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Cubs, outfielder Ian Happ agree to terms on a three-year contract extension

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Cubs, outfielder Ian Happ agree to terms on a three-year contract extension

CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs and outfielder Ian Happ have agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension covering the 2024-26 seasons. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Happ, 28, last season was named to his first N.L. All-Star Team and went on to set career marks with a .271 batting average, 42 doubles, 72 RBI, 155 hits, 252 total bases and 158 games played for the Cubs. He earned his first career N.L. Gold Glove Award, having led N.L. left fielders with 13 defensive runs saved. His .271 average led N.L. switch-hitters while his 72 RBI and 155 hits ranked second.

Since the start of the 2022 campaign, Happ’s .273 average (166-for-608) leads qualifying N.L. left fielders while his 66 extra-base hits rank second, his .350 on-base percentage rank fourth and his 68 walks are fifth.

Selected by Chicago in the first round (ninth overall) in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Cincinnati, Happ made his major league debut in 2017, appearing in 115 games for Chicago. His 24 home runs that season ranked third-most by a Cubs rookie in franchise history and the second-most ever by a switch-hitting rookie in the N.L. Happ reached the 20-home run mark in 89 career games, becoming the fastest player in Cubs history to reach the 20-homer plateau.

In 688 career major league games, Happ owns a .250 batting average (541-for-2,162) with 312 runs scored, 120 doubles, 10 triples, 105 home runs, 314 RBI and 284 walks that contribute to a .341 on-base percentage. He has played 352 games in left field, recording a .992 fielding percentage (4 E/476 TC) with 17 assists, and appeared in 240 games in center field (.992 fielding percentage) and 69 games in right field (.986 fielding percentage). Happ’s 105 home runs are a franchise mark for a switch-hitter.

Happ graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. and attended the University of Cincinnati, where he was a 2015 First-Team All-American and a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist.

JT Brubaker update

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JT Brubaker update

From Pirates Director of Sports Medicine, Todd Tomczyk:

Pirates RHP JT Brubaker underwent right elbow surgery by Dr. Keith Meister today to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). His projected full return to Major League competition is 14-16 months.

MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (4-6) at Atlanta Braves (8-4)

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MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (4-6) at Atlanta Braves (8-4)

CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:

RED HOTS
• Reds batters are slashing .296/.354/.493 with 13 runs scored after the seventh inning…scored 11 of those 11 runs on this road trip, including 6 runs in the eighth inning or later in this series.

TONIGHT’S GAME
• Is Game 3 (0-2) of 3-game series vs Jeff Francoeur’s Braves and Game 6 (1-4) of the Reds’ first road trip of the season, a 7-day, 6-game jaunt that included a rainout followed by a 2-1 series loss at Phi.

• Following this series the Reds return to Great American Ball Park for a 7-game homestand vs the Phillies (4g) and Rays (3g), who will play in Cincinnati for a second straight year (3-0 Reds sweep from 7/8-7/10).

• The Reds opened this season with a 3-2 homestand vs the Pirates (2-1) and Cubs (1-1, 1ppd).

SERIES NOTES
• Tonight the Reds will try to avoid their first series sweep loss to the Braves during the regular season since 4/25-4/27, 2014, also here at
Truist Park (3g).

• The Reds suffered a 2-game series sweep loss at Truist in the 2020

Wild Card Series.
• The Reds are 25-25 vs Atl in the last 50 regular season games and, including this one, are 4-3-1 in the last 8 season series.

• Including this one the Reds are 2-2-2 in their last 6 regular season series at SunTrust/Truist Park, including a 5-3 win on 8/18/17 in their inaugural game at the new ballpark.

• The 7-6 loss in the second game of the 2022 season, at Truist Park, was the Reds’ 1,000th loss to the Braves since 1900.

• From 1997-2016 the Reds went 27-42 at Turner Field and didn’t win a series at that park after 9/4-9/6, 2009 (0-3-4 in 7 series, 8-14 in 22 games).

PHILLIES UP NEXT, AGAIN…
• The Reds and Phillies will meet for the second consecutive weekend, this time at Great American Ball Park…the Reds are 34-40 all-time vs Phi at GABP, including 1-2 last season.

• With a minimum of 50 games played, the Reds’ .328 winning percentage at Phi’s Citizens Bank Park (21-43) is their lowest at any road ballpark.

• The Reds went 3-14-2 in their 19 previous series vs the Phillies at CBP, their only series wins there in August 2006, May 2017 & August 2021.

• Since May 2014, the Reds have lost 19 of their last 27 games at CBP.

…FOLLOWED BY THE RAYS
• The Reds are 13-5 all-time vs TB, including 7-2 in Cincinnati.

• Overall the Reds won 4 of the previous 6 series vs the Rays, including 3-game series sweeps in June 2003 at TB, June 2005 at Great American Ball Park and July 2022 at GABP.

• Dating back to the 2014 season, the Reds have won the last 4 games vs TB at GABP, including last season’s 3-0 series sweep here in July.

• The Rays last won in Cincinnati on 4/12/14 (1-0 win).

REHABBING
• 1B Joey Votto is with Louisville on a rehabilitation assignment (8g, 7gs at 1B, 1gs at DH, 4-32, .125, 1 2b, solo HR, 4rbi, 3bb, 20k)…began his rehab on 4/1 at Nashville and hit a solo HR off Caleb Boushley on the first pitch he was thrown… on 8/19/22 had surgeries to repair the left biceps and torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder.

• IF/OF Nick Senzel is with Louisville on a rehabilitation assignment (6g, 2gs in CF, 1gs in LF, 2gs at 3B, 1gs at DH, 6-22, .273, 2 2b, 1hr, 3rbi, 1sb, 4bb, 6k, 1hbp, .907ops)…in a start last night at Toledo made his first professional appearance in LF…on 11/14/22 had surgery to repair a sesamoid fracture in his left great toe.

• RHP Tony Santillan is with Louisville on a rehabilitation assignment (3g, 0-1, 10.13, 2.2ip, 2h, 3er, 2bb, 4k, 1hr, .200baa)… last night at Toledo suffered a blown save and the 7-3 Bats loss (0.2ip, 2h, 3er, 1bb, 1k, Jonathan Davis solo HR, 5bf, 22 pitches)…is recovering from a low back Pars stress fracture.

• RHP Luke Weaver (right elbow flexor strain) is with Louisville on a rehabilitation assignment…started and threw 4.0 hitless innings in Sun’s 8-1 loss vs Indianapolis (2bb, 4k, 14bf, 61 pitches)…is scheduled to pitch 5.0 innings Fri at Toledo.

• RHP Lucas Sims (low back spasms) is with Louisville on a rehabilitation assignment…threw a scoreless fifth inning in Sun’s 8-1 loss vs Indianapolis (1h, 0bb, 1k, 4bf, 12 pitches)…is scheduled to pitch 1.0 inning tonight at Toledo.

Tonight’s Pitcher – #21 Hunter Greene, RHP
• In just his second season, tonight is making his 27th Major League appearance and start…will be his second career appearance vs the Braves.

• Made his Major League debut at Truist Park, earned the 6-3 win on 4/10/22 at Atl in the Reds’ fourth game of last season…first career strikeout was Matt Olson (2nd batter)…recorded 2 strikeouts in each of his first 3 innings…didn’t allow a hit until Matt Olson singled to lead off the fourth…RHP Art Warren threw a scoreless ninth inning for his first career save.

• Was the Reds’ 2023 Opening Day starting pitcher.

• At age 23 years, 236 days became the first pitcher age 25 or under to start for the Reds on Opening Day since 1980, when at age 22 years, 232 days RHP Frank Pastore beat Phil Niekro and the Braves, 9-0… courtesy @EliasSports.

• Became the first second-year pitcher to start for the Reds on Opening Day since 26-year-old RHP Raisel Iglesias started the 6-2 win vs the Phillies in the 2016 season opener…courtesy @EliasSports.

• In 2022, in his age 22 season ranked among National League rookie pitching leaders in starts (1st, 24), innings pitched (2nd, 125.2), strikeouts (2nd, 164), opponents’ BA (2nd, .222), WHIP (2nd, 1.21) and ERA (6th, 4.44).

• Led the Reds’ staff in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts.

• Was 1 of only 7 pitchers in the National League and 16 pitchers in the Major Leagues to throw a shutout.

• Was the National League Player of the Week for 6/6-6/12, the only Reds player so honored in 2022 (2gs, 1-0, 0.75, 12ip, 3h, 1er, 2bb, 15k, .079baa).

• Was 1 of only 6 Major League rookies in 2022 to win his league’s Player of the Week award (Chc’s Seiya Suzuki, LAA’s Reid Detmers, Sea’s Julio Rodríguez, KC’s Vinnie Pasquantino, Cle’s Steven Kwan).

• In 2022 became the only Major League rookie since 1900 to produce in a season at least 3 apps in which he threw at least 6.0 innings with at least 8 strikeouts and no more than 1 hit (5/15 at Pit, 6/6 vs Ari, 8/1 at Mia)…no pitcher in modern history, regardless of rookie status, has produced more than 3 such games… in his final start of the season, in Game 160 vs Cubs, recorded 6.0 innings and 8 strikeouts but allowed 2 hits.

• Allowed 2 runs or fewer in all 9 of his starts in which he pitched at least 6.0 innings, 8 times allowed no more than 1 run and 4 times in those 9 apps allowed 0 runs.

• In his last 8 starts of the season posted a 1.75 ERA (46.1ip, 30h, 66k).

• In his last 6 starts of the season posted a 1.02 ERA, the third-lowest ERA ever by a Reds rookie over any single-season, 6-start span behind Gary Nolan (0.75, June-July 1967) and Elmer Riddle (0.88, August 1941).

• From 8/5-9/16 missed 43 days and 40 games while on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain…went 4-12, 5.26 in 20 starts prior to the injury and 1-1, 0.78 in 4 starts after he came off the 15-day IL.

• Following his 2022 rookie season was the Reds’ nominee for MLB’s prestigious Lou Gehrig Memorial Award for exemplary contributions to his community.

• Was selected by the Reds in the first round (2nd overall pick) of the June 2017 first-year player draft…was rated by MLB.com the best overall prospect and by Baseball America the best high school player in that draft…the Twins selected high school SS Royce Lewis with the No. 1 overall pick.

• Heading into the 2017 draft, became the 13th high school athlete ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

• Missed the 2019 season while recovering from 4/9/19 “Tommy John” surgery

ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Reds tonight conclude a three-game series with the third of six scheduled meetings between the two teams this
season…The teams will play again, June 23-25, for three games at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

• The Braves beat the Reds, 7-6, last night and have won each of the first two games of this series.

• Atlanta has gone 4-3 against Cincinnati in each of the past two seasons…Prior to 2021, Atlanta had not won the season set with Cincinnati since going 5-2 in 2014…From 2015-2019, the Braves went 15-19 (.441) against Cincinnati.

• The Braves are 10-9 against the Reds here at Truist Park since the facility opened in 2017, and had won just one of the five series here between the clubs prior to this season…The two teams split four games in 2022 and 2019, while the Reds won three-game sets in 2017 and 2018…Neither club has swept the other here.

• RH Spencer Strider has pitched in two games and made one start in his career against Cincinnati, going 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA (1 ER/8.0 IP) and
16 strikeouts…The right-hander made his season debut last year with 2.0 scoreless innings of relief against the Reds, fanning five, and pitched 6.0 one-run innings with 11 strikeouts in a start at Great American Ball Park last July…In two starts this season, he has combined to allow three runs over 11.0 innings, fanning 18…Atlanta has won both games.

• RH Hunter Greene made his major league debut against Atlanta, April 10, 2022 here at Truist Park, and allowed four hits and three runs over 5.0 innings in his only career appearance versus the Braves…He struck out seven…The 6-foot-3, 195- pound native of Stevenson Ranch, CA, opened last season one of Cincinnati’s top prospects, and went 5-13 with a 4.44 ERA over 24 starts…In his final eight turns, he was 2-3 with a 1.75 ERA in 46.1 innings.

WIN: Atlanta beat Cincinnati, 7-6, last night to win its second straight game of the series…The Braves will go for the sweep tonight.

• Atlanta has not swept Cincinnati since taking all \three games from April 25-27, 2014 at Turner Field…Neither club has swept the other here at Truist Park.

• The Braves have one sweep this season, taking all three from St. Louis, April 3-5.

• Each of the first two games of this series have been decided by one run, and Atlanta improved to 3-1 in one-run games following last night.

• Atlanta is one of four teams in baseball with three one-run wins, joining the Guardians (4-2), Blue Jays (3-0) and Pirates (3-0)…The Braves went 26-18 (.591) in one-run games last year, the third-best record in the National League.

ONE HUNDRED FOR OZZIE: Drove the first pitch of his at-bat in the fourth inning out to right field last night for the 100th home run of his career.

• He is the 25th player all-time to hit 100 home runs with the club, and the only primary second baseman to do so.

• At 26 years, 94 days old, he is the youngest player to reach 100 home runs with the Braves since Ronald Acuña Jr. accomplished the feat at 23 years, 184 days old on June 20, 2021 vs. St. Louis…Research courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau.

• Each of his 100 career home runs have come while playing second base, making him one of four active players to hit 100 home runs while playing the position…He joined Houston’s Jose Altuve (190), San Diego’s Rougned Odor (170) and Detroit’s Jonathan Schoop (153).

HARD HIT: Matt Olson drove his fourth home run of the season in last night’s first inning, and the shot left his bat at 118.6 miles per hour…His four home runs are tied for fifth most in the majors.

• At 118.6 mph, the homer stands as the hardest-hit ball in the majors this season, and the hardest by a Braves player since tracking began in 2015…Atlanta’s previous best was 118.5 mph by Tyler Flowers (single) on June 24, 2016 vs. New York (NL).

• Olson is averaging 96.3 miles per hour on his batted balls this season, the fifth-hardest average in baseball…Only Matt Chapman (99.3), J.D. Martinez (97.9), MJ Melendez (97.7) and Joc Pederson (97.1) average harder.

• Nine of Olson’s 15 hits this season have gone for extra bases (five doubles, four homers), and his nine extra-base hits are most in the National League.

WALKS: Atlanta drew six more walks last night, and the Braves’ 54 bases-on-balls this season are fourth most in the majors.

• At 10 walks apiece, 1B Matt Olson and C Sean Murphy are each tied for fifth in the majors and on pace for 135 free passes.

• Bob Elliott set the franchise record with 131 walks for the Boston Braves in 1948.

VS. THE CENTRAL: Atlanta moved to 5-0 against the N.L. Central this season with last night’s win…The Braves finished 21-12 (.636) against the Central last season after they went 22-12 (.647) against the division in 2021.

• Atlanta swept St. Louis in three games last week.

• That 22-12 record last season was the best by any National League team against the Central.

• Since 2018, when the Braves started a string of five consecutive division titles, Atlanta is 86-51 (.625) against the NL Central, the best record in the majors…Oakland is 10-6 (.625) to rank second behind Atlanta.

Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #65 Spencer Strider
Today’s Game

• Set to make his third career appearance, second start against Cincinnati.

• Struck out 11 while holding hitters to one hit over 6.0 innings of one-run baseball in his last outing against the Reds on July 2, 2022.

• In that last start against Cincinnati, Strider became the first rookie in the modern era (since 1900) to have two games in which he struck out 11 or more and allowed one hit or less after he went 6.0 innings with 11 strikeouts and one hit allowed… He also did so on June 15 at Washington.

• Last start against San Diego allowed four hits, three runs and a home run while fanning through 5.0 frames tossed.

• Is now 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA against NL West teams.

• Pitched to a 1.69 ERA in five appearances, four starts, with 21 strikeouts through 16.0 innings pitched in Spring Training.

2022 Recap
• Pitched his first full major league season and went 11-5 with a 2.67 ERA (39 ER/131.2 IP) and 202 strikeouts…Led rookie pitchers in the majors with 4.9 fWAR and 3.7 bWAR.

• Fanned 202 and allowed just 86 hits on the season.

• Is the only pitcher in baseball history to record at least 200 strikeouts and allow fewer than 100 hits in a year.

• Became the quickest pitcher in baseball history to ever reach 200 strikeouts in a single season, doing so in his 130.0th inning…Hall-of-Famer LHP Randy Johnson held the previous record, reaching 200 strikeouts in 130.2 innings in 2001.

• Was the third rookie in franchise history to strikeout 200 in a season, and the first in the modern era…The other rookies to reach 200 strikeouts were RHP Kid Nichols, who struck out 222 in 1890, and Bill Stemmyer, who fanned 239 in 1886. ..Just 16 rookies have done so in history, with Yu Darvish being the last to do so (221 strikeouts in 2012).

• His 13.8 strikeouts per 9.0 innings is the highest by a rookie pitcher in MLB history (min. 12 starts)…Chicago’s Kerry Wood held the previous mark with 12.6 K/9.0 IP.

• No pitcher in Braves franchise history has pitched at least 100 innings in a season and fanned even 11.0 batters per 9.0 innings…In fact, just two pitchers, Brandon Beachy with 10.7 in 2011 and Charlie Morton with 10.5 last year, have been above 10.0.

• Ranked 11th in the majors with 202 strikeouts…However, did so in just 131.2 innings…Each of the 10 pitchers with more threw at least 166.0 innings on the season.

• Among pitchers to throw at least 100.0 innings on the season, Strider’s 13.81 K/9.0 IP were easily most in the majors, over 1.5 strikeouts more than the closest pitcher…Blake Snell fanned 12.02 batters per 9.0 innings to rank second.

• Opened the season pitching out of the bullpen, and moved into the rotation on May 30 at Arizona…Made 11 appearances out of the bullpen and went 1-1 with a 2.22 ERA (6 ER/24.1 IP)…In 20 starts, went 10-4 with a 2.77 ERA (33 ER/107.1 IP).

• Prior to his move into the rotation, Atlanta was 23-25 and its starters had pitched to a 4.38 ERA…From the date of Strider’s first start, May 30, to the end of the season, the Braves went 78-36 and the starters pitched to a 3.46 ERA.

• Started on September 1 vs. Colorado and pitched a career-most 8.0 innings, holding the Rockies to just two hits and no runs in the effort…The Braves beat the Rockies, 3-0, to give Strider his ninth win of the season.

• Set the single-game, Atlanta-era record with 16 strikeouts in the game, which also ranks second in all-time franchise history…John Smoltz previously held the Atlanta-era record, punching out 15 on two occasions: May 24, 1992 at Montreal and April 10, 2005 versus the New York Mets…Warren Spahn holds the all-time Braves record with 18 punchouts on June 14, 1952 versus the Chicago Cubs.

• Strider’s 16 strikeouts are the most in a single game by a Braves rookie in franchise history.

• He became the fourth different rookie in the modern era to strike out at least 16 batters in a game without issuing a walk…Dwight Gooden had exactly 16 K’s in two consecutive starts in 1984 (9/12 vs. PIT, 9/17 @ PHI)…Kerry Wood struck out 20 against Houston on May 6, 1998, and Jon Gray fanned 16 Padres on September 17, 2016.

• Research courtesy Elias.

• Was named NL Rookie of the Month for July…Went 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA (8 ER/26.2 IP) over five starts in the month.

• Five of the eight runs came in one start, July 17 at Washington…In his other four turns, went 2-0 and pitched to a 1.19 ERA (3 ER/22.2 IP) with 37 strikeouts.

Career Recap
• Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft.

MLB Preview: Detroit Tigers (2-8) at Toronto Blue Jays (7-4)

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MLB Preview: Detroit Tigers (2-8) at Toronto Blue Jays (7-4)

DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS SUFFER FIFTH STRAIGHT LOSS: The Tigers dropped the series opener to the Blue Jays, 9-3, on Tuesday night. Nick Maton hit a three-run homer, his first in a Tigers uniform, while Spencer Torkelson had a pair of hits, including a double. Matt Manning started for Detroit and took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 6.0 innings.

ROSTER MOVES: The Tigers have made the following roster moves:
*Placed RHP Matt Manning on the 15-day injured list with a right foot fracture.
*Recalled INF Tyler Nevin from Triple A Toledo

FULLY TORKED: Spencer Torkelson went 2×4 with a double in last night’s game, recording his second straight multi-hit game and his third of
the season. Torkelson has hit safely in five of his last seven games, slashing .333/.345/.519 with two doubles, a home run and six RBI.

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF: Nick Maton hit his first home run of the season last night against the Blue Jays, hitting a three-run shot in the
second inning. Maton has had some of the best performances of his young career against Toronto has three of his eight career homers have come against the Blue Jays, including his only career multi-homer game on May 16, 2021.

EXTRA, EXTRA: Miguel Cabrera hit a double in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game against the Red Sox. The two-bagger was the 609th of his career and his 1,133rd career extra-base hit. Cabrera is now one extra-base hit away from tying Tris Speaker for 16th on the MLB all-time list.

MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List
Rank Player XBH

  1. Carl Yastrzemski 1,157
  2. Adrian Beltre 1,151
  3. Ty Cobb 1,138
  4. Tris Speaker 1,134
  5. Miguel Cabrera 1,133

TIGERS AND BLUE JAYS: The Tigers and Blue Jays continue their six-game season series tonight at Rogers Centre. Along with the three games this
week in Toronto, the two teams will also face off in a three-game series at Comerica Park from July 7-9. Detroit went 2-5 against the Blue Jays last season, including dropping three-of-four games in Toronto.

ON THE ROAD: The Tigers are 0-1 on their current three-game road trip. Detroit has a 2-5 record on the road so far this season, The Tigers went 30-50 on the road last season, their fifth straight 162-game season with a losing record away from Detroit.

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

• RHP Michael Lorenzen (left groin strain, 15- day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)

• RHP Matt Manning (right foot fracture, 10-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)

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

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

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

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

TONIGHT’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER – Eduardo Rodriguez • 0-2, 6.30 ERA (10.0IP/7ER)
• Rodriguez will make his third start of the season tonight at Toronto.

• Last pitched on Wednesday in the series finale at Houston and took the loss after giving up four runs on six hits with two walks and a strikeout in 4.2 innings. • Made his second consecutive Opening Day start on Thursday at Tampa Bay and took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

• Has faced the Blue Jays 17 times in his career, including 16 as a starter, posting a 5-6 record with a 5.20 ERA (90.0IP/52ER) and 88 strikeouts…in five career appearances, including four starts, at Rogers Centre, Rodriguez is 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA (24.2IP/12ER) and 19 strikeouts.

• Started 17 games for the Tigers last season and had a 5-5 record with a 4.05 ERA (91.0IP/41ER) and 72 strikeouts.

• Since 2018, he has a .658 winning percentage, which ranks eighth among all active Major League pitchers over that span (min. 100 starts).

TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:

THE LATEST: The Blue Jays trailed by three runs early but surged their way to a 9-3 win over the Tigers…Moved to 29-18 all-time in Home Openers (18-14 at Rogers Centre)… Cranked a season-high five home runs, which was their most ever in a Home Opener. Toronto has won six of its last seven contests…Has now come from behind in five of its seven wins this season.

CHAP’S STICK: Matt Chapman connected for his 3rd home run of the season last night, a solo shot in the 4th inning…Has homered in three consecutive games for the 5th time in his career (last: Aug. 14-16, 2021). The third baseman also singled and scored in the 8th for his AL-leading 7th multi-hit game of the season…Is now batting .477 (21-for-44) with seven doubles, three home runs, four walks, and 15 RBI for a 1.362 OPS…Currently leads the AL in hits (2nd in MLB), doubles, and total bases (37) while tied for 1st in extra-base hits (10), 2nd in OBP (.521), 2nd in SLG (.841), 2nd in OPS, 3rd in RBI…Has an average exit velocity of 99.3 MPH, the highest in MLB (2nd: J.D. Martinez – 97.9).

OUTLAW UNLEASHED: Kevin Kiermaier took back a home run as he went over the center-field wall for a catch in the 2nd inning… Later led off the bottom of the 5th frame with his 1st home run as a Blue Jay. The outfielder is now 13-for-34 (.382) while recording hits in each of his eight games with an at-bat to start his Blue Jays career…His 13 hits while batting 9th are the most in the Majors (2nd: Arcia/Tovar – 9).

BYE GEORGE: George Springer followed Kiermaier’s blast with one of his own in the 5th, his 2nd longball of the year… Marked Toronto’s 1st set of back-to-back homers of 2023…Extended his hitting streak to five games, going 6-for-22 (.273) with two home runs and three RBI.

PUTTING A BO ON IT: Bo Bichette launched his 4th home run of the year to lead off the bottom of the 8th inning…Was his 3rd dinger in the last four contests…Has hits in all but one of the 11 games so far, going 18-for-51 (.353) with two doubles, four homers, nine RBI, and 10 runs scored (T-6th in the AL)…The 18 hits are tied for 2nd most in the AL (T-4th in MLB) while his 32 total bases are tied for 4th and his .353 AVG ranks 7th.

A FEW NOTCHES ON THE BELT: Brandon Belt singled twice, doubled, and drove in a run as he finished 3-for-4 last night…Marked his 1st multi-hit game as a Blue Jay.

KEVIN’S SEVENS: Kevin Gausman will make his 3rd start of the season this evening…Has yet to allow an earned run in his 12.0 innings of work so far, 2.0 innings shy of tying a club record to begin a campaign…Has struck out exactly seven batters in each start, allowing a total of
12 hits and three walks for a .250 AVG and a 1.25 WHIP…His 219 strikeouts since the start of last season are 4th most among AL pitchers.

HOME SWEET DOME: The Blue Jays are playing their 1st home action of the 2023 campaign…Have the fewest home games played among the 30 MLB clubs…Their .580 win% (47-34) at home last season ranked 4th in the AL… After this three-game set with the Tigers, will face the
Rays (11-0) for three more over the weekend. Toronto batters finished 2nd in the AL in 2022 in home AVG (.261), 4th in home OBP (.326), 4th in home SLG (.434), and 4th in home OPS (.760)…The pitching staff posted a 4.04 ERA during home contests (10th in the AL) with a .248 opponents’ AVG (11th) and a 1.23 WHIP (8th).

CANADIAN POP SENSATION: Zach Pop took the win last night as he shut down the Tigers’ offence for 1.2 frames, retiring all five batters faced while recording two strikeouts…Became the 1st Canadian-born pitcher to win a Blue Jays Home Opener.

THE CAPTAIN BLASTS OFF: Alejandro Kirk blasted a three-run bomb in the bottom of the 8th inning, his 1st homer of the season…Also opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 2nd, going 2-for-4 on the night with four RBI…Has reached base safely in all eight of his games played this season, now 6-for-27 (.222) with that homer, six RBI, and a 5BB/5K ratio (.344 OBP).

HITTING IT: The Blue Jays are leading the AL with a team batting average of .289 (2nd in MLB)…Have notched 116 hits so far, trailing only the White Sox (117 in 12 games) for the most in MLB…Currently rank 2nd in the AL in OBP (.351) and OPS (.801) while sitting 4th in SLG (.450)…Have homered in each of the last eight games after going homerless in their first three.

MORE THAN YOUR AVERAGE TEAM: The Blue Jays led the Majors in 2022 with a .264 team batting average and 1,464 hits…Also led the AL in OBP (.329), SLG (.431), and OPS (.760) while ranked T-1st in extra-base hits (519), 2nd in runs (775), 2nd in doubles (307), and 3rd in home runs
(200)…Topped the AL in AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS for the 1st time in team history. Blue Jay batters combined for a hard-hit (95+ MPH) percentage of 44.3 in 2022, the top rate in MLB (2nd: ATL – 43.5) while their average exit velocity of 90.2 MPH was also highest in the Majors (2nd: ATL – 89.9).

VS. THE TIGERS: All-Time: 242-205
2023: 1-0 Home: 131-96
Home: 1-0 Rogers Centre: 94-56

The Blue Jays went 5-2 vs. the Tigers last season while outscoring them, 33-15…Took three of the four games here at Rogers Centre last July…Are undefeated in season series vs. Detroit since 2019 (now 13-8). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. recorded hits in all seven games vs. the Tigers last season, going 9-for-26 (.346) with three doubles, a home run, and four RBI…In 17 career meetings, is now batting .313 (21-for-67) with four doubles, three home runs, and 11 RBI (.894 OPS). Matt Chapman played in five games against Detroit in 2022 and managed to connect for four home runs and six RBI (1.063 SLG)…Is a lifetime 23-for-98 (.235) with a pair of doubles, two triples, 12 homers, and 20
RBI (1.005 OPS) over 26 contests. Whit Merrifield leads all current Blue Jays with 101 games played vs. the Tigers…Has batted .333 (138- for-414) against his former division rival, including 35 doubles, seven triples, 11 home runs, and 50 RBI (.903 OPS).

STARTING PITCHER – Kevin Gausman, RHP #34
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 3rd start of the season and his 1st at Rogers Centre…Picked up the win his last time out on 4/6 at KC, throwing 6.0 shutout frames with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts…Hasn’t allowed an earned run over 12.0 combined innings this season. Owns a 2.80 FIP since the start of the 2020 season, the 2nd-best mark among qualified hurlers (1st: Corbin Burnes – 2.55).

