The state hockey tournaments moved into their semifinal rounds this morning with the Class 1A girls' games at the Xcel Energy Center. Proctor/Hermantown defeated Warroad and Gentry Academy rolled past Chisago Lakes to set the Class 1A championship. In Class 2A, Edina beat Minnetonka and will take on the winner of the nightcap between Andover and Eastview.
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CLASS 2A
Edina 4, Minnetonka 0
The Hornets didnot play in the quarterfinals on March 27 when scheduled opponent Centennial bowed out because of a positive COVID-19 test. But Edina's stable of skilled players looked unfazed by a 12-day layoff between games.
The Hornets (21-0), runner-up last year after winning three consecutive titles, controlled play at both ends of the Xcel Energy Center ice. Jane Kuehl scored the Hornets' first two goals and Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year Emma Conner rounded out the scoring with a pair of her own, both assisted by Hannah Chorske. Uma Corniea denied all 15 shots she faced for the shutout victory.
A tying goal with sixth-tenths of a second left in the first period and then a two-goal second period helped Proctor/Hermantown reach its first state championship game with a 3-1 upset victory over Warroad.
Freshman Hannah Graves scored the first two goals before senior Alyssa Watkins added her sixth goal of the tournament to keep the No. 3 seed Mirage undefeated (20-0) in the first Class 1A semifinal game Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.
Coming into the game the matchup appeared pretty even, with second-seeded Warroad scoring 6.33 goals per game while allowing only 0.90 goals per game. The Mirage scored 7.63 goals per gameallowing only 0.74 goals. Special teams proved to be a difference in the game, too, with the Mirage going 1-for-4 on the power play while Warroad went 0-for-4.
That was the fast start top-seeded Gentry Academy gave itself in its Class 1A semifinal against Chisago Lakes on the way to a 6-0 victory Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.
Sophomore Cara Sajevic's shot from the top of the left circle ended up in the net 15 seconds into the game.
"I definitely used the defense as a screen," Sajevic said. "I kind of lost my edge, so I was thinking just get it on net.
A Republican candidate seeking to replace the late Ron Wright in Congress has unleashed a blistering attack against China and potential Chinese immigrants.
“I don’t want them here at all,” Sery Kim, a former official in President Donald Trump’s administration, said Wednesday night during an Arlington forum for Republicans seeking Wright’s U.S. House seat. “They steal our intellectual property, they give us coronavirus, they don’t hold themselves accountable.”
Kim, who is from South Korea, told the applauding crowd that it was safe for her to criticize the Chinese.
“Quite frankly, I can say that because I’m Korean,” Kim said.
Kim’s remarks come as hate crimes against Asian Americans have risen since the coronavirus pandemic began in China.
Dallas patent lawyer Wei Wei Jeang, a Taiwanese immigrant, called Kim’s remarks “irresponsible.”
“Kim’s preposterous statement is a regurgitation of Trump’s talking points whenever the topic of China comes up,” Jeang said. “This kind of rhetoric did and will continue to divide the country rather than heal us.”
Jeang pointed out that Chinese immigrants did not bring the coronavirus to America and “have nothing to do with the intellectual property theft allegations against the Chinese government.”
“This kind of language will further bolster and encourage violence against the Asian American population,” Jeang said. “Kim’s statement is especially senseless when you realize that the people who will be unduly influenced by this kind of rhetoric can’t differentiate Chinese from Koreans from Japanese, and her clueless put-down of one segment of the Asian American population will cast an unjustified negative light on everyone, including herself.”
Kim’s remarks were denounced by AAPI Progressive Action, a liberal group that seeks to politically empower Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
“Sery Kim’s words and actions are grotesque and immediately disqualifying,” said AAPI Progressive Action’s executive director, Varun Nikore. “At a time where AAPI hate has reached new heights and a shooter gunned down innocent AAPI victims in Georgia, Kim’s statements perpetuate the cycle of hatred we’re seeing across the country.”
Nikore said Kim’s comments are dangerous.
“Kim’s attempt to race to the bottom of the Trump barrel is sickening and frankly will not work,” he said. “Her racist and ignorant remarks should be condemned by every politician in the state and the country.”
Asked if she worried about the reported violence against Asian Americans, Kim replied, “No.”
