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MLB Preview: Milwaukee Brewers (13-5) at Seattle Mariners (8-10)

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MLB Preview: Milwaukee Brewers (13-5) at Seattle Mariners (8-10)

MILWAUKEE BREWERS NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: Is game 10 (6-3) of a 10-game trip to Arizona (1-2), San Diego (3-1) and Seattle (2-0)…..following this trip and an off day tomorrow, the team returns to American Family Field for a 9-game homestand against Boston (3g), Detroit (3g) and Los Angeles-AL (3g).

IN THE STANDINGS (20 days): The Brewers have spent the following number of days alone or tied at each position in the NL Central standings: FIRST: 18, SECOND: 0, THIRD: 2, FOURTH: 0, FIFTH: 0…..the team is currently in first place, leading the second-place Cubs by 2.0 games.

SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Brewers are 5-1-0 in series play, including this series. Game 1: 4-2, Game 2: 5-1, Game 3: 3-2, Game 4: 1-0 Sweep Wins (1): vs. NYM (3g, 4/3-4/5) Sweep Losses (-): None

AT HOME: The Brewers are 5-1 at home, going 2-0-0 in series play…..the team went 46-35 at home last season, going 15-8-4 in series play.

ON THE ROAD: The Brewers are 8-4 on the road, going 3-1-0 in series play, including this series…..the team went 40-41 on the road last season, going 9-12-5 in series play.

LET’S GO TO THE VIDEO TAPE: The Brewers have made three replay challenges this season, going 1-2…..their last challenge (lost) came on 4/12 at Arizona as an out call at first base (Willy Adames) stood.

TODAY’S STARTER: #52 – LHP ERIC LAUER (3gs, 2-1, 5.28)
LAUER AT A GLANCE: Eric Lauer, 27, will be making his fourth start…..Lauer last started last Friday at San Diego in an 11-2 win (6ip, 5h, 1r, 1er, 2bb, 5k, 1hr, 94 pitches)…..he has 1 quality start…..opponents are batting .293 (17-for-58, 4hr)…..Lauer was acquired from San Diego, along with INF Luis Urías and a player to be named or cash, in exchange for RHP Zach Davies and OF Trent Grisham on 11/27/19 (trade completed on 5/27/20 – cash).

LAST SEASON: Lauer went 11-7 with a 3.69 ERA in 29 starts last season…..the team went 17-12 in his starts…..he posted career highs in starts (29-tied), wins (11), innings pitched (158.2), strikeouts (157) and quality starts (13)…..he held opponents to a .228 batting average…..Lauer was on the 15-day injured list from 9/10-9/22 with left elbow inflammation…..he came back to end the season with 12.2 consecutive scoreless innings.

CAREER: Is 34-32 with a 4.14 ERA in 113 games/106 starts (565.1ip, 260er)…..is in his sixth Major League season with San Diego (2018-19) and Milwaukee (2020-23)…..was the Padres’ Opening Day starter in 2019…..Lauer was selected by San Diego in the first round (25th overall) of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Kent State University.

CAREER AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD: Is 11-8 with a 3.73 ERA in 29 games/28 starts (154.1ip, 64er)…..is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in 1 start this season (4ip, 6er)…..went 6-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 13 starts last season (77.1ip, 22er)…..CAREER ON THE ROAD: Is 16-16 with a 4.71 ERA in 57 games/52 starts (273.1ip, 143er)…..is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA in 2 starts this season (11.1ip, 3er)…..went 5-5 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 starts last season (81.1ip, 43er).

CAREER vs. MARINERS: Lauer has never faced the Seattle, Washington Mariners.

SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:

TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 9-game, 10-day homestand with the finale of 3 games against the Milwaukee Brewers (0-2)…Seattle opened the current homestand with a 3-game series sweep over the Colorado Rockies…they will also host the St. Louis Cardinals (3 G, 4/21-23) at T-Mobile Park on the homestand…today’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers on the call and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners have lost 2 in a row on the heels of a 4-game winning streak…despite back-to-back losses, the Mariners are 6-5 over their last 11 games…with last night’s extra-innings loss, Seattle is now 0-4 in extra-innings this season and 2-5 in 1-run games.

• Fun in the Sun – The Mariners are 3-1 over their last 4 day games and are 3-3 in day games overall this season.

• Programming Note – Today’s Mariners game is back on ROOT SPORTS…the Mariners will again be on ROOT SPORTS PLUS on Saturday, April 22 vs. St. Louis…the ROOT SPORTS PLUS Channel Finder can be found at northwest.rootsports.com/plus-guide/

• Yesterday’s Roster Moves – LHP Tayler Saucedo was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma…RHP Darren McCaughan was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma (post-game April 17).

GIRL DAD…Marco Gonzales returns to the Mariners rotation today after missing his previous start (scheduled for April 14) on the Paternity List from April 14-17…following his first time on the Paternity List in 2021, Marco made 16 starts over the remainder of the season, going 9-2 with a 3.39 ERA (36 ER, 95.2 IP) with 24 walks and 66 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .221 batting average and leading the Mariners to an 11-5 record in those games…during that span (7/3/21-end of season), Marco’s 9 wins were tied for 3rd-most in the Majors, while his 3.39 ERA ranked 13th-best among all qualified pitchers.

MAKE THEM WORK…since the beginning of the 2022 season, Mariners batters lead the Majors with 53 walks in plate appearances that began with an 0-2 count, despite facing the 9th-fewest plate appearances with an 0-2 count…during that span (2022-c), Eugenio Suarez leads the Majors with 13 walks following 0-2 counts, while J.P. Crawford ranks tied for 11th in MLB with 7 walks…J.P. holds a .316 on-base percentage over 114 plate appearances after going down 0-2, 2nd-best in the Majors trailing only Jose Altuve (.333 OBP) among players with at least 100 PA beginning with 0-2.

J.P. IS ALWAYS ON…J.P. Crawford has recorded a walk in 7 consecutive games since April 11…during that span (4/11-c) he is batting .400 (6×15) with 7 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 RBI and 8 walks, while reaching base at a .609 clip and slugging .533 with a 1.142 OPS…overall this season, J.P. holds a .400 on-base percentage, 2nd-best in the Majors among batters with at least 30 plate appearance out of the 9 spot in the batting order, trailing only Myles Straw-CLE (.412 OBP)…J.P. is tied for 6th in the Majors with 4 Defensive Runs Saved according to FanGraphs.

EXTRA ON CAL…Cal Raleigh went 2-for-5 with 1 run scored, 1 double, and 2 RBI in last night’s game… he has recorded an extra-base hit in back-to-back games, with 7 of his 14 hits this season going for extra-bases…dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season, Cal ranks 5th among Major League catchers with 48 extra-base hits, while leading all catchers with 27 home runs.

BULLPEN BULLIES…the Mariners bullpen combined for 5.0 innings in last nights game, allowing only 2 runs (both unearned) on 1 hit and 3 walks (1 intentional) with 7 strikeouts…Seattle’s bullpen has covered 70.2 innings this season, tied for 4th-most in the Majors (also: Tampa Bay)…Mariners relievers rank 9th in the Majors with a 3.18 ERA (25 ER, 70.2 IP) with 42 walks and 74 strikeouts, while limiting opponents to a .208 batting average against.

KELENIC’S OFFENSIVE CLINIC…Jarred Kelenic reached base twice in last night’s game, both via walk…Jarred has reached base safely in 12 of his last 13 games dating back to April 2 vs. Cleveland… during that stretch (4/2-c), he is batting .341 (15×44) with 8 runs, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 8 RBI, 7 walks and 2 stolen bases, while reaching base at a .431 clip and slugging .705 with a 1.136 OPS over 13 games…overall this season, he holds a 1.023 OPS, ranking 9th-best in the Majors among qualified hitters.

IMPECCABLE TY-MING…Ty France went 1-for-4 with 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 sacrifice fly in last night’s game…in 18 games this season, he has reached base safely in 17-of-18 and hit safely in 15-of-18… overall, Ty is batting .319 (23×72), with 16 runs, 8 doubles, 1 home run, 13 RBI, 8 walks and 1 stolen base, while getting on base at a .405 clip and slugging .472 with a .877 OPS…with his game-tying sacrifice fly in the 10th inning last night, France leads the Majors in game-tying RBI (6) in the 9th inning or later since the start of the 2021 season, ranking ahead of Willy Adames (5) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (5).

SUÁVE SUÁREZ…Eugenio Suárez went 1-for-4 with 1 run and 1 hit-by-pitch in yesterday’s game…the Mariners third baseman has reached base in 15 consecutive games (4/2-c)…during that stretch, Geno is batting .306 (19×62) with 7 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 13 RBI and 4 walks, getting on base at a .362 clip, slugging .435 with an .798 OPS…Suarez also ranks tied for 4th in the Majors with 4 Outs Above Average according to Baseball Savant.

STOP IT!…according to FanGraphs, Seattle has registered 7 Defensive Runs Saved tied for 6th-most in the Majors (also: St. Louis), trailing Arizona (17 DRS), Milwaukee (16), Toronto (14), Detroit (11) and Minnesota (9)…according to Baseball Savant, Seattle has recorded 5 Outs Above Average, which ranks 3rd in the Majors behind only Arizona (11) and New York-NL (6).

ON THE HOMESTAND…the Mariners still have 4 games remaining on the 9-game homestand (3-2) at T-Mobile Park, including the following events: Weather Education day (April 19), All-Star Hat Night (April 21) and more…for more information, visit Mariners.com/Promotions or Mariners.com/Tickets

TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 9-game, 10-day homestand with the finale of 3 games against the Milwaukee Brewers (0-2)…Seattle opened the current homestand with a 3-game series sweep over the Colorado Rockies…they will also host the St. Louis Cardinals (3 G, 4/21-23) at T-Mobile Park on the homestand…today’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers on the call and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners have lost 2 in a row on the heels of a 4-game winning streak…despite back-to-back losses, the Mariners are 6-5 over their last 11 games…with last night’s extra-innings loss, Seattle is now 0-4 in extra-innings this season and 2-5 in 1-run games.

• Fun in the Sun – The Mariners are 3-1 over their last 4 day games and are 3-3 in day games overall this season.

• Programming Note – Today’s Mariners game is back on ROOT SPORTS…the Mariners will again be on ROOT SPORTS PLUS on Saturday, April 22 vs. St. Louis…the ROOT SPORTS PLUS Channel Finder can be found at northwest.rootsports.com/plus-guide/

• Yesterday’s Roster Moves – LHP Tayler Saucedo was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma…RHP Darren McCaughan was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma (post-game April 17).

GIRL DAD…Marco Gonzales returns to the Mariners rotation today after missing his previous start (scheduled for April 14) on the Paternity List from April 14-17…following his first time on the Paternity List in 2021, Marco made 16 starts over the remainder of the season, going 9-2 with a 3.39 ERA (36 ER, 95.2 IP) with 24 walks and 66 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .221 batting average and leading the Mariners to an 11-5 record in those games…during that span (7/3/21-end of season), Marco’s 9 wins were tied for 3rd-most in the Majors, while his 3.39 ERA ranked 13th-best among all qualified pitchers.

MAKE THEM WORK…since the beginning of the 2022 season, Mariners batters lead the Majors with 53 walks in plate appearances that began with an 0-2 count, despite facing the 9th-fewest plate appearances with an 0-2 count…during that span (2022-c), Eugenio Suarez leads the Majors with 13 walks following 0-2 counts, while J.P. Crawford ranks tied for 11th in MLB with 7 walks…J.P. holds a .316 on-base percentage over 114 plate appearances after going down 0-2, 2nd-best in the Majors trailing only Jose Altuve (.333 OBP) among players with at least 100 PA beginning with 0-2.

J.P. IS ALWAYS ON…J.P. Crawford has recorded a walk in 7 consecutive games since April 11…during that span (4/11-c) he is batting .400 (6×15) with 7 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 RBI and 8 walks, while reaching base at a .609 clip and slugging .533 with a 1.142 OPS…overall this season, J.P. holds a .400 on-base percentage, 2nd-best in the Majors among batters with at least 30 plate appearance out of the 9 spot in the batting order, trailing only Myles Straw-CLE (.412 OBP)…J.P. is tied for 6th in the Majors with 4 Defensive Runs Saved according to FanGraphs.

EXTRA ON CAL…Cal Raleigh went 2-for-5 with 1 run scored, 1 double, and 2 RBI in last night’s game…he has recorded an extra-base hit in back-to-back games, with 7 of his 14 hits this season going for extra-bases…dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season, Cal ranks 5th among Major League catchers with 48 extra-base hits, while leading all catchers with 27 home runs.

BULLPEN BULLIES…the Mariners bullpen combined for 5.0 innings in last nights game, allowing only 2 runs (both unearned) on 1 hit and 3 walks (1 intentional) with 7 strikeouts…Seattle’s bullpen has covered 70.2 innings this season, tied for 4th-most in the Majors (also: Tampa Bay)…Mariners relievers rank 9th in the Majors with a 3.18 ERA (25 ER, 70.2 IP) with 42 walks and 74 strikeouts, while limiting opponents to
a .208 batting average against.

KELENIC’S OFFENSIVE CLINIC…Jarred Kelenic reached base twice in last night’s game, both via walk…Jarred has reached base safely in 12 of his last 13 games dating back to April 2 vs. Cleveland… during that stretch (4/2-c), he is batting .341 (15×44) with 8 runs, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 8 RBI, 7 walks and 2 stolen bases, while reaching base at a .431 clip and slugging .705 with a 1.136 OPS over 13 games…overall this season, he holds a 1.023 OPS, ranking 9th-best in the Majors among qualified hitters.

IMPECCABLE TY-MING…Ty France went 1-for-4 with 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 sacrifice fly in last night’s game…in 18 games this season, he has reached base safely in 17-of-18 and hit safely in 15-of-18… overall, Ty is batting .319 (23×72), with 16 runs, 8 doubles, 1 home run, 13 RBI, 8 walks and 1 stolen base, while getting on base at a .405 clip and slugging .472 with a .877 OPS…with his game-tying sacrifice fly in the 10th inning last night, France leads the Majors in game-tying RBI (6) in the 9th inning or later since the start of the 2021 season, ranking ahead of Willy Adames (5) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (5).

SUÁVE SUÁREZ…Eugenio Suárez went 1-for-4 with 1 run and 1 hit-by-pitch in yesterday’s game…the Mariners third baseman has reached base in 15 consecutive games (4/2-c)…during that stretch, Geno is batting .306 (19×62) with 7 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 13 RBI and 4 walks, getting on base at a .362 clip, slugging .435 with an .798 OPS…Suarez also ranks tied for 4th in the Majors with 4 Outs Above Average according to Baseball Savant.

STOP IT!…according to FanGraphs, Seattle has registered 7 Defensive Runs Saved tied for 6th-most in the Majors (also: St. Louis), trailing Arizona (17 DRS), Milwaukee (16), Toronto (14), Detroit (11) and Minnesota (9)…according to Baseball Savant, Seattle has recorded 5 Outs Above Average, which ranks 3rd in the Majors behind only Arizona (11) and New York-NL (6).

ON THE HOMESTAND…the Mariners still have 4 games remaining on the 9-game homestand (3-2) at T-Mobile Park, including the following events: Weather Education day (April 19), All-Star Hat Night (April 21) and more…for more information, visit Mariners.com/Promotions or Mariners.com/Tickets

AS YOU MAY KNOW…Matt Brash holds a 18.78 strikeouts-per-nine ratio (7.1 IP, 16 SO) over his first 10 appearances of the season, and…AS YOU MAY ALSO KNOW…his 18.78 SO/9 ratio ranks 3rd among all MLB relievers this season (min. 5.0 IP), trailing only Jose Alvarado-PHI (22.09 SO/9) and Alexis Diaz-CIN (20.25 SO/9), but…DID YOU KNOW?…Brash’s 18.78 SO/9 ratio over his first 10 appearances is the best by any Mariners reliever over their first 10 games in a season in club history?… Brash ranks ahead of Andrés Muñoz in 2022 (17.36 SO/9) and Edwin Díaz in 2018 (16.54 SO/9).

TODAY’S MARINERS STARTER – LHP MARCO GONZALES
ABOUT GONZALES…
• 31-year-old left-hander is making his 3rd start of the season, 1st against the Milwaukee Brewers, he is also making his 156th career appearance (148th career start) and his 3rd career start (4th appearance) against Milwaukee.

• Acquired by Seattle from St. Louis in exchange for minor league outfielder Tyler O’Neill on July 21, 2017.

• Native of Fort Collins, CO…attended Gonzaga University for 3 years (2011-13).

• Originally selected by Colorado in the 29th round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of Rocky Mountain High School (Fort Collins, CO) but did not sign…drafted and signed by the Cardinals with the 19th overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft out of Gonzaga University…became the highest draft pick in the history of the Gonzaga baseball program.

• Made his MLB debut with Cardinals on June 25, 2014 at Colorado.

LAST TIME OUT…W#1 in last start on 4/8 at CLE…allowed 1 run on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5 in 5.2 innings.

INTERLEAGUE PLAY…is 2-0 all-time against the Milwaukee Brewers and 8-3 in interleague play…he owns a 3.39 ERA (90.1 IP, 34 ER) with 20 walks and 66 strikeouts against interleague opponents.

SUCCESS IN SEATTLE…is set to make his 68th career start at T-Mobile Park…he has a 28-17 record with a 3.76 ERA (404.1 IP, 169 ER) and 2 complete games when pitching in Seattle…his .622 winning percentage ranks second in franchise history among starting pitchers with at least 60 games started at T-Mobile Park trailing only Jamie Moyer (.640).

STARTING THE SEASON STRONG…holds a 11-7 career record in March/April with a 4.12 ERA (126.2 IP, 58 ER)…in March/April opponents are batting .273 (136×499) against Gonzales while striking out 103 times and walking 31 times…Marco’s .611 winning percentage in March/April ranks 5th in franchise history among starting pitchers with at least 24 games started.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY…has pitched at least 5.0 innings in each of his 2 starts this season…in 2022 Gonzales had a streak of 20 consecutive games with at least 5.0 innings pitched from 6/15-10/5/22…this was the second longest streak among Mariners starters trailing only Logan Gilbert (22).

SEASON-LONG STAMINA…made all 32 starts last season which is tied for 1st among Mariners pitchers with Logan Gilbert and Robbie Ray…his 183.0 innings pitched was 3rd on the team last year trailing only Ray (189.0) and Gilbert (185.2)…he also led Seattle’s starting pitchers in decisions earning 25 decisions out of his 32 starts in 2022.

BUILT DIFFERENT… tossed 6.2 innings allowing 3 runs (2 ER) on 8 hits and 0 walks with 0 strikeouts on 7/7/22 vs. TOR…was 1 of only 8 instances of a starter tossing 6.0+ innings without a strikeout in 2022…had 8 different starts with 6+ innings pitched and 2-or-fewer strikeouts in 2022, which was the most such starts in the Majors…Cole Irvin-OAK ranked second with 5 such starts.

LET’S GET DEEP…The Mariners are 53-26 in starts when Gonzales goes 6.0 or more innings, compared to 22-42 when he tosses 5.2 innings or less over his career…when Gonzales tosses 7.0+ innings the Mariners are 25-9.

GOOD STRETCHES…recorded multiple quality start streaks in 2022…his longest quality start streak occurred from 6/15-7/7/22 during which he had a 2.51 ERA (32.1 IP, 9 ER) in 5 consecutive quality starts…his second longest streak occurred from 8/25-9/11/22 during which he had a 2.88 ERA (25.0 IP, 8 ER) in 4 consecutive quality starts…Gonzales tied for 1st in quality starts among Mariners starting pitchers last season with Robbie Ray (18).

OPENER x 3…started on Opening Day 3-consecutive years from 2019-21…became the 7th Mariners to start on Opening Day for at least 3- consecutive seasons, joining Mike Moore (1984-86), Mark Langston (1987-89), Randy Johnson (1992-1996), Freddy Garcia (2001-03), Jamie Moyer (2004-06) and Felix Hernandez (2009-18).