2023 HIGHLIGHTS:
Took the loss in his season debut on 4/1 at STL, giving up 3 runs (all unearned) on 8 hits and a walk over 6.0 innings with 7 strikeouts.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS:
His career-best 2.32 FIP ranked 2nd among all MLB hurlers (Carlos Rodón – 2.31)…Was 5th in the AL with 205 strikeouts and finished 11th in
ERA (3.35). Picked up his 2nd win on 5/1 vs. HOU, tossing 7.0 innings of two-run ball, giving up 6 hits with no walks and a season-high 10 strikeouts…Became the 1st Blue Jay pitcher in 2022 with a double-digit strikeout game… Joined Cy Young as the only pitchers since 1903 to begin a season with five straight starts with no walks and no home runs allowed (min. 20 IP)… His 41 punchouts without any walks are the 2nd-most thru the first five games of a season in MLB history (Corbin Burnes – 49K in 2021). Twirled 6.1 innings of one-run ball in Game 1 of a doubleheader on 5/7 at CLE, giving up 6 hits with 5 strikeouts while walking his 1st batter of the season (Franmil Reyes with 2 out in the 4th)…Faced 136 consecutive batters to the begin the year without issuing a walk, the longest streak in franchise history (Paul Quantrill – 90 in 2001), and the 3rdlongest streak across the Majors since 1974 (Mark Eichhorn – 146 in 1991, Dan Quisenberry – 146 in 1982).

Earned the win on 8/2 at TB, throwing 8.0 shutout innings with a hit, a walk, and 10 strikeouts…Became the first Blue Jays pitcher to go 8+
scoreless since Alex Manoah on 9/13/21 vs. TB, and the first to do so on the road since Ryan Borucki on 9/17/18 at BAL…Recorded double-digit
strikeouts for the 4th time this season and 3rd time in his last 6 starts.

Named AL Player of the Week for 8/1-8/7, going 1-0 with 14.0 scoreless innings pitched (7H, BB, 15K)…Was his 1st PotW nod…Was the 9th Blue
Jays pitcher to take Player of the Week honours…Became the 2nd pitcher in team history to tally at least 15 K’s without more than 1 BB across 2 consecutive scoreless outings, joining Brandon Morrow (4/28- 5/3/12).

Picked up his 9th win on 8/19 at NYY…Scattered 4 hits and a walk over 7.0 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts… Marked his 6th scoreless outing of the season and the 3rd in his last 4 starts.

Landed a no-decision on 9/21 at PHI as he tossed 6.0 scoreless innings 5H, 2BB, 8K)…Was his 6th outing of 6+ scoreless IP.

Took a no-decision on 9/26 vs. NYY, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk over 6.1 innings with 7 punchouts…Became the 2nd pitcher in team
history to record 200 K’s in his 1st season as a Blue Jay (Roger Clemens – 292 in 1997).

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Set career-best marks in 2021 innings pitched (192.0), wins (14), quality starts (20), ERA (2.81), strikeouts (227), opponents’ AVG (.210), and WHIP (1.04).

Named an All-Star for the 1st time in his career in 2021 and finished 6th in NL Cy Young voting…Signed a 5-year deal with Toronto on 12/1/21.

Selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round (4th overall) of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

VS. THE TIGERS:
Facing the Tigers for the 10th time in his career and the 2nd time as a Blue Jay…Took the loss last season on 6/11 at Comerica Park, giving up 2R/1ER over 6.0 innings with 6 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts…Has surrendered a total of 5 earned runs over his last 4 meetings with Detroit, posting a 1.82 ERA (5 ER/24.2 IP) with 7 walks and 20 punchouts.

NHL Preview: San Jose Sharks (22-42-16) at Calgary Flames (37-27-17)

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NHL Preview: San Jose Sharks (22-42-16) at Calgary Flames (37-27-17)

SAN JOSE SHARKS NOTES:

LAST GAME
Game 80 – 4/10 – SJS 2 @ WPG 6…Erik Karlsson (2g, 0a) scored twice to reach 100 points (25g, 75a) on the season. Karlsson becomes the first defenseman since 1991-92 and first ever European-born defenseman to reach the milestone. Logan Couture (0g, 1a) recorded an assist on the first goal to reach 700 career points. Jacob Peterson (0g, 1a) extended his point streak to seven games and Tomas Hertl (0g, 1a) tallied his 246th assist in teal to pass Owen Nolan (245) for seventh-most in franchise history.
SJ Goal: Karlsson (24), Karlsson (25 pp)
SF: 21
SA: 33
SJ PP: 1/4
SJ PK: 0/2
W: Hellebuyck
L: Reimer

RECENT TRANSCACTIONS
4/11 Reassigned F Adam Raska to the San Jose Barracuda

TONIGHT’S OPPONENTS – CALGARY FLAMES
San Jose begins their final back-to-back of the season with a contest in Calgary tonight. The Sharks are looking for their first win against Calgary this season, having gone pointless against the club in three games. The two teams last met on March 25, a 5-3 decision in Calgary’s favor, in Alberta. The Flames are playing in their final game this season and were eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday. They suffered back-to-back shootout losses on April 8 and April 10.

CALGARY FLAMES NOTES:

FLAMES LAST GAME RECAP
April 10, 2023 – CALGARY FLAMES [2] vs. NASHVILLE PREDATORS 3
The Calgary Flames welcomed the Nashville Predators to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday night. Both teams would come out firing with the clubs combining for 25 first period shots but it would be Nashville who would take a 1-0 lead into the intermission thanks to an Egor Afanasyev goal to give the Preds the lead. Calgary would tie the game in the second off a seeing eye shot from Troy Stecher, his third as a Flame and the game was tied through 40. In the third, Nashville scored 4:02 in to retake the lead, but the Flames once again battled back with Mikael Backlund scoring his 19th to tie the game through 60 minutes of play. Overtime would solve nothing, and Nashville would go on to win 3-2 in a shootout.
CGY GOAL SCORERS: Stecher (3), Backlund (19)
GOALIE: Markstrom 27/29, .931 Sv%)
PP: 0/4 (0%)
PK: 6/6 (100%)

FLAMES LAST FIVE RESULTS, RECORD: 2-1-2
DATE RESULT GWG CGY GOALIE OPP. GOALIE
April 10, 2023 NSH [2] vs. CGY 3 Novak* Markstrom Saros
April 8, 2023 CGY [2] at VAN 3 Kuzmenko* Markstrom Demko
April 5, 2023 CGY [3] at WPG [1] Duehr Markstrom Hellebuyck
April 4, 2023 CHI [4] vs. CGY [3] Wagner Markstrom Mrazek
April 2, 2023 ANA [4] vs. CGY [5] Stone Markstrom/Vladar Dostal
*shootout winning goal

FLAMES UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
DATE TIME
(MST) OPPONENT VENUE
April 12, 2023 8:00pm vs. San Jose Sharks Scotiabank Saddledome

TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS
This fourth meeting this season between the Flames and Sharks. The Flames have won all three prior meetings this season with 17 goals scored in three games. This is a Pacific Division matchup; The Flames have an overall record of 15-6-4 against Pacific Division opponents this season and a record of 25-15-9 against Western Conference opponents.

QUICK HITS:
Troy Stecher scored his third as a Flame on Monday which gives him seven points in his 19 games with Calgary. Jonathan Huberdeau recorded an assist to give him points in five of his last six, and 40 helpers on the season. Dillon Dube also had an assist to expand on his career-year and is up to 45 points.

AGAINST SAN JOSE THIS SEASON:
The Flames and Sharks are set to square off for the fourth time this season. San Jose and Calgary met twice in back-toback tilts back on December 18th and 20th with Calgary winning both contests 5-2 and 7-2. Elias Lindholm led the Flames with two goals and four assists for six points through the pair of games, while Tyler Toffoli (3-2 – 5), Nazem Kadri (2-2 – 4), Jonathan Huberdeau (0-4 – 4), Dillon Dube (2-1 – 3) Milan Lucic (2-1 – 3) and Trevor Lewis (1-1 – 2) all recorded at least a point-per game. Jonathan Huberdeau also skated in his 700th NHL game in the first of the two tilts at SAP Center on December 18th with an assist in the contest. Rasmus Andersson went a combined +8 through the two games. Calgary would also win meeting number three 5-3 with Toffoli notching his 30th goal of the season on the night.

SCORING VERSUS SAN JOSE:
Through their three prior games, the Flames have scored more goals against the San Jose Sharks than they have against
any other team, filling the net with 17 goals. Tyler Toffoli and Elias Lindholm are both tied with a team-leading seven
points against the Sharks this season.

CALGARY FLAMES vs. SAN JOSE SHARKS
CGY vs. SJS ALL-TIME HOME AWAY L10 STRK
67-54-8-6 35-24-4-3 32-30-4-3 5-5-0 W4

GAME INFO:
Calgary Flames vs. San Jose Sharks
8:00pm MT
Scotiabank Saddledome
TV: Sportsnet West, Sportsnet 360, TNT
Radio: Sportsnet Fan 960

2022-23 Season Series: 3-0-0 (Home: 1-0-0, Road 2-0-0)
Dec. 18, 2022 – CGY [5] at SJS [2]
Dec. 20, 2022 – CGY [7] at SJS [2]
Mar. 25, 2023 – SJS [3] at CGY [5]
Apr. 12, 2023 – SJS at CGY

2021-22 Season Record vs. SJS: 1-3-0 (Home: 0-2-0, Road: 1-1-0)
Last Home Win vs. SJS: March 25, 2023 – San Jose [3] vs. Calgary [5]
Last Road Win @ SJS: December 20, 2022 – Calgary [7] at San Jose [2]
Last Home Loss vs. SJS: March 22, 2022 – San Jose [4] vs. Calgary [3]
Last Road Loss @ SJS: December 7, 2021 – Calgary [3] at San Jose [5]

2022-23 CALGARY FLAMES

FLAMES RECENT INJURIES (Total man games lost – 66)
Michael Stone – lower-body injury (19 games: Feb. 22 – Mar. 28)
Chris Tanev – upper body injury (6 games: Mar. 21 – Apr. 2)

NHL Preview: Dallas Stars (45-21-14) at St. Louis Blues (37-36-7)

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NHL Preview: Dallas Stars (45-21-14) at St. Louis Blues (37-36-7)

DALLAS STARS NOTES:

LAST DALLAS STARS GAME
April 10, 2023 – STARS 6 at RED WINGS 1
On a milestone night for forward Joe Pavelski, the Stars scored six unanswered goals in a 6-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Monday. Pavelski became the 10th U.S.-born player to reach 1,000 career points when he scored a trademark goal on a deflection off Miro Heiskanen’s point shot. Moments after he scored, Pavelski was mobbed by his teammates, who jumped off the bench to congratulate him. Forward Roope Hintz tied his single-game career high with four points (1-3—4), Jason Robertson had a goal and three points (1-2—3) and Heiskanen tied Sergei Zubov (71) for the most points scored by a defenseman in a season in Dallas Stars history with two assists against the Red Wings. Forward Ty Dellandrea (1-0—1), captain Jamie Benn (1-0—1) and defenseman Esa Lindell (1-0—1) rounded out the scoring, while goaltender Jake Oettinger earned the win with 12 saves on 13 shots in 40 minutes of action. Netminder Scott Wedgewood played the final 20 minutes making seven saves on seven shots.
PP: 1-3 | PK: 2-2 | SF: 22 | SA: 20 | DAL TOI: R. Suter (22:22) | Attendance: 17,861
Three Stars: 1. DAL – J. Pavelski 2. DAL – R. Hintz 3. DAL – J. Robertson

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time (CT) Location TV/Radio
Wed, April 12, 2023 St. Louis Blues 6:30 p.m. Enterprise Center TNT/KTCK
Thu, April 13, 2023 St. Louis Blues 7 p.m. American Airlines Center ESPN/KTCK

INJURIES
Man-games lost, 2022-23: 78
NAME INJURY GAMES

MISSED DATES
D Miro Heiskanen Upper body 3 Oct. 25-29
G Jake Oettinger Lower body 4 Nov. 1-8
F Denis Gurianov Upper body 6 Nov. 11-21
F Roope Hintz Lower body 1 Nov. 19
Upper body 7 Jan. 10-21
Lower body 1 April 6
F Joel Kiviranta Lower body 11 Feb. 8-Mar. 4
F Luke Glendening Undisclosed 11 Feb. 18-Mar. 13
G Scott Wedgewood Undisclosed 1 Feb. 22-25
Undisclosed 14 Mar. 1-28
F Tyler Seguin Lower body 6 Mar. 11-21
F Mason Marchment Lower body 12 Mar. 14-pres.

DALLAS STARS NOTES
X GON’ GIVE IT TO YA

  • The Stars have clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight year, 18th time since relocating to Dallas in 1993-94 and 35th time in franchise history. Dallas became the 10th team to clinch a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
  • With a victory on April 6 vs. Philadelphia, the Stars (43-21-14, 100 points) secured a 100-point season for the 10th time in franchise history and first since 2015-16 (109 points). Each of the previous 10 times the franchise has reached the century mark have come since the team relocated to Dallas ahead of the 1993-94 season.
  • Dallas is in a two-team battle for the top spot in the Central Division one point behind Colorado. The Stars clinched home ice in the First Round by virtue of a Jets victory over the Wild in regulation on Tuesday night.

TONIGHT’S GAME: It’s the final road game of the regular season for the Stars, who open a home-and-home series with the St. Louis Blues beginning tonight at Enterprise Center. (6:30 p.m. CT, TV: TNT, Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM). Firmly in a battle for the top seed in the Central Division, the Stars will play one of Seattle, Colorado or Minnesota in the first round. This is the second of three games against the Blues this season and the second of two matchups in the Gateway City.

GOT A LOT TO TALK ABOUT IF YOU STILL WANNA LISTEN

  • The Stars are 1-0-0 vs. the Blues this season, winning 4-1 at Enterprise Center on Nov. 28, 2022.
  • Dallas is 116-130-55 all-time vs. St. Louis, including a 45-80-27 mark on the road.
  • Forwards Wyatt Johnston (1-1—2), Ty Dellandrea (1-0—1), Jason Robertson (1-0—1) and defenseman Miro Heiskanen (1-0—1) lit the lamp in the series opener at St. Louis, captain Jamie Benn (0-2—2) recorded two assists and goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 23 saves on 24 shots.
  • Max Domi has three points (1-2—3) in three games vs. St. Louis this season, all as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. Domi enters tonight’s matchup with 14 points (5-9—14) in 19 career games against the Blues.
  • Benn leads active Stars in goals (21) and points (21-25—46) and ranks second in assists (25) in 49 career games against St. Louis. Benn also paces the club in power-play goals (7), game winners (3) and overtime tallies (2) against them.
  • Forward Joe Pavelski ranks second among active Stars in goals (11) and third in points (11-16—27) in 53 career games vs. the Blues. Of his 11 goals, seven have come on the power play.
  • Forward Tyler Seguin ranks third among active Stars in goals (8) and assists (18) and ranks fourth in points (8-18—26) in 39 career games vs. St. Louis.
  • Forward Roope Hintz has five goals (5-0—5) in 13 career games against the Blues.
  • Forward Evgenii Dadonov has seven points (1-6—7) in 10 career games vs. St. Louis.
  • Defenseman Ryan Suter ranks first among active Stars in assists (32) and second in points (7-32—39) in a team-high 87 career games vs. St. Louis. Suter has played more regular season games against St. Louis than any other team.
  • Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 1-1-0 with a 2.53 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in two career appearances against the Blues.
  • Netminder Scott Wedgewood is 2-0-0 with a 1.51 GAA and .950 SV% in two career appearances vs. St. Louis.

