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NHL Preview: Philadelphia Flyers (29-35-13) at Dallas Stars (42-21-14)

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NHL Preview: Philadelphia Flyers (29-35-13) at Dallas Stars (42-21-14)

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME
Philadelphia Flyers at Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center
TV: NBCSP | Radio: 93.3 WMMR

CURRENT INJURIES
PLAYER INJURY DATES GAMES MISSED
Cam Atkinson IR-upper body 9/25-present 77
Sean Couturier IR-back 9/19-present 77
Ryan Ellis LTIR-groin/hip/back 10/11-present 77
Carter Hart lower body 3/28-present 5
2022-23 TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 401

FLYERS VS. STARS HEAD-TO-HEAD
FLYERS STARS
76-48-33 ALL-TIME RECORD 49-73-35
49-15-16 HOME 34-25-18
27-33-17 ROAD 15-48-17
0-5-0 LAST 5 MEETINGS 5-0-0
3-6-1 LAST 10 MEETINGS 7-2-1
524 GOALS SCORED 437
37.5% POWER PLAY 29.1%
70.9% PENALTY KILL 62.5%
2022-23 SEASON SERIES (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
November 13 Wells Fargo Center DAL (5), PHI (1)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
4/5 – Loaned G Samuel Ersson to Lehigh Valley (AHL)
4/3 – Recalled D Ronnie Attard from Lehigh Valley (AHL)
4/1 – Recalled G Samuel Ersson from Lehigh Valley (AHL) on emergency conditions; Activated F Travis Konecny from Injured Reserve

TEAM NOTES
QUICK STATS

  • Philadelphia is 5-3-2 in their last 10 games, including a season-high seven-game point streak (5-0-2) from March 17-30.
  • The Flyers notched two season-high four-game win streaks: March 21-28 & Dec. 29-Jan. 5.
  • Philadelphia has six players with 40-plus points this season, the first campaign of five-plus players with 40-plus points since 2019-20 (6).
  • The Flyers rank third in the NHL with 1,323 blocked shots and fourth with 2,116 hits.
  • Philadelphia has reached 2,000-plus hits in a season for the sixth time in franchise history and for the first since 2016- 17. The franchise record is 2,511 hits set in 2014-15.
  • The Flyers tallied 40 hits Feb. 11 vs. NSH for their sixth game of 40-plus hits this season. The six games of 40-plus hits are the most in a single season since recording 13 games during the 2014-15 season.
  • Philadelphia recorded a franchise-best 59 hits Nov. 12 vs. OTT. The 59 hits are tied for the ninth-most in a regular season game in NHL history.
  • The Flyers have set a franchise record in blocked shots this season, surpassing their 1,317 set during the 2010-11 campaign.
  • Philadelphia registered 30 blocked shots Feb. 12 at CGY for its fifth game of the season with 30-plus blocked shots

– the most 30-plus blocked shot games in a Flyers season since 2005-06. The Flyers tallied a season-high 32 blocked shots Oct. 27 vs. FLA.

UPCOMING MILESTONES
Justin Braun – 199 career points
Tony DeAngelo – 198 career points
Nick Deslauriers – 97 career points
Carter Hart – 198 career games
Scott Laughton – 198 career points
James van Riemsdyk – 299 career goals

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
4/5 – Loaned G Samuel Ersson to Lehigh Valley (AHL)
4/3 – Recalled D Ronnie Attard from Lehigh Valley (AHL)
4/1 – Recalled G Samuel Ersson from Lehigh Valley (AHL) on emergency conditions; Activated F Travis Konecny from Injured Reserve

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

  • The Flyers continue their four-game road trip Thursday – tied for the longest road trip of the season.
  • Philadelphia will play three of its final five regular season games on the road, April 6-13.
  • The Flyers are 8-10-2 in their last 20 road games, including a season-high five-game road win streak, Dec. 29-Jan. 14.
  • The Flyers have scored three-plus goals in 12 of their last 25 road games. Philadelphia is 9-3-5 on the road this season when scoring three-plus goals.

DALLAS STARS NOTES:

LAST DALLAS STARS GAME
April 3, 2023 – STARS 5 vs. PREDATORS 1
The Stars punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 5-1 victory over the Nashville Predators at American Airlines Center
on April 3. Led by Jason Robertson’s four-point night (1-3—4), the Stars swept the four-game season series between them and the
Predators, outscoring Nashville 17-5. With a goal in the first period, Roope Hintz (35-35—70) became the fourth Stars player to reach
the 70-point mark this season (also Robertson, Jamie Benn & Joe Pavelski). Pavelski’s multi-point game (1-1—2) gave him 996
career points (446-550—996) in 1,245 GP, Tyler Seguin reached the 20-goal mark on the season with a tally in the third period and
defenseman Miro Heiskanen (11-57—68) moved past John Klingberg (67 in 2017-18) for the fifth most points in a season by a
blueliner in franchise history with a two-assist performance. After missing 14 games due to injury, goaltender Scott Wedgewood made
26 saves on 27 shots for his eighth victory of the season (8-8-3).
PP: 2-4 | PK: 2-2 | SF: 26 | SA: 27 | DAL TOI: E. Lindell (22:26 – game high) | Attendance: 18,056
Three Stars: 1. DAL – J. Robertson 2. DAL – S. Wedgewood 3. DAL – C. Miller

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time (CT) Location TV/Radio
Thu, April 6, 2023 Philadelphia Flyers 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Center BSSW/KTCK
Sat, April 8, 2023 Vegas Golden Knights 2:30 p.m. American Airlines Center ABC/KTCK
Mon, April 10, 2023 Detroit Red Wings 6 p.m. Little Caesars Arena BSSWX/KTCK
Wed, April 12, 2023 St. Louis Blues 6:30 p.m. Enterprise Center TNT/KTCK
Thu, April 13, 2023 St. Louis Blues 7 p.m. American Airlines Center ESPN/KTCK

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
April 2 – Recalled goaltender Scott Wedgewood from Texas (AHL) and loaned goaltender Matt Murray to Texas (AHL)
April 3 – Recalled defenseman Thomas Harley from Texas (AHL)

INJURIES
Man-games lost, 2022-23: 74
NAME INJURY GAMES

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

DALLAS STARS NOTES
X GON’ GIVE IT TO YA

  • The Stars clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight year, 18th time since relocating to Dallas in 1993-94 and 35th time in franchise history with a victory over Nashville on April 3. Dallas became the 10th team to clinch a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
  • Dallas is in a three-way battle for the top spot in the Central Division, with all three clubs gridlocked at 98 points (Colorado – 1st place, 76 GP), Dallas (2nd place – 77 GP) and Minnesota (3rd place – 77 GP).

TONIGHT’S GAME: Dallas’ three-game homestand rolls along as the club hosts the Philadelphia Flyers at American Airlines Center (7:30 p.m. CT, TV: Bally Sports Southwest, Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM). Only three home games remain for the Stars, who punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win on Monday against Nashville. Following tonight’s contest, the Stars will host Vegas on Saturday before traveling to Detroit and St. Louis for games April 10 and 12. The Stars will close out the 2022-23 regular season on Thursday, April 13 against the Blues at American Airlines Center.

GOT A LOT TO TALK ABOUT IF YOU STILL WANNA LISTEN

  • The Stars are 1-0-0 vs. the Flyers this season, winning 5-1 at Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 13, 2022.
  • Dallas is 49-73-35 all-time vs. Philadelphia, including a 34-25-18 mark at home.
  • Forward Joe Pavelski (1-2—3) and defenseman Esa Lindell (1-2—3) earned three points apiece in the club’s 5-1 victory in November. Lindell’s three-point effort tied his career high for points in a game, while Pavelski’s goal placed him in a tie with Bill Guerin (429) for eighth place all-time in goals among American-born skaters.
  • Pavelski leads active Stars in goals (15) and ranks second in points (15-8—23) in 22 career games vs. Philadelphia. Pavelski also paces the club in power-play goals (8) and shares second in game winners (2).
  • Lindell enters tonight’s contest with three goals and four assists (3-4—7) in 10 career games vs. Philadelphia.
  • Forward Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist in the first game between the Stars and Flyers. Robertson has four points (1-3—4) in three career games vs. Philadelphia.
  • Among active Stars, forward Tyler Seguin ranks first in assists (20) and points (10-20—30) and second in goals (10) in a team-high 26 career games vs. Philadelphia.
  • Captain Jamie Benn enters tonight’s game with six goals and 14 points (6-8—14) in 20 career contests against the Flyers.
  • Forward Evgenii Dadonov has 11 points (7-4—11) in 15 career games against Philadelphia.
  • Forward Roope Hintz is averaging better than a point a game vs. the Flyers in his career with seven points (3-4—7) in six games.
  • Forward Max Domi has two goals and nine points (2-7—9) in 14 career games against Philly.
  • Defenseman Ryan Suter has 11 points (2-9—11) in 23 career games vs. the Flyers.
  • Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .970 save percentage in two career appearances vs. Philadelphia.
  • Netminder Scott Wedgewood is 1-3-0 with a 3.52 GAA and .872 SV% in four career appearances against the Flyers.

NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators (37-34-7) at Florida Panthers (40-31-7)

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NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators (37-34-7) at Florida Panthers (40-31-7)

OTTAWA SENATORS NOTES:

LAST GAME: April 4, 3-2 OT loss at Carolina: The Senators lost their second consecutive overtime contest as Necas fired home the game-winning goal to send Carolina to a 3-2 victory at PNC Arena. The win was the Hurricanes’ 50th of the season to mark the third time in franchise history the team reached the mark. The home side emerged with a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes following goals from Kotkaniemi and Skjei (whose 18th of the season equaled the club record for goals from a defenceman). Ottawa battled back with Giroux finding the back of the net in the second period to become the third Ottawa skater to reach the 30-goal plateau in their first season with the club and Tkachuk registering his team-leading 15th road goal of the season at 2:52 of the third period to send the game into the extra session. Meriläinen took the loss for Ottawa in making 34 saves while skating in his NHL debut in goal to become the seventh goaltender to start a game for the team this year. Raanta earned the win for Carolina with 26 saves. Scratches: Gambrell, Gauthier; Injuries: Brassard, Chabot, Chychrun, Forsberg, Hamonic, Joseph, Kelly, Norris, Sogaard*; Shots: OTT – 28, CAR – 37; PP: OTT – 1-4, CAR – 1-5.

BROADCAST INFORMATION: This evening’s game against Florida will be broadcast regionally on TSN5 and RDS2. On the radio, the game will be available locally via TSN 1200 (English) and 94,5 Unique-FM (French).

WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa begins a two-game homestand against Tampa Bay on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the third of three regular-season meetings and the second of two matchups at Canadian Tire Centre.

INJURY REPORT: G Forsberg and C Norris are on IR and will not oppose the Panthers this evening. F Kelly has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury. D Chychrun has missed the last six games with a lower body injury. D Chabot has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury. F Brassard and D Hamonic have missed the last three games with lower-body injuries. Total mangames lost: 298.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Recalled F Sokolov from Belleville (AHL) on April 4.

OTTAWA vs. FLORIDA – History:
2022-23 (1-1-0): Oct. 29 @ Florida (5-3 loss), March 27 @ Ottawa (5-2 win), April 6 @ Florida
2021-22 (1-2-1): 12/14/21 @ Florida (8-2 win), 3/3/22 @ Florida (3-0 loss), 3/26/22 @ Ottawa (4-3 SO loss), 4/28/22 @ Ottawa (4-0 loss)
Series record: Overall: 57-43-3-5; Home: 27-21-2-3; Away: 30-22-1-2
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: March 27 (5-2); @ Florida: 12/14/21 (8-2)
Last Florida win: @ Ottawa: 4/28/22 (4-0); @ Florida: Oct. 29 (5-3)
Last OT result: 3/29/18 (3-2 OT win) @ Ottawa
Last shootout: 3/26/22 (4-3 SO loss) @ Ottawa
Most goals, game: Scored: 8, (12/14/21, 8-2 win); Allowed: 7, (2x, Last: 11/19/18, 7-5 loss); Both teams: 12, (11/19/18, 7-5 loss)
Last Game: March 27, 5-2 win @ Ottawa; OTT Goals: Tkachuk, Brassard, DeBrincat, Stützle, Pinto; FLA Goals: Forsling (x2); OTT Scratches: Gauthier, Kleven; OTT Injuries: Chychrun, Forsberg, Greig, Joseph, Kelly, Norris, Talbot; OTT Goalie: Sogaard; FLA Goalie: Bobrovsky; OTT PP: 3-4; FLA PP: 0-4; Shots: 27-34.

Career vs. Florida: Giroux leads all players in career games played (44), in goals (11), in assists (19) and in points (30); Hamonic
leads in penalty minutes (44) against Florida.

ROAD SCHOLARS: The Senators have a record of 15-20-4 on the road this season … Brady Tkachuk leads with 15 goals on the road this season while also ranking first with 20 assists while the Senators serve as visitors … Through 39 road games this season, Tkachuk maintains the club lead with 35 points … The Senators registered an 18-20-3 record over 41 road contests in 2021-22.

ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 70 for 287 (24.4%) on the power-play in 2022-23 … Drake Batherson leads with 14 power play goals while Alex DeBrincat and Tkachuk maintain the club lead with 29 points while the team enjoys a man advantage … Ottawa has recorded multiple power-play goals 18 times in an individual contest in 2022-23 after having done so 11 times in 2021-22.

ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 225 of the 276 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2022-23 to maintain an efficiency of 81.5% through 78 regular-season games … The team has registered nine (Stützle x3, Watson x3, Joseph x2, Motte) shorthanded markers this season after recording nine such goals in 2021-22.

FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:

BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT

  • F Patric Hornqvist | Games Missed: 53
  • F Sam Bennett | Games Missed: 8
  • G Sergei Bobrovsky | Games Missed: 4
    Total Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 230
    LAST GAME
    Panthers 2, Sabres 1 – April 4 – FLA Live Arena
    FLA Goals: Ekblad (13-PPG), Tkachuk (39)
    BUF Goals: Cozens (29-PPG)
    FLA Goalie: Lyon (W) – 39 Saves
    BUF Goalie: Levi (L) – 34 Saves
    FLA Shots: 36
    BUF Shots: 40
    Notes: Alex Lyon won his fourth consecutive game…Lyon has surrendered just one even-strength goal over his past three starts…Brandon Montour notched two assists, matching Keith Yandle’s (53 in 2018-19) single-season franchise assists record by a defenseman…Montour extended his assist/point streak to four games (1-5-6)…Matthew Tkachuk scored his fifth game-winning goal of the season, tied for the team lead…Aaron Ekblad scored his seventh power-play goal of the season, extending his point streak to five games (1-4-5)…Aleksander Barkov (0-1-1) notched an assist for the fourth consecutive game (0-6-6)…Sam Reinhart won 11 of his 13 faceoffs (85%)…The Panthers extended their win streak to a season-long four games…FLA PP: 1-4, FLA PK: 4-5
  • RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
  • April 3: F Ryan McAllister agreed to terms on a 3-year, entry-level contract beginning in 2023-24
  • March 29: G Mack Guzda recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
    PANTHERS vs. SENATORS
    ALL-TIME vs. OTT: 48-52-3-5
    ALL-TIME HOME vs. OTT: 24-29-1-1
    2022-23 vs. OTT: 1-1-0
    CATS STATS
  • The Panthers own the fourth-best power play since March 4, converting on 26.9% of their power plays over that span.
  • The Cats have tallied a power-play goal in six of their past seven home games, posting a 30.8% PP success rate since March 10.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers will play three of their remaining four regular season games at FLA Live Arena where they have earned at least one point in seven of their past nine games (6-2-1) since March 4. Florida has averaged 3.71 goals per game on home ice this season, a mark that ranks third among NHL teams and currently stands as the second-best goals-per-game average at home in franchise history. Matthew Tkachuk’s 57 points (20-37-57) at home rank fourth among NHL skaters, his 39 even-strength points at home are tied for the
league lead and his plus-23 home rating sits third. The Cats lead all teams with 39.0 shots on goal per game average at home.

SEASON OF SCORING
The Panthers 272 goals scored this season are the club’s second-most in one season in franchise history, in addition to a goals per game average of 3.49 that also sits second in the franchise rankings. The Cats’ 22.5% power-play success rate this season is the thirdbest mark in club history and their 36.8 shots on goal per game average rank second.

BOOMIN’ BLUELINE
Aaron Ekblad’s goal April 4 vs. BUF represented the 49th goal scored by a Panthers defenseman this season, the second-most among NHL teams this season behind Carolina (53). Additionally, Ekblad became the third Cats blueliner to reach 35 points this season, marking the second consecutive season the Panthers have had three d-men post as many points in a season. The club record of four was achieved in 2021-22. Prior to last season, the Panthers had never had three blueliners record 35 points in the same season.

CATS AND SENATORS
The Panthers will face off against the Senators for the third and final time in 2022-23, with each team taking a win at home in their prior two matchups. Four different Panthers (Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov, Brandon Montour and Matthew Tkachuk) have
logged three points against Ottawa this season, while Brady Tkachuk is the lone Senator to post as many points against Florida in 2022-23. The Cats own a 9-3-0 record against the Sens in their past 12 matchups, and a 3-1-0 record in Ottawa’s past four visits to FLA Live Arena including each of their past two contests in Florida.

NHL Preview: Minnesota Wild (44-23-10) at Pittsburgh Penguins (38-30-10)

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NHL Preview: Minnesota Wild (44-23-10) at Pittsburgh Penguins (38-30-10)

MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:

SERIES NOTES
2022-23: Pittsburgh won the series-opening matchup, 6-4, at Xcel Energy Center (11/17)…C Joel Eriksson Ek paced Minnesota with two goals (2-0=2)…RW Brandon Duhaime (1-0=1) and D Matt Dumba (1-0=1) also scored for the Wild…G Filip Gustavsson saved 26 of 31 shots faced for Minnesota…C Sydney Crosby led the Penguins with four points (2-2=4)…LW Jake Guentzel (1-2=3) also turned in a multipoint performance for Pittsburgh…G Tristan Jarry saved 19 of 23 shots faced for the Penguins.

WILD LEADERS: LW Marcus Johansson leads Minnesota with 22 points (9-13=22) in 39 career games against Pittsburgh…RW Mats Zuccarello owns 20 points (6-14=20) in 33 games…LW Gustav Nyquist has 20 points (11-9=20) in 24 games…D John Klingberg has 13 points (5-8=13) in 13 games…D Jonas Brodin owns 10 points (2- 8=10) in 17 games.

WILD GOALIES: G Marc-Andre Fleury is 4-3-0 with a 3.06 GAA, a .905 SV% and one shutout in seven starts vs. Pittsburgh…Gustavsson is 1-2-0 with a 4.02 GAA and a .875 SV% in three games (two starts).

PENGUINS LEADERS: C Sidney Crosby leads the Penguines with 32 points (10-22=32) in 21 games…C Jeff Carter has 31 points (14-17=31) in 42 contests against the Wild…C Evgeni Malkin owns 22 points (10-12=22) in 17 matches…D Kris Letang has 16 points (3-13=16) in 19 contests.

PENGUINS GOALIES: Jarry is 2-0-1 with a 3.58 GAA and a .880 SV% in three career starts vs. the Wild…G Casey DeSmith is 4-0-0 with a 2.22 GAA and a .931 SV% in four career starts.

FAST FACTS: The Wild went 9-2-1 in its first 12 meetings against the Penguins and is 3-6-1 in its last 10 meetings.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:

LAST 2 GAMES
Apr. 4: New Jersey 5, Pittsburgh 1 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Rust
Multiple Points: None
Goalie: Jarry (31 saves, 36 shots)
Key Stats: Bryan Rust hit the 20-goal plateau for the fourthstraight season.
PP: 0-4
PK: 3-4
Apr. 2: Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 2 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Rakell (2), Rust, Poehling (EN)
Multiple Points: Rakell (2G), Malkin (2A), Crosby (2A), Dumoulin (2A)
Goalie: DeSmith (31 saves, 33 shots)
Key Stats: The Penguins took home the win in Kris Letang’s
1,000th game and Bryan Rust’s 500th NHL contest.
PP: 1-4
PK: 5-5

INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
F Nick Bonino Kidney 14 14
D Dmitry Kulikov Lower-Body 12 12
D Jan Rutta Undisclosed 10 25
D Marcus Pettersson Undisclosed 9 11
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 203

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Date Transaction
Apr. 2 F Alex Nylander re-assigned to WBS (AHL).
Mar. 31 D Thimo Nickl acquired from Anaheim in exchange for F Judd Caulfield.
Mar. 28 D Taylor Fedun

TONIGHT’S GAME

  • The Penguins return home for a quick stop to take on the Minnesota Wild at PPG Paints Arena (TV: AT&T Sportsnet, Sportsnet; Radio: 105.9 The X).
  • The Penguins enter tonight’s game with points in eight-consecutive games versus the Wild (7-0-1).
  • The Penguins are 11-3-1 in the last 15 games played against the Wild dating back to Nov. 4, 2014.
  • Pittsburgh has points in four-straight (3-0-1) and seven of its last eight games (6-1-1) here at PPG Paints Arena versus Minnesota. re-assigned to WBS (AHL). Mar. 23 F Filip Hallander re-assigned to WBS (AHL).

Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. WILD: 15-12-3
In Pittsburgh: 7-6-2
In Minnesota: 8-6-1
OT Record vs. Wild: 1-0-3
Shootout Record vs. Wild: 0-2

2022-23 Results: Pittsburgh is 1-0-0.
Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. WILD:
Sidney Crosby: 21 GP, 32 PTS (10G-22A)
Evgeni Malkin: 17 GP, 22 PTS (10G-12A)
Kris Letang: 19 GP, 16 PTS (3G-13A)

TONIGHT’S GAME

  • The Penguins return home for a quick stop to take on the Minnesota Wild at PPG Paints Arena (TV: AT&T Sportsnet, Sportsnet; Radio: 105.9 The X).
  • The Penguins enter tonight’s game with points in eight-consecutive games versus the Wild (7-0-1).
  • The Penguins are 11-3-1 in the last 15 games played against the Wild dating back to Nov. 4, 2014.
  • Pittsburgh has points in four-straight (3-0-1) and seven of its last eight games (6-1-1) here at PPG Paints Arena versus Minnesota.

NHL Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets (24-45-8) at New Jersey Devils (49-21-8)

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NHL Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets (24-45-8) at New Jersey Devils (49-21-8)

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NOTES:

Apr. 6, 2023 Game No. 78 (24-45-8, 56 pts.)
at New Jersey Devils (49-21-8, 106 pts.), Prudential Center Road Game No. 40 (9-24-6, 24 pts.) The Blue Jackets Press Box website, which includes game notes, stats, releases and video/audio clips as well as the 2022-23 Media Guide can be accessed at bluejackets.com/pressbox. Follow @BlueJacketsPR on Twitter for comprehensive information and updates on the team.

THE LAST GAME: APR. 4, 2023 – CBJ 2 at TOR 4
CBJ Goal Scorers: Roslovic (11), Robinson (12)
TOR Goal Scorers: Aston-Reese (9), Kerfoot (10), Aston-Reese (10), EN – Matthews (38)
Goalies: CBJ – Greaves (46/49; 58:57); TOR – Woll (24/26; 60:00)
CBJ PP: 0/2; PK: 3/3 | Shots: CBJ: 26 / TOR: 50
3 Stars: 1. Aston-Reese, TOR; 2. Greaves, CBJ; 3. Kampf, TOR
Noteworthy: CBJ scored with 7:38 left in the 1st period to tie the game at 1… TOR scored GWG 8:11 into the 3rd period… Greaves set a new franchise record for most saves and shots faced in a CBJ and NHL debut… Roslovic has recorded a point in each of his last six games played (4-4-8)… Johnson recorded his 24th assist of the season to give him 16-24-40 in 2022-23, becoming the 3rd CBJ rookie to reach the 40-point mark in a single season in club history… Robinson has goals in two-straight games (2-0-2).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
Danforth (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 25); approximately 6 months (71 games)
Werenski (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to Nov. 10); rest of regular season (64 games)
Bean (shoulder); Placed on IR (retro to Nov. 15); out indefinitely (62 games)
Laine (triceps strain); approximately two-four weeks (7 games)
Gudbranson (separated shoulder); approximately six weeks (6 games)
Olivier (lower leg bone bruise); approximately two-four weeks (6 games)
Blankenburg (ankle); week-to-week (5 games)
Merzlikins (lower body); day-to-day (5 games)
Pederson (upper body); day-to-day (3 games)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 512

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Apr. 5 Added Gillies to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL), assigned Christiansen and Greaves to Cleveland (AHL)
Apr. 4 Signed Chinakhov to one-year contract extension for 2023-24 NHL season
Apr. 3 Added Greaves to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL), assigned Gillies and Richards to Cleveland (AHL)
Apr. 1 Added Bjork, Luoto and Richards to the roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Fix-Wolansky to Cleveland (AHL)

TONIGHT’S GAME BROADCAST INFO
7pm ET | Bally Sports Ohio | 97.1 The Fan

AGAINST THE DEVILS
2022-23 Series: 0-2-0 (0-1-0 at NJD)
2021-22 Series: 3-1-0 (1-1-0 at NJD)
All-Time Series: 27-16-1-2 (11-8-1-2 at NJD)
Last 10 (Overall | Road): 6-3-1 | 7-2-1
All-Time GF/GA: 125/105
All-Time SF/SA: 1,302/1,389
All-Time PP: 17-of-146
All-Time PK: 125-of-150
THE LAST GAME VS. NJD: FEB. 14, 2023 – CBJ 2 vs. NJD 3
CBJ Goal Scorers: PP – Gaudreau (15), Boqvist (1)
NJD Goal Scorers: Sharangovich (12), Bratt (21), Graves (6)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (29/32; 60:00); NJD – Vanecek (31/33; 60:00)
CBJ PP: 1/3; PK: 2/2 | Shots: CBJ: 33 / NJD: 32
3 Stars: 1. Graves, NJD; 2. Boqvist, CBJ; 3. Vanecek, NJD
Noteworthy: CBJ and NJD were tied at one after the 1st period and at two after the 2nd period, but NJD scored with 1.4 seconds left in the game to win… Gaudreau tied for the team lead with his goal and now has 2-8-10 in his last 10 games… Boqvist recorded 1-1-2, giving him 2 multi-point efforts in his last 5 outings (1-4-5)… Jenner registered his 14th assist of the campaign to give him points in 2-straight contests (1-2-3).

SEASON SERIES LEFT: Series is complete.

NOTED (Team Highlights vs. NJD)
CBJ have won 15 of the last 20 games of the series dating back to 3/5/17 (15-4-1), outscoring the Devils 61-39 over that stretch… 3 of the last 5 games played at NJD have gone past regulation (CBJ; 2-2-1)… CBJ have recorded power play goals in 3 of the last 4 meetings (3-of-11; 27.3 pct.) and 4 of the past 6 (4-of-17; 23.5 pct.)… Winning team has recorded 3+ goals in 11 of the last 12 games… CBJ own 4 of the 7 shutouts in the series with Merzlikins registering the most recent one with 41 saves in a 5-0 win on 1/18/20 at NWA… Most goals scored at NJD: 5 (12/8/17)… Most goals allowed at NJD: 7 (10/30/22).

NOTED (Player Highlights vs. NJD)
Gaudreau recorded his 5th career hat trick on 3/12/19 vs. NJD (Blackwood)… Peeke scored his 1st career goal on 2/16/20 at NJD.

SCORING NOTABLES vs. NJD
• Boqvist – 1-3-4 in 4 career GP, including multiple points in each of his last 2 games vs. the club after picking up 1-1-2 on 2/14
• Gaudreau – 7-16-23 in 15 GP with points in all but 3 of his contests, including points in 9 of his last 10 against the club (7-12-19)
• Jenner – 10-8-18 in 31 career GP, including 2-2-4 in his last 4 contests overall

NEW JERSEY DEVILS NOTES:

Last Game:
Pittsburgh Penguins 1 New Jersey Devils 5
(38-30-10 – 86 PTS) (49-21-8 – 106 PTS)
Three Stars: 1. D. Mercer 2. V. Vanecek 3. D. Hamilton

SCORE 1ST 2ND 3RD OT SO FINAL
Pittsburgh 0 0 1 – – 1
DEVILS 2 2 1 – – 5
Goals:
PIT: B. Rust
NJD: D. Hamilton, D. Mercer, T. Meier (PPG), D. Mercer, D. Mercer

INJURIES/ILLNESS
PLAYER INJURY OUT SINCE GAMES MISSED
Jonathan Bernier – LTIR Lower-body, hip 2021-22 78
Curtis Lazar Undisclosed 3/19/23 9
2022-23 Total Man-Games Lost to Injury/illness: 218

The Devils earned their 49th win for the season, after Tuesday’s win against Pittsburgh at the Rock. The 49 wins tied the second-most wins earned in a single season for franchise history (2006-07). The franchise record for the most wins in a single season is 51, which was earned in 2008-09 (51-27-4=106 PTS). The most points that the Devils earned in a single season was 111 PTS, after posting a 48-19-12 record in 2000-01. The Devils officially clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday, March 25 for the first time since 2017-18, but also earned 100 points in a season for the first time since 2011-12 (48-28-6=102 PTS). It marked the 14th time in franchise history that the Devils earned 100, or more, points in a single season for the standings. After Thursday’s win vs the New York Rangers, the Devils earned more than 100 points for the first time since 2011-12 (102 PTS). The Devils witnessed their third hat-trick for the season on Tuesday, after Dawson Mercer earned his first-career hat-trick. J. Hughes: Nov. 26, 2022, 5-1 win vs WSH, 3g-0a (First career hatty) J. Bratt: Mar. 19, 2023, 5-2 win at TBL, 3g-0a (First career hatty) The last time that the Devils earned three hat-tricks in a single season was 2011-12, after Zach Parise logged one and Ilya Kovalchuk earned two.

