI this season.

NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo reached base a career-high-tying five times on Thursday vs. Los Angeles-AL (10th time, first since 7/31/21 at Miami), going 3-for-3 with 2R, 1RBI and 2BB…has reached base in each of his last eight plate appearances (4H, 3BB, 1HP).

Has reached base in 17 of his first 18 games this season, batting .344/.449/.578 (22-for-64) with 10R, 3 doubles, 4HR, 10RBI, 9BB, 4HP and 1SF.

Ranks second in the AL and tied for fifth in the Majors in OBP (.449)…also ranks third in the AL in OPS (1.027), tied for third in HP (4) and fourth in BA (.344).

Needs two hits to reach 1,500 career hits…needs 1RBI for 900 career RBI.

Owns a seven-game hitting streak (since 4/13)…is hitting .440/.533/.840 (11-for-25) with 5R, 1 double, 3HR, 4RBI, 3BB and 2HP in that stretch.

BABY BOMBERS: INF Oswald Peraza (22y, 310d) and INF Anthony Volpe (21y, 358d) have both been in the Yankees’ starting lineups in two of the last three games (Tuesday and Thursday)…the Yankees’ last series marked the first time the club had two players age 22-or-younger in the starting lineup since 8/3/17 at Cleveland (Tyler Wade-22y, 253d; Clint Frazier22y, 331d).

FAST AND FURIOUS: Yankees baserunners rank third in the AL and sixth in the Majors with 20SB…their 20SB mark their most through their first 19 games of a season in their last 25 years since 1999 and are their second-most through their first 19 games of a season in their last 34 seasons (since 1990), trailing only their 35SB in 1998. Have 8SB in their last six games.

Did not record their 20th stolen base in 2022 until their 33rd game of the season on 5/14/22 at Chicago-AL

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP DOMINGO GERMÁN (1-1, 3.86 ERA)
RHP Domingo Germán will make his fourth start of the season tonight vs. Toronto…the 30-year-old will start on extended five days’ rest due to Monday’s team off day…earned his first win of the season last Saturday vs. Minnesota after recording a career-high 11K (6.1IP, 3H, 1ER, 0BB)…marked his third career double-digit strikeout game (also 10K on 7/25/21 at Boston and 6/14/18 vs. Tampa Bay) and the first time in his career he’s recorded at least 10K without surrendering a walk…also marked his second start this season with at least 8K and 0BB allowed (8K and 0BB on 4/4 vs. Philadelphia)…in 2022, went 2-5 with a 3.61 ERA (72.1IP, 65H, 31R/29ER, 19BB, 58K, 11HR) in 15 games (14 starts) with the Yankees…allowed 3R-or-fewer in a career-high 12 consecutive starts from 7/27-9/30/22…missed the first 93 games of the season with right shoulder impingement syndrome…in six seasons with the Yankees, is 27-22 with a 4.36 ERA (427.2IP, 207ER) and 448K in 95 career games (73 starts)…was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on 12/11/15…was originally acquired by the Yankees from the Miami Marlins along with RHP Nathan Eovaldi and INF Garrett Jones in exchange for RHP David Phelps and INF Martín Prado on 12/19/14.

LAST TIME OUT: Earned his first win of the season last Saturday vs. Minnesota after recording a career-high 11K (6.1IP, 3H, 1ER, 0BB)…marked his third career double-digit strikeout game (also 10K on 7/25/21 at Boston and 6/14/18 vs. Tampa Bay)…marked the first time in his career he’s recorded at least 10K without surrendering a walk…marked his fifth career start with at least 8K and 0BB allowed, including his second this season (8K and 0BB on 4/4 vs. Philadelphia)…is the first Yankee to record at least 10K and 0BB in a game this season and the first since Gerrit Cole did so on 7/17/22 vs. Boston (12K and 0BB)…tossed 5.1 perfect innings before allowing a one-out single to Christian Vázquez in the sixth inning…his 11K matched the most by a Yankees pitcher this season (also Gerrit Cole on Opening Day vs. San Francisco).

VS. TORONTO: Is 2-4 with a 3.72 ERA (29.0IP, 12ER) in seven career games (five starts) vs. Toronto…last faced the Blue Jays in Game 1 of a doubleheader on 5/27/21 at Yankee Stadium and took the loss, despite allowing just 2ER over 5.2IP (3H, 2BB, 5K, 1HP).

Has made five career appearances (three starts) vs. Toronto at Yankee Stadium, going 1-4 with a 4.00 ERA (18.0IP, 8ER) and 20K.

In three career starts vs. Toronto at Yankee Stadium, is 1-2 with a 3.07 ERA (14.2IP, 5ER) and 14K…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in each of his three home starts vs. the Blue Jays.

In 15 career starts at home against AL East opponents, is 6-3 with a 3.46 ERA (78.0IP, 30ER) and 85K…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in each of those 15 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in nine starts and 1R-or-fewer in four starts.

HOME SWEET HOME: Has gone 13-9 with a 3.86 ERA (205.1IP, 158H, 93R/88ER, 70BB, 233K, 40HR) in 46 career games (35 starts) at Yankee Stadium…has allowed 3ER-or-fewer in 31 of his 35 home starts.

Has held opponents to a .207 BA (158-for-762) at Yankee Stadium in his career, compared to a .253 BA (222-for-878) on the road.

Has surrendered 3R-or-fewer in 10 of his last 11 starts at home (since 6/30/21 vs. Los Angeles-AL), including six starts with 2R-or-fewer allowed.

His 11 wins at Yankee Stadium since 2019 are tied with Nestor Cortes and Masahiro Tanaka for the third-most wins by any pitcher during that span, trailing only Gerrit Cole (18) and Jameson Taillon (12).

2023: Will make his fourth start of the season…is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA (14.0IP, 6ER) and 19K in three starts this season…has recorded at least 8K with 0BB in two starts.

Has allowed 1ER-or-fewer in each of his last two starts (since 4/10 at Cleveland)…is tied for the longest such streak of his career and marks the sixth time he’s recorded consecutive such starts.

His 19K are tied for the most strikeouts through his first three starts of a season in his career (also had 19K through his first three starts in 2019).

Has allowed 1BB-or-fewer in 10 of his last 14 starts (since 8/6/22 at St. Louis).

Did not record a decision on 4/10 at Cleveland after allowing 2R/1ER over 3.0IP (2H, 5BB, 0K)…his 5BB allowed tied a career high (also 5BB on 4/1/19 vs. Detroit)…also marked his first career start with 0K.

Made his season debut on 4/4 vs. Philadelphia and took the loss, allowing 4ER over 4.2IP (4H, 0BB, 8K, 2HR)…his 8K were his most in a game since recording 10K on 7/25/21 at Boston.

MLB Preview: Colorado Rockies (6-14) at Philadelphia Phillies (8-12)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 21, 2023

MLB Preview: Colorado Rockies (6-14) at Philadelphia Phillies (8-12)

COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:

THE GANG HITS THE ROAD
• The Colorado Rockies continue their seven-game road trip this evening with game two of a four-game set with the defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies before heading to Cleveland for a three-game set with the Guardians.

• Since winning their first two games of the season the Rockies have gone 4-14 … their .300 winning percentage overall on the season is tied for the lowest in franchise history through 20 games (also: 2002 & 2005).

WIT OUT
• Colorado snapped its eight-game losing streak last night with a 5-0 win … per Elias, the last time the Rockies snapped an eight-game losing streak with a shutout victory was April 14, 2019 at San Francisco after dropping eight games April 5-13.

• It was the Rockies’ first shutout victory on the road since Sept. 14, 2022 when the Rockies bested the White Sox 3-0 at Guaranteed Rate Field … was also the first shutout victory at Citizens Bank Park since Sept. 12, 2007 when the Rockies beat the Phillies 12-0 in a game that featured a solo home run from Rockies AT&T SportsNet analyst Cory Sullivan.

• Rockies starter Ryan Feltner tossed 5.2 scoreless innings in the win with three hits allowed, three walks and six strikeouts, the longest scoreless outing of his career.

SERIES JAWNS
• Colorado was swept in three games by Pittsburgh Monday-Friday at Coors Field … allowed 33 runs total in the series, tied for the 10th most in a three-game series in franchise history, the most since allowing 33 runs to the Dodgers June 1-3, 2018.

• The Rockies have failed to win any of their first six series of the season, dropping four and splitting two … have gone winless through the first six series of the season one other time in franchise history: the 2005 Rockies lost each of their first six series of the season before taking two of three from the Dodgers in the seventh series, April 22-24.

YOUSE GUYS
• The Rockies bullpen has tossed 80.1 innings of relief through 20 games, the third-most in the Majors and the most in the National League.

• Over the last 15 games, the bullpen has posted a 3.55 ERA (63.1 IP, 25 ER) with 31 walks and 66 strikeouts while allowing four home runs, tied for the sixth-fewest in baseball during that span.

• Justin Lawrence tossed a career-high 2.1 scoreless innings of relief Thursday night, allowing two hits with one walk and a career-high tying four strikeouts (also: May 8, 2021 at STL) … has not allowed a run on the road this season (5.2 IP) with two walks and 10 strikeouts.

• Since allowing one earned run in his first outing of the season, LHP Brad Hand has put together seven consecutive scoreless appearances (5.2 IP), striking out nine through this span.

BARDO-LY LOVE
• Wednesday, Rockies reliever Daniel Bard pitched a perfect eighth inning in his return from the 15-day injured list (anxiety) having missed the team’s first 18 games.

