Category Archives: MLB JERSEYS

MLB JERSEYS

Francisco Lindor returns home with a bang as Cleveland Indians beat Twins, 6-1, in Puerto Rico

It was a sound that crowds usually don’t make. It was if nearly 20,000 voices sucked air deep into their lungs and then exhaled in a giant whoosh. customized nfl jerseys cheap It almost popped the eardrums.

When Francisco Lindor came to the plate in the fifth inning Tuesday night, he wasn’t playing around. And he wasn’t trying to punch one through the right side of the infield against Jake Odorizzi at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. There were two out and Bradley Zimmer had just hit his second straight double. Lindor was going for it all.

He took a called strike and then swung hard, finding nothing but air, on the next pitch. Lindor calmed down and took three straight balls. But on Odorizzi’s next pitch, he swung from the soles of his specially-designed cleats for the Puerto Rican Series – they bore the colors of island (red, white and blue) – and hit a curveball over the right field wall to lead the Indians to a 6-1 win over the Twins.

“Not really,” he said. “Not being in fronbt of the Puerto Rican crowd like that. Yeah, it could happen in the States, and I love the Cleveland Indians fans. They support us big time, but this is where I grew up. These are my people. It’s extremely special.”216

Then, after the fuse had been lit, the Indians started to hit and didn’t stop. Jose Ramirez and Michael Brantley started the sixth with homers. It was the first time the Indians have hit consecutive homers this season. Ramirez hit a 3-2 pitch into the right field seats and Brantley followed with a first-pitch homer in the same location.

It ended Odorizzi’s night after he opened the game with four scoreless innings.

“Our goal is to win,” said manager Terry Francona, “but it was pretty cool to see Frankie come through like that and to see how the fans responded. cheap nfl jerseys china And to see how genuinely excited he was about it.”

The Indians made it 5-0 in the seventh on three consecutive two-out singles by Jason Kipnis, Ramirez and Brantley. Kipnis scored on Brantley’s single.

MLB JERSEYS

Shohei Ohtani Exits Due to Blister on Throwing Hand; Expected to Make Next Start

Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani exited early from Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, leaving after just two innings.

The team announced he developed a blister on his hand during the game.custom nfl jerseys cheap

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said he expects Ohtani to make his next start, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Scioscia also said Ohtani will be the designated hitter Thursday against the Red Sox.

The rookie had struggled before he was pulled, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks, including a leadoff home run to Mookie Betts.

Injuries are never good, but Los Angeles would feel the impact twice if Ohtani were sidelined. Not only would the Angels miss the 23-year-old’s presence in the rotation, they would also miss his bat.215

Even after his struggles Tuesday, he has a 3.60 ERA and 0.80 WHIP plus 19 strikeouts to just four walks in 15 innings as a pitcher. He is batting .367/.424/.767 with three home runs and 11 RBI.

Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Justin Upton and Zack Cozart have the bats to keep the offense going without Ohtani, but the unit ranks first in batting average and runs scored in part thanks to the phenom.

The rotation might feel an absence by Ohtani more, as it would have to make do without his stuff every sixth day. Angels starting pitchers rank 16th with a 4.08 ERA even with the Japanese star. And JC Ramirez and Matt Shoemaker are already on the disabled list.

Ohtani’s versatile skill set made him the offseason’s most coveted player. Now, customized nfl jerseys cheap the Angels will hope they don’t have to find ways to make up for his absence.

MLB JERSEYS

Albert Pujols is feeling good and hitting well for the Angels

Although Pujols may be down the Angels current depth chart of stars, he is nonetheless showing encouraging signs of bouncing back from the declining numbers of the past couple years.

Pujols had his fourth multi-hit game in the past five on Friday night. Over his previous 10 games,nfl jersey wholesale he has hit .341 with two homers and an .892 OPS. The hot start has him already within 13 hits of the 3,000-hit milestone.

The Angels had been operating under the belief that much of his trouble in 2017 — a career-worst .672 OPS — was because of two years worth of injuries to his feet. Not only did that cause discomfort, but the injuries interrupted his workout regimen and caused his conditioning to deteriorate.

