Sunday Notes: Nick Sandlin Suffered an Anomalous Defeat at Fenway

Nick Sandlin didn’t get his second save in as many games on Thursday. One day after breezing through three Boston batters on nine pitches, the Toronto right-hander was tagged with a loss after surrendering a pair of bottom-of-the-tenth-inning runs. The ending was anomalous. With the score tied, one out, the bases juiced, and the infield playing in, Sandlin induced a squibbed grounder that was mishandled, allowing a speedy Red Sox runner to score easily from third.

Making the walk-off unique was that Blue Jays second baseman Andrés Giménez, who had no chance to get the runner at home after bobbling the ball, threw to first for a meaningless out. The play went into the books as a 4-3. In other words, the game ended with the winning run crossing the plate on what looks like a routine groundout on the scorecard.

Which brings us to Sandlin, whom I’d decided to write about after his shutdown effort on Wednesday. Protecting a 2-1 lead in the 11th inning, the 28-year-old reliever fanned David Hamilton on three pitches, retired Rob Refsnyder on a pop foul to the catcher, then got Jarren Duran to slap a worm-killer to Giménez. Sandlin’s pitch breakdown comprised two splitters and seven sliders.

A sweeping slider is Sandlin’s bread and butter, and it’s what Refsnyder referenced when I asked him what makes the low-slot hurler so hard to hit.

“Obviously, the angle,” replied Refsnyder. “And his slider just keeps going. The first one I saw ended way out of the zone, but it started in the lane I wanted. The second one was crazy out of the zone, and it also started in a really good spot. I didn’t even see his split. When I played against him with the Guardians, he showed an ability to throw both a sinker and a four-seamer. He’s got a lot of weapons.”

He also has sneaky good numbers. Over 215 career relief appearances — all but the last six with Cleveland — Sandlin has a 3.27 ERA over 201 innings. And while his 27.5% strikeout rate is rock solid, what most stands out his .234 BABIP. Sandlin isn’t overpowering — his heater averages just 91.4 mph — but he does have a way of inducing weak contact.

Tyler Heineman cited the righty’s arm slot when asked what makes him effective.

“The angle on his four-seam,” the Blue Jays catcher told me. “The slider is obviously his pitch, and he throws a split from that angle, too. You don’t really see too many splits from that arm angle. He’s got the four-seam with carry, and then a splitter off of that.

“Most people think he’s going to throw a two-seam, so having a four in his repertoire gives hitters another problem to solve,” added Heineman. “The pitch itself isn’t unique, but the fact that he throws both fastballs… and he does throw a lot of two-seams. You expect him to throw two-seams and junk -—most guys with his arm slot throw twos — so when he flips a four in there, it kind of surprises you.”

Sandlin was primarily sinker-slider when I talked to him in his 2021 rookie season, but he’s since diversified his usage markedly. As he explained, “The ability to go both east-west and north-south — being able to go in all directions — let’s me choose which way to go against certain hitters, and in certain situations. I was definitely more east-west a few years ago, but now I have more options.”

Acquiring Sandlin from the Guardians in a three-team swap back in December has given the Blue Jays another viable option out of their bullpen. The unique-ending loss on Thursday aside, Sandlin should add value in Toronto this season.

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Rafael Palmeiro went 7 for 12 against Mike Jackson.

Brian Giles went 7 for 11 against Sun-Woo Kim.

Ripper Collins went 21 for 48 agaimst Claude Passeau.

Lyle Overbay went 7 for 11 against Tommy Hunter.

Jesus Alou went 24 for 55 against Steve Carlton.

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Chase Dollander is one of the game’s most promising young pitchers. Featured here at FanGraphs last Monday, the 23-year-old right-hander entered this season no. 12 on our 2025 Top 100 Prospects list. One week ago today, he made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies and was credited with a win following a solid five-inning effort.

Late in spring training, I asked Bud Black who Dollander reminds him of.

“Every pitcher is unique to himself,” replied the Rockies manager. “But when I saw his stuff, saw the body — he’s a little bit bigger than this fellow, and there’s a little bit of a lower arm slot — but I can see a little bit of a Walker Buehler-type. Live arm. Live fastball. Can spin a breaking ball, both a curve and a slider. Leg kick is sort of similar; Buehler’s is a little higher. That’s what I’ve seen.”

Dollander made his second big-league start last night and allowed three hits and two runs over five-and-two-thirds innings in a 2-0 loss to the San Diego Padres. He walked two and fanned seven.

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A quiz:

Which player holds the San Diego Padres single-season record for total bases? (A hint: a Padre for four of his 19 big-league seasons, he won five Gold Gloves and finished his career with 304 home runs and 320 stolen bases.)

The answer can be found below.

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NEWS NOTES

River Town has signed with the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks. The 25-year-old outfielder from Zachary, Louisiana played in the Kansas City Royals system from 2021-2024. Former Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels right-hander Zach Plesac has reportedly also signed with the Ducks.