• In 2022, ranked sixth in the Majors and third in the NL with a career-high 34 saves … his 91.9 save percentage (34 saves, 37 opportunities) was the best in Majors and second-best in a single season in Rockies franchise history (first: Huston Street in 2004, 94.6).

GOBBLER
• Elias Díaz’s 18 games at catcher are the most in all of baseball … his .339 batting average leads all catchers and ranks seventh overall in the NL … his 20 hits (18 as a catcher, two as a pinch-hitter) are the second-most among primary catchers in the Majors.

• His five caught stealings are tied for second in baseball while allowing just five stolen bases … his only two errors behind the dish came on two catcher’s interference calls on Opening Day.

SCRAPPLE
• Kris Bryant homered for the second consecutive day on Tuesday night, his first two home runs at Coors Field as a member of the Rockies … hit each of his first six home runs with the Rockies on the road, including his first home run of the season last Friday at Seattle.

• Bryant is slashing .293/.369/.467 on the season and has reached base safely in 18 of 19 games … has reached base safely in 55 of 61 total games in his Rockies career, slashing .302/.374/.472.

TAP MAC
• Ryan McMahon has made his last three starts at third base after starting his first 17 at second base in place of the injured Brendan Rodgers (2022 2B Gold Glove winner) … McMahon was a finalist for the Gold Glove at third base in both 2021 and 2022.

• At the plate since returning to the hot corner, McMahon is 6-for-13 (.462) with three doubles and one RBI, with an .857 BABIP.

ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #63 NOAH DAVIS RHP
FIRST THINGS FIRST
• Twenty-five-year-old Noah Davis makes the second Major League start of the season and his career … will be his third Major League appearance.

• Recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on April 16 in place of Germán Márquez, who was placed on the injured list with right forearm inflammation.

• The Newport Beach, Calif. native was acquired by the Rockies along with RHP Case Williams in a trade with Cincinnati in exchange for RHP
Mychal Givens on July 28, 2021.

• Originally selected by the Reds in the 11th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of UC Santa Barbara … had his contract selected by the Rockies on Nov. 19, 2021 as protection from the Rule 5 draft.

KEEP DOING THAT
• Made his first career Major League start last Sunday in Seattle and tossed five scoreless innings with three hits allowed, three walks and five strikeouts … did not factor into the decision in the 1-0 Rockies loss.

• Became the first Rockies pitcher since Antonio Senzatela (April 6, 2017 at Milwaukee) to toss five scoreless innings in his first Major League start.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD
• Made three starts for Triple-A Albuquerque prior to his promotion on April 15, going 0-0 with a 4.26 ERA (12.2 IP, 6 ER).

• Allowed three earned runs through three innings at Round Rock in his first start on March 31 … since, has allowed five runs, three earned,
through 9.2 innings across two starts.

• Made five Cactus League appearances (four starts) for Colorado this spring, going 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA (13.0 IP, 6 ER) … allowed two runs though 8.1 innings across his final three outings.

ONE YEAR AGO
• Pitched across three levels in the Rockies’ system in 2022 … made 26 starts for Double-A Hartford, one start for Triple-A Albuquerque and made one relief outing for Colorado.

• Made his Major League debut Oct. 5, the final game of the 2022 season … allowed a home run to the first batter he faced (Cody Bellinger) … finished the outing allowing two runs on three hits, walking one and striking out two … struck out Joey Gallo for his first Major League strikeout.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:

GAME #20 RECAP: The Phillies were shut out for the third time this season in a 5-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park … Starter Matt Strahm (L, 1-2) allowed 3 runs over 5.1 innings with 2 walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts … The Phillies had six hits and five walks but went 1-for-7 with RISP and left 11 on base.

SWING AND A WHIFF: Last night, LHP Matt Strahm struck out a career-high 11 over 5.1 innings pitched (21 batters faced) … Strahm’s 11 strikeouts were the most by a Phillies left-hander since Cole Hamels, July 25, 2015 in his no-hitter against the Cubs at Wrigley Field (13 SO) … There have been 95 pitchers this season to make at least four starts – Strahm’s 38.0% strikeout rate ranks 3rd out of those 95, behind only ATL’s Spencer Strider (40.9%) and TEX’s Jacob deGrom (40.0%).

JUST. SCORE. FOUR.: This season, the Phillies are 7-3 in 10 games when they score at least four runs … Conversely, they are 1-9 in 10 games when they score three runs or fewer … Dating back to the start of last season, the Phillies are 78-26 (.750 win %) when they score four or more and 17-61 (.218 win %) when they score three or fewer.

FEELING SLG-ISH: Through 20 games, the Phillies have 47 doubles (1st in MLB), six triples (T-1st in MLB), 18 home runs (T-20th in MLB) and a .439 SLG (6th in MLB) … This year, the Phillies are averaging a home run every 39.4 at bats which ranks 23rd in MLB (18 HR, 709 AB) after averaging a HR every 26.8 AB last year (205 HR, 5496 AB) which ranked 6th in MLB … Philadelphia’s 47 doubles are the third most ever by a Phillies club through the first 20 games of a season in the modern era, behind only the 2002 and 2007 clubs (49 2B).

BOOM OR BUST: Over their last six games, the Phillies have been shut out three times (4/15 at CIN, 4/18 at CWS and 4/20 vs COL) … In their other three games, the Phillies have scored 14 runs (4/16 at CIN), seven runs (4/18 at CWS) and five runs (4/19 at CWS) … In the three games over this six-game span the Phillies were not shut out, they are averaging 8.67 runs per game … This marks the first time the Phillies have been shut out three times in a span of six games since last August.

GO NOLES: When he takes the mound tonight, Aaron Nola will tie Hall-of-Famer Jim Bunning for 9th place in Phillies franchise history with 208 career starts (next: Larry Christenson, 220 GS) … Nola also ranks 7th in franchise history with 1,399 strikeouts and trails Hall-of-Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander (1,409) for 6th place in franchise history … Nola ranks 4th in franchise history with 27 double-digit strikeout games – Cole Hamels ranks 3rd with 29.

GREAT STOTT!: INF Bryson Stott leads MLB this year with 12 multi-hit games, two clear of teammate Trea Turner and Ronald Acuna Jr., both T-2nd with 10 … Stott’s 12 multi-hit games are the most by a Phillies player in the modern era through the first 20 games of a season, eclipsing the previous mark of 11 multi-hit games set by Pinky Whitney in 1931 and John Kruk in 1992 … Stott hit safely in his first 17 games this year and set a Phillies modern day franchise record for consecutive games with a hit to begin a season … Stott eclipsed Puddin’ Head Jones’ previous mark of 16 straight games to begin the 1950 season … Since last year’s All-Star break (7/23/22), Stott has played in 83 games and is slashing .301/.342/.426 in 334 plate appearances.

MARSH MADNESS: Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh enters today’s game slashing .356/.424/.712 with a 1.136 OPS that leads the National League and ranks 2nd in MLB, behind only TOR’s Matt Chapman (1.211) … Marsh has reached base safely in 17 of his 18 games played this season, including each of his last 16 (since 4/3 at NYY) … Marsh is batting .394 with a .939 SLG in 37 plate appearances that have ended with a fastball (4-seam, 2-seam/sinker, cutter) … Last season, Marsh hit .243 with a .374 SLG in 227 plate appearances that ended with a heater … Since being acquired by the Phillies via trade from the Los Angeles Angels for Logan O’Hoppe at least year’s deadline, Marsh is slashing .309/.353/.534 with an .887 OPS that ranks 16th among 186 MLB players with 200+ plate appearances in that span.

STRIKE ONE, STRIKE TWO, GOOD LUCK: In Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the White Sox, Jose Alvarado picked up his 2nd save in as many attempts with a scoreless 9th inning … Alvarado did not record a strikeout for the first time this year and it snapped a streak of 14 consecutive appearances with 2+ strikeouts (9/13/22-4/18/23) … It was Alvarado’s first appearance without a strikeout since August 26, 2022 vs PIT (20 straight G) … Alvarado, who has faced 29 batters this season, has 18 strikeouts and 0 walks … Since his last walk on Sept. 21, 2022 vs TOR, Alvarado has faced 48 batters and has struck out 30 of them (63.0% SO rate) with 0 walks.

STARTING TO FIND IT: Over their last 11 starts (since 4/10), the Phillies rotation has combined for 59.2 innings pitched and 58 strikeouts … In that span, they rank 2nd among all ML rotations in innings, trailing only PIT (65.0) and T-3rd in strikeouts (with MIN), trailing only BOS (66) and PIT (63)… Over their first nine games of the year (3/30-4/9), the Phillies starting staff combined for 42.2 innings which ranked 24th among ML staffs and 39 strikeouts, which ranked T-23rd.

BULLISH ON THE PEN: Over the last five games (since 4/16 at CIN), the Phillies bullpen has totaled 14.1 innings pitched with only 2 ER allowed (1.26 ERA), with 20 strikeouts and two walks, while averaging 14.3 pitches per inning … Over their first 15 games of the season (3/30-4/15), the bullpen posted a 7.19 ERA (45 ER, 56.1 IP) with 60 strikeouts to 41 walks while averaging 19.7 pitches per inning.

50 SCHWARBOMBS: On 4/13 at CIN, Kyle Schwarber hit his 50th career home run as a Phillie (regular season only) and became the fastest in franchise history to reach 50, doing so in his 168th game … Schwarber eclipsed Jim Thome’s previous franchise record of 50 HR in his first 172 games with the club … Ryan Howard (50 HR in 182 G) ranks 3rd, Rhys Hoskins (50 HR in 192 G) ranks 4th and Chuck Klein (50 HR in 195 G) ranks 5th … Of Schwarber’s 50 regular season home runs with the Phillies, 47 have been hit with an exit velocity north of 100.0 MPH (94%) and 16 of those 50 have been hit over 110.0 MPH (32%).