The team’s 10 OT victories ranks first in the NHL. Winnipeg, Carolina and Seattle rank second with nine wins in OT. The Devils are 2-4 in games decided in a shootout this season. The team’s last shootout victory was earned on Mar. 9, at Washington in a 3-2 win. The team’s last shootout was on Thursday, March 16, in a 4-3 loss to Tampa at the Rock.

VS CONFERENCE/DIVISION
The Devils are 22-5-5 vs the Western Conference this season. The franchise record for most wins vs the Western Conference was 18, which was logged in 2000-01. The Devils own a 27-16-3 record vs the Eastern Conference and 16-6-2 vs the Metropolitan Division.

BACK-TO-BACK GAMES
Overall: 15-8-1
First game: 6-5-1 | home: 0-1-0 | road: 6-4-1
Second game: 9-3-0 | home: 4-2-0 | road: 5-1-0

STATS EXPANDED
New Jersey enters Thursday’s contest with an overall face-off percentage at 51.5%, while the highest overall face-off percentage the team finished with in franchise history for a single season was 51.4% 1997-98 (face-offs were tracked & recorded starting in 1997-98). Jersey’s team is averaging 34.5 shots per game, while the team’s highest shots per game for franchise history in a single season was 33.1 in 1999-00. The Devils are 28-9-1 when scoring first in a game this season and 21-12-6 when trailing first in a contest. New Jersey’s 21 wins when trailing first in a game this season ranks first in the NHL, while Boston (20-11-2) ranked second. The Devils are 32-1-2 (ranks 6th in NHL) when leading after the second period this season, while Boston ranks first in the NHL for this matter with a 44-1-2 record. The Devils are 15-5-2 when outshot by an opponent this season and 32-16-6 when outshooting teams. The Devils are 1-0-0 when shots are even vs an opponent for 2022-23. The Devils have allowed 1, or fewer, goals against 17 times this season in a game. Jersey’s team allowed one, or fewer goals against, in a game just eight times all of last season.

VS CBJ
The Devils and Columbus conclude their 2022-23 regular-season series. Jersey recorded a season-high seven goals in a game Oct. 30, after a 7-1 win at Prudential Center against the Jackets. The last time the Devils won a season series vs Columbus was in 2011-12, when the two foes met just once. Jersey earned the lone victory. Jersey’s team is 2-0-0 vs Columbus. The most wins earned in a single season vs Columbus is two, which the team logged in 2014-15 (2-1-1) and this season. Jersey’s team recorded a 1-2-1 record vs Columbus last season. The last time that the Devils earned a win at Columbus was Dec. 5, 2017, after a 4-1 win.

ALL-TIME vs COLUMBUS
Record: 18-22-1-5
Home: 10-8-1-3
Road: 8-14-0-2

DID YOU KNOW…
The most goals in franchise history earned in a single game vs Columbus is seven goals, which was earned on Oct. 30, 2022, at the Rock in a 7-1 win. The most goals that the Devils allowed in a single game vs Columbus is six goals, three times, with the last time taking place on Feb. 10, 2018, after a 6-1 defeat at Columbus. The most shots that Jersey earned in a single game vs Columbus is 53, which was also earned on Oct. 30, 2022. The most shots that the Devils allowed in a single game vs Columbus is 55, which was logged on Feb. 16, 2020, in a 4-3 shootout win at the Rock. The last time the Devils shut out the Jackets was Feb. 28, 2015, in a 2-0 victory at the Rock. Goaltender Cory Schneider earned 33 saves in the effort. The last time Columbus shut out the Devils was Jan. 18, 2020, in a 5-0 loss at Columbus – Elvis Merzlikins denied the Devils 36 times in the effort. The two foes first-ever meeting took place on Dec. 27, 2000, at Continental Airlines Arena, after a 2-2 tie. Espen Knutsen scored the game’s first goal, while Randy McKay scored New Jersey’s first-ever goal vs Columbus in franchise history. The two teams have never met in the postseason. In the NHL’s 2000 Expansion Draft, Columbus selected forward Jeff Williams from New Jersey.

MLB Preview: Washington Nationals (1-5) at Colorado Rockies (2-4)

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MLB Preview: Washington Nationals (1-5) at Colorado Rockies (2-4)

WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:

WE’RE IN THE ROCKIES
The Washington Nationals embark on their first road trip of the 2023 season on Thursday afternoon…It is a seven-game trip that starts with a four-game series against the Rockies before moving on to Los Angeles for a three-game set against the Angels…Thursday’s tilt serves as Colorado’s 2023 home opener.

• Washington went 4-3 against Colorado in 2022.

ROLLIN’ ROBLES
Through the first six games, Victor Robles leads qualified Nationals in on-base percentage (12th in NL, .476) and batting average (.353).

• Robles has hit safely in four of six games and has posted back-to-back multi-hit efforts…He is 6-for-17 (.353) with a double, RBI, four walks and three runs scored this season.

HITTERISH
Some notes on a few hitters early in the 2023 season:

• Alex Call has driven in at least one run three of his four starts this season…He is tied with Lane Thomas for the club lead with four RBI, despite playing in four of the six games…Call has reached base safely in seven of 16 plate appearances with three hits and four walks.

• Keibert Ruiz has reached base safely in all five games he’s played and in seven of 16 plate appearances (5 H, 2 BB, HBP)…He is behind Victor Robles for second on the club with a .400 on-base percentage.

• Lane Thomas is 8-for-24 (.333) with two doubles, four RBI, two walks and one run scored through six games this season…He’s reached safely in five of six games.

BULLPENNING
Washington’s bullpen has held opposing batters to a .222 batting average through the first six games.

• Carl Edwards Jr. (2.0 IP, BB, SO), Hobie Harris (1.2 IP, H, BB, 2 SO) and Erasmo Ramírez (4.0 IP, 3 H, BB, SO) have all tossed scoreless relief so far this season.

• Mason Thompson has tossed 5.0 innings of two-hit, one-run relief across two outings…He threw 2.0 innings on March 30 vs. Atlanta (2.0 IP, H, 3 SO) and matched a career-high with 3.0 innings on April 3 vs. Tampa Bay (3.0 IP, H, ER, HR, SO)…He has yet to issue a walk this season.

NOTHING BUT A NUMBER
The Nationals are one of six teams with at least three players in the top 50 youngest players in Major League Baseball to start the season…The Arizona Diamondbacks (5), St. Louis Cardinals (5), Detroit Tigers (3), Pittsburgh Pirates (3) and Seattle Mariners (3) also have three players in the top 50.

• CJ Abrams (22) is the third-youngest player in Major League Baseball, while Luis Garcia (23) is 15th and Keibert Ruiz (24) is 50th.

KUHL AND THE GANG
MacKenzie Gore and Trevor Williams each made their Nationals debut on April 2 and 3 and Chad Kuhl made his Nationals debut on April 4…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the second time in Nationals history (2005-pres.) that at least three starting pitchers made their club debut on consecutive nights.

• Elias notes that the other time it happened was Washington’s first four games of the 2005 season: Livan Hernandez, Zach Day, Esteban Loaiza and Tomo Ohka.

OPPONENT – COLORADO ROCKIES
The Nationals and Rockies will meet seven times this season (4 in COL, 3 in D.C.)…Nationals bullpen coach Henry Blanco played in Colorado during the 1999 season…First base coach Eric Young Jr. was drafted by the Rockies in th 30th round of the 2003 Draft and went on to spend five Major Leagues seasons (2009-13) with the Rockies…Chad Kuhl pitched for Colorado in 2022

STARTING PITCHER – #40 JOSIAH GRAY
Right-hander was acquired by the Nationals from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2021 Trade Deadline…Was Los Angeles’ No. 2 prospect entering 2021 and its Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2019…Was originally selected by Cincinnati in the second round (No. 72 overall) of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York…Was acquired by the Dodgers on his 21st birthday, Dec. 21, 2018…Is the Player Ambassador to the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy

vs. COLORADO
Gray made his first Major League start against the Rockies on July 25, 2021 (4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, HR, 4 BB, 6 SO).

• He is 2-0 with a 5.03 ERA and a .188 opponents’ average in four career starts against Colorado.

• On May 29, 2022 at Nationals Park, Gray allowed one earned run on three hits in 5.0 innings of work to earn the win.

2023 SPRING TRAINING
Gray led Major League Baseball with a 0.55 ERA (1 ER/16.1 IP) in five starts…He struck out 14 batters, walked two and did not allow a home run.

2022
In his first full Major League season, ranked ninth in the National League (min. 135.0 IP) with 9.32 SO/9.0 IP…Led the Nationals with 154 strikeouts…Ranked eighth in MLB in slider whiff percentage (38%)…Recorded three 10+ strikeout games…Went 2-0 with a 1.24 ERA (4 ER/29.0 IP), 31 strikeouts, three homers and .155 opponents’ average in five starts from May 29-June 25…Tossed 17.0 consecutive scoreless innings from June 3-25, the second-longest streak on the Nationals behind Erasmo Ramírez (18.0 IP)…Tossed a career-high 7.0 innings on June 25 at Texas…Struck out a career-high 11 batters on July 6 at Philadelphia…In his final start of the season, allowed one earned run on two hits in 6.0 innings on Sept. 28 vs. Atlanta…2022 Pitch Mix: 4-Seam Fastball (39.2%) Slider (29.5%) Curveball (24.8%) Sinker (3.7%) Changeup (2.8%).

2021
Was acquired by the Nationals at the Trade Deadline and reported to D.C…Made his first start with Washington on Aug. 2 vs. Philadelphia (5.0 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 SO)…Struck out a career-high 10 batters in his second start on Aug. 7 at Atlanta…Became just the second pitcher in Nationals history (2005-pres.) to record at least 10 strikeouts in one of his first two starts with the team (Stephen Strasburg, first start on 6/8/2010 vs. PIT)…Earned his first career win on Sept. 22 at Miami (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 8 SO)…Finished the season strong, going 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA (6 ER/17.1 IP), a .203 opponents’ average, 19 strikeouts and six walks in his final three starts of the season…Allowed just two home runs in his final four starts after surrendering 17 home runs in his first 10 outings of the season…With Los Angeles, had his contract selected on July 20 and made his Major League debut that day against the San Francisco Giants…Tossed 4.0 innings out of the bullpen behind an opener (4 ER, 4 H, 7 SO)…Gray made his first Major League start on July 25 vs. Colorado (4.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 6 SO)…2021 Pitch Mix: 4-Seam (51.7%) Curve (25.1%) Slider (20%) Changeup (3.2%).

COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:

WEST COAST SWING
• After a 2-4 road trip to San Diego and Los Angeles to begin the season, the Colorado Rockies return home to Coors Field for their first homestand of 2023.

• The Rockies enter today’s game on a four-game losing streak after winning each of their first two games of the season … lost 5-3 at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday to conclude the road trip.

LUCKY NUMBER 31
• The Rockies are 16-14 all-time in their 30 Home Openers, but 1-4 over their last five and 2-5 over their last seven … lost last year’s Home Opener (and Opening Day) 5-3 vs. Los Angeles-NL … three of the Rockies’ last four and four of their last six Home Openers have come against the Dodgers.

• In 30 years of Home Openers in Denver the average temperature has been 58 degrees at first pitch … the highest was an 87 degree temperature on July 31, 2020, the only Home Opener played outside of April … the highest temperature April Home Opener came in 2017, when the temperature hit 72 degrees at first pitch … the coldest Home Opener was the following year, when the Rockies hosted the Braves in 27 degrees.

TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN
• Through six games the Rockies have an average game time of 2:33, three minutes below the league average of 2:36 … through the first six games of last season, the Rockies’ average game time was 3:15.

• Sunday’s game time of 2:03 ranked as the 12th-shortest game in Rockies’ history, the shortest since a 1:58 time of game on July 1, 2008 … in that contest, Aaron Cook tossed a 79-pitch complete-game shutout against the Padres at Coors Field, one of only nine CGSO tossed at Coors Field at the time.

• The shortest game in franchise history came on June 30, 2006 at Seattle when the Rockies topped the Mariners 2-0 in 1:52.

• The Rockies suffered their first pitch clock violation Tuesday when Elehuris Montero was called for an automatic strike after requesting time for the second time in his at-bat … batters are permitted one time out per plate appearance.

NATIONAL TREASURE
• The Rockies went 3-4 against the Nationals in 2022, taking two of three at Coors Field May 3-5 while dropping three of four at Nationals Park May 26-29.

• Colorado has gone 122-95 all-time vs. the Nationals/Expos, a .562 winning percentage that is their best against any single opponent in franchise history.

• The Rockies have won each of their last four home series against the Nationals since 2018, going 8-4 over that span (the two teams did not play in 2020).

• Colorado’s first home series in franchise history was against the Expos, April 9-11, 1993 … the Rockies took two of three vs. the Expos in the series, highlighted by an 11-4 inaugural Home Opener win at Mile High Stadium on April 9 in front of 80,227 fans … second baseman Eric Young Sr. led off the first home game in franchise history with a home run off Expos starter Kent Bottenfield.

CRON ZONE
• C.J. Cron was named the National League Player of the Week Monday by Major League Baseball, the second time in his career that he has earned the honor (also: Aug. 8, 2021) … in four games to begin the season through Sunday, Cron hit .467 with two doubles, three home runs and seven RBI.

• Cron recorded seven hits through the first three games of the season, becoming the eighth player (ninth time, Dante Bichette twice) in franchise history to begin a season with at least seven hits through the team’s first three games, the first since Carlos González went 8-for-15 across the first three games of the 2015 season.

• Cron also became the first player in franchise history with at least seven hits and three home runs through the first three games of a season … the last player in the Majors with at least seven hits and three home runs through a teams first three games was Cody Bellinger with the Dodgers in 2019.

OPEN BOOK
• On Thursday, Charlie Blackmon made his 10th career Opening Day start, surpassing Troy Tulowitzki (nine) and Carlos González (nine) for the second-most Opening Day starts behind Todd Helton’s 16.