“The biggest difference right now is people are filming it — and the media choosing to report it,” she said. “Asians have always faced violence. It’s not worse than before.”
During the forum, Kim, an immigrant from Seoul, said China was responsible for violence against Asians.
Sery Kim speaks to audience members following a forum hosted by the Arlington Republican Club for Republican candidates running in the 6th Congressional District of Texas race in Arlington on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. (Juan Figueroa/ The Dallas Morning News)(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
“I am Asian American and I have never felt discrimination because I blame China for the problems they have actually created,” Kim said. “They are the ones that caused COVID. They are the ones that steal our technology. They are the ones that manipulate the borders. They are the ones that make you feel guilty because you want to shop at the small business down the street, as opposed to paying for the child labor that they have with the Uighurs.”
The forum, which featured the major Republican candidates in the 6th Congressional District race to replace Wright, was sponsored by the Arlington Republican Club and Arlington Republican Women. Because 11 Republicans participated, the candidates were questioned by author Nick Adams in groups.
Wright died in February after contracting COVID-19. Elected last year to his second term representing Tarrant, Ellis and Navarro countiess, Wright was also battling cancer.
Kim was on a panel with Wright’s widow, the Republican activist Susan Wright, and Army veteran Michael Egan.
Neither candidate questioned or commented on Kim’s remarks.
Kim, who has openly sought the endorsement of Trump, parroted the former president’s claims that China is responsible for COVID-19, though she stopped short of calling it the China virus, as Trump frequently does.
Kim served as assistant administrator in the Office of Women’s Business Ownership at the Small Business Administration under Trump.
“We were lied to for the last one year and two months and stayed at home, because China created coronavirus in a Wuhan lab,” Kim said.
Kim’s remarks about opposing Chinese immigrants — and saying she can do so because she’s Korean — went viral on social media after a tweet by The Dallas Morning News.
.@seryfortexas on Chinese immigrants coming to America: “I don’t want them here at all. They steal our intellectual property, they give us Coronavirus, they don't hold themselves accountable, and quite frankly I can say that because I'm Korean.” pic.twitter.com/ejVllqRFuC
Hey Asian Am. Twitter! Let @seryfortexas that there is no place for racism in America — especially against fellow Asians when we are being murdered in the streets. She is a disgrace to us all. https://t.co/U8UG0tHkNN
Former Dallas County Republican Party chairman Jonathan Neerman tweeted, “I don’t think that’s how it works …”
She also received other criticism and some praise, as well as hateful tweets that insist she’s Chinese, as Jeang predicted.
At the forum, Kim referred to her family’s immigrant history. Her parents waited 10 years to immigrate to America.
“I’m the child of janitors,” she said. “I grew up with absolutely nothing. My parents cleaned your toilets and emptied your trash cans, while I slept on your floors. And now I get to represent you in Congress.”
After her panel concluded, audience members rushed to greet Kim while she was still seated on the stage.
She had promised them, among other things, to counter the agenda of progressive House Democrats such as New York’s Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar.
“I just asked you to consider Sery Kim for Congress, not because I’m so much better than anybody else but because I will take the fight to the squad and they will not know what hit them,” Kim said to cheers.
California GOP Reps. Young Kim and Michelle Steel, both of Korean descent, have backed Kim for Congress. On Thursday the lawmakers called Kim’s comments “hurtful” in a statement to CNN, but they didn’t revoke their endorsement.
“Sery’s comments were unacceptable and hurtful, especially at a time when hate targeting the (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) community is on the rise, and we made that clear to her today,” Young Kim and Steel said in a statement to CNN.
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April 02, 2021 at 07:17AM
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'I don't want them here at all,' Texas GOP congressional candidate says about Chinese immigrants - The Dallas Morning News
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While Georgetown College is in a small, safe community, we take the responsibility to protect our students seriously. Our Campus Safety office is staffed 24/7/365 and is centrally located on the ground floor of the Student Center, right next to the Caf. Our officers patrol campus and work closely with local agencies like the Georgetown Police Department and Scott County Sheriff's Office. Students can contact Campus Safety to let them in their dorm rooms if they have locked themselves out, or to request an on-campus escort if they are walking to their dorm after dark. The phone number for Campus Safety is 502-863-8011.