2022-23 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Nov. 28, 2022 at St. Louis – W, 4-1
April 12 at St. Louis
April 13 vs. St. Louis

ST. LOUIS BLUES NOTES:

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
April
10 – Recalled goaltender Joel Hofer, forward Hugh McGing, and defenseman Tyler Tucker from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
9 – Assigned defenseman Dmitri Samorukov and goaltender Vadim Zherenko to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
6 – Recalled defenseman Dmitri Samorukov from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) under emergency conditions
6 – Assigned defenseman Matthew Kessel to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)

BLUES vs. STARS (Reg. Season)

  • The Blues will finish off the season with a home-and-home series with Dallas tonight at home and tomorrow in Dallas
  • The Blues are 0-1-0 against the Stars this season (Lost 4-1 on Nov. 28 in St. Louis)
  • The Blues went 3-1-0 against Dallas last season (2-0-0 at home; 1-1-0 away)
  • The Blues are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games against Dallas
  • The Blues are 4-1-1 in their last 6 games against Dallas at Enterprise Center
  • The Blues are 3-1-0 in their last 4 trips to Dallas
  • The Blues are also 4-2-1 in their last 7 trips to Dallas
  • The Blues have not allowed a power play goal to the Stars in 4 straight matchups, going 8 for 8 (100%) on the penalty kill over those 4 games
  • The Blues have scored a power play goal in 5 of their last 6 games against Dallas, going 7 for 22 (31.8%) on the power play over those 6 games (scored a power play goal in 5 straight games from Feb. 29, 2020 to Jan. 9, 2022)
  • Torey Krug is expected to dress in his 700th career game

BLUES SEEKING 15TH CONSECUTIVE WINNING SEASON

  • The Blues currently have a record of 37-36-7 this season, and with a win in their last 2 games they would record their 15th consecutive winning season
  • The Blues streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons would be the 3rd longest active streak in the NHL (1. Pittsburgh, 17 from 2006-07 to 2022-23 & 2. Boston, 16 from 2007-08 to 2022-23)
  • The Blues current streak of 14 consecutive winning seasons is the longest streak in franchise history
  • Going back to 1989-90, 32 seasons (not counting 2022-23), the Blues have posted 28 winning seasons, which shares the most in the NHL with the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins All-Time Blues Streaks of Winning Records

Seasons Years
14 2008/09-2021/22
8 1996/97-2003/04
6 1989/90-1994/95
3 1968/69-1970/71

BLUES GO MARCHING IN

  • Since Mar. 9, the Blues are 10-5-2 (22 points)
  • Their 10 wins since Mar. 9 share 7th in the NHL (1. Boston, 15), while their 22 points share 8th in the NHL (1. Boston, 30)
  • The Blues have scored 68 goals since Mar. 9, which ranks 3rd in the NHL (1. Colorado/Edmonton, 69)
  • Since Mar. 9, Jordan Kyrou shares 7th in the NHL with 11 goals, while Jakub Vrana shares 15th in the NHL with 9 goals (1 Pastrnak, 16)

MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (5-6) at Tampa Bay Rays (11-0)

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MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (5-6) at Tampa Bay Rays (11-0)

BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:

STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have lost back-to-back games after sweeping the Tigers in Detroit from 4/6-9. The Sox have been held to 2 runs and 9 hits over the first 2 games of the current series at TB, after scoring 24 runs on 26 hits over the previous 3-game series at DET. Red Sox batters have struck out 10 times in each of the first 2 games at TB, after striking out 10+ times in just 1 of their first 9 games of the season.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Red Sox lost at TB last night, 7-2… They were held to just 2 hits through the first 7.0 innings. Garrett Whitlock made his 2023 debut (5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, SO)…He held TB to 3 runs through 4.2 innings before allowing back-to-back 2-out HR in the 5th. Reese McGuire (2-for-2, RBI) pinch hit in the 8th inning and doubled, then hit an RBI single in the 9th. Justin Turner reached base safely in 3 of his 4 plate appearances, going 1-for-2 with 2 BB.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Red Sox have scored at least 61 runs through their first 11 games for the 3rd time in the last 20 seasons (also 65 runs in 2021 and 63 runs in 2018). The Sox have hit at least 15 home runs through their first 11 games for the 2nd time in the last 20 seasons (15 HR in 2021). Red Sox hitters have struck out in just 19.3% of their plate appearances (82 SO/425 PA), the 3rd-best SO% in the AL (TB-17.7%, CLE-19.2%).

NINE IS FINE: Over their first 11 games, the Red Sox have scored 9+ runs 4 times (3-1 record), 4-8 runs 3 times (2-1 record), and 0-3 runs 4 times (0-4 record). The Sox’ 4 games with 9+ runs scored are the 2nd most in MLB, trailing only TB (5).

INNINGS OF INTEREST: The Red Sox have scored in either the 1st or 2nd inning in 7 of their 11 games (17 total runs). They have scored 8 runs in the 1st inning, tied for 2nd most in the AL behind only SEA (11 runs). They have scored 9 runs in the 2nd inning, 1 behind TB and ATL for most in MLB. The Red Sox have outscored opponents in the 8th and 9th innings, 12-4. The Sox have scored 4+ runs in an inning 4 times this
season, trailing only TB (5) for most such innings in MLB.

CLOSE SHAVES: 8 of the Sox’ first 11 games have been decided by 3 runs or fewer…The only teams in MLB with more such games are KC (10), CLE (10), MIN (9), and HOU (9). The Red Sox have played 4 games decided by just 1 run (1-3 record), 4th most in MLB behind CLE (6), SEA (5), and CIN (5).

BOSTON STRONG: The Red Sox announced plans to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon with special events and pregame ceremonies during the 4-game series vs. LAA that begins on Friday. The Red Sox on Friday, in partnership with JetBlue, will distribute over 40,000 Red Sox City Connect hats to Boston Public Schools students and staff at 104 elementary and middle schools across Boston. Prior to Saturday’s 4:10 p.m. game, the Red Sox will host special pregame ceremonies commemorating One Boston Day and the 76th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. Prior to Sunday’s 1:35 p.m. game, a reunion of the 2013 Red Sox World Series Championship team will take place during pregame ceremonies. On Patriots Day, Monday, 4/17, Hall of Famer David Ortiz will serve as the Grand Marshal for the 127th Boston Marathon…The Red Sox and Angels will play at 11:10 AM, with all fans in attendance receiving a Boston Strong t-shirt.

WHAT A RELIEF: Over the last 8 games (since 4/3), Red Sox relievers have posted a 2.32 ERA (8 ER/31.0 IP). 5 of the 8 relief pitchers the Red Sox have used this season have allowed 1 or 0 runs (see below).

RED SOX RELIEVERS TO ALLOW 1 OR 0 RUNS
Pitcher IP R
Kenley Jansen 3.0 0
Josh Winckowski 9.0 1
Zack Kelly 6.2 1
Chris Martin 6.0 1
John Schreiber 5.0 1

START ME UP: Prior to last night, Red Sox starting pitchers tossed 5.0 innings and allowed 3 ER or fewer in each of the previous 6 games, posting a 2.40 ERA (8 ER/30.0 IP) over that span.

RED SOX STARTING PITCHERS, APRIL 4-10
Pitcher Game IP ER
Nick Pivetta 4/4 vs. PIT 5.0 1
Corey Kluber 4/5 vs. PIT 5.0 1
Chris Sale 4/6 at DET 5.0 3
Tanner Houck 4/8 at DET 5.0 2
Kutter Crawford 4/9 at DET 5.0 1
Nick Pivetta 4/10 at TB 5.0 0

SOX & RAYS: Tonight marks the 3rd of 13 scheduled meetings between the Red Sox and Rays in 2023. The Rays will visit Fenway Park for 4 games in 3 days from 6/2-4, and a 2-game series from 9/26-27…The Sox will return to Tropicana Field for 3 games from 9/4-6. The Sox have lost each of their last 11 games at Tropicana Field, beginning 4/23/22…It is their longest losing streak ever at the venue.

ROAD TRIPPING: The Red Sox are 3-2 so far on their 7-game road trip to DET (3-0) and TB (0-2). The Red Sox are currently in a stretch of 19 games in 19 days, from 4/8-26 (3-2 so far). After the current series, the Red Sox will begin a 7-game homestand against LAA (4 games) and MIN (3 games).

MACHO MAN: Masataka Yoshida has hit from the 4th spot in the lineup in each of his 10 career games…He is the first player ever to bat 4th for the Red Sox in each of his first 10 MLB games. Yoshida is 1 of 3 players since 1950 to bat 4th in each of their first 10 MLB games, joining Kris Bryant (2015 with CHC) and Pete Incaviglia (1986 with TEX).

ON THE MEND: Brayan Bello allowed 1 run over 6.0 IP in a rehab start for Triple-A Worcester last night vs. Columbus (4 H, 4 SO, HB, 81 pitches). James Paxton made a rehab start for Triple-A Worcester Sunday at Buffalo…He struck out 3 batters over 3.0 scoreless innings (2 H, 2 BB, 58 pitches, 34 strikes).

TONIGHT’S STARTER: 41 CHRIS SALE – LHP
Earned the win last Thursday at DET, allowing 3 runs over 5.0 IP (4 H, 3 BB, 7 SO, HR)… Was his 1st win since 9/22/21 vs. NYM (5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 SO). Thursday marked his 152nd career game with at least 5.0 IP, 7 SO and 3 BB or fewer (previous: 9/22/21 vs. NYM 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 SO). Owns a 2.82 ERA (43 ER/137.0 IP) in 23 career outings (21 starts) vs. TB…Tossed 5.0 scoreless innings in his last start against TB, at Tropicana Field on 7/12/22 (3 H, BB, 5 SO). Is 54-42 with a 2.97 ERA (282 ER/853.9 IP) in 163 career games (122 starts) following a loss. Has averaged 11.10 SO/9.0 IP (2,077

TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:

WASH, RINSE, REPEAT — The Rays extended their win streak to 11 games in last night’s 7-2 win vs. Boston…LHP Shane McClanahan improved to 3-0 after tossing 5.0 innings of one-run ball, scattering two hits with four walks and nine strikeouts…Tampa Bay’s offense was powered by solo homers from 1B Yandy Díaz (3-for-3, HR, RBI, BB, 3R), DH Brandon Lowe (2-for-4, HR, RBI, R), CF Josh Lowe (2-for-4, HR, RBI, 2R, SB) and 3B Isaac Paredes (2-for-4, HR, RBI, R).

The Rays became the first team to begin a season 11-0 since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers won 13 straight to begin the year…Tampa Bay joins Milwaukee as one of four teams since 1901 to begin a season on an 11+ game win streak, joining the 1982 Atlanta Braves (13-0) and 1981 Oakland Athletics (11-0).

WELCOME TO THE SHOW — RHP Taj Bradley was recalled yesterday from Triple-A Durham and will make his major league debut tonight vs. Boston…he joins RHP Kevin Kelly as the second Ray to make his major league debut this season…Bradley, 22, is rated Tampa Bay’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 18 overall prospect by MLB.com…in 72 career minor league appearances (72 starts), Bradley is 23-16 with a 2.66 ERA (317.2IP, 94ER)…in 28 starts last season between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, he went 7-4 with a 2.57 ERA (133.1IP, 38ER).

11 AND COUNTING—The Rays 11-game win streak is tied for the second longest in franchise history, joining the 2021 club, who won 11 straight from 5/13-24, 2021…Tampa Bay’s longest win streak in team history is 12 games from 6/9-22, 2004.

The Rays’ eight-game win streak at Tropicana Field is their longest to open a home slate in club history, surpassing three-game runs by the 2002, 2012 and 2022 clubs…marks Tampa Bay’s longest home win streak since winning a franchise-best 12 straight at Tropicana Field from 8/9-9/10, 2018.

The club’s three-game road win streak is its longest to begin a season since a seven-game road streak to kick off the 2010 season.

THERE’S NO “I” IN TEAM—The Rays have 10 players with multiple home runs, including Wander Franco (4HR), Brandon Lowe (4HR), Yandy Díaz (3HR), Isaac Paredes (3HR), Luke Raley (3HR), Harold Ramírez (3HR), Randy Arozarena (2HR), Josh Lowe (2HR), Manuel Margot (2HR) and Jose Siri (2HR)…the next closest teams are Los Angeles-NL and San Francisco, both of which have seven players with multiple homers.

Tampa Bay has an MLB-best six players with 3+ HR…the next closest team is Los Angeles-NL with five.

Tampa Bay has four players with 10+ RBI, including Randy Arozarena (11RBI), Wander Franco (10RBI), Brandon Lowe (10RBI) and Isaac Paredes (10RBI)… the only other team in the majors that has multiple players with 10+ RBI is the Houston Astros (Yordan Alvarez: 16RBI & Kyle Tucker: 12RBI).

BALANCED ATTACK — The Rays have yielded only 20 runs, tied for the fewest through 11 games in club history with the 2019 squad.

Since 1901, the 2023 and 2019 Rays are two of only 11 teams to allow 20 runs or fewer through the first 11 games of the season…prior to the 2023 and 2019 Rays accomplishing the feat, the last team to do so was the 2002 San Francisco Giants (16R).

Tampa Bay’s 83 runs scored are its most ever through 11 games to start the year, ahead of the 1998 Rays (64R)…marks the most runs scored by an MLB team through 11 games since the 2019 Los Angeles Dodgers (87R).

The Rays have hit nine more home runs (29) than their total number of runs allowed (20).

BLAST OFF — The Rays have hit a major league-best 29 homers, ahead of Los Angeles-NL (21HR)…the 29 HR are tied with the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals for the most long balls through 11 games in MLB history. The Rays would need three home runs tonight to match the current MLB mark for most homers through 12 games, done by the 2019 Seattle Mariners (32HR)…Tampa Bay has already registered three 4+ homer games (4/4 at WSH, 4/7 vs. OAK and 4/11 vs. BOS) after recording only one such contest in 2022 (6/21/22 vs. NYY).

NO FLY ZONE—Rays pitchers have allowed just four home runs across 99.0 innings, good for an MLB-best 0.36 HR/9.0IP…the four homers are the fewest allowed through 11 games in franchise history, surpassing the 2014 Rays (7HR)…the fewest home runs allowed through the first 12 games of a season in franchise history is seven by the 2014 club.

Overall, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has produced an MLB-leading 1.73 ERA, including the best starter ERA (1.83) and second-best bullpen ERA (1.58) behind Milwaukee (1.00).

BOSOX IN THE BAY — The Rays play game three of a 13-game season series against Boston tonight at Tropicana Field…in 2022, Tampa Bay won the season series for the fourth consecutive year, winning 12 of 19 matchups…since 2019, the Rays are 44-25 (.638) against the Red Sox, their second most wins against any opponent in that span behind only Baltimore (46-21).

The Rays have won a franchise-best 11 consecutive home games over the Red Sox since 4/23/22, outscoring Boston, 51-25 (+26), in those games.