TONIGHT’S STARTER – AARON NOLA • RHP #27
LAST START: 4/16 at CIN: W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO … Nola vs Cessa … With nine runs in the 1st inning, the Phillies rolled to a 14-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at GABP … The Phillies had 23 hits on the day (7 XBH) with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts … They tagged Reds starter Luis Cessa for 11 runs and 14 hits.

TONIGHT’S START:
• K Counter: Nola’s first strikeout today will be the 1,400th of his career … Per Elias, there are 20 active pitchers with at least 1,400 strikeouts and only five have reached that mark before age 30 (Nola is 29 years, 321 days today): Clayton Kershaw (26, 161), Chris Sale (28, 093), Justin Verlander (29, 185), Zack Greinke (29, 265) and Gerrit Cole (29, 363)

• Moving Up The Ladder: With tonight’s start, Nola will tie Hall of Famer Jim Bunning for 9th place on the Phillies all-time starts list with 208 … He could also pass Larry Christenson (220) for 8th and Curt Schilling (226) for 7th this season

• Cold Hard Facts: Nola has faced the Rockies 7 times and in those 7 starts he has struck out 56 of the 178 batters he faced (31.5%) and walked 6 (3.4%) … He has struck out 10 or more COL hitters in each of his last three starts against them at CBP, averaging 16.00 SO/9.0 IP (32 SO, 18.0 IP) in those starts

• Home Body: Nola has a 1.53 ERA (5 ER, 29.1 IP) with 5 BB, 37 SO and has held opponents to a .218/.259/.309 slash line over his last 5 home starts (since 8/25/22) … Three of those starts have been scoreless … He had a 12.2-inning scoreless streak at home end in his home debut this season

• To the Nines: Nola is in his 9th season as a Phillie, becoming the 7th pitcher in franchise history to make a start in 9 straight seasons for the club, and joining Cole Hamels (10) as the only Phillies draft picks to do since Larry Christensen made starts for his 9th straight year with the team in 1981

• vs NL West: 11-9, 4.56 ERA (95 ER, 187.1 IP) in 32 starts

HOME:
• 2023: 0-1, 6.35 ERA (4 ER, 5.2 IP) in 1 start

• Career: 44-25, 3.21 ERA (226 ER, 633.1 IP) in 102 starts

2023 SEASON:
• Made his 6th straight Opening Day, extending his MLB-best active streak of Opening Day starts

• Was the first pitcher in baseball to make 6 straight Opening Day starts since Julio Teheran in made his 6th consecutive for ATL in 2019, and joins Robin Roberts (12) and Steve Carlton (10) as the only Phillies to do.

MLB Preview: Detroit Tigers (7-10) at Baltimore Orioles (11-7)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 21, 2023

MLB Preview: Detroit Tigers (7-10) at Baltimore Orioles (11-7)

DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS DROP FINALE TO GUARDIANS: The Tigers had their five-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday as they lost to the Guardians, 3-2. Spencer Torkelson had a pair of hits, including a double and a solo home run, while Kerry Carpenter went 2×4. Zach McKinstry added a pinch hit solo homer. Spencer Turnbull started for Detroit and took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Tyler Alexander, Alex Lange and José Cisnero combined to throw 3.2 scoreless innings in relief.

GAME TIME ANNOUNCED FOR TIGERS-GIANTS RESCHEDULED GAME: The Tigers announced today that their rescheduled game against the Giants on Monday, July 24 will start at 1:10 p.m.

FULLY TORKED: Spencer Torkelson launched his second home run of the season in Wednesday’s game, hitting a solo shot in the seventh inning. The ball left his bat at 109.8 MPH, his second-hardest hit ball of the season. Torkelson has hit safely in four consecutive games and in seven
of his last nine contests, over which he is hitting .278 (10×36) with three doubles, a home run and four RBI.

BULLPENNING AT ITS BEST: The Tigers bullpen combined to throw 3.2 scoreless innings in Wednesday’s game against Cleveland. After posting a 6.85 ERA (44.2IP/34ER) through the first 12 games of the season, the performance of Detroit’s bullpen has been one of the main reasons for the team’s success in recent games. Over their last six games, Tigers relievers have combined for a 1.08 ERA (25.0IP/3ER), which is the lowest in the Majors since April 13.

ZACH ATTACK: Zach McKinstry hit his first home run of the season in Wednesday’s game, hitting a pinch-hit solo shot off James Karinchak in the
eighth inning. It marked his first career pinch-hit homer and was the first for a Tigers player since Victor Reyes on August 27, 2021 vs. Toronto. McKinstry has hit safely in four of his last five games, going 5×13 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI.

MIGGY AGAINST THE O’S: Miguel Cabrera has had success in his career against Baltimore, entering tonight’s game hitting .360/.444/.678 with 16 doubles, one triple, 27 home runs and 80 RBI in 85 career games. Among active players with at least 100 at-bats against Baltimore, Cabrera ranks first in on-base percentage, fourth in slugging percentage and fifth in batting average.

RECAPPING THE HOMESTAND: The Tigers went 4-1 on their recently completed five-game homestand, going 2-0 vs. San Francisco and 2-1 vs. Cleveland. Detroit hit .261/.304/.422 during the homestand, while the pitching staff had a 2.94 ERA (49.0IP/16ER). Individually, Eric Haase finished the homestand 7×15 with a double, while Javier Báez went 7×20 with two doubles and six RBI.

TIGERS AND ORIOLES: The Tigers and Orioles begin their seven-game season series tonight. Along with the three games this weekend, the two teams will play a four-game series next weekend in Detroit. The Tigers went 5-1 against Baltimore last season, including taking two-of-three games in Baltimore. Detroit has won the season series over the Orioles in each of the last five seasons the two teams have played.

TIGERS ON THE IL:
• RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 15-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)

• RHP Matt Manning (right foot fracture, 15-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)

• OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 15-day IL on April 12)

• RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)

• RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on March 27)

• LHP Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain, 60-day IL on March 14)

TONIGHT’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER – Michael Lorenzen • 0-0, 13.50 ERA (4.0IP/6ER)
• Lorenzen will make his second start of the season tonight in the series opener at Baltimore.

• Made his Tigers regular season debut on Saturday against the Giants and received a no decision, allowing six runs on eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts in 4.0 innings. • Has made just one career appearance against the Orioles, pitching in relief on April 19, 2017 and allowing two hits with a strikeout in 1.0 inning…will be making his first career appearance at Oriole Park at Camden Yards tonight…will be the 29th different ballpark he has pitched in his career…after tonight, the only active ballpark he will not have pitched in is Boston’s Fenway Park.

• Started 18 games with the Angels in 2022 and went 8-6 with a 4.24 ERA (97.2IP/46ER) and 85 strikeouts…finished the season strong, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.36 ERA (26.2IP/7ER) and 30 strikeouts over five starts from September 9-October 4.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:

SHUT OUT THE NOISE: Kyle Bradish threw 6.0 scoreless innings on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts and the bullpen quartet of Bryan Baker (1.0 IP, 2 K), Cionel Pérez (0.1 IP, 2 BB, K), Yennier Cano (0.2 IP), and Mike Baumann (1.0 IP, H, 2 K) combined to shut out the Nationals, 4-0, Wednesday night at Nationals Park…Marked Baltimore’s first sweep of the season.

The Orioles have won back-to-back shutouts for the first time since September 22-23, 2022; the O’s have also won three straight games for the first time since September 21-23, 2022.

The Orioles have now thrown three shutouts this year (also 4/3 at TEX, 4/18 at WSH); since the start of last season, the O’s have 18 shutouts, fifth-most in the AL and seventh-most in MLB; Baltimore had 11 total shutouts in 384 games from 2019-21.

GOING STREAKING: Orioles pitchers have not allowed a run in 26.0 consecutive innings beginning in the second inning on Sunday, April 16, at Chicago-AL; marks the team’s longest scoreless streak since a 28.0-inning stretch from August 3-6, 2012.

WRAPPING UP THE ROAD TRIP: Baltimore went 4-1 on the last road trip against the White Sox (2-1) and Nationals (2-0)…O’s pitchers combined for a 2.60 ERA (13 ER/45.0 IP) with 44 strikeouts, including a 1.08 ERA (2 ER/16.2 IP) and 20 strikeouts by the ‘pen.

HOME SWEET HOME: The O’s begin a six-game homestand tonight with the first of three games against the Tigers…The Orioles will then host the Red Sox from April 24-26…Baltimore went 4-3 (.571) in their season-opening homestand against the Yankees (1-2) and Athletics (3-1) from April 7-13.

AGAINST THE TIGERS: The O’s and Tigers open their three-game set at Oriole Park tonight…Baltimore and Detroit will play seven times in 2023 with the Orioles traveling to Comerica Park from April 27-30…The Birds went 1-5 against the Tigers last season, including being swept in three games in Detroit from May 13-15 and going 1-2 in Baltimore from September 19-21.

LOOKING AHEAD: Following the current homestand, the Birds embark on the longest road trip of the season with four games at Detroit from April 27-30, an off day on May 1, three games at Kansas City from May 2-4, and three games at Atlanta from May 5-7.