Campus Safety also oversees our emergency text messaging service. Students are encouraged to sign up for this service, known on campus as Rave alert, on their GC portal. The Rave system quicky texts students in the event of a crisis, as well as notifies students if the college is closed or delayed for any reason (think snow days!). Make sure you sign up for Rave alerts on or before move-in day!
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE: SERVICES WE PROVIDE TO KEEP STUDENTS SAFE
While most students have cell phones, we want to make sure that students can contact Campus Safety easily in case of an emergency. To that end, we have multiple emergency call boxes scattered around campus. Emergency phones are located in the Knight Hall East and West parking lots, in the KA/KD parking lot, in the Building Services and Allen Hall parking lot, in the Hambrick Village paved parking lot, and outside the laundry room of the East Campus apartments. These phones can be used for emergencies or to call Campus Safety and request a safety escort.
Georgetown College offers a safety escort service to any student who feels uncomfortable crossing campus alone. This service is offered daily from dusk to dawn. Safety escorts will be provided during daylight hours on request under special circumstances including illness, injury, or other extenuating circumstances.
A PROACTIVE APPROACH: THE GEORGETOWN COLLEGE COMMITMENT TO SAFETY
As a department, Georgetown College Campus Safety takes a proactive approach to keeping the entire campus community safe through regular foot and vehicle patrols across and around campus. Campus Safety is continuously utilizing, researching and adding video surveillance and monitoring, smart-lighting, and text alert systems. Our officers are also consistently undergoing training so they can implement the most up-to-date campus and public safety procedures to provide the highest level of protection and customer service for our students, faculty and staff.
We also understand that there are additional safety concerns associated with sending your student to college this fall. For information about how we are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit our Tigers Together webpage for the most up-to-date information.
The Ravens are tireless and creative in their pursuit of improvement, and that also extends to the NFL's rules.
Here are the proposals the Ravens are involved with:
To review, Baltimore's plan would have no kickoff at the start of overtime. Instead, one team would pick what yard line play would begin at and the other team would choose whether to play offense or defense. As outlined above, there are two proposals, one with the winner determined by sudden death (first team to score) and the other with a full 7 ½-minute period to see which team finishes with the most points.
The other wrinkle in one of the Ravens' proposals is the elimination of overtime in the preseason, which seems like a no-brainer considering deciding a winner isn't all that important.
Everyone knows who will win the Premier League. Most can guess who will be relegated. All of the drama is in the race for a spot in the Champions League.
Here, then, is the home straight of the Premier League season, the final quarter of a campaign that was heralded as the most chaotic, and least predictable, of them all.
At times, throughout autumn and into winter, the combination of empty stadiums, a packed schedule and a frantic pace seemed destined to usurp the established order. Contenders seemed to rise and fall every week. Earnest conversations were held about whether Aston Villa could win the league or if Arsenal was in danger of relegation.
It did not, it turns out, quite come to pass. It soon became clear that Manchester City — the team with the best and biggest squad, the side with the brightest coach — would be champion while spring was still fresh in the air. Pep Guardiola’s team sits 14 points clear of Manchester United, its fingers already brushing a third crown in four years.
Relegation, too, is largely settled. Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion will be playing in the Championship next season; all that remains to be decided is whether Fulham can muster enough momentum to condemn Newcastle, drifting and directionless, to a place alongside them.
In that relative certainty, the Premier League is something of an outlier across Europe’s major leagues. Elsewhere, the curious circumstances of the pandemic season do seem to have had an effect. In Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid are slowly reeling in a stuttering Atlético Madrid. In Italy, Inter Milan has six points on its city rival, A.C. Milan, and 10 on Juventus and Atalanta. But with at least one fairly spectacular choke in fans’ relatively recent memory, that is not yet a gap broad enough to permit any comfort.
In Germany, the title race may effectively be decided this weekend, when Bayern Munich travels to RB Leipzig on Saturday knowing that victory will all but see off its last remaining challenger. A couple hours earlier, the top two teams in France will meet, though neither Lille nor Paris St.-Germain is in a position to deliver a decisive blow. Lyon and a resurgent Monaco are within touching distance of both, four teams separated by four points.
In the absence of questions at the top and bottom of the table, the Premier League has concentrated all of its drama, jeopardy and intrigue into the jostling for position immediately below Manchester City. There are three more spots available in the Champions League for next season and seven teams with a realistic shot at one of them.
