TORONTO — Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid won the $1 million NHL All-Star skills competition Friday night, an event he helped the league redesign this season.
McDavid helped the NHL revamp the skills competition with a back-to-basics approach. The field of players was limited to 12 stars in an effort to build more competition for a $1 million prize. The NHL also jettisoned its pretaped events and judged trick-shot competition in an effort to reorient it back to pure hockey skill.
“It definitely got competitive out there. I was huffing and puffing,” said McDavid, who also won a golden skate trophy. “Guys were working hard trying to put on a good show, and I feel like we did that. Ultimately it’s up to the fans, and I hope they enjoyed it.”
McDavid’s Oilers and All-Star Game teammate Leon Draisaitl wasn’t surprised “in the slightest” that McDavid won the event.
“He’s the epitome of competitiveness on a daily basis,” Draisaitl said.
Each player competed in four of the first six events, earning points for their finishes. The top eight players after those events advanced to the one-on-one goalie challenge and then the top six to the final obstacle course challenge.
McDavid opened the competition by winning fastest skater for the fourth time in his career, finishing in 13.408 seconds. That was just ahead of New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal (13.519 seconds), an injury replacement for New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes who defeated McDavid in the event at the 2020 All-Star Weekend in St. Louis.
“I wouldn’t really call it a rivalry,” Barzal said with a laugh. “I just couldn’t edge him out in any of the skating stuff. In terms of skating and stickhandling, he sets the bar. I have just a ton of respect for his game and his skating. It really is just poetry in motion.”
The one-timer event featured guest passers in Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Chicago Blackhawks rookie sensation Connor Bedard, who was making his first appearance since breaking his jaw Jan. 5. Bedard was picked to participate before the injury.
“You feel for him,” McDavid said. “I’m sure he’s wishing he could partake in some of the events. It was great to see him on the ice and looking healthy and looking like he’s close to coming back.”
There was also some controversy in the passing challenge, as it appeared Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson didn’t get his final pass off before the buzzer. But it was judged that he had the puck in motion, so it counted, giving him 25 points and the win over Colorado’s Cale Makar (23).
Makar won hardest shot (102.56 mph) in a close competition with Vancouver’s J.T. Miller (102.34 mph).
McDavid won his second event in the stickhandling challenge with a time of 25.755 seconds and then his third in the shooting accuracy competition with a time of 9.158 seconds. That event featured guest passers in Professional Women’s Hockey League stars Sarah Nurse and Blayre Turnbull, as well as Toronto Maple Leafs legends Steve Thomas and Doug Gilmour.
Eight players advanced to the one-on-one event, where skaters selected which All-Star goalies they wanted to face.
William Nylander of the Maple Leafs had the first pick as the eighth-place skater, choosing Los Angeles Kings goalie Cam Talbot and scoring nine points against him. Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev won $100,000 as the top goalie in the event, stopping McDavid on nine shots after being the last goalie selected.
“Georgiev had my number, for sure,” McDavid said. “He was poke-checking and mixing things up. He made it tough for me.”
“I just tried not to look like a beer league goalie,” Georgiev said.
The six players who advanced to the final event were McDavid, Barzal, Makar, Matthews, Nylander and Miller. Makar led the obstacle course event with a time of 43.435 seconds entering the final round, with McDavid needing to finish second or better.
McDavid won the event in 40.606 seconds to claim the $1 million prize.
“I mean, I knew it was done,” Makar said. “It’s tough to beat that guy. He earned it.”
The NHL All-Star Game is Saturday afternoon, featuring a 3-on-3 tournament pitting four teams drafted on Thursday night against one another.
After giving up Ohtani’s 431-foot blast, Misiorowski responded with another dominant outing. He struck out a career-high 12 batters — including two-way superstar Ohtani in the third inning — to lead the Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.
“It’s Shohei Ohtani,” Misiorowski said. “You kind of expect [that]. It’s cool to see him do it in action, but it fires me up even more coming back the next at-bat and striking him out. I’m right there. I think it was a moment of like, ‘OK, now we go.'”
Misiorowski, whose fastball routinely tops 100 mph, threw an 88.2 mph curveball on an 0-2 count to Ohtani, who crushed it for his 31st homer. That’s the most by a Dodgers player before the All-Star break.
It was the 21st career leadoff homer for the three-time MVP, who struck out swinging on a curveball in the third and walked to start the sixth. That was the only walk given up by Misiorowski, who scattered four hits.
“Really good stuff, aggressive in the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But what really stood out to me was his command and control.”
