
Narváez's three-run homer leads Red Sox past Yankees 11-7
NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Narváez put Boston ahead with a three-run homer against his former team in the sixth inning, and the Red Sox overcame two home runs by Aaron Judge in an 11-7 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday night.
Rafael Devers also went deep as Boston equaled a season high with five longballs to take two of three games at Yankee Stadium in the first series this season between the longtime rivals.
Narváez signed with the Yankees in 2015 and broke into the big leagues with them last year, getting into six games before New York traded him to Boston in December. The rookie catcher gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead by lifting a fastball from Carlos Rodón (8-4) into the left-field seats.
Judge hit a pair of two-run homers for his fourth multihomer game this season and the 43rd of his career. He connected in the first off rookie Hunter Dobbins (3-1) and again in the ninth, ending the night with a .396 batting average.
Boston rookie Kristian Campbell hit a two-run homer to the short porch in right field off Rodón in the fifth. Abraham Toro and Trevor Story hit back-to-back solo shots in the eighth off Jonathan Loaisiga.
RAYS 3, MARLINS 2
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yandy Díaz hit a tying two-run homer in the fifth inning and his double in the eighth led to the eventual winning run as Tampa Bay beat Miami.
Díaz homered off Miami reliever Valente Bellozo in the fifth, tying the game at 2. He doubled off Bellozo (1-3) with one out in the eighth and was replaced by pinch runner José Caballero, who stole third and scored on a Brandon Lowe's sacrifice fly off Calvin Faucher to make it 3-2.
Tampa Bay's Drew Rasmussen had his MLB-leading streak of 23 scoreless innings halted in the first. Xavier Edwards had a leadoff single and advanced two bases on a groundout by Jesús Sánchez when the Rays failed to cover third base. Otto Lopez had a streak-ending RBI single for a 1-0 lead.
Ronny Henriquez and Cade Gibson pitched a scoreless inningss following two shutout innings by Miami opener Anthony Veneziano. Bellozo walked Taylor Walls in the fifth before giving up Díaz's ninth home run that tied it at 2.
Marlins rookie Heriberto Hernandez got the start at DH a day after he drove in the winning run with a pinch hit in the 10th inning of Miami's 11-10 victory. He singled the first three times up. He led off the fifth with a hit off Rasmussen, took second on a two-out wild pitch and scored on a base hit by Sánchez for a 2-0 lead.
Rasmussen allowed two runs on six hits in six innings. He had won four straight starts and hadn't surrendered a run since losing to the Brewers on May 11. Edwin Uceta (5-1) struck out three in two perfect innings for the win.
The Rays and the Marlins (24-39) split six games this season after Tampa Bay (35-30) had won the season series six straight years.
GUARDIANS 4, ASTROS 2
CLEVELAND (AP) — Nolan Jones scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by pitcher Steven Okert in the seventh inning, and Cleveland beat Houston to avoid a three-game sweep.
Steven Kwan followed with a sacrifice fly, plating Bo Naylor, as Okert (1-2) allowed two runs in his lone inning. Houston had tied the game at 2-all in the top of the seventh on Cam Smith's two-run double against Tanner Bibee.
Cade Smith (2-2) retired all five batters he faced, striking out three. Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his 14th save.
Naylor matched his season high with three hits, including a two-run homer in the second off Brandon Walter. The Guardians had lost eight of their previous 12 games.
Walter, who was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier in the day, allowed two runs in six innings. Jake Meyers matched a career high with four hits for the Astros, who went 4-2 on a six-game trip and have won 10 of their last 14.
Bibee, who carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh, struck out six without a walk over 6 1/3 innings.
TIGERS 4, CUBS 0
DETROIT (AP) — Jack Flaherty struck out nine over six scoreless innings as Detroit defeated Chicago and took two of three games in a matchup of two of the MLB's top teams.
The AL Central-leading Tigers improved to 43-24, while the NL Central-best Cubs fell to 40-25 in the first matchup this season of 40-win teams. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, June 8 matched the earliest such matchup since 2004. The Yankees and Dodgers played the first such game of last season, also on June 8.
Flaherty (5-6) allowed two hits and three walks. After a rough start, the 29-year-old right-hander is 3-1 with a 1.46 ERA and 29 strikeouts in his last four starts.
Cubs rookie starter Cade Horton (3-1) took his first career loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings.
Detroit took a 2-0 lead on Spencer Torkelson's two-run double in the first and Flaherty retired the first nine batters he faced.
Chicago rallied in the fourth, getting four baserunners but failing to score. Ian Happ and Kyle Tucker led off with walks, and Pete Crow-Armstrong lined a one-out single to right. Right fielder Kerry Carpenter threw Happ out at the plate. Carson Kelly walked to load the bases before Parker Meadows made a jumping catch of Michael Busch's 107-mph liner to center.
The Tigers doubled the lead in the fifth on a two-run double by Riley Greene.
