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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Toronto Blue Jays lead the American League standings and reinforcements are coming
TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays are the top team in the American League standings and lead the major leagues in several statistical categories. As good as Canada's lone big-league squad has been this season, the club is set to get even better. Reinforcements will soon be on the way for the Blue Jays, who beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Thursday in the rubber game of a three-game interleague series. Outfielder/designated hitter George Springer — one of the team's top performers this season — will likely return at some point during a three-game series against the Texas Rangers that starts Friday night. 'He's been right in the middle of everything this year,' said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. 'And not just with his performance, but I think with what we're doing on the bases and with what the dugout feels like and things like that. 'So looking forward to getting him back.' Springer has been out with a concussion since he was hit in the helmet by a pitch on July 28 against Baltimore. The veteran slugger has been taking batting practice in recent days and was scheduled to serve as DH in a tune-up game for Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday night. Over 101 games, Springer has a .291 average, 18 homers, 57 RBIs and an on-base and slugging percentage of .889. He has primarily served as DH this season but can still be slotted into the outfield as needed. 'There's probably benefit to getting him in the outfield a little bit more with how we're built right now … (but) I think he's done really well in the DH spot,' Schneider said. 'I want to keep that going.' Newly acquired starter Shane Bieber could also join the team later this month. He was tabbed to start Friday night in what could be his final rehab appearance for the Bisons. Bieber has been out for over a year after undergoing elbow surgery. Once activated, the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner could give the Blue Jays a front-of-the-rotation weapon. In addition, top pitching prospect Trey Yesavage was recently promoted to Triple-A and could be in the mix for a late-season call-up. Starter Alek Manoah (elbow) is also rehabbing with the Bisons and could return to Toronto this season as well. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The Blue Jays improved their American League-best record to 71-51 with their latest victory. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning off Matthew Boyd to make a winner of Max Scherzer (3-2), who worked seven-plus innings. 'I was just fighting the whole entire at-bat looking for a pitch to hit,' Guerrero said via interpreter Hector Lebron. 'It happened that he left that pitch hanging and then I could connect.' The Blue Jays improved their AL-best home record to 40-20. Toronto leads the major leagues in hits (1,116), batting average (. 268) and on-base percentage (. 337). This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
José Ramírez sets Cleveland record with 27th multihomer game, leads Guardians to 4-3 victory
CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez knew when he was 15 years old and growing up in the Dominican Republic that he could end up being a pretty good home-run hitter. Cleveland's All-Star third baseman has been better than good as he set another franchise record on Tuesday night against the Miami Marlins. Ramírez's line drive over the right-field wall in the eighth inning was his second of the night and his 27th multihome run game, surpassing Jim Thome and Albert Belle for the most in franchise history. The solo shot also gave the Guardians a 4-3 victory. Ramírez's accomplishment was flashed on the scoreboard at Progressive Field before the ninth inning as he ran to third base. He got a standing ovation from the 21,874 fans. 'It felt good. Obviously it's not easy to play the game and it's not an easy thing to do,' he said through an interpreter. 'But the important part is that we won and most importantly, I want to win. So that's the real feeling at the end.' After a 10-game losing streak had them at 40-48, the Guardians have gone an AL-best 22-8 since July 7 and are only one game out of the final wild-card spot. 'It always feels like he's going to deliver. Anytime he's up at any point in the game, you make sure you're watching,' Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. 'Such a special night for him and his family.' Ramírez's 27 multihomer games since entering the majors on Sept. 1, 2013, are tied for eighth-most in the majors according to Sportradar. Yankees' slugger Aaron Judge, who made his big-league debut in 2016, has the most with 44. 'He's our dad taking care of us. He's putting his team on the back doing what he does,' All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan said. 'I mean, people don't have 54 homers in their whole career and he is doing it and obviously 27 games, which is just crazy. It's special.' Ramírez was 2 for 25 on the Guardians' six-game road trip and broke out of a 0-for-12 skid when he drove a low changeup from Miami starter Janson Junk into the stands in right-center to put Cleveland up 1-0 in the first inning. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Of his 25 homers this season, 13 have come with two out, which is third in the majors. On Aug. 1, Ramírez became the first major league player who primarily plays third base to have at least 275 home runs and 275 stolen bases. Besides multihomer games, he holds the Cleveland franchise records for career home runs by a third baseman (230) and career home runs by a switch hitter. 'I knew maybe I don't have the power, but I have quick hands and fast hands when hitting. So I knew I had to learn how to hit homers. I knew I could. I just needed time to learn how to execute it,' Ramírez said about growing up. ___ AP MLB:
Fox Sports
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
2025 MLB All-Star Game: Building the Best Athletics Lineup
The Athletics brought you the Bash Brothers, Run Ricky Run, Moneyball, and some epic pitching mustaches. Its origins are in Philadelphia and had a brief stop in Kansas City, but this team thrived in Oakland. It deserved better than getting uprooted from the East Bay. Despite all of this moving around, though, the A's have had sustained success – including nine World Series titles – and produced some tremendous players. Manager: Connie Mack Connie Mack is a rarity on this list, in more ways than one. A player, then a manager who doubled as an executive, but also as a manager with a career record of under .500. Part of that is an issue of volume, however: Mack ran the A's for 50 seasons, from their 1901 inception through 1950. He managed them for 7,466 games: a .484 win percentage only counts for so much when it's attached to eight World Series appearances and five World Series championships. No other A's manager has 1,000 wins — Mack boasts 3,582 of them. Starting pitcher: Catfish Hunter Catfish Hunter debuted for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 at 19, the year after going pro. It took time — and a move to Oakland — for him to get his feet fully under him, but once he did, Hunter was brilliant. At his peak, he posted a 2.68 ERA over four seasons, winning the 1974 Cy Young with an AL-best 2.49 ERA and MLB-leading 25 wins. Hunter starred in the playoffs: the A's won the '72, '73 and '74 World Series, and he threw 80 innings of 2.24 ERA ball with a 7-1 record in those playoffs. Reliever/closer: Dennis Eckersley Dennis Eckersley revolutionized the closer's role, turning it into a one-inning assignment meant to shut the door on opponents. That his performance and usage spurred on copycats and changed the game is undeniable. Eck pitched in 525 games for Oakland, finishing 456 of them while racking up 320 saves — all first among A's pitchers. His walk rate (1.3) is lowest in A's history, and his K/9 of 9.3 second despite the strikeout-averse era he pitched in. Eckersley won the 1992 Cy Young and MVP as a closer, with a 1.91 ERA and 51 saves. Catcher: Terry Steinbach Terry Steinbach caught some fantastic A's pitching staffs, including the 1988, 1989, and 1990 teams that all made it to the World Series. Steinbach could handle a pitching staff and his defensive work, but he could also hit: he spent 11 years of his career with Oakland, and his 107 OPS+ was even better than it looks. In '87, backstops hit a collective .244/.303/.384 — Steinbach, meanwhile, batted .284/.349/.463. While Oakland won "just" one of three World Series he appeared in, it's hard to blame him: Steinbach hit .281/.340/.382 in the postseason. 1B: Jimmie Foxx For 11 seasons, Jimmie Foxx played for the Athletics. He had what was a borderline Hall of Fame career just in those years before he even exited his peak: 61 wins above replacement, 1,492 hits, 302 home runs, 1,075 RBIs, and a .339/.440/.640 line. Despite heading to Boston afterward, Foxx still ranks second among A's in WAR, and if not for Al Simmons would be first in all three slash stats, as well. As is, he's only behind Mark McGwire in homers, and if anyone bests his 175 OPS+, they'll be a Hall of Famer, too. 2B: Max Bishop Max Bishop was overshadowed by Jimmie Foxx, but he had plenty to offer the Philadelphia A's, too. He led the majors in walks with 128 in 1929, allowing him to post a .398 on-base percentage despite a down batting average year (.232). He'd amass 1,046 walks in his 10 years with Philly, which was first all-time among A's until Rickey Henderson surpassed him most of a century later. It wasn't just walks: Bishop was a defensive star, decades before there were Gold Gloves to signify that, but in 1931 alone he added over two wins with his glove. 3B: Eric Chavez The "Moneyball" A's deserve loads of credit for changing the emphasis of front offices, but one thing that's sometimes lost is that, in addition to finding undervalued players, like those who could draw a ton of walks, the A's also had the likes of Eric Chavez, who was about as traditionally excellent as you could get. A six-time Gold Glove recipient who hit .280/.357/.513 during his five-year peak, Chavez was a star in the early aughts. As his bat slowed and defense briefly dipped due to injury, that changed, but he was an exceptional third baseman. SS: Miguel Tejada Miguel Tejada won the 2002 AL MVP, picked up his first 968 hits with Oakland, hit almost half of his home runs with them, and batted .270/.331/.460 to go with his quality defense. He played in 1,152 games in a row before a broken wrist ended that streak — one that carried over from his time with the A's into his free agent deal with the Orioles. Tejada was a star for some time, earning 40 wins above replacement from 1999 through 2006, and was a major reason why the "Moneyball" A's succeeded as much as they did. OF: Reggie Jackson Reggie Jackson had experience as "Mr. October" well before he was ever given that nickname. In five playoff years with the A's, he hit .271/.344/.475 with five home runs, 15 RBIs, and 32 hits. He was part of the three consecutive World Series winners in '72, '73 and '74, even earning the World Series MVP in '73. Before ever donning a Yankees' uniform, Jackson hit 269 of his 563 homers with the A's, and batted .262/.355/.496. He led the AL in strikeouts in four consecutive years there, too, but it never seemed to slow him down. OF: Jose Canseco Jose Canseco won the 1986 Rookie of the Year award after exploding onto the big-league scene with 33 homers, and he just kept going up from there: in '88, he led the majors with 42 dingers, a .569 slugging