DEEP (START) IN THE HEART OF TEXAS…tossed the 3rd complete game of his career in a 3-1 Mariners win against Texas on Aug. 12, 2021…matched his career highs in innings pitched (9.0), strikeouts (9) and surrendered the fewest hits in any of his 3 complete games (2)…the only run allowed came via a home run to Charlie Culberson with 2 outs in the 2nd inning…he faced the minimum in 8 of 9 innings.

PLAYOFF PROWESS…pitched in the 2014 Postseason with St. Louis…went 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA (3 ER, 6.0 IP) with 4 strikeouts and…earned 2 wins in the NLDS vs. Los Angeles, becoming the 4th rookie in postseason history to win 2 games in the Division Series (also: Dave Righetti-NYY, 1981, Jaret Wright-CLE, 1997 and Francisco RodrÍguez-LAA, 2002).

MLB Preview: Atlanta Braves (14-4) at San Diego Padres (8-11)

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MLB Preview: Atlanta Braves (14-4) at San Diego Padres (8-11)

ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:

Good Start
Atlanta beat San Diego, 8-1, last night, and the win moved the Braves to 14-4 (.778) on the season. That record ties the club’s best mark through 18 games since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966. Just one other Atlanta team has opened with a 14-4 record through 18 games since 1966. The 1997 club also started 14-4, and would go on to finish with a 101-61 record an the NL East division title. No club in Atlanta history has started 15-4 through 19 games, which the Braves can do with a win today. Atlanta was 8-10 through 18 games in each of the last two seasons, and would rally to win the division in both years.

TODAY’S GAME: The Braves and Padres today conclude a three-game series with the seventh and final game between the clubs this season…The two played just 10 days ago at Truist Park in Atlanta.

• Atlanta has won each of the first two games of this series, and goes for the sweep today.

• San Diego won three-of-four games between the two clubs last week, outscoring Atlanta, 25-14… The Padres are responsible for three of the four losses Atlanta has this season…Against all other opponents, the Braves are 11-1.

• Atlanta went 3-4 against San Diego last season, snapping a streak of five consecutive years in which the Braves won the season set…Atlanta needs a sweep this week to win the season series.

• Atlanta is 10-2 in its last 12 games as the visiting team here at Petco Park, dating to the 2019 season…The Braves swept the Padres here in 2019 and 2021, and split four games last season.

• RH Charlie Morton has made 12 career starts against San Diego and compiled a 6-3 record with a 2.63 ERA (21 ER/72.0 IP)…He last faced them just 11 days ago, on April 8 at Truist Park, and allowed three runs, two earned, over 5.0 innings to take the loss…The 6-foot-5, 235-pound righty has made three starts for Atlanta this season, going 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA (7 ER/16.1 IP).

• RH Nick Martinez has made three appearances and two starts in his career against Atlanta, going 0-1 with a 6.17 ERA (8 ER/11.2 IP)…In his last start against the Braves, April 7 at Truist Park earlier this month, he allowed four hits and four runs over 4.2 innings in a no-decision…The 6-foot-1, 175- pound Miami native has made three starts for the Padres this season, going 0-1 with a 5.60 ERA (11 ER/17.2 IP).

WIN: Atlanta beat San Diego, 8-1, last night to win its eighth straight game…Sean Murphy, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson all homered for the Braves.

• Atlanta improved to 10-1 (.909) on the road this season, and has outscored opponents, 66-25, away from Truist Park…The Braves’ .909 winning percentage on the road is best in baseball…The Cubs rank second with a .714 mark (5-2).

• The Braves lead the majors in both runs scored (66) and home runs (21) on the road this season, and are averaging 6.0 runs per game away from Truist Park.

• The Braves hit multiple homers in a game for the sixth time this season last night, and are undefeated when doing so…When Atlanta homers at least once in a game, the club is 13-1.

• Atlanta’s eight runs last night gave them 97 on the season, most in the National League and third most in baseball…Only the Rays (125) and Rangers (100) have scored more runs than the Braves this season.

OLSON RUNS BATTED IN: 1B Matt Olson connected on his sixth home run of the season last night, a three-run shot in the ninth inning…Olson has a National League-most 20 RBI on the season.

• Olson has his 20 RBI in just 18 games, and is on pace for 32 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.

STREAK: Atlanta beat San Diego, 8-1, last night, and the Braves have won each of their last eight games…It is the longest active winning streak in baseball.

• The Braves’ run is the second-longest winning streak in baseball this season, trailing just a 13-game stretch by Tampa Bay…The Rays won each of their first 13 games of the season.

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

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

• Atlanta pitchers have 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.

JESSE CHAVEZ: Pitched 1.0 scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts last night, and has 9.0 scoreless innings over 10 appearances this season.

• This year marks the first time in his 16-season MLB career that his first 10 outings have been scoreless.

• He is one of seven pitchers in the majors this season with at least 10 games pitched, and the only one of them without a run on his record.

MURPHY EXTRA BASES: Sean Murphy homered in last night’s fourth inning, giving him 11 consecutive extra-base hits dating to a fourth-inning double on April 6…He later singled in the eighth to stop the streak.

• The streak now stands as the longest extra-base run in Atlanta history (since 1966), surpassing the mark set by Gary Matthews, Sr. in 1979…Matthews had 10 in a row from June 17-23.

• Only one player in Braves franchise history (since 1900) has a longer such streak…Wally Berger of the Boston Braves had 12 such hits in August of 1935.

• Research courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau.

Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #50 Charlie Morton
2023 Record: 2-1, 3.86 ERA

Today’s Game
• Set to make his second start of the season and thirteenth career appearance against San Diego.

• Struck out six while allowing two earned runs over 5.0 innings during his last start against the Padres.

• Morton’s career 2.63 ERA is the lowest against a single opponent (min. 10 appearances).

• Has held San Diego hitters to a .196 batting average through his 11 outings, also the lowest against a single team with at least 10 appearances against.

• Scattered six hits, three runs, two earned runs, three walks and a home run through 5.0 frames in his last start against San Diego.

• Struck out Jake Croneworth to record his 1,700th career punchout.

• Became the 15th active pitcher to record as many strikeouts…Max Scherzer leads active hurlers with 3,207.

• In his age 39 season, Morton is the sixth-oldest active pitcher in the majors.

• Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Morton has struck out 256 hitters with his curveball, the most in the majors.

• He has thrown his curveball on 37.4% of pitches, the second highest rate in baseball among qualified starters.

• During that span hitters missing on 52.2% of curveballs thrown, the second highest rate in the majors…The MLB average is 12.7%.

• Only Chicago’s Drew Smyly’s throws a curveball more often (42.5%.)

2023 Recap
• Made his first start of the season against St. Louis.

• Only struck out one hitter through 5.1 innings pitched against the Cardinals, marking just the ninth time in his career Morton pitched at least 5.0 frames while failing to record at least two punchouts and the first since June 5, 2015 against Pittsburgh.

• Struck out San Diego’s Jake Croneworth on April 8 to record his 1,700th career punchout.

• Is one of 15 active pitchers in baseball with as many strikeouts

SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:

Padres drop 3rd straight in front of 42,693 patrons, plate 1 run to the Braves’ 8

• The Padres avoided being shut out for their 3rd consecutive game with their sole run in the 8th inning, but the loss was their 3rd straight and the 6th in their last 7 games.

• The run in the 8th snapped a streak of 25 straight scoreless innings from the San Diego offense, falling 25 innings shy of the club record 37.0 scoreless innings back in 1971.

• Starter Blake Snell suffered his 3rd loss of the year, and the Padres have now lost all 4 of his starts…he tossed a season-high 5.0 innings and allowed 2 runs (earned) on 3 hits with 3 walks and 5 punchouts…said Snell postgame: “We know we can score and shut people down, and we haven’t been doing that on both ends, so we’re definitely frustrated. We know how good we are. We know how quick we can turn it around
and be the team we know that we are.” Padres have played more games than any team (19), and today is Game 14 in a stretch of playing 18 games in 18 days; 21 games in 22 days

• No other team has played more games so far in 2023 than the Padres (19), and after enjoying their sole off day so far on April 5 in Atlanta, they won’t have their 2nd until April 24, playing 18 games in 18 days from April 6-23 and 21 games in 22 days from April 6-27…their 3rd off day will be on April 28 (in Mexico City)…their 1st off day in San Diego won’t be until May 4.

• SD has lost 11 of their 1st 19 games to start the season for the 1st time since 2018 (went 7-12 to start ’18)…it’s the 1st time since 2017 that the Padres pitching staff had an ERA at or above 4.30 in their 1st 19 games.

Live and die by the long ball
• SD batters rank 20th in the Majors this year in hits (138) but rank T-8th in home runs (22)…they’re 1-6 this year in games in which they fail to homer and 7-5 in games in which they hit at least 1 HR. Padres are 2-7 since their series in Atlanta, have plated a ML-low 2.44 R/G

• San Diego batters have hit a Major-League low .203 (59-for-291) in 9 games since April 10, and they’ve scored a ML-low 2.44 runs per game in that span…including last night’s defeat, San Diego has won just 2 of their last 9 games since April 10, and they’re 1-6 in their last 7 games.

Roadtrippin: Padres set to play Giants in Mexico & see season debuts from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Joe Musgrove in Arizona

• The Padres embark on their 2nd road-trip of the season, which is an 11-day, 9-game trip that includes a 2-game “home” series in Mexico City at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium against the Giants to cap the trip from April 29-30…the Padres will fly to Arizona following today’s game, play 4 against the D-Backs, have their 2nd off day of the season on April 24 in Chicago, and play the Cubs in a 3-game set…from Chicago, the Padres will fly to Mexico City, have an off day in Mexico on April 28, and host a 2-game series vs. San Francisco before flying home and hosting the Reds the very next day on May 1st.

• Joe Musgrove will toe the slab on Saturday, April 22 in Game 3 of the 4-game set against the D-Backs…he’ll go opposite Merrill Kelly @ Chase Field.

STARTER – NICK MARTINEZ 21
Martinez set for 4th start of season, 2nd vs. the Braves 32-year-old right-hander Nick Martinez looks for his 2nd consecutive quality start to finish off this 3-game set vs. the Braves and avoid the sweep…Martinez faced off against the Braves in his 2nd start of the season on Friday, April 7 and did not factor into SD’s 5-4 victory…he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits and walked a career-high-tying 5 batters for the 5th time. Eddie Rosario’s 11 at-bats vs. Martinez are the most among all Braves hitters, but he is just 2-for-11 (.182) with a HR…Matt Olson (4-for-10, .400 vs. Martinez) and Marcell Ozuna (4-for-8, .500) both have 2 HR vs. Martinez…Ozzie Albies is 1-for-6 (.167) vs. Martinez, with that 1 hit being a HR.

Long ball issues
Martinez allowed 2 home runs in his most recent start last Thursday vs. MIL and has allowed 4 homers on the season…he has a 2.04 HR/9 IP ratio, 1 of 13 NL starters to have made at least 3 starts and allow 2.00+HR/9 IP. Since the start of last season, he’s allowed 13 HR across 70.0 IP as a starter, and 6 HR across 54.0 IP as a reliever.

Pitch count rising
After eclipsing the 100+ pitch plateau in 3 of his 10 starts last season, Martinez tossed 101 pitches in both of his first 2 starts this season, before throwing 92 pitches in his most recent outing last Thursday vs. MIL…among all NL starters who have made at least 3 starts, his 98.0 pitches per outing rank T-6th among all NL hurlers…in fact, along with Yu Darvish and Seth Lugo, the Padres account for 3 of the 8 NL hurlers averaging 98.0+ pitchers per outing entering today’s action. His first 2 outings of the 2023 campaign marked the first time he’s tossed 100+ pitches in back-to-back Major Leauge games since May 3-8, 2017.

Representin’
On February 19, 2023, Team USA announced that Martinez replaced Clayton Kershaw on the 30-man roster for the United States team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic…he started Game 2 of pool play against Team Mexico and was the losing pitcher, allowing five hits and three runs with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of the 11-5 defeat…after he wasn’t guaranteed to start for Team USA for the rest of the event, he returned to Padres spring training to prepare for the start of the Major League season.

MLB Preview: Chicago Cubs (10-6) at Oakland Athletics (3-15)

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MLB Preview: Chicago Cubs (10-6) at Oakland Athletics (3-15)

CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:

Cubs vs. Athletics
The Cubs and the Athletics face each other in this three-game series for the first time since Aug. 5-7, 2019 … this is the teams’ first meeting in Oakland in seven years, with the previous tilts Aug. 5-7, 2016 … the Cubs have won four of five series against the A’s and look to win their third-straight set

WEST COAST LIVIN’: The Chicago Cubs today close out a six-game road trip that has seen them go 2-1 against the Dodgers and 2-0 against the A’s, including last night’s 4-0 victory over Oakland … Chicago is 6-2 this season against the A.L. West and 222-221 (.501) all-time against the A.L. since interleague play began in 1997. © With the 4-0 win, the Cubs picked up their third shutout of the season … they have recorded at least three shutouts within the first 16 games for the fourth time in the last 50 seasons dating to 1974 … the other instances were 2019 (3 SHO), 2016 (3 SHO) and 1985 (3 SHO).

Last night’s victory was the team’s 10th of the season, the first time the club has won at least 10 of it’s first 16 games since 2020 and for the seventh time since 2001 (also 2020, 13; 2016, 12; 2008, 10; 2004, 10; 2003, 10; and 2001, 11).

STROMAN SHOWING OUT: Marcus recorded another quality start last night against Oakland, his fourth in as many outings, throwing 6.0 scoreless innings and limiting the A’s to two hits and two walks while striking out five.

Stroman became just the second Cubs starting pitcher with three outings of at least 6.0 innings pitched without allowing a run within the team’s first 16 games (since 1901), joining Jake Arrieta in 2016.

He also is the third Cubs starting pitcher (since 1901) to allow two or fewer runs combined over his first four starts of a season … Steve Stone did it in 1976 and Jason Hammel in 2016.

NICO IS NICE: Nico Hoerner last night recorded a double in the first inning to extend his on-base streak to 14 games, the second longest of his career – his longest was July 7-26, 2022 (15 games) … he has also gone 23-straight plate appearances without a strikeout dating to April 14, the longest active streak in the majors (Jean Segura, MIA, Marcus Semien, TEX, and Keibert Ruiz, WSH, are tied for second with 21 apiece).

YOU ONLY GET ONE FIRST IMPRESSION: The Cubs today face Athletics starting pitcher Mason Miller, making his major league debut … Chicago last season twice faced starting pitchers making their major league debuts, both with Milwaukee: Ethan Small on May 30 (gm. 1) in a 7-6 Brewers win and Jason Alexander on June 1 in a 4-3, 10-inning Cubs victory … Chicago has gone up against starting pitchers making their major league debuts seven times since the start of the 2020 season with the team going 5-2 in those contests.

EASY AS 1-2-3: With the win last night over the Athletics, the Cubs earned their fourth consecutive series victory … the previous time the Chicago picked up four-straight series victories was Sept. 19-Oct. 2, 2022, against Miami (2-1), Pittsburgh (3-1), Philadelphia (3-0) and Cincinnati (3-0) … the last time the Cubs won five series (of at least two-games) in a row was Aug. 5-21, 2022, against Miami (2-1), Washington (2-1), Cincinnati (2-1), Washington again (2-1) and Milwaukee (2-1).

THE POWER OF THE WIZ: Patrick Wisdom Monday blasted two home runs, giving him five homers in four games (April 14-17) … he is the first Cub to hit five homers in four games since Willson Contreras did it Aug. 3-6, 2017, and the seventh to do it since 2000 (combined 17 occurences) … his eight long-balls on the season are tied for the major league lead and made 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).

Since the start of the 2021 season, Wisdom has averaged one home run every 14.16 at-bats, the second-best rate among N.L. hitters with at least 900 plate appearances (Kyle Schwarber, 12.12) … his 61 homers in that span are tied for the seventh-most among N.L. hitters.

Wisdom has extra-base hits in each of his last five games, the first Cub to turn that trick since Frank Schwindel Aug. 12-18, 2021 (7-straight games).

HE’S UN-BELLI-VABLE: Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger went 5-for-5 Monday and recorded the first five-hit game of his career … it is the second time in his career he has not recorded an out in a game in which he had five plate appearances (also Sept. 12, 2017, 2-2 with 3 BB).

In his last 12 games, dating to April 4, Bellinger is hitting .375 (18-for-48) with three doubles, two homers, seven RBI, 11 runs scored, a .415 on-base percentage and a .978 OPS, after starting the season 1-for-15 (.067) … in that span, Bellinger ranks tied for seventh in the majors in batting average … in his last five games, he is hitting .429 (9-for-21) with a .478 OBP and a 1.145 slugging percentage.

THE LEIT SHOW IS SHINING: Cubs reliever Mark Leiter Jr. this season has made eight appearances (7.1 IP) without allowing a run and has surrendered just three hits while striking out 14 batters … 11 of his 14 punchouts have come against lefties, which are tied for the lead among all major league relievers.

He ranks third among N.L. relievers, and fifth in the majors, with 17.18 strikeouts per nine innings pitched (min. 5 G).

CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN: Nico Hoerner Monday recorded his ninth stolen base of the season, in the team’s 15th game, becoming just the second Cub (since 1901) to steal nine bags by the team’s 15th contest … in 1907, Jimmy Slagle notched his ninth stolen base in team-game number 15 … Brian McRae was the quickets to double digits in game 18 in 1996. (h/t Ed Hartig and Jordan Bastian) © The Cubs have tallied 22 stolen bases so far this season, which is the thirdmost in the majors and leads the N.L.

Starting Pitcher – #35 LHP Justin Steele (2-0, 1.42)
Last Time Out
Justin earned his second win of the season April 14 at Los Angeles (N.L.) … tied a career high with 7.0 IP … struck out a season high-tying eight batters for the eighth time in his career … has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10-straight starts dating to July 22, 2022.

2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 1-0 0.75 2 2 12.0 7 1 1 5 11
Road 1-0 2.57 1 1 7.0 3 2 2 1 8
AVG vs. LHB: .313 (5-for-16) / AVG vs. RHB: .100 (5-for-50)

Justin is making his fourth start of the 2023 season today, second on the road … has posted a 1.13 ERA (7 ER/55.2 IP) since July 22, 2022, the lowest ERA in the majors during the run (min. 10 GS) … his 1.42 ERA in 2023 is tied for the second-lowest in the N.L. (min. 3 GS) … right-handed hitters are batting .100 (5-for-50) against him … opposing batters are hitting .040 (1-for-25) off his slider. © Went 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA (4 ER/13.2 IP) with 13 strikeouts in four Cactus League starts in 2023 … started and tossed the first 2.0 innings of the Cubs combined no-hitter, March 3 at San Diego.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: Have lost the first two games of this three-game series and have now lost each of the first six series of the season for the first time in Athletics history (previous: 5 in 1935, 1946 and 1951)…have a six-game losing streak for the second time this year (April 5-11)…have lost 12 of the last 13 games and 15 of the last 17…are 3-15 (.167) overall and have the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (4-14, .222)…have matched the 1951 Philadelphia A’s for the worst record in Athletics history after 18 games…that club lost game 19 to fall to 3-16…the A’s won the opener this year and spent the first two days of the season in a tie for first in the American League West…were in fourth place after the April 6 off day but have spent each day since then in fifth place.

HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 0-5 on this six-game homestand against New York-NL (0-3) and Chicago-NL (0-2)…there has been just one winless homestand of six or more games in Oakland history and that came last year from April 29-May 4 against Cleveland and Tampa Bay…have a season-high six-game home losing streak and are now 2-9 (.182) in the Coliseum, which is the second lowest home winning percentage in the majors (Royals, 1-11/.083)… leave following the game today for a seven-game road trip to Texas (three games) and Los Angeles-AL (four games) that starts on Friday…went 1-6 on their first road trip to Tampa Bay (0-3) and Baltimore (1-3).

NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 3-7 in night games and 0-8 during the day…the eight-game losing streak in day games matches the longest such single-season streak by an A’s team over the last 15 years…have not lost more than eight consecutive day games in a single-season since losing 10 straight from July 30-Sept. 4, 2008…the only other team without a win in a day game this year is the Dodgers, who are 0-3…are batting .275 (96-for-349) with 46 runs in 10 night games (4.6 runs per game), .162 (41-for-253) with 17 runs in eight day games (2.1 runs per game)…have the fifth best night batting average in the majors and the lowest day batting average.

