Tag: Washington Nationals

Nationals star Juan Soto tests positive for COVID-19, will miss season opener against Yanks

Washington Nationals star Juan Soto has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and will miss the season opener against the Yankees. 

(Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Well, this isn’t a good sign.

Washington Nationals star outfielder Juan Soto has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and will miss the season opener against the Yankees.

The Nationals’ General Manager Mike Rizzo made the report and stated that  Soto is on the COVID-19 IL after a positive test and is asymptomatic and that Soto needs two negative tests to return to playing again.

Sarah Langs, from MLB.com, has this report.

 

 

 

Gators News: July 23, 2020

Today is the big day for pro sports as MLB kicks off its truncated 60-game schedule tonight after the season was postponed due to COVID-19. 

Today is the big day for professional sports as Major League Baseball kicks off its truncated 60-game schedule tonight after the season was postponed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Four teams open the season today — the other 26 will start Friday — but the matchups should both be good ones, with the World Series Champion Washington Nationals hosting the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers welcoming the San Francisco Giants.

Here is a look at a few of Florida’s incoming recruits.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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MLB Parlay Bet Payday: Bank on this 5-way parlay bet

Looking to cash in on MLB’s 2020 Opening Day? Bank on this 5-way parlay bet in the return of baseball.

The 2020 MLB season is here and betting odds are up at BetMGM for the Thursday and Friday Opening Day slates. At SportsbookWire, we’ve previewed all the teams, looked at all the top 2020 award contenders and made our best bets for all player props for the 60-game season. Below, we’ll look at the opening game lines and make our best picks in a 5-way parlay bet.

MLB Opening Day Parlay: Picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday, July 21 at 9:25 a.m. ET.

New York Yankees at Washington Nationals: UNDER 7.5 (-110)

Gerrit Cole will make his Yankees debut in a marquee pitching matchup with the defending World Series champions and SP Max Scherzer.

The Yankees and Nationals ranked first and sixth, respectively, in runs scored last season, but two of the best pitchers in MLB will have the early edge over all hitters in this delayed start to the season.

Baseball season is finally here! Get some action on the 2020 season with an MLB Opening Day bet at BetMGM in NJ, IN, CO and WV. Bet now!

Atlanta Braves at New York Mets: ATL moneyline (+115)

Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom will get the opening start at home for the Mets after dealing with a back injury throughout summer camp.

Look for the Braves to pounce early in what’s already likely to be a shortened outing for deGrom and get to a Mets bullpen that pitched to an aggregate 4.99 ERA last season. SP Mike Soroka gets the call for the Braves.

Detroit Tigers at Cincinnati Reds: CIN -1.5 (+110)

One of the most lopsided Opening Day matchups sees a popular NL Central darkhorse contender hosting a Tigers team widely projected to finish last in baseball. The universal designated hitter rule will help the Reds more than the Tigers in this interleague set.

Cincinnati should win this easily by two or more runs with Sonny Gray on the mound against Matthew Boyd.

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Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox: MIN moneyline (+105)

The hype has built around the young White Sox through the winter, spring and summer and now has them favored on Opening Day against the defending American League Central champions. Stick with the known entity in what we saw from the Twins last year instead of expecting instant results from one of 2020’s most popular long-shot bets.

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics: LAA moneyline (+120)

Conversely, we’ll take the Angels over the Athletics, who qualified for the 2019 postseason as an AL wild-card team. 3B Anthony Rendon was one of the biggest free-agent additions of the offseason and bolsters the Angels’ lineup around OF Mike Trout. OF Justin Upton and SP/DH Shohei Ohtani are also back to full health following injury-shortened 2019 campaigns. Expect the Halos to start strong this season.

MLB Opening Day Parlay: Payout

The above five picks combine for odds of +3787. A $10 bet will return a profit of $378.74 if all five legs hit correctly.

Want action on MLB Opening Day? Sign up and bet at BetMGM. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @EstenMcLaren on Twitter, and follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter and Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci to throw out first pitch for Washington Nationals

Dr. Anthony Fauci will throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Washington Nationals.

The Washington Nationals appreciate all the guidance, work and pitches Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci has been doing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

So much so, in fact, the team has invited Dr. Fauci to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at its Opening Day game on July 23.

No word on whether the good doctor is a righty, or, lefty.

Nationals’ Sean Doolittle gives honest thoughts on bringing baseball back during a pandemic

“Sports are like the reward of a functional society,” Sean Doolittle said.

Major League Baseball’s 2020 season is set to begin later this month, but players are, understandably, proceeding with caution as some areas of the United States struggle to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

As of Friday, 31 players tested positive for COVID-19 in the league’s first round of testing, and the list of players who are opting out of the shortened season continues to grow.

Washington Nationals manager Davey Martinez said Sunday that two of 60 Nationals players tested positive so far, but some are still waiting for their results. Pitcher Sean Doolittle also spoke with reporters Sunday and explained that he was tested for COVID-19 on Friday and Sunday, despite still not yet receiving his test results from Friday, The Washington Post‘s Jesse Dougherty reported.