LOWE ON THE PROWL — Brandon Lowe has homered in four straight games, matching his career-long streak from 7/31-8/4, 2020.

Lowe is one of eight players in franchise history to homer in four straight games and the only player to do so twice…Lowe’s streak is the longest by a Rays hitter since Mike Zunino homered in five straight from 8/11-17, 2021.

The last player in the majors to homer in four straight games was Atlanta’s Matt Olson from 9/28-10/2, 2022.

In 46 career games against Boston, Lowe is hitting .333 (50-for-150) with 15 HR and 34 RBI, his most home runs against any opponent in his career.

TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP TAJ BRADLEY (0-0, -.–)
WELCOME TO THE SHOW — Tampa Bay’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 18 prospect in baseball (MLB.com) is set to make his major league debut tonight against Boston…has made two starts for Triple-A Durham this season, going 1-0 with a 5.14 ERA (7.0IP, 4ER)…in 2022, went 7-4 with a 2.57 ERA (133.1IP, 38ER) over 28 starts between Double-A Montgomery and Durham…was selected by the Rays in the fifth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.

LAST START — Tossed 5.0 frames on 4/6 in Durham’s 11-7 win at Jacksonville (5.0IP, 2H, 1ER, 4SO)…after permitting one run on a pair of hits in the opening frame, Bradley retired 13 consecutive batters to conclude his outing, including four strikeouts

DEBUT DERBY — Bradley becomes the second Rays player to make his major league debut in 2023, joining RHP Kevin Kelly (4/1 vs. DET)…he is the first pitcher to debut with the Rays as a starter since RHP Tommy Romero, who served as an opener on 4/12/2022 vs. Oakland.

In 2022, nine players made their big-league debuts with the Rays, tied for fourth most in a season in club history and most since a franchise-record 12 debuts in 2018.

2022 RUNDOWN — Split the 2022 season between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, earning a promotion on July 21…went 7-4 with a 2.57 ERA (133.1IP, 38ER) and 141 strikeouts over 28 starts across the two levels…paced all Rays minor leaguers in starts and innings while ranking second in strikeouts.

Was named the Southern League Pitcher of the Month for May after turning in a 1.06 ERA (17.0IP, 2ER) with 23 strikeouts in four starts…allowed three or fewer hits in all four starts, including one hit in three of those outings.

Started for the American League at the All-Star Futures Game in Los Angeles, earning a selection to the team for the first time in his career…worked around a double and a walk to author a scoreless opening frame.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS — Split the 2021 season between Single-A Charleston and High-A Bowling Green, going 12-3 with a 1.83 ERA (103.1IP, 21ER) in 23 games (22 starts) between the two levels…led all full-season minor leaguers in ERA while tying for third in wins and ranking 8th in opponents’ average (.181) and 9th in WHIP (0.93).

Named Carolina League Pitcher of the Month for both June and July 2021, going 7-1 with a 0.77 ERA (47.0IP, 4ER) in 10 starts over that stretch…following the season, was named to the Rays Organizational All-Star Team by MLB.com and selected to Baseball America’s Minor League All-Star Team.

Did not pitch in 2020 following the cancellation of the minor league season…pitched in the Instructional League in October.

MISC. — Was selected by the Rays in the fifth round (150th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Redan (Ga.) High School, the same school that has produced former All-Stars Brandon Phillips, Domonic Brown and Wally Joyner…began pitching as a high school senior after mostly playing the outfield growing up…committed to the University of South Carolina before signing with the Rays.

MLB Preview: Oakland Athletics (2-9) at Baltimore Orioles (6-5)

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MLB Preview: Oakland Athletics (2-9) at Baltimore Orioles (6-5)

OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: Have lost six straight and nine of the last 10 games after winning the opener…are 2-9 (.182) overall, which is the worst record in the majors behind the Tigers (2-8, .200)…it matches the worst record in Oakland history after 11 games (1979, 1987, 1998, 2001)…the 1998 and 2001 clubs lost game 12 to fall to 2-10…went 60-102 (.370) last year, which was the second lowest winning percentage in the majors and in Oakland history…have lost the first three series of the season for the fourth time in Oakland history (1979, 1987, 2001)…lost the first four series in 1987 and 2001…this is the A’s 56th season in Oakland where they have won 17 American League West titles, four AL Wild Cards, six AL pennants and four World Championships… only the Atlanta Braves (22), New York Yankees (20) and Los Angeles Dodgers (20) have more division titles than the A’s…since the A’s moved to Oakland in 1968, only the Yankees (11), Cardinals (8) and Dodgers (8) have more league championships and only the Yankees have more world championships (7)… this is the Athletics franchise 123rd season in the American League…since 1901, the A’s have 17 AL West titles plus 15 AL pennants and nine World Championships…only the Yankees (27) and Cardinals (11) have won more World Championships.

OFFENSE: The A’s scored eight runs last night after collecting six runs in the previous four games…lost last night and are now 0-2 when scoring eight or more runs in a game…have been held to one run or fewer in five of the first 11 games and have been shutout three times, which is tied with the Brewers and Royals for the most in the majors…have scored just 36 runs overall, which is third fewest in the majors…finished second to last in the majors with 568 runs last year…are batting .210 and with a .281 on-base percentage, both of which are third lowest in the majors…hit .216 last year, which was the lowest in the majors and fourth lowest in Major League history in a season of 140 or more games…had a .281 on-base percentage last year, which was the lowest in the majors and the lowest by an ML team since the 1965 Mets (.277)…also have the third lowest OPS (.615) and slugging percentage (.334) in the majors this year and are tied for the fourth fewest home runs (9) and extra base hits (26)…are a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases attempts and are one of six teams without a caught stealing.

PITCHING: The A’s have allowed three home runs in each of the last four games after surrendering five home runs on Friday…the streak of five consecutive games with three or more home runs matches the longest such streak in Oakland history (Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2021)…have allowed 23 home
runs for the season, which is the most in the majors…yielded 195 home runs last year, which were fourth most in the majors and seventh most in
Athletics history…have the highest ERA in the majors this year (7.88) and have allowed 89 runs, which are the most in Oakland history over the first 11 games…they are fourth most in Athletics history and the most since the Kansas City A’s allowed 102 in 1955…posted a 4.52 ERA last year, which was third highest in the American League…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage (.382) and OPS (.900) in the majors this year and the second highest batting average (.283) and slugging percentage (.518)…have the second fewest strikeouts (78), the second most walks (55) and hit batters (10) and are tied for the second most wild pitches (8).

STARTING AND RELIEVING: The A’s ERA breaks down to 9.85 by the starting pitchers and 5.79 by the bullpen…the starters ERA is more than 2½ earned runs higher than the next closest team (Tigers, 7.29)…the A’s are the only team without a win from their starting pitchers…the season-opening streak of 11 consecutive games without a win from a starter is the longest such streak in Oakland history (last: 10 in 1979 and 1997)…starters have 49.1 innings pitched, which is third fewest in the majors…the bullpen had the save on Opening Day but has none since then…the one save is tied with five other teams for the fewest in the majors.

HOME AND AWAY: The A’s 0-5 on their first road trip of the season, a seven-game trip to Tampa Bay (0-3) and Baltimore (0-2)…the five-game road
losing streak matches the 1987 A’s for the second longest season-opening road losing streak in Oakland history…the longest is six games by the 1998 A’s…are the only team in the majors without a road win…went 31-51 (.378) on the road in 2022, which was the third worst road record in the American League…have allowed 48 runs over the first five games of the road trip (48 er in 40.0 ip, 10.80 ERA) after yielding 36 runs in six games on the first homestand (5.79 ERA)…return home following the game tomorrow for a six-game homestand against New York-NL (three games) and Chicago-NL (three games)…went 2-4 on the season-opening six-game homestand against Los Angeles-AL (1-2) and Cleveland (1-2)…were 29-51 (.362) at home last year, which set an Oakland record for lowest home winning percentage…had the second worst home record in the majors to Washington (26-55, .321).

NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 2-4 in night games and 0-5 during the day…are one of three teams in the majors without a win in day games (Dodgers, 0-2; Tigers, 0-5)…are batting .275 (58-for-211) with 31 runs at night, .119 (18-for151) with five runs during the day…have a 6.75 ERA (39 er in 52.0 ip) at night, 9.20 (45 er in 44.0 ip) during the day.

THIS AND THAT: The A’s have committed 10 errors over the first 11 games, which is the most in the majors…both of the A’s wins have been one-run decisions and Oakland is 2-1 in one-run games…are 0-8 in games decided by two runs or more and have a run differential of -53, which is the lowest in the majors (Tigers, -41)…are 2-5 when the opponent starts a left-handed pitcher, 0-4 when they start a right-hander…are 2-2 in games decided in the last at bat…the A’s average time of game is 2 hours and 42 minutes…have not averaged under 2:43 per game since 1979 when they averaged 2:34.

A’S VS. ORIOLES
• The A’s won the season series last year 4-3 and are 18-10 (.643) against the Orioles over the last five years…that includes 10-3 in Oakland
and 8-7 in Baltimore.

• The A’s are 1017-955 all-time against the Orioles/Browns/Brewers…the only other of the seven original American League franchises that
the A’s have a winning record against is the Twins/Senators.

Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-2 0-2
2022 3-1 1-2 4-3
Oakland History: 281-175
at the Coliseum: 143-138
at Camden Yards: 71-63
Athletics History: 1017-955

TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zach Jackson has 10 strikeouts in 5.2 innings and is tied for fifth among Major League relievers in strikeouts…Sam Moll has not allowed a hit over his first six games…opponents are 0-for-11 but he has walked four and hit three for a .389 opponents on-base percentage…Jace Peterson has back-to-back multiple hit games (4-for-8, .500) after going 3-for-25 (.120) over his first eight games.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Ken Waldichuk (0-2, 14.54 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his third start of the season…begins his second season in the majors and is on his first Opening Day roster…made his Major League debut with Oakland last September.

THIS AND THAT: Allowed four home runs in his last start after yielding three in his first…the seven home runs are the most in the majors and match the most in Oakland history by a pitcher over a two-game stretch…Mike Fiers (Sept. 3-9, 2019) is the only other one to do it over the last 25 years…has allowed 14 runs, which is tied for second most in the majors (Mikolas, STL 16)…12 of the 14 runs have scored on home runs

FIRST START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 6-0 loss to Los Angeles (AL) on April 2 in Oakland…allowed six runs on a career-high nine hits in 5.2 innings and all of the runs which scored on three home runs…O’Hoppe hita three-run home run in the fourth and Trout and Ohtani hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth, with Trout’s being a two-run shot…the O’Hoppe home run snapped a career-high 14.0-inning scoreless streak dating back to last year.

LAST START: He lost his second consecutive start in the A’s 9-5 loss at Tampa Bay on Friday…allowed a career-high eight runs and a career-high four home runs in 3.0 innings…surrendered a grand slam to Paredes in the second and solo home runs to Ramirez in the second and Margot and Bethancourt in the third.

OPPONENTS BATTING: Allowed a .244 opponents batting average, which broke down to .138 (4-for-29) with a .366 OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .275 (28-for-102) with an .897 OPS against right-handers…surrendered 17 of his 18 extra base hits and issued nine of his 10 walks to righthanded hitters…yielded a .288 batting average and .843 OPS the first time through the order, .196 with a .650 OPS the second time and .238 with a .923 OPS after that…the first two hitters in the batting order combined for a .371 batting average against him but he held the three through nine hitters to a .198 average…opponents were 0-for-12 on an 0-2 count.

THIS AND THAT: Was 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA and .653 opponents OPS in three starts in the Coliseum, 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA and .884 OPS in four starts on the road…however, surrendered four of his five home runs in Oakland…had a 7.52 ERA and .962 opponents OPS in odd numbered innings, a 1.26 ERA and .523 OPS in even numbered innings…did not allow a run in the fourth inning (6.0 ip)…tossed five innings or fewer in five of his seven starts.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:

THREE’S COMPANY: The O’s will go for their first three-game winning streak of the season tonight after beating Oakland in the first two games in this series…Baltimore has won two games in a row for the second time this season, joining April 3-4 at Texas.

O’s pitchers have struck out double digit batters in three straight games for the first time since May 15-19, 2021.

The Orioles have hit three home runs in each of the last two games; Baltimore ranks second in the AL and fourth in MLB with 18 homers this season (see chart at right).

MOUNT UP: Last night, Ryan Mountcastle became the third player in Orioles history with nine RBI in a game, tying Jim Gentile (5/9/61 at MIN) and Eddie Murray (8/26/85 at CAL) for the team record…Mountcastle is the first Oriole and third player to do so at Oriole Park, joining NYY’s Danny Tartabull (9/8/92) and KC’s Mike Moustakas (9/12/15).

His grand slam in the seventh inning was the second of his career (5/22/21 at WSH) and the first by an O’s batter this season; the blast traveled 456 feet, the farthest home run by an Oriole this season and the farthest of his career.

He now has seven career multi-homer games and two against the A’s (9/3/22).

Mountcastle is tied for the MLB lead among first basemen with two Defensive Runs Saved, per Sports Info Solutions…Mountcastle compiled three DRS last season after having -6 DRS (-5 in LF, -1 at 1B) in 2021.

His 95.9 mph average exit velocity is eight-best in MLB, per Statcast; his 19 batted balls of 95+ mph are tied for seventh-most.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Orioles will travel to Chicago to face the White Sox for three games from April 14-16, then have a scheduled off day before traveling to Washington, D.C. for two games against the Nationals from April 18-19.

AGAINST OAKLAND: The O’s and A’s are meeting for their first series of the year… Baltimore will play seven games against Oakland this season…The Orioles will travel to RingCentral Coliseum on August 18-20…The O’s went 3-4 against the A’s in 2022, dropping three of four games in Oakland from April 18-21 before taking two of three at Oriole Park from September 2-4.

BIG TIME RUTSCH: Adley Rutschman has tallied a hit in five consecutive games, the longest by an O’s batter this season, since April 7 while slashing .563/.682/1.000 (9-for-16) with one double, two home runs, six runs scored, three RBI, and six walks during that stretch…He’s also reached base safely in eight straight games with a .514 on-base percentage since April 3.

Entering today’s games, Rutschman ranks among AL leaders in hits (T-4th, 15), average (5th, .375), on-base percentage (8th, .457), OPS (9th, 1.057), and total bases (T-9th, 24); ranks ninth in MLB in batting average.

He homered in back-to-back games (4/9-10) for the first time in his career.

Rutschman is batting .467/.556/.667 (7-for-15) against lefties this season after slashing .173/.287/.265 (17-for-98) against southpaw in his rookie year.

HAYS OF OUR LIVES: Austin Hays batted leadoff last night for the first time this season and finished 4-for-5 with a double, a homer, a career-high four runs scored, and two RBI…He has hit a home run in two straight games for the third time in his career and for the first time since April 24-26, 2022…Hays is only the second Oriole since 2015 to score four runs in a game, along with Ryan Mountcastle on May 30, 2022 at Boston.