ON THE ATTACK: Baltimore is batting .249/.348/.428 (149-for-598) with 34 doubles, two triples, 23 home runs, 99 runs scored, 96 RBI, and 87 walks to start the season… The O’s rank fourth in the AL and seventh in MLB in runs scored after finishing 10th in the AL and 20th in MLB with 674 runs scored in 2022…The Birds are fourth in MLB in on-base percentage while ranking among AL teams in walks (1st), slugging percentage (2nd), and OPS (2nd, .776).

The Orioles lead MLB with 4.11 pitches-per-plate appearance this season; the O’s have three players in the top eight in the AL in pitches-per-plate appearance: Adam Frazier (3rd, 4.48), Anthony Santander (T-6th, 4.33), and Adley Rutschman (8th, 4.329).

NEED FOR SPEED: The O’s have 25 stolen bases, trailing only the Guardians (26 SB) for the most in MLB this season…The 25 steals through the first 18 games of the year are the most in O’s history (since 1954) to open a campaign…The O’s have only been caught stealing three times for an 89.3 percent success rate…Cedric Mullins is tied with Chicago-NL’s Nico Hoerner for the MLB lead with nine stolen bases while Jorge Mateo is tied for second in the AL and third in MLB with eight steals…The duo’s 17 combined stolen bases are more than 21 MLB teams while six teams have eight or fewer steals to start 2023.

Mullins’ nine successful stolen bases are the most to begin a season by an Oriole since Adam Jones also swiped his first nine attempts in 2013; the last Orioles to steal 10-or-more bases successfully without being caught to begin a season are Brian Roberts and Corey Patterson, who each swiped their first 13 attempts, an O’s record, to begin 2006.

BIG TIME RUTSCH: Adley Rutschman had his career-high 13-game on-base streak snapped Tuesday night…He reached base at a .492 clip from April 3-16…Rutschman is still third in the AL and seventh in MLB with a .447 on-base percentage and leads the AL with 17 walks this season…He also ranks among AL leaders in OPS (8th, .962).

His 38 times reaching base safely this season lead the AL and rank tied for third in MLB (see chart at right); Rutschman did not reach safely 38 times last year until his 35th game on July 4; he is the only MLB player this season to reach safely at least four times in four different games.

He has hit four home runs this season, tied with Atlana’s Sean Murphy and Los Angeles-AL’s Logan O’Hoppe for the most among primary catchers; last year, Rutschman didn’t hit his fourth homer until his 38th game on July 7.

RISING TIDE: The Orioles are ranked as the No. 1 farm system by MLB Pipeline…Marks the fourth consecutive time between the preseason and midseason lists that the O’s are in the top spot…Since Pipeline began ranking systems in 2015, only one other organization has claimed the top spot four times in a row, and that was the Padres (2018 pre/mid, 2019 pre/mid)…Baltimore is also ranked as the No. 1 farm system by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, as well as in Baseball America’s preseason rankings for the first time since the publication began their Organizational Talent Rankings in 1984.

STARTING PITCHER – #68 TYLER WELLS – RHP
QUICK HITS: Slated to make his fourth appearance (third start) of the season tonight against the Tigers…Went 7-7 with a 4.25 ERA (49 ER/103.2 IP) in 23 starts for the O’s in 2022…Made his first career start on April 10, 2022 at Tampa Bay; dealt the loss after allowing four runs on three hits (1 HR) with two walks and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings…Did not walk a batter in five consecutive starts from April 21 to May 15, becoming the only Oriole starting pitcher in franchise history (since 1954) to not walk a batter in five consecutive games…Allowed three earned runs-or-fewer in 17 straight starts from April 16 to July 15…Ended the 2022 season on the 15-day Injured List with right shoulder inflammation… Originally selected by Minnesota in the 15th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal State, San Bernardino before being taken by the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft on December 10, 2020.

LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in his first road start of the season on April 14 at Chicago-AL, allowing three runs on five hits (1 HR) with one walk and three strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work…Has issued one free pass in 16.1 innings across his first three appearances this season…Threw 85 pitches, 55 strikes.

SEASON DEBUT: Did not factor in the decision in his season debut on April 3 at Texas, recording two strikeouts in 5.0 innings of scoreless relief, facing one batter over the minimum; the only baserunner reached on an error…Originally scheduled to start on April 4 at Texas but entered in relief in the fourth inning on April 3 after Kyle Bradish exited the game in the second inning with a right foot contusion.

CAREER AGAINST DETROIT: Making his fourth career appearance (third start) against the Tigers…Owns an 0-2 record with a 9.00 ERA (8 ER/8.0 IP) in his three appearances against Detroit…Dealt the loss in his last start against the Tigers on September 19, 2022, allowing five runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 3.0+ innings of work.

CAREER AGAINST AL CENTRAL: Making his 18th career appearance (ninth start) against the AL Central…Owns a 4-3 record with a 3.91 ERA (22 ER/50.2 IP) and a save through his first 17 appearances…Did not factor into the decision in his last start against the AL Central on April 14 at Chicago-AL…Made seven starts against the division in 2022, going 3-2 with a 4.24 ERA (16 ER/34.0 IP) and three quality starts.

LOVING LEFTIES: Opposing left-handed batters are slashing .185/.219/.315 (50-for-270) against Wells through his first 70 career games (25 GS)…He has recorded more career strikeouts against lefties (73) than hits allowed (50)… Owns the fifth-lowest on-base percentage allowed to lefties (.219) in MLB since the start of the 2021 season (min. 230 BFP), while his batting average against left-handed batters (.185) is the 14th-lowest in the Majors in that span (min. 230 BFP).

ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN: Wells won five straight starts from June 11 to July 3, 2022, tied for the fifth-longest streak in MLB last season…Pitched to a 1.93 ERA (6 ER/28.0 IP) with 21 strikeouts to eight walks in that span, holding opposing batters to a .168 (17-for-101) batting average…The O’s owned a 9-5 record in his final 14 starts, including wins in eight straight from May 30 to July 8, after going 2-7 in his first nine outings.

MLB Preview: Chicago White Sox (7-12) at Tampa Bay Rays (16-3)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 21, 2023

MLB Preview: Chicago White Sox (7-12) at Tampa Bay Rays (16-3)

CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:

WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost three of their last four games, six of eight and nine of 13 as they open a six-game trip tonight at Tampa Bay.

RHP Michael Kopech is scheduled to start for the White Sox, who are in fourth place in the American League Central, but just 4.0 games behind division-leading Minnesota.

Following this three-game series, the Sox conclude the trip with three in Toronto (4/24-26) before returning to Chicago for seven games vs. the Rays (4/27-30) and Minnesota (5/2-4).

The Sox are coming off a 2-4 homestand vs. Baltimore (1-2) and Philadelphia (1-2), which ended on Wednesday with a 5-2 loss to the Phillies.

The Sox went 2-4 on their last trip to Pittsburgh (1-2) and Minnesota (1-2) from 4/7-12.

TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
The White Sox begin a stretch tonight where they play 23 games in 24 days from 4/21-5/14, including 10 straight to end the month against Tampa Bay (seven) and Toronto (three).

The Sox are 8-4 at Tropicana Field since 2018 … six of their eight wins have come by one run.

The White Sox are hitting .204/.254/.335 (67-328) with 31 runs scored (3.1 R/G) over the last 10 games.

The Sox bullpen has allowed two runs on four hits with no walks and 13 strikeouts in 9.0 IP over the last two games (14 walks in 14.2 IP over previous four games).

Jake Burger has homered in four of his last six games … seven of Burger’s eight hits in 2023 have gone for extra bases, including fi ve home runs in 34 plate appearances.

Andrew Vaughn has reached base safely in 17 of his 18 games this season and has recorded a team-high nine games with a hit and RBI.

WEDNESDAY’S RECAP
Philadelphia defeated the White Sox, 5-2, in the deciding game of the series.

Mike Clevinger suffered the loss, allowing three runs on six hits over 3.0 IP (75 pitches) … Tanner Banks threw 3.0 IP in relief, giving up two runs with no walks and three strikeouts … Keynan Middleton (1.0 IP) and Gregory Santos (2.0) combined to retire all nine batters faced.

Andrew Vaughn gave the Sox a brief 2-1 lead with a two-run homer off Taijuan Walker in the first, but they were held scoreless on four hits over the fi nal eight innings.

For the third time in four games, the Sox scored multiple runs in the first before being held scoreless for the rest of the game.

White Sox pitchers walked one and struck out nine.

CLOSING OUT CANCER
White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, who is tied for second in MLB since 2020 with 89 saves, announced yesterday that he officially is cancer free … he completed his rounds of chemotherapy to treat Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on 4/5.

Hendriks and his wife, Kristi, launched an ongoing campaign inviting fans to purchase specially designed “Close Out Cancer” T-Shirts, with proceeds benefiting the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) and its Patient Aid Grants.

LOOKING TO RUIN A PERFECT TEN
For just the second time in franchise history, the White Sox are playing a road game against a team with a record of 10-0 or better at home (STATS).

The first such occurrence was on 5/18/51 when the Sox recorded a 7-4 victory at New York-AL, which entered the game with a 10-0 record at Yankee Stadium.  Bud Stewart hit a game-winning grand slam off Spec Shea in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie … Nellie Fox went 2-4 with a
home run and two runs scored, and Minnie Miñoso was 2-5.

Billy Pierce threw a complete-game 11-hitter against a lineup that included Phil Rizzuto, Mickey Mantle, Gil McDougald, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Hank Bauer batting in the 1-6 slots.

WHITE SOX VS. TAMPA BAY RAYS
The White Sox went 4-2 against the Rays in 2022, winning two of three games in Chicago from 4/15-17 and two of three at Tropicana Field from 6/3-5.