PIRATES 2, PHILLIES 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes again pitched into the eighth for Pittsburgh before Andrew McCutchen
came through with a go-ahead single
that inning, helping the Pirates complete a three-game sweep of Philadelphia.
Skenes lowered his ERA to 1.88 while his record remained at 4-6. The 23-year-old ace gave up one unearned run on two hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in 7 2/3 innings before getting pulled for Braxton Ashcraft (1-0), who got the final four outs for his first win in the majors.
Cristopher Sánchez (5-2) walked Oneil Cruz to start the Pirates' half of the eighth. McCutchen then hit a broken-bat single to right off Owen Kerkering and Cruz beat Nick Castellanos' throw home after stumbling around third.
The Phillies have lost five straight and nine of 10.
Skenes is 1-4 in his past eight starts, even with allowing five runs in 42 1/3 innings over his last six. He gave up one run in eight innings against Houston in his previous outing.
Sánchez surrendered two runs — the first on an RBI double from Jared Triolo in the second — and five hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings.
PADRES 1, BREWERS 0
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Manny Machado homered and Ryan Bergert combined with five relievers on a four-hitter as San Diego edged Milwaukee.
The victory enabled the Padres to win the series in Milwaukee before they return home to face the
reigning World Series champion
Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time this season.
Machado greeted Rob Zastryzny (1-1) by connecting on a 3-2 pitch and delivering a
425-foot drive
over the wall in left-center field for his third homer in his last four games.
It was the first run Zastryzny has allowed in 10 appearances this year.
Yuki Matsui (1-1) earned the win after pitching two-thirds of an inning in relief of Ryan Bergert, who worked 5 1/3 innings in his second career start.
Robert Suarez allowed a two-out single to Joey Ortiz before retiring Brice Turang on a pop to short to earn his MLB-leading 21st save in 23 opportunities.
Milwaukee left 10 men on base over the last five innings.
Neither team got a hit through the first 4 1/2 innings as Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta and Bergert were both outstanding. Milwaukee's first hit was a one-out single by Rhys Hoskins in the fifth. The Padres broke through on Tyler Wade's leadoff single in the sixth.
REDS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 2
CINCINNATI (AP) — Matt McLain broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run homer off Zac Gallen, and Cincinnati completed a three-game sweep with a win over Arizona.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jose Trevino also homered for the Reds (33-33), who got back to .500 for the first time since May 30.
Eugenio Suárez homered to center field for Arizona (31-34) against his former team in the second. Corbin Carroll had an RBI single in the third.
Reds starter Brady Singer went five innings, allowing two runs and five hits. He struck out three and walked three, leaving with the score tied 2-all.
Taylor Rogers (2-2) pitched two hitless innings for the win, and Tony Santillan worked a scoreless ninth for his second save.
Gallen (4-8) gave up four runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked three.
ROYALS 7, WHITE SOX 5
CHICAGO (AP) — Jonathan India hit a tiebreaking double in Kansas City's two-run seventh inning, and the Royals beat Chicago to avoid a series sweep.
Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. each hit a two-run homer for Kansas City, which had lost three of four. Jac Caglianone went 4 for 4 in
his sixth major league game
.
The Royals also got a big lift from Michael Lorenzen (4-6), who pitched six effective innings for his first win since April 29. The right-hander went 0-3 with a 6.89 ERA in his previous six starts.
Miguel Vargas homered and drove in three runs for Chicago, which had won three in a row, matching a season high.
Vargas drew a bases-loaded walk and Edgar Quero added an RBI single as the White Sox rallied for three runs in the ninth. But then Witt robbed Austin Slater of a run-scoring hit with a terrific diving catch at shortstop.
With two out and the bases loaded, Carlos Estévez earned his 19th save when he struck out Tim Elko swinging.
White Sox right-hander Mike Vasil allowed two runs and five hits over 3 1/3 innings in his first major league start.
Perez's fifth homer tied it at 2 in the fourth, and the Royals went ahead to stay in the seventh.
India drove in pinch-runner Drew Waters with a grounder down the third base line. After Witt popped out, Maikel Garcia made it 4-2 with an RBI single off Jordan Leasure.
Tyler Alexander (3-6) took the loss in his first game with Chicago, allowing one run and five hits in three innings. The lefty
signed a one-year deal
with the White Sox before the game.
DODGERS 7, CARDINALS 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Clayton Kershaw allowed one run in five innings to record his first win since last August, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat St. Louis to avoid a three-game sweep.
Kershaw (1-0) threw 82 pitches, gave up six hits,
struck out seven
and walked none. The 37-year-old left-hander had not struck out at least seven since June 8, 2023, at Cincinnati, and his last win was also at St. Louis, on Aug. 18, 2024.
Tommy Edman drove in three runs with two hits and a sacrifice fly, and Mookie Betts homered for the Dodgers. Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff double and went 1 for 4.
