Connect with us

Published

on

BOSTON — After his rapid rise to the majors, Jackson Holliday was given a particularly meaningful number with the Baltimore Orioles.

Baseball’s top-ranked prospect made his big league debut Wednesday night at Fenway Park, starting at second base and batting ninth against the Boston Red Sox. He struck out swinging his first time up and finished 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout in the sixth. The Orioles won 7-5.

The 20-year-old infielder, selected No. 1 overall in the 2022 amateur draft out of high school in Oklahoma, is a son of Matt Holliday, a seven-time All-Star and the 2007 NL batting champion.

“Nervous? I mean, a little bit. Not too bad,” Jackson Holliday said before the game. “I’m not as nervous as I thought I would be. I’m more excited. Kind of changed the mind frame from nervous to excitement. But yeah, I’m really excited.

“I got a taste a little bit during spring training. Obviously, this will be different now during the season, but I felt like I was able to hold my own and definitely looking forward to tonight.”

Holliday will wear No. 7 for Baltimore. His father wore that number during seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and one with the Colorado Rockies. But it hadn’t been worn by a member of the Orioles since former manager Cal Ripken Sr. was still coaching in 1992.

One of his sons, Billy Ripken, was the previous Baltimore player to wear that number, in 1988. The Ripken family, Orioles royalty, gave its blessing to the young Holliday.

“Our family is thrilled that @J_Holliday7 will be wearing dad’s #7,” Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. posted on the social platform X. “Excited to watch him play!”

Holliday, who turned 20 on Dec. 4, became the second-youngest player in the majors behind Milwaukee outfielder Jackson Chourio, who turned 20 on March 11.

“A guy making his major league debut is always exciting,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s exciting for everyone. It’s going to be fun to watch. I’m excited for the kid, excited for the family. It’s a real, real special day. It’s an overwhelming day for Jackson. I just hope that he relaxes as much as possible.”

A left-handed hitter, Holliday was drafted as a shortstop less than two years ago out of Stillwater High School and advanced through four minor league levels in 2023. He had a tremendous spring training with Baltimore this year, batting .311 with a .354 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage in 15 games.

But general manager Mike Elias wanted Holliday to get more playing time at second base and more experience against left-handed pitching. Just before the end of camp, Holliday was sent down. In 10 Triple-A games this season, he hit .333 with a .482 on-base percentage and .595 slugging percentage.

That time in Triple-A paid off, Holliday said.

“Yeah, I think getting at-bats. I got a lot of at-bats because we scored a lot of runs,” he said. “I was able to get pretty comfortable. My swing’s in a good spot, put together a lot of good at-bats versus lefties, which we knew was kind of more of the purpose of being down there. And, it doesn’t hurt to play.”

Primarily a shortstop, Holliday made 33 minor league starts at second base, including eight this season. Gunnar Henderson, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, plays shortstop for the Orioles, so Holliday will get most of his time at second.

He started a 4-6-3 double play to end the second inning Wednesday.

“There’s a lot to process and there’s a lot of hype,” Hyde said. “Hopefully, he can just relax, think confidently and have fun out there.”

That was Holliday’s plan.

“Just to get comfortable. After the first pitch or first groundball or however it is, I think I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’m just going to try to hit the fastball back where it came from and go from there.

“It’s different. It’s a lot. I feel like I’ve been born to handle that, and to be here and play baseball for a long time.”

Baltimore selected Holliday’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk. To make room for Holliday on the roster, utilityman Tony Kemp was designated for assignment.

Told of his promotion after his Triple-A game Tuesday night, Holliday phoned home with the news.

“It was a really cool moment to be able to call my dad and tell him to find his way to Boston,” he said.

Matt Holliday batted .299 with 316 home runs and 1,220 RBIs during 15 major league seasons with the Rockies, Athletics, Cardinals and Yankees from 2004-18.

Along with his father, Jackson Holliday was expecting his grandfather Tom Holliday, a longtime college coach; his wife, Chloe; his mother; and his brothers and sister at Fenway Park for his debut.

The youngster hadn’t had time to go through all the texts he’d received wishing him good luck. But there was one from a Maryland native that stood out.

