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MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (4-5) at Atlanta Braves (7-4)

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MLB Preview: Cincinnati Reds (4-5) at Atlanta Braves (7-4)

CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:

RED HOTS
• Reds batters are slashing .302/.357/.460 with 11 runs scored after the seventh inning…scored 9 of those 11 runs on this road trip.

TONIGHT’S GAME
• Is Game 2 (0-1) of 3-game series vs Mitch George’s Braves and Game 5 (1-3) 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
• The Reds are 25-24 vs Atl in the last 49 regular season games, including 3-4 in 2022, and went 4-2-1 in the previous 7 season series.

• The Reds went 2-1-2 in their previous 5 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 Reds also suffered a 2-game series sweep loss at Truist in the 2020 Wild Card Series.

• 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.

…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 (7g, 6gs at 1B, 1gs at DH, 4-28, .143, 1 2b, solo HR, 3rbi, 3bb, 17k)…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 (5g, 2gs in CF, 2gs at 3B, 1gs at DH, 5-17, .294, 2 2b, 2rbi, 1sb, 4bb, 5k, 1hbp, .867ops)…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 (2g, 2ip, 1bb, 3k)…threw a perfect seventh inning in Fri’s 5-3 loss vs Indianapolis (1ip, 1k, 11 pitches)…is scheduled to pitch 1.0 inning tonight at Toledo…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 on Fri at Tol.

• 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 tomorrow at Toledo.

Tonight’s Pitcher – #85 Luis Cessa, RHP
• Last name is pronounced SESS-uh.

• Tonight is making his second appearance and start of the season…will be his ninth appearance and first career start vs the Braves.

• In his season debut on Tue vs Cubs, left with a 3-1 lead but was charged with a second run scored off Ian Gibaut…became the victim of a blown save when the Cubs took an 8-3 lead with 6 runs in the top of the seventh inning.

• Made his fifth Opening Day roster (2016, 2019, 2021 for NYY and 2022, 2023 for Cin).

• In 2022, in his second season with the Reds went 1-3, 4.30 in a career-high 10 starts and 3-1, 4.91 in 36 relief apps.

• In August 2022 joined and remained in the rotation after the Reds lost to trade or injury starting pitchers RHP Luis Castillo (to the Mariners), RHP Tyler Mahle (to the Twins), RHP Robert Dugger (right shoulder pain), RHP Hunter Greene (right shoulder strain), RHP Graham Ashcraft (right biceps soreness), RHP T.J. Zeuch (back soreness), RHP Justin Dunn (right shoulder tightness) and LHP Mike Minor (left shoulder soreness).

• Beginning 8/22 at Phi made his last 9 apps of the 2022 season as a starter (1-3, 3.77, .226baa).

• Between games of the day/night doubleheader vs Pit on 7/7/22 went on the 15-day injured list with a left inter-costalis muscle strain…missed 20 games (13-7) until he was reinstated on 8/2, after RHP Tyler Mahle was traded to the Twins.

• After he came off the 15-day IL on 8/2, posted a 3.26 ERA (.211baa) in his last 15 apps and 9 starts of the season.

• During 2023 spring training made 1 appearance for Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

• Pitched the sixth and seventh innings of Mexico’s 10-inning, 5-4 loss vs Colombia in Arizona Pool C (2ip, 2h, 1er, 0bb, 1k, 25 pitches).

• Returned to the Reds after Mexico’s 5-4 quarterfinal win vs Puerto Rico and finished the spring with 1 “A” game appearance, started and received no decision in the 4-3 loss at Mil (3ip, 2h, 2er, 1bb, 2k).

• Is the only player, manager or coach in Reds history to wear uniform #85.

ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Reds tonight continue a three-game series with the second 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, 5-4, in 10 innings last night to win the first game of the 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 9-9 against the Reds here at Truist Park since the facility opened in 2017, and have won just one of the five series here between the clubs…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.

• From 2017 through 2022, the two teams went 17-17 against each other in 34 total games… Cincinnati outscored Atlanta by just one run, 159-
158, in those games.

• RH Kyle Wright is set for his first start of the season, and the second of his career against Cincinnati…The 6-foot-4, 215-pound righthander also faced the Reds in his season debut a year ago, April 9 here at Truist Park, and pitched 6.0 shutout innings to earn the win…In 27 career appearances here at Truist Park, Wright is 13-5 with a 3.71 ERA (56 ER/136.0 IP).

• RH Luis Cessa has made eight career appearances against Atlanta, all in relief, and has compiled a 4.82 ERA (5 ER/9.1 IP) without a decision… The native of Cordoba, Mexico is in his third season with Cincinnati, and pitched 5.1 innings of two-run baseball in his season debut, April 4 vs. the Cubs.

WIN: Atlanta beat Cincinnati, 5-4, in 10 innings last night to snap a three-game losing streak and win the first game of the series…The game was the Braves’ first extra-inning affair of the season.

• The Braves went 6-7 in extra-innings last season, and from 2020 through 2022, when MLB began placing a runner on second base to start extra
innings, Atlanta’s 13-19 (.406) record in extras ranked 27th in baseball.

• Atlanta’s win stopped a three-game losing streak for the Braves, matching the club’s longest from last season…The Braves have yet to lose four straight games since September 14-18 of 2021.

• The Braves plated the first run of the game last night in the sixth, and moved to 7-0 when scoring first this season…Atlanta’s seven such wins are most in the National League, and trail just Tampa Bay (9 wins) for most in baseball.

• Atlanta is one of just four teams in baseball this season to win every game in which it has led at any point…Milwaukee, Texas and Tampa Bay are also undefeated in such games.

KYLE WRIGHT: The Braves today returned RHP Kyle Wright from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list…LHP Dylan Dodd was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night’s game.

• Wright opened the season on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation…He pitched his first full major league season last year and went 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA (64 ER/180.1 IP)…His 21 wins were most in the majors.

• He became the first Braves pitcher to lead the N.L. outright in wins since 2003, when Russ Ortiz paced the league with 21, and the first Atlanta pitcher to lead the majors in wins since Tom Glavine in 2000… Glavine also had 21 that season.

• Wright had three more wins on the season than any other pitcher in baseball…Houston’s Justin Verlander finished second with 18.

• Atlanta went 24-6 in Wright’s starts last season… That was tied for the most such team wins in a start by one pitcher last season…The Yankees went 24-8 when Jameson Taillon started.

• The Braves lost three consecutive games started by Wright, May 3 to May 15…Since that date, Atlanta went 20-3 in Wright’s 23 starts, and did not lose back-to-back games in which he pitched….The Braves have won each of his last nine turns.

FIRST INNING: Ronald Acuña Jr. singled leading off the first inning last night, his seventh such hit of the season…Acuña Jr.’s seven first-inning hits are most in the majors.

• Atlanta has won each of the seven games in which Acuña Jr. collects a hit in the first inning.

• Acuña Jr. is batting .700/.727/1.100 in the first inning this season, and his 1.827 OPS in the inning in highest in baseball (min. 10 plate appearances)… Teammate Austin Riley ranks second with a 1.768 OPS in the first.

• Since 2000, the most first-inning hits by a Braves player is 46, first set by Edgar Renteria in 2006, and then matched by Michael Bourn (2012) and Freddie Freeman (2018)… Acuña Jr. is on pace for 103 hits in the first this season.

VS. THE CENTRAL: Atlanta moved to 4-0 against the NL 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 85-51 (.625) against the NL Central, tied for the best record in the majors…Oakland is 10-6 (.625) to match Atlanta’s percentage.

Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #30 Kyle Wright RHP
Today’s Game
• Wright is set for his first start of the season, and the second of his career against Cincinnati…He also faced the Reds in his season debut a year ago, April 9 here at Truist Park, and pitched 6.0 shutout innings to earn the win.

• In 27 career appearances here at Truist Park, Wright is 13-5 with a 3.71 ERA (56 ER/136.0 IP).

• The Braves today returned RHP Kyle Wright from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list…LHP Dylan Dodd was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night’s game.

• Wright opened the season on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation…He pitched his first full major league season last year and went 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA (64 ER/180.1 IP)…His 21 wins were most in the majors.

• He became the first Braves pitcher to lead the N.L. outright in wins since 2003, when Russ Ortiz paced the league with 21, and the first Atlanta pitcher to lead the majors in wins since Tom Glavine in 2000…Glavine also had 21 that season.

• Wright had three more wins on the season than any other pitcher in baseball… Houston’s Justin Verlander finished second with 18.

• Atlanta went 24-6 in Wright’s starts last season…That was tied for the most such team wins in a start by one pitcher last season…The Yankees went 24-8 when Jameson Taillon started.

• The Braves lost three consecutive games started by Wright, May 3 to May 15…Since that date, Atlanta went 20-3 in Wright’s 23 starts, and did not lose back-to-back games in which he pitches….The Braves have won each of his last nine turns.

2022 Recap
• N.L. Pitching Ranks: Wins (1st, 21), K/9.0 IP (9th, 8.648)

• Pitched his first full major league season and went 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA (64 ER/180.1 IP)…Lead the majors in wins.

• He is just the seventh Braves pitcher to win 20 games in a season since the club moved to Atlanta in 1966, and the first since Ortiz in 2003…Tom Glavine (‘91, ‘92, ‘93, ‘98, ‘00), Phil Niekro (‘69, ‘74, ‘79), John Smoltz (‘96), Ortiz (‘03), Greg Maddux (‘93) and Denny Neagle (‘97) all reached the mark for the franchise.

• Wright had two career victories entering this season…The last pitcher with fewer career victories before a 20-win season was Cincinnati’s Tom Browning, who went 20-9 in 1985 after entering the year 1-0 in three career starts.

• Atlanta went 24-6 in Wright’s starts last season…That is tied for the most such team wins in a start by one pitcher on the year…The Yankees went 24-8 when Jameson Taillon starts.

• He opened his career with losses in each of his first seven career decisions, going 0-7 with a 7.86 ERA (39 ER/44.2 IP) over 16 total appearances… Atlanta was just 2-14 in his games.

• Since his first career win in his 17th appearance, he is 23-6 with a 3.33 ERA, and Atlanta is 28-7 in his 35 total games, all starts.

• Ended the season on a career-best eight-game winning streak, dating to August 10…Went 8-0 with a 3.14 ERA (18 ER/51.2 IP) over his final nine turns, while Atlanta won all nine.

• In the only game he did not win, September 6 at Oakland, he allowed a career-most eight runs in 4.0 innings…In his eight wins during the run, he pitched to a 1.90 ERA (10 ER/47.1 IP).

• Wright’s eight-game winning streak was the longest active run in the National League, and the second longest in majors…Only Cleveland’s Cal Quantrill, who won his last 11 decisions, has a longer run.

• In 17 starts at Truist Park this year, Wright went 13-2 with a 2.86 ERA (33
ER/103.2 IP).

• Since the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, just five pitchers have won as many home starts for the club in a single season…Phil Niekro won 14 in 1969 to set the single-season record that Russ Ortiz later matched in 2003, and John Smoltz (1996) and Tom Glavine (1992, 1993) both won 13 at home.

• Wright’s 13 wins in his home park this season are easily most in the majors, and just one other pitcher, Houston’s Luis Garcia, even won double-digits… Garcia had 11 wins at Minute Maid Park.

Career Recap
• Was selected by Atlanta with the fifth overall pick in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft…Was the first player from that draft class to appear in the majors.

• Entered 2020 ranked by MLB.com as Atlanta’s No. 4 prospect, and as the No. 51 prospect in baseball.

• Is 29-19 with a 3.47 ERA (156 ER/404.1 IP) over 81 career minor league games, including 78 starts.

MLB Preview: San Diego Padres (6-5) at New York Mets (6-5)

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MLB Preview: San Diego Padres (6-5) at New York Mets (6-5)

SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:

Padres blanked 5-0 by Scherzer & Mets, drop Game 1 of the 3-game set
• Yu Darvish last night was saddled with the loss after he and Max Scherzer went head-to-head for the 1st time since Game 1 of the 2022 NL Wild Card Series…Darvish was tapped for 5 runs (earned) on 6 hits in his 6.1 innings of work…he walked 1 with 5 punchouts.

• Friar bats were held hitless in their 8 at bats with RISP last night. After logging 7 extra-base hits on Sunday @ ATL, Padres go without one on Monday @ NYM

• San Diego hit a season-high 7 XBH on Sunday night in Atlanta (4 doubles and 3 home runs), and they were held without one last night at Citi Field…on Sunday, the Friars were also 5-for-12 with RISP, while on Monday, they went 0-for-8 with RISP. Padres in a stretch of playing 18 games in 18 days; 21 games in 22 days

• San Diego had their 1st off day on Wednesday and will not enjoy their 2nd one until April 24th, playing 18 games in 18 days from April 6-23…their 3rd off day will be on April 28, and since April 6, their current stretch of games are also 21 games in 22 days.

• San Diego is also starting the regular season with 24 games in 25 days…they had 1 off day on April 5, they will have one in Chicago on April 24th, and they’ll have their 1st off day in San Diego on April 28.

1st roadtrip of 2023
• San Diego split the 1st 2 series they played at home vs. COL (2-2) and vs. ARI (1-1), and they took 3 of 4 games from the Braves in Atlanta in their home opening series…the Braves hadn’t lost 3 straight games at home in all of 2022.

• Despite last night’s loss, the Padres have now won 3 of their last 4 games and 6 of their last 9.

Tatis to return on April 20th
• Fernando Tatis Jr. will be eligible to return to the ML team on April 20 (start of a 4-game series @ ARI).

• He’ll serve the final 20 games of his suspension from MLB’s Joint Prevention and Treatment Program to start the season after serving 60 G from Aug. 12 through the Padres’ 12-game 2022 Postseason run.

No. 1 Ballpark in baseball: 2023 version
• For the second straight year, Petco Park was ranked by USA Today as the No. 1 Ballpark in baseball.

STARTER – RYAN WEATHERS 40
Stormy Weathers in the forecast at Citi Field
23-year-old Ryan Weathers takes the mound for his 2023 road debut in Game 2 of this 3-game set vs. the Mets, in what will be his first career start vs. NYM…he’s made just 5 career appearances (3 starts) vs. NL East opponents, going 1-2 with a 6.50 ERA (13 ER, 18.0 IP) and .315 opp. AVG.

Vs. Mets hitters
He’s faced 3 Mets hitters just once, with all 3 of them (Eduardo Escobar, Tim Locastro and Starling Marte) each going 0-for-1.

Weathers solid in season debut
After making just 1 start/appearance for SD’s big league club in 2022, Weathers cracked the Padres Opening Day roster for the 2nd time in his career this season (also: 2021) and tossed 5.0 innings of 5-hit, 2-run ball last Monday, April 3 vs. ARI in SD’s 5-4 walk-off victory.

A look back at 2022
Spent the majority of his 2022 season with El Paso (AAA), establishing career highs in appearances (31) and innings pitched (123.0) and tying his career high in starts (22, also: 2019 w/ Single-A Fort Wayne). Posted a 6.73 ERA (92 ER, 123.0 IP) and Triple-A opponents hit .328 against him…his 31 home runs allowed were the 3rd-most in all levels of minor league baseball, trailing only Las Vegas’ Parker Dunshee (38) and Greenville/Portland’s Brian Van Belle (32). Recalled by SD from ELP on June 15 for his 19th ML start…allowed 4 ER and 4 BB while striking out 3 across 3.2 IP vs. CHC at Wrigley Field in SD’s 19-5 victory…optioned back to ELP the following day.

