A thrilling MLB regular season, which featured much of the playoff picture coming down to the final day, has come to an end. The postseason field is set and October baseball is around the corner. 

While offensive production, specifically home run-hitting, will be critical to team success, pitching—as it has for some time—will ultimately determine which club eventually hoists the Commissioner’s Trophy. In today’s age of high-octane bullpens, elite relief pitching has shortened the game and matters as much as, if not more than, starting pitching. But navigating those first several innings with a starter remains a crucial part of a team’s game plan. 

So, which teams are best positioned to keep their opponents at bay until the battles of the bullpens commence?

PHILLIPS: The Most Significant Moments From MLB’s Wild Regular Season Finale

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

Stats (rank among playoff teams): ERA: 3.61 (4th) | WHIP: 1.19 (5th) | K%: 25.2% (1st)

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
2. Blake Snell
3. Shohei Ohtani
4. Tyler Glasnow

Earlier in the season, it would have been blasphemous to rank the Dodgers’ injury-riddled rotation this high. But the staff has been the best in baseball in terms of ERA in the final month. If not for Paul Skenes, ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto may be the National League Cy Young Award winner. After a shoulder injury wrecked the first four months of his Dodgers tenure, Blake Snell has quickly rounded into form since his August return Oh, and Shohei Ohtani’s arm is, at long last, fully stretched out after he hurled a season-high six innings in his last outing. No. 4 option Tyler Glasnow is better than most teams’ second starter. Los Angeles is so stacked, Clayton Kershaw is being kept off the wild-card roster and is unlikely to start a game in his final playoff rodeo. 

2. Philadelphia Phillies

Stats: ERA: 3.53 (1st) | WHIP: 1.18 (4th) | K%: 25.3% (2nd)

1. Cristopher Sánchez
2. Ranger Suarez
3. Jesús Luzardo
4. Aaron Nola

The Phillies rotation took a major blow in August when ace Zack Wheeler was diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome, which required season-ending surgery. However, this remains a formidable bunch. All-Star snub Cristopher Sánchez was the best lefthander in the NL all year long, Ranger Suárez wasn’t too far behind him and Jesús Luzardo’s swing-and-miss upside figures to play well in October. Aaron Nola has struggled this season, but he, like Philadelphia’s rotation as a whole, is playoff battle-tested. 

3. Seattle Mariners

Stats: ERA: 3.97 (10th) | WHIP: 1.18 (3rd) | K%: 23.7% (7th)

1. Logan Gilbert
2. Luis Castillo
3. Bryan Woo
4. George Kirby

Admittedly, this lofty ranking depends largely on the status of Seattle’s ace Bryan Woo, who is nursing mild inflammation in his left pectoral muscle. But the Mariners’ decision not to place Woo on the 15-day IL inspires confidence in his status. For much of the regular season, Seattle had a good-but-not-great pitching rotation. In the season’s final month, the red-hot Mariners lived up to their potential to form one of the best staffs in baseball. Between Woo, Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo and George Kirby, Seattle boasts a rotation that excels at both strike-throwing and inducing swings-and-misses, the perfect October recipe. 

4. New York Yankees

The Dodgers and Blue Jays delivered a thrilling 2025 World Series that came down to the wire, with Los Angeles coming from behind late Saturday night to capture a winner-takes-all Game 7 for their second straight crown. was on site throughout the Fall Classic in both Los Angeles and Toronto. Here are some of our favorite images from the World Series.

Dodgers Win Back-to-Back World Series TitlesAll Eyes on Shohei Ohtani Blue Jays In First World Series Since 1993 Epic Game 3Fans Pack Rogers Centre and Dodger StadiumDodgers Win Back-to-Back World Series Titles

عزز البرازيلي رافينها رصيد أهدافه في جدول ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإسباني 2025-2026، بعدما سجل لصالح فريقه برشلونة أمام إسبانيول مساء السبت.