Nate Oliver, an in infielder who played for four teams — primarily the Los Angeles Dodgers — from 1963-1969, died on April 5 at age 84. The native of St. Petersburg, Florida appeared as a pinch-runner in the 1966 World Series.

Billy Smith, a right-hander who took the mound 10 times for the Houston Astros in 1981, died on April 5 at age 70. The La Marque, Texas native threw seven shutout innings and was credited with his lone win in his only big-league start.

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The answer to the quiz is Steve Finley, who had 348 total bases with the Padres in 1996. The underrated centerfielder had 195 hits that year, including 45 doubles, nine triples, and 30 home runs.

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Last Sunday’s column included MLB Network Radio’s Steve Phillips talking about how Gregg Jefferies was the best hitter he played alongside in his seven seasons as a New York Mets farmhand in the 1980s. When I asked Phillips who held that distinction, I was pretty sure he would go with either Jefferies or a third baseman/outfielder who went on to play 13 big-league seasons. Not surprisingly, he went with the latter as his second choice.

“Kevin Mitchell,” said Phillips. “When I first signed to play pro ball, I went to the Appalachian League — Kingsport, Tennessee — and he was out with a wrist injury. As soon as he got back, three hits. Next game, three hits. He came out of the gate hitting. Kev was one of the best teammates — I loved him — and he could also talk a big game. But he hit and he hit and he hit.

“He didn’t care about fielding either,” continued Phillips. “When I made errors, I felt horrible. I’d hear fans yapping at me. He didn’t care about any of that. Kev just hit, and when he got to the big leagues he kept hitting, Just a fantastic offensive player. Great power. You might remember that Davey Johnson even played him at shortstop because he wanted his bat in the lineup.”

Mitchell logged 1,173 hits, including 234 home runs, after reaching the majors. He captured NL MVP honors in 1989 after slugging 47 home runs with the San Francisco Giants.

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Also left on the cutting-room floor from last week’s column was Dylan Moore weighing in on the one position he’s never played in a Mariners uniform. Seattle’s Swiss Army Knife has never squatted behind the plate, and while he’d do it if asked, it’s definitely not on his wish list.

“I don’t know,” Moore replied when asked if he’d like to add catcher to his résumé. “Maybe a situation could arise with a position player pitching — maybe Rowdy [Tellez] —and I could go back there. But it would have to be something like that. It would be terrifying with a real pitcher. These guys throw so hard, and catchers take a beating, so it’s not something I’d be all that interested in doing.”

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Yakult Swallows southpaw Masanori Ishikawa set an NPB record earlier this week by recording a win for the 24th consecutive season. The 45-year-old has spent his entire career with the Tokyo-based team and is 194-195 with a 3.80 ERA over 3,293 professional innings.

Tatsuya Imai threw eight scoreless innings in a 2-0, 12-inning Seibu Lions loss to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters on Friday. The 26-year-old right-hander has made three starts and allowed two runs over 24 innings so far this season.

Kazuma Okamoto is slashing .404/.482/.745 with three home runs in 56 plate appearances for the Yomiuri Giants. The 28-year-old outfielder/corner infielder averaged 33 home runs over the past seven seasons with the NPB club.

Jae Hyeon Lee is slashing .267/.405/.483 with three home runs and a 145 wRC+ in 75 plate appearances for the Samsung Lions. The 22-year-old shortstop was the Lions’ top pick in the 2021 KBO draft.

Ruben Cardenas is slashing .333/.448/.566 with three home runs and a 180 wRC+ in 58 plate appearances for the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. The 27-year-old outfielder played six seasons stateside and had Triple-A stints in the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.

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Bunting came up when Oliver Marmol met with the media prior to a game at Fenway Park last weekend. The St. Louis manager mentioned that his team regularly works on the art of laying one down, and not just against live arms; a lot of it takes place in the cages. That prompted a question from yours truly. As replicating game-speed as much as possible is good practice, I wanted to know if some of that training is done against a Trajekt.

“It’s a combination,” replied Marmol. “Sometimes it’s a machine with fastballs. You don’t need it to be an actual pitcher, and different styles of pitches, like a Trajekt does. A lot of it is the technique and barrel placement. It’s the angle, whether you’re bunting 88 or 95 [mph]. But there is velo to the machine. It’s not soft by any means.”

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The wind chill was 14 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-10 degrees Celsius) by game’s end when then Boston Red Sox hosted the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Tuesday night. Why wasn’t the contest moved to the not-nearly-as-chilly afternoon? The Detroit Tigers and New York Mets moved up scheduled night games this past week to avoid bone-chilling cold, but for reasons best described as unfathomable, the Red Sox chose not to do the same. Another option would have to postpone, but that idea was also nixed.

According to someone I spoke to, the player reps from both teams requested that the game not be played. Moreover, the Blue Jays as a whole would have preferred a postponement. So, why was the game played in conditions that would qualify as unpleasant by NFL standards? Purportedly it was to not inconvenience fans who had tickets, but color me unconvinced by that logic. Would the sparse crowd have been any smaller had the game been played at another time? That’s highly doubtful. Again, the decision to play the game as scheduled was unfathomable.