Three of Hays’ four hardest-hit balls and six of 11 in 2023 have come in this series, including his leadoff double last night which was 110.2 mph, per Statcast; the double was the second-hardest hit ball of his career, trailing only a 110.3 mph home run on May 14, 2021.

Last night marked his second game with at least four hits, joining a five-hit effort on April 1 at Boston; he and Adley Rutschman are two of the three MLB players with two games of at least four hits this season (MIA’s Luis Arráez) and the duo have accounted for four of the 13 4+ hit games in MLB this season.

Hays is third among qualified batters with a 19.5 barrel-per-plate appearance percentage, trailing only Toronto’s Matt Chapman (25.0%) and Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds (24.5%), per Statcast.

NEED FOR SPEED: Baltimore’s 17 stolen bases are tied for second in MLB with Arizona and behind only Cleveland (18 SB)…Their 17 stolen bases through their first 11 games of the season are the most in O’s history (since 1954) …The O’s have only been caught stealing once for a 94.4 percent success rate…Jorge Mateo has swiped six of those, tied for the MLB lead with Cleveland’s Myles Straw while Cedric Mullins is tied for third in MLB with five steals…They are the only pair of teammates in MLB with at least five steals apiece and their 11 combined stolen bases are more than 22 MLB teams have this season.

RISING TIDE: O’s affiliates are 14-7 to start the season, tied with Minnesota for the most collective wins and winning percentage (.667) among minor league affiliates… The Orioles are ranked as the No. 1 farm system by MLB Pipeline…Marks the fourth consecutive time between the preseason and midseason lists that the O’s are in the top spot…Since Pipeline began ranking systems in 2015, only one other organization has claimed the top spot four times in a row, and that was the Padres (2018 pre/mid, 2019 pre/mid)…Baltimore is also ranked as the No. 1 farm system by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, as well as in Baseball America’s preseason rankings for the first time since the publication began their Organizational Talent Rankings in 1984.

STARTING PITCHER – #64 DEAN KREMER RHP

QUICK HITS: Slated to make his third start of the 2023 season against the Athletics tonight…Made a career-high 22 appearances (21 GS) in 2022, 11 appearances at home (10 GS), and 11 on the road…Owned an 8-7 record with a 3.23 ERA (45 ER/125.1 IP) and 87 strikeouts…Made six starts of 5.0-or-more scoreless innings, tied for seventh-most in the AL…Acquired by the Orioles along with 2B Breyvic Valera, RF Yusniel Díaz, RHP Zach Pop and 3B Rylan Bannon in exchange for SS Manny Machado on July 18, 2018…Originally selected by the Dodgers in the 14th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of UNLV.

LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in Baltimore’s Home Opener on April 7 vs. New York-AL, allowing four runs on five hits (1 HR) with three walks and four punchouts in 5.0+ innings of work…An inherited runner scored after he exited…Threw 87 pitches, 52 strikes…Winless in his last six starts vs. New York-AL.

AGAINST OAKLAND: Making his second career start against Oakland…Did not factor into the decision in his only start on September 2, 2022 at Oriole Park, allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 6.0 innings… Threw 94 pitches, 63 strikes.

AGAINST THE AL WEST: Making his 10th career start against the AL West…Made six starts against the division in 2022, going 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA (8 ER/39.1 IP) with four quality starts…Sports a 3-0 record with a 2.38 ERA (14 ER/53.0 IP) in nine career starts against the AL West…Recorded his first career complete game and shutout in his last start against the division on September 23, 2022, vs. Houston.

HOME SWEET HOME: Went 3-4 with a 2.95 ERA (19 ER/58.0 IP) in 10 games (9 GS) with 46 strikeouts to 14 walks at Oriole Park in 2022…The Orioles owned a 6-4 record in those games..Allowed three earned runs-or-fewer in eight of his 10 home starts…Opposing batters slashed .236/.288/.311 (50-for-212) with just four home runs against Kremer at OPACY in 2022.

‘KREM’ OF THE CROP: Had his career-high scoreless streak snapped at 22.2 innings on July 4 vs. Texas; according to Elias Sports Bureau and STATS, he does not get credit for the two outs he recorded in the fifth inning…Marks the longest scoreless streak by an Orioles starter since Mike Mussina pitched 27.0 scoreless innings from September 21, 1995 to April 2, 1996…The last Orioles pitcher with a scoreless streak of at least 22.2 innings was Steve Johnson, who tossed 25.1 scoreless frames across eight games (three starts) from August 25 to September 29, 2012.

MLB Preview: Kansas City Royals (3-9) at Texas Rangers (7-4)

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MLB Preview: Kansas City Royals (3-9) at Texas Rangers (7-4)

KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:

EXTRA FRUSTRATING: The Royals suffered an 8-5 loss in 10 innings last night in Arlington to mark their 3rd straight defeat after beginning this trip with back-to-back wins…after scoring in the 8th and 9th innings to force extras, Michael Massey gave the Royals their first lead on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th…but with 2 outs in the bottom half, Scott Barlow yielded a game-tying RBI single to Adolis García and two batters later, Jonah Heim launched a 3-run home run to end the game…the Royals went 4-for-20 in scoring situations, their most such at-bats in a game in six years, since July 26, 2017 at Detroit, where they had 25 at-bats with a runner in scoring position en route to a 16-2 win…last night was their 1st loss when producing at least 20 such at-bats in 10 years, since Aug. 17, 2013 at Detroit, a 6-5 loss in which they went 4-for-20 in scoring situations.

The Royals are now 10-13 in extra-inning games since the Automatic Runner Rule was instituted in 2020, and they’ve scored the auto runner 16 times out of 31 (51.6%), which is below the mark of 59.2% that the league averaged from 2020-22…last night was the first time the Royals allowed 4 runs in a single extra inning in five years, since Cincinnati scored 4 runs in the 10th inning of a 5-1 Royals loss on June 12, 2018.

Last night’s 2-hour, 51-minute game was the Royals longest of 2023, but it was still 13 minutes faster than their average game time last year (3:04)…although last night’s game was quick by previous year’s standards, the Royals actually played 2 extra-inning games last year in less time, including a 2-hour, 48-minute game in 10 innings last Aug. 19 at Tampa Bay and a 2-hour, 49-minute game in 10 innings last April 9 vs. Cleveland.

LOST BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: Despite the loss, a lot of good can be taken from last night’s game…the Royals pounded out 7 hits off two-time Cy Young Award winner, Jacob deGrom, becoming the first team to do so since Aug. 9, 2020, when the Marlins had 7 hits in 5.0 innings…Vinnie Pasquantino was responsible for 3 of the Royals 7 hits off deGrom last night, becoming the first player to record a 3-hit effort vs. him in four seasons, since Anthony Rendon went 3-for-3 on Aug. 11, 2019…in 48 starts in between that game and last night, deGrom faced 1,075 batters and held them to a .164 average (167-for-1018)…and even though the Royals only scored twice off deGrom last night, they produced 12 at-bats with a runner in scoring position, matching deGrom’s total from his previous 2 starts combined…it was only the third time deGrom allowed an opponent 12 at-bats in scoring situations and the first time in seven years, since Aug. 18, 2016 against the Giants (12).

The Royals made several jaw-dropping defensive plays last night, including a diving catch in the gap by Kyle Isbel in the 1st inning that robbed Marcus Semien of extra bases…Isbel covered 99 ft. to make the grab, as the eye test supports the metrics such as Defensive Runs Saved, which rank Isbel (4) as the top center fielder in the Majors, ahead of Kevin Kiermaier (3), Luis Robert (3) and Mike Yastrzemski (3).

All 4 runs (3 ER) Texas scored in the 10th inning last night were charged to Scott Barlow, and were the 1st runs he’s allowed since last Aug. 30, snapping his career-best scoreless streak at 15.1 innings over 15 appearances, during which he held opponents to a .100 average (5-for-50) with only 1 extra-base hit.

STEALING STRIKES: Pitch framing was an area of emphasis during Spring Training, and new Bench Coach Paul Hoover—who also works with the catchers—and new Pitching Coach Brian Sweeney brought some fresh ideas to the Royals, who ranked among the worst last season in pitch framing metrics…in particular, the Royals were 27th last season in “stealing strikes,” or called strikes that were outside the zone…but through the first 12 games this season and with the same two catchers, the Royals rank tied for 4th in the Majors in this category.

Last season, Salvador Perez ranked 27th out of 40 catchers (min. 500.0 innings caught) with -4 Defensive Runs Saved…he’s already made dramatic improvements by this measure in 2023, as he ranks tied with Christian Vázquez and Gabriel Moreno for 1st among catchers with 3 Defensive Runs Saved.

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS: The Royals and Rangers are meeting tonight for the last of 3 games this week in Arlington…these teams will meet again next week at Kauffman Stadium, which means they’ll play 6 games vs. each other over 10 days…in fact, the Royals 6-game season series vs. the Rangers will end before the Royals play a game vs. three of their four division rivals, as they won’t see the White Sox until May 8, their 1st meeting with Detroit won’t come until May 22 and their 1st game vs. Cleveland is scheduled for June 27.

The Royals went 2-4 vs. the Rangers in 2022, losing their seventh straight season series since 2015, a stretch in which they are 13-36 (.265)—including 2 losses this week—and have been outscored 251-162 (-89)…this includes a 12-game skid from July 23, 2016-July 15, 2017 in which they were shut out twice and outscored 47-22…the Royals are 4-20 (.167) vs. the Rangers in Texas since 2016, including a 7-game skid that was halted last May 11, which marked their only win at Globe Life Field, which opened in 2020.

After losing the first 2 games, the Royals are attempting to avoid what would be their first 3-game sweep at the hands of the Rangers since June 25-27, 2021 here at Globe Life Field…a loss tonight would also guarantee no better than a season series split and would mark eight straight winless season series.

These two franchises have played each other in six different ballparks, including Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium (1969-72) and Kauffman Stadium (1973-present), and RFK Memorial Stadium, where the Washington Senators played from 1962-71…the franchise became the Rangers in 1972 and played in Texas’ Arlington Stadium through 1993, before Globe Life Park was introduced in 1994…that ballpark still stands across the street from the new Globe Life Field, which opened in 2020 and is now in its fourth season.

ON DECK: Following tonight’s night’s 7:05 p.m. CT game in Arlington, the Royals will fly back to Kansas City for an off day tomorrow, their first since March 31, which will snap a streak of 12 consecutive days with a game…the Royals will begin a 6-game homestand starting Friday night with the first of 3 games vs. the Braves, which will mark Atlanta’s fourth trip to Kauffman Stadium and first since 2019…the stay will end with 3 games vs. these Rangers next Monday through Wednesday, and the Royals will enjoy another off day next Thursday, April 20 before hitting the road for a season-long 10-game trip to Anaheim (3 games), Arizona (3) and Minnesota (4) to end the month of April.

Tonight’s 7:05 p.m. start in Arlington will mark the first of 6 Royals getaway day games that will be played at night, although 4 of those games (including tonight’s) will be followed by an off day…the others will come on May 30 at St. Louis (2 off days will follow), June 7 at Miami (off day after), July 5 at Minnesota (no off day after), Aug. 10 at Boston (no off day after) and Sept. 13 at the White Sox (off day after).

PACE OF PLAY: The new pitch timer rules implemented for 2023 have already produced dramatic results through the first 13 days of the regular
season…through 159 games that have ended in 9 innings, the average game time has been 2 hours, 37 minutes, and only 18 of the 159 games (11.3%) have lasted at least 3 hours…the Royals 12 games have averaged 2 hours, 29 minutes, which is 8 minutes below the league average and is the 3rdfastest average time this season, longer only that the Rays and Twins (2:27 each)…compared to 9-inning games across the Majors last season, average time of game is down 26 minutes, while batting averages are up from .243 to .249, runs per game are up from 8.6 to 9.4 and stolen base success rates have jumped from 75.4% to 81.3%…the current success rate of steals would shatter the Major League record set in 2021 at 75.7%.

TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP BRAD KELLER (1-1, 2.61)
BRAD KELLER will make his 3rd start of the season—and 108th start of his career— tonight vs. the Rangers in Arlington…this marks his 4th career start (5th appearance) vs. Texas…he’s in his sixth Major League season after being acquired by Kansas City in a trade with Cincinnati, who selected him from Arizona in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft.

WINNER WINNER: Brad earned his 1st win since Aug. 7, 2022 vs. Boston in his most recent start last Friday in San Francisco, in which he covered 5.2 innings and allowed just 1 run on 3 hits and 3 walks, with 3 strikeouts, in the Royals 3-1 victory…he stranded a 2-out walk in the 1st inning but ran into trouble in the 2nd, yielding back-to-back singles to open the frame before inducing a 4-6-3 double play, however a run came around to score on a Blake Sabol 2-out RBI single…he held the Giants without a run over the next 3.0 innings and exited with 2 outs in the 6th in favor of Ryan Yarbrough, who walked his first batter but escaped the frame with a groundout. Ê His 5.2 innings pitched marked his most in an outing since last Aug. 7 (6.0 IP).

Marked his 1st career outing vs. the Giants, leaving only Arizona, Miami, the Mets and Colorado as clubs he has yet to oppose, all teams the Royals face in 2023.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS: With a win in his start last Friday in San Francisco, Keller extended his streak of starts with a decision to 17—in which he’s 6-11—which is the longest run of starts with a decision by a Royal since Tim Belcher earned a decision in 21 consecutive starts from Sept. 2, 1996-June 20, 1997…it’s the longest streak in the Majors since Clayton Kershaw went 17 starts with a decision from 2019-20 and it’s the longest run by a pitcher in the AL since Sean Manaea went 17 starts from 2017-18.

Royals Hall of Famer Dennis Leonard holds the club record with 26 straight starts with a decision (Aug. 26, 1997-June 23, 1978), in which he went 14-12.

NO TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE: Over his first 2 starts of the season, Keller has relied on his new curveball 24.7% of the time (according to Baseball Savant), which has yielded a 37.9% whiff rate and a 25.0% strikeout rate, as he has recorded 4 strikeouts in 16 plate appearances with the pitch…the 37.9% whiff rate on his curveball ranks 12th highest in the Majors off the pitch (min. 10 plate appearances) and it’s the 4th-best mark in the American League, behind only Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (47.6%) and Zach Eflin (38.1%) and Houston’s Framber Valdez (41.7%).

Brad has induced 11 swings and misses on his curveball this season, which is tied for the 7th most in the Majors off the pitch, trailing leader Nick Lodolo (19).

HIGHS AND LOWS: In his fifth Major League season in 2022, Brad made 35 outings (22 starts), after a mid-season shift to the bullpen resulted in his first relief appearances since his 2018 debut season…despite the change, he eclipsed 100 strikeouts for the third year—second consecutive—but also posted an ERA north of 5.00 for the second straight season, just .30 points below his career-high 5.39 ERA in 2021.