Pujols, however, did not have any issues over the past winter, and a result he reported to spring training saying he had lost about 15 pounds.

Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols follows through on a foul ball to left in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Monday, April 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols follows through on a foul ball to left in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Monday, April 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The logical assumption is that his early season hot streak is related to his physical condition.

“I’m feeling great,” Pujols said after Friday’s game.

Added Manager Mike Scioscia: “I just think you are seeing him comfortable in the batter’s box. That could be related to a lot of things. He always works hard on things. He’s always trying to get his swing where he wants, and right now he has it there. He’s swinging the bat very well.”

Pujols’ health is vital to the Angels on two fronts. Besides being more productive at the plate, nfl jersey for cheap Pujols has been able to play first base more. He’s already started nine times at first, more than the six he started all last year.

 

MLB JERSEYS

Mike Trout homers as Angels extend winning streak in snowy Kansas City

Mike Trout, a well-known weather aficionado who enjoys following the progress of winter storms back home in New Jersey, apparently doesn’t mind playing in the cold.

Or snow.

Trout belted his league-leading sixth homer in the Angels’ 5-3 victory over nfl authentic jerseys cheap the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.

“It brings me back to my high school days,” Trout said. “We’d have been snowed out, though. We wouldn’t have played.”

The Angels, though, likely don’t want anything to interrupt their roll. They have won seven in a row, improving to 13-3 for the first time in franchise history. This game, however, will probably be remembered more for the snow flurries that fell for the last few innings of the game.

With a first-pitch temperature of 42 degrees, several players on both teams came out wearing ski masks under their caps, leaving only their eyes exposed.

Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout (27) celebrates with Zack Cozart after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout (27) celebrates with Zack Cozart after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

“I love snow, but it was tough,” Trout said. “It was cold. The biggest thing is the wind. The snow in your face. When that wind changed a little bit and it was blowing in your face at the plate… there were a few pitches in my last AB that I couldn’t even see.”

Aside from the brutal weather, the Angels also had to contend with Royals right-hander Jake Junis,nfl jersey wholesale an up-and-coming pitcher who hadn’t allowed a run in 14 innings in his first two starts.

Luis Valbuena took care of that streak with a 429-foot homer in the third inning. An inning later, Justin Upton belted his fourth homer of the year.

In the fifth, Trout got a slider from Junis and he crushed it, 439 feet to straightaway left, to put the Angels up 4-0.

MLB JERSEYS

Gregory Polanco, red-hot Pirates may yet thaw Pittsburgh’s heart

This winter in Pittsburgh was straight out of “Richard III.” You know the line, the one about discontent.nfl jersey for cheap  Actually, discontent might be a mild way to describe the collective frame of mind of the Pirates’ fan base.

The fans in the Steel City had every right to be upset. Fan favorite Andrew McCutchen was shipped to the Giants. Top starter Gerrit Cole sent to the champion Astros. After years of what many fans felt was a less-than-overwhelming effort by ownership to maximize Pittsburgh’s most recent window of contention, a petition was started, aimed at convincing Major League Baseball to force owner Bob Nutting to sell the team. It attracted thousands of signatures. Later, the players’ union filed a grievance accusing the Pirates and three other franchises of misusing revenue-sharing funds.

Then the season started.

Maybe, just maybe, the good people of Pittsburgh should have been more focused on the players who are still around rather than the ones the club sent packing. Players like Gregory Polanco. Because those players, during the coldest opening month in baseball in years, are collectively smoldering-hot.

“We’re having fun,” Polanco said. “We have to keep it like that.”

Polanco went deep twice at Wrigley Field on Thursday as the Pirates took the rubber match of a three-game set, beating the Cubs 6-1. Those are the bare facts, but what they signify might mean a lot more to a Pittsburgh sleeper bid for a postseason slot.

“It was a very good day for the analysts,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle joked. “Strikeouts don’t matter and the home runs count. [Polanco’s] swing has been so athletic and strong. He took some funny swings, but what I love is the short memory he’s got going on up there. One at-bat is not leaking into the next.”

OK, we’ll settle down. It’s early, early, early. Pittsburgh is 9-3 and already holds a 2?-game edge over Milwaukee in the National League Central.nfl jerseys cheap authentic But 12 games is a mere 7.4 percent of a full season. Of what is to come, we know so little. Pennants are not won on April 12.

