
Pride, power … and complaining about bad airplane food? Former Yankees captains on what awaits Aaron Judge
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adminAARON JUDGE BEGINS 2023 as the 16th captain in the storied history of the New York Yankees.
He joins a list that features icons like Babe Ruth (who served for just five days, but … it counts), Lou Gehrig, Thurman Munson, Don Mattingly and, most recently, Derek Jeter. He’s the face of one of North America’s premier sports franchises, a celebrity in one of the world’s biggest cities. One day, his plaque likely will sit in Monument Park for his great-great grandchildren to see.
There are also the responsibilities. Like setting the tone for the team. Representing the community. Hearing complaints about airplane food.
*blinks*
Wait, what?
Just ask Ron Guidry, a Yankees captain from 1986 to 1989. The former Cy Young Award winner told ESPN he once had to walk, in full uniform, into the office of the famously mercurial — and intimidating — George Steinbrenner to talk to the owner, not about pennant races or the finer points of pitching, but about the sorry state of the team’s in-flight meals.
It’s all in a day’s work for the captain of the Yankees.
Those duties now fall onto the shoulders of Judge, from what we’ll see him do every day on the field, to what we’ll never see him have to do away from it.
“We had [player] meetings because the food on the flights wasn’t good,” Guidry recalled. “Who are you gonna complain to? The players don’t want to stir the pot with the manager or ownership. They come to you, and you make a note as the captain and you have to talk to someone. You’re a spokesperson.”
Guidry said he first approached manager Billy Martin, but he could barely get a word in before Martin, a legendary figure in his own right, stopped him.
“Not my department,” Martin announced. “Go talk to the man upstairs.”
So Guidry called the Yankees executive suite and asked the switchboard operator if Steinbrenner was in. When she gave him the greenlight, Guidry ran upstairs — still wearing his pinstripes.
“What’s your problem now?” Steinbrenner asked.
“I don’t have a problem with you,” Guidry replied. “Your team does.”
Steinbrenner listened as Guidry channeled his inner Jerry Seinfeld and passed on the word that the food on the team’s flights had not been up to par. Players had stopped eating it, and when they arrived in their destination cities late at night, all the restaurants typically were closed.
“I’ll take care of it,” Steinbrenner told him.
By the time the Yankees next went on the road, the team had changed airline carriers. Their first meal on the new airline? Chateaubriand steak and lobster tail.
WHEN THE YANKEES named Judge captain late last month, after the slugger signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to remain in the Bronx, the team brought out the full pomp and circumstance for the occasion. Jeter — who produced an ESPN documentary series last year called The Captain, based on his career — and Willie Randolph — Guidry’s co-captain from 1986 to 1988 — attended the press conference to help pass the baton.
Jeter and Randolph know the job comes with the increased scrutiny of Yankees fans. But the leadership title also brings many behind-the-scenes responsibilities — and, as Guidry learned, some extra clout with the bosses, too.
“I don’t have a problem with you. Your team does.”
Former captain Ron Guidry, lodging a complaint about airplane food to then-Yankees owner George Steinbrenner
“There’s a certain pride and strut when you know that, ‘Hey, I’m the captain of the New York Yankees,'” Randolph said. “You feel responsibility in your preparation in spring training, in the offseason, to not just think about yourself, your teammates, how you can motivate them to be champions. It’s a 24/7 mentality that you need to carry, even when the season is over.”
It’s a role Judge has grown into through the years, particularly over the course of his historic 2022 season. The leadership transition started during his historic rookie season in 2017 — when he hit a rookie record 52 homers — as veteran teammates handed him the controls to the clubhouse Spotify account. Seven seasons into his career, Judge remains the Yankees unofficial DJ before and after games.
As Judge chased and ultimately surpassed Roger Maris’ American League single-season home run record last year, his influence transcended his playlist. His consistent pregame preparation inspired teammates. Through the ups and downs of the season, they looked to Judge for guidance — like him, never getting too high, never getting too low. By the end of the season, teammates were calling him the captain of the team, even if Judge didn’t formally hold the title yet. Still, when Hal Steinbrenner offered it to him in December, he was stunned.
