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Tag: Chris Bassitt

  • George Springer’s epic home run helps send the Toronto Blue Jays to the World Series with ALCS Game 7 win over Seattle

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    (CNN) — The Toronto Blue Jays are headed to their first World Series since 1993 after a dramatic 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

    Things were looking bleak for the Blue Jays until designated hitter George Springer delivered a huge three-run home run in the seventh inning as Toronto surged into the lead.

    Springer’s late-inning heroics set up a compelling World Series match-up pitting the American League’s best team against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

    The Mariners opened the must-win game with an exciting first inning that featured a little bit of everything. Julio Rodriguez opened the game with a lead-off double down the left field line to set the table for Seattle.

    Seattle’s MVP candidate, Cal Raleigh, then struck out swinging at a high fastball, but Josh Naylor picked up his teammate with a single to drive in Rodriguez with the game’s first run.

    Controversy followed when Jorge Polanco hit a groundball to Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement, who was shaded toward shortstop. Clement took the ball to second base himself and whipped the ball towards first base for a would-be inning-ending double play.

    But Clement’s throw ricocheted wildly off the helmet of baserunner Naylor, allowing Polanco to reach first base safely. Replays showed Naylor turn his back toward the oncoming throw and leap into the air as the ball caromed off the crown of his helmet.

    After a huddle in the infield, the six-man umpiring crew determined that Naylor had deliberately obstructed Clement’s throw and called Polanco out at first to end the inning.

    The Blue Jays carried that momentum into the bottom of the first inning and tied the game 1-1 on a soft groundball single from Daulton Varsho.

    After a scoreless second inning, Rodriguez led off the third inning with a solo home run off Shane Bieber to put the Mariners back in front 2-1. The blast was Rodriguez’s third of the series.

    Raleigh, who led MLB with 60 home runs during the regular season, smacked his fifth long ball of the playoffs, his fourth against the Jays, to extend the M’s lead to 3-1 in the fifth inning.

    The mood was getting very nervous in Toronto’s Rogers Centre as the game reached the seventh inning stretch with the home team trailing and time running out on the Blue Jays’ season.

    But a walk and a softly hit single set the stage for Blue Jays’ lead-off hitter Springer, the 2017 World Series MVP with the Houston Astros.

    Facing Eduardo Bazardo, fresh into the game from the bullpen, Springer cranked a three-run homer to catapult the Blue Jays into the lead for the first time in the game at 4-3. The crowd at the Rogers Centre erupted as Springer rounded the bases as the unforgettable moment played out.

    Toronto’s George Springer celebrates his three run home run in the seventh inning of ALCS Game 7. Credit: Mark Blinch / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    Toronto then turned to its bullpen to close the game out,

    Chris Bassitt pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth, striking out all three Mariners batters he faced to end the game and send the Canadian crowd into ecstasy.

    After the victory, Springer was asked about what he would remember about his dramatic moment. A modest Springer replied, “The at-bats before me. If it’s not for those guys, that moment doesn’t happen.

    “I’m so happy for our team, our fans, our city, our country. I am so happy right now,” he told Fox Sports while the joyous crowd cheered.

    Springer was forced to leave Game 5 of the series after getting hit in the knee by a pitch and appeared to be in discomfort in Games 6 and 7. When asked about the pain, he doubled down on his love for Toronto. “I owe it to these fans, this city, this country to give it my all. It doesn’t matter. So, I’ll take it,” he said.

    Toronto superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named ALCS MVP after batting .385 and crushing three home runs in the series.

    The Blue Jays will host the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

    As for the crestfallen Mariners, they remain the only franchise in Major League Baseball yet to appear in a World Series.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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    Kevin Dotson and CNN

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  • Musgrove pitches hometown Padres past Mets 6-0 and into NLDS

    Musgrove pitches hometown Padres past Mets 6-0 and into NLDS

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    NEW YORK — Joe Musgrove brushed off chants of “Cheater!” after a bizarre spot check by umpires on the mound, pitching his hometown San Diego Padres into the next round of the playoffs Sunday night with seven innings of one-hit ball in a 6-0 victory over the New York Mets.

    Trent Grisham hit an RBI single and made a terrific catch in center field that helped the Padres take the best-of-three National League wild-card series 2-1. Austin Nola and Juan Soto each had a two-run single.

