MLB Preview: Los Angeles Angels (1-) at Oakland Athletics (1-1)

Baseball
MLB

April 2, 2023

MLB Preview: Los Angeles Angels (1-) at Oakland Athletics (1-1)

LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:

LEADING OFF: Today marks the third (1-1) of six games on the Angels opening road trip of the 2023 season against Oakland (1-1) and Seattle (April 3-5).

HALO DEBUT: Today, Tyler Anderson makes his Angels debut after signing a three-year contract, Nov. 16, 2022… Last season, with the Dodgers, Anderson was selected to the National League All-Star team and finished the year with a 15-5 record and 2.57 ERA (178.2 IP – 51 ER) in 30 games (28 starts), with 138 strikeouts.

THE 11 SPOT: Yesterday afternoon, the Angels plated 11 runs in the top of the third inning, marking the Halos highest scoring frame since July 2, 2016 (11 runs in the 7th inning at Boston)…It was the sixth 11+ run inning in franchise history… Gio Urhsela and Taylor Ward both had two hits in the inning, while Luis Rengifo had two walks.

RECENT RECORDS THROUGH FIRST 3 GAMES OF SEASON
2022: 1-2
2021: 2-1
2020: 1-2
2019: 1-2
2018: 2-1

A UNIQUE SAVE: Yesterday afternoon, Tucker Davidson earned his first career save after tossing 4.0 scoreless frames to finish off the Angels 13-1 win over Oakland…The 12-run victory marked the largest run differential in a save for an Angels pitcher since Chris Bootcheck (4 IP) in a 14-1 win vs. Royals on May 28. 2005.

OPENING SHO: On Thursday, Shohei Ohtani made his second MLB Opening Day start as a pitcher and tossed 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts… He became the fourth pitcher in Angels history with 10+ strikeouts on Opening Day, joining Nolan Ryan (12 SO; 1973 & 1975), Andy Messersmith (11 SO; 1970) and Jered Weaver (10 SO; 2012).

MOST CAREER HOME RUNS VS. OAKLAND ATHLETICS
(since A’s moved to Oakland in 1968)
T1. Rafael Palmeiro – 43
T1. Alex Rodriguez – 43
T3. Adrian Beltre – 41
T3. Mike Trout – 41

Dwight Evans – 39

OPENING DAY TRENDS: On Thursday night, the Angels were defeated by Oakland by a 2-1 score, marking Halos ninth Opening Day loss in the last 10 years…LAA defeated Chicago White Sox on Opening Day in 2021 to snap streak of seven consecutive Opening Day losses (2014-20)…Prior to the seven game losing streak, Angels won each of five previous Opening Day games (2009-13)…The seven-game season opening skid from 2014-20 is the longest in team annals.

HIGHEST CAREER BATTING AVERAGE
AT OAKLAND COLISEUM (min. 125 PA)

David Fletcher – .366
Ichiro Suzuki – .354
Brian Harper – .345
Victor Martinez – .344
Chili Davis – .342

BABY BACKSTOP: With his start on Thursday, Logan O’Hoppe (23 years, 49 days) became the youngest Opening Day catcher in Angels history (previous was Buck Rodgers – 23 years, 237 days in 1962)…He was the first Angels rookie catcher to start on Opening Day since Bengie Molina in 2000.

A TRADITION UNLIKE ANY OTHER: The Angels started the season at the Oakland Coliseum for the fifth time in the last seven years…This was the first time in MLB history that any team began a season in the same road ballpark at least five times in a seven-year span (ELIAS)…Halos opened four straight years (2017-20) at the Coliseum before playing the last 2021-22 Openers at home.

IN THE DUGOUT: Phil Nevin is in his first full season as Angels Manager after serving as the Interim Manager for the final 106 games of the 2022 season…A Fullerton, CA native, Nevin signed a one-year contract on Oct. 5 for the 2023 season.

WELCOME TO THE RENAISSANCE: With Anthony Rendon, Hunter Renfroe & Luis Rengifo hitting 4-6 in the Angels Opening Day batting order, it was the first lineup in franchise history to feature three straight players who have the same first three letters of their last name…The last MLB occurrence was by Detroit on July 20, 2015 (Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez, Jefry Marte).

SETTING THE ROSTER: Wednesday, the Angels made a series of transactions to set the final Opening Day roster at 26 players…LAA selected the contract of INF Jake Lamb and placed C Max Stassi (10-day; left hip strain), INF Jared Walsh (10-day; headaches & insomnia), RHP Chris Rodriguez (15- day; right shoulder surgery in 2021), RHP Griffin Canning (15-day; left groin strain) and RHP José Marte (60-day; right elbow stress reaction) on the injured list.

THE NEW GUYS: Angels Opening Day roster featured eight players new to the organization in 2023: LHP Tyler Anderson, INF Brandon Drury, RHP Carlos Estévez, INF Jake Lamb, LHP Matt Moore, OF Brett Phillips, OF Hunter Renfroe and INF Gio Urshela.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP TYLER ANDERSON

• TODAY’S GAME: Making Angels debut today…Is entering eighth Major League season and made seventh straight Opening Day roster…Signed a three-year contract with Angels, Nov. 16, 2022.

• LAST TIME OUT: Earned the win in final Spring Training start on March 27 vs. Dodgers at Angel Stadium, after working 5.1 innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts…Both runs came on solo HR (by Mookie Betts & Miguel Rojas).

• SPRING RECAP: Made four total starts in Spring Training games, including two in traditional Cactus League play, the Angels exhibition contest vs. Team USA and a Freeway Series game against the Dodgers…Combined to go 2-1 with a 3.44 ERA (15.2 IP – 6 ER) with nine strikeouts.

• VS. OAKLAND: In three career starts vs. A’s, is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA (16.2 IP – 2 ER) and 13 strikeouts…Today marks first start against Oakland since Sept. 28, 2021 for Seattle at T-Mobile Park (ND; 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 SO).

• AT OAKLAND COLISEUM: In two career starts in Oakland, is 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA (12.2 IP – 1 ER) and 11 strikeouts…Last outing at the Coliseum came on Sept. 20, 2021 for Seattle (W; 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO).

• GOOD DAY: Owns a 3.95 ERA (253 IP – 111 ER) for his career in day games, compared with a 4.26 ERA (549.1 IP – 260 ER) at night…Last year, made six starts in day games for Dodgers and pitched to a 2.70 ERA (33.1 IP – 10 ER) and 31 strikeouts.

• THE CHANGE: Last season, held opponents to a .179 (41/229) average against his changeup.

• 2022 RECAP: Made 30 appearance (28 starts) for Dodgers last season…Was selected to National League All-Star team after going 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA (178.2 IP – 51 ER) and 138 strikeouts…Among N.L. leaders, he ranked tied for second in winning percentage (.750), fifth in ERA, tied for fifth in wins, seventh in WHIP (1.00) and eighth in opponent batting average (.221).

• DODGER LEADER: Led Dodgers staff with 178.2 IP (career-high) in 2022 and ranked third with 15 wins (careerhigh)…Also had career-bests in ERA (2.57), WHIP (1.00) and opponent average (.221)

• 2022 POSTSEASON: Started Game 4 of the 2022 NLDS for the Dodgers at San Diego and worked 5.0 scoreless innings…Allowed two hits and two walks with six strikeouts in Padres 5-3 win.

• NEAR NO-NO: Took a no-hitter into 9th inning of June 15, 2022 start for Dodgers vs. Angels, walking two and striking out eight…Shohei Ohtani’s one out triple in the 9th inning originally broke up the no-hit bid; following the game, an official scoring change overturned an error call, resulting in Jared Walsh breaking up the no-hitter with a 7th inning infield single.

• GETTING AROUND: Angels are his sixth Major League team…Has previously played with Colorado (2016-19), San Francisco (2020), Pittsburgh (2021), Seattle (2021) and Los Angeles (N.L.) (2022).

• CAREER NOTES: Native of Las Vegas, NV, where he attended Spring Valley HS…Was a first round (20th overall) selection by Colorado in the 2011 Draft out of the University of Oregon…Made Major League debut with Rockies on June 12, 2016 vs. San Diego.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: Have split the first two games of the season…with a win today, the A’s would win the first series of the season for just the second time in the last 13 years (won three of four from the Angels to start 2020)… allowed 11 runs in the third inning yesterday, which fell one short of the Oakland record for runs allowed in an inning (12 in the 15th inning on July 3, 1983 against Texas)…this is the A’s 56th season in Oakland where the A’s have won 17 American League West titles, four AL Wild Cards, six AL pennants and four World Championships…only the Atlanta Braves (22), New York Yankees (20) and Los Angeles Dodgers (20) have more division titles than the A’s…since the A’s moved to Oakland in 1968, only the Yankees (11), Cardinals (8) and Dodgers (8) have more league championships and only the Yankees have more world championships (7)…have a 4495-4182 (.518) record over the previous 55 seasons in Oakland…only four teams have won more games over that span (New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston, St. Louis)…this is the Athletics franchise 123rd season in the American League…since 1901, the A’s have 17 AL West titles plus 15 AL pennants and nine World Championships…only the Yankees (27) and Cardinals (11) have won more World Championships…the A’s are 9210-9654 (.488) in their previous 122 seasons…that includes a 3886-4248 record from 1901-54 in Philadelphia and 829-1224 from 1955-67 in Kansas City.

HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 1-1 on this season-opening six-game homestand against Los Angeles-AL (1-1) and Cleveland (three games)…went 29-51 (.362) at home last year, which set an Oakland record for lowest home winning percentage…had the second worst home record in the majors to Washington (26-55, .321)…begin their first road trip on Friday, a seven-game trip to Tampa Bay (three games) and Baltimore (four games)…went 31-51 (.378) on the road in 2022, which was the third worst road record in the American League.

DURING THE SPRING: The A’s went 11-17-3 (.355) this spring, which was the worst record in the Cactus League and third worst in the majors ahead of Pittsburgh (9-18-4) and Miami (7-16-4)…it was the fifth lowest spring winning percentage in Oakland history…went 5-10-3 last spring and have back-to-back losing springs for the first time since 2016-18 when they had three straight…the A’s led majors in on-base percentage (.367), walks (153), hit by pitches (26) and lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.83)…the walks were second most by an A’s team during the spring since 1990, the earliest year spring stats are available (had 154 in 1997)…the hit by pitches were the most since 2009 (28) and the on-base percentage was the best since 2013 (.367)… tied for second in the CL in triples (9), ranked fourth in OPS (.783) and plate appearances per strikeout (4.45) and tied for fourth in runs (171) and doubles (64)…had the most grounded into double plays in the majors (32)…had the second fewest home runs in the CL (27) and the fifth lowest slugging percentage (.416)…the pitching staff had the highest ERA (6.35), opponents OPS (.849) and on-base percentage (.385) in the majors, the third highest batting average (.283) and fifth highest slugging percentage (.465)…the ERA was the highest by an A’s team during the spring since at least 1990 (previous: 6.22 in 1999)…also led the majors in runs (209), walks (171) and wild pitches (36)…the walks are the most by an A’s team during the spring since at least 1990…tied for the second most home runs allowed in the CL (40)…were one of two teams in the majors without a balk (Cardinals)…the A’s defense had the fourth fewest errors in the CL (23) and tied for fifth in outfield assists (4)…had the most passed balls (7).

THE RULE CHANGES: The A’s stole 40 bases this spring, which was third most in the Cactus League…it was the most by an A’s team during the spring since at least 1990 (previous: 39 with the 1995 replacement players)…tied for the fourth fewest caught stealings (6) and had the fifth best stolen base percentage (87.0)…the A’s average time of game was 2:46, compared to 3:07 from last spring…however, had the highest average time of game in the majors (Phillies, 2:43)…league-wide, the average time of game was 2:35 compared to 3:01 last spring.

OPENING DAY STARTING LINEUPS: Two players returned from last year’s Opening Day starting lineup (Brown, Kemp), which were the fewest by an A’s
team since 2015 when they also had two…Ramón Laureano made his fourth Opening Day start with the first three (2019-21) coming in center field…
Conner Capel was the A’s fourth different designated hitter in the last four years…Kyle Muller was the A’s third different Opening Day starting pitcher in the last three years and the fifth in the last six.

ROSTER NOTES: The A’s opened the season with 13 pitchers and 13 position players…it marked the sixth time in the last seven years Oakland began the season with at least 13 pitchers (had 12 in 2019 in Japan)…seven players returned from last years Opening Day roster (Acevedo, Brown, Jackson, Jiménez, Kemp, Moll, Oller), which matched the fewest returning players by an A’s team since Opening Day rosters are first available in 1992 (also 2012)… eight other players on the roster played for the A’s at some point last year, two were acquired in trades), one was selected in the Rule 5 draft and one was claimed off waivers)…seven were signed as free agents, including six to a Major League contract (Aguilar, Díaz, Familia, Fujinami, May, Peterson) and one to a minor league contract (Perez)…those are the most free agents on an A’s Opening Day roster since 1995 when they had eight.

TENURE: Of the 26 players on the A’s Opening Day roster, only four played for Oakland in at least each of the previous three seasons: Ramón Laureano (2018-22), Seth Brown (2019-22), James Kaprielian (2020-22) and Tony Kemp (2020-22)…only Kemp, who has been on each of the A’s last four Opening Day rosters, has a streak of more than two consecutive Opening Day rosters with the A’s…Laureano is on his fourth Opening Day roster with Oakland (2019-21, 23)…Seth Brown, who was drafted on June 10, 2015 has the longest tenure in the A’s organization…he is followed by Nick Allen, who was the A’s third round pick in 2017, and James Kaprielian, who was acquired from the Yankees on July 31, 2017…18 of the 26 players were acquired by Oakland since the conclusion of the 2021 season (all but Acevedo, Allen, Brown, Jackson, Kaprielian, Kemp, Laureano, Moll).

ROOKIE AND VETERANS: The A’s had six rookies on the Opening Day roster (Capel, Fujinami, Muller, Noda, Ruiz, Waldichuk)…five players had six or more years of service: Familia (10 years, 8 days), May (8 years, 12 days), Peterson (6 years, 142 days), Díaz (6 years, 100 days) and Aguilar (6 years, 82 days).

THE YOUNG AND THE OLD: The average age on the A’s Opening Day roster was 28.50 years, which is the A’s youngest since 2015 (27.92)…Esteury Ruiz, who was 24 years and 43 days, is the youngest…he is followed by Nick Allen (24 years, 173 days) and Ken Waldichuk (25 years, 81 days)…Trevor May was the oldest at 33 years and 188 days and he is the youngest oldest player on an A’s Opening Day roster since Mark Ellis in 2010 (32 years, 303 days)…he is followed by Jeurys Familia (33 years, 171 days) and Jace Peterson (32 years, 325 days).

THE INJURED LIST: The A’s begin the season with five players (Blackburn, Piña, Rucinski, Snead, Tarnok) on the injured list after starting the season with three last year…used the IL 31 times last year, which broke the Oakland record of 27 set in 2016 and matched in 2021…however, used the IL nine times for Covid in 2022 and three times in 2021.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Ken Waldichuk (2-2, 4.93 ERA in 2022)

FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his first start of the season…begins his second season in the majors and is on his first Opening Day roster…made his Major League debut with Oakland last September.

SPRING TRAINING RECAP: Was 0-4 with a 10.54 ERA and 1.057 OPS in five games, including four starts…opponents hit .328 and he walked 12 in 13.2 innings…allowed at least two runs in all five appearances…his four losses tied for the most in the majors and match the most by an A’s pitcher since 1991, the first year spring stats are available (Eveland, 2009)…tied for the second most walks in the Cactus League…also pitched in a minor league game on March 21.

Began the season in the New York Yankees organization, was dealt to the A’s at the trading deadline and joined Oakland in September for his big league debut…went 2-2 with a 4.93 ERA and .781 opponents OPS in seven games, all starts…struck out 33 batters in 34.2 innings and walked 10 for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.30.

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

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

MLB Preview: Milwaukee Brewers (1-1) at Chicago Cubs (1-1)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 2, 2023

MLB Preview: Milwaukee Brewers (1-1) at Chicago Cubs (1-1)

MILWAUKEE BREWERS NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: Is game 3 (1-1) of a 3-game, 4-day road trip to Chicago-NL to begin the 2023 season…..following this series, the team begins its home schedule with a 6-game, 7-day homestand against New York-NL (3g) and St. Louis (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 (616-556) and eighth full season…..he has the most wins of any manager in franchise history…..his 1,172 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: #52 – LHP ERIC LAUER (29gs, 11-7, 3.69 in 2022)

LAUER AT A GLANCE: Eric Lauer, 27, went 11-7 with a 3.69 ERA in 29 starts last season…..the team went 17-12 in his starts…..he posted career highs in starts (29-tied), wins (11), innings pitched (158.2), strikeouts (157) and quality starts (13)…..he held opponents to a .228 batting average…..Lauer was on the 15-day injured list from 9/10-9/22 with left elbow inflammation…..he came back to end the season with 12.2 consecutive scoreless innings…..Lauer was acquired from San Diego, along with INF Luis Urías and a player to be named or cash, in exchange for RHP Zach Davies and OF Trent Grisham on 11/27/19 (trade completed on 5/27/20 – cash).

CAREER: Is 32-31 with a 4.11 ERA in 110 games/103 starts (550ip, 251er)…..is in his sixth Major League season with San Diego (2018-19) and Milwaukee (2020-23)…..was the Padres’ Opening Day starter in 2019…..Lauer was selected by San Diego in the first round (25th overall) of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Kent State University.