• The 2023 season is Blackmon’s 13th on the Rockies’ Major League roster, the second-most seasons in Rockies history behind Todd Helton’s 17.

STARTING PITCHER #21 KYLE FREELAND LHP
DENVER KID
• The 29-year-old Denver native and graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School will make his third career Home Opener start today at Coors Field.

• Started Opening Day at Coors Field last season, April 8 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers … pitched 3.2 innings and allowed five runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts … all five runs came in the fifth inning of the 5-3 Rockies loss.

• Made his Major League debut in the Rockies’ Home Opener in 2017, April 7 vs. the Dodgers … allowed one run across six innings in the 2-1 win.

HOPE OPENER x3:
• With today’s start, Freeland will have started the most Home Openers for the Rockies in franchise history with three (also: 2017 and 2022 both vs. Los Angeles-NL).

• In his first career start, Freeland started the Home Opener in 2017, getting the win after allowing one run over six innings.

• Last year, Freeland took the loss to LA, allowing five runs over 3.2 innings.

A HOT START
• Tossed six scoreless innings in his first start of the season, last Friday in San Diego … allowed just three hits while walking one and striking out one.

• Became just the ninth Rockies pitcher to toss six scoreless within the first five games of a season, the first since Kyle Kendrick pitched seven scoreless in Milwaukee on Opening Day, 2015.

LAND OF THE FREE
• Appeared in two games for the USA in the World Baseball Classic, allowing two runs on three hits over 6.0 innings (3.00 ERA), striking out five and walking two.

• In the Championship Game vs. Japan, struck out WBC MVP Shohei Ohtani … Freeland’s 41 pitches in the game were the most by any pitcher who
appeared during the contest.

• In three Cactus League starts, went 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA (9.1 IP, 6 ER) with one walk and five strikeouts.

THIS ‘N THAT
• Finished fourth in 2018 NL Cy Young Award voting going 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA (202.1 IP, 64 ER) … became the second pitcher in Rockies history to ever finish in the top five in Cy Young voting (also: Ubaldo Jiménez, third place in 2010).

• Pitched 8.1 no-hit innings on July 9, 2017 vs. Chicago-AL, the longest no-hit bid for a Rockies pitcher at Coors Field in franchise history.

THE YEAR TWENTY THOUSAND AND TWENTY-TWO (2022)
• Finished the season posting a 4.53 ERA across 31 starts … of those 31 starts, 13 of them were quality, his most in a full season since logging 24 quality starts in 2018 … set career-highs in runs allowed (96), earned runs (88).

• The Rockies announced on April 19, 2022 that they agreed to a five-year contract extension with Freeland covering the 2022-26 seasons … the extension includes two arbitration years and three years of free agency.

• The 29-year-old Denver native graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, 15 minutes south of Coors Field … selected in the first round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft (eighth overall), the third player in University of Evansville history to be drafted in the first round.

GNATS
• Has made seven career starts against the Nationals, going 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA (40.0 IP, 12 ER), 14 walks and 28 strikeouts.

• Has won both of his career starts against the Nationals at Coors Field, allowing three runs across 12.2 innings combined … last start vs.
Washington at home came in 2021.

• Made one start against Washington in 2022, losing at Nationals Park on May 29 … allowed five runs on seven hits with four walks across 5.2 innings.

SWEET HOME COLORADO
• Went 5-6 (Rockies 8-8) in 16 starts at home in 2022, posting a 6.00 ERA (87.0 IP, 58 ER) with 25 walks and 59 strikeouts … opponents hit .303 (107- for-353) against him with 31 doubles, seven triples and 11 home runs … second-highest home ERA in the Majors and sixth-highest opponent batting average.

• Holds a career mark of 28-24 with a 4.77 ERA (413.1 IP, 219 ER) in 78 career appearances, 75 starts, at Coors Field.

• Colorado is 44-31 all-time in his 75 starts in Denver … has worked six or more innings 44 times at home with 38 quality starts … three relief appearances at home (3.0 IP, ER), all coming in September, 2017.

• In 2018, went 10-2 with a 2.40 ERA in 15 starts at Coors Field, the lowest in a full season in franchise history … second starter in franchise history to record 10 wins at home (Jorge De La Rosa, three times).

• In his first 31 starts at Coors Field in 2017-18, went 16-10 with a 3.04 ERA (177.2 IP, 60 ER) with the Rockies going 20-11 … since 2019, has gone 12- 14 with a 6.11 ERA (232.2 IP, 158 ER) in 44 starts at home (Rockies 24-20).

NOT SO ROCKIE ROAD
• Went 4-5 (Rockies 6-9) across 15 road starts last year, pitching to a 3.08 ERA (87.2 IP, 30 ER) with 28 walks and 72 strikeouts … opponents hit .257 against him (86-for-334) with 16 doubles, one triple and eight home runs … tossed six or more innings in seven of 15 road starts (six QS) … 3.08 road ERA was the sixth-lowest in Rockies history (minimum 13 road starts).

• Allowed a road season-high six runs July 9 at Arizona … in seven road starts following this outing, went 3-1 while posting a 1.94 ERA (41.2 IP, 9 ER) with 14 walks and 36 strikeouts.

• Received 35 total runs of support on the road for a 3.59 RSA … received two or fewer in 10 other starts, including no runs three times.

• 7-10 with a 3.39 ERA (148.2 IP, 56 ER) in 27 road starts over the past two seasons … has allowed 17 total home runs on the road that span, five of them coming on June 11, 2021 at Cincinnati … road run support average of 3.21 over that span the third-lowest in the Majors (min. 25 starts).

YOU’RE GROUNDED
• Since his debut in 2017, Freeland ranks second in the Majors and leads the National League with 103 GIDP (Kyle Gibson leads the Majors with 109) … 1.11 GIDP/9 is the second-highest in the Majors across that same span trailing teammate Antonio Senzatela (1.14).

FINISHED STRONG
• Has allowed three or fewer runs in 11 of his last 14 starts since July 25 of last season, compiling a 6-4 record with a 3.65 ERA (79.0 IP, 32 ER) … posted a 4.15 ERA (128.0 IP, 59 ER) in 22 starts since June 4.

• Spun five or more frames in 19 of his last 22 starts and six or more innings 14 times through this span.

THE HOME RUN HIGHWAY
• His 19 home runs allowed in 2022 were his fewest since 2018 (17) … his 0.98 HR/9 was the 13th-lowest in the National League this season … his HR/9 rate is his lowest since he posted a 0.76 clip in 2018.

FIRST THINGS FIRST
• Allowed 22 of his 96 runs in the first inning (23 percent) in 2022, tied for the 8th-most in the Majors … opponents slashed .328/.382/.492 in the first frame … 42 hits allowed in the first inning were the third-most in the Majors.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN FEELS
• Making the 152nd start of his career today, passing Jon Gray for the sixth-most starts in franchise history … Jason Jennings ranks fifth with 156 starts.

• His 50 career wins rank ninth in franchise history, three behind Jon Gray and Pedro Astacio with 53 each.

• Recorded the 600th strikeout of his career Aug. 10 vs. St. Louis, the eighth pitcher in franchise history to reach the mark … his 641 strikeouts are the seventh-most in franchise history … trails Jeff Francis in sixth with 742 strikeouts.

• Career 4.27 ERA ranks fourth all-time among Rockies starting pitchers (min. 75 starts) … 102 career opponent grounded into double plays are the fourth-most in franchise history (min. 50 GS).

MLB Preview: San Diego Padres (3-3) at Atlanta Braves (5-1)

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MLB Preview: San Diego Padres (3-3) at Atlanta Braves (5-1)

SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:

Padres enjoyed their 1st off day of the season yesterday; will now play 18 games in 18 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.

• 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.

• After April 23rd, the Padres will have 3 off days in 11 days from April 24-May 8. Padres split 1st homestand 3-3 vs. COL, AZ

• The Friars lost their last game of the homestand against the D-Backs on Tuesday, snapping a 3-game winning streak…Yu Darvish got his 1st start of the season, going 5.0 IP with 1 run allowed…Manny Machado was ejected from the game after he was called out on strikes due to a
pitch clock violation…Nelson Cruz hit his 1st homer of the season, and Xander Bogaerts hit his team-leading 3rd. Snell needs 2 strikeouts to reach the 1,000 K club

• Blake Snell makes his 2nd start of the year tonight, getting the Opening-Day nod a week agon on March 30 vs. Colorado (went 4.1 innings with 3 runs allowed on 6 hits and 9 strikeouts)…Snell has 998 career punchouts, and with 2 tonight, he’ll reach the 1,000 SO mark…Snell will be the 15th active pitcher to have 1,000 strikeouts since 2016 (teammate Yu Darvish has 1,111 K’s since ’16)…9 pitchers have recorded their 1000th career strikeout in a Padres uniform, and the last one was Ian Kennedy on May 28, 2015 vs. PIT (Elias).

Against the Braves
• The Padres are amidst a 8-day, 7-game roadtrip to Atlanta and Mets…they went 4-3 against the Braves last year (2-1 @ Truist Park from May 13-15, 2022)…after this 4-game set in Atlanta, the Padres will host the Braves when they return from the 7-game roadtrip (will host them for a 3-game series in San Diego after the Padres play a 4-game set against the Brewers).

X-Man’s start in San Diego
• Xander Bogaerts leads the Padres in most offensive categories to start the year, and he enters today tying for the National League-lead in extra-base hits (6), and doubles (3), ranks 2nd in total bases (21), T-4th in RBI (7), 4th in SLG (.955), 5th in OPS (1.395), T-8th in hits (9), and 10th in average (.409).

• Xander has hit safely in each of his 6 games to start the season, and he’s hit 3 homers in his last 4 games with 6 RBI in that time and 2 walks…it’s the 1st time in his career in which he’s had more than a 3-game hitting streak to start a campaign (last was in 2018)…Dave Roberts holds the Padres’ record for the longest hitting streak to start a season (14 games), and if Xander gets a hit today, it’ll be the 1st Padres hitting streak of at least 7 games to start a season since Jon Jay in 2016 (8 game streak).

STARTING PITCHER – BLAKE SNELL
Snell makes 2nd career start vs. Braves
The 30-year-old left-hander is set to make his 2nd career start vs. the Braves tonight to kick off this 4-game set…it will be his first start vs. ATL in Padre brown and gold, with the other outing coming during his Cy Young 2018 season on May 8, allowing 1 run on 4 hits across 6.1 IP in Tampa Bay’s 1-0 defeat.

Milestone alert
After his 9 Opening Day punchouts, Snell enters tonight’s matchup with 998 career strikeouts…with 2 tonight, he’ll reach the 1,000 SO mark and become the 15th active pitcher to have 1,000 strikeouts since 2016 (teammate Yu Darvish has 1,111 K’s since ’16)…9 pitchers have recorded their 1000th career strikeout in a Padres uniform, and the last one was Ian Kennedy on May 28, 2015 vs. PIT (Elias) Snell tagged with the loss in 2nd Opening Day Start He made his 2nd career Opening Day start last Thursday vs. COL, striking out 9 and walking 1 with 3 runs allowed on 6 hits in SD’s 7-2 defeat…his other Opening Day start was opposite HOU’s Justin Verlander, who finished 2nd to Snell in the 2018 AL Cy Young Award voting and made his 11th Opening Day assignment…it was the fourth time since the Cy Young Award was introduced in 1956 that a reigning winner faced the runner-up on Opening Day.

Can’t spell Blake without the K
In 2022, he posted the 2nd-highest SO/9 IP ratio (12.02) of his career, along with 5 double-digit strikeout performances…from 2018-22, he posted the 3rd-most double-digit strikeout games (23) among all ML left-handers, trailing only Robbie Ray (26) and Chris Sale (25). Sits 5th in SO/9 IP (10.99) since his debut season in 2016 (min. 800 IP), trailing only Max Scherzer (11.78), Robbie Ray (11.48), Jacob deGrom (11.43) and Gerritt Cole (11.33).

Since 2016
Among all ML pitchers who have made at least 150 starts since Snell’s debut season in ’16, he ranks in the top 6 in HR/9 (0.96, 4th), H/9 (7.34, 6th), ERA (3.43, 6th) and opponents’ AVG (.221, 7th).

Tale of two halves
In his 10 first half starts last season, he went 1-5 with a 5.22 ERA and .705 opponent OPS…in his 14 second half starts, he went 7-5 with a 2.19 ERA and .585 opponent OPS…finished the season with a 3.38 ERA, it’s lowest mark at any point in 2022.

Wins and losses
His 8 winning decisions last season were the 2nd-most of his career, trailing only his 21 from his 2018 Cy Young season…his 10 losing decisions where also a career high, ahead of the 8 from his rookie 2016 season and in 2019 with Tampa Bay.

2022 Postseason look back
Made his NL debut during the 2022 Postseason after reaching the NLDS with TB in ’19 and the World Series in ’20, going 2-0 with a 4.61 ERA (7 ER, 13.2 IP), .264 opp. AVG and 1.68 WHIP….started Game 2 of the Wild Card Series at NYM on Oct 8 vs. NYM and did not factor into SD’s 7-3 defeat…earned the win and gave SD the 2-1 series advantage in Game 3 of the NLDS vs. LAD on Oct. 14 at Petco Park, allowing 1 run on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts across 5.1 IP in SD’s 2-1 victory…started Game 2 of the NLCS vs. PHI on Oct. 19 at Petco Park and earned the win in SD’s 8-5 victory, tossing 5.0 innings of 4-run ball on 5 hits and 1 walk with 6 strikeouts.

ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Padres tonight open a four-game weekend set with the first of seven scheduled meetings between the two teams
this season…The teams will play again just eight days after the conclusion of this series with a three-game set at Petco Park.

• Atlanta dropped the season series to San Diego, four-games-to-three, last season, snapping a streak of five straight seasons of winning the set…The Braves went 24-16 (.600) against the Padres from 2015-2021.

• The Braves are 11-7 against the Padres here at Truist Park, although they have lost five of the last seven games between the teams here…One of those games was suspended and then completed at Petco Park in 2021…Atlanta’s first series in the history of Truist Park came versus San Diego, and resulted in a four-game sweep for the Braves from April 14-17, 2017.

• RH Spencer Strider has never started against San Diego, but has made a pair of relief appearances versus the Padres and compiled a 3.86 ERA (2 ER/4.2 IP)…The 6-foot-0, 195-pound righthander pitched 6.0 scoreless innings in his season debut versus Washington, fanning nine…In 16
appearances at Truist Park last season, including 10 starts, he pitched to a 6-1 record with a 2.17 ERA (17 ER/70.2 IP) and 114 strikeouts.

