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Tag: Professional baseball

  • Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

    Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

    HOUSTON — Framber Valdez made a five-run lead stand up after Houston’s lightning first-inning burst, Alex Bregman homered and the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 Saturday night to tie the World Series at one game apiece.

    Just like in Game 1, the Astros rushed to a 5-0 lead. Unlike ace Justin Verlander in the opener, Valdez and Houston held on.

    Valdez rebounded from a pair of poor outings in last year’s Series to pitch shutout ball into the seventh, and the bullpen survived a couple of jams to close things out.

    “Framber did a great job,” said Jose Altuve, who broke out of a 4-for-37 postseason slump with three hits. “Just amazing performance by him and our bullpen, as well.”

    Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez all doubled as Houston took a two-run lead four pitches in against Zack Wheeler. A throwing error by shortstop Edmundo Sosa allowed another run in the first, and Bregman added a two-run homer in the fifth.

    A day after coming back for a 6-5 win in 10 innings, Philadelphia tried to rally in this one, too.

    With the Phillies trailing by four runs, Kyle Schwarber hit a drive deep down the right-field line with a man on in the eighth against Rafael Montero that was originally ruled a two-run homer by right field line umpire James Hoye.

    First base umpire Tripp Gibson at first signaled for umps to conference and the call was reversed on a crew chief review when it was determined the ball was just to the foul side of the pole.

    Schwarber, who led the NL with 46 home runs this season and added three more in the playoffs, then hit a long drive that was caught at the right field wall.

    Ryan Pressly finished the combined six-hitter, giving up a run on an error by first baseman Yuli Gurriel on Brandon Marsh’s grounder.

    Following the split in Houston, the Series resumes Monday night when Citizens Bank Park hosts the Series for the first time since 2009.

    Of 61 previous Series tied 1-1, the Game 2 winner went on to the title 31 times — but just four of the last 14.

    After struggling to a 19.29 ERA in a pair of Series starts in last year’s six-game loss to Atlanta, Valdez pitched with polish and poise. His cheeks glistening with sweat, the 28-year-old left-hander struck out nine and walked three, allowing four hits in 6 1/3 innings.

    He blew by batters with a fastball averaging 95.6 mph and baffled them with his curve, which got six of his strikeouts — three of them looking. Unusually, he changed his glove and spikes mid-outing.

    When the Phillies put two runners on for the only time against him in the sixth, Valdez struck out Game 1 star J.T. Realmuto with high heat, then got Bryce Harper to bounce a first-pitch sinker into an inning-ending double play.

    “His sinker was fantastic. His curveball was pretty good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “His putaway pitches were good.”

    Thomson didn’t take issue with Valdez rubbing his palm — social media was abuzz, wondering if there was some substance there.

    “The umpires check these guys after almost every inning and if there’s something going on MLB will take care of it,” Thomson said. “We saw it the last time he started, too.”

    Nick Castellanos led off the Phillies seventh with a double and Valdez left after a groundout advanced the runner. Montero allowed Jean Segura’s sacrifice fly to the left-field warning track.

    A day after the deflating defeat, the Astros came out swinging and became the first team to open a Series game with three straight extra-base hits.

    Altuve lined a sinker into left, and Peña drove a curveball into the left-field corner for a 1-0 lead.

    Alvarez fouled off a pitch and drove a slider high off the 19-foot wall in left.

    “I was pulling for a fourth, actually,” Baker said. “Try to score as many runs as you can. Because you know Wheeler is one of the tougher guys in baseball.”

    Wheeler should have escaped down just 2-0, but shortstop Edmundo Sosa bounced his throw to first on Gurriel’s three-hopper for an error, the ball glancing off the mitt of first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

    Bregman, healthy after two injury-hampered seasons, hit a two-run homer to left in the fifth when Wheeler left a slider over the middle of the plate. Bregman has six career Series homers and three this postseason with nine RBIs.

    Wheeler gave up five runs — four earned — six hits and three walks in five innings, a day after Aaron Nola struggled.

    “I think everybody deserves a poor start every once in a while,” Thomson said. “Those guys have been so good for us for so long, and I fully expect them to come back and be ready to go and pitch well for us.”

    BIG DIFFERENCE

    Houston won 106 games during the season and Philadelphia 87, the second-highest win disparity in the Series behind the 93-win Chicago White Sox beat the 116-win Cubs in 1906.

    UP NEXT

    RHP Noah Syndergaard will start Game 3 for the Phillies and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. for the Astros. Phillies LHP Ranger Suárez will take the mound for Game 4, and likely LHP Cristian Javier for Houston.

    ———

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

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  • Realmuto, Phils rally past Astros in 10 to open World Series

    Realmuto, Phils rally past Astros in 10 to open World Series

    HOUSTON — A timely swing by J.T. Realmuto propelled the Philadelphia Phillies to an unlikely win in the World Series opener.

    A terrific stab by right fielder Nick Castellanos gave him that shot.

    Realmuto hit a solo home run in the 10th inning and the Phillies, saved by Castellanos’ sliding catch, rallied past the Houston Astros 6-5 Friday night.

    Down 5-0 early against Astros ace Justin Verlander, the Phillies became the first team in 20 years to overcome a five-run deficit to win a World Series game.

    They can thank Castellanos for getting the chance. Known much more for his bat than glove, he rushed in to make a game-saving grab on Jeremy Peña’s blooper with two outs in the ninth inning and a runner on second.

    “All in all, it was a great game, a great come from behind victory, and it just showed the resilience of the club again and how tough they are and they just never quit,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

    Realmuto, who hit a tying, two-run double in the fifth off Verlander, completed the comeback when he led off the 10th by sending a fastball from Luis García into the seats.

    Realmuto hoped for the best as he saw right fielder Kyle Tucker pursuing the ball.

    “Once I saw him running back to the wall, I was thinking in my head, ‘Oh, please just don’t catch it, just don’t catch it.’”

    He didn’t, the ball sailing just beyond his reach.

    Realmuto circled the bases in a scene he dreamed about as a kid.

    “Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean Wiffle Ball games in the backyard, the whole 3-2, bases-loaded, two-out situation. I probably had 7,000 at-bats in that situation growing up,” he said.

    And did he usually deliver?

    “Every time, yes,” Realmuto said, laughing.

    Realmuto became the first catcher to hit an extra-inning home run in the World Series since Carlton Fisk waved his walk-off fair in the 12th inning of Game 6 in the 1975 Series against Cincinnati at Fenway Park.

    Big-hitting Bryce Harper added two singles for the Phillies in his World Series debut. The two-time NL MVP is batting .426 (20 for 47) with five homers this postseason.

    Tucker homered twice for the Astros, who had been 7-0 in this postseason.

    “Disappointing, yeah, for sure,” Verlander said. “I need to do better. No excuses.”

    Houston had a chance in the 10th when Alex Bregman doubled with one out. After Yuli Gurriel drew a two-out walk, David Robertson bounced a wild pitch that put runners on second and third.

    Pinch-hitter Aledmys Díaz was then hit by a 2-0 pitch from David Robertson — but plate umpire James Hoye ruled that Díaz leaned into the pitch and didn’t permit him to go to first to load the bases.

    Díaz grounded out on a 3-1 pitch to end it.

    The last team to blow a 5-0 lead in the World Series was the 2002 San Francisco Giants, who squandered their chance in Game 6 to close out the Angels and win the title under manager Dusty Baker.

    Baker saw it happen again this time as manager of the Astros, by the same 6-5 final score.

    The 106-win Astros hadn’t lost to anyone since Philadelphia beat them on Oct. 3 behind Aaron Nola to clinch a wild-card spot as a third-place team and earn its first playoff trip in 11 years.

    Houston raced out to a big lead thanks in large part to Tucker’s two homers. But the Phillies stormed back as Verlander again struggled in the World Series.

    Perfect as he took a 5-0 lead into the fourth, he exited after the fifth with the score 5-all. That left him 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight career World Series starts — hardly the line for a pitcher who’s expected to soon pick up his third Cy Young Award.

    The Astros fell to 0-5 in World Series openers and dropped their first game this postseason after sweeping in the AL Division Series and AL Championship Series.

    Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win when Castellanos made his stellar play.

    With Jose Altuve on second base after his two-out single and stolen base, Peña hit a ball that came off the bat at 68 mph and went only about 200 feet. Castellanos ran a long way, then with a lunge made the inning-ending catch while sliding to the ground.

    Right before the pitch, Castellanos moved in a little closer.

    “That was just what my instincts told me to do. I just thought he had a better chance of trying to bloop something in there than torching something over my head,” he said.

    In the opener of the NL Division Series against Atlanta, Castellanos drove in three runs and helped preserve the lead with a somewhat similar catch in the ninth of that 7-6 win.

    “I’ve had a couple people say that it seemed like a carbon copy of each other,” he said. “But I’m just happy that an out was made and we were able to go on and win both those games.”

    In the World Series for the fourth time in six years — and after losing to Atlanta in six games last year — these Astros are looking to give Baker his first title as a manager and get their second championship after winning it in 2017, a title tainted by a sign-stealing scandal.

    The surprising Phillies, who have two championships, are in the World Series for the first time since 2009. They bounced back from a 21-29 start that led to manager Joe Girardi’s firing.

    Tucker had the orange-clad home crowd rocking early as he became the first player in franchise history with a multi-home run game in the World Series. One of the few players in the majors to hit without batting gloves and suddenly exuding attitude, he had four RBIs a year after finishing the Fall Classic without one.

    The normally mild-mannered Tucker punctuated his first homer with a nifty bat flip and mixed in an expletive as he screamed toward the dugout while beginning his trot.

    Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning in his last trip to Minute Maid Park, more than three weeks ago when Philadelphia secured its first playoff spot since 2011. Things didn’t go nearly as smooth in his return Friday.

    Tucker sent an off-speed pitch from Nola soaring high and into the seats in right field to put Houston up 1-0 with no outs in the second. Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Martín Maldonado added singles for another run.

    Peña, the ALCS MVP, doubled to open Houston’s third before Yordan Alvarez grounded out. He was initially ruled safe, but the Phillies challenged the call, and it was overturned.

