Shohei Ohtani is a pretty big fan of Bryce Harper, who is in town to play the crosstown Dodgers this weekend. Ohtani, through his interpreter: "It's hard to say exactly how much I try to model his swing. But he's a lefty just like me; he's a great hitter with a great approach, so I try to take all the good parts."
Shohei Ohtani: "Generally I handle changeups pretty decently, but today they threw a lot, and it was kind of different from how the other pitchers were pitching against me."
Shohei Ohtani said through his interpreter that his blister is "healing pretty well" and will throw his between-starts bullpen when he normally does, two days before his scheduled start. No word on when that start will come, but probably in Houston early next week.
The Red Sox sweep the Angels by a combined score of 27-3. They're the first team to start 16-2 since the 1987 Brewers, even though their starting middle infield is on the disabled list.
Shohei Ohtani, fooled by left-handed changeups in earlier at-bats, was really late on a 98-mph fastball from right-hander Joe Kelly and strikes out for the third time tonight. He's 0-for-4, but is still batting .324.
Real or not? Jake Arrieta is back, the NL East is interesting es.pn/2Hdw9mm
Andrelton Simmons shows, once again, why nobody does it better. Dives to his left and glove-flips to second to start an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. Great turn by Ian Kinsler to get Eduardo Nunez, who is not slow.
Shohei Ohtani hit a sharp groundout in his first at-bat and struck out swinging on an inside-corner changeup his next time up. He's now 11-for-32 on the year. He carried a pretty high strikeout rate in Japan.
Jake Arrieta generated 14 swings and misses against the Pirates on Thursday after recording only nine in his... espn.com/espn/now?nowId…
Jake Arrieta generated 14 swings and misses against the Pirates on Thursday after recording only nine in his first two starts with the Phillies.
OK, it's only the 18th game for Boston, but Mookie Betts is at .400/.493/.817 after hitting his second leadoff home run of the series against the Angels and that's an awesome line. He already has 21 runs, tied with Johnny Pesky (1950) and Ted Williams (1942) for most by a Red Sox player through 18 games.
The Red Sox in Anaheim: 10 home runs before the first out of the 19th inning.
About the passed ball that led to one of the two unearned runs CC Sabathia allowed, the pitcher took the blame. "My fault, my mistake, we got crossed up." He said he saw the sign he wanted to see instead of what Gary Sanchez actually put down.
On CC Sabathia's 71-pitch outing, in which he didn't allow an earned run, Aaron Boone said: "He gave us what we needed." The Yankees weren't going to work him much beyond 70 or 80 pitches tonight, Boone added.
NBA, MLB altering their relationships with daily fantasy operators, as FanDuel and DraftKings eye legalized sports… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
A late Aaron Judge insurance home run proved necessary for the Yankees. It came a half inning before the Blue Jays threatened with a rally in the eighth. After limiting Toronto to one run in that inning, the Yankees opened the series with a 4-3 win Thursday night in the Bronx. Aroldis Chapman was lights out in the ninth, striking out the side. Giancarlo Stanton, who had been struggling at home, snapped a 0-for-15 hitting slump when he reached on an infield single. He also avoided striking out for the first time in four games. It's the second strikeout-free game he's had at home this season.
The early-season problems for Matt Harvey continue: espn.com/mlb/boxscore?g…
Angels manager Mike Scioscia, on moving Shohei Ohtani up to sixth: "I just think, where our lineup is right now, just looking at some of the groupings, it's a good spot for Shohei."
Shohei Ohtani getting ready to take his round of BP. Teammates were instantly impressed with the way the ball jumps off his bat. Some say they've never seen anything like it.
Charlie Morton might not have the name recognition of his high-profile teammates, but the man has been nothing shor… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
The Yankees announced today their new "Honor Row" initiative, a project that will honor various community groups monthly throughout the season by allowing them to sit in the Judge's Chambers in right. A group of Bronx public school students and teachers will be the first 18 Honor Row honorees next Thursday when the Yankees host the Twins in a day game.
Clint Frazier (concussion) continues progressing, according to Aaron Boone. The Yankees OF is "working out full bore" with the Yankees' affiliate in Tampa on Thursday night, per Boone. He'll be taking batting practice and doing some defensive work. Perhaps "in the very near future" he'll appear in games, Boone said. He also said Greg Bird (ankle) and Brandon Drury (blurred vision are taking positive steps getting on-field work, too. "So hopefully guys are starting to tread in the right way, and obviously looking forward to getting a lot of those guys back in the mix."