واستقبلب برشلونة خصمه إسبانيول على ملعب “سبوتيفاي كامب نو” ضمن مباريات الجولة السادسة عشر للدوري الإسباني “الليجا”.

وأحرز رافينها الهدف الأول لبرشلونة في الدقيقة 70 من عمر المباراة، ثم أضاف الثاني له وللفريق الكتالوني في الدقيقة 86.

وارتفع رصيد رافينها في جدول ترتيب الهدافين بالليجا إلى 6 أهداف، فيما يبتعد مهاجم ريال مدريد، كيليان مبابي بالصدارة برصيد 17 هدفًا، بعدما سجل هدفًا في الجولة نفسها ضد ألافيس. ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإسباني

1. كيليان مبابي، ريال مدريد، 17 هدفًا.

2. فيران توريس، برشلونة، 11 هدفًا.

3. موريكي، مايوركا، 9 أهداف.

4. روبرت ليفاندوفسكي، برشلونة، 8 أهداف.

5. جوليان ألفاريز، أتلتيكو مدريد، 7 أهداف.

6. رافينها، برشلونة، 6 أهداف.

7. لامين يامال، برشلونة، 6 أهداف.

8. إيتاي إيونج، ليفانتي، 6 أهداف.

9. ألبرتو موليرو، فياريال، 6 أهداف.

10. كوتشو هيرنانديز، ريال بيتيس، 6 أهداف.

11. فينيسيوس جونيور، ريال مدريد، 5 أهداف.

12. أويارزابال، ريال سوسيداد، 5 أهداف.

ويمكنك متابعة ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإسباني محدث لحظة بلحظة من هنا.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have now submitted an offer for Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Garcia, with it being revealed the forward could be available for a bargain fee.

Wolves certainly need some inspiration from somewhere if they are to dig themselves out of trouble, given that they are currently sitting bottom of the table, having taken just two points from their opening 11 Premier League matches.

Not only do the Old Gold have the worst defensive record in the top flight, but they have also been extremely poor from an attacking point of view, having scored just seven goals, the fewest of any Premier League side.

In fact, not a single one of Rob Edwards’ players has scored more than one league goal, with Jorgen Strand Larsen failing to make the impact he did last season, so it would make sense for the new manager to pursue a new forward in the January transfer window.

Wolves make offer for Gonzalo Garcia

That is exactly what Wolves are planning to do, according to a report from Spain, which states they are one of several Premier League clubs to have made an offer of around €20m (£18m) for Real Madrid forward Garcia.

Sunderland and Aston Villa have also made moves for the Spaniard, who could seemingly be available for a bargain fee, given that cashing-in for £18m is regarded as an ‘attractive financial opportunity’ for the La Liga club.

The Old Gold want to get a deal done quickly, given that the 21-year-old’s value could increase as the season goes on, with some key figures at Real Madrid of the belief he could still have a future at the Bernabeu.

In truth, it would be surprising if the youngster was prepared to make the move to Molineux, given that Wolves are at serious risk of being relegated, but he could be a major coup if Fosun were able to get a deal done.

Journalist Zach Lowy clearly believes the Madrid starlet could be capable of playing for a club competing at the top level, having singled him out for praise courtesy of his impressive displays at the Club World Cup.

The centre-forward bagged four goals in six games out in the USA, while also providing one assist, but unsurprisingly, he has since been unable to displace the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr in the starting XI.

Consequently, it would make sense for Garcia to move to a new club this January, but Wolves will have to improve their league standing considerably to stand a chance of winning the race.

Wolves and Edwards keen to sign Premier League striker

Wolves and Edwards keen to sign "aggressive" £90,000-p/w Premier League flop

He’s cost £1m for every appearance made so far.

By
Charlie Smith

Nov 14, 2025

Who's ready for some afternoon baseball on Thursday?

Nine teams are in action in Major League Baseball today, starting at 1:05 p.m. EST with the Arizona Diamondbacks taking on the Washington Nationals.

