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MLB Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (0-3) at New York Yankees (2-1)

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MLB Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (0-3) at New York Yankees (2-1)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:

GAME #3 RECAP: The Phillies fell to the Texas Rangers, 2-1, on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball in Arlington, TX … Starter Bailey Falter (L, 0-1) turned in 5.1 innings and allowed 2 runs on 7 hits with 0 walks and 3 strikeouts … Trea Turner, Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott all had two hits but the Phillies went just 1-for8 with RISP … Andrew Bellatti (0.2 IP), Connor Brogdon (1.0 IP) and Gregory Soto (1.0 IP) all made scoreless appearances in relief of Falter.

HOMECOMING KING: Tonight, Rob Thomson will return to Yankee Stadium and manage his first ever game against the Yankees after spending 28 years (1990-2017) with New York … Thomson, the 56th manager in Phillies history, signed a two-year contract for the 2023 and 2024 seasons on 10/10/22 after being named interim manager on 6/3/22 … After he took over, Thomson guided the Phillies to a 65-46 record (.586 win %) and the franchise’s first postseason berth since 2011 … Thomson became only the fourth manager in history to take a team at least seven games under .500 and lead them to the postseason, joining Dick Howser (KC, 1981), Cito Gaston (TOR, 1989) and Jim Tracy (COL, 2009) … Thomson also became just the eight manager (9th time) to lead a team to a World Series after the club began the season with a different manager and the first since Jack McKeon in 2003 with FLA … This is Thomson’s sixth season with the Phillies after originally being hired as bench coach on 12/5/17 … Over his almost three-decade run in New York, Thomson served many roles including 10 seasons on the ML staff as bench coach (2008, 2015-17) and 3rd base coach (2009-14).

BACK IN THE GREAT NORTHEAST: After spending the last 47 days between Clearwater, FL and Dallas, TX, the Phillies are back in the Northeast to begin a three-game set against the Yankees … The Phils will return home to Philadelphia for the home opener at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds … The Phillies are 0-3 to start a season for the 15th time since 1900, the last coming in 2016.

99 ON THE HILL: Tonight, RHP Taijuan Walker will make his Phillies debut after signing a four-year contract with the club on 12/16/22 … Last season with the New York Mets, Walker tied career bests in starts (29) and ERA (3.49) and set a new career high with 12 wins … A 2021 All-Star with the Mets, Walker has pitched parts of 10 seasons for the Seattle Mariners (2013-16; 20), Arizona Diamondbacks (2017-19),
Toronto Blue Jays (2020) and Mets (2021-22) … He was originally drafted by the Mariners in the 1st round (43rd overall) of the 2010 MLB Draft out of Yucaipa High School (CA) … Since 2017, Walker has appeared in 102 games (101 GS) and is 32-28 with a 3.69 ERA (222 ER, 541.0 IP) – his teams are 57-45 (.559 win %) in those 102 games … Since 2017, 84 pitchers in baseball have made at least 100 starts and of those 100, Walker ranks 29th with a 114 ERA+ (league average is 100) – Yu Darvish ranks 28th with a 115 ERA+ … Finally, when Walker takes the mound tonight, he will do so wearing #99 and will be only the fourth player in franchise history to do so, joining Mitch Williams in 1993, Turk Wendell in 2001 and So Taguchi in 2008.

EYES OF THE NATION: Tonight, the Phillies will make their third of four straight appearances on National television after making their first appearance on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last night … On Saturday at TEX, the game was broadcast exclusively on FOX, (ESPN last night) followed by a co-exist broadcast tonight with MLB Network and NBC Sports Philadelphia and another co-exist tomorrow night with TBS and NBC Sports Philly +.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE: Through three games and 13 plate appearances, Nick Castellanos has seen 57 total pitches for an average of 4.38 pitches per plate appearance … Last night at TEX, Castellanos saw 18 pitches in four plate appearances and walked twice … This spring, Castellanos drew 11 walks in 62 plate appearances (17.8 % BB rate) and posted a .371 OBP … In Spring Training from 2017-22, Castellanos walked 12 times in 269 plate appearances (4.5% BB rate)

FLAGS FLY FOREVER: The Phillies were National League champions in 2022 for the eighth time in franchise history (1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, 2009, 2022) … The road to the pennant began with a two-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Series at Busch Stadium, followed by a three-games-to-one Division Series win over the Atlanta Braves and a victory over the San Diego Padres in the NLCS, four games to one, clinching the series with three straight wins at Citizens Bank Park … In the Fall Classic, the Phillies fell to the Houston Astros in six games; it was only the second postseason meeting between the two clubs, the first being the 1980 NLCS …On May 31, the Phillies were eight games under .500 at 21-29 with a .420 winning percentage that ranked 11th in the National League and 22nd in MLB … Starting June 1, the Phillies went 66-46, 20 games over .500 with a .589 winning percentage that ranked 4th in the NL and 7th in baseball … The Phillies clinched their first postseason berth since 2011 with a 3-0 win against the Astros on Oct. 3 … The Phillies became only the fifth team in MLB history to start 21-29 or worse through their first 50 games and then make the World Series, joining the 2019 Washington Nationals (19-31 start), 2005 Houston Astros (18-32 start), 2003 Florida Marlins (21-29) and 1914 Boston Braves (20-30).

NEW TONIGHT, AT (THE) 6: On 12/8/22, the Phillies signed SS Trea Turner to an 11-year contract, taking him through the 2033 season … Last year with LAD, Turner was selected as an All-Star for the second time in his career, was named All-MLB First Team and won his first career Louisville Silver Slugger Award after slashing .298/.343/.466 with a 121 OPS+ and 27 steals in 30 attempts … Per Statcast, his average sprint speed of 30.3 feet per second ranked 5th out of 582 qualified players … In 2021, Turner led the majors in AVG (.328) and hits (195), led the NL in stolen bases (32) and total bases (319) and posted a career-best 6.8 fWAR (FanGraphs) which ranked 3rd among all ML position players … Since 2018, Turner has accrued a NL-best 25.2 fWAR among position players (teammate J.T. Realmuto ranks 4th at 23.3) … In 2019 with WSH, he reached base safely in 15 of 17 postseason games and won his first World Series championship.

TOLLS OF BRILLIANCE: Catcher J.T. Realmuto was named All-MLB First Team last season, took home his third Silver Slugger Award and second Gold Glove Award and finished 7th in NL MVP voting … Additionally, he finished with 6.5 fWAR, 3rd in MLB history for a catcher aged 31 or older, led MLB with 1281.2 innings at catcher (regular and postseason combined) which was 240.0 innings more than HOU’s Martin Maldonado who ranked 2nd at 1041.2, and finally, became only the second catcher in MLB history with 20 HR and 20 SB, joining Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez (1999).

TONIGHT’S STARTER – TAIJUAN WALKER • RHP #99
TONIGHT’S START:
• Welcome to Philly: Walker is making his season and Phillies debut after signing a 4-year contract with the club in December

• I <3 NY: Counting today, Walker’s last 3 Interleague starts will have come against NYY (others: 7/26/22 and 8/23/22), and last 2 at Yankee Stadium … Walker has \allowed 3 ER or fewer in 7 of his 8 career starts against NYY

• Keeping Them In The Yard: Walker surrendered only 15 home runs last season, T-8th fewest among NL pitchers with at least 150.0 IP

• Early Bird: Last season, Walker went 7-2, 2.55 ERA (26 ER, 91.2 IP) in 16 first half starts, the 8th-best among qualifying NL pitchers … He is 32-24 with a 3.49 ERA (186 ER, 479.0 IP) in his career prior to the All-Star break as opposed to 18-23 with a 4.59 ERA (186 ER, 365.2 IP) after

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

• vs Al East: 6-9, 4.15 ERA (63 ER, 136.2 IP) in 26 starts

• vs Interleague: 10-6, 3.70 ERA (49 ER, 119.1 IP) in 21 starts

ROAD:
• 2022: 7-4, 3.54 ERA (34 ER, 86.1 IP) in 16 starts

• Career: 30-29, 3.96 ERA (201 ER, 456.2 IP) in 87 games (85 starts)

2022 SEASON:
• Tied career highs in starts (29) and ERA (3.49) and set a new career high with 12 wins

• Went 7-2, 2.55 ERA (26 ER, 91.2 IP) in 16 first half starts

• Had eight straight quality starts, 6/24-7/26, the longest such streak of his career

• Was 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA (12 ER, 51.0 IP) during his streak of quality starts

• Had a 13.0-inning scoreless streak, 7/4-16, tying his career long

• Surrendered only 0.86 HR/9.0 IP (15 HR, 157.1 IP)

• His five pickoffs were 2nd in MLB to Robbie Ray’s six

CAREER
• Signed a four-year contract on 12/15/22, taking him through 2026

• Made his first career All-Star team in 2021 while with NYM

• Originally selected by SEA in 1st round (43rd overall) of 2020 MLB Draft out of Yucaipa High School (CA)

NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:

AT A GLANCE: The Yankees will continue their season-opening six-game homestand with the first game of a three-game set vs. the Phillies (through Wed.)…went 2-1 vs. the Giants in their first series of the season…will embark on their first road trip on Thursday, with stops in Baltimore (3G from Thurs., Sat.-Sun.) and Cleveland (4/10-12).

YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees clinched a series win with a 6-0 victory over the Giants on Sunday at Yankee Stadium…RHP Jhony Brito (5.0IP, 2H, 0R, 1BB, 6K) made his Major League debut and tossed 5.0 scoreless innings to earn the win, becoming just the 12th Yankees pitcher in franchise history (and fifth since 1935) to toss at least 5.0 scoreless innings in his Major League debut…RF Aaron Judge (1-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI) hit his second HR of the season with a solo HR in the third inning…DH Giancarlo Stanton (1-for-3, 1R, 1HR, 2RBI, 1BB) homered in his second straight game, hitting a two-run HR in the third inning… according to Statcast, his HR had a projected distance of 485 ft., marking his second-longest HR in the Statcast Era…C Kyle Higashioka (1-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI) hit his first HR of the season with a solo HR in the fourth inning…1B Anthony Rizzo (1-for-1, 1R, 1RBI, 1BB, 1HP, 1SF) reached base three times for his second straight game…2B Gleyber Torres (1-for-3, 1R, 1BB) and LF Oswaldo Cabrera (2-for-4) reached base twice…CF Isiah KinerFalefa (0-for-4) made his first Major League appearance in the
outfield…RHP Jimmy Cordero (0.2IP, 1H, 2K, 1HP), RHP Ron Marinaccio (1.1IP, 3K) and RHP Colten Brewer (2.0IP, 1BB, 1K,
1HP) combined to toss 4.0 scoreless innings of relief.

FAST AND FURIOUS: INF Anthony Volpe recorded his third career stolen base on Sunday…became just the fourth Yankee in franchise history to steal three bases within his first three career games, joining Andy Fox (3SB in 1996), Fritz Maisel (3SB in 1913) and Harry Williams (3SB in 1913)…became just the second Yankee in franchise history to steal at least one base in each of his first three career Major League games (also Fritz Maisel – first three career games in 1913).

His 3SB are tied for the second-most by a Yankee through the team’s first three games of a season, trailing only Rickey Henderson’s 5SB in 1989 (also 3SB by Roberto Kelly in 1989, Bobby Murcer in 1974 and Jake Stahl in 1908).

Became the first Yankee in franchise history to steal at least one base in each of the Yankees’ first three games of a season.

FAST AND FURIOUS PART II: Yankees baserunners have recorded 5SB in their first three games…marks their most stolen bases within their first three games of a season in the last 34 years (since 1990) and their second-most in their last 48 seasons since 1976 (had 9SB in their first three games in 1989).

STANTON ISLAND: OF/DH Giancarlo Stanton homered in his second straight game on Sunday, hitting a two-run HR in the third inning…according to Statcast, his HR had a projected distance of 485 ft., marking his second-longest HR in the Statcast Era (since 2015)…trails only a 504-ft. HR he hit on 8/6/16 at Colorado with Miami in that span.

His HR on Sunday marked his third HR in the Statcast Era to have a projected distance of at least 480 ft. (also a 504-ft. HR on 8/6/16 at Colorado with Miami and a 483-ft. HR on 7/25/20 vs. Washington with the Yankees)…is one of only two Major League players to hit at least three home runs with a projected distance of at least 480 ft. in the Statcast Era (also Nomar Mazara has three).

His HR on Sunday also marked the third-longest HR at the current Yankee Stadium since 2015, trailing only Aaron Judge’s 496 ft. HR on 9/30/17 vs. Toronto and 495 ft. HR on 6/11/17 vs. Baltimore.

His HR also had an exit velocity of 117.8 mph…according to Statcast, he recorded 14 of the 62H in the Majors in 2022 that had an exit velocity of at least 115.0 mph.

MONUMENTAL FEAT: The 2023 season marks the 50th Anniversary of former Yankee Ron Blomberg becoming the first designated hitter in Major League history…to commemorate this historic accomplishment, Blomberg will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to tonight’s game vs. Philadelphia.

Blomberg became Major League Baseball’s first designated hitter on 4/6/73 against Boston at Fenway Park…in his first career plate appearance as designated hitter, he walked with the bases loaded.

He was originally drafted by the Yankees as the first overall selection in the 1967 MLB First-Year Player Draft…over parts of seven seasons in pinstripes (1969, ’71-76), Blomberg batted .302 (355-for-1,177) with 168R, 60 doubles, 8 triples, 47HR, 202RBI and 129BB in 400 games.

PEN PAL: RHP Ron Marinaccio retired all 4BF on Sunday…has not allowed a run or hit in 3.1 innings of relief this season…has retired 10-of-11BF (1BB).

BLANK SPACE: Yankees pitchers threw their second shutout of the season on Sunday…marks the first time in franchise history that the Yankees have recorded two shutouts within their first three games of a season.

Yankees pitchers have allowed just 7R over their first three games…marks their fewest runs allowed in their first three games of a season in the last 22 years since 2002 (allowed 5R over their first three games in 2001).

ALL RISE: OF Aaron Judge hit his second HR of the season on Sunday with a solo HR in the third inning…marked his 222nd career home run, tying Don Mattingly (222HR) for the 11thmost home runs in Yankees history…also tied Mattingly for the third-most home runs by a Yankee who was drafted and signed by the club (Jorge Posada-275HR, Derek Jeter-260HR).

Is batting .462/.462/923 (6-for-13) with 3R, 2HR and 4RBI in his first three games this season.

Since the start of 2019, 68 of his 139HR have tied the game (14) or given the Yankees the lead (54).

Has an 11.13 AB/HR ratio at home (1,302AB/117HR), the second-best ratio in home games in Major League history (min. 300AB), trailing only Mark McGwire (10.56)…is the best mark by any player at the current Yankee Stadium (min. 100AB).

Has hit 222HR in 732 career Major League games, tied with Ryan Howard (222HR) for the most home runs through a player’s first 732 career games in Major League history.

