Rangers look to break skid in matchup with the Yankees
Texas Rangers (25-25, third in the AL West) vs. New York Yankees (29-19, first in the AL East)
New York; Thursday, 12:35 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 1.61 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 65 strikeouts); Yankees: Carlos Rodon (5-3, 3.17 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 72 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Yankees -159, Rangers +135; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers head into the matchup against the New York Yankees after losing three in a row.
New York is 29-19 overall and 17-9 at home. The Yankees are first in the majors with 83 total home runs, averaging 1.7 per game.
Texas is 25-25 overall and 8-15 in road games. The Rangers have a 12-1 record in games when they scored at least five runs.
The teams play Thursday for the third time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cody Bellinger has eight doubles, a triple and eight home runs for the Yankees. Aaron Judge is 17 for 40 with three doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.
Josh Smith has four doubles, a triple, four home runs and 11 RBIs for the Rangers. Josh Jung is 14 for 38 with four home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Yankees: 7-3, .260 batting average, 3.30 ERA, outscored opponents by 25 runs
Rangers: 6-4, .225 batting average, 2.66 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs
INJURIES: Yankees: Oswaldo Cabrera: 10-Day IL (ankle), Jazz Chisholm: 10-Day IL (side), Giancarlo Stanton: 60-Day IL (elbow), Marcus Stroman: 15-Day IL (knee), JT Brubaker: 60-Day IL (ribs), Jake Cousins: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gerrit Cole: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Gil: 60-Day IL (back)
Rangers: Jonah Heim: day-to-day (hand), Chris Martin: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Evan Carter: 10-Day IL (undisclosed), Corey Seager: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Kumar Rocker: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Cody Bradford: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jon Gray: 60-Day IL (wrist), Josh Sborz: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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Los Angeles Times
16 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
The Sports Report: It's bad news, good news for UCLA
From Tim Willert: UCLA's run at the Women's College World Series ended Sunday, two innings after Bruins slugger Megan Grant extended it. Laura Mealer's bases-loaded, walk-off single to right field in the bottom of the ninth propelled Tennessee to a 5-4 win and a semifinal meeting with Texas at 9 a.m. PDT Monday. The Volunteers (47-16) did what UCLA couldn't in the ninth: deliver with the bases loaded. The Bruins got singles from Savannah Pola and Jordan Woolery followed by an intentional walk to Grant. But Alexis Ramirez grounded out to first to end the inning. Taylor Pannell hit a deep fly to left field to lead off Tennessee's half of the ninth, a ball that caromed off Rylee Slimp's glove and hit the white padding on the top of the wall but didn't leave the field. The play was reviewed and ruled a double. Mealer, who knocked in two runs in the first inning to give the Volunteers an early 2-0 lead, delivered again, this time on a 2-2 pitch from Taylor Tinsley, who came on in relief of UCLA starter Kaitlyn Terry. 'Just a great battle to the end,' UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. 'I could not be more proud. Period. Just the ability for us to be able to fight, the ability for us to come back, the epic [rally], just down to the last pitch ... there's something about what UCLA softball can do, with your backs against the wall and just rising to the occasion creates some amazing memories.' Continue reading here All Times Pacific Conference finals Western Conference No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 6 Minnesotaat Oklahoma City 114, Minnesota 88 (box score)at Oklahoma City 118, Minnesota 103 (box score)at Minnesota 143, Oklahoma City 101 (box score)Oklahoma City 128, at Minnesota 126 (box score)at Oklahoma City 124, Minnesota 94 (box score) Eastern Conference No. 3 New York vs. No. 4 IndianaIndiana 138, at New York 135 (OT) (box score)Indiana 114, at New York 109 (box score)New York 106, at Indiana 100 (box score)at Indiana 130, New York 121 (box score)at New York 111, Indiana 94 (box score)at Indiana 125, New York 108 (box score) NBA FINALS West No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. Indiana Thursday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABCSunday, June 8 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABCWed., June 11 at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABCFriday, June 13 at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABCMonday, June 16 at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABC*Thursday, June 19 at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC*Sunday, June 22 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC* *if necessary From Jack Harris: Dave Roberts downplayed the easy narrative on Sunday afternoon. 