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Washington Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Yarbrough's revenge: How a World Series ring inspired his win for the Yankees over the Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Ryan Yarbrough picked up a dazzling World Series ring from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Then he went out and beat them. The New York Yankees starter pitched one-run ball over six innings, struck out a season-high five and blanked the Dodgers' top four hitters in a 7-3 win Sunday night. 'I feel like I'm in a really good place right now and really trying to continue that,' Yarbrough said. 'I'm having a lot of fun.' The 33-year-old left-hander made 44 relief appearances between the Dodgers and Blue Jays last season. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on July 29 and the next day traded him to Toronto. So even though he wasn't around for their World Series victory over the Yankees last fall, Yarbrough earned a ring. He accepted it from Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes on Friday behind home plate during batting practice. 'Trying to keep that a little discreet, especially with where we're at now, but kind of cool to be able to get that,' Yarbrough said. He signed a $2 million, one-year deal with New York in March and is 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA this season. Making his first career start against the Dodgers, Yarbrough recorded 17 swings-and-misses — including seven with his sweeper. The top four hitters in Los Angeles' lineup had produced at least one hit in every game this season. That is, until Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith combined to go 0 for 14 in the series finale against Yarbrough and the Yankees. New York manager Aaron Boone has called Yarbrough a throwback, noting his 6-foot-5 frame creates a 'funky' angle for hitters. 'He's got a lot of ways to get you out. Just when you think he's slowing you down, slowing you down, he's able to speed you up enough,' Boone said. 'It feels like it's hard to get a bead on him.' It certainly was for Ohtani. He struck out on five pitches ranging from 70-86 mph in the first inning, when Yarbrough retired the side in order. Later, he set down 13 of 15 batters before exiting. 'He's not going to light up the radar gun, but all his pitches feel like they get on you,' teammate DJ LeMahieu said. 'His fastballs look like they get on you and his off-speed looks extra slow. He's got good stuff and he knows what he's doing out there.' Yarbrough conceded his familiarity with his ex-teammates helped, too. 'It was just a matter of execution and keeping them off balance and not putting them in counts where they can really hunt for certain pitches,' he said. It was also a big night for LeMahieu, who had his first four-hit game since 2021. He drove in two runs and raised his batting average to .239. The second baseman had three singles and a double on a night when Aaron Judge was the only Yankees player without a hit. 'I feel good. Good to get some results,' LeMahieu said. ___ AP MLB:
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Yarbrough's revenge: How a World Series ring inspired his win for the Yankees over the Dodgers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ryan Yarbrough picked up a dazzling World Series ring from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Then he went out and beat them. The New York Yankees starter pitched one-run ball over six innings, struck out a season-high five and blanked the Dodgers' top four hitters in a 7-3 win Sunday night. 'I feel like I'm in a really good place right now and really trying to continue that,' Yarbrough said. 'I'm having a lot of fun.' The 33-year-old left-hander made 44 relief appearances between the Dodgers and Blue Jays last season. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on July 29 and the next day traded him to Toronto. So even though he wasn't around for their World Series victory over the Yankees last fall, Yarbrough earned a ring. He accepted it from Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes on Friday behind home plate during batting practice. 'Trying to keep that a little discreet, especially with where we're at now, but kind of cool to be able to get that,' Yarbrough said. He signed a $2 million, one-year deal with New York in March and is 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA this season. Making his first career start against the Dodgers, Yarbrough recorded 17 swings-and-misses — including seven with his sweeper. The top four hitters in Los Angeles' lineup had produced at least one hit in every game this season. That is, until Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith combined to go 0 for 14 in the series finale against Yarbrough and the Yankees. New York manager Aaron Boone has called Yarbrough a throwback, noting his 6-foot-5 frame creates a 'funky' angle for hitters. 'He's got a lot of ways to get you out. Just when you think he's slowing you down, slowing you down, he's able to speed you up enough,' Boone said. 'It feels like it's hard to get a bead on him.' It certainly was for Ohtani. He struck out on five pitches ranging from 70-86 mph in the first inning, when Yarbrough retired the side in order. Later, he set down 13 of 15 batters before exiting. 'He's not going to light up the radar gun, but all his pitches feel like they get on you,' teammate DJ LeMahieu said. 'His fastballs look like they get on you and his off-speed looks extra slow. He's got good stuff and he knows what he's doing out there.' Yarbrough conceded his familiarity with his ex-teammates helped, too. 'It was just a matter of execution and keeping them off balance and not putting them in counts where they can really hunt for certain pitches,' he said. It was also a big night for LeMahieu, who had his first four-hit game since 2021. He drove in two runs and raised his batting average to .239. The second baseman had three singles and a double on a night when Aaron Judge was the only Yankees player without a hit. 'I feel good. Good to get some results,' LeMahieu said. ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dodgers Held Trade Talks With White Sox for Luis Robert Jr: Report