Has hit .303/.413/.619 (394-for-1,302) with 286R, 59 doubles, 1 triple, 117HR, 261RBI and 244BB in 367 career games in the Bronx…his 117HR at home are the most in Yankee Stadium history.

The Yankees have gone 146-49 in his career when he homers…since 2020, the Yankees are 74-20 in those games.

NEW YORK GIANTS: OF Aaron Judge and DH/OF Giancarlo Stanton both homered on Sunday…marked the 27th time during the regular season the pair has both homered in the same game with the Yankees going 25-2 in those games…12 of those games came in 2022…the duo has also homered in four Yankees postseason games, with the Yankees winning each of those games.

GOT YOUR NUMBER: OF Aaron Judge is 4-for-11 with 4HR and 2BB in his career off Philadelphia’s Taijuan Walker…Judge’s 4HR are the second-most HR by any player off Walker (Kyle Schwarber-5HR).

BRONX BOMBERS: Yankees batters have hit 7HR through their first three games this season, tied for their fourth-most HR through their first three games of a season in franchise history… trails only their 9HR in 2011, 8HR in 1932 and 8HR in 1981…also hit 7HR through their first three games in 2016, 2004 and 2003.

Have hit multiple home runs in each of their first three games of a season for the fifth time in franchise history (also 1969, ’81, 2003, ’11).

Their 7HR are tied with Baltimore and Los Angeles-NL for the most in the Majors.

NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo has reached base in 7-of-13 plate appearances this season, going 3-for-8 with 1R, 1 double, 2RBI, 3BB, 1HP and 1SF in three games.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: The Yankees have had two players make their Major League debut this season: INF Anthony Volpe and RHP Jhony Brito…marks just the second time in the last 58 seasons (since 1966) the Yankees have had at least two players make their big league debut within the club’s first three games of a season(also Hideki Matsui, Jason Anderson and José Contreras in 2003).

JHONY B. GOODE: RHP Jhony Brito made his Major League debut on Sunday and tossed 5.0 scoreless innings to earn the win…was just the 12th Yankees pitcher in franchise history (and fifth since 1935) to toss at least 5.0 scoreless innings in his Major League debut, joining Luis Gil (6.0IP on 8/3/21 vs. Baltimore), Jonathan Loáisiga (5.0IP on 6/15/18 vs. Tampa Bay), Sam Militello (7.0IP on 8/9/92 vs. Boston), Hank Borowy (5.0IP on 4/18/42 vs. Boston), Vito Tamulis (9.0IP on 9/25/34 at Philadelphia-AL), Russ Van Atta (9.0IP on 4/25/33 at Washington-AL), Neal Brady (5.2IP on 9/25/1915-G1 vs. Cleveland), Pete Wilson (9.0IP on 9/15/1908 at Boston), Tacks Neuer (9.0IP on 8/28/1907-G2 vs. Boston), Slow
Joe Doyle (9.0IP on 8/25/1906-G1 vs. Cleveland) and Barney Wolfe (5.0IP on 4/24/1903 at Washington-AL)…was just the ninth Yankees starting pitcher to toss 5.0 scoreless innings in his Major League debut and just the fourth since 1935.

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP NESTOR CORTES (12-4, 2.44 ERA in 2022)
LHP Nestor Cortes will make his season debut tonight vs. Philadelphia…the 28-year old will make the start on extended six days’ rest after making his final spring training appearance in Tuesday’s exhibition game at Washington, taking the loss after allowing 1ER over 4.0IP (3H, 1BB, 1HR)…in 2022, went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA (158.1IP, 108H, 44R/43ER, 38BB, 16HR) and 163K in 28 starts for the Yankees…made 10 starts last season with 6.0-or-more innings pitched and 1R-or-fewer allowed… according to Elias, his 2.44 ERA was the third-lowest by a Yankees pitcher in a single season in the Divisional Era since 1969 (min. 25 games started), trailing only Ron Guidry’s 1.74 ERA in 1978 and Steve Jack Kline’s 2.40 ERA in 1972…was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on 12/10/20…was originally selected by the Yankees in the 36th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft…was selected by the Baltimore Orioles from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft and
returned to the Yankees on 4/13/18…was acquired by the Seattle Mariners from the Yankees in exchange for international bonus pool money on 11/25/19…over parts of five Major League seasons, has played with Baltimore (2018), the Yankees (2019, ’21-22) and Seattle (2020).

SPRING FLING: Made just three official spring starts, going 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA (11.1IP, 6ER, 8H, 4BB, 11K, 3HR)…made his spring debut on 3/18 at Toronto, taking the loss after allowing 5ER in 3.1IP (3H, 3BB, 4K, 2HR)…made his second start on 3/23 at St. Louis, tossing 4.0 scoreless innings (2H, 7K) retiring 12 of 14 batters faced…made his final spring start in an exhibition game on Tuesday at Washington, taking the loss after allowing 1ER over 4.0IP (3H, 1BB, 1HR).

INTERLEAGUE/VS. PHI: Owns a 2.22 ERA (28.1IP, 7ER), 26K and a .190 (19-for-100) opponents’ BA without recording a decision in nine career appearances (four starts) in Interleague play…has allowed 2R-or-fewer in each of those outings.

As a starter, owns a 2.18 ERA (20.2IP, 5ER) and 16K in four Interleague starts…has allowed 2R-or-fewer while allowing 5H-or-fewer in each of those starts.

Has made one career appearance against the Phillies, allowing 1ER over 3.2 innings in relief (4H, 1BB, 6K) on 6/12/21 at Citizens Bank Park.

Has posted a 2.25 ERA (8.0IP, 2ER) and 10K in three appearances (one start) against NL East opponents…his most recent appearance against an NL East opponent came on 7/4/21 vs. New York-NL (ND, 3.1IP, 2H, 1ER, 4K).

HOME SWEET HOME: In 22 career starts at Yankee Stadium as a Yankee, is 7-2 with a 2.33 ERA (123.2IP, 32ER), 126K and a .183 opponents’ BA (80-for-437)…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in each of those 22 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in 18 of those games.

Has gone 7-2 with a 2.15 ERA (134.0IP, 32ER) and 142K in 27 home games (22 starts) since 2021…his 2.15 ERA at Yankee Stadium is the third-lowest in the Majors among any pitcher at a single ballpark since 2021 (min. 100.0IP), trailing only Los Angeles-AL’s Shohei Ohtani (1.88 ERA at Angel Stadium) and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (1.99 ERA at loanDepot park).

2022: Went 12-4 with one complete-game shutout and a 2.44 ERA (158.1IP, 108H, 44R/43ER, 38BB, 163K, 16HR) in 28 starts…opponents hit .189/.241/.313 (108-for572, 16HR); LH .110/.180/.159 (9-for-82, 1HR); RH .202/.251/.339 (99-for-490, 15HR)…recorded a career best in ERA and set career highs in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts…was named to his first career All-Star team.

Among pitchers with 150.0IP in 2022, ranked second in the Majors in opponents’ OBP (.241, second in AL) and opponents’ OPS (.554, second in AL), third in WHIP (0.92, second in AL) and opponents’ BA (.189, second in AL), sixth in opponents’ SLG (.313, fourth in AL) and seventh in ERA (2.44, fifth in AL).

Among left-handed pitchers vs. left-handed batters (min. 65BF), owned the lowest opponents’ OPS (.338), ranked second in opponents’ batting average (second in AL), OBP (first in AL) and third in opponents’ SLG (second in AL).

Had five starts in 2022 where he had allowed just 1H over at least 5.0IP (1H in 6.0IP on 9/25 vs. Boston, 1H in 5.1IP on 8/5 at St. Louis, 1H in 7.1IP on 5/9 vs. Texas, 1H in 6.1IP on 4/23 vs. Cleveland and 1H in 7.1IP on 10/1 vs. Baltimore)…is the most such starts in a season by a Yankee in franchise history (previous: three such starts by Luis Severino in 2022, David Cone in 1999 and Scott Sanderson in 1991)…his five such starts are tied for the most in Major League history.

Allowed 3R-or-fewer in 25 of his 28 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in 21 starts and 1R-or-fewer in 15 starts…tossed seven scoreless starts.

144 of his strikeouts ended with a fastball, the most in the Majors (next: Gerrit Cole – 141K).

Allowed 3R-or-fewer in 19 consecutive starts from 8/15/21-6/2/22-G1, the second-longest streak in franchise history by a Yankees starting pitcher, trailing only Russ Ford (20 starts from 8/9/1910-G2-5/27/1911-G2)…allowed 2R-or-fewer in 16 of those 19 starts…went 7-3 with a 2.22 ERA (109.2IP, 27ER), 125K and a .200 (80-for-401) opponents’ BA over that span.

Allowed 2R-or-fewer in nine consecutive starts from 9/25/21-5/15/22, tied with Luis Severino (nine starts from 9/12/18-4/20/22), Michael Pineda (nine starts from 4/5-9/5/14) and Art Ditmar (nine starts from 7/26-9/9/59) for the longest such streak in franchise history by a Yankees starting pitcher (excludes Chad Green’s 12-start streak as an opener from 6/11/17-8/12/19-G2).

Made his first three career postseason starts, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA (12.0IP, 6ER)…started on short rest in ALDS Game 5 vs. Cleveland and earned his first postseason win (5.0IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 2K, 0HR)…was just the sixth Yankees starting pitcher to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 1R-or-fewer in a “winner-take-all” game, joining Gerrit Cole (5.1IP and 1R in 2020 ALDS Game 5 at Tampa Bay in San Diego), CC Sabathia (9.0IP and 1R in 2012 ALDS Game 5 vs. Baltimore), Roger Clemens (6.1IP and 1R in 2001 World Series Game 7 at Arizona), Ralph Terry (CGSHO in 1962 World Series Game 7 at San Francisco) and Johnny Kucks (CGSHO in 1956 World Series Game 7 at Brooklyn).

NASTY NESTOR: Has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 38-of-42 starts since the beginning of 2021 and 2R-or-fewer in 32 of those starts…in 50 appearances (42 starts) since the beginning of 2021, has gone 14-7 with a 2.61 ERA (251.1IP, 73ER), 266K and a .200 (183-for-917) opponents’ BA…his 2.61 ERA in that span is the second-lowest in the AL and the fourth-lowest in the Majors (min. 200.0IP)…his 0.98 WHIP in that span is the lowest in the AL and third-lowest in the Majors…his .200 opponents’ BA in that span is the fourth-lowest in the AL and eighth-lowest in the Majors over that span (min. 200.0IP).

Recorded a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts in 2022…according to Elias, his 2.44 ERA is the third-lowest ERA by a Yankee pitcher in a single season in the Divisional Era since 1969 (min. 25 games started), trailing only Ron Guidry’s 1.74 ERA in 1978 and Steve Jack Kline’s 2.40 ERA in 1972.

Over his last 37 starts since 8/15/21, has gone 14-6 with a 2.60 ERA (208.0IP, 60ER), 220K and a .198 (150-for759) opponents’ BA…has allowed 3R-or-fewer in 34 of those 37 starts, including 2R-or-fewer in 28 of those starts…his 2.60 ERA over that span is the fifth-lowest in the AL and the 10th-lowest in the Majors in that stretch (min. 150.0IP).

LEFT OUT TO DRY: Left-handed batters hit just .110/.180/.159 (9-for-82) against him in 2022…among left-handed pitchers vs. left-handed batters (min. 65BF), owned the lowest OPS (.338), ranked second in opponents’ batting average (second in AL), OBP (first in AL) and third in opponents’ SLG (second in AL).

CAREER NOTES: Has appeared in parts of five Major League seasons with the Baltimore Orioles (2018), the Yankees (2019, ’21-22) and the Seattle Mariners (2020).
Has made four Opening Day rosters (2018 with Baltimore, 2020 with Seattle, 2022-23 with the Yankees).

Was originally selected by the Yankees in the 36th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft.

Was selected by Baltimore from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft…made his Major League debut with Baltimore on 3/30/18 vs. Minnesota before being returned to the Yankees on 4/13/18.

Was designated for assignment by the Yankees on 11/20/19 and traded to the Seattle Mariners for international signing bonus pool money on 10/25/19.

Was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on 12/10/20.

MLB Preview: Tampa Bay Rays (3-0) at Washington Nationals (1-2)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Tampa Bay Rays (3-0) at Washington Nationals (1-2)

TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:

BRING OUT THE BROOMS — Yesterday, Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep of Detroit to open the 2023 season…it marked the fourth time in club history the Rays have swept their first series of a season (also: 2022 vs. BAL, 2012 vs. NYY, 2002 vs. DET) and marked the Rays’ first sweep over the Tigers since 7/9-11, 2018 at Tropicana Field.

SETTING THE TONE — The Rays allowed three runs in the series against the Tigers, their fewest permitted through the first three games of a season in club history (prev. 4 runs in 2022)…the three runs allowed also marked their fewest in a three-game series since 4/1-3, 2019 vs. Colorado (2 runs)…Tampa Bay starters turned in a 0.53 ERA (17.0IP, 1ER) in the series, the rotation’s lowest mark through the first three games of a season in club history (prev. 1.35ERA in 2000).

INTERLEAGUE RUNDOWN — Tampa Bay went 12-8 (.600) in Interleague play last season, including an 8-2 record at home vs. a 4-6 mark on the road…since 2008, the Rays are 171-119 (.590) in Interleague play, the second-best winning percentage in the majors over that stretch behind Boston (.631, 183-107).

EXTRA, EXTRA — Tampa Bay has recorded 13 extra-base hits to open the season, matching the 2000, 2009 and 2012 Rays for the club’s most extra-base hits in the first three games of a season…the 2023 club has also churned out nine doubles, matching the 2000 squad for most two-baggers within the team’s first three games…Wander Franco paces Tampa Bay with four extra-base hits (3 2B, HR) while Josh Lowe is tied with Franco for the team lead in doubles.

VS. WASHINGTON — The Rays last met the Nationals in 2021…the clubs split a two-game series at Tropicana Field from 6/8-9 before Washington swept a two-game set at Nationals Park from 6/29-30…overall, Tampa Bay is 17-20 (.459) against Montreal/Washington, including a 12-13 (.480) record vs. the Nationals dating to 6/30/06…the two teams will meet just once this season, as MLB’s new balanced schedule calls for each club to face all other 29 teams for at least one series, with the total number of Interleague games per club jumping from 20 to 46.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN — Since 2018, Tampa Bay is 190-165 (.535) on the road, the fourth-best winning percentage in the American League during that timeframe…the 2022 Rays went 35-46 (.432) away from home, including an eight-game winning streak from 4/19-5/7 and a five-game losing skid to end the regular season from 10/1-5.