'No,' he said when asked if his Dodgers had the New York Yankees' proverbial number, having followed up their defeat of the Bronx Bombers in last year's World Series with two impressive wins to start this weekend's rematch at Dodger Stadium. 'I think we've had their number the last two nights,' Roberts said, 'but today's a different day.' Was it ever. Twenty-four hours after a total annihilation of the Yankees in a 16-run rout on Saturday, the Dodgers suffered the kind of setback that has so often plagued them this season, squandering the chance to build further momentum in a 7-3 loss that prevented a series sweep. Continue reading here Going bananas: Why Savannah Bananas tickets cost more than a Dodgers-Yankees rematch Hernández: How Japan media track down Ohtani's home-run balls Dodgers box score MLB scores MLB standings José Ramírez homered during a three-run fourth inning, Gavin Williams gave up only one hit in 6⅔ innings and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Angels 4-2 on Sunday. Ramírez extended Cleveland's lead to 2-0 when he connected on a slider from Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz (3-7) and put it into the stands in right-center for his team-leading 11th homer to lead off the fourth. Nolan Jones added a two-run single with the bases loaded for the other runs in the inning as the Guardians took two of three games in the weekend series. Continue reading here Angels box score MLB scores MLB standings From Benjamin Royer: UCLA baseball is one step closer to earning a trip to Omaha. The Bruins continued to roll in every facet of the game in the Los Angeles Regional final, scoring early and trusting their bullpen to defeat UC Irvine 8-5 on Sunday night. The Bruins advance to the super regionals of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019 and will host the Texas San Antonio at Jackie Robinson Stadium this week. UTSA defeated Texas 7-4 in the Austin Regional final, taking down the national second-seed Longhorns to advance to its first-ever super regional. If UCLA beats UTSA, it'll advance to the College World Series in Omaha for the first time since 2013. Continue reading here From Shotgun Spratling: USC baseball wanted to be aggressive knowing it was entering a hostile environment, playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,347 at Goss Stadium. The Trojans tried to set the tone early. Instead, it backfired, costing them early opportunities, early momentum and ultimately Sunday night's matchup in a 14-1 loss to Oregon State in the Corvallis Regional final. USC has a chance for redemption Monday as Oregon State's win forces a winner-take-all regional final at 3 p.m. PDT (ESPNU). Continue reading here From Benjamin Royer: In the game early Sunday that advanced UC Irvine to the Sunday night game against UCLA.... Under threat of elimination, UC Irvine's bats emerged once again. Bringing the power for a second straight game, the Anteaters connected for five home runs Sunday, eliminating Arizona State 11-6 in the Los Angeles Regional of the NCAA baseball tournament. Needing to win four straight games to advance to the super regionals after losing to Arizona State on Friday, UC Irvine is halfway to its goal. Alonso Reyes — who had just one home run in 2025 entering Sunday's game — ripped a two-run home run off of Sun Devils starter Derek Schaefer in the fourth inning. Later in the inning, after Arizona State coach Willie Bloomquist went with Lucas Kelly out of the bullpen, Chase Call cleared the batter's eye in dead center field for a two-run home run to give the Anteaters a 6-1 lead. Continue reading here From Anthony De Leon: Sunday's matchup between the Sparks and Phoenix Mercury felt like déjà vu. When the Sparks faced Phoenix last month, the game ended with a failed Sparks comeback. In a twist of fate, Sunday's comeback belonged to Phoenix. Unable to stay ahead after building an 18-point lead, the Sparks fell 85-80 to the Mercury at Arena for their third consecutive loss. As with the first meeting, the third quarter proved to be the Sparks' undoing. After scoring just seven points in the third quarter of their loss to Phoenix on May 21, the Sparks were outscored 24-9 in the third Sunday. Continue reading here Sparks box score WNBA standings We asked readers of of our Sports Report and USC newsletters: Could a smoother path to the College Football Playoff be worth losing the USC-Notre Dame rivalry? After 1,154 votes, Yes, 17.6%No, 82.4% All times Pacific STANLEY CUP FINALS P3 Edmonton vs. A3 FloridaWednesday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNTFriday, June 6 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNTMonday, June 9 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNTThursday, June 12 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNTSaturday, June 14 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT*Tuesday, June 17 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT*Friday, June 20 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT* * If necessary 1896 — Hastings, ridden by H. Griffin, edges Handspring by a neck to capture the Belmont Stakes. 