Latest news with #Pressly
San Francisco Chronicle
11 hours ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Cubs' Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly return to Daikin Park for first time since Astros traded them
HOUSTON (AP) — Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly returned to Daikin Park on Friday for the first time since the Houston Astros traded them to the Chicago Cubs during the offseason and were greeted by a video tribute before the start of the game. The two stepped out of the Cubs dugout and tipped their caps to the fans while getting a standing ovation. 'Obviously, we are here to do our job and win some games, but it's nice to at least catch up with some of the guys over there that I played with for awhile and been around, so it is cool in that sense' Tucker said earlier. A three-time All-Star right fielder eligible for free agency after the season, the 28-year-old Tucker is hitting .287 with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs. He was swapped in December for outfielder Cam Smith, infielder Isaac Paredes and right fielder Hayden Wesneski. Pressly, a 36-year-old right-hander, is 2-2 with five saves and a 3.90 ERA. The two-time All-Star closer was dealt in January for minor league right-hander Juan Bello. Tucker was part of Astros teams that reached six straight AL Championship Series and caught the final out of the 2022 World Series against Philadelphia. 'There's a lot of really good memories here,' Tucker said. 'We had a lot of success playing in this city and on this field. It's cool. The biggest thing is being around the guys in those moments.' Pressly earned the save in Game 6 of the 2022 World Series. 'A lot of memories were made out on that field,' Pressly said. 'A lot of lifetime friendships made on the other side as well. I always root for these guys. They were great teammates. I was super fortunate and blessed to share a clubhouse with a couple of those guys who are pretty much legends over there in this city.' Houston entered an AL West-best 48-33 record, identical to the record of the NL Central-leading Cubs. 'Every time they lose someone, they always seem to replace them with someone who is really good and kind of pick up the baton right behind them and keep winning. It's what they've been doing for the past decade now," Pressly said of the Astros. "It was fun to watch when I was on the team, but now that I'm not on the team, it's not fun to watch. It's always been a good team. It's going to be fun.'
Fox Sports
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Cubs' Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly return to Daikin Park for first time since Astros traded them
Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly returned to Daikin Park on Friday for the first time since the Houston Astros traded them to the Chicago Cubs during the offseason and were greeted by a video tribute before the start of the game. The two stepped out of the Cubs dugout and tipped their caps to the fans while getting a standing ovation. 'Obviously, we are here to do our job and win some games, but it's nice to at least catch up with some of the guys over there that I played with for awhile and been around, so it is cool in that sense' Tucker said earlier. A three-time All-Star right fielder eligible for free agency after the season, the 28-year-old Tucker is hitting .287 with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs. He was swapped in December for outfielder Cam Smith, infielder Isaac Paredes and right fielder Hayden Wesneski. Pressly, a 36-year-old right-hander, is 2-2 with five saves and a 3.90 ERA. The two-time All-Star closer was dealt in January for minor league right-hander Juan Bello. Tucker was part of Astros teams that reached six straight AL Championship Series and caught the final out of the 2022 World Series against Philadelphia. 'There's a lot of really good memories here,' Tucker said. 'We had a lot of success playing in this city and on this field. It's cool. The biggest thing is being around the guys in those moments.' Pressly earned the save in Game 6 of the 2022 World Series. 'A lot of memories were made out on that field,' Pressly said. 'A lot of lifetime friendships made on the other side as well. I always root for these guys. They were great teammates. I was super fortunate and blessed to share a clubhouse with a couple of those guys who are pretty much legends over there in this city.' Houston entered an AL West-best 48-33 record, identical to the record of the NL Central-leading Cubs. 'Every time they lose someone, they always seem to replace them with someone who is really good and kind of pick up the baton right behind them and keep winning. It's what they've been doing for the past decade now," Pressly said of the Astros. "It was fun to watch when I was on the team, but now that I'm not on the team, it's not fun to watch. It's always been a good team. It's going to be fun.' ___ AP MLB: recommended
Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cubs' Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly return to Daikin Park for first time since Astros traded them