CAREER AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD: Is 11-7 with a 3.47 ERA in 28 games/27 starts (150.1ip, 58er)…..went 6-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 13 starts last season (77.1ip, 22er).

CAREER ON THE ROAD: Is 14-16 with a 4.81 ERA in 55 games/50 starts (262ip, 140er)…..went 5-5 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 starts last season (81.1ip, 43er).

CAREER vs. CUBS: Is 2-1 with a 4.66 ERA in 8 games/7 starts (36.2ip, 19er), including 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 4 starts last season (22ip, 8er)…..has gone 0-0 with a 5.56 ERA in 3 career games/2 starts at Wrigley Field (11.1ip, 7er).

CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:

SEASON-OPENING ‘STAND CONCLUDES: The Chicago Cubs today wrap up a season-opening three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers having split the first two contests … Chicago took Thursday’s Opening Day contest by a score of 4-0 before the Brewers won yesterday’s tilt, 3-1 … tomorrow evening, the Cubs begin their first road trip of the year, a brief three-game stint against the Reds at picturesque Great American Ball Park.

Chicago aims to win its season-opening series for the fourth-straight year, having gone 2-1 against Milwaukee in 2020, 2-1 against Pittsburgh to open 2021 and 2-1 against the Brewers to begin last season … Chicago last began a season 1-2 in 2019, dropping a three-game set in Texas against the Rangers.

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: this Brewers series is followed by a three-game set in Cincinnati, April 3-5 … in fact, after April 5 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 the three-game set in Cincinnati, April 3-5, the team’s next road series against an opponent in its own division is not until June 19-21 for three games in Pittsburgh.

SIX IN THE FIRST TWO: Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson followed up his Opening Day 3-for-4, RBI, run scored performance with three hits, including a double, and some outstanding plays in the field yesterday vs. Milwaukee.

Swanson is the first player with at least six hits in his first two games as a Cub since Emilio Bonifacio collected nine hits within his first two contests with Chicago, March 30-April 2, 2014 … here’s a look since 1901.

HITS IN FIRST 2 CUBS GAMES HITS IN FIRST 3 CUBS GAMES
SEASON BATTER H SEASON BATTER H
2014 Emilio Bonifacio 9 2014 Emilio Bonifacio 11
1930 High Pockets Kelly 7 1938 Coaker Triplett 9
1938 Coaker Triplett 7 1930 High Pockets Kelly 8
1901 Cozy Dolan 6 1948 Emil Verban 8
1901 Jack Doyle 6 Eight Players With 7
1922 Sparky Adams 6 (most recently Jorge Soler in 2014)
1936 Ethan Allen 6
2023 Dansby Swanson 6

HIS CONTROL COULD BE DESCRIBED AS “PINPOINT”: Jameson Taillon today makes his Cubs debut after a Spring Training in which he issued no walks to 70 batters faced, striking out 23 hitters in five starts … he went 2-0 with a 3.93 ERA (8 ER/18.1 IP) in Cactus League play.

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 yesterday … this marks 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.

With Brad Boxberger and Michael Fulmer also making their debuts on Thursday, and Tucker Barnhart, Edwin Rios and Luis Torrens making theirs yesterday, the Cubs are at 2,210 players on their all-time regular season roster … two members on the active roster are looking to make their Cubs debuts, today’s starter Jameson Taillon and reliever Julian Merryweather.

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 24, 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.

SUMMARIZING THE SPRING: The Cubs finished Spring Training with a 17-12-2 record, the third-best Cactus League mark behind the Angels (18-11-2) and Royals (19-13-1) … Cubs pitching recorded a 3.90 ERA (117 ER/270.0 IP), the lowest mark in the Cactus League and second-best in the majors behind Houston (3.30) … Chicago batted .241 (243-for-1,009) with 35 home runs and a .729 OPS.

JUST A MATTER OF TIME: Ed Hartig noted that Thursday’s game time of two hours, 21 minutes was the quickest season opener at Wrigley Field since April 9, 1974, vs. the Phillies (2:09).

Just two of Chicago’s 31 spring games went over three hours: the team’s opener, Feb. 25 vs. the Giants (3:06) and March 25’s game at the Angels (3:07).

Starting Pitcher – #50 RHP Jameson Taillon (0-0, 0.00)
Last Time Out
Jameson tossed 5.0 scoreless innings in his last outing of Cactus League play on March 27 vs. Chicago (A.L.) … allowed two or fewer runs in four of his five Spring Training outings.

2023 Spring Training Notes
During Spring Training this season, Jameson went 2-0 with a 3.93 ERA (8 ER/18.1 IP) … recorded 23 strikeouts, compared to no walks … his 23 strikeouts were the 10th most in the Cactus League.

Was the only pitcher in the Cactus League with at least 10.0 innings pitched to not walk a batter.

2022 Splits and Season Notes
Jameson in 2022 made 32 starts for the Yankees, going 14-5 with a 3.91 ERA (77 ER/177.1 IP) … tied his career high in wins (also 2018) and starts (also 2018) … the 14 wins marked a team high.

Allowed three or fewer earned runs in 25 of his 32 starts, two or fewer in 18, one or fewer in 10 and made four scoreless starts.

Walked just 32 batters, the fourth-fewest in the A.L. and fifth-fewest in the major leagues (min. 150.0 IP).

His 1.62 walks per 9.0 IP ratio was the fifth-best mark in the A.L. and seventh-best in the major leagues.

Made 13 starts with no walks, tied with Ross Stripling for the second-most in the MLB, trailing Corey Kluber (15).

Issued one walk or fewer in 14-straight starts from Sept. 28, 2021-June 12, 2022, the third-longest streak by a Yankees starting pitcher (non-opener), trailing David Wells (19) and Jon Lieber (15).

Posted a 9-1 record in his first 15 starts of the season … per Elias, was the sixth Yankees pitcher since 1961 to have a 9-1 record-or-better in his first 15 starts of a season (last Kevin Brown – 2004).

Recorded a career-high, nine-game winning streak from April 22-June 29, posting a 3.27 ERA (27 ER/74.1 IP) in that span.

Career Notes
Jameson signed a four-year contract with the Cubs in December 2022 … is 51-35 with a 3.84 ERA (336 ER/787.2 IP) in 143 career major league starts with Pittsburgh (2016-19) and Yankees (2021-22).

Among N.L. pitchers with at least 450 IP from 2016-20, ranked ninth with a 1.66 ground ball to fly ball ratio, 10th with a 32.7 outside the zone swing percentage, 11th with a 48.2% ground ball rate and 14th with a 19.5% soft contact rate.

January 24, 2021, was traded from Pittsburgh to New York (A.L.) for RHP Roansy Contreras, INF Maikol Escotto, OF Canaan Smith-Njigba and RHP Miguel Yajure.

Has undergone Tommy John Surgery twice, missing the 2014, 2015 and 2020 seasons.

In 2017, was placed on the injured list May 6 with groin discomfort and was diagnosed with testicular cancer on May 8 … underwent surgery May 8 and resumed light baseball activities May 15 … June 12, was reinstated from the injured list and started vs. Colorado, tossing 5.0 scoreless innings.

Was selected by Pittsburgh in the first round (second overall) in the 2010 FirstYear Player Draft.

Is a 2010 graduate of The Woodlands (Tex.) High School

MLB Preview: Chicago White Sox (1-2) at Houston Astros (2-1)

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MLB

MLB Editor

April 2, 2023

MLB Preview: Chicago White Sox (1-2) at Houston Astros (2-1)

CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:

WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox continue the 2023 season this afternoon with the series finale against the defending World Series champion Houston Astros.

RHP Mike Clevinger is scheduled to make his debut for the White Sox, who have lost two straight games despite holding leads in both after rallying on Thursday for a 3-2 victory in Pedro Grifol’s managerial debut.

Following today’s game, the Sox return to Chicago for a three-game, four-day homestand vs. the Giants (4/3, 4/5-6) before taking a six-game trip to Pittsburgh (4/7-9) and Minnesota (4/10-12) … RHP Michael Kopech is scheduled to start the home opener.

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 outhit the Astros, 32-22, through three games of this series, but have left 30 runners on base.

Tim Anderson has recorded three straight multi-hit efforts, the longest season-opening streak by a Sox player since Adam Eaton tied the franchise record with four in 2016.

Sox starting pitchers own a 2.65 ERA (5 ER/17.0 IP) with 22 strikeouts and a .167 (10-60) opponents average.

The White Sox bullpen has posted a 9.00 ERA (8 ER/8.0 IP) with a .353 (12-34) opponents average.

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

YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Kyle Tucker hit a two-out single off José Ruiz in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie, and Houston went on to record a 6-4 victory over the White Sox.

Lucas Giolito posted a ND, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 5.0 IP … Joe Kelly (1 ER/1.0 IP) suffered the loss … Gregory Santos threw 0.2 scoreless IP in his Sox debut.

Yoán Moncada hit a solo home run off José Urquidy in the second inning, and Seby Zavala added a two-run shot off Urquidy in the fourth to give the White Sox a brief 3-2 lead.

Tim Anderson went 2-5 with a stolen base and run scored, Andrew Benintendi was 2-5 with a stolen base, and rookie Oscar Colás recorded his first career multihit effort.

The Sox went 2-9 with RISP and left 10 runners on base.

Houston scored all six of its runs with two outs.

HOME OPENER TIDBITS
The White Sox open the home portion of their schedule on Monday vs. San Francisco (3:10 p.m. CT first pitch).

White 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.

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

OPENING DAY LEFTOVERS
Pedro Grifol became the first 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 first MLB appearance at a position other than shortstop.

Oscar Colás became the first White Sox player since Joe Hall in 1994 to record his first MLB hit as a pinch-hitter.

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 VS. HOUSTON ASTROS
The Astros lead the season series, 2-1.

The White Sox are hitting .286/.333/.420 (32-12) with a 4.68 ERA (13 ER/25.0 IP) and have been outscored, 14-10.

Including the postseason, the Sox have lost 10 of their last 12 games at Minute Maid Park and are 5-18 since 2017.

The Astros won the 2022 season series, 4-3, taking two of three games in Houston from 6/17-19 and splitting a four-game set in Chicago from 8/15-18.

Houston defeated the White Sox in four games in the 2021 ALDS, while the Sox recorded a sweep in the 2005 World Series.

FAMILIAR FACE
1B José Abreu spent his first nine MLB seasons with the White Sox before signing with Houston in the offseason.

Abreu batted .292/.354/.506 (1,445-4,954) with 303 doubles, 243 home runs, 863 RBI and 697 runs scored in 1,270 games with the Sox … he ranks third in franchise history in homers and fifth in RBI and extra-base hits (562).

Abreu was the 2014 American League Rookie of the Year and the 2020 AL Most Valuable Player.

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.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
The White Sox went 44-37 (.543) on the road in 2022, tied with Seattle for the fourth-best winning percentage in the American League and their best mark since going 52-29 in 2005.

CLOSING OUT CANCER
White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, who ranks second in MLB since 2020 with 89 saves, announced on 1/8/23 that he has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Hendriks and his wife, Kristi, launched an ongoing campaign inviting fans to purchase specially designed “Close Out Cancer” T-Shirts, with proceeds benefiting the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) and its Patient Aid Grants.

Net proceeds from the T-Shirt sale benefit the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF).

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

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

BY THE NUMBERS
The White Sox went 21-32 in the first game of a series in 2022 and 32-19 in the second game … 75 of Chicago’s 162 games (46.3 percent) were decided by one or two runs … the Sox went 27-16 in one-run games and 19-13 in games decided by two runs.

ON DECK: VS. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
The White Sox open a brief three-game, four-day homestand tomorrow vs. San Francisco … RHP Michael Kopech (5-9, 3.54 in 2022) is scheduled to start the home opener.
Kopech posted a 3.01 ERA (23 ER/68.2 IP) in 13 starts at home last season, holding the opposition to a .157 (37-235) average.

The Sox lead the all-time series, 12-4, going 7-1 in San Francisco and 5-3 in Chicago … the White Sox swept a three-game series at Oracle Park from 7/1-3/22, outscoring the Giants, 19-7 … they won two of three games in the last meeting in Chicago in 2017.

52 STARTER MIKE CLEVINGER RHP

CLEVINGER AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his 2023 and White Sox debut. Agreed to terms with Chicago on a one-year, $12-million deal in December (includes a mutual option for 2024). Has appeared in just 31 games (30 starts) since the start of the 2020 season … missed the entire 2021 season to continue his recovery from his second Tommy John surgery … also underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012. Needs six strikeouts for 700 in his career. Was originally drafted by the Angels in the fourth round of the 2011 MLB Draft … was traded to Cleveland in August 2014 … made 101 major-league appearances (88 starts) with Cleveland from 2016-20 … was traded to San Diego in August 2020, appearing in just 27 games (16 starts) with Padres from 2020-22.

2022 SEASON RECAP
Went 7-7 with a 4.33 ERA (55 ER/114.1 IP), .233 (102-437) opponents average and 91 strikeouts over 23 appearances (22 starts) with San Diego.
Was 3-3 with a 2.81 ERA (16 ER/51.1 IP) and 49 strikeouts in 10 games (nine starts) from 5/17-8/11. Began the season on the 15-day injured list with a sprained right knee suffered during spring training. Was placed on the 15-day injured list for the second time on 5/22 (retro to 5/21) with a right triceps strain … was reinstated on 6/5 and started that day at Milwaukee (ND, 1 ER/3.0 IP, 5 SO) before going on the COVID-19 related IL from 6/11-16. Earned his 50th career victory on 9/20 vs. St. Louis, allowing three hits over 5.2 scoreless IP.

DAY ‘N’ NITE
Has gone 19-10 a 2.87 ERA (76 ER/238.2 IP), .206 (177-860) opponents average and 243 strikeouts in 45 career day appearances (41 starts). His 2.87 ERA in day games ranks sixth among active major-league pitchers and his .206 opponents average ranks fourth (min. 230.0 IP). Is 0-4 with a 7.53 ERA (24 ER/28.2 IP) and .299 (35-117) opponents average over his last six day starts.

APRIL LOVE
Has gone 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA (9 ER/43.2 IP), 1.88 (29-154) opponents average and 44 strikeouts in seven career starts in the month of April. Is making his first April start since 4/7/2019 vs. Toronto with Cleveland … earned the win after tossing 5.0 scoreless IP, allowing just one hit with one walk and 10 strikeouts. His 1.85 career ERA in April ranks fourth among active major-league pitchers (min. 43.0 IP).

COUNTRY ROADS
Is 2-4 with a 6.80 ERA (33 ER/43.2 IP) and .288 (51-177) opponents average over his last nine road starts. Owns a 26-19, 3.87 ERA (39 ER/64.1 IP), .225 (226-1,180) opponents average and 325 strikeouts over 63 career appearances (57 starts) on the road.

START STRONG
Posted a 2.04 ERA (10 ER/44.0 IP) and .173 (27-156) opponents average across the first two innings in 2022, compared to a 5.76 ERA (45 ER/70.1 IP) and .267 (75- 281) mark from the third-seventh. Limited opponents to a .196 (37-189) average the first time through the lineup in 2022, compared to a .244 (43-176) mark the second time through the lineup and a .306 (22-72) average the third time through the order.

VS. HOUSTON ASTROS || A.L. WEST
Will make his fifth career start against the Astros and third at Minute Maid Park. Last faced the Astros on 5/24/2018 in Houston with Cleveland, suffering the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 5.1 IP. Will be making his 25th career appearance (22nd start) vs. an American League West opponent …has gone 6-9 with a 4.25 ERA (56 ER/118.2 IP) lifetime … is 0-3 with a 6.00 ERA (12 ER/18.0 IP) over his last four starts.

HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: The Houston Astros, the reigning World Series champions, are looking to win this four-game series with a victory today opposite the White Sox…a 15-game winner for the Astros a season ago, RHP Luis Garcia will get the start for Houston today opposite RHP Mike Clevinger and the Sox. ABOUT GARCIA:RHP Luis Garcia is entering his fourth Major League season (2020-23) and is coming off a strong 2022 campaign in which he ranked tied for fourth in the AL in wins (15), ninth in opponent average (.222) and 10th in strikeouts per 9.0 (8.98)…he finished his season on a tear, winning seven consecutive decisions over his last eight starts (after Aug. 12).

RUN OF SUCCESS: In addition to capturing the 2022 World Championship, Houston has played in three of the last four and four of the last six World Series, earning two championships along the way (2017, 2022)…the Astros have also advanced to the ALCS an MLB-record six consecutive seasons (2017-22).

AT THE HELM: Astros skipper Dusty Baker celebrated his 26th career Opening Day as a manager on Thursday and his fourth at the helm in Houston…Baker, who ranks ninth all-time in managerial wins with 2,095 wins, has an outside shot of moving up to sixth all time by seasons end…en route, he’d have to surpass Joe McCarthy (8th, 2,125), Bucky Harris (7th, 2,158) and Sparky Anderson (6th 2,194).

VS. THE WHITE SOX: The Astros and White Sox played a pair of series against each other in 2022, with the Astros taking the season series 4-3…there is some history between these two organizations, including two postseason series, the 2005 World Series, won by the Sox in four games, and the 2021 Division Series, won by the Astros in four games.

SATURDAY SPECIAL: The Astros downed the White Sox yesterday afternoon by a score of 6-4…the Astros offense collected a season-high 11 hits, with the big hit being a go-ahead RBI single by RF Kyle Tucker in the 7th…DH Yordan Alvarez continued his hot start with a 3×5 performance on the day…RHP Ronel Blanco (0ER/2IP) pitched a couple scoreless innings in relief, while RHP Hector Neris (1ER/1.1IP) earned the four-out save.