Misiorowski outdueled three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who surpassed 3,000 career strikeouts in his previous outing. Asked Monday about his matchup with Misiorowski, Kershaw said he only knew that the 6-foot-7 right-hander threw hard.
“I know him now, huh?” Kershaw said Tuesday. “That was super impressive. That was unbelievable. It was really special. Everything. Obviously the velo, but he’s got four pitches, commands the ball. I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That’s just really tough.”
Misiorowski was glad to get Kershaw’s attention.
“I saw something online that he didn’t now who I was, so I hope he knows me now,” Misiorowski said. “It’s kind of cool.”
In five starts since the Brewers called him up from the minors, Misiorowski has already beaten Kershaw and 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. In another outing, Misiorowski carried a perfect game into the seventh inning.
“He’s just broken the shell,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s just out of the egg, all arms and legs. He’s still got gooey stuff coming off, you can see it, all arms and legs, but there’s something special about him.”
The numbers would indicate as much. Misiorowski is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has given up only 12 hits in 25⅔ innings.
He topped out at 101.6 mph and threw 20 pitches of at least 100 on Tuesday. He also threw 19 curveballs after using curves only 10% of the time before Tuesday.
He was coming off his only shaky performance, giving up five runs — including a grand slam by Brandon Nimmo — and three walks over 3⅔ innings Wednesday in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets.
It looked as if it might be more of the same after Ohtani went deep. Misiorowski responded by striking out 12 of the next 16 batters.
“I think that’s my job, is to figure it out on the fly,” he said. “I feel like I did it tonight.”
He got out of a jam in the sixth. The Dodgers trailed 2-1 and had runners on second and third with one out, but third baseman Andruw Monasterio fielded a grounder and threw out Ohtani at the plate, and Misiorowski retired Michael Conforto on a grounder.
Misiorowski pumped his fist as he headed toward the dugout, then watched the Brewers’ bullpen nail down the win.
“It’s so satisfying,” Misiorowski said. “It’s just a dream come true, to do what I did.”
Bailey became just the third catcher in MLB history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, joining the Chicago Cubs’ Pat Moran in 1907 and the Washington Nationals’ Bennie Tate in 1926.
Bailey’s homer would have been an outside-the-park home run in 29 of 30 ballparks, with Oracle Park being the exception.
Mike Yastrzemski reached base twice and scored to help the Giants to their sixth win in seven games.
Bailey, who grounded into a double play and struck out in two of his previous at-bats, then smashed a 1-0 fastball from Jordan Romano (1-4) into right-center field that ricocheted off the brick part of the wall.
Ryan Walker (2-3) retired one batter, with two on in the top of the ninth, to earn the win.
Phillies All-Star Kyle Schwarber had two hits, including his team-leading 28th home run.
Schwarber flew out, struck out and was hit by a pitch before homering off Giants reliever Spencer Bivens into McCovey Cove. Brandon Marsh, who singled as a pinch hitter leading off the inning, scored on the play.
Two days after being named an All-Star for the second time in his career, Robbie Ray gave up four hits and one run in 5⅔ innings.
BALTIMORE — The New York Mets consider Juan Soto to be a bona fide All-Star, despite the snub he received from those who selected the National League squad for the Midsummer Classic on July 15.
Soto, in his first year with the Mets, has performed well enough to earn the respect of his manager and teammates. In their opinion, he’s deserving of a place in the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.
“He’s an All-Star for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday night after the Mets beat Baltimore 7-6. “It’s frustrating, but I’m hoping in the next couple of days we hear something and he makes it.”
Soto drove in the winning run with a sharp single on the first pitch of the 10th inning. That capped a night in which he went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average to .269 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs.
Soto has walked 72 times, by far the most in the majors, but he can also lash out at a pitcher when necessary.
“He’s got a pretty good understanding of what the pitchers are trying to do to him,” Mendoza said. “There is his awareness of the game, he’s going to see pitchers. There are times when he’s going to be aggressive. Tonight was one of those nights. First pitch in the 10th, he’s attacking.”
Soto made the All-Star team as a member of the Nationals, Padres and Yankees each year since 2021. The streak appears to be over. But his teammates believe he deserves to go.
“What he done all year is just incredible, and the results are good enough,” Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes said. “The consistency he’s showed up with, at the at-bats he’s taken, is more than an All-Star. He’s one of the best in the game and a big part of our lineup.”
Soto seems rather philosophical about the snub.
“Sometimes, you’re going to make it and sometimes you don’t,” he told reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Yankees. “It’s just part of baseball.”