    Bregman, who was Nola’s roommate at LSU, walked before Tucker went deep again, knocking a ball into the stands behind the bullpen in right-center to extend it to 5-0.

    Verlander, who had an MLB-best 1.75 ERA in the regular season, allowed six hits and five runs in five innings. He joined Roger Clemens as the only pitchers in major league history to make a World Series start in three different decades but still could not claim that elusive World Series win. Friday was his 12th career start in a postseason series opener, tying him with Jon Lester for most in MLB history.

    Verlander, who started his third Series opener, retired the first 10 batters before Rhys Hoskins singled with one out in the fourth. Harper and Castellanos singled for a run and Alec Bohm hit a two-run double to cut the lead to 5-3.

    Brandon Marsh opened the fifth with a double before Kyle Schwarber walked. Realmuto sent them both home with a double off the wall in left-center to tie it at 5-all.

    UP NEXT

    Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler opposes Framber Valdez when the series continues Saturday night.

    ———

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

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  • National anthem singer flubs lyrics at World Series opener

    National anthem singer flubs lyrics at World Series opener

    HOUSTON — Grammy-nominated singer Eric Burton lost track of the lyrics during “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Friday night’s World Series opener between Houston and Philadelphia.

    With players and staff lined up on the field for the traditional pre-game ceremony, and a giant American flag unfurled across the outfield, the Black Pumas band leader went off track on the second line. He sang: “What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last streaming” instead of “gleaming.”

    He continued correctly with: “Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight.” But then, instead of “O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?” he backtracked to “What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last” before again singing “streaming” instead of “gleaming.”

    Burton then picked up correctly with “And the rocket’s red glare, the bomb bursting in air” and finished uneventfully.

    Burton performed at last year’s televised concert for President Joe Biden’s inauguration.

    ———

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

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  • Inflation, gas prices looming over sports biz, concessions

    Inflation, gas prices looming over sports biz, concessions

    CHICAGO — Dan Coyne makes an annual trip from his Pennsylvania home to watch the Chicago Bears with his brother, Dave, who has season tickets.

    The brothers got something to eat a couple hours before the game. Dave Coyne, 47, normally stays away from the concessions at Soldier Field, but “I only had to pay for myself tonight,” he said. “I didn’t have a kid or my wife with me.”

    That’s the calculus in play as fans balance their favorite sporting events — the games they missed desperately during the COVID-19 pandemic — with persistently high inflation and gas prices that loom over everything these days.

    U.S. inflation jumped 8.2% in September from a year ago, the government reported this month. That’s not far from a four-decade high of 9.1% in June. Higher prices for housing, food and medical care were among the largest contributors to the rise.

    Given the industry’s reliance on disposable income, the inflation numbers are a troubling sign for sports business leaders.

    “What’s historically accurate for teams is that they tend to try to take less on the ticketing side because once somebody comes in they typically will make up for it once they are inside,” said Ron Li, a senior vice president at Navigate, a data-driven consulting firm in sports and entertainment. “But with costs rising pretty much across the board after the turnstile, I think they have some decisions they need to make.”

    According to Team Marketing Report, the average cost for a family of four to attend a 2022 Major League Baseball game was $256.41, an increase of $3.04 from the previous season. The main engine behind the rise was the cost of tickets, with the average general ticket price increasing 3.6% to $35.93.

    Despite the jump in prices, Americans have largely kept up their spending, particularly on entertainment and other services like travel that they missed out on during the pandemic. Still, there are signs the solid spending won’t last: Credit card debt is rising and savings have declined as consumers, particularly low-income ones, have taken hits to their finances from the spike in inflation.

    Sitting on a bench in front of Soldier Field, about to watch his beloved Bears play in person, money wasn’t exactly a big concern for Corey Metzger.

    Or any concern, really.

    “This trip has been a long time in the making, and I’m splurging whatever I got to spend to make it happen,” said the 45-year-old Metzger, who works in law enforcement in Fargo, North Dakota.

    Casey Lynn, 43, a low-voltage technician from Minneapolis, and his wife, Lori, 44, a commercial lender, aren’t big football fans, but they decided to check out the Bears on a trip to Chicago. While Casey Lynn said he is bothered by the ticket surcharges, the couple didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to see the game.

    “The gas is a necessity. Electric’s a necessity. The sports isn’t a necessity,” he said. “But when in Rome, why not?”

    Of course, the cost of games often includes a trip to the concessions stands for a hot dog or a beer. Concessions typically have a higher profit margin for sports teams and providers, but increased costs for goods, transportation and labor have cut into those margins.

    The changes come after concessions companies were already profoundly impacted by the pandemic.

    “The whole model has been kind of disrupted in a pretty big way as we’re dealing with inflation of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30% when we have typically underwritten 2 or 3%,” said Jamie Obletz, president of Delaware North Sportservice. “And you can imagine the impact that that’s had on us and what it’s forced us to think about and do over the past six to 12 months, like a lot of companies.”

    Paul Pettas, a vice president with Sodexo Live!, estimated overall costs are up 10% to 15% over the past 12 to 24 months.

    “In reality, costs are up across the board, but we certainly try to do as much as we can to keep that down and not have that affect the average fan or guest who comes to our events,” he said.

    Concessions companies also are experiencing lingering issues with their supply chains, which have improved recently but remain a factor. Obletz recalled his company running out of peanuts midway through the 2021 World Series in Atlanta, so two workers drove a truck to another venue, loaded up and then drove through the night to get back to Truist Park.

    “Things are not great,” Obletz said. “They’re better than they were, it feels like, three to six months ago, and our hope is that it continues to improve.”

    The issues have forced concession companies to get creative in an effort to address the rising costs with minimal effect on consumers in terms of culinary options and price.

    Chefs are redesigning menus to replace items that face significant cost increases and consolidating other options. They are using analytics to examine portion sizes — do consumers need six chicken fingers or will five work instead? — and taking a closer look at their vendors.

    “There’s dozens of things like this that we’ve tried to do and are doing as we speak, trying very desperately to offset those pricing increases that we’re seeing,” Obletz said.

    Alison Birdwell, the president and CEO of Aramark Sports + Entertainment, said the company is leaning on analytics and its data science team “more than ever” when it comes to menu strategies and new concessions items.

    “With that guidance, we are working to give fans the items they’re looking for while simultaneously being efficient with our product and mitigating significant increases in cost,” Birdwell said in a statement to AP.

    ———

    AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.

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    For more AP coverage of the impact of inflation: https://apnews.com/hub/inflation And for more AP sports coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Cardinals’ Wainwright back in 2023; coaching staff to change

    Cardinals’ Wainwright back in 2023; coaching staff to change

    Adam Wainwright will pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals next season, choosing to return for an 18th with the club while longtime teammates Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina head into retirement.

    Cardinals president John Mozeliak said Wednesday that the 41-year-old Wainwright informed the NL Central champions of his decision to return shortly after they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Wainwright did not pitch during either game in part because he had struggled with his delivery late in the season.

    Wainwright finished 11-12 with a 3.71 ERA in 32 start, his first losing season in which he made at least 20 starts. He won just twice over his final six starts, though, and had a 7.22 ERA while dealing with what he called a “dead arm.”

    Wainwright earned $17.5 million on a one-year deal last season. Terms of his contract for 2023 have not been disclosed.

    The right-hander will head into next season needing five wins to reach 200 for his career. Wainwright is 15 behind Jesse Haines for the second-most wins in franchise history; Bob Gibson is the leader with 251 of them.

    Wainwright and Molina set the major league record for career starts as a battery last season, eventually hitting 328 starts together. But with Molina heading into retirement, Andrew Knizner is in line to be the everyday catcher, though Mozeliak did indicate Wednesday that the club would be in the market for help behind the plate.

    In other news, Mozeliak said he was willing to offer new contracts to pitching coach Mike Maddux and hitting coach Jeff Albert but both decided to step away. The 61-year-old Maddux had been with the Cardinals since 2018 and Albert spent time with the Astros before taking over as the Cardinals hitting coach ahead of the 2019 season.

    The Cardinals had already lost bench coach Skip Schumacher to the Marlins as their manager this week. And with bullpen coach Bryan Eversgerd being reassigned as a special assistant within the organization, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol will have four spots to replace on his staff heading into his second season in charge.

    Turner Ward, who had been the assistant hitting coach, could be a candidate for promotion. Pitching strategist Dusty Blake also will be back and could be among the candidates to replace Maddux as the pitching coach.

    ———

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

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  • AP source: Schumaker hired as manager of Miami Marlins

    AP source: Schumaker hired as manager of Miami Marlins

    MIAMI — Skip Schumaker was a candidate to take over as manager of the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets in recent years, only to see those clubs pick someone else.

    The Miami Marlins didn’t let him get away.

    Schumaker has been hired by the Marlins to become the 16th manager in franchise history, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the Marlins had not announced the hiring.

    He comes to Miami from St. Louis, where he spent this season as the bench coach. Schumaker had been a first-base coach and associate manager for San Diego from 2018 through 2021, then joined the Cardinals’ staff.

    The 42-year-old Schumaker takes over in Miami for Don Mattingly, who managed the Marlins for seven seasons. Mattingly went 443-587 with Miami, winning the NL Manager of the Year award after leading the Marlins to the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

    Mattingly’s contract expired when this season ended, and he and the Marlins’ front office — owner Bruce Sherman and general manager Kim Ng — agreed it would be best for both sides not to enter into a new deal.

    That prompted a search by Miami, and Schumaker became the pick.

    Schumaker played in the majors for 11 seasons, mostly with the Cardinals, and now gets his first managerial opportunity with Miami — which shares a spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida, with St. Louis.

    Schumaker was a starter for the Cardinals team that won the 2011 World Series. The California native batted .278 in 1,149 games while primarily playing second base and the outfield. He retired in March 2016 while in camp with the Padres on a minor-league deal.

    ———

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

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  • Love ’em or hate ’em, Series-bound Astros keep on winning

    Love ’em or hate ’em, Series-bound Astros keep on winning

    They’re off to the World Series for a fourth time in six seasons, a remarkable feat of staying power for a franchise in any era of baseball history, let alone one that includes a 12-team playoff gauntlet filled with potential pitfalls.

    Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. put it succiently on Sunday night: “This is not easy.”

    Even so, the dichotomy that is this generation of Houston Astros will probably never go away.

    They left no doubt that they’re the best team in the American League this season, sweeping aside slugger Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in four games after Sunday’s 6-5 victory.

    It should be a lovable group. There’s pint-sized star Jose Altuve, two-time All-Star Alex Bregman, ace right-hander Justin Verlander and a slew of up-and-coming players like ALCS MVP Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker. There’s also Dusty Baker, the 73-year-old manager who is still searching for his first World Series title and the oldest man to lead a team to the Fall Classic.

    And yet…

    The stench of the 2017 cheating scandal — when the Astros were found to have illicitly stolen signs that season — still lingers, even though 21 of the 26 players on this year’s ALCS roster were not on the 2017 team.

    Only Altuve, Bregman, McCullers, Verlander and Yuli Gurriel remain. The quintet has endured a firehose of hate from fans and even fellow players since the scandal was brought to light before the 2020 season. The catcalls were still heard at Yankee Stadium over the past few days, but as the Astros piled up the runs and wins, there was a hint of another emotion.

    Grudging respect.

    “They got better treatment here this time than in previous times here,” Baker said. “So maybe it was a different crowd or maybe the crowd has finally forgiven things of the past.”

    That’s probably wishful thinking.

    But it’s also probably time to admit that these Astros — trash cans or no trash cans — are simply really good at baseball.

    “When everything happened a few years ago, we knew the one thing that we could do is we could win and we could win and win a lot,” McCullers said. “I understand people are still not going to like us. They’re going to boo us, but at some point you have to respect what we’re doing.”

    It’s a franchise that’s kept rolling despite the upheaval the cheating scandal wrought. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for a year by MLB and eventually fired before being replaced by Baker and James Click. Many of the best players from that 2017 team have retired or moved on to other teams.

    Star outfielder George Springer left for the Blue Jays. Two-time All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa signed with the Twins. Right-handed pitcher Charlie Morton left for the Rays and is now with the Braves.

    Altuve is among those who have witnessed it all. Now his team is back in the World Series: The Astros host the Phillies in Game 1 on Friday.

    Those who wanted the Astros to suffer a quick, embarrassing downfall in the aftermath of 2017 continue to be disappointed.

    “When you talk about Springer, Charlie Morton, Carlos Correa, you’re talking about all superstars, and to get players to fill that spot it’s not easy,” Altuve said before Game 4 on Sunday. “The fact that we’re still playing really good and being in these situations, like I said, we just have to give a lot of credit to the front office group.”

    In a way, the Astros saga is a fitting chapter for a sport that can never seem to completely enjoy its biggest moments.

    Judge set the AL record for homers with 62 this season and the debate raged about whether he should be considered the all-time single-season record holder. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa all hit more in the National League, but for many, their accomplishments are overshadowed by links to performance-enhancing drugs.

    Now the debate will rage about the Astros.

    Altuve has become a pro at deflecting vitriol. He knows some in baseball would love for them to go away.

    That doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon.

    “I do as best as I can to keep everything away and just focus on the game and just be ready to help my team,” Altuve said. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter where I play, I just got to be 100% focused on the game.”

    ———

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

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  • Hot Harper carries Phillies into 1st World Series since 2009

    Hot Harper carries Phillies into 1st World Series since 2009

    PHILADELPHIA — The billionaire owner of the Philadelphia Phillies pounded his fists on Bryce Harper’s chest and joked the Phillies slugger was almost underpaid at $330 million over the life of his contract.

    It was absurd to put a price tag on the moment for John Middleton as he pulled in Harper for a hug while the National League championship celebration swirled around them on the field. This was a moment the duo visualized when Middleton took a jet in February 2019 to Las Vegas to court Harper in meetings and dinners that would eventually yield a 13-year, $330-million deal, the biggest in baseball history for a free agent.

    So when Harper and Middleton finally embraced — once the Phillies beat San Diego 4-3 on Sunday in Game 5 of the NLCS and reached their first World Series since 2009 — yeah, the feelings were a bit more personal.

    “You bet it was! Of course it was,” Middleton said. “(It’s) $330 million later, mutual promises of being committed to winning and doing whatever it took to win.”

    Harper delivered in the postseason, a place seen only in fits and spurts for a franchise that has two World Series championships in 140 years. The tater forever etched as an all-timer in team history — the one that had Middleton and Phillies fans everywhere pleading for the ball to keep going — was his game-winning, two-run homer in the eighth that lifted Philly into the World Series and left even Harper momentarily bewildered.

    “Oh my gosh. I just did that,” Harper said in the dugout.

    Sure did.

    Next stop, Houston.

    The Phillies open the World Series on Friday against the Astros with more than a puncher’s chance against the defending American League champions strictly because of Harper. The numbers only tell part of the tale, even as the 30-year-old designated hitter is piling up stats among the best in postseason history, all while declaring Citizens Bank Park is his house. He leads in the clubhouse, and from his Phillie Phanatic cleats and headband, to his novelty T-shirts to his shoutouts for Philly sports legends, he has embraced the fans and the pressure of playing in the city like few outsiders ever have in any sport.

    “All the things we thought he was, have turned out to be true,” Middleton said. “There’s been no disappointments. Sometimes when you go through that process you think you understand somebody and what you really get is a little bit different. There is nothing different with Bryce. He is just committed to winning. He’ll do whatever it takes. I think if I told him he had to play third base, he’d play third base.”

    The right fielder who bowed to Phillies fans each time he ran out to start the game was forced into a DH role in April because of a small tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his throwing elbow. Because Harper could not throw with the injury, had the National League not adopted the DH rule this season, he might have missed a considerable chunk of time, if not the season. Remember, too: When Harper’s thumb was broken by a pitch from San Diego’s Blake Snell in late June, there were concerns he might not be back until next year.

    The 2021 NL MVP slumped a bit late in the season as the Phillies made a run a the NL wild card. But in the playoffs against St. Louis, Atlanta and the Padres, Harper’s numbers soared higher than his jersey sales. Unlike Padres slugger Manny Machado, Harper did not ask for an out in his contract, though his postseason play would have provided ample negotiation fuel.

    Among his October achievements:

    — Harper is hitting .419 with six doubles, five homers, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored and a 1.351 OPS in the postseason.

    — His 11 extra-base hits are most for a Phillies player in a postseason and his 10-game hitting streak matches Lenny Dykstra (1993) for the team’s longest in the playoffs.

    — Harper’s go-ahead home run was the sixth in MLB postseason history in the eighth inning or later that gave his team the lead when trailing in a potential series-clinching game.

    “As good as it gets,” Phillies manger Rob Thomson said. “I mean, he’s proved to me over and over and over again that there’s no moment that’s too big for him, and he’s come through so many times. You just kind of expect it when he goes to the plate.”

    Harper almost does, too. With the Phillies down 3-2 and reliever Robert Suarez on the mound, Harper had a message in the dugout.

    “Let’s give them something to remember,” Harper said.

    He got the help he needed once J.T. Realmuto led off the inning with a single. Padres manager Bob Melvin elected to stay with the right-handed Suarez against the lefty Harper rather than bring in Josh Hader, the hard-throwing lefty closer.

    Harper started 1-1, then fouled off three straight pitches in the rain as a sellout crowd of 45,485 grew louder. He took ball two. Then, boom. Harper hammered a 98.9 mph sinker to left-center, and minutes later, the Phillies had won the game and the pennant. He had long ago won over Philly.

    “I just looked at my dugout and kind of it’s for all of them,” Harper said. “It’s for this whole team. It’s for this whole organization. We haven’t been here for a long time. It’s for every single fan that’s here now and that isn’t here. It’s for all of them no matter where you came from, who you are, you’ve got Phils on your chest, you’re family. I really believe that. That’s from right here.”

    ———

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  • World Series teed up: Harper, Phillies go deep, face Astros

    World Series teed up: Harper, Phillies go deep, face Astros

    Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber breaking the Bank in Philly. Yordan Alvarez launching moonshots in H-Town.

    Dusty Baker trying for a most elusive win. Justin Verlander, too. A fired-up Harper and All-Stars J.T. Realmuto and Zack Wheeler, stepping onto baseball’s biggest platform for the first time.

    Yo! The Philadelphia Phillies, of all teams, are headed to the World Series. Against those back-for-more Houston Astros, y’all.

    A pretty tasty matchup starting Friday night at Minute Maid Park, a Fall Classic full of vibrant sights, scents and sounds.

    Think cheesesteaks, hoagies and water ice vs. BBQ brisket, Tex-Mex and Blue Bell ice cream.

    The Phanatic and Phils fans need a late rally at Citizens Bank Park? Dial up something from “Rocky.” Want to party in Houston? Sing and clap along with mascot Orbit to Moe Bandy’s bouncy “Deep in the Heart of Texas” during the seventh-inning stretch.

    Harper already has hit five home runs this postseason. In the signature swing of his career, his eighth-inning drive against San Diego on Sunday in Game 5 sent the Phillies into the World Series for the first time since 2009 and earned him the NL Championship Series MVP.

    The Astros are 7-0 this postseason after finishing off a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series. Alex Bregman’s go-ahead single keyed a 6-5 win Sunday night.

    After losing the World Series last year, Houston opened as a solid favorite to win the title this year, according to FanDuel.

    Odds are, crowd might witness a Schwar-bomb or the Chas Chomp along the way.

    But no possibility of seeing a sibling rivalry. Astros reliever Phil Maton broke a finger on his pitching hand when he punched his locker after a shaky performance in the regular-season finale, an outing that included giving up a hit to his younger brother, Phils utilityman Nick Maton.

    City of Brotherly Love, not so much. But a nice treat for fans in both cities: The Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL’s only unbeaten team, visit the Houston Texans on the travel day between Games 5 and 6, if those are needed.

    Weather won’t be an issue with the retractable roof in Houston. No telling what the elements will be with the open air in Philly.