Piling up the punchies
Reached the 200 SO mark in his professional career with his 3rd and final strikeout April 22, 2022 @ Las Vegas…he has 207 minor league SO vs. 81 BB for a 2.56 SO/BB ratio in the minors, while he has 77 SO vs. 35 BB in MLB, including this season, for a 2.20 SO/BB ratio.

Great day for a debut
The 7th overall pick in 2018, who hadn’t pitched above A ball, made his ML debut in Game 1 of the NLDS vs. LAD on October 6, 2020 (1.1 IP, 2 BB, SO)…at 20 years and 294 days old, he became the 1st Padre to ever make their ML debut in the Postseason, the 5th player in ML history to debut in the Postseason and the 2nd-youngest to ever debut in the Postseason (KC’s Adalberto Mondesi, 20.095 in ’15).

Tennessee’s finest
The Gatorade Tennessee Baseball High School Player of the Year went 10-0 with a 0.09 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 76.0 innings as a senior in 2018.

Like father, like son
Son of 19-season MLB veteran and 1996 NYY’s World Series Champion, David Weathers.

NEW YORK METS NOTES:

METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the Padres, 5-0, last night… The Mets are seeking their third series victory of the season…The Mets finish their first homestand of the season, a six-game stand against the Marlins (2-1) and Padres (1-0)…New York is off on Thursday before they head to the West Coast for their second road trip of the season, a 11- day, 10-game trip against the Athletics (three games), Dodgers (three games) and Giants (four games).

ROSTER NOTE: The Mets claimed RHP Seth Elledge from Atlanta and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse…Elledge, 26, has gone 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA (12 earned runs/23.1 innings) in 23 major league games with St. Louis from 2020-2021…Addionally, New York transferred LHP José Quintana to the 60-Day IL.

SHUT THE DOOR: The Mets earned their first shutout of the season last night when they blanked the Padres, 5-0…The Mets recorded an MLB leading 19 shutouts last season…It was the team’s first shutout first against the Padres since June 5, 2021 in San Diego.

THE LEFTOVERS: The Mets have left 83 men on base this season…That is tied for the fifth-most in the majors and tied for the second-most in the National League.

D-FENCE: The Mets have committed only two errors in 11 games this season…The team’s .995 fielding percentage is the best in the majors… New York has converted 81% of grounders/bunts into outs so far this season, which is the second-highest rate in the majors.

A HIT’S A HIT: The Mets recorded two infield hits in last night’s win…The Mets have collected 12 infield hits this season, which is tied for the sixth-most in the majors…Last year, the Mets collected 186 infield hits, which was the fifth-most in franchise history and the third-most in the majors in 2022.

ENTER STAGE LEFT: David Peterson is set to make his 2023 Citi Field debut tonight…The left-handed pitcher owns a career record of 10-4 with a 3.86 ERA (44 ER/102.0 IP) with 48 walks and 103 strikeouts in 25 games (20 starts) at Citi Field…Tonight marks Peterson’s first career start against the Padres.

TO THE LEFT, TO THE LEFT: As a team, the Mets are batting .250/.331/.425 against left-handed pitchers this season…That compares to a .191/.312/.304 slashline against righties…The Mets are 2-3 when a left-hander starts a game in 2023.

THE LEFT OF US: Brandon Nimmo is batting .333 (4-12) with a double and two walks against left-handed pitchers this year…He hit .264/.358/.428 with 24 walks and a .786 OPS in 234 plate appearances against lefthanded pitchers last season…Since 2022, his 21 extra-base hits as a lefty against left-handed pitchers is tied for the fourth-most in the majors.

SINCE 2022 – MOST XBH BY LEFTY AGAINST LHP
PLAYER TEAM EXTRA-BASE HITS
Yordan Alvarez Astros 23
Corey Seager Rangers 22
Kyle Tucker Astros 21
Brandon Nimmo Mets 21
Shohei Ohtani Angels 21

CANHA GET AN AMEN?: Mark Canha is on a three-game hitting streak, batting .417 (5-12) with two runs and three doubles in that span…Overall, he is reaching base at a .348 rate with a .410 SLG.

CITI SLICKERS: The Mets are now 3-1 at Citi Field this year…The team won 54 games at home last year…That their highest total at Citi Field in franchise history..,The last time the team won more than 50 games in New York was in 2000 when they went 55-26…Overall, the Mets went 54-27 at Citi Field…The team’s .667 winning percentage was the fourth-highest in team history…Only the 1988 (56-24, .700), 2000 and 1986 teams (both 55-26, .679) had a better home winning percentage.

DOCTOR ROBERT-SON: David Robertson tossed 1.0 perfect inning yesterday…Robertson has appeared in five games this season and has allowed only one hit in 5.0 innings with six strikeouts…He has tossed 3.0 consecutive perfect innings.

CURTAINS FROM CURTISS: John Curtiss added 1.0 scoreless inning last night, allowing two walks with one strikeouts…He hasn’t allowed a run in
his last 4.1 innings with five strikeouts and has yielded one run overall in 5.1 innings (1.42 ERA) in five outings.

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US: The Mets have stolen 10 bases this season, which is third in the National League…Starling Marte is tied for third in the NL with four steals…Brandon Nimmo, who is tied for fifth in the NL, has stolen three bases in 10 games this year…Nimmo stole a total of three bases in 151 games last season.

Rank Player HR GAMES
5th Dave Kingman 154 664
6th Pete Alonso 151 541
7th Carlos Beltrán 149 839
Rank Player RBI GAMES
14th Todd Hundley 397 829
15th Michael Conforto 396 757
16th Pete Alonso 391 541
METS ALL-TIME LEADERS

FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso has hit 65 home runs at Citi Field…That is the third-most in the history of the yard…Only Michael Conforto (66) and Lucas Duda (71) have hit more…Overall, Alonso has hit .247/.343/.497 in 265 career games at Citi Field.

OPENING LIN-DOOR: Over the last five games, Francisco Lindor is batting 6-19 (.316) with five runs, three doubles, a home run, six RBI, two walks with a .409 OBP and a .632 SLG.

WALK THE WALK: The Mets rank fifth in the majors and fourth in the National League with 46 free passes this season…Brandon Nimmo is tied for second in the majors with 10 walks…The Mets have recorded two walks with the bases loaded this season, which is tied for the third-most in the majors…In 2022, the team drew 10.

IN THE CITI: Tommy Pham is a .321 (18-56) hitter with eight runs, a double, three home runs, eight RBI, nine walks with a .415 OBP and a .500 SLG in 16 career games at Citi Field…Starling Marte has slashed .292/.351/.486 with 59 runs, 16 doubles, five triple, 12 home runs and 39 RBI in 89 games at Citi Field.

KING OF QUEENS: In four games at home this year, Jeff McNeil is 3-12 with two runs, three doubles, three RBI and five walks…He has hit .311 with 128 runs, 56 doubles, four triples, 25 home runs, 118 RBI and 76 walks in 266 career games at the yard…His .311 batting average is the second-highest by a Met at the ballpark (min. 100 PA)…Only Luis Castillo, .313, has a higher batting average in the history of the ballpark.

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITHCER – AVID PETERSON LHP #23 2023 STATS: 0-1, 6.00 E R A
PETERSON’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 35% 30% 37% 93.1 mph
Slider 24% 36% 19% 85.4 mph
Changeup 22% 4% 29% 85.7 mph
Sinker 15% 28% 10% 93.0 mph
Curveball 4% 2% 5% 78.4 mph

PETERSON NEWS & NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: In his last start, April 5 versus Milwaukee, Peterson pitched 4.0 innings and allowed five runs as the Mets fell to Milwaukee, 7-5…Threw five strikeouts and issued five walks…Three of the five runs were scored on a home run in the second inning.

HOME SWEET HOME: Today is Peterson’s first home start of the season…He is 10-4 lifetime at home…According to sportradar, Peterson’s .714 career winning percentage at Citi Field is second best among all pitchers (Mets and opponents) who’ve made at least 20 starts at Citi Field, trailing only Max Scherzer, who improved to 15-4 (.789) with last night’s victory…Peterson has pitched to a career 3.86 ERA (44 earned runs/102.2 innings) at Citi Field…He has 103 strikeouts and 48 walks at home through 25 games (20 starts) at home.

HIGH RISP, HIGH REWARD: In his last two starts, Peterson held the Marlins and Brewers to three hits in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position…Since the start of 2022, Peterson ranks 13th in the majors with a .187 (20-107) opponent average with RISP and is 19th with a .580 opponent OPS (min. 100 batters faced with runners in scoring position)…Foes have managed just eight extra-base hits in 122 plate appearances against Peterson in scoring position scenarios since 2022…In his career, Peterson has faced 228 batters with runners in scoring position, holding them to a .226 (43-190) average.

LETHAL LEFTY: Peterson has limited lefties to a .181 (17-94) average since 2022…He whiffed 35 of the 107 left-handed batters he faced last year, a 33 percent strikeout rate that ranked fourth among all left-handed pitchers to face a minimum of 90 LHB in 2022.

SLIP ‘N’ SLIDE: Peterson held batters to a .175 (24-137) average with his slider last season and 78 of his 126 strikeouts came on the pitch…His 52.0 slider-strikeout percentage was the second-highest in MLB (min. 150 PA) behind only teammate Edwin Díaz (54.7) and his 47.9 whiff percentage with the pitch was the third highest in the majors behind only Díaz (54.7) and Seattle’s Andres Muñoz (50.8).

FOUR-HIT WONDER: The southpaw allowed four hits or fewer in 12 of his 19 starts and 21 of his 28 appearances overall last season…He has held the opposition to four hits or fewer in 39 of his 54 career games.

STRIKE ‘EM OUT, STRIKE ‘EM OUT: Peterson struck out at least five batters in 11 straight starts from June 20-September 9 last season, the second-longest streak by a left-handed starter last season…It was the sixth-longest streak by a Mets left-handed starter in franchise history…Peterson had 82 strikeouts across 58.2 innings during that span (13 G/11 GS) good for a 12.58 K/9 ratio.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: Peterson made four appearances (three starts) during spring training…He threw 12.0 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit over those four outings…Struck out 13 and walked eight…Peterson last pitched in a minor league game on March 25…In his last Grapefruit League appearance of the spring, allowed one hit, struck out four and walked four over 4.0 scoreless frames vs. the Cardinals on March 19.

2022 RECAP: Set career-high marks in wins (seven), games (28), starts (19), innings (105.2), and strikeouts (126) last season…Went 7-5 with a 3.83 ERA for New York…Appeared mostly as a starter until mid-September…His final five appearances of the season came out of the bullpen…Went 6-5 with a 3.86 ERA (39 ER/91.0 IP) as a starter…In nine relief appearances, Peterson went 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA (6 ER/14.2 IP).

MLB Preview: New York Yankees (6-4) at Cleveland Guardians (7-4)

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MLB Preview: New York Yankees (6-4) at Cleveland Guardians (7-4)

NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:

No release available

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:

ZUNINO’S BIG NIGHT PUSHES GUARDS PAST YANKEES
The Guardians edged out the Yankees, 3-2, on Monday night at Progressive Field to open a 3-game series against New York-AL…coming off a 5-2 road trip thru Seattle (3-1) & Oakland (2-1) to start the season, club is 2-2 on current 6-day, 6-game homestand against Seattle (1-2) & New York-AL (1-0, two-to-play)…Cleveland (7-4) has won 2 straight and 7 of last 10…Guardians hold sole possesion of first place in the AL Central standings, one half-game ahead of Minnesota (6-4).

SHANE BIEBER recorded his first win of the season after limiting the Yankees offense to a pair of runs in the 1st inning (7.0IP, 5H, 2R-ER, 3BB, 4SO, 99 pitches), both coming on a bases-loaded 2-run double by Giancarlo Stanton…Bieber retired 12 straight and 13 of 14 at one point, beginning with the final out of the 2nd inning… JAMES KARINCHAK worked a scoreless 8th with a pair of K’s, overcoming a lead-off triple that resulted from an unsuccessful dive attempt by CF MYLES STRAW, who extended his hit streak to 10 games…EMMANUEL CLASE fanned a pair in a perfect 9th for his third save.

Cleveland’s scoring was book-ended by sac flies from WILL BRENNAN in the 2nd and JOSH NAYLOR in the 7th around a 4thinning RBI-double by MIKE ZUNINO, who tallied three two-sackers on the night…Guardians offense walked 9 times and swiped 4 bases.

LAST NIGHT BY THE NUMBERS
The Guardians lead MLB in steals with 19, two ahead of Arizona (17), and have only been caught twice in 21 attempts…last night, the Guardians had 4 steals, the club’s high-mark this season and most since September 23, 2022 at Texas (4)…it’s the seventh time in club history and the first time since a franchise-high 25 in 1984 (also 1979) that Cleveland has 19 steals in the first 11 games of the season…the last team to have 19-or-more steals through the team’s first 11 games was the 2002 Royals.

Cleveland hitters drew a season-high 9 walks, their most since collecting 10 free passes on June 30, 2022 vs Minnesota and T3rdmost in any game this season, behind Toronto’s 10 walks on April 1 at St. Louis and New York-NL’s 12 walks on April 7 vs. Miami…the Guards 56 walks on the season rank 1st in the AL and 2nd in MLB behind Los Angeles-NL (60).

With 2 sacrifice flies in last night’s contest, it is the second game this season the Guardians have had multiple sacrifice flies, with the other instance coming on April 3 at Oakland (3)…Cleveland’s 7 sacrifice flies lead MLB ahead of Los Angeles-NL (6).

Despite tying a season-low with 4 hits (also March 30), Cleveland got the victory…it’s the club’s first win with 4 hits-or-fewer since August 23, 2022 (4)…the Guardians went 2-12 in games with 4 hits-or-fewer in 2022…the club’s 5 home runs in the first 11 games are the fewest since 1984 (3)

A BASEBALL TRIPLE-DOUBLE
MIKE ZUNINO recorded 3 doubles on Monday night, marking the first 3-double game of his career and second game this season with 3 extra-base hits, with the other coming on April 2 at Seattle when he went 3-for-3 with 2 doubles, one home run and 3 RBI… he is the first Guardians catcher with three doubles in a game since Lou Marson on May 29, 2010 vs New York-AL and the first Cleveland catcher with two games of three-or-more extra-base hits in a single season since Victor Martinez had 2 in 2007…the last Guardians player with multiple 3+ extra-base hit games in a single season was JOSÉ RAMÍREZ, who had 2 games of 3+ extra-base hits in 2020…Zunino became the first catcher in MLB history with 3+ extra-base hits in 2 of the team’s first 11 games of a season.

MYLES PER HOUR
After going 1-for-3 last night, MYLES STRAW extended his hit streak to 10 games…he is one game away from tying his careerlong hit-streak of 11 games from Sept. 13-21, 2022…the center fielder has a slash line of .375/.524/.438 during his streak.

He is a perfect 6-for-6 on steals this season, leading MLB in steals…he is currently on pace for 88 stolen bases on the season… he stole a career-high 30 bases in 2021…Kenny Lofton set the franchise record for single-season stolen bases, swiping 75 bags in 1996.

Among hitters with 20-or-more at-bats out of the ninth spot, the center fielder is 1st in walks (8), 1st in .OBP (.548), 2nd in RBI (4), 3rd in batting average (.364) and T3rd in hits (8).

