Latest news with #CyYoung
Time of India
a day ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Will Max Fried play tonight against Los Angeles Dodgers? Latest update on New York Yankees star's injury report (May 30, 2025)
Image Source: Getty The New York Yankees are set to play the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight at 10:10 p.m. ET on Apple TV+. Fans are excited to see if Max Fried, the Yankees' top pitcher, will take the mound or not. Let's check the latest news on his health and what's happening with this high voltage game. Max Fried confirmed to pitch tonight against Dodgers Max Fried, the Yankees' star pitcher, is all set to start against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium tonight. Recent reports say he's healthy and has no injuries, ready to face a strong Dodgers team. Posts on X show that Fried has given some Dodgers hitters like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman all they can handle by limiting their productivity against him to a .114 average in 114 at-bats. Fried has had a great history with Dodger Stadium, where he has a 2.00 ERA over four starts since 2020 with 34 strikeouts in 27 innings. Once you combine his ability to pitch groundballs along with limiting hits, he will give you a serious challenge. Fans are excited to see if he can keep up his amazing performance in this important game. The Yankees, with a 35-20 record, are counting on Fried to lead them. Fried will face tough Dodgers hitters like Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez. He often throws fewer than 90 pitches to go deep into games, which helps the Yankees a lot. Tonight's game could boost Fried's chances for the Cy Young award. Everyone is eager to see how he does in this big matchup. Also Read: Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Yankees: Predicted lineup, how to watch, start time and more Dodgers face challenges with injured players The Dodgers have some injuries to deal with that could affect their performance against Fried in the game tonight. Players like Roki Sasaki, who has not pitched since May 14 because of shoulder trouble, and Kirby Yates, who also has a hamstring issue won't be able to play. Another big piece is Freddie Freeman, who is not quite ready to run after having ankle surgery; therefore, he is not going to be at his best. Shohei Ohtani, who has been dealing with a sore shoulder, will most likely play DH even though he has been a little banged up; he is still hitting .292 and has close to 10 home runs in the month. The Dodgers are 34-22, and they are going to rely on Tony Gonsolin to do the pitching. He will have a tough time against Fried, also. These injuries could make it harder for the Dodgers to win. The Yankees will try to take advantage of these weaknesses. Fried's ability to make hitters hit easy groundballs could keep the Dodgers' strong offense quiet. Meanwhile, Yankees' star Aaron Judge is back in right field after a toe injury in 2023. The Dodgers added padding to their outfield wall to keep players safe.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Braves at Phillies game two thread
The Atlanta Braves will be facing the Phillies in game two of the doubleheader which looks like it will most certainly be a pitchers' duel. Chris Sale will be taking the mound as the reigning NL Cy Young winner. He will be facing Zack Wheeler, the NL Cy Young runner up last season. When both pitchers are on their game, they are some of the best pitchers of their generation. Advertisement On paper this looks to be a low scoring game. First pitch is at 6:45 pm EDT. Games Notes Preview Lineup More from
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Marlins in awkward spot with Sandy Alcantara. Plus, Francisco Lindor's leadership rituals
The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic's MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. From Cy Young to Sigh Young — what's up with Sandy Alcantara? Plus: A decision the O's would like back, Francisco Lindor's leadership and Ken's look at Oneil Cruz — I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup! The last time Sandy Alcántara pitched a full-full season, he unanimously won the 2022 NL Cy Young Award. OK, so he did make 28 starts in 2023, but his last one came on Sept. 3. After that, he was added to the injured list with a UCL injury that ultimately led to Tommy John surgery. Adios, 2024. I know ERA isn't the best stat, but it does sorta illustrate a point here, so … 2022: 2.28 2023: 4.14 2025: 8.47 Advertisement That's bleak. If only there were a simple stat to point to: a release point, a drop in velo or spin rate, an obnoxious voodoo doll in his locker, hissing ancient druid curses. Nope. As Dennis Lin and Sam Blum point out after last night's poor showing, the velo and pitch shapes are basically the same now as they were before. Maybe that's encouraging. Maybe it just means that last bit of Tommy John recovery is happening a little slower than the Marlins would like. But it's a bummer, and not just for the 22-32 Marlins' hopes this year. Given their (track) record, the bigger issue might be Alcantara's trade value. Miami could certainly keep the 29-year-old around through his contract, which expires at the end of next year. But it sure would be valuable for a team in quasi-perpetual rebuild mode if they could dangle a Cy Young candidate with a year and a half of team control at this year's deadline. Instead, they have a guy who has allowed more earned runs than any other pitcher in baseball. More Marlins: Ronny Simon grateful for support after teary, three-error game: 'I just try to keep working hard' From my latest story: If, through some freaky genetic engineering, a scientist could combine the physical attributes of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, what might be the result? Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a member of the New York Yankees in 2022-23, thinks he has the answer. 'If you put 'em both together,' the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop said. 'I feel like it's Oneil Cruz.' Cruz, the Pirates' 6-foot-7, 240-pound center fielder, was at it again Sunday, hitting a home run 122.9 mph, the hardest-hit ball since Statcast started tracking in 2015. His exit velocities and powerful throws are the stuff of Statcast legend. His speed is pretty much elite, too. And considering he is only 26, in his first full season playing center field and working diligently to master the game's subtleties, heaven knows what he might become. Advertisement Kiner-Falefa, who said Cruz combines the quick twitch and 'missile-like' exit velos of Stanton with the athleticism and power of Judge, has an answer for that, too. 'If he maximizes his potential, he can be one of the best players ever,' Kiner-Falefa said. Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy, after the weekend he just experienced in Pittsburgh, is not about to argue. Friday night, Cruz hit a 117.9 mph home run, at that point the hardest-hit homer of his career, and a 113.4 blast to tie the score in the ninth inning of a game the Pirates won, 6-5. Saturday, in a left-on-left matchup against Tyler Alexander, he hit the decisive triple in the seventh inning of a 2-1 Pirates victory. And Sunday, after righty Logan Henderson allowed Cruz's 122.9 shot on a first-pitch fastball in the third inning, Murphy took no chances in the eighth. With two outs, a 6-5 lead and runner on second, he ordered an intentional walk to Cruz, putting him on base as the potential winning run. Never mind that Cruz entered the weekend having gone nearly a month without a homer after hitting eight in his first 25 games. Murphy, 66, called it the best physical performance he has seen, by a hitter with the best bat speed he has seen. 'That guy can hit 50 homers easy, 60,' Murphy said. His current pace is a mere 34. Still, opposing pitchers shudder at the thought of missing with Cruz over the middle of the plate, and not simply because he might deposit the ball in the Allegheny River, as he did for the sixth time in his career Sunday. A batted ball coming back to the mound at some ridiculous speed is an equally frightening proposition. 'It's something you're definitely cognizant of,' Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen said. 'And you get reminded of things like that after he hits the ball 123.' Advertisement St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley jokingly suggested the best option with Cruz might be to just walk him and avoid him entirely. 'Go to first base, dude,' Helsley said, laughing. 'I want to live.' So, how close is Cruz to realizing his full potential? More on that here. Boy, this did not work out well for the Orioles. Let's set the scene. Kyle Gibson, who turned 37 in October, pitched for the Orioles in 2023 and went 15-9 with a 4.73 ERA in 33 starts. If you're curious, that's the sort of season that's worth 0.7 bWAR. Last year, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals as part of their Rotation of Dads™️, alongside Lance Lynn (37), Miles Mikolas (35) and Sonny Gray (34). He went 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA in 30 starts and was slightly better, value-wise, at 1.0 bWAR. Then came an offseason of patience. Gibson remained a free agent; the Orioles failed to bolster their rotation, losing Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks via free agency. On March 21, the two sides played a classic game of 'Prom is Next Weekend, So … Yeah?' and voila: a one-year deal worth $5.25 million. Gibson made it to the big leagues on April 29, aaaand yikes. Maybe you heard about that one. His next three starts weren't much better. A total of 8 2/3 innings, 14 earned runs. He has a 16.78 ERA. The Orioles designated him for assignment on May 18, releasing him on May 20. Yesterday, he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays on a minor-league deal. But Baltimore is still on the hook for the remainder of his salary this year. Which means the Orioles — who were so reluctant to spend on pitching last offseason — spent $5.25M for 12 1/3 innings, 23 earned runs and -1.1 bWAR. Not to rub it in, but here are a few free-agent pitchers who signed one-year deals this winter for equal or less money than Gibson's