Personal Award - Baseball Wiretap

Pete Crow-Armstrong became the first player in Major League Baseball to hit for the cycle this season Monday, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 5-4 comeback victory over the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field.

The 24-year-old center fielder completed the feat in reverse order, opening with a leadoff home run before adding a triple in the third inning, a double in the fifth and a single in the seventh. His first three hits came against Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen, with the final knock off reliever Antonio Senzatela.

Crow-Armstrong is the 13th player in Cubs franchise history to hit for the cycle and the youngest to do so since Randy Hundley in 1966. He is only the fourth player in the divisional era to complete the cycle in reverse order.

"I'm proud of myself for the work I've been doing over the last few weeks, over the course of the year, really," Crow-Armstrong said.

Despite the individual milestone, Crow-Armstrong was critical of himself after getting picked off base immediately following his cycle-completing single.

"I did everything I could to help the team, but I also had a real lapse in focus, and that really could have hurt us tonight," said Crow-Armstrong. "I know it's a rare feat. Hard to answer questions like those when the game just ended, and I'm processing a lot."

Crow-Armstrong has been scorching lately, collecting 13 hits across his previous six games, eight of which went for extra bases. His OPS climbed to .845 following Monday's performance.

Chicago rallied from a 4-3 deficit in the ninth inning when Matt Shaw scored the winning run on a bases-loaded walk. It was the Cubs' ninth walk-off win, the most in the majors.

Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski threw a 103.7 mph pitch Saturday night against the Colorado Rockies, the fastest by a starter since tracking began in 2008.

The 24-year-old right-hander's record-setting pitch was low and outside to Kyle Karros in the third inning.

"It's one of those things: It is what it is," Misiorowski said. "I'm going to keep going, trying to get strikeouts, and if that's what it takes to get strikeouts, then so be it."

Lee Mazzilli and Bobby Valentine, longtime friends, former roommates and New York Mets teammates who represent two different eras of the franchise, were still finishing each other's sentences when they were inducted into the team's Hall of Fame before Saturday's game against the Miami Marlins.

"When we were rooming together, we couldn't imagine us sitting in the room at nighttime and saying ..." Mazzilli said before Valentine interrupted him. 

"Because we never sat in the room at nighttime," Valentine said with a laugh.

Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom earned his 1,900th career strikeout in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, becoming the second-fastest pitcher to that milestone by games and innings.

Seiya Suzuki struck out swinging on a 91.3 mph slider to end the inning after Moisés Ballesteros swung and missed on a 98.1 mph fastball for the second out.

The Reds signed Brandon Phillips to a ceremonial one-day contract Saturday to ensure the four-time Gold Glove Award winner would retire with the team.

"It was a dream come true," Phillips said. "For me to officially retire, this was the only place I wanted to do it. For this to really happen, this is where I wanted to be. This is my home."

Jose Ramirez entered exclusive company Monday night.

The Guardians' All-Star third baseman played in his 1,620th game, becoming Cleveland's franchise leader in games played.

Ramirez not only surpassed Terry Turner's mark, which stood more than 108 years, he also became the only active player to lead his team in games played.

Shohei Ohtani is entering the 2026 season with a clear objective beyond staying healthy, which is winning the NL Cy Young Award. Teammates and coaches at Los Angeles Dodgers spring training have taken notice of the 31-year-old's heightened focus on the mound.

"He wants a Cy Young," Dodgers backup catcher Dalton Rushing said. "He wants a Cy Young, and you can tell with the way he's carrying himself here recently."

Ohtani reached 98 mph during his first simulated inning against hitters on Feb. 17. Pitching coach Mark Prior and team president Andrew Friedman were among those observing.

"He seems like he's on a mission, pitching-wise," Friedman said. "Whenever we've seen him on a mission, good things happen."

Ohtani holds four unanimous MVP awards over the past five seasons. A Cy Young remains the only major individual honor he has not captured. Between elbow surgeries from 2021 to 2023, he posted a 2.84 ERA across 428⅓ innings with the Angels, a mark only two qualified pitchers in that span bettered.