KEEPING IT CLOSE
With last night’s 3-2 victory, the Guardians improved to 4-2 on the season in one-run games…the club’s 4 one-run wins and 6 one-run
victories lead MLB.

In the Terry Francona era (since 2013), Cleveland has the AL’s highest winning percentage in one-run games (.5421, 212-179)…the win yesterday put Cleveland slightly ahead of the Yankees (.5413, 229-423).

WINNING % IN ONE-RUN GAMES, SINCE 2013
TEAM W-L% RECORD
ATL .5462 236-196
MIL .5432 226-190
CLE .5422 212-179
STL .5421 238-201
NYY .5413 229-201

PATIENCE AT THE PLATE
Though the season’s first 11 games, STEVEN KWAN leads MLB with 233 pitches seen, 13 more than ATL’s Matt Olson (220) …two other Guardians are in the top 25 in pitches seen with AMED ROSARIO ranking 7th (208) and JOSÉ RAMÍREZ 24th (193)…as a team, the Guardians lead MLB in pitches seen (1,789) ahead of the Atlanta Braves (1,681).

Kwan finished 18th among MLB hitters in pitches seen in 2022 (2,643), joining teammate JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (13th, 2,742) as the two Guardians among MLB’s top 25 in pitches faced…he finished 4th in the AL (15th in MLB) with 4.14 pitches per PA in 2022.

TONIGHT’S STARTER – 70 HUNTER GADDIS RHP
TONIGHT’S START
The 25-year-old right-hander is slated to make his third start of the season and make his 2023 Progressive Field debut this evening in the second game of a 3-game series against New York-AL… he was added to the Guardians pitching rotation after TRISTON McKENZIE suffered a right major teres strain in his final spring start on March 26 vs. Cincinnati…Gaddis struggled in two spot starts at Progressive Field during the 2022 season, finishing with an 0-2 record and 18.41 ERA…Gaddis’ last appearance at home was an 8-2 loss on Sept. 15 last season vs. Chicago-AL…the righthander was charged with the loss after allowing 7 runs (earned) on 8 hits with 3 strikeouts and one walk over 4.0 innings…his 5 home runs allowed in the start were the most allowed by a Cleveland pitcher since April 18, 1969 (Luis Tiant).

LAST TIME OUT
Gaddis got the nod in Cleveland’s final contest of their six-game road trip to start the 2023 season on Wednesday in Oakland…he put together his most complete MLB pitching performance to date (6.0IP, 1H, 0R/ER, 2BB, 4SO, 77 pitches), delivering 6.0 shutout frames and allowing one-hit-or-fewer for the first time in his pro career since May 19, 2022 for AA-Akron against Binghamton (6.0IP, 0H, 0R/ER, 1BB, 11SO, 89 pitches)…the A’s had two batters reach base via walk and fielder’s choice in the 1st and another hitter draw a walk in the 2nd…Gaddis then proceeded to retire 13 of the last 14 A’s hitters he faced…a Jesús Aguilar lead-off double in the 4th inning was the lone hit he allowed on the afternoon… despite the stellar outing, Gaddis did not factor into the decision after the A’s rallied with four runs to tie the game in the 8th inning… the Guards tallied two runs in the 10th to secure the 6-4 victory.

HUNTING DOWN HISTORY
With his start on Wednesday, Gaddis became the first Cleveland pitcher to twirl a start of 6-or-more shutout innings and allow one-hit-or-fewer within their first four career games since Addie Joss (9.0IP, 1H, 0R/ER, 4BB, 5SO) on April 26, 1902…heading into his start today, he is one of ten AL pitchers with 6-or-fewer hits allowed, a .172 batting-average-or-lower, and .95-WHIP-or-lower (min. 9.0IP).

2023 CACTUS LEAGUE
Made 2 starts in the Cactus League, allowing 3R/ER across 6.2 innings while striking out 9 batters against 0 walks…recorded two-or-more strikeouts in each of his five appearances during 2023 Cactus League play…finished 0-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 13.0 innings pitched…tied SHANE BIEBER for fewest ER (4) among all Guardians pitchers (min 10.0IP), ranked T2nd amongst club hurlers in strikeouts (17) with ZACH PLESAC and maintained the club’s 3rd-best K/BB ratio (5.67) this spring.

CAREER SNAPSHOT
2022: Split Minor League season between AA Akron and AAA Columbus, going a combined 8-6 with 4.01 ERA in 24 games/23 starts (121.1IP, 90H, 54ER, 41BB, 158SO)…was promoted from AA Akron to AAA Columbus on July 23 and made ML debut just two weeks later…went 3-1 with 2.42 ERA in 4 Sept. starts at AAA Columbus (22.1IP, 12H, 6ER, 3BB, 29SO)…tallied 6th-lowest ERA, 3rd-lowest batting average, and T8th-most SO in Sept. International League play…went 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA (4ER/26.0IP), 5 walks and 37 strikeouts from 4/26-5/19 with AA Akron…led AA Eastern League in strikeouts in that stretch…struck out a careerhigh 11 batters in 6.0 shutout innings on 5/19 vs. Erie.

2021: Spent the entire season with High-A Lake County, making 19 starts; his 4.16 ERA was 4th-lowest in the High-A Central, while his 127SO were tied for the league lead.

2019: Went 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA (6ER/17.1IP) in 7 games/5 starts in the Arizona Complex League, before posting a 2.30 ERA (4ER/15.2IP) over 6 outings w/ Low-A Mahoning Valley

MLB Preview: Detroit Tigers (2-7) at Toronto Blue Jays (6-4)

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MLB Preview: Detroit Tigers (2-7) at Toronto Blue Jays (6-4)

DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS DROP SERIES FINALE TO BOSTON: The Tigers lost their fourth straight game on Sunday, falling to Boston, 4-1. Spencer Torkelson had a pair of hits and drove in a run, while Akil Baddoo and Javier Báez each added two hits. Matthew Boyd started for Detroit and took the loss,
allowing two runs on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Jason Foley struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings of relief, while Trey Wingenter pitched a perfect inning with one punchout.

YABBA-DABBA-BADDOO: Akil Baddoo had a pair of hits, including a double, in Sunday’s game against the Red Sox, marking his second straight multi-hit game since being recalled from Triple A Toledo. Baddoo has hit safely in seven of nine-games between Detroit and Toledo this season,
going 13×38 with three doubles, a triple, a home run and six RBI.

EXTRA, EXTRA: Miguel Cabrera hit a double in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game. 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

A GLOVE STORY: The Tigers have been one of the best defensive teams in baseball, according to Sports Info Solution’s Defensive Runs Saved metric. As a team, Detroit is a +6 defensive runs saved, which is tied with Toronto for the second-best in the American League and tied for fifth in the Majors. Individually, Javier Báez is tied for fifth among big league shortstops with +2 defensive runs saved, while Eric Haase is tied for second among Major League leftfielders with +2 defensive runs saved.

MLB Team Defensive Runs Saved Leaderboard
Rank Team DRS

  1. Milwaukee +10
  2. Seattle +8
    Arizona +8
  3. New York (NL) +7
  4. DETROIT +6
    Toronto +6

TIGERS AND BLUE JAYS: The Tigers and Blue Jays begin their six-game season series tonight at Rogers Centre. Detroit went 2-5 against the Blue Jays last season, including dropping three-of-four games in Toronto.

ON THE ROAD: The Tigers tonight begin their second road trip of the season. Detroit went 2-4 on its first road trip, going 0-3 at Tampa Bay and 2-1 at Houston, 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)

• OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 10-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)

• 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 – Matt Manning • 1-0, 3.18 ERA (5.2IP/2ER)
• Manning will make his second start of the season tonight in the series opener at Toronto.

• Picked up the win in his season debut on Wednesday at Houston, allowing two runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

• Has faced the Blue Jays just once in his career, receiving a no decision on August 27, 2021 after tossing 6.0 innings and allowing one run
on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts…tonight marks his first career appearance at Rogers Centre.

• Was limited to 12 starts during the 2022 season after missing much of the season due to injury…went 2-3 with a 3.43 ERA (63.0IP/24ER)
and 48 strikeouts in 12 starts.

• Turned in the longest outing of his career on August 7 vs. Tampa Bay, throwing 7.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts…set a career-high with eight punchouts in 6.0 shutout frames on August 24 vs. San Francisco.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:

THE LATEST: The Blue Jays clawed back from a six-run deficit and then traded blows with the Angels before ultimately escaping with a 12-11 win in 10 innings on Sunday… Are 1-0 in extras to start the year (8-7 in 2022), and are up to 3-0 in one-run contests…Their 33 one-run wins since 2022 are 2nd most in MLB (SEA – 35). Toronto is now 1-1 in rubber games while improving to 2-1-0 in series play…Wrapped up its road trip to St. Louis, Kansas City, and Anaheim at 6-4.

NO PLACE LIKE DOME: Toronto has gone 28-18 in Home Openers so far (17-14 at Rogers Centre)…Have won two of their last three such contests after losing each of the previous eight…Edged Miami, 5-4, in 10 innings in 2020 at Sahlen Field and came back from a seven-run deficit to top Texas, 10-8, last April.

LITERALLY THE BEST: Matt Chapman got Toronto on the board on Sunday with a 6th-inning grand slam to make it a 6-4 contest… Was his 1st career grand slam and his 2nd home run in as many days, going deep in consecutive contests for the 20th time in his career (4x in 2022). The third baseman also gave Toronto a 7-6 lead in the 7th with an RBI single…The five RBI were one shy of a career mark and his most in a game since Aug. 10, 2020 at LAA (6 RBI)…Finished 3-for-5 on the day for his MLB-leading 4th three-hit game of the season… Is now batting .475 (19-for-40) with seven doubles, four walks, and 14 RBI for a 1.323 OPS through 10 games…Currently leads MLB in hits and is tied for the MLB lead in doubles while sitting 2nd in extra-base hits and T-2nd in RBI…Among AL batters, also ranks 1st in AVG, 2nd in SLG (.800), OPS, OBP (.523), and total bases (32)…Has an average exit velocity of 99.6 MPH, the highest in MLB (2nd: J.D. Martinez – 98.5). The 29-year-old was also named AL Player of the Week yesterday, his 1st career weekly nod…Led AL batters with 12 RBI and 24 total bases as he went 13-for-28 (.464) with five doubles, two homers, three walks, and five runs scored (.516 OBP, .857 SLG).

THE HITS KEEP FLOWING: Bo Bichette singled and was hit by a pitch as he finished with a 1-for-5 day….Has hits in all but one of the 10 games so far, going 17-for-47 (.362) with two doubles, three homers, eight RBI, and nine runs scored (T-6th in the AL)…The 17 hits are 3rd most in the AL (T-5th in MLB) while his 28 total bases are tied for 4th and his .362 AVG ranks 6th.

DOING VLAD THINGS: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled twice and was hit by a pitch on Sunday…Has reached base safely in every game this season, now 18-for-41 with a double, two homers, six RBI, and a 5BB/3K ratio for a .439 AVG (3rd in the AL), a .510 OBP (4th) and a 1.120 OPS (5th)…The 18 hits are currently 2nd most in the majors. The 24-year-old has recorded 22 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) this year, one back of teammate Matt Chapman for the most in MLB…Recorded 265 hard-hit balls over the course of last season, the most in the Majors (2nd: José Abreu – 256).

HOME SWEET DOME: The Blue Jays are ready for their 1st home action of the 2023 campaign…Are the final team to play a game at home…Their .580 win% (47-34) at home last season ranked 4th in the AL. 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).

FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP: Kevin Kiermaier recorded a single, double, and a triple on Sunday as he went 3-for-5 while driving in five runs…Became the 3rd nine hitter in team history with a three-hit, five RBI day, joining J.P. Arencibia (April 1, 2011 vs. MIN) and Danny Jansen (July 22, 2022 at BOS). The centerfielder is now 12-for-30 (.400) while recording hits in each of his seven games with an at-bat to start his Blue Jays career…His 12 hits while batting 9th are the most in the Majors (2nd: Orlando Arcia – 9).

OPENS SEASON: Alek Manoah will make his 3rd start of the season, coming off 7.0 scoreless innings on April 5 at KC… Also kicked off this 2023 campaign with his 1st career Season Opening start on March 30 at STL…Is now the 5th pitcher in team history to pitch the club’s Season Opener and then their Home Opener, joining Jim Clancy (1981), Jimmy Key (1989), Marcus Stroman (2016), and Hyun Jin Ryu (2020).

HITTING IT: The Blue Jays are leading the Majors in team AVG (.288)…Have notched 106 hits so far, trailing only the White Sox (113 in 11 games) for the most in MLB… Currently rank 2nd in the AL in OBP (.352) while sitting 3rd in OPS and 6th in SLG (.421)…Have homered in each of the last seven 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.

VS. THE TIGERS: All-Time: 241-205
2022: 5-2 Home: 130-96
Home: 3-1 Rogers Centre: 93-56
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 (12-8). 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 16 career meetings, is batting .333 (21-for-63) with four
doubles, three home runs, and 11 RBI (.948 OPS). Matt Chapman played in five games against Detroit in 2023 and managed to connect for four home runs and six RBI (1.063 SLG)…Is a lifetime 21-for-94 (.223) with a pair of doubles, two triples, 11 homers, and 19 RBI (.975 OPS).
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 – Alek Manoah, RHP #6
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 3rd start of the season…Earned his 1st win of the year his last time out on 4/5 at KC, tossing 7.0 frames of one-hit, shutout ball with four walks and five strikeouts.

Has pitched into the 6th inning in each of his last 17 home games, posting a 9-4 record over that stretch with a 2.18 ERA (27 ER/111.2 IP) and a 0.82 WHIP while holding hitters to a .173 average.

2023 HIGHLIGHTS:
Was the Opening Day starter for the Blue Jays on 3/30 at STL…Took a no-decision that day, giving up 5 runs on a career-high 9 hits and 2 walks over 3.1 innings with 3 strikeouts… At 25 years and 80 days old, became the 4th-youngest Opening Day starter in team history (Drew Hutchison – 24.227 in 2015; Todd Stottlemyre – 24.324 in 1990; Marcus Stroman 24.338 in 2016).

2022 HIGHLIGHTS:
His career 1.01 WHIP was the 2nd lowest all-time by an AL pitcher in his first two big league seasons, trailing only Walter Johnson’s 0.98 mark in 1907-1908 (min. 40 starts)…courtesy Stats Perform.

Finished 3rd in AL Cy Young voting, behind only Houston’s Justin Verlander and Chicago’s Dylan Cease.

Named an All-Star for the 1st time in his career…Pitched a scoreless 2nd inning in the Midsummer Classic, notching 3 punchouts and a hit batter on 18 pitches (13 strikes)…Joined Dave Stieb as the only pitchers in franchise history to strike out at least 3 batters in a single All-Star Game (Stieb – 4K in 1983).

Ranked 3rd among qualified AL pitchers in both ERA (2.24) and wins (16)…Also ranked 4th in the AL in innings pitched (196.2), 4th in WHIP (0.99), and 5th in opponent batting average (.202)…Became the 6th AL pitcher since 1920 to turn in a sub-1.00 WHIP under age 25…His 0.99
WHIP was the best in team history (2nd: Roger Clemens – 1.03 in 1997) while his 2.24 ERA ranked 2nd (1st: Clemens – 2.05 in 1997).

His 25 quality starts tied with Yu Darvish for 2nd most in the Majors, trailing only Framber Valdez’s 26.