1908 — Royal Tourist, ridden by Eddie Dugan, posts a four-length victory over Live Wire in the Preakness Stakes. 1909 — Joe Madden, ridden by Eddie Dugan, wins the Belmont Stakes by eight lengths over Wise Mason. 1935 — French Championships Men's Tennis: Englishman Fred Perry wins his only French title, beating Gottfried von Cramm of Germany 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. 1947 — After a six-year layoff, 13-year-old Honey Cloud wins the second race at Aqueduct. His jockey, Clarence Minner, takes his first ride in 10 years. 1962 — French Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Margaret Smith beats doubles partner Lesley Turner 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. 1971 — European Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: Ajax beats Panathinaikos, 2-0; Dutch champions begin 3-year period of domination. 1985 — Nancy Lopez beats Alice Miller by eight strokes to win the LPGA championship. 1991 — Andrettis finish 1-2-3 in the Miller 200 at Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway in Milwaukee. Mario Andretti finishes third, his son Michael wins the race and his nephew John finished second. 1996 — Annika Sorenstam closes with a 4-under 66 to win her second consecutive U.S. Women's Open. Sorenstam's 8-under 272 is the best ever in the Open. 2002 — Annika Sorenstam matches the LPGA record for margin of victory in a 54-hole event while winning the inaugural Kellogg-Keebler Classic. Sorenstam finishes at 21-under 195 to win by 11 strokes. 2005 — Jockey Russell Baze records his 9,000th career victory aboard Queen of the Hunt in the eighth race at Golden Gate Fields. 2007 — Daniel Gibson scores a career-high 31 points as Cleveland beats Detroit 98-82 to advance to the NBA Finals. The Cavaliers are the third team to come back from an 0-2 deficit in a conference finals, joining the 1971 Baltimore Bullets and 1993 Chicago Bulls. 2008 — Pittsburgh outlasts Detroit 4-3 in three overtimes of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals. Petr Sykora scores at 9:57 of the third overtime ending the fifth-longest finals game in NHL history. 2011 — Dirk Nowitzki makes the tie-breaking layup with 3.6 seconds left, and the Dallas Mavericks roar back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 95-93 and tie the NBA finals at one game apiece. The Mavs outscore the Heat 22-5 down the stretch and pull off the biggest comeback win in an NBA finals since 1992. 2019 — US Open Women's Golf, CC of Charleston: Lee Jeong-eun of South Korea wins her first major title; beats runners-up Lexi Thompson, Agel Yin and Ryu So-yeon by 2 strokes. 1928 — Les Bell of the Boston Braves hit three home runs and a triple at Braves Field, but the Cincinnati Reds came away with a 20-12 triumph. 1928 — The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1. All the runs came from three pinch-hit home runs. 1941 — Lou Gehrig died in New York at age 37. 1949 — The Philadelphia Phillies hit five homers in the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds. Andy Seminick hit two and Del Ennis, Willie Jones, and Schoolboy Rowe hit one apiece. Seminick had homered earlier in the game. 1959 — The Baltimore Orioles-Chicago White Sox game at Comiskey Park was delayed for nearly half an hour as a swarm of gnats overcame the field. Groundskeepers tried using bug sprays and torches, but the gnats wouldn't budge. A postgame fireworks display was brought in from center field and a smoke bomb was attached to the framework. The gnats left and the Orioles defeated the White Sox, 3-2. 1990 — Randy Johnson pitched the first no-hitter in the Seattle Mariners' history as he beat the Detroit Tigers 2-0. The 6-foot-10 left-hander, walked six and struck out eight while pitching the first no-hitter at the Kingdome, which opened for baseball in 1977. 1996 — Houston starter Darryl Kile tied the modern major league record by hitting four batters in a 2-0 loss at St. Louis, and the first to do it in the NL since Moe Drabowsky in 1957. 2000 — Tampa Bay's Fred McGriff hit his 400th career home run, but the Devil Rays lost to the Mets 5-3. 2000 — Rick Aguilera of the Chicago Cubs became the 13th pitcher with 300 saves in a 2-0 win over Detroit. Aguilera reached the mark in 614 career appearances, third quickest. 2002 — Philadelphia pitcher Robert Person drove in seven runs with a grand slam and a three-run homer in an 18-3 win over Montreal. Person had just come off the disabled list and collected his first win of the season. 