St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy (1-1) was 7 years old when Kershaw made his major league debut on May 25, 2008, against the Cardinals. The 24-year-old right-hander, recalled from Triple-A Memphis to make his first start this season, gave up four runs in six innings.
Edman had an RBI single and Hyeseong Kim hit a two-run triple to put LA ahead 3-0 in the second. Edman added a run-scoring double in the fourth.
St. Louis scored against Kershaw in the fifth on a two-out RBI double by Masyn Winn.
TWINS 6, BLUE JAYS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brooks Lee and Christian Vázquez hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning and Minnesota beat Toronto to avoid a sweep and snap a three-game skid.
Minnesota trailed 3-2 when Lee led off against Bowden Francis with his fifth homer. Vázquez followed with his second and the Twins were never behind again.
Joe Ryan (7-2) allowed three runs — two earned — and four hits in five innings to help the Twins end the Blue Jays' four-game winning streak. Brock Stewart, Cole Sands and Griffin Jax all followed with a scoreless inning. Jhoan Duran pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 11 opportunities.
Alan Roden doubled in a run in the second inning to give Toronto the lead, but Minnesota answered in its half with an RBI groundout from Vázquez and Trevor Larnach's sacrifice fly for a 2-1 lead.
Alejandro Kirk had an RBI single and George Springer doubled in a run to put Toronto ahead 3-2 in the third.
Mason Fluharty, who got the final two outs in the fourth, left with two on and one out in the fifth in favor of Erik Swanson. Ty France greeted Swanson with an RBI single for a 5-3 lead and Lee walked to load the bases. Swanson struck out Vázquez looking before Byron Buxton walked to set the final margin.
Francis (2-8) allowed four runs and five hits and five walks in 3 1/3 innings. Fluharty gave up two runs in an inning.
Toronto (35-30) was trying for its first sweep against Minnesota (35-30) at Target Field since 2013.
RANGERS 4, NATIONALS 2
WASHINGTON (AP) — Evan Carter and Jake Burger each finished a triple short of the cycle as Texas beat slumping Washington.
Carter hit a two-run homer, doubled and singled his first three times up, but struck out in the eighth inning. Burger doubled, flied out and singled before providing an insurance run with a homer in the eighth.
Jacob Webb (3-3), the second of five Texas pitchers in a bullpen game, threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win. Robert Garcia got four outs for his fourth save.
Alex Call homered and singled for the Nationals, who have scored only 11 runs in their past seven games. Nathaniel Lowe had three of their six hits.
Washington starter Trevor Williams (3-7) gave up three runs — two earned — and six hits in 4 1/3 innings.
GIANTS 4, BRAVES 3
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mike Yastrzemski drove in three runs as San Francisco extended its winning streak to five games with a victory over Atlanta.
The Giants swept the three-game series and sent the Braves to their seventh straight loss. Atlanta has lost 14 of its last 17 games and fell to 27-37, a season-low 10 games under .500.
San Francisco trailed 3-1 in the fourth when Yastrzemski sparked a three-run inning for the Giants. He tied the game with a two-out, two-run double down the right field line and scored on an error by the Braves' Ozzie Albies, who couldn't handle a ground ball by Tyler Fitzgerald to second.
Yastrzemski also had a sacrifice fly in the second that tied the game at 1, after the Braves scored in the first.
Matt Olson drove in all three runs for Atlanta. He knocked in a run with a fielders choice grounder in the first and had a two-run double the third that put Atlanta ahead.
MARINERS 3, ANGELS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — George Kirby struck out a career-high 14 during seven innings of two-hit ball, and Seattle snapped its five-game losing streak with a victory over Los Angeles.
Kirby (1-3) issued no walks while retiring both his first 11 and his final 10 batters. His strikeouts were the most by a Mariners pitcher
since James Paxton had 16 in May 2018
, and he matched Miami's Max Meyer for the most strikeouts in a major league game this season.
Donovan Solano drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth, and Randy Arozarena had an early RBI double among his three hits as the Mariners avoided a series sweep with their fourth win in 14 games.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in the fourth for the Halos, who struck out 18 times overall while losing for only the second time in six games.
Andrés Muñoz earned his 18th save, returning from a week off and rebounding from back-to-back blown save opportunities in which he allowed his first earned runs of the entire season.
METS 13, ROCKIES 5
DENVER (AP) — Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil each hit two of New York's six home runs, and the Mets routed Colorado to sweep the major league-worst Rockies for the second time in a week.
Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez also went deep for the Mets, who completed a 5-2 trip and finished 6-0 against Colorado (12-53) this season. They moved a season-best 18 games over .500 at 42-24 and opened a 4 1/2-game lead in the NL East over skidding Philadelphia.
Juan Soto went 3 for 3 with three walks and three runs on a perfect day at the plate, reaching base six times in a game for the first time in his career.