    San Diego advanced to face the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five Division Series beginning Tuesday — ensuring the Padres will play in front of their home fans in the postseason for the first time in 16 years when they return to Petco Park for Game 3.

    “We know that. We would love for them to be able to see some postseason games,” manager Bob Melvin said Sunday afternoon. “To an extent, we feel like they’re a part of us.”

    It was the fifth time the Padres have won a playoff series. They took a first-round matchup against St. Louis in their own ballpark with no fans permitted after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season before being swept in the Division Series by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.

    For the Mets, a scintillating season ended with a whimper at home in front of empty seats. Baseball’s biggest spenders won 101 games — the second-most in franchise history — but were unable to hold off Atlanta in the NL East after sitting atop the division for all but six days.

    New York was up by 10 1/2 games on June 1 and seven on Aug. 10 before finally ceding control last weekend. The defending World Series champions snatched away their fifth consecutive division title and a first-round playoff bye on the strength of a head-to-head sweep in Atlanta — and the Mets never fully recovered.

    New York ace Max Scherzer got rocked in a Game 1 loss to San Diego and, after the Mets won Game 2 behind Jacob deGrom to stave off elimination, they mustered almost nothing against Musgrove and finished with one hit in the loss.

    No. 3 starter Chris Bassitt lasted just four innings, giving up three runs and three hits with three costly walks to batters near the bottom of the order.

    Pete Alonso’s leadoff single in the fifth and Starling Marte’s walk to start the seventh were the only baserunners permitted by Musgrove in his first postseason start.

    Robert Suarez and Josh Hader finished up for the Padres.

    Musgrove grew up a Padres fan in the San Diego suburbs and pitched the franchise’s first no-hitter last year in his second start with the team.

    He was working on a one-hitter and warming up for the sixth inning Sunday when Mets manager Buck Showalter came out of the dugout and spoke to first base umpire Alfonso Marquez.

    All six umps huddled and then went to the mound as Marquez, the crew chief, felt Musgrove’s glove, cap — even his ears — apparently searching for any illegal sticky substances.

    The spin rate was up on all six of Musgrove’s pitches. Umpires let him continue, and he worked a 1-2-3 sixth.

    Fans yelled “Cheater!” at Musgrove, a member of the 2017 Houston Astros World Series champions that were found by Major League Baseball to have stolen signs illegally to help their hitters.

    The Astros’ cheating scandal rocked the sport. Musgrove has said he feels uncomfortable wearing his championship ring and wants “one that feels earned” with the Padres.

    “I guarantee Musgrove has Red Hot on his ears,” Milwaukee outfielder Andrew McCutchen tweeted. “Pitchers use it as mechanism to stay locked in during games. It burns like crazy and IDK why some guys thinks it helps them but in no way is it `sticky.′ Buck is smart tho. Could be trying to just throw him off.”

    THINKING OF MR. PADRE

    During batting practice, San Diego second baseman Jake Cronenworth wore an old-school Tony Gwynn No. 19 uniform T-shirt, a giveaway at Petco Park one day this season.

    “We all got ‘em,” Cronenworth said. “Usually a lot of us wear ’em, but I think everybody’s wearing hoodies today.”

    Cronenworth, however, figured this was a day to salute the late Padres Hall of Famer.

    “It was just in my locker and I brought it with me for a reason, so I decided I’d wear it,” he said. “Tony was one of the best, so give us some support from up above.”

    TRAINER’S ROOM

    Mets: Francisco Lindor was shaken up after fouling a ball off the inside of his right knee in the fourth. As the star shortstop was checked by an athletic trainer, manager Buck Showalter strolled to the plate, picked up Lindor’s bat and handed it back to him. Lindor stayed in the game and struck out.

    UP NEXT

    San Diego went 5-14 against the first-place Dodgers this season and finished 22 games behind them in the NL West.

    New York begins its spring training schedule next year with split-squad games Feb. 25 against Miami and Houston. The regular-season opener is March 30 at Miami.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Escobar rallies Mets past Marlins in 10, back into 1st alone

    Escobar rallies Mets past Marlins in 10, back into 1st alone

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    NEW YORK — With the Mets needing a comeback in the pressure of a tight pennant race, Eduardo Escobar was a one-man show.

    Escobar homered and drove in five late runs — including the game-winning single in the 10th inning — to rally New York past the Miami Marlins 5-4 on Wednesday night and back into sole possession of first place in the NL East.

