Twins visit the Angels to start 3-game series August 12 sharefacebooktwitterredditlink Minnesota Twins (57-53, second in the AL Central) vs. Los Angeles Angels (49-63, fourth in the AL West)Anaheim, California; Friday, 9:38 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Tyler Mahle (5-7, 4.49 ERA, 1. Justin Williams Men Jersey 23 WHIP, 119 strikeouts); Angels: Patrick Sandoval (3-7, 3.41 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 102 strikeouts) LINE: Twins -125, Angels +106; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Angels host the Minnesota Twins on Friday to open a three-game series.Los Angeles has a 49-63 record overall and a 24-32 record in home games. The Angels have a 16-45 record in games when they have given up a home run.Minnesota has a 26-28 record in road games and a 57-53 record overall. The Twins have the third-ranked team on-base percentage in the AL at .320.The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Klas Dahlbeck Jersey Taylor Ward ranks third on the Angels with a .269 batting average, and has 12 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 44 walks and 41 RBI. Luis Rengifo is 10-for-43 with two home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.Byron Buxton leads Minnesota with 27 home runs while slugging .549. Jose Miranda is 11-for-38 with two home runs and nine RBI over the past 10 games.LAST 10 GAMES: Angels: 6-4, .217 batting average, 2.54 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runsTwins: 4-6, .237 batting average, 4.50 ERA, outscored by 10 runsINJURIES: Angels: Mickey Moniak: 10-Day IL (finger), Michael Lorenzen: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Matt Duffy: 60-Day IL (back), Mike Trout: 10-Day IL (back), Archie Bradley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anthony Rendon: 60-Day IL (wrist), Chris Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Griffin Canning: 60-Day IL (back)Twins: Kyle Garlick: 10-Day IL (ribcage), Miguel Sano: Dominik Bokk Jersey 60-Day IL (knee), Alex Kirilloff: 10-Day IL (wrist), Bailey Ober: 60-Day IL (groin), Danny Coulombe: 60-Day IL (hip), Ryan Jeffers: 10-Day IL (thumb), Trevor Larnach: 10-Day IL (core), Cody Stashak: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Royce Lewis: 60-Day IL (knee), Chris Paddack: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jhon Romero: 60-Day IL (biceps), Jorge Alcala: 60-Day IL (elbow), Randy Dobnak: 60-Day IL (finger), Kenta Maeda: 60-Day IL (elbow)___The A sociated Pre s created this story using technology provided by and data from . in this topic American League Los Angeles Angels Major League Baseball Minnesota Twins Luis Rengifo Cody Stashak Alex Kirilloff Chris Paddack Ryan Jeffers Taylor Ward Patrick Sandoval Griffin Canning Trevor Larnach Byron Buxton Miguel San Anthony Rendon Danny Coulombe Mike Trout Kyle Garlick Archie Bradley Chris Rodriguez Randy Dobnak Kenta Maeda Jorge Alcala Michael Lorenzen Matt Duffy Mickey Moniak Nino Niederreiter Kids Jersey Los Angeles Angels Minnesota Twins share World Cup fans find booze at hotels, Qatar's 1 liquor store Qatar's strict rules regarding alcohol have drawn attention as it hosts the World Cup 33 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Sterling leaves England World Cup camp after home break-in England forward Raheem Sterling has left his teams World Cup camp in Qatar and returned to the U.K. after a break-in at his home 37 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ronaldo looks to shine like Mbapp and Me si at World Cup Cristiano Ronaldo has been overshadowed by the brilliance of Lionel Me si and Kylian Mbapp so far at the World Cup 1 HOUR AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ottawa hosts Los Angeles after Giroux's 2-goal game The Ottawa Senators host the Los Angeles Kings after Claude Giroux's two-goal game against the San Jose Sharks in the Senators' 5-2 win 1 HOUR AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Penguins host the Lee Stempniak Women Jersey Blue Jackets following Kapanen's hat trick The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets after Kasperi Kapanen's hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in the Penguins' 6-2 win 1 HOUR AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS

They've done it again. Specifically, the have won another game. This time, it was a over the at Wrigley Field. It was the 10th win in a row for the Orioles, which is one of the longest winning streaks in franchise history and the longest since they won 13 Michael Del Zotto Men Jersey straight in 1999. It didn't take long for the Orioles to grab a lead Wednesday. doubled home two runs in the first and then scored on an single and it was 3-0 before the Cubs even batted. and would add RBI doubles later in the game -- Rutschman's was then followed by two more tack-on runs -- while the Orioles' pitching staff again threw the Ondrej Kase Women Jersey ball very well. Starter allowed just a run in five innings of work and then the bullpen did its thing. During the 10-game winning streak, Orioles pitchers have given up zero or one run five times. They entered Wednesday fifth in the majors in bullpen ERA Jackson Lacombe Kids Jersey , too. The win moved the Orioles to 45-44, meaning the entire AL East is now above .500 and this is the latest in a season the Orioles have been over .500 since they were 71-70 on Sept. 8, 2017. They are now only two wins away from matching their 2018 total, seven away from 2021 and nine Ryan Kesler Men Jersey away from 2019. They still have 73 games left on the schedule. As far as the winning streaks, here are the five longest in franchise history. 14 games - Aug. 12-27, 1973 14 games - July 23-Aug. 4, 1916 (they were the St. Louis Browns then)13 games - Sept. 7-22, 1999 13 games - May 31-June 14, 197811 games - July 12-25, 1987The current 10-game streak is tied with seven others for the sixth-longest in franchise Daniel Sprong Kids Jersey history. They'll be off on Thursday before starting a road series against the on Friday. The Orioles are still in last place in the AL East, but they are also only two games back of the third AL wild card. It's just a loaded division.