Alonso launched a pair of two-run shots for his 23rd multihomer game, breaking a tie with Darryl Strawberry for the most in Mets history.
ATHLETICS 5, ORIOLES 1
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Max Muncy homered and Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom each had two hits and an RBI as the Athletics beat Baltimore to win their first series in more than a month.
Sean Newcomb (1-4) struck out three in three scoreless innings in relief of starter Jacob Lopez for the win. Grant Holman pitched a scoreless eighth and Mason Miller tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to end it.
The A's last won a series May 2-4 when they took two of three against Miami. They hadn't won a series at home since they won two of three against the Chicago White Sox from April 25-27.
The Athletics took a 1-0 lead off Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano in the first inning after Lawrence Butler led off with a base hit before scoring on Soderstrom's two-out single.
A throwing error by catcher Jhonny Pereda on a pickoff attempt led to an unearned run off Lopez as the Orioles tied it in the second.
Pereda atoned for the errant throw with a go-ahead RBI double in the Athletics' second. Butler drove in a run on a fielder's choice before Wilson singled to make it 4-1.

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Blue Jays Reporter Opens Up About Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Shohei Ohtani in New Book
Blue Jays Reporter Opens Up About Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Shohei Ohtani in New Book originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Toronto Blue Jays aren't the MLB's most successful franchise, but there have been plenty of highlights in their 49-year history. The 1992 and '93 World Series wins, Joe Carter and José Bautista's bat flips, and the current era with superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have all entrenched the organization in the baseball pantheon. Advertisement However, the team has also partially been defined by failure, such as when it missed the playoffs in Guerrero's near-MVP season in 2021 and striking out in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes two years later. Toronto fans have experienced their fair share of pain, but Blue Jays beat reporter Keegan Matheson wrote a book that will take the old ones down memory lane and give the young ones perspective. The book, titled "The Franchise: Toronto Blue Jays," and releasing on Tuesday, covers everything from the franchise's inception to the current decade. It's branded as "A Curated History of the Jays," reading less like a history textbook and more like a mixture of the most iconic and never-before-told stories from different periods. Matheson, who has covered the team since 2017, spoke to Athlon Sports about the book, his thoughts on the 2025 Blue Jays, and more. Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr (27)Brad Penner-Imagn Images Josh Valdez: Why should Blue Jays fans be excited about your book, and what makes it different? Advertisement Keegan Matheson: I think this book, and I only really came to understand this as I wrote it, but it's a book about why people give a damn about this team. Whether it's growing up with a team or coming back from that for a lot of years, it's a book about the people and the moments that make this team matter to people. You know, whether you love them on any given night or you're angry that they lost 1-0, people deep down still love this team, and this team still matters to people in a really intimate and meaningful way. And it's even the same for me. Even though this job has made them mean something different to me, the Blue Jays have been a huge part of my life. So I hope that it connects with people in that regard and really gets the moments they care about. But the other thing I tried to do with this book was to not bore people. I think the keyword in the title is "Curated." It's the curated history of the Blue Jays. If this were just a history book, it would be 20 books long, and it would read like a school textbook, and it would be boring, because there are 50 years of history, and you can get into a million different things over 50 years of a Major League Baseball team. But I was able to be picky and be selective with the stories I wanted to tell. And the stories I included are ones that I was interested in, that I wanted to write about, that I wanted to talk to people about. So I hope that keeps people interested in where the team has I hope some of them are more fun than what I write on most nights. There are a lot of nights during the season when I'm writing that the Blue Jays lost 2-1, and the starting pitcher had a bad fastball, and that story is interesting for about 10 minutes. I told a few stories that are a little more engaging for people, they can last a little longer. It was really, really fun to write, but also part of writing this was recognizing that it's not every single story ever told. This book is part of, you know, all of the stories that have been told, but if I try to tell every single story, I don't think anyone would like this book. So I was able to be selective and try to get to what people would be really interested in. Advertisement Josh Valdez: What was the criterion for what made them good stories for you to include? Keegan Matheson: In one regard, I wanted some of these stories to be fresh. Now, there's always going to have to be a chapter for Joe Carter's home run. There will always have to be a chapter about Bautista's bat flip and those great teams of the mid-80s. And I've written those a hundred times, and I wrote it for a 101st time in this book, I hope more interesting than before, but those stories always matter. They're always going to matter. But I wanted to include some new stories as well, because, again, I really do see this book as just adding to the stories that have been told about the Blue Jays. This is not the first book written about this team, and it won't be the last. But I hope to add some things that haven't been written about before. That can be in terms of players' lives around this city, the experience of playing in Toronto, and playing in Canada. Some of these chapters focus on the COVID years. When I was on the road with the team, some of what they went through and some of my experience being on the road and what I had to do to cover the team in the U.S. and Dunedin and Buffalo, the chapters on Shohei Ohtani and that pursuit that I was there for and had some stories I've been saving about. So some of these stories are old stories from a new angle, but