Valdez shakes off errors as Astros take Game 2

Published

2 years ago

October 21, 2022

admin

1:03 AM ET

HOUSTON — First, Framber Valdez made a mistake. Then, he made things way worse, and suddenly, the Houston Astros starter found himself trying to prevent Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees from unraveling.

Valdez was working with a 3-0 lead after Astros third baseman Alex Bregman knocked a three-run homer over the Minute Maid Park left-field porch in the third frame, but a half-inning later in the top of the fourth, the Yankees began mounting a counterattack.

The New York offense ignited with an Aaron Judge single to start the inning before designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton tapped a bouncer back to the mound. Valdez took a step off the mound to field the ball, which bounced off the heel of his glove onto the ground. As Stanton hurtled toward first base, Valdez scrambled, diving for the ball and making a throw toward first while falling on his knees. The ball hopped past Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel into right field, and in the blink of an eye, Valdez had runners on second and third with no outs.

“I got a little bit too confident with that ground ball,” Valdez said.

A lesser pitcher might not have held things together, but Valdez did. Although Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo and second baseman Gleyber Torres each knocked in a run with a groundout and single, respectively, to make the score 3-2, Valdez struck out Josh Donaldson and Kyle Higashioka to end the inning.

Disaster averted.

The inning proved to be New York’s biggest offensive opportunity of the night, as Valdez finished his outing by keeping the Yankees at bay, allowing just two hits to the next 14 batters. The Astros lefty finished the night with seven innings pitched, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out nine and walking none. He had 25 swings and misses, the third most in a postseason game since the start of the pitch-tracking era in 2008.

“You always worry about a young player being able to shake off something like that,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “But [catcher Martin Maldonado], the guys on the team, they told him, ‘Hey, forget it. We still got the lead. Go out and pitch.’ He might have shut them out had he not had his own miscues.”

Valdez admitted that a couple of years ago, he might have fallen apart on the mound after making two errors on a single play.

“Back in 2019, I probably would have been done with the game,” Valdez said. “I probably would have lost all focus there at that moment. But those are all things that we work on and continue working hard to be able to focus better and get better in the game.”

For Valdez, his curveball proved to be the difference-maker. He threw it 40 times in 101 pitches, generating 16 swings and misses. During his first trip through the Yankees’ lineup, Valdez struggled to locate and fell behind several batters, creating opportunities for New York’s offense.

“I think the first two innings, I felt I was a little cold. I wasn’t fully warmed up,” Valdez said. “The roof was open, it’s something that we’re not used to playing with usually here. After that inning, I was able to warm up properly. And then the curveball got a lot better from the third through seventh inning. But those are all adjustments we make in the middle of the game, and thankfully it did it.”

For Bregman, the homer marked the 14th in his postseason career, the most in MLB history for a third baseman.

“Just trying to square up a ball is tough off of [Yankees starter Luis Severino],” Bregman said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the game. I missed under a few fastballs and was fortunate enough to square that one up and give us the lead.”

Bregman slumped in the first half of the season, hitting .238/.356/.408 with 11 homers, but turned things around after the All-Star break, hitting .287/.379/.515 with 12 homers. He had struggled with injuries the previous two seasons, dealing with a hamstring issue in 2020 and a strained quad in 2021. Baker credited Bregman’s health in 2022 for playing a big role in his second-half success.

“He never really got going for a couple years there,” Baker said. “This year, he played more games than anybody, and that gave him time to get his stroke, get his legs together. He’s been remarkable in the second half and into these playoffs. He didn’t have a very good playoff last year. He’s a big-game guy. He enjoys it.”

The Astros, who hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, and Yankees will face off in Game 3 of the ALCS on Saturday in the Bronx, with first pitch at 5:07 p.m. ET.

Sports

Sources: Verlander, Giants agree to 1-year deal

Published

1 hour ago

January 8, 2025

admin

Sources: Verlander, Giants agree to 1-year deal

Jeff Passan
Close

Jeff Passan

Senior MLB Insider
Jesse Rogers
Close

Jesse Rogers

ESPN Staff Writer

Jan 7, 2025, 07:32 PM ET

Right-hander Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a one-year, $15 million contract, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, continuing the future Hall of Famer’s career at age 42 in one of the pitcher-friendliest stadiums in baseball.

Verlander, entering his 20th major league season, is considered perhaps the best pitcher of his generation, with the most innings pitched, strikeouts and wins among active players. A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Verlander is coming off the worst season of his career and joins a Giants team likewise looking for better results than 2024. The deal is pending a physical.