The Sox batted .248/.293/.371 (50-202) with a 3.23 ERA (19 ER/53.0 IP) and were outscored by the Rays, 26-21 … all four White Sox victories came by one run.

Elvis Andrus is a career .307/.372/.445 (98-319) hitter in 86 games against Tampa Bay, and Andrew Vaughn owns a .349/.378/.442 (15-43) average in 11 career games.

FAMILIAR FACE
White Sox bench coach Charlie Montoyo spent 22 seasons (1997-2018) in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, including four on manager Kevin Cash’s staff as third-base coach (2015-17) and bench coach (2018).

Montoyo also managed 18 seasons in the Rays minor-league system from 1997-2014, including eight at Class AAA Durham (2007-14), compiling a 1,266-1,142 (.526) record.  He led Durham to seven International League South Division titles, six trips to the International League finals, two Governors’ Cup Championships (2009, ‘13) and the Triple-A title in 2009 … his No. 25 was retired by the Bulls on 5/26/16.

Montoyo managed Class AA Montgomery from 2004-06, winning the Southern League championship in his final season.

FROM THE TRAINING ROOM
Matt Foster will miss the remainder of the 2023 season after undergoing successful Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.

INF Hanser Alberto (strained left quad), SS Tim Anderson (sprained left knee), LHP Garrett Crochet (Tommy John recovery), RHPs Matt Foster (right fl exor strain) Liam Hendriks (Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma treatment) and Joe Kelly (right groin strain) and 3B Yoán Moncada (lower back soreness) are on the injured list.

ON THE AIR
Gordon Beckham will fi ll in for Steve Stone in the NBC Sports Chicago booth for this six-game trip to Tampa Bay and Toronto.

Tomorrow’s game at Tropicana Field will be nationally televised on FOX with Jason Benetti and Tom Verducci on the call.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
The White Sox are 48-43 (.527) on the road since the start of the 2022 season, the sixth-best winning percentage in the American League.

The Sox rank second in the AL during that span with a 3.56 ERA (311 ER/786.2 IP), trailing only Houston (3.07).

NO RISP, NO REWARD
The White Sox rank fourth in the American League with a .291 (46-158) average with runners in scoring position … Andrew Vaughn is batting .500/.600/.938 (8-16) with 13 RBI with RISP, and Andrew Benintendi is hitting .455/.500/.545 (5-11).

SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
The White Sox are batting .273/.339/.443 vs. left-handed pitching since the start of the 2019 season … during that span, the Sox lead MLB in average, rank third in on-base percentage, fourth in OPS (.783) and fi fth in slugging.

Tim Anderson owns a .353/.383/.564 (141-399) slash line vs. LHP since 2019, while Hanser Alberto is hitting .343/.362/.483 (170-495) … during that span, Anderson and Alberto rank 1-2 in MLB in average vs. LHP.

Luis Robert Jr. is a career .354/.406/.626 (70-198) hitter vs. lefties … Jake Burger owns a .651 slugging percentage vs. LHP.

STARTER – #34 MICHAEL KOPECH RHP
KOPECH AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season, second on the road and first vs. the Tampa Bay Rays.

Has gone 7-12 with 3.80 ERA (69 ER/163.1 IP), .214 (128-598) opponents average and 157 strikeouts in 36 career starts … is 3-3 with 3.90 ERA (24 ER/55.1 IP), .225 (47-209) opponents average and 80 strikeouts in 40 career relief appearances.

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

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

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

LAST START
Received a no decision on 4/15 vs. Baltimore, allowing three runs on six hits over 5.0 IP … struck out four and walked four … threw 97 pitches (58 strikes).

Surrendered two solo homers, one in the third inning to Jorge Mateo and one in the sixth to Anthony Santander.

Departed the game in the sixth after walking Austin Hays with no outs and the score tied, 2-2 … Hays scored on a Mateo RBI single off Sox reliever Keynan Middleton … Chicago would win the game, 7-6, on a walkoff single from Oscar Colás in the 10th.

Owned a 60.9 first-strike percentage and 6.2 swinging-strike percentage (seven swing and misses) vs. 23 batters … threw 65 four-seam fastballs (95.5 mph avg; 98.0 mph max), 25 sliders (85.3 avg; 87.6 max), four curveballs (88.1 avg; 89.6) and three changeups (88.1 avg; 89.6 max).

TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:

RUBBER GAME VICTORY — Tampa Bay defeated Cincinnati 8-0 on Wednesday afternoon, earning a series victory while recording its second straight shutout…RHP Drew Rasmussen threw 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts…LHP Josh Fleming tossed 3.0 scoreless relief innings, scattering a hit with no walks and three strikeouts while RHP Pete Fairbanks (1IP, 1H, 2BB, 2SO) extended his scoreless inning streak to 27.0IP.

1B Yandy Díaz (2-for-4, HR, RBI, BB, R) jump-started a six-run first inning, launching his second lead-off homer of the season (4/13 vs. BOS) and the ninth of his career.

DH Randy Arozarena (3-for-5, R, SB) set a season high with three hits while stealing his 59th bag as a Ray, tying Rocco Baldelli for the 10th most in franchise history.

The Rays have scored 6+ runs in a single inning four times this year after Wednesday’s six-run first inning (last, 7R, 5th inn., 4/13 vs. BOS)…Tampa Bay scored 6+ runs in a single inning five times all of last season.

With Wednesday’s 8-0 win, Tampa Bay became the first team in the modern era (since 1900) to have four shutouts, while scoring 8+ runs, in the first 19 games of the season (per OptaSTATS).

CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP — Tampa Bay has hit a major league-best 42 home runs, second most through a team’s first 19 games of a season in MLB history (since 1901) behind the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals (44HR).

Tampa Bay has homered in each of its first 19 games, the second-longest streak to open a season in MLB history (since 1901) behind only the 2019 Seattle Mariners’ 20-game run…the 19-game run is a franchise record for the longest single-season home run streak, surpassing the 18-game run from 8/19-9/8, 2017.

The current MLB record for homers through 20 games is 47 HR, held by the 2000 Cardinals, followed by the 2019 Mariners (42HR).

GOOSE EGGS — The Rays have recorded a major league-leading six shutout wins this season, ahead of Milwaukee (4)…Tampa Bay is the fourth team since 1901 to record six shutouts in its first 19 games, joining Detroit in 1945, Cleveland in 1966 and Texas in 1981…the only team to record seven shutouts in its first 20 games was Detroit in 1945.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS — Tampa Bay has won 10 straight home games to open the season, the longest streak in the majors since the 2020 New York Yankees also won their first 10 home games…with a win tonight, the Rays would be the first club to win its first 11 home games to begin a season since the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers.

A win tonight would match Tampa Bay’s second-longest home win streak in franchise history, matching an 11-game run by the 2008 Rays from 4/22- 5/13.… the 2018 Rays hold the franchise record for most consecutive home wins at 12 from 8/9-9/10.

Since the beginning of the 2017 season, the Rays are 274-170 (.617) in home games, the fourth-best home winning percentage in the majors, trailing only Los Angeles-NL (303-145, .676), New York-AL (293-155, .654) and Houston (286-160, .641).

LOWE’S HOME (RUN) IMPROVEMENT — After entering the season with two homers in 181 career AB (90.5 AB/HR), Josh Lowe has belted 4 HR in 47 AB in 2023 (11.75 AB/HR).

He has hit safely in five straight games and reached base safely in each of his last eight games, slashing .379/.438/.793 (11-for-29) with three doubles, 3 HR and 10 RBI during the eight-game run.

DAY IN, DAY OUT—The Rays lead MLB in runs scored (133) while allowing the fewest runs (50)…Tampa Bay’s +83 run differential the best through the first 19 games of a season in MLB history (since 1901).

Since 1901, the current run differential record through 20 games is +81, done by the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates, followed by the 1905 New York Giants (+80).

Tampa Bay’s 133 runs scored are its most through 19 games in club history, ahead of the 2010 Rays (113R)…the Rays are one of 20 teams since 1901 to score 133+ runs through its first 19 games and the first since the 2003 New York Yankees (134R).

ON THE MOUND — Tampa Bay’s 2.57 ERA is the best mark in the majors ahead of Milwaukee (2.96)…this includes the best starter ERA (2.31) and fifth-best bullpen ERA (2.89)…Rays pitchers rank among MLB leaders in opponents’ OPS (1st, .554), opponents’ average (1st, .195), HR/9.0IP (1st, 0.43), WHIP (1st, 1.05), fewest pitches per IP (1st, 15.3), lowest average exit velocity (T2nd, 87.5 mph) and first-pitch strike pct. (2nd, 63.9%).

The Rays’ 50 runs allowed are second-fewest through 19 games in club history, behind the 2019 team (49R)…the club record for fewest runs allowed through the first 20 games is held by the 2019 Rays (55R).

IN THE BOX — Rays hitters lead MLB in runs scored (133), OPS (.903), slugging percentage (.542), extra-base hits (81), total bases (354) and batting average (.288)…Tampa Bay’s four games with 10+ runs pace the majors…the Rays have pushed across 7+ runs in 12 of their 19 games.

Tampa Bay is one of six teams to score 7+ runs in at least 12 of its first 19 games to start the season, joining the 1903 New York Giants (12G), 1928 New York Yankees (13G), 1929 New York Yankees (13G), 1930 New York Giants (12G) and 2000 Chicago White Sox (12G).

RAYS AND SOX — The Rays and White Sox meet this evening for the first of seven matchups this season, all of which take place over the next 10 days…Tampa Bay went 2-4 vs. Chicago-AL last season, including 1-2 at home.