OFFENSE: The A’s were shutout for the fourth time this year last night, which matches the Royals for the most in the majors…have scored one run or fewer in seven of the first 18 games and have 63 runs overall, which is fifth fewest in the majors…are batting .261 (73-for-279) with eight home runs and 35 runs scored over the last eight games after hitting .198 with eight home runs and 28 runs scored over the first 10 contests…are tied for the third fewest extra base hits in the majors (41), have the fourth lowest OPS (.655) and slugging percentage (.350), the fifth lowest on-base percentage (.304) and the sixth lowest batting average (.228)…are tied for the eighth most hit by pitches (9).

PITCHING: The A’s have the highest ERA (7.47), opponents OPS (.857), on-base percentage (.382) and slugging percentage (.493) in the majors and the second highest opponents batting average (.282)…have allowed 139 runs, which is 30 more than any other team and the most by any team over the first 18 games since the Rockies allowed 142 in 1998…lead the majors in most walks (93), home runs (33) and hit batters (15), have the third fewest strikeouts (125) and are tied for the fourth most wild pitches (9).

WITH THE BASES LOADED: A’s opponents are 12-for-26 (.462) with four grand slams, six walks and two hit by pitches with the bases loaded…the walks and grand slams are the most in the majors and the hit by pitches are tied for the most…the four grand slams match the second highest season total by an A’s team over the last six years (surrendered six last year).

STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-9 with an 8.82 ERA over the first 18 games…that is the longest season-opening streak of consecutive games without a win from a starter in Athletics history (previous: 10 in 1979 and 1997)…it matches the longest streak of consecutive games without a win from a starting pitcher at any point in the season in Oakland history (July 24- Aug. 12, 1997)…A’s starters have the highest ERA in the majors and are the only team without a win from their starting pitchers…have tossed fewer than five innings nine times and are tied for the fourth fewest innings pitched (82.2)…have allowed more runs than innings pitched in nine of the 18 games.

THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen has a 6.01 ERA, which is fourth highest in the majors…has 76.1 innings pitched, which is tied with the Red Sox for the most…had a save on Opening Day but has none since then…the one save is the fewest in the majors and the A’s have four blown saves, which is tied for the most.

DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s had their five-game errorless streak snapped last night…have made four errors over the last 12 games after making eight miscues over the first six contests…have 12 errors overall, which is tied for fourth most in the majors…have a 0-8 record when going errorless and are 3-7 when making one or more errors…have four outfield assists, which are tied for fourth most in the majors…have two passed balls, which are tied for third most…had just three passed balls all last year.

ON THE BASES: The A’s are a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts on the homestand and are 18-for-19 (94.7%) for the season…rank third in the majors in stolen base percentage and tied for sixth in steals…A’s opponents are 11-for-12 (91.7%) in stolen base attempts over the last six games and are 20-for-23 (87.0%) for the season…the 20 stolen bases allowed are tied for third most in the majors

A’S IN APRIL: The A’s are 2-15 (.118) in April and the 15 losses are tied with the 2019 club for the third most April losses in Oakland history…the record is 17 in 1994 (7-17) and 2001 (8-17)…the .292 winning percentage in 1994 is the lowest in Oakland history in an April with more than five games…have a 7.86 ERA this month and the highest April ERA in Oakland history is 6.20 in 1994… have allowed 33 home runs, which is third most in Oakland history in April (36 in 1996, 34 in 2019).

EXTRA INNING GAMES AND OTHER CLOSE CALLS: The A’s played their third extra inning game of the season Sunday and are 0-3 in those games…the three losses are second most in the majors and the three games are tied for fourth most…six of the A’s first 18 games have been decided in the winning teams last at bat and the A’s are 2-4 in those games…two of the A’s three wins have been by one run and Oakland is 2-4 in one-run decisions…are tied for fifth in the majors in one-run losses and tied for sixth in one-run games (6).

THIS AND THAT: The A’s have a run differential of -76, which is the lowest in the majors (Royals, -42)…are 1-4 when scoring six or more runs in a game… are 3-11 when the opponent starts a right-handed pitcher, 0-4 when they start a left-hander…are the only team in the majors without a win when the opponent starts a lefty…the A’s average time of game is 2 hours and 48 minutes, which is second slowest in the majors…have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:43).

THE INJURED LIST: The A’s placed Ramón Laureano and Trevor May on the injured list today and now have 10 players on the IL (Acevedo, Blackburn, Brown, Jiménez, Piña, Rucinski, Snead, Tarnok), including seven pitchers…the 10 IL placements are tied for fourth most in the majors (Yankees and Mets 12, Braves 11)…have added five players to IL since the start of the season after beginning the year with five players on the IL…used the IL 31 times last year, which broke the Oakland record of 27 set in 2016 and matched in 2021…however, used the IL nine times for Covid in 2022 and three times in 2021.

A’S VS. CUBS
• The A’s have lost the first two game of this series and have been swept by the Cubs once (Aug. 5-7, 2016 in Oakland).

• Have lost seven of their last eight games against the Cubs.

• Including this year, have lost five of the six season series.

• The A’s and Cubs meet for the first time since 2019 when Oakland lost two of three at Wrigley Field.

• This is the Cubs first visit to Oakland since 2016…the A’s were swept in a three-game series that year.

Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-2 0-0 0-2
2019 0-0 1-2 1-2
Oakland History: 5-12
at the Coliseum: 2-6
at Wrigley Field: 3-6

TODAY’S TIDBITS
Adrián Martínez ranks third among Major League relievers with 13.2 innings pitched…Sam Moll has not allowed a hit over his first nine games…
opponents are 0-for-18 but he has walked four and hit three for a .280 opponents on-base percentage…Esteury Ruiz leads American League rookies in batting (.300) and on-base percentage (.393), is tied for the lead in hits 18) and doubles (4), ranks second in stolen bases (4), tied for third in RBI (8), fifth in OPS (.749) and slugging (.367), tied for fifth in extra base hits (4) and sixth in runs (6).

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Mason Miller (Major League Debut)

FOR STARTERS: Was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas today and will be making his Major League debut…will become the 58th pitcher in Oakland history to start in his ML debut, the second this year (Fujinami on April 1)…has made just 11 appearances, including 10 starts, as a minor leaguer and has just 28.2 innings pitched…the last A’s pitcher to start in his debut with fewer games pitched as a professional is Kirk Dressendorfer, who made the A’s Opening Day roster in 1991 and started on April 13 after pitching in just seven games, including four starts, in 19.1 innings with Short-Season Southern Oregon in his professional debut in 1990…the last A’s pitcher to start in his debut and win was Adrián Martínez at Detroit last year on May 10…the last to strike out 10 or more batters was Aaron Harang on May 25, 2002 against Tampa Bay…the last to toss at least seven innings was Rich Harden on July 21, 2003 at Kansas City…the last complete game was by Mike Morgan June 11, 1978 against Baltimore and the only shutout is by Mike Norris April 10, 1975 against Chicago…the 57 pitchers to start in their debut have combined for a 16-20 record and a 4.31 ERA.

MLB Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates (11-7) at Colorado Rockies (5-13)

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MLB Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates (11-7) at Colorado Rockies (5-13)

PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:

THE PIRATES:..Have won two straight and three of their last four games…Have won seven of their last nine games on the road since dropping back-to-back games on 4/1-2…Won a season-high four straight games from 4/3-7…Have not lost back-to-back games since dropping the final two contests of their season-opening series in Cincinnati.

CHECKING THE BROOM CLOSET: This afternoon the Pirates will look for their second sweep of the season and first in Colorado since sweeping a four-game series from August 29 to September 1, 2019…Pittsburgh’s other sweep this season came at Fenway Park from April 3-5…Pittsburgh swept two road series in 2022, going 4-0 against the Reds from September 12-14 and winning three at Dodger Stadium from May 30 to June 1.

JACK’S JACKS: Jack Suwinski recorded his second career multi-home run game Tuesday night after going deep in each of his first two at-bats (his other was a three-homer game on June 19, 2022)…Suwinski has now gone deep in back-to-back games four times in his career…Prior to last night, the previous time he did it was September 23-24.

SUCCESSION OF SOUTHPAWS: This afternoon the Pirates will be opposed by a starting lefthander for the fourth time on their seven-game road trip…Carlos Santana ranks eighth in MLB coming into today with a .471 average against lefties.

GOING THE EXTRA MILE IN COLORADO: Four of Pittsburgh’s five hits during the fourth inning Tuesday went for extra bases on doubles by Connor Joe and Carlos Santana, a home run by Jack Suwinski and triple by Tucupita Marcano…It was the first time the Buccos had four extra base hits in one inning here at Coors Field since August 9, 2003, in the fourth inning (Tike Redman double, Jason Kendall double, Reggie Sanders homer and Craig Wilson triple).

ON THE OFFENSIVE: Pittsburgh enters today ranked seventh in all of Major League Baseball with a .432 slugging percentage, eighth in OPS (.757) and fifth in extra base hits (61)…Pittsburgh ranked 27th in slugging (.364) and 28th in OPS (.655) in 2022.

ABOUT TODAY’S STARTER: Johan Oviedo will get the start this afternoon in the finale of this seven-game road trip…Oviedo struck out a career-high 10 batters while allowing one run in 7.0 innings while losing a 3-0 decision in his last outing Friday at St. Louis…Since allowing four earned runs in 4.2 innings in his season debut, Oviedo has allowed one run in 13.2 innings in his last two starts.

DEEP THOUGHTS: The Pirates have gone deep eight times in the first six games of their road trip…Pittsburgh is tied for fourth in the National League and tied for sixth in all of MLB with 23 home runs.

BACK TO THE BURGH: Tomorrow night the Pirates will begin a four-game series against the Reds as part of a seven-game homestand…The homestand will continue Tuesday night with the beginning of a three-game series against the Dodgers… Monday’s off day for the Pirates will end a stretch of playing 17 straight days.

CUTCH’S MILESTONES WATCH: Andrew McCutchen enters today four total bases shy of tying Arky Vaughan for ninth place on the Pirates all-time list with 2,484…McCutchen is also one double shy of tying Dave Parker for seventh place on the Pirates all-time list with 296 and one hit shy of breaking a tie with Dave Parker (1479) and moving into sole possession of 13th place on the Pirates all-time hit list with 1480…Al Oliver is 12th with 1490 hits.

WELCOME HOME CUTCH: Andrew McCutchen has reached base safely in 12 straight games, has hit safely in five straight and six of his last seven games and at a .333 clip (14-for-42) with a .983 OPS in his last 11 contests dating back to April 5.

GETTING STRETCHED OUT: Pittsburgh’s starters have worked at least 6.0 innings in each of the last eight games…That’s the longest stretch since also making eight straight starts of at least 6.0 innings from April 10-19, 2019…The last time Pittsburgh’s starting rotation worked at least 6.0 innings in more than eight straight games was a 10-game stretch from August 3-12, 2017 (special thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau).

CALL TO THE PEN: Pittsburgh’s bullpen has gone 8-for-10 (80%) in save opportunities…The 80-percent success rate is sixth in MLB and third in the National League behind the Marlins (4-for-4, 100 %) and Mets (6-for-7, 85.7%)…Individually, David Bednar has converted five of his six save opportunities…Bednar’s five saves coming into today are the most in the National League and tied for second-most in all of MLB (Toronto’s Jordan Romano leads with seven).

24 – RHP JOHAN OVIEDO
JOHAN OVIEDO: The 25-year-old righthander is making his fourth start today…Lost a 3-0 decision (7.0ip/1r) while striking out a career-high 10 batters in his last start.

vs. COLORADO: 0-0 in one career start…Allowed three runs in 6.0 innings but had a no-decision on 7/2/21 at Coors Field while pitching for the Cardinals.

COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:

WHAT’S GOING ON
• The Colorado Rockies wrap-up their brief three-game homestand today with the third of three games against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

• The Rockies dropped last night’s game 5-3 despite getting out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning.

• Following today’s game, the Rockies embark on a seven-game road trip to Philadelphia (Thursday-Sunday) and Cleveland (April 24-26).

• Since winning their first two games of the season the Rockies have gone 3-13 … their .278 winning percentage overall on the season is the lowest in franchise history through 18 games.

RESET
• The Rockies have dropped a season-high seven-straight games, their longest losing streak since a seven-game skid Sept. 24-Oct. 1, 2022 … last lost eight or more straight games in 2019, when they had a nine game losing streak Aug. 27-Sept. 4 and an eight-game skid April 5-13.

• Colorado has been outscored 50-21 (-29) over the past seven games … the Rockies have slashed .236/.297/.382 with seven home runs over the losing streak, including a .158 (9-for-57) average with runners in scoring position … have posted a 5.55 team ERA (60.0 IP, 37 ER) with an opponent average of .276 (66-for-239), including a .393 average with runners in scoring position (22-for-56).

SERIESLY
• Including this series, the Rockies have failed to win any of their first six series of the season, dropping four and splitting two … last went winless through their first six series of the season in 2005, when they recorded their first series win in their seventh series of the season, April 22-24 vs. Los Angeles-NL.

ON THE FARM
• Triple-A Albuquerque beat the Oklahoma City Dodgers 13-10, with both teams combining for 31 hits … OF Brenton Doyle was reinstated from the injured list prior to the game and went 3-for-5 with a home run, his third of the season … INF/OF Nolan Jones returned to the Isotopes after a quick recall to Colorado and went 2-for-4 with four runs scored, four RBI and his seventh home run of the season.

• RHP Gabriel Hughes made his second start of the season for High-A Spokane and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts across five innings.

• INF/OF Sterlin Thompson went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI in Spokane’s 6-5 win in 10 innings … in seven games, Thompson has gone 15-for-28 (.536) with four doubles and one home run.

• The Rockies’ four Minor League affiliates have combined to go 23-16 so far this season, a .590 organizational winning percentage that ranks fourth in the Majors.

YO-HO-HO
• Elias Díaz played the first five years of his career in Pittsburgh from 2015-19 … in nine games against his former club, he has gone 10-for-30 with two doubles, one triple and two home runs.

• Kris Bryant has a career slash line of .353/.460/.612 with 31 doubles and 21 home runs in 100 career games against the Pirates … his .353 average (131-for-371) is the third-highest all-time against Pittsburgh (min. 100 games played), trailing only Lefty O’Doul (.360, 1928-34) and Albert Pujols (.354, 2001-22).

OFF THE SCHNEID
• Kris Bryant homered for the second consecutive day last 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 .314/.368/.500 on the season and has reached base safely in 16 of 17 games … has reached base safely in 53 of 59 total games in his Rockies career, slashing .309/.374/.483 in his Rockies career.

ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER AUSTIN GOMBER LHP #26
HI, I’M AUSTIN
• Winter Garden, Fla., native enters his 10th professional season, his fifth in the Majors and his third with the Rockies.

• Acquired by Colorado, along with four other players including INF Elehuris Montero in exchange for 3B Nolan Arenado.

• Originally selected by St. Louis in the fourth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Atlantic University.

A QUICK RECAP
• Has been on the losing side of each of his first three starts this season, the first Rockies starter to start 0-3 through three starts since Jon Gray in 2019.

• Started in a 5-3 Rockies loss last Friday at Seattle … pitched a season-low 3.2 innings and allowed five runs on six hits with a season-high four walks and two strikeouts.

• Took the loss in his second start on April 8 against the Nationals at Coors Field, allowing five runs over 4.2 innings.

• Made his first start of the season April 2 at San Diego, a 3-1 Rockies loss … suffered the loss despite tossing six innings and allowing three runs on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts … allowed all three runs in the third inning on a Xander Bogaerts two-run home run and a Trent Grisham solo home run.

A PIRATE’S LIFE
• Has made seven career appearances (three starts) against the Pirates, going 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA (21.1 IP, 12 ER), 10 walks and 21 strikeouts.

• In his three career starts against the Pirates, is 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA (13.0 IP, 8 ER),six walks and 15 strikeouts … has made it five full innings once against Pittsburgh.

• Made one start against the Pirates in 2022, drawing a no-decision in an 8-3 Rockies loss … allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits across five innings.

GO GO GOMBER
• Last season, made 17 starts and 16 appearances out of the bullpen in his second season as a Rockie … went 5-7 (Rockies 9-24) while posting a combined 5.56 ERA (124.2 IP, 77 ER) across his 33 appearances … his 124.2 innings pitched set a new career-high.

• Began the season in the Rockies rotation, making 12 starts through June 15 and going 3-7 with a 6.43 ERA (63.0 IP, 45 ER), 20 walks and 49 strikeouts.

• Moved to the bullpen at the end of June and made two relief appearances June 22 at Miami and June 26 at Minnesota … allowed four runs over a combined 4.1 innings (8.31 ERA).

• Went back to the rotation in July and made four starts prior to the All-Star Break, going 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA (21.2 IP, 10 ER), four walks and 15 strikeouts … allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last three starts prior to the Break, pitching to a 3.38 ERA (16.0 IP, 6 ER).

• Returned to the bullpen following the All-Star Break and posted a 4.68 ERA (32.2 IP, 17 ER) with seven walks and 24 strikeouts across 14 relief outings in the second half.

ON YOUR LEFT
• Since joining the Rockies, has held left-handed hitters to a .228/.280/.388 slash line with 10 home runs allowed.

• Held opposing left-handed hitters to a .221 average last season (30-for136), the lowest lefty opponent average by a Rockies left-hander since Kyle Freeland in 2018 (.185) and the ninth-lowest in a single season in franchise history (min. 140 batters faced).

START IT UP
• As a starter in 2022, went 5-7 (Rockies 7-10) across 17 starts while pitching to a 5.75 clip (87.2 IP, 56 ER) … walked 25 and struck out 68
while opponents hit .292 (101-for-346) with 13 home runs … seven of his starts were quality.

• Posted a 5.72 ERA (50.1 IP, 32 ER) with 14 walks and 32 strikeouts across nine starts at Coors Field … 5.79 ERA (37.1 IP, 24 ER) with 11 walks and 36 strikeouts in eight starts on the road.

• 8.68 SO/9 on the road compared to a 5.72 SO/9 at home.

BACK IT UP
• Made 16 appearances out of the bullpen in 2022, his most since 18 relief outings as a rookie with St. Louis in 2018 … posted a 5.11 ERA (37.0 IP, 21 ER) out of the bullpen with nine walks and 27 strikeouts … opponents hit .254 (36-for-142) with seven home runs.

• Made 12 appearances of two or more innings, four with three or more innings and one career-long outing of 4.2 IP (Aug. 24 vs. TEX).

• In his outing against Texas on Aug. 24, became the first Rockie in history to toss 4.2 or more scoreless frames out of the ‘pen while allowing one or fewer hits.

HAPPY HOME VS. ROCKY ROAD
• In 50 career home games (25 starts) with both St. Louis and Colorado, is 11-8 with a 4.08 ERA (169.2 IP, 77 ER).

• Since joining the Rockies, has gone 8-6 with a 4.21 ERA (124.0 IP, 58 ER) at Coors Field with 30 walks and 89 strikeouts … in 2021, went 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA (47.1 IP, 11 ER) in nine starts at home, posting a 0.95 WHIP.

• Since 2020, is 8-6 with a 3.86 ERA (137.2 IP, 59 ER) in 34 games (21 starts) in his home ballpark … in road games through the same span, is 7-13 with a 5.70 ERA (142.0 IP, 90 ER) in 38 games (25 starts).

WALK IT OUT…OR DON’T
• 2.45 BB/9 in 2022 was the lowest of his career while his 2.79 SO/BB ratio was his highest … BB/9 was the sixth-lowest among National League lefties and his SO/BB ratio ranked 10th (min. 120.0 IP).

• Did not issue a walk in seven-straight relief outings from Aug. 31-Sept. 29, the longest single-season streak by a Rockies lefty since James Pazos from Sept. 6-28, 2019 (seven games).