AIR YORDAN: LF Yordan Alvarez is off to a characteristically strong start three games into the young season, as he’s hitting .455 (5×11) with a double, homer, five RBI and a .538 OBP… Alvarez has driven in a run in all three games this season, which is three games shy of the Astros record to open a season, set by RF Kyle Tucker (6g) in 2021.

99 AND COUNTING: LF Yordan Alvarez connected for a solo homer on Opening Day, giving him 99 career home runs, the same total Astros TV broadcaster Geoff Blum hit in his illustrious career…with one more homer for Alvarez, he’ll become the 19th player in franchise history to reach the 100-homer mark.

BOMBS AWAY: RF Kyle Tucker connected for a two-run homer on Friday, which traveled 437’, making it the fourth-longest home run of his career and the furthest of his career at Minute Maid Park…Tucker’s homer is the third-longest hit homer in the Majors on the young season, two spots behind LF Yordan Alvarez, who hit a 442’ shot on Opening Day.

FAMILIAR FACE, NEW PLACE: 1B José Abreu, who spent his first nine career seasons with the White Sox, joined the Astros this offseason on a three-year contract…he made his Astros debut on Opening Day and has hit .333 (4×12) with an RBI on the young season…Abreu was a three-time All-Star (2014, 2018-19) for Chicago and won the AL MVP Award in 2020.

MVP STAYS HOT:SS Jeremy Peña, the 2022 ALCS and World Series MVP has hit safely in all three games this season, hitting .364 (4×11) with a .462 OBP out of the leadoff spot in the lineup…he also hit safely in his last seven postseason games, giving him an active 10-game hitting streak.

JULKS SMASH: DH Corey Julks connected for his first Major League hit on Friday night and followed that up by singling yesterday…he’s the first Astros player to record a hit in his first two Major League games since LF Yordan Alvarez also did so on June 9-11, 2019…on Friday, Julks became just the 12th player in Astros history to collect a hit in his first career at-bat and the first since C Garrett Stubbs doubled in his first career at-bat on May 28, 2019 vs. CHC.

SEÑOR SCORELESS: RHP Bryan Abreu worked scoreless innings on Thursday and Friday, recording four strikeouts in his 2.0 innings pitched…including his work in the 2022 postseason, Abreu has made 16 consecutive scoreless appearances, tossing 15.0 innings and recording 26 strikeouts in that span.

ABOUT THE ROSTER: The Astros Opening Day roster includes 13 pitchers and 13 position players…seven players on the club are making their first appearance on an Opening Day roster: RHP Hunter Brown, C Yainer Diaz, IF David Hensley, OF Corey Julks, RHP Seth Martinez, OF Jake Meyers and C César Salazar… Julks and Salazar are making their MLB debuts.

MLB Preview:Toronto Blue Jays (1-1) at St. Louis Cardinals (1-1)

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MLB

MLB Editor

April 2, 2023

MLB Preview:Toronto Blue Jays (1-1) at St. Louis Cardinals (1-1)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:

THE LATEST: The Blue Jays drew 10 walks yesterday but were limited to three hits as they were downed, 4-1, by the Cardinals…Was the first time since Aug. 11, 2013 vs. Oakland that the Jays walked 10+ times in a losing effort. Toronto is now 1-1 to begin a season for the 4th time in the last five years (2-0 in 2022)…Went 5-6 in rubber games last season and 12-8-6 in road series.

ALL GAUS: Kevin Gausman threw 90 pitches (64 strikes) across 6.0 innings yesterday…Was tagged with three unearned runs on eight hits to go with a walk and seven strikeouts…Now owns a 3.24 ERA (65 ER/180.2 IP) across his 32 starts in a Toronto uniform, 7th best through 32 starts in club history. The righty has kept a 2.52 FIP since the start of last season, 2nd-best among all qualified pitchers…Over that span, also ranks 5th in the AL with 212 strikeouts and sits 11th with his 3.24 ERA.

KK WITH THE HH: Kevin Kiermaier broke up a potential no-hitter yesterday as he singled with one out in the 7th inning…Singled again to lead off the 9th to register his 2nd straight multi-hit game…Is now 4-for-9 with a run scored to start his Blue Jays career…Hit .228 while limited to 63 games for the Rays last season.

BO KNOWS BASE HITS: Bo Bichette recorded Toronto’s only other hit of the day, via a single in the 8th inning…Is now 5-for-10 with a double and two runs to start the season…Has piled up an AL-high 385 hits since the start of the 2021 campaign, trailing only Trea Turner’s 392 for the most in the Majors.

PATIENT APPROACH: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drew a trio of walks yesterday and managed to score Toronto’s only run on a wild pitch…The three BB’s tied a career-best for the 3rd time, also doing so on April 30, 2021 vs. ATL and April 20, 2022 at BOS…The run marked the 300th of his
career, becoming the 4th-faster player to reach the mark in team history (506 games).

BASSITT IS A BLUE JAY: Chris Bassitt makes his Toronto debut this afternoon… Established career highs in wins (15), starts (30), quality starts (19), innings pitched (181.2), and strikeouts (167) while with the Mets last season… Went 8-3 with a 2.94 ERA (26 ER/79.2 IP) after the All-Star Break…His eight wins were tied for the 3rdmost in the Majors and the most in his career in the back half of a season.

HITS WITHOUT HOMERS: The Blue Jays have notched 22 hits without recording a home run so far this season…This marks the 9th time in club history to start a campaign with two straight homerless games…Have never gone three straight contests without a home run to begin a season.
Toronto’s team batting average of .306 is tied for 3rd in the AL as the season begins…Also rank 3rd in OBP (.416), 6th in OPS (.763), and 7th in SLG (.347)

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

INTERTAINMENT: Toronto has started a season vs. a National League opponent for the 1st time in team history…Led the AL with 13 interleague wins last season, which was one off the franchise’s all-time single-season record, set in 2021 (14). The Blue Jays have hit 647 home runs all-time in Interleague Play, the most among all 30 teams

MORE THAN YOUR AVERAGE TEAM: The Blue Jays led the Majors in 2022 with a .264 team batting average and 1,464 hits…Also led the AL in OBP (.329), SLG (.431), and OPS (.760) while ranked T-1st in extra-base hits (519), 2nd in runs (775), 2nd in doubles (307), and 3rd in home runs
(200)…Topped the AL in AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS for the 1st time in team history.

STARTING PITCHER – Chris Bassitt, RHP #40
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 1st career start in a Blue Jays uniform…Signed a three-year $63 million deal on 12/16/22. Has finished seven of his eight career Major League seasons with a sub4.00 ERA, including each of the last five campaigns.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: In his lone season with the Mets, established career highs in wins (15), starts (30), quality starts (19), innings pitched (181.2), and strikeouts (167). Had 23 starts of at least 6.0 innings, his most in a single season in his career. His three starts of 8.0 innings were the most he had thrown in his career… Prior to 2022, had thrown at least 8.0 innings only three times (9.0 IP on 5/27/21 vs. LAA; 8.0 IP on 5/16/19 at DET; 8.0 IP on 8/15/15 at BAL). Made his Mets debut on 4/9 at WAS, tossing 6.0 scoreless frames with three hits, a walk, and eight strikeouts…Became the 2nd Mets pitcher to debut with a line of at least 6.0 scoreless innings with eight or more punchouts, joining Colin McHugh (Aug. 23, 2012 vs. COL). Recorded 19 quality starts, the most in his career and a team-high among Mets starters…From June 14-July 23, recorded six straight quality starts, one shy of a career high seven straight accomplished in 2015. Did not walk a batter from 6/25-7/8 (13.1 innings) which is tied for the longest streak in his career. Tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts on 7/23 vs. SD (also: 9/7/19 vs. DET). Won four straight games for the 1st time in his career from Aug. 3-19, surrendering just two runs over that span. Went 8-3 with a 2.94 ERA (26 ER/79.2 IP) after the All-Star Break…His eight wins were tied for the 3rd-most in the Majors and the most in his career in the back half of a season.

2021 HIGHLIGHTS:
Tossed the 1st complete game and shutout of his career on 5/27 vs. LAA (9.0 IP, 2H, BB, 9K). Received two 5th-place votes in AL Cy Young balloting, finishing 10th in the vote…Earned his 1st All-Star honours.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Earned AL Pitcher of the Month for September 2020, his 1st monthly award…Pitched to a 0.34 ERA that month, allowing one run over 26.2 innings in four starts…Was the lowest September ERA in the Majors since Greg Maddux had a 0.29 ERA for Atlanta in 1995. Started and won Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series vs. CWS on 9/30/20. Selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round of the 2011 FirstYear Player Draft.

VS. THE CARDINALS:
Facing the Cardinals for the 4th time in his career…In two meetings while with the Mets last season, gave up 4 runs on 11 hits and 4 walks over 12.1 innings (2.92 ERA) with 9 strikeouts…Has been on the winning team in all three career matchups with the Cards

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:

RECENT REDBIRDS: The defending NL Central Division Champion St. Louis Cardinals and visiting Toronto Blue Jays wrap up their season-opening three-game series this afternoon at Busch Stadium … After today’s game, the Cardinals welcome the Atlanta Braves to St. Louis for a three-game series.

DONNIE BOY: Brendan Donovan ran his hitting streak to 10 games (13-39, .333) yesterday after he finished the 2022 season on a eight-game streak, currently MLB’s 2nd-longest active to Marlin and former Twin Luis Arraez (12).

INTERLEAGUE ACTION: St. Louis has won five of its last six games vs. the American League and is 220-215 all-time in Interleague play, with a .506 win pct. that ranks 3rd-best all-time among NL clubs … The Cardinals have finished with a winning Interleague record 13 times in 26 seasons (since 1997) … Last season, St. Louis was 10-10 in interleague play … With the introduction of MLB’s new balanced schedule for the 2023 season, the Cardinals will play a total of 46 games against all 15 AL opponents (32 of 46 before the All-Star Break).

HEIR JORDAN: At 20 years, 315 days old today, Jordan Walker is currently the youngest player in MLB this season and is the first MLB player to be born in the year 2002 … Through two games (three days), Walker shares the MLB rookie lead in hits (3) with Chicago White Sox rookie Oscar Colas, ranks T-2nd among rookies in RBI (2), and is one of five rookies with a stolen base.

300 NADO DINGERS: Nolan Arenado is one homer away from becoming the 7th player to hit home run #300 in a Cardinals uniform, joining Stan Musial (June 3, 1955 at Brooklyn), Gary Gaetti (June 23, 1996 at Montreal), Jim Edmonds (Sept. 4, 2004 vs. LA Dodgers), Albert Pujols (July 4, 2008 vs. Chicago Cubs), Troy Glaus (Sept. 3, 2008 at Arizona), and Paul Goldschmidt (July 16, 2022 vs. Cincinnati) … Ranking 8th among active Major Leaguers in home runs, Arenado trails only Evan Longoria (331) among active third basemen and ranks 15th all-time in MLB history among primary third basemen.

STILL TO COME: Aside from pitchers in the starting rotation, the only Cardinals yet to see action after the first two games are relief pitchers Packy Naughton, Giovanny Gallegos, and Chris Stratton, and utility infielder Taylor Motter.

WINNING WAYS: 2022 was the Cardinals 15th consecutive winning season (2008-22), the 22nd in the last 23 years, and the 82nd in franchise istory … The 15 consecutive winning seasons matches a franchise record established from 1939-53 when the Cardinals appeared in four World Series and won three (1942, 1944, 1946) … Only the Yankees (30 seasons) sport a longer active consecutive winning season streak in MLB … St. Louis has made the playoffs in 17 of the last 27 seasons (1996-2022) while winning 13 division titles, four NL pennants, and two World Series championships (2006, 2011).

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP JORDAN MONTGOMERY (9-6, 3.48 ERA IN 2022)
TODAY’S GAME
• Made his fourth Opening Day Roster and first with the Cardinals, adding to 2018, 2021 and 2022 with the Yankees. Was on the Injured List in 2019 and Taxi Squad in 2020.
• Was acquired at the trade deadline from the New York Yankees in exchange for OF Harrison Bader on August 2, 2022.
• Has held left-handed batters to a .252 on-base percentage since 2017, ranking 4th among left-handed pitchers trailing only Josh Hader (.232), Chris Sale (.242), Robbie Ray (.250); minimum 350 total batters faced.
• Became the second MLB pitcher in the modern era to go 4-0 with no more than one run allowed over his first four starts with a team after joining the Cardinals. Rookie Fernando Valenzuela is only MLB pitcher to yield one run over his first five starts (45.0 IP) with the 1981 Dodgers.
• Has held his opposition to three earned runs or fewer in 79% (85-of-108) of his career starts. Ranks 20th among left-handed pitchers since 2017 with 85.
• Set a career-high in strikeouts with 162 in 2021.
• Following the trade with the Yankees, was 6-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 11 starts as a member of the Cardinals with the team posting an 8-3 record.
• Set single-season career highs in innings pitched (178.1), starts (32) and quality starts (14).
• Began his Cards career with a five-game winning streak (Aug. 6-Sept. 2), longest by a starting pitcher to begin his career with the Cardinals since Miles Mikolas (6-0 in 2018).
• Led the Cardinals through the end of the season with 61 strikeouts following his acquisition at the trade deadline.
• Held left-handed batters to a .198/.213/.264 slash with just one HR (Rafael Devers on July 15), five extra-base hits, and just one walk to 109 LH batters faced.
• Since 1974, became only the 16th pitcher to face 100 or more batters in a season and allow one walk or fewer to a left-handed batter. First Cardinals pitcher to do so since Edward Mujica in 2013.
• Is one of three starting pitchers to have won each of their first four appearances to begin a Cardinals career, joining 1927 rookie Fred Frankhouse (5-0 in first 5 starts) and 1941 mid-season acquisition Harry Gumbert (4-0 in first four starts).
• Logged season-best 13.1 scoreless innings over his first three starts with St. Louis, tying Alex Reyes (2016) and John Urrea (1977) for 5th-longest to begin a Cardinals career. Also was the longest by a starting pitcher in his first three starts since Kyle Lohse (15.0 IP) in 2008.

• 2022 POSTSEASON: Appeared in relief in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series vs. Philadelphia and threw 2.2 scoreless innings. It was his first relief appearance since Sept. 15, 2019 vs. Toronto with the Yankees.

CAREER NOTES
• Drafted in 4th round by the Yankees in 2014 out of the University of South Carolina.
• Finished 6th in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 and was named to the Topps MLB All-Star Rookie Team. Led AL rookies in starts (29), strikeouts (144) and innings pitched (155.1) his rookie season.
• At time of his trade, had 2nd most starts for the Yankees (97) among pitchers in the organization, trailing only Luis Severino (104). His 61 starts from 2020-22 ranked T6th most in the American League in that time span & T18th in the majors among all pitchers.

NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators (37-34-5) at Columbus Blue Jackets (23-44-8)

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NHL Editor

April 2, 2023

NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators (37-34-5) at Columbus Blue Jackets (23-44-8)

OTTAWA SENATORS NOTES:

LAST GAME: April 1, 3-0 loss vs. Toronto: The Maple Leafs reached the 100-point mark on the season in handing Ottawa their fifth shutout loss of the season, 3-0 at Canadian Tire Centre. The contest saw all three markers realized in the middle stanza. Bunting opened the scoring for the visitors with club’s 100th second period goal of the season, the second-highest total of all teams. Nylander recorded his 11th career goal against Ottawa to contribute to his 28 total points against the Senators, his most against any one opponent while Zohorna concluded the scoring with a marker in his first game with Toronto. Samsonov stopped each of the 30 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the season. Sogaard started for the Senators and made 13 saves in 40 minutes of action before leaving the game and being replaced by Talbot who stopped each of the four shots he faced in the third period. Scratches: None; Injuries: Brassard, Chabot, Chychrun, Forsberg, Gauthier*, Hamonic, Greig, Joseph, Kelly, Norris; Shots: OTT – 30, TOR – 20; PP: OTT – 0-2, TOR – 0-1.

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

WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa continues a three-game road trip against Carolina on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the second of three regular-season meetings and the second of two matchups at PNC Arena.

INJURY REPORT: G Forsberg and C Norris are on IR and will not oppose the Blue Jackets this evening. F Kelly has missed the last 10 games with a lower-body injury. D Chychrun and C Greig have missed the last four games with a lower body and upper body injury respectively. D Chabot has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury. F Brassard and D Hamonic missed Saturday evening’s game with lower-body injuries. Total man-games lost: 285.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Recalled D Bernard-Docker from Belleville (AHL) on March 31.

OTTAWA vs. COLUMBUS – History:
2022-23 (2-0-0): Jan. 3 @ Ottawa (4-0 win), March 4 @ Ottawa (5-2 win), April 2 @ Columbus
2021-22 (2-1-0): 1/23/22 @ Columbus (2-1 win), 3/16/22 @ Ottawa (4-1 loss), 4/22/22 @ Columbus (2-1 SO win)
Series record: Overall: 19-12-2-4; Home: 11-5-1-2; Away: 8-7-1-2
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: March 4 (5-2); @ Columbus: 4/22/22 (2-1 SO)
Last Columbus win: @ Ottawa: 3/16/22 (4-1); @ Columbus: 2/24/20 (4-3 OT)
Last OT result: 2/24/20 (4-3 OT loss) @ Columbus
Last shootout: 4/22/22 (2-1 SO win) @ Columbus
Most goals, game: Scored: 7, (10/14/15, 7-3 win); Allowed: 7, (1/22/17, 7-6 OT loss); Both teams: 13, (1/22/17, 7-6 OT loss)
Last Game: March 4, 5-2 win @ Ottawa; OTT Goals: Hamonic (x2), Stützle (x2), Chychrun; CBJ Goals: Roslovic, Laine; OTT
Scratches: Brown, Holden, Kelly; OTT Injuries: Forsberg, Norris; OTT Goalie: Talbot; CBJ Goalie: Merzlikins (4 GA, L, 23:04), Hutchinson (1 GA, 36:56); OTT PP: 0-2; CBJ PP: 1-2; Shots: 39-21.
Career vs. Columbus: Giroux leads all players in career games played (36), in goals (11), in assists (24) and in points (35); Hamonic leads in penalty minutes (18) against Columbus.