Said Judge: “I was at a loss for words.”
Guidry and Randolph had also become the clubhouse choice for captain before Hal’s father officially anointed them. Both players had spent nearly a decade with the team and were the team’s longest-tenured players when they got the call.
“It’s a tremendous honor to get it solidified,” Randolph said, “but you grow into your leadership role. Everyone’s different, you can’t put a stamp on how someone did it. You have to do it the way you feel comfortable doing it. You gotta be yourself. People can smell when you’re not being authentic.”
For Jeter, Judge’s authenticity is self-evident.
“It’s not like you flip a switch and have to be someone else because you’ve been given this title,” Jeter said. “I would assume he’s been handling himself like a captain up until this point, which is why they named him captain.”
The tradition of Yankees captain dates back to future Hall of Famer Clark Griffith, who held the title from 1903 to 1905, though the role was left unfilled for nearly 40 years following the untimely retirement of Gehrig in 1939, due to ALS. Guidry learned what the captaincy means by watching Munson, the first player to take the mantle after Gehrig. Munson served as captain of the Yankees from 1976 to 1979, until a plane crash took his life. Guidry debuted for the Yankees in 1975 and spent the first four years of his career around the catcher.
“He didn’t have to tell you how to be a leader,” Guidry said. “If you’re on a team and you have a captain, you just watch how he performs the task of being a captain. When he speaks, what he says, when he picks the time, does he leave you alone, does he take you off on the side? Does he call a team meeting or leave the team alone?”
During one winning streak, Guidry remembers players in the Yankees clubhouse getting excited, but Munson immediately threw water on the fire — telling the group not to get too “slap happy.”
“What are you gonna say when you go into a five-game losing streak?” Munson told the clubhouse.
Said Guidry: “It would bring us right down to being level-headed again. It took 15 seconds, but those 15 seconds had a lot of weight behind it.”
Munson’s biggest impact, according to Guidry, came in 1978, when the Yankees found themselves 14 games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place at the All-Star break. New York was struggling with injuries and didn’t have many of its best players on the field throughout the early part of the season.
“He kept us all together,” Guidry said. “We knew we were good, but what was going on was not working for us. It seemed like everything was against us. But all of a sudden, you keep playing and you keep plugging away and then all of sudden, you rip off five, six, seven games in a row.”
The Yankees would eventually win the World Series after climbing all the way back in the division, then beating Boston in the AL East tiebreaker game on a go-ahead home run from Bucky Dent.
“He told us to be patient with everything, and it all came true,” Guidry said. “He always picked the right time to bring it out. He made you feel like you were gonna win. So when I became the captain with Willie, I knew what I needed to do.”
Guidry and Randolph said being a sounding board was among their most important responsibilities. That meant listening to teammates vent about their frustrations on the field, and sometimes serving as an intermediary between players and management.
But the responsibilities extend beyond the ballpark, as Yankees fans look to the captain as a role model in the community. Guidry said he was always careful about where he went because he did not want to get bad press for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. He avoided downtown Manhattan so he didn’t get mobbed by fans, but when he encountered them, he tried to keep negative thoughts to himself.
“Sometimes you have to bite your tongue because people are really disgruntled when the team isn’t doing well,” Guidry said. “They have something to say and what they’re saying is not something you want to hear. You can’t get into an argument with them because if somebody snaps a picture and it gets out, then what you’ve been preaching in the clubhouse, you’re a hypocrite doing the opposite.”
Randolph always thought about how he carried himself — from his body language on the field and in the streets, to his choice of words.
“You have to embody all the cliches,” Randolph said. “Take things day by day, stay even keel. But it has to be natural.”
JUDGE KNOWS HE has a lot to live up to.
“I look back at the list of Thurman Munson, Lou Gehrig, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly,” Judge said. “That’s a pretty good list right there.”
Judge often gets compared to Jeter for the way he interacts with the media, rarely giving a quote that could ruffle someone the wrong way or cause controversy. Beyond that, Jeter sees similarities between himself and his successor.