2005 — Kansas City completed a sweep of the New York Yankees with a 5-2 victory. The Royals, who have the worst record and second-lowest payroll in the major leagues, finished their first three-game sweep of the Yankees at home in 15 years. 2009 — Dan Uggla of the Marlins became the fastest second baseman to 100 homers in Florida's 10-3 win over Milwaukee. Uggla's two-run shot in the bottom of the second came in his 502nd game as a second baseman, beating Alfonso Soriano to 100 by 34 games. 2010 — Ken Griffey Jr. announces his retirement after 22 seasons in the major leagues. Hitting only .184 in part-time duty for the Mariners, he retires with 630 career home runs and six seasons of 40 or more homers. Most of his career was spent with Seattle and the Cincinnati Reds. 2010 — Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers lost his bid for a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning on a call that first base umpire Jim Joyce later admitted he blew. First baseman Miguel Cabrera cleanly fielded Jason Donald's grounder to his right and made an accurate throw to Galarraga covering the bag. The ball was there in time, and all of Comerica Park was ready to celebrate the 3-0 win over Cleveland, until Joyce emphatically signaled safe. 2011 — Aubrey Huff hit three home runs and matched his career best with six RBIs and the San Francisco Giants posted a 12-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Huff hit two-run homers in the fourth and ninth and a solo shot in the seventh. 2015 — In a memorable major league debut, Rangers 3B Joey Gallo hits a two-run homer in his second at-bat on the way to collecting 3 hits and 4 RBIs in leading Texas to a 15-2 beating of the White Sox. 2017 — Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers records his 2,000th career strikeout. 2018 — Jacob deGrom matches a career high set just two weeks earlier by racking up 13 strikeouts in 7 innings in a start against the Cubs. Compiled by the Associated Press That concludes today's newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you'd like to see, email me at To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
New York Times
34 minutes ago
- New York Times
Presenting the Twins' All-Quarter Century Team, the best in Minnesota since 2000
Editor's note: The Athletic is marking 2025 by naming an MLB All-Quarter Century Team, selected by Jayson Stark. Some of our beat writers are picking All-Quarter Century Teams for the teams they cover. Check this page to find all of our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Postseason success has been maddeningly elusive, but the Minnesota Twins have the 12th-best record in MLB since 2000, going 2,015-1,991 (.503) while finishing with a winning record in 15 of 25 completed seasons and reaching the playoffs in 10 of them. Advertisement That includes the final two years of Tom Kelly's managerial career, followed by 13 seasons of Ron Gardenhire (.507), four seasons of Paul Molitor (.471) and Rocco Baldelli (.526) for the past seven years. And, of course, there was a venue change in 2010, with the move from the Metrodome to Target Field. Today we're selecting a Twins All-Quarter Century Team consisting of 10 hitters (nine lineup regulars and one utility player) and six pitchers (five starters and one closer) who were Minnesota's best players from 2000 to 2025. Longevity matters and pre-2000 performances aren't factored in. Here are the highest WAR totals by a Twins catcher since 2000, according to FanGraphs: 8.3 — Joe Mauer, 2009 6.5 — Joe Mauer, 2008 5.8 — Joe Mauer, 2006 5.7 — Joe Mauer, 2010 5.0 — Joe Mauer, 2013 4.6 — Joe Mauer, 2012 No other Twins catcher reached 4.0 WAR in any season from 2000 to 2025. Mauer was the Twins' starting catcher for 10 years, from 2004 to 2013, when a concussion ended a spectacular decade behind the plate in which the first-ballot Hall of Famer hit .323/.405/.468 for a 134 wRC+ and 46.3 WAR, with three batting titles, three Gold Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, six All-Star appearances and the 2009 American League MVP. In the 11 seasons since Mauer ceased catching (2014 to 2025), all Twins catchers have combined to hit .236/.308/.389 for a 91 wRC+ and 18.1 WAR. This was a pretty easy one. — Aaron Gleeman The catcher who has always called Minnesota home gets the call of a lifetime. Joe Mauer, you've made it to Cooperstown. 