Held right-handed hitters to a .159 AVG, 2nd best in the AL (3rd in MLB).

Won his 8th game of the year on 6/13 vs. BAL, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings while giving up a hit and a walk and 7 strikeouts…Became the 7th player in the modern era (since 1901) to win at least 17 of his first 20 career decisions as a starter (17-3), and the first since Vida Blue went 17-3 from 1969-1971.

icked up his 11th win on 7/23 at BOS, throwing 6.0 frames of one-run ball with 7 hits, no walks, and 7 strikeouts…Earned his 20th win in his 39th career game, becoming the 2nd-fastest in Blue Jays history to reach the mark (1st: Juan Guzman – 38 games).

Earned his 15th win on 9/24 at TB…Tossed 7.0 shutout innings, scattering 4 hits and 2 walks with 8 strikeouts…His 303 strikeouts were the most in franchise history by a player in his first 50 career games (2nd: Juan Guzmán – 279).

Made his 1st career postseason start in Game 1 of the ALWC vs. SEA on 10/7…Was the 7th Blue Jay pitcher under the age of 25 to make a postseason start, and the 1st since Aaron Sanchez in Game 4 of the 2016 ALCS vs. CLE (10/18/16)…Gave up 4ER on 4H and a walk over 5.2 IP.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
In 2021, led MLB rookies (min. 10 starts) in WHIP (1.05), AVG (.192), and opponents’ OPS (.604), while 2nd in ERA, 3rd in K rate (27.7%) and 4th in SO/9 (10.24)…Became the 4th pitcher aged 23 or younger to average at least 10 strikeouts per nine innings in his debut season, joining Mark Prior (2002), Kerry Wood (1998) and Dwight Gooden (1984).

Named AL Rookie of the Month for Sept./Oct. 2021, going 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA and 41 strikeouts over 37.1 innings (six starts)…Was the the first Blue Jay to win the award since Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in July of 2018, and the first Toronto pitcher since Scott Richmond in April of 2009. Selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1st round (11th overall) of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft.

VS. THE TIGERS:
Facing the Tigers for the 3rd time in his career…Allowed 4 runs over 5.1 innings in his only meeting with Detroit last season on 7/29 at Rogers Centre (7H, BB, 4K)…His only other start vs. DET came on 8/28/21 at Comerica Park, where he tossed 6.1 frames of two-run ball (4H, 0BB, 8K)…Has faced 48 Detroit batters in his career, giving up one home run and walking just one batter while striking out 12.

MLB Preview: Miami Marlins (4-7) at Philadelphia Phillies (4-6)

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MLB Preview: Miami Marlins (4-7) at Philadelphia Phillies (4-6)

MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:

MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins tonight play the second game of a three-game series at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. Is the second stop on their six-game road trip – the team’s first road trip of the season. Started the trip taking one of three against the Mets at Citi Field. Following this series, return home for a six-game homestand against Arizona (Fri-Sun) and San Francisco (Mon-Wed).

YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Miami suffered their worst loss of the season, falling, 15-3, at Philadelphia. Marked the Marlins’ most runs allowed on the road since a 19-1 loss on July 19, 2021 at Washington. RHP Sandy Alcantara took his first loss of the season, allowing 9 runs on 10 hits in 4.0 innings of work. Allowed 5 runs in the third inning which saw the Phillies send 10 men to the plate. 1B Yuli Gurriel put the Marlins on the board in the seventh with a solo homer, his first with the team. DH Garrett Cooper (3×4) reached base four times (also 1 walk) and drove in a run.

PASSING BYE
In the bottom of the seventh inning in last night’s loss, C Jacob Stallings was charged with a passed ball. Snapped a streak of 260 consecutive games without a passed ball. Is the longest streak all time (prev. best was held by Hall of Famer Johnny Bench). Had last permitted a passed ball on August 14, 2020 at Cincinnati with Pittsburgh (3rd inning).

FAU TO THE MOUND
On Sunday, the Marlins will congratulate Florida Atlantic University on their incredible run to the Final Four in a pregame ceremony before the Marlins’ 1:40 pm vs. Arizona. Owls head coach Dusty May will throw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch.

JACKIE ROBINSON CLASSIC RETURNS
Tomorrow, the Marlins and the Miami Marlins Foundation will host the second annual Jackie Robinson Classic at loanDepot park. Presented by NIKE, this year’s Classic will pit two Broward County teams – Piper High and South Broward High – against each other for a regular season game. The Classic will celebrate Jackie’s legacy as each student-athlete will wear a customized Marlins shirt with the number 42 on the back along with one of Jackie’s nine values. The South Florida community is invited to cheer on the teams at the complimentary event and jam along with the high school bands! Courtesy of JP Morgan, the students and bands from each school will enjoy a ballpark hot dog, chips and a drink.

COOP-A-LOOP
1B Garrett Cooper has hit safely in eight of his 10 games this season, going 14×38 (.368). Dating back to last season, he has hit safely in each of his last 9 road games, going 15×32 (.468) over the stretch.

• Only two National League players have more homers – Pete Alonso (5) and Bryan Reynolds (5)

• Owns a .358 (25×70) career average at Citizens Bank Park, his third-highest mark at any opponents ballpark in which he’s played at least two series (Busch Stadium – .450; Coors Field – .429).

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
INF Luis Arraez has 18 hits in his first 11 games of the year, with 7 multi-hit games. Is tied with the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman for most hits among National Leaguers, with only Toronto’s Matt Chapman (19) collecting more in the Majors. His .500 batting avg. (18×36) is tops in the Majors among all qualified hitters.

• Arraez’s 18 hits are tied with Cameron Maybin (2008) for the second-most for a player in their first 11 games with the Marlins, trailing only Juan Pierre (19 in 2003).

• Became just the second player in Marlins history to reach base safely as the starting leadoff hitter in each of the first four games to start a season, joining Hanley Ramirez in 2006 (credit: Elias).

• Has struck out just 3 times in 42 plate appearances, tied for the least amount of strikeouts in MLB among players with at least 40 plate appearances.

PHITIN’ THE PHILS
Of the 19 games played between the Marlins and Phillies last year, the Marlins had the lead at some point in 14 of the contests, but went just 7-12 vs. Philly. 11 of the contests between the teams were decided by two runs or less. The Marlins had 9 losses in ‘22 when tied or leading after the end of 7th inning – four of which came at Citizens Bank Park.

HOMER TIME
The Marlins have scored 21 of their 30 runs this season via home runs. Have hit 12 homers total over the first 11 games, homering in nine of the contests, including each of the last six.

NOBODY MESSES WITH THE JESUS
LHP Jesus Luzardo held the Twins to 1 run over 7.0 innings of work for the win in his last start on Wednesday with 10 strikeouts to reach 308 career strikeouts. Marked his 5th career double-digit strikeout game, previously done on Oct. 3, 2022 vs. Atlanta, his final start of last season.

• Dating back to his August 1 return from injury last season, has posted a 2.68 ERA (84.0/25) in 14 starts with 94 strikeouts and a .193 opponents batting avg. In this stretch, has limited opponents to 1 run or no runs in each of his last 4 starts at loanDepot park with a 0.73 ERA (24.2/2) and 38 strikeouts.

IF YOU LIKE PIÑA COLADAS
1B Yuli Gurriel has hit safely in all five of his starts this year, hitting .375 (6×16) including a multi-hit effort and his first Marlins home run in yesterday’s game at Philadelphia. His five-game hitting-streak ties the highest this season by a Marlin (Also, Arraez and Chisholm Jr.)

• Gurriel now sits at 95 career home runs.

FISH ON THE RUN
The Marlins stole 5 bases in Sunday’s win at the Mets (without being caught), their most since June 18, 2022, also at Mets. Their 7 stolen bases this year are seventh most in the NL. Since the start of 2020, the Marlins have stolen 155 bases on the road, the most for any team over the stretch.

TURNING THE TRENDING TIDE
The Marlins are 2-0 in one-run games this season. Miami played 64 games decided by one run in 2022, the most such games in the Majors last season. Miami’s 40 one-run losses were the most such losses in a season in club history, the most since the 1975 Houston Astros (41), and just three shy of the single-season record for one-run losses during the Live Ball Era (since 1920) held by the 1968 White Sox (44).

TODAY’S STARTER – #44 JESUS LUZARDO
• Jesus Luzardo, 25, made 18 starts to match his career-high in 2022. Missed 71 games from May 10 to August 1 with a left forearm strain.

• In his second start of the season on April 5 vs. Minnesota, Luzardo matched his career-high with 7.0 innings pitched while recording 10 strikeouts, marking his 5th career double-digit strikeout game.

• Luzardo’s previous 10-plus strikeout efforts include: 12 K, April 12, 2022 at LAA; 12 K, Oct. 3, 2022 vs. ATL; 11 K, Sept. 21, 2022 vs. CHC; 11 K, Oct. 2, 2021 vs. PHI.

• Walked 4 batters and allowed 0 runs in 5.2 innings on his first start of the season vs. New York Mets.

• In 12 starts last season after returning on Aug. 1, went 2-4 with a 3.03 ERA, allowing 24 runs in 71.1 innings. Pitched 6.0+ innings in nine of 12 outings. Allowed two runs or less in nine of those outings.

• Opposing batters hit 1×36 (2B) in 0-2 counts vs. Luzardo in 2022. Struck out 21 of 36 batters (58%) in that situation.

• On Tuesday, April 12, 2022 he set a career high with 12 strikeouts in just 5.0 innings of work at Angel Stadium in his first start of the season. Became the first pitcher in franchise history to strike out 12 batters in a start that lasted no more than 5.0 innings.

• Pitched at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, located in Parkland, Fla., approx. an hour and a half north of loanDepot park.

• Became a Florida Special Olympics ambassador in 2022 by promoting and supporting all champions at the Miami Race for Inclusion at Bayfront Park.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:

GAME #10 RECAP: The Phillies defeated the Miami Marlins, 15-3, under the lights at Citizens Bank Park … Starter Matt Strahm (W, 1-0), tossed 5.0 scoreless innings and allowed 4 hits on 1 walk with 6 strikeouts … Tied at 0-0 in the 3rd, the Phillies plated five runs off reigning Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara … They had eight extra-base hits on the night and scored nine runs off Alcantara … Seven different Phillies had multiple hits on the night.

ELIAS SAYS: Last night, the Phillies tallied 20 total hits, 10 off Sandy Alcantara and 10 off Devin Smeltzer … Per Elias, it marked only the second time in the modern era (since 1900) the Phillies collected 10+ hits off two different pitchers in a single game – the other instance came on July 25, 1900 in a 13-2 win over Cincinnati when CIN’s Ed Scott allowed 10 hits and CIN’s Bill C. Phillips allowed 12 … The last time any other MLB club tallied double-digit hits off two pitchers in a single game was on June 13, 2017, when Minnesota collected 10 hits off SEA’s Christian Bergman and 11 hits off SEA’s Casey Lawrence.

EVERY TIME THE MOON SHINES I BECOME ALIVE: Over their last 20 games under the lights at CBP against the National League East (since 6/30/22), the Phillies are 16-4 (.800 win %) … In those 20 games they have scored 123 runs (6.2 per game) while slashing .295/.348/.552 with 83 extra-base hits (37 2B, 7 3B, 39 HR) … Against all clubs, the Phillies have won 15 of their last 17 at home under the lights (.882 win %, since 8/20/22), 20 of 23 (.870 win %, since 8/4/22) and 30 of 40 (.750 win %, since 6/1/22).

59 at CBP for 59: Tonight will mark Rob Thomson’s 59th game as manager for the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park (since 6/3/22) … Coming into play tonight, the Phillies are 38-20 in 58 games under Thomson at home (.655 win %) … In the 58 games at home prior to Thomson taking over, the Phillies were 29-29 at CBP (.500 win %, 7/28/21-6/1/22).

GO NOLES: Starter Aaron Nola enters tonight’s game in the top 10 in Phillies franchise history in double-digit strikeout games (4th with 27 – Cole Hamels ranks 3rd with 29), strikeouts (7th at 1,389 – HOF Grover Cleveland Alexander ranks 6th at 1,409) and games started (10th at 205 – HOF Jim Bunning ranks 9th at 208).

REMEMBER THE FIGHTINS: Since Rob Thomson took over as Phillies manager on June 3, the Phillies are 36-21 in 57 games against the National League East (.632 win %) with a +72 run differential (288-216) and 11-4-2 series record … Philadelphia’s .632 win % against the NL East ranks 5th among all MLB clubs against their own division in that span, trailing only ATL vs NL East (40-19, .678), LAD vs NL West (46-22, .676), HOU vs AL West (33-16, .673) and NYM vs NL East (37-21, .638).

KRYPTONITE: Dating back to May 25, 2021, the Phillies have won eight of their last 10 games in which Sandy Alcantara was the starting pitcher … In that span, Alcantara is 1-7 with a 4.74 ERA (33 ER, 62.2 IP) in 10 starts against the Phils – in 48 starts against all other clubs in that span, he is 21-15 with a 2.35 ERA (87 ER, 333.1 IP) … Last night, the Phillies tagged a reigning Cy Young Award winner for 10 hits and nine earned runs for the first time in franchise history – they became the first ML team with 10+ hits and nine or more earned runs scored off the previous year’s CY winner in a single game since June 17, 2014, when Kansas City scored 10 earned runs on 10 hits off Detroit’s Max Scherzer.

SAINT NICK: Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos ranks T-7th among all ML outfielders with 2 defensive runs saved (DRS) this season … Castellanos, who leads the Phillies in DRS (also: Realmuto, 2 DRS), ranks 3rd among all ML right fielders, trailing only Teoscar Hernandez (5 DRS) and Joey Wiemer (3 DRS) … At the plate, Castellanos has seven doubles through his first 10 games played this season – he is only the fourth Phillies player with seven or more doubles through 10 games in the modern era (since 1900), joining John Kruk in 1993 (7 2B), Bake McBride in 1981 (8 2B) and Puddin’ Head Jones in 1949 (7 2B).

STRIKE ONE, STRIKE TWO, GOOD LUCK: Phillies LHP Jose Alvarado extended his career-best scoreless streak to 17.2 innings on Sunday (18 G, since 8/26/22) … Over that stretch, he has struck out 34 of the 59 batters he has faced (57.6 %) while walking only three (5.1%) and holding opponents to a .073/.121/.073 slash line … This season, Alvardo has struck out 11 of the 13 batters he has faced (84.6%) including each of the last 10 … Per Elias, Alvarado is the first Phillies relief pitcher and only the third in MLB in the expansion era (since 1961) to strike out 10 consecutive batters within a single season, joining Eric Gagne (10 straight, 5/17-21/03) and Chad Greene (10 straight, 9/18-24/19) … Since Sept. 25, 2022, Alvarado has pitched 7.1 innings over 7 appearances – he has 19 strikeouts, 0 walks and only 2 hits allowed (both singles) in those 7.1 innings pitched … Starting with his last batter faced on 9/22/22 vs ATL, Alvarado has struck out 20 of the last 25 batters he has faced (80.0%), and in doing so, has joined Josh Hader (21 of 25, 9/3-21/18) as the only two relief pitchers in the expansion era to strikeout 20+ in a 25-batter span.