contract: Now we get to see if the Wonka Chocolate Factory of pitching can get Gibson back on track. Leadership is a fascinating topic, because it can come in so many different shapes and sizes. Is it the player who will call out a teammate for a lack of effort? The guy who quietly provides an example by out-working his teammates even after a decade of success? Is it the clubhouse 'glue guy' who keeps things light? The 'extra coach' who helps the younger guys with their mechanics or pitch selection? Advertisement Yes. But I think there is a common thread: caring about the success of your teammates. Even the uncomfortable conversation about hustle — when done right — comes from a place of wanting success for the teammate (and the team). Here's a tactic that I haven't heard before, but it falls right in line with that common theme: Will Sammon tells us about Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor's routine of speaking to each one of his teammates after every series. Sometimes the conversation has real substance. Other times, he's just checking in. The tone is usually encouraging, but there's one thing his teammates seem to agree on: it's not just eyewash. Here, take pitcher Griffin Canning's words over mine: 'He's the first guy I've seen do it. It shows what kind of leader he is. He's in touch and in tune with every single guy in the clubhouse.' You should read the whole thing; it's a really interesting glimpse into a unique locker room dynamic that seems to be working. Our All-Quarter Century Team trend has spread to Cincinnati, and I somehow missed our Braves team until just now (you can see all of our AQC teams here). The Rockies are how bad? Here are nine numbers to quantify the misery. Astros starter Ronel Blanco will miss the rest of the season. Soooo the Astros are definitely in the market for starting pitching, right? Camilo Doval is the Giants' closer (again). The Pirates have been clear: They're not trading Paul Skenes. But given the prospect packages Jim Bowden suggests here … should they? After a couple months of action, here's Keith Law's revision of his top 50 prospects. The Angels have DFA'd 2019 batting champ Tim Anderson. Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Once again, the play Jayson Stark dubbed 'the most whacked-out walk-off hit you will ever see in your life.' 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Can Sandy Alcántara get right? Ahead of trade deadline, the baseball world waits and hopes
The chatter is impossible for Sandy Alcántara to avoid, as much as he'd like to block it all out. He reads it on social media, sees what the national media says. All the talk that he's not good anymore. That the Tommy John surgery broke him. That he's lost all his trade value. That he'll never be the same. Advertisement 'It's tough. You've got to be strong,' Alcántara said before a Miami Marlins game earlier this week. 'Watching people's comments, hearing people talk very bad about you. It's something that you have to not pay attention to. But I'm strong, man. I believe in myself. 'I know, one day, everything will change.' It's been a brutal 2025 for Alcántara, the 2022 Cy Young winner who returned this season after missing last season rehabbing his elbow. And while he's confident his 8.47 ERA will improve, his first start after making those comments was a lot more of the same. Four innings pitched on Wednesday in San Diego, six earned runs, four walks, seven hits and zero strikeouts for the first time in a start since April 2019. Another bad outing in a season full of them. Alcántara's miserable season does not occur in a vacuum. An entire franchise is staking its trade season on the pitcher's return to form. The Marlins are in the midst of an aggressive rebuild, and a healthy and effective Alcántara — who will remain under affordable club control through 2027 — could net a massive, franchise-altering haul. But the 29-year-old has 29 walks and 40 strikeouts over 51 innings. Left-handed hitters have reached base against him at a prodigious clip. And his altered pitch mix hasn't shown positive results. The ace who authored six complete games amid a dominant season in 2022 hasn't thrown a pitch in the seventh inning all year. Potential trade partners are forced to wonder if he is not the same pitcher as before the surgery. Until he performs, those questions will linger. And so both the Marlins and Alcántara are both dealing with a problem they're extremely motivated to fix. 'There are brighter days ahead for Sandy,' said Marlins pitching coach Daniel Moskos. 'That I wholeheartedly believe.' Advertisement 'The last thing to come back from Tommy John surgery is the execution side of things. You have a brand new arm while it's healthy, and can perform. It's strong and it can do all the things that you need it to do. The proprioception of where it's at in time and space can be kind of that last thing to come back.' Alcántara was a unanimous Cy Young winner in 2022. He threw 228 2/3 innings, posted a 2.28 ERA and was worth 8.0 WAR. He had a 4.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Pick a stat from that season, and it showed a different element of his dominance over the sport. The Marlins are frustrated because, well, they don't think he's fundamentally changed. His velocity and pitch shapes are essentially what they have been. In their mind, this is a matter of that last five percent coming back – a small shift that will manifest itself in significant results. In their mind, it's a mixture of bad luck and less-than-ideal execution. His expected ERA is 5.03, well below his actual numbers. But still way worse than what he's proven he can do. 'I think there's frustration, for sure,' said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. '…You can certainly bet on the human and the person, that he's going to get out of this. You know, continue to try to reinforce that with him. 'We'd all love for it to happen sooner than later, but it's going to happen when it happens.' Alcántara is generating chase — a swing on a pitch outside the strike zone — just 24 percent of the time, way down from his career average of 32.4 percent. His pitches on the edge of the zone are at 41.1 percent, down from 46.3 in his Cy Young season. He's getting barreled up 10.1 percent, compared with 6.3 percent for his career. The average exit velocity against his pitches is 91.2 mph, up from 88.1 for his career. Batters are pulling the ball against him 48.6 percent this season, compared with 38.1 percent over his time in the big leagues — which may cause him greater problems now than when he last pitched a full season, before the elimination of the shift. Advertisement Against left-handed hitters, Alcántara has walked 22, compared with just 17 strikeouts. It's a major regression for a pitcher who once pitched to both sides of the plate with similar effectiveness. All these numbers say a different version of the same thing: Alcántara is not anywhere close to what he's been his whole career. He's missing more middle-middle, and throwing more non-competitive pitches than ever. He's not efficient or effective. If he wasn't Sandy Alcántara, he'd probably be in the minor leagues. 'I feel like I've just been stuck in the same inning,' Alcántara said, noting that he feels his stuff is all there. 'Trying to get past the sixth, and I can't. This is the game, and I've just got to keep battling. Keep trying to get through this.' 'I think I'm just trying to be too perfect. Pitching in the middle. When you leave it in the middle, you pay for it.' At the start of spring training, the Marlins talked with Alcantara about altering his pitch mix. McCullough said it's important for veteran pitchers to expand their repertoires to remain unpredictable. Alcántara's changes have resulted in more four-seam fastballs and far more curveballs. That's balanced by a little less of his two-seamer, changeup and slider. That four-seamer is now utilized 26.2 percent of the time, up from 21.6 percent in 2023. His curveball, which he threw only 11 times total in his Cy Young season, is now being used 13.7 percent of the time. The Marlins hope that the curveball can become a weapon against left-handers, which is why he's throwing it more. But it hasn't generated positive results. Nor has his fastball, which has a .315 batting average against, and is resulting in whiffs on just 14.9 percent of swings, compared with 26.8 percent in 2023. 'Maybe I'm throwing too many fastballs,' Alcántara said. 'In the past two or three, I've been more aggressive in throwing my two-seamer and changeup. This year, I'm using my four-seamer a lot.' Advertisement When Peter Bendix took over as the Marlins' president of baseball operations before last season, he basically tore it all down. The team was coming off a playoff berth in 2023. But as has often been the case throughout Marlins history, success has been followed by a rebuild. Bendix cleaned house in the front office. The coaching staff is now comprised of almost entirely new faces. He made eight deals at the trade deadline last season, including a breathtaking six deals on deadline day alone. He's reshaping the organization to his liking. Trading Alcantara is the logical next step. Despite his struggles, each of the other 29 other teams would take him in a heartbeat — a consensus among league sources. But it's all about value, and selling high. The Marlins don't have to trade Alcántara at the deadline. But it stands to reason that doing so would be their strong preference. They're not competing for the postseason this year. His value to their organization is rooted in the prospect haul he could net. That's what makes the next two months so critical for Alcántara and his current employers. A couple of good starts will change that narrative. But then again, only one of his 11 starts thus far has been a quality outing. He believes, and the Marlins believe, that this is all a post-surgery mirage that will all be fixed. But just how quickly that happens could make all the difference. 'I'm here to play baseball. I don't have to pay attention to what they say,' Alcántara said. 'I play for the Marlins. If they want to trade me, they'll trade me. I'm just going to keep competing, day by day. And we'll see what happens.'