PITCHERS’ PARADISE — The 2022 Rays pitched to a 3.41 ERA, fourth in the majors behind Los Angeles-NL (2.80), Houston (2.90) and New York-AL (3.30), and second in club history behind the 2012 Rays (3.19)…Tampa Bay finished among the majors’ top 10 in ERA for a sixth-straight season and among the majors’ top five for a fourth-straight season.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS — Tampa Bay has reached the postseason in a franchise-best four straight seasons and in eight of the last 15 seasons since 2008…only four other clubs have reached the postseason as often since 2008: Los Angeles-NL (12), New York-AL (11), St. Louis (10) and Atlanta (8)…the Rays are one of three AL teams (Astros, Yankees) and one of six in the majors (Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers) to make the postseason in each of the last four seasons (2019-22).

REBRANDING — Since becoming the Rays in 2008, the club owns the fourth-best record in baseball at 1,270-1,062 (.545), including two World Series appearances (2020, 2008)… this success comes after the Devil Rays amassed the majors’ worst record at 645-972 (.399) over the club’s first decade of existence (1998-2007).

MANAGER — Kevin Cash enters his ninth season as the manager of the Rays…his career 643-554 (.537) record is the best winning percentage of any manager in club history… he is 111 wins shy of matching Joe Madden for the most managerial wins in franchise history…Cash is the second-longest-tenured manager with his current team behind Cleveland’s Terry Francona (11th season)…three other current managers are former members of his coaching staff: Rocco Baldelli (Twins), Derek Shelton (Pirates) and Matt Quatraro (Royals).

TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP DREW RASMUSSEN
RAS EFFECT — Entering his sixth year in the big leagues overall, Rasmussen is coming off a career year in his first season as a regular member of the Rays rotation…went 11-7 with a 2.84 ERA (146.0IP, 46ER) over 28 starts, holding opponents to a .222 average (121-for-545)…was originally acquired by the Rays along with RHP J.P. Feyereisen on 5/21/21 in exchange for SS Willy Adames and RHP Trevor Richards.

RAMPING UP — In three Grapefruit League starts, recorded a 2-0 mark to go with a 2.79 ERA (9.2IP, 3ER)…after being tagged for three runs in 1.2 innings in his opening start, Rasmussen did not allow an earned run over his next two outings (8.0IP), striking out five batters against one walk in those games.

2022 RECAP — In his first full season in the majors, Rasmussen ranked second on the club in wins (11) and tied for second in starts (28)…he yielded three or fewer runs in 24 of those starts, including two or fewer runs 20 times…his 2.84 ERA ranked 10th in the AL (min. 100.0IP)

Went 6-4 with a 2.45 ERA (73.1IP, 20ER) in 13 post-All-Star break starts, ranking among AL leaders (min. 60.0IP) in second-half ERA (8th), opponents’ OPS (4th, .568), WHIP (5th, 0.93) and SO/BB ratio (7th, 6.30).

On 8/14 vs. Baltimore, retired his first 24 batters faced, carrying a perfect game into the ninth inning that was broken up by Jorge Mateo (double) on the first pitch of the frame…marked the longest perfect game bid in Rays history.

Struck out a career-high 10 batters on 9/9 at New York-AL, becoming the first pitcher in club history with 10+ strikeouts and zero walks at Yankee Stadium.

Made his third career postseason appearance in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card at Cleveland, retiring all five batters he faced in relief.

IN THE CAPITAL — Rasmussen is set to make his second career start opposite Washington…he made his first start with the Rays on 6/30/21 at Nationals Park as an opener (2.0IP, 2H, 2ER, BB, 2SO).

EAST FEATS — In 10 appearances (four starts) against NL East clubs, Rasmussen is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA (27.1IP, 8ER) and 30 strikeouts…NL East batters are slashing .204/.257/.296 (20-for-98) against him in his career.

Last season, he made a pair of appearances against the division, both of which came in Tampa Bay wins over Miami (5/25 & 8/31)… allowed four earned runs in 11.0 innings (3.27 ERA) between the two starts, fanning 11 while walking a pair.

TAKING HOME THE HARDWARE — In August 2022, Rasmussen earned his first career AL Pitcher of the Month award after going 3-1 with a 1.57 ERA (34.1IP, 6ER) and 33 strikeouts in six starts…became the first Rays pitcher to win a monthly honor since Rich Hill in May 2021.

GOING STREAKING — Rasmussen won five straight decisions from 4/27- 5/25, 2022, producing a 1.71 ERA (31.2IP, 6ER) in six starts over that stretch… from 4/27-5/18, he tossed at least 5.0 IP with one or zero runs allowed in five consecutive starts, matching Chris Archer (5/17-6/7, 2015) and Scott Kazmir (5/10-31, 2008) for the longest such streak in club history…Shane McClanahan tied the same record later in the season (6/20-7/13).

CUT AND DRY — After adding his a cutter to his arsenal during the offseason, Rasmussen utilized the offering 32.8 pct. of the time in 2022, the ninth-highest rate in MLB (min. 1,500 total pitches)…per Baseball Savant, the pitch produced a 30.0 pct. whiff rate, second-best in the majors on any pitcher’s cutter behind HOU Luis Garcia (42.8%) (min. 700 cutters thrown).

THE RAY WAY — Over the first 27 games (10 starts) of his career with Milwaukee, Rasmussen went 1-1 with a 5.01 ERA (32.1IP, 18ER)…the righthander has established himself at the MLB level since being acquired by Tampa Bay midway through the 2021 season, pitching to a 15-7 mark with a 2.72 ERA (205.0IP, 62ER) across 48 appearances (38 starts) as a Ray.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:

RETURN OF THE MACK
The Washington Nationals won their first game of the season on Sunday afternoon, beating the Atlanta Braves, 4-1…MacKenzie Gore earned the win, tossing 5.1 innings of three-hit, one-run ball with six strikeouts along the way…The Nationals plated all four runs in the first inning.
• Hunter Harvey (Hold, 0.2 IP), Erasmo Ramirez (Hold, 1.0 IP, H), Carl Edwards Jr. (Hold, 1.0 IP, BB) and Kyle Finnegan (Save, 1.0 IP) combined to toss 3.2 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief.

• The Nationals continue this opening homestand with a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays starting Monday night…It will be the Rays’ first three-game series in Washington since 2012…Tampa Bay played two-game series in the nation’s capital in 2021, 2020, 2018 and 2015.

LANE TRAIN
Lane Thomas is 5-for-12 (.417) with one double and one run scored through three games this season…He’s hit safely in all three games with multi-hit efforts on Saturday and Sunday against Atlanta.

RAKIN’ RUIZ
Keibert Ruiz is 4-for-10 (.400) with a double, homer, two RBI, two walks and one run scored across the first three games…He’s reached base safely in six of 12 plate appearances (.500 OBP).

• Ruiz clubbed his first home run of the season on Saturday, a solo shot in the ninth inning that landed in the third deck in right field.

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.

ROSTER MOVE
The Nationals recalled outfielder Stone Garrett from Triple-A Rochester and placed outfielder Corey Dickerson on the 10-day Injured List with a left calf strain on Sunday.

• Garrett went 4-for-8 with two RBI, one stolen base and two runs scored in two games with Triple-A Rochester to start the 2023 season…He recorded three hits and two RBI on Opening Day, March 31 vs. Lehigh Valley (PHI).

• He hit .276 with eight doubles, four homers, 10 RBI, three walks, three stolen bases and 13 runs scored in 27 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022…At the time of his promotion, Garrett ranked among all Minor Leaguers in RBI (T2nd, 96), home runs (T4th, 28), extra-base hits (T6th, 54) and total bases (10th, 221).

THEODORE N. LERNER
The Nationals inducted Founding Managing Principal Owner Theodore N. Lerner into the Nationals Ring of Honor in a special Opening Day pregame ceremony…Mr. Lerner’s name will be displayed behind home plate, below the owner’s suite.

• Created in 2010, the Ring of Honor pays tribute to some of the most elite and influential members of the Washington Nationals, Washington Senators, Homestead Grays and Montreal Expos organizations…Ring of Honor names are displayed behind home plate, extending to the right field façade.

• In addition, Nationals players and coaches will wear a dedicated patch on their home and away jersey sleeves in remembrance of Mr. Lerner this season.

• The oval patch features three stars above Mr. Lerner’s initials in a classic font…The three stars represent the DMV.

TODAY’S STARTING PTICHER – #32 TREVOR WILLIAMS
Veteran right-hander signed a two-year contract with the Nationals in Dec. 2022…From 2018-21, Williams was exclusively a starter, but he transitioned to a versatile swingman in 2021 and 2022… He is 35-41 with a 4.33 ERA in 118 career starts and 3-3 with a 3.84 ERA in 41 relief outings…Was a second-round pick of the Miami Marlins in 2013 but was traded to Pittsburgh in 2015 while pitching in the Arizona Fall League.

VS. TAMPA BAY
Faces the Rays for the second time and first time since June 27, 2017 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates…Allowed two earned runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and zero walks in 7.0 innings pitched in that start.

2023 SPRING TRAINING
Went 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA in six Spring Training starts…Started the Exhibition game vs. New York (AL) on March 28.

• Allowed just one earned run on five hits in his final two starts of Spring Training (10.0 IP). 2022 In his second season with the Mets, went 3-5 with a 3.21 ERA in 30 games (nine starts)…Went 2-4 with a 4.19 ERA in nine starts and 1-1 with one save and a 2.47 ERA in 21 relief appearances…Tossed a career-high and team-best 25.1 consecutive scoreless innings from July 7 to Sept. 4…Was tied for the sixth-longest streak in MLB (4th in NL) in 2022… He went 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA in 13 games (three starts) against the NL East Recorded his first career save on July 14 at Chicago (NL), pitching the final three innings (3 H, 4 SO) of the 8-0 win…2022 Pitch Mix: 4-Seam Fastball (52.8%) Changeup (13.1%) Sinker (12.6%) Slider (11.7%) Curveball (9.7%).

2021
Began the season with the Cubs before being acquired along with shortstop Javier Báez…Posted a 3.06 ERA in 10 appearances (three starts) with the Mets… Did not surrender a home run in his first eight games with the Mets, becoming the ninth pitcher in franchise history to accomplish that feat (min. 20.0 IP).

2018
Put together the best season of his career, finishing seventh in the National League in ERA…Was the only pitcher to make 10 starts of at least 6.0 innings without allowing a run (Justin Verlander, 2nd with 9)…His 1.38 ERA after the All-Star break was second-lowest among all starting pitchers behind Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell (1.17)…Recorded a then-career-high 21.0 scoreless innings streak from July 11 to Aug. 5 and a 20.2 scoreless innings streak from Aug. 22 to Sept. 10…Was credited with his first career shutout in a rain-shortened 7-0 win at Cleveland on July 23 (6.0 IP).

2017
Made his first career Opening Day roster and took part in his first full Major League season…Ranked third among National League pitchers (min. 150.0 IP) with 0.84 HR/9.0 innings…Ranked first in ERA (4.07), fourth in innings (150.1) and fourth in strikeouts (117) among National League rookies with at least 100.0 innings…Threw a career-high 114 pitches in a career-high 8.0 scoreless innings on August 23 vs. Los Angeles (NL)…Faced off against Rich Hill, who took a perfect game into the ninth inning and lost his no-hit bid on Josh Harrison’s walk-off homer in the 10th inning.

2016
Made his Major League debut on Sept. 7 vs. St. Louis…Earned the win after allowing one run (unearned) in 3.0 innings of relief…Was the MVP of Triple-A Indianapolis after going 9-6 with a 2.53 ERA in 20 games (19 starts).

MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (3-0) at Miami Marlins (1-3)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (3-0) at Miami Marlins (1-3)

MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:

THE TWINS: Began their 63rd season with a three-game sweep of the Royals at Kauffman Stadium over the weekend…tonight, they will make their first trip to Miami since 2019 and play the first of three games at loanDepot Park…after Wednesday afternoon’s series finale, the Twins will travel home to begin their 14th season at Target Field with three against the Houston Astros (April 6-9) and three against the Chicago White Sox (April 10-12). ATwins are one of three teams in baseball yet to lose, joining Tampa Bay (3-0) and Texas (3-0).

TWINS DO IT THE JOEY GALLO WAY: The Twins beat the Royals yesterday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium by a score of 7-4, securing their first sweep of the season…Joe Ryan (1-0) was the starter and winner, allowing one run on three hits, with two walks and six strikeouts…the offense recorded 13 hits, three apiece from Trevor Larnach and Joey Gallo…Gallo recorded three extra-base hits, including a double and two home runs…the homers were measured at an estimated distance of 431 feet and 415 feet…Gallo’s four RBI marked his eighth career game with four-plus RBI, third time against Kansas City.

Byron Buxton failed to homer in a road series for the first time since a four-game series at Detroit from May 30-June 2, 2022, snapping a streak of 10 consecutive road series with a home run, which according to Elias matches Miguel Sanó (September 2016-June 2017) for the longest run by a Twins player (since 1961), and was the longest streak by any player in the majors since Justin Turner homered in 10 straight road series from June-September 2019.

Buxton also ended the first inning with a 5-4-3 double play, marking his first groundball double play since Aug. 18, 2020 vs. Milwaukee, when he twice rolled into a 5-4-3 double play…it snapped a streak of 712 plate appearances over 172 games without a groundball double play, the longest streak by games in Twins/Senators history…Buxton hit 55 home runs between groundball double plays, which is a major league record.

FLORIDA MEN: Twins are returning to Florida after flying to Kansas City last Tuesday following their final spring game in Bradenton against the Pirates…the Twins and Marlins are playing each other for the 17th time in their history…the Twins are 9-7 against the Marlins, going 2-1 at the Metrodome, 2-1 at Dolphin Stadium, 2-3 at Marlins Park and 3-2 at Target Field…these two last met in a three-game series at loanDepot Park from July 30-August 1, 2019 as the Twins won two of three…Max Kepler homered twice in that series and Byron Buxton homered once.

FAMILIAR FACES IN NEW PLACES: On January 20, the Twins acquired Pablo López, infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio from the Marlins in exchange for Luis Arraez…Luey was originally signed by the Twins as an international free agent in November of 2013 and played parts of four seasons with Minnesota, hitting .314 (444-for-1413) in 389 games…López is scheduled to make the start against his former team on Wednesday afternoon.

The Twins completed their IL schedule last season with a three-game sweep of the Giants at Target Field from August 26-28.

Jose Miranda is hitting .352 (19-for-54) with three doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and a .942 OPS in 15 games against NL opponents…his average was eighth best in the AL last season (minimum of 50 at-bats).

Max Kepler is hitting .368 (21-for-57) with 10 walks, a .463 on-base percentage and a 1.042 OPS in his last 17 IL games.

WINNESOTA: Minnesota is one of three teams in baseball yet to lose a game, joining Tampa Bay (3-0) and Texas (3-0)…the Twins are looking to start a season 4-0 for the for the ninth time in Twins/Senators franchise history (since 1901)…the previous eight times were 2017, 1987, 1979, 1970, 1968, 1951, 1913 and 1901.