“In terms of mindset and what’s most important in terms of winning, he has that same mindset.”
Jeter said he hasn’t been around the team enough to make further comparisons. Instead, the Hall of Fame shortstop pointed to the current Yankees clubhouse for proof Judge can handle the job.
“Talk to his teammates, talk to his coaches. talk to his manager,” Jeter said. “I mean, [manager Aaron Boone] spoke for what? Thirty-five minutes [at the press conference]? You listen to everyone speak about him and that tells you all you need to know.”
Jeter made a point to remind Judge the title isn’t just an ego boost. It’s a responsibility.
“Yankee fans are big on history and tradition,” Jeter said. “It’s not a title that’s thrown around too lightly.”
Judge takes the newfound weight on his shoulders seriously.
“Not only great players, but great ambassadors of the game and great ambassadors of the New York Yankees,” Judge said. “This is an incredible honor I don’t take lightly.”
And if he needs any advice, say on how to handle complaints about airplane food?
“I’m here,” Guidry said. “Ask me.”
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Ryan S. ClarkMay 3, 2025, 07:30 AM ET
Close- Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
Peter DeBoer is always thinking. Especially the night before a Game 7. It’s just that arguably the greatest do-or-die coach in North American sports history is thinking more about what movie he’s going to watch rather than how he’s going to remain undefeated in another Game 7.
Anyone who thinks that the night before a Game 7 consists of DeBoer drinking a sixth cup of coffee while he and his assistants are reviewing game film is mistaken. That process started well before they even reached that point, with the strong reality that it likely started days before they even played Game 1.
DeBoer’s process isn’t dependent on Game 7. It’s something that has been several years in the making but still has room for adjustments. His approach is rooted in how he speaks to players, and the way he makes them feel after speaking to them. It’s how he approaches what goes into coaching, while knowing when to take a step back so his assistants feel empowered to do their jobs without someone looking over their proverbial shoulders.
The plan is simple: Be thoughtful, but don’t overthink.
“I think players want two or three things they can concentrate on,” DeBoer said. “Otherwise, the picture becomes muddy, and that tends to slow your processing down.”
Some variation of that message has defined George Peter DeBoer, an individual who, despite having a law degree, opted to pursue coaching. Not that DeBoer couldn’t have been an attorney. It’s just that becoming a coach has seen him go from what could have been a life filled with depositions to making a living by disposing of his opponents in winner-take-all contests.
DeBoer is 8-0 all time in Game 7s, and he could improve that record to 9-0 should the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. A win would not only mean the Stars advance to the second round, but it would make DeBoer the NHL’s all-time leader in Game 7 victories, an honor he currently shares with Darryl Sutter.
Until then? DeBoer will think about hockey … to a point. When he reaches that point, that’ll be when his mind will shift toward what action, comedy, drama or rom-com he’ll watch to attain a sense of normalcy before trying to pull off the abnormal. Again.
“It’s crazy and I’m sure when I’m done and looking back, it’s going to be one of the things I’m really proud of, and I’m going to tell my grandkids about it hopefully,” DeBoer said of his Game 7 record. “I feel fortunate because I know how hard those players have played in those situations for me and how much work has gone into winning those. Also, how hard the staffs I’ve had have worked, because they don’t get enough credit for that.”
TRUST IS THE WORD that Chandler Stephenson uses countless times over the course of a 10-minute interview about what makes DeBoer the best at winning Game 7s, while also being one of the best head coaches of this current generation of NHL bench bosses.
One item that has made DeBoer one of the premier coaches of this generation is how his teams not only win, but win in quick fashion. In each of the first seasons that he has guided a team to the playoffs, those teams have reached the conference finals.
It’s part of the reason the Vegas Golden Knights hired DeBoer in-season in 2019-20 before the pandemic limited his regular-season mark to 15 wins in 22 games. Stephenson, who was on the Golden Knights when DeBoer arrived, said DeBoer knew how to explain his systems and what he wanted from players without it feeling forced.