• Has walked three or more batters 10 times in 43 starts since joining the Rockies, going 0-8 with a 9.98 ERA (39.2 IP, 44 ER) in those starts … haswalked two or fewer batters 33 times over that span, going 14-11 with a 4.20 ERA (177.2 IP, 83 ER) in those starts.

EARLY GOINGS
• Of his 52 career Minor League starts in which he pitched six or more innings, 49 were quality starts and 13 were scoreless.

• Made his Major League debut on June 2, 2018 vs. Pittsburgh and pitched three scoreless, hitless innings of relief for the Cardinals.

• In 2018, became the first Cardinals rookie left-hander since 1912 to win five games in the month of August … did not allow a hit to the first 14 right-handed batters he faced prior to June 25 (Rajai Davis, ninth-inning single).

THIS N’ THAT
• Did not allow more than five hits in any of his first eight starts at Coors Field in 2021 and allowed five hits just once (Aug. 7 vs. Miami)
… recorded eight-straight starts allowing five or fewer hits at home, tied for the second-longest streak in franchise history (Ubaldo Jiménez, 2008).

• Posted a 3.27 ERA with 238 strikeouts in his collegiate career at Florida Atlantic University.

• First team All-Sun Belt Conference during his junior year with a league-leading 2.97 ERA.

MLB Preview: New York Mets (11-7) at Los Angeles Dodgers (9-9)

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MLB Preview: New York Mets (11-7) at Los Angeles Dodgers (9-9)

NEW YORK METS NOTES:

METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets fell to the Dodgers, 5-0, last night… It was the team’s second shutout loss of the season…With a win, the Mets would earn their fifth series victory of the season…With another victory, the Mets would secure at least a .500 road trip…The Mets continue their second road trip of the season an 11-day, 10-game trip (4-1) against the Athletics (3-0), Dodgers (1-1) and Giants (four games).

HELLO OLD FRIEND: Noah Syndergaard will make his first career start against the Mets today…The right-handed pitcher spent six years with the Mets where he went 47-31 with a 3.32 ERA, 166 walks and 777 strikeouts…Syndergaard was acquired by the Mets in a deal that sent RHP R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays in December of 2012.

L.A. MAX: Max Scherzer is 5-5 in his career with a 2.59 ERA (27 ER/93.2 IP) against Los Angeles-NL…He spent the second half of the 2021 season pitching for the Dodgers (L.A. won all 11 of his regular-season starts to end the year)…He is 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA (26 ER/89.0 IP) at Dodger Stadium…He has pitched his team to victory in eight of his last nine starts at this ballpark.

DAY MAN!: The Mets are 8-3 in day games this year…Their eight wins in the sunshine are tied for the most in baseball…The team’s .727 winning percentage is fifth in the majors…New York has posted a 3.86 ERA (42 ER/98.0 IP) with 53 walks and 94 strikeouts in day baseball…In 2022, the Mets went 39-19 in day games.

BROTHERS IN ARMS: Together, Adam Ottavino and David Robertson have combined to post a 0.59 ERA (1 ER/15.1 IP) with three walks and 17 strikeouts…They have converted six of seven save opportunities… They are one of three pairs of teammates who have each recorded multiple saves this season (also, Devin Williams and Bryse Wilson of the Brewers, Carlos Estévez and José Quijada of the Angels).

OTTAMATIC: Adam Ottavino has allowed only one run this season, a solo home run in a loss to Milwaukee on April 5…In eight games this year, Ottavino has posted a 1.29 ERA (1 ER/7.0 IP) with three walks and eight strikeouts…Left-handed hitters are batting .091 (1-11) against him.

DOCTOR ROBERT-SON: David Robertson has appeared in eight games and has yet to allow a run…He allowed only four hits with nine strikeouts…He is holding left-handed hitters to a .143 (2-14) batting average this season…He has converted all four save opportunities he’s had this season…Overall, he has recorded 161 saves in his career… That is the seventh-most among active players.

INVADER NIM: Overall, in 17 games this season, Brandon Nimmo is batting .293 with 10 runs, five doubles, eight RBI, 15 walks and a .447 OBP…His .447 OBP ranks seventh in the majors and fifth in the Senior Circuit…The left-handed hitter has drawn 338 walks in his career, which places him tied for 17th in franchise history with John Milner… Dave Magadan is 16th with 347 free passes…Nimmo has posted a .387 OBP, which is the third-highest in franchise history (min. 2,000 PA)… Only John Olerud (.425) and Dave Magadan (.391) had higher OBP.

I LOVE L.A.: Alonso is a lifetime .356 (21-59) with 12 runs, three doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 17 RBI with a .387 OBP and a .797 SLG in 14 games at Dodger Stadium…All seven of his homers against the Dodgers have come on the road…His .897 SLG at the park is the highest all-time (min. 50 PA)…Brandon Nimmo has hit .346 (18-52) with eight runs, three doubles, two home runs, four RBI, four walks with a .414 OBP and a .519 SLG in 17 career games at Dodger Stadium.

HOP ON THE TROLLEY: In 32 career games against the Dodgers, Nimmo has slashed .312/.402/.462 with 16 runs, four doubles, two triples, two home runs, seven RBI and nine walks…In 23 games, Alonso has hit .267/.320/.567 with 14 runs, four doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 17 RBI and four walks…Francisco Lindor has slashed .273/.333/.409 with six runs, three doubles, a home run, four RBI and two walks.

POWER STATION: Pete Alonso is tied for the major league lead with eight home runs…He is tied for fifth in the NL with 15 RBI, ranks sixth in the league with a .638 SLG and ninth with a 1.005 OPS…Alonso has safely hit in 10 of his last 12 games, batting .340 (16-47) with 11 runs, seven home runs, 13 RBI, six walks with a .415 OBP and an .787 SLG.

Rank Player HR GAMES
3rd Mike Piazza 220 972
4th Howard Johnson 192 1,154
T5th Pete Alonso 154 548
T5th Dave Kingman 154 664
7th Carlos Beltrán 149 839
Rank Player RBI GAMES
12th Daniel Murphy 402 903
13th Rusty Staub 399 942
14th Todd Hundley 397 829
15th Michael Conforto 396 757
16th Pete Alonso 395 548
METS ALL-TIME LEADERS

ROAD WARRIOR: Alonso has hit 88 home runs on the road in his career…That places him tied for sixth place in franchise history with Carlos Beltran…Beltran recorded 88 homers in 434 road games…Next up is Howard Jonson who socked 102 in 580 away games.

THE WALKMAN: The Mets lead the majors with 88 free passes this season…Brandon Nimmo is tied for third in the majors and second in the NL with 15 walks…Jeff McNeil has recorded 11 walks, while Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have 10 free passes each this season.

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STARLING: Starling Marte is tied for fourth in the majors and tied for second in the NL with seven steals…He ranks third among active players with 321 career SB…Only Elvis Andrus (337) and Billy Hamilton (324) have more.

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US: The Mets have stolen 20 bases this season, which is fifth in the majors and is tied for second in the National League…Brandon Nimmo, who is tied for 11th in the NL, has stolen three bases in 17 games this year…Nimmo stole a total of three bases in 151 games last season.

D-FENCE: The Mets recorded two errors last night, doubling their season total…Despite that, the team has committed just four errors in 18 games this season, the fewest in the majors…The team’s .994 fielding percentage is the best in the majors…Francisco Lindor has recorded five DRS (defensive runs saved) according to the Fielding Bible…That is tied for the most in the majors.

HITTING THE ROAD: New York is 7-5 on the road his year…The team finished the 2022 season going 47-34 on the road…Their .580 road winning percentage placed them third in the majors and second in the NL…It was tied for the fourth-best road record in team history and the highest road-winning percentage since 2007.

THE SMITH: Drew Smith has 11 strikeouts in 6.2 innings this season… His 14.85 K/per nine among relievers is sixth in the NL (minimum 5.0 innings)…He is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA (2 ER/6.2 IP) in eight games this year.

TODAY’S STARTER – MAX SCHERZER RHP #21
2023 STATS: 2-1, 4.41 E R A

SCHERZER’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 47% 52% 44% 93.1 mph
Slider 24% 3% 42% 84.0 mph
Changeup 14% 19% 9% 83.4 mph
Curveball 10% 16% 4% 75.0 mph
Cutter 6% 10% 1% 88.3 mph

SCHERZER NEWS & NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: Threw 5.0 shutout innings and allowed just one hit on April 10 vs. San Diego as he earned his second win of the season…He walked three and struck out six…It was the 10th time in his career he pitched at least 5.0 innings and allowed one or no hits in a start…Only 18 other pitchers in major league history have done that 10 or more times.

VS. DODGERS: Scherzer is 5-5 in his career with a 2.59 ERA (27 ER/93.2 IP) against Los Angeles-NL…He spent the second half of the 2021 season pitching for the Dodgers (L.A. won all 11 of his regular-season starts to end the year)…He is 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA (26 ER/89.0 IP) at Dodger Stadium…He has pitched his team to victory in eight of his last nine starts at this ballpark.

DOUBLE THE FUN: Scherzer ranks tied for third all-time with 110 double-digit strikeout games in his career, two more than Pedro Martinez…His next 10+ K game will break a tie with Roger Clemens, who also had 110 in his career…He’ll then need over 100 more to catch the top two: Nolan Ryan (215) and Randy Johnson (212).

LEGENDARY: Scherzer and Justin Verlander swapped places on the all-time strikeouts leaderboard all season long in 2022…Now teammates in 2023, the pair are neck and neck, with just three punchouts separating the two…With 165 more strikeouts this season, Scherzer can enter the top-10…Scherzer now ranks 12th all-time, having passed all-time greats Fergie Jenkins, Pedro Martinez, Bob Gibson, Curt Schilling, CC Sabathia and John Smoltz last season…See below for a chart of the No. 10-19 strikeout pitchers of all-time:

Rank Player Strikeouts

  1. Greg Maddux 3,371
  2. Phil Niekro 3,342
  3. Max Scherzer 3,207
  4. Justin Verlander 3,198
  5. Fergie Jenkins 3192
    Rank Player Strikeouts
  6. Pedro Martinez 3,154
  7. Bob Gibson 3,117
  8. Curt Schilling 3,116
  9. CC Sabathia 3,093
  10. John Smoltz 3,084
    MOST STRIKEOUTS, ALL-TIME (NO. 10-19)

OPENING UP: Scherzer made his seventh career Opening Day start…Earned the victory as the Mets downed the Marlins, 5-3…Tossed 6.0 innings and allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and six punchouts…All three runs scored in the sixth inning after Scherzer tossed 5.0 scoreless frames to begin his day…Scherzer exited with the score tied, 3-3, then the Mets rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh to leave him in line for career victory No. 202…He improved to 2-3 in season openers and has a 2.96 ERA (15 ER/45.2 IP) in those games…He became the first pitcher ever to start both for and against the Mets on Opening Day…Madison Bumgarner (Arizona) is the only other active pitcher who has started for and against the same team on Opening Day in his career.

QUITE THE DEBUT: After signing a three-year deal with New York last offseason, Scherzer posted a 2.29 ERA (37 ER/145.1 IP) in his first season with the Mets…That is the lowest mark in a season in his career and the best all-time in a pitcher’s first season with the Mets (min. 140.0 innings)…His 0.91 WHIP was not just the best mark by a Met in his first season with the club, it was the best by any Met in club history (min. 140.0 innings)…Scherzer did not allow more than four runs in any of his 23 regular-season starts last season.

ALWAYS IMPROVING: Scherzer set a career-best mark with a 2.29 ERA last season after posting what was then a career-best 2.46 ERA in 2021…No other pitcher since 1913 has thrown 130.0 or more innings and posted an ERA below 2.50 in both his age 36 and age 37 seasons…Only five pitchers have done that twice at any point after turning 36: Hoyt Wilhelm (three times – 1959, 1964-65), Eddie Plank (three times – 1915-17), Randy Johnson (2001-02), Dennis Martinez (1991-92) and Babe Adams (1919-20).

LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:

THANK YOU, KERSH: The Dodgers, backed by future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, blanked the Mets, 5-0, recording their first shutout victory of the 2023 campaign. Kershaw fired 7.0 scoreless innings and notched career-win No. 200, while designated hitter J.D. Martinez had a monster night at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBI. This afternoon, with a first pitch scheduled for 12:10 p.m., the Boys in Blue will take on the Mets in the rubber match of the three-game series which also concludes their sixgame homestand (2-3). Following the game today, the club will fly to Chicago and begin an eight-day, seven-game road trip against the Cubs (4) and Pirates (3), beginning with a 4:40 p.m. PT start tomorrow evening at Wrigley Field. J.D. Martinez belted two home runs last night, his 19th-career multi-homer contest and first of 2023. Martinez also matched a career high with four hits for the 15th time in his 13 seasons in the big leagues. The Miami, FL native is tied with Jorge Soler and Matt Olson for the most extra-base hits in the National League with 12. The Dodgers lost their season series with the Mets last year, splitting four games at Dodger Stadium and losing two of three at Citi Field. Los Angeles lost just two series after the All-Star break last season, falling to the Mets on the road and Washington at Dodger Stadium. 2022 marked the first time the Dodgers lost a season series to the Mets since 2015, but Los Angeles has now dropped five of its last seven vs. New York. The Mets have not won a series at Dodger Stadium since taking two of three from Sept. 3-5, 2018.

HISTORIC NIGHT INDEED: Last night, Dodger left-hander Clayton Kershaw became just the third pitcher in Major League history to amass 200 wins with the Dodger franchise, joining Don Sutton (233) and Don Drysdale (209). With the victory, he becomes the winningest pitcher in the 200 club:

Highest Win Pct. -All-Time (min. 200 Wins)
Clayton Kershaw .694 2008-current
Whitey Ford .690 1950-67
Bob Caruthers .688 1885-91
Pedro Martinez .687 1992-2009
Lefty Grove .680 1925-41

Kershaw’s nine strikeouts gave him 2,833 in his career and he blew past Mickey Lolich for sole possession of 22nd on the all-time strikeout leaderboard. No. 22 now needs 22 more punchouts to catch Hall of Famer and former Dodger Jim Bunning for 21st all-time. Bunning, the nine-time AllStar for the Tigers and Phillies, was traded by the Pirates to the Dodgers on Aug. 15, 1969 and made nine starts for Los Angeles.

HOME RUNS TO THE MAX: Dodger third baseman Max Muncy went 1-for-1 with a Dodger season-high tying three walks last night. Muncy’s seven home runs are tied with Rafael Devers for third in the Major Leagues, trailing just Patrick Wisdom (8) and Pete Alonso (8). Muncy’s 15 RBI are tied for fifth in the NL, trailing just Matt Olson (20), Bryan Reynolds (17), Francisco Lindor (17) and Alec Bohm (16). Since April 10, Muncy leads the Major Leagues with six home runs, 13 RBI and a 1.620 OPS. In eight games since then, he’s hitting .400 (10-for-25).

THOR VS. MAD MAX: Dodger right-hander Noah Syndergaard takes the mound this afternoon for his fourth start as a Dodger and first-ever career outing vs. the New York Mets, the team he broke into the big leagues with and pitched for from 2015-21. His opponent, Max Scherzer, went 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 11 starts for the Dodgers in 2021 after coming over in a trade-deadline move along with Trea Turner.

DIGGING THE LONGBALL: The Dodgers belted two more home runs last night, thanks to the efforts of designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who went deep in his first two plate appearances vs. Tylor Megill. The Dodgers continue to lead the National League with 32 home runs, trailing only the Tampa Bay Rays (41) for the most in the Majors. The club has recorded six 3+ homer games this season and also lead the NL with a .464 slugging percentage, 64 extra-base hits (T-1st) and six triples (T-1st, ML). The club ranks second on the Senior Circuit with 96 runs scored and an .801 OPS.

TODAY’S STARTER vs. METS: RHP NOAH SYNDERGAARD (0-2, 5.63 ERA in 3 GS in 2023)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
• Made his season debut April 2 and tossed 6.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits in a no decision…he is 0-2 on the season with a 5.63 ERA

• Pitched in five games (four starts) during spring ball, going 1-3 with a 5.79 ERA (12 ER/18.2 IP) with 13 strikeouts against just two walks…held a 1.13 WHIP

VS. METS:
• First time facing his old club

MLB Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (7-11) at Chicago White Sox (7-11)

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MLB Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (7-11) at Chicago White Sox (7-11)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:

DOUBLEHEADER RECAP: In their first doubleheader of the 2023 season, the Phillies split 1-1 with the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field … In Game 1, a 7-4 Phils win, starter Zack Wheeler (W, 1-1), went 5.0 innings and allowed 4 runs on 8 hits with 5 strikeouts and 0 walks … Josh Harrison returned to Chicago and went 3-for-5 with a HR and 4 RBI and Bryson Stott extended his hitting streak to 17 games … In Game 2, a 3-0 Phils loss, starter Bailey Falter (L, 0-3), became the first Phillies pitcher to complete 7.0 innings this season – he allowed 3 runs on 3 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts over 7.0 innings … Falter allowed a 3-run home run to Jake Burger in the 1st but would retire 14 in a row from the 2nd through 7th inning following the home run.

MORE ON GAME 2: Yesterday marked only the fifth time in the modern era (since 1900) that the Phillies completed a game in which they had one hit or none and their opponent had three hits or fewer … In chronological order, the other four times: 10/1/1982 vs NYM (PHI 1 H, NYM 2 H), 5/13/1966 vs HOU (PHI 1 H, HOU 3 H), 5/26/1910 at CHI (PHI 1 H, CHI 3 H) and 5/10/1904 at PIT (PHI 1 H, PIT 3 H) … Per Elias, prior to Game 2 last night, the last time the Phillies played a game where both teams combined for four hits or fewer was in Game 2 of another doubleheader, July 9, 2018 at NYM (also 4 hits combined) … It marked only the 12th time in Phillies modern day franchise history they completed a game with four or fewer hits between both clubs, with the last six coming in the expansion era (since 1961).

STRIKE ONE, STRIKE TWO, GOOD LUCK: Wednesday against the Marlins at CBP, LHP Jose Alvarado became the first major league relief pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to strike out 11 consecutive batters in a single season … Eric Gagne (2003) and Chad Green (2019) were the only two to reach 10 straight, prior to Alvarado … Alvarado has multiple strikeouts in each of his last 14 appearances (since 9/13/22), and in that span, has 34 strikeouts to just one walk in 15.0 total innings with a 65.4% strikeout rate (52 batters faced) … Alvarado has faced 26 batters this season – he has struck out 18 of them without allowing a walk.

IT’S DRAFTY IN HERE: Of the last 27 outs Jose Alvarado has recorded (9.0 IP), 22 have been via strikeout (since 10/3/22) … In that span, he has 0 walks and a 71.0% strikeout rate (31 batters faced) … Yesterday, Alvarado became one of only eight pitchers since the current mound distance was established in 1893 with multiple strikeouts in 14 straight appearances as a relief pitcher … In chronological order, the others to do so: Yonny Chirinos (8/22/18-4/14/23, 17 straight), Ryan Yarbrough (6/18/2019-8/18/2021, 16 straight), Aroldis Chapman (9/3/2020-4/22/21, 15 straight), Felix Pena (5/17/2018-7/27/2020, 17 straight) Jeff Weaver (5/30-9/13/09, 14 straight), Joe Sparma (6/7/1964-5/31/1966, 15 straight) and Cy Young (8/18/1902-5/31/1906, 14 straight).

STARTING TO FIND IT: Over their last nine starts (since 4/10), the Phillies rotation has combined for 48.0 innings pitched and in that span rank 5th among all ML rotations in innings, trailing only PIT (52.1), MIL (51.2), STL (49.0) and SD (48.1) … 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.

BULLISH ON THE PEN: Over the last three games (since 4/16 at CIN), the Phillies bullpen has totaled 8.0 scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts, 0 walks and only three hits allowed while averaging 12.4 pitches per inning pitched … 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 pitched.