some of them, I hope, are brand new stories for people, and I wanted to balance that out, because there is such a rich history with this team, but it's still being created, too. There's still new stuff to add, and I think that's what makes a team like the Blue Jays exciting. They're no longer the new kids, we're coming up on half a century here. They're no longer the new team up in Canada, but I still think that new interesting things are happening, even if they aren't playoff wins, as much as people would love for me to have a chapter there about a new World Series, maybe one day. But I still think a lot of great stories are happening around this team, so I wanted to include some new stuff as well. Advertisement Josh Valdez: Can you get more specific on what about this organization merits writing this kind of book about? What gives the Blue Jays a unique edge in comparison to some other teams? Keegan Matheson: I think a fun part of the book for me was going back to a lot of years before I was covering the team, and even before I was alive. Going back to how this team was formed, playing at Exhibition Stadium. "The X" is...a lot of people remember it as a bit of a dump, and a lot of the players would agree with that, but there is this sense of pride where it's just like kind of their beat up first apartment, like that apartment you have in college that you still kind of love because it was yours. But moving from there to the Skydome to being that team in Canada, along with the [Montreal] Expos back then. And the idea of going from the new kid on the block to a team that actually belonged, I think, really interests me. Part of that was infrastructure. It was moving from a pretty terrible stadium. You know, [former Blue Jays president] Paul Beeston always says it wasn't just the worst stadium of baseball, it was the worst stadium in all of sports, and he was probably right. But moving into Skydome, which was like playing in space at the time. I don't appreciate it as much now as I should, but at the time, it was just an unbelievable marvel. And then winning the World Series and becoming a legitimate team. We still see that in other sports, I guess like the NHL is a better example, of expansion teams lately. Getting into the league is one part, but you need to win to be a legitimate team. Like that's how you get established. So that's fascinated me, but also the experience of players coming up to this team and coming up to play in Canada. I really loved talking to Buck Martinez about that. And the day that he first got traded to the Blue Jays in 1981, and his quotes are in the book, and they're probably a little more colorful than mine, but his reaction was just like "The Blue Jays are the best you can do? You're trading me to Toronto. Really?" And that was a lot of players' reactions. Like, "Are you kidding that you're sending me to Canada to play for that crappy Blue Jays team?" But then they got good, and everything changed. And how everything changed really fascinated me. Advertisement Those great teams of the 80s, Dave Steve, those great lineups, George Bell, kind of changed the perception around the team. I think they made people take the team seriously, because they were not taken seriously whatsoever when you're playing at a football stadium that's crowned in the middle, it was a bit of a mess early on. So I think that was a really fun part for me. Josh Valdez: Do you think learning about the history will help younger fans realize that it used to be a lot worse than it is right now? Keegan Matheson: Yeah, I think it matters in both directions, honestly. Like I was alive for '92 and '93, but I wasn't old enough to remember, and I won't pretend that I was. So a lot of this book for me was talking to players in that era, coaches, broadcasters, to understand it. And I think that's really important for younger fans, too, because there are a lot of fans, younger generation, if you're 25 and under, maybe 30 and under, where Bautista's bat flip was your moment. And that's really cool, but there have been a lot of other cool moments with this team. And in baseball, in particular, I think the history of a franchise really matters because you understand where they've come from. You understand the history and the lore that goes behind these players, uniforms, and these stadiums. I think that's what makes it so cool. It's what makes the Blue Jays matter, because they have one. They did go back to back. Joe Carter did hit that home run. They did have that incredible era where they were the hottest ticket in the country, and the entire baseball world was chasing the Blue Jays, and they couldn't catch them. And that's what makes it important right now, both the Blue Jays are losing because they need to get back to that, or even when the Blue Jays were winning in 2015 and 2016, they were still chasing that. And for younger fans who really got into the Blue Jays in '15 and '16 with Bautista, [Edwin] Encarnacion, [Josh] Donaldson, and all of those guys. Advertisement However fun that was for you, multiply that by 10,000. That's what it would have been in the early 90s for people, and there's an entire generation now of fans who don't remember that. Even if you're 40 years old, you would have been, what, nine, 10 years old around then, your memory's probably not the clearest. So a lot of Blue Jays fans, probably half of Blue Jays fans, don't really remember the World Series years. But I think learning about them and knowing about where the teams come from, back through Roy Halladay, back through Joe Carter, back through Dave Steve. It helps frame everything that happens today. Because when we talk about Vladdy being a great Blue Jay, well, who's he up against? Who does he need to be better than? I think stuff like that makes everybody a baseball fan, and it's something that I nerd out about anyway. I'm really interested in the history of the team, where they've come from. I'm happy to be covering the Blue Jays from the fancy Rogers Centre press box and not the Exhibition Stadium press box. It's probably a bit better spread in the one I cover them in. It's been fun to learn about that. Josh Valdez: You mentioned Vlad just now. Do you cover him and this era a decent amount in the book? Or is it more focused on past years? Keegan Matheson: Yeah, it's pretty evenly balanced in terms of time. Now, I start at Exhibition Stadium and how Skydome was built, which I really love writing, but I also include two chapters on Vladdy. The first chapter on Vladdy is about his prospect years, and it's just about his prospect years, because I think that's a big example of something that I had