“I think that kind of goes into a Game 7. Game 7s are Game 7s,” said Stephenson, who now plays for the Seattle Kraken. “You’re getting everybody’s best, and you’re focusing on yourself. But for him, he has that belief in his system and that you can trust it, it can work, and he makes guys feel confident and feel good about their game. It shows the kind of coach that he is … but he’s also a human being at the same time.”
Where DeBoer’s humanity shines through is the way his three children talk about their Uncle Steve and Aunt Lisa. In this case, Uncle Steve isn’t a blood relative but rather assistant coach Steve Spott.
Spott has been with DeBoer since 1997 when DeBoer was the head coach of the Plymouth Whalers in the OHL. They worked together when DeBoer went to the Kitchener Rangers, and the two reunited in 2015 when DeBoer took over the San Jose Sharks.
Abby DeBoer said her mother, Susan, and Steve’s wife, Lisa, would always do family dinners when they were in Kitchener together whether the team was at home or on the road. The DeBoers would eventually spend Christmases and Thanksgivings with the Spotts or other assistants who became close with their family.
“They’re my brother’s godparents and their son, Tyler, is my best friend,” said DeBoer’s oldest son, Jack. “They have a daughter who is friends with my sister. It’s almost like having another aunt and uncle and another brother and sister. We’re that close. I think if you have that, the stuff at the rink and camaraderie and those Game 7 wins, they come when you have a lot of respect for the people you work with, and your families are as close as they are.”
Jack, who played college hockey at Boston University and Niagara University, said the DeBoer family has also developed a strong relationship with assistant coach Misha Donskov and his wife, Amy. Peter DeBoer and Donskov worked together in Vegas, with DeBoer promoting Donskov to assistant coach after he had previously served as director of hockey operations. Donskov joined the Stars last season and was also with DeBoer as part of the Team Canada coaching staff at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“It’s not just Pete,” Stars forward Jason Robertson said. “It’s the rest of the coaching staff doing their jobs. It’s the leaders in the room. It’s everything. I’d like to say the majority of his teams have been heavy on veterans, and that goes a long way with preparation. But Mish, Spotter, [Stars assistant coach Alain Nasreddine] all do a great job of preparing players in each way. It’s definitely a team effort and a team effort on the ice.”
Stars captain Jamie Benn said what has made DeBoer so successful with how he approaches Game 7s is that he takes everything into account. Benn said DeBoer has made so many notes throughout the first six games that he’s able to provide players with a complete picture of what must be done to advance to the next round.
Benn has been through two Game 7s with DeBoer. The first came in 2023 when the Stars beat the Kraken in the second round, and the second came in 2024 when they defeated the then-defending champion Golden Knights in the first round.
Though the opponents were different, Benn said the underlying theme was that DeBoer prepared his players by providing a level of detail that leaves them feeling that they’ve been set up for success.
“His track record helps,” Benn said. “In the end, he wants us to go out there, have fun and play. Just play our system the right way with details. He boosts his players up for those moments, and we’ve succeeded.”
0:42
Jamie Benn brings Stars level on the power play
Jamie Benn tips it in from close range to tie the score on the power play for the Stars vs. the Avalanche.
Robertson said that although he wasn’t initially aware of DeBoer’s Game 7 record entering the game against the Kraken, knowing that history provided the Stars with even more confidence that they could do it again versus the Golden Knights.
As for the Golden Knights: What was it like for Stephenson and the rest of his former teammates to go from having Game 7 success with DeBoer to being on the losing end?
“It was a little bit of, we know his system and what he wants to do, but it’s such a good system that he runs that it gives Dallas success,” Stephenson said. “It gave us success and all the teams he coached success, because that’s what you should want, and that’s how you should want to play the game.”
IT’S CLEAR IN TALKING to those around him that DeBoer knows when to be a coach, when to be a human being and when to use both to make everyone around him feel at ease knowing that their season is on the line.
But is that the real reason DeBoer has won eight consecutive Game 7s? Or is it something else, like a superstition? More specifically, is the fact that DeBoer always wears a three-piece suit in Game 7s — leading to his trademark look being called a “three-Pete suit” — the reason behind his success?