SWEATER WEATHER: The Senators enter their third season of wearing a primary logo which sees the organization return to its roots with the implementation of the modified original “2D” logo. The team has earned a 88-100-16 all-time record (33-33-5 this season) while wearing its current sweater. Ottawa unveiled their Reverse Retro jersey on Oct. 20 and wore the sweater on five occasions in 2022-23 (4-1-0 this season). The Senators hold an all-time record of 116-76-7-25 when wearing an alternate; 27-19-2-5 when wearing a red alternate, 88-56-5-19 when wearing a black alternate and 1-1-0-1 when wearing a cream alternate.

ROAD SCHOLARS: The Senators have a record of 15-20-2 on the road this season … Brady Tkachuk leads with 14 goals on the road this season while also ranking first with 20 assists while the Senators serve as visitors … Through 37 road games this season, Tkachuk maintains the club lead with 34 points … The Senators registered an 18-20-3 record over 41 road contests in 2021-22.

BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Ottawa will play back-to-back games on 12 occasions in 2022-23 and will conclude their 12th set of the season this evening when team visits Columbus … The Senators played 17 back-to-back sets last season and earned a record of 6-9-2 in the first half of contests on consecutive nights (7-5-0 this season) while posting an 8-8-1 record (6-5-0 this season) in the second half of games on consecutive days.

ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 69 for 281 (24.6%) on the power-play in 2022-23 … Drake Batherson leads with 14 powerplay goals while Alex DeBrincat and Tkachuk maintain the club lead with 28 points while the team enjoys a man advantage … Ottawa has recorded multiple power-play goals 18 times in an individual contest in 2022-23 after having done so 11 times in 2021-22.

ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 220 of the 269 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2022-23 to maintain an efficiency of 81.8% through 76 regular-season games … The team has registered nine (Stützle x3, Watson x3, Joseph x2, Motte) shorthanded markers this season after recording nine such goals in 2021-22.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NOTES:

Apr. 2, 2023 Game No. 76 (23-44-8, 54 pts.)
vs. Ottawa Senators (37-34-5, 79 pts.), Nationwide Arena Home Game No. 38 (14-21-2, 30 pts.) The Blue Jackets Press Box website, which includes game notes, stats, releases and video/audio clips as well as the 2022-23 Media Guide can be accessed at bluejackets.com/pressbox. Follow @BlueJacketsPR on Twitter for comprehensive information and updates on the team.

THE LAST GAME: APR. 1, 2023 – CBJ 0 vs. FLA 7
CBJ Goal Scorers:
FLA Goal Scorers: PP – Reinhart (29), Verhaeghe (37), Verhaeghe (38), Verhaeghe (39), Cousins (8), Verhaeghe (40), Staal (14)
Goalies: CBJ – Hutchinson (42/49; 60:00); FLA – Lyon (21/21; 60:00)
CBJ PP: 0/4; PK: 2/3 | Shots: CBJ: 21 / FLA: 49
3 Stars: 1. Verhaeghe, FLA; 2. Lyon, FLA; 3. Barkov, FLA
Noteworthy: CBJ fell for their 4th-straight game (0-3-1)… CBJ fell 1-2-0 in season series to FLA… FLA scored twice in the 1st two periods and three in the third… Luoto and Richards both made their CBJ debuts… Jenner and Gaudreau led CBJ in shots with 4 each… Sweezey led the club in hits with 5 (28 total).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
Danforth (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 25); approximately 6 months (69 games)
Werenski (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to Nov. 10); rest of regular season (62 games)
Bean (shoulder); Placed on IR (retro to Nov. 15); out indefinitely (60 games)
Laine (triceps strain); approximately two-four weeks (5 games)
Gudbranson (separated shoulder); approximately six weeks (4 games)
Olivier (lower leg bone bruise); approximately two-four weeks (4 games)
Blankenburg (ankle); week-to-week (3 games)
Merzlikins (lower body); day-to-day (3 games)
Boqvist (illness); day-to-day (2 games)
Roslovic (upper body); day-to-day (1 game)
Pederson (upper body); day-to-day (1 game)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 492

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Apr. 1 Added Bjork, Luoto and Richards to the roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Fix-Wolansky to Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 31 Added Dunne to the roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 31 Assigned Bjork to Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 30 Added Bjork to the roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 27 Added Sweezey to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 26 Added Gillies to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Lalonde to Cleveland (AHL)

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

AGAINST THE SENATORS
2022-23 Series: 0-2-0 (0-0-0 vs. OTT)
2021-22 Series: 1-1-1 (0-1-1 vs. OTT)
All-Time Series: 16-17-2-2 (9-7-1-1 vs. OTT)
Last 10 (Overall | Home): 5-3-2 | 6-3-1
All-Time GF/GA: 103/107
All-Time SF/SA: 1,154/1,096
All-Time PP: 26-of-137
All-Time PK: 103-of-130

THE LAST GAME VS. OTT: MAR. 4, 2023 – CBJ 2 at OTT 5
CBJ Goal Scorers: Roslovic (7), PP – Laine (19)
OTT Goal Scorers: Hamonic (4), Stutzle (30), Hamonic (5), Chychrun (8), SHG – Stutzle (31)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (19/23; 23:04), Hutchinson (15/16; 36:56); OTT – Talbot (19/21; 59:47)
CBJ PP: 1/2; PK: 2/2 | Shots: CBJ: 21 / OTT: 39
3 Stars: 1. Stutzle, OTT; 2. Hamonic, OTT; 3. Chychrun, OTT
Noteworthy: CBJ trailed 2-1 after the 1st period and 4-2 after the 2nd period… Laine scored his team-leading 19th goal of the season (tied) to extend his points streak to 3-straight contests (2-2-4)… Roslovic scored a goal to give him 3-2-5 in his last 5 outings… Marchenko tallied his 2nd assist of the campaign, giving him 2-1-3 in his past 5 games… Hutchinson made his CBJ debut in relief.

SEASON SERIES LEFT: Series is complete.

NOTED (Team Highlights vs. OTT)
CBJ have recorded points in 9 of last 12 meetings vs. OTT dating back to 3/17/18 (7-3-2)… 5 of the last 8 meetings have been decided by a single goal (CBJ; 3-3-2) with 3 of them decided in OT… The club has killed off 30-of-34 Ottawa power play chances over the last 15 meetings dating back to 3/4/17 (88.2 pct.)… CBJ and OTT have split the 6 shutouts in the all-time series at 3 each with the Senators recording the most recent one in the earlier game this season by Anton Forsberg in a 4-0 win over CBJ in Ottawa on Jan. 3, 2023 (22 saves)…. OTT has registered both hat tricks and owns all three penalty shot attempts in the series… Most goals scored vs. OTT: 6 – 2x (MR: 12/31/18)… Most goals allowed vs. OTT: 7 (10/14/15).

NOTED (Player Highlights vs. OTT)
Bayreuther notched 1st NHL goal on 11/23/18 vs. OTT… Gudbranson skated in his 100th career NHL game on 4/7/13 vs. OTT… Jenner recorded his 100th NHL career assist on 11/25/19 vs. OTT… Laine skated in his 100th NHL career game on 12/3/17 vs. OTT and notched his 8th career hat trick on 2/8/20 vs. OTT.

PLAYER NOTABLES vs. OTT
• Gaudreau – 6-15-21 in 25 career GP, including 3-7-10 with 2 multi-point efforts in his last 12 contests overall vs. the club as well as points in each of his last 6 home games against Ottawa (2-6-8) and 8 of his 11 career home contests (4-9-13)
• Jenner – 4-4-8 in 19 career GP, including 1-3-4 in his last 5 home games against the Senators
• Roslovic – 4-1-5 in 9 career GP, including goals in 3 of the last 4 games played (4-0-4).

BACK-TO-BACK AT HOME
The Blue Jackets fell for their fourth-straight game (0-3-1) following Saturday’s 7-0 loss to the Panthers. Columbus plays their second of two back-to-back home sets this season on Saturday vs. Florida and Sunday vs. Ottawa (also on Nov. 19 vs. DET and on Nov. 20 vs. FLA). It’s the club’s 16th of 17 back-to-back games in 2022-23. Columbus plays four of its last seven games of the season at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets are 7-10-4 in their last 21 games and have registered points in 12 of their last 23 contests (8-11-4), with wins against five of the top-15 teams in the League in points (Toronto-6th; Edmonton-7th; Dallas-11th; Winnipeg-14th; NY Islanders-14th). Thursday’s game at Boston kicked off a stretch of four-straight against the Atlantic Division (Boston, Florida, Ottawa, Toronto).

2022-23 TEAM QUICK HITS
• CBJ, who picked up their 12th comeback victory of the season (5 by multiple goal deficits) with a 5-4 OTW vs. NYI on 3/24., have come-from-behind to win in 7 of their last 10 victories
• CBJ blueliners have collected 7-27-34 in the last 25 games and have recorded 28-83-111 in 75 games
• CBJ finished with a season-high 12 skaters recording a point on 3/21 at WSH (also on 11/17 vs. MTL)
• CBJ have had 41 different players play in a game this season (37 skaters, 4 goaltenders), with Luoto and Richards both making their CBJ debuts on Sat. vs. FLA
• CBJ have recorded 47 multi-goal periods this season, including scoring 2 goals in the 1st period on Tue.
• CBJ were tied for 3rd-youngest team in the NHL (ARI and NJD) to start the season at 25.9, trailing only BUF (25.0) and OTT (25.7)

NHL Preview: New York Islanders (39-29-9) at Carolina Hurricanes (48-18-9)

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NHL Editor

April 2, 2023

NHL Preview: New York Islanders (39-29-9) at Carolina Hurricanes (48-18-9)

NEW YORK ISLANDERS NOTES:

LAST GAME
DATE NYI RESULT SCORE NYI SCORERS IN GOAL
April 1, 2023 Loss TBL 5 vs. NYI 0 None Sorokin (17/21)
Varlamov (10/11)
Adam Pelech recorded a season-high five shots on goal, tied with Ryan Pulock for the team-lead, but the New York Islanders fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-0, Saturday night at AMALIE Arena. Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov combined for 27 saves on 32 shots faced in the loss. The Islanders will face the Lightning once more this season, on Thursday, April 6 at UBS Arena.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS & UPDATES
Mar. 31 Aidan Fulp and Travis Mitchell have agreed to terms on two-year, two-way entry-level contracts beginning with the 2023-24 season

INJURIES GAMES MISSED

3 Adam Pelech Dec. 9 – Jan. 21

8 Noah Dobson Jan. 23 – Jan. 28

10 Simon Holmstrom Dec. 23 – Jan. 6

12 Josh Bailey Nov. 29, Feb. 18 – Feb. 24

13 Mathew Barzal Jan. 6, Feb. 20 –

15 Cal Clutterbuck Oct. 13, Nov. 8, Dec. 2- Dec. 6, Dec. 17 – Jan. 3, Jan. 21 – Mar. 9

20 Hudson Fasching Jan. 19 – Jan. 28

21 Kyle Palmieri Nov. 23 – Dec. 13, Dec. 17 – Jan. 21

25 Sebastian Aho Oct. 13 – Oct. 20, Mar. 21 –

26 Oliver Wahlstrom Oct. 13, Dec. 29 –

36 Otto Koivula Mar. 11 – Mar. 15

40 Semyon Varlamov Dec. 19 – Jan. 1

44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau Feb. 14 – Mar. 11

Man Games Lost: 197

RECENT RESULTS
Saturday, April 1 at Tampa Bay L, 5-0
Wednesday, Mar. 29 at Washington W/SO (2-1)
Monday, Mar. 27 vs. New Jersey W (5-1)
Saturday, Mar. 25 vs. Buffalo L (2-0)
Friday, Mar. 24 at Columbus L/ OT (5-4)
Tuesday, Mar. 21 vs. Toronto W (7-2)

VS. CAROLINA:
Last five meetings (2-3-0)
Jan. 21, 2023 UBS Arena L, 5-3
Dec. 9, 2022 UBS Arena L, 3-0
Oct. 28, 2022 PNC Arena W, 6-2
Apr. 24, 2022 UBS Arena L, 5-2
Apr, 8, 2022 PNC Arena W, 2-1

2022-23 1-2-0
Franchise History 65-73-9-7
NYI Home 30-38-4-4
NYI Away 35-35-5-3

SEASON SERIES
DATE LOCATION RESULT/TIME
Oct. 28, 2022 PNC Arena W, 6-2
Dec. 9, 2022 UBS Arena L, 3-0
Jan. 21, 2023 PNC Arena L, 5-2
Apr. 8, 2023 PNC Arena 6:00pm

TEAM NOTES
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Tonight, the New York Islanders visit the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth and final matchup between the two clubs this season. The last time these teams met was January 21, at UBS Arena, a 5-2 decision in Carolina’s favor. The Islanders will look to earn a split in their four-game season series with the Hurricanes, and have won each of their last two visits to PNC Arena. The last time they visited Raleigh was October 28, 2022, when Brock Nelson scored twice, and Zach Parise and Matt Martin each found the back of the net in a 6-2 Islander win. The Islanders will also cap off their final back-to-back series of the season tonight, looking to improve to 9-5-1 in back-ends.

BOUNCING BACK
The Islanders were shut out for the sixth time this season in a 5-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at AMALIE Arena. The Islanders have responded to a shutout loss with a victory three times this season (3-1-1), including March 27’s 5-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils.

COMEBACKS
The Islanders have won nine games this season when trailing at some point in the third period, and have won eight games when trailing after two periods, tied for the league-lead (Vancouver). March 21’s win was the 19th time this season the Islanders captured a win after trailing at any point during the game, and they are 15-19-3 when allowing the opening goal.

AGAINST THE METRO
Tonight, the Islanders will look to collect their 16th win of the season against a Metropolitan Division team. They have earned points in seven of their last eight meetings against Metropolitan opponents (6-1-1) since February 7. They are tied with New Jersey for third-most wins against Metropolitan teams this season, and trail only Carolina (18) and Boston (19). The Islanders have captured at least two victories against each Metropolitan Division opponent they have faced these season, except Carolina and the Washington Capitals (one each).

CAROLINA HURRICANES NOTES:

LAST GAME
The Hurricanes posted a 3-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday, marking their franchise-record and league-leading ninth shutout of the season. Paul Stastny earned two points (1g, 1a) for his second multi-point game of the season, and Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho also scored for Carolina, with Skjei’s goal marking a franchise-record 52nd tally from the blue line in 2022-23. Antti Raanta returned from injury and stopped all 14 shots faced in net for his fourth shutout of the campaign, as the Hurricanes held the Canadiens to five or fewer shots in all three periods while posting their fourth-highest single-game shot total of the season (50).

INJURY REPORT
Jake Gardiner, upper-body, missed 75 games (10/12-4/1)
Ondrej Kase, concussion, missed 74 games (10/14-4/1)
Max Pacioretty, torn Achilles, missed 30 games (1/21-4/1)
Andrei Svechnikov, knee, missed 11 games (3/12-4/1)
Teuvo Teravainen, illness, missed two games (3/30-4/1)
2022-23 Man-Games Lost Due to Injury: 303

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
March 29 Reassigned Pyotr Kochetkov to Chicago (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT TIME TV RADIO
April 2 NY Islanders 6 p.m. BSSO HRN
April 4 Ottawa 7 p.m. BSSO HRN
April 6 at Nashville 8 p.m. ESPN+/Hulu HRN
April 8 at Buffalo 12:30 p.m. BSSO HRN
April 10 at Ottawa 7 p.m. BSSO HRN

All times are Eastern | BSSO = Bally Sports South | HRN = Hurricanes Radio Network

UPCOMING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
DATE DAY LOCATION TIME
April 2 Sunday No morning skate
April 3 Monday No practice
April 4 Tuesday PNC Arena 10:30 a.m.
April 5 Wednesday Invisalign Arena 12 p.m.
April 6 Thursday Bridgestone Arena 11:30 a.m.