HOUSTON (AP) — Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly returned to Daikin Park on Friday for the first time since the Houston Astros traded them to the Chicago Cubs during the offseason and were greeted by a video tribute before the start of the game. The two stepped out of the Cubs dugout and tipped their caps to the fans while getting a standing ovation. 'Obviously, we are here to do our job and win some games, but it's nice to at least catch up with some of the guys over there that I played with for awhile and been around, so it is cool in that sense' Tucker said earlier. A three-time All-Star right fielder eligible for free agency after the season, the 28-year-old Tucker is hitting .287 with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs. He was swapped in December for outfielder Cam Smith, infielder Isaac Paredes and right fielder Hayden Wesneski. Pressly, a 36-year-old right-hander, is 2-2 with five saves and a 3.90 ERA. The two-time All-Star closer was dealt in January for minor league right-hander Juan Bello. Tucker was part of Astros teams that reached six straight AL Championship Series and caught the final out of the 2022 World Series against Philadelphia. 'There's a lot of really good memories here,' Tucker said. 'We had a lot of success playing in this city and on this field. It's cool. The biggest thing is being around the guys in those moments.' Pressly earned the save in Game 6 of the 2022 World Series. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'A lot of memories were made out on that field,' Pressly said. 'A lot of lifetime friendships made on the other side as well. I always root for these guys. They were great teammates. I was super fortunate and blessed to share a clubhouse with a couple of those guys who are pretty much legends over there in this city.' Houston entered an AL West-best 48-33 record, identical to the record of the NL Central-leading Cubs. 'Every time they lose someone, they always seem to replace them with someone who is really good and kind of pick up the baton right behind them and keep winning. It's what they've been doing for the past decade now,' Pressly said of the Astros. 'It was fun to watch when I was on the team, but now that I'm not on the team, it's not fun to watch. It's always been a good team. It's going to be fun.' ___ AP MLB:
Chicago Tribune
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Ryan Pressly earns 1st save in nearly 2 months to seal the Chicago Cubs' 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs reliever Ryan Pressly stepped out of the bullpen in the ninth inning Thursday night looking for his first save since April 13. Following a disastrous May 6 outing in which Pressly surrendered nine runs, eight earned, without recording an out in the 11th inning against the San Francisco Giants, manager Craig Counsell pulled Pressly from the closer's role. The 36-year-old right-hander has had plenty of time to do some soul searching since then. But he was fully locked in under the lights Thursday when he retired the side in order to seal a 3-2 Cubs win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. 'Sometimes you get beat pretty bad like that and you kind of want to curl up in a little ball and not say anything or do anything,' Pressly said after the win. 'But if you want to prove yourself you've got to go back out there and keep proving to yourself that you're good enough.' After Counsell demoted Pressly from the closer's role, Porter Hodge briefly took over the job until an oblique injury sidelined him. Since then, Daniel Palencia had served as the closer. Counsell elected to insert Palencia into the game in the eighth inning Thursday with the heart of the Pirates order due up. Palencia worked a one-two-three inning, which set up Pressly for the save opportunity. It was Pessly's fifth of the season but his first in nearly two months. Counsell praised Pressly's resiliency in battling through both the adversity and a knee injury. This is a closer who was on the mound for the final outs of the Astros' 2022 World Series championship. A bad outing like the one in early May caught the entire league's attention. 'I think Ryan deserves a ton of credit here for how he's bounced back,' Counsell said. 'If you look at his season, he's had one bad inning. That inning resulted in some changes on our end and he's put up zeros ever since. It's just a lesson, man, to all of us as to what it means to be a professional and how this game, it's going to knock you down. Are you going to stay down or are you going to get back up?' Pressly has answered that pretty definitively. He hasn't allowed an earned run in 14 appearances since. In the meantime, he looked to his teammates for help in overcoming that tough outing. Left fielder Ian Happ wrote up a scouting report as if he were going to face Pressly. That helped identify a few tendencies that Pressly has since erased. Photos: Chicago Cubs beat Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 at Wrigley Field'You've got to be humble in this game or you're going to get humbled,' Pressly said. 'I got humbled in front of the Cubbie faithful and all of MLB. You've just got to take that and try to have a little bit of humility and just build off of it.' Pressly closed out what proved to be starter Jameson Taillon's seventh win of the season. Taillon worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out seven and walking two. The Cubs took a 3-0 lead following a two-run home run from center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong in the fourth inning and a solo shot from designated hitter Seiya Suzuki in the sixth. Taillon left the game after giving up a run in the seventh. Righty reliever Brad Keller inherited runners on first and second with one out. He struck out Pirates left fielder Tommy Pham for the second out, but then proceeded to hit a batter, loading the bases. He then allowed a run to score on a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk. Keller, who hasn't given up an earned run since April 22, locked in and struck out leadoff hitter O'Neil Cruz. 'Brad lost the zone a little bit on the previous two hitters, but he made pitches,' Counsell said. 'That's what you've got to do as a leverage reliever. There's going to be some craziness happen. There's going to be some bad luck maybe or whatever. The next pitch can be super important.' That paved the way for Palencia and Pressly to close out the eighth and the ninth innings. The three relievers didn't allow a hit, continuing a trend for a bullpen that has been the best in the majors since May 14. The Cubs opened a 10-game homestand with a win and improved to 42-27. 'Whatever opportunity (Counsell) wants to put me in, I just want to help this team win,' Pressly said. 'Saving games is fun and cool and stuff, but winning's a lot more fun to me. I don't care who's pitching in the ninth, I just want to win.' On Thursday, Pressly did both.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Column: Do the Chicago Cubs have a closer? 4 takeaways from an NL-best team as they start a tough road trip