THUMBS UP: Philadelphia’s nine runs in the 1st inning Sunday were their most in any single inning since exactly four years ago to the date when they scored 10 runs in the 1st inning against the Mets on April 16, 2019, at Citizens Bank Park … Philadelphia’s 23 hits in Sunday’s game are tied for the third-most by a Phillies club this century (also: 7/13/2007 vs STL), trailing only a 26-hit game on July 17, 2007 at LAD and a 24-hit game on August 31, 2022 vs ARI … The Phillies scored 14 runs in the game, yet left 15 on base, which marked only the fourth time since LOB data was first tracked in 1974 that a Phils club did so (last: 5/19/90 at LAD, 15 R/16 LOB) … The last ML club before the Phillies on Sunday to score 14+ runs yet leave 15 or more on base were the Washington Nationals on May 14, 2021 at ARI (17 R, 15 LOB) – of note, Trea Turner, Josh Harrison and Kyle Schwarber were all in the starting lineup for the Nats that day.

FEELING SLG-ISH: The Phils enter play today with 64 extra-base hits (42 2B, 6 3B, 16 HR) which ranks T-2nd in MLB (with LAD), trailing only the Rays (78 XBH) … Philadelphia’s .445 SLG ranks 4th in MLB behind only the Rays (.547), Dodgers (.464) and Atlanta (.458) … The Phillies have 42 doubles this season which leads MLB and is tied for the 2nd-most by a Phillies club in the modern era (also: 2002) through the first 8 games of a season, behind only 2007 (43 2B) … In Game 1 of yesterday’s doubleheader, the Phils failed to double for the first time all season, snapping a 16-game double streak that was the second-longest to open a season for a Phillies club in the modern era (longest: 22 G streak to open 2002).

GREAT STOTT!: INF Bryson 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 … Stott is the first Phillies player with 29 or more hits through the team’s first 18 games of a season since Pete Rose had 29 in 1981 – prior to Rose, the last Phillie with as many hits through 18 team games was Pinky Whitney who also had 29 hits through 18 games in 1932 … Since last year’s All-Star break, Stott has played in 81 games and is slashing .300/.341/.426 in 324 plate appearances.

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%).

TODAY’S STARTER – TAIJUAN WALKER • RHP #99
2023: 1-1, 4.20 ERA

LAST START: 4/14 at CIN: W, 6.0 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 4 SO …
Walker vs Overton … The Phillies defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3, at GABP in Cincinnati … The Phillies offense combined for 6 extra-base
hits and four walks … Kyle Schwarber reached base safely four times and Jose Alvarado struck out the side in the 8th inning.

TODAY’S START:
• To the Left: Walker has allowed only 2 hits to the 25 LHH he has faced this season (2-20, .100 AVG) and 1 XBH (2B) … Among the 97 RHP in MLB to face at least 25 LHH, only Graham Ashcraft (.057 AVG) has a lower OPP AVG and only Hunter Greene (.125) and Luis Castillo (.146) have a lower OPP SLG than his .150 vs LHH… LHH are batting 17 points lower than RHH against him in his career (.230 vs .247)

• From the Ground Up: Walker’s 65.9% ground ball rate is highest among all NL pitchers (min. 10.0 IP) and trails only Framber Valdez (67.2%) and Tanner Houck (66.7%)

• Hit Me: Opponents have batted just .200 (11-65) against Walker this season … He has not allowed more than 4 hits in any of his 3 starts this season, 1 shy of tying his career-best such streak (4x, last: 6/29-7/16/22)

• Keeping Them In The Yard: Walker has allowed just 1 HR through his 3 starts this season, and dating back to last year has allowed 1 in his last 4 starts overall (19.1 IP) … Walker surrendered only 15 home runs last season, T-8th fewest among NL pitchers with at least 150.0 IP

• Early Bird: Last season, Walker went 7-2, 2.55 ERA (26 ER, 91.2 IP) in 16 first half starts, the 8th-best among qualifying NL pitchers … He is 33-25 with a 3.52 ERA (193 ER, 494.0 IP) in his career prior to the All-Star break as opposed to 18-23 with a 4.59 ERA (186 ER, 365.2 IP) after

• vs AL Central: 9-4, 3.41 ERA (38 ER, 100.1 IP) in 17 starts

• vs Interleague: 10-7, 3.86 ERA (53 ER, 123.2 IP) in 22 starts

ROAD:
• 2023: 1-1, 4.35 ERA (5 ER, 10.1 IP) in 2 starts

• Career: 31-30, 3.97 ERA (206 ER, 467.0 IP) in 89 games (87 starts)

2023 SEASON:
• Made his season and Phillies debut on 4/3 at NYY after signing a 4-year contract with the club in December

• Pitched for Team Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, making one start in Pool Play against Great Britain … He threw 4.0 scoreless IP with 2 baserunners allowed and recorded 8 of his 12 outs via strikeout

CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:

WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost fi ve of their last seven games and eight of 12 as they conclude a six-game homestand today against defending National League champion Philadelphia.

RHP Mike Clevinger is scheduled to start for the White Sox, who are looking to win a series and back-to-back games for the first time this season.

The Sox are 2-3 on the homestand, splitting a DH with the Phillies yesterday after losing two of three to Baltimore.

Following today’s game and a day off tomorrow, the White Sox take a six-game trip to Tampa Bay (4/21-23) and Toronto (4/24-26) before returning home for four more games vs. the Rays (4/27-30) and three vs. Minnesota (5/1-3).

The Sox went 2-4 on their last trip to Pittsburgh (1-2) and Minnesota (1-2) from 4/7-12 and 1-2 on their first homestand vs. San Francisco from 4/3-6.

TODAY’S STORYLINES
White Sox starting pitchers own a 2.81 ERA (16 ER/51.1 IP) with 56 strikeouts and a .209 (40-191) opponents average and six quality starts over the last nine games.

RHP Mike Clevinger makes his second career regular-season start against the Phillies … Clevinger allowed one hit over 5.0 scoreless IP in a victory on 5/17/22 at Citizens Bank Park.

Clevinger is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA (2 ER/24.0 IP) and 29 strikeouts in his last four starts at Guaranteed Rate Field (three with Cleveland and one with the White Sox).

Jake Burger has homered in four of his last five games (four days in a row) … seven of Burger’s eight hits in 2023 have gone for extra bases (5 HR, 2 2B).

Through eight home games, the Sox have posted a 6.78 ERA (55 ER/73.0 IP) with 54 walks allowed (6.7 per 9.0 IP) … they have walked fi ve-plus batters in seven of the eight games.

YESTERDAY’S DOUBLEHEADER RECAP
Lucas Giolito combined with three relievers on a one-hitter with one walk and 12 strikeouts, and Jake Burger hit a three-run home run in the first inning as the White Sox defeated Philadelphia, 3-0, in the nightcap to salvage a doubleheader split.

Giolito threw 6.0 hitless IP for his fi rst win of the season, walking one batter with seven strikeouts before being removed after throwing 102 pitches (see note below).

Kendall Graveman pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning before Brandon Marsh led off the eighth with a double off Aaron Bummer to end the no-hit bid … Reynaldo López retired all four batters with three strikeouts to record his second four-out save of the season and complete Chicago’s fi rst shutout of 2023.

The White Sox recorded their first one-hitter since 9/3/22 vs. Minnesota (Dylan Cease CG) … the three hits were their fewest in a victory since 7/6/21 at Minnesota (also three).

Burger’s 118.2-mph homer off Bailey Falter is the second-hardest hit ball in MLB this season and the second-hardest by a Sox player in the Statcast era (since 2015) behind Daniel Palka’s 118.6-mph double on 6/5/18 at Minnesota.

Andrew Vaughn’s season-opening streak of reaching base safely in 16 games came to an end.

The Phillies recorded a 7-4 victory in the opener … they took an early 5-0 lead in the opener before the White Sox rallied for four runs on six hits in the third, including a two-run double from Luis Robert Jr. and two-run single from Vaughn.

Lance Lynn suffered the loss, allowing fi ve runs on 10 hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over 5.0 IP.

Phillies pitchers did not issue a walk, struck out 13 and combined to retire the fi nal 13 batters.

NEAR NO˨NO’S
Lucas Giolito last night became just the second White Sox pitcher since 1974 to exit a game with a no-hitter of at least 6.0 IP still intact, joining Michael Kopech, who no-hit Detroit for 6.0 IP on 8/12/22 at Guaranteed Rate Field (STATS).

Prior to Giolito and Kopech, Dane Dunning (8/30/20 vs. Kansas City) and Reynaldo López (8/25/19 vs. Texas) each threw 5.0 no-hit IP for the Sox before reaching their pitch limits.

As a note of interest, Steve Stone threw 6.2 no-hit IP in relief of Goose Gossage (3 ER/2.1 IP) to finish the White Sox 3-0 loss to Minnesota at old Comiskey Park … HOF Jim Kaat threw a complete-game, six-hitter for the Twins in that game.

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

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

WHITE SOX VS. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
The White Sox are 9-12 in the all-time series, including a 4-3 record in Chicago.

The Sox won two of three games in the most recent meeting from 8/2-4/19 at Citizens Bank Park and split a two-game set in the last matchup at Guaranteed Rate Field from 8/23-24/16.

Yasmani Grandal is a career .296/.395/.681 (40-135) hitter with 14 home runs and 31 RBI in 40 games against the Phillies.

INTERLEAGUE INSIGHT
The White Sox are 256-235 (.521) all-time in interleague play (132-113 at home), the seventh-best winning percentage in MLB.

The Sox are 3-5 this season after going 11-9 in 2022 and 14-6 in 2021 … they are 24-15 since 7/25/21.

The White Sox rank second all-time with 612 home runs, trailing only Toronto (647) and the Yankees (616).

SEARCHING FOR HOME˨FIELD ADVANTAGE
The White Sox are 3-5 at home this season after going 37-44 (.457) in 2022, the 12th-best winning percentage in the American League … by comparison, the Sox were 53-28 (.654) at home in 2021, the best record in the AL.

Through eight home games this season, the White Sox have been outscored, 58-37, and outhomered, 16-6.

Gavin Sheets (23 of 27) and Burger (12 of 14) have combined to hit 35 of their 42 career home runs at Guaranteed Rate Field

SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
The White Sox are batting .274/.339/.444 vs. left-handed pitching since the start of the 2019 season … during that span, the Sox lead MLB in average, rank second in on-base percentage, third 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 .661 slugging percentage vs. LHP.

NO RISP, NO REWARD
The White Sox rank fourth in the American League with a .294 (45-153) average with runners in scoring position … Andrew Vaughn is batting .500/.611/.786 (7-14) with 11 RBI with RISP, and Andrew Benintendi is hitting .455/.500/.545 (5-11).

FROM THE TRAINING ROOM
INF Hanser Alberto (strained left quad), SS Tim Anderson (sprained left knee), LHP Garrett Crochet (Tommy John recovery), RHPs Matt Foster (right flexor 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.

ELVIS BECOMES MR. 2,000
Elvis Andrus became the 290th player in MLB history to reach 2,000 career hits on 4/5 vs. San Francisco with a fifth-inning single off Logan Webb.

Andrus ranks fourth among active players with 2,008 hits, trailing only Miguel Cabrera (3,095), Joey Votto (2,093) and Nelson Cruz (2,031) … he has recorded 1,743 hits with Texas, 205 with Oakland and 62 with the White Sox.

AT THE HELM
Pedro Grifol was named the 42nd diff erent manager in White Sox history on 11/3/22, replacing Hall-of-Famer Tony La Russa … Grifol joins the Sox after a 10-year stint in Kansas City (2013-22), including the last three as the Royals bench coach.

Grifol is one of four current Latino managers in MLB, joining Boston’s Alex Cora, St. Louis’ Oliver Marmol and Washington’s Dave Martinez.

STARTER – #52 MIKE CLEVINGER RHP
CLEVINGER AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season, second at home and second during interleague play.

Agreed to terms with Chicago on a one-year, $12-million deal in December (includes a mutual option for 2024).

Has appeared in just 34 games (33 starts) since the start of the 2020 season … missed the entire 2021 season to continue his recovery from his second Tommy John surgery … also underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012.

Was originally drafted by the Angels in the fourth round of the 2011 MLB Draft … was traded to Cleveland in August 2014 … made 101 major-league appearances (88 starts) with Cleveland from 2016-20 … was traded to San Diego in August 2020, appearing in just 27 games (16 starts) with Padres from 2020-22.

LAST START
Did not factor in the decision on 4/14 vs. Baltimore after throwing 6.0 scoreless IP, allowing one hit with five walks and five strikeouts.

Departed the game in the sixth with the Sox leading, 3-0 … threw 92 pitches (49 strikes) … the White Sox would go on to lose, 6-3.

Owned a 72.7 first-strike percentage and 9.8 swinging-strike percentage (nine swing and misses) vs. 22 batters … threw 92 pitches (49 strikes) with the following pitch breakdown: 48 four-seam fastballs (93.7 mph avg; 95.6 mph max), 19 sliders (79.6 avg; 82.4 max), seven changeups (86.7 avg; 88.0 max), four curveballs (77.2 avg; 79.0 max) and two sinkers (91.6 avg; 91.7 max) ) … 12 of his pitches were unknown.

JUST WIN BABY
Clevinger has gone 9-7 with his team going 17-9 in his 26 appearances (25 starts) since 2022.

Is averaging 5.65 runs of support during that span.

Across his last eight outings, the Padres and White Sox have gone a combined 6-2 when he takes the mound.

APRIL LOVE
Has gone 5-0 with a 1.95 ERA (13 ER/60.0 IP), .194 (41-211) opponents average and 58 strikeouts in 10 career April starts … has surrendered one total home run in April, good for a 0.15 HR/9, the second best in baseball among active players (min. 50.0 IP).

His 1.95 career ERA in April ranks eighth among active major-league pitchers (min. 50.0 IP).

TAKE ME HOME
Is 4-3 with a 2.25 ERA (16 ER/64.0 IP) and .180 (41- 228) opponents average over his last 12 home starts.

Owns a 25-11 record, 2.87 ERA (109 ER/341.2 IP), .217 (273-1257) opponents average and 374 strikeouts over 66 career appearances (58 starts) at home … is 2-1 with a 2.48 ERA (8 ER/29.0 IP) in five career starts at Guaranteed Rate Field.

His 2.87 career ERA at home ranks 15th among active pitchers (min. 330.0 IP).

START STRONG
Posted a 2.04 ERA (10 ER/44.0 IP) and .173 (27-156) opponents average across the first two innings in 2022, compared to a 5.76 ERA (45 ER/70.1 IP) and .267 (75- 281) mark from the third-seventh.

Limited opponents to a .196 (37-189) average the first time through the lineup in 2022, compared to a .244 (43-176) mark the second time through the lineup and a .306 (22-72) average the third time through the order … Is limiting opponents to a .111 (2-18) batting average
across the first two innings this season.

DAY ‘N’ NITE
Has gone 20-10 with a 2.81 ERA (76 ER/243.2 IP), .205 (180-878) opponents average and 251 strikeouts in 46 career day appearances (42 starts).

His 2.81 ERA in day games ranks fourth among active MLB pitchers and his .205 opponents average ranks third (min. 240.0 IP).

VS. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES || INTERLEAGUE
Will make his second career start against the Philadelphia Phillies and 18th during interleague play

Earned the win in his lone start vs. the Phillies on 5/17/22 in Philadelphia with San Diego (0 ER/5.0 IP).

Is 4-8 with a 4.82 ERA (48 ER/89.2 IP) and .245 (82- 335) opponents average during interleague play lifetime.

MLB Preview: Texas Rangers (11-6) at Kansas City Royals (4-14)

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MLB Preview: Texas Rangers (11-6) at Kansas City Royals (4-14)

TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:

WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat the Royals last night, 12- 2, and club has a 4-1 record entering the finale of this 6-G, 6-day road trip to HOU (2-1) and KC (2-0)…TEX has won 3 straight, matching longest win streak of ‘23 (3rd time)…have also won 4 of 5 and 7 of last 9 G for an 11-6 (.647) record, 2nd-best in the A.L. to only TB (15-3, .833) and 4th-best in MLB…Rangers’ 11 wins are T2nd in A.L. and T4th in MLB… have an 8-6 record last 14 G since club’s 3-0 start to the season…team sits a season-high 5 games above .500 for the 1st time in over 3 1/2 years – since 7/16/19 (50-45)…seeking to move to 6-over for 1st time since 7/14/19 (50-44)…Texas has been .500-or-better following every game in 2023…the current 11-6 record ranks as T5th-best 17-G start in club history and is the best 17-G start since 2013 (also 11-6)…TEX recorded its 11th win in 2022 on May 8…Rangers’ 3-0 start was team’s longest season-opening win streak since 2011 (6-0).

WITH A WIN TODAY, Texas could:
• Finish with a 5-1 record on this road trip to HOU and KC…it would be the 1st road trip of 6+ G for Texas to feature just one loss since 6/18-24/18 at KC/MIN, a 5-1 trip in which Rangers dropped the finale at Target Field.

• Win a season-best 4th straight game, which would be longest TEX win streak since 5/25-28/22 (4-0)…would match longest TEX win streak since start of 2020, as Rangers have not won 5 in a row since 7/31-8/5/19 (5-0).

• Post the 1st undefeated road series of 3+ games since going 4-0 from 9/5-8/19 at BAL…it would be team’s 2nd undefeated series in ‘23 (3-0, 3/30-4/2 vs. PHI), this after 3 total undefeated series of multiple games in 2022.

• End trip with a 12-6 record, which would be T5th-best 18- game start in club history and best since 2013 (also 12-6).

• Improve to 5-1 in series finales in ‘23.

STANDINGS: The Rangers have sole possession of 1st place in the A.L. West for a 5th straight day and 10th day overall in 2023…have held a season-best 2.0-game division lead over 2nd-place LAA for 2 straight days, the team’s largest lead in the West since the end of the 2016 campaign (won division by 9.0 games)…since 1999, the only other years in which TEX held a lead of 2.0-or-more games in the West as early as 4/17 in a season came in 2011 (4/4) and 2012 (4/13)…TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 19 of the season’s first 20 days, including 9 straight to begin the year.

• From 2017-22, the Rangers had one day in which it held, or was tied for, 1st place in the West (1-0 on 7/24/20, tied for division lead).

SERIES STUFF: Texas has secured a series win here in KC, and club has won 3 consecutive series for just the 2nd time since the start of 2021 (also 3-0-0 from 4/29-5/9/21 vs. BOS/ at MIN/vs. SEA)…team has now won back-to-back road series for 1st time since 9/7-12/21 at ARI/OAK…the Rangers 2-games-to-1 series win at HOU over the weekend was team’s 1st road series win of 3+ games since taking 3 of 4 G from 8/19-22/22 at MIN…TEX is 3-2-0 overall in series this year and 2-1-0 on the road.

VS. KANSAS CITY: The Rangers hold a 4-games-to-1 lead in the season series against the Royals entering today’s final meeting of 2023…TEX has secured an 8th straight season series win against KC (2015-19, 2021-23)…TEX has won 4 of 5, 7 of 9, 12 of 15, 15 of 20, 18 of 25, and 22 of last 30 against KC overall (beg. 5/25/18)…have a 35-11 (.761) mark vs. KC since the start of 2016, 3rd-highest win pct. for any team against any opponent (min. 25 G) over that span behind OAK (32-9, .780 vs. DET) and CLE (29-9, .763 vs. LAA).

• Rangers are 33-19 (.635) at The K since start of 2008, winning 10 of 14 and 14 of last 19, and going 18-4-2 in series here since start of 2004…,TEX leads all-time series 281-265-1, but Royals have a 143-123 edge at The K (beg. 1973). this park since The K opened in 1973.

THREE IN A ROW: After last night’s win, the Rangers now rank 2nd in MLB with a +34 run differential (TB is +75)…a look below at Texas during its current 3-G win streak:
R HR BA w/ RISP OPS
Texas 25 5 .238 12-25 .777
Opponents 3 0 .143 0-19 .431

LEADOFF POWER: With his 3-run HR in the 6th inning last night, Marcus Semien has hit HR in 3 consecutive games… it matches the longest HR streak of his career, his 3rd instance overall and 2nd as a Ranger…the others: 6/5-7/22 with TEX, 9/5-7/21 with TOR…Semien’s 3-G run is the longest HR streak by a Ranger in 2023, and he has a team-high 4 HR (tied w/ Adolis García) on the year…since the start of 2019, the only Rangers with HR streaks longer than 3 games are Joey Gallo (5 G, 6/26-7/1/21) and Corey Seager (5 G, 7/8-12/22).