“My first video coach was a guy named Jamie Pringle. He’s in Calgary now and has been there for 10, 12 years,” DeBoer told ESPN in late March. “We played Calgary on this road trip, and he texted me before the game, ‘Do me a favor. We’re fighting for a playoff spot. Don’t wear the three-piece suit!’ And I didn’t! But we beat them anyway. I’m not sure it helped.”
DeBoer admitted that subconsciously he thinks about wearing a three-piece suit before those Game 7s because it goes back to confidence, and the confidence he wants to portray when walking into the dressing room.
“The players really read off you, and it’s a composure, quiet confidence that’s even more critical when you get into those do-or-die situations,” DeBoer explained.
Broadcasts of NHL games often show coaches intensely looking at what’s going on in front of them, or being actively engaged in other ways. It creates the belief that they might not be approachable or that hockey is all they think about.
Abby DeBoer said she has had friends who were nervous at first to meet her dad because he is this “stern-looking” figure wearing a three-piece suit. But when people get to know him and realize that he’s someone who enjoys life, he’s able to connect with everyone from his children’s friends to his assistant coaches to his players.
“For him, it’s not about being the loudest person in the room or having your voice heard and everyone immediately following,” Abby said. “He’s really open to conversation. He’s really open to feedback. He’s really open to collaboration.”
Oddly enough, something DeBoer’s children say he’s not open to is talking with them about his job in any great detail. Jack and Matt joked that they might be able to get their dad to answer two questions before he moves on to a subject that doesn’t involve what he does at the rink.
That even includes Game 7s.
“I kind of wish I could maybe hear a little more from him sometimes but he’s pretty, ‘Keep hockey at the rink,’ especially with those Game 7s,” said Matt, a junior forward who plays college hockey at Holy Cross. “He’s a calm person. He doesn’t really like to talk about himself or what’s going on at the rink. When he’s home, it’s, ‘Let’s watch a movie or let’s talk about your hockey life.'”
DeBoer is quick to deflect the praise elsewhere when asked what has made him so successful in Game 7s. He credits the fact that he has had good fortune winning those Game 7s in different circumstances, or how he has had assistants who have made players feel at ease, along with the different team leaders he has had over the years.
“Through seven games, we try to present a really clear picture to our group over and over again of what’s working and what isn’t,” DeBoer said. “I’d like to think that by Game 7 of a series that our guys have a really clear picture of how we want to execute or what we want to do.”
DeBoer also says that having home-ice advantage for many of those Game 7s has played a role. Six of his eight Game 7 wins have come on home ice; another took place with the Stars as the “home team” in the Edmonton bubble.
The Stars host the Avs in Game 7 and have won two of the three games this series played at the American Airlines Center.
“I always say home ice isn’t important until a Game 7, and I really believe that,” DeBoer said. “I think in Game 7 it is an important advantage.”
After a 17-year NHL coaching career, DeBoer could use this postseason to fortify what is already a strong résumé. He has won 662 regular-season games, which ranks 17th all time, while his 91 playoff victories are eighth in NHL history.
His time in Dallas has included the Stars advancing to consecutive Western Conference finals; if they can get beyond the Avs on Saturday, they’ll remain on a path for a third straight trip — along with the chance to win the second Stanley Cup in franchise history, which would be DeBoer’s first.
As the rounds continue and the matchups tighten, there’s a chance DeBoer could find himself in another Game 7 situation after Saturday, which led to him being asked another question about his exploits.
Given all the success he has had with Game 7, why can’t his teams close out a series in five or six games?
“Oh, for sure! That’s the funny part of it,” he said. “I get all this credit for winning Game 7s, but I’ve lost a lot of series in Games 4, 5 and 6 too over the years. You’re never as smart as you think you are.”
Sports
Stars-Avalanche Game 7 preview: Key players to watch, final score predictions
Published
26 mins agoon
May 3, 2025By
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Multiple Contributors
May 3, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
Prior to the start of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, one series stood out from the rest: Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche.
Both teams finished with more than 100 points in the regular season, appeared to be in a championship-contention window and employed Mikko Rantanen at one time during the 2024-25 campaign.