Some are fallen giants, teams desperate to salvage something from a bitterly disappointing season. Others are surprise packages, those teams that have best adapted to the strangeness of this season. It is at this point that the consequences of all the chaos and unpredictability of the last seven months are made flesh, and it is a race that is all but impossible to sort — at least not yet. “It will go until the last day,” Carlo Ancelotti, the Everton manager, said last month. The challenge, he said, is to make sure you are still in contention by then.
Jamie Vardy and Leicester City enter the homestretch with a lead on the teams chasing them.Pool photo by Alex Pantling
Head Starts and Tough Roads
A glance at the table would indicate that two of the seven Champions League contenders — Manchester United and Leicester City — have a considerable advantage. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United has an eight-point lead on West Ham, currently the first team outside the places in fifth. Brendan Rodgers’s Leicester side has a seven-point cushion.
But in Leicester’s case, certainly, that head start could yet be canceled out by the fact that its remaining schedule is considerably steeper than some of its rivals’. Leicester faces Manchester City this weekend before traveling to West Ham. Three of its final four games are against direct rivals for a spot in the top four: trips to Manchester United and Chelsea, and a home game against Tottenham. Rodgers’s team surrendered a place in the top four on the final day last season; this year’s calendar brings with it the ghost of past regrets.
No other team has quite such an arduous finish to the campaign, though Chelsea is close. The extent of Thomas Tuchel’s impact at Stamford Bridge will be gauged by visits to West Ham and Manchester City, and looming home games against Arsenal and Leicester.
If the calendar is kindest to anyone, it is Liverpool, marooned in seventh after a dismal run since late December. That may prove scant solace for a team that has spent the last three months losing at home to Fulham, Brighton and Burnley, but it at least gives Jürgen Klopp’s side a slim chance of returning to Europe.
The Price of Distractions
Tottenham’s Europa League elimination had a silver lining: fewer games this spring.Darko Bandic/Associated Press
If anything has marked this season, it is the capriciousness of crisis. It is barely two weeks since José Mourinho accused his Tottenham players of being unable to display “the basics of football and the basics of life” during a humiliation at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League. Now he may wonder if being out of that competition is not such a bad thing.
Nine league games remain of Spurs’ season, and Mourinho must also make room for the Carabao Cup final on April 24. But, that aside, he has a clear run. So, too, do West Ham and Everton. Leicester has one extra game than its rivals — an F.A. Cup semifinal — but the rest have more demanding commitments to juggle.
Chelsea, for one, is still fighting on three fronts: An F.A. Cup semifinal against Manchester City beckons, as well as a two-legged Champions League quarterfinal with F.C. Porto. Should Chelsea reach the final of both competitions, it would have to play almost twice as many games as some of its rivals.
Liverpool has a Champions League quarterfinal, too — a more arduous pairing, against Real Madrid — and Manchester United will be expected to reach the final of the Europa League, adding another five games to its schedule. At the end of a season that has been particularly demanding, the strain of any added workload to tired legs may prove crucial.
The Fatigue Factor
No Premier League player has logged as many minutes as Harry Maguire.Pool photo by Laurence Griffiths
That injury has proved a defining factor in the outcome of this Premier League season is neither surprising nor particularly debatable. The root of Liverpool’s collapse lies in its loss of its central defense; Leicester’s form stuttered with the absence, at various times, of Jamie Vardy, James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, among others; Everton’s results dipped when James Rodríguez was missing.
It would be reasonable, then, to assume that the next two months will be decided by which teams sustain the fewest injuries, particularly to their key players. Liverpool, of course, is still missing Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip. Tottenham is without Son Heung-min. Leicester is without Barnes, Maddison and James Justin, while Manchester United is sweating on Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial.
Injuries can, of course, be sheer misfortune — a bad tackle, a mistimed movement — but they can also be cumulative, the effect of a player pushed too far into what Arsène Wenger used to call the “red zone.” But that is not the only consequence of fatigue. Even if injury is avoided, performance can dip.
It is this, more than anything, that should give Solskjaer and Manchester United pause. United’s captain, Harry Maguire, has played 3,946 minutes this season, an order of magnitude greater than every other outfield player in England. He has played the equivalent of five full games more this season than his nearest rival, Leicester’s Youri Tielemans.
