Sports

Three Sundays in the past, the reply to this column’s weekly quiz was Carlos Santana. The query was, “Which player has appeared in the most regular-season games over the past 10 seasons?” and the now-Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman had performed in 1,440 — 13 greater than Paul Goldschmidt and 40 greater than Freddie Freeman and Anthony Rizzo. Santana professed not to concentrate on the excellence once I talked about it to him earlier this week. He did appear happy to listen to it, and “humbly prideful” is perhaps one of the simplest ways to explain his response. “I prepare,” stated Santana, who celebrated his thirty seventh birthday yesterday. “I prepare my body. I prepare mentally. I also try to enjoy the game every day. That’s why I can play a lot. The game is my passion. This is ...

PHOENIX -- Through the primary eight video games of the season, D-backs outfielder Alek Thomas would present up on the ballpark in an excellent temper. He was assured that this was going to be the day that he would get that first hit of the season. And seemingly each time he got here to the plate, he would put collectively an excellent at-bat. A look at his Baseball Savant web page confirmed that he was hitting balls exhausting, not chasing unhealthy pitches and drawing walks. But on the finish of the night time, he would head dwelling hitless and, he admitted, a “little sad.” You can wager on his journey dwelling Saturday night time he was sporting a giant smile after going 4-for-4 and taking part in a key position in Arizona’s 12-8 win over the Dodgers at Chase Field. Thomas was 0-for-16...

Repeat after us: It’s early. It’s actually early. We all know that the baseball season is lengthy, and recollections are quick. So a lot of what has occurred over these first 10 days gained’t stand the check of time. But these early season numbers are nonetheless as enjoyable to consider as they're eye-popping. And they are often significant, too, foreshadowing actual adjustments in efficiency. So with that in thoughts, we gathered seven MLB.com writers and requested them to choose their favourite numbers from the season to date. Here are the outcomes: Jason Heyward’s 112.7 mph HR exit velocity Yes, it’s only one swing. But think about these information about Heyward’s line-drive homer towards the Rockies on Tuesday: • It had a better exit velocity than any batted ball hit by a Dodgers par...

PITTSBURGH -- White Sox supervisor Pedro Grifol noticed Luis Robert Jr. shine whereas watching from the opposing dugout with the Royals. Now, the first-year skipper is glad to have the 25-year-old heart fielder on his aspect. Robert continued his spectacular begin to the season Saturday evening with two hits, together with a two-run single that capped a five-run seventh inning, to assist lead the White Sox to an 11-5 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park. That efficiency got here a day after Robert hit two house runs and tied a profession excessive with 5 RBIs as Chicago misplaced to Pittsburgh, 13-9. Through the primary 9 video games of the season, Robert’s batting common is .366. He additionally has 4 house runs, 10 RBIs and a 1.098 OPS. The pattern dimension is small. Yet Robert’s effici...

ANAHEIM -- This time it held up. A day after Mike Trout crushed a two-run homer within the first inning of an eventual 4-3 loss within the house opener, he obliterated a go-ahead three-run blast within the fifth inning to raise the Angels to a 9-5 win over the Blue Jays on Saturday evening at Angel Stadium. Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 10-time All-Star, once more acquired to partake within the membership’s new house run celebration by donning a samurai warrior helmet, or kabuto, after his blast and mentioned he was simply happy it got here in a win this time. The Angels had been down by 4 runs early, however the offense got here by way of and the bullpen bounced again after failing to guard a late two-run lead on Friday. “I got in a good count and put a good swing on it,” Trout mentioned...

Kodai Senga strikes out six in Citi Field debut n","providerName":"Twitter","providerUrl":"https://twitter.com","type":"rich","width":550},"type":"oembed"},"__typename":"Markdown","content":"After every strikeout on the ghost fork, the Citi Field Jumbotron confirmed a pixelated ghost holding a fork floating within the heart, as "Senga" flashed onto the display, stylized within the font of Sega, the Japanese online game firm.nn"I was a little surprised at first," Senga mentioned by way of interpreter Hiro Fujiwara. "But it's not very common that a player's associated with such a symbolic mark. So I'm very grateful for that."","sort":"markdown","__typename":"ExteriorEmmattress","knowledge":"__typename":"ExteriorEmmattressContent...

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Smith went to the hospital Monday after taking a pitch to the face in a 2-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. The left-hand batter crumpled to the bottom after being hit in his jaw by an 89-mph slider from Orioles reliever Danny Coulumbe within the third inning in Arlington, Texa...

PHILADELPHIA -- After being utterly shut down for eight innings, the Phillies' offense got here alive within the ninth en path to a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Reds on Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.  The Phils entered the ninth trailing, 2-0, and had managed solely three hits by means of the primary eight innings. They’d struck out 15 occasions, together with 12 occasions in seven innings in opposition to Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo. Philadelphia's offense was equally unsuccessful within the eighth in opposition to Alexis Díaz, who struck out Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto so as on 15 pitches. But when Díaz returned to the mound within the backside of the ninth to try to complete a six-out save, it was a unique story. Nick Castellanos labored a seven-pitch st...

MIAMI — Sandy Alcantara pitched the key leagues’ first full recreation this season, a three-hitter that led the Miami Marlins to a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday evening. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner, who pitched six of the massive leagues’ 36 full video games final season, struck out 5 a...

Austin Meadows positioned on injured checklist with anxiousness n","providerName":"Twitter","providerUrl":"https://twitter.com","sort":"wealthy","width":550},"sort":"oembed"},"__typename":"Markdown","content":"“The Tigers fully support Austin’s decision to step away from the team and prioritize his mental health,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris mentioned in an announcement. “As an organization, we have taken many steps to provide and destigmatize mental health resources, and we will do more to help our players tackle the mental and physical challenges they face on a daily basis. We commend Austin for confronting these challenges head-on and ask our fans to join us in supporting him through every step of h...