DEEP SIX: The Rangers opened the club’s 5-run 6th inning last night with 7 consecutive hits…according to Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the Rangers’ most consecutive hits in one inning since 7 straight hits in the 11th inning on 8/8/15 at SEA…Elias says it produced the most consecutive hits in one frame by any MLB team since NYY had 7 straight in 1st inning on 9/10/22 vs. TB.

• The Rangers’ 5-run 6th inning marked the 5th time the club has scored 5+ runs in a single frame this season, 2nd road instance (6-run 7th on Sun. at HOU).

THE EARL WEAVER PLAN: The Rangers hit a pair of 3-R HR last night: Marcus Semien in the 6th inning and Adolis García in the 8th…TEX now has a MLB-high 9 HR of 3-or4 runs this year (9-TEX, 7-TB, 5-LAD/OAK)…6 different Rangers have accounted for those 9 HR: 2-Garver, García Semien; 1-Grossman, Heim, Jung…in 2022, the Rangers had 20 HR of 3-or-4 runs for the entire season.

• García’s HR last night had an exit velocity of 109.7 mph, the highest for any Rangers HR in 2023…matched García’s highest EV on any batted ball in ‘23 (also 109.7 on a groundout, 4/9 at CHC).

ON THE ROAD: The Rangers are 5-3 (.625) on the road this season, T2nd-best away win pct. in the A.L. (NYY: 4-2, .667; TEX/TB: 5-3, .625)…have won 3 straight and 5 of last 6 away games after a 0-2 start…team is seeking to win 4 straight on the road today, which would be longest away win streak since a 4-0 span 6/11-17/22…beginning with this trip, Rangers are scheduled to play 28 of 43 games from 4/14 through the end of May on the road.

SOUTHBOUND 35: The Rangers are scheduled to fly back to the DFW Metroplex following today’s game ahead of an off day on Thursday…team begins a brief 3-G homestand against Oakland on Friday night, the only home games against an A.L. West opponent until June (6/2-4 vs. SEA)… Rangers are 6-3 at home this season, winning 3 of last 4 G.

DEBUT OF THE PEAGLE: The Rangers are scheduled to wear the club’s new Nike City Connect uniforms for the 1st time on both Friday and Saturday…the new uniforms honor the remarkable story of how the organization landed in Arlington, Texas, through the rich baseball history of Dallas and Fort Worth, the significance of April 21 in Texas, and the tireless efforts of the late Mayor of Arlington, Tom Vandergriff.

HERE COMES THE SUN: The Rangers enter today having played 8 consecutive night games since the series finale on 4/9 at Wrigley Field (8-2 win)…Texas has a 4-2 record in day tilts this season, including 1-2 on the road (all at Wrigley)… club has scored 8+ runs in 3 of the 6 day contests, including season-high 16 R on 4/1 vs. PHI.

• Nathaniel Lowe is batting .346 (9-26) with 6 RBI in the club’s 6 day games.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #54 Martín Pérez, RHP (2-1, 2.87)
TODAY: The 32-year-old left-hander is scheduled to make his 4th start/appearance of the season in today’s series finale in Kansas City…after his last start at HOU on Fri. (W, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2R-ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 4 SO), he is the only TEX pitcher with 5.0+ IP and 2-or-fewer ER allowed in each of 1st 3 starts to open 2023… has 5.0+ IP in 33 consecutive starts dating to 2022, 4th-longest streak in Rangers history (see below)…made 2 starts for Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting no record and a 9.82 ERA (4 ER/3.2 IP)…after returning to the Rangers on a one-year free agent deal for 2022, he elected to stay with Texas in 2023 on a one-year deal after accepting the club’s qualifying offer in November… spent the first 11 seasons of his professional career with the Rangers (2008-18), and has been with the organization for 12 of his 15 years as a pro…left the club for 3 years for brief stints with Minnesota (2019) and Boston (2020-21)…has a 57- 58 record with a 4.25 ERA over 176 games/163 starts in his Rangers career, ranking among club’s all-time leaders in starts (7th, 163), wins (12th, 57), and strikeouts (12th, 647)…since 2016, his first full campaign after returning from ‘Tommy John’ surgery, has the 2nd-most starts (178) and 3rd-most innings (1022.1) of any pitcher in the American League…saw two seasons cut short in 2014-15 following ‘Tommy John’ ligament reconstruction surgery on his left elbow on 5/19/14…also missed time in 2018 after suffering a broken right (non-throwing) elbow.

ABORT SPACE MISSION: Earned the win in his last outing against the Astros, 6-2, shutting down HOU hitters with 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 4 BB and 4 SO…snapped a 3 G losing streak against Houston, team which he faced 5 times last season, going 1-3, 3.82 ERA (14 ER/33.0 IP).

VS. KANSAS CITY: Has gone 5-1, 4.57 (34 ER/67.0 IP) in 12 G/GS over his career vs. the Royals, including 3-0, 4.19 (16 ER/34.1 IP) in 6 G/GS at Kauffman Stadium…faced Kansas City in both of Rangers’ series in 2022: 2-0, 3.65 (5 ER/12.1 IP)…has won 4 consecutive starts against the Royals dating back to 6/19/21: 4-0, 3.18 (8 ER/22.2 IP)…has logged at least 5.0 IP in his last 5 starts against the Royals dating back to 9/29/19: 4-0, 3.49 ERA (11 ER/28.1 IP) and 7 BB against 22 SO.

I GOT FIVE ON IT: Has logged at least 5.0 IP in each of his last 33 starts (beg. 4/23/22), the longest such streak ever by a Texas left-hander and 4th-longest in club history overall: 56-Yu Darvish (2012-14), 41-Lance Lynn (2019-20), 37-Nolan Ryan (1989-90), 33-Pérez (2022-23)…2nd-longest active streak of 5.0+ IP to a 34-start run by Max Scherzer (beg. 8/15/21)…has gone 14-7, 2.74 ERA (62 ER/204.0 IP) during the streak.
2023: Has faced just 13 LH batters in his 3 starts, with those hitters going 4-for13 w/ one XBH, 1 BB, 4 SO…1st 2 GS were vs. N.L. opponents…earned win in season debut 4/2 vs. PHI, completing Rangers’ 3-G sweep, as he allowed just 3 batted balls with exit velo. of 95.0+ mph (Statcast)…has tossed at least 90 pitches in all 3 starts this season…ranks T-1st in W (2), 3rd on team in IP (15.2), and T-3rd in SO (16)…his 5 total earned runs allowed are the fewest by any TEX starter this year.

KING OF THE ROAD: Took loss in 1st road start of ‘23, but bounced back in his last road outing in HOU to notch his 2nd win of the year…saw slightly better results in 16 road starts (7-4, 2.86 ERA) than in 16 starts in Arlington (5-4, 2.92 ERA) last season…ranked among A.L. road leaders in quality starts (T4th, 12), ERA (6th), and wins (T11th)…opened the 2022 campaign with club-record 25.0 consecutive scoreless innings on the road…Rangers went 10-0 in Pérez’s first 10 away outings last season, tied for the longest season-opening road undefeated streak by a starting pitcher in WSH/TEX franchise history (also 10, A.J. Griffin from 4/8-8/9/16)…Pérez’s career ERA splits are nearly identical on the road (4.40) vs. at home (4.43), though his home win pct. (.532, 41-36) is significantly higher than his road mark (.462, 36-42).

KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Royals suffered a 12-2 loss last night to the Rangers, their 5th consecutive setback and their largest margin of defeat since a 13-3 loss last Sept. 18 at Fenway Park…they took an early lead in the 1st, when Bobby Witt Jr. tripled, MJ Melendez drove him in on a sacrifice fly and Salvador Perez hit a 406-ft. double to center that would’ve been a home run in 26 of the 30 ballparks…that marked Kansas City’s first lead since their win a week ago tonight in Texas, snapping a run of 36.0 consecutive innings in which they were tied or trailed…the lead was short lived, as Salvy was stranded at second base and the Rangers tied the game in the 3rd and took the lead in the 4th…Brad Keller was charged with 3 runs on 3 hits and a career-high-tying 5 walks, and exited after throwing 81 pitches through 4.0 innings, trailing 3-2…after a scoreless 5th, Carlos Hernández faced five batters to begin the 6th and allowed 4 singles and a 3-run home run, exiting with 5 runs charged to his line and no outs recorded…Josh Staumont pitched a scoreless 7th but was charged with 2 runs without yielding a hit in the 8th, including an inherited run that scored on Adolis García’s 3-run homer off Josh Taylor.

LOW FIVE: The Royals have lost 5 consecutive games on this homestand, in which they’ve been outscored 40-12 (-28)…they’re batting .205 with 1 HR on this stay, have been held to 3 runs or fewer in 4 of the 5 games and are 4-for-41 (.098) with runners in scoring position…the pitching staff has yielded a .273 opponents’ average with 11 home runs, has allowed 9 runs or more three times and owns a 7.40 ERA (37 ER in 45.0 IP).

This 5-game losing streak marks the Royals longest since a 5-game skid last July 26-30 vs. the Angels (0- 2) and at the Yankees (0-3), a stretch that began with three straight shutouts and included a walk-off loss.

The Royals are in danger of their first winless homestand of at least 6 games in two years, since May 3-9, 2021, when they went 0-7 vs. the Guardians (0-4) and the White Sox (0-3)…the franchise record for the longest winless homestand came in 2012, when after going 3-3 on a season-opening trip, the Royals went 0-10 on the first homestand from April 13-23 vs. Cleveland (0-3), Detroit (0-3) and Toronto (0-4).

There are several similarities between this year’s Royals and the 2012 team, both of which started 4-14 through 18 games…the 2012 Royals, for example, featured many young players in their first full seasons, including Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, among others, who debuted the year before…the Royals had 13 different players debut last season, including a core group of every day players in Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez and Vinnie Pasquantino…that 2012 team had an 0-10 homestand, didn’t win their 1st home game until May 3, and like the 2023 Royals, were 1-11 through their first 12 home games.

The 2012 Royals overcame their 4-14 start and won 72 games, then in 2013, they went 86-76 to snap a run of nine consecutive losing seasons, before winning back-to-back American League pennants in 2014-15 and the second World Series championship in franchise history in 2015.

APRIL SHOWERS: The month of April has not been kind to the Royals in recent years, and that trend has continued in 2023…including their Opening Day loss—which took place on March 30—the Royals are 4-14 through 18 games, which marks the 2nd-worst record in the Majors ahead of Oakland (3-15), and matches their 2nd-worst 18-game start in franchise history, better only than the 1992 Royals, who started 2-16…the schedule makers haven’t done the Royals any favors either, as their five opponents to this point have a combined record of 51-35 (.593), and three of those five teams are in 1st place in their division…that includes the American League West-leading Texas Rangers (11-6), who took 2 of 3 from the Royals last week in Arlington and have won the first 2 games in Kansas City this week…unfortunately, the schedule doesn’t ease up much anytime soon, as two of the three opponents on the Royals upcoming road trip are in 1st place, including Arizona (11-7) and Minnesota (10-7).

RISPY BUSINESS: The Royals situational hitting woes continued last night as they went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position to mark their most such at-bats without a hit since last Sept. 1 at the White Sox (0-for-9)… the Royals rank 30th in the Majors with a .172 average in scoring situations, and nearly half of their 26 such hits this season came in 2 games, but they’ve been held to 1 hit or fewer with a runner in scoring position in 13 of their 18 games, including each of the last 4…in fact, the Royals are hitless in their last 14 at-bats in scoring situations, since an RBI single by Franmil Reyes in the 6th inning of Sunday’s 5-4 loss to Atlanta.

Situational hitting was an issue for this Royals offense early last season, when they hit .205 in scoring situations through 39 games, but batted .261 over their last 122 games, which ranked 11th in the Majors.

NEW DAY, NEW LINEUP: Today marks the Royals 19th game of the season, and they are playing with their 19th different lineup combination…they are one of three teams this season that entered today without fielding the same lineup more than once, along with the Marlins and Pirates…this approach from new Manager Matt Quatraro and his staff is much different than the one employed last year, when the Royals featured 137 different starting lineup combinations, which were the 8th fewest in the Majors…the Major League average last season was 145 different starting lineup combinations, and the Tigers led the league with 161 unique lineups.

VS. TEXAS: Last night’s loss dropped the Royals to 1-4 vs. the Rangers this season, clinching their eighth consecutive season series loss dating back to 2015, a stretch in which the Royals are 14-38 (.269) and have been outscored 268-174 (-94)…the Royals last beat the Rangers in a season series in 2014, when they went 5-1.

Today marks the season series finale between the Royals and Rangers, and the 6th meeting between these two teams in the last 10 days…this 6-game season series is ending before the Royals play a single game vs. three of their four division rivals, as they won’t see the White Sox until May 8, their 1st meeting vs. Detroit won’t come until May 22 and their 1st game vs. Cleveland is June 27…this means the Royals have played more games vs. the Rangers than their entire division combined (3).

The Royals were last swept by the Rangers from June 25-27, 2021 in Arlington, and last swept at Kauffman Stadium from June 18-20, 2018.

ON DECK: Following today’s series finale, the Royals will enjoy an off day tomorrow, when they will travel to Anaheim to begin a three-city road trip starting Friday night…that will start a stretch in which the Royals will play 26 games in 27 days through May 17, and the only off day during that time will come on May 1, which sits between their upcoming, season-long 10-game road trip and a season-long 10-game homestand…the upcoming trip will take the Royals to Anaheim, Arizona and Minnesota, and after that off day on May 1, the Royals will host the Orioles, Athletics and White Sox from May 2-11.

FRANKKKKKKKKKKKKKIE!: Frankie Mozzicato, the Royals 1st-round pick in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft, had a game to remember last night with
Low-A Columbia…Mozzicato, 19, pitched 6.0 scoreless innings with a Fireflies single-game record 13 strikeouts, including strikeouts to seven consecutive batters following a leadoff single in the 1st inning…through 2 starts, Mozzicato has pitched 11.0 scoreless innings with 4 hits allowed and 20 strikeouts.

PACE OF PLAY: There have been 242 9-inning games in the Majors this season, and the average game time of those has been 2 hours, 37 minutes, with only 24 of those 242 games (9.9%) lasting at least 3 hours…the Royals 18 games this season have averaged 2 hours, 28 minutes, which is 9 minutes below the Major League average and is the 2nd-fastest average time this season, longer only than the Minnesota Twins (2:27).

TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP BRADY SINGER (1-1, 7.88)
BRADY SINGER is making his 4th start of the season and 67th of his career today vs. Texas…it’s his 3rd career start vs. the Rangers and 1st since 2021…Singer is in his fourth season in the Majors and was selected by Kansas City in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida.

LAST START: Singer suffered his 1st loss of the season in last Friday night’s 10-3 defeat to the Braves, in which he allowed a career-high 8 runs on 10 hits (including 7 extra-base hits) and no walks in 5.0 innings, with 8 strikeouts…nine of the first 13 batters reached as Atlanta scored 4 runs in the 1st inning and 3 runs in the 2nd, but Singer retired 11 of the next 12 batters, the only blemish during that stretch being a solo home run by Sean Murphy to begin the 5th…he allowed 4 HR in total—including back-to-back HR by Matt Olson and Austin Riley in the 1st inning—1 shy of his career-high 5 HR allowed, done Sept. 11, 2021 at Minnesota…after needing 55 pitches to get through the first 2.0 innings, he cruised through the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings on 29 pitches.

His final line was an unusual one, as he became only the ninth pitcher ever to allow 8 runs with no walks and 8 strikeouts, and the first in seven years, since Detroit’s Jordan Zimmermann allowed 8 runs with no walks and 9 strikeouts on May 16, 2016…others to have that combination of statistics in a start include Dan Haren (2014), Justin Masterson (2012), Curt Schilling (1998), Mike Witt (1987), Frank Tanana (1976), Walter Johnson (1907) and Joe McGinnity (1903).

WALK THIS WAY: After issuing 3 walks in his 1st start, Singer has not walked a batter over his last 2 starts, and boasts a 1.7 BB/9 for the season…last season, he issued 35 walks in 153.1 innings for a 2.05 BB/9, which was the best by a Royal (min. 150.0 IP) since James Shields posted a 1.74 BB/9 in 2014…Singer’s 4.29 K/BB ratio (150 K/35 BB) in 2022 tied Nestor Cortes for 10th best in the American League (min. 150.0 IP) and was the 4th-best mark in franchise history, trailing only Zack Greinke (4.75 in 2009), Bret Saberhagen (4.49 in 1989) and Danny Duffy (4.48 in 2016).

Since the start of last season, Singer has recorded at least 5.0 innings without issuing a walk in 11 of his 27 starts—including each of his last 2 starts—which are the 3rd most among American League pitchers during that span, trailing only Corey Kluber (13) and Jameson Taillon (12), who now pitches in the NL.

CASTING CALLS: In 27 starts since his May 17 recall last season, Brady has induced a called strike on 531 of his 2,616 pitches (20.3%), 2nd most in the Majors, trailing only Gerrit Cole (535)…Singer’s rate of 20.3% called strikes since last May 17 leads the Majors by a wide margin (min. 2,500 pitches), ahead of Alex Cobb (17.0%) and Adam Wainwright (16.6%)…since his 2020 debut season, Singer’s called-strike rate of 21.0% ranks 2nd in the Majors (min. 5,000 pitches), trailing Wainwright’s rate of 21.2%.

A STAR IS BORN: Singer pitched a career-best 153.1 innings in 2022 in a career-high-tying 27 appearances (24 starts)…he began the season in the bullpen, but only pitched in 3 of the Royals first 16 games before being optioned to Triple-A on April 28…he returned on May 17 and made a team-high 24 starts from that point on.

Upon joining the starting rotation last May 17, Singer went 10-5 with a 3.11 ERA (51 ER in 147.2 IP), 8th best in the American League from May 17 through season’s end…his 10 wins were the most by a Royal since Jason Vargas tied for the Majors lead with 18 in 2017…Singer’s 3.23 ERA (55 ER in 153.1 IP) for the season was the 5th best by a Royal (min. 150.0 IP) in the Wild Card Era (since 1995), trailing only Zack Greinke in his 2009 Cy Young Award-winning season (2.16), James Shields in 2013 (3.15) and 2014 (3.21) and Yordano Ventura in 2014 (3.20)…the last Royal with a lower ERA than Singer’s and a higher win percentage (.667) was David Cone during his 1994 Cy Young Award-winning season, in which he went 16-5 (.762) with a 2.94 ERA (56 ER in 17.12 IP).

CHANGE OF TUNE: Brady threw 182 changeups in 24 starts in 2022, which accounted for 8.0% of his 2,273 pitches after returning from Triple-A Omaha on May 17…that total was more than double the 88 changeups he threw in 27 starts in 2021, which equaled 3.8% of his pitches thrown…after returning from Omaha on May 17 with a focus on mixing in the changeup, Singer went 10-5 with a 3.11 ERA (51 ER in 147.2 IP), after going 9-15 with a 4.67 ERA (103 ER in 198.1 IP) in his previous 42 career appearances (39 starts)…from May 17 through season’s end, opponents went 8-for-34 (.235) vs. the changeup.

Through 3 starts this season, the changeup has accounted for 7.9% of his pitches, but opponents are 2-for-4 in at-bats ending on the changeup.
VS. TEXAS: Brady is 0-2 in 2 career starts vs. Texas with a 7.56 ERA (7 ER in 8.1 IP), and both games came in 2021…he’s struggled vs. the entire American League West division, a group in which he’s 1-7 in 12 career appearances (11 starts) with a 4.26 ERA (30 ER in 63.1 IP)…the lone win did come in his most recent start vs. an AL West opponent last Sept. 23, when he scored a 5-1 victory vs. Seattle with 7.0 innings of 1-run ball and 8 strikeouts.