Shoulder and neck injuries limited Verlander to 17 starts, and over his last seven he posted an 8.10 ERA. With a falling strikeout rate and climbing home run rate, Verlander began to show signs of aging after a career in which he seemed impervious to it.

After a dominant 13-year stretch with the Detroit Tigers, Verlander found a second life after joining the Houston Astros in 2017. He won Cy Youngs in 2019 and 2022 — and after the latter signed a two-year, $86.6 million contract with the New York Mets. Verlander spent 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to the Astros in August 2023.

Over his career, Verlander is 262-147 with a 3.30 ERA over 3,415⅔ innings. He has struck out 3,416 batters, walked 952 and won a pair of World Series with the Astros.

Returning to Houston wasn’t an option for 2025. With Oracle Park a dream for pitchers, Verlander gravitated toward the Giants, whose rotation includes right-hander Logan Webb, left-handers Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison, and a number of other options for the fifth spot, with right-hander Hayden Birdsong seen as the likeliest candidate.

The Giants had spent a month with limited action before signing Verlander. A month ago to the day, they agreed with shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million contract.

San Francisco, which hired former star catcher Buster Posey as its president of baseball operations in September, went 80-82 last season and finished in fourth place in the National League West, which is arguably the best division in baseball.

Sports

Mtn. West adds N. Illinois as football-only in ’26

Published

4 hours ago

January 7, 2025

admin

Mtn. West adds N. Illinois as football-only in '26

Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff WriterJan 7, 2025, 04:12 PM ET
Close
- Covers college football.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Attended Washington State University.

Northern Illinois will join the Mountain West as a football-only member in 2026, the school and conference announced Tuesday.

“What a great opportunity for NIU Athletics as we expand our horizons, adapt to this new national model of college athletics and prepare to start a new chapter in the history of NIU Football,” NIU athletic director Sean T. Frazier said in a statement.

In addition to NIU, the Mountain West will include Air Force, Hawai’i, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming in 2026.

The move is another fallen domino in college sports’ ongoing conference realignment process that caught up to the Mountain West in the fall, when Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State announced they were leaving for the new-look Pac-12, which collapsed in 2023.

“We are excited about adding Northern Illinois football to the Mountain West,” commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “In evaluating NIU, the MW Board of Directors and Directors of Athletics carefully considered and were impressed by its history of football success and its commitment to academic excellence.”

It is unclear what conference NIU’s remaining sports will compete in once it moves to the Mountain West for football. The school said it will continue discussions with the Mid-American Conference — where it has participated since 1997 — but will also review opportunities in “several of the regionally based multi-sport conferences.”

The Mountain West also recently announced the additions of Grand Canyon and UC Davis for sports other than football (Grand Canyon does not have football; Davis will remain at the FCS level).

Sports

Georgia lands Texas A&M WR Thomas from portal

Published

4 hours ago

January 7, 2025

admin

Georgia lands Texas A&M WR Thomas from portal

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJan 7, 2025, 05:23 PM ET
Close
- Senior college football writer
- Author of seven books on college football
- Graduate of the University of Georgia

Georgia added another potential playmaker to its receiving corps on Tuesday, as former Texas A&M standout Noah Thomas committed to play for the Bulldogs in 2025.

Thomas, who has one season of eligibility remaining, led the Aggies with 39 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns this past season.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs added former USC receiver/kick returner Zachariah Branch, who was the No. 9 overall player and No. 4 receiver in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. He had 1,863 all-purpose yards with the Trojans in two seasons and returned two kickoffs for scores in 2023.

At 6-foot-6, Thomas gives the Bulldogs a much-needed target in the red zone, which they were lacking this past season. His best performance came in a 43-41 loss in four overtimes at Auburn on Nov. 23, with five catches for 124 yards with two scores. He had six receptions for 109 yards and one score in a 21-17 victory over Arkansas on Sept. 28.

Earlier Tuesday, receiver Dillon Bell announced that he’ll return to Georgia for one more season. The junior had 43 catches for 466 yards with four touchdowns in 2024.

The Bulldogs are expected to lose their top two receivers: Dominic Lovett, who has exhausted his eligibility, and Arian Smith, who announced he’s forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Receiver Anthony Evans III also entered the transfer portal.

The Bulldogs led all FBS teams with 36 receiver drops this season, according to ESPN Research.

Georgia also landed two safeties from the transfer portal on Tuesday: Miami’s Jaden Harris and UAB’s Adrian Maddox, who had committed to Florida on Sunday. Harris started 13 games for the Hurricanes this past season and had 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 interception.