Latest news with #VedderCup
Chicago Tribune
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Column: In the Showdown in Motown finale, the Chicago Cubs lose 4-0 to the Detroit Tigers
DETROIT — Some good-natured bantering occurred over the weekend between Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer and Detroit Tigers president Scott Harris, who worked his way up the ladder after joining the Cubs as director of baseball operations in 2012 under Hoyer and former president Theo Epstein. They helped the Cubs build a championship team together before Harris moved on to become the general manager of the San Francisco Giants and then president of the Tigers in September 2022. Harris was informed Sunday that the winner of the rubber game between the Cubs and Tigers would be awarded the 'Theo Cup,' a trophy that only exists in the imagination of a few media members looking to replicate the Vedder Cup, a newly recognized award named for Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder that goes to the winner of the San Diego Padres-Seattle Mariners series. 'The decisive game of the Theo Cup?' Harris said when apprised of what was at stake. 'Jed and I have talked, yes, but nothing worth sharing.' Cup or no cup, the Tigers wound up with a 4-0 win in the Showdown in Motown to take the interleague series. There was no champagne celebration afterward, but at least fans were treated to an interesting series between two of baseball's best teams, and some impromptu fireworks Sunday when Nico Hoerner was ejected by plate umpire Derek Thomas in the fifth inning for arguing a called third strike, followed by manager Craig Counsell's ejection after backing Hoerner. While the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox rivalry took center stage on the baseball calendar, Detroit was the place to be this weekend. The Cubs move on to Philadelphia to complete their three-city road trip, facing another top team, albeit one that lost eight of nine heading into Sunday. The Phillies took two of three from the Cubs in late April at Wrigley Field. Matthew Boyd will start in the opener, followed by Colin Rea and Ben Brown. Sunday's finale featured an intriguing matchup between Cubs rookie Cade Horton and Jack Flaherty, who returned to the Tigers after being dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline and winning a ring. Flaherty threw six shutout innings, allowing two hits, while Horton suffered his first career loss in his sixth appearance. Horton struggled in the first inning, putting the first two men on before giving up a two-out, two-run double to Spencer Torkelson. Flaherty didn't give up a hit until Pete Crow-Armstrong singled with two on and one out in the fourth, but Ian Happ was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Kerry Washington, and the Cubs failed to score when Michael Busch lined out to center with the bases loaded, ending the threat. The Tigers padded the lead on Riley Greene's two-run single off Horton in the fifth, while the Cubs couldn't muster up any offense against Flaherty. Expectations have grown considerably for the Cubs over the last several weeks, with the team off to its best start since 2016. The Cubs were considered a favorite for a division title all along, but few thought they could hang in the same area code as the megabucks Dodgers or New York Mets. The offensive explosion and improvement of the bullpen now has many Cubs fans thinking bigger things, which brings more attention to the team. 'I don't know that anything has changed from that perspective,' Counsell said in a conversation before Sunday's game. Expectations haven't changed despite having the league's best record? 'The expectations are just playing good baseball, doing our jobs the right way and continuing to do that on a daily basis,' he said. 'Those are the expectations.' That may be true, but certainly Cubs fans' expectations have risen, right? 'I'm telling you what we worry about,' Counsell replied. 'We just worry about the stuff we control every day and I think those standards in itself are something that's difficult to achieve every day. But it's what we've been working at since the beginning.' Counsell has downplayed the Tigers series because it's still June, and it may have meant more to Harris and Hoyer, two old friends with bragging rights at stake. Even before Sunday, there was a lot for Hoyer and Harris to talk about, from Tarik Skubal's dominance in the Tigers' 3-1 win on Friday, to five Cubs home runs Saturday in their 6-1 victory. Harris denied there was any trash-texting between him and Hoyer after their team's respective wins, and said the competition is friendly. 'I would characterize it as we're both very competitive, and we both want to win today,' Harris said. 'But after today, I really pull for those guys. There are just a lot of really good people over there and I want them to be successful. I know they will be successful because they're really talented and they built a really, really good baseball team. 'We share observations about each other's teams, because a lot of times those conversations are really constructive, and it's useful for someone like me to see the Tigers through an outsider's lens. And he's an outsider, and I imagine that's useful for him to understand the perspective of an outsider watching his team. So we often share observations. I find them useful. I don't know if he finds them useful.' Hoyer did not make the trip to Detroit, which Harris speculated was because Hoyer wanted to spend time with his family, not because he didn't buy into the importance of the Cubs-Tigers series. 'You're more bought into the Theo Cup than Jed is,' Harris said. Guilty as charged. Either way, the rematch of the Theo Cup would have to wait until October, and that's only if the two teams meet in the World Series. That's a long way off, and obviously a lot has to happen for both teams just to get there. But the way things have been going for the Cubs and Tigers the first two-plus months, it's no longer just a pipe dream.
USA Today
19-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
MLB power rankings: Red Sox get pummeled as Rafael Devers powers up
MLB power rankings: Red Sox get pummeled as Rafael Devers powers up Show Caption Hide Caption Pete Rose now eligible for Hall of Fame after years of ineligibility USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale discusses Pete Rose now being eligible for the Hall of Fame and what it means for the steroid era players. Sports Pulse In reality, Rafael Devers is among the least of the Boston Red Sox's worries. Devers' reticence – or flat-out refusal – to move to first base after he agreed to a shift to designated hitter created plenty of headlines and prompted owner John Henry to fly to Kansas City and talk it out with his $313.5 million slugger. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Henry didn't pack any pitching reinforcements on the plane. Since that summit, Devers has been nearly unstoppable – with 15 hits in 34 at-bats, three homers and 13 RBIs in nine games. But the Red Sox are slowly slipping from shouting distance of the first-place New York Yankees, with 11 losses in their past 17 games to fall six spots in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings. ORIOLES FIRE MANAGER: Brandon Hyde survived epic tanking – then Baltimore failed him It might have been 12 losses in 17 games if not for Devers, who saved them with his first career walk-off homer against Atlanta on Saturday. A few hours later in the series finale, he erased an early deficit 3-0 with a grand slam. But the Red Sox gave up that lead and more, as they've done often lately. In losing five of its last six, Boston has twice given up 10 runs in a game and 14 in another. Their rotation ERA now languishes at 4.28, 22nd in the majors. And nowadays, that means it doesn't much matter how many runs the Red Sox score. A look at our updated rankings: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers (-) Feeling the change of the guard: Stalwarts Chris Taylor, Austin Barnes cut as Dalton Rushing steps on the scene. 2. Detroit Tigers (+2) Tigers win Jackson Jobe's first eight starts, setting franchise record. Edwin Diaz, now 10-for-10 in save chances, ramps his fastball back up to 99 mph. At least Jose Alvarado's PED suspension came well before the trade deadline. Almost mathematically eliminated in the Vedder Cup. Wilmer Flores, RBI machine, wins epic battle against Mason Miller for walk-off walk. PCA vs. the White Sox was no match: 8-for-14, nine RBIs, four extra-base hits. 8. New York Yankees (-1) Jonathan Loaisiga's return a nice boost for bullpen. There's a new ace in town and his name is Bryan Woo. 10. Cleveland Guardians (-) Shane Bieber getting closer to a rehab assignment. You win 13 in a row, you jump 14 spots in the standings. Them's the rules. 12. St. Louis Cardinals (-) Started the year 1-10 on the road; just finished 7-2 road trip. Those heavy footsteps you hear? Jac Caglianone is one step from the big leagues. Will be more than halfway done with Dodgers after three-game road set this week. 15. Houston Astros (-1) Thirteen come-from-behind wins. 16. Texas Rangers (+3) Evan Carter's injury woes continue with quad strain. 17. Cincinnati Reds (+3) Is Will Benson happening? He slams five homers in four games. 18. Atlanta Braves (+3) They climb over .500, just in time to welcome back Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. 19. Boston Red Sox (-6) Kristian Campbell sliding to first to create room for Marcelo Mayer would be a helluva fix. Tigers show how far they have to go to be playoff team Jackson Chourio dropped to sixth in order, promptly strikes out four times. 22. Tampa Bay Rays (-) Chandler Simpson survives unsettling slide at home plate. 23. Athletics (-) Yolo County vs. San Francisco doesn't quite have the same ring. 24. Washington Nationals (-) Michael Soroka wins first game since July 2023. 25. Los Angeles Angels (+1) First three-game sweep over Dodgers since 2010. 15-30 record matches 2019 start, when they lost 108 games. 27. Miami Marlins (-) Sandy Alcantara drops his sixth straight decision, a career high. Shut out in eight of their 32 losses. 29. Chicago White Sox (-) .University of Tampa product Jordan Leasure racking up 12.9 strikeouts per nine. 30. Colorado Rockies (-) 8-38, a pace that would knock the White Sox out of the record books. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Even Flow: Arozarena and the Mariners beat the Padres 6-1 to sweep opening series of the Vedder Cup
SAN DIEGO — Randy Arozarena homered off Michael King in the three-run fourth inning and the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 6-1 Sunday to sweep the opening series of the inaugural Vedder Cup. The Mariners homered six times and outscored the Padres 15-3 in the three-game series. If needed, run differential will be the first tiebreaker in the Vedder Cup, named after Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who has ties to both cities. The two teams, who share a spring training complex, formalized the competition in March. The winner gets a trophy featuring a guitar provided by Vedder, who was born in a Chicago suburb and is a Cubs fan. The teams play again Aug. 25-27 in Seattle.
San Francisco Chronicle
18-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Even Flow: Arozarena and the Mariners beat the Padres 6-1 to sweep opening series of the Vedder Cup
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Randy Arozarena homered off Michael King in the three-run fourth inning and the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 6-1 Sunday to sweep the opening series of the inaugural Vedder Cup. The Mariners homered six times and outscored the Padres 15-3 in the three-game series. If needed, run differential will be the first tiebreaker in the Vedder Cup, named after Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who has ties to both cities. The two teams, who share a spring training complex, formalized the competition in March. The winner gets a trophy featuring a guitar provided by Vedder, who was born in a Chicago suburb and is a Cubs fan. The teams play again Aug. 25-27 in Seattle. Bryan Woo (5-1) settled down after giving up a leadoff homer on an 0-2 count to Fernando Tatis Jr., his 12th. Only one Padres player reached scoring position against Woo, who allowed one run and five hits in seven innings. He struck out five, walked none and retired his final 11 batters and 16 of his last 17. The Padres were 0 for 21 with runners in scoring position in the series. King (4-2) held the Padres hitless until Arozarena lined a 2-2 pitch to left with two outs in the fourth for his sixth homer. The Mariners followed with four more consecutive hits, including a ground-rule RBI double by Leody Taveras and a single by Miles Mastrobuoni that ticked off King's glove. Arozarena reached on a two-base fielding error by Tatis in right field leading off the sixth and scored on Mitch Garver's one-out single King allowed four runs, three earned, and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked one. Arozarena started the Mariners' scoring with his ninth career homer at Petco Park and second against San Diego. Key stat While with Tampa Bay, Arozarena hit seven home runs at Petco Park during the 2020 AL playoff bubble — three against the Yankees in a division series win and four against the Astros in the ALCS win. Up next Mariners RHP Luis Castillo (3-3, 3.65 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday night in the opener of a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox. The Padres haven't announced a starter for Tuesday night's series opener at Toronto. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Even Flow: Arozarena and the Mariners beat the Padres 6-1 to sweep opening series of the Vedder Cup
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Randy Arozarena homered off Michael King in the three-run fourth inning and the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 6-1 Sunday to sweep the opening series of the inaugural Vedder Cup. The Mariners homered six times and outscored the Padres 15-3 in the three-game series. If needed, run differential will be the first tiebreaker in the Vedder Cup, named after Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who has ties to both cities. The two teams, who share a spring training complex, formalized the competition in March. The winner gets a trophy featuring a guitar provided by Vedder, who was born in a Chicago suburb and is a Cubs fan. The teams play again Aug. 25-27 in Seattle. Bryan Woo (5-1) settled down after giving up a leadoff homer on an 0-2 count to Fernando Tatis Jr., his 12th. Only one Padres player reached scoring position against Woo, who allowed one run and five hits in seven innings. He struck out five, walked none and retired his final 11 batters and 16 of his last 17. The Padres were 0 for 21 with runners in scoring position in the series. King (4-2) held the Padres hitless until Arozarena lined a 2-2 pitch to left with two outs in the fourth for his sixth homer. The Mariners followed with four more consecutive hits, including a ground-rule RBI double by Leody Taveras and a single by Miles Mastrobuoni that ticked off King's glove. Arozarena reached on a two-base fielding error by Tatis in right field leading off the sixth and scored on Mitch Garver's one-out single King allowed four runs, three earned, and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked one. Key moment Arozarena started the Mariners' scoring with his ninth career homer at Petco Park and second against San Diego. Key stat Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. While with Tampa Bay, Arozarena hit seven home runs at Petco Park during the 2020 AL playoff bubble — three against the Yankees in a division series win and four against the Astros in the ALCS win. Up next Mariners RHP Luis Castillo (3-3, 3.65 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday night in the opener of a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox. The Padres haven't announced a starter for Tuesday night's series opener at Toronto. ___ AP MLB:
