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National Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Flaws and all, no-quit Blue Jays persevere for wild win over World Series champs
September is still a ways off, as is baseball's most important month, October. But we're deep enough in the season to see them both. Article content And with that in mind, the mere prospect of what the Blue Jays bats did late on what turned to be a spellbinding late Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium has to be cause for some salivation for this never-quit group. Article content It was a 5-4 Blue Jays win, loaded with flaws as it was, that in the end was defined by the grit and perseverance that has propelled the team to what is now a 69-50 record. Article content Article content That it concluded with yet an unlikely hero in a season loaded with them — a pitcher saving the day against one of the greatest hitters of all time — only added to the magnificence of the moment for the Jays, who avoided a sweep at the hand of the World Series champs. Article content That would be reliever Mason Fluharty, who came on in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and one out for the biggest two outs of his young career. First up was a money strikeout of Shohei Ohtani — who swung over top of an 83-mph sweeper on a 3-2 pitch — followed by a ground-ball out by Mookie Betts to end it. Article content It served up an emotional celebration for the Jays and assuredly a festive long flight home from the West Coast for a team that must be starting to believe something special is happening. Article content But back to the late-game highlights and heroics after the Jays seemed headed for a third consecutive meek defeat, one which would have been one of the more demoralizing losses of the season. Article content First it was Vlad Guerrero Jr. with his now team-leading 19th homer of the season to tied the game in the eighth inning followed by Addison Barger, the next man to the plate, with his 18th to give the Jays the lead. Article content After the Jays allowed the Dodgers to get back square in the bottom half, Ernie Clement took the first pitch he faced in the ninth and knocked it into the seats for what turned out to be the game-winning homer. Article content The 5-4 victory, in a game that by the end was thick with a playoff feel, was an extra large one for the Jays on a number of fronts. Not so fast though, as closer Jeff Hoffman, showing the rust of not having pitched in a week, walked in the equalizer in the eighth. It would have been easy for the Jays to go quietly after that, but that would be against the DNA of this group. Article content In many ways, the win will feel like one of the most important of the season for the Jays. Article content Let's start with the fact that it avoided a sweep at the hands of the World Series champs, a verdict that seemed certain through the first 25 innings of the weekend series, a stretch in which the visitors had managed just four runs. Article content Then there's the fact that even though they lost the series 2-1 to the Dodgers, trouncing the Colorado Rockies over three games last week made it a 4-2 road trip, an important statement given they were 2-6 in their previous eight contests.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ryan Gusto strikes out eight in Marlins debut
Ryan Gusto collects eight strikeouts over six innings in his first start as a Marlin
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rangers' Eovaldi, one of MLB's top pitchers, not listed with league leaders and was an All-Star snub
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — One of baseball's best pitchers this season isn't even listed among the league leaders, and was left off the American League All-Star team. Nathan Eovaldi is 6-0 with a 0.47 ERA in six starts for the Texas Rangers since the beginning of July. The right-hander, coming off one-hit ball over eight innings in a 2-0 win over the New York Yankees, is 10-3 with a 1.38 ERA in 19 starts overall. 'I don't know what else I can say about him. I've run out of superlatives,' Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. 'This is one of the best runs I've seen from a pitcher. Believe me, I've enjoyed watching it.' And Bochy, also a former big league catcher, has seen a lot in 28 seasons as a manager while winning 2,231 regular-season games and four World Series titles. Eovaldi would qualify as MLB's official ERA leader, by more than a half-run better than the two All-Star starters, had he not missed most of June with elbow inflammation. Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes took an NL-best 2.02 ERA into his start Thursday night, when the wild card-chasing Rangers had only their second off day in three weeks since the All-Star break. The AL leader is reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal at 2.18 for Detroit. 'It's just kind of been building off the previous outings,' Eovaldi said. 'I'm going out there trying to make sure that I'm mixing up my pitches, and trying to keep them off balance as much as I can.' Close to qualifying Eovaldi's 111 innings pitched are five shy of qualifying as the league leader after 116 games for the Rangers — pitchers need one inning per team game. If the Rangers stick to their rotation, he could get to 120 innings in their 120th game Monday against Arizona with another complete game — he threw a four-hit shutout April 1 at Cincinnati in his second start this season. This is already his third consecutive 10-win season since joining his home state team, and last December signed a new $75 million, three-year contract through 2027. The 35-year-old Eovaldi and Hall of Fame strikeout king Nolan Ryan are the only big league players from Alvin, Texas. While Ryan was a flamethrower, Eovaldi has a mix of pitches: four-seam fastball, cutter, split-finger and curveball. 'He's probably using the mix even more than he has in the past. He's comfortable with any pitch of his four pitches, and with amazing command of all four,' Bochy said. 