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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14460211

Cijntje (pronounced SAIN-ja) is a Mississippi State sophomore who can pitch baseballs with both arms. He's a right-handed pitcher. He's also a left-handed pitcher. And he's only getting better at it as he gets older.

"I throw 99 from the right side," Cijntje said, quite matter-of-factly. "And from the left side, I top out at 95."

Cijntje's ambidexterity began back when he was 6 years old on the Caribbean shores of baseball-loving Curaçao.

He was born a left-hander, but he wanted to be a catcher -- like his dad Mechangelo -- who played professionally in the Netherlands. Left-handed catchers are almost as rare as ambidextrous pitchers. So, he began working on the strength and accuracy of his right arm. With tires and screws.

"We were just hanging out one time in the backyard," Cijntje remembered. "And my dad grabbed a ball and put a screw in it. So, when I threw the ball, the ball would get stuck in the tire. I was just throwing the ball with the screw in it and I think that developed my arm. It didn't actually take long for me to just start throwing with my right arm. ... It became almost natural."

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PHOENIX -- The stars were out, the streets were quiet and Hayden Wesneski was fast asleep when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. It was his roommate and Triple-A Iowa teammate Matt Mervis, entering to tell Wesneski to check his phone. Wesneski was being called up. It was 1 a.m. in Des Moines.

Fourteen hours later, the 26-year-old Cubs right-hander stood in the visiting clubhouse at Chase Field, sleep-deprived but flush with adrenaline. He’d gotten some shuteye -- at least as much as one can get on a plane -- but he’d also just gotten 12 crucial outs. With Chicago’s bullpen also running on fumes, Wesneski had shut down a talented Diamondbacks offense for four scoreless innings to secure a 5-3, series-clinching win.

“It was probably our best pitching performance of the year,” said Cubs manager Craig Counsell.

It certainly was clutch. After two consecutive extra-inning games, and 10 2/3 innings from the relievers, the Cubs began the day desperate for fresh arms, which is why Wesneski and reliever Colten Brewer were summoned from Triple-A on such short notice. Wesneski arrived at the park roughly two hours before game time, low on rest but with the knowledge that he’d almost assuredly pitch. When Cubs starter Jordan Wicks left with one out in the fifth, Counsell went to Wesneski.

Over the next four innings, the righty stifled a Diamondbacks lineup that had scored 12 runs the night before. Relying primarily on a sweeper and a fastball that topped 97.5 mph, Wesneski allowed only one hit, a one-out double to Randal Grichuk in the sixth, and walked none. He struck out two and allowed only two balls to leave the infield. Counsell rode him all the way to the ninth inning -- a stretch during which the Cubs managed to take a three-run lead -- finally pulling the reliever after Grichuk popped out to start the final frame.

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Not only did he hurl a shutout, but Houck completed a “Maddux" in a 2-0 victory over Cleveland that took just 1 hour, 49 minutes to complete -- the shortest nine-inning game since June 2, 2010 -- since Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game for Detroit.

A Maddux, in honor of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, refers to a shutout accomplished in fewer than 100 pitches.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14346947

The All-Star closer hadn’t thrown a single warmup pitch in the bullpen when he found out he’d be entering the game to face pinch-hitter Nick Gordon with the potential tying run on first and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Manager Bob Melvin had wanted to bring in Doval for that precise situation, but his request wasn’t relayed properly due to a “communication mess up” with assistant pitching coach J.P. Martinez, who was filling in with bullpen coach Garvin Alston away from the team for personal reasons.

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“I am a very blessed human being,” Sterling said in a statement. “I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It’s all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy. I look forward to seeing everyone again on Saturday.”

Sterling, who called 5,420 regular-season Yankees games and 211 more in the postseason, lent his commentary to broadcasts for multiple generations of fans since joining the club during the 1989 season.

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