and 170 OPS+, and then led in homers again in '91 with 44. Canseco would bounce around the league for years after his time in Oakland was up, but before then, he put together nine years with 254 home runs — the fourth-most in A's history — and became the first-ever 40 home run, 40 stolen bases player in Athletics' and MLB history. OF: Rickey Henderson Rickey Henderson was an inner-circle, all-time great player who spent 25 years with major-league teams (and quite a few elsewhere afterward on the independent scene). If you got rid of his time with the Yankees, Padres, Mets, Mariners, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Angels, and Dodgers, and left him with just the A's, that itself would be a Hall of Fame-caliber career. In 14 years with Oakland, Henderson hit .288/.409/.430, stole 867 bases — that would be good enough for fifth all-time — and reached base 3,050 times, which would have tied Joe DiMaggio's entire career for 197th in MLB. DH: Mark McGwire Mark McGwire's post-A's career received the media attention, owing to his breaking Roger Maris' single-season home run record with 70 in 1998, but he spent more time in Oakland — 12 years to five with St. Louis — and had himself a hell of a start to a career there, too. McGwire hit 363 home runs for the A's, the most of any of their players, while batting .260/.380/.551. He was one of the Bash Bros. with Canseco, and appeared in three consecutive World Series, with the A's winning in 1989 when McGwire hit .343/.368/.486 against the Giants. Honorable mention Bob Melvin (manager) Tony La Russa (manager) Dave Stewart (starting pitcher) Chief Bender (starting pitcher) Vida Blue (starting pitcher) Lefty Grove (starting pitcher) Eddie Plank (starting pitcher) Rollie Fingers (reliever/closer) Mickey Cochrane (catcher) Gene Tenace (catcher) Mark Ellis (2B) Eddie Collins (2B) Sal Bando (3B) Frank Baker (3B) Matt Chapman (3B) Marcus Semien (SS) Bert Campaneris (SS) Eddie Jost (SS) Joe Rudi (OF) Yoenis Cespedes (OF) Dave Henderson (OF) Al Simmons (OF) Dwayne Henderson (OF) Jason Giambi (DH) recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
San Francisco Chronicle
04-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Kurtz triples, scores and Ferguson retires 3 straight in the 9th to lift A's over Marlins 3-2
MIAMI (AP) — Rookie Nick Kurtz tripled with one out in the ninth inning and scored on a pinch hit by Tyler Soderstrom to lift the Athletics to a 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday. Kurtz sent an 0-1 pitch from Anthony Bender (1-1) down the left-field line and Soderstrom singled up the middle two pitches later to give the Athletics the three-game series and improve to an AL-best 13-7 on the road. The Athletics (19-16) grabbed the lead in the second when Miguel Andujar and Jacob Wilson led off with singles against Marlins starter Edward Cabrera. Both scored on a two-out double by Gio Urshela. Dane Myers threw Urshela out at home on a single by Jhonny Pereda to end the inning. Miami tied it in the fourth with a two-out, bases-empty rally off Athletics starter JP Sears. Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers had base hits and Myers drove in both with a double. Cabrera gave up two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3. Key moment Kurtz notched his first extra-base hit in his 11th game since being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas. Soderstrom moved from first base to the outfield to get the 6-foot-5 Kurtz in the lineup. Key stat Athletics closer Mason Miller was unavailable after throwing 28 pitches Saturday and blowing the save on a walk-off grand slam by Stowers. Up next Athletics: RHP Luis Severino (1-3, 3.30) starts Monday in the first of three against Seattle to begin a six-game homestand. The Mariners will start RHP Bryce Miller (2-3, 3.52). ___
Hamilton Spectator
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Kurtz triples, scores and Ferguson retires 3 straight in the 9th to lift A's over Marlins 3-2
MIAMI (AP) — Rookie Nick Kurtz tripled with one out in the ninth inning and scored on a pinch hit by Tyler Soderstrom to lift the Athletics to a 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday. Kurtz sent an 0-1 pitch from Anthony Bender (1-1) down the left-field line and Soderstrom singled up the middle two pitches later to give the Athletics the three-game series and improve to an AL-best 13-7 on the road. The Athletics (19-16) grabbed the lead in the second when Miguel Andujar and Jacob Wilson led off with singles against Marlins starter Edward Cabrera. Both scored on a two-out double by Gio Urshela. Dane Myers threw Urshela out at home on a single by Jhonny Pereda to end the inning. Miami tied it in the fourth with a two-out, bases-empty rally off Athletics starter JP Sears. Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers had base hits and Myers drove in both with a double. Sears allowed two runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Mitch Spence (1-0) got five outs for the win and Tyler Ferguson retired three straight for his first save. Cabrera gave up two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3. Key moment Kurtz notched his first extra-base hit in his 11th game since being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas. Soderstrom moved from first base to the outfield to get the 6-foot-5 Kurtz in the lineup. Key stat Athletics closer Mason Miller was unavailable after throwing 28 pitches Saturday and blowing the save on a walk-off grand slam by Stowers. Up next Athletics: RHP Luis Severino (1-3, 3.30) starts Monday in the first of three against Seattle to begin a six-game homestand. The Mariners will start RHP Bryce Miller (2-3, 3.52). Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-3, 8.31) starts Monday's opener of a three-game series against the Dodgers, who have not named a starter. ___ AP MLB:
