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IF YOU’RE THE TYPE to take the long view on things, what could be the biggest series in Texas baseball history starts today at Globe Life Field, and the moment is more than a century in the making. The buildup began before the American League — in which the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros now play — even existed. After all, they’ve been playing baseball in The Lone Star State for a long time. A very long time.

The three-game series between the Rangers and Astros has 135 years of baggage behind it, dating back to the first incarnation of the Texas League, which began play in 1888.

Now, in September 2023, all eyes in baseball will be on Arlington. And why wouldn’t they be? The breakout Rangers led the division for most of the season behind a potent offense and an experienced rotation of veterans brought in via trades and free agency. Then the Astros, who overcame a so-so, injury-laden start, emerged into a three-way turnstile atop the West with the Rangers and upstart Seattle Mariners. This week, the last regular-season meeting between the two Texas teams this season, will be the last time we can be sure to see the in-state rivals go toe-to-toe with the stakes sky high.

• Winning the division is going to be huge for the postseason chances of the team that accomplishes it. The division flag in this year’s AL West means a first-round bye, as the AL Central champion is going to be the No. 3 seed. Thus, first in the West is the difference between a bye and division series home advantage, or ending up in a wild-card encounter as the road team.

• The matchup features some of baseball’s most exciting hitters. You have core hitters like Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez for the Astros; Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia for the Rangers.

• In the dugouts, you have two future Hall of Fame skippers: Texas’ Bruce Bochy, looking for his fourth title, and Houston’s Dusty Baker, coming off his first. And the pair have plenty of personal history to boot. They first squared off as managers in 1995. As players, they faced each other on Sept. 7, 1978, when Baker homered for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 3-2 win over Bochy and Astros.

• If the pitching probable schedules hold, we’re headed for an epic matchup in the series finale, featuring two Cooperstown-bound aces. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander began this season as teammates with the New York Mets but joined this rivalry, on opposite sides, at the trade deadline. This is a best-case scenario, though, and one that may be in jeopardy after Scherzer had to leave his last start early with forearm tightness.

• There is bad blood brewing. The last time the teams met, benches cleared. There weren’t any punches thrown, but Semien and Martin Maldonado were ejected after their back-and-forth preceded the near melee.

There’s no shortage of storylines. And so despite 135 years of history, it’s easy to make the case that, until these two teams meet someday in October, this series is the crescendo for the sport in Texas.


IN THE TEXAS LEAGUE starting in the 19th century, Dallas and Houston battled in different versions of the circuit over the decades. As the cities grew in size and national influence, and Major League Baseball turned its gaze westward in the late 1950s, it was inevitable that Texas would be on the docket. And so, the Houston Colt 45s joined the National League in 1962. Three years later, they were redubbed the Astros when baseball’s first indoor venue, the Astrodome, opened to much fanfare.

Up north, baseball fans in the Dallas-Fort Worth region had to wait until 1972, when the second incarnation of the Washington Senators moved into Arlington Stadium for big league ball.

At last, Texas had two major league clubs. But for the first two decades of their mutual existence, the Rangers and Astros existed more on parallel tracks than intersecting ones.

The origins of the Lone Star Series, or the Silver Boot Series as many still like to call it, traces back to a series of popular end-of-spring-training exhibitions that began in 1992. The highlight of the exhibitions was 1993, when more than 53,000 fans turned out at the Astrodome for the return of Nolan Ryan, once an Astro and then a Ranger, and forever the connective tissue between the two franchises.

The Silver Boot Series moved to regular-season play when the Astros and Rangers began meeting in interleague games beginning in 2001. That’s when the winner of the series began receiving — you guessed it — a Silver Boot Trophy. The bragging rights contests continued in that vein for more than a decade.

During the 42 seasons the Astros and Rangers played in different leagues, they made the playoffs in the same season just twice — 1998 and 1999 — but neither team won a playoff series in those Octobers. That’s the closest we ever came to an All-Texas World Series, a possibility that ended when Houston was moved to the AL West in 2013.

Instead of that ultimate Lone Star October moment, we got a brand-new intrastate division rivalry. With the Astros and Rangers now in the same division, competing for the same championships, the pieces were in place for the Lone Star Series to become one of baseball’s marquee matchups.

And sure enough, in 2015, the Astros and Rangers both made the playoffs in their third season as division rivals. That campaign featured a pair of key September series, including a four-game sweep by the Rangers in the middle of the month in Arlington that turned a 1½-game Texas deficit to a 2½-game lead. Texas never relinquished the lead. Yet, as with the clubs’ other concurrent postseason appearance, their seasons ended in the division series round and neither team reached the 90-win plateau during that campaign.

Since then, the rivalry has been more of a slow burn, mostly because the teams haven’t been in prime contention at the same time since that 2015 prequel.

Both teams were over .500 in 2016, when the Rangers won the division with a 95-67 record. But the Astros took a step back that season and weren’t really in the division race after early August.