All times are local. Times and locations are subject to change.
Carolina Hurricanes: Media Notes

HURRICANES vs. ISLANDERS SERIES NOTES
— Carolina is facing New York in the fourth of four meetings between the teams during the 2022-23 season.
— The Hurricanes and Islanders are meeting for the 155th time in their regular-season histories. Carolina holds an 80-54-9-11 overall record, including a 38-29-5-6 record and a 57-26-0-11 record since relocation.
— The Hurricanes lead the season series 2-1-0 in 2022-23 (Islanders: 1-2-0), and the Hurricanes are 8-2-0 in the teams’ last 10 matchups dating back to 1/8/19.
— The Hurricanes suffered a 6-2 loss against the Islanders at PNC Arena on 10/28. Martin Necas and Brent Burns each scored for Carolina, while Frederik Andersen made 26 saves in net.
— Carolina earned a 3-0 win over New York at UBS Arena on 12/10. Paul Stastny, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jordan Staal scored for the Hurricanes, with Stastny’s goal marking his first tally with his new team, and Pyotr Kochetkov posted a 16-save shutout.
— The Hurricanes posted a 5-2 win over the Islanders at UBS Arena on 1/21. Sebastian Aho scored his second hat trick of the season (3g), and Jordan Staal (1g, 1a) and Teuvo Teravainen (2a) each recorded two points as Frederik Andersen stopped 29 of 31 shots faced in net.
— Brent Burns has recorded 19 points (7g, 12a) in 25 career regular-season games against New York.
— Teuvo Teravainen has tallied 20 points (7g, 13a) in 25 career regular-season games against New York.
— Calvin de Haan was selected 12th overall by the Islanders in the 2009 NHL Draft and earned 81 points (12g, 69a) in 304 games with New York from 2011-17.
— Brett Pesce is a native of Tarrytown, N.Y., and ranks seventh all-time in points among NHL defensemen born in New York. He has recorded eight points (2g, 6a) in 24 career regular-season games against the Islanders.
— Jaccob Slavin’s has scored six career goals against New York, his most against any NHL opponent, including his only career hat trick in an 8-4 win at Barclays Center (3/13/17). He has tallied 12 points (6g, 6a) in 24 career games against the Islanders, which ranks tied for his most points against any opponent (ARI: 2g, 10a in 14 GP; CHI: 3g, 9a in 22 GP; CBJ: 1g, 11a in 33 GP).
— Islanders Assistant Coach Doug Houda played 142 games with Hartford from 1991-93, posting 20 points (6g, 14a) and 356 penalty minutes. Acquired from DET in exchange for Doug Crossman on 2/20/91, Houda was traded to LAK in exchange for Marc Potvin on 11/3/93.

MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (2-0) at Kansas City Royals (0-2)

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MLB

MLB Editor

April 2, 2023

MLB Preview: Minnesota Twins (2-0) at Kansas City Royals (0-2)

MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:

THE TWINS: Began their 63rd season with consecutive 2-0 victories at Kauffman Stadium… today they will play the three-game series finale against the Royals…after the game, they will travel to Miami to begin a three-game series against the Marlins from Monday-Wednesday…
following this trip, Minnesota will open its 14th season at Target Field with three against the Houston Astros (April 6-9) and three against the Chicago White Sox (April 10-12).

Twins are one of four teams in baseball yet to lose, joining Atlanta (2-0), Tampa Bay (2-0) and Texas (2-0).

OPENING DAY ON REPEAT: The Twins beat the Royals yesterday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium by a score of 2-0…Sonny Gray (1-0) was the starter and winner, pitching 5.0 shutout innings, with three hits allowed, four walks and one strikeout…the bullpen combined for 4.0 shutout innings, with one hit allowed, highlighted by Caleb Thielbar, who struck out three batters in the eighth inning and earned his second hold…Jorge López added a save with a scoreless ninth inning…the offense recorded five hits and were led by Byron Buxton, who went 2-for-4 with a double and both runs scored…the game was played in two hours and 18 minutes.

HANGING ZEROS: The consecutive shutout wins to start the season marks a Twins/Senators franchise record (since 1901)…below are the last six teams to start a season with consecutive shutouts according to Elias:
TEAM YEAR/OPPONENT STARTING PITCHERS
MINNESOTA TWINS……………….. 2023 AT KANSAS CITY…………………………. PABLO LÓPEZ, SONNY GRAY
San Francisco Giants……………2018 at Los Angeles-NL…………………………………….Ty Blach, Alex Wood
Los Angeles Dodgers………. 2016 at San Diego (3 straight)…..Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda
Detroit Tigers………………………….2015 vs. Minnesota ………………………….. David Price, Anibal Sanchez
Washington Nationals………………..2013 vs. Miami……………………….. Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez
Arizona Diamondbacks…………….2002 vs. San Diego………………………… Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling
ALSO: The last time the Twins shut out an opponent three straight times was July 5, 6 and 7, 2004 vs. Kansas City, by scores of 9-0, 4-0 and 12-0.

LASTLY: The Twins recorded 17 shutouts in 2022 and earned their second one on April 21 at Kansas City (Joe Ryan), in the club’s 12th game.

ROYALTY CHECK: The Twins and Royals are playing the third of 13 scheduled meetings in 2023…these two teams will meet next at Target Field for four games from April 27-30.

The Twins are 14-5 in their last 19 against KC since April 21, 2022, including a record of 6-3 at Kauffman Stadium in that span.

Since the start of last season, Twins starters have gone 10-4, 2.31 ERA (109.0 IP, 28 ER) with 27 walks, 94 strikeouts and a .197 (78-for-396) BAA vs. KC…also seven quality starts.

Carlos Correa is hitting .345 (40-for-116) with six doubles, six home runs, 16 RBI, 18 walks, a .433 on-base percentage and a .985 OPS in 31 games against the Royals since 2019…Correa has reached safely in 16-straight games at Kauffman, posting a .420 onbase percentage in that span.

Byron Buxton is hitting .325 (25-for-77) with eight doubles, three home runs, six RBI, 19 runs scored and a .940 OPS in his last 18 games against the Royals, reaching safely in all 18.

Notable individuals vs. Brad Keller: Max Kepler is hitting .368 (7-for-19) with one double, two home runs, five walks, a .500 on-base percentage and a .737 slugging percentage… Willi Castro is hitting .308 (4-for-13) with one home run and two walks.

RYAN KING: Joe Ryan has gone 4-0, 1.13 ERA (24.0 IP, 3 ER) with seven walks, 26 strikeouts with Royals batters slashing .159/.225/.280 in four career starts vs. KC — all coming last season…in two starts at Kauffman, he went 2-0, allowing just one run in 11.2 innings pitched…Ryan was one of seven starting pitchers in baseball to win four games against a single opponent in 2022 and was only pitcher to do it twice (also 4-0 vs. Detroit)…according to Elias, he became the first Twins rookie to earn four-plus wins against one team in a season.

OK, LAST CHANCE BUCK: Byron Buxton has homered in 10 consecutive road series since June 3, 2022 (June 3 at Toronto, June 13 at Seattle, June 17 at Arizona, June 28 at Cleveland, July 4 at Chicago-AL, July 10 at Texas, July 26 at Milwaukee, July 29 & 30 at San Diego, August 9 at Los Angeles-NL and August 14 at Los Angeles-AL)…it is tied with Miguel Sanó (September 2016-June 2017) for the longest streak by a Twin (since 1961)…it marks the longest by any player since Justin Turner did it in 10-straight from June-September of 2019…the last player in baseball to go 11-straight road series’ with a homer was Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard from June-September of 2006 (Elias).

Buck has 98 career home runs, needing two to become the 20th Twin to reach 100 career homers (since 1961)…last Twin to reach 100 was Max Kepler on September 20, 2020 at Chicago-NL.

POWER OUTAGE: The Twins have yet to homer this season in 75 plate appearances…the last time the Twins opened a season by going homerless in their first series was in 2015 at Detroit; Brian Dozier hit the first homer that season in the club’s fourth game on April 10 at Guaranteed Rate Field against Chicago-AL…last season, Gio Urshela hit the first homer on Opening Day against Seattle at Target Field.

CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT: The Twins bullpen has combined for 7.2 scoreless innings, with one hit allowed, three walks and seven strikeouts, facing 25 batters…just two other bullpens in baseball have yet to allow a run: Kansas City (7.1 IP) and Milwaukee (6.0 IP)… additionally, the one hit allowed by the Twins ‘pen is tied with Cincinnati (9.2 IP) for fewest in baseball.

TWINS TRY CLEAN UP AT THE K: The Twins are seeking their first sweep of the season today…last season, they swept opponents eight times, all in three games…they swept Kansas City three times: May 20-22 at Kauffman Stadium, August 15-17 at Target Field, and September 13-15 at Target Field…the Twins’ first sweep of 2022 came from April 22-24 vs. Chicago-AL.

The Twins have opened a season by sweeping a three-game series eight times in their history, last coming in 2017, when they opened
with a sweep of the Royals at Target Field.

Since 2014, the Twins have swept the Royals 10 times (50 series), their most of any opponent in that span (White Sox – 9 times and
Tigers – 8 times).

SUNDAY THROWBACKS: Bally Sports North sideline analyst, Glen Perkins, appeared in 45 career games (3 starts) against the Royals, going 3-1, 3.39 ERA (61.0 IP, 23 ER) with 13 saves (15 opportunities), 10 walks and 51 strikeouts…Perk once saved two games in one day against the Royals on September 1, 2012 at Kauffman Stadium, the first Twins pitcher since good ol’ Rick Lysander did so on August 18, 1984 at Boston.

STARTING PITCHER – JOE RYAN 41
Making his first start and appearance of 2023, his third year with the Twins…also his 33rd career start and appearance.

Facing Kansas City for the fifth time in his career and is riding four-game win streak vs. the Royals…went 4-0, 1.13 ERA (24.0 IP, 3 ER) with seven walks and 26 strikeouts vs. KC in 2022.

Led Twins pitching staff in wins (13), innings pitched (147.0) and strikeouts (151) last season.

SPRING RECAP: Ryan made five Grapefruit League starts this spring, going 2-1, 2.16 ERA (16.2 IP, 4 ER) with three walks and 20 strikeouts…surrendered only two earned runs in his final 15.1 innings (1.17 ERA) after allowing two earned runs over 1.1 innings pitched in his first spring start…tossed 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with one walk and five strikeouts at Boston March 22 and ended his spring campaign throwing 3.1 shutout innings vs. Pittsburgh March 27 (3 H, 0 BB, 4 K).

LAST MLB OUTING: Ryan shut out the Detroit Tigers over 6.0 innings pitched on September 30, 2022, allowing five hits with one walk and eight strikeouts en route to his team-leading 13th win…broke Twins single-season rookie strikeout record with his second strikeout of the outing, fanning Spencer Torkelson in the second inning…lowered his September earned run average to 2.20, his lowest in a month since April 2022 (1.17 ERA)…logged his sixth start of the season with eight-or-more strikeouts and his third scoreless appearance over his previous four starts.

WHO’S YOUR ROYAL: In four career starts vs. Kansas City, all of which came in the 2022 season, Ryan went 4-0, 1.13 ERA (24.0 IP, 3 ER) with seven walks and 26 strikeouts…threw more innings against the Royals than any other opponent in 2022…was one of seven starting pitchers in baseball to win four games against a single opponent in 2022 and was only pitcher to do it twice (also 4-0 vs. Detroit)… in last start vs. Kansas City on September 13, 2022, threw 7.0 hitless innings with two walks and nine strikeouts in a 6-3 Minnesota win…became first rookie in Twins/Senators history (1901-present) with an outing of at least 7.0 no-hit innings…Twins lost combined no-hitter in ninth inning.

RYAN ON THE ROAD: Ryan went 6-4, 4.22 ERA (64.0 IP, 30 ER) with 18 walks and 61 strikeouts in 12 road starts last season…was more effective at home in 2022, going 7-4, 3.04 ERA (83.0 IP, 28 ER) with 29 walks and 90 strikeouts…his 0.77 ERA in two career starts at Kauffman Stadium is tied for his second-best ERA at an opposing venue with Detroit’s Comerica Park, trailing only his 14.2 career scoreless innings at Cleveland’s Progressive Field…has similar home/road splits over his career, going 8-4, 3.79 ERA (76.0 IP, 32 ER) in 14 road starts and 7-5, 3.50 ERA (97.2 IP, 38 ER) in 18 home starts.

LEFT/RIGHT: Over his first two seasons, Ryan has slightly better splits against left-handed hitters than righties, with lefties batting just .194 with a .631 OPS since his debut in 2021…right-handed hitters are hitting .214 with a .667 OPS off Ryan…in 2022, lefties slashed .202/.288/.348 against Ryan with eight home runs and 56 strikeouts…his .202 opponent batting average vs. lefties ranked ninth in the American League last season (min. 50.0 IP)…Ryan has a higher strikeout percentage against right-handed hitters in his career, fanning 31.9% of righties and 19.4% of lefties.

THE ARSENAL: Ryan has displayed a four-pitch mix so far in his career, relying primarily on his fastball – he threw it 65.8% of the time in 2021 and 60.1% of the time in 2022…trained at Driveline baseball performance center in the offseason and retooled his slider and changeup…here’s a look at the Ryan’s repertoire from 2022, per Baseball Savant.

PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (92.0)………….60.1% (1436 pitches, 685/751).. .174 (54-for-310), 10 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 96 K
Slider (82.0)………………………….20.6% (494 pitches, 464/30) .245 (35-for-143), 10 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 41 K
Changeup (84.6)……………………12.1% (290 pitches, 18/272)…… .277 (18-for-65), 5 2B, 3 HR, 8 K
Curveball (74.9)……………………..7.2% (171 pitches, 30/141)……………… .286 (8-for-28), 3 2B, 6 K

Ryan had a .268 wOBA on his four seamer in 2022, which was sixth best in the majors (min. 250 PA)…also had a -21 run value on the pitch, good for fourth among major league pitchers under those same parameters.

2022 NOTES:
Made Twins Opening Day roster, the first of career…spent nearly all season with Minnesota.

Was club’s Opening Day starter April 8 vs. Seattle, allowing two runs in 4.0 innings pitched with four walks and four strikeouts and was dealt the loss in a Twins 2-1 defeat…became second rookie in franchise history (since 1901) to start on Opening Day, joining Tom Hall on April 8, 1969.

Posted 20.0-scoreless inning streak from April 15-May 3, longest for a Twins pitcher on season.

Went 3-1, 1.17 ERA (23.0 IP, 3 ER) with six walks and 25 strikeouts in four April starts, the lowest ERA for a rookie in March/April (min. 20 IP) in Twins/Senators history (since 1901).

Threw 100-plus pitches in seven of 27 starts, including a season-high of 110 August 9 at Los Angeles-AL…also most for Twins starter in 2022.

Went 3-0, 1.09 ERA (24.2 IP, 3 ER) with eight walks and 27 strikeouts in final four starts from September 13-20.

Led Twins staff in wins (13), innings pitched (147.0) and strikeouts (151), and ranked second in starts (27).

KING OF THE K: Ryan has 181 career strikeouts through his first 32 games, the most in Twins/Sena- tors history through a pitcher’s first 32 career games…also holds the record through a pitcher’s first 34 career games, four ahead of Francisco Liriano (177 from 2005-06)…his 9.4 strikeouts-per-9.0 innings ratio in his career is eighth best in Twins franchise history and his 3.48 strikeouts-per-walks ranks 11th (min. 150.0 IP).

CAREER NOTES
• 2023 marks his sixth professional season, including 2020.
• In 2022, his first full major-league season, was Twins Opening Day starter and led both the club and all AL rookies in wins (13), innings pitched (147.0) and strikeouts (151).
• Made his major league debut for the Twins on September 1, 2021 vs. Chicago-NL (L, 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R/3 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 5 K).
• Helped Team USA win the silver medal in baseball at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics…went 1-0, 1.74 ERA (10.1 IP, 2 ER), one walk and eight strikeouts in two starts.
• Acquired by the Twins on July 22, 2021 from the Tampa Bay Rays, alongside righthanded pitcher Drew Strotman, in exchange for designated hitter Nelson Cruz…learned about the trade while in Japan with Team USA.
• In 2020, was part of the Rays 60-man player pool and spent the summer at the alter- nate training site in Port Charlotte, Florida…ranked by Baseball America as the No. 12 prospect in the Rays system following the season.
• In 2019, was named Rays minor league Pitcher of the Year after going 9-4, 1.96 ERA (123.2 IP, 27 ER) in his first full professional season…divided the year between Low-A Bowling Green (6 starts), High-A Charlotte (15 games, 13 starts) and Double-A Montgomery (3 starts).
• Garnered several other awards in 2019, including: MiLB.com organization All-Star honors, Baseball America High Class A All-Star, two-time Florida State League Pitcher of the Week (June 17-23 and August 5-11) and Rays minor league Pitcher of the Month for July and August.
• Made professional debut in 2018 for Short-A Hudson Valley…went 2-1, 3.72 ERA (36.1 IP, 15 ER) in 12 games (7 starts) for the Renegades, with 14 walks and 51 strikeouts.
• Selected by the Rays in the seventh round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Division II California State University, Stanislaus.
• Went 8-1, 1.65 ERA (98.1 IP, 18 ER) in 14 starts as a senior at Stanislaus and led all divisions of college baseball with 127 strikeouts…earned three selections to All-America teams, including first team All-America honors by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association…pitched three seasons at California State University, Northridge before transferring to Stanislaus.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
SAME STORY: The Royals suffered another 2-0 loss yesterday vs. Minnesota, falling to 0-2 for the 16th time in franchise history and the first time since 2018…they produced seven baserunners vs. Twins starter Sonny Gray, who held Kansas City to 0-for-8 in scoring situations and stranded two in the 2nd, three in the 3rd and one in the 5th and 6th…much like Zack Greinke on Opening Day, Jordan Lyles allowed 2 runs (1 ER) in 5.1 innings, 1 of which came after he exited…the game lasted only 2 hours, 18 minutes, which matches the Royals second-shortest game of last season, longer only than the 2-hour, 11-minute game they played vs. Detroit last Sept. 11.

PROBLEMS AT THE PLATE: The Royals have been shut out in each of their first 2 games for the first time in franchise history, becoming just the fifth team in American League history to suffer this feat, following the 2015 Twins, 1977 Mariners, 1947 Indians and 1940 Senators…the Royals 18.0-inning scoreless streak to begin the season is their longest in franchise history, surpassing the 11.0 scoreless innings that began the 2013 and 1976 seasons…only one team in Major League history has been blanked in their first 3 games: the 2016 Padres.

