Neuigkeiten » www.angelsfanproshop.com

WEST PALM BEACH Huston Street Jersey , Fla. (AP) — Even if Trevor Rosenthal isn’t closing for Washington, he’ll take the mound believing he is.“I think that’s what ultimately allowed me to be successful as a closer is I just have one mentality, one approach,” Rosenthal said. “I approach every single inning kind of like I’m closing. I think that’s ultimately allowed me to be successful and I plan on keeping that same approach in the future.”Rosenthal saved 93 games for St. Louis in 2014 and 2015 combined, but the Cardinals released him following the 2017 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery.The righty didn’t pitch in 2018 and signed a one year, $8 millon contract with the Nationals in October. He arrived at camp ready to fire.In his first appearance of the spring, Rosenthal hit triple digits on the scoreboard’s radar gun. The Nationals have encouraged him to back off a bit as he prepares to pitch in a major league game for the first time since August 2017.“He’s been going great,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “He wants to amp it up. It’s more important for me that his mechanics are good to keep his arm strong.”Opponents who survive the three aces at the top of Washington’s rotation — Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin —will still have to navigate a trio of closers late in games.In Sean Doolittle, Kyle Barraclough and Rosenthal the Nationals have three experienced closing arms at the back end of a bullpen that pitched to a 4.05 ERA last season, 15th best in baseball.It starts — or, in this case http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey , ends — with Doolittle.“He’s our closer,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said.A two-time All-Star, Doolittle saved 35 games for Washington last season and 28 the year prior. With Rosenthal sharing the same bullpen, Martinez intends to occasionally use the left-handed Doolittle to match up against lefties in earlier innings.“Having three guys that take that closer mentality into whatever inning that they pitch could really shorten the game,” Doolittle said.Acquired in an October trade, Barraclough saved 10 games for Miami last season.“In a perfect world you have Bear, Rosenthal, Doolittle,” Martinez said, indicating the order the trio would appear in games. “But there’s going to be certain situations in the game where I’d rather see Rosenthal facing this group of hitters and then Barraclough facing the next group of hitters.”Washington cleared some room in its bullpen by releasing left-hander Sammy Solis on Saturday. Solis posted a 6.41 ERA in 56 appearances for the Nationals last season and owns a career 4.51 ERA over four seasons with Washington. At the All-Star Break, there are two divisional races I have my eye on.The Yankees bullpen should give them an edge over the Red Sox down the stretch.The same can be said for the Diamondbacks against the Dodgers and I think the Snakes have value at +373 to win the NL West.The All-Star Game is tonight, and while it’s a good distraction from the grind of the MLB season — for both players and bettors alike — it is also a good opportunity to look back and size up the stretch run.The AL EastWho would have thought that the Red Sox would be the best team in baseball at the break? Not me. At the beginning of the season the Astros Nolan Ryan Jersey , Indians and Yankees had shorter World Series odds than Boston, but Alex Cora’s charges are in the catbird seat at the break.One of the big reasons for the Red Sox run to the top is the play of J.D. Martinez. The 30-year-old outfielder is tied with Jose Ramirez for the most homers in the MLB (29) but more importantly, his addition to the lineup has helped Mookie Betts find MVP form once again.The key for the Red Sox will be whether or not Rick Porcello and David Price can hold up. Right now, the Sox rank fifth in the MLB with a 3.59 ERA. Their FIP (fielding independent pitching) is also 3.59, which suggests their numbers are a true representation of how they’re performing. Porcello has been pretty good this year thanks to an uptick in strikeouts and ground balls. Price, on the other hand, has been hit or miss. And if he can’t find his game, the Red Sox could be in trouble down the stretch.The one thing that the Yankees have over the Red Sox is the bullpen. The Yankees’ pen ranks first in ERA (2.69) and K/9 (11.54). Their offense will give them leads a lot, and that bullpen won’t blow many of them. That’s a good combination to have heading into autumn.It goes without saying, but winning the division is absolutely key for the Yankees and Red Sox. The winner will take on the AL Central champ while the loser will play a do-or-die wild card game. And the winner of that matchup will play the Astros. That’s some way to treat a 100-plus win team.The Red Sox lead the Yankees by 4.5 games in the division, but the Yanks have three games in hand on their rivals. The two teams will also play 10 more times this season, including a three-game series in Beantown to close out the season. There’s a good chance that the winner of that series will take the division. I give a slight edge to the Yankees in that series because of Aroldis Chapman. The Sox hit righties so well http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey , but with Chapman throwing bullets from the left side, he could be the difference between a divisional crown and a one-game playoff.Right now the Red Sox are odds-on to win the division at -161 with the Yankees at +122. It’s a tough one to call, but it would not be wise to lay that kind of juice in what figures to be a crazy race to the finish.The NL WestThe Dodgers have a half-game lead over the Diamondbacks in the West, but the Rockies and Giants are both within a shout of first.You have to give Arizona credit for sticking with LA after a 2-15 stretch in May. One thing that surprised me about the Snakes is their bullpen ranks third in MLB with a 2.85 ERA. They may not have any big name relievers, but they have a lot of live arms such as Archie Bradley and then guys with some funk such as Yoshihisa Hirano. I think Arizona (+373) is a decent bet to win the NL West.One of the reasons I like the Snakes is that the Dodgers have been kept afloat by Matt Kemp and Max Muncy. Those two unexpectedly kept the Dodgers in the mix despite injuries to Corey Seager, Justin Turner and Clayton Kershaw. Will Kemp and Muncy keep producing? That’s a great unknown, and if they don’t stay hot, Los Angeles will be in trouble.I still think the Dodgers are going to be tough, but I like these two teams to separate from the pack over the next couple of months. The Rockies don’t have enough starting pitching, and the Giants are lacking on both sides of the ball.Of course this could all change if Manny Machado ends up in Los Angeles …