“My dad showed me a text message from [Olympic swimmer] Michael Phelps,” Jackson Holliday said. “So, that was kind of cool.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Bennett scores 2 as Panthers take 2-0 series lead

Published

on

By

Bennett scores 2 as Panthers take 2-0 series lead

RALEIGH, N.C. — Sam Bennett scored one of his two goals in Florida’s three-goal first period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves and the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk also scored in another tone-setting opening 20 minutes for the reigning Stanley Cup champions, while Carter Verhaeghe had three assists.

Bennett scored a second time by skating in to clean up an attempt at the right post in the final minute of the second period to make it 4-0, ending a long shift in Carolina’s end prolonged by Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns being stuck on the ice after breaking his stick. Aleksander Barkov added a goal midway through the third as punctuation.

Bobrovsky had his third shutout of the playoffs this year and the sixth of his career, with Florida’s defense smothering a Hurricanes team that typically peppers the net with shots but found little daylight.

Florida had already ripped home-ice advantage away Tuesday night with a 5-2 win, the opener in a rematch of the 2023 conference final swept by the Panthers with four one-goal wins. Florida only tightened its grip on the series with this one and now heads back south to host Game 3 on Saturday night.

On the other bench, the Hurricanes found themselves on the receiving end of a crushing loss by a jarringly lopsided margin. And it marked their 14th straight loss in a conference final, going back to sweeps in 2009, 2019 and the ’23 tilt with Florida.

The Hurricanes managed just three first-period shots and just seven through two periods, prompting a typically rowdy home crowd to vent its frustrations with two chants of “Shoot the puck! Shoot the puck!” Carolina had a brief boost when Sebastian Aho scored on a turnover in the first minute of the second period to cut the deficit to 3-1.

But Florida successfully challenged that the play was offsides. It turned out Burns’ stick-check on Tkachuk near the blue line forced the puck back into the zone and right to Aho in the slot for the finish.

By the third period, Carolina had pulled veteran Frederik Andersen from net and went with backup Pyotr Kochetkov for the final period.

It wasn’t all great news for Florida. Veteran forward Sam Reinhart was knocked from the game in the first period after taking a hit from Aho in the left leg, causing Reinhart’s knee to bend awkwardly.

Continue Reading

Sports

Danes oust Canada at hockey worlds; U.S. wins

Published

on

By

Danes oust Canada at hockey worlds; U.S. wins

HERNING, Denmark — Nick Olesen scored with 49 seconds left as Denmark stunned Canada 2-1 at the ice hockey world championship Thursday to advance to the semifinals.

“I have no words, it’s unbelievable,” Olesen said after Denmark reached the last four for the first time. “The fans here were cheering for us the whole game and they helped us get the win. It’s crazy.”

Denmark, in the sold-out arena in Herning, had tied it with 2:17 remaining when Nikolaj Ehlers scored through traffic in only his second game at the tournament following his Winnipeg Jets being eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

The Danes had pulled goaltender Frederik Dichow for the extra attacker before Ehlers struck.

Canada outshot Denmark 30-11 in the first two periods but couldn’t solve Dichow, who made 39 saves in all, until 5:17 into the third when captain Sidney Crosby fed Travis Sanheim to score into the roof of the net. Canada was outshot 22-10 in the final period, though.

Denmark has only two NHL players at the worlds, while Canada has only two who don’t play at the NHL level.

“I’m disappointed,” Crosby said. “We got better as the tournament went on. I don’t think tonight was necessarily our best, but we still found a way to give ourselves a lead … but it turned pretty quick.”

Crosby returned to the worlds for the first time since 2015, when he captained Canada to gold. He was expected to do it again with teammates like Nathan MacKinnon.

Canada is the most successful nation at the tournament with 28 titles but has finished empty-handed in the past two editions after it was beaten by Sweden in the bronze medal game last year.

It was only the second win for Denmark over Canada at the worlds.

The semifinals are set for Saturday: Denmark will play Switzerland; and the United States will face Sweden.

Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. advanced by beating Finland 5-2 backed by Conor Garland‘s two power-play goals

Trailing 2-1 in the middle period, the Americans needed 71 seconds to turn things around when defenseman Zeev Buium put home a rebound at 23:53 before Garland’s second goal restored the U.S. lead.