• LH Blake Snell has made just one career start against Atlanta, doing so on May 8, 2018 while with Tampa Bay and allowing four hits and one
run over 6.1 innings…Took the loss, however, in the Rays defeat, 1-0…The 6-foot-4, 200-pound native of Seattle fanned nine over 4.1 innings in his season debut, but allowed six hits and three runs to take the loss.

LEADING: Atlanta completed a three-game sweep of St. Louis yesterday, and held a lead following 26 of the 27 innings completed in the series…The Braves and Cardinals were tied, 1-1, after the first inning in the series opener, the only frame in which Atlanta did not hold a lead.

• The Braves have held a lead for 43.2 total innings this season, easily the most in baseball…Tampa Bay ranks second with 37.2, while the Dodgers are closest in the N.L. at 29.0 innings…Conversely, Oakland has led for just 7.0 total innings this year, fewest in the majors.

• Atlanta is one of just eight teams without a loss in a game they lead in at any point this year… The Braves only lost 20 times in games they led at any point last season, the fewest such losses in the majors…The Dodgers and Mets both had 21 such losses.

• Atlanta has yet to trail in any of its five wins this year…The Braves played 67 games in which they never trailed last season, the third most games in the majors…Only Houston (74) and the Mets (71) had more.

ONE THOUSAND FOR SNIT: Brian Snitker is set to manage the 1,000th game of his career tonight… Snitker took over on an interim basis on May 17, 2016, before being named Atlanta’s manager on October 11, 2016…He joined the organization as a non-drafted free agent in 1977 and is in his 47th season with the club.

• He will become the fifth manager in franchise history to skipper 1,000 games, joining Bobby Cox (3,860), Frank Selee (1,677), George Stallings (1,201) and Bill McKechnie (1,235).

• Snitker has compiled a 547-452 (.548) record at the helm for Atlanta, and needs just 33 more wins to move into sole possession of third place in franchise annals…Stallings (579 wins) and McKechnie (560) rank third and fourth, respectively, while Cox (2,149) and Selee (1,004) sit atop the leaderboard.

• Since taking over for Atlanta on May 17, 2016, Snitker’s 547 wins stand as fourth most for any manager in baseballl…The Dodgers’ Dave Roberts (637) and Guardians’ Terry Francona (574) rank first and second, respectively, while the Rays’s Kevin Cash (549) sits third.

• Atlanta’s 23 postseason wins since Snitker took over in 2016 are third most in baseball, trailing just the Astros (53) and Dodgers (45).

• Research courtesy the Elias Sports Bureau.

WINS: Atlanta’s win yesterday moved the club to 5-1 through its first six games, its best start to a season since also going 5-1 in 2015.

• The Braves have now started 5-1 or better through six games 10 times since moving to Atlanta in 1966, and have made the postseason in four of those first nine such seasons.

• There was no postseason in 1994 when Atlanta started a perfect 6-0, and the club missed the playoffs in 2015, 2009, 2007 and 1983.

• Atlanta did not win its fifth game last season until the 10th game of the year, and was not four games over .500 until June 9 (31-27)…The Braves would go on to win 101 games on the season.

FIRST INNING: The Braves scored three more runs in yesterday’s first inning, and scored in the first in all three games of the series in St. Louis…Atlanta’s eight first-inning runs this season are tied for tops in the majors.

• The Braves lead the majors outright in first-inning hits (14) and homers (4), while their five extra-base hits are tied for most.

• Leadoff batter Ronald Acuña Jr. has five hits in the first inning through just six games, most in baseball by a hitter batting first, while Austin Riley’s two homers and four RBI in the first inning are tied for top in the league.

• The Braves only scored 71 runs in the first inning last season, seventh fewest in the majors and the least of any playoff team

Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #65 Spencer Strider
Today’s Game
• Set to make his first career appearance against San Diego.
• Enters play 1-2 with a 3.53 ERA against NL West teams.
• Last start against Washington tossed 6.0 scoreless innings of three-hit ball.
• Owned a 5.54 ERA against the Nationals prior to his previous outing, the fourth highest against any single opponent.
• Now posting a 3.79 career ERA against Washington.
• Pitched to a 1.69 ERA in five appearances, four starts, with 21 strikeouts through 16.0 innings pitched in Spring Training.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Research courtesy Elias.

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

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

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

• In three seasons with Clemson, went 5-2 with a 4.71 ERA (33 ER/63.0 IP) in 26 appearances, 10 starts.

• Struck out 89, an average of 12.7 per 9.0 innings.

MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants (2-3) at Chicago White Sox (3-3)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants (2-3) at Chicago White Sox (3-3)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: SF aims to end its season-opening six-game, 10-day road trip with a win in today’s series finale against the White Sox…SF dropped the first series of this trip two games to one in New York and will look for a series victory here today to head home with a .500 record…the only other time that the Giants have won a series here in Chicago against the Southsiders was their first visit here back in 2003 (2-1).

FEAST OR FAMINE…: In the Giants three losses on this road trip, they have scored three runs, been outscored 18-5 and have a total of 11 hits…in SF’s two wins on this road trip they’ve totaled 19 runs, outscored the opposition 19-8 and have 26 hits that includes nine home runs.

TRUTH SERUM: SF dropped yesterday’s game 7-3 despite drawing nine walks…the Giants had won their previous 19 games in which they walked at least nine times…their last loss in such a game prior to yesterday was May 15, 2012 vs. Colorado on coincidentally enough a Marco Scutaro homer in the 9th inning (Sports Info Solutions).

TOUGH TIMES IN THE CHI: Since 2005, the White Sox have had the Giants number during Interleague play, going 12-3 (.800) vs. SF…according to Stats, LLC, the .800 winning percentage is tied for fourth-best in the Majors vs. any single Interleague opponent (min. 10 games) in that time.

Best Record vs. Any Single Interleague Opponent – Since 2005 (min. 10g) (Stats, LLC)
Team vs. Opponent Record
Yankees vs. Cubs 14-2 (.875)
Red Sox vs. Reds 14-3 (.824)
Braves vs. A’s 13-3 (.813)
Team vs. Opponent Record
White Sox vs. Giants 12-3 (.800)
Mariners vs. Reds 12-3 (.800)
Astros vs. Mets 8-2 (.800)

ARRIVEDERCI!: With IF J.D. Davis slugging a homer yesterday, the Giants now have hit 10 homers through their first five games…that total is tied for most by a Giants team since at least 1901 through its first five games…the club’s most through six games is 11 homers (2021, 2016, 2003 and 2002).

Giants, Most Home Runs Through Five Games (1901-present)
Year, Team Home Runs
2023 SF Giants 10
2021 SF Giants 10
1947 NY Giants 10
Year, Team Home Runs
Eight Teams 9

GOING DEEP(ER): The Giants 10 homers are tied for fifth-most in the Majors heading into action today (tied for second-most in the NL with Atlanta and Cincinnati)…the Dodgers lead the Majors with 13 homers…if you look at it a bit differently, SF has averaged one homer every 17.00 at-bats so far in 2023, fourth-best in MLB behind the Dodgers (14.62), Rays (15.46) and Reds (16.10)…for reference, the Giants season average for HR/AB in 2022 was one HR every 29.46 at-bats (12th in MLB) and was one homer every 22.66 ABs in 2021 (3rd-best).

THAT’S A BIG PIECE OF PIE: According to Sports Info Solutions SF has scored 14 of its 22 runs this year on home runs (64%)… that’s third-highest in MLB behind the Marlins (73%) and Reds (also 64%).

CAN WE PUT AN ESPRESSO MACHINE IN THE DUGOUT?: The Giants are 1-for-16 in the 1st inning this season (SIS).

DON’T YOU…FORGET ABOUT ME: LHP Alex Wood starts the series finale for SF and is the only pitcher on the 26-man active roster yet to play in a game for the Giants this season due to the two off days the team has had to start the year…Wood last threw in a game back on March 26 at the Oakland Coliseum vs. the A’s, working into the 6th inning and striking out 10 batters while allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits in the 94-pitch effort…Wood went 8-12 with a 5.10 ERA a season ago in 26 starts for SF.

EARLY POLLING NUMBERS…: The Giants have struck out 63 times through their first five games, second-most in the Majors behind only the Miami Marlins who have struck out 74 times but have played two more games (seven)…SF is striking out at a 31.7% clip this year (63 strikeouts in 199 plate appearances), also second highest in the Majors behind Miami (31.9%)…for reference in 2022, SF’s strikeout percentage was 23.9% while in 2021 it was 23.6%).

YOU GOTTA EARN IT: Giants pitching has walked only 13 batters through its first five games (42.0 innings), fourth-fewest in the Majors just behind the Dodgers (six), Yankees (12) and Orioles (12)…SF’s 2.79 BB/9ip ratio is ninth-lowest in the Majors early on.

HEADING HOME: Following today’s game, the Giants will head back to San Francisco for their first homestand of the year…SF is 40-25 (.615) in home openers since 1958, including a 16-7 mark (.696) at Oracle Park (since 2000)…SF has won 16 of their last 22 home openers and each of their last two dating to 2021…last season, the Giants opened the season with a 6-5 extra inning, walk-off victory over the Marlins.

TODAY’S STARTER – ALEX WOOD LHP #57
WITH THE GIANTS: Begins his third season with the Giants…signed a two-year Major League contract with San Francisco on December 1, 2021 after spending the 2021 season in a Giants uniform…today marks his first appearance this year and will mark his 241st game and 191st start in his career.

SPRING TRAINING: Made four starts this spring, going 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA (6er, 15.0ip) with 24 strikeouts and 0.87 WHIP…his last spring start came on March 26 at Oakland where he tossed 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts.

VS. WHITE SOX: Has faced the White Sox only once in his career on August 15, 2017 when he was a member of the Dodgers…threw 7.0 innings and allowed just one run on six hits with six strikeouts.

2022 SEASON: Went 8-12 with a 5.10 ERA (74er, 130.2ip) in 26 starts with SF going 12-14…in two seasons with the Giants Wood is 18-16 (133er, 269.1ip) with 69 walks, 31 homeruns and a batting average against of .249 (257-for-1033).

AWAY VS. HOME: While pitching on the road last season Wood finished 5-7 with a 5.51 ERA (41er, 67.0ip), struk out 68, walked 18 and allowed 12 home runs…he fared better at home in 2022, posting a 4.66 ERA (33er, 63.2ip) while going 3-5 and striking out 63 batters in 63.2 innings.

LEFTOVERS: Wood dominated left-handed batters last season, holding them to a .193 average (23-for-119) with five walks and 36 strikeouts…he allowed just three extra-base hits against lefties (one HR and two doubles) all year and posted a .464 OPS overall… right-handers hit .283 (109-for-385) with a .800 OPS.

MY SALES PITCH: His go-to pitch last season was the sinker, as he used the pitch 45.5% of the time…he recorded 68 of his 131 strikeouts last year with his sinker…that was in contrast to his first season with SF in 2021 where he still used the sinker about the same percentage of the time (46.4%) but his main strikeout pitch was the slider as he recorded 91 of his 152 strikeouts (59.8%) that year.

ORDER UP…: In 2022, Wood limited opposing hitters to a .645 OPS and a .241 average the first time through the order…the second time through those numbers went up to a .706 OPS and a .256 average…the third time through opponents had a .941 OPS and a .326 average off Wood.

PACING: Averaged 15.1 seconds between pitches when the bases were empty during the 2022 season, 25th-quickest in the Majors last year (league average is 18.1 seconds)…with runners on however, Wood slows it down a bit, averaging 21.3 seconds between pitches…that rate was still well under league average (23.3 seconds).

CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:

WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox conclude their first homestand of the season this afternoon against the San Francisco Giants.

RHP Lance Lynn, who is 7-4 with a 2.56 ERA (26 ER/91.1 IP) in 15 starts since the 2022 All-Star Break, is scheduled to start for the White Sox.

The teams have split the first two games of this series, with the Sox posting a 7-3 victory yesterday after dropping a 12-3 decision on Monday in their home opener.

Following today’s game, the Sox take a six-game trip to Pittsburgh (4/7-9) and Minnesota (4/10-12) before returning home vs. Baltimore (4/14-16) and Philadelphia (4/17-19).

The White Sox play just three games vs. AL Central teams in April (4/10-12 at the Twins) … from 4/14-30, they play 16 straight games vs. AL/National League East clubs.

TODAY’S STORYLINES
The White Sox have won six of their last seven games against San Francisco and are 12-3 since 2008.

Lance Lynn has thrown 21.0 consecutive scoreless IP over his last three starts against San Francisco (all at Oracle Park), allowing 10 hits … Lynn threw 7.0 IP on 8/29/15, 8.0 on 9/2/17 and 6.0 on 7/1/22.

Yoán Moncada is tied for the American League lead with six extra-base hits and 21 total bases and ranks among the leaders in numerous other categories.

The Sox have recorded 10-plus hits in five of six games.

White Sox pitchers have issued a MLB-high 35 walks this season, including 17 through two games of this series.

YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Dylan Cease combined with five relievers on a four-hitter, Gavin Sheets drove in three runs, and Elvis Andrus collected his 2,000th career hit to lead the White Sox to a 7-3 victory over San Francisco.

Cease allowed one run on one hit with five walks and eight strikeouts over 5.0 IP, improving to 5-3 with a 1.35 ERA (13 ER/86.2 IP) in his last 14 home starts since 5/29/22.

Sheets hit a RBI single in the first inning and a two-run single in the seventh … Andrus became the fourth active player and 290th in MLB history to reach 2,000 hits with a fifth-inning single
off Giants starter Logan Webb.

The White Sox outhit the Giants, 13-4, and went 7-12 with RISP … Luis Robert Jr. was 3-4 with a double, RBI and two runs scored, and Andrew Benintendi (2-4, 2 R) and Yoán Moncada (2-4, RBI) also posted multihit efforts.

Jake Diekman (1.0 IP), Aaron Bummer (0.2) and Reynaldo López (0.1) all posted holds with scoreless outings.

Sox pitchers issued nine walks, their most in a victory since 4/20/21 at Cleveland, but held Giants hitters to a 1-10 mark with RISP (11 left on base).

Tim Anderson was ejected in the third inning (eighth career).

ELVIS BECOMES MR. 2,000
Elvis Andrus yesterday became the 290th player in MLB history to record 2,000 hits with a fifth-inning single off San Francisco starter Logan Webb.

Andrus ranks fourth among active players in hits, trailing only Miguel Cabrera (3,090), Joey Votto (2,093) and Nelson Cruz (2,019) … he has recorded 1,743 hits with Texas, 205 with Oakland and 52 with the White Sox.

SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
The White Sox are batting .271/.337/.430 (337-1,242) vs. left-handed pitching since the start of 2022 … during that span, the Sox led the American League in average, rank second in on-base percentage and OPS (.767) and fourth in slugging.