WELCOME BACK, JEAN: Prior to last night’s game, former Phillie Jean Segura was presented with his 2022 National League Championship ring … Segura spent four seasons with the Phillies (2019-22) and hit .281 with a .755 OPS over 427 games … In Game 1 of last year’s NL Wild Card Series against the Cardinals, Segura capped off a Phillies comeback with a 2-run , game-winning single on Oct. 8 at Busch Stadium … Per Elias, Segura had played in 1,328 career regular season games before debuting in the postseason – there are only three other players in MLB history with as many regular season games played who collected the game winning RBI in their first career postseason game: Carlos Delgado (1,711 games, 2006 NLDS Game 1 vs LAD), Ted Kluszewski (1,530 games, 1959 World Series Game 1 vs LAD) and Nick Markakis (1,365 games, 2014 ALDS Game 1 vs DET).

NEW TONIGHT, AT (THE) 6: On 12/8/22, the Phillies signed SS Trea Turner to an 11-year contract, taking him through the 2033 season … Last year with LAD, Turner was selected as an All-Star for the second time in his career, was named All-MLB First Team and won his first career Louisville Silver Slugger Award after slashing .298/.343/.466 with a 121 OPS+ and 27 steals in 30 attempts … Per Statcast, his average sprint speed of 30.3 feet per second ranked 5th out of 582 qualified players … In 2021, Turner led the majors in AVG (.328) and hits (195), led the NL in stolen bases (32) and total bases (319) and posted a career-best 6.8 fWAR (FanGraphs) which ranked 3rd among all ML position players.

TONIGHT’S STARTER – AARON NOLA • RHP #27
LAST START: 4/5 at NYY: L, 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 5 SO … Nola vs Cole … The Phillies fell to the New York Yankees, 4-2, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx … Kyle Schwarber homered for the second game in a row and Bryson Stott had another multi-hit game, raising his season average to .435.

TONIGHT’S START:
• Home Body: Nola, who is making his first home start of 2023, has a 0.38 ERA (1 ER, 23.2 IP) with 5 BB, 31 SO and has held opponents to a .179/.233/.214 slash line over his last 4 home starts (since 8/25/22) … He has a 10.2-inning scoreless streak at home … Since 1969, only 3 Phillies pitchers have had a lower home ERA in a 4-start span: Cliff Lee (0.27, 6/6-28/11), Roy Halladay (0.27, 6/25-7/23/10), Jake Arrieta (0.32, 4/19-5/23/18)

• Fish Fry: Nola made 3 starts against MIA in 2022, going 1-0 (team record 3-0) with a 1.23 ERA (3 ER, 22.0 IP), 0 HR, 3 BB, 26 SO and allowed only 17 baserunners … His 1.23 ERA was the lowest by any Phillie against any single opponent last year (min. 3 starts) … Nola has struck out 10 batters in consecutive games against MIA as well, and if he did so today would join Clayton Kershaw (3, 2019-21) and Randy Johnson (3, 2000-01) as the only pitchers to strike out 10 Marlins in 3 straight starts … He has struck out 10 or more MIA hitters in 3 of his last 4, 4 of his last 6 and 5 of his last 9 starts against them … His 6 career 10+ SO games vs MIA (all since 9/13/17) are not only his most vs any team, but T-3rd most by any pitcher against any team since 9/13/17 (Gerrit Cole 9 vs TB, Jacob deGrom 8 vs ATL)

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

• vs NL East: 36-33, 3.47 ERA (240 ER, 623.0 IP) in 103 starts

HOME:
• 2022: 6-4, 3.53 ERA (38 ER, 97.0 IP) in 15 starts

• Career: 44-24, 3.18 ERA (222 ER, 627.2 IP) in 101 starts

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

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

2022 SEASON:
• ML Rankings: 1st in fWAR (6.3) & SO/BB (8.10), T-1st in SHO (1), 2nd in IP (205.0), BB % (3.6) & BB/9.0 IP (1.27), T-3rd in CG (2), 4th in SO (235), T-5th in starts (32), 6th in bWAR (4.0), 7th in WHIP (0.96), SO % (29.1) & OPP OBP (.256) and 9th in SO/9.0 IP (10.32)

• Struck out a career-best 235 batters and issued just 29 walks, joining Jim Whitney (1884 Boston Beaneaters) as the only pitchers ever with 220 or more SO and fewer than 30 BB in a season

• Named All-MLB Second Team, his first career All-MLB selection

• Led all pitchers with 6.3 fWAR, becoming the first Phillie to lead all pitchers in fWAR since Roy Halladay in 2011

• His 8.10 SO/BB was the best ever by a qualifying Phillies pitcher and the 18th-best in ML history

• Surpassed 220 SO for the fourth straight fully-scheduled season (2018-19, 2021-22)

• Surpassed 200.0 IP for the third time (others: 2018-19) and made 30 or more starts for the fourth straight fully-scheduled season 2022

POSTSEASON:
• His 11.2-inning scoreless streak to begin his playoff career was the longest ever by a Phillie

• Became one of seven Phillies pitchers to start Game 1 of a World Series and joined Cole Hamels as the only Phillies 1st-round picks to do so

• Joined Zack Wheeler, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee as the only Phillies to make at least five starts in a single postseason

CAREER:
• His 10.10 SO/9.0 IP (1389 SO, 1,238.0 IP) is 10th-best all-time (min. 1,000.0 IP)

• Finished 3rd in 2018 NL CY Young Award Voting and made his first career All-Star team

• In 2021, became the ninth pitcher to record 1,000 strikeouts in a Phillies uniform and the fastest ever to do so (913.0 IP)

• Selected by the Phillies in the 1st round (7th overall) of the June 2014 draft out of Louisiana State University

• Was signed by Mike Stauffer … Originally selected by Toronto in the 22nd round of the June 2011 draft, but did not sign

MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (5-5) at Tampa Bay Rays (10-0)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (5-5) at Tampa Bay Rays (10-0)

BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:

STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox lost last night’s series opener at TB, 1-0, after completing a 3-game sweep at DET from Thursday-Sunday. Last night was Boston’s first 1-0 loss since 9/7/22, also at TB…3 of the last 5 games the Sox have lost 1-0, beginning 6/24/21, have been at Tropicana Field with Nick Pivetta as the Sox’ starting pitcher. Nick Pivetta allowed 3 H with 2 BB and 6 SO over 5.0 scoreless innings last night…Josh Winckowski followed with 2.0 scoreless innings of relief (H, SO).

LEADERS OF THE PACK: The Red Sox rank 3rd in the AL and 4th in MLB in runs scored (59), trailing only TB (76), LAD (69), and LAA (60). Red Sox hitters have struck out in just 18.6% of their plate appearances (72 SO/388 PA), the 3rd-best SO% in MLB (TB-17.0%, WSH-17.7%).

The Sox also rank in the AL’s top 5 in various offensive categories (see below).
RED SOX OFFENSIVE RANKINGS
Stat AL Rank
59 R………………………… 3rd
35 XBH…………………. T-4th
15 HR …………………… T-4th
151 total bases…………. 4th
Stat AL Rank
.440 SLG …………………….. 3rd
.766 OPS …………………….. 5th
18.6 SO%…………………… 2nd

HOT START: The Red Sox have scored at least 59 runs through their first 10 games for the 3rd time in the last 20 seasons (also 62 runs in 2021 and 59 runs in 2015). The Sox have hit at least 15 home runs through their first 10 games for the 5th time in club history (also 2021, 2003, 1973, 1969). Boston’s offense has averaged 5.9 runs/game (59 R), 8.4 hits/game (84 H), and 7.2 strikeouts/game (72 SO). Over the last 4 games, the Sox have outscored their opponents 24-10.

INNINGS OF INTEREST: The Red Sox have scored in either the 1st or 2nd inning in 7 of their 10 games (17 total runs). They have scored 8 runs in the 1st inning, 2nd most among AL teams and tied for 5th most in MLB. They have scored 9 runs in the 2nd inning, tied with TB for most in the AL and 2nd in MLB. The Red Sox have outscored opponents in the 8th and 9th innings, 11-4. The Sox have scored 4+ runs in 4 innings this season, trailing only TB (5) for most such innings in MLB.

ON THE MEND: Brayan Bello is scheduled to make a rehab start for Triple-A Worcester today at 6:45 p.m. vs. Columbus…He threw 72 pitches over 5.0 innings in an intra-squad game at Fenway South on 4/5. 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).

THE NEW GUYS: Eleven members of the Red Sox’ active roster or injured list were not in the organization during the 2022 season (see below).

RED SOX OFF-SEASON ACQUISITIONS
ON OPENING DAY ROSTER OR INJURED LIST
Player Acquired Date
LHP Joely Rodriguez Free Agent 11/23
RHP Chris Martin Free Agent 12/8
RHP Kenley Jansen Free Agent 12/13
OF Masataka Yoshida Free Agent 12/15
RHP Wyatt Mills Trade with KC 12/16
INF Justin Turner Free Agent 1/6
RHP Corey Kluber Free Agent 1/12
OF Raimel Tapia Minor League Free Agent 1/21
OF Adam Duvall Free Agent 1/24
INF Adalberto Mondesi Trade with KC 1/24
LHP Richard Bleier Trade with MIA 1/30
START ME UP: Red Sox starting pitchers have tossed 5.0
innings and allowed 3 ER or fewer in each of the last 6
games, posting a 2.40 ERA (8 ER/30.0 IP) over the span.

RED SOX STARTING PITCHERS, LAST 6 GAMES
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

WHAT A RELIEF: Over the last 7 games (since 4/3), Red Sox relievers have posted a 2.25 ERA (7 ER/28.0 IP). Dating back to the 7th inning on Opening Day vs. BAL, 33 of the 40 innings started by Red Sox relievers have been scoreless. 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

SHARP WHIT: Garrett Whitlock will make his 2023 debut after being reinstated from the IL prior to tonight’s game. Whitlock made a rehab start for Double-A Portland vs. Binghamton on 4/6 (6.0 IP, H, R, BB, 8 SO)… He also started for Triple-A Worcester on 3/31 vs. Syracuse (4.0 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 6 SO). He owns the 2nd-lowest ERA by any Red Sox pitcher through their first 2 career seasons (see below).

LOWEST ERA BY RED SOX
THROUGH FIRST 2 SEASONS, LIVE BALL ERA
Player Seasons ERA
Dick Radatz 1962-63 2.10
Garrett Whitlock 2021-22 2.73
Tex Hughson 1941-42 2.87
*min. 150.0 IP

FOREVER AND DEVERS: Rafael Devers ranks T-3rd in MLB in HR (4), T-5th in total bases (28), and T-7th in XBH (7) and hard-hit balls (95+ MPH, 18). Devers and Adam Duvall are tied with Wander Franco, Aaron Judge, and Luis Robert Jr. for the AL lead in home runs (4; T-3rd in MLB).

MACHO MAN: Masataka Yoshida has hit from the 4th spot in the lineup in each of his 9 career games…He is the first player since Jack Hoey in 1906 to bat 4th for the Red Sox in each of his first 9 MLB games. Yoshida is 1 of 3 players since 1950 to bat 4th in each of their first 9 MLB games, joining Kris Bryant (2015 with CHC) and Pete Incaviglia (1986 with TEX).

SOX & RAYS: Tonight marks the 2nd 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 Red Sox are 7-13 vs. TB since the start of 2022, but lead the all-time series, 239-202.

ROAD TRIPPING: The Red Sox are 3-1 so far on their 7-game road trip to DET (3-0) and TB (0-1). The Red Sox are currently in a stretch of 19 games in 19 days, from 4/8-26 (3-1 so far). After the current series, the Red Sox will begin a 7-game homestand against LAA (4 games) and MIN (3 games).

TONIGHT’S STARTER: 72 GARRETT WHITLOCK – RHP
Was reinstated from the 15-day IL prior to tonight’s game.

Allowed 1 run in each of his 2 rehab starts, tossing 4.0 innings for Triple-A Worcester on 3/31 (6 R, BB, 6 SO) and 6.0 innings for Double-A Portland on 4/6 (H, BB, 8 SO). Made 31 appearances in 2022, including the first 9 starts of his MLB career…Among AL pitchers with at least 75.0 IP, ranked 8th in SO/BB ratio (5.47), 11th in WHIP (1.02), 15th in opponent AVG (.222), and 17th in opponent OPS (.639).

Limited LHH to a .192 AVG, .215 OBP, and .344 SLG (24-for-125, 3 HR) and RHH to a .244/.293/.405 line (41-for-168, 7 HR).

Underwent a successful right hip arthroscopy on 9/26/22, performed by Dr. Bryan Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:

WASH, RINSE, REPEAT — The Rays recorded their third consecutive shutout last night vs. Boston in a 1-0 victory, extending their win streak to 10 games…LHP Jalen Beeks started as an opener and tossed 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing a hit with no walks and two strikeouts…he was followed by LHP Josh Fleming, who threw 4.0 scoreless innings, scattering a hit with no walks and four strikeouts…2B Brandon Lowe broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning with a solo homer…has homered in three consecutive games for the first time since 7/31-8/4, 2020 (4G)…prior to Lowe’s homer, Red Sox relievers had not surrendered a home run across 42.0 innings to begin the season

The Rays became the first team to begin a season 10-0 since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers won 13 straight to begin the year…Tampa Bay joins Milwaukee as one of seven teams since 1901 to begin a season on a 10+ game win streak, joining the 1982 Atlanta Braves (13-0), 1981 Oakland Athletics (11-0), 1966 Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) (10-0), 1962 Pittsburgh Pirates (10-0) and 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers (10-0).

It marked the 21st time in franchise history Tampa Bay has shut out Boston and the first since a 1-0 win on 9/7/22.

10 AND COUNTING — The Rays 10-game win streak is the third-longest in franchise history, surpassing nine-game runs from 7/12-26, 2014 and 8/21-31, 2019…with a win tonight, the Rays would match the 2021 club’s 11-game streak from 5/13-24 for the second-best run in franchise history…Tampa Bay’s longest win streak in team history was 12 games from 6/9-22, 2004.

The Rays’ seven-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 eight straight at Tropicana Field from 8/20-9/3, 2022.

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.

BALANCED ATTACK — The Rays have yielded only 18 runs, the fewest through 10 games in club history, ahead of the 2019 squad (19 runs).

Since 1901, Tampa Bay is one of 13 teams to allow 18 runs or fewer through the first 10 games of the season, and the first since the 2004 Florida Marlins (18R).

Per Opta STATS, the Rays have not allowed more than one run in any of their 63.0 innings pitched at home…it is the most innings at home to start a season without allowing multiple runs since the 1919 Cincinnati Reds (71.0IP).

Tampa Bay’s 76 runs scored are its most ever through 10 games to start the year, ahead of the 2003 Rays (58 runs)…marks the most runs scored by an MLB team through 10 games since the 2019 Los Angeles Dodgers (86 runs).

BLAST OFF — The Rays have hit a major league-best 25 homers, ahead of Los Angeles-NL (21HR)…the 25 HR are tied for the second-most long balls through 10 games in MLB history, trailing only the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals (28HR)…the Rays have hit seven more home runs than their total number of runs allowed (18 runs).

The Rays would need four home runs tonight to match the current MLB mark for most homers through 11 games, also done by the 2000 Cardinals (29HR)… Tampa Bay has already registered a pair of 4+ homer games (4/4 at WSH, 4/7 vs. OAK) 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 90.0 innings, good for an MLB-best 0.40 HR/9.0IP…the four homers allowed are tied with the 1998 Rays for the fewest allowed through 10 games in franchise history…the fewest home runs allowed through the first 11 games of a season in franchise history is seven by the 2014 Rays.