    With the likes of Jose Altuve, ALCS MVP Jeremy Peña, Rhys Hoskins and Alec Bohm, this World Series is a best-of-seven matchup representing some of the game’s best present and future. Plus a good piece of the past — remember, these teams have played each other nearly 600 times.

    There was the thrilling 1980 NL Championship Series, when Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Steve Carlton and the Fightin’ Phils outlasted Nolan Ryan at the Astrodome on the way to their first World Series title.

    Years later, closers Brad Lidge, Billy Wagner, Mitch Williams and Ken Giles spent time with both clubs. So did future Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Robin Roberts.

    And this neat piece of history — the Phillies were the first team to ever beat Houston, back in 1962 when the expansion Colt .45s lost at Connie Mack Stadium.

    Funny, the Phillies are also the most recent team to beat the Astros. Way back on Oct. 3, Philadelphia opened the final series of the regular season with a 3-0 win at Houston, with Schwarber homering twice as Aaron Nola outpitched Lance McCullers Jr.

    The Astros then closed out an AL-best 106-56 record by winning the next two behind Verlander and Framber Valdez — Philadelphia still leads 297-283 in their head-to-head matchups, mostly all before Houston moved from the National League to the American League in 2013.

    Houston then swept Seattle in the AL Division Series and the Yankees in the ALCS featuring its winning formula of imposing starting pitching, a dominant bullpen and a lineup full of home run hitters such as Alvarez and Kyle Tucker.

    This marks the Astros’ fourth trip to the World Series in six years and their only title in 2017 was tainted by an illegal sign-stealing scandal. Last season, they lost to Freddie Freeman and the underdog Atlanta Braves in six games.

    At 73 and in his 25th season as a manager, Baker is looking for a crown to cap his ample resume.

    “I mean, victories drive me. And I’ll get it,” he said during the ALCS. “You can’t rush it before it gets here because it ain’t here yet. So you just got to put yourself in a position to do it.”

    Verlander, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner after bouncing back from Tommy John surgery, is hoping to improve his 0-6 mark in seven career World Series starts.

    The Phillies, meanwhile, looked like a big zero this year before getting to this point in October.

    Stuck at 21-29 going into June, they fired manager Joe Girardi a few days later and put the interim tag on bench coach Rob Thomson. Then suddenly, the Phillies took off.

    They overcame Harper’s broken thumb, sidelining the two-time NL MVP for two months, beat out Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in going 87-75, and quickly topped NL Central champion St. Louis in the wild-card round. Philadelphia eliminated defending World Series champ Atlanta in the NLDS and topped San Diego in the NLCS.

    Now, with Thomson having been rewarded with a two-year contract, the Phillies are the first third-place team in baseball history to reach the World Series.

    Philadelphia lost to the Yankees in its last trip this far. A year earlier in 2008, Lidge capped off his remarkable year of going 48 for 48 in save chances to close out the Phillies’ second title as a team led by Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard beat Tampa Bay in five games.

    Spurred by their rollicking home crowd, Harper and this bunch of Phils hope to add another banner.

    Thomson is trying to join Jack McKeon (Marlins, 2003) and Bob Lemon (Yankees, 1978) as the only managers hired in midseason to win the title. To the 59-year-old Thomson, it’s not such a surprise his team is in this position.

    “Coming out of spring training … we knew we had a good ballclub. We knew our bullpen was good, rotation was good, we had great offense,” he said earlier in the playoffs. “We just got off to a little bit of a slow start and kind of spiraled.”

    “And we had ups and downs during the season, just like any other club does. But they knew that they were going to come out of it at some point and start winning again. And we did,” he said.

    —————

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  • Cortes hurt, leaves after tying 3-run HR in ALCS Game 4

    Cortes hurt, leaves after tying 3-run HR in ALCS Game 4

    NEW YORK — Nestor Cortes’ fastball dropped 3 mph from the end of the second inning to the third in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series, and New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone walked to the mound with head athletic trainer Tim Lentych.

    “He said he was fine,” Boone recalled. “I’m not going to just pull him out of the game because he isn’t perfect.”

    Eight pitches later, Cortes allowed a tying three-run homer to Jeremy Peña and the Astros went on to a 6-5 victory Sunday night that completed a four-game AL Championship Series sweep.

    “It’s kind of embarrassing that that happened, obviously, with the circumstances we were in,” Cortes said.

    Cortes had reaggravated his strained left groin during workouts in the five days ahead of the Division Series opener against Cleveland on Oct. 11 but made a pair of starts against the Guardians and won Game 5.

    He allowed a single and a walk in the first two innings against the Astros, then walked Martín Maldonado leading off the third and had a 2-1 count on Jose Altuve when Boone made the mound visit after his eighth pitch of the inning.

    “He asked me how I felt and I told him, `I feel well enough to compete. I feel great,’” Cortes recalled. “He knows I’m a competitor. He knows that it’s going to be hard to take me off the mound. And I think I showed all year that I’ve gained respect from him to leave me out there and grind through it.”

    Cortes threw 17 fastballs in the first two innings against Houston ranging from 89.4 to 92.4 mph. His seven in the second inning were from 87.7 mph to 89.1 mph.

    His control was off. Cortes went to three-ball counts on seven of 11 batters and he threw just 28 of 55 pitches for strikes.

    “It gradually got worse. It started locking up on me there in the third,” Cortes said.

    Altuve’s walk marked the first time the 27-year-old All-Star left-hander walked consecutive batters this year. He fell behind 3-1 when Pena homered on a cutter, driving it into the left-field seats.

    “I don’t think that homer was because I was hurt,” Cortes said. “It was just, he put a good swing to it. I thought I had located the pitch pretty well.”

    Cortes did not pitch between Aug. 21 and Sept. 8 because of a strained left groin, then returned to make five regular-season starts and two in the Division Series, when he allowed three runs in 10 innings.

    “It’s been lingering for a while,” he said.

    Cortes thought he could pitch through it and Boone believed him.

    “We’ve been dealing with this on different levels for a couple months,” Boone said. “He said he was fine and then obviously wasn’t quite fine enough.”

    ———

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  • Judge, slumping Yankees on the brink after getting blanked

    Judge, slumping Yankees on the brink after getting blanked

    NEW YORK — Back home for a must-win game, Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees generated more boos than base hits.

    One more punchless performance and their season is over.

    Handcuffed again by Cristian Javier and Houston’s stingy pitching staff, the power-packed Yankees went down meekly Saturday on three harmless hits in a 5-0 defeat that left them on the brink of a four-game sweep by the Astros in the AL Championship Series.

    “Our backs are against the wall now,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said in a quiet Yankees clubhouse. “Collectively, we’ve just got to do a better job of putting pressure on them.”

    New York must find a way to bust out of its playoff slump Sunday night in Game 4 and beyond, or it will be 13 years and counting without a World Series appearance.

    That’s a long time in the storied annals of baseball’s most successful franchise. But the only hope remaining for these $254 million Yankees is an improbable rally that would make them just the second team in major league history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series.

    Boston accomplished the feat in the 2004 ALCS against the rival Yankees on the way to winning its first World Series championship in 86 years.

    Right now, though, New York would welcome something as simple as a clutch single — because the Astros are Yankees kryptonite.

    “I think they’ve attacked the zone,” Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson said. “They have good stuff. They have good arms over there. Can’t take anything away from those guys, but we just need to be better.”

    After totaling just four runs during two losses in Houston to begin the series, New York’s normally potent lineup looked even more overmatched Saturday in providing zero support for ace Gerrit Cole.

    Judge, who set an American League record with 62 home runs during the regular season, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and never got the ball out of the infield. New York is batting .128 with 41 strikeouts in the series.

    This from a team that led the majors with 254 homers during the season and finished second in runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

    “I don’t think I’m perplexed about it. It’s just the nature of the game sometimes,” said outfielder Harrison Bader, who made a costly error when he nearly collided with Judge in right-center. “It’s a small sample size.”

    Giancarlo Stanton doubled on a 3-0 delivery with one out in the fourth inning — the first hit Javier had allowed in 167 pitches versus the Yankees this year. The 25-year-old righty threw seven innings and struck out 13 in a combined no-hitter by three Houston hurlers at Yankee Stadium on June 25.

    This series was supposed to be an entertaining clash between the American League’s preeminent powers, but the Yankees have been no match for Houston pitching.

    “They’re not really missing over the big part of the plate a lot,” Rizzo said.

    The playoff-proven Astros improved to 8-2 against New York this year, including October. They eliminated the Yankees from the postseason in 2015, 2017 and 2019, and are right on the cusp of doing it again.

    Yankees manager Aaron Boone has shuffled his lineup during the series in an attempt to get the offense going. Nothing has worked.

    “Obviously, frustrating day. It felt like we had some pitches there with Javier to do some things with and just fouled some pitches off. I thought there were some good at-bats sprinkled in there. But obviously just not able to mount enough,” Boone said. “We just need to get a little bit of a spark and something to bounce our way and try and grab a lead and play with it a little bit.”

    As the Astros paraded six pitchers to the mound, New York was in danger of being held to one hit for the first time in its 422-game postseason history before Matt Carpenter and Bader got consecutive singles with two outs in the ninth.

    Donaldson then struck out to end it, bringing the last round in a string of boos all day from the scattered fans who remained.

    “I think they were booing a lot tonight,” Donaldson said.

    ———

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  • Today in History: October 22, JFK reveals missile bases

    Today in History: October 22, JFK reveals missile bases

    Today in History

    Today is Saturday, Oct. 22, the 295th day of 2022. There are 70 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Oct. 22, 1962, in a nationally broadcast address, President John F. Kennedy revealed the presence of Soviet-built missile bases under construction in Cuba and announced a quarantine of all offensive military equipment being shipped to the Communist island nation.

    On this date:

    In 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first constitutionally elected president of the Republic of Texas.

    In 1926, Ernest Hemingway’s first novel, “The Sun Also Rises,” was published by Scribner’s of New York.

    In 1928, Republican presidential nominee Herbert Hoover spoke of the “American system of rugged individualism” in a speech at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

    In 1934, bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was shot to death by federal agents and local police at a farm near East Liverpool, Ohio.

    In 1968, Apollo 7 returned safely from Earth orbit, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.

    In 1979, the U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment — a decision that precipitated the Iran hostage crisis.

    In 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.

    In 1995, the largest gathering of world leaders in history marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.

    In 2001, a second Washington, D.C., postal worker, Joseph P. Curseen, died of inhalation anthrax.

    In 2014, a gunman shot and killed a soldier standing guard at a war memorial in Ottawa, then stormed the Canadian Parliament before he was shot and killed by the usually ceremonial sergeant-at-arms.

    In 2016, the Chicago Cubs won their first pennant since 1945, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series. (The Cubs would go on to beat Cleveland in the World Series in seven games.)

    In 2020, in the closing debate of the presidential campaign, President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden clashed over how to tame the raging coronavirus; Trump declared that the virus would “go away,” while Biden countered that the nation was heading toward a “dark winter.”

    Ten years ago: President Barack Obama sharply challenged Mitt Romney on foreign policy in their final campaign debate, held in Boca Raton, Florida, accusing him of “wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map”; the Republican coolly responded, “Attacking me is not an agenda” for dealing with a dangerous world. An Italian court convicted seven experts of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn residents of the risk before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people. (The verdicts were later overturned.) American Indian activist Russell Means, 72, died in Rapid City, South Dakota.

    Five years ago: The latest allegations of sexual harassment or assault in Hollywood targeted writer and director James Toback; the Los Angeles Times reported that he had been accused of sexual harassment by 38 women. U.S.-backed fighters in Syria captured the country’s largest oil field from the Islamic State group, marking a major advance against the extremists. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scored a major victory in national elections that decisively returned his ruling coalition to power.

    One year ago: The Supreme Court allowed a Texas law banning most abortions to remain in effect while agreeing to hear arguments in the case. Florida businessman Lev Parnas, who helped Rudy Giuliani’s effort to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine, was convicted in New York of campaign finance crimes. Actor Peter Scolari, best known for his role on TV’s “Newhart,” died in New York at 66 after a two-year battle with cancer. Jay Black, front man for the 1960s rock band Jay and the Americans, died at 82.

    Today’s Birthdays: Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale is 86. Actor Christopher Lloyd is 84. Actor Derek Jacobi is 84. Actor Tony Roberts is 83. Movie director Jan (yahn) de Bont is 79. Actor Catherine Deneuve is 79. Rock musician Eddie Brigati is 77. Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is 75. Actor Jeff Goldblum is 70. Rock musician Greg Hawkes is 70. Movie director Bill Condon is 67. Actor Luis Guzman is 66. Actor-writer-producer Todd Graff is 63. Rock musician Cris Kirkwood is 62. Actor-comedian Bob Odenkirk is 60. Olympic gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano is 59. Christian singer TobyMac is 58. Singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding (Wesley Stace) is 57. Actor Valeria Golino is 56. Comedian Carlos Mencia is 55. Country singer Shelby Lynne is 54. Reggae rapper Shaggy is 54. Movie director Spike Jonze is 53. Rapper Tracey Lee is 52. Actor Saffron Burrows is 50. Actor Carmen Ejogo is 49. Former MLB player Ichiro Suzuki (EE’-cheer-oh soo-ZOO’-kee) is 49. Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson is 47. Christian rock singer-musician Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) is 46. Actor Michael Fishman is 41. Talk show host Michael Essany is 40. MLB infielder Robinson Canó is 40. Rock musician Rickard Goransson (Carolina Liar) is 39. Rock musician Zac Hanson (Hanson) is 37. Actor Corey Hawkins is 34. Actor Jonathan Lipnicki is 32. Actor Sofia Vassilieva (vas-ihl-lee-A’-vuh) is 30. Actor Elias Harger is 15.

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  • Rangers hire 3-time World Series champion Bochy as manager

    Rangers hire 3-time World Series champion Bochy as manager

    The Texas Rangers have hired Bruce Bochy as their manager, bringing the three-time World Series champion with 2,003 career victories out of a short retirement to take over a team that has had six consecutive losing seasons.

    Texas made the surprising announcement Friday, just more than two weeks after its season ended. Bochy agreed to a three-year contract.

    The 67-year-old Bochy hasn’t managed since 2019, when he stepped away after 13 seasons and those World Series titles with the San Francisco Giants. The first championship came in five games over Texas in 2010, and the Giants won again in 2012 and 2014.

    Rangers general manager Chris Young was a pitcher for San Diego in 2006, which was Bochy’s final season with the Padres before going to San Francisco.

    “As we went through the interview process, Bruce’s passion and excitement about returning to the dugout was very evident,” Young said. “It became clear he was the ideal individual to lead our club as we continue to build a championship culture here in Arlington.”

    Bochy was 951-975 in 12 seasons with the Padres (1995-2006) and took them to the last World Series in 1998. The former big league catcher had a 1,052-1,054 record in San Francisco from 2007-19.

    The Rangers said they’d hold an introductory news conference on Monday. Bochy said in a statement he was excited to be joining the team after several days of extensive conversations with Young and a meeting with owner Ray Davis.

    “Their vision and commitment to putting together a club that can contend and win year in and year out is impressive, and I became convinced I wanted to be a part of that,” Bochy said. “If I was going to return to managing, it had to be the right situation. I strongly believe that to be the case with the Rangers, and I can’t wait to get started.”

    The Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins have the three remaining manager openings among the 30 teams.

    Fourth-year Rangers manager Chris Woodward was fired Aug. 15, two days before president of baseball operations Jon Daniels was also let go. Texas went on to finish 68-94, eight wins more than 2021 but what Young said after the season “was about half of our internal expectations.” They lost 35 one-run games, a franchise record.

    Texas was 17-31 under interim manager Tony Beasley, the longtime Rangers third base coach who was once Young’s manager in the minor leagues. Several young players got extended looks during that span, and the GM said in August that Beasley wouldn’t be judged solely on win-loss record. Beasley was interviewed for the job two days after the season ended.

    When speaking after the season, Young had declined to comment when asked specifically if the managerial search could proceed without knowing whether Bochy had interest in the job. But he acknowledged then how much he loved playing for Bochy and expressed his respect for the man he considers one of the most successful and respected managers in the major leagues.

    “With a calm and steady presence, he has a remarkable ability to connect and communicate with players, coaches, and staff, and his teams have always played with maximum effort,” Young said Friday. “His knowledge of the game, as well as his integrity is unmatched.”

    Texas last offseason committed a half-billion dollars to free-agent shortstop Corey Seager ($325 million, 10 years) and second baseman Marcus Semien ($175 million, seven years), and also signed right-hander Jon Gray ($56 million, four years) to be their No. 1 starter. Left-hander Martin Perez was an All-Star after returning on a one-year deal before spring training.

    While there were never any expectations that the Rangers would go from 102 losses in 2021 immediately to a title contender after that big spending spree, they never had a winning record at any point this season and peaked at 24-24 at the end of May. The six consecutive losing seasons are the most in the half-century since the franchise moved to Texas in 1972.

    Davis has indicated the team is ready to add to its starting rotation, and potentially sign a middle-of-the-lineup bat.

    “I don’t plan on spending as much money as we did last offseason,” he has said. “But we plan on spending some money.”

    ———

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  • MLB Playoffs: Astros seek 2-0 lead vs Yanks; NLCS tied, off

    MLB Playoffs: Astros seek 2-0 lead vs Yanks; NLCS tied, off

    Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros got the jump on the New York Yankees again.

    Now they’ll try to take a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series when All-Star lefty Framber Valdez pitches against Yankees right-hander Luis Severino on Thursday night in Houston.

    It’s a day off in the NLCS, with the Padres and Phillies tied 1-all as their best-of-seven series shifts from San Diego to Philadelphia for three games beginning Friday night.

    Verlander recovered from a rocky start and struck out 11 over six strong innings to lead the Astros past the Yankees 4-2 on Wednesday night.

    Yuli Gurriel launched a tiebreaking homer in the sixth. Chas McCormick and rookie Jeremy Peña also went deep as the AL West champions improved to 4-0 in the playoffs after going 106-56 during the regular season.

    It was a familiar result in the power struggle between the teams over the past few years.

    Houston knocked New York out of the playoffs in 2015, 2017 and 2019 before going 5-2 against the Yankees during the 2022 regular season.

    This is the sixth straight ALCS appearance for the Astros, their third meeting with the Yankees during that span.

    Houston is trying to reach the World Series for the second consecutive season and fourth time in six years. New York hasn’t made it since beating the Phillies in 2009 for the most recent of its 27 championships.

    Verlander set a major league record with his eighth double-digit strikeout game in the postseason. He passed Clayton Kershaw (213) to become the career leader in postseason strikeouts with 219.

    New York whiffed 17 times in all to only two for the Astros — the largest difference ever in a postseason game.

    “They’re obviously really dynamic,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Outstanding starting pitching, but can shorten the game with the best of ’em. So we’ve got to find a way to break through against them.”

    Valdez went 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA during the regular season. He led the American League with 201 1/3 innings pitched and three complete games. In Game 2 of the Division Series against Seattle, he allowed four hits and two runs over 5 2/3 innings.

    Severino was 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts this season. He yielded eight hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings in Game 3 of the ALDS versus Cleveland.

    Here’s what else to know about the MLB playoffs Thursday:

    THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times ET)

    ALCS Game 2: New York Yankees at Houston, 7:37 p.m., TBS

    OH, BROTHER!

    In danger of heading to Philadelphia down 0-2 in the NLCS, the Padres produced another huge rally in front of their rowdy fans to put some punch into the all-wild card matchup.

    Brandon Drury hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a five-run outburst in the fifth inning and San Diego stunned Aaron Nola and the Phillies 8-5 on Wednesday to tie the NLCS at one game apiece.

    The fifth-inning surge started with Padres catcher Austin Nola hitting an RBI single off his younger brother that brought the sellout, towel-twirling crowd of 44,607 to life after San Diego trailed 4-0 early.

    Drury and Josh Bell hit back-to-back homers. Manny Machado went deep late.

    The rally was similar to the one the Padres pulled off Saturday night, when they scored five runs in the seventh inning of a 5-3 victory that eliminated the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers.

    Joe Musgrove is scheduled to start Game 3 for his hometown Padres against Ranger Suarez.

    STILL SLUMPING

    Astros star Jose Altuve, a three-time batting champion, went 0 for 3 with a walk in Game 1 against the Yankees and is 0 for 19 this postseason.

    The 2017 AL MVP hit .300 with 28 homers during the regular season.

    “Jose, he’s due to break out and have some remarkable games,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “This guy has been good for so long, and sometimes the rest of your lineup’s got to carry a guy like that until he gets going.”

    OFFSEASON INJURY UPDATES

    José Ramírez didn’t let a torn thumb ligament stop him from leading the Guardians during a surprising season.

    Cleveland’s All-Star third baseman played the second half — as well as the team’s playoff run that ended Tuesday in the AL Division Series — with a torn right thumb ligament that will require surgery.

    Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners will head into the offseason with four key players needing downtime or surgery to heal injuries, including AL Rookie of the Year favorite Julio Rodríguez. The star center fielder broke his left pinkie during the Game 3 loss to Houston that ended their AL Division Series.

    The Guardians said Ramírez injured the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb during a June game in Los Angeles. The 30-year-old could have opted for surgery, which would have sidelined him for two months, but decided to keep playing.

    He’ll have an operation in the next few weeks. Renowned hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham will perform the surgery in Dayton, Ohio.

    The Guardians said the rehab will not significantly impact Ramírez’s offseason training or availability for next season.

    Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said an exit exam this week revealed the injury to the 21-year-old Rodríguez, but he’s not expected to need surgery. He got hurt sliding headfirst into second base on a double in the eighth inning of what became an 18-inning marathon defeat.

    Also needing downtime to recover from injuries are Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh (left thumb) and standout reliever Andrés Muñoz (foot), while outfielder Jesse Winker has already undergone one of two operations needed to repair injuries to his left knee and neck that he dealt with during the season.

    ———

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  • MLB Playoffs: Guardians-Yankees ALDS Game 5; Astros await

    MLB Playoffs: Guardians-Yankees ALDS Game 5; Astros await

    For the second night in a row, the only playoff game on the schedule features the New York Yankees facing the Cleveland Guardians.

    This time, it’s Game 5 at Yankee Stadium to decide their American League Division Series after New York staved off elimination Sunday, tying the series 2-all with a 4-2 victory in Cleveland behind $324 million ace Gerrit Cole.

    Aaron Civale (5-6, 4.92 ERA) starts for the Guardians, his first career postseason appearance. Jameson Taillon (14-5, 3.91) goes for the Yankees after taking the Game 2 loss in a playoff debut that marked his first major league relief outing.

    Taillon allowed two runs and three hits without getting an out. Civale hasn’t pitched since Oct. 5, but he’s won his last three starts with a 3.18 ERA. The right-hander was on the injured list three times this season.

    The winner heads to Houston for Game 1 of the best-of-seven AL Championship Series on Wednesday night against Justin Verlander and the rested Astros.

    Houston reached its sixth straight ALCS by completing a three-game Division Series sweep of Seattle when rookie Jeremy Peña homered in the 18th inning Saturday for a marathon 1-0 win over the Mariners.

    AL West champion Houston (106-56) went 4-3 against the Guardians this season and 5-2 versus the Yankees.

    With a history of postseason heartbreak, Cleveland teams are 1-7 in winner-take-all games — losing their last seven.

    The young Guardians are trying to end Major League Baseball’s longest current World Series championship drought in their first year after a franchise name change. Cleveland hasn’t won it all since 1948.

    Here’s what else to know about the MLB playoffs Monday:

    MONDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times ET)

    ALDS Game 5: Cleveland at New York Yankees, 7:07 p.m., TBS

    A LONG TIME COMING

    The San Diego Padres haven’t reached the World Series since 1998. The Philadelphia Phillies haven’t made it since 2009.

    One of them is going to the final round this year.

    The all-wild card matchup of Philadelphia and San Diego in the NL Championship Series features two teams that have known mostly losing in recent years. The Phillies are in the postseason for the first time since 2011, and the Padres are making the franchise’s third-ever NLCS appearance.

    “This is what the city’s been waiting for for a long time,” San Diego slugger Manny Machado said.

    Game 1 is Tuesday at Petco Park. Zack Wheeler is expected to start for Philadelphia, and Yu Darvish takes the mound for San Diego.

    The Phillies went 4-3 against the Padres this season, last meeting on June 26.

    “I don’t think any of us are shocked about where we are,” Phillies slugger Bryce Harper said. “We’re really excited about the opportunity ahead for us, and we’ve taken every opportunity and tried to go with that. And we’re just all excited as a club and a group that we can go out to the West Coast and play.”

    The best-of-seven matchup features a fun twist, too — Phillies ace Aaron Nola facing his older brother, Padres catcher Austin Nola.

    HARRISON’S HOMERS

    Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are the biggest sluggers in the New York Yankees’ power-packed lineup. But who knew the Cleveland Guardians would have such a hard time keeping Harrison Bader in the ballpark?

    Bader hit his third homer of the AL Division Series for his hometown Yankees on Sunday night, an early two-run shot that gave them a 3-0 lead on the way to a 4-2 victory in Game 4.

    Bader’s first three postseason homers have been his first three long balls with the Yankees. They acquired him from St. Louis in a surprising deal for starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery at the Aug. 2 trade deadline, but the Gold Glove center fielder didn’t make his New York debut until Sept. 20 because of a foot injury.

    “To be able to do it in a Yankees uniform is definitely sweet, no doubt about it,” Bader said.

    The 28-year-old Bader grew up a Yankees fan just north of New York City and went to Horace Mann School, located 5 miles from Yankee Stadium.

    “Every day I wake up, it feels good to be a Yankee,” he said.

    Bader’s three homers in the series are his three longest this season.

    RELIEF REPORT

    Both managers are expected to empty their bullpens in the Division Series finale between the Guardians and Yankees, though Cleveland’s top relievers are probably fresher.

    Working his third straight day, New York left-hander Wandy Peralta earned a save in Game 4 on Sunday night, retiring three batters on just seven pitches.

    Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it’s possible Peralta could pitch in his fifth consecutive game Monday, and Game 2 starter Nestor Cortes is also available in relief.

    New York’s depleted bullpen blew Game 3 on Saturday, when the Guardians became the first team in 168 postseason games to overcome a multi-run deficit in the ninth inning and beat the Yankees.

    Cleveland manager Terry Francona is confident Civale will pitch well, and after that he’s got Trevor Stephan, James Karinchak and All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase — his top three relievers — all rested and ready.

    ———

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  • Cole, Yankees save season, beat Guards to force ALDS Game 5

    Cole, Yankees save season, beat Guards to force ALDS Game 5

    CLEVELAND — Gerrit Cole brought the Yankees back from the brink. They’re Bronx bound, still chasing a championship.

    Cole gave New York what it needed, seven solid innings and Harrison Bader hit a two-run homer as the Yankees saved their season and forced a decisive fifth game in the AL Division Series with a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 4 on Sunday night.

    “This series certainly isn’t over, and we have bigger goals,” Cole said. “But I’m definitely having the time of my life and I love it and I can’t wait to keep going.”

    New York’s $324 million man, Cole allowed two runs and struck out eight in beating the Guardians for the second time in six days. He didn’t dominate, but Cole kept Cleveland’s hitters off base and off balance.

    Bader homered for the third time in the best-of-five series, connecting in the second inning off Cal Quantrill, who came in unbeaten in 44 games at Progressive Field.

    After blowing Game 3 on Saturday, when the Yankees’ bullpen had its greatest meltdown in the team’s storied postseason history, New York recovered and is headed home.

    New York will start Game 2 loser Jameson Taillon against Aaron Civale on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

    The winner advances to meet Houston in the AL Championship Series.

    Josh Naylor homered for the Guardians, who are trying to end Major League Baseball’s current longest World Series drought in their first year after a franchise name change. Cleveland hasn’t won it all since 1948.

    With a history of postseason heartbreak, Cleveland teams are 1-7 in winner-take-all games.

    “You know if you would have told me back in March, we just signed up to play Game 5 in New York to go to the ALCS, I would have jogged to New York,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “I’m excited.”

    Cole was pulled after 110 pitches and Yankees manager Aaron Boone brought in closer Clay Holmes for the eighth. Holmes didn’t pitch in Game 3 after Boone decided to shut him down but didn’t tell the right-hander.

    Holmes struck out Amed Rosario and All-Star José Ramírez in the eighth before Wandy Peralta finished for the save. Working his third straight day, Peralta retired three batters on just seven pitches.

    “Our guys had that look in their eyes tonight, and it starts with Gerrit,” said first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “It’s a complete win for us and that’s who we are and that’s the wins we need to have.”

    The Guardians weren’t supposed to be here. But they won the AL Central, swept Tampa Bay in the wild-card round and had the Yankees on the cusp of elimination. All Cleveland’s kids have to do now is beat the Yankees in baseball’s most hostile environment.

    This was the kind of game the Yankees envisioned Cole pitching in when they signed him to a nine-year contract in 2019 as a free agent after he spent two seasons with the Astros.

    There was no magic this time for the Guardians, who overcame a two-run deficit in the ninth inning on Saturday to win Game 3 in dramatic fashion.

    Cleveland not only rallied against New York’s bullpen on Saturday, but the Guardians became the first team in 168 games to overcome a multi-run deficit and beat the Yankees in the postseason.

    The Guardians closed within 3-2 in the fourth on Naylor’s second career postseason homer — and third homer in 17 at-bats — off Cole.

    Naylor’s laser shot into the seats fronting the outfield bullpens sent Cleveland’s crowd into a frenzy that got wilder as the animated DH circled the bases swinging his arms back in forth as if he was rocking a baby.

    Bader’s 429-foot shot into the left-field bleachers put the Yankees ahead 3-0 in the second, and not only gave them momentum but belief they would even the series following their gutting loss in Game 3.