REWRITING HISTORY — Prior to Friday night’s 6-3 loss in Toronto, the Rays became the fourth team in MLB history to begin a season 13-0, joining the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers (13-0), 1982 Atlanta Braves (13-0) and 1884 St. Louis Maroons (20-0)…it marked the longest win streak in club history, surpassing a 12-game run from 6/9-22, 2004.

The Rays won each of their first nine games by 4+ runs, the second-longest streak to open a season in MLB history behind the 1884 Maroons (13 straight)…ties the fourth-longest overall streak of 4+ run wins in MLB history and marks the longest since the 1939 New York Yankees (10G, 8/20-28, 1939).

Tampa Bay pitching strung together a 32.0 scoreless inning streak from 4/8-11, the longest streak in club history and longest single-season streak in MLB since St. Louis from 8/5-9, 2015 (38.0IP)…the streak included a franchise-record three consecutive shutouts (4/8-10) — Tampa Bay became the first club to record three straight shutouts within a single season since Cleveland in 2017 (8/25-27, 2017).

TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP CALVIN FAUCHER (0-0, 4.15)
CALLING ON CALVIN—Faucher takes the mound for his second consecutive start after making 26 relief appearances to begin his major league career…will mark his first career start at home…in seven career starts in the minor leagues, Faucher went 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA (13.1IP, 6ER).

NEXT MAN UP—Made his first career start on 4/15 at Toronto, yielding one run on two hits and a walk while striking out a pair in 2.2 innings of work…set career highs in both innings pitched and pitches thrown (42).

THIS AND THAT—Has held right-handed hitters to a .200/.273/.350 (4-for-20) clip compared to .357/.400/.571 (5-for-14) against lefties… opponents are batting .211 (4-for-19) against him following a first-pitch strike compared to .385 (5-for-13) when his initial offering is a ball.

THE ARSENAL—Faucher mainly utilizes his slider (49.0%) and sinker (41.9%), while mixing in his curveball (9.0%) primarily against left-handed hitters…relies on his slider as his strikeout pitch, inducing a 25.6 pct. whiff rate with a 17.9 pct. putaway percentage (rate of two-strike pitches resulting in a strikeout) on the offering.

MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (7-12) at Pittsburgh Pirates (13-7)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 21, 2023

MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (7-12) at Pittsburgh Pirates (13-7)

CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:

RED HOTS
• In last night’s game, Jason Vosler’s RBI single in the 7th inning snapped a streak of 24 innings without scoring a run…It was the longest streak since a 24-inning scoreless streak from 8/4-8/7/2020.

• On Tuesday the Reds and RHP Hunter Greene agreed to a $53 million, 6-year contract extension through the 2028 season that included a $21
million option and $2 million buyout for 2029.

TONIGHT’S GAME
• Is Game 2 (0-1) of a 4-game road trip, all at Pit’s PNC Park.

• The Reds are coming off a 3-4 homestand vs the defending National League champion Phillies (2-2) and Rays (1-2).

• Following this series the Reds return to Great American Ball Park for a quick 3-game homestand vs the Rangers before heading out to face the Athletics (3g) and Padres (3g) in the first of their 3 trips to the West Coast.

SERIES NOTES
• The Reds earned a 2-1 series win vs Pit in the series that opened this 2023 championship season.

• The Reds went 14-29 at Pit’s PNC Park the previous 5 seasons, including an 11-game losing streak spanning 2018-2019 and an 8-game losing streak there to begin the 2019 season.

• Beginning in 2021 at Great American Ball Park, the Reds are 14-8 vs Pit with a 134-78 advantage in runs scored…the Reds have won 22 of the last 41 games overall vs the Pirates, including 19 of the last 28 games vs Pit at GABP.

RANGERS UP NEXT
• The Redlegs are 9-10 all-time vs the Rangers, including 6-5 at Great American Ball Park.

• Beginning Monday the Reds and Rangers will meet for the eighth time overall and for the first time since 2019, also at GABP.

• The Reds haven’t played in Arlington since 2016.

• The Reds are coming off their only interleague series of the season, a 1-2 series loss vs the Rays at Great American Ball Park.

• 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).

LEADING OFF
• In the first inning, Reds batters rank seventh in the Major Leagues in batting average (.310), fourth in on-base percentage (.395).

• When leading off the Reds’ half of the first inning, Jonathan India is hitting .400 (.526obp, .733slg, 6-15, 3bb, 2 2b, 1hr, 6r).

• India’s 16 runs scored are tied for Fourth-most in the Major Leagues.

• India’s 6 runs scored in the first inning are tied for second-most in the Major Leagues (NYY’s Aaron Judge, 9r).

Tonight’s Pitcher – #51 Graham Ashcraft, RHP
• Tonight is making his second appearance of the season and third career start vs the Pirates…will be his second career appearance at PNC Park.

• Will take a 6.0-inning scoreless streak into tonight’s game.

• Is 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.

• Is the first Reds pitcher to begin a non-COVID season with 3 consecutive quality starts since Amir Garrett in 2017 (3qs)…no Reds pitcher has begun a nonCOVID season with more than 3 consecutive quality starts since Alfredo Simon (6qs) and Johnny Cueto (9qs) both did it in 2014.

• 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 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).

• From 8/23-9/23 missed 32 days and 31 games while on the 15-day injured list with right biceps soreness.

• In 16 starts prior to the injury went 5-3, 3.97…in his last 5 starts prior to his injury went 1-1, 2.67 (33.2ip, 32h, 10er, 8bb, 24k, 3hr, .252baa), lowering his ERA from a season-high 4.70 to 3.97.

• After 2 rehab apps for Chattanooga and Louisville (5.2ip, 15h, 10r, 5er, 1bb, 11k, 123 pitches), finished the season 0-3, 12.00 in his last 3 starts for the Reds.

• Hunter Greene threw 7.0 scoreless innings (0bb, 8k) in the 7-0 win on 6/6 vs Ari and Ashcraft followed with 6.0 scoreless innings (0bb, 4k) in the 14-8 victory on 6/7 vs Ari…for the first time since 1900, Major League rookie starting pitchers in consecutive games threw at least 6.0 shutout innings without a walk.

• 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.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:

THE PIRATES:..Have won a season-high tying four straight games and five of their last six contests…Also won four straight games from 4/3-7…Have not lost backto-back games since dropping the final two contests of their season-opening series in Cincinnati. JACK IN THE BOX: Jack Suwinski is hitting .391 (9-for-23) with a double, five home runs and eight RBI in his last eight games after going 1-for-15 in his first five contests…Since April 11, Suwinski ranks first in MLB in OPS (1.551) and slugging (1.087), tied for third in total bases (25) and home runs and tied for ninth in batting average.

24: Twenty-four-year-old Jack Suwinski has homered 24 times in his first 119 games in the big leagues…That’s the second-most among all National League players age 24 or younger and tied for the fifth-most in MLB with Bo Bichette in that time…The only four players 24-years-old or younger to hit more home runs since the beginning of last season are Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (35), Julio Rodriguez (32) and Juan Soto (31)…source Baseball Reference.

FAST TIMES AT PNC PARK: Last night’s game time of 2 hours and 9 minutes was the fastest of the 2023 season for the Pirates…Prior to last night, Pittsburgh’s previous nine-inning game that lasted less than 2 hours and 9 minutes came on July 4, 2015, vs. Cleveland in a game that took just 2 hours and 6 minutes in a 1-0 Pirates win.

ABOUT TONIGHT’S STARTER: Mitch Keller has posted a 2.84 ERA (19.0ip/6er) in his last three starts since allowing four runs in 4.2 innings on Opening Day against the Reds…Beginning with his start on August 30 of last season, Keller has posted a 2.78 ERA (64.2ip/20er) in 11 starts…That’s the fifth-best ERA in MLB in that time among pitchers with at least 60.0 innings pitched behind Marcus Stroman (1.64), Clayton Kershaw (1.91), Zac Gallen (2.58) and Shane Bieber (2.59).

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Mitch Keller will make his fifth start of the season and his second of the 2023 campaign at PNC Park…Keller was in line for the win in his only start at PNC Park this season after limiting the World-Champion Astros to two runs in 6.0 innings on April 11 in a game the Pirates won 7-4 in walkoff fashion…Beginning with his outing on September 6, Keller has posted a 1.80 ERA (35.0ip/7er) in his last six starting assignments along the Allegheny River.

FOUR YOUR INFORMATION: The Pirates enter today with a season-high tying four-game winning streak (the Buccos also won four in a row from April 3-7)…Last year Pittsburgh also won four straight games on two occasions…A win tonight would give Pittsburgh its first five-game winning streak since April 14-20, 2019.

GO JOE: Connor Joe is 6-for-13 with two doubles, a triple, home run and four RBI in his last three games…Beginning with the action on April 7, Joe ranks 10th in MLB in OPS (1.133), tied for seventh in slugging (.707) and tied for ninth in total bases (29) while hitting at a .341 clip (14-for-41).

THE BATTLIN’ BUCCOS: Pittsburgh brings a 13-7 record into today’s action, which is tied for the fifth-best record in all of MLB behind the Rays (16-3), Braves (14-5), Brewers (14-5) and Rangers (12-6)…A win tonight would give the Pirates their best start since going 15-6 to begin the 1992 season.

BOMBS IN BUNCHES: The Pirates have hit at least two home runs in each of the last four games…The Bucs also homered multiple times in four straight games last year from September 10-13 (game one of a doubleheader)…Prior to last year, the last time the Pirates hit at least two home runs in five straight games was from August 22-26, 2014…Special thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau.

