ReportWire

Tag: Francisco Alvarez

  • A closer look at the pitches by Clase, Ortiz cited in sporting gambling indictment

    [ad_1]

    NEW YORK (AP) — Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted Sunday on charges they took bribes from sports bettors to throw specific pitches that would trigger winnings on in-game prop bets.

    Prosecutors identified pitches from Clase and Ortiz that helped two unnamed gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000. This included throwing pitches intentionally outside of the strike zone or within certain velocity ranges. Here’s a closer look at those pitches.

    Emmanuel Clase

    May 19, 2023

    The indictment cites this outing without a photo of the specific pitch, saying the scheme included a bet of about $27,000 that Clase would throw a pitch of greater than 94.95 mph. Clase began with a 98.5 mph cutter to the New York Mets’ Starling Marte that was low and inside in the 10th inning. Marte flied out on the next pitch, but the Mets rallied for a 10-9 win on RBI singles by Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor. Clase took the loss.

    June 3, 2023

    The indictment cited bets of about $38,000 for a ball or hit by pitch and velocity slower than 94.95 mph. An 89.4 mph slider to Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers bounced well short of home plate starting the ninth inning and hit catcher Mike Zunino near a shoulder, leading an athletic trainer to check on the catcher. Jeffers struck out four pitches later and Clase got the save in a 4-2 win.

    June 7, 2023

    The indictment cited bets of about $58,000 for a ball or hit by pitch and velocity slower than 94.95 mph. Clase started the ninth inning with a 91.4 mph slider to Boston’s Jarren Duran that was caught just above the dirt. Duran walked on four pitches and was stranded as Clase got the save in a 5-3 win.

    April 12, 2025

    The indictment cited bets of about $15,000 for a ball or hit by pitch and velocity slower than 98.95 mph. An 89.4 mph slider to Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. bounced opening the ninth inning. Witt singled three pitches later, starting a two-run, ninth-inning rally in the Guardians’ 6-3 win.

    May 11, 2025

    The indictment cited bets of about $11,000 for a ball or hit by pitch. A 99.1 mph cutter to Philadelphia’s Max Kepler was in the dirt starting the ninth inning. Kepler grounded out five pitches later and the Phillies went on to win 3-0.

    May 13, 2025

    The indictment cited bets of about $3,500 for a ball or hit by pitch and velocity slower than 99.45 mph. A 89.1 mph slider to Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers bounced opening the ninth inning. Bauers struck out five pitches later and Clase got the save in a 2-0 win.

    May 17, 2025

    The indictment cited bets of about $10,000 for a ball or hit by pitch and velocity slower than 97.95 mph. An 87.5 mph slider to Cincinnati’s Santiago Espinal bounced starting the eighth inning. Espinal singled four pitches later. Clase was relieved by Joey Castillo with two outs and two on and got a strikeout in a game the Reds won 4-1.

    May 28, 2025

    The indictment cites the outing without a photo of the specific pitch, saying the scheme included bets of about $4,000 that a pitch would be a ball or hit batter. Clase started the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andy Pages with a slider that bounced just behind the plate, but Pages swung and missed. Pages grounded out two pitches later to start the ninth and Clase got the save in a 7-4 win. The indictment says a bettor sent Clase a text with a GIF of a man hanging himself with toilet paper and Clase responded with a GIF of a sad puppy dog face.

    Luis Ortiz

    June 15, 2025

    The indictment cited bets of about $13,000 that a pitch would be a ball. A first-pitch 86.7 mph slider to Seattle’s Randy Arozarena bounced starting the second inning. Arozarena walked on five pitches and scored the game’s first run on Miles Mastrobuoni’s RBI single in a five-run inning of a game the Mariners won 6-0.

    June 27, 2025

    The indictment cited bets of about $18,000 that a pitch would be a ball. A first-pitch 86.7 mph slider to St. Louis’ Pedro Pagés bounced and went to the backstop opening the third inning. Pagés homered two pitches later for the game’s first run in a three-run inning, and the Cardinals won 5-0.

    ___

    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Francisco Alvarez injury: Mets C hit in left hand during rehab start | amNewYork

    [ad_1]

    The Mets’ Francisco Alvarez, who started Sunday night’s game and went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, exited in the the eighth inning after jamming his thumb into second base during a head-first slide.

    Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

    New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was forced to leave his rehab outing with Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday night after being hit on the left hand in the top of the sixth inning against the Yankees’ affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

    Per SNY, he was hit on the pinky, but the extent of the injury is unknown at this time. 

    The 23-year-old was attempting to make his way back from a sprained UCL ligament in his right thumb, which he suffered on Aug. 17 against the Seattle Mariners. He was placed on the 10-day IL two days later. 

    Alvarez has been ahead of schedule over the last week. He started taking batting practice and throwing on Sunday and on Tuesday, said that he was not feeling any pain while doing it. 

    Following a difficult start to the season, which prompted his demotion to Triple-A, Alvarez had been showing signs of life in his return to the majors. Since July 21 (21 games), he had been batting .323 with a 1.054 OPS, four home runs, and 13 RBI. 

    For more on Francisco Alvarez and the Mets, visit AMNY.com

     

    [ad_2]

    Joe Pantorno

    Source link

  • Francisco Alvarez says new Mets new skipper Carlos Mendoza is the ‘talk of’ Venezuela

    Francisco Alvarez says new Mets new skipper Carlos Mendoza is the ‘talk of’ Venezuela

    [ad_1]

    The Mets have some new fans thanks to the hiring of Carlos Mendoza.

    A native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, the Mets made Mendoza only the second Major League manager to come out of the country when they hired him to replace Buck Showalter earlier this month. It’s been a popular hire in his home country, according to another native, catcher Francisco Alvarez, who said his friends and family have all started rooting for the Mets because of it.

    “It’s pretty much the talk of the country right now,” Alvarez said through translator Alan Suriel Friday at the Mets’ ninth annual Turkey Drive in the Bronx. “Everyone is turning into Mets fans over there. That’s all everyone talks about and they’re, honestly, solely fans of the Mets now because we have a Venezuelan manager. So, it’s obviously something that’s really big in the country.”

    Considering there have been 473 players from the country to reach the big leagues, it’s somewhat surprising that the only other manager on that list is Ozzie Guillen, who managed the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins but he hasn’t managed since 2012.

    Mendoza was never one of those players. He was a career minor leaguer before becoming a coach in the Yankees organization and working his way up to the bench coach role in 2020, which is often considered the second-highest position in a dugout. It was not an easy path or a linear path to the Majors for Mendoza, but it’s a path that has endeared him to Alvarez.

    “I’m super proud of the story, of his background, what it’s taken him to get to this point,” Alvarez said. “It feels really good and I’m really proud of it,” Alvarez said through Suriel. “It brings me a lot of pride and joy that he’s been given this opportunity. I think he’s one of those people that can open the doors for other Venezuelan potential managers in the future because of the skill sets that he has.”

    The two have yet to meet in person, but they have a phone conversation already. Mendoza wasted no time in calling up members of the Mets roster after agreeing to terms with the Mets on a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth. Alvarez characterized the conversations as positive with the two of them in the initial process of getting to know one another.

    Alvarez, who recently turned 22, has shifted his mindset this winter as he ended his first full big league season. He’s also healthy this winter, having undergone ankle surgery last fall after the Mets were eliminated from the playoffs, which gives him the chance to hone in on certain parts of his game, like defensive elements behind the plate.

    Alvarez had a prolific rookie season at the plate hitting 25 home runs, the most ever hit by a rookie backstop in club history. But behind it, he struggled. The Mets were happy with the strides he made in pitch framing and footwork, but he allowed 99 stolen bases and eight passed balls, throwing out only 15.

    It’s a point of emphasis for him moving forward.

    “My primary focus is obviously winning — going out there and winning each and every game that we can,” Alvarez said. “But also, when I’m on the play I want to be able to limit the damage that the other teams did. I’m really focused on that, and really focused on calling a better game so we don’t give up as many runs as we did.”

    Mendoza frequently lauded the Yankees team chefs for their abilities to make Venezuelan food while Alvarez’s teammates lauded him for making lasagna last season. However, for Alvarez’s first American Thanksgiving, he’s letting his mother handle the cooking, saying she’s a better cook than he is.