    New York’s dugout erupted with shouts and fist pumps as Bader rounded first following his fifth hit in six career at-bats off Quantrill. He also homered in Game 1, when Cole and the Yankees beat Quantrill.

    The Guardians got a run back in the third, but missed a chance for more when Ramírez got a little overaggressive on the base paths.

    With runners at first and second, Ramírez dropped a bloop into left field that scored rookie Steven Kwan. Thinking he had a chance to take an extra base, Ramírez went about halfway to second before realizing he had no chance and got thrown out retreating to first.

    HAND HIM AN OSCAR

    Oscar Gonzalez’s quick rise from rookie to postseason has mirrored Cleveland’s stunning jump to World Series contender.

    While the 24-year-old, who has twice walked-off postseason wins with clutch hit, has an aggressive approach at the plate, he’s also a selective hitter — most of the time.

    “He swung at a ball in in the fifth inning that almost hit him in the Adam’s apple,” Francona said, recalling a Game 3 at-bat. “And he comes back and that was an at-bat he went deep to right field. He’s a little unique.”

    BULLPEN BUSINESS

    Boone spent much of his pregame news conference attempting to clarify the communication breakdown between him and Holmes in Game 3.

    After the bullpen melted down, Holmes, who was recently sidelined with a shoulder strain, told reporters he was available. Boone, though, said he never informed the right-hander he was down, creating confusion and awkwardness.

    Boone said he decided not to pitch Holmes on consecutive days so as not to risk his health. Holmes reported soreness after pitching in Game 2.

    Boone said he and Holmes “hashed it out.”

    “He could have pitched and 1, 2, 3, boom, we win,” Boone said. “That’s one of the tough decisions that comes across that we try to make thoughtfully.”

    UP NEXT

    Making his first career relief appearance, Taillon allowed two runs ad three hits without recording an out in Game 2. Civale hasn’t pitched since Oct. 5. He’s won his last three starts with a 3.18 ERA. The right-hander was on the injured list three times this season.

    ———

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  • Cronenworth, Padres rally to stun Dodgers 5-3 to reach NLCS

    Cronenworth, Padres rally to stun Dodgers 5-3 to reach NLCS

    SAN DIEGO — Baseball fans in San Diego have been waiting a long time to party like this and the Padres were more than happy to finally oblige.

    What made it so much sweeter was that they toppled the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, the best team in the majors this year and one that had beaten up on the Padres regularly for the better part of two seasons.

    Jake Cronenworth hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning and San Diego rallied past the Dodgers 5-3 Saturday night to advance to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 1998.

    Petco Park shook and the sellout crowd of 45,139 roared when Josh Hader struck out Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman in succession to end the Padres’ third straight win against the Dodgers.

    Hader and third baseman Manny Machado jumped into each other’s arms and the rest of the team joined them in a wild celebration on the infield grass as fireworks went off above the downtown ballpark. Machado and Juan Soto exhorted the fans for more as they all reveled in the middle of a rare San Diego rainstorm.

    “Our fans have been waiting for so long and I used to be that fan that was waiting,” said Joe Musgrove, the hometown kid who started the clincher. “It feels good to be on this side of the ball, I’ll tell you that, but these fans deserve to celebrate tonight.

    “I know the job’s not done, we’ve got a lot of baseball ahead of us still, but this is something that needs to be celebrated,” Musgrove said. “Those guys handed it to us all year long and when it came down to it and we needed to win ballgames we found ways to do it.”

    Before a sign-carrying crowd chanting “Beat LA! Beat LA!,” the Padres stunned the 111-win Dodgers with a five-run seventh to win their best-of-five NL Division Series 3-1.

    “It’s about to be a party out here tonight,” said Musgrove, who grew up a Padres fan in the San Diego suburbs.

    “I mean, since I was a little kid we’ve been getting beat up by the Dodgers. But when it comes down to it and the games matter, this team stepped up, from top to bottom.”

    The Padres had lost nine straight series to the Dodgers before winning the one that mattered the most.

    San Diego will host the Philadelphia Phillies in Games 1 and 2 of an all-wild card NLCS on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Phillies beat the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves 8-3 earlier in the day to win their NLDS in four games.

    “This is what the city’s been waiting for for a long time,” said Machado, the Padres’ $300 million third baseman and unquestioned leader.

    The Padres last reached the NLCS 24 years ago when they beat Atlanta in six games and were then swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series. A handful of players from that team watched from a luxury suite, including Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman and center fielder Steve Finley.

    It was a soul-crushing ending for the Dodgers after the best regular-season record in club history and manager Dave Roberts’ prediction during spring training that they’d win the World Series.

    “Shock factor, very high. Disappointment, very high. It’s crushing,” Roberts said. “Each guy gave everything they had all year long, and a tremendous season. The great thing about baseball is the unpredictability, and the tough thing about it is the same thing.

    “Nothing I can say is going to make it feel any better. Obviously we didn’t expect to be in this position,” he added.

    The game was delayed 31 minutes at the start by showers, which returned in the eighth inning and prompted a short delay while the grounds crew worked on the mound.

    After left-hander Tyler Anderson stymied the Padres through five scoreless innings, San Diego broke through against the Dodgers’ bullpen in the seventh.

    Jurickson Profar drew a leadoff walk against Tommy Kahnle, took third on Trent Grisham’s single and scored when Austin Nola’s infield single glanced off Freeman’s glove at first base. Yency Almonte, who took the loss, came on and was greeted by Kim Ha-seong’s RBI double inside the third base line, followed by Soto’s tying single to right.

    With two outs and the crowd on its feet, Cronenworth singled to center off local product Alex Vesia to give the Padres the lead, raising his arms in celebration as he rounded first and then punching the air with his right fist as he pulled into second base on the throw home. Soto, acquired from Washington in a blockbuster trade Aug. 2, slid home headfirst and jumped up and cheered.

    “We talked about it all day — we’re winning tonight no matter what the situation is,” Cronenworth said.

    “It took a team effort to beat a really good team and we did that,” Machado said.

    After the first rain delay, fans were amped up in anticipation of Musgrove pitching his hometown Padres into the NL Championship Series. The big right-hander from suburban El Cajon, a first-time All-Star in 2022, was the first Padres pitcher from San Diego to make a postseason start in his hometown.

    But Anderson outpitched Musgrove, holding the Padres to two hits through five innings.

    The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the third. Betts walked with one out and Turner scorched a grounder past third baseman Machado, who has carried the Padres much of the season, to move Betts to third. Freeman, who helped the Braves win the World Series last year before signing with the Dodgers as a free agent, doubled down the right field line to bring them both in.

    Will Smith hit a sacrifice fly against Steven Wilson with the bases loaded in the seventh for a 3-0 lead, but winning pitcher Tim Hill prevented further damage.

    The Dodgers will be left with an empty feeling. They won the NL West for the ninth time in 10 seasons and finished 22 games ahead of San Diego. The Dodgers went 14-5 against the Padres in the regular season.

    Musgrove was trying for his second straight playoff series-clinching win. On Sunday night, he dominated the New York Mets at Citi Field, allowing just one hit and one walk in seven innings in a 6-0 win that sent the Padres to the NLDS.

    He gave up two runs and six hits in six innings against the Dodgers, struck out eight and walked three.

    FIRST PITCH

    Jake Peavy, the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner who was Musgrove’s boyhood idol, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to former teammate Mark Loretta. Musgrove switched to Peavy’s No. 44 after he was obtained by the Padres prior to the 2021 season.

    UP NEXT

    Dodgers: Play their spring training opener Feb. 25 against Milwaukee.

    Padres: RHP Yu Darvish likely will get the start Tuesday in Game 1 of the NLCS.

    ———

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  • Alvarez homers again, Astros top Mariners 4-2, lead ALDS 2-0

    Alvarez homers again, Astros top Mariners 4-2, lead ALDS 2-0

    HOUSTON — Yordan Alvarez and his mighty bat did it yet again, launching a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning off Seattle ace Luis Castillo that lifted the Houston Astros over the Mariners 4-2 on Thursday for a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series.

    Alvarez was the Game 1 hero with his gut-punch, three-run shot off reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray with two outs in the ninth inning that gave the Astros an 8-7 win in a game where they’d trailed by four.

    Castillo, acquired from the Reds near the trade deadline and coming off 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball against Toronto in the wild-card round, gave up an early home run to Kyle Tucker but little else as he took a 2-1 lead into the sixth.

    But with two outs, Jeremy Peña singled on a blooper that fell in between second baseman Adam Frazier and center fielder Julio Rodríguez. Castillo bent down and slapped his legs in disappointment as he watched the ball drop in shallow center.

    That brought up Alvarez, who hit a 98 mph pitch tailing away to the opposite field, into the short porch in left to put the Astros on top 3-2.

    Alvarez, who had 37 homers in the regular season, trotted around the bases as cameras panned to his Cuban parents, who are watching their first postseason series after arriving in Houston in August. The lefty pointed to them as he reached the plate before reenacting the powerful swing that has the Astros one win away from their sixth straight AL Championship Series.

    There were two outs and a runner on first in the eighth when Seattle had surely seen enough of Alvarez leaving the yard. The Mariners intentionally walked him and Alex Bregman made them pay, adding some insurance when he singled to make it 4-2.

    Houston starter Framber Valdez had a solid start, allowing four hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He had a different look than he did in his last postseason appearance after he and fellow pitcher Luis Garcia both got hair extensions this season.

    Hector Neris got the win after getting the last out of the sixth inning to escape a bases-loaded jam. Bryan Abreu got the first two outs of the seventh before Rafael Montero came in and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

    Ryan Pressly walked the leadoff batter in the ninth before J.P. Crawford lined into a double play. Rodríguez doubled after that, but Pressly struck out Ty France for the save. The Astros won despite issuing seven walks overall.

    The Mariners will head back to Seattle for Game 3 Saturday in a huge hole in the best-of-five series as they host their first playoff game in 21 years.