Saturday afternoon, rookie right-hander will make his first career start against the in what could double as a postseason preview. Baz will be making his third start overall, having previously thrown 10 2/3 combined innings of two-run ball against the and Andrew Cogliano Women Jersey the . In those outings, he's struck out 14 batters while allowing a walk and five hits.Baz's start versus the Yankees -- -- will be notable for reasons other than its potential as a glimpse into the future or a continuation of his brilliant first month in the Show. Rather, it's notable because it's the first time Baz will be around Yankees ace -- and that connection is notable because when it comes to fastballs. Baz's sure has a lot in common with Cole's, widely considered one of the best in the busine s.Allow us to explain, dear reader, by scrolling while the autoplay ads run to completion.If you're going to compare fastballs, of course you're going to start with velocities. On paper, it would seem difficult to stack up with Cole in this respect. His average fastball velocity this season has been 97.7 mph, or the second-highest among qualifying starting pitchers, behind only of the Miami Marlins. Yet Baz has displayed an elite amount of arm strength in a small sample. His average fastball velocity so far has been clocked at 96.9 mph, according to TruMedia Derek Grant Jersey . If Baz qualified, that average would place him fifth. The pitchers above him? Alcantara and Cole, obviously, as well as Zack Wheeler and Luis Castillo. That's great company.PitcherAverage velocityMaximum velocityVelocity bandSandy Alcantara98.1 mph101.5 mph3.0 mphGerrit Cole97.7 mph101.5 mph3.0 mph97.2 mph100.3 mph2.5 mph97.2 mph100.7 mph2.8 mphShane Baz96.9 mph99.5 mph2.8 mphThrowing at a similar speed doesn't nece sarily mean a whole lot. Let's take it a step further, then, by comparing release points.We'll start with the vertical aspect -- that is, how far from the ground the ball is released. In Cole's case, his average release height is 68.1 inches; Baz, for his part, has averaged about 67.9 inches of height on his release. So far, so good. How about their horizontal release point, or relative to the plate? Here, there's a disparity. Cole stands about six inches closer toward the right-handed batter's box. ( Kevin Bieksa Women Jersey Yes, six whole inches.)There's another, often forgotten about element to release points: the depth. Luckily for us, TruMedia tracks each pitcher's "extension," the distance from the pitching rubber to the release point. As you might've gue sed, Baz is a worthy match for Cole in the sense that his average release depth is a touch deeper (6.67 feet versus 6.57 feet). Shane Baz, 98mph Paint. Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) So, Baz stacks up in velocity and in release point. What about the movement profile?Baz's fastball boasts 9.1 inches of horizontal break and 10.7 inches of vertical break, according to TruMedia's numbers. Cole's, meanwhile, checks in at 11.9 inches of horizontal break and 10.8 inches Antoine Morand Kids Jersey of vertical break. If you go off the ever trendy induced vertical break, then Baz's features an additional half foot.We could go deeper and reel off other metrics, but we a sure you: they're Jean-Sebastien Giguere Jersey close enough to make the comp stand up.It's important to note that sharing pitch characteristics -- like velocity, release point, and movement -- do not nece sarily mean that the pitches are equal. There are other components that go into these kinds of things, most notably command, sequencing, and deception. Cole has an edge in at least two of those respects, meaning his fastball remains superior to Baz's ( ).Still, the Rays and their fans have every reason to be high on Baz as a big part of this and potential future playoff runs. His fastball is the real deal, and it should help him continue to perform at a high level in the postseason despite his lack of big-league experience.