CALL TO ARMS: Over the three-game series in Kansas City, Twins pitchers combined to post a 1.33 ERA (27.0 IP, 4 ER), with 13 walks, 25 strikeouts, while holding Royals batters to a slashline of .133/.250/.244.

Starters have gone 3-0, 0.55 ERA (16.1 IP, 1 ER), with nine walks and 15 strikeouts…Twins rank third in baseball in starter ERA, trailing Los Angeles-AL (0.53) and Tampa Bay (0.53).

The Twins bullpen has combined to allow just three runs on four hits in 10.2 innings pitched, posting an ERA of 2.53 and an opponent batting average of .118…relievers have allowed just four hits, second-fewest in baseball, trailing only Cincinnati (3).

BUCK SEASON: Byron Buxton has six hits in 13 at-bats to start the season, recording multiple hits in each game at Kauffman Stadium… three multi-hit games to start a season is the longest by a Twins player since Sam Fuld had three consecutive multi-hit games to begin his 2014 season…since 2021, Buck is hitting .372 (48-for-129) with 13 doubles, 14 home runs, 25 RBI, 29 runs scored, a .421 on-base percentage, an .814 slugging percentage and a 1.235 OPS in 34 March/April games…in that span, he leads baseball in OPS and slugging, is second in batting average and fourth in OBP…in 2021, he was named American League Player of the Month for April.

Last season, Buck hit .351 (13-for-37) with four doubles, six home runs, 11 RBI and a 1.361 OPS in his first 10 games.

STARTING PITCHER – TYLER MAHLE 51
Making his first start of 2023 tonight in his first full season with the Twins after starting four games for Minnesota in 2022…also his 119th career appearance and 118th start.

Facing Miami for the fourth time in his career and first time since 2021…career 0-2, 3.00 ERA (18.0 IP, 6 ER) with six walks and 17 strikeouts in three starts vs. Marlins.

Acquired from the Cincinnati Reds via trade on August 2, 2022 in exchange for minor league infielders Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Spencer Steer, and left-handed pitcher Steve Hajjar.

SPRING RECAP: In six Grapefruit League games (5 starts), Mahle went 1-2, 5.09 ERA (17.2 IP, 10 ER) with five walks and 15 strikeouts…his longest start came on March 23 vs. Toronto, tossing 4.2 innings and allowing three earned runs on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts in an 80-pitch outing…finished the spring with 4.0 innings March 28 at Pittsburgh, giving up one run on one hit with no walks and three strikeouts.

LAST MLB OUTING: Mahle returned from the 15-day Injured List on September 3, 2022 and sur- rendered four runs on five hits in 2.0 innings (0 BB, 0 K), taking the loss against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field…he was removed in the bottom of the third inning with right shoulder inflammation and ended the season on the Injured List, his third stint of the year…marked his short- est outing of 2022 and was the second-consecutive start in which he departed in the third inning due to right shoulder fatigue.

FISHING FOR A W: Mahle is seeking his first career win against the Marlins tonight…in three career starts, Mahle is 0-2, 3.00 ERA (18.0 IP, 6 ER) with six walks and 17 strikeouts…is facing Miami for the first time since August 29, 2021, his only start at Loan Depot Park in his career…pitched 7.0 innings for Cincinnati, allowing two earned runs and four hits with two walks and six strikeouts…took the loss, his first in his previous 13 road starts (7-0 during that stretch).

MASTER OF THE OPEN ROAD: In 2022, Mahle performed better on the road than in his home ballpark, going 4-3, 3.94 ERA (48.0 IP, 21 ER) with 13 walks, 51 strikeouts and a .201 (36-for-179) opponent batting average in his nine road starts…went 2-5, 4.71 ERA (72.2 IP, 38 ER) with 30 walks, 75 strikeouts and a .249 (68-for-273) opponent batting average in 14 home starts last year…over his six-year major league career, Mahle is 19-21, 3.76 ERA (316.1 IP, 132 ER) in 61 road appearances (all starts) and 13-18, 5.00 ERA (293.2 IP, 163 ER) in 57 games at home (56 starts).

His .254 opponent on-base percentage on the road was eighth best in the majors in 2022 (min. 45.0 IP), while his .583 opponent OPS was 12th best under those same parameters.

LEFT IS RIGHT: Mahle held opposing left-handed batters to a .192 (43-for-224) batting average last season, eighth best in the majors (min. 200 AB)…held lefties to just 1-for-16 (.063) in four starts with the Twins…by contrast, righties hit .268 (61-for-228) against him in 2022.

Owns a .193 (124-for-642) opponent batting average against left-handed hitters since the start of 2020, second best in the majors in that span (min. 500 AB), behind only Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff (.187).

MAHLE’S MIX: Last season, Mahle utilized a four-pitch arsenal, primarily relying on a 4-seam fastball and split finger…used split finger 24 percent of the time, his highest career usage of the pitch… nearly tripled the use of his cutter in 2022 after adding the pitch in 2021…here’s a look at Mahle’s repertoire from his 23 starts last season, per Baseball Savant:

PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (#, vs. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (93.2)….. 51.6% (1084 pitches, 536/548)………… .205 (49-for-239), 9 2B, 10 HR, 87 K
Split Finger (85.4)………….. 24.0% (505 pitches, 156/349)…… .236 (30-for-127), 9 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 21 K
Cutter (85.5) ………………….. 12.9% (272 pitches, 86/186)…………. .275 (11-for-40), 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 5 K
Slider (83.9)…………………… 11.4% (240 pitches, 227/13)……………… .304 (14-for-46), 2 2B, 1 HR, 13 K

Mahle threw 505 splitters last season, the sixth-most in baseball…owned the third-best hard-hit percentage (22.7%) in MLB off splitters (min. 100 pitches), trailing only Baltimore’s Félix Bautista (21.2%) and Twins teammate Cole Sands (20.0%).

2022 NOTES:
Combined to go 6-8, 4.40 ERA (120.2 IP, 59 ER) with 43 walks and 126 strikeouts in 23 starts between Reds and Twins.

Began sixth major league season with Cincinnati and was club’s Opening Day starter for first time in career…started April 7 at Atlanta, allowing one unearned run on three hits in 5.0 innings pitched, with two walks and seven strikeouts, earning the win.

Went 3-2, 2.83 ERA (57.1 IP, 18 ER) with a .212 opponent batting average in nine starts from May 29-July 30, leading up to trade with Twins.

Acquired by Minnesota via trade with Cincinnati August 2, in exchange for infielders Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Spencer Steer, and left-handed pitcher Steve Hajjar.

Earned first win as Twin in second start with Minnesota August 12 at Los Angeles-AL, pitching 6.0 shutout innings with three hits allowed, two walks and six strikeouts.

Placed on 15-day Injured List August 20 with right shoulder inflammation; reinstated on September 3.

Made one more start for Twins September 3 at Chicago-AL, pitching 2.0 innings, throwing 37 pitches…placed back on 15-day IL the next day with right shoulder inflammation, ending his season.

TURF MONSTER: Mahle is making his fourth career start at a ballpark with an artificial surface…has pitched once before at loanDepot Park in 2021 and has made two starts at Arizona’s Chase Field, once in 2021 and once last season…on turf, Mahle is 0-1, 0.90 ERA (20.0 IP, 2 ER) with six walks and 24 strikeouts…pitched a complete-game shutout in his most recent start on turf, allowing just three hits with no walks and 12 strikeouts, tying a career high, on June 14, 2022 at Arizona.

CAREER NOTES
• Made 23 starts in 2022, 19 for Cincinnati to begin the year and four for the Twins in August and September, combining to go 6-8, 4.40 ERA (120.2 IP, 59 ER) with 43 walks and 126 strikeouts.

• Ended 2022 on Injured List with right shoulder inflammation, his third stint of the year on the IL, after departing from final start September 3, 2022 in the third inning.

• Acquired by Minnesota via trade from Cincinnati on August 2, 2022 in exchange for minor league infielders Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Spencer Steer, and left-handed pitcher Steve Hajjar.

• Named the Reds’ 2022 Opening Day starter, making his first Opening Day start and his fifth-consecutive Opening Day roster.

• In 2021, established single-season career highs in wins (13), starts (33), quality starts (12), innings pitched (180.0), strikeouts (201) and batters faced (759)…had 13 wins after entering the season with 13 victories in his career…ranked among the National League pitching leaders in starts (T-1st), wins (T-10th), ERA (16th), strikeouts (9th) and strikeouts-per-9.0 innings (7th, 10.50).

• His strikeouts-per-9 innings ratio of 10.50 in 2021 was third best in Reds franchise history behind Luis Castillo (10.67 in 2019) and Sonny Gray (10.52 in 2019).

• Opponents hit just .198 (34-for-172) against Mahle in 2020…went 2-2, 3.59 ERA (47.2 IP, 19 ER) with six home runs, 21 walks and 60 strikeouts over the course of the season.

• Made the first relief appearance of his major league career, following 54 consecutive starts, on August 12, 2020 vs. Kansas City (3.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R/ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 6 K)… was his first professional relief appearance since 2015, when he made 26 starts and one relief outing.

• Went 2-10, 4.93 ERA (102.1 IP, 56 ER) in 19 starts in 2019 before he went on the 10-day Injured List on July 22 with a left hamstring strain…was reinstated from the IL and optioned to Triple-A Louisville on August 22 before being added to the Reds’ roster on September 1…went 1-2, 5.93 ERA (27.1 IP, 18 ER) in six starting efforts after his September callup and the Reds won three of his last four starts.

• Entered the 2018 season rated as the fourth-best prospect in the Reds organization by Baseball America and went 7-9, 4.95 (109.0 IP, 60 ER) in 22 starts before he was optioned to Louisville on August 3.

• Made his major league debut in a start on August 27, 2017 vs. Pittsburgh (L, 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R/ER, 4 BB, 5 K).

MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:

MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins today play the first of three games against the Minnesota Twins, their first of 15 Interleague series in 2023. Are coming off their opening series against the New York Mets in which they went 1-3. The club’s first road trip will include a three-game series against the Mets that starts on April 6, with a built-in off day on April 7, before heading to play the reigning National League champion Phillies from April 10-12.

YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Miami dropped the series finale against the Mets, 1-5. The offense recorded just 4 hits, including 2 from INF Luis Arraez. LHP Trevor Rogers surrendered 4 runs (3 earned) over 4.1 innings with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts and was relieved by RHP Huascar Brazoban who matched his career-high 2.2 innings pitched, allowing 1 run with 2 strikeouts.

TWINS IN TOWN
The Marlins will host the Minnesota Twins at loanDepot park for the first time since 2019 when they went 1-2 in the three-game set. Are 7-11 in 16 match-ups against the Twins dating back to 2002. Is just the third time the club hosts the Twins since moving to Miami.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
INF Luis Arraez is 9×16 (.563) in his first four games, becoming the fourth player in club history to record 9-or-more hits through three games played as a Marlin, and the first since Emilio Bonifacio had 11 hits through four games in 2009 (Cameron Maybin had 10 in 2008 and Jeff Conine had 10 in 1993).

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

• His 9 hits currently lead MLB; ranks second in NL in batting avg., and fifth in MLB in batting avg. going into Monday’s game.

CELEBRATING OUR CHAMPIONS
Starting tonight, the Marlins will celebrate three players on the active roster who earned high honors last season: Sandy Alcantara, 2022 NL Cy Young (Monday, April 3), Luis Arraez, 2022 AL Batting Champion and Silver Slugger (Tuesday, April 4), and Jon Berti, 2022 NL Stolen Base champion. Following the presentation of their awards, the trophies will be on display on the Promenade Level.

CY YOUNG SANDY
The 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner RHP Sandy Alcantara toed the rubber on Thursday for Miami in his fourth consecutive Opening Day start. He became the first pitcher in Marlins history to make four consecutive Opening Day starts. Surpassed the previous mark of three, which he shared with Josh Beckett (2003-05) and Josh Johnson (2010-12). Alcantara was also one of three pitchers in the Majors to make a fourth consecutive Opening Day start with the same team, joining Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola (sixth) and Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (fourth).

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
The Marlins have made the following roster moves prior to today’s game – Selected RHP Jeff Lindgren from Triple-A Jacksonville, optioned LHP Braxton Garrett to Triple-A Jacksonville, and placed RHP Nic Enright on the 60-day IL.

JOHNNY BEISBOL
RHP Johnny Cueto will make his Marlins debut tonight after signing with the club in late January. Cueto ranks 10th among active pitchers in career strikeouts (1812), 8th in innings pitched (2192.2), and 7th in wins (143).

FUERTE FORTES
C Nick Fortes made back-to-back starts on Friday and Saturday, going 3×7 with a home run and two singles. His 2-run shot on Saturday went 422 ft., the longest of his first 14 career home runs (88 gms.). 6 of his 14 home runs(42.8%) have been go-ahead, including 2 against the New York Mets (walk-off home run on June 26, 2022 off Adam Ottavino).

CAN’T MAKE IT THAT EASY
Miami’s pitching currently ranks 2nd in MLB with 19 walks, behind only Arizona who has walked 23 batters. Through 30 years of the club’s history, the team has only given more free passes through the first four games to begin a season five times – 2002 and 2016 (21 BB); 1995, 1997, and 2020 (20 BB). The Marlins have walked 19 batters five additional years as well: 1998, 1999, 2003, 2011, and 2018.

• On the other side of the rubber, the Marlins offense struck out 41 times in 127 at-bats in the four-game series against the Mets this past weekend, marking the most strikeouts in club history through the first four games of a season. Miami is one of three teams to have 41 strikeouts through the first four games in 2023, alongside the Colorado Rockies and reigning World Series champion Houston Astros.

TURNING THE TRENDING TIDE
The Marlins played their first one-run game of the season Friday night, emerging with the win. Miami played 64 games decided by 1 run in 2022, the most such games in the Majors last season. Miami’s 40 one-run losses were the most such losses in a season in club history, the most since the 1975 Houston Astros (41), and just three shy of the single-season record for one-run losses during the Live Ball Era (since 1920) held by the 1968 White Sox (44).

• The Marlins started last season playing one-run games in each of their first three games and five of their first six.

NEW SKIP IN TOWN
Skip Schumaker secured his first managerial win on Friday night, becoming the 17th manager in Marlins history to win at least 1 game at the helm. Last season, Schumaker served as St. Louis’s Bench Coach under rookie Manager Oli Marmol. Schumaker concluded his 11-year Major League career in 2015, appearing in a total of 1,149 games with the Cardinals (2005-12), Los Angeles Dodgers (2013), and Cincinnati Reds (2014-15). He is a two-time World Series champion (2006, 2011) as a member of the Cardinals.

TODAY’S STARTER – #47 JOHNNY CUETO
• Johnny Cueto pitched to a 3.35 ERA (158.1 IP/59 ER) in 25 appearances (24 starts) with the Chicago White Sox after being signed as a Minor League free agent prior to the 2022 season.

• Led the White Sox in quality starts (18), 6.0-plus IP starts (19) and 7.0-plus IP starts (8).