After that, Houston went into dynasty mode. They’ve played in every ALCS since then, winning four pennants and two World Series. The Rangers, though, entered a prolonged rebuild, landing well under .500 six seasons in a row and finishing an average of 29 games out of first place, all while their cross-state rival was running roughshod over the American League.

Alas, as we know, you can’t force these things. The best rivalries happen organically, through a sequence of contentious encounters that, preferably, feature a little rancor, memorable personalities, and — most importantly — real stakes. For the Lone Star Series, the convergence of all those factors is this week.

Texas’ two teams, as mutually strong as they’ve been at any time since they became division foes, are meeting for the last time this season. They are in a neck-and-neck battle for the division race and crucial playoff position. The Rangers have been struggling of late, but they enter the matchup on the momentum of Garcia’s game-winning homer against Minnesota on Sunday.

You have two teams that don’t like each other, representing the two biggest metroplexes in the biggest state of the continental U.S. You have forecasts for scorching, 100-degree weather. And we get to finish it off hopefully with a showdown between two generational aces with a combined 467 career wins between them.

Given the status of the playoff races and the strength of these teams, it’s possible even bigger clashes lay in the offing — maybe even the first-ever Silver Boot playoff showdown. They might have to get a second boot for that.

For now, this is what we’re guaranteed. Astros and Rangers, for the last time this season. If all the pieces fall into place, it just might turn out to be the biggest series in Texas baseball history, 135 years in the making.

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Nats seek ‘fresh approach,’ fire Martinez, Rizzo

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Nats seek 'fresh approach,' fire Martinez, Rizzo

The last-place Washington Nationals fired president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez, the team announced Sunday.

Rizzo, 64, and Martinez, 60, won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019, but the team has floundered in recent years. This season, the Nationals are 37-53 and stuck at the bottom of the National League East after getting swept by the Boston Red Sox this weekend at home. Washington hasn’t finished higher than fourth in the division since winning the World Series.

“On behalf of our family and the Washington Nationals organization, I first and foremost want to thank Mike and Davey for their contributions to our franchise and our city,” principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “Our family is eternally grateful for their years of dedication to the organization, including their roles in bringing a World Series trophy to Washington, D.C.

“While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be. This is a pivotal time for our club, and we believe a fresh approach and new energy is the best course of action for our team moving forward.”

Mike DeBartolo, the club’s senior vice president and assistant general manager, was named interim GM on Sunday night. DeBartolo will oversee all aspects of baseball operations, including the MLB draft. An announcement will be made on the interim manager Monday, a day before the club begins a series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rizzo has been the top decision-maker in Washington since 2013, and Martinez has been on board since 2018. Under Rizzo’s leadership, the team made the postseason four times: in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019. The latter season was Martinez’s lone playoff appearance.

“When our family assumed control of the team, nearly 20 years ago, Mike was the first hire we made,” Lerner said. “Over two decades, he was with us as we went from a fledging team in a new city to World Series champion. Mike helped make us who we are as an organization, and we’re so thankful to him for his hard work and dedication — not just on the field and in the front office, but in the community as well.”

The Nationals are in the midst of a rebuild that has moved slower than expected, though the team didn’t augment its young core much during the winter. Led by All-Stars James Wood and MacKenzie Gore, Washington has the second-youngest group of hitters in MLB and the sixth-youngest pitching staff.

The team lost 11 straight games in a forgettable stretch last month. And during a 2-10 run in June, Washington averaged just 2.5 runs. Since June 1, the Nationals have scored one run or been shut out seven times. In Sunday’s 6-4 loss to Boston, they left 15 runners on base.

There was industry speculation over the winter that the Nationals would spend money on free agents for the first time in several years, but that never materialized. Instead, the team made minor moves, signing free agents Josh Bell and Michael Soroka, trading for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and re-signing closer Kyle Finnegan. Now, the hope is a new management team, both on and off the field, can help change the franchise’s fortunes.

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Kershaw gets special ASG invite; no Soto, Betts

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Kershaw gets special ASG invite; no Soto, Betts

The rosters for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game will feature 19 first-timers — and one legend — as the pitchers and reserves were announced Sunday for the July 15 contest at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner who made his first All-Star team in 2011, was named to his 11th National League roster as a special commissioner’s selection.

Kershaw, who became only the fourth left-hander to amass 3,000 career strikeouts, is 4-0 with a 3.43 ERA in nine starts after beginning the season on the injured list. He joins Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera as a legend choice, after the pair of sluggers were selected in 2022.

Kershaw said he didn’t want to discuss the selection Sunday.

Among the first-time All-Stars announced Sunday: Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto; Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood and left-hander MacKenzie Gore; Houston Astros ace Hunter Brown and shortstop Jeremy Pena; and Chicago Cubs 34-year-old left-hander Matthew Boyd.

“It’ll just be cool being around some of the best players in the game,” Wood said.

