Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto homered as Japan won the World Baseball Classic, defeating the United States 3-2 on Tuesday night. Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning, getting Mookie Betts to bounce into a double play before striking out LosAngeles Angels teammate Mike Trout.
Clayton Kershaw has started nine times on opening day in his career, though just once in the last four years. Despite being limited to just 22 starts last season due to SI joint inflammation and lower back pain, Kershaw continued to impress in his age-34 season. Health-wise, Kershaw has stated that he feels ready to go for the 2023 season if it were to start today, as Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports. Kershaw is slated to start in Sunday's exhibition matchup against the Angels, and if he were to do so, it would set him up for a start the second game of the regular season, on four days of rest.
If you want to look for excuses, there are a few: Noah Syndergaard is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, he had a boo-boo on his finger and the mound was wet on Tuesday. “I knew from the get-go when I was warming up in the bullpen that when I tried to use my legs, I didn't have any footing,” Syndergaard said via the L.A. Times. Mets fans remember Syndergaard — 6-foot-6 with his hair flowing from beneath his cap — overpowering hitter over five seasons in New York.
No | Player | Pos |
---|---|---|
38 | P | |
52 | P | |
63 | P | |
21 | P | |
64 | P | |
45 | P | |
26 | P | |
81 | P | |
48 | P | |
78 | P | |
41 | P | |
94 | P | |
22 | P | |
85 | P | |
18 | P | |
40 | P | |
47 | P | |
59 | P | |
27 | P | |
43 | P | |
49 | P | |
7 | P | |
51 | P |
No | Player | Pos |
---|---|---|
15 | C | |
16 | C |
No | Player | Pos |
---|---|---|
5 | 1B | |
60 | 3B | |
9 | SS | |
13 | 3B | |
11 | SS | |
3 | 2B | |
17 | 2B |
No | Player | Pos |
---|---|---|
50 | RF | |
28 | LF | |
77 | CF | |
6 | LF | |
25 | CF | |
12 | CF |