The Royals remain well shy of the franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings at any point in the season, set by the 2017 Royals, who went 45.0 innings without a run over parts of 6 games, from the 3rd inning on Aug. 24, 2017 vs. Colorado through the 2nd inning on Aug. 29, 2017 vs. Tampa Bay.

The Royals have recorded only 6 hits, their fewest through 2 games in franchise history, which matches the lowest hits total by any American League team since the designated hitter was instituted in 1973.

The Royals are 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position through 2 games and have stranded 14 baserunners.

On the bright side, the Royals have drawn 10 walks in 68 plate appearances, or 1 walk per 6.80 plate appearances, which is the 2nd-best rate in the Majors through the first three days of the season…in 2022, the Royals offense walked once every 13.07 plate appearances, which ranked 20th in the Majors.

Vinnie Pasquantino went 1-for-3 with a walk yesterday, extending his career-best on-base streak to 21 games dating back to last Sept. 15, which marks the 3rd-longest active streak in the Majors, according to Elias, trailing only Aaron Judge’s 35-game on-base streak and Shohei Ohtani’s 25-game on-base streak.

PITCHING IN: Despite the Royals offensive woes, the pitching staff has been fantastic, holding the Twins to just 4 runs (3 ER) through the first 2 games…the club’s 1.50 ERA (3 ER in 18.0 IP) ranks tied for 3rd in the Majors, trailing only the Twins (who have blanked the Royals through 18.0 innings) and the Rays (1.00 ERA).

Seven of the Royals eight relievers have been deployed through the first 2 games, and have combined to hold the Twins scoreless over 7.1 innings, with just 4 hits and 3 walks allowed and 11 strikeouts…the Royals bullpen is one of three that has not yet allowed a run, along with the Twins (7.2 IP) and Brewers (6.0 IP).

The Royals 4 runs allowed matches their 4th fewest through 2 games in franchise history, more than last year’s club, who allowed 1 run through 2 games, and the 1985 and 1972 Royals, who allowed 2 runs.

They’re the sixth team in American League history to allow 2 runs or fewer in each of their first 2 games and lose them both, following the 1972 White Sox, 1956 Indians, 1947 Indians, 1913 Yankees and 1908 Athletics.

SERIES SPEAKING: The Royals today are trying to avoid being swept in a 3-game series to begin the season, a feat they’ve suffered six times previously, in 2017 at Minnesota, 2001 at Yankee Stadium, 1999 vs. Boston, 1996 at Baltimore, 1993 vs. Boston and 1992 at Oakland…the club record for consecutive losses to begin the season is 7, set in 1992…since the start of 2022, the Royals are 7-14 vs. the Twins and have been outscored 89-59 (-30).

The Royals and Twins will play 13 games against each other in 2023 as part of Major League Baseball’s balanced schedule…excluding 2020, the 13 games this year will be the fewest between these two teams in a single season since 2000 (12)…the Royals will travel to Target Field for a 4-game set from April 27-30 and for 3 games from July 3-5, and they’ll host the Twins back here at Kauffman Stadium from July 28-30.

The Royals 413 wins and 446 losses vs. the Twins are both their most vs. any opponent…last season, the Royals went 7-12 vs. Minnesota to lose the season series vs. the Twins for the first time since 2019.

CAPTAIN SALVY: The Royals announced prior to Thursday’s season-opening game that Salvador Perez has been named team Captain…Perez, 32, joins Royals Hall of Famers George Brett (1989-93), Frank White (1989-90) and Mike Sweeney (2003-07) as the only team Captains in club history…Salvy is a seven-time American League All-Star, a five-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and a two-time Royals Les Milgram Player of the Year…he was unanimously named the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 World Series, and ranks among the Royals all-time leaders in home runs (223, 2nd), RBI (732, 7th), extra-base hits (471, 7th), total bases (2,205, 8th), doubles (237, 9th) and hits (1,277, 8th).

ON DECK: After beginning the season with 3 day games vs. the Twins, the Royals will host the Blue Jays for 4 games starting tomorrow night…that series will include three 6:40 p.m. CT starts and a 1:10 p.m. CT start on Thursday to wrap the first homestand…the Royals first road trip will take them to San Francisco next weekend for the Giants home opener, then to Texas—where they played 2 exhibition games last week—for 3 night games… today marks the second of 12 consecutive days with a game before the next off day on Thursday, April 13.

BALANCED SCHEDULE: For the first time since Interleague play was introduced in 1997, Major League Baseball has adopted a balanced schedule starting in 2023, in which the Royals will play all other 29 teams…they’ll play a total of 52 games vs. American League Central opponents, 64 games vs. teams from the American League East and West and 46 Interleague games, including 4 vs. St. Louis and 3 vs. all others…following their 2-game set at Busch Stadium from May 29-30, the Royals are scheduled for back-to-back off days on May 31-June 1, before beginning a 3-game homestand vs. Colorado…this will mark the first time that the Royals will have scheduled back-to-back off days since April 6-7, 2016…another scheduling quirk later in the season will come after the Royals host the Cardinals for 2 games from Aug. 11-12…on the following day, Sunday, Aug. 13, the Royals have a scheduled off day, which will be the first known originally scheduled off day on a Sunday in Royals history.

PACE OF PLAY: In addition to the balanced schedule, another big change for the 2023 season is the new pitch timer rules, which provided stunning results during Spring Training…in 453 games that lasted 9 innings across both leagues this spring, the average time of game was 2 hours, 34 minutes, and only 40 of those 453 games (8.8%) lasted at least 3 hours…Kansas City played 33 Cactus League games and 31 of them lasted 9 innings with an average of 2 hours, 31 minutes, slightly below league average…the other 2 games were shortened by rain…the Royals longest game of the spring was a 3-hour affair on March 11 vs. Milwaukee and their shortest 9-inning game was the March 26 contest in Mesa vs. the Cubs, in which they finished in 1 hour, 57 minutes…in the 2022 regular season, the Royals average time of game was 3 hours, 3 minutes, which tied for the 4th-fastest in the Majors.

Through 35 games across Major League Baseball over the first three days of the regular season, the average game time has been 2 hours, 41 minutes, and only 10 of the 35 games (29%) lasted at least 3 hours…the Royals and Twins have finished their 2 games at 2:32 and 2:18.

TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP BRAD KELLER (6-14, 5.09 ERA IN 2022)

BRAD KELLER is making his season debut and the 106th start of his Major League career…since his debut in 2018, he leads all Royals pitchers in wins (35), starts (105), innings (633.2) and strikeouts (475)…among all pitchers who have made debuted since 2018, his 105 starts rank 2nd, trailing only Shane Bieber’s 112 starts with Cleveland.

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

Keller tied his career high with 14 losses (also 2019) while his 139.2 innings pitched were the most he’s thrown in a season since 2019 (165.1 IP)…despite spending the majority of the final two months of the season in the bullpen, he finished with 11 quality starts, 3 shy of Brady Singer, who led the Royals with 14.

He was one of two pitchers in 2022 with at least 11 quality starts and 14-plus losses, joining Seattle’s Marco Gonzales (18 QS/15 L)…that marked the second season of Keller’s career in which he posted that combination following 2019 (14 QS/14 L), and he joined Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (2019, 2021) as the only pitchers in the Majors to record those numbers twice in the last four seasons.

SPRING IN SURPRISE: Brad went 3-1 and pitched to a 4.95 ERA (11 ER in 20.0 IP) over 6 Cactus League starts…in his final start of the spring on March 24, he turned in 5.0 scoreless innings with just 5 hits and 1 walk allowed, while striking out 9 batters and earning the win over the Giants…he recorded multiple strikeouts in all 6 of his Spring Training outings, striking out 25 batters in 20.0 innings of work (11.3 K/9).

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

HELP WANTED: Brad went 6-13 as a starting pitcher in 2022 despite recording 11 quality starts, second by a Royal to only Brady Singer’s 14…the Royals supported him with a total of 35 runs in his 22 starts, including 2 runs or fewer in 17 of his 22 starts, 1 run or fewer 12 times and no runs seven times…he finished with a 2.57 run support average as a starter, the lowest total in the Majors among pitchers who made at least 20 starts in 2022, and it set a new franchise low for a starting pitcher with the same qualifier…since 1974—when run support data is available—the lowest single-season run support average by a qualified Royals pitcher was previously 2.94 (83 RS in 254.0 IP) by David Cone in 1993.

FROM THE GROUND UP: Keller has a career 52.4% groundball rate, which ranks 4th in the Majors since the start of 2018 (min. 600.0 IP), trailing Dallas Keuchel (55.2%), Marcus Stroman (54.8%) and Luis Castillo (52.6%)…likewise, his lifetime HR/9 rate of 0.84 (59 HR in 633.2 IP) ranks 4th in the Majors since 2018 (min. 600.0 IP), trailing Jacob deGrom (0.72), Zack Wheeler (0.76) and Max Fried (0.78)…his groundball percentage improved last season as he posted a 53.6% clip, but he allowed 17 home runs, 1 short of his career high set in 2021, for a 1.10 HR/9 rate.

He induced 13 double plays in 2022 and has an American League-most 76 since the start of 2018, one more than Seattle’s Marco Gonzales (75).

DECISIONS, DECISIONS: With a loss in his last start on Aug. 13 vs. the Dodgers, Keller extended his streak of starts with a decision to 15—in which he’s 5-10—which is the longest run of starts with a decision by a Royal since José Lima had 15 consecutive decisions from June 26-Sept. 18, 2005, and it is the T-14th longest such streak in Royals history…Dennis Leonard holds the club record with 26 straight starts with a decision (Aug. 26, 1997-June 23, 1978).

BRAD TO THE RESCUE: Keller earned his 1st career save in the sweep-clinching victory over these Twins last Sept. 22, in what was his 136th Major League appearance…he did not have a save in his minor league career either, as 100 of his 106 appearances were starts…he became the 16th Royal to make at least 20 starts in a season while also recording a save, and the first to do so since Danny Duffy made 24 starts and had 1 save in 2015.

VS. MINNESOTA: In 13 career appearances (11 starts) against the Twins, Brad has gone 3-5 despite posting a 3.90 ERA (28 ER in 64.2 IP) with 60 strikeouts (8.4 K/9), and he’s held them to a .239 batting average (58-for-243)…his last start vs. Minnesota came on May 27, 2022 at Target Field in which he yielded 6 runs in 4.0 innings, however he had allowed just 2 runs or fewer in 5 of his 10 previous starts against the division rival.

MLB Preview: New York Mets (2-1) at Miami Marlins (1-2)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 2, 2023

MLB Preview: New York Mets (2-1) at Miami Marlins (1-2)

NEW YORK METS NOTES:

METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets earned their second win of the season with a 6-2 victory over the Fish yesterday…The Mets are going for their first series victory of the season today…The Mets continue their first road trip of the season, a seven-game trip to Miami (2-1) and Milwaukee (three games).

LET’S GO FISHING: The Mets are now 53-47 at loanDepot park…The team has won four of their last five here and nine of their last 12 games at the yard…The team owns a 3.44 ERA at the yard and has hit .250/.325/.406.

RISPY BUSINESS: Last night the Marlins went 0-7 with runners in scoring position…Over the last three games, Mets pitching has held the Marlins to three hits in 22 at bats with runners in scoring position…That equates to a .136 opponent average in RISP situations…Last season, the Mets ranked fourth in the majors and second in the NL with a .228 opponent average with runners in scoring position.

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME: Kodai Senga is set to make his major league debut today against the Marlins…Senga will become the 14th Japanese-born player to appear in at least one game for the Mets, the most by any major league team…He was signed by the Mets to a five-year contract in December of 2022…He enters the season as the 16th-best prospect in baseball according to Baseball America…The right-handed pitcher spent the past 11 seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and went 87-44 with a 2.59 ERA (313 ER/1089.0 IP) and 1,252 strikeouts (10.3 K/9.0) in his NPB career…Is a three-time NPB All-Star (2013, 2017, 2019), a two-time Pacific League Best Nine Award winner (2019, 2020) and a two-time Mitsui Golden Glove Award winner (2019, 2020).

DEBUT NOTES: Today, Senga is slated to become the 64th pitcher whose major league debut came in a start for the Mets…Masato Yoshii is the only other Japanese-born pitcher to make his MLB debut in a start for the Mets… New York has had one pitcher make his MLB debut as a starter in each of the previous three seasons: José Butto in 2022, Tylor Megill in 2021 and David Peterson in 2020 (the Mets won each of those three games)…Peterson is the most recent Mets hurler to win as a starter in his major league debut… Overall, 15 Mets have started and earned a win in their major league debut (eight Mets have won in relief in their MLB debut)…Matt Harvey (2012) is the only pitcher in Mets history to record a double-digit strikeout game in his major league debut.

Player …………………… Year with Mets
Norichika Aoki …………………………….2017
Ryota Igarashi………………….. 2010-2011
Kazuhisa Ishii………………………………2005
Takashi Kashiwada……………………..1997
Satoru Komiyama ………………………2002
Daisuke Matsuzaka ………….2013-2014
Kazuo Matsui…………………..2004-2006
Player …………………… Year with Mets
Hideo Nomo ………………………………..1998
Kodai Senga ……………………………..2023-
Tsuyoshi Shinjo………………. 2001, 2003
Hisanori Takahashi ……………………. 2010
Ken Takahashi …………………………….2009
Shingo Takatsu…………………………..2005
Masato Yoshii……………………1998-1999

METS JAPANESE-BORN PLAYERS
STEAL THIS BASE: The Mets have stolen three bases this season…New York has a stolen base in each of its first three games for the first time since the 1993 season…The team’s three steals places them tied for the National League lead and tied for fifth in the majors…In 2022, the Mets stole a total of 58 bases, which placed them 23rd in the majors and 12th in the majors.

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER: In three games this year, the Mets bullpen has allowed one run in 10.0 innings, good for a 0.90 ERA…They have allowed seven hits, striking out 11 and issuing only one walk…The team’s 0.90 ERA is fourth in the majors and second in the Senior Circuit…Last year, the Mets bullpen posted a 3.50 ERA, which ranked third in the National League.

OMAR’S COMING YO!: In three games with the Mets, Omar Narváez is 3-7 with a run, two RBI and a walk…In December, the Mets signed catcher Narváez to a one-year contract with a player option for 2024…He is a .412 (7-17) hitter with two runs, a double, three RBI and four walks in six career games at loanDepot park.

CANHA GET AN AMEN?: Mark Canha went 3-4 with three runs, a double, a home runs, a walk and two RBI in yesterday’s victory over the Marlins…He is in his second year with the Mets and has hit .267/.369/.409 with 74 runs, 25 doubles, 14 home runs, 63 RBI and 50 walks in 143 games with the club.

THE EAST IS A BEAST: The Mets are 2-1 against the division this year…The team went 50-26 against the East in 2022…Their .658 winning percentage against the East was the best mark in club history…They lost only three series in the division all season long (against Atlanta, August 15-18, Washington, September 2-4 and September 30-October 2 at Atlanta)…They won the season series vs. Philadelphia, Washington and Miami…Overall, the Mets posted a 3.38 ERA against the East, while hitting .262/.335/.425…The Mets outscored their divisional opponents, 380-272.

DAY MAN!: The Mets are 2-0 in day games this year…In 2022, the Mets went 39-19 in day games…The team’s .672 winning percentage in the sunlight was the second-best in the National League and third-best in the majors…The Mets posted a 3.16 ERA with 150 walks and 564 strikeouts in the daytime last year…Their 3.16 ERA in the daytime was third in the majors and second in the NL.

A STARLING IS BORN: Starling Marte is 5-9 with a run, an RBI, a double, a walk and two steals in three games this season…Marte has batted .297/.351/.472 with 77 runs, 25 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs, 63 RBI, 27 walks and 20 steals in 1211 games as a member of the Mets…Marte owns a .309/.371/.450 slash-line with 50 runs, 12 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 32 RBI, 20 walks and 21 steals in 75 career games at loanDepot ballpark.

DOUBLE DARE: The Mets have recorded seven doubles this season which is tied for fourth in the major leagues.

FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso socked the first Mets home run of the year on Friday…He has hit 12 home runs in 31 career games at the ballpark…That is tied with the Nationals Park for his most home runs at an opponent’s ballpark.

Rank Player HR GAMES
5th Dave Kingman 154 664
6th Carlos Beltrán 149 839
7th Pete Alonso 147 533
Rank Player RBI GAMES
15thMichael Conforto 396 757
16th Dave Kingman 389 664
17th Pete Alonso 381 533
METS ALL-TIME LEADERS

ONLY A FEW CAN COM-PETE: Pete Alonso set a franchise single-season RBI record with 131 last year…His 131 RBI were tied for the major league lead and led the National League…Only once before in franchise history has a Met finished the season with the most or tied for the most RBI…Howard Johnson recorded a career-best 117 RBI in 1991 to lead the National League…He had 27 game-winning RBI season, the most since the stat was first tracked in 1974…His 35 go-ahead RBI were tied for the second-most in a single season in Mets history…Keith Hernandez had 36 go-ahead RBI in 1985.

HITTING THE ROAD: New York is 2-1 on the road his year…The team finished the 2022 season going 47-34 on the road…Their .580 road winning
percentage placed them third in the majors and second in the NL…It was tied for the fourth-best road record in team history and the highest road-winning percentage since 2007…Overall, they hit .265/.334/.424 away from Citi Field…Their .265 road average was second in the majors and the best in the NL, while their .334 OBP led The Show…They ranked fourth in MLB and second in the Senior Circuit with a .424 SLG…Brandon Nimmo (.406), Jeff McNeil (.399) and Mark Canha (.378) ranked three through five in road OBP in the National League.