Overall, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has produced an MLB-leading 1.70 ERA, including the best starter ERA (1.83) and second-best bullpen ERA 1.50) behind Milwaukee (0.77).

BOSOX IN THE BAY — The Rays play game two 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 42-25 (.627) 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 10 consecutive home games over the Red Sox since 4/23/22, outscoring the Red Sox, 44-23 (+21), in those games.

Last night’s win snapped a three-game losing skid to Boston dating back to 10/3/22.

TOO HOT TO HANDLE — Randy Arozarena owns an 11-game hit streak dating back to 10/5/22, the longest active stretch in the majors…during the run, he is batting .355 (15- for-41) with three doubles, 2 HR and 11 RBI.

The 11-game stretch is tied for the second-longest streak of his career (8/2-19, 2021) and one shy of his career-high 12-game hit streak (6/3-17, 2021).

Arozarena also extended his home hit streak to 12 games dating to 9/21/22, during which he is batting .404 (19-for-47) with 17 RBI.

After swiping his second bag of the year in last night’s win, Arozarena is one steal shy of matching Rocco Baldelli for the 10th most stolen bases in franchise history at 59.

THE LOWE DOWN — Brandon Lowe has homered in three consecutive games for the first time since 7/31-8/4, 2020 (4G)…the three-game homer streak is tied with Los Angeles-AL’s Hunter Renfroe for the longest active streak in the majors.

In 45 career games against Boston, Lowe is hitting .329 (48-for-146) with 14 HR and 33 RBI, his most home runs against any opponent in his career.

IN THE TRAINING ROOM — Prior to tonight’s game, RHP Zach Eflin was placed on the 15-day IL (retro 4/8) with lower back tightness…RHP Taj Bradley has been recalled from Triple-A Durham and will make his major league debut tomorrow night opposite LHP Chris Sale.

TONIGHT’S STARTER: LHP SHANE McCLANAHAN (2-0, 1.50)
SUGAR SHANE — The right-hander takes the ball this evening for his third start of the campaign, including his second at Tropicana Field…is searching for his third victory in as many starts, which would mark his most consecutive wins since 5/17-6/9, 2022 (5GS)…was originally selected by the Rays in the first round (31st overall) of the 2018 MLB Draft.

LAST START — McClanahan overcame four walks to toss 6.0 innings while yielding a pair of runs on 4/5 at Washington (6.0IP, 5H, 2ER, 4BB, 6SO)…permitted RBI hits in the second and fourth frames, but stranded five Nationals on the basepaths…worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth with a pair of strikeouts.

Ê His four walks in the outing tied a career high (2x, last: 9/20/22 vs.
Houston)…has earned the win in consecutive starts for the first
time since 6/26-7/2, 2022.

RED HOT AGAINST THE SOX — Has gone 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA (29.1IP, 8ER) over five career starts against Boston, including 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA (13.1IP, 3ER) in a pair of starts in 2022…his 2.45 career ERA against the Red Sox is tied with Baltimore for his lowest against any divisional opponent while his 6.20 SO/BB ratio (31SO, 5BB) is his best mark against any AL East foe.

Over his last three outings opposite Boston, Shane is 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA (18.1IP, 3ER), holding Red Sox batters to a .185/.197/.231 (12-for65) clip in that span.

McClanhan has yielded only one homer to a Red Sox hitter in 29.1 innings pitched (Hunter Renfroe, 8/1/21).

VS. AL EAST — McClanahan has thrived against divisional opponents in his career, pitching to an 11-6 mark with a 2.74 ERA (131.1IP, 40ER) in 24 starts against the AL East…his 2.06 ERA (65.2IP, 15ER) against the division in 2022 was second-best in the majors (min. 50.0IP vs. AL East), trailing only TOR Alek Manoah (1.90).

Has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 13 of his last 14 starts against division rivals dating back to 9/8/21, turning in a 6-2 record to go with a 1.95 ERA (73.2IP, 16ER) in those games.

ON TOP AT THE TROP—Went 9-5 with a 2.81 ERA (105.2IP, 33ER) in 18 home starts in 2022…his nine home victories were tied for third in the AL and tied for second in club history, trailing only Blake Snell (10) in 2018.

Since the beginning of 2022, McClanahan’s 2.66 ERA (111.2IP, 33ER) at Tropicana Field is the second-lowest home ERA in the AL, trailing only CWS Dylan Cease’s 2.32 ERA (min. 100.0IP).

FULL SPEED AHEAD — McClanahan’s four-seam fastball has clocked in at an average velocity of 97.4 mph this season, second-fastest among AL starting pitchers’ fastballs behind TEX Jacob deGrom (98.6 mph) and fourth-fastest among MLB starters (min. 50 FB thrown)…since breaking into the majors in 2021, his 96.6 mph average velocity on his fastball is eighth-fastest in MLB, including third among southpaws (min. 1,500 FB thrown) behind only José Alvarado (97.8 mph) and Gregory Soto (98.3 mph).

CHANGING IT UP — McClanahan threw his changeup on 25.4 pct. of his pitches last season compared to 8.0 percent in 2021…opponents hit just .145 (24-for-166) and produced only four extra-base hits (3 2B, 1 HR) against the offering…he posted a 44.6 whiff pct. on his changeup and 61 of his 194 strikeouts (31.4 pct.) came on the pitch.

Through his first two starts in 2023, McClanahan has thrown his changeup 20.4 pct. of the time, registering a 38.1 pct. whiff rate on the pitch.

OPENING DAY SHANE — McClanahan was named the Rays’ Opening Day starter by manager Kevin Cash on 3/24…McClanahan is the first Rays pitcher to make consecutive Opening Day starts since Chris Archer made four straight from 2015-2018 and is the sixth to do so in club history (also: David Price, 2013-2014; James Shields, 2008-2010; Scott Kazmir, 2006-2007; Wilson Álvarez, 1998-1999).

HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR — In 2022, McClanahan became the second pitcher in club history to start an All-Star Game, following David Price in 2010…McClanahan became the ninth Rays starting pitcher to make an All-Star Team, joining Charlie Morton (2019), Blake Snell (2018), Chris Archer (2015, 2017), David Price (2010-12, 2014), Matt Moore (2013), James Shields (2011), Scott Kazmir (2006, 2008) and Rolando Arrojo (1998).

MLB Preview: Oakland Athletics (2-8) at Baltimore Orioles (5-5)

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MLB Preview: Oakland Athletics (2-8) at Baltimore Orioles (5-5)

OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: Have lost five straight and eight of the last nine games after winning the opener…are 2-8 (.200) overall, which is the worst record in the majors behind the Tigers (2-7, .222)…it is the A’s worst record after 10 games since the 2001 club also started the year 2-8…with a loss tonight, the A’s would match the worst record after 11 games in Oakland history (1979, 1987, 1998, 2001)…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)…have a 4495-4182 (.518) record over the previous 55 seasons in Oakland…only four teams have won more games over that span (New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston, St. Louis)… 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…the A’s are 9210-9654 (.488) in their previous 122 seasons…that includes a 3886-4248 record from 1901-54 in Philadelphia and 829-1224 from 1955-67 in Kansas City.

OFFENSE: The A’s scored one run yesterday after being shut out in each of the previous two games…have been held to one run or fewer in five of the first 10 games and have been shutout three times, which is tied with the Brewers and Royals for the most in the majors…have scored just 28 runs overall, which is second fewest in the majors (Tigers, 27)…also have the second lowest batting average in the majors (.198) and the third lowest OPS (.595) on-base percentage (.270) and slugging percentage (.325)…are tied for the fourth most grounded into double plays (11) and tied for the fifth fewest home runs (8)…are a perfect 7-for-7 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 three games after surrendering five home runs on Friday…the streak of four consecutive games with three or more home runs is tied for second longest in Athletics history…the longest is a five-game streak from Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2021…have allowed 20 home runs for the season, which is the most in the majors…also have the highest ERA (7.36), opponents on-base percentage (.375), slugging percentage (.500) and OPS (.875) and the second highest batting average (.276)…have the second fewest strikeouts (69), the second most hit batters (9) and are tied for the third most walks (49) and wild pitches (7).

STARTING AND RELIEVING: The A’s ERA breaks down to 9.53 by the starting pitchers and 5.06 by the bullpen…the starters ERA is more than two earned runs higher than the next closest team (Tigers, 7.49)…the A’s are the only team without a win from their starting pitchers…the season-opening streak of 10 consecutive games without a win from a starter matches the longest such streak in Oakland history (1979, 1997)…starters have 45.1 innings pitched, which is tied with the Red Sox for second fewest in the majors (Tigers, 39.2)…the bullpen had the save on Opening Day but has none since then…the one save is tied with six other teams for the fewest in the majors.

HOME AND AWAY: The A’s 0-4 on their first road trip of the season, a seven-game trip to Tampa Bay (0-3) and Baltimore (0-1)…went 31-51 (.378) on the road in 2022, which was the third worst road record in the American League…return home following the game Thursday 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 2-3 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 .267 (46-for-172) with 23 runs at night, .119 (18-for151) with five runs during the day…have a 5.52 ERA (27 er in 44.0 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 10 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 tied for the sixth most one-run games in the majors…have a run differential of -49, which is the lowest in the majors (Tigers, -35)…are 2-4 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 39 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 18-9 (.667) against the Orioles over the last five years…that includes 10-3 in Oakland and 8-6 in Baltimore.

• The A’s are 1017-954 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.

TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zach Jackson struck out a career-high tying three batters last night for the second time this year and fourth time in his career…has nine strikeouts in4.2 innings and is tied for eighth among Major League relievers in strikeouts…Adam Oller leads ML relievers with 9.2 innings.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Kyle Muller (0-0, 2.53 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his third start of the season and the 14th of his career…was the A’s Opening Day starter and became the first rookie pitcher in Oakland history to make a start on Opening Day…prior to that, the last Athletic rookie to start an opener was Eddie Smith on April 19, 1937 for the Philadelphia A’s…Muller had just 11 career starts entering the opener and the only Opening Day starting pitchers in Oakland history with fewer career starts entering the game are Sonny Gray (2014), Carlos Reyes (1996) and Vida Blue (1971), who all had 10 career starts…at the age of 25 years and 174 days, Muller was the youngest Opening Day starting pitcher for the A’s since Sonny Gray in 2015 (25 years, 150 days)…was the A’s third different Opening Day starting pitcher in the last three years (Montas, Bassitt) and the fifth in the last six (Fiers, Graveman)…begins his third season in the majors and is on his first Opening Day roster…was acquired from Atlanta in the three-team, nine-player trade on Dec. 12, 2022 that sent Sean Murphy to the Braves.

FIRST START: He had a no decision in the A’s 2-1 win over Los Angeles (AL) on Opening Day, March 30 in Oakland…retired each of the first seven batters and blanked the Angels on two hits over the first four innings…allowed his only run in five innings of work when Urshela singled, advanced to second on a Kemp error and third on a wild pitch before scoring on an O’Hoppe single…the A’s scored twice in the eighth for the win. LAST START: He had a no decision in the A’s 6-4 loss to Cleveland in 10 innings last Wednesday in Oakland…matched his career high with 5.2 innings pitched…did not allow a run over the first five innings, scattering three hits and three walks…retired the first two batters in the sixth inning before hitting Gimenez and allowing a single to Straw…was relieved by Acevedo, who allowed both runners to score, giving the Guardians a 2-0 lead…Cleveland added two more in the seventh before the A’s tied the game with a four-run eighth inning to get him off the hook.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:

BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: The O’s defeated the A’s last night, 5-1, in the opener of the four-game set…Improved to 4-0 in series openers and 2-0 in series openers at Oriole Park…Snapped a two-game skid…Marked Baltimore’s first win of the year when their opponent scored first.

O’s batters clubbed three homers in a game for the second time this season (also 4/1 at BOS); the O’s are 1-1 when homering three times in a game this year after going 16-4 in games where they hit at least three homers in 2023.

O’s pitchers fanned double-digit hitters for the second game in a row, the first time the O’s have recorded back-to-back double-digit strikeout performances since August 2-3, 2022.

Cedric Mullins and manager Brandon Hyde were both ejected by home plate umpire Malachi Moore in the seventh inning; marked the first career ejection for Mullins and the 10th for Hyde (last: 8/7/22 vs. PIT).

WHAT’S NEXT: The O’s continue their season-opening, seven-game homestand with three more games against the A’s…Baltimore opened the homestand by winning the Home Opener, 7-6, on Friday against the Yankees before falling 4-1 on Saturday and 5-3 on Sunday.

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.

GRAYSON DAY: Grayson Rodriguez is slated to make his Oriole Park debut tonight against Oakland…The first 10,000 fans ages 15 and over will receive a Grayson Rodriguez Welcome to the Show T-Shirt…Rodriguez made his Major League debut on April 5 against the Rangers in Arlington…A Texas native, Rodriguez attended Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Texas, roughly 180 miles southeast of Arlington…Did not factor in the decision after allowing two runs on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts in 5.0 innings; struck out Ezequiel Durán swinging to end the second inning for his first career strikeout…Threw 83 pitches, 53 strikes…Became the first Oriole to make his Major League debut this season; 13 players (7 pitchers) made their debut for the O’s in 2022…Also became the first O’s pitcher to start his Major League debut since DL Hall on August 13, 2022, and the youngest O’s pitcher (23-140) to start his debut since Kevin Gausman (22-137) on May 23, 2013.

BIG TIME RUTSCH: Adley Rutschman has homered in back-to-back games (4/9-10) for the first time in his career and has hit safely in his last four games…His home run off JP Sears in the third inning of last night’s game marked his first long ball from the right side of the plate this season.  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.

NEED FOR SPEED: Baltimore’s 16 stolen bases rank third in MLB behind Cleveland (18 SB) and Arizona (17 SB)…Their 16 stolen bases through their first 10 games of the season are the most in O’s history (since 1954) and tied for the third-most by a team to begin a season since 2000 (see chart at right)…The O’s have only been caught stealing once for a 94.1 percent success rate…Jorge Mateo and Cedric Mullins are tied for second in MLB with five steals…They are the only pair of teammates in MLB with at least five steals apiece and their 10 combined stolen bases are more than 22 MLB teams have this season.

PEN PALS: O’s relievers have pitched to a 2.57 ERA (4 ER/14.0 IP) with 18 strikeouts to four walks in their first four games at Oriole Park after pitching to a 4.15 ERA (12 ER/26.0 IP) with 26 strikeouts to six walks in their season-opening six-game road trip…In 2022, O’s relievers owned a 3.26 ERA (122 ER/336.2 IP) with 313 strikeouts to 114 walks in 78 games at Camden Yards, compared to a 5.94 ERA (237 ER/359.0 IP) with 363 strikeouts to 155 walks in 81 games in Charm City in 2021.

MOUNT UP: Ryan 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.

RISING TIDE: O’s affiliates are 13-4 to start the season, the most collective wins and winning percentage (.765) among MLB organizations…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 – #30 GRAYSON RODRIGUEZ – RHP
QUICK HITS: Making his Oriole Park debut tonight against the A’s…The first 10,000 fans ages 15 and over will receive a Grayson Rodriguez Welcome to the Show T-Shirt…Had his contract selected to the 40-man roster on November 15, 2022…Originally selected by the Orioles in the first round (No. 11 overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Made his Major League debut on April 5 against the Rangers in Arlington…A Texas native, Rodriguez attended Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Texas, roughly 180 miles southeast of Arlington…Did not factor in the decision after allowing two runs on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts in 5.0 innings; struck out Ezequiel Durán swinging to end the second inning for his first career strikeout…Threw 83 pitches, 53 strikes…Became the first Oriole to make his Major League debut this season; 13 players (7 pitchers) made their debut for the O’s in 2022…Also became the first O’s pitcher to start his Major League debut since DL Hall on August 13, 2022, and the youngest O’s pitcher (23-140) to start his debut since Kevin Gausman (22-137) on May 23, 2013.

