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New York Times
41 minutes ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Yankees first-half awards: Aaron Judge for MVP, but who's LVP?
NEW YORK — Will Warren didn't seem worried at all. The bases were loaded. The count was full. Gio Urshela was at the plate, and it was the first inning. Warren reached back and ripped a 94 mph sinker that dotted the outside corner. Urshela didn't swing, the umpire called strike three, and it set the New York Yankees' starting pitcher on a path to yet another big night. Advertisement Warren threw five scoreless innings, striking out seven while walking four, in a 3-0 win over the Athletics at Yankee Stadium on Friday night. The game represented the halfway mark of the regular season for the Yankees, who at 47-34 hold a 1 1/2-game lead in the American League East. And Warren's showing was another example of why he's been the Yankees' rookie of the year for the first half of the 2025 season. Warren has a 5-4 record and a 4.37 ERA, giving the Yankees at least the chance to win just about every day, though he usually offers even more. Over his last four starts, he has a 1.96 ERA. He's allowed three or fewer runs in 13 starts. Warren leads MLB rookies in starts (17) and strikeouts (103). Will Warren, Disgusting Sweeper. 🤮 — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 28, 2025 Manager Aaron Boone said he wasn't losing faith in the 26-year-old as he walked three of the first five batters he faced Friday, though he did tell the bullpen to have Allan Winans warm up in case Warren couldn't right the ship. 'Honestly a lot of confidence that we don't have to trick 'em,' Boone said. 'He's got the stuff to go right after them.' The biggest difference for Warren this season? 'I feel like he's really starting to use his sinker and his four-seamer really well with a lot of faith in it and in the strike zone,' Boone said. 'He knows he can go in the strike zone with both of those pitches if he executes. He doesn't have to run from contact. Those two pitches really play for him.' Warren has shown that he deserves to remain in the rotation when Luis Gil returns from the injured list sometime after the All-Star break. Here are our other first-half awards for the Yankees. Who else? Judge is in the midst of one of his best seasons, and that's saying something. The 33-year-old is leading MLB in the following categories: batting average (.358), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.712), OPS (1.170) and fWAR (6.1). Judge's 28 homers are the third-most in baseball. And he hasn't missed a full game. When he was announced as the biggest vote-getter for this year's American League All-Star team, he became the fourth player since fan balloting returned in 1970 to lead the majors in voting at least three times (Ken Griffey Jr., 5; Rod Carew, 4; Ichiro Suzuki, 3). The best player in the game, of course, is the most valuable player on the team. Advertisement LeMahieu brings leadership to the Yankees' clubhouse. He sets an example of how to prepare every day. He has also been the Yankees' least productive everyday player. He didn't debut until May 13 after missing the beginning of the season with a left calf strain. When he first returned, he appeared to be moving better than he had at any point over his last two injury-plagued years. But he's struggled significantly of late. Over 13 games entering Friday, he had posted just a .384 OPS with only one extra-base hit. His season marks of a 92.5 mph average exit velocity and 50 percent hard-hit rate are encouraging. His expected weighted on-base percentage of .304 is not. Fried might start for the AL All-Star team. When the Yankees signed Fried to an eight-year, $217 million deal, the move was almost universally applauded, though some eyebrows were raised at the length. Nobody's questioning it now. The lefty leads MLB in wins with 10, and his 1.92 ERA is second among starting pitchers. He's top 10 in WHIP (0.94) and batting average against (.204). Fried has also become a clubhouse leader in a mold similar to Gerrit Cole. 'Ten wins in half a season is not easy to do, in any era, especially now,' Boone told reporters in Cincinnati this week. 'It's just a testament to how good he's been and how efficient he's been. Needless to say, he's been enormous for us, whether it's coming off a loss or extending a streak. His consistency's been great.' Carrasco's stay was brief but impactful, in the wrong way. The 38-year-old was 2-2 with a 5.91 ERA in eight games (six starts), and it seemed like he just didn't have it anymore in the 16th season of an otherwise impressive career. He made his last Yankees appearance on May 4. Then the team designated him for assignment. He's since hung around Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he hasn't been good there either, with a 4.95 ERA in six games. Carrasco was a positive force inside the Yankees' clubhouse during spring training and at the beginning of the season, but he didn't get it done on the field.
