Justin Verlander could be making his New York Mets debut sooner than later after an MRI revealed reduced inflammation in the right throwing shoulder of the prized free agent acquisition.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner is cleared to continue throwing and the Mets said Wednesday that a timeline for him joining the starting rotation will be established as he progresses.
The Mets surprisingly placed Verlander on the injured list with a low-grade teres major strain on Opening Day last Thursday – two days before he was slated to make his New York debut.
Verlander helped the Houston Astros to the 2022 World Series title and agreed to two-year, $86million contract with New York in December.
Verlander turned 40 years old in February but is still one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball.
Despite missing the entire 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Verlander was the unanimous winner of his third Cy Young Award in 2022 after leading the majors with a 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP, while going 18-4 with 185 strikeouts to 29 walks in 28 starts.
A nine-time All-Star, Verlander captured his first Cy Young Award in 2011 – a season in which he also won the AL MVP. He also won the 2019 AL Cy Young Award, as well as the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year Award.
For his career, Verlander is 244-133 with 3,198 strike outs, ranking first in both wins and strikeouts among active pitchers.
He is historically fared well against NL East opponents, which bodes well for the Mets, as he is posted a 2.14 ERA against those teams in his career – his lowest ERA against any division. His career ERA is 3.24.
In four starts against NL East clubs last season, he went 4-0 without giving up a run over 25 innings, while striking out 26.
Napoli 2-2 Roma: Late Abraham header denies wasteful hosts
A wasteful Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Roma in Serie A, with a late Tammy Abraham header securing a point for the visitors.
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot a minute before the hour mark, with Paulo Dybala converting after Juan Jesus fouled Sardar Amzoun.
However, Napoli equalised six minutes later through Matias Olivera's deflected shot, and completed the turnaround with their own penalty six minutes from time as Victor Osimhen tucked away after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was felled by Renato Sanches.
The hosts could not hold on, though, and were pegged back with two minutes to go. Substitute Abraham's header from a corner was eventually awarded following a VAR review after he had initially been ruled offside.
Data debrief
Napoli remain eighth in the Serie A table on 50 points, the exact amount they had registered after their opening 19 games of last season.
Though his penalty was not enough to earn Roma victory, Dybala continued his impressive start to 2024, during which he has been involved in the joint-most goals in Serie A with 12 (nine goals, three assists).
Lyon are through to their 11th Women's Champions League final after sealing a 5-3 aggregate victory over compatriots Paris Saint-Germain.
The record eight-time winners scored three times in the final 10 minutes of last week's first leg to take a narrow 3-2 lead into the return fixture at Parc des Princes.
However, they were quicker out of the blocks in the second leg, with just three minutes on the clock when Selma Bacha drilled home from range for her first Champions League strike in five-and-a-half years.
Tabitha Chawinga responded before the break to reduce PSG's aggregate deficit to a single goal, but Melchie Dumornay put the tie beyond doubt nine minutes from time, as Sonia Bompastor's side set up a final showdown with Barcelona on May 25.
Data debrief
Lyon continued their dominance over PSG in Champions League semi-final encounters, having now progressed from each of their last four such ties.
The eight-time champions lost their first two semi-finals they contested in this competition, but have now won each of the last 10, and will seek a record-extending ninth title in Bilbao next month.
Alcaraz's pursuit for third straight Madrid Open crown continues by defeating Seyboth Wild
Carlos Alcaraz boosted his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open title as he comfortably beat Thiago Seyboth Wild to reach the fourth round on Sunday.
Back in his home country of Spain, Alcaraz eased to a 6-3 6-3 triumph to set up a fourth-round clash with Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he beat in last year's final.
The first six games of the opening set went to serve, but Alcaraz found a crucial break in the seventh and ninth games of the set to put him in pole position for victory, a lead he would not relinquish as he overcame being broken in the seventh game of the second set to seal his safe progression.
Holger Rune was a surprise casualty as the world number 12 was defeated 6-4 4-6 6-3 by Tallon Griekspoor, though world number eight Andrey Rublev eased through with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Data debrief
With his triumph over Seyboth Wild at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz has now won 93.3 per cent of his games at the tournament. That is the highest win percentage of any player with at least 10 games played in a single ATP-1000 event since the format was introduced in 1990.
Against Seyboth Wild, Alcaraz won 27 of his 31 first-serve points, also recording 19 winners to his opponent's 10 as he dominated the contest on his way to victory.
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