The Chicago Cubs woke up Monday tied with the New York Mets for the best record in the National League. They begin a nine-game road trip Tuesday in Washington before two extremely difficult challenges against the Detroit Tigers, who have MLB's best record, and the Philadelphia Phillies. Advertisement Here are four takeaways from their 5-1 homestand. Daniel Palencia has moved into the closer's role without actually being named the closer. Manager Craig Counsell used him in that spot on May 19 in Miami, and Palencia blew his first opportunity in a 7-6 loss. But since then, he's ripped off five straight saves, allowing one hit and no walks over five scoreless innings. Ryan Pressly was moved out of the closer's role after his historically bad outing against the San Francisco Giants on May 6 at Wrigley Field, when he allowed nine runs while facing only eight batters (the other was an automatic runner). Pressly quietly has regained Counsell's trust with nine straight scoreless outings, including three strikeouts Sunday in the 7-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Counsell didn't say whether Pressly could regain his old role, sticking to his timeless mantra suggesting all pitchers are simply 'out-getters' and don't need to be labeled. Advertisement 'Just get big outs,' Counsell said. 'We've got to get outs in the seventh, got to get outs in the eighth. They're all big outs. The ninth inning is more difficult because the other teams empty the tank in terms of strategy and players. I like how we've been pitching down there and the guys have been doing a heck of a job for each other, covering each other's outs, and that's an important part of this. 'Daniel is a great example. It didn't go great for him last year, but there's every reason to be excited about what he can provide. A lot of times, that's how you have to look at those guys. You just want to have as many of them as you can. Our job is to get them to a place he's in right now and keep them there as long as you can.' Left-hander Génesis Cabrera, signed last week from the New York Mets scrap heap, also provides Counsell with another late-inning option. Cabrera feels confident he can help in those situations after being dumped by the Mets. 'They haven't given me the role that I deserve yet, but I need to wait to win that role,' he said upon arriving in the Cubs clubhouse. Cabrera struck out three of the four Reds batters he faced in his Cubs debut. Pete Crow-Armstrong walked on four pitches in the fourth inning Saturday, the first time he had drawn a walk in 69 plate appearances. He then walked again on four pitches in his next at-bat, leading off the seventh, the first two-walk game of his major-league career. Advertisement But the Cubs don't expect him to change his stripes, and there are many examples of bad ball hitters throughout baseball history, including Kirby Puckett and Vladimir Guerrero. 'I think that's what makes Pete pretty fascinating right now,' Counsell said. 'I do think he's going to continue to get better at this, though. What's rare is the damage being done outside the strike zone. It's one thing to get hits outside the strike zone and to put the bat on the ball outside the strike zone. I think the damage outside the strike zone is pretty unique.' Photos: Chicago Cubs take the series with a 7-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds Ben Brown might be the first Cubs pitcher since LaTroy Hawkins to provide suggestions on how they should craft their articles, though he did so in a winking manner. Advertisement After his six-inning relief outing Saturday, Brown said of his changeup: 'That's 6 percent usage, so if you guys want to write that down. Eventually there's going to be no more (stories saying) 'I'm not sure about the whole two-pitch (arsenal), I don't think that's going to work.' You guys are going to have to figure out something new.' Brown was referring to the media narrative that he might be better off in the bullpen until he adds a third pitch to go along with his effective four-seam fastball and knuckle-curve. He was happy to announce that his changeup is progressing. 'There was one I just kind of pooped up there up in the zone and it wasn't effective,' he said. 'The rest were pretty good rips, so I'm really happy, with how it's progressing, and just keep on it.' Hawkins famously called a press conference in 2004 to announce he was not talking to the media. He later complained to the Tribune that the remark was 'the only 15 seconds that was played over and over again' on TV and radio. Advertisement Dansby Swanson's wig day giveaway Saturday was a big hit with Cubs fans. So, how did it feel to look around the stands and see fans with his 'flow' on top of their heads? 'Not as good as the real thing,' Swanson said. 'Nah, it was cool, and really creative as a fun giveaway.' If the Cubs really want to be creative they'll recreate Crow-Armstrong's bleached blonde hair with the blue stars dyed in, which was his spring training look.