on my mind throughout this whole book. And it's the reason that I included the Shohei Ohtani chapter as well, because, yeah, it's over. He plays for the [Los Angeles] Dodgers, sorry. But I think that was an interesting enough story that I wanted to kind of cut it out and have it exist all by itself just to document it. So like that exists, and I can look back on it. Advertisement Vladdy's prospect years were the same. I don't think I'll ever see anything like Vladdy as a prospect. I really, I don't know if I covered this game 40 more years, I might not see another prospect like Vladdy. And it's one of the only times I can remember where the hitter was controlling what was happening in it at bat. It was unbelievable. So to talk to people, and even talking to John Schneider, who was his manager back then, he just sits and shakes his head. He's like, "Man, I'll never see anything like that. It only comes around every 20, 30 years." So I wanted there to be a Vladdy chapter that was just about that, so that I can kind of frame that in history, and it's always there. The next Vladdy chapter was about his 2021 season, in which he nearly won the MVP, and when that team almost made the playoffs I think that's a great tragedy of the era, that that team did not make the playoffs with Marcus Semiem and Teoscar Hernandez in that lineup. But that frames kind of the best of Vladdy at this point. And that was really fun to write and document. Charlie Montoyo, his teammates speaking about what a superstar looks like. Like one of the best seasons we've ever seen in Toronto. Now, going into present day, the book was obviously written well ahead of Vlady's extension, maybe that's a chapter we can add if we go to paperback eventually. But my big fear was that he would get traded or something and blow the whole book up. I keep thinking of Tim McMahon, the NBA reporter, whom I really respect. He wrote the Luka [Doncic] book, and boom, Luka gets traded. I lost sleep over something major happening like that, thankfully not. But yeah, two Vlad chapters that were really fun to write, and hopefully it gives me reason to write a third or a fourth or another book someday. Josh Valdez: Has the book changed your perspective on this season or just the present day? Do you feel like you're not as stressed anymore about stuff that could change or outdate the book now that Vlad's contract is locked in? Advertisement Keegan Matheson: Yeah, I do, and that was a big anxiety point for me because things can change very quickly. You know, one swing, one game, one parade changes everything. And I'm really happy with where it's landed, And because this window is still kind of open, I struggled with that a couple of times, like, should I write the story on this era of Blue Jays baseball, under Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins? We're still in it right now. And while it has not been good yet, they have not won a postseason game since 2016. I started covering the team in 2017. So, all I have covered are teams that don't show up in the postseason. But all they have to do is do that once. And whether I think that's going to happen or not, probably doesn't even matter at this point. The moment you break through, when the Blue Jays get hot and go on a run this year, next year, the year after, the last 10 years immediately don't matter anymore. Because when you have a moment like that, like '92 and '93, even like '15 and '16, those [latter two] teams didn't even go to the World Series, and I think they're forever going to be held up by a lot of people as a couple of the great Jays teams that really mean something to people, because they got them back into baseball, or they reminded them of how much they loved the team. All you've got to do is have a moment like that, and it can change everything. So I'm I'm happy with where it landed honestly, I don't even mean this as a marketing play. I genuinely mean that it changed this whole job for me, because it changed how I approached stories every day, it changed how I understand this team. It made me much happier doing this job. And it made me realize that, yeah, probably tomorrow or the next day, I might have to write a story about how somebody's curveball didn't work and it got hit a few times. That's fine, but that's factory work. By the next day, that story's not going to matter, but it made much more interested in the bigger stories around this team and the stories that have a little likes to them. And it reaffirmed for me, I guess, that those stories do matter, because when you have a moment like Joe Carter, that lasts forever. When you have a career like Dave Steve did, that lasts forever. Like Roy Halladay, like José Bautista with that one home run. I'll be 70 years old talking about the bat flip. It reminded me that those can come around anytime, even though it's been a rough decade for the Blue Jays, if just one of those moments come around, you forget about everything else. Advertisement Josh Valdez: And what do the Jays have to do, in your opinion, to finally get back to the mountaintop? Keegan Matheson: They need to develop some sort of identity. I keep going back to that 2021 team, which was one of the best lineups we will ever see in Toronto, period. They had Semien having an all-time season. Vladdy was playing MVP-caliber baseball. There's not always going to be Shohei Otani to win it in front of him. He was playing like an MVP, and you had a lineup that was threatening from top to bottom, because it had power. And the Blue Jays have gotten away from that. Right now, they're a team that is stuck in a lot of 2-1, 3-2 games. And when you're playing that type of baseball, you need to be perfect. because one mistake can send it sideways. When you're playing a game like they played in 2021, and I'd argue even like '15 or '16, you can make five mistakes. You can completely screw up, but if someone hits a three-run home run, guess what I'm writing about, the three run home run and a win. So I think they need to get back to more of an identity, and identity is usually based on offense, which hasn't been there lately. So you can not only get out to lead, but chase teams down if they get a lead on you, and I don't see that lately. That's why we've seen three trips to the postseason go 0-2, 0-2, and 0-2. And each one has come with an extra layer of heartbreak. There was the José Berrios decisoin in Minnesota. There was the meltdown against the [Seattle] Mariners at home. Like they haven't just been losses, they've been tough losses. Those stick with you. But in order for them to shake that off, I think they need more life offensively. And