• Owned a sub-3.00 ERA in May (2.41;18.2 IP/ 5 ER) and July (2.12;34.0 IP/8 ER), and a 2.84 road ERA (76.0 IP/24 ER).

• Limited opponents to a .220 (11×50) average with RISP/two outs and.143 (1×7) mark with the bases loaded.

• Went 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA (11 ER/40.0 IP) and 20 strikeouts over asix-start span from 6/28- 7/30… allowed three earned runs or less in all six outings, including two or less four times.

• The New Mr. Zero: Became the first pitcher in franchise history with 6.0-plus scoreless IP in each of his first two appearances with the White Sox (Elias)… his 12.0 scoreless IP streak was the third-longest by a Sox starter to begin his career with the club since 1974 (STATS).

• Allowed three earned runs or less in 15 consecutive appearances (14 starts) from 6/2-8/20… went 6-4 with a 2.61 ERA (29 ER/100.0 IP) and 13 quality starts during the 15-game span.

• 2022: American League Player of the Week (Aug. 21)

• 2017: Since the Giants franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958, Cueto is one of two Giants pitchers to win his first three starts of a season in consecutive years as he also won his first three starts in 2016 (also: Rick Reuschel in 1988 and 1989).

MLB Preview: New York Mets (3-1) at Milwaukee Brewers (2-1)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: New York Mets (3-1) at Milwaukee Brewers (2-1)

NEW YORK METS NOTES:

No release available.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: Is game 1 of a 6-game, 7-day homestand against New York-NL (3g) and St. Louis (3g)…..the Brewers are coming off a 2-1 road trip to Chicago-NL to open the season…..following this homestand, the team takes a 10-game trip to Arizona (3g), San Diego (4g) and Seattle (3g).

CURRENT ROSTER (bold indicates not on Opening Day roster):
PITCHERS (13) – RH Corbin Burnes, RH Matt Bush, RH Javy Guerra, LH Eric Lauer, LH Wade Miley, LH Hoby Milner, RH Joel Payamps, RH Freddy Peralta, RH Peter Strzelecki, RH Gus Varland, RH Devin Williams, RH Bryse Wilson, RH Brandon Woodruff

CATCHERS (2) – Victor Caratini, William Contreras

INFIELDERS (6) – Willy Adames, Mike Brosseau, Owen Miller, Rowdy Tellez, Brice Turang, Luke Voit…..OUTFIELDERS (5) – Brian Anderson, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Wiemer, Jesse Winker, Christian Yelich

OPENING DAY ROSTER (bold indicates not on current roster):
PITCHERS (13) – RH Corbin Burnes, RH Matt Bush, RH Javy Guerra, LH Eric Lauer, LH Wade Miley, LH Hoby Milner, RH Joel Payamps, RH Freddy Peralta, RH Peter Strzelecki, RH Gus Varland, RH Devin Williams, RH Bryse Wilson, RH Brandon Woodruff

CATCHERS (2) – Victor Caratini, William Contreras

INFIELDERS (7) – Willy Adames, Mike Brosseau, Owen Miller, Rowdy Tellez, Brice Turang, Luis Urías, Luke Voit…..OUTFIELDERS (4) – Brian Anderson, Garrett Mitchell, Jesse Winker, Christian Yelich

IN THE TRAINER’S ROOM: RHP Jason Alexander (right rotator cuff), LHP Aaron Ashby (left labrum), RHP Adrian Houser (right groin), OF Tyrone Taylor (right elbow), INF Luis Urías (left hamstring) and LHP Justin Wilson (left elbow) are on the injured list….. Alexander and Wilson are on the 60-day IL.

THE NEW BREW: INF/OF Brian Anderson (free agent), C William Contreras (trade with ATL), RHP Javy Guerra (trade with TB), LHP Wade Miley (free agent), INF/OF Owen Miller (trade with CLE), RHP Joel Payamps (trade with OAK), RHP Gus Varland (Rule 5 Draft from LAD), 1B Luke Voit (free agent), RHP Bryse Wilson (trade with PIT) and OF Jesse Winker (trade with SEA).

GONE FROM 2022: RHP Brad Boxberger (CHC), C Mario Feliciano (DET), RHP Trevor Gott (SEA), RHP Jandel Gustave (ARI), RHP Trevor Kelley (TB), OF Andrew McCutchen (PIT), C Omar Narváez (NYM), RHP Luis Perdomo (Japan), INF/OF Jace Peterson (OAK), OF Hunter Renfroe (LAA), INF/OF Pablo Reyes (OAK), LHP Taylor Rogers (SF), OF Esteury Ruiz (OAK), LHP Brent Suter (COL), RHP Justin Topa (SEA) and 2B Kolten Wong (SEA).

MANAGER: Craig Counsell – the longest-tenured active manager in the National League and third in the majors – is in his ninth season as Brewers manager (617-556) and eighth full season…..he has the most wins of any manager in franchise history…..his 1,173 games managed are second to Phil Garner (1,180)…..Counsell was named the 19th manager in franchise history on 5/4/15, replacing Ron Roenicke…..he is signed through the 2023 season.

COACHES: First base coach Quintin Berry (3rd season), hitting coach Connor Dawson (2nd season), bullpen coach Jim Henderson (2nd season), pitching coach Chris Hook (5th season), third base coach Jason Lane (8th season, 3rd as 3B coach), associate pitching, catching and strategy coach Walker McKinven (4th season), bench coach Pat Murphy (8th season) and hitting coach Ozzie Timmons (2nd season) all returned from the 2022 staff…..Néstor Corredor, who had previously been bullpen catcher (2021-22), is now a coach.

2022 IN REVIEW: The Brewers went 86-76 last season, missing the postseason for the first time since 2017…..the team was eliminated from NL Central contention on September 27 and eliminated from postseason contention on October 3, snapping their franchise-record four consecutive years of making the playoffs…..the team won at least 86 games for the fifth consecutive full season (since 2017), joining the Dodgers (since 2012), Astros (since 2017) and Yankees (since 2017) as the only teams to accomplish the feat during this stretch (does not include 2020).

LET’S GO TO THE VIDEO TAPE: The Brewers have made one replay challenge this season, going 0-1…..the challenge came on Opening Day at Chicago-NL as a safe call at first base (Dansby Swanson) on a pickoff attempt stood.

TODAY’S STARTER: #51 – RHP FREDDY PERALTA (18g, 17gs, 4-4, 3.58 in 2022)

PERALTA AT A GLANCE: Freddy Peralta, 26, went 4-4 with a 3.58 ERA in 18 games/17 starts last season…..he held opponents to a .190 batting average with 86 strikeouts in 78.0 innings pitched…..the team went 8-9 in his starts…..he produced 4 quality starts…..he was on the injured list twice last season: 5/23-8/2 (right posterior shoulder strain) and 9/9-9/24 (right shoulder inflammation)…..Peralta was acquired from Seattle, along with RHP Carlos Herrera and RHP Daniel Missaki, in exchange for 1B Adam Lind on 12/9/15…..on 2/28/20, he signed a 5-year contract through the 2024 season with club options for 2025 and 2026.

BABY ON BOARD: Peralta is making his first start since he and his wife, Maritza, welcomed their second child into the world…..Freddy Jr. was born last Wednesday night in Milwaukee…..he weighed 9 lbs and 9 ounces…..the couple also has a daughter named Norah.

CAREER: Is 30-17 with a 3.82 ERA in 116 games/67 starts (415ip, 176er)…..is in his sixth Major League season, all with the Brewers (2018-23)…..is 22-15 with a 3.81 ERA as a starter (331ip, 140er) and 8-2 with a 3.86 ERA in relief (84ip, 36er)…..was an All-Star in 2021.

CAREER AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD: Is 18-10 with a 3.34 ERA in 62 games/34 starts (223.2ip, 83er)…..went 3-4 with a 4.34 ERA in 11 games/10 starts last season (45.2ip, 22er).

CAREER ON THE ROAD: Is 12-7 with a 4.37 ERA in 54 games/33 starts (191.1ip, 93er)…..went 1-0 with a 2.51 ERA in 7 starts last season (32.1ip, 9er).

CAREER vs. METS: His only outing against the Flushing, New York Metropolitans came in an 8-4 win on 9/26/21 at American Family Field (5.1ip, 5h, 4r, 4er, 1bb, 5k, 1hr, 1hbp)

Blue Bombers add linebacker to roster

CFL Editor
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Blue Bombers add linebacker to roster

WINNIPEG, MB., – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers today announce the signing of American linebacker Joe Beckett.

Beckett (6-4, 240; Wofford; born: May 25, 1999 in Lexington, SC) played eleven games for the Terriers in the 2021 season. He led the team with 80 tackles and had 4.0 tackles for loss and a sack. He was the team leader in tackles in five of the eleven games. He also returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown.
 
For his career at Wofford, he played in 53 games with 28 starts at linebacker. He recorded 183 career tackles with 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He was part of Southern Conference Championship teams in 2017, 2018 and 2019, playing in the NCAA FCS Playoffs three seasons as well. After going undrafted, Beckett attended New York Giants mini camp

MLB Preview: Chicago Cubs (1-2) at Cincinnati Reds (2-1)

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MLB Preview: Chicago Cubs (1-2) at Cincinnati Reds (2-1)

CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:

Cubs vs. Reds
The Cubs and Reds play 13 games spanning four series … following this series the teams meet for three games at Wrigley Field May 26-28 … Chicago last season went 11-8 vs. the Reds, its first season series victory over Cincinnati since going 11-8 in 2018.

CUBS HEAD TO QUEEN CITY: The Chicago Cubs tonight play the first of three games in Cincinnati against the Reds, the team’s first road series of the season after opening the year by dropping two-of-three at home against the Brewers … the Cubs won Opening Day’s tilt, 4-0, before losing the next two contests by scores of 3-1 and 9-5 … following this three-game set against the Reds, the Cubs return home for a Thursday off day prior to a six-game homestand against the Rangers (3 games starting April 7) and Mariners (3 games beginning April 10).

The Cubs open the season with 16 of their first 25 games through April 27 at Wrigley Field … of those first 25 tilts, just six are against their own division, the N.L. Central: the just-completed Brewers series and this series against the Reds … in fact, after this series the Cubs play 29-straight games outside of the division until hosting the Cardinals for three games, May 8-10.

What’s even more odd? … following this series in Cincinnati the team’s next road series against an opponent in its own division is not until June 19-21 for three games in Pittsburgh.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Cubs catcher Tucker Barnhart returns to Great American Ball Park for the first time since he spent eight seasons with the Reds…he made his major league debut with Cincinnati in 2014 and was with the club through 2021 before he landed with Detroit for the 2022 season.

Barnhart won two N.L. Gold Gloves while with the Reds, earning the honor in 2017 and 2020 … he played 744 games for the Reds.

HAPP COMFY IN CINCY: Ian Happ, who was the first University of Cincinnati Bearcat to be selected in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft when he was picked ninth overall by Chicago in the 2015 draft, has batted .290 (81-for-279) with 26 homers and 63 RBI in 89 games against the Reds.

In 43 games at Great American Ball Park, Happ has hit .313 (45-for-144) with a 1.140 OPS thanks in part to 27 extra-base hits including 16 homers.

WORD TO THE WISE: Patrick Wisdom yesterday recorded his sixth career multi-homer effort, going 2-for-4 with two solo shots against the Brewers at Wrigley Field … since the start of the 2021 season, Wisdom has averaged one home run every 14.80 at bats, the second-best rate among N.L. hitters with at least 900 plate appearances (Kyle Schwarber leads with one homer every 12.04 at-bats).

SEVEN IN THE FIRST THREE: Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson collected seven hits in his first three games with the club this past weekend vs. the Brewers .. the seven hits are tied for fifth-most among any player in their first three games as a Cub since 1901.

Swanson has reached safely in eight of his first 13 plate appearances to begin the season, collecting seven hits and a walk thus far.

PITCHING IN: After Marcus Stroman spun 6.0 shutout innings with eight strikeouts on Thursday’s Opening Day, Justin Steele matched him with 6.0 scoreless innings and eight strikeouts on Saturday … this marked the first time since the mound was moved to 60’6” in 1893 that the Cubs began the season with back-to-back starts of at least 6.0 shutout innings … thanks to Ed Hartig for his research assistance.

Cubs pitching started this season with 16.0 scoreless innings … that is the team’s longest stretch to start a season since 1876 and the first games played by the Cubs in the National League.

DEBUT DANDIES: The Cubs had five players in their Opening Day starting lineup making their team debuts: Cody Bellinger, Eric Hosmer, Trey Mancini, Miles Mastrobuoni and Dansby Swanson … team historian Ed Hartig notes that just twice in the franchise’s first 21,932 regular season games have more players made their Cubs debut in a game … April 25, 1876, the Cubs first N.L. game, saw nine Cubs make their debuts .. April 2, 2001, eight players made their Cubs debut.

Along with the aforementioned five newcomers in the Opening Day starting lineup, seven others have made their Cubs debut (Barnhart, Boxberger, Fulmer, Merryweather, Rios, Taillon and Torrens) to bring the Cubs all-time regular season roster to 2,212 players since 1876.

ROSSY AT THE HELM: David Ross is in his fourth season as manager of the Cubs after he was named the 55th manager in franchise history, October 4, 2019, replacing Joe Maddon … this is Ross’ 26th professional baseball season … he played 15 major league seasons as a catcher, including his final two with Chicago (2015-16) … is a two-time World Series champ with Boston (in 2013) and Chicago (2016). © Ross in 2020 led the Cubs to the N.L. Central Division title … the 2021 club was 71-91, a season in which Chicago utilized a MLB single-season record 69 players, and last year went 74-88.

Starting Pitcher – #11 LHP Drew Smyly (0-0, 0.00)

Last Time Out
Drew in his final Cactus League outing, Mar. 28 vs. Chicago (A.L.) allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits … finished Spring Training with a 13:2 SO:BB ratio

2022 Splits and Season Notes
Drew in 2022 made 22 starts for Chicago and went 7-8 with a 3.47 ERA (41 ER/106.1 IP), striking out 91 batters compared to 26 walks … his 2.20 walks per nine innings was his lowest season rate since 2013 (2.01).

Tossed 9.2 scoreless innings in his first two outings of the season, becoming the fourth Cub starter since 1893 to not allow a run over his first two starts with the club (also, Randy Wells, Bill Lee and Mike Prendergast).

2022 marked the first time in his nine-year career that he registered a scoreless start in his first outing of the season.

Was on the 15-day injured list from May 31-July 10 with a right oblique strain … left his start in game two of the doubleheader May 30 vs. Milwaukee before the fourth inning.

Recorded the win at the at MLB’s Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa Aug. 11 … tossed 5.0 scoreless innings with four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts.

His nine strikeouts marked his most since he struck out 10 batters Sept. 27, 2020 at San Diego.

In five starts in Aug., he went 2-1 with a 0.90 ERA (3 ER/30.0 IP) … his ERA was tied for the second-lowest among qualified major league pitchers that month.