But Maguire is not alone. United has seven players who have played more than 2,700 minutes this season. Leicester and Everton have only one, Chelsea two, and Spurs and West Ham three. Even Liverpool, its options reduced because of all those injuries, has only five. If fatigue does prove to be a factor, the core of United’s side is more likely to be afflicted in the final stretch than anyone else.
To some extent, of course, that is offset by its resources: Solskjaer has options should any of his key players be sidelined or suffer an alarming drop in form. Having to play Donny van de Beek because Bruno Fernandes needs a rest should be no great sacrifice.
Indeed, that may well be the formula, more than any other, that comes to define the next two months, that serves to find the signal in the noise of this season. More than in any other season, the final prize on offer in the Premier League will go to the teams that can best minimize the effects of fatigue, thanks to a reduced workload or by possessing the strength in depth to ride it out. In all the chaos, in the end, there will be some sort of order.
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The Premier League Race Is Over. The Champions League Lottery Is Here. - The New York Times
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It all begins today. Although rainouts could cause some games to be pushed back until Friday, every team is scheduled to begin play on the first day of the MLB season -- the way it should be every season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers begin their chase for history. They are trying to become the first team since the 2000 New York Yankees to win back-to-back World Series titles. Behind a power-packed starting rotation, maybe they even have a chance at the single-season record of 116 wins -- their 162-game pace from 2020 equated to ... 116 wins. Then they added Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer.
We're back to a normal 162-game schedule and 10-team playoff format. Winning the division and avoiding the wild-card game again becomes paramount. On the field, the biggest issue teams will face is getting their pitchers through the season as their workloads increase from 2020's short schedule. Many in the game feel the 2021 season will be a battle of attrition. Stay healthy and you have a chance. We have new rules that remain from 2020 (like a runner starting on second base in extra innings) and old rules that are back from 2019 (pitchers hitting).
As Yankees starter Gerrit Cole said Wednesday about Opening Day: "It's always a special day because there are a lot of different emotions. Everyone is tired of spring training, ready for Opening Day. There's a lot of hope, there's a lot of excitement, there's a lot of projections, there is a lot of baseball out in front of you. You just want the gates to open. It's an important day, but it's the first of many."
Things will not be fully normal, however, at least not yet. Fans are back in ballparks, although at limited capacity to begin the season (the Rangers will allow full capacity for their home opener, but then deploy socially distanced seating). The Washington Nationalsare down five players for their opener against the New York Mets, after one player tested positive for COVID-19 and four others will have to quarantine due to contact tracing -- a reminder that we are a long way from being free of the pandemic.
We have plenty of time to get into all that stuff. For now, let's enjoy the first day of the season. Here's a look at all 15 games:
Biggest storyline: The American League East favorite against the team that loaded up to make a run for the top. Two Cy Young contenders. Two powerful lineups. Yankee Stadium on Opening Day (even if it won't be full). A great kickoff to the season.
Key number: Since acquiring Giancarlo Stanton in 2018, the Yankees are 88-47 when Stanton and Aaron Judge are both in the starting lineup -- a 106-win pace over 162 games.
For all the deserved concern about the durability and results of new rotation members Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon, it's worth pointing out that the Yankees' offense is absolutely loaded -- if everyone stays healthy. They led the AL in runs per game last season even though Stanton and Judge combined to play just 51 games in the 60-game season while Gleyber Torres and Gary Sanchez both struggled. They are without major league home run leader Luke Voit, who starts the season on the injured list after knee surgery. If any team challenges the Yankees for best offense in the AL, it might be the Blue Jays, with the additions of George Springer (who will miss the opener with an oblique strain) and Marcus Semien, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. poised for a big breakout.
Prediction: Both starters dominate and then we see how the bullpens hold up. Yankees pull it out 4-2 with two late runs.
Biggest storyline: Shane Bieber begins defense of his Cy Young Award. He has made six career starts against the Tigers and allowed no runs in three of them. On the Detroit side, manager AJ Hinch returns to the dugout after serving his 2020 suspension from the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.
Key number: Cleveland is 65-20 against Detroit over the past five seasons, including an 18-1 record in 2019.