🎥 Emily Meisinger/@Twins — National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) January 24, 2024 Another shoe-in. Following the departure of Torii Hunter to the Los Angeles Angels in 2008, Mauer and Morneau made the Twins relevant again. They ushered in a new era at Target Field, one which held so much promise until both sustained career-altering concussions. Morneau's run from 2006-10 included the AL MVP in 2006 and a runner-up AL MVP finish in 2008. And he potentially had an AL MVP award robbed in 2010 when he took a knee to the head while sliding into second base, thus ending the best season of his career with a .345/.437/.645 line in 81 games. Advertisement Even though injuries slowed the back half of his career and eventually led to a trade, Morneau produced 19.9 WAR for the Twins, more than doubling their next-best first baseman (Doug Mientkiewicz, 8.2). — Dan Hayes Perhaps three-time batting champion Luis Arraez would have at least made an argument for this spot if he hadn't moved more to first base and been traded for Pablo López. But nobody comes close to Dozier's production, including the 167 homers he belted between 2012-18. Dozier was one of the few bright spots during a 99-loss campaign in 2016, setting the AL record for round-trippers by a second baseman with 42. He was an All-Star in 2015, won a Gold Glove Award in 2017 and was a key leader in the clubhouse for a young wave of talent arriving in the latter part of his Twins tenure. — Hayes Koskie improved from borderline unplayable at third base — to the point Kelly would use him in left field — to become one of the best defensive third baseman in baseball, while posting an OPS at least 10 percent better than the league average in all six of his full seasons with the Twins. Koskie is one of the most underrated position players in team history, ranking 12th in WAR among Twins hitters, ahead of many far bigger names. But he was very good every season, occasionally great, and his combination of left-handed power and plate discipline with above-average defense never goes out of style. — Gleeman Jorge Polanco is the Twins' WAR leader at shortstop for the 2000s, but he holds only a slight lead over Correa in nearly double the number of games played. While Correa's tenure has been hampered by bouts of plantar fasciitis in each foot, he's simply been a great addition to the franchise. No matter how he seems to be feeling physically, Correa's sure-handed, strong-armed defense is a sight to behold. His potent bat has carried the lineup in two of his first three seasons in town, the other being slowed by his first foot injury. Advertisement But Correa's biggest impact could be felt late in 2023 when he finally had a chance to rest his foot and balled out in the postseason, going 9-for-22 (.409), providing heady defense and helping the team end its two-decade postseason losing streak. — Hayes The only negative about Hunter's Twins tenure was that it ended. Hunter's arrival in 1999 with several other young core members marked the start of a turnaround after several years of struggle in the wake of Kirby Puckett's early retirement. The Twins flourished with Hunter, averaging 83 wins in his 10 full seasons, winning at least 90 games and the division four times. Hunter's defense was excellent, as demonstrated by the seven Gold Glove Awards he won with the Twins, and he was a major presence in the lineup, averaging 25 homers and 90 RBIs from 1999-2007. Hunter also managed to be a big postseason performer, hitting .300/.337/.538 in 21 games. — Hayes An epic moment in @AllStarGame history. 19 years ago, @toriihunter48 robbed @BarryBonds. 😱 — MLB Vault (@MLBVault) July 9, 2021 We avoided the difficult decision of leaving Hunter (23.0 WAR) or Buxton (24.2 WAR) off the 2000s team by going with three positionless outfielders rather than choosing one in left, center and right. Copout? Maybe, but Hunter and Buxton are clearly both deserving of places on this team. Plus, who wouldn't want to watch them playing alongside each other and robbing hits in the same outfield? (Other than opposing batters, of course.) — Gleeman Cuddyer gets the slight nod over Max Kepler for the third outfield spot. Kepler has a big edge defensively, although Cuddyer's great arm and ability to play caroms off the Metrodome baggy were plenty valuable as well. And Cuddyer (110 wRC+) was simply a better hitter than Kepler (102 wRC+) while also playing longer for the Twins. In fact, only Mauer, Morneau and Hunter have more games in a Twins uniform in the 2000s. — Gleeman Advertisement The Twins hoped for but never could have imagined what they'd receive from Cruz when he agreed to a one-year deal with a second-year team option ahead of the 2019 season. Cruz was a monster at the plate, the captain of 2019 Bomba's Squad, but also a leader through and through. Cruz immediately had everyone's respect when he entered the clubhouse, a standard bearer for how to work and act who provided Baldelli, a rookie manager, with a captain. He held that role for two-plus seasons in a Twins uniform. Beyond his leadership, Cruz redefined the DH position for the franchise. He blasted 41 homers in his first season, was on 43-homer pace during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and continued with absurd production in his age-40 season in 2021. As if all that weren't enough, Cruz's trade to Tampa Bay produced starting pitcher Joe Ryan. — Hayes Polanco started by far the most games at shortstop for the Twins since 2000, but we went with Correa there and instead fit Polanco