    Alvarez has carried the Astros early in this division series, shouldering such a load that Houston catcher Martín Maldonado asked Alvarez after Game 1 if his back was sore because “you carry us as a team.” The 25-year-old bounced back this postseason after a tough time in last year’s World Series where he batted just .100 with no homers and six strikeouts.

    The slugger who’s been criticized for poor defense in the past has been making big plays in left field, too.

    Alvarez grabbed a sharp liner hit by Eugenio Suarez to end the seventh. In Game 1, he fielded a single by Suarez in the fourth and threw a perfect strike to Maldonado, who tagged out France at the plate.

    Castillo yielded five hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

    There was one out in the second inning when Tucker hit a slider from Castillo into the seats in right field to put Houston up 1-0.

    Crawford doubled with two outs in the third. But second baseman Jose Altuve made a leaping throw after fielding a sharp grounder hit by Rodríguez that just beat him to first base to end the inning.

    Suarez walked with one out in the fourth and Mitch Haniger doubled. Carlos Santana then hit a one-hopper that Valdez fielded cleanly toward the third base side, but his throw home was offline for an error that allowed Suarez to tie it at 1-all.

    Santana was out on the play after getting caught in a rundown. Haniger scored when Dylan Moore singled to put the Mariners up 2-1.

    Valdez walked Haniger on a full count with two outs in the sixth, Santana doubled and Moore drew a walk to load the bases and chase Valdez. Neris took over and retired Cal Raleigh on a groundout to escape the jam.

    UP NEXT

    Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr., who started just eight games this season after missing the first four months of the year with a forearm strain, will oppose rookie George Kirby in Game 3 in Seattle Saturday. Kirby pitched in relief in Game 2 of the wild-card round and became the first rookie in MLB history to record a postseason season in his first career relief appearance.

    ———

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  • MLB Playoffs: Phillies, Dodgers take early NLDS leads

    MLB Playoffs: Phillies, Dodgers take early NLDS leads

    Nick Castellanos and the Philadelphia Phillies can put the defending World Series champion Braves on the brink of elimination. Same for the Dodgers against the rival Padres.

    Meanwhile, the Mariners and Guardians get a day to shake off tough losses to the Astros and Yankees, respectively.

    The best-of-five National League Division Series pitting Phillies vs. Braves and Padres vs. Dodgers are set for their second games Wednesday, while the American League clubs get a day off.

    Castellanos carried a big load with his bat in a 7-6 Game 1 victory Tuesday over Atlanta. But despite driving in three runs, his glovework was what really had people talking.

    Frequently maligned as part of a subpar defensive outfield, Castellanos sprawled out for a potentially game-saving catch in the ninth inning, snuffing out Atlanta’s rally from a six-run deficit.

    The grab helped lock up the Phillies’ third straight win to open this postseason — an unexpected run months after they fired manager Joe Girardi and replaced him with Rob Thomson.

    Here’s what else to know about the MLB playoffs today:

    TODAY’S SCHEDULE (All times ET)

    NLDS Game 2: Philadelphia at Atlanta, 4:35 p.m., FOX

    NLDS Game 2: San Diego at Los Angeles, 8:37 p.m., FS1

    BRAVE NEW OCTOBER

    Dansby Swanson and the Braves haven’t rediscovered last year’s World Series magic. They’re hoping it’ll show against Game 2 Phillies starter Zack Wheeler.

    Atlanta didn’t look like a defending champion Tuesday. The Braves stranded nine runners in their Game 1 loss, an aggravating day that had the usually cool-headed Swanson slamming his bat and helmet to the ground midgame.

    They showed signs of life late, when Matt Olson’s three-run homer cut the deficit to one in the ninth inning. They’ll ask Game 2 starter Kyle Wright to carry over that momentum — something he did well while leading the majors with 21 wins this season.

    CLOSED OUT

    The Dodgers can take a 2-0 series lead over San Diego with a win Wednesday. They’ll send three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw to the mound against Padres ace Yu Darvish.

    If Kershaw and the Dodgers win a second World Series in three years, it may be without eight-time All-Star Craig Kimbrel in the bullpen. And that’s by choice.

    Kimbrel was left off Los Angeles’ NLDS roster, a decision manager Dave Roberts made two weeks after demoting Kimbrel out of the closer’s role.

    Kimbrel was 6-7 with 22 saves and was booed at times in his first season in Los Angeles as the replacement for Kenley Jansen. Kimbrel leads active pitchers with 394 career saves and has never blown a postseason chance in 23 appearances, although he has a subpar 4.13 ERA in those games.

    Chris Martin pitched the ninth inning in LA’s 5-3 win Tuesday night, converting his first postseason save in 15 career appearances.

    NO JOSHING

    Yankees slugger Josh Donaldson is catching heat from fans even after a satisfying Game 1 win in New York.

    The 36-year-old was embarrassingly thrown out on the bases after prematurely going into a home run trot on a ball that bounced off the top of the wall during New York’s 4-1 victory Tuesday. Donaldson didn’t run hard, and he didn’t answer questions about it from reporters after the game, either.

    It was hardly the first time Donaldson’s lack of hustle became an issue for the Yankees this year. Boone pulled him aside after an incident Sept. 5 and told him, “Let’s not let that happen.”

    FREAKED OUT

    Relief pitchers David Robertson of the Phillies and Phil Maton of the Astros were left off their clubs’ Division Series rosters after freak injuries.

    Robertson, 37-year-old in a resurgent season for the Phils, injured his right calf jumping to celebrate Bryce Harper’s home run in a clinching Game 2 victory over St. Louis during the wild-card round. He’s not with the team in Atlanta, instead going back to Philadelphia for a PRP injection.

    “He’s devastated,” Thomson said. “He really wanted to pitch in the series. And he knows how big a part he is to this club. And he’s very disappointed.”

    Maton says he broke his right pinkie finger when he punched a locker in frustration after Houston’s regular-season finale. He’s out for the remainder of the postseason. He called the outburst “shortsighted and ultimately selfish.”

    ———

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  • Turner, Dodgers start fast, hold off Padres in NLDS opener

    Turner, Dodgers start fast, hold off Padres in NLDS opener

    LOS ANGELES — Trea Turner homered and doubled as the Los Angeles Dodgers started fast and held off the San Diego Padres 5-3 on Tuesday night in their NL Division Series opener.

    Behind 17-game winner Julio Urías, the Dodgers raced to an early 5-0 lead and appeared to be on their way to another blowout of the Padres.

    Los Angeles dominated in the regular season, owning a 14-5 advantage and outscoring San Diego 109-47. The 111-win Dodgers claimed the NL West and the Padres finished second, 22 games back.

    With Sandy Koufax watching from the owners’ box, Urías retired the first eight batters he faced until Austin Nola doubled with two outs in the third.

    “We have to give a lot of credit to our offense,” Urías said through a translator. “They did a good job battling, getting those runs early and putting us in a good spot to win.”

    Chris Martin, who had two saves this season, gave up a single in the ninth, when the Padres had the potential tying run at the plate. Struggling closer Craig Kimbrel was left off the Dodgers’ roster for this best-of-five matchup.

    Game 2 is Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium before the series shifts south to San Diego.

    “No moral victories, but the latter part of the game was better than the first part for us,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said.

    “We felt like we had a chance in the latter innings to win this game,” he said. “I think everybody is pretty eager to get back out here again.”

    The Padres were coming off a win in the decisive Game 3 of the wild-card series Sunday night over the Mets in New York.

    The Dodgers, who had five days off after drawing a bye, showed no signs of rust.

    In the first, Turner hit a 419-foot shot into the left-field pavilion for his second career postseason homer and first as a Dodger. Two batters later, Will Smith doubled and scored on Max Muncy’s two-out single for a 2-0 lead.

    The Dodgers batted around in the third, tacking on three more runs.

    Turner doubled leading off and after Freddie Freeman flied out, Smith stepped in and doubled to deep left-center, nearly the same spot where Turner’s ball landed. Gavin Lux doubled to the right-field corner with two outs, driving in Smith and chasing Mike Clevinger.

    Steven Wilson came in and promptly walked Trayce Thompson to load the bases.

    Choking up, Cody Bellinger initially was thought to have been hit by a pitch and took first base as Muncy was forced in. But upon video review, it appeared the ball hit the knob of the bat. Bellinger was called back to the plate and Muncy returned to third.

    Bellinger was then safe at first on an error by first baseman Wil Myers, scoring Muncy. The ball hit off the heel of Myers’ glove and he missed it on the pickup, leaving no chance to make a play on the speedy Bellinger.

    The Dodgers’ offense — baseball’s highest-scoring this season — went quiet after the third. Their lone baserunner was Freeman, who walked. Mookie Betts and Freeman were a combined 0 for 7 with two strikeouts.

    The Dodgers hadn’t played a must-win game since mid-June before running away with the division. But they found themselves in trouble in the fifth.

    That’s when the Padres finally got to Urías, closing to 5-3 after he gave up three straight hits.

    Myers led off with an opposite-field solo shot to left. Trent Grisham had an RBI grounder that scored Jake Cronenworth, who had singled. Nola’s sacrifice fly scored Ha-Seong Kim, who doubled.

    San Diego threatened again in the sixth against Evan Phillips, but the defense bailed him out.

    Juan Soto drew a leadoff walk. Booed heavily by the crowd of 52,407, Manny Machado followed with an infield trickler that the Dodgers hoped would roll foul. It did not, and went for a single.

    After pinch-hitter Josh Bell struck out, Myers came up as the potential go-ahead run.

    Myers grounded into an inning-ending double play, started by second baseman Gavin Lux. He flipped to Turner, and the shortstop double-clutched before firing to first to get Myers.

    Urías allowed three runs and four hits in five innings. The left-hander struck out six and walked none.

    Clevinger gave up five runs — four earned — and six hits in 2 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out three and walked two.

    ROSTER MOVE

    Kimbrel had already been demoted from his ninth-inning role two weeks ago after struggling much of the season as the successor to Kenley Jansen, who left as a free agent last winter.

    UP NEXT

    RH Yu Darvish, who had a 3.10 ERA in the regular season, starts Game 2 for the Padres. LH Clayton Kershaw, the three-time Cy Young Award winner, goes for the Dodgers.

    ———

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