New York Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Why Justin Verlander respects Tarik Skubal's dominance: ‘His last start was kind of eye-opening'
DETROIT — Over the weekend, Justin Verlander caught wind of Tarik Skubal's masterclass shutout. He checked the box score, saw the nine innings, the 13 strikeouts, the remarkable pitch count of 94. He wanted to see some of the outing for himself. So he called up the highlights. 'Really, his last start was kind of eye-opening,' Verlander said Wednesday in Detroit. Advertisement This time last year, Verlander admitted he had not watched Skubal closely enough to offer any honest evaluation. But the Tigers current ace caught the attention of the franchise's former top starter after his dominance rolled on through the summer. Skubal won the Cy Young Award. He became the first American League starter to win the pitching Triple Crown in a full season since Verlander in 2011. When the Tigers played the Giants in two exhibition games before the season in San Francisco, Verlander saw Skubal standing in the outfield. He ventured over to introduce himself. 'I've become a fan of his,' Verlander said. 'I wanted to go say hi and congratulate him on a great start to his career.' What was that like for Skubal? 'You're a little starstruck, honestly,' Skubal said before the finale of a three-game series against the Giants. 'What he means to this organization and what he's accomplished in his career, he's a Hall of Famer and he's been doing it for a long time. When you're in my shoes, you strive to be who he is. I think that's pretty cool.' Before he was among baseball's elite starters, Skubal was an avid fan of the game. He knows its history, understands the standard for greatness. One day at his locker last season, he pulled up Verlander's baseball-reference page on his phone, scrolled through the years and marveled at the longevity and year-by-year excellence. Strange, then, to realize Verlander is watching him similar to the way he's watched Verlander for so many seasons. 'How many years has he played?' Skubal said. 'Eighteen, 20 years? I've had 20 years of it. I'm 28. He got to watch one day of mine. I've got to watch 18 years of his. Comparison, we can say Tigers ace then, Tigers ace now. I don't think I've accomplished anything that he has. That's what gives you motivation to put your head down and go to work. It's cool, though, that he says those things about me.' Skubal has years to go before even sniffing Verlander's career achievements. But he's quickly entering similar territory in terms of being a fan favorite and must-see event any time he starts. Fans chanted his name during the ninth inning of his shutout. 'It reminds me, in my time, of going into Comerica and getting a young Justin Verlander, who was trying to literally embarrass you every time up,' former big-leaguer Mark DeRosa said on MLB Network. Advertisement Verlander is glad to see other young pitchers emerging. Paul Skenes is on his way. Gerrit Cole is an established star. But as Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw near the ends of their careers, how many pitchers will break through as true household names? 'Since me, Max, Kershaw, I don't know if anybody else has done that,' Verlander said. 'Chris Sale, maybe?' Part of the issue, in Verlander's estimation, is the obvious safeguards on starting pitching. Skubal has already endured Tommy John surgery and a flexor tendon repair. Even Verlander had Tommy John surgery in 2020. Baseball's injury epidemic is part of the equation. But the days of Verlander's youth, playing for Jim Leyland, trudging deep into games and sometimes even getting banged around while doing it, are in the past. Verlander has thrown 26 complete games in his career. Skubal has one. 'You have to do some really cool s— as a starter,' Verlander said. 'In today's game, you're not really afforded that opportunity very often. Most guys, they're getting pulled at the fifth or sixth inning, not going deep into games and not really doing anything that makes headlines. Your team wins. You did an OK job. But you're not getting shown on ESPN and all the national news outlets to make a name for yourself, because you're not really doing anything.' In baseball, the competition starts with the man on the mound. The game is played, first and foremost, in the strike zone. But, if you don't count Shohei Ohtani, there is not a single starting pitcher among MLB's best-selling jerseys. There are only three — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw and Skenes — inside the top 20. In free agency, starting pitchers are still a valued commodity. Verlander is making $15 million at age 42, coming off a season where injuries limited him to only 90 ⅓ innings. But the extinction of the workhorse starter is a frequent topic in the game, and one Verlander is particularly passionate about. Advertisement In a way, then, there's validation in seeing another young Tigers starter pitch well enough, perhaps, to carry on a legacy. 'I do appreciate seeing him go deeper in games and wanting to do that,' Verlander said. 'I think as a starting pitcher, for me, getting deep in games was something I always tried to do. It was less about I want to have zero runs given up and more about going deep in the game. You sacrifice sometimes. If your team scores six runs early in a game, I'm attacking. I'm sure he does the same.' Skubal threw 192 innings in the regular season last year. Verlander, meanwhile, has surpassed 200 innings 12 times in his career. Skubal has talked openly about wanting to be a pitcher who can push past that 200-inning threshold. 'The job is to pitch as deep into every start that I got,' Skubal said this spring, 'and make the job hard on A.J. (Hinch) to take me out of the game. Two hundred innings, it doesn't just happen. … But yeah, 200 innings, those are kind of the horses around the league that do that, and I want to be one of those guys.' The fact Skubal threw a complete game does not mean he's being used in the way Verlander once was. Skubal went nine innings because his pitch count was within reason. 'Look,' Hinch said, 'if guys want to enter the ninth inning with 85 pitches, I promise you I will leave guys in the game.' There are different circumstances, and this is a different era. But in terms of the excitement and electricity, the parallels between Verlander and Skubal are obvious. Tigers fans have started debating. Who is better? Skubal right now? Or Verlander at his peak? 'To me, if I'm the Tigers and I've got the best pitcher in baseball, I want that mother—— out there as long as possible,' Verlander said. 'Ride that horse. Hell yeah. That's the way I felt about it when I was pitching. They're like, 'You're our guy, we want you every fifth day.' They would skip the fifth starter. We have an extra off days, and it's like, 'Hey, how you feeling?' … I feel good. It was fine. It was great. It was awesome. And I loved it.'