“I think this can get overcooked,” Hurdle said after the Pirates won the series opener Tuesday. “We’ve played 10 ballgames.”

MLB JERSEYS

Yankees once again MLB’s most valuable franchise

The New York Yankees are again the most valuable team in Major League Baseball.

Forbes Magazine nfl jersey wholesale published its franchise valuations Wednesday, estimating the Yankees’ value — which has been atop Forbes’ MLB rankings for 21 straight years — at $4 billion.

Rounding out the top five are teams from big cities, including the Los Angeles Dodgers ($3 billion), Chicago Cubs ($2.9 billion), San Francisco Giants ($2.85 billion) and Boston Red Sox ($2.8 billion).

MLB franchises experienced a bump in value of a little more than 7 percent over the past year, according to Forbes estimates, a nice rise but nothing compared to the NBA, whose team values were up 22 percent in the most recent rankings.

Outside the top 5, the most interesting MLB valuation was the Miami Marlins, who were bought last year for $1.2 billion. Forbes says the team was only worth $1 billion.

The World Series champion Houston Astros saw a rise in value of $200 million, from $1.45 billion to $1.65 billion. In the process, the team leaped the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves to finish the rankings as the 11th-most valuable team this year.

The Yankees join the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys as the only teams Forbes has said are worth $4 billion. nfl jersey for cheap George Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees from CBS in 1973 for $8.8 million. Since his death in 2010, his family has retained ownership of the team.

MLB JERSEYS

Real or not? Bryce Harper is off to a $400 million start

Just last April, Bryce Harper hit .391 with nine home runs, 26 RBIs, more walks than strikeouts and a Bondsian 1.281 OPS. He hit nine home runs the next two months combined, wholesale cheap nfl jersey china then had a big July and was in the MVP running until he went down with a knee injury in August.

In 2016, he had nine home runs and 24 RBIs in April, slugged .714, had more walks than strikeouts and looked like he would repeat as National League MVP. He hit just 15 home runs the rest of the season, however, and although neither Harper nor the Nationals ever confirmed it, he likely played through some sort of shoulder issue.

In 2015, Harper had five home runs in April and 13 in May, remained healthy all season, had a big September with 10 more home runs and captured MVP honors as he led the NL in homers, runs, on-base percentage and slugging.

There’s little doubt that when Harper is healthy and locked in, he’s as good as any hitter in the game. The hard truth, however, is that he has had just one complete season at that level in his career. It was a monster season, to be sure: 10.0 WAR in that MVP campaign. The only other position players to reach 10 WAR in a season this century are Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and Mike Trout. Nonetheless, from his rookie season in 2012 through 2017, Harper ranks just 18th in WAR among position players, wedged between Kyle Seager and Freddie Freeman, two players with decidedly fewer magazine covers than Harper.

In Monday’s 8-1 win for the Nationals over the Braves, Harper blasted his third home run in two games, a 425-foot shot off lefty Sean Newcomb. He also walked four times, and even though there were two outs in the ninth when he came up for a sixth plate appearance, the Braves brought in a lefty to face him (Harper grounded out). That’s some serious respect.

In his first four games, Harper is hitting .417/.550/1.167 with six walks and no strikeouts. Yes, he has faced the Reds and then an inexperienced Atlanta starter, but that early walk ratio is perhaps a sign of big things to cheap wholesale nfl jerseys from china come for 2018. In his MVP season, Harper had 109 unintentional walks and 131 strikeouts; in 2016, it was 88 and 117; last year, that ratio dropped to 57 and 99. His chase rate increased from 25 and 24 percent the previous two seasons to 30.6 percent, which led to a higher swinging-strike rate. He still hit .319/.413/.595.

MLB JERSEYS

Brewers ship 2017 Opening Day starter Junior Guerra to minors

The Milwaukee Brewers have optioned Junior Guerra, their Opening Day starter a year ago, to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Guerra has made five spring starts and is scheduled to pitch Sunday’s Cactus League finale against the Chicago White Sox. The 33-year-old right-hander, nike nfl jerseys cheap who had a groin injury in the opener at Cincinnati last year, was hampered all season and finished with a 5.12 ERA in 70 1/3 innings. He has a 3.15 ERA in 20 spring innings.