In that same span among National League pitchers, his 0.93 WHIP ranked seventh, .275 opponent slugging percentage was tied for seventh and his
opponent OBP of .256 ranked eighth.

Beginning Aug. 6, allowed two or fewer runs in eight of his final nine starts, pitching to a 2.28 ERA.

Career Notes
Drew is in his second season with the Cubs after he was re-signed to a two-year contract in December of 2022 … joined the Cubs on a one-year contract for the 2022 season, beginning his second stint in Chicago … spent the 2018 season on the Cubs injured list while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Is 53-47 with a 4.10 ERA (430 ER/943.2 IP), one complete game shutout and three saves over 239 career major league games (156 starts).

Has pitched in all or parts of nine major league seasons with Detroit (2012-14), Tampa Bay (2014-16), Texas (2019), Philadelphia (2019), San Francisco (2020), Atlanta (2021) and the Cubs (2022).

Won his first World Series championship with Atlanta in 2021 … was one of three Braves pitchers with 10-plus wins and one of four to start 20-plus games, going 11-4 with a 4.48 ERA (63 ER/126.2 IP).

Underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2017 … would miss the rest of 2017 and the entire 2018 season while rehabbing.

Set career highs in starts (30), innings (175.1) and strikeouts (167) with Tampa Bay in 2016.

Has been traded three times in his career, including as a part of the five-player, three-team deal that sent David Price from Tampa Bay to Detroit in July 2014.

Was selected in the second round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft by Detroit.

Pitched three seasons at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:

REDS HOTS
• In yesterday’s 3-1 win vs Pit, in the Reds’ third game of the season, RHP Graham Ashcraft threw 7.0 innings (4h, 1er, 1bb, 6k, Bryan Reynolds solo HR)…in 2022, RHP Hunter Greene was the first Reds starter to finish 7.0 innings, on 5/15 at Pit in the team’s 35th game (7.1ip, 0h).

• With a 2-1 record, the Reds are over .500 for the first time since last season’s 6-3 win at Atl on 2022 Opening Day…haven’t been at least 2 games over .500 since finishing the 2021 season at 83-79.

TONIGHT’S GAME
• Is Game 1 of 3-game series vs David Ross’ Cubs and Game 4 of a 6-game homestand that included a season-opening 2-1 series win vs the Pirates.

• Following this series the Reds will travel to Phi (3g) and to Atl (3g) for their first road trip, including the Phillies’ home opener on Thu.

SERIES NOTES
• The Reds in 2022 went 8-11 vs Cubs, including 5-4 at Great American Ball Park, 3-6 at Wrigley Field and a 4-2 “home” loss on 8/11 in the Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa.

• The teams met in the final 6 games of the 2022 championship season (3g at Wrigley Field, 3g at Great American Ball Park), the longest continuous stretch of games between the Reds and Cubs since they played 7 straight games from 8/29-9/5, 1931…@EliasSports.

WELCOME HOME
• After the top of the first inning of tonight’s game, the organization will salute former Red and current Cubs C Tucker Barnhart.

• Selected in the 10th round of the June 2009 first-year player draft, from 2014-2021 Barnhart made 744 apps for the Reds.

• In each of 6 consecutive seasons from 2016-2021, he led Reds catchers in starts and innings caught.

• In 2017 and 2020 he won Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, joining Johnny Edwards (1963, 1964) and 10-time winner and Cooperstown Hall of Famer Johnny Bench (1968-1977) as the only catchers in Reds history to earn Major League Baseball’s most prestigious honor for defensive excellence.

• Holds the franchise career record for consecutive errorless apps by a catcher (161g, 7/28/19 – 8/18/21).

• In a 3-0 win on 5/7/21 at Cle caught Wade Miley’s no-hitter.

• Is 1 of only 5 Reds catchers with at least 561 hits, 115 doubles and 51 HR (Johnny Bench, Ernie Lombardi, Joe Oliver, Eddie Taubensee).

• In 2018 and 2020 was Cin’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.

• In 2016 and 2019 won the Joe Nuxhall Good Guy Award in voting of the local chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

REHABBING
• 1B Joey Votto (8/19/22, surgeries to repair the left biceps and torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder) is rehabbing with Louisville (2g, 2-8, solo HR, 1bb, 4k)…the Bats are off today…in the opener of Sat’s DH at Nashville, he hit a solo HR off Caleb Boushley on the first pitch he was thrown. • IF/OF Nick Senzel (11/14/22 surgery to repair a sesamoid fracture in his left great toe) has been rehabbing at the Reds’ player development complex in Goodyear…could begin a rehabilitation assignment this week.

• RHP Tony Santillan (low back Pars stress fracture) has been rehabbing in Goodyear…could begin a rehabilitation assignment this week.

• RHP Lucas Sims (low back spasms) has been rehabbing in Goodyear… could begin a rehabilitation assignment this week.

• RHP Luke Weaver (right elbow flexor strain) has been rehabbing with the team in Cincinnati…could begin a rehabilitation assignment this week.

THE SKIPPER…: David Bell is in his fifth season as a Major League manager (253-296, .461, 2020 Wild Card)…was hired on 10/22/18…on
9/22/21, the club announced a 2-year contract extension through the 2023 season.

• David and his father, Buddy, is the fourth father-son duo to serve as Major League managers, joining George & Dick Sisler, Bob & Joel Skinner and Bob & Aaron Boone…Buddy managed Det (1996-1998), Col (2000-2002) and KC (2005-2007).

• David previously spent 4 seasons in the Reds organization’s player development department as a manager, at Class AA Carolina from 2009-2011 and at Class AAA Louisville in 2012.

Tonight’s Pitcher – #71 Connor Overton, RHP
• Tonight is making his first appearance of the season in the Reds’ fifth game…will be his second career appearance and first start vs the Cubs.

• Last season, from 5/23-9/22 missed 110 games while on the 60-day injured list with a stress reaction in his lower back.

• Went 1-0, 1.82 in 4 starts before the injury…twice was the victim of blown saves.

• Made 2 apps after he was reinstated from the 60-day IL on 9/23 (8.1ip, 6h, 5er, 4bb, 4k, 1hr)…both times pitched in relief of starter Graham Ashcraft.

• Was a non-roster invitee to 2022 Major League spring training camp.

• Began the 2022 season at Louisville, where in 2 starts and 2 relief apps he went 2-1, 2.84 before he was promoted to make his season and Reds debut in a start on 4/30 at Col…left that 4-3 loss with a 2-0 lead and was the victim of a blown save.

• In the 4-0 win on 5/12 at Pit, earned his first Major League victory…in the team’s 32nd game, became the first Reds pitcher this season to throw at least 6.0 innings…the Reds’ 31 games to begin a season in which the starting pitcher failed to pitch at least 6.0 innings are the most in the Major Leagues since 1893, when the mound was moved to its current distance.

• Made his last appearance before the injury in the 10-inning, 5-4 win on 5/17 at Cle…threw 7.2 innings, the most by a Reds pitcher to that point in the season, and left with a 2-1 lead…was the victim of a blown save when Owen Miller’s 2-run HR in the ninth off Art Warren tied it at 4-4…retired 17 of his last 19 batters, including 15 straight heading into the eighth inning.

• Was scratched from a scheduled start on 5/22 at Tor…the next day went on the 60-day injured list with the lower back injury.

• Didn’t pitch again for the Reds until a relief outing on 9/24 vs Mil, following rehab apps on 9/13 & 9/18 for Louisville.

• With 2 outs in the third inning of the 6-1 loss on 9/30 at Wrigley Field, in his final appearance of the season, entered the game for starter Graham Ashcraft and threw 5.1 scoreless innings in the longest relief appearance of his career…walked his first batter but then retired 13 straight until Ian Happ singled to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning.

• Pitched in 2 seasons in the independent leagues, for the American Association’s Sioux City Explorers in 2016 and in the Atlantic League for the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2019.

• Spent most of the 2016 season pitching for Sioux City but did make 1 appearance, on 8/13, for the Giants’ Class A San Jose affiliate…didn’t pitch again the rest of that season because of a right elbow injury.

• Missed the entire 2017 season following “Tommy John” surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Orlando Pride Adds Young Canadian Forward Amanda Allen on Three-Year Deal

NWSL Editor
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Orlando Pride Adds Young Canadian Forward Amanda Allen on Three-Year Deal

18-year-old recently named to Canada’s senior team roster

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Pride has announced the signing of 18-year-old Canadian international Amanda Allen, joining the Club on a three-year deal through the 2025 season. Allen, who was recently called up to Canada’s senior national team for this international window, will join the Pride pending the receipt of her P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).   

“Amanda is a player that we see as one of the future stars of both the NWSL and of the Canadian national team, and we’re so happy to be able to bring her to Orlando. She’s a dynamic, attack-minded player who is going to bring even more competition to our roster,” said Orlando Pride VP of Soccer Operations and GM Haley Carter. “Amanda is one of the most promising and exciting players in our game, and she is going to flourish in her development as both a player and person here with the Pride.” 

“The week that I came in to train, I really felt like I was a part of the team and I felt like going pro was the next step for me and Orlando made me feel welcome, really pushed my boundaries. I just loved it here, I loved the environment,” Allen said of her decision to join the Pride. “The team culture was huge for me. Just the way everybody acted so professionally and really welcomed me in and had passion for the game. It felt like I was part of the family already, so I can’t wait to step on the field with them.” 

A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Allen helped lead Canada to a bronze medal at the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship in the Dominican Republic, scoring two goals in the group stage opener against the hosts and one in the first knockout round match against Honduras. After that tournament, Allen was named to Canada’s 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup roster, scoring in the final group stage match against Japan.   

To close out the 2022 calendar year, Allen received her first call-up to the senior women’s national team, ultimately making her debut against Brazil on November 22 at age 17.  

The forward has been playing with the Ontario National Development Centre since 2022 and was named to Canada’s senior team roster for its April 11 match against France.  

TRANSACTION: Orlando Pride signs forward Amanda Allen to a three-year contract through the 2025 season pending the receipt of a P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).  

Amanda Allen 
Number: 29 
Position: Forward 
Height: 5-4 
Born: Feb. 21, 2005 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada 
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada 
Citizenship: CAN

MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants (1-2) at Chicago White Sox (2-2)

MLB Editor
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MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants (1-2) at Chicago White Sox (2-2)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: After dropping the series finale yesterday in New York to the Yankees, SF begins the second leg of its season-opening road trip here in Chicago today against the White Sox…the Giants haven’t visited the South Side since 2017 when they lost a three-game series here, 2-1, in early September…LHP Matt Moore picked up the only win of that series for SF and the only active member of the current Giants that played in any of the three games here in 2017 is IF Brandon Crawford…OF Austin Slater played in that series but he is currently on the IL.

JUST A REMINDER: Today’s first pitch in Chicago has been moved up to 2:10 p.m. CT / 12:10 p.m. PT due to the forecast for inclement weather in the late afternoon.

IN THE BRONX: The Giants dropped their season-opening series to the Yankees in the Bronx after falling in yesterday’s rubber match, 6-0…SF was shut out in both of its losses during the series (5-0 on Thursday in the lid lifter and the shutout yesterday)…it was the first time in the SF-era (1958-pres.) that the Giants were shut out in two of their first three games to start a season…SF won the middle game of the NYY series on Saturday 7-5.

HOW RUDE: Yankees hitters hit seven homers off Giants pitching over the three game series last weekend…entering 2023 Giants pitching had allowed the fewest homers in the Majors in each of the last two seasons (151 in 2021 and even fewer last year with 132 HR allowed)…additionally, SF had just 31 games all of last year where they allowed multiple home runs to opposing hitters (tied for fewest in the Majors with Houston)…they’ve already had two such games in 2023 (Thursday’s opener and yesterday).

ONE LAST THING ABOUT THE WEEKEND: Giants hitters struck out 41 times in the season-opening three-game series with the Yankees, the most by any Giants team in the SF-era (1958-pres.) in its first three games of a season…the 2021 club previously held the mark with 32 strikeouts in its season-opening series in Seattle…furthermore, it was the first time that the Giants offense eclipsed the 40-strikeout mark in a three-game series since a three-game series in Boston from September 17-19, 2019 when they struck out 49 times in three games.

SAYS HERE…: Since 2021 the Giants have been one of the better teams in Major League Baseball during March/April… SF is 31-19 (.620) in March/April since 2021, the second-best winning percentage in the Majors…furthermore the Giants have won 60% of their combined games in March and April in consecutive seasons for the third time since moving to San Francisco (1986-87, 1960-62)

MLB, Best Record in March/April, Since 2021 (Stats, LLC)
Team Record
Milwaukee Brewers 33-18 (.647)
San Francisco Giants 31-19 (.620)
Los Angeles Dodgers 31-20 (.608)
Team Record
New York Mets 28-19 (.596)
San Diego Padres 31-22 (.585)

BACK ON THE BUMP: RHP Anthony DeSclafani gets the nod in the series opener vs. the White Sox and it will be his first regular season action since June 26 of last season vs. Cincinnati…after that outing, he returned to the IL with the same right ankle inflammation that had bothered him earlier in the year…he underwent surgery on the right ankle to fix his peroneal tendon, which is on the outside of the ankle point…it was performed by Dr. Robert Anderson in Green Bay on July 21 and he missed the remainder of the 2022 season.

LOOKIN’ FOR SOME INNINGS: The Giants played three games in New York but had the off day after the first game of the season and have the same series setup here in Chicago… entering this series, SF has used 10 of the 13 pitchers on its active roster and is slated to have two more make their season debuts in this series (DeSclafani today as mentioned above and LHP Alex Wood on Thursday)…LHP Sean Manaea, who was signed by SF to a two-year contract in the offseason, is the only other pitcher seeking his first game action of 2023… he last pitched in a game on March 23, a Cactus League start against these White Sox at Camelback Ranch (6.0ip, 3h, 1r, 1er, 1bb, 3k).

NEW LEAGUE, WHO DIS?: Oddly enough with this year’s new balanced schedule, the Giants are opening the year with nine straight games against American League opponents (the Yankees and White Sox on this road trip and then the Royals to open the home slate)…SF doesn’t play a National League opponent until they meet the Dodgers at Oracle Park April 10-12.

SUN BUMS: Today’s game is the fourth in a stretch of nine straight day games for SF to open the season (all three games in NYC were day games, all three games here in Chicago against the White Sox and the first three games of the club’s first homestand vs. Kansas City)…according to Elias, this is the first time in at least the last 30 years (as far back as their reliable data goes) that the Giants have opened up a season with nine straight day games…the last MLB team to do so were the 2019 White Sox, who opened the year with 11 straight day games.