Items from Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully were put up for auction, and sold for over $2 million. The items ranged from championship Sonny Milano Kids Jersey rings, to scorebooks to autographs. ' World Series rings from 1955 and 1988 and a Brooklyn Dodgers ring given to the iconic broadcaster in the 1950s were two of the major items and biggest ticket pieces of Nick Foligno Kids Jersey memorabilia included in the online auction. to David Hunt, owner of Hunt Auctions in Exton, the two World Series rings sold for $188,000 each and the Brooklyn Dodgers ring went for $184,475.A Dodgers Centennial limited edition serigraph by LeRoy Neiman sold for $105,750. The items up for auction didn't end there, his 1981 World Series ring sold for $83,425 and his World Series ring from 1963 went for $76,375.One fan also landed an item from his final year broadcasting, 2016. His scorebook Jack Johnson Jersey from that season went for $82,250. A World Series trophy given to him in 1981 went for $70,500 and a similar looking trophy from the World Series in 1988 went for $64,625.A Babe Ruth Joonas Korpisalo Women Jersey autograph Scully got in person sold for $18,800 and baseball signed by President Ronald Reagan gifted to the broadcaster went for $11,750.The auction was first planned for All-Star weekend in July, but coronavirus forced it to be pushed back and moved online. The auction wrapped on Wednesday. The money from the Taylor Chorney Men Jersey auction will be used to help their five children, 16 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren financially. Scully and his wife Sandra donated the other proceeds to UCLA for neuromuscular research, as Sandra has a condition connected to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Twins sign side-arming righty Joe Smith for bullpen depth March 20 sharefacebooktwitterredditlink FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) The Minnesota Twins and right-handed reliever Joe Smith finalized a one-year contract on Sunday, adding a veteran arm to a bullpen in need of more depth.Smith pitched in 50 combined games last season for Houston and Seattle, posting Seth Jones Jersey a 4.99 ERA in 39 2/3 innings. The side-arm thrower has pitched for seven major league teams over 15 years, with a career 3.09 ERA and a .229 opponent batting average. He opted out of the 2020 season with the Astros due to COVID-19 concerns.Smith turns 38 on Tuesday. He was drafted in the third round Cam Atkinson Men Jersey in 2006 by the New York Mets and made his debut with the club the following year.Smith will likely complement Tyler Duffey and Jorge Alcala as the primary right-handed setup men for closer Taylor Rogers. Twins relievers ranked 20th in the majors last season with a 4.39 ERA.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/ Lukas Sedlak Jersey hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports in this topic Major League Baseball Joe Smith Minnesota Twins Joe Smith Taylor Rogers Jorge Alcala Tyler Duffey Minnesota Twins share Mbapp is bringing soccer to a new dimension at World Cup Cristiano Ronaldos precision 22 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Poland finds its true level Cam Atkinson Women Jersey at World Cup, beaten by the best Poland heads home from the World Cup as the latest team unable to resist an inspired Kylian Mbapp 22 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS World Cup fans find booze at hotels, Qatar's 1 liquor store Qatar's strict rules regarding alcohol have drawn attention as it hosts the World Cup 2 HOURS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Sterling leaves England World Cup camp after home break-in England forward Raheem Sterling has left his teams World Cup camp in Qatar and returned to the U.K. after a break-in at his home 2 HOURS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ronaldo looks to shine like Mbapp and Me si at World Cup Cristiano Ronaldo has been overshadowed by Brandon Dubinsky Women Jersey the brilliance of Lionel Me si and Kylian Mbapp so far at the World Cup 2 HOURS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS

The became the 12th and final team to clinch a postseason berth on Monday, punching their ticket with a 3-0 win over the . The Nathan Noel Men Jersey Phillies will advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. That season happened to represent the final year of a stretch that saw them appear in five consecutive playoffs.In the clinching win, the Phillies got a pair of home runs from , who now has 46 on the season, and right-hander took a perfect game into the seventh inning. worked a perfect ninth for his first career save.It's fair to write that the Phillies took an Stan Mikita Men Jersey unusual route to this point. They started the season poorly under former manager Joe Girardi's watch, racing out to a 22-29 start before Girardi was fired. Interim skipper Rob Thomson has since guided the Phillies to a 65-44 record. That would prorate to 97 wins over a full season. The Phillies' chances appeared to take a major blow when star was sidelined for two months by an injury. Yet their supporting cast proved good enough to Tony Esposito Men Jersey keep them afloat. Indeed, Philadelphia can credit Schwarber, , and , among others, for leading the charge. On the pitching side of things, the Phillies have a strong four-pitcher staff consisting of proven veterans like Nola and , along with youngsters Ranger Surez and .The Phillies had been jockeying alongside the after a rough September that saw them go 11-14. That putrid month included two separate five-game losing Ryan Carpenter Jersey streaks that were separated only by a three-game winning streak. In other words, the Phillies lost 10 of 13 games from Sept. 15-29. The rest of the National League playoff field will feature the , , Stan Mikita Jersey , , and . The Phillies' win on Monday meant that the Brewers were eliminated despite their win in extras over the . That ends a streak of four straight postseason appearances for Milwaukee.