    By overcoming a four-run deficit, the Mets moved a game ahead of the Braves heading into a three-game showdown between the teams in Atlanta this weekend. The defending World Series champions lost 3-2 in 10 innings at last-place Washington, one night after pulling even with the Mets.

    “It’s going to be huge. Obviously, this is pretty much deciding the division,” winning pitcher Drew Smith said. “I’m sure it’s going to be as close to a playoff atmosphere as you can get without being in the playoffs.”

    Of course, Hurricane Ian could affect the schedule in Atlanta, where the teams are set to square off Friday night following a mutual off day. Both clubs have six games remaining in the only division race not decided.

    One win at Truist Park would give the Mets the season-series tiebreaker over Atlanta.

    After this weekend, New York finishes the regular season with three home games against Washington, while the Braves play at Miami.

    On this night, the Mets fell behind 4-0 but Escobar hit a two-run homer in the seventh and tied it on a two-run single with two outs in the eighth.

    “He’s a catalyst,” Smith said.

    Both those big hits came right-handed. The switch-hitter was batting from the left side when his RBI single off Dylan Floro (1-3) in the 10th scored automatic runner Francisco Lindor from second base — after an intentional walk to Jeff McNeil brought Escobar to the plate with two on and one out.

    “A little bit of the force, a little bit of the matchup, and you trust Flo what he’s going to do,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly explained. “Pretty much Escobar all night.”

    It was the first time a Mets player had at least five RBIs and knocked in all their runs in a walk-off win. After a slow start to his first season in New York, Escobar is batting .330 with eight homers and 24 RBIs in September.

    “The answer’s probably nothing other than he just never gave in,” manager Buck Showalter said. “He never gives in. Was the same guy every day.”

    Smith (3-3) struck out two in a perfect inning for the win.

    Jesús Luzardo mowed down the Mets for six innings, striking out Pete Alonso three times and taking a two-hit shutout into the seventh.

    But then McNeil led off with a single and Escobar chased the left-hander with a drive to left field that gave him his fifth career 20-homer season.

    Marlins reliever Tanner Scott, pitching for the first time since Sept. 16, walked three batters in the eighth to load the bases and Escobar grounded a two-run single off Richard Bleier through an open right side with two outs to tie it 4-all.

    Alonso raised both arms after sliding headfirst across home plate, and a fired-up Escobar pumped his fist and pounded his chest in excitement as he shouted toward the Mets’ dugout.

    Bryan De La Cruz hit a two-run homer off starter Taijuan Walker and finished a triple short of the cycle for the fourth-place Marlins. JJ Bleday had a sacrifice fly, and Brian Anderson added an RBI double.

    STORM WATCH

    Showalter sounded a little annoyed that no schedule adjustments had been made yet to the series in Atlanta to help the teams get all three games in this weekend or avoid a potential makeup doubleheader.

    “All that’s up to Atlanta. We don’t have much input at all. I mean, can’t you tell?” Showalter said. “It’s not our home game.”

    Showalter said the Mets were planning to bring a taxi squad to Atlanta as insurance — in case rough weather makes it difficult to get reinforcements there for an injured player, for example.

    TRAINER’S ROOM

    Marlins: SS Miguel Rojas sat out after leaving Tuesday night’s game in the seventh inning when tendinitis flared up in his right wrist and affected his throwing hand and forearm. … LHP Steven Okert (tender biceps) threw a bullpen.

    Mets: There’s still no timetable for the return of All-Star RF Starling Marte, sidelined since Sept. 7 with a partially broken middle finger on his right (throwing) hand. He received an injection and remains in a splint but is still feeling some discomfort. “I know it’s frustrating for him,” Showalter said. “He just needs to get to a point where he can grip a ball and grip a bat. Not there yet.” … RHP Mychal Givens had two strikeouts in a scoreless inning during a rehab outing for Triple-A Syracuse.

    UP NEXT

    Marlins: Another chance to play spoiler when they open a four-game series Thursday night at Milwaukee, which is chasing an NL wild card. LHP Braxton Garrett (3-6, 3.52 ERA) faces Brewers LHP Eric Lauer (10-7, 3.96).

    Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom (5-3, 2.93 ERA) is scheduled to pitch the series opener in Atlanta against LHP Max Fried (13-7, 2.50), who is 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA in four starts vs. the Mets this season. New York is 9-7 versus the Braves, including 3-4 in Atlanta.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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