New York Post
5 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Yankees' Cody Bellinger makes A's pay for intentionally walking Aaron Judge
Access the Yankees beat like never before Don't miss Greg Joyce's text messages from The Bronx and beyond — he's giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Yankees. Sign Up Now Cody Bellinger gets it. He knows why opponents have intentionally walked — and will continue intentionally walking — Aaron Judge in certain spots, even with Judge encountering a rough patch the past two weeks. Advertisement 'Understandable,' Bellinger said. 'I mean, he's the best hitter on the planet.' The A's opted for the same strategy in the third inning Friday with Anthony Volpe on second and first base open, choosing to face the 2019 National League MVP instead of the 2022 and 2024 American League winner — who's also a clear favorite for the award again this year — in the middle of a historic season. And three pitches later, Bellinger delivered again, driving in Volpe with a single to give the Yankees a two-run lead and improving to 3-for-9 with four RBIs in 12 plate appearances following Judge intentional walks. Advertisement 'It's [the] product of a good hitter that's been around, been there and done that and doesn't get overwhelmed or over-amped,' manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees' 3-0 win to open a series in The Bronx. 'Sometimes, you want to show so bad in those situations. That can get you into some trouble. He seems to manage that really well.' Bellinger, who added another single in the eighth to cap a 2-for-4 night, has produced three singles and a sacrifice fly in those settings this year, and collectively the Yankees have gone 6-for-15 after Judge's MLB-high 18 intentional walks in 2025. Jazz Chisholm Jr., who said he thinks those situations provide 'a lot of added motivation,' has gone 2-for-4 with a homer and a single, while Ben Rice produced an RBI double in one of his two chances. Cody Bellinger rips an RBI single in the third inning of the Yankees' 3-0 win over the A's on June 27, 2025. Jason Szenes / New York Post Advertisement CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS Those walks will only continue over the final half of the regular season given Judge's .358 average, 28 homers and 63 RBIs. Judge remains on track to shatter the career-high 21 intentional walks he received between the regular season and playoffs last year. So far, though, the Yankees have continued to convert in those scenarios. Advertisement Cody Bellinger rips an RBI single during the third inning of the Yankees' win over the A's. Robert Sabo / New York Post They've strung together run-scoring hits in those spots. Bellinger's single — which continued his in-season turnaround following a slow start, with his average dipping beneath .200 in early May — marked just the latest. 'Especially for me, it's like, feel like that's really disrespectful to walk someone in front of me — with Cody, especially the career that he's had, to walk someone in front of him,' Chisholm said. 'I know it's Judge, but still.'
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Angels fail to capitalize on chances and bullpen implodes in loss to Nationals
Game 81. The halfway point of the 2025 season arrived at Angel Stadium — and the Angels, albeit squarely in contention at .500, were dealing with a bit of organizational uncertainty. Angels general manager Perry Minasian announced before Friday's game that manager Ron Washington would remain on medical leave for the rest of the season because of an undisclosed health issue. Bench coach Ray Montgomery took over the reins on June 20 as the acting — now interim — manager as the Angels entered Friday winners in seven of their last 10 games. The Angels are in a much better spot than 2024. This time last season, after game 81, they were 11 games under .500 — squarely out of the postseason hunt. Friday, however, even after losing 15-9 in a three-hour, 11-minute slog of a series opener against the Washington Nationals (34-48), the Angels (40-41) still are just two games out of the third American League wild-card spot. In a game where the Angels and Nationals combined for 24 runs and 30 hits — with the 19 hits and 15 runs given up by the Angels' pitching staff representing season-worst marks — what ultimately separated the teams was the Angels' inability to come through with runners on base. In the sixth and seventh innings — down one and two runs, respectively — the Angels had opportunities to take the lead or tie the game with runners in scoring position, but failed to capitalize. From there, the Nationals' lead would grow — with Hunter Strickland giving up four runs in the ninth as part of a 10-run barrage against the Angels' bullpen. In the early innings, the Angels had plenty of opportunities against Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin, who struggled against the heart of the lineup. Jo Adell struck a 92-mph fastball high and away to right field for a solo home run — his 18th overall and 11th in June — in the second. An inning later, Nolan Schanuel and Taylor Ward received hanging breaking balls — a high curveball and slider, respectively — and pulled the ball for short-porch home runs. Three home runs across three innings helped the Angels build a three-run lead. Across 4 ⅓ innings of work against Irvin, the Angels' lineup continued to click. They tallied nine runs (eight earned to Irvin) on nine hits — just enough for an early lead as José Soriano tossed his worst outing of the season. Soriano couldn't exit the fifth against the Nationals. The shutdown pitching he had featured in his last three starts — giving up just two runs across 20 ⅔ innings — looked like a distant memory. The right-hander struck out four and walked two, while giving up eight earned runs and nine hits. Angels shortstop Zach Neto (shoulder) returned to action, striking out in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter. Neto said before the game that he'd likely be able to hit before throwing — something he's yet to do — after jamming his shoulder on a stolen base attempt Tuesday.
Edmonton Journal
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Blue Jays smell blood in the water, trounce Red Sox 9-0 to reach halfway point in style
Article content If there has been a flaw in the Blue Jays' impressive climb to post-season contention while leaving the .500 mark in the dust, it has been their sometimes inability to go for the jugular. Losing two of three against the Chicago White Sox at the Rogers Centre a week ago was the most recent example. Article content How about one of their more complete games of the season in a dominating 9-0 trouncing to kick off the first of a three-game weekend set in Beantown. Yes, what a resounding way to officially reach the midway point of the season for manager John Schneider's soaring squad. There was starting pitcher Jose Berrios going seven full innings, striking out eight and allowing just four Red Sox hits to lower his ERA to 3.26. By the time Nick Sandlin came on in relief, the Jays were already up 9-0. Berrios has now recorded wins in four of his past five starts, giving the team the reliable type of outings that have been his calling card. There were three-hit nights from George Springer (who might well be the Jays MVP of the first half of the season) and Andres Gimenez, the latter driving in three runs as his batting average inched above .200. In all, six different Jays batsmen recorded at least a pair of hits as the team pounded out 16 in total. Article content And before the game, there was good news in the form of first baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr., who was a late addition to the starting lineup. There was concern over the $500-million man from the previous day in Cleveland when he was hit by a pitch, but Guerrero's love for hitting at Fenway prevailed and he responded with a pair of hits, a walk and three runs scored. With the win, the Jays improved to 44-37 and shut out an opponent for a second consecutive contest after blanking the Guardians 6-0 on Thursday. Getting seven games above .500 matches a season-high for the Jays this season, the fourth time they've done so. With two weekend games remaining, the Jays now have the opportunity to inflict some serious damage on the reeling Red Sox — a divisional foe threatening to play themselves out of the American League wild-card race. The Jays arrived in Boston with an opportunity to make a large statement and certainly landed blow after blow in Round 1, as they improved to 4-1 at Fenway so far this season. There is something clearly rotten in Red Sox Nation and good teams thrive on the opportunity presented by blood in the water. Article content It's certainly starting to feel as if there is some momentum with a team that has gone 28-17 since May 9, the third best record in the majors since then. There have been ups and downs, sure, and inconsistencies. But on the other side, the Jays completed the first half of the season without meaningful contributions from their two biggest off-season acquisitions — Max Scherzer and Anthony Santander, the latter still on the injured list with shoulder issues. But the resilience they've shown along the way has set them up for success. And winning three of the first four contests on this six-game road trip is not only a terrific launching point to the second half of the season, but a nice setup for a rather large four-game series against the division-leading New York Yankees beginning Monday at the Rogers Centre. Latest National Stories
Mint
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Mint
David Festa, Twins shut down AL-best Tigers
Byron Buxton hit a solo homer and David Festa pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings as the visiting Minnesota Twins downed the Detroit Tigers 4-1 on Friday night. Brooks Lee drove in two runs, Willi Castro scored a run and knocked in another and Buxton scored two runs as the Twins won their third straight following a five-game losing streak. Festa (2-2) allowed just two hits and struck out six Tigers, who have the best record in the American League. Jhoan Duran notched his 12th save by getting the last three outs in the opener of a three-game set. Gleyber Torres had two hits and drove in the lone Tigers run. Starter Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-1) yielded three runs on four hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings while recording five strikeouts. The Tigers had a threat in the second. Spencer Torkelson was hit by a pitch and Dillon Dingler had a two-out single. Parker Meadows was retired on a check-swing comebacker to Festa. Minnesota stranded two runners in the third, then broke through in the fourth. Matt Wallner slashed a two-out double before Lee doubled to right for the first run of the contest. The Twins made it 2-0 the next inning on Buxton's two-out homer to left which traveled an estimated 425 feet. Minnesota tacked on a run in the sixth. Castro walked, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. After Ty France walked with one out, Lee singled to center to score Castro. Minnesota took a 4-0 lead in the seventh. Buxton walked, stole second and moved to third on a groundout. He scored on Castro's sacrifice bunt. Detroit stranded two runners in the seventh, then got on the scoreboard in the eighth. Colt Keith tripled with one out and scored on Torres' RBI single. Zach McKinstry's single put runners on the corners. McKinstry stole second, but reliever Griffin Jax responded by striking out Riley Greene and Torkelson to end the inning.
