LAS VEGAS (AP) — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox were selected Major League Baseball’s Comeback Players of the Year on Thursday.
Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year Award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter Awards. Ohtani and the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.
Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.
Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.
Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298 1/3 innings. He was acquired by Boston from the Chicago White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the disabled and injured lists with the Red Sox, mostly due to shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.
Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. In his second start back he broke his left pinkie finger on July 17 when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the New York Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.
Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.
He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.
Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.
Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.
A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74 1/3 innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.
Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.
Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66 1/3 innings.
Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.
Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.
The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.
Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Chicago White Sox's Garrett Crochet pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning of a baseball game Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson, File)
FILE - Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale throws to the Minnesota Twins in the third inning of a baseball game Aug. 28, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File)
ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Argentina's Lionel Messi and Brazil's Vinicius Júnior had frustrating nights in South American World Cup qualifying.
While Messi could not help his team avoid a 2-1 defeat at Paraguay, Vinicius Junior missed a second-half penalty as Brazil was held to a 1-1 draw at Venezuela on Thursday.
Argentina will remain on the top of the 10-team round robin competition with a 22 points in 11 matches, Brazil is provisionally in third place in the standings with 17 points.
Also on Thursday, Ecuador beat Bolivia 4-0. The Ecuadorians remain in fifth position with 16 points, while Bolivia is in eighth place with 12 points.
The 11th round of South American World Cup qualifying will continue on Friday with second-place Colombia visiting Uruguay and the bottom two teams in the standings, Peru and Chile, facing off in Lima.
Argentina played at Paraguay with the hosts having banned local fans from wearing any Messi shirts in the home crowd. TV footage of the match in Asuncion showed that the vast majority of the local crowd was wearing Paraguay’s red and white colors, with no Messi shirts visible in the local broadcasts.
Messi had few opportunities to touch the ball during the first half, but saw Lautaro Martínez open the scoring in the 11th minute with a crossed shot. The goal was allowed after a video review.
Paraguay scored the equalizer with a bicycle kick by Antonio Sanabria in the 19th minute, shortly after defender Gustavo Gómez hit the bar with a header.
The hosts continued to apply pressure, and gave the Argentine star some heavy marking. Messi showed he was upset with Brazilian referee Anderson Daronco for not sending off Paraguay's Omar Alderete for his aggressive tackles.
It was Alderete who scored Paraguay's winner with a header in the 47th minute, which puts Paraguay back in contention for a spot in the next World Cup.
“We came to a hard place where the national team always struggled,” said Martínez. “We have to correct a lot of things we did wrong in this match, but generally speaking we are playing well. We are still in the lead, and we have to look forward.”
Vinicius Júnior is still without a goal in six matches of World Cup qualifying.
He had the chance to score a potential winner after he earned the penalty in the 67th minute but his low spot kick was saved by goalkeeper Rafael Romo and the Brazil forward then shot wide from the rebouxadgr58 nkg9fichj8m ouytf876v3gx2sae1(backslash)nd.
Brazil had the best chances in the first half, with Vinicius hitting the post once after dribbling three Venezuelans and shooting from the edge of the box. But it was Raphinha who opened the scoring from a free kick in the 43rd minute.
Venezuela brought on 21-year-old Telasco Segovia at halftime and the substitution had an immediate effect as he equalized in the 46th minute with a powerful shot from the edge of the box.
Venezuela went down to 10 men in the 89th minute after Alexander Gonzalez was sent off for hitting both Gabriel Martinelli and Vinicius Júnior in the face.
The irrigation system then came on two minutes before the final whistle at the Monumental Stadium in the city of Maturin, 500 kilometers (310 miles) west of the capital Caracas, which angered Brazil players.
“When we don't win I leave the pitch a bit disappointed, we deserved to win this one,” Raphinha said after the match. “But it is an important point playing away, we are working hard to win the next one at home.”
Ecuador beat Bolivia with goals by Enner Valencia (26th minute), Gonzalo Plata (28th and 49th) and Alan Minda (61st).
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Bolivia's Adalid Terrazas gestures after losing against Ecuador in a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Banco Pichincha Monumental Stadium in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Ecuador's Gonzalo Plata scores his side's second goal against Bolivia during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Banco Pichincha Monumental Stadium in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Paraguay's Omar Alderete, right, celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Argentina during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Asuncion, Paraguay, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Paraguay's Omar Alderete celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Argentina during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Asuncion, Paraguay, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Marta Escurra)
Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Paraguay in Asuncion, Paraguay, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Venezuela's Telasco Segovia, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's first goal against Brazil during a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match at Monumental stadium in Maturin, Venezuela, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Brazil's Raphinha, center, celebrates with teammate Vinicius Junior, right, after scoring his side's opening goal against Venezuela during a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match at Monumental stadium in Maturin, Venezuela, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Brazil's Vinicius Junior reacts after missing a penalty kick during a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match against Venezuela at Monumental stadium in Maturin, Venezuela, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
