Tag: Dallas Keuchel

Former Razorbacks pitcher Ryne Stanek wins World Series ring

Ryne Stanek was an Arkansas’ ace. Now he’s a World Series champion with the Houston Astros.

Former Arkansas pitcher Ryne Stanek is a World Series champion.

His Houston Astros team beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1, on Saturday night to win the franchise’s second World Series. The Astros won the series 4-2.

Stanek, a reliever, pitched in two of the six games, registering an inning total with two strikeouts. For the season the 31-year-old right-hander pitched 54 2/3 innings with a 1.15 earned-run average and a 1.23 WHIP. His 2.2 WAR was a career high.

Stanek pitched for the Diamond Hogs for three seasons from 2011-13. His senior year he started 16 games, throwing 97 1/3 innings with a 1.39 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Arkansas lost in the Kansas State Regional to end the season.

Houston’s title is the second in franchise history. The Astros’ first came in 2017. Former Arkansas pitcher Dallas Keuchel was a part of that team.

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Former Razorback gets start in “Field of Dreams” game

The Chicago Cubs will go to former Razorback Drew Smyly on the mound as they face the Cincinnati Reds in the “Field of Dreams” game Thursday night.

Two Major League Baseball clubs will play a game on Thursday night in… Iowa?

The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds will open a three-game series on Thursday in Dyersville, Iowa, with the first game being on the site of the 1989 film “Field of Dreams.”

As the Cubs take the field, they will turn to former Razorback, LHP [autotag]Drew Smyly[/autotag] on the mound to go to battle with the Reds. Smyly, in 14 starts this season, holds a record of 4-6 with a 3.97 ERA and 52 strikeouts over 65.2 innings pitched.

Last season, he became the fifth former Razorback to win a World Series, as he was a member of the Atlanta Braves’ championship club in 2021. He joins [autotag]Andrew Benintendi[/autotag], [autotag]Dallas Keuchel[/autotag], [autotag]Eric Hinske[/autotag], and [autotag]Dick Hughes[/autotag] as those who accomplished that feat.

On the other side, Arkansas will also be represented on the Cincinnati Reds. Second baseman [autotag]Matt Reynolds[/autotag] is currently on the 40-man roster for the Reds, and has recorded three home runs and 18 RBI. Reynolds was a part of Arkansas’ roster from 2010-12, and was a teammate of Smyly’s for one season in 2010.

The Cubs and Reds meet in the “Field of Dreams” game Thursday night at 6:15 p.m. CT on FOX.

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Former Arkansas ace Dallas Keuchel signed by Rangers

Former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel has a new professional home.

Dallas Keuchel is back close to home.

The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native and former Arkansas ace signed with the Texas Rangers on Monday. The deal is a minor-league one and he will begin in Triple-A Round Rock.

Keuchel is a two-time All-Star and the 2015 Cy Young Award winner. He won the 2017 World Series with the Houston Astros, where he spent the first seven seasons of his Major League career.

This year, he has pitched for the Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks before both teams released him. He went 2-5 with a 7.88 earned-run average with the Sox and was 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA with the Diamondbacks before his release.

Keuchel played with Arkansas from 2007-2009, helping the Diamond Hogs to the 2009 College World Series as the team’s ace.

Former Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is only a little sorry about the cheating scandal

Former Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who won a World Series with the team, offered a lame apology for the Astros’ sign stealing scheme.

White Sox pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who won a World Series and earned an All-Star selection with the Houston Astros in 2017, offered a half-hearted apology for the team’s massive cheating scandal – but also hinted that the Astros were only doing what was customary across the league at the time. Keuchel addressed the media at a White Sox event on Friday and downplayed the Astros’ sign stealing, saying it was “it was never intended to be what it’s made to be” now – that the team has been caught and both the GM and manager have been fired.

According to Keuchel, the actions the Astros took were simply in line with “the state of baseball.”

“When there’s nobody on base, when in the history of Major League Baseball has there been multiple signs? You can go back and watch film of every team in the playoffs, there were probably six of eight teams using multiple signs. It’s just what the state of baseball was at that point in time. Was it against the rules? Yes it was. And I personally am sorry for what’s come about the whole situation. It is what it is and we’ve got to move past that. I never thought anything would have come like it did. I, myself, am sorry, but it’s we’ve just got to move on.”

Keuchel also claimed that the Astros weren’t always effective at the plate even when stealing signs, and there were some pitchers over the course of the year that the team couldn’t hit anyway. He confusingly described the system as something that “really works,” but only “a little bit.”

“So at that point that’s when the whole system, it really works, a little bit, but at the same time, there was a human element where some guys were better than our hitters.”

Keuchel also made it clear that he doesn’t approve of former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers acting as a whistleblower, citing the sanctity of the clubhouse.

Many baseball fans aren’t buying Keuchel’s attempt at an apology.

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