Manager Craig Counsell said pitcher Yovani Gallardo also has been told he will not make the team. Gallardo, 32, came up with Milwaukee in 2007 and spent eight years with the Brewers, starting the 2014 opener. He was 5-10 with a 5.72 ERA for the Seattle Mariners last year.

Chase Anderson goes on Opening Day on Thursday against the San Diego Padres, and Zach Davies was already scheduled to start the Brewers’ home opener April 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Counsell said Jhoulys Chacin and lefty Brent Suter will start the final two games of the opening series in San Diego. The fifth starter will be Brandon Woodruff, but he will work out of the bullpen in San Diego, Counsell said.

Counsell said Woodruff will start in the home series against the Chicago Cubs, who follow the Cardinals to Miller Park.nfl jerseys nike cheap

Outfielders Keon Broxton and Brett Phillips also have been optioned to the minors.

MLB JERSEYS

Diamondbacks tab lefty Patrick Corbin for opening day start against Rockies

Left-hander Patrick Corbin has been chosen to start for the Arizona Diamondbacks on opening day.

Manager Torey Lovullo made the announcement Saturday. He’ll make nfl jerseys cheap authentic his first opening day start Thursday night when the Diamondbacks host Colorado — Arizona beat the Rockies last year in the NL wild-card game.

Corbin was 14-13 with a 4.03 ERA in 32 starts last season.

“I’m just excited. I’m honored to go out there. I feel well prepared and ready to go. I got all my work in that I needed to this spring,” Corbin said.

The opportunity for Corbin arose from a groin injury to Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke, who is still working his way back to full strength. Greinke was recently ruled out for opening day.

Greinke threw a quick bullpen session on Saturday morning and Lovullo hopes he will be ready to pitch the third game of the season-opening series against the Rockies.

Left-hander Robbie Ray was also seriously considered, but Lovullo chose to keep him on his spring schedule.

“A very well-deserved honor,” Lovullo said of choosing Corbin. “Told him, `That’s a lot of hard work and dedication that got you back to this moment.”

The 28-year-old Corbin was in line to be the opening day starter in 2014, coming off a 14-8 record during an nike nfl jerseys cheap All-Star season in 2013. But he suffered an injury in his throwing arm during a spring training game and had to have Tommy John surgery.

Corbin missed all of the 2014 season and part of 2015, and went 5-13 with a 5.15 ERA in 2016. He was moved to the bullpen that year.

MLB JERSEYS

‘Here we go. Don’t miss it!’ Aaron Judge plans to ‘hunt mistakes’ — and make pitchers pay

Mired in a post-All-Star Game slump many were quick to blame on his victorious appearance in the Home Run Derby, Aaron Judge searched for answers.

Was it his swing? Did his desire to showcase his power in the derby dramatically affect his launch angle in the games that followed?cheap nfl jersey shop Was he trying to live up to his home run hitting hype from the season’s first half, and muscle out every pitch he saw?

No, no and no.

As he reviewed the swings he had taken and the pitch counts he faced, the New York Yankees right fielder came to a simple conclusion: He was chasing far too many “good pitches” from opposing pitchers.

Instead, he needed to go after their mistakes. The revelation resulted in a September turnaround he’s hoping will continue this whole season.01

Recently, he has replicated it well, smacking a trio of hard base hits in consecutive games this past weekend. If he keeps doing that, 2018 could be as good — if not better — for the reigning American League Rookie of the Year.

“That was the biggest thing, just hunting the mistakes,” Judge said. “Don’t try to go out there where the good pitch is. Try to hunt those mistakes that people leave out there — because there’s a lot of mistakes over the middle.”

According to ESPN Stats & Information, cheap nfl gear for men in 55 games from July 14 (the Yankees’ first game after the All-Star break) to Sept. 12 last year, Judge hit .185 with 11 home runs and a .392 slugging percentage. In the next 16 regular-season games, he batted .385 and led baseball with 11 home runs and a 1.115 slugging percentage.