Sure enough, the two clubs have battled in their series — and six games weren’t enough to determine a victor.
Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+) will be Game 7. It is the 199th Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoff history, and if you enjoy nail-biters, recent history suggests you are in luck: Since 2022, 11 of the 14 Game 7s have been decided by one goal, including all four in 2024.
To help get you fully prepared for the game, we’ve gathered ESPN reporters and analysts to identify the key players to watch, along with final score predictions for the pivotal clash.
Who is the one key player you’ll be watching?
Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter: It has to be Matt Duchene. After scoring 30 goals and reaching 80 points for the second time in his career, he has only one point in the series.
His productivity was key in the regular season, and the Stars could use a strong performance from Duchene in Game 7. Remember what he did against his former team in an elimination game last postseason: The Stars won in double overtime on Duchene’s goal.
Emily Kaplan, NHL reporter: Cale Makar. It doesn’t feel right that the best defenseman in the world, who scored 30 goals this season, doesn’t have a goal this series. He holds himself to a high standard, saying “I have to be a lot better” ahead of the pivotal Game 6. Makar was, picking up three points to stave off elimination, but I still think he’ll get to another gear Saturday.
Victoria Matiash, NHL analyst: Valeri Nichushkin. The Stars have had their hands full trying to stop the second-line power forward — and ex-teammate — when he’s at his most effective. After potting a pair of goals to help propel the Avalanche to Game 7, Nichushkin is poised to add another goal (or two) when it matters most. Like many others in the league, he tends to score in bunches. After not being available for the Avs in recent playoffs, he has extra incentive.
Arda Öcal, NHL broadcaster: Nathan MacKinnon has six goals and 10 points in this series. If there’s one guy with the highest levels of compete and a “never say die” attitude, it’s MacKinnon. MacKinnon’s six goals is one shy of tying the franchise record for most goals in a playoff series (with Rantanen among those that are currently tied for that record).
Kristen Shilton, NHL reporter: This is the moment for Mikko Rantanen. Dallas went all-in when it acquired Rantanen, whom the Stars signed for the long haul so he could be a difference-maker at a time like this.
Rantanen was excellent in helping Dallas bounce back in Game 5, finishing with a goal and two assists. He had four points in the Stars’ Game 6 defeat. That’s the sort of performance the Stars should expect him to replicate in Game 7. Rantanen won a Stanley Cup with the Avs; he knows what it takes to finish a series and advance deep into the playoffs. That experience will be invaluable as well for Rantanen as he leads by example for the Stars.
Greg Wyshynski, NHL reporter: He’s not on the ice, but behind the bench. Dallas coach Peter DeBoer can set an NHL record for career Game 7 wins if the Stars defeat the Avalanche. He’s 8-0 in his career, tied with several players and coach Darryl Sutter for the most career Game 7 wins. DeBoer and former Dallas forward Brad Richards are the only two individuals in NHL history to win their first eight Game 7s.
On one hand, it’s probably not great that so many of DeBoer’s teams have been in “win or go home” series scenarios. On the other hand, it has been the opponents who have gone home every time.
The final score will be _____.
Clark: 4-3 Stars. Granted, anything can happen in a Game 7, especially when a team as powerful as the Avs is involved. The Stars get the nod because they not only have won Game 7s in consecutive postseasons, but their coach Peter DeBoer is 8-0 in these do-or-die games. Again, it’s the Avs and the Stars — which means any number of possibilities could be on the table — but Dallas gets the slight edge.
Kaplan: 4-3 Avalanche. It will be high-octane. The pace in this series has been incredible, but it has often been the Avalanche setting the tone — and I expect them to be flying again. What the Stars have done without two of their biggest stars, Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson, shows their depth. But the Avs have too much star power not to get it done.
Matiash: 3-1 Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon, at his best, is tough to contain when everything is on the line. Even if the Stars stifle the Avs’ top unit, that secondary forward front, including Nichushkin, Brock Nelson, and Gabriel Landeskog, provides too formidable a follow-up punch. Plus, Mackenzie Blackwood, who has strung together few porous starts all season, appears set to provide another stellar showing, similar to the shutout he pitched in Game 4.