'He'll throw them in any count. He's got both sides covered, he's got up and down covered. He just works quadrants as well as any pitcher I've seen.' Another ace The Rangers, who still gave Eovaldi the $100,000 All-Star bonus that is in his contract, also have two-time National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom (10-4, 2.80) signed through at least 2027. After being Texas' only All-Star this year, deGrom has given up five runs in each of his last two starts — he allowed 30 runs combined his first 20 games. This is Eovaldi's sixth MLB team, and his 34 wins for the Rangers are his most for any of them. He joined them after five years in Boston, and was part of World Series titles in his first season with both organizations. Eovaldi has a 101-84 career record, and is 9-1 with a 3.05 ERA in 17 postseason games. 'Well, I think he's become this player long before Texas," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Eovaldi's gem against them Tuesday. 'Great competitor, has great stuff, a really good arsenal and tremendous command. You got to earn everything against him.' Sitting Judge down All-Star slugger Aaron Judge's return from a 10-game absence due to an elbow issue came against Eovaldi. Judge was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts as the Yankees had just one baserunner in Eovaldi's second-longest outing of the season — Anthony Volpe on a hustling double in the third. 'Just uses all his pitches,' Judge said. 'Works all parts of the zone. Does a good job throwing strike-to-ball pitches. So you've really got to be disciplined when you're facing a guy like that.' ___ AP MLB:
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Rangers' Eovaldi, one of MLB's top pitchers, not listed with league leaders and was an All-Star snub
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — One of baseball's best pitchers this season isn't even listed among the league leaders, and was left off the American League All-Star team. Nathan Eovaldi is 6-0 with a 0.47 ERA in six starts for the Texas Rangers since the beginning of July. The right-hander, coming off one-hit ball over eight innings in a 2-0 win over the New York Yankees, is 10-3 with a 1.38 ERA in 19 starts overall. 'I don't know what else I can say about him. I've run out of superlatives,' Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. 'This is one of the best runs I've seen from a pitcher. Believe me, I've enjoyed watching it.' And Bochy, also a former big league catcher, has seen a lot in 28 seasons as a manager while winning 2,231 regular-season games and four World Series titles. Eovaldi would qualify as MLB's official ERA leader, by more than a half-run better than the two All-Star starters, had he not missed most of June with elbow inflammation. Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes took an NL-best 2.02 ERA into his start Thursday night, when the wild card-chasing Rangers had only their second off day in three weeks since the All-Star break. The AL leader is reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal at 2.18 for Detroit. 'It's just kind of been building off the previous outings,' Eovaldi said. 'I'm going out there trying to make sure that I'm mixing up my pitches, and trying to keep them off balance as much as I can.' Close to qualifying Eovaldi's 111 innings pitched are five shy of qualifying as the league leader after 116 games for the Rangers — pitchers need one inning per team game. If the Rangers stick to their rotation, he could get to 120 innings in their 120th game Monday against Arizona with another complete game — he threw a four-hit shutout April 1 at Cincinnati in his second start this season. This is already his third consecutive 10-win season since joining his home state team, and last December signed a new $75 million, three-year contract through 2027. The 35-year-old Eovaldi and Hall of Fame strikeout king Nolan Ryan are the only big league players from Alvin, Texas. While Ryan was a flamethrower, Eovaldi has a mix of pitches: four-seam fastball, cutter, split-finger and curveball. 'He's probably using the mix even more than he has in the past. He's comfortable with any pitch of his four pitches, and with amazing command of all four,' Bochy said. 'He'll throw them in any count. He's got both sides covered, he's got up and down covered. He just works quadrants as well as any pitcher I've seen.' Another ace The Rangers, who still gave Eovaldi the $100,000 All-Star bonus that is in his contract, also have two-time National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom (10-4, 2.80) signed through at least 2027. After being Texas' only All-Star this year, deGrom has given up five runs in each of his last two starts — he allowed 30 runs combined his first 20 games. This is Eovaldi's sixth MLB team, and his 34 wins for the Rangers are his most for any of them. He joined them after five years in Boston, and was part of World Series titles in his first season with both organizations. Eovaldi has a 101-84 career record, and is 9-1 with a 3.05 ERA in 17 postseason games. 'Well, I think he's become this player long before Texas,' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Eovaldi's gem against them Tuesday. 'Great competitor, has great stuff, a really good arsenal and tremendous command. You got to earn everything against him.' Sitting Judge down All-Star slugger Aaron Judge's return from a 10-game absence due to an elbow issue came against Eovaldi. Judge was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts as the Yankees had just one baserunner in Eovaldi's second-longest outing of the season — Anthony Volpe on a hustling double in the third. 'Just uses all his pitches,' Judge said. 'Works all parts of the zone. Does a good job throwing strike-to-ball pitches. So you've really got to be disciplined when you're facing a guy like that.' ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Will Warren fans five over five scoreless innings
Will Warren allows only three hits and strikes out five batters over five scoreless innings in his start against the Rangers
