BY J.A. SCHWARTZ 2023 is a World Baseball Classic year, the first since the 2017 version that saw the United States win the tournament. The pandemic cancelled the 2020 edition, which means the US have been defending champions for the past six years. Superstars Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Pete Alonso, …
Read More »Path to American League Pennant still goes through Houston
BY J.A.SCHWARTZ Despite a delayed start to the season (remember the lockout?), the 2022 Major League Baseball Playoffs will start on Friday. The Dodgers won a league best 111 games, setting a franchise record in the process, and would seem to be the prohibitive favorites to claim this year’s championship. …
Read More »Twins hoping to reverse history as season enters homestretch
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The Minnesota Twins made the playoffs in three of the past five seasons, and won the American League Central in both 2019 and 2020 before their nightmarish 2021 campaign. During that ill-fated season, the Twins finished last, 20 games back of the division winning White Sox. This …
Read More »A’s losing streak now nine straight after sweep by Twins
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The A’s lost their ninth straight game Sunday, losing 4-3 to the red-hot Twins who captured their ninth consecutive victory at Target Field in front of 14,295 on a damp Mother’s Day in Minneapolis. Many players from both teams featured pink highlights to their uniforms (socks, gloves, …
Read More »AL Central could shape up as the White Sox vs. the field in ’22
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ Coming off a 2021 season that saw them finish a full 13 games ahead of their closest competitors, the Indians, the Chicago White Sox enter this season as clear favorites to repeat as American League Central champions. That result will never happen again, since the Cleveland franchise …
Read More »A’s grind out a wild win against Twins behind Andrus’ veteran moxie
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The A’s survived a wild game in their finale in Minnesota, winning 7-6 Sunday afternoon at Target Field behind a run that scored on a strikeout in the top of the ninth to take two of three from the struggling Twins. Oakland scratched and clawed, and despite …
Read More »Sano’s late blast rallies Twins to 5-4 win over the A’s
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The A’s may have started the season at 0-6, but they have played .700 baseball since then, and for most of Saturday afternoon, it appeared they’d take another game from the struggling Twins. But Miguel Sano, he of the .119 batting average entering the day, flicked an …
Read More »Swingin’ A’s sweep Twins 13-12 in the tenth for 11th straight
BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER In a game with six lead changes, the A’s fought back with three runs in the tenth inning to pull out an improbable hard-fought 13–12 win over the Minnesota Twins to stretch their winning streak to 11 games. The back-and-forth affair featured a combined seven homers, 31 …
Read More »Seasoned Twins, young White Sox poised to fight for AL Central
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The Minnesota Twins won the AL Central last year on the strength of a lineup heavy with HR hitters and a deep bullpen. Those same attributes should return for the Twins in 2021. They retained the ageless Nelson Cruz on a one-year deal to anchor the middle …
Read More »AL playoffs to kick off with an extra round starting Tuesday
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The 2020 baseball season has arrived at a destination that many felt would never be reached: the successful end of the regular season. Due to the legitimate concerns of staging baseball games amid a pandemic, many skeptics predicted that it was no better than a coin flip …
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