Since 2019, Tim Anderson owns a .349/.379/.560 (137-393) slash line vs. LHP, while Hanser Alberto is hitting .343/.362/.484 (169-492) … Luis Robert is a career .353/.405/.605 (67-190) hitter vs. lefties.

WHITE SOX VS. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
The White Sox lead the all-time series, 13-5, going 7-1 at Oracle Park and 6-4 at Guaranteed Field Park.

The Sox swept a three-game series at Oracle Park from 7/1- 3/22 and won two of three games at Guaranteed Rate Field in the last meeting in 2017, with José Abreu hitting for the cycle on 9/9/17.

INTERLEAGUE INSIGHT
The White Sox are 254-231 (.524) all-time in interleague play (131-111 at home), the seventh-best winning percentage in MLB.

The Sox went 11-9 last season after posting a 14-6 record in 2021 … they are 22-11 since 7/25/21.

The White Sox rank second all-time with 607 home runs, trailing only Toronto (647) and the Yankees (616).

CEASE AND DESTROY
Dylan Cease, who finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting last season, has gone 11-6 with a 1.51 ERA (25 ER/148.2 IP) and 174 strikeouts over his last 25 starts dating to 5/29/22.

During that stretch, Cease leads MLB in ERA and opponents average (.167) … he has allowed one or no earned runs in 20 of the 25 starts.

SEARCHING FOR HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
The White Sox went 37-44 (.457) at home in 2022, the 12thbest winning percentage in the American League … by comparison, the Sox were 53-28 (.654) at home in 2021, the best record in the AL and their best mark since 2008 (54-28).

The White Sox hit 77 home runs at Guaranteed Rate Field, their fewest in a season since 2015 (73) … they ranked 11th in the AL with a 4.36 ERA, up from a 3.53 mark in 2021 when they were second behind only Tampa Bay (2.93).

BEST ABILITY IS AVAILABILITY
RHP Lance Lynn (21 starts), All-Star SS Tim Anderson (79 games), 3B Yoán Moncada (104) and OFs Eloy Jiménez (84) and Luis Robert Jr. (98) all missed significant time in 2022.

The White Sox projected Opening Day lineup was together for just one game last season, a 3-2 loss on 8/4 at Texas.

ON DECK: AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES
The White Sox begin a six-game trip tomorrow afternoon at Pittsburgh in the Pirates home opener.

RHP Lucas Giolito is scheduled to start the opener of the three-game series … Giolito is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA (8 ER/23.1 IP) and 28 strikeouts in four career starts against the Pirates … he threw the 19th no-hitter in White Sox history on 8/25/20 at Guaranteed Rate Field, walking none with 13 strikeouts. l The Sox lead the all-time series, 23-19, including a 10-12 record in Pittsburgh (8-9 at PNC Park) … they have won six of the last eight games following an eight-game losing streak.

Andrew Benintendi is a .375/.444/.667 (9-24) hitter with two home runs and 10 RBI in six career games against the Pirates.

TODAY’S STARTER – #33 LANCE LYNN RHP
LYNN AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his second start of the season and first at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Went 6-2 with a 2.26 ERA (17 ER/67.2 IP), .220 (56- 254) opponents average and 68 strikeouts over his last 11 starts dating back to 8/14/22.

Ranks among MLB active pitchers in HR/9.0 IP (4th, 0.90), SO/9.0 IP (7th, 9.05), opponents average (8th, .241), opponents SLG (8th, .380), wins (9th, 123), opponents OPS (10th, .691), ERA (11th, 3.52), IP (11th, 1,711.0), WHIP (11th, 1.26), opponents OBP (11th, .311), starts (T11th, 286) and strikeouts (13th, 1,721).

Signed a two-year contract extension with a club option with the White Sox on 7/17/21 … under terms of the extension, he will receive $18.5 million in both 2022 and 2023, with the Sox holding an $18-million option for 2024 with a $1-million buyout.

Is a two-time All-Star (2012 and 2021) … has finished fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019, sixth in 2020 and third in 2021.

Was a member of the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Was acquired from Texas in exchange for RHP Dane Dunning and LHP Avery Weems on 12/8/20.

LAST START
Received a no decision in his season debut on 3/31 at Houston, allowing two runs on three hits with four walks and six strikeouts over 5.2 IP … held the Astros scoreless before allowing a two-out, two-run home run to Kyle Tucker in the sixth inning.

Left the game in the sixth with the White Sox leading, 3-2 … threw 96 pitches (55 strikes) … the Astros outscored the Sox from the seventh-ninth to earn a 6-3 win.

Owned a 52.2 first-strike percentage and 16.7 swinging-strike percentage (16 swing and misses) vs. 23 batters … threw 30 cutters (88.5 mph avg; 90.5 mph max), 29 four-seam fastballs (93.0 avg; 95.1 max), 17 sinkers (92.3 avg; 94.4 max), 12 curveballs (81.7 avg; 83.5 max) and
eight changeups (86.1 avg; 87.6 max).

2022 SEASON RECAP
Was limited to 21 starts after missing the first two-plus months of 2022 with a knee injury sustained during spring.

Ranked among the American League leaders in numerous categories in the second half, including walks per 9.0 IP (2nd, 1.05), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2nd, 8.90), WHIP (3rd, 0.97) and ERA (5th) … limited opponents to a .222/.257/.374 (46-152) slash line in the second half, compared to .303/.355/.480 (73-329) before the break.

Struck out 9.17 batters per 9.0 IP (124 SO/121.2 IP), his fifth straight season averaging 9.0 or better … set career bests with a 6.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio (19 BB) and an average of 1.41 walks per 9.0 IP.

Went 1-3 with a 7.50 ERA (30 ER/36.0 IP) and 35 strikeouts over seven starts in the first half, compared to 7-4 with a 2.52 ERA (24 ER/85.2 IP) and 89 strikeouts over 14 starts after the All-Star Break.

Went 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA (9 ER/43.0 IP) and .215 (35-163) opponents average in his final seven road starts … his 1.88 ERA during that span ranked fifth in the AL.

VS. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS || INTERLEAGUE
Is scheduled to make his eighth career start against the Giants, fifth at home and 40th (43rd appearance) during interleague play.

Owns a 21.0 scoreless IP streak over his last three starts vs. San Francisco … all of those starts have come on the road … last faced the Giants on 7/1/22 at Oracle Park, allowing three hits over 6.0 scoreless IP.

Has gone 5-2 with a 2.03 ERA (16 ER/71.0 IP), .172 (44-256) opponents average an 70 strikeouts in 11 interleague starts since 2020.

MLB Preview: Toronto Blue Jays (3-3) at Kansas City Royals (1-5)

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MLB Preview: Toronto Blue Jays (3-3) at Kansas City Royals (1-5)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:

THE LATEST: The Blue Jays blanked the Royals by a score of 3-0 last night…Marked the club’s 1st shutout of the season… Pitched 10 shutouts last year (T-7th in the AL). Toronto has now won consecutive games on the heels of a three-game slide and is back at .500 for the season…Has started a season at 3-3 for the 3rd time in the last four years…Can earn their 1st series victory of 2023 with a win this afternoon.

VLAD TO THE BONE: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. connected for his 1st home run of the campaign last night as he led off the 8th inning with a 389-foot liner deep to right…Also picked up a pair of hits on singles in the 1st (102.3 MPH) and 6th (103.3 MPH) innings to go 3-for-4 with two runs scored…Marked his 40th career 3+ hit performance. The 24-year-old has recorded an MLB-leading 16 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) this year, two more than 2nd-place Matt Chapman…Recorded 265 hard-hit balls over the course of last season, the most in the Majors (2nd: José Abreu – 256).

DAULTON IS DIALLED IN: Daulton Varsho singled twice and doubled in a 3-for-4 evening…Marked his 1st three-hit game as a Blue Jay and his 3rd multi-hit effort…Is now batting .333 (8- for-24) with two doubles, a home run, and three RBI through six games (.935 OPS).

STAT CHAPMAN: Matt Chapman singled and collected two RBI last night…Is now batting .522 (12-for-23) with five doubles, two walks, and five RBI for a 1.299 OPS through six games…The 12 hits and .522 AVG are currently both 1st in the Majors. The third baseman’s hot start also has him leading MLB in doubles (5) while sitting T-7th in extra base hits…Among AL batters, is T-2nd in OBP (.560), 4th in OPS, and 7th in SLG (.739),

HITTING IT: The Blue Jays have notched 63 hits so far, tied for 3rd most in MLB…Their team batting average of .292 sits 2nd in the Majors as the season begins (STL: .324)… Currently rank 1st in the AL in OBP (.363), 7th in SLG (.384), and 7th in OPS (.748).

MANOAH ON A MISSION: Alek Manoah pitched his way through 4.1 innings before allowing his 1st hit last night…Finished with 7.0 scoreless frames, allowing just that lone single while walking four and striking out five…Dating back to last season, three of his last four starts have been scoreless. The 25-year-old righty now has 26 quality starts since the beginning of last season, 2nd most in among all MLB pitchers…His 207.0 innings pitched over that span are 4th most in the AL while his 2.35 ERA also ranks 4th and his 1.02 WHIP sits 7th

LENGTHY ROAD WORK: The Blue Jays start the season with 10 straight road contests as renovations wrap up at Rogers Centre… Ties the longest road trip to kick off a campaign in team history (10G in 1984)…Marks the 3rd trip of 10+ games to begin a season by any team in the last 20 years, joining the 2019 Red Sox (11G) and the 2022 Athletics (10G)…Played three games in St. Louis (1-2), are now in Kansas City (2-1) for four contests and will wrap up the trip with three games in Anaheim. Toronto’s .556 road win% in 2022 (45-36) ranked 3rd in the AL and tied for 2nd best in team history (1st: .580 in 1993)…Blue Jays hitters led the AL in road runs (416), AVG (.266), OBP (.331), SLG (.428), and OPS (.759)…The pitching staff ranked 5th in the AL in road ERA (3.70), 5th in road WHIP (1.24), and 6th in road opponents’ batting average (.245)..

GAUS FOR EXCITEMENT: Kevin Gausman returns to the mound for his 2nd start of the season…Went 6.0 innings on April 1 at STL and was charged with three unearned runs while recording seven K’s…Ranked 5th in the AL with 205 strikeouts in 2022 and finished 11th in ERA (3.35).

GETTING ON: Toronto has had 89 runners reach base through five contests, 3rd most in the AL while the two teams ahead in that ranking have played an extra contest… Are now on a streak of 24 games with 8+ runners on base, the longest of all MLB clubs (courtesy Stats Perform).
The Blue Jays led the AL in times on base in 2022 (2,395) as Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied for 3rd most among AL hitters at 306.

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

VS. THE ROYALS: All-Time: 222-200
2023: 2-1 Road: 101-110
Road: 2-1 Kauffman Stadium: 101-110
The Blue Jays went 5-2 against the Royals last season, taking two of three contests at Kauffman Stadium…Have taken each season series since 2018, now 22-9 vs. KC over that span. Whit Merrifield is facing his former team for the 1st time…The 9th-round pick of the 2010 draft debuted with the Royals in 2016 and played in 863 games across seven seasons…Batted .286, was named to two All-Star teams, and led the AL in hits in both 2018 (192) and 2019 (206). Matt Chapman went 10-for-27 (.370) with three doubles, two home runs, and six RBI in the seven games against the Royals last season…Is now a career .351 (40-for-114) hitter with 13 doubles, seven home runs, and 21 RBI across 31 contests (1.047 OPS)…His career .649 SLG vs. KC ranks 3rd best among active hitters (min. 100 AB). George Springer leads all current Blue Jays with 45 career games played vs. KC…Has hit .238 (43-for181) with eight doubles, two triples, 10 homers, and 31 RBI for an .826 OPS.

STARTING PITCHER – Kevin Gausman, RHP #34
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 2nd start of the season…Took the loss in his season debut on 4/1 at STL, giving up 3 runs (all unearned) on 8 hits and a walk over 6.0 innings with 7 strikeouts. Owns a 2.76 FIP since the start of the 2020 season, the 2nd-best mark among qualified hurlers (1st: Corbin Burnes – 2.52).

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: His career-best 2.32 FIP ranked 2nd among all MLB hurlers (Carlos Rodón – 2.31)…Was 5th in the AL with 205 strikeouts and finished 11th in ERA (3.35). Twirled 6.1 innings of one-run ball in Game 1 of a doubleheader on 5/7 at CLE, giving up 6 hits with 5 strikeouts while walking his 1st batter of the season (Franmil Reyes with 2 out in the 4th)…Faced 136 consecutive batters to the begin the year without issuing a walk, the longest streak in franchise history (Paul Quantrill – 90 in 2001), and the 3rdlongest streak across the Majors since 1974 (Mark Eichhorn – 146 in 1991, Dan Quisenberry – 146 in 1982). Earned the win on 8/2 at TB, throwing 8.0 shutout innings with a hit, a walk, and 10 strikeouts…Became the first Blue Jays pitcher to go 8+ scoreless since Alex Manoah on 9/13/21 vs. TB, and the first to do so on the road since Ryan Borucki on 9/17/18 at BAL…Recorded double-digit strikeouts for the 4th time this season and 3rd time in his last 6 starts. Named AL Player of the Week for 8/1-8/7, going 1-0 with 14.0 scoreless innings pitched (7H, BB, 15K)…Was his 1st PotW nod…Was the 9th Blue Jays pitcher to take Player of the Week honours…Became the 2nd pitcher in team history to tally at least 15 K’s without more than 1 BB across 2 consecutive scoreless outings, joining Brandon Morrow (4/28-5/3/12). Picked up his 9th win on 8/19 at NYY…Scattered 4 hits and a walk over 7.0 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts… Marked his 6th scoreless outing of the season and the 3rd in his last 4 starts. Landed a no-decision on 9/21 at PHI as he tossed 6.0 scoreless innings 5H, 2BB, 8K)…Was his 6th outing of 6+ scoreless IP. Took a no-decision on 9/26 vs. NYY, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk over 6.1 innings with 7 punchouts…Became the 2nd pitcher in team history to record 200 K’s in his 1st season as a Blue Jay (Roger Clemens – 292 in 1997).

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

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

Selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round (4th overall) of the 2012

First-Year Player Draft.
VS. THE ROYALS:
Facing the Royals for the 3rd time in his career and the 2nd time as a Blue Jay…Met KC last year on 7/14 in Toronto, tossing 6.0 frames of two-run ball (7H, 2BB, 6K)…His only career visit to Kauffman Stadium came on 5/14/17 as a member of the Orioles (3.1 IP, 9H, 5ER, 2BB, 3K).

KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:

BLANK SPACE: The Royals were shut out for the third time in 6 games last night, falling in a 3-0 decision to the Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium…they were held to just 2 hits—both singles—and went 0-for-4 in scoring situations, spoiling another strong performance by Zack Greinke, who allowed just 1 run over 6.0 innings, lowering the starting rotation’s ERA to 2.59 (9 ER in 31.1 IP)…Toronto starter Alek Manoah allowed only 1 hit over 7.0 scoreless innings and escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the 3rd and a two-on, 1-out jam in the 5th.

The Royals are 1-5 through 6 games for the third time in the club’s 55-year history…despite the slow start, the other two Royals teams to open the season 1-5 each went on to finish the year with a win percentage above .500, as the 1993 Royals finished 84-78 (.519) and the 1994 Royals went 64-51 (.557).

THE GOOD: Through the first 6 games of the season, Royals starting pitchers Zack Greinke, Jordan Lyles, Brad Keller, Brady Singer and Kris Bubic have combined for a 2.59 ERA (9 ER in 31.1 IP), which ranks 4th in the Majors and is more than 2 runs lower than their 4.76 ERA (440 ER in 832.2 IP) from last season, when Royals starters ranked 27th out of 30…the Royals starting rotation is one of three in the Majors that hasn’t allowed a home run this season, along with the Braves and Rays…in all 6 starts, Royals starters have held their opponent to 2 runs or fewer and only Keller, who pitched 4.2 innings on Sunday, failed to complete 5.0 innings.

All Royals pitchers—starters and relievers—have combined to throw first-pitch strikes at a 63.0% rate, which ranks 10th in the Majors and is a significant improvement on 2022, when they ranked 30th at 58.0%.

Today the Royals turn to Lyles, who allowed 2 runs (1 ER) in 5.1 innings in his season debut on Saturday.

THE BAD AND THE UGLY: The Royals have been shut out three times already, matching the Major League record through the first 6 games of a season, most recently done by the 2021 Washington Nationals…they scored 9 runs in Saturday’s win vs. Minnesota but have combined for just 5 runs in their remaining 5 games, and their 14 total runs are tied for their 4th fewest in franchise history through 6 games…their run total ranks last in the Majors, as does their .155 team batting average, .265 slugging percentage and .519 OPS.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: Despite the lack of results on offense, the Royals lead the Majors with a 91.8 mph average exit velocity, according to Baseball Savant, ahead of the Dodgers (91.5), Cardinals (91.1), Rays (90.6) and Braves (90.4), teams that rank 1st, 3rd, 2nd and 7th, respectively in OPS…the Royals rank 2nd in the Majors with a 51.9% Hard Hit Rate—which is defined by balls with an exit velocity of at least 95.0 mph—and trail only the Dodgers (55.2%) in that category…but despite consistently making hard contact, the Royals rank last among all 30 teams with a .190 Batting Average on Balls in Play and their expected batting average is 70 points higher than their actual batting average, another stroke of bad luck that is the largest gap in the Majors.

SERIES SPEAKING: Today marks the final game of this 7-game homestand, which is the Royals longest season-opening stay since 1990, when they began with 8 home games vs. Baltimore (1-1), Toronto (1-2) and Cleveland (2-1)…the Royals were swept in 3 games by Minnesota last weekend and have lost two of the first three vs. Toronto this week…today they’re seeking a split of this 4-game set, but with a loss they would clinch back-to-back losing series to begin the season for the first time since 2010, when they went 1-2 vs. Detroit and Boston.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The Royals added three veteran non-roster invites to their Opening Day roster in Jackie Bradley Jr., Matt Duffy and Franmil Reyes…Bradley Jr., who appeared on the 2013 and 2018 World Series winning teams in Boston, coaxed a walk last night, had 1 of the Royals 2 hits, and has already made his Rawlings Gold Glove Award-winning presence felt, making starts at all three outfield spots…Duffy, a World Series champion with San Francisco in 2014 and the Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2015, had 3 of the Royals 4 hits Tuesday night and is 5-for-7 through 2 games with the Royals…Reyes, who hit a career-high 37 HR in 2019 and hit 30 HR in 2021, recorded his 1st hit as a Royal Tuesday night on a 455-ft. home run that sailed over the fountains in left-center field and marked the longest homer by a Royal in two years…according to Elias, Reyes is the fourth player on the Royals active roster to have his 1st hit with the team be a HR, joining Nate Eaton on July 14, 2022 at Toronto, Vinnie Pasquantino on July 1, 2022 at Detroit and Zack Greinke on June 10, 2005 at Arizona.

AFTERNOON DELIGHT: Today’s 1:10 p.m. CT start marks the first of 4 straight day games for the Royals, including a trio of day games this weekend in San Francisco…tomorrow’s 3:35 p.m. CT start will be the Giants home opener, and will be followed by 3:05 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday…that means 7 of the Royals first 10 games will be played during the day, and they’re scheduled for 64 day games this season, which would match 2021 for their 2nd most in team history, trailing only last season, when they played a club-record 69 day games. Ê Today marks the sixth of 12 consecutive days with a game before the next off day next Thursday, April 13.

VS. TORONTO: The Royals are 1-2 through the first 3 games vs. Toronto, and they’ll attempt to split the 4-game set with a win today…they are 8-20 in four completed season series since 2018 and have not won a season set vs. Toronto since 2017, when they went 4-2…after today, these teams won’t meet again until September, when the Royals will travel north of the border, where they haven’t won a series since taking two of three in 2017.

Since the Royals defeated Toronto in the 2015 ALCS, they’re 15-28 (.349) in 43 games vs. the Blue Jays.

CAPTAIN SALVY: The Royals announced last week on Opening Day that Salvador Perez has been named team Captain…Perez, 32, joins Royals Hall of Famers George Brett (1989-93), Frank White (1989-90) and Mike Sweeney (2003-07) as the only team Captains in club history…Salvy is a seven-time American League All-Star, a five-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and a two-time Royals Les Milgram Player of the Year…he was unanimously named the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 World Series, and ranks among the Royals all-time leaders in home runs (223, 2nd), RBI (732, 7th), extra-base hits (472, 7th), total bases (2,207, 8th), doubles (238, 9th) and hits (1,278, 8th).

PACE OF PLAY: The new pitch timer rules implemented for 2023 have already produced dramatic results through the first seven days of the season…through 87 games that have ended in 9 innings, the average game time has been 2 hours, 36 minutes, and only 11 of the 87 games (12.6%) lasted at least 3 hours…the Royals 6 games have averaged 2 hours, 28 minutes, which is 8 minutes below the league average…compared to 9-inning games across the Majors last season, average time of game is down 27 minutes, while batting averages are up from .243 to .247, runs per game are up from 8.6 to 9.0 and stolen base success rates have jumped from 75.4% to 80.5%…the current success rate of steals would shatter the Major League record set in 2021 at 75.7%.

TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP JORDAN LYLES (0-1, 1.69 ERA)
JORDAN LYLES is making his 2nd start of the season and 323rd appearance (216th start) of his career today vs. Toronto…he was originally selected by Houston in the 1st round (38th overall) of the 2008 Draft out of Hartsville High School (S.C.), and signed a two-year contract with the Royals on Dec. 28, 2022.

STRONG DEBUT IN GAME 2: Lyles was a tough-luck loser in his Royals debut last Saturday afternoon, when he worked 5.1 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts, with 1 of those 2 runs scoring after he exited the game…the lone earned run allowed came in the 1st inning as Byron Buxton hit a 2-out double, setting up Jose Miranda for an RBI single…he went on to retire 14 of his final 18 hitters and exited with 1 out and two on in favor of Ryan Yarbrough, who was also making his Royals debut and allowed an inherited run to score on a sac. fly.

2022 IN REVIEW: Lyles led the Orioles with a career-high 32 starts in his only season with Baltimore last year, which tied for the 3rd most in the American League…he matched a career high with 12 wins, the most by an Orioles pitcher since John Means had 12 in 2019, and the most by an Orioles right hander since Dylan Bundy had 13 in 2017…he matched a career high with 13 quality starts, also doing so in 2021.

Lyles eclipsed the 100-pitch threshold in 11 of his 32 starts (34.4%), tying him for 6th in the AL in 100-plus-pitch games, ahead of Justin Verlander and Shohei Ohtani, who both recorded 10 games of at least 100 pitches last season.

Pitching in the American League East for the first time in his career, Lyles struggled mightily vs. the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays, going 6-7 with a 5.94 ERA (59 ER in 89.1 IP), and those teams combined to slash .301/.363/.523 (111-for-369) off him with 18 home runs…when facing all other opponents, Lyles was 6-4 with a 2.91 ERA (29 ER in 89.2 IP) and an opponents’ batting average of .249 (85-for-341) with just 8 homers allowed. WALKING THE WALK: Jordan enters today’s start with a career 2.3% K/BB rate (1024/448), including a 2.8 BB/9 rate in 2021 and a 2.6 BB/9 rate in 2022….among pitchers with at least 60 starts since 2021, his BB/9 rate of 2.72 ranks 5th in the American League, trailing only Cole Irvin (1.98), Jameson Taillon (2.13), Gerrit Cole (2.19) and José Berríos (2.24).

SLOW TO START: Through the first eight seasons of his career (2011-18), only 115 of his 217 Major League outings (53.0%) were starts…but since the 2019 season, 100 of his 105 appearances (95.2%) have been in a starting role, making him one of 21 pitchers to make at least 100 starts since the 2019 campaign.

WORKHORSE: The Royals are the eighth club Lyles has played for at the Major League level and he has played in parts of now 13 seasons with Houston (2011-13), Colorado (2014-17), San Diego (2017-18), Milwaukee (2018-19), Pittsburgh (2019), Texas (2020-21), Baltimore (2022) and Kansas City (2023)… since the beginning of 2021, his 364.1 innings rank 4th among American League pitchers, including a career-high 180.0 innings with Texas in 2021.

He was one of only four pitchers in the AL to record at least 175.0 innings from 2021-2022, along with Gerrit Cole, Cole Irvin and Robbie Ray.

Across his 13 seasons and 322 Major League appearances, he has only been placed on the Injured List on five occasions: June 10-29, 2019 (left hamstring tightness), March 28-April 4, 2019 (right side discomfort), June 24-July 29, 2018 (right elbow inflammation), June 1-end of season, 2015 (sprained left big toe) and June 5-Aug. 6, 2014 (fractured left hand).

VS. TORONTO: Lyles has made 7 career appearances (6 starts) vs. the Blue Jays, and is 3-2 with a 6.75 ERA (25 ER in 33.1 IP), but that includes 3 appearances between 2013-16…the remaining 4 outings have come in the last two seasons, in which he is 2-2 with a 7.20 ERA (16 ER in 20.0 IP).

In his most recent start vs. Toronto last Sept. 16, he covered 5.0 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts, and earned his 11th loss…the Blue Jays countered with a bullpen game, started by Trevor Richards, and saw seven pitchers all record no more than 2.0 innings.

FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME: Over the course of his 13-year career, Lyles has fared better when pitching in front of his home fans, going 36-38 (.486) with a 4.74 ERA (359 ER in 682.1 IP) in 164 appearances…in 158 appearances (109 starts) on the road, he’s 30-53 (.361) with a 5.46 ERA (394 ER in 649.1 IP)…in 2022 while pitching for the Orioles, Lyles pitched extremely well while in Camden Yards, pitching to a 3.47 ERA (32 ER in 83.0 IP) across 14 starts, but was hit hard on the road, where he was hit to the tune of a 5.25 ERA (56 ER in 96.0 IP) in 18 starts.

Although he’s just starting to call The K “home,” he’s looking to change course here, as he’s 1-2 in 4 starts with a 4.30 ERA (11 ER in 23.0 IP) at The K.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Lyles has been nothing if not a consistently strong defender, averaging less than 1 defensive miscue per season (12 in 1331.2 IP)…he has not committed an error since Sept. 22, 2020, and has made 66 appearances (64 starts) since his last miscue in the field.

His 364.1 innings without an error since 2021 are the 2nd most among all pitchers, trailing only Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (394.1).

MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (2-4) at Detroit Tigers (2-4)

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MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (2-4) at Detroit Tigers (2-4)

BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:

STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox were swept in a 3-game series vs. PIT from Monday-Wednesday after winning 2 of 3 games vs. BAL in their opening series. Beginning with the 2nd inning on Monday vs. PIT, the Sox have been held scoreless in 23 of their last 26 offensive innings (3 total runs) after scoring in 9 of their previous 12 turns to bat (18 total runs).

SOX & TIGERS: Today will mark the first meeting of 2023 between the Red Sox and Tigers, as well as the Sox’ 1st road game of the season. BOS went 5-1 vs. DET in 2022, winning 2 of 3 games at Comerica Park from 4/11-13 and sweeping a 3-game series at Fenway Park from 6/20-22.
The Sox lead the all-time series vs. DET, 1,053-981, including a 44-37 mark at Comerica Park…They are 17-8 vs. DET since the start of 2018.

ROAD TRIPPING: The Red Sox today begin a 7-game road trip to DET (3 games) and TB (4 games). Last season, the Sox went 35-46 (.432) on the road… It was their 1st time posting a sub-.500 road record over a 162-game season since 2015 (also 35-46). Tomorrow will be a scheduled off day…After tomorrow, the Sox will play 19 games in 19 days, from 4/8-26.

INNINGS OF INTEREST: The Red Sox have scored in the 1st inning in 4 of their first 6 games of 2023. They have scored 8 runs in the 1st inning, most among AL teams and tied for most in MLB with ATL, CIN, and LAD. The Sox have not allowed a run in the 8th or 9th inning yet this season…The only other teams to do so are PIT and TEX. They have outscored opponents in the 8th and 9th innings, 8-0.

LEADERS OF THE PACK: The Red Sox rank 4th in the AL and 6th in MLB in runs scored (34). The Sox also rank in the AL’s top 5 in various offensive categories (see below).

RED SOX OFFENSIVE RANKINGS
Stat AL Rank
35 runs………………………… 4th
21 extra-base hits…………. 5th
8 home runs…………………. 5th
Stat AL Rank
.261 AVG………………………. 5th
.445 SLG ………………………. 5th
.777 OPS ………………………. 5th

HOT START: The Red Sox have scored 35 runs, their most through a season’s first 6 games since 2016 (also 35 runs). The Red Sox combined for 2 runs and 9 hits over the last 2 games, after averaging 8.25 runs/game and 11.5 his/game over their first 4 games of the season. This Sox recorded at least 6 runs in 10 hits in each of their first 4 games of a season for the 4th time in club history (also 2016, 1985, 1950).

TEAM OF THE CENTURY: The 2023 season is the 22nd for the Red Sox’ current ownership group (Henry-Werner, 2002-2023)…In the last 22 seasons, the Sox have won more World Series titles (4) than any other team. Among MLB and the NFL, NBA, and NHL, the only other franchises to win as many as 4 championships since the start of 2002 are the New England Patriots (6), Los Angeles Lakers (4), San Antonio Spurs (4), and Golden State Warriors (4).

