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Billy Wagner makes his Hall of Fame team official

Billy Wagner makes his Hall of Fame team official
Billy is going in as an Astro. Photo by Jed Jacobson/Getty Images.

CC Sabathia will have a New York Yankees logo on the cap of his Hall of Fame plaque and Bill Wagner will have the symbol of the Houston Astros.

The hall announced the decisions Monday for all five of this year's inductees. Ichiro Suzuki will have the cap of the Seattle Mariners, Dave Parker of Pittsburgh Pirates and Dick Allen of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Players and their families give input on the choices to the hall, which makes the final decisions.

Inductees could make the pick through the 2001 induction, and the hall took over the decision ahead of the 2002 vote. The change followed reports in 1999 that Tampa Bay offered to compensate the newly retired Wade Boggs if his plaque bore a Devil Rays logo. Boggs was inducted in 2005 and his plaque has a Boston Red Sox logo.

Sabathia spent the last 11 seasons of a 19-year big league career with the Yankees (2009-19) after pitching for Cleveland (2001-08) and Milwaukee (2008).

Suzuki played for the Mariners in 14 of 19 seasons (2001-12, 2018-19) and also for the Yankees (2012-14) and Miami (2015-17).

Wagner pitched for Houston for his first nine seasons (1995-2003), then played for Philadelphia (2004-05), the New York Mets (2006-09), Boston (2009) and Atlanta (2010).

Parker spent his first 11 seasons with Pittsburgh (1973-83), then played for Cincinnati (1984-87), Oakland (1988-89), Milwaukee (1990), California (1991) and Toronto (1991).

Allen played for the Phillies in nine seasons (1963-69, 1975-76) while also spending time with St. Louis (1970), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1971), Chicago White Sox (1972-74) and Oakland (1977).

Inductions will take place July 27. Plaques include an image of the person and list of accomplishments in about 90 words, including each team a person played for or managed.


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Christian Walker had three hits in Game 1. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros continue their road trip Wednesday night in Denver, looking to stay red-hot against a struggling Rockies team that can’t seem to buy a win at Coors Field.

Houston enters the second game of the series with a 51–34 record, sitting atop the AL West and riding a stretch of eight wins in their last ten games. Their offense hasn’t exactly been overpowering during this run — the team is hitting just .228 over that span — but timely power and elite pitching have carried the load. They’ll lean on both again Wednesday as right-hander Hunter Brown takes the mound.

Brown has emerged as one of the most dominant starters in baseball this season, posting an 8–3 record and an eye-popping 1.74 ERA with 118 strikeouts. His efficiency and command (0.89 WHIP) have kept opponents off balance all year, and he’ll face a Rockies lineup that’s shown occasional pop but little consistency. Colorado is just 19–66 overall, with only eight wins in 41 games at home.

Austin Gomber gets the ball for the Rockies in what will be just his fouth start of the season. The lefty owns a 6.14 ERA and has managed only five strikeouts in limited action, which could open the door for Houston’s power bats to do damage early. The Astros are 18–5 when they hit multiple home runs in a game.

Colorado will hope to build on the lone bright spot from Tuesday’s loss, a five-hit effort from rookie Jordan Beck, while Hunter Goodman continues to show some spark with five homers in his last ten games.

With the Astros heavily favored (-258) and looking to build further separation in the division, all eyes will be on Brown as he tries to keep the momentum rolling, and give Houston its 52nd win of the season.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -258, Rockies +208; over/under is 11 runs

Roster moves

Luis Guillorme (hamstring) is headed to the 10-day injured list and Zack Short will replace him on the roster.

Thoughts on tonight's lineup

The first thing that jumps out is Christian Walker is hitting fifth after a three-hit game on Tuesday. Cooper Hummel is hitting seventh and playing left field, with Altuve playing second base again. Shay Whitcomb is in the DH spot, and hitting eighth, followed by Mauricio Dubon. Clearly, Houston's depth will be tested with this lineup. But at least they're playing the lowly Rockies.

Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.


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