After going 8-1 with 1.63 ERA and holding batters to a .167 average, the question isn't whether Bieber can get better -- that's basically impossible -- but simply whether he can perform close to that level over 32 starts and 200-plus innings. His strikeout rate has improved from 24.3% as a rookie to 30.2% to a ridiculous 41.1% in 2020. He's my AL Cy Young pick.
Biggest storyline: We'll have to wait another day to see the under-the-radar revamped Red Sox after weather in Boston forced . Will a bunch of small moves following a disastrous 2020 add up to a big change in the win column?
Key number: The Red Sox allowed 5.85 runs per game in 2020 -- the highest in franchise history since 1932.
After churning through 16 starters in just 60 games -- including such luminaries as Robinson Leyer, Matt Hall, Josh Osich and Mike Kickham -- the Red Sox are simply hoping for stability and then for Chris Sale to make a big impact when he returns. This plan is not off to a great start as the Red Sox had to skip Eduardo Rodriguez as their Opening Day starter due to a "dead arm." Their most likely path to the playoffs will require the offense to carry the load, which means much better seasons from J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers and some quality production from newcomers Hunter Renfroe and Enrique Hernandez.
Prediction: John Means, the one reliable starter on what projects to be an otherwise awful rotation for the Orioles, puts a damper on the Friday Fenway opener with a good outing as the Orioles win 6-3.
Key number: Yelich finished fourth in the majors in wRC+ in 2018 and second in 2019 ... and then collapsed to 70th in 2020.
I love, love this pitching matchup. Kenta Maeda finished second in the Cy Young voting in 2020 and, take this for what it's worth, probably had the best spring training of any starter in the majors. One thing that will create a comfort level for all Twins pitchers: Byron Buxton in center field and Andrelton Simmons at shortstop. If those two stay healthy, which has been an issue for both, Minnesota's up-the-middle defense will be tremendous. Brandon Woodruff throws as hard as almost any starter in baseball and projects as a sleeper Cy Young contender.
Prediction: Maeda continues to stay hot and Buxton robs a home run AND hits one as the Twins go home happy with a 2-1 victory.
Biggest storyline: The walk-year Cubs begin their final run together, This is a storyline that will hover over the team all season. Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant will be free agents next winter, along with the one-year guys the Cubs brought in, such as Joc Pederson and Zach Davies.
Key number: Rizzo, Baez and Bryant hit a combined .210 in 2020.
The Cubs will be one of the most fascinating stories of 2020, in a season that new president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said will be "a little more focused toward the future than usual." They traded Yu Darvish, and many expect some or all of the impending free agents to be dealt during the season, which leads to the potential conundrum of what the Cubs do if they're in the thick of the National League Central race in July.
Prediction: Pederson continues his hot spring with two home runs, Rizzo and Baez each hit one and the Cubs romp 9-2.
Key number: The Phillies haven't finished over .500 in any of the past nine seasons.
It's hard to believe, but the Phillies now own the second-longest playoff drought in the majors, with only Seattle having a longer one. The Braves and Mets are the consensus co-favorites in the NL East, but the Phillies certainly have the talent to make a run. The key will be the bullpen, which posted a 6.92 ERA in 2020 that was the second-worst mark in MLB history.
Only the Dodgers led more games than the Phillies in 2020, but the pen went 9-14 and had 13 blown saves. Jose Alvarado, Archie Bradley, Brandon Kintzler and hard-throwing Sam Coonrod are the key new arms along with Vince Velasquez moving from the rotation to the bullpen. The Phillies will be tested early: Their first 16 games are against the Braves (6), Mets (7) and Cardinals (3).
Prediction: It seems we have more great pitching matchups than normal even for Opening Day. This is another one. Both teams have to figure out their bullpen pecking order. Harper, who has five career Opening Day home runs, hits one and Aaron Nola goes six strong ... but the bullpen blows it with the Braves rallying for a 6-5 victory.
Biggest storyline: Yu Darvish makes his Padres debut, but all eyes will be on Fernando Tatis Jr. -- the owner of a shiny new 14-year, $340 million contract.
Key number: Tatis is the only player in MLB history with at least 35 home runs and 25 steals in his first 150 career games (he has 39 and 27 in 143 games). He turned 22 in January.