MOST WORLD SERIES TITLES, 2002-2022
Rk. Team World Series

  1. Boston Red Sox 4 (2004, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18)
  2. San Francisco Giants 3 (2010, ‘12, ‘14)
  3. St. Louis Cardinals 2 (2006, ‘11)
    Houston Astros 2 (2017, ‘22)

CLOSE SHAVES: 5 of the Red Sox’ first 6 games have been decided by 3 runs or fewer (1-4 record), including 3 games decided by 1 run (1-2 record). The Sox also played at least 5 games decided by 3 runs or fewer within their first 6 games of the a season in 2022 (6 games), ‘18 (5), and ‘17 (6)… Prior to 2017, that had only happened 3 times since 2000 (5 games in 2003, ‘09 and ‘10). The Sox are 1 of 4 teams in MLB to play as many as 3 games decided by 1 run this season (also ARI, CLE, OAK).

WHAT A RELIEF: Dating back to the 7th inning on Opening Day vs. BAL, 20 of the 25 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 earned runs (see below).

RED SOX RELIEVERS TO ALLOW 1 OR 0 RUNS
Pitcher IP R
Chris Martin 3.0 0
Kenley Jansen 1.0 0
Josh Winckowski 6.0 1
Zack Kelly 4.2 1
John Schreiber 3.0 1

ON THE MEND: Brayan Bello threw 72 pitches over 5.0 innings in an intrasquad game yesterday at the Fenway South Player Development Complex in Fort Myers, FL. Garrett Whitlock made a rehab start for Triple-A Worcester on 3/31 (4.0 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 6 SO)…He is scheduled to pitch for Double-A Portland today. James Paxton threw 49 pitches over 3.0 innings in an intrasquad game at Fenway South on Tuesday.

DUV-ALL ABOUT IT: Adam Duvall on Monday was named AL Player of the Week for 3/31-4/2, after recording 6 extra-base hits and 8 RBI in his first 3 games with BOS. He recorded another RBI on Monday vs. PIT, becoming the 4th player all-time to record 9 RBI over the Sox’ first 4 games of the season…He joined Vern Stephens (1950), Ted Williams (1942), and Bobby Doerr (1941). Duvall leads qualified AL players in SLG (1.000), OPS (1.542), extra-base hits (tied, 6), and total bases (tied, 21)…He ranks among the AL’s top 5 in AVG (2nd, .476), OBP (4th, .542), HR (T-4th, 2), RBI (2nd, 9), and runs scored (T-3rd, 7).

MACHO MAN: Masataka Yoshida has hit from the 4th spot in the lineup in each of his 6 career games…He is first player since Jack Hoey in 1906 to bat 4th for the Red Sox in each of his first 6 MLB games. Prior to Yoshida, the last players to hit from the 4th spot in the lineup in each of their first 6 MLB games were Kris Bryant (2015) and Tim Salmon (1992).

THE NEW GUYS: Eleven members of the Red Sox’ Opening Day roster or injured list were not in the organization during the 2022 season (see below). 6 players made their first career Opening Day roster: 1B Triston Casas, RHP Zack Kelly, RHP Kaleb Ort, RHP Josh Winckowski, C Connor Wong, and OF Masataka Yoshida

TODAY’S STARTER: 41 CHRIS SALE – LHP
Allowed 7 runs over 3.0 IP on Saturday vs. BAL (7 H, 2 BB, 6 SO, HB, 3 HR)…6 of his 9 outs were via strikeout, including each of his first 5 outs. Saturday was just his 10th career start with 7+ ER (previous: 8/3/19 at NYY-G1). Owns a 2.96 ERA (57 ER/173.1 IP) in 33 career games (23 starts) vs. DET…Struck out 10 batters over 5.0 IP in his last start vs. DET on 4/23/19 (2 ER, 2 BB, HR). Is 53-42 with a 2.96 ERA (279 ER/848.9 IP) in 162 career games (121 starts) following a loss. Has averaged 11.08 SO/9.0 IP (2,070 SO/1,681.0 IP) in his career, the highest rate in the Live Ball Era (min. 1,000 IP)

DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS DROP SERIES FINALE AT HOUSTON: The Tigers were unable to complete the sweep of the Astros, dropping the series finale, 8-2. Riley Greene had a pair of hits, including a triple, while Nick Maton and Austin Meadows each had a hit and a RBI. Eduardo Rodriguez started for Detroit and took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits with two walks and a strikeout in 4.2 innings.

HOME OPENER NOTES: Today marks the 24th home opener at Comerica Park. Since the venue opened in 2000, the Tigers are 15-8 in home openers, including winning 12 of its last 14 outings. Detroit has opened its home schedule against Boston twice since 2000, winning 6-5 in 2017 and 3-2 in 2012.

GREENE MACHINE: Riley Greene put the finishing touches on an impressive road trip yesterday, finishing the game 2×4 with a triple. During the six-game trip, Greene hit .348/.400/.565 with a triple, a home run and a RBI. Greene has reached base safely in five-of-six games this season and has at least one hit in four consecutive contests.

SPEED RACERS: The Tigers stole four bases in yesterday’s game at Houston with Riley Greene, Eric Haase, Zach McKinstry and Matt Vierling each stealing one bag. It marked the first time Detroit has stolen four bases in a game since October 3, 2021 at Chicago (AL). Last season,
the Tigers did not record their fourth stolen base until the 22nd game of the season.

TIGERS AND RED SOX: The Tigers and Red Sox begin their six-game season series this afternoon. Along with the three games this weekend in Detroit, the two teams will play a three-game series in Boston from August 11-13. The Red Sox won five-of-six games against the Tigers last season, including taking two-of-three games at Comerica Park.

INJURY REHAB UPDATE: Tyler Nevin continued an injury rehab assignment with Triple A Toledo yesterday at Omaha, starting at third base and going 4×5 with a double and three RBI. In four injury rehab games with the Mud Hens, Nevin has gone 11×18 with three doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBI. Nevin is currently on the injured list with a left oblique strain.

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

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

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

• INF Tyler Nevin (left oblique strain, 10-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)

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

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

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – Spencer Turnbull • 0-1, 27.00 ERA (2.1IP/7ER)
• Turnbull will make his second start of the season today in the home opener against Boston…also started the 2019 home opener against Kansas City, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts in 6.0 innings. • Took the loss in his season debut on Saturday at Tampa Bay, allowing seven runs on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 2.1 innings…was his first start in the Majors since June 4, 2021

• Has faced the Red Sox twice in his career, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.25 ERA (8.0IP/2ER) and five strikeouts…in 27 career starts at Comerica Park, has a 6-14 record with a 4.18 ERA (140.0IP/65ER) and 138 strikeouts.

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

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

NHL Preview: Arizona Coyotes (27-38-13) at Seattle Kraken (43-26-8)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Arizona Coyotes (27-38-13) at Seattle Kraken (43-26-8)

ARIZONA COYOTES NOTES:

3 HARD LAPS
• Arizona holds a .500 point percentage or better since the All-Star break (11-10-7, .518) as well as March 6 (6-6-3, .500)

• Reigning Third Star of the Month Clayton Keller is closing in on the Coyotes team record for assists and points in a single season. He enters tonight seven assists shy of Ray Whitney’s 53 in 2011-12 and four points shy of Keith Tkachuk’s 86 in 1996-97

• Tonight is the final road game for the Coyotes this season. The last time they played their final three regular-season games at home was 1997-98

LAST GAME
Kraken 8, Coyotes 1 – April 3, 2023 – Climate Pledge Arena
ARI Goals: Crouse (23)
SEA Goals: Eberle (17), McCann (36, 37), Soucy (3), Borgen (3), Bjorkstrand (19), Geekie (8), Donato (14)
ARI Goalie: Prosvetov (L) – 24 svs on 32 shots
SEA Goalie: Grubauer (W) – 20 svs on 21 shots
PP: 0-3 PK: 5-7
Notes: ARI fell to SEA on the first of consecutive games against them…Lawson Crouse registered his 23rd goal of the campaign to strengthen his grip on the second-most on the Coyotes this season…Crouse is two goals away from 20 even-strength tallies…Matias Maccelli picked up an assist for the second consecutive game and grabbed sole possession of the second-most in a season by a Coyotes rookie (35)…Connor Mackey also assisted on Crouse’s goal to mark the second time in three games he’s found the scoresheet…Mackey is up to 1-3-4 in 16 GP with the Yotes… Josh Brown was charged with 14 PIMs, a career-high…ARI’s 49 PIMs are the most the team has logged in a game since 12/20/07 at SJ (58 PIM)

MAN GAMES LOST (Name/Roster Status/Injury Type/Games Missed/Last Game Played)
Zack Kassian…Day-to-Day…Upper-Body (8 / 3/18)
Total man games lost: 148 games
Liam O’Brien – 23 (12/17 – 2/6) – Upper-Body | 2 (2/11 – 2/13) – Upper-Body
Jakob Chychrun – 16 (10/13 – 11/17) – Upper-Body
Matias Maccelli – 16 (12/27 – 1/24) – Lower-Body
Nick Schmaltz – 15 (10/15 – 11/17) – Upper-Body | 1 (12/31) – Upper-Body | 3 (3/12 – 3/16)
Zack Kassian – 9 (11/1 – 11/21) – Lower-Body
Connor Timmins – 9 (10/15 – 11/5) – Upper-Body
Shayne Gostisbehere – 8 (1/26 – 2/18) – Upper-Body
Andrew Ladd – 6 (N/A) – Undisclosed
Laurent Dauphin – 4 (3/24 – 3/31) – Upper-Body
Josh Brown – 3 (11/23 – 11/27) – Upper-Body | 4 (2/26 – 3/3) – Upper-Body | 6 (3/16 – 3/26)
Ben McCartney – 3 (10/13 – 10/17) – Lower-Body
Juuso Valimaki – 1 (11/23) – Upper-Body
Lawson Crouse – 1 (12/1) – Illness | 4 (1/19 – 1/24) – Upper-Body
Christian Fischer – 1 (3/3) – Illness | 1 (3/12) – Lower-Body
Connor Ingram – 1 (1/8) – Illness
Patrik Nemeth – 1 (3/14) – Lower-Body
Brett Ritchie – 1 (3/22) – Upper-Body | 1 (3/26) – Illness

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
-4/1 – Assigned F Nathan Smith to Tucson (AHL)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
DATE TIME (AZ) OPPONENT VENUE TV RADIO
Sat, April 8 2:30pm vs ANA Mullett Arena Bally Sports Arizona Extra ESPN 620
Mon, April 10 7pm vs SEA Mullett Arena Bally Sports Arizona Extra ESPN 620
Thur, April 13 7pm vs VAN Mullett Arena Bally Sports Arizona 98.7 FM

YOTES & KRAKEN

  • Tonight is the second of three ARI-SEA matchups this season. They’ll conclude the season series at Mullett on 4/10
  • The Coyotes and Kraken play three times in a span of a week, games 78, 79 and 81 on the Yotes schedule
  • SEA took the first meeting 8-1 on Monday. The game marked the latest the Coyotes/Jets franchise has ever played an opponent for the first time in a season (Game 78)
  • The Yotes edged Seattle by a 2-1-0 clip last year in the season series, the Kraken’s inaugural campaign
  • Nick Schmaltz has faced the Kraken three times and has tallied three goals, all of which came last season…His second goal in the 2/9/22 contest was his 200th career point
  • Lawson Crouse tallied the lone Coyotes goal on Monday and shares the lead with Schmaltz for the most goals vs SEA among current Coyotes
  • Schmaltz, Crouse and Travis Boyd enter tonight as the only three players on the Coyotes roster to light the lamp against the Kraken
  • Crouse also tallied a two-goal game against the Kraken, his coming on 11/6/21 – his first career multi-goal game

SCORING NOTABLES AGAINST THE KRAKEN
Clayton Keller…0-3-3…4 career GP
Lawson Crouse…3-0-3…4 career GP
Nick Schmaltz…3-0-3…3 career GP
Connor Mackey…0-2-2…3 career GP
Matias Maccelli…0-1-1…2 career GP
Career Leaders
Goals (Schmaltz/Crouse, 3)… Assists (Keller, 3)…Points (Keller/Schmaltz/Crouse, 3)
Career Leaders Among Defensemen
Goals (-)… Assists (Mackey, 2)…Points (Mackey, 2)

SEATTLE KRAKEN NOTES:

LAST GAME
Seattle 5 at Vancouver 2
Goals: Gourde, Tanev, Eberle, Schwartz, Beniers
Goalie: Jones (16/18)
PP: 1/4 PK: 5/5 Shots: Seattle 28 – Seattle 18

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 222)
Joonas Donskoi (upper body; IR) – 77 games – no timeline for return
Andre Burakovsky (lower body) – 27 games – week-to-week
John Hayden (lower body) – 8 games – week-to-week

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A

UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, April 8: Chicago at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
Monday, April 10: Seattle at Arizona, 7 p.m. PT
Tuesday, April 11: Seattle at Vegas, 7 p.m. PT
Thursday, April 13: Vegas at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Tonight’s matchup is the second of three games the Kraken will play against the Coyotes this season and the final time the two teams are playing in Seattle. The Kraken will next take on the Coyotes in their first game at Mullett Arena next Monday (April 10).

• Tonight’s game is also the 22nd of 25 games the Kraken will play against Central Division teams this season, with Seattle holding an 11-4-6 record against the Central Division this year.

• Vince Dunn, who has already set a career high with 63 points (13 goals, 50 assists) this season, enters tonight’s game tied with Jared McCann for the team lead in scoring. He is ranked in the top 10 among all NHL defensemen in goals (tied 10th), assists (tied ninth), points (10th), even-strength goals (13, tied second) and even-strength points (48, second).

• Jared McCann has recorded 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists) in 31 games dating back to Jan. 25. His 32 points during that span are leading all Kraken skaters.

• Daniel Sprong has already set a career high in goals (20), assists (23) and points (43) this season. He was leading the NHL in points per 60 (3.19) at five-on-five among players that have played in at least three games entering play Wednesday.

• Jaden Schwartz became the Kraken’s fourth 20-goal scorer of the season with a goal in the Kraken’s last game on April 4 at Vancouver, joining Jared McCann (37), Matty Beniers (22) and Daniel Sprong (20).

• With the Kraken’s four-goal outing in their game on March 3 against Columbus, they surpassed their goal total from all of last season in 20 fewer games. Seattle has scored 272 goals in 77 games this season compared to 213 goals in 2021-22. o The team’s 272 goals this season were tied for third in the NHL entering play Wednesday.

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