ON THE OFFENSE: Pittsburgh has scored 103 runs coming into today…That’s the fifth-most runs in all of MLB behind the Rays (133), Rangers (112), Red Sox (111) and Dodgers (105).

GETTING STRETCHED OUT: Pittsburgh’s starters have worked at least 6.0 innings in each of the last 10 games…That’s the longest stretch since also going 10 straight games tossing at least 6.0 innings from August 3-12, 2017…During this current 10-game run of tossing at least 6.0 innings, Pittsburgh’s starting rotation has produced the best ERA (2.34) in all of Major League Baseball…The last time Pittsburgh went more than 10 straight games with at least 6.0 innings from its starting pitching staff was from June 6-19, 2015 (13 games).

LET’S HEAR IT FOR HAYES: Ke’Bryan Hayes enters today with a seven-game hitting streak…Since the streak began on April 13, Hayes is hitting .345 (10-for-29) with two doubles, one triple, one home run, four RBI, .429 OBP, .586 slugging percentage and 1.015 OPS.

DOING THE DH’ING: Andrew McCutchen enters today with an .837 OPS as a designated hitter…That’s the third-best OPS in all of MLB among designated hitters behind Miami’s Jorge Soler (.940) and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels (.841).

STARTING PITCHER – 23 – RHP MITCH KELLER
MITCH KELLER: The 27-year-old righthander will make his fifth start of the season this evening…Had a no-decision in his last start 6.0ip/3er) in a 5-4 10-inning walkoff loss Sunday at St. Louis… Earned his first win of the season on 4/5 at Boston after allowing one run in 7.0 innings.

vs. CINCINNATI: 1-4 with a 6.88 ERA in 12 career starts (53.2ip/41er)…Is 0-0 in one start this year after allowing four runs in 4.2 innings on Opening Day in a 5-4 Pirates win…Went 0-1 with a 7.07 ERA (14.0ip/11er) in three starts in 2022…Lost an 8-2 decision (4.2ip/5er) at PNC Park on 5/13, had a no-decision (4.1ip/5er) in an 8-5 win in game two of a doubleheader at Great American Ball Park on 5/7 and had a no-decision (5.0ip/1r) on 9/27 at PNC Park….Made his MLB debut at GABP on 5/27/19 in game two of a doubleheader, where he lost an 8-1 decision (4.0ip/6r) to Sonny Gray.

MLB Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers (10-10) at Chicago Cubs (11-7)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 21, 2023

MLB Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers (10-10) at Chicago Cubs (11-7)

LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:

TODAY’S STARTER at CUBS: LHP JULIO URĺAS (3-1, 1.90 ERA in 4 GS)
2023 NOTES:
• In his start against the Rockies on April 4, he hurled six innings of shut-out baseball, tabbing his 600TH career strikeout against Kris Bryant

• Tossed six innings on Opening Day against the Diamondbacks, giving up four hits and two earned runs while sitting down six…was his first Opening Day nod of his career

• El Culichi is tied for first in the National League in wins (3) and tied for sixth in the NL with 26 strikeouts

• Garnered a 1-1 record over three starts in Cactus League play, producing a 3.86 ERA (5 ER/11.2 IP) with six strikeouts against just three walks

• Key participant in the World Baseball Classic for Team Mexico, firing 9.0 innings in two starts against Colombia and Puerto Rico…struck out
nine batters and walked three while allowing just one earned run on two hits

VS. CUBS
• Suffered his first loss of the season in his last outing against the Cubbies on April 16, giving up a season high eight hits, two home runs, three runs (two earned), and one walk while punching out six

• The Southpaw looks to his first start at Wrigley Field since June 2, 2016 and his third overall appearance at the stadium…last outing occurred on April 23, 2019 where he pitched 2.0 scoreless relief innings with four strikeouts

• Allowed a season-high five runs in 2.0 innings against the Cubs last season…he is 1-2 with a 4.66 ERA (15 ER/29 IP) and 37 strikeouts in seven career games against the Northsiders

CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:

Cubs vs. Dodgers
The Cubs and the Dodgers face off seven times this season, with all of the games coming in a 10-day span … the clubs met last weekend for a three-game set in Los Angeles, with the Cubs taking two of three … the Dodgers have won seven of the last 10 season series.

FRIDAY MATINEE AT THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: The Chicago Cubs today play the second of a four-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers after last night dropping the series opener, 6-2 … the setback snapped Chicago’s season-high four-game winning streak … still, Chicago has won 10 of its last 14 games dating to April 4.

Today is the second of a four-game set against the Dodgers … following an off day Monday, this seven-game, eight-day ‘stand continues with three games against the Padres.

Chicago has won four-consecutive series (2-1 vs. TEX, 2-1 vs. SEA, 2-1 @ LAD, 3-0 vs. OAK) and aims to win five-straight series (of two or more games) for the first time since Aug. 5-21, 2022 (2-1 vs. MIA, 2-1 vs. WSH, 2-1 @ CIN, 2-1 @ WSH, 2-1 vs. MIA).

The Cubs won their 11th game of the season on Wednesday in Oakland … the team did not reach 11 victories in 2022 until May 11 in its 30th game.

RISPY BUSINESS: Chicago was 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position last night and in four games against the Dodgers is 5-for-35 (.143) with RISP … in the team’s 14 other contests this season, the Cubs are hitting .356 (48-for-135) with RISP.

Chicago’s .312 season average (53-for-170) with RISP leads the N.L. and is fourth in baseball behind Texas (.360), Minnesota (.339) and Tampa Bay (.335).

Cubs pitching has faced 166 batters with RISP, tied for the fifth-fewest in the majors behind Minnesota (146 BF), Tampa Bay (149 BF), Milwaukee (151 BF) and Detroit (160 BF).

A WALK IN THE PARK: Dansby Swanson has coaxed seven walks in his last four games, striking out twice in that span that covers 19 plate appearances … after striking out a career-high five times April 14 at the Dodgers, Swanson has walked eight times compared to five strikeouts in his last six contests.

THOU SHALL NOT STEAL: The Cubs have surrendered just six stolen bases this season, second-fewest in the majors (Milwaukee, five) … catchers Tucker Barnhart and Yan Gomes have combined to throw out four of 10 baserunners looking to steal on the season.

YOU GO, NICO!: Nico Hoerner in the season’s early going is hitting .338 (27-for-80) with 16 runs scored, five doubles, five RBI and nine stolen bases, having reached base safely in 17 of 18 games played … his nine stolen bases lead the N.L. while his 16 runs scored and 27 hits are both tied for fifth and his .338 average is ninth.

Hoerner has reached base safely in 16-straight games since April 2, surpassing his previous career mark of 15 games done July 7-26 of last season … the 16- game stretch having reached base safely ranks tied for fourth-longest among active streaks.

Hoerner has gone 33-straight plate appearances without a strikeout, the longest active streak in the majors (Texas’ Marcus Semien is second, 27).

APRIL 21 HAS BEEN A GOOD DATE: On this date in 1966, the Cubs traded Larry Jackson and Bob Buhl for three players, including future Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins … Jenkins woul go on to win 20 or more games six-straight seasons starting in 1967.

On this date in 2016, Jake Arrieta tossed his second career no-hitter in a 16-0 rout over the Reds in Cincinnati … Cubs manager David Ross was the catcher for that gem.

Most importantly, it’s Edwin Ríos’ 29th birthday … happy birthday, Edwin!

NOBODY BEATS THE WIZ: Patrick Wisdom’s eight homers are tied for second-most in the majors (Pete Alonso, 9) while his .708 slugging mark ranks second in the N.L., his 46 total bases are tied for second, his 1.032 OPS ranks sixth and his 15 RBI are tied for eighth with a plethora of others.

Wisdom homered in each of the first four games of the just-completed road trip, including a multi-homer effort Monday in Oakland … he is the first Cub with five homers in four games since Willson Contreras did it Aug. 3-6, 2017, and the seventh to do it since 2000 (combined 17 occurrences).

Wisdom’s eight homers came in the team’s first 15 games, making him the fourth Cub to hit at least eight homers in the first 15 games of a season (also Lee Walls, 1958; Hank Sauer, 1954; and Gabby Hartnett, 1925).

ABOUT THE BATS: Cubs hitters rank second in the majors with a .282 average (178-for-632) while the team’s 5.61 runs per game rank third behind only Tampa Bay (7.00) and Texas (6.22).

Ian Happ’s eight doubles this season rank tied for second in the N.L. while his 10 extra-base hits are tied for ninth.

Dansby Swanson ranks fourth in the N.L. with a .449 OBP while his .338 average is eighth.

Cody Bellinger in his last 14 games since April 4 is hitting .352 (19-for-54) with 14 runs scored, three doubles, three homers, nine RBI and five walks, contributing to a .419 on-base percentage and .574 slugging mark.

ABOUT THE ARMS: Cubs pitching has posted a 3.40 ERA (61 ER/161.2 IP) this season, the third-best mark in the N.L. and seventh in the majors … the starting rotation has a 3.05 ERA (32 ER/94.1 IP), the third-best mark in baseball behind Tampa Bay (2.31) and Minnesota (2.68).

Cubs relievers have pitched to a 3.88 ERA (29 ER/67.1 IP) while averaging 11.09 strikeouts per 9.0 innings, the top mark in the majors (White Sox are second with a 10.83 rate) … all told the bullpen’s 83 strikeouts are fourth-most in the majors behind the Yankees (87), Rockies (84) and Cardinals (84)

Starting Pitcher – #11 LHP Drew Smyly (1-1, 4.70)
Last Time Out
Drew earned his first win of the season April 16 at the Dodgers, tossing 5.2 innings of one-run ball wile allowing four hits and two walks, while striking out three … earned his first win since Sept. 14, 2022 at New York (N.L.).

Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
4/16 LAD W, 3-2 5.2 4 1 1 2 3 81-50 3-1

2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 0-0 1.80 1 1 5.0 2 1 1 1 7
Road 1-1 6.10 2 2 10.1 13 8 7 4 6
AVG vs. LHB: .308 (4-for-13) / AVG vs. RHB: .244 (11-for-45)

Drew is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season today, his second at Wrigley Field … will look to allow one earned run or fewer for the third-straight start, a feat which he has accomplished four other times in his career (last, Sept. 9-Oct. 1, 2022) … his career high is four-straight starts in 2012. © Went 0-2 with a 6.06 ERA (11 ER/16.1 IP) with a 13:2 SO:BB ratio during Cactus League play.

NHL Preview: Edmonton Oilers (1-1) at Los Angeles Kings (1-1)

Hockey
NHL

NHL Editor

April 21, 2023

NHL Preview: Edmonton Oilers (1-1) at Los Angeles Kings (1-1)

EDMONTON OILERS NOTES:

ALL-TIME PLAYOFFS vs. LOS ANGELES GP RECORD HOME (25) AWAY (20) GF GA
OILERS ALL-TIME vs. LOS ANGELES 45 29-16-0 17-8 12-8 188 150
OILERS vs. LOS ANGELES – 2022-23 4 2-2-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 9 10

QUICK FACTS
This year’s first round matchup against the Kings marks the second time in the last 31 years Edmonton and Los Angeles have faced off in the playoffs. It is the ninth series between the franchises overall – Edmonton holds a 6-2 edge in the previous eight series.

The 2023 first round is the 23rd time the Oilers enter game 1 in a best-of-seven series as the home team and just the fourth time in 31 years (also 2021 R1 vs. WPG, 2017 R1 vs. SJS, 2022 R1 vs. LAK). They own a series record of 18-4 in the previous 22 matchups.

These teams met four times in the 2022-23 regular season, splitting the season series 2-2.

Connor McDavid leads the Oilers with 15 (4G, 11A) career playoff points against the Kings and 10 Oilers have appeared in nine career playoff games against Los Angeles.

ALL KNOTTED UP
The Oilers won game two on Apr. 19 to even the series 1-1 against the Kings. When tied 1-1 in a best-of-seven series, the Oilers are 17-6 (.739) overall, 7-2 (.778) when starting the series at home.

OILER FIRSTS
Klim Kostin scored his first career playoff goal in game two, which stood as the game winning goal. Derek Ryan opened the scoring in game two with his first playoff goal as an Oiler and his third of his career.

FIVE OF A KIND
The Oilers scored 5+ goals 32 times in 2022-23, posting a record of 30-2-1 when scoring five or more goals in a game.

35+ GOALS
The Oilers finished the regular season as the only team in the NHL with four 35+ goal scorers on the team:
McDavid (64)
Draisaitl (52)
Nugent-Hopkins (37)
Hyman (36)

On Mar. 18 at SEA, Hyman became the fourth Oilers player to hit the 30 goal milestone this season. It marks the first time the Oilers have
had four players with 30+ goals since the 1989-90 season, when they had four players reach the mark (Messier, Kurri, Anderson and Tikkanen).

GOALS BY PERIOD
The Oilers finished the 2022-23 season as the team with the most goals in both the first and second periods:
1st Period Goals – 1st (92)
2nd Period Goals – 1st (128)

ROAD WARRIORS
With a win on Apr. 11 at COL, the Oilers set a new franchise record with 27 road wins this season. (1983- 84 Oilers- 26)

LAST 10 GAMES vs. LOS ANGELES
Record: 5-5-0
GF: 26 GA: 27
*2022-23 4/19/23 @ EDM 4-2 W
*2022-23 4/17/23 @ EDM 4-3 L (OT)
2022-23 4/4/23 @ LAK 3-1 W
2022-23 3/30/23 @ EDM 2-0 W
2022-23 1/9/23 @ LAK 6-3 L
2022-23 11/16/22 @ EDM 3-1 L
*2021-22 5/14/22 @ EDM 2-0 W
*2021-22 5/12/22 @ LAK 4-2 W
*2021-22 5/10/22 @ EDM 5-4 L (OT)
*2021-22 5/8/22 @ LAK 4-0 L
*Notes playoff game
OILERS vs. LOS ANGELES KINGS

LOS ANGELES KINGS NOTES:

ROUND ONE, GAME 3
Series tied 1-1
APRIL 21 vs. Edmonton Oilers – 7:00 PM PT
Venue: Crypto.com Arena // TV: Bally Sports SoCal, TNT // Radio: LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
2023 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS | ROUND ONE SCHEDULE
Game 1: at Edmonton, April 17, 7 p.m. PT Bally Sports West, ESPN, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network – LA: 4 EDM: 3 OT
Game 2: at Edmonton, April 19, 7 p.m. PT Bally Sports SoCal, ESPN, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network – LA: 2 EDM: 4
Game 3: in Los Angeles, April 21, 7 p.m. PT Bally Sports SoCal, TNT, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
Game 4: in Los Angeles, April 23, 6 p.m. PT Bally Sports West, TBS, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network, Sports USA
Game 5: at Edmonton, April 25, TBD KCOP-TV/13, TBD, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network Game 6: in Los Angeles, April 29, TBD, TBD, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
Game 7*: at Edmonton, May 1, TBD Bally Sports West, TBD, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
*If Necessary
WARM-UPS
1) Gabriel Vilardi tallied his first career playoff goal with 44 seconds remaining in the second period of Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Vilardi’s goal is the second game-tying goal scored by a Kings skater with under a minute to go in any period this postseason (Anze
Kopitar, 19:43 of P3, April 17 at EDM).
2) Adrian Kempe led all Kings skaters in points at home in the 2022-23 regular-season with 38 (23-15=38). Kempe joined Anze Kopitar
(4x, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2017-18, 2021-22) and Jeff Carter (2014-15) as the only Kings skaters to record as many home points in a
season in the last 10 seasons.
3) Defensemen Sean Durzi and Matt Roy have each registered seven blocked shots over Games 1 and 2. The only skaters with more
in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs is Minnesota’s Jake Middleton (9) and Jonas Brodin (8).
4) Both Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are set to appear in their 42nd career home playoff game tonight, moving one shy of Dave
Taylor (43) for third-most in franchise history.
5) Adrian Kempe’s 12 shots this postseason leads all Kings skaters and sit fourth among all skaters, trailing Colorado’s Nathan
MacKinnon (15) and Bowen Byram (13), Minnesota’s Matt Boldy (13) and Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor (13).

vs. EDMONTON PLAYOFFS ALL-TIME:
All-Time Record: 16-29
Home: 8-12
Away: 8-17
OT: 4-7
2021-22 Playoffs: 3-4
2022-23 Regular-Season: 2-2-0

2022-23 REGULAR-SEASON INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
F Trevor Moore, 23 games, Dec. 27 – Jan. 31 (upper-body); Feb. 23 – Mar. 6 (upper-body)
F Alex Iafallo, 23 games, Oct. 18 – Dec. 3 (lower-body)
F Brendan Lemieux, 18 games, Nov. 14 – Dec. 20 (lower-body)
F Arthur Kaliyev, 18 games, Dec. 22 – Jan. 31 (lower-body)
F Gabriel Vilardi, 17 games, Nov. 27 (lower-body); Jan. 19 – Feb. 13 (undisclosed); Mar. 28 – Apr. 13 (upper-body)
F Carl Grundstrom, 15 games, Jan. 19 – Feb. 26 (lower-body)
F Kevin Fiala, 13 games, Mar. 11 – Mar. 25 (lower-body), Mar. 30 (lower-body), Apr. 2 – Apr. 13. (lower-body)
D Sean Durzi, 9 games, Nov. 19 – Nov. 22. (lower-body); Mar. 9 – Mar. 25 (lower-body)
F Quinton Byfield, 6 games, Oct. 27 – Nov. 5 (illness)
D Alex Edler, 5 games, Apr. 4 – Apr. 13 (upper-body)
D Mikey Anderson, 5 games, Apr. 1 – Apr. 8 (upper-body)
F Viktor Arvidsson, 3 games, Oct. 13 (illness); Oct. 25 (illness); Jan. 11 (illness)
D Drew Doughty, 1 game, Dec. 11 (lower-body)
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 156

2023 PLAYOFFS INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
F Kevin Fiala, 2 games, Apr. 17 – Pres. (lower-body)
F Gabriel Vilardi, 1 game, Apr. 17 (upper-body)
2023 Total Playoffs Man-Games Lost: 3

HOME SWEET HOME
The Kings return home tonight for the first time since April 10 (vs. VAN), where they played some of their best hockey all year. In 41 games at Crypto.com Arena this past season, the Kings have established a record of 26-11-4 (.683%) for 56 points. The team’s 26 home wins tied a franchise record for most home wins in a single season previously set three times: 26 wins in 1990-91, 2005-06 and 2015-16. Only the 1990-91 (57 PTS) and 2014-15 (57 PTS) team’s secured more home points in a season than this year’s 56.

No team was better at home since the resumption of the regular-season following the NHL All-Star break (Feb. 4 – Feb. 6) than the Kings, who established a 12-2-2 record (.813%). The Kings’ 12 home wins and 26 points from Feb. 6 to the end of the 2022-23 regular-season lead all teams in the league.

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NFL indefinitely suspends Three Players and Two others six games for Gambling Policy Violations

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