The Padres are the third-highest betting favorite to win the World Series -- but predicted to finish second in their own division. Can they snap the Dodgers' eight-year stranglehold on the NL West? That aspiration will depend heavily on the performances of rotation newcomers Darvish and Blake Snell, along with the continued MVP-caliber performance from Tatis and Manny Machado that we saw in 2020 and the offensive improvements from Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers.
Prediction: Tatis goes 3-for-4 with a home run and a stolen base, and Darvish fans 11 as the Padres win 6-2.
Biggest storyline: The Dodgers begin defense of their crown as Kershaw makes his ninth Opening Day start.
Key number: Including the postseason, the Dodgers outscored their opponents by an average of 2.19 runs per game in 2020. That's the fourth-highest total in MLB history since 1903, trailing only the 1939 Yankees (2.71), 1927 Yankees (2.45) and 1936 Yankees (2.19).
How loaded are the Dodgers after adding Trevor Bauer to their rotation? David Price and Tony Gonsolin will begin the season in the bullpen. L.A.'s over/under of 104.5 wins is tied with the 1999 Yankees for the highest in the past 30 years. Those Yankees were coming off 114 wins, and while they won "only" 98 games, they did win the World Series. Maybe the Dodgers get wrecked by a bunch of injuries and don't even beat out the Padres, although it's hard to envision a scenario in which they don't make the playoffs. More likely, the deepest pitching staff and best lineup in the league will carry them to a ninth straight division title -- and maybe the first repeat World Series championship in 21 years.
Prediction: Clayton Kershaw allowed eight runs and nine hits in 3.1 innings in his final spring start. He struggles again, while German Marquez pitches a gem in a 5-3 Rockies win. It will be the only time all season the Dodgers are under .500.
Biggest storyline:Nolan Arenado makes his Cardinals debut.
Key number: The Reds hit .212 in 2020, the lowest team batting average since the 1910 White Sox hit .210. The Cardinals, however, actually had the lower team OPS.
This is another must-see pitching duel between potential Cy Young contenders, but also a fascinating matchup between two clubs that leave spring training with some issues.
The Cardinals are scrambling a bit in the rotation. Dakota Hudson was already out for the season after Tommy John surgery, and now Kwang Hyun Kim (back tightness) and Miles Mikolas (shoulder soreness) won't be ready to start the season. Carlos Martinez, whose last good year as a starter was 2017, is now in the rotation, and he wasn't great this spring.
The Reds, desperate for a shortstop, moved third baseman Eugenio Suarez there late in spring training, plus starters Sonny Gray and Michael Lorenzen are out with what are hopefully just minor injuries.
Prediction: Luis Castillo dominates with two hits over six innings, and Suarez blasts a home run and makes three routine plays in the field. Reds go home happy with a 4-1 victory.
Biggest storyline: The battle of Florida! The Rays start defense of their AL title. The Marlins play their first official game under new general manager Kim Ng.
Key number:Randy Arozarena had a 1.022 OPS after his call-up last September and then belted 10 home runs in 20 playoff games.
After the trade of Snell and departure of Charlie Morton, Tyler Glasnow is one of the most important players of 2021. The Rays really need him to step up and dominate for 30 starts, not just in short flashes like we've seen. Likewise, Arozarena gives the Rays' lineup a potential impact bat. They will also have to work around the loss of their best reliever, as Nick Anderson is out for at least half the season with a partially torn elbow ligament. Don't assume the Rays will be the best team in Florida, however. The Marlins have an exciting young rotation to build around. They're another team that will be tested early as their first four series are the Rays, Cardinals, Mets and Braves.
Prediction: Glasnow strikes out 13 and, yes, Arozarena homers in a 7-3 win for the Rays.
Biggest storyline: The underrated Brad Keller starts things off for what could be a sneaky solid rotation and sneaky playoff contender.
If the Twins and White Sox falter, and neither team should be viewed as a playoff lock, you can see a path to success for the Royals if the young starters in the rotation improve and the projected meat of the lineup all improve from their 2020 performance. Throw in a dose of Bobby Witt Jr. at midseason and this could be your surprise team of 2021. A fast start in April will be key. Thirteen of the Royals' first 18 games are at home, and then they go on the road to face projected last-place teams in Detroit and Pittsburgh.
Prediction: Keller gets 16 ground ball outs in his six innings of work and Soler -- on his way to another home run crown -- drives in five runs on two homers. Royals 8, Rangers 0.