since 2021, the reason I bring that up is that it seems like they've pivoted away from that. Like, it kind of spooked them a little bit, but I think that's the way. Because the 2021 team, I really believe this, and I'll tell you a lot of players and coaches really believe this, that if they had have gotten into the postseason that year, they were going on a run. Like, I think they could have been a World Series team, period. And they just, just missed. Advertisement Josh Valdez: Lastly, who's a Blue Jays player, either that's in the book or not, that you feel like is underappreciated in the fan base? Keegan Matheson: Oh, great question. I think of a couple of answers here, but I don't think that Dave Steve gets enough attention or respect from newer Blue Jays fans. And Blue Jays fans who were around in the 70s, 80s, 90s, they will talk your ear off about Dave Steve because they watched him pitch. But I think that anyone around my age, even 40 and under, I don't hear enough about Dave Steve. There's a couple of reasons for that, and one is that Dave Steve has not kept himself present or public-facing, and I write about that in the chapter. That's okay, that's his choice. If I had to deal with reporters for 20 years, I would probably ride off into the sunset and hide in a log cabin myself. Totally his choice, and that's okay. But a lot of former players who we see them more on TV or doing radio appearances, they kind of stay in the public consciousness. But with Steve, talking to his catchers and other players, like I talked to Buck Martinez, talked to Ernie Witt about him, Pat Borders about him, the three men who caught him the most. And Buck Martinez, the first thing out of his mouth, he said "Best right-handed pitcher the Blue Jays ever had." And it's the team that had Roy Halliday for a decade. People talked about Dave Steve in ways that surprised me and ways that were really fascinating to hear. Now, yes, he would blame his infielers for every error, and he had evil eyes. He would stare two laser beams through your chest if he screwed up behind him, absolutely. But I think he was not just a dominant pitcher, but a fascinating character as well. Advertisement A lot of this book was around reading old archival newspaper coverage or archival magazines, Sports Illustrated, other weeklies and monthlies. And it was a big lesson for me that players were a lot more open back in the day. And I understand why, but some interviews and conversation with Steve I would read just really opened my eyes to a guy who was kind of battling with the spotlight, and he knew that spotlight was there because he was great. But greatness and the attention that comes with it is not always comfortable for people. I see someone on the other side of this, like Joe Carter, who is at events, and he has embraced it. He'll talk to every single person like it's the first time he's ever talked about that home run. Not everyone's that way. So hearing old teammates talk about Dave Steve, even old hitters who faced him, I think, made me appreciate just how great he was. He did deserve, and he still deserves a much larger conversation about the Hall of Fame. Whether he's worthy or not is still very much up for debate, but even if he's just closer than he's been, that's still something that deserves to be talked about, because he fell off that ballot, and I don't think that we have the proper conversation about him. Because Steve was a more modern pitcher than the 80s would suggest. Like, he's a guy who you could drop in today, and he'd have success. You know, Buck Martinez said he was throwing a sweeper before it was a sweeper. Like he had that incredible, incredible slider, and he represents the generational divide among Blue Jays fans for me, because fans who were around to watch him pitch will go on and on about Dave Steve, and they really should. But younger fans, I think they're just not exposed to as many Dave Steve highlights. They don't see him on TV, they don't hear as much about him. And that's something I hope can be a little more alive in the minds of the Blue Jays fans, because it's really too bad Steve pitched in the era that, you know, you didn't have three teams getting a free pass into the playoffs with the Wild Card. I wish there were more opportunities for him and those great 80s teams, that would have changed everything. But still, someone who I think deserves, even a guy who's considered one of the greatest Blue Jays of all time, I still think he deserves a much larger place in the Jays' history conversation. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jose Berrios Had 4 Words After Blue Jays' Win Over Cardinals
Jose Berrios Had 4 Words After Blue Jays' Win Over Cardinals originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Toronto Blue Jays fans finally have plenty to be excited about. After meandering around .500 for most of the season, the club is now 36-30 after their 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, tied for second place in the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays. Advertisement Starting pitcher Jose Berrios tossed a four-hit shutout in 6.2 innings vs. St. Louis before the bullpen blew the lead in the eighth. However, center fielder Jonatan Clase hit a 415-foot solo homer to center to tie the game at 4-4 in the ninth, and catcher Alejandro Kirk hit a go-ahead RBI double in the 10th. Closer Jeff Hoffman then secured his 16th save of the season. Berrios sounded off about the win postgame, via Keegan Matheson. Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios (17)© Jeff Curry-Imagn Images "That's a playoff game," the 31-year-old said. He also mentioned that the win reveals the makeup of the clubhouse. Berrios is now 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 14 starts this season. The Minnesota Twins selected Berrios No. 32 overall in the 2012 MLB Draft. They promoted the right-hander to the big leagues in April 2016, and he made the All-Star team in 2018 and 2019. He pitched 12 total playoff innings with Minnesota, totaling five earned runs and 14 strikeouts. Advertisement The Twins then traded Berrios to the Blue Jays in July 2021, and he won the Gold Glove award in 2023. The 6-foot, 205-pounder made one playoff start for Toronto that season, totaling one earned run on three hits in three innings. The Blue Jays are now 8-2 in their last 10 games. Related: Phillies' Rob Thomson Announces J.T. Realmuto News After Blue Jays Game Related: Blue Jays Reporter Opens Up About Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Shohei Ohtani in New Book This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.