First-time All-Stars previously elected to start by the fans include Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson, Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Overall, the 19 first-time All-Stars is a drop from the 32 first-time selections on the initial rosters in 2024.

Kershaw would be the sentimental choice to start for the National League, although Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, who leads NL pitchers in ERA and WAR, might be in line to start his second straight contest. Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, a three-time All-Star, is 9-3 with a 2.17 ERA after Sunday’s complete-game victory and also would be a strong candidate to start.

“I think it would be stupid to say no to that. It’s a pretty cool opportunity,” Skenes said about the possibility of being asked to start by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I didn’t make plans over the All-Star break or anything. So, yeah, I’m super stoked.”

Kershaw has made one All-Star start in his career, in 2022 at Dodger Stadium.

Among standout players not selected were New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto, who signed a $765 million contract as a free agent in the offseason, and Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, who had made eight consecutive All-Star rosters since 2016.

Soto got off to a slow start but was the National League Player of the Month in June and entered Sunday ranked sixth in the NL in WAR among position players while ranking second in OBP, eighth in OPS and third in runs scored.

The players vote for the reserves at each position and selected Wood, Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres as the backup outfielders. Kyle Stowers also made it as a backup outfielder as the representative for the Miami Marlins.

Unless Soto later is added as an injury replacement, he’ll miss his first All-Star Game since his first full season in 2019.

The Dodgers lead all teams with five representatives: Kershaw, Yamamoto and starters Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. The AL-leading Detroit Tigers (57-34) and Mariners have four each.

Tigers ace Tarik Skubal will join AL starters Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres and Javier Baez, while Raleigh, the AL’s starting catcher, will be joined by Seattle teammates Bryan Woo, Andres Munoz and Julio Rodriguez.

Earning his fifth career selection but first since 2021 is Texas Rangers righty Jacob deGrom, who is finally healthy after making only nine starts in his first two seasons with the Rangers and is 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA. He has never started an All-Star Game, although Skubal or Brown would be the favorite to start for the AL.

The hometown Braves will have three All-Stars in Acuna, pitcher Chris Sale (his ninth selection, tied with Freeman for the second most behind Kershaw) and first baseman Matt Olson. The San Francisco Giants had three pitchers selected: Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and reliever Randy Rodriguez.

The slumping New York Yankees ended up with three All-Stars: Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Max Fried. The Mets also earned three All-Star selections: Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz.

“Red carpet, that’s my thing,” Chisholm said. “I do have a ‘fit in mind.”

Rosters are expanded from 26 to 32 for the All-Star Game. They include starters elected by fans, 17 players (five starting pitchers, three relievers and a backup for each position) chosen in a player vote and six players (four pitchers and two position players) selected by league officials. Every club must be represented.

Acuna, Wood and Raleigh are the three All-Stars who have so far committed to participating in the Home Run Derby.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Bellinger rescues Yankees to avoid Subway sweep

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Bellinger rescues Yankees to avoid Subway sweep

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees were seemingly in deep trouble Sunday when Juan Soto cracked a pitch to left field in the seventh inning.

The New York Mets, down two runs, were cooking up a rally with no outs. Francisco Lindor stood at first base, Pete Alonso loomed on deck, and Brandon Nimmo was in the hole. This was the heart of the Mets’ potent lineup. Given the Yankees’ recent woes, fumbling their two-run lead and suffering a Subway Series sweep at the hands of their neighbors — and a seventh straight loss — seemed almost fated.

Then Cody Bellinger charged Soto’s sinking 105 mph line drive, made a shoestring catch and fired a strike to first base for an improbable double play to secure a skid-snapping 6-4 win — and perhaps rescue the Yankees from another dreadful outcome.

“Considering the context of this week and everything,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “that’s probably our play of the year so far.”

Soto’s line drive off Mark Leiter Jr. had a 10% catch probability, according to Statcast, but Bellinger, a plus defender at multiple positions who started at first base Saturday, was just able to snatch it before it touched the grass. Certain that he caught it clean, he made an 89.9 mph toss that reached first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on a line, over Lindor, who didn’t slide into the bag.

“I saw it in the air and had a really good beat on it,” said Bellinger, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk at the plate.

The Mets challenged the catch, but the call stood.

“That was incredible,” said Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, who swatted his 33rd home run of the season in the fifth inning. “I’ve never seen something like that on the field.”

For the past week, a stretch Boone described as “terrible” for his ballclub, poor defense has been an issue for the Yankees. Physical errors. Mental lapses. Near disasters. The sloppiness helped sink a depleted pitching staff, more than offsetting the offense’s strong production.

That combination produced the team’s second six-game losing streak in three weeks and a three-game deficit in the American League East standings behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.

The surging Blue Jays won again Sunday to extend their winning streak to seven games and keep their division lead at three games, but Bellinger’s glove and arm ensured it didn’t grow to four.

“That was an unbelievable play,” Goldschmidt said. “Amazing catch and absolute cannon to me at first. To make that play was a game-changing play and potentially game-winning play for us today. And we needed it.”

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