Sandy Alcantara Among Eight Former Cy Young Award Winners Set to Start on MLB Opening Day

Sandy Alcantara is preparing for Major League Baseball’s Opening Day

The 27-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher, who plays for the Miami Marlins, is among eight former Cy Young Award winners scheduled to start Opening Day next Thursday.

Miami Marlins, Sandy AlcantaraAlcantara, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner is pitted against three-time CYA honoree Max Scherzer, whose New York Mets travel to face the Marlins.

MLB teams announced their Opening Day starters on Friday as part of an effort by the league to gin up interest in the first game of a transformative season in which the game will include a pitch clock.

The MLB Opening Day slate features several first-class duels — and will include two-time winner Jacob deGrom, whose debut with the Texas Rangers was in doubt after tightness in his left side delayed his first spring training start. Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, fresh off a World Series appearance, will get his sixth consecutive Opening Day start — the longest current active streak — and oppose the two-time Cy Young winner in a pairing of longtime NL East foes.

Nine teams had announced their starters before Friday. That list includes the Los Angeles Angels, with Shohei Ohtani coming off his World Baseball Classic MVP award, as well as the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, who will pit Gerrit Cole against Logan Webb.

Some of the other best matchups include:

Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez spearheading the Astros’ title defense at home against Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease;

Cleveland‘s Shane Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young winner, traveling to Seattle to face Luis Castillo;

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias getting his first Opening Day start against Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen in a battle of the third- and fifth-place finishers, respectively, in last year’s NL Cy Young voting.

Among the other Cy Young winners who will kick off their team’s season:

Milwaukee‘s Corbin Burnes, an MLB All-Star each of the past two seasons and the 2021 NL Cy Young winner, will go against the Chicago Cubs’ Marcus Stroman, who previously started Opening Day twice;

Blake Snell, the 2018 AL honoree, gets the start for San Diego at a packed Petco Park against Colorado’s German Marquez, who will get the ball for the third time on Opening Day;

Two-time winner Corey Kluber, whose Boston Red Sox will host Baltimore‘s Kyle Gibson;

Zack Greinke, who will make his third Opening Day start for Kansas City and fifth overall, will oppose Minnesota Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez, taking the mound for the first time to start a season.

Atlanta‘s Max Fried and Washington‘s Patrick Corbin both will start for the third time on Opening Day as the Nationals host the Braves.

The rest of the matchups feature at least one pitcher commencing the season for the first time:

Detroit‘s Eduardo Rodriguez debuting vs. the Rays’ Shane McClanahan, who got the call for the second straight season;

Toronto‘s Alek Manoah, coming off a third-place AL Cy Young finish, going against St. Louis’ Miles Mikolas, who inherited Opening Day duties for a second time after six-time Opening Day starter Adam Wainwright landed on the injured list Thursday with a groin strain;

Pittsburgh‘s Mitch Keller heading to Cincinnati to face Hunter Greene in the one of three matchups of pitchers who have not previously thrown Opening Day, with the others Urías vs. Gallen and Valdez vs. Cease;

Ohtani against Oakland’s Kyle Muller, the least-tenured of the 30 pitchers with just 11 major league starts and 49 big league innings under his belt. He will go for the Athletics after presumptive Opening Day starter Paul Blackburn suffered a torn nail on his right middle finger.

Randy Arozarena Becomes First MLB Player to Hit Nine Home Runs in Single Postseason

Randy Arozarena is still making history…

The 25-year-old Cuban professional baseball outfielder and Tampa Bay Rays rookie has become the first player to hit nine home runs in a single postseason after taking Los Angeles Dodgers starter Julio Urias deep to right field in the fourth inning of Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night.

Randy Arozarena

Arozarena already holds the rookie hit record for a single postseason, set in Game 3, while breaking a four-way tie for most home runs.

Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager also homered in Game 4 and has eight this postseason.

Arozarena later scored the winning run on Brett Phillips‘ walk-off single, as the Rays beat the Dodgers 8-7 in Game 4 to even the World Series at two games apiece.

Arozarena actually fell down rounding third base, but after Dodgers catcher Will Smith couldn’t handle the relay throw, the Rays’ rookie was able to make it home with the winning run.

Randy Arozarena

“All I was thinking about was just running hard,” Arozarena said through an interpreter. “Running hard as I could. Once I got to a certain spot, I saw that the ball got bobbled. I got sent home. I tripped. … I was actually trying to get back to third base because I knew we had already tied the game so, if anything, I was just trying to get in a rundown. Then, I saw the ball get past him, so I turned around and scored.”

Arozarena also holds the record for total bases in a single postseason. He singled to lead off the sixth inning Saturday night, tying Pablo Sandoval for most hits by any player in one postseason.

The 2020 playoffs featured an extra round, meaning Arozarena is playing in his 18th playoff game already.

Nelson Cruz, Carlos Beltran and Barry Bonds are the three other players — along with Seager — to hit eight home runs in a single postseason.

Julio Urías Makes MLB History as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Game 7 Closer Against the Atlanta Braves

Julio Urías has etched his name into the annals of Major League Baseball history…

On Sunday night, the 24-year-old Mexican professional baseball player, a former child prodigy, pitched the Los Angeles Dodgers into the 2020 World Series.

Julio Urías

“It was his moment,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Urías entered the seventh inning of a tied game and retired the next nine Atlanta Braves batters in order, requiring only 39 pitches to do so. He blanked the over the final three innings of a 4-3 victory in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series in Arlington, Texas.

With that, the left-hander became only the second reliever to close out a winner-take-all game with at least three no-hit innings. The other: Pedro Martinez in his famous six-inning performance in Game 5 of the 1999 American League Division Series for the Boston Red Sox against the Cleveland Indians.

It was Urias’ second win of the series, the first coming only four days earlier, when he threw 101 pitches in a Game 3 start.

His fastball touching 96 mph, he recorded his first three outs on only 10 pitches.

The quick seventh inning positioned Urías to earn the victory when Cody Bellinger launched a 94-mph sinker by Chris Martin into the right-field stands in the bottom of the inning.

Urías responded by navigating through the middle of the Braves’ order in the eighth inning. Their best hitter, Freddie Freeman, worked a nine-pitch at-bat, but Urías ultimately made him line out weakly to center field.

In Roberts’ mind, there was little question about who would pitch the ninth inning.

Kenley Jansen had pitched in each of the two previous games. This was Urías’ game to finish.

“I trust him,” Roberts said.

Urías forced Ozzie Albies to ground out. He made Dansby Swanson do the same. And when his changeup was lazily golfed to center field by Austin Riley, Urías raised his arms skyward.

Bellinger caught the fly ball, prompting Will Smith to approach the mound in celebration. Urías slapped Smith’s chest protector and embraced the catcher.

In the immediate aftermath of the victory, NLCS most valuable player Corey Seager marveled at Urías’ composure.

“That was his moment right there,” Seager said. “That was his game to win, and he went out and did it.”

Urias to Make MLB History During Game 4 of the National League Championship Series

Julio Urias is ready to hit the mound while making history in the process…

The 20-year-old Mexican professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers will start in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs.

Julio Urias

When he throws his first pitch, Urias will become the youngest postseason starting pitcher in Major League Baseball history, surpassing a mark previously held by Bret Saberhagen, when he took the mound as a 20-year-old in 1984.

Urias will be 20 years, 68 days old when he pitches in Game 4.

“Julio, I think that we expect him to just go out there and compete, use his pitch mix and go after these guys,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Give us a chance to win a baseball game. It’s what Julio’s done all year long.”

The Mexico native made his major league debut at the age of 19, when he took on the New York Mets in New York on May 27. It was a rough night, as he lasted just 2 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks.

Five days later, he made his first of two appearances against the Cubs and struggled again, giving up six runs (five earned) on eight hits in five innings at Wrigley Field.

Urias rebounded to go 5-2 in his rookie season with a 3.39 ERA in 18 appearances, 15 of them starts. Taking out those first two outings, Urias posted a 2.73 ERA. In his second matchup with the Cubs, at home on Aug. 27, he gave up one run on six hits in six innings while matching a season high with eight strikeouts. He earned his fifth victory of the season in that game.

He will enter Wednesday’s outing, though, having been used sparingly down the stretch. Urias pitched just 14 innings in September as the Dodgers curtailed his innings. They had originally decided to move him to the bullpen in an attempt to limit his innings, but he has been on hand as a fourth starter since the postseason started.

He was not asked to start in the five-game NL Division Series, although he did pitch two scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ Game 5 victory, earning a spot in the NLCS.

Urias has thrown as many as 100 pitches just once this season and reached the 90-pitch mark just four times. Roberts said he is less concerned with pitch count this time around and will primarily monitor effectiveness.

“I think that we’ve kind of monitored his usage throughout the regular season, but I think right now for me, it’s not necessarily the pitch count,” Roberts said. “A lot of it is the stressful innings, too. It’s going to be a big game. So if he’s throwing the baseball the way we expect, then I’m not afraid to push him to help us win a baseball game.”

Urias to Get Two More MLB Starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers

Make that two more Major League Baseball starts for Julio Urias

The 19-year-old Mexican professional baseball pitcher will now stay with the Los Angeles Dodgers until the All-Star break.

Julio Urias

Urias picked up his first MLB victory on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers despite walking six batters. But with limited starting options and Clayton Kershaw‘s uncertain status with lower-back soreness, the Dodgers are in no position to be sending Urias away, even if it means preserving his rising innings total.

“I would say the odds of Julio being in the rotation until the All-Star break are very high,” manager Dave Roberts said.

The Dodgers have already used nine different starting pitchers in 81 games, four of those who were first-time starters. Urias was one of those first-timers, as was Brock Stewart, who started Wednesday.

Even with his six walks Tuesday, Urias continues to show increasing comfort with pitching in the major leagues after a rocky debut May 27 at New York.

In seven starts, the left-hander has a 4.09 ERA in 33 innings, reaching the 100-pitch mark in his last outing. He has 41 strikeouts to 15 walks. Counting his work in the minor leagues, Urias has pitched 74 innings this season. His minor league high is 87 2/3 innings at Rancho Cucamonga in 2014.

If the Dodgers’ rotation stays in order, Urias figures to make starts Sunday at home against the Colorado Rockies and July 8 at home against the San Diego Padres before reaching the break.