More from USA TODAY Sports‘ Bob Nightengale:

However, just because Doolittle is leaning toward playing for the abbreviated season, he still has some concerns about the safety of players — and fans, should they be able to attend games at some point.

When asked about owners talking about possibly having fans at ballparks later this season, Doolittle offered a thoughtful answer about sports returning during the pandemic and what people can and have a responsibility to do. Simply: “Please wear a mask.”

The left-handed reliever said:

“It does, like, bring to mind kind of where we’re at in our response to this as a country. Like, we’re trying to bring baseball back during a pandemic that’s killed 130,000 people [in the U.S.] We’re way worse off as a country than where we were in March when we shut this thing down. And like, look at where other developed countries are in their response to this. We haven’t done any of the things that other countries have done to bring sports back. Sports are like the reward of a functional society, and we’re trying to just bring it back, even though we’ve taken none of the steps to flatten the curve, whatever you want to say.

“We did flatten the curve for a little bit, but we didn’t use that time to do anything productive. We just opened back up for Memorial Day. We decided we’re done with it. Like, if there aren’t sports, it’s gonna be because people are not wearing masks because the response to this has been so politicized.

“We need help from the general public. If they want to watch baseball, please wear a mask, social distance, keep washing your hands. Like, we can’t just have virus fatigue and think, ‘Well, it’s been four months. We’re over it. This has been enough time, right? We’ve waited long enough, shouldn’t sports come back now?’

“No, there are things we have to do in order to bring this stuff back. And now you want to bring fans back? Is that safe? I mean, I don’t know. I’m not a public health expert. But we should probably defer to them on some of these issues. So I don’t know if it’s safe or not. I really don’t know. But that doesn’t seem like something that — I don’t know if that feels like a good idea or not.”

Afterward, Doolittle expanded on his thoughts about player safety with a short Twitter thread Sunday. As The Athletic‘s Britt Ghiroli reported, Doolittle said the Nationals don’t have the PPE, including masks, that they should.

And on Twitter, he explained he’s sharing his concerns because he wants baseball to return but also wants people to be safe.

Players reported to training camp on July 1, and the 2020 MLB season is expected to being on July 23 or 24. The regular season should have 60 games in 66 days, setting up the postseason for late September or early October.

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2020 MLB Futures Odds: How many games will the Washington Nationals win?

Looking at 2020 MLB futures odds for how many games the Washington Nationals will win in the 60-game MLB season.

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How many games will the Washington Nationals win in the 60-game 2020 MLB season? We look at the Nationals’ MLB futures betting odds, including their projected 2020 win total and Over/Under odds at BetMGM, and make our best bet.

Washington Nationals 2019 recap

The Nationals snuck into the 2019 postseason at 93-69 as the first National League wild-card team. They went on to win the World Series in seven games over the heavily-favored Houston Astros. They ranked sixth in all of baseball with 873 runs scored in the regular season. The aggregate 3.53 ERA from their starting pitchers ranked second to only the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Nats went 84-83-12 against the Over/Under for bettors last season, including the postseason. Their 102-77 combined record against the run line was the second-best cover percentage at 57 percent.

Washington Nationals offseason

The Nationals lost arguably their best batter for the second offseason in a row, as 3B Anthony Rendon left via free agency to join the Los Angeles Angels. 2B Starlin Castro and 1B Eric Thames signed as free agents. RP Will Harris was signed to bolster a bullpen that was an obvious weakness in 2019.

1B Ryan Zimmerman and P Joe Ross, per USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale, have decided not to take part in the season.

Also see:

Washington Nationals 2020 schedule

The Nationals’ 60-game schedule will include 40 games against NL East opponents, which Washington went 44-32 against last season. The division will be strong in 2020, with the Atlanta Braves remaining the top contender and all three of the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins set to improve on disappointing season.

The Nats will also play 20 games against the American League East. The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays are the top contenders, there, while the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles present win opportunities.

Baseball season is finally here! Get some action on the 2020 season with an MLB futures bet at BetMGM in NJ, IN, CO and WV. Bet now!

How many games will the Washington Nationals win in 2020?

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday, July 1 at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The Nationals’ 2020 win total is set at 33.5 with -110 odds on both the Over and Under. The OVER (-110) is the play at a conservative line for the World Series champs. The rotation remains one of the best in baseball, and the likes of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin will be leaned on heavily in the abbreviated season.

Washington Nationals World Series odds

Washington is +2000 to win the 2020 World Series. It shares the sixth-best overall odds with the Tampa Bay Rays, while trailing only the Braves (+1400) among NL East teams. It is well worth a bet with a $10 investment returning a profit of $200.

Washington Nationals playoff odds

Following suit of the World Series odds, the Nationals trail only the Braves (+180) in the odds to win the NL East at +240. This is worth another wager, as the champs have had an extended period to recover from their World Series hangover and won’t face the added pressure of opposing fans.