Keller tied his career high with 14 losses (also 2019) while his 139.2 innings pitched were the most he’s thrown in a season since 2019 (165.1 IP)…despite spending the majority of the final two months of the season in the bullpen, he finished with 11 quality starts, 3 shy of Brady Singer, who led the Royals with 14. Ê He was one of two pitchers in 2022 with at least 11 quality starts and 14-plus losses, joining Seattle’s Marco Gonzales (18 QS/15 L)…that marked the second season of Keller’s career in which he posted that combination following 2019 (14 QS/14 L), and he joined Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (2019, 2021) as the only pitchers in the Majors to record those numbers twice in the last four seasons.

RISPY BUSINESS: Opponents batted just .245 (78-for-318) off Keller with nobody on base last season, however that mark rose to .319 (75-for-235) with runners on and rose even higher to .357 (45-for-126) with runners in scoring position…only two pitchers in the Majors surrendered as high of an opponents’ average with runners in scoring position (min. 125 batters faced with RISP), as Philadelphia right hander Kyle Gibson pitched to a .364 opponents’ average (47-for-129, 149 PA) and Washington left hander Patrick Corbin posted a .357 opponents’ average (60-for-168, 194 PA).

Over his first 2 starts this season, opponents are 5-for-17 (.294) vs. him with runners on base, 3-for-7 with RISP and 3-for-4 with RISP and 2 outs.

HELP WANTED: Brad went 6-13 as a starting pitcher in 2022 despite recording 11 quality starts, 2nd by a Royal to only Brady Singer’s 14…the Royals supported him with a total of 35 runs in his 22 starts, including 2 runs or fewer in 17 of his 22 starts, 1 run or fewer 12 times and no runs seven times…he finished with a franchise-low 2.57 run support average as a starter, the lowest total in the Majors among pitchers who made at least 20 starts in 2022.

This trend has continued over Keller’s first 2 starts of the 2023 season, as the Royals have supported him with just 3 runs in 10.1 innings (2.61 RSA).

FROM THE GROUND UP: Keller has a career 52.6% groundball rate, which ranks 3rd in the Majors since the start of his 2018 debut season (min. 600.0 IP), trailing only Dallas Keuchel (55.2%) and Marcus Stroman (54.8%)…likewise, his lifetime HR/9 rate of 0.82 (59 HR in 644.0 IP) ranks 4th in the Majors since 2018 (min. 600.0 IP), trailing Jacob deGrom (0.71), Zack Wheeler (0.75) and Max Fried (0.78)…his groundball percentage improved last season as he posted a 53.6% clip, however he allowed 17 home runs—just 1 short of matching his career high set in 2021—for a 1.10 HR/9 rate.

He induced 2 double plays last Friday and has an American League-most 79 since the start of 2018, 2 more than Seattle’s Marco Gonzales (77).

VS. TEXAS: In 4 career appearances (3 starts) against the Rangers, he’s gone 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA (15 ER in 16.0 IP) and last faced them on May 10, 2022 in Texas, where he suffered the loss after yielding 6 runs (5 ER) in 5.2 innings of a 6-4 Royals defeat, with 9 hits and 1 walk allowed… with a win tonight in Arlington, Globe Life Field would become the 17th different Major League ballpark in which Keller has won a game in his career.

ON THE ROAD: Brad has pitched into the 6th inning in 8 of his last 9 starts on the road since last April 28 at the White Sox…among American League pitchers who have recorded at least 65.0 innings pitched on the road since the start of 2022, his 7 home runs allowed are tied for the 9th fewest

TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:

WINS AND LOSSES: Texas walked-off the Royals last night, 8-5, and has won 3 straight to match its longest win streak of ‘23 (also 3-0, 3/30-4/2)…club has won 4 of last 6 G, but still has a 4-4 record since a 3-0 start…team is season high-tying 3 games above .500 for 1st time since 4/2 (3-0)…club has been .500-or-better following every game in 2023.

• The current 7-4 record is the Rangers’ best 11-G start since 2013 (7-4), and a 5-win improvement over last year’s 2-9 start…last time with 7+ wins after 12 G?: 2013 (8-4)… team opened the 2023 campaign with a 3-0 record for just the 9th time in Rangers history, the longest season-opening win streak since 2011 (6-0).

STANDINGS: The Rangers maintained sole possession of 1st place in the A.L. West for a 2nd straight day with last night’s win, alone atop the West for the 5th day overall in ‘23…TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 12 of the season’s first 13 days, including 9 straight to begin the year…marks latest point for the club to own even a share of 1st place in the West since the final day of team’s division-winning season in 2016 (10/2/16)…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). CONNECT FOUR: Should the Rangers best the Royals in tonight’s series finale at Globe Life Field:

• Would extend current win streak to season-best 4 straight, tying the club’s longest single-season winning streak of the last 2 campaigns…Texas maxed out with 4 consecutive wins 3 times in 2022: 4/30-5/4/22, 5/15-18/22, and 5/25-28/22.

• Would stretch current home win streak to 4 straight (beg. last Wed. vs. BAL), which would be the Rangers’ T2nd-longest single-season win streak ever at Globe Life Field…TEX has not won 4+ consecutive games in Arlington since setting facility record by going 6-0 at GLF from 5/15-31/22.

• Would improve to season-high 4 games over .500, 1st time to be 4-over since a 58-54 mark on 8/6/19.

• Would also secure 2nd series sweep of 2023 (also 3-0 from 3/30-4/2 vs. PHI), which would be the 1st time the club has posted multiple sweeps in series of 3+ G over one season since 2021 (2 sweeps)…Texas has not recorded multiple series sweeps (3+ G series only) before the end of April since 2011 (3 sweeps): 4/1-3/11 vs. BOS (3-0), 4/4-6/11 vs. SEA (3-0), and 4/22-24/11 vs. KC (3-0).

VS. KANSAS CITY: The Rangers and Royals are scheduled to meet 6 times in a 9-G span over 10 days from 4/10-19… Texas is 2-0 in the first 2 G of this series, as club has taken 5 of 6, 10 of 12, 13 of 17, 16 of 22, and 20 of last 27 against KC overall (beg. 5/25/18)…TEX has won 7 straight season series against KC (2015-19, 2021-22)…have a 32-10 (.762) 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)…TEX is 16-4 in last 20 G in Arlington, and is 7-1 at Globe Life Field…in the all-time series, Rangers hold advantages overall (279-264-1) and in Arlington (154-116).

SERIES STUFF: TEX secured a series win vs. KC (2-0 + 1 G) with last night’s win, now sitting at 2-2-0 in series play this season…entered this homestand having dropped back-to-back series from 4/3-5 vs. BAL (1-2) and 4/7-9 at CHC (1-2)…club is 3-0 in series finales on the young campaign… Rangers are 2-1-0 in home series, and have gone 3-2-2 in last 7 series at Globe Life Field dating back to 2022.

AT HOME: The Rangers are 6-2 (.750) at home to begin the year, this after 2-6 starts at GLF in both 2021-22…TEX had a 34-47 record at home in 2022, 2nd-lowest in the A.L. and T4th-lowest in MLB for the year…it was 2 fewer home wins than 2021 (36-45), T3rd-lowest Arlington win pct. in Rangers history (.403, 31-46 in 1972; .407, 33-48 in 2014; .420, 34-47 in both 2018/2022)…Rangers have a 92-108 all-time record at Globe Life Field (2020-23).

ROSTER MOVES: The Rangers today announced that the club has placed SS Corey Seager on the 10-day Injured List with a left hamstring strain…to take his place on the active 26-man roster, the team has activated OF Leody Taveras from the 10-day IL (Left oblique strain).

• Taveras will be seeking his first Major League action of the year…he played on Tues. for Triple-A Round Rock vs. Tacoma, going 2-for-4 with a home run, 5 RBI, walk, and 2 runs… his HR in the game was a 4th-inning grand slam.

HEIM TIME: After going 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts in his first 4 trips to the plate last night, Jonah Heim belted a 2-out, 3-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Rangers their 1st walk-off win of 2023…it marked Texas’ 1st walk-off hit since 9/13/22 vs. OAK (Mark Mathias HR) and the 3rd walk-off HR of Heim’s career, as he also connected for game-ending HR in back-to-back TEX wins on 7/31-8/1/21 vs. SEA…additional notes on Heim’s walk-off exploits:

• Heim’s 3 career walk-off homers (all w/ TEX) are T6th-most in Rangers history (beg. 1972), as just 12 players have ever hit 3-or-more walk-off blasts in a Texas uniform…the most recently rostered player on that list is Adrián Beltré (also 3 walk-off HR), who last appeared for the club in 2018.

• The 3 walk-off HR are tied for the most in MLB since the start of 2021, with Heim matching NYY’s Aaron Judge and COL’s Elias Diaz for the league lead over that span.

• 2 of Heim’s 3 career game-ending blasts have come in games in which he served as Texas’ catcher (last night & 7/31/21 vs. SEA)…he joins Bobby Johnson, who hit walk-off homers on 7/11/83 vs. MIL and 10/3/81 vs. CAL, as the only players in TEX history to hit multiple walk-off HR as a catcher.

• Last night’s game-ender was the 15th walk-off HR of 3-or-4 runs in Rangers history, and the 1st by a catcher…the last Texas batter with a walk-off HR of 3+ runs was Adolis García on 5/21/21 vs. HOU (3-R HR off Bryan Abreu).

JA-K-OB deGROM: Not to be overshadowed by Heim’s lategame heroics, Jacob deGrom produced another dominant start in last night’s win (ND, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R-ER, 0 BB, 9 SO)…his 27 strikeouts thru 3 starts in ‘23 are the most ever by a Texas pitcher in his first 3 outings as a Ranger (Stathead), surpassing previous high mark of 26 by Nolan Ryan in 1989…it is also the 3rd-most strikeouts ever by a TEX pitcher through his first 3 outings of a season, topped only by Yu Darvish in 2013 (28) and Ryan in 1991 (28)

• deGrom has issued just 2 walks in 2023, becoming the 1st pitcher in WSH/TEX franchise history to post 27+ SO and 2-or-fewer BB over his first 3 outings of a season…it is just the 15th instance in the Modern Era (beg. 1901) of a pitcher recording 27+ SO/2-or-fewer BB in first 3 G of a season, with deGrom now responsible for 2 of those occurrences (also 28 SO/1 BB in first 3 G of 2022)…the only other MLB hurler to pull the trick twice in a career? Curt Schilling in 2001-02.

PUNCH OUT: Texas pitchers rank T3rd in the A.L. with 112 strikeouts (122-CWS, 118-MIN, 112-HOU/TEX), easily a club record for most team strikeouts thru the first 11 games of a new season (prev. 100 in 2022, 2020, & 2018).

H-TOWN BOUND: Following tonight’s homestand finale, the Rangers will take a short flight to Houston where they will have an off day on Thursday…on Friday, Texas will open a 6-game road trip featuring series at HOU (3 G) and KC (3 G), the club’s 1st multi-city trip of 2023…the Rangers went 5-14 (.263) in 19 G against the Astros in 2022, incl. a 3-7 record in 10 G at Minute Maid Park…TEX has gone 5-29 (.147) in last 34 G in Houston dating back to the beg. of 2019, the lowest win pct. by any team at any venue (min. 15 G) over that span.
SHORTS: The roof at Globe Life Field is expected to be open for tonight’s game, as Texas is unbeaten (4-0) this season in contests at GLF that began with the roof open (roof closed mid-game on 3/30 vs. PHI)…TEX owns MLB’s 4th-best run differential in ‘23 (+63-TB, +28-MIL, +27-NYY, +23-TEX).

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #17 Nathan Eovaldi, RHP (1-1, 4.22)
TONIGHT: The 33-year-old right-hander is set to make his 3rd start of the season in today’s series finale against the Kansas City Royals…took the loss in his 2nd start of the season on Fri. at CHC (5.2 IP, 2 R-ER), a 0-2 defeat…earned win in his TEX debut on 4/1 vs. PHI (5.0 IP, 3 R-ER), exiting with a 7-3 lead before the Rangers piled on for a 16-3 victory…Eovaldi (ee-VAHL-dee) signed a 2-year free agent contract with the Rangers on 12/27/22…produced a 1-0 record, 2.35 ERA (4 ER/15.1 IP), and 19 strikeouts/2 walks over 4 ‘A’ game starts this spring… experienced tightness in his left side following spring debut on 2/25 vs. KC, but resumed throwing on 3/8 with no reported issues since…in 2022, his final season with Boston, went 6-3 with a 3.87 ERA (47 ER/109.1 IP) over 20 G/GS…ranked among A.L. leaders (min. 100.0 IP) in SO/BB (8th, 5.15) and BB/9 (9th, 1.65)… was slowed by a pair of IL stints: 6/9-7/14 (low back inflammation) and 8/19-9/28 (right shoulder inflammation)…the Texas native is seeking a return to his 2021 form, when he was an All-Star with the Red Sox and finished 4th in A.L. Cy Young Award voting…his Red Sox stint included a historic postseason stretch during the team’s 2018 World Series run, as he appeared in 3 of club’s 5 games during that year’s Fall Classic…from 2019-22, induced misses on 26.1% of swings by opposing batters, the 9th-best rate in the A.L. over that span (min. 400.0 IP)… has averaged 96.1 mph on his fastball over the course of his career, the 4th-highest figure in MLB since 2011…from 2020-22, led all A.L. pitchers (min. 300.0 IP) in both walks per 9 innings (1.64) and strikeouts per walk (5.65)…has 241 games/222 starts with LAD (2011-12), MIA (2012-14), NYY (2015-16), TB (2018), BOS (2018-22) and TEX (2023)…joined Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan as the only graduates of Alvin (TX) High School to reach the Major Leagues.

SO FAR THIS SEASON: Fell one out short of a quality start and suffered his first loss of the season in his last appearance on Fri. at CHC…it was his first loss against an interleague opponent in his last 15 starts…against CHC, threw 5.2 IP and allowed 2 R-ER despite the loss…it was the 2nd time a TEX starter took a 2-0 loss with 5.2+ IP and 2-R-or-less allowed this season…made his Rangers debut in club’s 2nd game of the season 4/1 vs. PHI, a 16-3 TEX victory (5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R-ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 82 pitches/49 strikes)…became 1st Texas starting pitcher to be awarded a win in his first start with the club since A.J. Alexy on 8/3/21 vs. COL…the Alvin, TX native became the 5th native Texan ever to earn a win in his Rangers debut (last Kip Wells on 8/2/06 at MIN)…induced 11 swing-and-miss strikes (5-Splitter, 3-Cutter, 2-Four-Seam Fastball, 1-Curveball) according to Statcast…averaged 95.9 mph on his fastball, well in line with his career average (96.1)…did not allow a run over his 1st 3 innings, but permitted 2 R in a 29-pitch 4th inning…is tied for 2nd on team with 12 SO and is the only TEX starter that has yet to allow a HR to an opponent.