Between Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting lineup is loaded with talent. However, general manager Brandon Gomes seems interested in bringing in additional MLB All-Star players. Advertisement According to a report from USA Today's Bob Nightengale on Sunday, the Dodgers and Chicago White Sox held trade discussions about Chicago's center fielder, Luis Robert Jr. Nightengale did not mention whether the talks between the two clubs occurred during the offseason or were recent. He noted that, for now, the two teams' discussion has stopped and that the deal would have sent Dodgers outfielder James Outman and a "front-line prospect" to the White Sox. Robert Jr. is two years removed from earning his first All-Star selection and winning the Silver Slugger at center field in the American League. In 2023, he hit a career-high 38 home runs and posted a 130 OPS+. Advertisement A right hip flexor strain in April 2024 limited Robert Jr. to 100 games last season, and he slashed a poor .224/.278/.379 with a .657 OPS. Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) watches his two-run home run during the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Rate Gorski-Imagn Images Currently, the Dodgers have Andy Pages receiving most of the reps in center field, but the 24-year-old is off to a slow start in 2025, hitting .149 with 19 strikeouts in 55 plate appearances. The White Sox are clearly in a rebuilding phase. In recent seasons, they have dealt their former stars to acquire prospects and strengthen the farm system. In March 2024, Chicago traded starting pitcher Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres. In December, they agreed to a trade with the Boston Red Sox, sending lefty Garrett Crochet to Boston in exchange for four prospects, including catcher Kyle Teel, rated No. 29 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list. Advertisement Outman began the year at Triple-A Oklahoma City after displaying above-average power at the MLB level in 2023, hitting 23 home runs as a rookie. A jam-packed Dodgers outfield of Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman, Pages, and Michael Conforto left little wiggle room for Los Angeles to carry Outman on the active roster to start the season. There's still a possibility that Robert Jr. may be traded during the year, but the 27-year-old, who was batting .163 with a .250 OBP after Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Red Sox, remains with the White Sox for the time being. Related: Dodgers Trade Idea Lands Former Yankees Star Gleyber Torres for Prospect Haul
Los Angeles Times
10-02-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
How will Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts look? 4 things to watch at Dodgers spring training
PHOENIX — Ninety-nine percent. According to Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA projection system, that is the Dodgers' likelihood of making the playoffs this year. A whopping 99.4%, to be exact, before a single pitch has even been thrown. It's just the latest example of the unrelenting expectations facing the Dodgers in this new season. After bolstering their World Series-winning roster with a hefty winter spending spree, anything short of the playoffs is unthinkable. And as they try to become MLB's first repeat champion in a quarter century, any other than a title defense would feel like a failure. 'The expectation for our group every year is the win the World Series,' general manager Brandon Gomes said last week. 'That's no different this year.' What is different, however, is the level of talent and depth the Dodgers have amassed at seemingly each position group, from a star-studded starting rotation to a versatile and veteran lineup of hitters. As a result, there aren't many concerns confronting the team as it opens spring training at Camelback Ranch in Arizona on Tuesday. But, with the team just four weeks away from its season-opening trip to Japan, here are four questions to monitor in camp ahead of the 2025 season. Really, Shohei Ohtani is returning from two surgeries this spring. As a hitter, he spent much of the winter recovering from shoulder surgery on the torn labrum he suffered in the World Series. As a pitcher, he is still completing the final steps of his comeback from a 2023 Tommy John revision. Because of that, intrigue will follow every one of Ohtani's batting practice, bullpen and live BP sessions. As he tries to return to two-way mastery this season, spring training should give an early sign of if he's physically capable of doing it. The Dodgers' concern about Ohtani as a hitter has been low, with team officials noting that his shoulder surgery was to his back left arm — which should impact his swing less than if it were his lead right arm. Ohtani is expected to be ready to hit by opening day. The real question could be how he looks on the mound in his return from the second major elbow surgery of his career, and how long it takes him to make his debut as a pitcher in the regular season. Manager Dave Roberts set a tentative target of May for Ohtani's pitching return, though left open the possibility it could be sooner. Ohtani himself said his timeline will depend on how he feels once he starts throwing bullpen sessions in camp. When it comes to the Dodgers' lineup, there's really only one uncertainty. The Mookie Betts-return-to-shortstop experiment is underway. And after inconsistent defense and a hand injury derailed his progress at the position last year, much could depend on Betts' ability to improve as a shortstop this season. If Betts can stick at shortstop, it would free Tommy Edman up to play more center field. It would allow Korean signing Hyeseong Kim to get more time at his primary position of second base. And, it would cement Betts' status as one of the game's all-time great defenders, accomplishing an almost unprecedented mid-career position switch from right field. But first, the 31-year-old will have to showcase better fundamentals — especially with his throws, which accounted for eight of his nine errors last year — during spring camp and the early part of the season. This is the definition of a champagne problem. Between Ohtani, new signings Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, and returning frontline arms Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers could have five ace-caliber pitchers in 2025. Figuring out exactly how they line up in a starting rotation, however, is a task with seemingly endless solutions. Snell had the best season of the group in 2024, posting a 3.12 ERA over 20 total starts and a dazzling 1.23 ERA over his final 14 outings (including his first career no-hitter in August). Yamamoto and Glasnow both had sub-3.50 ERAs, albeit while missing significant portions of the year with injury. And though Sasaki will be a 23-year-old rookie coming over from Japan, he could possess as much raw talent as anyone else on the pitching staff, with an upper-90s mph fastball and wipeout splitter. Not since the rollercoaster Craig Kimbrel experience of 2022 have the Dodgers had a designated closer in the bullpen. But, after spending $72 million on top free-agent reliever Tanner Scott last month, it's possible that could change this year. The Dodgers have not officially called Scott their closer yet, with Gomes saying the team could still use a matchup-based, closer-by-committee approach at Scott's introductory news conference. But, even then, Gomes said Scott would likely get 'a lot of save opportunities.' And on Sunday, Roberts doubled down by telling MLB Network Radio that Scott would get the 'brunt' of save opportunities to start the season. Scott, an All-Star left-hander, racked up 22 saves with the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres last year. The Dodgers do have other options, from Evan Phillips (the closest thing to a full-time closer the Dodgers have had in recent years) to Michael Kopech (who led the team in saves last year after arriving at the trade deadline) to Kirby Yates (another offseason signing coming a 33-save campaign with the Texas Rangers). But for now, Scott appears to be at the top of their pecking order, with the chance to potentially strengthen his grip on a ninth-inning role this spring.