    The Mets handed out over 7,500 turkeys across the five boroughs, helping to feed more than 61,000 people, with Alvarez passing out birds with Mr. and Mrs. Met at Part of the Solution Community Center.

    “It feels good because you know that they’re gonna spend days with their families with the things that they need,” he said through Suriel. “To be able to be out here with the Mets, and to be able to help them, it feels good.”

    [ad_2]

    Abbey Mastracco

    Source link

  • Francisco Lindor, Mets drop series opener to Carlos Correa, Twins after rookie blunders

    Francisco Lindor, Mets drop series opener to Carlos Correa, Twins after rookie blunders

    [ad_1]

    MINNEAPOLIS — The baby Mets have presented well over the last week, but it’s clear there is still a learning curve.

    The Mets dropped the first game of a series against the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Friday night at Target Field after a defensive blunder in the bottom of the seventh squandered a competitive performance by right-hander Kodai Senga. With the game tied at 2-2 and Sean Reid-Foley trying to keep it tied, Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez couldn’t connect.

    With runners on first and second and none out, the Twins executed a double steal. Andrew Stevenson overran the base and stumbled on a wild pitch, giving Alvarez time to throw him out at third.

    But Alvarez, the rookie catcher, overthrew Baty at third. Baty’s throw home went wide and Stevenson came home to give Minnesota the lead. If the Mets are looking for things to improve on in the future, holding runners on base should be near the top of the list.

    “He had trouble finding the ball and thought he had a play at third,” said manager Buck Showalter. “He’s out at the plate if we make the throw. It kind of starts with holding the runner to start with.”

    Reid-Foley (0-1) got two outs, but the AL Central-leading Twins (74-67) rallied. Things fell apart for the Mets (64-76).

    Royce Lewis doubled home Willi Castro. The Mets went to the bullpen for Grant Hartwig and Max Kepler singled to center to score Lewis.

    Then came Carlos Correa, the shortstop who was supposed to be a Met this season.

    Correa’s 12-year $315 million deal fell apart because of concerns about his physical. Negotiations dragged out and he ended up right back where he started last season in Minnesota. The rookie right-hander worked the count full on Correa before the shortstop took a cutter low and inside and pulled it down the left-field line for a double.

    However, this time the damage was contained. Hartwig got Alex Kirilloff to ground out to end the inning.

    Correa did enough damage earlier in the night when he homered off the pitcher that he once expected to be his teammate. The Mets went up 2-1 in the top of the fourth on a two-run double off left-hander Dallas Keuchel by Correa’s friend and Puerto Rican countrymate Francisco Lindor.

    But Correa took Senga deep in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 2-2.

    It was the only real blemish on an otherwise solid outing by right-hander Senga, who remained competitive throughout. He was undeterred when he missed his spots and when one pitch wasn’t working, he went to another.

    “I know I wasn’t my best, but I really wanted to stay out there and go as long as I could,” Senga said through translator Hiro Fujiwara. “Just mixing in a lot of pitches. I had a lot of missed pitches too, but changing velocity and changing location and doing whatever I can to stay out there.”

    The Mets have been conscious of his innings, not wanting to push him past a certain limit of what he’s been used to in Japan. However, he used 101 pitches through six innings with four walks driving up his pitch count. Minnesota took two runs off of Senga on four hits and he struck out five, exiting with the game tied 2-2.

    The Twins scored one in the bottom of the first inning before Senga settled into the game. This is what the Mets have discovered about Senga — he doesn’t give in on nights when he doesn’t have a feel for all of his pitches.

    “Just because I don’t feel good or I’m not feeling my best, it doesn’t mean I just fold and give up the game,” Senga said through Fujiwara. “I’m given four or five days to prepare for this game and I think it’s my job to stay out there and make the game winnable. I take pride in that, yeah.”

    Senga’s season ERA is down to 3.07. He’ll receive some NL Rookie of the Year consideration, and some of it will likely be because of the way he has been able to persevere through tough outings during his first season in North America.

    “A lot of times, those types of outings, where you’re not carrying the normal command of your pitches, are more impressive,” Showalter said.

    [ad_2]

    Abbey Mastracco

    Source link