PROSPECTING: Currently ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 7 by Baseball America…He is ranked as the top Orioles prospect and the No. 2 pitching prospect by both outlets…At 23 years, 146 days old, he is currently the youngest pitcher on the O’s and the second-youngest player overall behind Gunnar Henderson at 21 years, 286 days.

SPRING TRAINING: Attended his second Major League Spring Training and made five starts with the O’s, going 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA (12 ER/15.1 IP) and 19 strikeouts. HIGH TIDE: Started Norfolk’s 2023 season opener on March 31 at Durham; did not factor in the decision after allowing three runs (2 ER) on four hits (1 HR) with four walks, two strikeouts, and a wild pitch in 4.0 innings…Threw 75 pitches, 48 strikes…Went 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA (17 ER/69.2 IP) and 97 strikeouts in 14 starts for the Tides in 2022…Named International League Pitcher of the Month for May 2022, going 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA (8 ER/32.0 IP) and 48 strikeouts in six starts… Left his start on June 1 vs. Jacksonville with a strained right lat muscle…At the time of his injury, he led the International League in starts (11), ERA (2.09), innings pitched (56.0), batting average against (.168), WHIP (0.84), and strikeouts (80).

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: Owned a 6-2 record with a 2.62 ERA (22 ER/75.2 IP) with 109 strikeouts in 17 starts between High-A Aberdeen, Double-A Bowie, and Norfolk…Started the season with Norfolk and made his Triple-A debut on April 8 vs. Charlotte, allowing just one hit with seven strikeouts to one walk in 4.0 shutout innings…Pitched to a 1.19 ERA (2 ER/15.1 IP) in his first three Triple-A starts…Spent time on the Injured List with a strained right lat muscle…Made three rehab starts, one with Aberdeen and two with Bowie, pitching to a 7.50 ERA (5 ER/6.0 IP) with 11 strikeouts and five walks…Reassigned to Norfolk on September 11 and made his next start on September 16 vs. Charlotte, allowing two hits with four strikeouts to one walk in 5.0 scoreless innings…Allowed just two home runs across three levels in 2022.

COLLECTING HARDWARE: Rodriguez was named the Orioles Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year in consecutive seasons (2019, 2021)…Orioles player development and scouting awards were not administered in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Season because of the COVID-19 pandemic… Named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year in 2021.

NHL Preview: Winnipeg Jets (45-32-3) at Minnesota Wild (46-24-10)

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NHL Preview: Winnipeg Jets (45-32-3) at Minnesota Wild (46-24-10)

WINNIPEG JETS NOTES:

Scene Setter
The Winnipeg Jets play their final two games of the 2022-23 regular season on the road, beginning Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild. The Jets beat the San Jose Sharks 6-2 on Monday night at Canada Life Centre to finish their five-game homestand 4-1-0. Winnipeg ends the regular season on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche.

Tale of the Tape
WPG Stat MIN
80 GP 80
45 W 46
32 L 24
3 OT 10
93 PTS 102
242 GF 242
220 GA 218
19.7% PP 21.5%
82.7% PK 81.6%

Next Two Games
Date Opp TV Radio
Apr. 11 At MIN TSN CJOB/Power 97
Apr. 13 At COL TSN CJOB/Power 97

Recent Five Games
Date Opp SC Res Streak
Mar. 31 DET 6-2 W 1W
Apr. 2 NJD 6-1 W 2W
Apr. 5 CGY 3-1 L 1L
Apr. 8 NSH 2-0 W 1W
Apr. 10 SJS 6-2 W 2W

Broadcast Information
TV: TSN
Play-By-Play: Dan Robertson
Analyst: Kevin Sawyer
Radio: 680 CJOB/Power 97
Play-By-Play: Paul Edmonds
Analyst: Jamie Thomas
Host: Kelly Moore

Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, April 11
Jets at Minnesota Wild 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 12
Day Off – No Media Availability
Thursday, April 13
Morning Skate 10:30 a.m.
Jets at Colorado Avalanche 6:30 p.m.
All Times Local

Last Game
Winnipeg Jets 6
San Jose Sharks 2
Jets Scorers: Dubois (27), Lowry (12), Connor (32), Appleton (4), Morrissey (16), Scheifele (41)
Sharks Scorers: Karlsson (24, 25)
Jets Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck (19 sv, 2 ga)
Sharks Goaltender: James Reimer (27 sv, 6 ga)
Jets PP: 2-for-2
Jets PK: 3-for-4
Recap: All the scoring happened in the first and third period in Winnipeg’s 6-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Monday night. Josh Morrissey led the Jets with a goal and two assists, while six other members of the Jets had two points. Adam Lowry, Mason Appleton, Mark Scheifele, and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist, while Dylan DeMelo and Nino Niederreiter had two assists. Saku Maenalanen had four hits, while Neal Pionk had three blocked shots.

Where They Stand
The Jets are in the second wild card position in the Western Conference, three points ahead of the Nashville Predators… Winnipeg’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is one.

Central Rivals
The Jets are 17-7-0 against their Central Division counterparts this season… Winnipeg has won 12 of their past 17 games against Central Division teams… Winnipeg went 14-6-6 against their Central Division rivals last season and have a winning record in each of the past five seasons in which the Jets have been in the Central Division… Josh Morrissey (6G, 21A) leads the Jets in scoring against their divisional foes this season with 27 points in 24 games, while Blake Wheeler (9G, 14A) has 23 points in 23 games.

Super Six
The Jets have scored six goals in a game three times in their past four games… Winnipeg has scored at least six goals in seven games this season after having eight six-goal games last season.

Back-2-Back
The Jets are playing their last of 13 back-to-back sets on their schedule this season, having gone 17-8-0 so far… Five of the wins have come in overtime… Winnipeg’s .708 points percentage in back-to-back games this season is fourth in the NHL… At 8-4-0, the Jets record on no days rest is the best they’ve had in a season since relocation… The best record in franchise history is 10-3-3 during the 2009-10 season… The Jets were 7-4-2 in the first game of a back-to-back last season and 5-5-2 in the second game for an overall record of 11-9-4.

Warming Up in Ap ril
The Jets are 6-3-0 in their past nine games, including 3-1-0 in the month of April… The Jets have scored 21 goals in their past five games after scoring 15 goals in their previous nine games… Josh Morrissey leads the Jets in scoring in April with six points (1G, 5A) in four games, while Nikolaj Ehlers has five points (2G, 3A).

Jets vs. MIN Records
Overall Record
GP W L OT
51 21 25 5

Home Record
GP W L OT
25 13 11 1

Away Record
GP W L OT
26 8 14 4

Jets vs. MIN Notes
Season Series
Tuesday’s game is the fourth of four meetings between the Jets and Wild this season… The Jets lost 6-1 to the Wild in St. Paul on Nov. 23, 4-1 in Winnipeg on Dec. 27 and 4-2 in Winnipeg on Mar. 8.

Recent History
The Jets are 4-4-2 in their past 10 games against Minnesota, including winning two of the past four meetings.

In Minnesota
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Winnipeg is 2-8-2 against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center… The Jets have dropped two of the past four games in Minnesota in overtime.

Player Notes
Blake Wheeler is averaging nearly a point per game against the Wild in his career with 40 points (14G, 26A) in 43 games. Five of Wheeler’s goals are game-winning goals… Mark Scheifele has 30 points (12G, 18A) in 36 career games against Minnesota. Six of his 12 goals have come on the power play… The only two players on Winnipeg’s roster with shootout attempts against Minnesota are Sam Gagner (2-for-5) and Blake Wheeler (1-for-3).

Jets vs. MIN Past 10 Games
Date Opp Res G GA S PPO PPG PIM SA PPOA PPGA PIMA
12/21/2019 @Min W 6 0 31 4 1 13 31 3 0 15
01/04/2020 @Min OTL 2 3 21 5 2 12 44 5 1 10
10/19/2021 @Min OTL 5 6 30 6 2 17 44 5 3 19
11/26/2021 @Min L 1 7 31 3 1 10 38 4 0 8
02/08/2022 Min W 2 0 29 4 1 17 27 1 0 23
02/16/2022 Min W 6 3 31 2 1 4 36 2 0 4
11/23/2022 @Min L 1 6 29 2 0 19 39 5 2 13
12/27/2022 Min L 1 4 32 2 0 4 28 1 1 6
03/08/2023 MIN L 2 4 48 3 0 2 23 1 1 6

MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:

SERIES NOTES
WINNIPEG JETS
All-Time Wild Record: 29-17-5 (17-6-3 at Xcel Energy Center, 12-11-2 at Winnipeg)

2022-23: Minnesota is 3-0-0 in the season series with Winnipeg… The Wild won the first game, 6-1, at Xcel Energy Center (11/23), the second game, 4-1, at Canada Life Centre (12/27) and the third game, 4-2, in Winnipeg (3/8)… LW Matt Boldy (1-3=4), LW Kirill Kaprizov (1-3=4), LW Marcus Foligno (1-3=4) and RW Mats Zuccarello (1-3=4) lead Minnesota with four points each in the series…G Filip Gustavsson started the first two meetings, going 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .957 SV%…G Marc-Andre Fleury started the third game, saving 46-of-48 shots faced, the second-highest single-game save total of his career…LW Kyle Connor leads the Jets with three points (1-2=3)…D Josh Morrissey has two points (0-2=2)…G Connor Hellebuck has started all three games for Winnipeg and is 0-3-0 with a 4.04 GAA and .864 SV%.

WILD LEADERS: D John Klingberg leads the Wild with 25 points (5-20=25) in 30 games against Winnipeg…LW Marcus Johansson has 22 points (5-17=22) in 31 contests…Zuccarello has 21 points (11-10=21) in 24 meetings…Foligno has 20 points (10-10=20) in 29 games.

WILD GOALIES: Fleury is 23-10-0 with a 2.57 GAA, a .911 SV% and one shutout in 33 career games (32 starts) against the Jets…Gustavsson is 4-0-0 with a 1.25 GAA and a .958 SV% in four starts.

JETS LEADERS: RW Blake Wheeler leads Winnipeg with 40 points (14- 26=40) in 43 games against Minnesota…C Mark Scheifele has 30 points (12-18=30) in 36 contests…C Sam Gagner owns 20 points (4-16=20) in 47 matches…Connor owns 19 points (7-12=19) in 20 games.

JETS GOALIES: Hellebuyck is 9-10-2 with a 2.85 GAA, a .909 SV% and three shutouts in 24 games (23 starts) against the Wild…G David Rittich is 3-0-1 with a 2.89 GAA and a .917 SV% in four starts.

FAST FACTS: Minnesota is 11-4-0 against Winnipeg since the start of the 2018-19 season…The Wild is 8-2-0 in the last 10 contests at Xcel Energy Center…Minnesota’s sweep of the Jets in 2018-19 (5-0-0) marked the third time in franchise history Minnesota swept a season series of more than four games: 5-0-0 vs. Chicago (2015-16) and 6-0-0 vs. Edmonton (2010-11)… The Wild fell, 4-1, in its first-ever postseason meeting against the Jets in the 2018 First Round

INJURIES
Joel Eriksson Ek: lower body
Mason Shaw: torn ACL, out for season
Oskar Sundqvist: lower body

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
4/9/23 Signed D Brock Faber to a three-year, entry-level contract
4/9/23 Recalled F Nic Petan and F Marco Rossi from Iowa

POSTSEASON PREVIEW
• The Minnesota Wild has clinched a postseason berth for the fourth straight season and 13th time in franchise history, including 10 of the last 11 seasons.

• Per NHL Stats, the Wild (2000-01) can become the first expansion franchise from the NHL, NBA, NFL or MLB to play its inaugural season in the 2000s or later and win a title. Only two clubs that have entered the NHL since the start of the 1990s have won a Stanley Cup: Tampa Bay (3) and Anaheim (1).

• Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is set to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 17th consecutive season, which would extend his NHL record
among goaltenders. Fleury would also tie Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy for the most total playoff years among goaltenders.

• LW Kirill Kaprizov has 11 points (9-2=11) in 13 career playoff games, including a franchise-record seven (7-0=7) against St. Louis in the 2022 First Round. Per NHL Stats, Kaprizov can become the 10th player since 1943-44 to score 10 playoff goals in 14 career playoff games or
fewer, and join Vladimir Tarasenko as the only players to do so in the past 32 years.

• D Jared Spurgeon (8-19—27 in 61 GP) is the franchise’s all-time leader for playoff goals, assists and points among defensemen, while D Jonas Brodin (2-14—16 in 61 GP) and D Matt Dumba (5-8—13 in 43 GP) also rank among the top five on each of those lists (outright or tied). Spurgeon needs three postseason assists to pass Zach Parise (16-21=37) for most in franchise history

FINDING THEIR GROOVE
• Since March 1, the Wild holds a 12-3-4 record and ranks fifth in the NHL in point percentage (.737) and is tied for seventh with 28 points.

• Since Feb. 11, Minnesota is third in the NHL with 44 points (19-4-6) and is tied for third in both point percentage (.759) and wins.

• The Wild recorded a franchise-record 14-game point streak (11-0-3) from Feb. 17 to March 15. The streak is tied for the third-longest in the NHL this season

• Since Feb. 11, the Wild owns a league-leading .933 team save percentage and has allowed 2.21 goals per game, the second-lowest mark in the league.

COOL UNDER PRESSURE
• Minnesota has 19 one-goal victories this season, tied for seventh-most in the NHL.

• Minnesota is 42-7-8 (.807) this season when obtaining a lead at any point in the game, the sixth-best point percentage in the NHL in such
situations.

• The Wild is 31-0-3 (.956) this season when leading through two periods, the third-best point percentage in the NHL.

• Minnesota is 15-1-10 (.769) this season in games that become tied with less than five minutes left in regulation, tied for the fourth-most victories and is the seventh-best point percentage in the NHL.

LOCK-DOWN DEFENSE
• Minnesota has conceded less than two goals in 27 games this season, second-most the NHL. The Wild holds a 24-1-2 record when allowing less than two goals.

• In 53 games since Dec. 10, the Wild has posted a 2.39 GA/Gm average, the second-best mark in the NHL during that span.

HOME SWEET HOME
• Dating back to Nov. 19th, Minnesota is 23-6-3 at home for a .766 point percentage, tied for the most wins and the third-best home point percentage in the NHL during that span.

• The team recorded a seven-game home win streak from Nov. 27 – Dec. 18, the fourth-longest home win streak in the NHL this season.

• In home games since Nov. 19, the Wild has allowed 2.16 goals per game and recorded a .926 save percentage, ranking second in the NHL in each category.

• Minnesota ranks tied for fifth in the NHL with a .675 home point percentage and tied for sixth with 25 home victories this season.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
• Minnesota recorded an 11-game road point streak (8-0-3) from 2/23 to 3/29, third-longest in franchise history and third-longest in the NHL this season.

• Since Feb. 23, the Wild is first in the NHL with a .931 road SV% and a 2.43 road GAA.