TODAY’S STARTER – ANTHONY DeSCLAFANI RHP #26
TODAY’S OUTING: Gets the nod to kick off his 2023 campaign this afternoon against the White Sox…the veteran, who returns from an injury-plagued 2022, is slated to start his ninth Major League season and third in a Giants uniform…the New Jersey native was signed to a three-year deal on November 22, 2021 following his first season as a Giant…today marks his first MLB regular season start since June 26, 2022 vs. Cincinnati at Oracle Park.

SPRING CLEANING: Had a stellar start to the spring after spending most of last season on the Injured List with a right ankle injury that resurfaced from 2021…the right-hander kicked off the spring by throwing 8.2 scoreless innings in a streak that continued through SF’s exhibition game against Team USA…DeSclafani allowed just three hits with three walks and nine strikeouts in a combined three starts over the stretch… overall in the Cactus League, the veteran went 1-1 with a 5.59 ERA (6er, 9.2ip), .216 opposing average and 12 strikeouts in three starts, which does not include his numbers from the game vs. Team USA since it was an exhibition game.

VS. CHICAGO-AL: Is set to face the White Sox for just the second time in his career and first since 2018 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds…took a no-decision during his start on July 3, 2018 after allowing five runs on six hits over 5.1 innings…allowed a career-high three homers, walked a batter and struck out five in the start at Great American Ball Park.

DeSCLAFANI PITCH ARSENAL / STATCAST INFO (2022)
Pitch Type Usage Percentage Avg. Velo BAA SO
Slider 38.6% 87.4 mph .452 8
Sinker 28.9% 92.2 mph .364 5
4-Seam FB 13.7% 92.6 mph .444 0
Curveball 13.1% 80.9 mph .200 3
Changeup 5.8% 86.0 mph .429 1

DeSCLAFANI VS. CHICAGO-AL (CAREER)
Last Win: — Last Loss: —
W-L ERA G/GS IP H ER BB SO
2022 —
Career 0-0 8.44 1/1 5.1 6 5 1 5
at SF —
at CWS —

2023 GAME-BY-GAME
Date Opp. Dec Result IP H R ER BB SO HR TP
4/3 @CWS

2022 SEASON: Posted a 0-2 record with a 6.63 ERA (14er, 19.0ip) in a season that saw him pitch in just five games due to multiple trips to the IL…the right-hander fanned 17 batters and walked just four in the brief season.

INJURED LIST: Had his 2022 campaign cut short with right ankle inflammation, an old injury that resurfaced after just three starts last year…landed in the 10-day IL for the first time on April 22 and was later transferred to the 60-day IL, missing 53 games…made two more starts at the Major League level before landing in the 15-day IL once again on June 28 with the same injury….was transferred to the 60-day on July 7 and missed the remainder of the season…DeSclafani underwent surgery to fix his peroneal tendon, which is on the outside of the ankle joint, on July 21 in Green Bay, WI… the surgery was performed by Dr. Robert Anderson.

LUCKY CHARM: Since joining the Giants in 2021, SF is 24-12 (.667) when DeSclafani takes the hill, winning eight of his last 11 starts.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:

WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox open the home portion of their 2023 schedule this afternoon against the San Francisco Giants.

RHP Michael Kopech, who is 4-0 with a 0.55 ERA (2 ER/32.2 IP) in 13 career interleague games (four starts), is scheduled to start for the White Sox.

The Sox opened the season with a four-game split in Houston, including a 6-3 win in yesterday’s finale … they rallied on Thursday for a 3-2 victory in Pedro Grifol’s managerial debut before losing the next two games despite holding leads in both.

Following this three-game series, the White 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 (4/6-18).

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 five straight games vs. San Francisco (40-9 run differential) and are 11-2 since 2008 (79-44 margin)

Sox starting pitchers rank fifth in the American League with a 2.05 ERA (5 ER/22.0 IP) through four games.

The White Sox bullpen has posted a 8.25 ERA (11 ER/12.0 IP) with a .320 (16-50) opponents average.

Chicago is trying to win its Home Opener after winning on Opening Day for the first time since 2011.

Elvis Andrus needs one hit to become the 290th player in MLB history to record 2,000.

Michael Kopech posted a 3.01 ERA (23 ER/68.2 IP) with a .157 (37-235) opponents average in 13 starts at home last season.

Yoán Moncada is 7-13 (.538) with three doubles, two home runs, four RBI and three runs scored over his last three games.

Andrew Vaughn celebrates his 25th birthday.

HOME OPENER TIDBITS
Today marks the fi rst time the White Sox have played a National League team in the home opener.

The Sox have won three of their last four home openers, including a 3-2 victory vs. Seattle last season.

Sox great A.J. Pierzynski, 2005 World Series Champion and two-time MLB All-Star, will throw out a ceremonial first pitch.

Grammy Award-winning artist Jon Secada will perform the National Anthem.

Flyover will be performed by two United States Navy P-8A Poseidon Aircrafts.

YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Mike Clevinger threw 5.0 scoreless IP in his team debut, and Yoán Moncada was 3-4 with two doubles, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored as the White Sox salvaged a four-game split at Houston with a 6-3 victory.

Clevinger limited the Astros to three hits with three walks and eight strikeouts … he became the third pitcher since 2000 to throw 5.0-plus scoreless IP in his Sox debut, joining Johnny Cueto on 5/16/22 at Kansas City (6.0), Mat Latos on 4/17/16 at Oakland (6.0) and José Quintana on 5/7/12 at Cleveland (5.2) … Clevinger’s eight strikeouts are most by pitcher in his Sox debut since Francisco Liriano on 7/31/12 at Minnesota (eight).

Luis Robert Jr. broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run off Luis García in the fifth inning, his fi rst since 7/14 at Minnesota, and also made a sliding catch of a Kyle Tucker 375-foot fly out in the ninth inning, covering 113 feet to record the second out.

Moncada extended the Sox lead to 6-1 with his two-run homer off Seth Martinez in the ninth … rookie Oscar Colás went 2-4 with a double, RBI and run scored, and Yasmani Grandal collected three hits.

The White Sox went 5-19 with RISP and left 12 runners on base … they loaded the bases with no outs in the second and sixth innings but did not score.

The Sox outhit the Astros in the series, 45-29, but left 42 runners on base … Houston recorded just one extra-base hit over the final two games, and Alex Bregman went 0-16 in the series.

WHITE SOX VS. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
The White Sox lead the all-time series, 12-4, going 7-1 at Oracle Park and 5-3 at Guaranteed Field Park.

The Sox swept a three-game series at Oracle Park from 7/1- 3/22 … they batted .274/.322/.345 (31-113) with no home runs and a 2.33 ERA (7 ER/27.0 IP) and outscored the Giants, 19-7.

The White Sox 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 253-230 (.524) all-time in interleague play (130-110 at home), the sixth-best winning percentage in MLB.

The Sox went 11-9 last season after posting a 14-6 record in 2021 … they are 21-10 since 7/25/21.

The White Sox rank second all-time with 606 home runs, trailing only Toronto (647) and the Yankees (609).

The Sox pitching in their last 31 interleague games:
W-L ERA IP H R ER HR BB SO SO/9.0 SO/BB AVG
21-10 3.14 281.0 219 112 98 30 104 308 9.9 2.96 .212

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).

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

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

Grifol has 23 years of professional baseball experience as a bench coach, hitting coach, winter ball and minor league manager, director of player development and scout

WHITE SOX ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The White Sox 26-man roster includes 13 pitchers (two LHP), two catchers, seven infielders and four outfielders.

INF Elvis Andrus (14.0000 entering season) has the most service time, and SS Tim Anderson (2016-) is the longest tenured.

LHP Garrett Crochet (Tommy John recovery) and RHPs Matt Foster (right flexor strain) and RHP Liam Hendriks (Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma treatment) are on the 15-day injured list.

INF Hanser Alberto, OF Andrew Benintendi, RHPs Mike Clevinger and Gregory Santos are new to the organization.

OPENING DAY LEFTOVERS
Pedro Grifol became the fi rst White Sox manager to win his debut since Jerry Manuel in 1998.

Dylan Cease became the fourth pitcher in American League history with no walks and 10-plus strikeouts on Opening Day, joining HOF Walter Johnson (1916), HOF Mike Mussina (1998) and Jered Weaver (2012) … ESPN Stats and Info.

Cease recorded his 14th career double-digit strikeout game, tied with teammate Lucas Giolito for the fourth-highest total in White Sox history … his 10 strikeouts tied Jack McDowell (1991) for the most by a Sox pitcher on Opening Day.

Elvis Andrus made his fi rst MLB appearance at a position other than shortstop.

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 signifi cant 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.

STARTING PITCHER – #34 STARTER MICHAEL KOPECH RHP

KOPECH AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his 2023 season debut and first career home opener start.

Has gone 7-10 with 3.53 ERA (58 ER/147.2 IP), .208 (112-538) opponents average and 143 strikeouts in 33 career starts … is 3-3 with 3.90 ERA (24 ER/55.1 IP), .225 (47-209) opponents average and 80 strikeouts in 40 career relief appearances.

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

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

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

OPENING RATE
Is the 10th different pitcher to start the White Sox home opener since 2014, joining Vince Velásquez (2022), Lance Lynn (2021), Lucas Giolito (2020), Reynaldo López (2019), James Shields (2018), José Quintana (2017), John Danks (2016), Héctor Noesí (2015) and Chris Sale (2014).

The last nine Sox pitchers to start the home opener have gone a combined 2-4 with a 6.06 ERA (33 ER/49.0 IP), 22 walks and 44 strikeouts.

2022 SEASON RECAP
Made 25 starts in his first full season as a member of the White Sox starting rotation … his 25 starts were the most of his professional career, and his 119.1 IP tied for the second-most (126.1 in 2018 with Class AAA Charlotte).

Allowed one hit or less in 5.0-plus IP five times, including 6.0 hitless IP on 8/12 vs. Detroit … the five such starts tied the Yankees’ Néstor Cortés and Houston’s Cristián Javier for the most in MLB, and tied Carlos Rodón (2021) for the most by a White Sox pitcher since 1920.

Limited right-handers to a .186/.269/.328 (46-247) slash line with 43 strikeouts … ranked among the American League leaders vs. righties in average (4th), OPS (9th, .597), slugging percentage (10th) and on-base percentage (12th).

Had two stints on the injury list, the first time from 8/23-9/7 with a left knee strain, and the second time from 9/17 to the remainder of the season with right shoulder inflammation.

Was on the Paternity List from 5/17-20 … welcomed his second son, Vander, on 5/20.

CHANCES ARE SLIM
Has limited the opposition to a .185 (25-235) average with RISP and .159 (11-69) mark with RISP/two outs in his career.

Opponents batted .149 (10-67) against him with RISP and .125 (5-40) with RISP/two outs in 2022.

HEATER ON AND RELIABLE
His four-seam fastball held the opposition to a .189 (64-243) batting average, the sixth lowest in Major League Baseball in 2022 among all pitchers with at least 250 plate appearances.

Had the highest four-seam fastball usage (61.6%) last season among MLB starting pitchers (min. 2000 pitches).

COMFORTS OF HOME
Has gone 3-6 with a 3.35 ERA (32 ER/86.0 IP), .184 (56-304) opponents average and 82 strikeouts over 18 career starts at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Went 2-5 with a 3.01 ERA (23 ER/68.2 IP), .157 (37-235) opponents average and 52 strikeouts in 13 home starts (seven quality) in 2022 … allowed two runs or less eight times and one or fewer five times.

VS. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS || INTERLEAGUE
Is scheduled to make his career appearance against the San Francisco Giants.

Has gone 4-0 with a 0.55 ERA (2 ER/32.2 IP), .183 (21- 115) opponents average and 35 strikeouts in 13 games (four starts) lifetime against the National League … did not allow a run over his first 29.2 IP in interleague play.

Is 3-0 with a 0.89 ERA (2 ER/20.1 IP), .192 (14-73) opponents average and 20 strikeouts as a starter, earning the win in each of his last three starts.

NHL Preview: Arizona Coyotes (27-37-13) at Seattle Kraken (41-26-8)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Arizona Coyotes (27-37-13) at Seattle Kraken (41-26-8)

ARIZONA COYOTES NOTES:

3 HARD LAPS
• Arizona has dropped its last seven games (0-5-2). The team still holds a .500 point percentage or better since the NHL’s trade deadline (6-6-4, .500) and the All-Star break (11-9-7, .537)

• Reigning Third Star of the Month Clayton Keller had his Coyotes-record 14-game point streak snapped on Saturday but 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 first time all season the Coyotes have faced the Kraken and it begins the team’s final road trip of 2022-23

LAST GAME
Sharks 7, Coyotes 2 – April 1, 2023 – Mullett Arena
ARI Goals: Moser (7), Kelemen (1)
SJS Goals: Gregor (6, 7, 8), Peterson (1), Criscuolo (1), Gushchin (1), Couture (27)
ARI Goalie: Prosvetov (L) – 24 svs on 31 shots
SJS Goalie: Kahkonen (W) – 29 svs on 31 shots
PP: 1-2 PK: 4-7
Notes: ARI fell to SJ and dropped all four games of the homestand…Matias Maccelli assisted on JJ Moser’s goal for his 34th helper of the campaign and widened his lead in assists among NHL rookies on the campaign…Moser (7-22-29) now holds sole possession of the third-most points among Coyotes defensemen…Milos Kelemen registered his first career NHL goal; He’s the second Coyote to notch his first goal in the NHL with the club this season (Guenther, 10/22 at OTT)…Victor Soderstrom also picked up an assist on Moser’s goal, his seventh of the season…Soderstrom has registered 1-2-3 in three career games vs SJS…Jack McBain chipped in an assist and has tallied four helpers in his last four games…Brett Ritchie notched his fifth assist of the season, his highest total in a campaign since 2017-18 (7)…Clayton Keller saw his Coyotes-record 14-game point streak come to an end; He registered 11-12-23 over the course of the run that dated back to 3/5…Patrik Nemeth skated in his 500th career game, playing 20:07 with two shots on goal

MAN GAMES LOST (Name/Roster Status/Injury Type/Games Missed/Last Game Played)
Zack Kassian…Day-to-Day…Upper-Body (7 / 3/18)
Total man games lost: 147 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)
-3/27 – Assigned F Bokondji Imama to Tucson (AHL)
-3/27 – Assigned D Michael Kesselring to Tucson (AHL)
-3/27 – Recalled F Bokondji Imama from Tucson (AHL)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
DATE TIME (AZ) OPPONENT VENUE TV RADIO
Thur, April 6 7:30pm at SEA Climate Pledge Arena Bally Sports Arizona Extra 92.3 FM
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

YOTES & KRAKEN

  • Tonight is the first of three ARI-SEA matchups this season. They’ll play again at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday and conclude the season series at Mullett on 4/10
  • The Yotes edged Seattle by a 2-1-0 clip last year in the season series, the Kraken’s inaugural campaign…ARI holds a +2 (12-10) goal differential against the Kraken from last season
  • Nick Schmaltz played in two of the games last season and managed to tally three goals, including two the last time the Coyotes were in Seattle (2/9/22)…His second goal was his 200th career point
  • Lawson 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…3 career GP
Lawson Crouse…2-0-2…3 career GP
Travis Boyd…1-0-1…3 career GP
Nick Schmaltz…3-0-3…2 career GP
Connor Mackey…0-1-1…2 career GP
Career Leaders
Goals (Schmaltz, 3)… Assists (Keller, 3)…Points (Keller/Schmaltz, 3)
Career Leaders Among Defensemen
Goals (-)… Assists (Moser/Mackey, 1)…Points (Moser/Mackey, 1)

SEATTLE KRAKEN NOTES:

LAST GAME
Los Angeles 3 at Seattle 1
Goals: Bjorkstrand
Goalie: Jones (16/18)
PP: 1/2 PK: 1/1 Shots: Los Angeles 19 – Seattle 26

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 216)
Joonas Donskoi (upper body; IR) – 75 games – no timeline for return
Andre Burakovsky (lower body) – 25 games – week-to-week
John Hayden (lower body) – 6 games – week-to-week

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A

UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, April 4: Seattle at Vancouver, 7 p.m. PT
Thursday, April 6: Arizona at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
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

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Tonight’s matchup is the first of three games Seattle will play against Arizona this season. The Coyotes are only team this season that the Kraken have yet to play a game against.