His return to pitching last season was measured, beginning with single-inning outings in June and building to five innings by late August. He finished with a 3.34 ERA, 90 strikeouts and 16 walks across 67⅓ innings, including playoffs.

Prior noted Ohtani's between-inning engagement stood out immediately. Rather than resting, Ohtani reviewed pitch sequencing and hitter tendencies with his catcher and coach after every frame.

"Most guys will take a breather," Prior said. "He'll start rattling off and start talking about what's going on because he knows obviously, his time's limited."

The Dodgers are not expected to push Ohtani beyond 25 starts this season. Despite that limitation, his teammates remain confident the results will be extraordinary.

"There's no ceiling with him," catcher Will Smith said. "He can go out there and win a Cy Young this year. I have no doubt about that."

The New York Yankees will retire CC Sabathia's No. 52 and install a Monument Park plaque in a ceremony scheduled for Sept. 26, the club announced Wednesday. The Hall of Fame left-hander becomes the 24th player or manager in franchise history to receive the honor and the first since Paul O'Neill in 2022.

Sabathia pitched 11 seasons in pinstripes after signing as a free agent ahead of the 2009 campaign, posting a 134-88 record with a 3.81 ERA across 306 starts.

His defining contribution came during New York's 2009 championship run. Sabathia posted a 1.98 ERA over 36 1/3 innings across five postseason appearances and earned AL Championship Series MVP honors.

Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera are the other members of that 2009 World Series title team to have their numbers retired by the franchise.

Sabathia finished his career with a 251-161 record, 3.74 ERA, and 3,093 strikeouts — placing him among only four left-handers in history to surpass 3,000 punchouts, alongside Randy Johnson, Clayton Kershaw, and Steve Carlton. He won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award with Cleveland.

"CC was an incredible competitor, teammate and leader who embodied the heart and soul of our team and this city," Yankees captain Aaron Judge said when Sabathia was elected to the Hall of Fame last year.

Since retiring after the 2019 season, Sabathia has served as a special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred. Cleveland inducted him into its own Hall of Fame and dedicated a youth baseball field in his honor in 2024.

Shohei Ohtani launched his first full two-way spring training Friday at the Los Angeles Dodgers' Camelback Ranch complex, throwing 27 pitches off a mound before more than 450 onlookers, marking the beginning of what the two-time defending champions expect to be his most complete season yet.

Ohtani is coming off his first healthy offseason since joining Los Angeles on a $700 million contract in December 2023, having returned to the mound last June following a second elbow surgery. The Cy Young Award, the one major honor he has not captured, dominated early camp conversation.

"If at the end, the result is getting a Cy Young, that's great," Ohtani said through an interpreter. "Getting a Cy Young means being able to throw more innings and being able to pitch throughout the whole season, so if that's the end result, that's a good sign for me. What I'm more focused on is just being healthy the whole year."

"There's certainly a lot more in there," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Regardless of my expectations for him, his are going to exceed those. I think it's fair to say he expects to be in the Cy Young conversation. But we just want him to be healthy and make starts. All the numbers and statistics will take care of themselves."

Ohtani posted a 2.87 ERA across 47 innings last season before making four postseason starts. Between elbow procedures, he went 34-16 with a 2.84 ERA for the Angels from 2021 to 2023, finishing fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022.

He arrived at the facility in early February and had already completed several bullpen sessions before camp opened publicly. Ohtani hopes to face live hitters as soon as next week and appears on track to join the rotation by Opening Day. He will hit but not pitch for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Entering his age-31 season, Ohtani owns four unanimous MVPs in five years, two Silver Slugger awards and back-to-back World Series rings with Los Angeles.

Carlos Beltrán will have a New York Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, Andruw Jones will have an Atlanta Braves hat and Jeff Kent will have a San Francisco Giants logo.

The Hall announced its decisions Tuesday, two weeks after Beltrán and Jones were elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Kent was voted to the Hall in December by the contemporary era committee.

Inductions will take place July 26.