Biggest storyline: Umm, it's Jacob deGrom versus Max Scherzer, what else do you need? (Oh, just Francisco Lindor's debut with the Mets after signing a 10-year deal the night before games begin.)
Key number: Since deGrom's rookie season in 2014, he's second among the top pitchers in WAR (36.6). Scherzer would like to remind everyone that he's first (41.8).
This will be the seventh time deGrom and Scherzer have faced off as NL East rivals, including an Opening Day matchup in 2019 when deGrom pitched six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts while Scherzer fanned 12 in 7.2 innings but allowed two runs. The past two battles haven't been of the same caliber (one in 2020 and one in September 2019) as both allowed seven runs over 12 innings. Assuming the weather holds up -- stay away, rain -- I'm going with a low-scoring pitcher's duel.
Prediction: It's 0-0 when Lindor hits the go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth in his Mets debut. That's why you gave him $341 million!
Biggest storyline: Tony La Russa takes over perhaps the AL's most exciting team and plays against the team with perhaps the AL's two most exciting players in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.
Key number: 51.2 -- that's the number of innings Ohtani pitched back in 2018, the most he has pitched in a season since 2016 in Japan.
Ohtani was the talk of spring training with his electric performance at the plate (.552, five home runs) and flashes of brilliance on the mound, leading to some MVP talk. As thrilling as it would be if Ohtani succeeds in both roles, as he did during the first two months of 2018, I'm skeptical about the pitching side of things working out. Yes, he was throwing hard in spring training but also allowed 14 runs with 10 walks in 10.1 innings. He just hasn't shown any consistent ability to throw strikes since his return from Tommy John surgery. If he struggles on the mound, it will be interesting to see how long Joe Maddon sticks with him.
The White Sox, meanwhile, have to work around Eloy Jimenez's injury, which could include playing Rookie of the Year candidate Andrew Vaughn in left field.
Prediction: Ohtani goes yard, but that's not enough to overcome Lucas Giolito's otherwise brilliant performance. Luis Robert backs him up with a home runs, and Nick Madrigal hits three opposite-field singles. White Sox 5, Angels 1.
Biggest storyline: This time with fans! How much will the Astros hear it from A's fans? (The A's will begin with 20% capacity, or about 9,400 fans.)
Key number: In 2019, the Astros led the majors in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS. In 2020, they fell to 20th, 16th and 16th in those categories.
Let's get ready to rumble. The A's ended the Astros' three-year run atop the AL West with their first division title since 2013 -- only to lose to the Astros in the division series. The Astros lost outfielder George Springer in free agency and then starter Framber Valdez in spring training because of a broken finger. They get slugger Yordan Alvarez back, however, after he played just two games last year. The A's lost shortstop Marcus Semien and closer Liam Hendriks, but are looking for better offensive seasons from Matt Chapman and Matt Olson in the middle of the order. This is the first of 19 matchups of what promises to be one of the best rivalries of the season.
Prediction:Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve signal that they're back as both get two hits, including a home run. The Astros pull out a 9-8 slugfest.
Biggest storyline: Jarred Kelenic, Kiley McDaniel's No. 3 overall prospect, isn't on the Opening Day roster for Seattle, but Taylor Trammell, No. 84, earned a job with a nice spring.
Key number: 20 -- the number of years since the Mariners last made the postseason.
The Giants and Mariners are in a similar position. They're not tanking like the Orioles or Pirates, but it will take just about everything to go right for either club to be interesting. That might be more likely in Seattle's case because the M's aren't in a division with the Dodgers and Padres. Where they are not similar is where they are in the rebuilding cycle. The Mariners have some young players on the brink of becoming big-time contributors -- not just Kelenic, but starter Logan Gilbert and outfielder Julio Rodriguez, with Gold Glove winners J.P. Crawford and Evan White already on the big league roster -- while the Giants will once again roll out one of the oldest lineups in the league.
Prediction: The underrated Gonzales pitches like he's in midseason form with seven good innings, and 2021 batting champ Ty France begins his season with three hits. Mariners 4, Giants 3.
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April 01, 2021 at 05:37PM
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One Opening Day, all 30 MLB teams -- Here's what we're watching in every single matchup - ESPN
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