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The Philadelphia Phillies unveiled their City Connect uniforms Friday — a modern look that’s intended to celebrate the city’s rich history, while appealing to a younger audience.

The reveal is the first in a line of nine Major League Baseball teams that will have a new City Connect uniform this season. It will debut on the field on April 12.

“We are excited and honored to be the first team this season to officially unveil our City Connect uniform, which features a new modern design that represents being ‘unapologetically Philly’ and celebrates our city’s rich history, ” said Phillies vice president of business affairs Howard Smith in a news release.

The structured process of the Phillies’ design began in 2021 with an emphasis on a look that is tailored to younger fans. The choice of when the uniforms will be worn on-field this season — every Friday home game — is specifically meant for days/times when more younger fans will be able to attend, Smith told ESPN.

“It’s about getting younger as a sport,” Smith said. “We’ve got a lot of 20-somethings in that clubhouse. So it’s kind of part of the target we’re going after, they’re sitting down in the clubhouse. And to see their excitement through the process was gratifying.”

The uniform includes multiple nods to Philadelphia’s roots, a key component of each City Connect uniform. The blue and yellow colors are directly related to the colors of the city’s flag, the oldest and only one that’s gone unchanged in the United States.

Philadelphia’s skyline is depicted on the inside of the uniform’s collar in a bright blue shade, meant to represent what Philadelphia is at its core — “a blue-collar big city with a small-town feel,” according to the news release.

The pattern of “Philly” across the chest is similar to text found on historical documents written in the city and includes a nod to the cracks within the Liberty Bell.

It wouldn’t be a Philadelphia uniform without paying homage to the “City of Brotherly Love” moniker, which appears as a sleeve patch integrated with the word “Love.” There’s an etching pattern on the interior referencing the illustration from literature common around the time of the revolution. Baseball laces are also woven in this detail with the intention of representing the Phillies’ place in the city’s DNA.

According to Smith, John Middleton, the principal owner of the Phillies, was very direct that the process had to be organizationally driven and was important that everyone was on the same page with the design. First and foremost, the players — some of whom were involved in the process — had to like the direction.

“We started with the clubhouse and showed them the designs and [it was] very, very well received,” Smith said.

Smith described the look as “sort of like a mini history lesson.”

“Given the fact that we got to go in Year 3 [of the City Connect series] and see how some of the really successful clubs did it, both in the NBA and Major League Baseball, we knew that just rolling out another red, white and blue jersey wasn’t the answer,” he said. “It had to be distinctive, it had to be different and it had to stand for something and there had to be, like I said, there had to be that connectivity.”

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Yanks release Stroman with Gil return imminent

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Yanks release Stroman with Gil return imminent

The New York Yankees released right-hander Marcus Stroman on Friday, abruptly terminating the veteran’s underwhelming tenure with the club.

The Yankees signed Stroman to a two-year contract worth $37 million guaranteed before the start of last season and will eat the remainder of his $18 million salary.

Stroman, 34, has an $18 million vesting option for 2026 that would have triggered if he pitched 140 innings pitched this season, but Stroman, with 39 innings under his belt on Aug. 1, won’t reach that goalpost and will become a free agent this winter.

“Obviously, that was tough today,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The perception around Stro for us, if you got to be around him the last couple of years, he’s an awesome competitor.”

Boone said Stroman took the news of his release like “a pro.”

“Had a good interaction with him,” Boone said. “I feel he’ll be a guy I’ll stay in touch with for the rest of our lives. Appreciative of him.”

In the end, Stroman, who is 3-2 with a 6.23 ERA in nine starts this season, was the odd man out of the Yankees’ rotation with Luis Gil scheduled to come off the injured list to make his season debut Sunday against the Miami Marlins.

As it stands, New York’s starting rotation will consist of Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Gil, Will Warren and rookie Cam Schlittler, who impressed team decision-makers enough in three starts since making his major-league debut on July 9 to convince the Yankees to pay Stroman to not pitch for them.

Stroman’s release also relieves a roster crunch with the Yankees adding four more players acquired before Thursday’s trade deadline to the roster: relievers David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird and utilityman José Caballero. The Yankees traded Oswald Peraza to make room for Caballero while right-handers Ian Hamilton and Yerry de los Santos were optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday. Cutting Stroman opened the final needed roster spot.

Stroman’s brief time in the Bronx was turbulent. An All-Star with the Chicago Cubs in 2023, Stroman recorded a 4.31 ERA in 30 appearances (29 starts) for the Yankees in 2024 and didn’t pitch in a postseason game as New York advanced to the World Series. The Yankees, anticipating a starting pitching surplus, then attempted to trade him over the offseason but couldn’t swing a deal.

