Author: Drew Type

Runners in scoring position stood behind Tyler Matzek as he took the mound, and Atlanta’s two-run lead looked suddenly fragile. Second and third. Nobody out. The seventh inning of Game 6 of the 2021 NLCS had brought the Dodgers within one clean single of a tie. Albert Pujols came first. Matzek buried a slider, and Pujols swung over it. Steven Souza Jr. followed and struck out looking. Then Mookie Betts watched two fastballs go by. Matzek threw another. MLB’s pitch tracking clocked the final four-seamer at 98.3 mph, and Betts swung beneath it. The ball reached Travis d’Arnaud’s glove; Matzek…

Postseason pinch-running put Boston’s season on Dave Roberts’ legs, with Mariano Rivera holding the ball and elimination three outs away. Kevin Millar had walked to open the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Now Roberts stood at first, preparing to challenge a battery that knew why he had entered. The Red Sox trailed 4–3. The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s account of Roberts’ steal describes Jorge Posada firing toward second as Derek Jeter swept his glove toward Roberts’ arm. His left hand found the bag first. Bill Mueller followed with a single that brought him home. Boston…

The October strike zone caught Andy Pages between a called third strike and the urge to dispute it. Nobody stood on base. Two outs already hung over the Dodgers’ Division Series opener against Atlanta. MLB’s account places the challenge in the second inning, after a 2-2 pitch. Pages tapped his helmet, asked for an electronic review, and lost. Los Angeles had started with two ABS challenges. Under the rules outlined by Baseball Savant, successful appeals stay available; unsuccessful ones disappear. Pages had spent half the Dodgers’ protection against a later mistake before their third inning at the plate. The Dodgers…

Zero days of rest put Brandon Morrow back on the mound in Houston, protecting a one-run lead against the Astros. Game 5 of the 2017 World Series had already turned into a fight neither pitching staff could control. Now the Dodgers needed their trusted setup man to steady it. George Springer hit his first pitch for a tying homer. Five pitches later, Morrow’s appearance had ended. MLB’s game coverage recorded four runs on six pitches, including Carlos Correa’s three-run homer. The Astros eventually won 13–12. Somewhere inside that avalanche of offense, a planned night off had become another assignment. A…

The NHL PTO success rate reduces a bruising September audition to a signature or a release. On the ice, the work sounds different: blades scraping through a turn, a puck rattling around the boards, sticks colliding over possession. For an unsigned veteran, even a routine drill carries an uncomfortable question. Will the coach see enough to keep him? Givani Smith earned an answer in October 2025, though it came with a complication. As the Chicago Wolves later recounted, Carolina signed him on October 3 and assigned him to its AHL affiliate the next day. He had earned a deal. The…

The backup goalie dilemma took shape in Pittsburgh: Sergei Murashov stopped 13 shots before Joel Blomqvist turned aside 10 of 11. On September 21 at PPG Paints Arena, the Penguins divided their crease almost exactly in half. Two young goalies got meaningful work. Neither got the whole night. For a player trying to stick in the NHL, that distinction matters. Half a game offers a chance to track pucks through bodies, handle a dump-in, and recover after a scramble. It also ends before the goalie can show how he handles an entire evening. A clean first appearance can earn another…

Opening night LTIR maneuvering put Danila Klimovich on Vancouver’s roster in October 2022, then sent him straight back to the minors. His name appeared on the submitted list. A day later, the Canucks assigned him to Abbotsford, according to ESPN’s transaction log. The paperwork had accomplished its purpose. Vancouver had recalled Klimovich while sending down Linus Karlsson, another young forward. As Carol Schram reported for Forbes that October, their cap hits differed by $27,917. Klimovich’s $855,833 charge fit a calculation that Karlsson’s $883,750 charge did not. Forget their shooting mechanics for a moment. Those dollars explained the swap. For a…

The final roster cutdown put Pierre Engvall in an awkward position in October 2024: a long contract, an NHL résumé, and no opening-night job. A year earlier, the Islanders had signed him for seven seasons at $3 million annually. Now they wanted him in Bridgeport, provided nobody else took him first. New York controlled the decision to remove Engvall from its NHL roster. Whether another team claimed him belonged to everyone else. Every rival had the opportunity to take his contract before the Islanders completed the assignment. For a general manager, this means weighing a player’s next shift against the…

NHL opening night rosters can force a general manager to choose between carrying another defenseman and exposing useful depth to waivers. The salary cap allows $104 million this season. That sounds generous until the last available dollars must cover the player who takes a defensive-zone faceoff when somebody pulls a groin. Cutdown day makes the consequences immediate. On September 28, Winnipeg claimed goaltender Clay Stevenson from Washington, according to the American Hockey League’s transaction announcement. After four years in the Capitals’ system, he changed organizations just as the season approached. Nobody needs an imaginary journeyman to explain the stakes. Stevenson…

The chance to salt away the game came with Philadelphia’s own end zone just a few backward steps away. Pittsburgh had pinned the Eagles at their three-yard line on a cold December afternoon. One bad exchange could turn a comfortable lead into a scramble. Philadelphia led 27–13 with 10:29 remaining. The Steelers needed a stop, a punt, and another chance. Instead, they spent the rest of the game chasing a possession they never recovered. The Eagles ran a 21-play drive that swallowed every remaining second. By the time Jalen Hurts took his final knee, Philadelphia had moved deep into Pittsburgh…