HOME: Since the start of last season, Singer is 9-3 with a 3.27 ERA (38 ER in 104.2 IP) in 17 outings (16 starts) at Kauffman Stadium…more than 20% of the earned runs he’s allowed here since 2022 came in his most recent start last Friday night vs. Atlanta, in which he allowed a career-high 8 runs on 5.0 innings en route to his 1st home loss since June 26, 2022, snapping a 10-start home stretch in which he went 7-0 with a 1.68 ERA (12 ER in 64.1 IP).

Despite last week’s loss, Singer has held opponents to a .228 average in his last 11 home starts since last July, in which the Royals are 9-2.Philadelphia Phillies (7-11) at Chicago White Sox (7-11).

MLB Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks (11-7) at St. Louis Cardinals (7-11)

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MLB Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks (11-7) at St. Louis Cardinals (7-11)

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:

HERE’S THE STORY
♦ The D-backs are in first place in the NL West, 2.0 games ahead of the Dodgers, and have been in or tied for first place since April 8.

♦ It marks the first time Arizona has held a 2.0+-game division lead over consecutive days since June 30-July 1, 2018.

♦ The D-backs are currently the only team in the NL West with a winning record.

♦ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has a 5-game hitting streak since April 12 and is batting .409 (9-for-22) with 3 doubles, 1 homer and 3 RBI in the span.
♦ Madison Bumgarner won his last start @ Busch Stadium on April 29, 2022 (1 ER in 5.0 IP).

SERIES-LY SPEAKING
♦ With a win today, the D-backs will complete their first series sweep vs. Cardinals since 2007 (Sept. 7-9, 2007 @ Chase Field) and third overall since 1998.

♦ Arizona’s first sweep vs. St. Louis occurred in a 2-game series from July 19-20, 2000 @ Chase Field.

THE ARIZONA ANSWER-BACKS
♦ The D-backs’ 7 comeback wins this season are tied for most in the Majors (also: Guardians, Red Sox and Pirates).

♦ The D-backs’ .500 win pct. (7-7) in games trailing is tied for the best in baseball with the Rays (3-3), Braves (4-4) and Pirates (7-7).

♦ In 2022, Arizona is tied for eighth most with 37 comeback victories (also: White Sox and Phillies).

HIT MACHINES
♦ Last night marked the D-backs’ fi rst 14+-hit performance vs. Cardinals since May 20, 2016 @ Busch Stadium (15 hits in 11-7 victory).

♦ Arizona’s 3 games with 14+ hits this season are second most in the Majors (also: Phillies and Nationals), behind the Cubs (4 games).

THIS WEEK’S BROADCAST UPDATES
♦ Due to the Suns NBA Playoff schedule (Go Suns!), the following upcoming D-backs broadcasts have been moved to Bally Sports Arizona Extra (TV) and ESPN Phoenix 620 AM (Radio):
• Thursday, April 20 vs. Padres – 6:40 p.m.
• Saturday, April 22 vs. Padres – 5:10 p.m.

BRING ‘EM AROUND
♦ The D-backs’ .330 average (34-for-103) with runners in scoring position since April 6 is the best in baseball, ahead of the Cubs (.320), Rangers (.318) and Pirates (.312).

EXTRA! EXTRA!
♦ The D-backs’ 5 leadoff extra-base hits (4 2B, 1 3B) are the most in baseball, ahead of the Braves (4; 3 2B, 1 HR).

♦ Since April 6, the D-backs’ 46 extra-base hits (31 2B, 4 3B, 11 HR) lead the NL, ahead of the Pirates (44), Braves (43) and Phillies (42).

♦ Arizona has 4+ extra-base hits in 3 straight games and 2+ in 15 of its 18 games.

RUNS PREVENTED
♦ The D-backs’ 9 Outs Above Average (OAA) and 7 runs prevented (RP) are the most in the Majors, ahead of the Mariners (5 OAA/4 RP), Royals (5 OAA/4 RP) and Mets (5 OAA/3 RP).

♦ Josh Rojas leads all fi elders with 4 Outs Above Average (OAA), ahead of Christian Walker (3), Eduardo Escobar/ NYM (3), Ke’Bryan Hayes/PIT (3), Anthony Rizzo/NYY (3) and Joey Wiemer/MIL (3).

TODAY’S STARTER – LHP MADISON BUMGARNER ♦ #40
AT A GLANCE: Fourth season with the D-backs…agreed to a
5-year deal through 2024 on Dec. 17, 2019.
• 4-time NL All-Star (2013-16), 3-time World Series champion (’10, ’12, ’14), 2014 World Series MVP and 2-time Louisville Slugger® Silver Slugger Awards™ winner (’14-15).

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Is making his fourth start of the season (third on the road) in search of his fi rst win of 2023.

LAST START: Lost on April 14 @ Marlins, allowing 5 runs over 5.0 innings.

VS. CARDINALS: Is 5-7 with a 5.46 ERA (51 in 84.0 IP) in 15 career starts.
• Won his last start @ Cardinals on April 29, 2022…yielded just 1 run on 3 hits and 1 walk over 5.0 frames.

• In 8 career starts @ Cardinals, has gone 4-2 with a 4.04 ERA (22 ER in 49.0 IP), 1.14 WHIP and .247 opponent avg.

MOUND MILESTONES: Needs 6 strikeouts to tie fellow left-hander, Fernando Valenzuela (2,074), for 79th place on the alltime strikeout list.

A WORKHORSE: Since 2011, is 1 of 4 pitchers to make at least 30 starts in 8 or more seasons along with Max Scherzer (9), Jose Quintan (8) and Just Verlander (8).

“FOURWARNED”: Is limiting hitters to a .182 average (2-for-11) off his 4-seam fastball in his first 3 starts.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:

RECENT REDBIRDS: The defending National League Central Division Champion St. Louis Cardinals host the first place Arizona Diamondbacks in the last of a three-game series this afternoon at Busch Stadium … The Cardinals are 2-4 over their seven-game homestand after splitting a four-game set with Pittsburgh and are 4-8 at home through 12 games this season.

SNAKE BITTEN: Looking ahead, the Cardinals have never been swept at home by Arizona. The only time they came down 2-0 at home was 22 years ago almost these exact three days (Apr. 16-18). Arizona won the first two games before Darryl Kile out-dueled Randy Johnson for a 3-1 win on April 18, 2001 as Bobby Bonilla hit a two-run HR in the 6th inning for the lead.

HEATING UP?: The Cardinals have homered in three straight games for the first time this season. The three home runs in last night’s game marks the 6th game this season the Cardinals have hit multiple home runs in a game, T-8th among MLB teams (Tampa Bay 11, Los Angeles-NL 10).
SLURPEES: The last time the Cardinals had a 7-11 record was 1997 (finished 73-89).

WHACKING DAY: Since Arizona joined MLB as an expansion team in 1998, the Cardinals .613 win percentage (103-65) against the Diamondbacks is the highest in MLB among National League and common interleague opponents … Arizona’s .385 winning pct. vs. the Cardinals is also their worst against any annual opponent … St. Louis’ .625 home winning pct. vs. the Diamondbacks is its 4th-best at Busch Stadium III (2006-present).

WILD, WILD WEST: Tonight is the 3rd of 16 consecutive games against opponents from the NL and AL West Divisions … Since 2019, the Cardinals are a combined 65-54 vs. both West Divisions, including a 41-19 mark at home.

WILL-SON!: C Willson Contreras blasted a pair of home runs last night to become the second Cardinals player with multiple home runs this season (Nolan Gorman vs. TOR 4/2) and marked the 12th time in his career. Contreras was the first Cardinals catcher with multiple home runs since Yadier Molina (4/17/2021 at PHI); the 3rd catcher in MLB this season with a multiple home run game (Yan Gomes & Mitch Garver) and the 13th Cardinals catcher to hit that mark in franchise history (Yadier Molina 9, Ted Simmons 6, Tom Pagnozzi 3, Darrell Porter 2, nine tied with one).

STOP THIEF!: Willson Contreras has thrown out five attempted base-stealers this season, tied with J.T. Realmuto for the MLB lead …Cardinals backstops Contreras and Andrew Knizner have combined for six runners caught stealing, most among MLB teams … Overall this season, MLB teams are stealing bases at a combined 81.9% success rate.

STREAKING WITH GOLDY: Paul Goldschmidt has reached base safely in all 17 games this season, his longest career on-base streak to begin a season and tied with two others for MLB’s 2nd-longest active OB streak behind Xander Bogaerts (19) this season … Matt Holliday holds the Cardinals record of reaching base in 45 straight games to begin the 2015 season.

RARE COMPANY: With his next stolen base, Paul Goldschmidt (316 HR, 149 SB) will become only the 38th player in MLB history with 315+ home runs and 150+ stolen bases, while joining Mike Trout (353 HR & 204 SB) as the only two active … Since 2019, Goldy has swiped 25 consecutive bases without being caught, the longest active streak in MLB.

THIS AFTERNOON: RHP Adam Wainwright is scheduled to begin an injury rehabilitation assignment in Double-A Springfield this afternoon at Hammons Field, throwing approximately 60 pitches against Midland (AA-Athletics) … Wainwright has missed the first 17 games of the season due to a groin injury suffered in March while working out with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

WILKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU: RHP Wilking Rodríguez (right shoulder) is scheduled to begin an injury rehabilitation assignment with Memphis (AAA) on Thursday against Indianapolis (AAA-Pirates) … Rodríguez, who was selected from the Yankees in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, made seven Grapefruit League appearances for St. Louis before injuring his right shoulder.

TWIN KILLINGS: The Cardinals lead MLB with 23 double plays turned defensively … Last season, St. Louis also led MLB in twin killings (181), which was nearly 30 more than second place Colorado (154) … Jack Flaherty is 2nd in MLB in double plays induced (7), while Steven Matz, Miles Mikolas, and Jake Woodford each have three to rank T-8th in MLB.

HIT CHARADE: The Cardinals pitching staff allowed their 10th game surrendering double-digit hits, most of any staff in the National League despite winning two of those games (2-8). Kansas City leads MLB with 12. The Cardinals are tied with the Reds for most hits allowed this season with 175, while the Athletics pitching staff has allowed the most hits at 178.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: According to Elias, the Cardinals have played the 4th-toughest schedule to open the 2023 season, with their opponents combining for a .602 win pct … San Diego leads MLB with a .617 opponent win pct. ..the strength of schedule is the cumulative sum of St. Louis’ opponent wins divided by the cumulative sum of their opponents wins + losses.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP JAKE WOODFORD (0-2, 5.65)
TODAY’S GAME
NL Ranks: HR Allowed (4, T6th); Opp. GIDP (3, T5th)
• Today’s start marks his 4th of the season (14th career) and 69th career appearance.

• Brings a 5.1 scoreless innings streak from his last start into today’s game. Seven of his 16 outs recorded in last start (4/14 vs. PIT) came on ground balls.

• Makes his first career start vs. ARI after four previous career relief appearances. The Diamondbacks are his 10th different opponent to make a start against.

• Eight of his 14 career starts have come against N.L. Central opponents, posting a 3-3 record with a 2.83 ERA. Has not allowed more than three runs in any of those eight starts.

• He’s 2-0 career vs. NL West clubs (both wins vs. ARI at Chase Field), but the Cardinals are just 3-10 in his games pitched vs. the NL West.

• Career 3-5 with 4.22 ERA (59.2 IP/28 ER) in 13 career starts with the Cardinals going 8-5 in those games.

LAST TIME OUT
• Blanked the Pirates over his 5.1 IP last Fri. (4/14), and the Cardinals out-lasted the Buccos, 3-0. Woody got 7 of his 16 outs on ground balls in the no-decision.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
4/14 PIT W 3-0 — 5.1 7 0 0 1 3 0 81-54

2023
• Had a strong Grapefruit League season, going 1-0 with a 2.04 ERA in 5 games (2 starts). He led the pitching staff with 18 strikeouts in his 17.2 IP.

• Allowed career-highs with six runs and three home runs, while matching his career-high with seven hits in his first start of the season, an 8-4 loss to ATL (4/3) at Busch Stadium. Surrendered a 473-foot home run to Austin Riley, the 2nd-longest by an opposing player at Busch Stadium in the 1st inning.

• Allowed three runs over 4.2 innings, all coming off hits by Willy Adames on a two-RBI double and a solo home run. Struck out a season-high five in his second loss, a 6-1 decision at Milwaukee.

MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants (5-11) at Miami Marlins (10-8)

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MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants (5-11) at Miami Marlins (10-8)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: Winless in the first four games of their now five-game road trip, the Giants will try and get a win in the road trip and series finale here today in Miami…SF is looking to avoid being swept in a three-game series here for the first time since 2015…the last time SF went winless on a road trip of at least five games was last season when they went 0-7 from July 21-27, 2022 through Los Angeles-NL and Arizona
out of the All-Star Break.

ROSTER MOVES: RHP Tristan Beck has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and LHP Alex Wood has been placed on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain…Beck is on the MLB roster for the first time and is seeking his MLB debut.

BE A GOLDFISH: SF has started the season 5-11…the last time that happened was 2000 and the Giants went on to go 92-54 the rest of the way, won the NL West and eventually lost to the Mets in the NLDS (SIS).

MAYBE WE NEED SOME SUNBLOCK…: Since 2015, the Giants have gone 21-27 (.438) vs. the Marlins, which is the club’s second-lowest winning percentage against a National League opponent in that span…SF has only fared worse against the Cardinals (18-29, .383) in that stretch.

IS IT TRUE MOM? ‘FRAID SO…: Furthermore, the Giants are 8-17 (.320) in this ballpark since 2015…the .320 winning percentage is tied for SF’s second-worst in that span in any park they’ve played at least 20 games according to Stats, LLC.

HAVE TO WAKE UP BATS: The Giants struck out 12 times in yesterday’s loss to Miami, the club’s 10th double-digit strikeout game of the year…those 10 double-digit strikeout games are tied for most in the Majors with Kansas City and Milwaukee…unsurprisingly, SF has gone 2-8 in the 10 games… the Giants 177 strikeouts are most in MLB entering play today despite playing two fewer games than the next closest four
teams…the 177 strikeouts through 16 games are the most in Giants history (previous high was 152 in 2021) and tied for the most in MLB history with the 2018 Orioles.

KEEP BATS WARM…: SF scored two early first inning runs on OF Mike Yastrzemski’s 1st inning two-run homer yesterday but then was shut out the rest of the way…on this road trip, the Giants have posted an .887 OPS with six doubles, four homers, 12 RBI and a .310 batting average against opposing starters…against their bullpens, however, SF has slashed .121/.216/.167 for a .383 OPS with one extra-base hit (a homer) and four RBI…below is a breakdown of SF’s runs scored and OPS by inning on this road trip.

LEFT ON READ: The Giants face LHP Trevor Rogers this afternoon in the series finale…a breakdown of SF’s splits vs. lefties and righties is below.

Giants vs. Left/vs. Right Hitting Rankings in MLB
vs. Left-Handed Pitchers
Stat Total MLB Rank
AVG .209 24th
HR 3 T-21st
RBI 11 25th
OPS .555 29th
vs. Right-Handed Pitchers Stat Total MLB Rank
AVG .261 9th
HR 23 3rd
RBI 63 9th
OPS .840 2nd

MIAMI VICE: Two of the former Mets on the Giants have really played well here in the 305 during their careers…IF J.D. Davis has a 1.012 OPS here, fourth-best among active players with at least 100 plate appearances here in Miami…in terms of just OBP, Davis’ .449 OBP vs. Miami is best among active players with 100 PA…OF Michael Conforto’s .976 career OPS at loanDepot park is eighth-best.

Active Players, Highest Career OPS vs. Marlins (min. 100 PA) (Stats, LLC)
Name OPS
Hunter Renfroe (LAA) 1.079
Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL) 1.060
Kris Bryant (COL) 1.014
J.D. Davis (SF) 1.012

Name OPS
Juan Soto (SD) .996
Justin Turner (BOS) .982
Brandon Belt (TOR) .978
Michael Conforto (SF) .976

DEEEEEP CUTS: SF’s 26 homers are tied for fourth-best in the Majors entering play today behind the Rays (41), Dodgers (32) and Braves (27)…the Giants’ 26 homers through their first 16 games are tied for most in franchise history with the 2000 club…SF has been slightly homer-dependent this year with 59.4% (44 of 74) of their runs coming via the big fly according to Sports Info Solutions.

THINGS ARE MOVING…: OF Mitch Haniger (left oblique strain) began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento last night vs. Round Rock and went 1-for-3 with a homer while starting in left field and playing 4.0 innings in the field…OF Austin Slater continued his rehab assignment with the River Cats last night and went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI… in four rehab games, Slater is 4-for-10 with a double, homer,
six RBI and two walks…Slater has been exclusively DH’ing thus far.

JUST REMEMBER ON THE WAY HOME…: After today’s game, the Giants will zip back across the US of A and return home to Oracle Park to open up an eight-game homestand vs. the Mets (Thursday-Sunday) and Cardinals (Monday-Thursday)…SF went 2-4 on its first homestand of the year vs. Kansas City and Los Angeles-NL, going 1-2 vs. both opponents.

TODAY’S STARTER – ALEX COBB RHP #38
2023 RECORD: 0-1, 3.14 ERA

WITH THE GIANTS: Is in his 12th Major League season and his second with the Giants…he’s in his second year of a two-year contract (with a third-year team option) with the Giants that he signed on November 30, 2021.

LAST OUTING: Struggled in his last start on April 12 against the Dodgers…threw just 3.2 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits with two strikeouts in the Giants 10-5 loss at Oracle Park…Cobb hasn’t made it past the 4th inning in two of his three starts.

VS. MIAMI: Has faced the Marlins six times in his career, dating back to 2011, posting a 3-3 record with a 2.65 ERA (11er, 37.1ip), 0.94 WHIP and a .176 opponents average against…four of his six starts are quality outings…he most recently started against Miami on August 5, 2020 and threw 5.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits with seven strikeouts…Cobb is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in two starts at loanDepot park, but hasn’t pitched here since 2017.

WALK THIS WAY: Cobb has walked just two hitters through his first three starts of the season (14.1ip)…his 3.2% walk rate (two walks/63 batters faced) is sixth lowest walk rate in the National League (min. 10.0ip).

GET AHEAD: Through his first three starts, Cobb has thrown a first pitch strike 76.2% of the time, way up from last year (64.2%) and also way above his career average (61.0%).

LACK OF SUPPORT: Dating back to May of last season, Cobb has received two-or-less runs of support in 18 of his last 25 outings.

OPPONENTS AGAINST: Opponents are hitting .351 (13-for-37) off him with three extra-base hits with no one on base…however, he’s holding opponents to a .214 average (3-for-14) with runners in scoring position…last season, he allowed a .295 average with RISP.

AGE IS BUT A NUMBER: Only five Giants over the last 10 years have started a game at an older age than Cobb, who in his last start was 35 years, 182 days (Stats, LLC).

MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:

MARLINS MINUTE – The Marlins today wrap up a six-game homestand with the final of three games vs. San Francisco after going 2-1 in the first leg vs. Arizona. The team will have an off-day tomorrow, and then begin their second road trip of the year with a three-game set in Cleveland this weekend from Apr. 21 – 23 before heading to Atlanta for a four-game set from Apr. 24 – 27.

YESTERDAY’S RECAP – Miami won their third consecutive series with a 4-2 win over San Francisco last night. RHP Edward Cabrera allowed a 2-run homer in the first inning but proceeded to toss a season-high 6.0 innings with 8 strikeouts. SS Jon Berti got Miami on the board in the third with a sacrifice fly that drove in C Jacob Stallings who went 1×3 with his third double of the season. An inning later, a 3-run home run by CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. put the Marlins ahead for good. The bullpen followed Cabrera with another shutdown night, holding the Giants to 1 hit in 3.0 innings, finished off by LHP A.J. Puk’s third save of the season.

KING AMONG GIANTS – Since the start of 2017, Miami has gone 17-8 in five home series against San Francisco, winning five of the last six series (2-2 split in 2022).

MAKE IT MIAMI – The Marlins have won 7 of their first 12 games at home, including three of the first four home series in 2023. Marks the first time since 2014 that the club has at least 7 wins through this many home games (2014 Marlins went 8-4 in first 12 home games of the season).