With Major League Baseball's regular season ending on Sept. 25, we thought it would be fitting to dedicate the final Prospect Watch of the campaign to handing out awards. Obviously no real awards exist for prospects -- at least at the big-league level, beyond the Rookie of the Year trophy -- so we decided to invent some for ourselves.Below, you'll find five categories for rookie hitters and pitchers: most productive; most surprising; most encouraging; most disappointing; and most wanted. These should, for the most part, be self-explanatory distinctions; most wanted, the one po sible exception, simply means the prospect who we expected to see this season who hasn't been brought up to the majors.Now, let's get to it.Most Productive Hitter: , OF, In the campaign's first Prospect Watch, provided he showed the capacity to make adjustments. He's testing the hypothesis right now with a miserable September. But Robert was good enough in July and August to earn this honor all the same. He batted .298/.348/.612 with 10 home runs and four steals in his first 133 plate appearances. Robert is a magnetic talent; his power-speed combination puts him in a special category among big-league center fielders, and he has a chance to be a perennial All-Star. If he Chris Kunitz Jersey can get back on track, he has a chance to make an impre sion on the national stage once the playoffs begin on Sept. 29.Most Productive Pitcher: , RHP, For a relatively young franchise, the Marlins sure have had their share of phenom pitchers. Sanchez might be the latest one, as he's looked the part in an admittedly small sample. He's demonstrated that he has a deep arsenal, and a strong feel for both throwing strikes and changing speeds. The main concerns that scouts had about him -- his height and inability to mi s bats with his fastball in the minors -- either haven't mattered or haven't carried over to his big-league stint. If the Marlins make the playoffs, there's a real chance that Sanchez could force a higher seed to win consecutive games in order to advance. Most Surprising Hitter: , 2B, When Cronenworth appeared in past Prospect Watches, we described him as an interesting bench piece -- a two-way player who could pa s on the left side of the infield and who showed promise as a fastball-slider reliever. Some evaluators expre sed the belief that he could become a Role-5 (scout speak for "a regular") when the Padres acquired him as part of a five-player swap, and those evaluators have been proven correct. Cronenworth's game is Cam Ward Jersey simple: at the plate, he has a keen eye and a simple swing that is geared for making contact and hitting line drives up the middle and to the alleys. Defensively, he has more than enough arm and range for the keystone. Cronenworth isn't likely to keep up this level of production, but he should do enough to remain the unlikeliest starter on one of the game's better infields.Most Surprising Pitcher: , RHP, Williams has been on prospect radars since 2013 when he was drafted in the second round. He was never able to put it all together as a starter, but it's fair to write that he's on the right track as a reliever. The key to Williams' succe s -- and he entered the weekend with Artem Anisimov Men Jersey a 0.43 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 21 innings -- is the development of his circle changeup. He's throwing it more than half the time and there's been no sign of overexposure. The difference between Williams and most changeup artists is that he can also crank up his fastball into the upper 90s, making him an absolute headache to bat against. The Brewers are likely to listen on closer again this winter. They might already have his succe sor.Most Encouraging Hitter: , OF, Maybe it's because he debuted last season or because he plays for a le s competitive team, but Lewis tends to get overlooked in Rookie of the Year discu sions. He should be in the conversation, as he's right there with Robertnin terms of Wins Above Replacement. More important, for him and the Mariners, he's made some improvements that bode well for his long-term prospects. Lewis is walking more and striking out le s frequently (he punched out in around 21 percent of his August plate appearances) and has done so while maintaining a high level of production at the plate. Factor in that he's also a capable center fielder, and there's ample reason to feel good about his story to date and moving forward. Most Encouraging Pitcher: , RHP, Gonsolin started his season on a heater, reeling off 16 consecutive shutout innings before being sent to the alternate site in mid-August (because the Dodgers have that luxury). He returned a few weeks later and his numbers have really slipped since, which is to say that he has a 2.57 ERA and .611 OPS against in 21 frames. Gonsolin falls under "encouraging" because Blackhawks Blank Men Jersey his control has improved , including his hand slot. The Dodgers' other rookie starter, , gets all the attention, but Gonsolin's development suggests that he's going to be part of their rotation for the long haul, too.Most Disappointing Hitter: , OF, Adell entered the spring ranked as our No. 2 prospect, behind but ahead of Luis Robert and others who have comparatively had much smoother introductions to the majors. Adell has had alarming contact i sues throughout the year. He entered the weekend with a 42 percent whiff rate, resulting in a 41.6 percent strikeout percentage. Ouch. Adell does have an above-average exit velocity when he makes contact, but it's extremely hard to be a productive hitter when making contact on any given swing is almost a 50/50 proposition.Most Disappointing Pitcher: , RHP, Mize, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, has not taken well to the majors. If someone had told you in July that the Tigers would limit him to two times through the order per start, you would've expected him to post good numbers. He hasn't. What's more concerning is that he hasn't demonstrated the above-average command or the outpitch splitter that served as cornerstones of his profile. Through his first six starts, he was throwing just 60 percent strikes (a few ticks below the league-average) and opponents were hitting .320 against the splitter. Most Wanted Hitter: , OF, MarinersWe didn't think we'd see shortstop Wander Franco this season. We did think there was a chance Kelenic would make his big-league debut down the stretch -- and that was before the Mariners were within a few games of breaking the sport's longest playoff drought. We get it. Kelenic is only 21, he's taken fewer than 100 plate appearances above A-ball and rushing him to the majors could hamper his long-term development. Still, we figured Jerry Dipoto and company might be more aggre sive in order to take advantage of the situation.Most Wanted Pitcher: , LHP, PadresThe Padres have been aggre sive all season, which is why Gore's absence qualifies as a shocker. It seemed like a given both before and during the pandemic pause that he would debut at some point Jordin Tootoo Kids Jersey this season. There was even renewed buzz around the industry

Major League Baseball was supposed to launch the 2020 regular season last week, on March 26. The spread of the novel coronavirus, however, forced to delay Opening Day to some unknowable future date that is dependent on the effectivene s of the containment strategies imposed acro s the country in recent weeks.Because we could all use a distraction these days, we've Rasmus Ristolainen Men Jersey decided to pa s time by simulating the season on Out of the Park Baseball 21. Along the way, we'll be providing updates on what's happening in our fictional league, .With that in mind, here are the would-be standings and five developments to be mindful of from the week that was (and wasn't).1. floundering earlyBefore normality was fractured, one of the top storylines heading into the 2020 season was how the Houston Astros would fare after a tumultuous, scandal-ridden winter. It's impo sibly early Curtis Lazar Jersey in the simmed season, but the answer so far is "not great." Through seven games, the Astros are 2-5 and in last place in the American League West. What's more is that their -21 run differential is the second worst in baseball, ahead of only the . Woof. 2. off to hot startThe yin to the Astros' yang has been the Boston Red Sox, who own the majors' best record after their own controversy-filled offseason. The Red Sox won their first seven games, taking advantage of a draw that included the and . is hitting .357 and nearly threw a no-hitter. Enjoy these times while they last, Boston fans.3. Injuries take down Buehler, StrasburgTwo of the top starters in baseball will mi s more than a month due to injury. right-hander (strained abdominal muscle) is expected to be out for six weeks. Meanwhile, ace will mi s five weeks after suffering a sprained ankle.4. Jeff Skinner Women Jersey Olson off to great startThe are in first place in the AL West, and first baseman is one major reason why. Olson leads the majors in home runs (four) and runs batted in (14), and Casey Mittelstadt Jersey is second in OPS (1.399) behind Dodgers third baseman . The A's hosted the Astros for three games earlier in the week, and Olson notched three hits in each of those contests. 5. surprisingly release AndersonAlthough there wasn't much movement on the transactions front, one move did stand out as a surprise: the Milwaukee Brewers released left-hander before he even made an appearance for them. The Brewers rotation now includes and , and their bullpen has been oddly dependent on rookie J.P. Feyereisen, who has struck out five and permitted just two baserunners in four innings.Hitting performance of the weekThat honor goes to outfielder . He tallied four hits, including his first home run, against the . McCutchen recorded seven total bases and drove in six runs in a winning effort. Andrew Hammond Women Jersey (McCutchen's teammate supplied five hits in that game.)Pitching performance of the week is no stranger to stellar outings. The one that landed him here saw him shut out the . Kershaw gave up five hits, but struck out 11 and walked none on 104 pitches. His start was good for an 88 Game Score.