Want action on any 2020 MLB futures? Sign up and bet at BetMGM. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @EstenMcLaren on Twitter, and follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter and Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Oklahoma’s Brady Lindsly picked No. 123 by Washington Nationals

The unexpected did hit OU baseball during the 2020 MLB Draft. The Washington Nationals selected Brady Lindsly in the fourth-round. 

The unexpected did hit Oklahoma baseball during the 2020 MLB Draft.

Among the names expected to be called were all the starting pitchers and highly-touted signees Ed Howard and Daxton Fulton. Not even Oklahoma baseball included any other names besides Cade Cavalli, Levi Prater and Dane Acker on its MLB Draft central page.

Catcher Brady Lindsly was Cavalli’s battery mate for the last two season. The two will get to continue that.

The Washington Nationals selected Lindsly with the 123rd pick in the fourth-round of the 2020 MLB Draft.

A senior from Keller, Texas, Lindsly was a fixture for Oklahoma baseball in all four seasons. He was expected to return for the 2021 season after the NCAA , but the Washington Nationals had other plans. In four seasons, Lindsly made 121 starts and 148 appearances.

Off to a slower start to 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic shut things down for college baseball, the left-handed hitting catcher hit .291 in 2019 as a junior with five home runs and 35 RBI.

Oklahoma will return budding catcher Justin Mitchell in 2021.

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Oklahoma’s Cade Cavalli picked No. 22 overall by Washington Nationals in 2020 MLB Draft

Cade Cavalli came to Oklahoma as a two-way player as a hitter and a right-handed arm. He leaves as the No. 22 pick by Washington.

For the second time in three years, an Oklahoma baseball player has been selected in the first round of the MLB Draft. For the second time in eight years, an Oklahoma pitcher has been selected in the the first round of the MLB Draft.

Cade Cavalli came to the Sooners as a two-way player as a power-hitter and a power-right handed arm. He leaves as the No. 22 pick by the Washington Nationals in the 2020 MLB Draft.

The Bixby, Oklahoma, native was Oklahoma’s Friday night starter as a sophomore and a junior. Before the coronavirus pandemic shut things down, Cavalli struck out 37 hitters in 23.2 innings pitched and only walked five batter in 2020.

His sophomore year performance lead to a USA Collegiate National Team selection. Cavalli boasted a 5-3 record with 59 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched and only walking 35 batters. He played both ways as a sophomore in 2019, hitting .319 with four home runs and 17 RBI.

Kyler Murray was the last first round selection by Oklahoma as the No. 9 pick by the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 MLB Draft. Jonathan Gray was the last pitcher selected in the first round by Oklahoma as the No. 3 overall pick by the Colorado Rockies in the 2013 MLB Draft.

The Sooners are set to return southpaw and Saturday starter Levi Prater and dominant reliever and fourth starter Wyatt Olds in 2021. Sunday starter Dane Acker is expected to get picked in the 2020 MLB Draft and take the offer.

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The math — not ‘Baby Shark’ — was the quirkiest thing about the Nationals’ World Series rings

How did 108 diamonds add up?

Like many folks, I paid a lot of attention to the Washington Nationals engraving Baby Shark on their 2019 World Series rings.

It’s a neat little quirk and one that makes a lot of sense given how Nats fans and the team rallied around Gerardo Parra’s walk-up tune during the run to a title.

But then, like others, I also scratched my head a little bit when looking at how the franchise added up all the jewels embedded in the ring. These days, the numbers usually carry significance — the total wins on the way to a title, for example.

The Nats’ math? It feels like a little bit of a stretch, particularly adding up 108 diamonds (105 wins total, a World Series title and 2 for “a nod to the duality of franchise history”? What? What do the Expos have to do with anything here?)

Still, nice work on the rings.

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Astros Alex Bregman leaves Klutch Sports after LeBron’s Astros doc announced

Houston Astros star Alex Bregman was one of the biggest names in the new baseball division of Klutch Sports.

It appears that for one of the first times, at least in a publicly available setting, LeBron James’ businesses had a little bit of a conflict of interest, which played out earlier this week involving his sports media company UNINTERRUPTED and the relatively new baseball division of Klutch Sports.

It was announced on Friday that UNINTERRUPTED would be producing a new documentary for Quibi that focuses on the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal that rocked the sports world earlier this winter. Among the featured guests in the show will be a former Astros rival and New York Yankees ace pitcher C.C. Sabathia.

Then on Tuesday, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that Houston Astros star Alex Bregman, one of the biggest baseball clients announced by Klutch in the winter, has fired agent Brodie Scofield, who runs the baseball division of Klutch Sports. The report said the documentary wasn’t the only reason, but that it was certainly “the last straw,” in the relationship between Bregman and Scofield.

Growth often comes at a cost and while UNINTERRUPTED continues to be a growing brand in the media landscape, that growth came at the cost of Klutch losing one of its biggest baseball clients. However, although Bregman is a great player, we already know how LeBron feels about the Astros. He probably doesn’t consider it much of a loss.

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