“I really liked how we stayed with it and built as the game wore on,” U.S. head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We got off to a bit of a slow start but really found our game as time wore on. I give our guys a lot of credit as they beat an excellent hockey team today.”

Garland had given the U.S. a 1-0 lead 4:50 into the game when he received a cross-ice pass from Logan Cooley to beat goalie Juuse Saros from the right circle.

Finland tied it at 1-1 on Eeli Tolvanen‘s power-play goal. Patrik Puistola scored from the slot on another power play 7:46 into the second period for Finland to take a 2-1 lead.

The Americans added two more goals in the third. Shane Pinto scored the fourth 5:52 into the final period and captain Clayton Keller finished the scoring into an empty net.

The U.S. team hasn’t won a medal since taking bronze in 2021. The Finns have been waiting for a medal since they won gold in 2022.

Sweden delighted the home crowd in the Avicii Arena in Stockholm by eliminating defending champion Czechia with a 5-2 victory.

Lucas Raymond and Leo Carlsson led the co-host with two goals each.

Earlier in Herning, last year’s runner-up Switzerland advanced by blanking Austria 6-0.

Continue Reading

Sports

Shanahan out as Leafs president after 11 seasons

Published

on

By

Shanahan out as Leafs president after 11 seasons

After 11 seasons, Brendan Shanahan will not have his contract renewed as president and alternate governor of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The organization announced its decision in a statement Thursday, ending months of speculation surrounding Shanahan’s future with the franchise.

The 56-year-old Shanahan, a Hall of Famer as a player, had held the position since April 2014.

“Over the past 11 seasons, Brendan Shanahan has made countless contributions to the Toronto Maple Leafs on the ice, off the ice and in the community,” Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president/CEO Keith Pelley said in a statement. “… Our responsibility and driving motivation, however, is to add a new chapter to the Maple Leafs’ championship history, and it was determined that a new voice was required to take the team to the next level in the years ahead.”

Pelley is scheduled to meet with the media on Friday.

In his own public statement, Shanahan said he was informed during a meeting Thursday of MLSE’s choice not to bring him back. He thanked the board for its support during his tenure in Toronto and shared his admiration for the Leafs’ remaining leadership group that he helped put in place, including general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube.

“I greatly enjoyed working with Brad and Craig, and I firmly believe they are excellent in their roles and have done a great job in their time with the team,” Shanahan said. “Also, I want to thank the players. They are committed and passionate about delivering a championship to this city and will do everything within their power to accomplish that goal. I wish them all the very best.”

The Maple Leafs, prior to Thursday’s announcement, had already granted permission to the New York Islanders to speak with Shanahan about a position with their team.

Shanahan, a native of the Toronto area, joined the Leafs as they prepared to enter a rebuilding phase, installing what publicly became known as the “Shanaplan.” He revamped the front office immediately, hiring former GM Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock in 2015. Toronto posted a last-place finish in 2015-16 and won the NHL’s draft lottery, using the first overall pick in 2016 to select Auston Matthews.

The center jumpstarted Toronto’s retooling with the Leafs’ Core Four — along with Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. In Shanahan’s tenure, the Leafs enjoyed regular-season success that failed to transition into playoff wins, despite multiple changes to staff along the way.

Despite an impressive roster of talent, Toronto has bowed out of the first round in six of its last eight full-season playoff series.

The Leafs did advance to the second round this season and held a 2-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers, but they lost three of the last four, including blowout defeats at home in Games 5 and 7.

Toronto, which recorded seven straight losses in winner-take-all games under Shanahan, has not advanced to the third round since 2002, and its Stanley Cup drought now sits at 58 years.

Shanahan won the Stanley Cup three times with the Red Wings during his 21-year playing career from 1987-2009. He spent time with New Jersey, St. Louis, Hartford, Detroit and the New York Rangers.

A month after hanging up his skates, Shanahan went to work in the league office as VP of hockey and business development. There, he worked with Islanders co-owner John Collins and was later promoted to senior vice president and took over the NHL’s disciplinary responsibilities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Trending