The San Diego Padres produced a stunning comeback on the road to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 in Game 2 of the NLCS on Wednesday.
San Diego were staring down the barrel of a two-game deficit when Alec Bohm, Matt Vierling, Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber drove home a run each to jump ahead 4-0 in the second inning.
The Padres would get two runs back in the bottom of the second, courtesy of solo home runs to Brandon Drury and Josh Bell, and to manager Bob Melvin's credit, he stuck with starting pitcher Blake Snell despite his rough start, and he was able to pitch three scoreless innings to set up the comeback.
Trailing 4-2 in the fifth inning, the Padres rattled off five runs, with Bell and Drury again delivering, as well as young star Juan Soto and catcher Austin Nola, who got his hit off his brother, Aaron Nola, who started on the mound for the Phillies.
Manny Machado put on the finishing touches with a 424-foot bomb in the seventh inning, before closer Josh Hader came in to put the Phillies away.
By striking out all three batters he faced – after doing the same in his last outing, and striking out his last two batters the time before that – he became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out eight consecutive batters in the postseason.
Game 3 and Game 4 will both be played in San Diego, before heading back to Philadelphia for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series.
Verlander dices up the Yankees in Game 1
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander showed why he is the heavy favourite to take home the American League Cy Young Award, pitching six dominant innings in his side's 4-2 win against the New York Yankees in Game 1.
Verlander struck out 11 batters while only allowing one run from three hits and a walk, with that one run coming from a Harrison Bader solo homer in the second inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Bader did not hit a home run for the Yankees in the regular season after being acquired at the deadline, but now has four in his past six playoff games.
Their lead was short-lived as Martin Maldonado tied things up with an RBI double later in the second inning, before the Astros hit three solo home runs to jump out to a commanding lead.
Lourdes Gurriel and Chas McCormick went deep in the sixth inning, before rookie Jeremy Pena hit his fourth homer of the postseason to extend the lead to 4-1 in the seventh.
Anthony Rizzo would connect on a consolation home run in the eight inning, but Astros closer Ryan Pressly was up for the task, coming in to collect a four-out save with three strikeouts.
Game 2 will remain in Houston, before the series heads to New York for Game 3 and Game 4.
Snitker signs contract extension with Braves through to 2025
Atlanta Braves general manager Brian Snitker has signed a three-year contract extension through the 2025 season with the 2021 World Series champions.
Snitker, who has been in the role since 2016, has guided the Braves to five consecutive National League (NL) East titles, highlighted by their 2021 World Series.
The 67-year-old Braves boss led the side to a 101-61 regular-season record in 2022, before bowing out to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series.
Snitker has a 542-451 managerial record, but is the first manager in franchise history to lead the Braves to five post seasons in his first six seasons. He won the 2018 NL Manager of the Year.
Milan reveal Rossoneri board role for New York Yankees president
New York Yankees president Randy Levine has joined the board of Serie A football giants Milan, it was revealed on Saturday.
The move tightens the connection between the two sporting titans, with Yankee Global Enterprises, which owns the Major League Baseball team, having acquired a minority stake when investment firm RedBird Capital took ownership of Milan last August in a €1.2billion deal.
In a statement, Milan said: "AC Milan today announced that Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees, has joined the club's board of directors.
"Mr Levine has been the president of the New York Yankees for over 20 years and is recognised globally as one of the most accomplished executives in the sports and entertainment industries."
Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni said of Levine: "His experience and expertise will integrate with ours, contributing to the growth path of the club and creating opportunities to expand its global appeal.
"The appointment of Randy will help us develop new synergies at a global level, in line with RedBird's strategic vision, opening new horizons for the club and its fans."
Forbes last year listed the Yankees, owned by the Steinbrenner family, as the fourth most valuable sports team in the world, with an estimated value of $6billion.
Seven-time European champions Milan won Italy's Serie A title in 2021-22, ending an 11-year wait. They entered this weekend sitting second in the 2022-23 championship, with Napoli the leaders.
Twins trade reigning AL batting champion Arraez to the Marlins
The Minnesota Twins and Miami Marlins pulled off a blockbuster trade Friday, with Minnesota sending AL batting champion Luis Arraez to Miami in exchange for starting pitcher Pablo Lopez and two minor leaguers.
Arraez, 25, had a breakout season for the Twins last season, batting a league-best .316 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs in 144 games while denying the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (.311) a Triple Crown. The return of shortstop Carlos Correa allowed Minnesota to deal from a position of strength.
''Anytime you have a player that's well-liked in the environment, who you know is going to go work and do it every day which we got to see with Luis, it makes it harder,'' Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. ''We'd love to have Luis and Pablo on our team, but to get something as impactful as what Pablo brings to our team, you have to give something impactful.''
The 26-year-old Lopez went 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA in a career-best 180 innings over 32 starts last season, his fifth in the major leagues. He posted a 1.83 ERA in his first 10 starts and pitched to a 2.86 ERA through the All-Star break before slumping to a 4.97 ERA in the second half.
The right-hander shoulder bolster a deep rotation that features Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, Kenta Maeda and Joey Ryan.
''I'm really excited about coming to this team, the leaders they have in the clubhouse and the players they have to support each other,'' Lopez said on a video interview with reporters. ''It's a mentality that really motivates me too. I ask and expect more of myself when it comes to my performance and the ways I can help out the team.''
Also headed to Minnesota in the deal are infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio. The 19-year-old Salas was picked as the organisation’s fifth-best prospect in the most recent MLB Pipeline rankings. Chourio, 17, played in the Dominican Summer League last season after signing with the Marlins in June.
Arraez spent most of his time at first base last season for the Twins, with 61 starts there, 34 at designated hitter and 31 at second base. He also appeared at third base and left field.
He is one of baseball’s toughest outs with only 131 strikeouts in 1,569 career plate appearances. Arraez only had 14 career homers in 389 games, but has a career on-base percentage of .374.
Even with Lopez’s departure, the Marlins still have a rotation topped by NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara and newly acquired right-hander Johnny Cueto.
Offense was a bigger need after Miami ranked 14th in the National League last season with a .230 batting average and last with 586 runs.
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