onto the team by taking advantage of his versatility in the utility role. Polanco is the only Twins player with at least 275 career games at both shortstop and second base, and he also volunteered to play third base when it helped the team. His flexibility, switch-hitting ability and 111 wRC+ across 832 games with the Twins make him an ideal 10th man. — Gleeman From the moment Santana returned to the majors with a new changeup in mid-2002 through the day the Twins traded him on Feb. 2, 2008, he was the best pitcher in the league. It just took the Twins a while to realize it, keeping him in the bullpen an infuriating long time. Santana spent only four seasons as a full-time member of the Twins' rotation, but it was the most dominant four-year run by any pitcher in team history. He went 70-32 with a 2.89 ERA and 983 strikeouts in 912 innings, winning two Cy Young Awards and deserving a third. Advertisement Santana played six total seasons in Minnesota after returning from the minors, and the Twins won 69 percent of his starts, playing like a 112-win team with Johan on the mound. When anyone else started during that span, the Twins won 52 percent of the time, equivalent to an 84-win team. Twins fans are all too aware of their 2-18 postseason record versus the New York Yankees. Both wins came in Santana starts. With any other pitcher on the mound versus New York in the playoffs, the Twins are 0-16. There's a decent chance that my last words — hopefully many years from now — will be 'Johan should have three straight Cy Youngs.' — Gleeman #OTD in 2007, @johansantana struck out 17 batters in a #TwinsWin over the Rangers! — Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 19, 2021 Radke tends to be underrated in discussions about the best starters in Twins history because he pitched in such a hitter-friendly era. And this 2000s-only exercise also ignores several of his best seasons, including an All-Star nod in 1998. But the strike-throwing machine's ERA was 12 percent better than league average from 2000 to 2006 while averaging 195 innings per season, including topping 200 innings in five of seven years. Santana (29.0 WAR) and Radke (22.3) are the only Twins starters to produce more than 16 WAR in the 2000s, and Radke also stepped up with a 3.60 ERA in six playoff starts. His first innings weren't always pretty, and he gave up some tape-measure homers, but Radke logged the most innings of any Twins pitcher in the 2000s and his 112 ERA+ is comparable to the current rotation trio of López (114), Bailey Ober (113) and Ryan (111). — Gleeman Santana's inclusion on this list speaks volumes to how well the rest of his time in the Twin Cities went considering it all began with an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use in 2015, before he ever threw a pitch for the Twins. Signed to a four-year, $55 million deal in December 2014, Santana lived up to the hype once he got going. Advertisement Santana returned from the suspension and provided 6 1/3 innings per start in 2015 with a 4.00 ERA, demonstrating the type of workhorse he'd be. From 2016-17, he produced a 3.32 ERA in nearly 400 innings, leading an upstart 2017 group to the Wild Card Game. Though Santana suffered a finger injury late in 2017 that limited him to five starts in 2018, few Twins pitchers made the type of impact he had over the first 2 1/2 seasons. — Hayes A consensus top-50 prospect who was supposed to be The One, Berríos' career got off to an inauspicious start with an 8.02 ERA in 58 1/3 innings as a 22-year-old in 2016. But for the next 4 1/2 seasons, Berríos was a very good pitcher, going 52-36 with a 3.76 ERA and 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings before the Twins traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021. Berríos topped 200 strikeouts in 2018 and 200 innings in 2019. He was the team's most consistent starter after returning to the Twins in May 2017 after more seasoning in the minors, making 121 starts. And he pitched well in the postseason in '19 and '20, allowing a combined two earned runs (four overall) in nine innings in losses to the Yankees and Houston Astros. — Hayes While flush with position players, the Twins have always struggled to land front-line starting pitchers. But the team's January 2023 trade to acquire López for fan-favorite Arraez has more than delivered. In two-plus seasons with the Twins, López has proven to be a strikeout machine and a pitcher capable of handling the big moments. López tops all Twins starting pitchers this century with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings, racking up 234 and 198 whiffs in his first two seasons. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is the team's third-best over the past 25 years, behind only Phil Hughes and Ryan. What gives López the edge over Ryan or Ober for the final rotation spot is his outstanding performance during the 2023 postseason. Calling the pressure of ending the 18-game losing streak a privilege, López led the Twins to a 3-1 victory in the wild-card opener against Toronto and followed it with a dominant seven innings in Houston for a second-round win. — Hayes Glen Perkins (three times), Eddie Guardado (twice), Taylor Rogers and Brandon Kintzler were All-Stars for the Twins in the 2000s, but Nathan is still an easy choice for the closer spot on this team. Advertisement Acquired from the San Francisco Giants in 2004 as part of the A.J. Pierzynski trade, Nathan was a four-time All-Star in his seven seasons in Minnesota, racking up a franchise-record 260 saves with a 2.16 ERA and .186 opponents batting average. Nathan struggled in limited playoff action, but few closers in MLB history have been as consistently dominant in the regular season. Not only does Nathan lead all Twins pitchers in Win Probability Added since 2000, his 24.6 WPA is more than the No. 2 and No. 3 relievers combined. — Gleeman (Photo of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau: Charles Krupa / Associated Press)
New York Times
39 minutes ago
- New York Times
Astros takeaways: Yordan Alvarez fallout continues, Jake Meyers adjusts swing and more
HOUSTON — Fallout from a dysfunctional Saturday spilled into Sunday at Daikin Park, where prior to the finale of a 10-game homestand, the Houston Astros honored Dr. Thomas Mehlhoff for 35 years of service to the organization with an on-field ceremony and framed jersey. Alex Bregman, George Springer and Jeff Bagwell all sent taped remarks praising Mehlhoff: one of the team's physicians who, according to an in-stadium announcement, handles most of the Astros' hand and wrist injuries. Advertisement Ironic isn't strong enough to describe the scene — a coincidental confluence of events that epitomized a whirlwind weekend in Houston. The team completed a 10-game homestand 7-3 and split four games with the Tampa Bay Rays, but both accomplishments seemed secondary to the saga of a slugger's right hand that — after a month — is now known to be fractured. Many questions remain about the Astros' handling of Yordan Alvarez's situation. Those with the medical expertise to answer them won't be made available any time soon, leaving baseball men to double as orthopedic specialists. General manager Dana Brown did his best during the team's pregame radio show, when play-by-play man Robert Ford asked whether, in hindsight, the organization wished it had done anything different during Alvarez's recovery. 'When he had the first injury, in terms of the muscle strain in the hand, maybe we shouldn't have let him fight through that,' Brown said. 'He said it wasn't the normal pain that he usually gets in his hand, so he thought maybe he could grind through it and it was just soreness. 'Maybe at that point we probably should have shut him down, maybe for a week, giving it a chance to heal and not let him try to fight through it and potentially cause more damage.' Brown's candor again calls into question every aspect of the team's return-to-play procedure. His predecessor, James Click, panned it before his dismissal in 2022. Now, Brown must decide what, if anything, to do about it. At the end of last season, Troy Snitker sent a list of goals to Jake Meyers, a defensive wizard with decreasing offensive production. Some suggested mechanical tweaks. Others offered advice for extending at-bats. Meyers carried his hitting coach's counsel into a pivotal winter. He slashed .190/.256/.307 across his final 362 plate appearances of 2024. Brown barely mentioned Meyers throughout a transformative offseason spent searching for an outfielder. Advertisement Instead, Brown has found the best version of Meyers, a soft-spoken Midwesterner morphing into a lineup mainstay. Only two qualified Astros have a higher OPS than Meyers' .753 mark. Just Jeremy Peña has a higher batting average than Meyers' .292 clip. Meyers raised it by 42 points across 109 prolific May plate appearances. According to FanGraphs, only four American League outfielders were worth more wins above replacement than Meyers last month: Aaron Judge, Ryan O'Hearn, Addison Barger and Cody Bellinger. Contact is allowing Meyers to keep that company. Pitchers are throwing him more strikes than any season of his major-league career and Meyers is making contact on 86.9 percent of the swings he takes against them. His career average is 82 percent. Much of the improvement can be traced to a swing adjustment listed as part of Snitker's offseason goals. Meyers corrected a career-long tendency to initiate a swing with his top hand, which created a steep entrance into the strike zone. An inconsistent bat path and poor plate coverage ensued. Meyers chased outside the zone at a 31.2 percent rate last season. He whiffed 27 percent of the time, too — the fourth straight season in which he posted at least a 27 percent whiff rate. 'I learned how to initiate the bat with my hands and, because I'm athletic and strong, I can still get the bat to the ball,' Meyers said. 