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FARM NOTES

Ryan Waldschmidt is 11-for-24 with two home runs and six walks in 33 plate appearances for the High-A Hillsboro Hops. The 22-year-old outfielder was drafted 31st overall last year out of the University of Kentucky by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Braylon Payne is 9-for-29 with a home run and six walks in 36 plate appearances for the Low-A Carolina Mudcats. The 18-year-old outfielder was drafted 17th overall last year out of a Missouri City, Texas high school by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Konnor Griffin hit his first professional home run on Friday for the Low-A Bradenton Marauders. Drafted ninth overall last year by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of a Flowood, Mississippi high school, the 18-year-old infielder is 6-for-26 in his first professional season.

Felnin Celesten is 10-for-27 with a home run for the Low-A Modesto Nuts. The 19-year-old switch-hitting shortstop in the Seattle Mariners system is no. 85 on our 2025 Top 100 Prospects list.

Jack Wenninger has fanned 16 batters and allowed just four hits and three walks over 10 innings with the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.The 23-year-old right-hander out of the University of Illinois was the New York Mets’ sixth round pick in 2023.

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

Wayne Nordhagen had a solid big-league career, logging 401 hits and a 99 wRC+ while playing for four teams, mostly the Chicago White Sox, from 1976-1983. The native of Thief River Falls, Minnesota left the yard 39 times, thrice homering twice in the same game. He also had memorable moments on the mound. An outfielder/DH who occasionally wore the tools of ignorance, Nordhagen made a pair of mop-up appearances for the ChiSox in 1979.

Pitching the ninth inning of a 9-1 loss to the California Angels on May 27 of that year, Nordhagen fanned Carney Lansford, gave up back-to-triples to Rod Carew and Don Baylor, induced a run-scoring groundout from “Disco Dan” Ford, then struck out Merv Rettenmund.

Eight days later, Nordhagen pitched the ninth inning of a 6-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. After walking Paul Molitor, he retired Cecil Cooper on a fly ball to center, then got Sal Bando to ground into a double play.

All told, the .282 hitter with the 9.00 ERA played in 500 games, came to the plate 1,500 times, and had a 1.500 WHIP. Kevin Millar is Nordhagen’s nephew.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Frank Robinson became MLB’s first Black manager on April 8, 1975, and his debut still matters to people who were there. Justice B. Hill wrote about it at Andscape.

At Pittsburgh Baseball Now, John Perrotto wrote about how the Pirates organization broke a brick over his father’s memory.

At The Athletic, Brittany Ghiroli and Cody Stavenhagen reported on why Sam Menzin is no longer an assistant general manager with the Detroit Tigers (subscription required).

MLB is increasingly drawing private equity investors as the league faces major shifts in player salaries and media rights. Lillian Rizzo has the story at CNBC Sport.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

The Texas Rangers went into last night in first place in the AL West with a record of 9-5 and a minus-10 run differential. The Cincinnati Reds were in fourth place in the NL Central with a record of 6-8 and a plus-4 run differential

Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio and Oakland’s Jacob Wilson each have 21 hits and no walks on the season. Chourio is slashing .313/.309/.657, Wilson .368/.368/.544.

Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan is 7-0 with a 1.31 ERA in nine career starts against the Kansas City Royals.

Aaron Judge is a combined 28-for-64 (.438) with 13 home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. He is a combined 17-for-78 (.218) with two home runs against the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.

Kirk Gibson played in 1,636 games and had 569 extra-base hits and 2,686 total bases. Eric Hosmer played in 1,689 games and had 540 extra-base hits and 2,709 total bases.

On today’s date in 1926, Walter Johnson went the distance on Opening Day as the Washington Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics 1-0 in 15 innings. Eddie Rommel, who likewise threw a complete game, was the hard-luck loser.

On today’s date in 1999, the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied for three runs in the bottom of the 16th inning to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6. Kelly Stinnett knotted the contest with a two-run bomb, after which Dante Powell plated the winning tally with a two-bagger.

Players born on today’s date include Ed Amelung, who appeared in 42 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers across the 1984-1986 season. The outfielder’s first two games, as well as his final game, were 1-0 Dodgers wins in which the opposing team recorded just a pair of hits. Amelung’s own ledger includes 11 hits, including four versus Mario Soto.

Also born on today’s date was Jim Schelle, who has the distinction of being one of roughly two dozen players in MLB history with an infinite ERA. Pitching for the Philadelphia Athletics on July 23, 1939, the right-hander faced five Detroit Tigers batters and retired none of them. Schelle’s lone big-league outing went HBP, 1B, BB, BB, BB. He was charged with three runs.

Cinders O’Brien went 22-17 for the National League’s Cleveland Spiders in 1889, and 8-16 for the Players League’s Cleveland Infants in 1890. He died of pneumonia at age 24 after going 18-13 with the American Association’s Boston Reds in 1891.