Kershaw had a 1.61 ERA this spring. He gave up just 15 hits and struck out 22 in 22 1-3 innings this spring.
Image Credit: Mark J Rebilas/ USA Today Sports
Kershaw, the 2014 National League MVP and Cy Young Award winner, threw 45 pitches while facing 11 batters and gave up one hit and an unearned run. He’ll next face the San Diego Padres on April 6.
Kershaw says he, physically, felt good this spring, but lacked the command that he desired. Still, if the spring is any indication, he appears to be headed towards another typical, Kershaw-type season.
Image Credit: AP Photo | Jeff Roberson
As he sat out last year after having Tommy John surgery, Matt Harvey missed the subtle parts of being a professional baseball player, like being around his teammates for trips like these. Spring training can be grueling, but Harvey embraced the minutiae this year with a smile, perhaps because his comeback has gone so well.
He pitched well, again, in his sixth and final spring start Thursday, throwing four scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals to lower his exhibition-season E.R.A. to 1.19.
Image Credit: whatproswear.com
New Balance announced a multiyear endorsement deal with Cano in a Thursday press release. As part of the deal, New Balance will provide Cano with shoes and apparel both on and off the field. They will also outfit children attending Cano’s RC22 Dream School, which is scheduled to open this fall in his hometown of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic.
New Balance also released the first images of the custom 3000v2 baseball spike they designed for Cano, which features a Mariners color scheme, Cano’s number, personal logo and references to his family, including his grandfather Olividio, who died last month after a yearlong battle with lung cancer.
Cano joins a rapidly growing roster of All-Star athletes at New Balance. For the 2015 season, 530 professional players will sport New Balance cleats each time they take the field. This list includes All Stars Miguel Cabrera, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Jonathan Lucroy, RA Dickey, Evan Longoria, Salvador Perez, Jose Bautista, Yadier Molina, and Hanley Ramirez.
Image Credit: Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
The Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus announced that Justin Verlander will start the 2015 season on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, because of a triceps strain. Reliever Bruce Rondon is also will start the season on the 15-day DL, with biceps tendinitis.
Verlander is expected to stay in Lakeland to continue throwing. He is optimistic that he'll be able to make his season debut April 12, against the Cleveland Indians.
"It just works out that it allows the team to have an extra bullpen guy," Verlander said of his first stint on the DL. "You know, it's kind of a crappy way to have it go, but it helps the team so … "
This season starts the $28-million part of Verlander's contract. He signed an extension in spring 2013 that replaced two existing years at $20 million apiece and added five more years (2015-19) at $28 million apiece.
"His arm will let us know when he can get back on the mound," Ausmus said. "Cautiously optimistic he'll get back on the mound Saturday or Sunday."
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Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez are, without question, "the best rotation in the game," said Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jeff Francoeur. The only question is the order of the five, which is what makes it so special, so potentially dominant.
Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo had to forfeit the Nats first round pick in this summer’s MLB draft with the signing of free agent supreme Max Scherzer, a steal of a deal indeed. What now? Holdovers Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister stand to be free agents at the end of this season and will be very pricy. With six proven starters and only five spots in a rotation, a deal appears to be looming.
Even before the Nats added the top free agent in the game, they possessed the top rotation in baseball. Four starters were among the top-16 in ERA in the National League. In case you are wondering, Gio was the only member not among the league leaders. In a staff of aces, Zimmermann wrapped up the 2014 season with a no-no, Fister walked only 24 batters in 164 innings, Tanner Roark was one of the biggest breakout, success stories last season and then there is Stephen Strasburg.
"I've never seen anything like this,'' said veteran second baseman Dan Uggla, who is in camp with the Nationals. "In 2012, this team really started something by getting Gio, then adding Fister. And they keep doing things to make it even better. But this is just crazy.''
Image Credit: espn.com
The Padres were terrible last season, even by their standards. Not only did they finish below .500 for the fourth straight year, but they were dead last in every significant offensive category.It's one thing to be bad. But when you’re in the entertainment business, like the Padres, losing can't be matched by dullness.
Sadly for the fans, the team excelled in both of those categories, which explains why the Padres’ owners did a makeover of historic proportions.
A new ace in James Shields joins an already strong rotation. Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Wil Myers make for a brand new power-hitting outfield. Derek Norris is now catching. Newcomers Yangervis Solarte and Will Middlebrooks have had great springs as they compete at third base.
Setting the transformation in motion was the hiring of General Manager A.J. Preller on Aug. 6. A first-time GM, Preller spent the end of last season getting a feel for the under-performing roster.
The players he went out and got were a cut above — and better paid — than the Padres of old. This year’s payroll will be around $100 million, about $10 million more than in 2014.
Image Credit: Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dellin Betances, who burst onto the scene last year with the Yankees throwing 90 innings with a 1.40 ERA, has run into a little trouble this spring with a 6.75 ERA.
He says he's a slow starter but a few mechanical issues are keeping him from producing the results of a year ago.
"It's just one small adjustment," Betances said. "I feel like I'm drifting too much with both my fastball and off-speed [pitches] and that's causing me to leave the ball up at times, and the breaking ball not being as sharp at times."
Through just seven innings of work this spring Betances has allowed five earned runs on eight hits while striking out six but walking five.
"I'm going to get stronger," he said. "I just feel like my command in spring hasn't been where it needs to be."
The Yankees are still trying to figure out their closer role. Betances and Andrew Miller will, for now, double-team the role until manager Joe Girardi decides who is a better fit. Miller was signed from Baltimore in the offseason to a four-year, $36 million deal.
Christine O'Connor
@christineeeeO
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