'You get to the big leagues and they're throwing a bunch of different pitches moving a bunch of different ways, it makes it extremely hard to do that and redirect where you're going.' This winter, Meyers focused on a more efficient way to start his swing. He took one-handed swings using his top hand, trying to stay level while his barrel entered the strike zone. Gradually, after getting comfortable, he introduced a second hand and saw a swing he didn't need to initiate. Advertisement 'He's quieted that down to get into some better positions, but he's coming out of those positions cleaner as well,' Snitker said. 'The sequence is better. The way he's rotating, first, and then the path that follows that is cleaner.' Meyers is whiffing 21.3 percent of the time this season and chasing outside the strike zone at just a 22.9 percent clip. His aggression remains — Meyers is seeing just 3.59 pitches per plate appearance and has absurd numbers against the first pitch of a plate appearance — but has cut down on chasing in the middle of at-bats, allowing for some longer battles. Whether Meyers can continue this surge will be fascinating. Meyers also had a magnificent first two months last season, slashing .289/.360/.489 in his first 151 plate appearances. The freefall that followed won't be repeated, Meyers believes. 'The way I've gone about these first two months is very different than last year and the years before,' Meyers said. 'It will be sustainable because of the things I'm focusing on and the things I've set in the offseason and spring training and through these couple months, I know I can be confident it will work.' During pregame stretch on Saturday night in Albuquerque, Jacob Melton saw something peculiar. Teammate Tommy Sacco Jr. walked toward the group with his glove. Manager Mickey Storey followed. Melton knew Sacco wasn't in Triple-A Sugar Land's starting lineup. That he came to work out with those who were could mean only one thing. That Storey joined him only confirmed Melton's suspicion that he could be headed to the show. 'Before (Storey) even said anything, I kind of had a feeling this is what it was,' Melton said with a smile. 'It was surreal. I don't think I really have the words to describe how I felt in that moment.' Melton made his major-league debut during Sunday's 1-0 win against the Rays, starting in center field and finishing 1-for-3 from the eighth spot in Houston's batting order. Melton's role moving forward will evolve, though it's difficult to envision him getting everyday at-bats. Brown intimated as much prior to Sunday's game, acknowledging the myriad health issues that have plagued Melton this season — first a back problem that started in spring training and then a groin issue that affected him in April. Advertisement 'We're taking it a little slow with the groin. We were playing him four days a week in the minor leagues and it kind of fits here,' Brown told the team's pregame radio show. 'He's probably going to come up here and face right-handers, gives us that left-hand bat we've been looking for. We don't have to play him here every day, but we're gradually going to break him in and see what he can do.' Production can alter any plans of a semi-platoon. Melton could mash his way into more regular at-bats, but as it stands, he isn't a better option than any of the Astros' three everyday outfielders: Meyers, Jose Altuve and Cam Smith. Melton is a natural center fielder, but the team is more than comfortable playing him in either corner. Being without both Alvarez and Zach Dezenzo does open more designated hitter at-bats, which will benefit Melton in the short term. That he hits left-handed will benefit an entire ballclub that lacks any semblance of balance. No team in baseball entered Sunday with fewer plate appearances from a left-handed hitter than the Astros. Manager Joe Espada has given a major-league low 21 pinch-hit plate appearances all season, a byproduct of having an all-right-handed bench that can't be used to create any platoon advantage. Melton's mere presence can change that. Having him on the roster will lessen Houston's need to play switch-hitting backup catcher Victor Caratini every day just for balance and deploy him more in late-game, pinch-hit situations. Bear in mind, Caratini went 8-for-19 in pinch-hit at-bats last season. Finding Alvarez's hand fracture — and realizing he'll be sidelined for longer — 'nudged' the Astros to promote Melton, Brown said. It stands to reason that the lack of external left-handed bats available did, too. Prior to the season, The Athletic's Keith Law ranked Melton as the organization's second-best prospect behind Smith, who has since exceeded prospect status. In 2023, Brown fought to keep Melton out of the Justin Verlander trade, instead parting with fellow outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford. (Top photo of Yordan Alvarez: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