• Tonight’s game is also the 21st of 25 games the Kraken will play against Central Division teams this season, with Seattle holding an 10-4-6 record against the Central Division this year.

• Tonight’s game against the Coyotes and tomorrow’s game against the Canucks is the seventh of eight back-to-back sets the team will play this season and the third of which where the set is a home and road split.

• The Kraken have allowed 20 or fewer shots in each of their last four games played, the longest such streak in franchise history. Seattle is averaging 27.2 shots against per game this season, which was the second-best mark in the NHL entering play Sunday, trailing only the Carolina Hurricanes (25.9).

• Seattle has seven players on its roster that have appeared in all 75 of the team’s games: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Will Borgen, Vince Dunn, Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Adam Larsson and Brandon Tanev. Entering play Sunday, only three other teams (Calgary [8], Dallas [8], NY Rangers [7]) have had as many or more players appear in each of their games this season.

• Vince Dunn, who has already set a career high with 61 points (13 goals, 48 assists) this season, enters tonight’s game as the Kraken’s leading scorer. He was ranked in the top 15 among all NHL defensemen in goals (tied 10th), assists (11th), points (10th), even-strength goals (13, tied second) and even-strength points (46, second) entering play Sunday. Dunn enters tonight’s game two points shy of totaling 200 career points. When he reaches the milestone, he will become the 22nd skater and fifth defenseman from the 2015 NHL draft class to record 200 NHL points.

• 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 259 goals in 75 games this season compared to 213 goals in 2021-22. The team’s 259 goals this season were tied for seventh in the NHL entering play Sunday.

• Jordan Eberle’s goal in the Kraken’s game on March 3 at Columbus was his 50th point of the season. It is the sixth time in his career and first time since 2017-18 that Eberle has recorded 50 or more points in a season.

SEATTLE SHOWDOWN
• Tonight’s game is the third of seven times this season that the Kraken will be playing the same day as the Mariners, and also the final of three times the Kraken and Mariners will be playing in Seattle on the same day. The teams both played in Seattle on March 30 and on April 1. Since the start of last season, the Kraken have played on the same day as the Mariners 12 times, owning a 4-8-0 record in those games.

• The Kraken and Mariners have won on the same day twice. The Kraken defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on April 20, 2022, the same day the Mariners topped the Texas Rangers 4-2. The Kraken then won their game on March 30, a 4-1 victory over the Ducks, overlapping with the Mariners’ 3-0 opening-day win over the Cleveland Guardians.

• After tonight, the Kraken and Mariners will play on the same day four more times during the regular season this year: On April 3, 4, 8, 10 and 11.

• The Kraken have yet to play opponents from the same city on the same day

NHL Preview: Nashville Predators (38-29-8) at Dallas Stars (41-21-14)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Nashville Predators (38-29-8) at Dallas Stars (41-21-14)

NASHVILLE PREDATORS NOTES:

ALL-TIME vs. DALLAS
OVERALL (103 GP) 48-49-(1)-5
HOME (53 GP) 31-19-(1)-2
ROAD (50 GP) 17-30-(0)-3
LAST MEETING Dec. 27, 2022 at NSH (L, 3-2)
PLAYOFFS (0-1) 2019 WCQ (L, 4-2)

− The Predators are 48-49-(1)-5 all-time against the Stars, including a 17-30-(0)-3 record on the road.

− This is the fourth and final matchup between Nashville and Dallas in 2022-23; it is the second of two at American Airlines Center.

− Nashville is 0-3-0 against Dallas this season. The teams met in Nashville’s first two North American games of the 2022-23 season on Oct. 13 (home) and Oct. 15 (road); they last played on Dec. 27, a 3-2 loss for the Predators.

− The Predators are 2-3-0 in their last five games against the Stars; they are 5-5-0 in their last 10; and 3-2-0 in their last five on the road.

− The Predators have earned at least a point in 19 of their last 30 games vs. Dallas (18-11-1).

− Nashville has scored at least four goals (including the shootout winner) in 11 of its last 20 victories over Dallas.

− Nashville and Dallas met in the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day, with the Preds falling 4-2 in front of 85,630 fans – the second-most attended NHL game in history. Matt Duchene and Dante Fabbro scored for the Predators.

NOTABLES vs. DALLAS
− Juuse Saros is 12-7-1 in his career vs. Dallas, posting three shutouts, a 2.41 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 20 career games against the Stars.

− Ryan Johansen scored his 11th career goal against Dallas on Oct. 13; it’s tied for his most against a single opponent in his NHL career (Minnesota, San Jose).

− Roman Josi owns 33 career points (12g-21a) vs. the Stars, tied for the second-most against a single opponent in his NHL career.

− Michael McCarron (Dec. 19, 2015) and Ryan McDonagh (Jan. 7, 2011) made their NHL debuts against Dallas.

LAST TIME OUT
− St. Louis Blues 1, Nashville Predators 6 – April 1 (Bridgestone Arena)
− NSH goals: Novak (15), Glass – PP/GWG (13), Sissons – SH (12), Evangelista (6), Trenin (11), Tomasino – PP (5)
− STL goals: Rosen (8)
− Goaltenders: NSH – Saros (W, 21/22); STL – Greiss (L, 29/35)
− Power plays: NSH 2-4; STL 0-4
− Notes: Nashville improved to 19-14-4 at home in 2022-23… The Predators closed out their four-game, regular-season series against the Blues with a 2-1-0 record… Nashville scored at least six goals for the ninth time this season… The Predators scored two power-play goals for the eighth time in 2022-23 and first time since Feb. 26 at Arizona… Nashville scored two power-play goals and a shorthanded goal for the second time this season (Feb. 23 at San Jose) and 28th time in franchise history… The Predators outshot the Blues, 35-22, including by a 15-4 margin in the third period… Nashville also won 75 percent of its faceoffs (36-for-48)… Eight different Predators skaters recorded a point, led by Tommy Novak’s first career four-point game (1g-3a).

INJURY REPORT
Player Designation Dates Missed Games Missed
Mark Borowiecki Upper body – IR Oct. 27-April 1 68
Filip Forsberg Upper body – IR Feb. 13-April 1 25
Ryan Johansen Lower body Feb. 23-April 1 20
Juuso Parssinen Upper body Feb. 26-April 1 19
Alexandre Carrier Upper body March 4-April 1 16
Roman Josi Upper body March 19-April 1 8
Matt Duchene Upper body March 28-April 1 3
Jeremy Lauzon Upper body April 1 1
Total man-games lost: 231
Individual man-games lost: Borowiecki – 69; Carrier – 30; Forsberg – 25; Johansen – 20; McCarron – 20; Parssinen – 19; McDonagh – 11; Josi – 8; Smith – 6; Trenin – 5; Duchene – 4; Lauzon – 4; Glass – 3; Jankowski – 3; Asplund – 1; Evangelista – 1; Lankinen – 1; Tomasino – 1

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
− April 1: Recalled defenseman Spencer Stastney from Milwaukee (AHL).

− March 29: Signed defenseman Jake Livingstone to a one-year, entry-level contract.

− March 28: Recalled forward Michael McCarron and defenseman Kevin Gravel from Milwaukee (AHL). Reassigned defenseman Jordan Gross to Milwaukee (AHL).

ROAD WARRIORS
− The Predators completed their season-long six-game, 13-day road trip from March 1-13 with a 4-1-1 record, picking up wins over Florida, Chicago, Los Angeles and Anaheim and earning a point in a shootout loss against Vancouver.

− Playing on the road in eight of nine games from Feb. 23-March 12, Nashville traveled approximately 11,710 miles, going from: Nashville -> San Jose -> Tempe -> Nashville -> Ft. Lauderdale -> Chicago -> Vancouver -> Tempe -> Los Angeles -> Anaheim -> Nashville.

− Tommy Novak led the Predators in goals (3) and points (5) during the road trip.

− Kevin Lankinen went 2-0-0 with a 0.96 goals-against average and .966 save percentage during the trip, stopping 56 of 58 shots in wins over Florida and Los Angeles.

− Juuse Saros record a 2-1-1 record in four starts on the road, posting a .919 save percentage.

DALLAS STARS NOTES:

LAST DALLAS STARS GAME
April 1, 2023 – STARS 2 at AVALANCHE 5
Dallas’ two-game winning streak came to an end following a 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Saturday. Both Stars’ goals came with the man advantage, with Tyler Seguin (1-0—1) scoring his 19th goal of the season at the 11:54 mark of the second period and Joe Pavelski (1-0—1) notching his 24th with under two minutes remaining in regulation. Jason Robertson (0-2—2) inched closer to the 100-point mark on the season (42-55—97), while Evgeni Dadonov (0-1—1) and Miro Heiskanen (0-1—1) picked up assists. Goaltender Jake Oettinger made his second start in as many nights, turning aside 27 of 30 shots in the loss. PP: 2-5 | PK: 2-3 | SF: 28 | SA: 32 | DAL TOI: M. Heiskanen (26:00 – game high) | Attendance: 18,139
Three Stars: 1. COL – N. MacKinnon 2. COL – M. Rantanen 3. COL – L. O’Connor

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time (CT) Location TV/Radio
Mon, April 3, 2023 Nashville Predators 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Center BSSWX/KTCK
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

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
March 29 – Signed forward Matthew Seminoff to a three-year entry-level contract
March 31 – Loaned goaltender Scott Wedgewood to the Texas Stars on a conditioning assignment
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: 73
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 9 Mar. 14-pres.

DALLAS STARS NOTES
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Stars enter the final two weeks of the regular season as they open a three-game homestand tonight against the Nashville Predators at American Airlines Center (7:30 p.m. CT, TV: Bally Sports Southwest Extra, Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM). This is one of four remaining home games for the Stars and the first of six overall left in the 2022-23 regular season. Dallas’ homestand continues Thursday vs. Philadelphia and Saturday against Vegas. Then, the Stars will close out their road schedule with games at Detroit on April 10 and St. Louis on April 12 before wrapping up the regular season at home against the Blues on April 13.

MY SOURCES SAY THE ROADS ARE CLEAR AND STREET SIGNS POINT THE WAY

  • Dallas is 3-0-0 vs. Nashville this season, outscoring the Predators 12-4.
  • The Stars earned 4-1 and 5-1 victories to open the 2022-23 regular season on Oct. 13 at Bridgestone Arena and Oct. 15, 2022 at American Airlines Center, respectively. Dallas also won 3-2 on Dec. 27, 2022 in Nashville.
  • The Stars are 54-37-12 all-time vs. the Preds, including a 33-10-4 mark at home.
  • Forward Roope Hintz leads all skaters in the head-to-head matchup this season with six points (4-2—6) in three games. Two of his four goals were game winners, including a shorthanded tally on Oct. 15, 2022. Among active Stars, Hintz ranks third in goals (10) and shares fourth in points (10-11—21) in 20 career games vs. Nashville.
  • Forward Jason Robertson has five points (1-4—5) in three games against the Predators this season. Robertson enters tonight’s matchup with seven goals and 14 points (7-7—14) in 15 career games against Nashville.
  • Forward Joe Pavelski has four points (1-3—4) in three games against the Preds this season. Among active Stars, he ranks first in goals (22) and points (22-23—45) and second in assists (23) a team-high 61 career games vs. Nashville. He also paces the club in power-play goals (10) and game-winning tallies (7) against them.
  • Captain Jamie Benn has two points (1-1—2) in three games vs. Nashville in the 2022-23 campaign. Among active Stars, Benn ranks first in assists (25) and second in goals (15) and points (15-25—40) in 60 career games against the Preds.
  • Forward Mason Marchment has three goals (3-0—3) in three games vs. Nashville this season. Marchment scored his first of two goals in the season opener just 2:31 into his Dallas debut, recording the fourth-fastest goal by a Stars/North Stars player from the start of their franchise debut, following Mark Parrish (3 G on Nov. 7, 2008), Fabian Brunnstrom (3 G on Oct. 15, 2008), Jaromir Jagr (2 G on Jan. 19, 2013), Dave Archibald (2 G on Oct. 10, 1987), Marc Habscheid (2 G on Jan. 27, 1986) and Jean Potvin (2 G on Nov. 1, 1978).
  • Forward Tyler Seguin enters tonight’s contest with three points (all assists) in three games vs. Nashville this season. Among active Stars, Seguin shares fourth in points (9-12—21) in 39 career games against the Predators.
  • With a goal (1-0—1) in the season opener on Oct. 13, rookie Wyatt Johnston became the youngest player in franchise history to score a goal in his NHL debut (19 years, 151 days) and second youngest in franchise history with at least one goal in his NHL debut, behind Dave Archibald (18 years, 179 days on Oct. 10, 1987). Mike Modano (19 years, 120 days on Oct. 5, 1989) scored in his first regular-season NHL game but had debuted during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
  • Forward Luke Glendening enters tonight’s game with six goals and 12 points (6-6—12) in 25 career matchups vs. Nashville.
  • Forward Evgenii Dadonov has nine assists and 10 points (1-9—10) in 12 career games against the Predators.
  • Defenseman Miro Heiskanen has three points (1-2—3) in three games against the Preds this season to give him 11 points (4-7—11) in 23 career matchups.
  • Defenseman Ryan Suter ranks third among active Stars in assists (21) and points (2-21—23) in 41 career games vs. Nashville.
  • Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and .956 save percentage in three games vs. Nashville this season. In seven career appearances against the Predators, Oettinger is 4-1-2 with a 1.83 GAA and .929 SV%.
  • Netminder Scott Wedgewood has yet to face Nashville in his NHL career.

2022-23 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Oct. 13, 2022 at Nashville – W, 4-1
Oct. 15, 2022 vs. Nashville – W, 5-1
Dec. 27, 2022 at Nashville – W, 3-2

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