VS. KANSAS CITY: Is 3-1 with a 3.66 ERA (13 ER/32.0 IP) in 7 G/ 5 GS over his career against the Royals…started the 1st of 2 exhibition games against the Royals on 3/27 (ND, 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R-ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 2 HR, 80 pitches/55 strikes), allowing 4 runs (all earned) in his 4th and final tune-up outing of the spring, surrendering back-to-back HR to Michael Massey (2-run) and Hunter Dozier (solo) in the 4th inning…faced them last season w/ BOS on 8/6/22, allowing 4 R-ER on 7 H in 6.0 IP….owns a 3-0 record with a 2.45 ERA (6 ER/22.0 IP) when pitching against KC at home…has lasted at least 5.0 innings in 4 out of 5 starts against the Royals, with a combined total of 4 BB and 24 SO, good for a 1.34 WHIP… Eovaldi’s lone career save opportunity came against Kansas City on 8/7/19 as a member of the Red Sox (which he did not convert).

SPRING TRAINING: Registered a 1-0 record, 2.35 ERA (4 ER/15.1 IP), and 2 walks/19 strikeouts over 4 Cactus League ‘A’ game starts this spring…was inactive for several days after experiencing tightness in his left side following 1st outing of the spring 2/25 vs. KC…resumed throwing in light bullpen session on 3/8, and threw another bullpen 3/10…pitched in Double-A Frisco’s game vs. Northwest Arkansas (KC AA) on Field 2 in Surprise on 3/13 (2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 29 pitches/22 strikes).

Date Opp. Dec. ERA IP H R ER BB SO HR P/S
2/25 vs. KC — 0.00 2.0 0 0 0 0 4 0 —
3/13 vs. KC (AA) — 0.00 2.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 29/22
3/17 vs. MIL — 0.00 3.1 4 0 0 0 5 0 —
3/22 vs. CWS W 0.00 5.0 5 0 0 1 4 0 —
3/27 vs. KC — 2.35 5.0 7 4 4 1 6 2 80/55
‘A’ Totals 1-0 2.35 15.1 16 4 4 2 19 2 —

AT HOME / IN ARLINGTON: Has traditionally performed better at home (31-31, 3.96 ERA) than on the road (37-38, 4.36 ERA) in his career.

• The Texas native is undefeated (3-0) in 3 career starts in Arlington, one at the former Globe Life Park on 4/25/16 at TEX w/ NYY (W, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO) and two here at Globe Life Field, 4/1 vs. PHI (W, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R-ER, 2 BB, 6 SO) & 4/30/21 at TEX w/ BOS (W, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER, 2 BB, 5 SO).

MLB Preview: Washington Nationals (4-8) at Los Angeles Angels (6-5)

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MLB Preview: Washington Nationals (4-8) at Los Angeles Angels (6-5)

WASHINGTON NATIONAL NOTES:

RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD
The Washington Nationals close out their first road trip of the 2023 season on Wednesday afternoon against the Los Angeles Angels in their first rubber match of the season…With a win, the Nationals would secure their first series win as well as a winning road trip.

• Washington will enjoy a day off on Thursday before welcoming the Cleveland Guardians to Nationals Park for a three-game weekend series starting Friday.

START ME UP
With a win today, MacKenzie Gore would become the first Nationals pitcher (2005-pres.) to win each of his first three career starts with the team…Only three pitchers have won each of their first three career starts with the franchise (WSH/MON): Ross Grimsley (April 9-April 22, .978), Hall of Famer Randy Johnson (Sept. 15-Sept. 26, 1988) and Jimmy Jones (April 11-April 26, 1993).

• Jim Hickey’s starting rotation ranks third in the National League (T6th in MLB) with 62.1 innings pitched…The rotation also ranks in the National League in walks per 9.0 innings (5th, 3.32), fewest walks (T6th, 23) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (7th, 2.09).

BULLPENNING
Ricky Bones’ bullpen has tossed 6.1 innings of one-hit, shutout relief across these last two games against the Angels…The group has struck out nine batters, walked three and has not allowed any of the five inherited runners to score.

• On the season, the bullpen ranks fifth in the National League in opponents’ on-base percentage (.305) and sixth in opponents’ batting average (.234).

PLAYIN’ THE HITS
Washington’s ranks fifth in the National League in hits (104) and eighth in the NL with a .258 batting average…Despite being one-hit for the sixth time in team history (2005-pres.) on Tuesday night, the Nationals have recorded double-digit hits in three of their last five games.

• Nationals hitters have struck out just 81 times, third-fewest in the National League (4th in MLB).

ROLLIN’ ROBLES
Victor Robles ranks in the National League in batting average (4th, .389), on-base percentage (6th, .476) and hits (T8th, 14).

• He is 12-for-26 (.462) with two doubles, four RBI, two walks, two stolen bases and four runs scored over his last eight games…He’s hit safely in six of the eight games with five multi-hit efforts.

• Robles has struck out just four times this season and his 9.1% strikeout rate ranks fourth in the National League (8th in MLB).

OFF AND RUNNING
CJ Abrams matched a Nationals record (2005-pres.) with two triples on Saturday night…It was the second two-triple game in Major League Baseball this season (also: LAD James Outman, 4/3 vs. COL).

• Abrams is 9-for-29 (.310) with two doubles, two triples, five RBI, two walks, one hit by pitch and three runs scored over his last seven games…This comes after starting the season in an 0-for-10 stretch.

• Abrams has drawn three walks in 11 games this season…He drew one walk in 44 games with the Nationals and five walks in 90 games total in 2022.

STREAKING
Alex Call has reached base safely in a career-high nine straight games…He has a .429 on-base percentage (9 H, 9 BB) during the streak.

• On the season, he leads the Nationals and ranks tied for eighth in the National League with eight walks

OPPONENT
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The Nationals and Angels will face off three times in 2023, all in Los Angeles…GM Mike Rizzo spent four seasons as a minor league infielder in the Angels organization…First base coach, Eric Young Jr. played parts of two seasons (2017-18) with them… Third base coach, Gary DiSarcina, spent his entire Major League career with the Angels from 1989- 2000…Hunter Harvey’s dad, Bryan, recorded 126 saves across six seasons (1987-92) with the Angels, including a career-high 46 during his AL All-Star season in 1991…Nationals broadcaster Kevin Frandsen spent part of the 2010 season as a member of the Angels…Anthony Rendon was a member of the Nationals for seven seasons (2013-19)…Ali Modami, the Nationals former batting practice pitcher, serves the Angels in the same role

1 MACKENZIE GORE

Left-handed starter was acquired by Washington at the 2022 Trade Deadline…Entered 2020 as the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball and 2021 as the No. 10 prospect, according to Baseball America …Was cited by Baseball America as having the “Best Fastball” in San Diego’s system entering the 2022 season and the “Best Slider” in 2021 and 2018…Was the 2017 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year, just the second baseball player to win the award at the time (Dylan Bundy in 2011; Bobby Witt Jr. in 2019).

LAST START
Earned his second win in as many starts on April 7 at Colorado…Allowed two earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 6.0 innings of work…He allowed one home run, a solo shot off the bat of lefty Ryan McMahon…It was the first homer he’s allowed to a left-handed batter in his young career.

vs. LOS ANGELES (AL)
Gore has never faced the Los Angeles Angels, or any club from the American League West for that matter.

WELCOME TO D.C.
Earned the win in his Nationals debut on April 2 vs. Atlanta…Allowed one earned run on three hits with six strikeouts and four walks.

• With the win, Gore became the seventh Nationals pitcher (2005-pres.) to win his debut with the team while allowing three hits or less in at least 5.0 innings of work, joining Edwin Jackson (2017), Ross Ohlendorf (2013), Collin Balestar (2008), Billy Traber (2006), Pedro Astacio (2006), Ryan Drese (2005).

2023 SPRING TRAINING
Gore went 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA in seven games (six starts) during Spring Training…He capped spring with 9.2 innings of three-hit, shutout ball with 12 strikeouts and three walks aross his last two outings…He tossed 3.2 innings in the exhibition game vs. New York (AL) on March 28 at Nationals Park.

2022
Made his Major League debut with San Diego on April 15 vs. Atlanta (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, HR, 2 BB, 3 SO)…Earned his first win in his next start, April 20 vs. Cincinnati (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 SO)…Struck out 10 batters, April 27 at Cincinnati and June 4 at Milwaukee…Was on the Injured List (left elbow inflammation) at the time of the trade.

2021
Went 1-3 with a 3.93 ERA in 12 starts between three levels of San Diego’s system.

2020
Spent the season at San Diego’s Alternate Training Site.

2019
Put together his best professional season…Led Minor League Baseball (min. 100.0 IP) in ERA (1.69) and WHIP (0.83) and was second in opponents’ batting average (.161)…Ranked third in San Diego’s system in strikeouts (135) despite making just 20 starts.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:

LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the sixth (2-3) and final game on the opening homestand of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays (1-2) and Washington Nationals (1-1; April 10-12)…With a win today, LAA would have a 7-5 record through 12 games for the third consecutive season…Halos went 4-2 on first road trip of year against Oakland (2-1) and Seattle (2-1).

CANNING COMEBACK: RHP Griffin Canning (left groin strain) is scheduled to return from the injured list today to make the start on the mound…It will be his first MLB appearance since July 2, 2021 vs. Baltimore…Missed final two months of 2021 season and all of 2022 on the IL with a low back stress reaction…He made a rehab start for Low-A Inland Empire on Thursday and struck out 10 across 5.0 innings of work.
THE SHUTOUT: Last night, Shohei Ohtani, José Quijada and Carlos Estévez combined on a one-hit shutout of the Nationals…It marked the 26th one-hit shutout in franchise history and the first at Angel Stadium since June 5, 2018 vs. Kansas City.

ANOTHER SHOHEI RECORD: Last night, Shohei Ohtani worked
7.0 scoreless innings to lower his season ERA to 0.47 (19 IP –
1 ER)…He has allowed two-or-fewer runs in 10 consecutive
pitching starts, which established a new franchise record
(Nolan Ryan had a nine game streak across the 1972-73
seasons).

WELCOME TO THE RENAISSANCE: Today’s Angels lineup is scheduled to be the third time this season that Anthony Rendon, Hunter Renfroe & Luis Rengifo hit consecutively in the order…On Opening Day, the trio hit in the 4-6 spots, marking the first lineup in franchise history to feature three straight players who have the same first three letters of their last name…The last MLB occurrence was by Detroit on July 20, 2015 (Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez, Jefry Marte).

BIG A RUN LEADER: Monday night, Mike Trout scored his 523rd career run at Angel Stadium, which established a new all-time record for the ballpark…Garret Anderson scored 522 runs at The Big A.

ANGELS RECENT RECORDS TO BEGIN SEASON
AFTER 11 GAMES: AFTER 12 GAMES:
2023: 6-5 2023: ???
2022: 6-5 2022: 7-5
2021: 7-4 2021: 7-5
2020: 4-7 2020: 4-8
2019: 5-6 2019: 6-6

ON WITH THE SHO: Dating back to last season, Shohei Ohtani has reached base safely (via hit, walk, or HBP) in a career-high 34 consecutive games…It’s the second-longest active streak in the Majors, behind Aaron Judge (44 games)…Additionally, the streak is tied for the sixth-longest in Angels history; if the on-base streak continues today, he would tie Chone Figgins (2007) for the fifth-longest streak in Club history.

ROSTER MOVES: Prior to today’s game, the Angels reinstated RHP Griffin Canning from the injured list…In a corresponding move, RHP Andrew Wantz was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake following last night’s contest.

VS. WASHINGTON: Today is the third (1-1) and final game this season between the Angels and Nationals…Last year, the Halos won two of three meetings with the Nats, including a Mother’s Day walk-off hit by former National Anthony Rendon in the series finale…LAA is 15-9 all-time against the Expos/Nationals franchise, including a 8-5 mark at The Big A.

ROOKIE RAKING: Logan O’Hoppe has driven in a run in six of his nine starts this season…His four home runs and 10 RBI this season lead the team…His four home runs through the Angels first 11 games of the year area franchise rookie record…He was the first player to have an RBI in each of the Angels first three games of a season since Mike Trout in 2017…Before Trout, it last happened in 2007 by both Vladimir Guerrero and Casey Kotchman.

LEGENDARY COMPANY: Mike Trout enters today’s game with 298 career doubles…With two more doubles, he would become the fourth player in MLB history with 300+ doubles, 300+ home runs and 200+ stolen bases by his age-31 season, joining Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

ON BASE DUO: Shohei Ohtani and Taylor Ward have both reached base safely (via hit, walk, or HBP) in all 11 of the Angels games this season…In 2013, Mark Trumbo set the franchise record after reaching base safely in each of the Angels first 20 games (Rod Carew held previous record with a 19-game streak in 1981).

INTERLEAGUE PLAY: LAA owns a 262-224 (.539) all-time Interleague record…The 261 all-time Interleague wins are third most all time behind Red Sox (288) and Yankees (285)… Angels won four of first five Interleague games in 2022, but are 4-13 vs. N.L. opponents since.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – RHP GRIFFIN CANNING
0-0, — ERA
Making first MLB appearance since July 2, 2021

• TODAY’S GAME: Making Major League season debut and first Major League appearance since July 2, 2021… Reinstated from injured list prior to today’s game.

• HE’S BACK: Missed Angels first 11 games of the season on injured list with a left groin strain…Spent entire 2022 season and final two months of 2021 season on IL with a low back stress reaction.

• ON REHAB: Made one rehab appearance on with Low-A Inland Empire on April 6 in the 66ers season opener… Took the loss after tossing 5.0 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.

• SPRING RECAP: In four 2023 Cactus League starts for Angels, went 1-1 with 1.32 ERA (13.2 IP – 2 ER) and 13 strikeouts…

• VS. WASHINGTON: Today marks first career appearance vs. Nationals.

• INTERLEAGUE PLAY: In eight career Interleague games, is 3-1 with a 3.61 ERA (42.1 IP – 17 ER) and 38 strikeouts.

• AT ANGEL STADIUM: In 24 career games (22 starts) at Angel Stadium, is 9-5 with a 4.70 ERA (115.0 IP – 60 ER)…As a starter, is 8-4 with a 4.31 ERA (110.2 IP – 53 ER) at home…Has allowed three-or-fewer runs in 16 of 22 home starts (nine are quality starts).

• GOLDEN GRIFFIN: Earned the 2020 American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award at pitcher…He was the second Angels pitcher to win the award, joining Mark Langston, who won five straight from 1991-95…Tied for the A.L. lead among pitchers with three Defensive Runs Saved during the 2020 regular season and also posted a .938 fielding percentage, committing just one error in 16 total chances.

• UNFAMILIAR FOES: In his career as a starter, has held opponents to a .206 average (64/310) in opposing batter’s first plate appearances of a game.

• IN THE COMMUNITY: Has made visits to patients and their families at CHOC Children’s in Orange alongside several teammates…Also participated in a hospital visit to Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, MN in May 2019 with Angels teammates as well as several members of the Minnesota Twins.

• CAREER NOTES: Native of Mission Viejo, CA…Previously drafted by Colorado in 38th round of 2014 Draft out of Santa Margarita Catholic HS (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) but elected to attend UCLA…Selected by Angels in 2nd round of 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of UCLA…With his Major League debut on April 30, 2019, became first player drafted by Billy Eppler as Angels General Manager to reach the Majors

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