• A win today would secure the Marlins an 8-5 record through the team’s first 13 home games, which has happened just eight times (11, 1997; 9, 2014 and 2011; and 8, 2000 and 2003-05).

PEN TALES – Dating back to last Tuesday, Apr. 11 at Philadelphia, the Marlins bullpen ranks first in Major League Baseball with a 0.74 ERA (24.1/2) and 0.66 WHIP, least hits allowed (10), and is one of two teams to not allow a home run (also, TEX).

• RHP Dylan Floro has allowed just 3 baserunners (1 H and 2 BB) in 8 appearances (8.2 innings) with 9 strikeouts. Dating back to July 3 of last season, has posted a 1.43 ERA (44.1/7) with 50 strikeouts. 40 of 45 appearances have been scoreless.

• LHP Andrew Nardi has stranded 8 of 8 inherited runners this season and has not allowed a hit in his last 5 appearances (5.1 innings), with 7 strikeouts in this stretch.

• LHP A.J. Puk recorded the save for Miami on back-to-back nights to secure this series vs. SF. Has held opponents scoreless in his last 5 appearances with 5 strikeouts and 4 hits allowed.

GREAT WHEN LATE – The Marlins offense is batting .299 (56×187) in the seventh inning or later, the best mark in MLB through 18 games of the season. 23 of Miami’s 57 runs scored this year (40%) have come in these final three innings, including 7 of the club’s combined 18 home runs.

• Since April 11, Marlins hitters are slashing .347/.566/.946 in the seventh or later, also the best mark in MLB.

DANCING ON A THIN LINE – Through 18 games this season, Miami is 10-0 when limiting opponents to 4 runs or less and has gone 0-8 when allowing 5 or more runs.

TURNING THE TRENDING TIDE – The Marlins are 5-0 in one-run games in 2023, marking the second time in franchise history the Marlins have won their first five games decided by one run – also, 2008 (started 5-0 in one-run games).

• Miami played 64 games decided by one run in 2022, the most such games in the Majors last season. Miami’s 40 one-run losses were the most in a season in club history, the most since the 1975 Houston Astros (41), and just three shy of the single-season record for one-run losses during the Live Ball Era (since 1920) held by the 1968 White Sox (44).

CUBANO GIGANTE – OF/DH Jorge Soler has already collected 7 doubles and 5 home runs in his first 16 games of the year. His 12 extra-base hits are tied for most in the National League, with Atlanta’s Matt Olson.

• Continued his hot start with a 3×4 effort last night, just his third 3-hit game as a Marlin (also, Apr. 10, 2022 at SF and June 1, 2022 at COL).

• His pinch-hit HR Monday was the 28th pinch-hit HR in franchise history occurring in the seventh inning or later to give the Marlins the lead and the first since Curtis Granderson on Sept. 26, 2019 at Mets. Was just the seventh to occur with two outs, also: Cliff Floyd (July 20, 2000 vs. Atlanta-G2), Charles Johnson (May 13, 2001 at San Diego), Derrek Lee (June 21, 2001 at Atlanta), Joe Dillon (May 21, 2005 vs. Tampa Bay), Donnie Murphy (July 19, 2010 vs. Colorado) and Tyler Moore (May 14, 2017 vs. Atlanta).

• Soler’s 5 home runs through 15 games became the most by a Marlin since Marcell Ozuna in 2017 (also, 5). Only three players in club history have exceeded this mark through their first 15 G: Derrek Lee, 6 HR in 1998; Miguel Cabrera, 6 HR in 2004; and Mike Jacobs, 6 HR in 2008.

• Four of his five HRs this season have tied the game or given the Marlins the lead and owns 8 such homers as a Marlins (18 HR total).

• The Marlins are 4-0 when Soler homers.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS – 2B Luis Arraez has 27 hits in his first 17 games of the year (15 starts), with 9 multi-hit games (tied for third-most in MLB). Has the third-most hits in the NL and his .458 batting avg. (27×59) is tops in the Majors among all qualified hitters.

• Is tied for the most hits by a Marlins player through the first 17 games of the season in club history, tying Dee Strange-Gordon in 2015. His batting avg. ranks first in club history through 17 games (min. 50 plate appearances), edging out Hanley Ramirez’s .388 (26×81) mark in 2007.

• 2B Luis Arraez last week became the first player in Marlins history to hit for the cycle, coming in the 4,700th game in franchise history during the 30th anniversary. Was baseball’s first cycle since St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado last July 1 vs. Philadelphia (with Skip Schumaker serving as Cardinals bench coach). There had been 111 cycles in the Majors since the Marlins franchise began play in 1993.

WATCH HIM SOR-IANO – RHP George Soriano made his Major League debut on Sunday out of the Marlins bullpen, going 3.0 scoreless innings with just 1 hit allowed. Soriano was signed by Miami as an International free agent in 2015, making him the longest tenured Marlin across all levels of the organization.

• Joins a small group of Marlins pitchers who went at least 3.0 innings, allowed 2 hits or less, and did not allow a run in their Major League debuts; the last to accomplish the feat was LHP Trevor Rogers on Aug. 25, 2020. The other four: Josh Beckett on Sept. 4, 2001; Ricky Nolasco on Apr. 5, 2004; Adalberto Mendez on Aug. 23, 2010; and Brandon Leibrandt on Aug. 23, 2020.

SEEMS FAMILIAR – Starting with this series against the Giants, Miami is playing 10 games (3 vs. SF, 3 at CLE, 4 at ATL) against the three franchises they faced in the 1997 Postseason, en route to the club’s first World Series win. The Florida Marlins swept the San Francisco Giants, 3-0, in the NLDS and won 4 of 6 games against the NL East Division Champion Atlanta Braves before advancing to the Fall Classic where they won their first ring in an extra-inning extravaganza during Game 7 on October 26, 1997.

TODAY’S STARTER – #28 TREVOR ROGERS
• Trevor Rogers, 25, made 23 starts in his sophomore campaign coming off a runner-up ROTY season in 2021. Made two separate IL stints, including a season-ending lat strain in 2022.

• Recorded his 200th career strikeout against the first batter he faced on April 16, 2022. This made him the first left-hander in MLB history to strikeout 200 hitters in his first 34 games (all coming as starts) while maintaining a career ERA under 3.25. He is just the 12th pitcher to accomplish this feat (All 11 others were right-handed).

• Made 19 starts from the start of the season until July 25 when he was placed on the IL with low back spasms. Allowed three runs or more in 11 of those outings. Pitched to a 5.85 ERA, going 5-14 with 41 walks and 83 strikeouts.

• Held lefties to a .194 batting avg, .296 slugging pct., .584 OPS and just 1 home run (111 BF). Right handed batters hit .299 with a .520 slugging pct., .886 OPS and had 14 home runs (366 BF).

• Struck out a season-high nine batters vs. Texas on Sept. 12. Went 6.1 innings, also a season-high.

• Missed 31 games with low back spasms (July 26 to August 31).

• Has allowed 14 home runs in 106.2 IP in 2022 after allowing 6 in 133.0 IP in 2021.

MLB Preview: Cleveland Guardians (9-9) at Detroit Tigers (7-9)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Cleveland Guardians (9-9) at Detroit Tigers (7-9)

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:

GUARDS DROP PAIR OF ONE-RUN CONTESTS
On the heels of Monday’s postponement due to inclement weather, Cleveland dropped a pair of one-run decisions in a traditional Tuesday twin-bill at Comerica Park, falling 4-3 in Game One ahead a 1-0 shutout in Game 2…club is 2-3 entering finale of this 6-game road trip thru Washington (2-1) and Detroit (0-2)… Cleveland opened the year with a 5-2 road trip before going 2-4 on first homestand of 2023…Guardians (9-9) have dropped a season-high 3 straight decisions and hold sole possession of 2nd place in the AL Central standings, 1.5 games behind Minnesota (10-7).

Kerry Carpenter ended G1 with a two-out, walk-off solo homer off JAMES KARINCHAK to break a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 9th… Cleveland plated all 3 runs in the 4th on a JOSH BELL RBI-double and 2-run homer from OSCAR GONZALEZ (1), which gave the Guards a short-lived 3-1 lead before the Tigers plated a pair in the 5th against HUNTER GADDIS (5.0IP, 8H, 3R-ER, 1BB, 1SO, 82 pitches).

Southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez guided the Tigers to their fifth straight victory with 8.0 dominant frames in G2 (8.0IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, 10SO, 99 pitches), as Riley Greene’s opposite-field solo homer off PEYTON BATTENFIELD (6.0IP, 3H, 1R-ER, 3BB, 5SO, 1HR, 87 pitches) to start the 6th inning held up as the contest’s decisive tally…8 of the other 9 hits in the 1-hour, 50-minute affair were singles, while the two clubs completed both games by 6:07pm ET.

DON’T BLINK
Monday afternoon’s cap of a traditional doubleheader lasted only 1 hour and 50 minutes…the blustery contest passed Los Angeles-AL vs. Boston (4/16, 1 hour and 57 minutes) and Minnesota vs. Miami (4/4, 1 hour and 57 minutes) for the shortest contest played of the 2023 MLB season, which has operated under the new pace-of-play rules…Cleveland has now played in two of the six fastest games during the 2023 MLB season, the other game being a 2 hour and 4 minute contest on April 1 that saw Cleveland defeat Seattle 2-0, the 6th-fastest game this season.

Yesterday’s doubleheader finale marked Cleveland’s fastest 9-inning game since June 2, 2010 against Detroit, when Armando Galarraga came just one out away from twirling a perfect game (1 hour, 44 minutes)…it’s the shortest 9-inning game in MLB since July 8, 2010, when Los Angeles-AL lost to Chicago-AL, 1-0, in a contest that lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes.

The average time of game across the MLB is currently 2 hours and 37 minutes, down 26 minutes from 2022 (3 hours and 3 minutes)…Cleveland is currently averaging 2 hours and 35 minutes in 9 inning games through their first 18 contests, down from 2 hours and 55 minutes per 9-inning games in 2022.

DETROIT DEJA VU
For the third consecutive season, Cleveland was swept in a doubleheader against Detroit…the Tigers swept on June 30, 2021 at Progressive Field (4-9, 1-7), then did the same on July 4, 2022 at Comerica Park (1-4, 3-5) before completing yesterday’s twin bill sweep…both Cleveland and Detroit have now swept one another 57 times in doubleheaders dating back to 1901…the Guardians have now lost 10 of their last 15 twin bill contests dating back to June 28, 2022 against Minnesota.

The Guards are looking to prevent themselves from being swept for the first time during the 2023 season…Cleveland was last swept September 2-4, 2022 at home against Seattle…they are now 11-4 in their last 15 series dating back to September 5th last season, featuring an even 3-3 record this year…the Tigers swept the Guards in four games at Comerica Park last season from July 4-6 (1-4, 3-5, 4-11, 2-8), but the Guards also returned the favor from August 9-11 at Comerica Park (5-2, 3-2, 4-3).

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 5 go-ahead RBI rank T1st in MLB this year with four others and his 6 doubles rank

T10th in MLB/T5th in the AL.
Since 2017, Ramírez has totaled 83 runs, 9 triples, 26 home runs, 92 RBI, 62 extra-base hits, 51 walks, 21 go-ahead RBI and 14 game-winning RBI against the Tigers, leading all MLB hitters in each of those categories during that span…he also ranks 2nd with a .664 slugging percentage and .416 on-base percentage, 3rd with 120 hits and 27 doubles and 10th with a .328 batting average against the Tigers in the last six years.

SANDY N’ SHANE
For the first time in their respective careers, Miami’s Sandy Alcantara and Cleveland’s Shane Bieber are scheduled to toe the rubber against one another on April 22nd in Cleveland…Alcantara was the unanimous 2022 NL Cy Young Winner and Bieber was the 2020 AL Cy Young Winner…over the last four seasons, the two aces measure up well against one another.

BIEBER VS. ALCANTARA SINCE 2020
Shane Bieber Sandy Alcantara
29 Wins 27
399.0 Innings Pitched 501.0
472 SO 467
2.71 (4th) ERA 2.89
.219 AVG. .220
10.65 SO/9 8.39
1.05 WHIP 1.05
4.97 SO/BB 3.86
5.4 Pitching WAR 6.1

TODAY’S TRANSACTIONS
Prior to today’s contest, BRAYAN ROCCHIO was recalled from AAA-Columbus and HUNTER GADDIS was optioned…the 22 year-old infielder is hitting .344 (21-for-61) with 7 doubles and 10 RBI through his first 15 games this season in AAA…Rocchio will be the third Guardian to make their Major League Debut this season after PEYTON BATTENFIELD made his debut on April 12 against New York-AL.

TODAY’S STARTER – #47 CAL QUANTRILL RHP
TODAY’S START
The 28 year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season, third on the road, this afternoon in the final matchup of a 3-game series against the Detroit Tigers and the closing contest of a 6-game road trip…is pitching on 4 days rest after tossing a quality start on Friday in a 4-3 win at Washington… the Guardians are now 2-1 in Quantrill’s starts this season…he is embarking on his third full season in a Guardians jersey after being traded to Cleveland during the 2020 season in a deal that sent Mike Clevinger to San Diego.

LAST TIME OUT
He last toed the rubber on Friday in a 4-3 victory at Washington…did not factor in to the decision, despite turning in a 6.0 inning quality start in his first career appearance against the Nationals (6.0IP, 6H, 3R/ER, 2BB, 3SO, 1HR, 104 pitches)…all of Washington’s damage came in the bottom of the 4th frame as Luis Garcia hit a solo shot, followed up by a 2-run single from Alex Call later in the inning…Cleveland would score 4 unanswered runs to finish the game en route to a 4-3 victory…his 104 pitches were a season-high.

DETROIT ROCK CITY
Is 2-2 with a 3.34 ERA (12ER/32.1IP) in 9 career games vs, Detroit in including a 2-1 record with a 3.76 ERA (11ER/26.1IP) in 6 career starts, with his last start coming in an 8-4 victory on August 17 of last season…Quantrill did not factor into the decision, allowing 4R/ER on 5 hits, including one home run, with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks…it’s his 5G/2GS at Comerica Park, owning a 3.60 ERA (4ER/10.0IP).

He is 14-3 with a 3.23 ERA (56ER/156.0IP) in 37 career games against the AL Central, including a 14-2 record with a 3.48 ERA (52ER/134.1IP) in 24 career starts…he is currently riding a 6-game winning streak against the division with his last loss coming in an 11-4 defeat on July 5, 2022 at Detroit…the last time he allowed 4-or-more earned runs against an AL Central opponent came on June 25, 2021 in an 8-7 loss at Minnesota.

LOOKING FOR K’S
With 3 strikeouts in each of his 3 starts to open the 2023 campaign, Quantrill is not getting hitters to swing and miss at the same rate as the rest of his career…his 15.5 swing and miss percentage is 5.2% lower than his 20.7% career average, while his first pitch strike percentage is 58.7% compared to a 62.9% career average…his 12.0% strikeout rate, 5.17 SO/9, 1.80 SO/BB are all significantly lower than his career averages.

CRAFTY CAL
During the 2023 campaign, Quantrill has utilized 4 pitches, primarily his sinker and cutter as they account for almost 90% of his pitches…he factors in two off-speed pitches, his changeup and curveball…he mostly uses his changeup against lefties, throwing it 25 total times and 24 times against left-handed batters.

Through his first three starts, opposing batters are 8-for-27 (.296) with 3 doubles in at-bats ending with his cutter, however they went 0-6 against the pitch in his last start…in 2022, opposing batters finished with a .235 average (55-for-234) with 47 strikeouts in such at-bats…the 47 strikeouts were the most of any pitch in his repertoire.

QUANTRILL’S PITCH ARSENAL, 2023
Pitch Type % MPH Opp BA
Sinker 55.2 93.1 .297
Cutter 33.2 88.4 .296
Changeup 8.7 86.3 .250
Curveball 2.4 84.7 .500

ALL I DO IS WIN
Quantrill went 11-0 to finish the 2022 season, becoming just the 3rd pitcher in club history since 1901 to go 11-0-or-better over any 17-start span, according to Elias:

DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS SWEEP TWINBILL FROM CLEVELAND: The Tigers earned a pair of wins against the Guardians on Tuesday. In the opener, Kerry Carpenter hit a walk-off solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Carpenter finished the game with three hits, while Eric Haase was 4-for-4. Matthew Boyd started the opener and allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 5.0 innings. Mason Englert pitched 3.0 shutout innings, while Alex Lange picked up the win after a scoreless ninth inning. In the second game, Eduardo Rodriguez was the story, throwing 8.0 shutout innings with four hits allowed and 10 strikeouts. Jason Foley pitched a perfect ninth for his first career save. Offensively, Riley Greene drove in the only run of the game with a solo homer in the sixth inning.

ROSTER MOVE: The Tigers have made the following roster move:
*Following yesterday’s doubleheader, returned RHP Will Vest to Triple A Toledo.

E-ROD IS EXCELLENT: Eduardo Rodriguez turned in his best start in a Tigers uniform yesterday in the second game of the doubleheader, throwing
8.0 shutout innings with four hits allowed, no walks and 10 strikeouts. According to Baseball Reference, he became just the third Tigers pitcher in franchise history to throw at least 8.0 scoreless innings with no walks and 10-or-more strikeouts, joining Bill Donovan (June 27, 1908 vs. St. Louis) and Max Scherzer (June 17, 2012 vs. Colorado).

THREE STRAIGHT WALK-OFFS: The Tigers won the first game of yesterday’s twin-bill on a walk-off homer from Kerry Carpenter in the bottom of the ninth. It marked Detroit’s third consecutive walk-off win, the first time the Tigers have done that since June 26-29, 2004. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last Major League team to win three straight in walk-off fashion was Philadelphia from June 9-12, 2021.

CARPENTER WALKS IT OFF: Kerry Carpenter was the hero in the first game of yesterday’s twin-bill, hitting a solo homer with two outs in the ninth inning for his first career walk-off hit. Carpenter finished the game with a career high tying three hits, including a pair of extra-base hits. Of Carpenter’s 10 hits this season, seven of them have gone for extra bases (four doubles, three home runs).

ON THE CLOCK: The Tigers and Guardians combined for 4 hours, 13 minutes of playing time in Tuesday’s doubleheader. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the shortest Major League doubleheader in which both games went at least nine innings since July 29, 1984 when the Cubs and Mets combined for 4:10. It was the quickest Tigers doubleheader in which both games lasted at least nine innings since August 1, 1980 vs. Seattle, which also lasted 4:13.

TIGERS AND GUARDIANS: The Tigers and Guardians conclude their first series of the season today. The two teams will next play May 8-10 during a three-game series in Cleveland. With the balanced schedule in place this season, Detroit and Cleveland will play 13 times this season, down from 19 in previous seasons. The Tigers went 9-10 against the Guardians last season, including going 6-4 at Comerica Park.

ON DECK: Following an off day tomorrow, the Tigers embark on a six-game road trip, which begins with three games against the Orioles. Detroit won five-of-six games from Baltimore last season, including winning two-of-three at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

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)

TODAY’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER – Spencer Turnbull • 1-2, 9.00 ERA (13.0IP/13ER)
• Turnbull will make his fourth start of the season today in the series finale against Cleveland.

• Picked up his first win of the season on Thursday at Toronto, allowing only one run on six hits with a walk and six strikeouts in 5.0 innings… was his first big league win since May 29, 2021 vs. New York (AL).

• Has made 10 career appearances, including nine starts, against the Guardians, posting a 0-6 record with a 5.10 ERA (47.2IP/27ER) and 40 strikeouts…in 28 career starts at Comerica Park, Turnbull is 6-15 with a 4.32 ERA (145.2IP/70ER) and 139 strikeouts.

• Made nine starts in 2021 and went 4-2 with a 2.88 ERA (50.0IP/16ER) and 44 strikeouts…limited opponents to a 0.98 WHIP and a .203 batting average.

• Threw the eighth no-hitter in Tigers history on May 18, 2021 at Seattle, striking out nine and walking two…was the first no-hitter by a Tigers pitcher since Justin Verlander on May 7, 2011 at Toronto.

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