Fox Sports
26 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
How to Watch Padres vs. Dodgers: TV Channel & Live Stream
Data Skrive Luis Arraez and the San Diego Padres will play Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers at PETCO Park in the second of a three-game series, Tuesday at 9:40 p.m. ET. Here's everything you need to know to watch the Padres vs. Dodgers matchup. Keep up with MLB on FOX Sports. Check out the top moments from this MLB game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres! Padres vs. Dodgers Game Information & How to Watch When: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 9:40 p.m. ET Where: PETCO Park in San Diego, California TV: Watch on SDPA, SportsNet LA Box Score: Fox Sports Padres vs. Dodgers Prediction Score Prediction: Padres 5, Dodgers 4 Total Prediction: Under 8.5 runs Win Probabilities: Padres 50%, Dodgers 50% Padres vs. Dodgers Head to Head Date Favorite Spread Total Favorite Moneyline Underdog Moneyline Result 6/9/2025 Dodgers -1.5 8 -127 +107 8-7 LAD 10/11/2024 Dodgers -1.5 8 -147 +123 2-0 LAD 10/9/2024 Padres -1.5 8 -137 +116 8-0 LAD 10/8/2024 Padres -1.5 7.5 -147 +124 6-5 SD 10/6/2024 Dodgers -1.5 8 -148 +125 10-2 SD 10/5/2024 Dodgers -1.5 8 -139 +117 7-5 LAD 9/26/2024 Dodgers -1.5 8.5 -111 -108 7-2 LAD 9/25/2024 Dodgers -1.5 8 -139 +119 4-3 LAD 9/24/2024 Dodgers -1.5 8.5 -120 +101 4-2 SD 7/31/2024 Padres -1.5 7 -138 +117 8-1 SD Padres Last 10 Game Stats Stat Avg/Total Record 5-5 Runs Per Game 3 HR 4 ERA 2.80 K/9 7.8 Padres Player Insights Manny Machado is the Padres best hitter so far this season, hitting at a team-leading .320 rate along with 10 homers and 34 RBI. Including all MLB hitters, Machado ranks sixth in batting average, 17th in on-base percentage, and 15th in slugging. Machado brings a hitting streak of seven games into this matchup. During his last 10 games he is batting .350 with a double, four home runs, three walks and nine RBIs. Fernando Tatis Jr. has hit 13 home runs to pace his team. Tatis is 20th in homers in the majors, and 96th in RBI. Arraez is batting .274 with 13 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 12 walks. Gavin Sheets has capitalized on opportunities as he paces his team with 38 runs batted in. Padres Recent & Upcoming Games Dodgers Last 10 Game Stats Stat Avg/Total Record 5-5 Runs Per Game 5.3 HR 14 ERA 3.96 K/9 7.8 Dodgers Player Insights Ohtani has swatted a team-leading 23 long balls. Among all hitters in the majors, Ohtani's home run total is second and his RBI tally ranks 26th. Ohtani carries a six-game hitting streak into this matchup. In his last 10 games he is hitting .275 with two doubles, a home run, four walks and two RBIs. Mookie Betts has seven doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 29 walks while hitting .272. Among all MLB batters, Betts ranks 65th in homers and 61st in RBI. Freddie Freeman paces the Dodgers' lineup with a .351 batting average. Andy Pages is batting .290 with 10 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 13 walks. Dodgers Recent & Upcoming Games FOX Sports created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience San Diego Padres Los Angeles Dodgers recommended