STARTING PITCHER – KODAI SENGA RHP #34
SENGA NEWS & NOTES
MLB DEBUT: Senga is making his MLB Debut today against the Miami Marlins after spending the first 11 seasons of his pro career with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball…His desire to play in MLB came from his experience playing against major league stars in the 2017 World Baseball Classic…He enters the season as the 16th-best prospect in baseball according to Baseball America.

DEBUT NOTES: Today, Senga will become the 64th pitcher whose major league debut came in a start for the Mets…New York has had one pitcher make his MLB debut as a starter in each of the previous three seasons: José Butto in 2022, Tylor Megill in 2021 and David Peterson in 2020 (the Mets won each of those three games)…Peterson is the most recent Mets hurler to win as a starter in his major league debut…Overall, 15 Mets have started and earned a win in their major league debut (eight Mets have won in relief in their MLB debut)… Matt Harvey (2012) is the only pitcher in Mets history to record a double-digit strikeout game in his major league debut.

NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON’T: Included in Senga’s pitching repertoire is a unique pitch called the ‘ghost fork’…The pitch is so named because its break gives the appearance that it disappears out of the strike zone.

METS-JAPAN CONNECTION: With his start today, Senga becomes the 14th Japanese-born player to appear in at least one game for the Mets, the most by any major league team…The last Japanese-born player to appear in a game for the Mets was OF Norichika Aoki in 2017.

FIRST SPRING IN THE STATES: Senga made three starts in Spring Training and went 1-2 with a 4.00 ERA (4 ER/9.0 IP)…The right-hander had 10 strikeouts and held opposing hitters to .194 average in Grapefruit League play…In his final tuneup before the regular season, Senga allowed two runs over 4.0 innings with three strikeouts on March 22 against Houston.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Prior to joining the Mets, Senga spent 11 seasons in Japan’s NPB with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks…During his NPB career he posted a 87-44 record with a 2.59 ERA (313 ER/1,089.0 IP) and 1,252 strikeouts (10.3 K/9.0)…He was also a three-time NPB All-Star (2013, 2017 and 2019), a two-time Pacific League Best Nine Award winner (2019 and 2020) and a two-time Mitsui Golden Glove Award winner (2019 and 2020).

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Senga appeared in four games in the 2017 World Baseball Classic for Team Japan…He posted a 0.82 ERA, throwing 11.0 innings and allowing one run on seven hits with 16 strikeouts and one walk…He also pitched in two games during the Tokyo Summer Olympics, throwing a total of 3.0 scoreless innings as Japan won the gold medal on its home turf. 2022: Last season, Senga went 11-6 with a 1.94 ERA (31 ER/144.0 IP), 156 strikeouts, a 1.06 WHIP and a 0.4 HR/9 rate over 22 appearances.

MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:

MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins today wrap up their opening series with the final of four games against the New York Mets, looking to split the series. Miami will continue their opening homestand with a three-game set against the Twins, their first of 15 Interleague series in 2023, starting Monday. The club’s first road trip includes 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
The Marlins suffered their second loss of the season, 6-2, as RHP Edward Cabrera walked a career-high 6 batters through 4.0 innings, but limiting the Mets offense to just 2 runs on 2 hits. C Nick Fortes put the Marlins ahead early with a 2-run shot in the 2nd inning to erase an early 1-0 deficit. The Mets tacked on runs in 4 separate innings to take back the lead for good. INF Luis Arraez tied his career high with 4 hits.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
INF Luis Arraez is 7×12 (.583) in his first three games, becoming the fourth player in club history to record 7-or-more hits through three games played as a Marlin, and the first since Emilio Bonifacio had eight hits through three games in 2009 (Cameron Maybin had nine in 2008 and Jeff Conine had eight 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 three games to start a season. In 2006, Hanley Ramirez reached safely from the leadoff spot in the first inning in four consecutive starts (credit: Elias).
• His .583 avg. ranks third in the NL and his seven hits are tied for the most in MLB with Colorado’s C.J. Cron.
• His 4×5 effort yesterday was just the third time a Marlin has recorded four hits in a game since the start of the 2022 season (Jazz Chisholm Jr., 4 hits, 4/23/22 and Bryan De La Cruz, 4 hits, 9/24/22).

MAKE IT A TEN
The Marlins have recorded 10 hits in consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 7 – Sept. 9 of last season when they did so in three straight games. In all of 2022, they had consecutive games with 10-plus hits six times, with the three-game stretch in September being the longest.

CELEBRATING OUR CHAMPIONS
During the club’s series against the Twins, the Marlins will honor 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.

HOMER TIME
The Marlins have scored six of their seven runs this season via home runs – hitting four homers total over the first three games. Didn’t hit their fourth homer until the fifth game last year.

FUERTE FORTES
C Nick Fortes made his second consecutive start in yesterday’s game, going 2×3 with a home run and a single. His 2-run shot 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).

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 KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The Marlins roster is re-shaped from last season, featuring six players who did not appear in with the organization last year.
• Offensively, Miami acquired infielder Luis Arraez from Minnesota. The reigning American League batting champion posted a .316 avg. (173×547) in 2022 and owns a .314 avg. in four career Major League seasons. The club also signed free-agent infielder Jean Segura to a two-year deal with a club option for a third year. Segura, a two-time All-Star and the 2016 NL hits leader, has averaged 6.7 AB/SO during his 11-year professional career, the third-best mark since 2012 among players with at least 1,300 games played. The newest addition to the Marlins lineup is two-time World Series champion and 2021 AL Batting Champion Yuli Gurriel, who hit 40 doubles last season for the World Series champion
Houston Astros.
• Miami bolstered the starting rotation with the signing of free-agent pitcher Johnny Cueto. The 15-year veteran is a 2015 World Series champion and two-time All-Star, owning a career 143-107 record and 3.44 ERA in 355 appearances (353 starts). To add to the back end, the Marlins acquired right-handed reliever Matt Barnes from Boston, who posted a 1.59 ERA (22.2 IP/4 ER) with six saves in his final 24 appearances of 2022. Additionally, Miami acquired former first-round selection A.J. Puk from Oakland. The southpaw led the Athletics bullpen with 76 strikeouts last year in his first full season in the big leagues.

TODAY’S STARTER – 28 TREVOR ROGERS
• Trevor Rogers, 25, made 23 starts in his sophomore campaign coming off a runner-up ROTY season in 2021. Made two separate IL stints, including a season-ending lat strain.
• Recorded his 200th career strikeout against the first batter he faced on April 16, 2022. This made him the first left-hander in MLB history to strikeout 200 hitters in his first 34 games (all coming as starts) while maintaining a career ERA under 3.25. He is just the 12th pitcher to accomplish this feat (All 11 others were right-handed).
• Made 19 starts from the start of the season until July 25 when he was placedon the IL with low back spasms. Allowed three runs or more in 11 of those outings. Pitched to a 5.85 ERA, going 5-14 with 41 walks and 83 strikeouts.
• Held lefties to a .194 batting avg, .296 slugging pct., .584 OPS and just 1 home run (111 BF). Right handed batters hit .299 with a .520 slugging pct., .886 OPS and had 14 home runs(366 BF).
• Struck out a season-high nine batters vs. Texas on Sept. 12. Went 6.1 innings, also a season-high.
• Missed 31 games with low back spasms (July 26 to August 31).
• Has allowed 14 home runs in 106.2 IP in 2022 after allowing 6 in 133.0 IP in 2021.
• Went 1-3 with a 5.09 ERA (17.2 IP/10 ER) in four starts in the month of April, last season. Struck out 14 batters against nine walks.

MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants (1-1) at New York Yankees (1-1)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 2, 2023

MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants (1-1) at New York Yankees (1-1)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: SF is seeking a series victory with a win in today’s rubber match with the Yankees in the final game of this three-game series…since Interleague play began, the Giants have never won a series here at Yankee Stadium (this one or the previous one)…SF has lost each of its three prior series here (all three-game sets) two games to one (2002, 2013 and 2016).

SAYS HERE…: Since 2021 the Giants have been one of the better teams in Major League Baseball during March/April… SF is 31-18 (.633) 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)

LOOKING UP A STAT, CHECKING IT TWICE…: Yesterday, IF Brandon Crawford slugged his first homer of the year on a 3-0 pitch from Clarke Schmidt in the top of the 4th inning… interestingly enough, no Giant had a hit last year in a 3-0 count and the last Giant to have a hit on a 3-0 pitch was Crawford himself on September 30, 2021 vs. Arizona off former teammate Madison Bumgarner in the 4th inning at Oracle Park…even more strange, later in yesterday’s game OF Mike Yastrzemski doubled off Clay Holmes in a 3-0 count in the top of the 9th inning.

ALMOST THERE!: With his home run yesterday, IF Brandon Crawford has now homered against 26 of the 30 MLB teams during his 13-year career…the only teams he has yet to homer against in his career are the White Sox (where SF goes after this series), Royals (who the Giants play to open up the home slate after the White Sox series), Twins and Red Sox…he’s also now homered in 23 of the 30 active Major League ballparks and 25 different ballparks overall (this 25 total includes Turner Field and the Ballpark at Arlington).

FORE!: OF Joc Pederson’s homer yesterday came on a pitch that was 1.16′ above the ground…last season Pederson homered off a pitch that was 0.68′ off the ground on April 12 (off the Padres Wil Myers). (Sarah Langs/MLB.com) FYI…

WE ARE TEAM ROSS: RHP Ross Stripling will officially make his Giants debut this afternoon after signing a two-year contract w/SF during the offseason…the right hander is coming off a career year for Toronto that saw him go 10-4 with a 3.01 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 134.1 innings while walking only 20 batters…the Texas native set career highs last season in wins (10), starts (24), innings pitched (134.1), ERA (3.01) and WHIP (1.02)…in Spring Training this year Stripling posted a 7.43 ERA in six games (four starts) but he struck out 18 and walked just one in 23.0 spring innings.

THE ONE WHERE THE OTHER STARTER IS MAKING HIS MLB DEBUT AGAINST THE GIANTS: Yankees RHP Jhony Brito is making his MLB debut today against the Giants…according to Sports Info Solutions it’s the first time since 2019 that an opposing starter is making his MLB debut against the Giants… that year, Nick Margevicius (SD), Chris Paddack (SD) and Alex Young (ARI) all made their MLB debuts in starts against SF and ironically enough all posted the same general stat line (5.0 innings pitched and one run allowed)…SF lost two of those three games.

BUT WAIT…THERE’S MORE!: To take the debuts connections a bit further…today’s Giants starter Ross Stripling made his MLB debut in a start against SF on April 8, 2016 at Oracle Park…Stripling carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning before being removed from the game after walking Angel Pagan… New York’s Opening Day starter Gerrit Cole also made his MLB debut against SF in a starting capacity, doing so on June 11, 2013 at Pittsburgh…Cole twirled 6.1 innings of two-run ball and struck out two in a win as the Pirates defeated the Giants 8-2 (Sports Info Solutions).

SUN BUMS: Today’s game is the third in a stretch of nine straight day games for SF to open the season (all three games here in NYC, all three games 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.

LET’S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN…: After today’s game the Giants will fly to Chicago to take on the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field for the first time since 2017 when they went 1-2 against the Southsiders…LHP Matt Moore picked up the only win of that series for SF and the only active of the current Giants that played in any of the three games there is IF Brandon Crawford…OF Austin Slater played in that series but
he is currently on the IL.

TODAY’S STARTER – ROSS STRIPLING RHP #48
2022 RECORD (W/TOR): 10-4, 3.01 ERA

ONE OF THE NEW GUYS: 33-year-old right-hander inked a two-year Major League contract with the Giants this past December… the deal included an opt-out following this season…in Stripling, the Giants added a versatile arm who’s had success in multiple roles.

LAST YEAR: Stripling completed his seventh big league campaign last season and set career highs in wins (10), starts (24), innings pitched (134.1), ERA (3.01) and WHIP (1.02)…he appeared in 32 games overall with the Blue Jays and posted a 9-4 record with a 2.92 ERA over 24 starts, while going 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA over eight relief appearances.

WINNING FORMULA: The Blue Jays were 15-4 last season in Stripling’s starts after he joined the starting rotation full time on June 6 after the Blue Jays lost LHP Hyun Jin Ryu to Tommy John surgery… they went 11-1 over his final 12 starts to end the regular season.

NICE COMPARISON: Manager Gabe Kapler when asked about Ross Stripling in early spring training told Giants reporters “Well, his command is really second to none…one guy we’ve faced a lot over the last couple of years is Merrill Kelly, and Merrill Kelly is not great because he blows dudes away with high-octane stuff, he’s great because he can throw the kitchen sink at you and throw any pitch at any time and he can put it where he wants to put it – and that’s Ross Stripling…Ross has a lot of those same characteristics.”

CAREER: Stripling is a familiar face for Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi, whose time as the Dodgers GM overlapped with Stripling’s time in LA. He was originally selected by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft… he spent nine years with the Dodgers organization before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline in 2020… Stripling was an All-Star with Los Angeles in 2018. He’s 38-38 with a 3.78 ERA in 204 career MLB games (104) starts.

NOTES ON LAST YEAR: Stripling’s 3.7% walk rate last year was the third-lowest mark of any pitcher to throw at least 100 innings…his 0.80 homer per 9.0 innings was a career-best.

2023 SPRING TRAINING: Missed four days of camp as he and his wife, Shelby, welcomed their second child on March 6, a baby boy named Brodie…overall, he went 1-2 with a 7.43 ERA in six games (four starts) this spring, logging 23.0 innings with 18 strikeouts and one walk allowed.

NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:

AT A GLANCE: The Yankees will play the final game of a season-opening three-game set today vs. the Giants (1-1 so far)…is part of a season-opening six-game homestand, with three games vs. Philadelphia from Mon.-Wed.…will embark on their first road trip on Thursday, with stops in Baltimore (3G from 3/6, 3/8-9) and Cleveland (4/10-12).

Are opening the season against a NL opponent for the second time in franchise history (also 2020 at Washington).

YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees fell to the Giants, 7-5, on Saturday at Yankee Stadium…RHP Clarke Schmidt (3.1IP, 5H, 3ER, 1BB, 5K, 2HR) made his first start of the season and did not record a decision…SS Anthony Volpe (2-for-4, 1R, 1SB) recorded his first two career Major League hits…collected his first hit with a single off Alex Cobb in the second inning…CF Aaron Judge (3-for-5, 1R, 1RBI) recorded his second multi-hit
game and first three-hit game of the season…hit an RBI single in the ninth inning for his 500th career RBI…RF Giancarlo Stanton (1-for-5, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI) and 3B Josh Donaldson (1-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI) each hit their first home runs of the season…1B Anthony Rizzo (1-for-3, 1 double, 1RBI, 2BB) collected an RBI double in the fifth inning…DH DJ LeMahieu (1-for-4, 1R, 1 double, 1BB) reached base twice…RHP Michael King (1.2IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K, 1HP) recorded the loss after allowing 2ER in 1.2IP…LHP Wandy Peralta (1.0IP, 2K, 1HP) and RHP Albert Abreu (2.0IP, 1BB, 3K)
were both scoreless in relief…RHP Jimmy Cordero (0.1IP) made his Yankees debut and retired his only batter faced.

21 JUMP STREET: INF Anthony Volpe recorded his first two career Major League hits on Saturday…collected his first career Major League hit with a single off Alex Cobb in the second inning…at 21 years, 338 days old, was the youngest Yankee to record his first Major League hit since Gleyber Torres (21y, 131d) on 4/23/18 vs. Minnesota…recorded his second hit of the game with a single in the ninth inning…was the youngest
Yankee to record his first multi-hit game in the Majors since Torres on 4/24/18 vs. Minnesota (2H).

Stole his second career base in the second inning…with his stolen base on Opening Day, became just the second Yankee in franchise history to steal at least one base in each of his first two career Major League games (also Fritz Maisel – first three career games in 1913).

Became the eighth Yankee in franchise history to steal at least one base in each of the team’s first two games of a season, joining Tony Womack (2005), Rickey Henderson (1989), Roberto Kelly (1989), Mickey Rivers (1976), Bobby Murcer (1974), Bert Daniels (1913) and Jake Stahl (1908).

Was the 12th player in Yankees history to steal at least one base in each of the player’s first two games of a season, joining Tony Womack (2005), Luis Polonia (1995), Rickey Henderson (1989), Roberto Kelly (1989), Mickey Rivers (1976), Bobby Murcer (1974), George Whiteman (1913), Bert Daniels (1913), Red Kleinow (1910) and Jake Stahl (1908)… Roger Peckinpaugh was not included since his first game of the season in 1913 was with the Cleveland Naps.

STANTON ISLAND: OF Giancarlo Stanton hit his first HR of the season on Saturday with a solo HR in the third inning…the HR had an exit velocity of 112.3 mph.

Marked the fifth time in his career and his fourth time with the Yankees that he has homered in one of the first two games to start a season (also 2016 with Miami; 2018, 2020 and 2022 with the Yankees).

In 48 career games vs. the Giants, is batting .317/.397/.710 (58-for-183) with 32R, 16 doubles, 1 triple, 18HR, 37RBI and 21BB…has 5HR in his last 6G vs. the Giants, 6HR in his last 8G, 7HR in his last 12G and 10HR in his last 22G vs. San Francisco.