As a result, Stroman reported to spring training not projected to make the Opening Day starting rotation. Unhappy with the possibility, he scoffed at the notion of being a reliever upon reporting to camp for workouts two days later than the team expected. Manager Aaron Boone called the situation “awkward.” Injuries to Gerrit Cole and Gil over the following month, however, opened the door for Stroman to begin the season in the rotation.

The 11-year veteran was placed on the injured list with a knee injury in April, missing more than two months before returning June 29 to make six starts. His final outing with the Yankees came Thursday when he surrendered four runs on six hits across five innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Stroman finished his Yankees career with a 4.69 ERA — the 11th-highest mark in the majors among pitchers who have logged at least 190 innings over the last two seasons. He can now sign with another club on a prorated minimum — approximately $230,000 for the remainder of the 2025 campaign.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Yanks’ newcomers implode in 13-12 loss to Marlins

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Yanks' newcomers implode in 13-12 loss to Marlins

MIAMI — Xavier Edwards hit a tying two-run single in the ninth, then raced home with the winning run on Agustin Ramirez‘s chopper in front of the plate as the Marlins rallied to beat the New York Yankees 13-12 on Friday night.

Edwards’ hit came off new Yankees reliever Camilo Doval (4-3), and Edwards beat the attempted tag at home on Ramirez’s fielder’s choice grounder. After Edwards’ single off Doval, Jose Caballero, also a newcomer, committed an error in right field, allowing the Marlins to tie the score.

The Yankees had won 79 straight games when scoring 10-plus runs, which was the longest streak in major league baseball since 2019, according to ESPN Research.

Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham each hit three-run homers that helped the Yankees build a 9-4 lead before the Marlins stunned New York with a six-run seventh.

Kyle Stowers hit a grand slam off newly acquired Yankees reliever Jake Bird, and Javier Sanoja hit a solo shot off David Bednar, another new acquisition. Ramirez singled twice, including a leadoff base hit and a go-ahead single that put the Marlins up 10-9.

Anthony Volpe then tied it at 10 with a leadoff home run in the eighth, and Bednar pitched a scoreless inning before Ryan McMahon‘s RBI single against Anthony Bender (3-5) in the ninth. Volpe, who had four hits, gave the Yankees a two-run cushion with a run-scoring double.

Yankees starter Carlos Rodon was lifted in the fifth after issuing his fifth walk. The left-hander shook his head as he left the mound, with his outing ending after he struck out nine and allowed two walks and four runs.

Rodon held the Marlins without a hit before Eric Wagaman‘s leadoff single in the fifth. Sanoja launched an opposite-field two-run shot off Rodon, and pinch hitter Liam Hicks drove in two with a single off Jonathan Loaisiga that made it 6-4.

Jasson Dominguez also had three hits.

Marlins starter Janson Junk went five innings and allowed six runs and six hits while striking out four.

The announced crowd at loanDepot park was a season-high 32,299.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Down 9 runs in 1st, Rockies rally to beat Pirates

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Down 9 runs in 1st, Rockies rally to beat Pirates

DENVER — Colorado Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle had a hard time describing what had just taken place after he delivered the crowning blow in perhaps the wildest game of the major league season.

Doyle hit a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap Colorado’s stunning comeback from a nine-run, first-inning deficit in a 17-16 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

“Honestly, pretty speechless,” Doyle told reporters. “It’s hard to put into words. Just so proud of everyone in this clubhouse, never giving up. Man, what a win.”

Colorado won despite allowing nine runs during a first inning in which Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz hit a grand slam and Andrew McCutchen had a three-run homer.

The Rockies are the first team to overcome a nine-run, 1st-inning deficit since Cleveland on August 23, 2006 against Kansas City, according to ESPN Research.

The Rockies are also the first team to win despite allowing 15 or more runs since the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 19-17 in August 2008.

“Getting down nine in the first, it’s tough to come back from, but we kept the energy high,” Doyle said. “We kept the fight in us. Oh my God, what a game.”

Colorado scored one run in the bottom of the first, three in the third, two in the fourth and four in the fifth to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 15-10. The Rockies still trailed 16-10 before scoring two runs in the eighth and five in the ninth.

After Pittsburgh’s Dennis Santana started the ninth by striking out Ezequiel Tovar, Hunter Goodman‘s 425-foot homer reduced the Pirates’ lead to 16-13. Santana then walked Jordan Beck and allowed an RBI triple to Warming Bernabel.

Thairo Estrada singled home Bernabel before Doyle delivered a 406-foot shot to end the game.

The events in Colorado highlighted a night full of offense across the majors. According to StatsPerform, Friday marked the first time since June 23, 1930, that three major league games on the same day had at least 25 combined runs.

The Miami Marlins erased an early 6-0 deficit and scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the New York Yankees 13-12. The Milwaukee Brewers had 25 hits while trouncing the Washington Nationals 16-9.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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