Öcal: 3-1 Stars. Jake Oettinger makes 43 saves. Roope Hintz opens the scoring, the Avs tie it up thanks to Cale Makar on the power play. Early in the third, it’s who else but Mikko Rantanen scoring on a breakaway, then Thomas Harley adds an empty-netter and Dallas moves on to Round 2.
Shilton: 3-2 Stars. It never hurts to have home-ice advantage in a Game 7, especially when you’ve played as well in your own building as Dallas did all season. The Stars have been the better team — by a slim margin — in the series, and though it should be a close contest, Dallas has the juice to send Colorado packing.
Peter DeBoer’s perfect coaching record in Game 7s aside, the Stars are practically seasoned vets when it comes to playing in them, while the Avalanche haven’t had the same success closing teams out since their Cup win three years ago. It’ll be a tight battle.
Wyshynski: Stars 4-2. I picked them before the series in seven games and I’ll stick with that. That was a one-goal Game 6 until the empty-netters, despite Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen being the entirety of the Dallas offense. The Stars will need something out of Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment in Game 7. The encouraging thing is that they got something out of all three of them in the Stars’ Game 5 rout, so maybe they just need some home cooking.
Factor in Jake Oettinger‘s 1.54 goals-against average and .956 save percentage in three Game 7 appearances (2-1 record), and I like Dallas to advance.
Sports
Tigers’ Greene homers twice in 9th in MLB first
Published
3 hours agoon
May 3, 2025By
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ESPN News Services
May 3, 2025, 12:45 AM ET
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Riley Greene didn’t want to dwell on becoming the first player in major league history to homer twice in the ninth inning of a game.
The Detroit Tigers‘ slugger hit a leadoff shot and then added a three-run blast later in the inning in a 9-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
“Yeah, I just found that out — pretty cool,” Greene said after fueling an eight-run, seven-hit outburst in the ninth. “But the game is over. We got to show up tomorrow and try to win another baseball game.”
The score was tied 1-1 when Greene, facing Angels closer Kenley Jansen, led off the ninth with a 371-foot homer off the top of the right-field wall.
Colt Keith followed with a homer to left-center for a 2-1 lead, Jace Jung singled with one out, and Javier Báez hit a two-out, two-run shot to left for a 5-1 lead, giving the Tigers’ center fielder home runs in three straight games.
The Tigers, who have an American League-best 21-12 record, weren’t through. Kerry Carpenter singled, Zach McKinstry doubled, knocking Jansen out of the game, and Carpenter scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-1.
Spencer Torkelson walked, giving Greene a shot at history, and the cleanup man seized the moment, crushing a 409-foot homer to right-center off left-hander Jake Eder for a 9-1 lead.
Greene is the first Tigers player to hit two homers in an inning since Magglio Ordonez did so in the second inning against the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 12, 2007. The only other Tigers player to homer twice in an inning is Hall of Famer Al Kaline against the Kansas City A’s on April 17, 1955, in the sixth inning.
“He’s made an All-Star team, he’s been a featured player on our team, he hits in the middle of the order, he gets all the toughest matchups, and he asks for more,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said of Greene, who is batting .276 with an .828 OPS, 7 homers and 20 RBIs this season.
“You want guys to be rewarded when they work as hard as they do, and tonight was a huge night for him.”
Greene joined the Angels’ Jo Adell as the only players to hit multiple homers in an inning this season. Adell did it April 10 at Tampa Bay, in the fifth inning.
It was the second straight night in which the Tigers have landed a few late-inning haymakers in Anaheim. Detroit scored eight runs on seven hits in the eighth and ninth innings of Thursday night’s 10-4 victory over the Angels, who have lost seven straight and 15 of their past 19 games.
“There’s no quit in our team,” said ace Tarik Skubal, who gave up 1 run and 4 hits and struck out 8 in 6 innings Friday night. “We grind out at-bats, we don’t give away at-bats, and I think our record shows that. They grind out starters, relievers … I know I wouldn’t want to face a lineup like that. Every at-bat, they’re in it.”
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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