ON THE POWER PLAY
• The Wild has converted 26.4 percent (32 of 121) of power-play opportunities at home this season, sixth-best in the NHL.

PENALTY KILLERS
• Recorded a streak of 27 consecutive successful penalty kills across 14 total games from 2/6 to 3/2. Did not allow a power-play goal in 12 consecutive games from 2/8 – 2/28, the longest streak in the NHL this season, tied for the longest streak in franchise history and tied for the 13th-longest streak in the NHL’s Expansion Era (since 1967-68 season).

SHORT (HANDED) KINGS
• Minnesota ranks third in the NHL with 14 shorthanded goals (SHG) this season.

• The Wild scored its 14th SHG of the season at CHI (4/10), breaking the franchise’s previous single-season record set in the 2000-01 season.

• Minnesota has recorded two SHG in a single game twice in the last two weeks (3/29 at COL, 4/8 vs. STL) after doing so only three times previously in franchise history.

• The Wild scored two SHG in a 20-second span (11:17, 11:37 in the first period) vs. STL (4/8), marking the franchise’s first time scoring multiple shorthanded goals in a 20-second span.

NHL Preview: Chicago Blackhawks (25-49-6) at Pittsburgh Penguins (40-30-10)

NHL Editor
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0
NHL Preview: Chicago Blackhawks (25-49-6) at Pittsburgh Penguins (40-30-10)

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: NBCSCH+ – Chris Vosters (PxP), Patrick Sharp (analyst)
RADIO: WGN-AM 720 – John Wiedeman (PxP) and Troy Murray (analyst)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 13 vs. PHI, 7:30 p.m. CT (NBCSCH, WGN Radio, Univision (Spanish))
End of Season

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
April 10 – Recalled Buddy Robinson from Rockford and assigned Lukas Reichel and Alex Vlasic to Rockford … April 3 – Signed Gavin Hayes to three-year, entry-level contract … April 1 – Activated Jonathan Toews from IR

LAST TIME OUT
Score: Chicago (2) vs. Minnesota (4) – Mon., April 10 – United Center
CHI Goals: Anderson (6), Bjork (1)
MIN Goals: Boldy (31), Johansson (18), Johannsson (19), Nyquist (11)
Goalies: CHI – Stalock (18/21, 58:12) MIN – Gustavsson (39/41, 60:00)
CHI PP: 0/3; PK: 2/2
MIN PP: 0/2; PK: 3/3
Recap: Chicago fell to the Wild, 4-2, on Monday night at United Center … Joey Anderson lit the lamp for his sixth goal of the season and the fourth as a member of the Blackhawks … Anders Bjork also scored a goal in the game for his first in a Blackhawks sweater … Bjork now has points in back-to-back games (1G, 1A) … Andreas Athanasiou notched an assist on Monday night and now has helpers in back-to-back games (3A), while he’s tallied points (4G, 4A) in five of his last six games … Buddy Robinson tallied an assist for his first point with the Blackhawks and Boris Katchouk also earned an assist against Minnesota.

TONIGHT’S OPPONENT – PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
The Blackhawks travel to Pittsburgh to face off against the Penguins on Tuesday night in the second and \final matchup between the two teams this season … Chicago is 0-1-0 against the Penguins so far in 2022-23 after falling, 5-3, in the first meeting on Nov. 20 at United Center … Jujhar Khaira lit the lamp for the Blackhawks in the Nov. 20 contest and has scored goals in back-to-back games (2G) against Pittsburgh, accounting for all of his points in eight career games against Pittsburgh … Jonathan Toews registered an assist in the first game against the Penguins … Toews enters Tuesday’s matchup having logged helpers in each of his last two games (2A) against Pittsburgh, while he’s earned 10 points (2G, 8A) over his last nine games against them … The captain has also tallied points (2G, 3A) in four of his last six trips to PPG Paints Arena … Jason Dickinson also posted an assist in the first game against the Penguins this season, marking his first career point in nine career games against them … Petr Mrazek owns a 4-3-0 record with a 2.28 goals against average and a .918 save percentage in seven career appearances against Pittsburgh … Alex Stalock has appeared in four career games against the Penguins, posting a 0-0-1 record with a 2.60 GAA and a .908 SV%.

2022-23 Schedule/Results: HOME: Nov. 20 (3-5) | AWAY: April 11
All-Time Record: 77-44-20 | Home: 48-12-11 | Road: 29-32-9
Last Home Win: Nov. 9, 2021 (3-2 SO) | Last Road Win: Jan. 6, 2019 (5-3) | Last Home Loss: Nov. 20,
2022 (3-5) Last Road Loss: Oct. 16, 2021 (2-5)

ACTIVE BLACKHAWKS VS. PIT ALL-TIME
GOALS: Jonathan Toews, 9; Tyler Johnson, 6; Andreas Athanasiou/Colin Blackwell, 3
ASSISTS: Jonathan Toews/Tyler Johnson, 11; Seth Jones, 8; Andreas Athanasiou, 3
POINTS: Jonathan Toews, 20; Tyler Johnson, 17; Seth Jones, 9

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:

LAST 2 GAMES
Apr. 8: Pittsburgh 5, Detroit 1 – Little Caesars Arena
PIT Goals: Crosby (2), Nylander, Heinen, Malkin
Multiple Points: Crosby (2G-1A)
Goalie: Jarry (19 saves, 20 shots)
Key Stats: Sidney Crosby became the 15th player in NHL history to record 1,500 points.
PP: 1-4
PK: 3-3

Apr. 6: Pittsburgh 4, Minnesota 1 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Letang, Rakell (PP), Zucker, Carter
Multiple Points: Letang (1G-1A), Rakell (1G-1A), Dumoulin (2A),
Guentzel (2A)
Goalie: Jarry (27 saves, 28 shots)
Key Stats: Jake Guentzel hit the 70-point plateau for the third time in his career.
PP: 1-4
PK: 4-5

INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
F Nick Bonino Kidney 16 16
D Dmitry Kulikov Lower-Body 14 14
D Marcus Pettersson Undisclosed 11 13
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 209

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Date Transaction
Apr. 9 F Alex Nylander re-assigned to WBS (AHL).
Apr. 7 F Alex Nylander recalled from WBS (AHL).
Apr. 6 F Alex Nylander re-assigned to WBS (AHL).
Apr. 6 F Alex Nylander recalled from WBS (AHL).

Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. Blackhawks: 46-71-23
In Pittsburgh: 34-26-10
In Chicago: 13-45-13
OT Record vs. Blackhawks: 3-2-10
Shootout Record vs. Blackhawks: 2-4

2022-23 Results: Pittsburgh went 1-0-0.
Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. BLACKHAWKS:
Mario Lemieux: 27 GP, 62 PTS (25G-37A)
Jean Pronovost: 49 GP, 31 PTS (16G-15A)
Rick Kehoe: 35 GP, 26 PTS (11G-15A

TONIGHT’S GAME

  • The Penguins return to Pittsburgh for their final home game of the season as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks at PPG Paints Arena (TV: AT&T Sportsnet; Radio: 105.9 The X).
  • The Penguins enter tonight’s game with points in four-straight games versus the Blackhawks (3-0-1). A win tonight would give them their first five-game point streak against the club since Feb. 14, 2007-Dec. 20, 2011 (3-0-2).
  • Pittsburgh has wins in each of its last two home games versus Chicago. Going back further, the Penguins are 8-3-3 in their last 14 home games against the Blackhawks.

NHL Preview: Washington Capitals (35-36-9) at Boston Bruins (63-12-5)

NHL Editor
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0
NHL Preview: Washington Capitals (35-36-9) at Boston Bruins (63-12-5)

WASHINGTON CAPITALS NOTES:

LAST GAME
Washington 5, New York Islanders 2
April 10, 2023 * Capital One Arena * Washington, DC
Shots: WSH: 25; NYI: 40
Power Plays: WSH: 0/0; NYI: 0/3
Three Stars: 1. Kuemper (WSH), 2. Smith (WSH), 3. Strome (WSH)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Recalled forward Joe Snively from AHL Hershey, 4/10
Recalled forward Beck Malenstyn from AHL Hershey, 4/7
Signed goaltender Mitchell Gibson to a one-year NHL entry-level contract, 4/7
Re-assigned forward Ludwig Persson from BIK Karlskoga (Sweden-2) to the AHL Hershey, 4/7
Signed goaltender Mitchell Gibson to an amateur tryout agreement (ATO), 4/2

INJURIES/ILLNESSES
Carl Hagelin: 10/12/22-4/10/23 (80 games)
Connor Brown: 10/20/22-4/10/23 (76 games)
T.J. Oshie: 10/31/22-11/19/22, 12/19/22-12/31/22, 4/2/23-4/10/23 (21 games)
Trevor van Riemsdyk: 4/2/23-4/10/23 (4 games)
Anthony Mantha: 2/12/23, 2/23/23-2/26/23, 4/6/23-4/10/23 (7 games)
Alex Ovechkin: 1/21/23, 3/14/23, 4/8/23-4/10/23 (4 games)
Nic Dowd: 12/17/22, 1/17/23-2/18/23, 4/10/23 (14 games)
Marcus Johansson: 2/25/23-2/26/23 (2 games)
Tom Wilson: 10/12/22-1/6/23, 1/26/23-2/16/23 (49 games)
Nicklas Backstrom: 10/12/22-1/6/23, 1/24/22 (43 games)
Dmitry Orlov: 11/7/22-12/9/22 (16 games)
Washington Capitals: Media Notes
Erik Gustafsson: 12/11/22 (1 game)
Lars Eller: 12/13/22 (1 game)
Hunter Shepard: 12/17/22 (1 game)
Alex Alexeyev: 12/11/22-12/19/22 (5 games)
Beck Malenstyn: 11/3/22-12/27/22 (26 games)
Martin Fehervary: 12/5/22-12/29/22, 3/4/23-3/9/23 (15 games)
Nick Jensen: 3/4/23-3/9/23, 3/19/23 (5 games)
John Carlson: 10/31/22-11/9/22, 12/27/22-3/21/23 (42 games)
Sonny Milano: 12/15/22, 3/14/23-3/15/23, 3/25/23-3/30/23 (6 games)
Darcy Kuemper: 12/5/22-12/17/22, 3/19/23-3/21/23 (9 games)
Man Games Lost: 427

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
April 13, 7 p.m. ET vs. New Jersey (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)

TONIGHT’S GAME
The Capitals visit the Boston Bruins on Tuesday for the third and final meeting between the teams this season. The Capitals (1-1-0) and Bruins (1-1-0) split the first two games of the season series, with the visiting team winning each time. Washington fell to Boston 5-2 in the season opener on Oct. 12 at Capital One Arena, while the Capitals defeated the Bruins 2-1 at TD Garden on Feb. 11. Tuesday’s contest marks Washington’s final road game of the 2022-23 season. The Capitals have a record of 22-9-0 in their last 31 games versus the Bruins and are 11-4-0 in their last 15 games at TD Garden, dating back to the 2014-15 season.

AWAY vs. BOSTON BRUINS
Record Goals For Goals Against Streak
33-42-9-4 236 290 1 WSH win (2/11/23)

CAPITALS vs. BRUINS ALL-TIME (Career Totals)
Games Goals Assists Points
Ovechkin (64) Ovechkin (28) Backstrom (42) Ovechkin (57)
Backstrom (51) Oshie (13) Ovechkin (29) Backstrom (53)
Carlson (40) Backstrom (11) Kuznetsov (17) Carlson (24)

TOP CAPS FACTS
About Last Night

  • The Capitals snapped their six-game winless streak (0-5-1) with a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Monday.
  • The Capitals won the season series with New York, going 3-0-1 against the Islanders and outscoring them 15-7 over four games.
  • Washington was not awarded a power-play opportunity for the second time in their last six games, both of which came against the Islanders (also March 29 vs. NYI).

BOSTON BRUINS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME

  • The Bruins host the Capitals tonight in the 3rd and final game between these teams this season and the 2nd of 2 games at TD Garden.
  • They are 63-12-5 overall this season and they are 33-4-3… The Bruins are 38-7-3 vs Eastern Conference opponents.
  • They have set the highest win total in NHL history with 63 victories … Boston’s win total at the 64-game mark were the fastest 50 wins in NHL history and they set the team’s all-time wins mark at 59 and points mark at 123.
  • The Bruins will close out their regular season vs. Washington on 4/11 and in Montreal on 4/13.

RECENT GAMES:

  • The Bruins have won their last 6 games w/a 2-1 OT win on 3/30 vs Columbus, a 4-3 win in Pittsburgh on 4/1, 4-3 SO win in St. Louis on 4/2, 2-1/OT vs Toronto on 4/6, 2-1 win vs New Jersey on 4/8 and 5-3 win in Philadelphia on 4/11 … They are 13-1-0 in their last 14 games and are 24-4-0 in their last 28 games.
  • The Bruins are 7-1-0 in their last 8 home games.
  • The Bruins have won their last 7 road games.
  • Boston 2 vs Toronto 1/OT … Charlie Coyle had 1-1=2 totals and David Pastrnak earned his 4th OT win of the season … Jeremy Swayman extended his win streak to 6 gms … SOG: Bos 33, Tor 32 … PP: 0/4 … PK: 0/3
  • Boston 2 vs New Jersey 1 …Pavel Zacha scored twice in the game’s 1st 4:44 of play and Linus Ullmark made 30 saves for his 39th win of the season … SOG: Bos 40, NJ 30 … PP: 1/1 … PK: 0/3
  • Boston 5 at Philadelphia 3 … David Pastrnak’s 15th career hat trick (3-1=4 totals), Tyler Bertuzzi’s 3A and Pavel Zacha (1-1=2 totals) had multi-point games and Charlie Coyle had a single tally … Jeremy Swayman tied his career season-high with his 23rd win in the season … SOG: Bos 34, Phi 37 … PP: 0/1 … PK: 0/4

INJURIES (Total man-games lost in 2022-23: 145)

  • David Krejci: Undisclosed
  • Derek Forbort: Lower body (LTIR)
  • Nick Foligno: Lower body (LTIR)

BOSTON vs WASHINGTON, LIFETIME SERIES

  • The Bruins and Capitals are meeting for the 177th time in their histories with the Bruins having a 85-56-21-14 record and a 568-499 scoring edge in those games.
  • They are 46-27-9-6 lifetime vs. Washington with a 290-239 scoring advantage in those 88 home contests

FUN FACTS

  • The Bruins currently have 25 players on their roster (2 LTIR) … 12 were drafted by the team, 7 were acquired in trade and 6 were signed as free agents.
  • The Bruins played 16 matinees this season (local start time 4:00 pm or earlier) … They had a 13-2-1 record in afternoon games.
  • The Bruins played 14 sets of back-to-back games this season … They were 12-0-2 in the 1st game of those sets and were 11-3-0 in the 2nd games so far.
  • The Bruins are playing their 6th of a 7-game April schedule today (3 hm/4 rd, 5-0-0) … They went 8-1-0 in October, 11- 2-0 in November, 9-1-4 in December, 10-3-1 in January, 9-1-0 in February and 11-4-0 in March.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Apr. 8: Oskar Steen returned to Providence/AHL.
Apr. 9: Oskar Steen, Jack Ahcan, Vinni Lettieri, Connor Carrick, and Brand Bussi recalled from Providence/AHL.
Apr. 10: Oskar Steen, Jack Ahcan, Vinni Lettieri, Connor Carrick, and Brand Bussi returned to Providence/AHL.

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