A BRONX TALE: The Yankees went 57-24 (.704) at Yankee Stadium in 2022, the best home record in the AL and tied for the best home record in the Majors (Los Angeles-NL: 57-24, .704)…marked their 31st straight winning season at home (since 1992)…according to Elias, is the Majors’ longest current streak and the longest streak by any team since a Major League-record 47-year streak for the Yankees from 1918-64… their 57 wins at home matched their most in a single season at the current Yankee Stadium (went 57-24 in 2009 and 2019).

THE SKIPPER, TOO: The 2023 season marks Manager Aaron Boone’s sixth season at the helm…in 2022, guided the team to a 99-63 record and sixth consecutive postseason berth…with the Yankees reaching the playoffs in each of his first five seasons as manager, he became the first manager in Baseball history to reach the postseason in each of his first five managerial seasons…is the third manager to make the playoffs in his first five seasons with the Yankees, joining Casey Stengel (first five from 1949-53) and Joe Torre (first 12 from 1996-2007).

His 428 career managerial wins rank eighth on the Yankees’ all-time list.

JHONY B GOODE: RHP Jhony Brito will start today and make his Major League debut vs. San Francisco…the 25-year-old was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday and made his first career Opening Day roster…will be the first Yankees pitcher to make his Major League debut this season.

Is the seventh Yankee to start at the current Yankee Stadium in his Major League debut, joining RHP Luis Gil (8/3/21), Deivi García (8/30/20-G2), RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (6/15/18), LHP Jordan Montgomery (4/12/17), RHP Luis Severino (8/5/15) and RHP Adam Warren (6/29/12).

Made four appearances (two starts) this past spring, going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA (13.0IP, 12H, 5R/3ER, 10K 1HR).

Split the 2022 season with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combining to go 11-4 with a 2.96 ERA (112.2IP, 95H, 40R/37ER, 35BB, 91K, 9HR) in 26 games (23 starts)…allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 19 of his 23 starts… among Yankees farmhands, ranked second in wins, fifth in
starts and sixth in innings pitched…following the season, was named by Baseball America as having the “Best Control” among Yankees minor leaguers…was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster on 11/10/22.

Over parts of five minor league seasons in the Yankees organization (2016-17, ’19, ’21-22), has gone 26-21 with two saves and a 3.71 ERA (392.2IP, 375H, 196R/162ER, 81BB, 344K, 28HR) in 86 career appearances (70 starts)…was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 11/9/15.

ALL RISE: OF Aaron Judge collected his second multi-hit game of the season and first three-hit game on Saturday…hit singles in the first and fifth inning, and an RBI single in the ninth…his RBI single in the ninth inning marked his 500th career RBI.

His 52 multi-hit games in 2022 were the sixth-most in the Majors and the fourth-most in the AL.

Signed a nine-year contract this offseason after hitting an AL-record 62HR in 2022…was named the team captain on 12/21/22, becoming the 16th player to receive the honor in franchise history, and just the second since 1996…joins Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles, Thurman Munson, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Roger Peckinpaugh, Rollie Zeider, Frank Chance, Hal Chase, Willie Keeler, Norman “Kid” Elberfeld and Clark Griffith.

THE SAN FRANCISCO TREAT: The Yankees’ current series vs. the Giants marks their first against San Francisco since 4/26- 28/19 at San Francisco…marks their first home series vs. the Giants since 7/22-24/16…are 11-6 all-time vs. the Giants during the regular season and 7-4 vs. the Giants at home.

INF DJ LeMahieu hit a leadoff double in the fifth inning on Saturday vs. San Francisco…has batted .336/.396/.445 (132- for-393) with 63R, 22 doubles, 3 triples, 5HR, 45RBI and 41BB in 111 career games vs. the Giants.

OH MY JOSH: INF Josh Donaldson hit his first HR of the season with a solo HR in the eighth inning on Saturday…also marked his 800th career run scored.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP JHONY BRITO (MLB DEBUT)
RHP Jhony Brito will make his Major League debut today vs. San Francisco…the 25-year-old will pitch on extended six days’ rest… last pitched in his final spring appearance on 3/26 vs. Toronto, tossing 5.1 perfect innings (3K), earning the victory…was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday and made his first career Opening Day roster…will be the first Yankees pitcher to make his Major League debut this season…split the 2022 season with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combining to go 11-4 with a 2.96 ERA (112.2IP, 95H, 40R/37ER, 35BB, 91K, 9HR) in 26 games (23 starts)…allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 19 of his 23 starts… among Yankees farmhands, ranked second in wins, fifth in starts and sixth in innings pitched…following the season, was named by Baseball America as having the “Best Control” among Yankees minor leaguers…was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster on 11/10/22… over parts of five minor league seasons in the Yankees organization (2016-17, ’19, ’21-22), has gone 26-21 with two saves and a 3.71 ERA (392.2IP, 375H, 196R/162ER, 81BB, 344K, 28HR) in 86 career appearances (70 starts)…was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 11/9/15.

SPRING FLING: Made just four spring appearances (two starts), going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA (13.0IP, 12H, 5R/3ER, 10K 1HR)…made his spring debut on 3/26 at Toronto, earning the win after tossing 2.0 scoreless innings (3H, 2K)…made his second appearance on 3/4 vs. Tampa Bay, allowing 4R/2ER over 2.2IP in relief…made his third spring appearance on 3/10 at Detroit, tossing 3.0 innings in relief (4H, 1ER, 3K, 1HR)…made his final spring outing on 3/26 vs. Toronto, tossing 5.1 perfect innings (3K), earning the victory.

HOME SWEET HOME: In 13 home games (12 starts) with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2022, went 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA (60.0IP, 13ER) and 42K.

INTO THE FIRE: Is the seventh Yankees pitcher to start against a National League opponent in his Major League debut, joining RHP Deivi García (8/30/20-G2 vs. New York-NL: ND, 6.0IP, 1R/0ER), RHP Chad Green (5/16/16 at Arizona: L, 4.0IP, 6R/4ER), RHP Chase Whitley (5/15/14 at New York-NL: ND, 4.2IP, 0ER), RHP Tyler Clippard (5/20/07 at New York-NL: W, 6.0IP, 1ER), LHP Brad Halsey (6/19/04 at Los Angeles-NL: W, 5.2IP, 2ER) and LHP Brandon Claussen (6/28/03-G2 at New York-NL: W, 6.1IP, 1ER).

Is the seventh Yankee to draw a start at the current Yankee Stadium in his Major League debut, joining, RHP Luis Gil (8/3/21), RHP Deivi García (8/30/20-G2), RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (6/15/18), LHP Jordan Montgomery (4/12/17), RHP Luis Severino (8/5/15) and RHP Adam Warren (6/29/12).

THIS IS 25: At 25 years, 44 days old, will be the seventh starter age 25-or-over to make his Major League debut for the Yankees since 1999, joining RHP Chien-Ming Wang (25y, 30d), RHP Masahiro Tanaka (25y, 154d), Christian Parker (25y, 277d), Alex Graman (26y, 155d), Matt DeSalvo (26y, 238d) and Kei Igawa (27y, 268d).

2022: Split the season with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combining to go 11-4 with a 2.96 ERA (112.2IP, 95H, 40R/37ER, 35BB, 91K, 9HR) in 26 games (23 starts)…allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 19 of his 23 starts.

Among Yankees farmhands, ranked second in wins, fifth in starts and sixth in innings pitched.

Began the season with Double-A Somerset, going 5-2 with a 2.36 ERA (42.0IP, 36H, 14R/11ER, 11BB, 38K, 4HR) in eight starts…was named the Eastern League “Pitcher of the Week” for 4/25-5/1 after allowing just 1H over 7.0 scoreless innings on 5/1 vs. Portland (W, 1BB, 6K).

Was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on 6/1 and went 6-2 with a 3.31 ERA (70.2IP, 59H, 26ER, 24BB, 53K, 5HR) in 18 games (15 starts).

Following the season, was named by Baseball America as having the “Best Control” among Yankees minor leaguers.

Was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster on 11/10.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Over parts of five minor league seasons in the Yankees organization (2016-17, ’19, ’21-22), has gone 26-21 with two saves and a 3.71 ERA (392.2IP, 375H, 196R/162ER, 81BB, 344K, 28HR) in 86 career appearances (70 starts).

Missed most of the 2017 minor league season and the entire 2018 season due to “Tommy John” surgery.

Was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 11/9/15.

MLB Preview: Atlanta Braves (2-0) at Washington Nationals (0-2)

Baseball
MLB

MLB Editor

April 2, 2023

MLB Preview: Atlanta Braves (2-0) at Washington Nationals (0-2)

ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:

TODAY’S GAME: The Braves and Nationals continue the 2023 season this afternoon with the finale of a three-game series…The teams will play 13 total games this season, with the next series coming at Truist Park in Atlanta from June 9-11.
• The Braves went 14-5 against the Nationals last season, the second consecutive season in which Atlanta won 14 of the 19 matchups between the
clubs…The Braves are 30-10 against the Nationals since the start of 2021.
• Atlanta has won the season set with Washington in each of the last five seasons dating to 2018, combing to go 56-31 versus the Nationals in that span.
• Atlanta scored 116 times in its 19 games against Washington last season, a year after outscoring the Nationals 101-73 (+28) in 2021…Last year marked the 11th time the Braves scored triple digits against a single team in a season since the turn of the century…The 2004 team has the most in that span, scoring 128 runs against the Expos.
• LH Jared Shuster, Atlanta’s top overall prospect as rated by MLB.com, is set to make his major league debut this afternoon…Originally selected by Atlanta in the first round (25th overall) of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft, Shuster has pitched to a 9-10 record and a 3.69 ERA (87 ER/212.1 IP) in 45 total appearances in the minors, including 42 starts…In six appearances this spring, including four starts, he compiled a 1-0 record and a 1.74 ERA (4 ER/20.2 IP)…Shuster is set to be the second starting pitcher in baseball to debut this season.
• LH Mackenzie Gore is set to make his Nationals debut after the club acquired him from San Diego as part of the Juan Soto trade last August…Gore made his major league debut in a start against Atlanta last season, and allowed three hits and two runs over 5.1 innings in a no-decision for San Diego…He entered the 2022 season rated as the Padres’ top prospect, and as the top left-handed pitching prospect in baseball by MLB.com.

SUCCESS IN WASHINGTON: The Braves win at Nationals Park yesterday moved the club to 27-7 (.794) in Washington since the start of the 2019 season.
• Atlanta has outscored Washington, 209-125, here in that span, and outhomered the Nationals, 72-26.
• The Braves pitching staff has compiled a 3.39 ERA (114 ER/302.1 IP) here in that span, and is allowing the Nationals to bat just .231/.313/.353 with a .667 OPS against them.
• The Braves’ 27-7 record here since 2019 is the best mark in the National League by any team in a single road city…St. Louis has the next-best record, going 26-7 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
• From 2014-2018, Atlanta went just 16-33 (.327) here at Nationals Park, including going winless in 10 games here in 2015.

DEBUT VS. WASHINGTON: LH Jared Shuster is set to make his major league debut this afternoon, and will become the eighth Braves pitcher to debut with a start against the Nationals/Expos.
• RH Bryce Elder was the last to debut against the franchise, doing so on April 12 of last season and allowing three runs over 5.2 innings to earn the win.
• Atlanta has won each of the last five games in which its pitcher made his debut against Washington, with the starters combining to go 3-0 with a 2.54 ERA (8 ER/28.1 IP) in those outings.
• Manny Bañuelos (2015), Kenshin Kawakami (2009), James Parr (2008), José Capellán (2004), Horacio Ramirez (2003) and Kevin Coffman (1987) all
made their respective debuts with starts against Washington/Montreal.

2020 DRAFT: With his debut this afternoon, Jared Shuster becomes the third member of Atlanta’s 2020 draft class to appear in the majors…RH Spencer Strider appeared for Atlanta in October of 2021, while RH Bryce Elder debuted for the club last April.
• The 2020 draft was shortened to just five rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Atlanta’s first-(Shuster), fourth- (Strider), and fifth-round (Elder) picks have now all appeared for the club.
• Atlanta did not have a second-round selection in the 2020 draft, meaning that 75% of the Braves’ picks from that year have now appeared in the majors for the club.
• No other team in baseball has had even two of their picks from the 2020 draft play in the majors… Shuster becomes the 10th player in total from that draft class to debut, and 30% of those players are with Atlanta.
• Strider and Elder have combined to produce 4.6 bWAR in the majors…The other seven players to have already appeared have combined for just 3.1 bWAR.

VERSUS LEFTIES: Atlanta is set to face LH Mackenzie Gore this afternoon, after beating LH Patrick Corbin on Opening Day.
• The Braves went 37-17 (.685) against left-handed starters last season, the third-best record in the majors…Only Houston (42-12, .778) and St. Louis (24-11, .686) were better.
• Since 2018, the Braves are 113-79 (.589) against lefty starters, the second-best mark in the National League…Only Los Angeles (148-82, .643) has been better.

DAY GAMES: All three games of this series against Washington, and four of the six games on the road trip, are scheduled to be played in the daytime.
• The Braves went 24-27 (.471) in day games last season, the 12th worst such record in the majors… In night games, however, the Braves led the majors with a .694 (77-34) winning percentage.

Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #45 Jared Shuster

Today’s Game
• Set to make his major league debut against Washington.
• Will be the third player from the Braves’ 2020 First-Year Player Draft to debut with the club.
• Joins Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder as the other hurlers from the ‘20 draft class to play for Atlanta.
• Will become the eighth Braves pitcher to debut with a start against the Nationals/Expos.
• Atlanta has won each of the last five games in which its pitcher made his debut against Washington, with the starters combining to go 3-0
with a 2.54 ERA (8 ER/28.1 IP) in those outings.
• Pitched to a 1.74 ERA in six appearances, four starts, with 19 strikeouts through 20.2 innings pitched in Spring Training.
• Began the Spring without allowing a run in his first four outings (12.2 IP).

2022 Recap
• Entered 2023 as Atlanta’s top overall prospect per MLB.com, and as the No. 3 farmhand by Baseball America.
• Split his second professional season between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett, combining to go 7-10 with a 3.29 ERA (51 ER/139.1 IP) between the two stops…Allowed 108 hits and 38 walks while fanning 145.
• Opened the season with Mississippi and pitched to a 6-7 record and a 2.78 ERA (28 ER/90.2 IP) in 17 total games and 16 starts, compiling a 0.96 WHIP and 10.5 strikeouts per 9.0 innings.
• Advanced to Gwinnett on July 26 and made his final 10 appearances with the Stripers, including nine starts…Went 1-3 with a 4.25 ERA (23 ER/48.2 IP) and 39 strikeouts.
• Pitched in the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game for the National League, and allowed two hits and one run over 1.1 innings…Fanned a pair.
• Was named a Southern League Post-Season All-Star for his season with Mississippi, and earned SL Pitcher of the Week honors on July 17.
• Pitched 7.0 scoreless innings in his only start that week, fanning a season high-tying 12 batters in a win over Rocket City.
• Garnered MiLB.com Organizational All-Star honors for the second consecutive season.
• Allowed no more than two runs in 21 of his 27 appearances on the season.

Career Recap
• Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round (25th overall) of the 2020 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
• In three seasons with Wake Forest, went 6-8 with a 6.17 ERA (88 ER/128.1 IP) in 41 appearances, 22 starts.
• Logged 169 career strikeouts against just 62 walks in 128.1 innings.
• His 12.4 strikeouts per 9.0 innings during his sophomore campaign rank as third most in program history.
• He missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery that February.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL NOTES:

SUNDAY FUNDAY
The Washington Nationals look to avoid a three-game sweep on Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves…The Nationals were swept twice by the Braves in 2022.
• Following this series, the Nationals will 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.

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).

RAKIN’ RUIZ
Keibert Ruiz is 4-for-8 (.500) with a double, homer, one RBI and one run scored across the first two games… He 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.
• This marks the second consecutive year in which Ruiz has collected four hits in the first two games of the season…He went 2-for-4 in both of his first two games of 2022 as well.

ON-BASE MACHINE
Victor Robles has reached base safely in five of his first seven plate appearances (.714 OBP) across the first two games…He’s recorded two hits with three walks and one run scored with zero strikeouts.

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.

OPENING DAY ROSTER
In addition to announcing their 26-man Opening Day roster, the Nationals made the following roster moves:
• Selected the contracts of left-handed pitcher Anthony Banda, infielder Michael Chavis, right-handed pitcher Hobie Harris and right-handed pitcher Chad Kuhl.
• Placed right-handed pitchers Víctor Arano (Right Shoulder Strain), Cade Cavalli (Tommy John Surgery), Tanner Rainey (Tommy John Surgery) and Stephen Strasburg (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) on the 60-day Injured List
• Placed third baseman Carter Kieboom (Right Shoulder Impingement) and catcher Israel Pineda (Right Finger Fracture) on the 10-day Injured list (retroactive to 3/27)

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #1 MACKENZIE GORE
Left-handed starter was acquired by Washington at the 2022 Trade Deadline…Entered 2020 as the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball and 2021 as the No. 10 prospect, according to Baseball America …Was cited by Baseball America as having the “Best Fastball” in San Diego’s system entering the 2022 season and the “Best Slider” in 2021 and 2018…Was the 2017 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year, just the second baseball player to win the award at the time (Dylan Bundy in 2011; Bobby Witt Jr. in 2019).

vs. ATLANTA
Made his Major League debut against Atlanta on April 15, 2022 (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, HR, 2 BB, 3 SO)…Struck out Ozzie Albiesto open the game for his first Major League strikeout…Also struck Albies out for his last out recorded in the top of the sixth inning.

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

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

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

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

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

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