As we do every day here at SI Betting, we're going to pick every MLB game today, with a short breakdown as to why we're leaning in that direction.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Washington Nationals Prediction and Pick

Shockingly enough, the Washington Nationals have a better record than the Arizona Diamondbacks entering Thursday's matinee matchup.

I'm rolling with Washington with MacKenzie Gore on the bump, as he's allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his last eight starts and has a 2.92 Fielding Independent Pitching on the season. Arizona's Ryne Nelson hasn't fared nearly as well, posting a 5.49 ERA and 4.30 FIP in 2024.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction and Pick

Minnesota is one of the best home teams in baseball (23-15) this season, and Simeon Woods Richardson has pitched extremely well in 11 starts. He's posted a 3.29 ERA this season, leading the Twins to an 8-3 record in his starts.

The Rays should have a chance with Zack Littell on the bump — he's posted a 3.62 FIP — but they've gone just 6-8 record in his starts.

Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Guardians Prediction and Pick

I getting Luis Castillo as an underdog in this matchup, as Logan Allen (5.30 ERA) is on the mound for the Guardians.

Castillo has a 3.32 ERA this season, and since April 14 he's allowed two or fewer runs in all but one start. I think he's a must-bet at these odds on Thursday.

Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction and Pick

One of the easiest bets to make in baseball this season?

The other team when the Chicago White Sox are starting Chris Flexen.

Flexen hasn't been good at all in 2024, posting a 5.35 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP, but the worst part is that he's led the Sox to a 2-13 record in 15 outings. I have to take the Astros — who are a much better team — to win outright in this one.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies Prediction and Pick

Gavin Stone (3.01 ERA) has been great for the Dodgers this season, leading them to a 10-3 record in his 13 starts and holding all but two teams to three earned runs or less. He also has five innings of shutout ball against these Rockies under his belt already in 2024.

I love the Dodgers' offense to tee off on Ty Blach, who has a 4.65 ERA and a dreadful 1.41 WHIP in 2024.

Kansas City Royals vs. Oakland Athletics Prediction and Pick

Seth Lugo has been one of the most consistent starters in baseball, posting a 2.40 ERA and leading his Royals to a 10-5 record in his 15 starts.

The A's have won two in a row to snap an eight-game skid, but I'm not sold on them beating one of the American League's best arms so far this season.

Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees Prediction and Pick

I'm all about Luis Gil, who pitched 6.1 innings of two-hit ball against the O's earlier this season, to get a win on Thursday.

The Yankees are 12-2 in Gil's starts, and I think they're well equipped to beat lefty Cole Irving (3.03 ERA, 3.41 FIP) in this game. Irvin has been solid in 2024, but his ERA has risen from 2.84 to 3.03 in three starts this month.

San Francisco Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals Prediction and Pick

The Giants have struggled on the road in 2024, going 16-22 straight up, and I'm not sold on them picking up a win on Thursday with Keaton Winn (6.66 ERA) on the mound.

San Fran is just 3-8 in Winn's outings, and while the Cardinals are 3-10 in Andre Pallante's appearances, they're 2-2 in his four starts and he's lowered his ERA nearly two runs over his last two outings.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. San Diego Padres Prediction and Pick

The Milwaukee Brewers haven't gotten the best stuff from Bryse Wilson as of late, with his ERA rising from 2.40 to 3.84 since the start of May. However, I still think he has the advantage over youngster Adam Mazur, who has a 7.82 ERA in three outings in 2024.

The Padres ar 0-3 with Mazur on the mound, and I don't love backing them as favorites in that spot on Thursday.

Ruben Amorim has now been Manchester United manager for just over one year, but there hasn’t exactly been much for Red Devils fans to shout about.

The Portuguese manager failed to bring them European football, and has a frankly poor record during his 12-month stint at Old Trafford.

The former Sporting CP manager has taken charge of 55 games for the Red Devils so far, winning 22, losing 22 and drawing 11.

His record in the Premier League is even worse, with United winning just 12 times under his tutelage in the top flight, suffering defeat 18 times.

One of the issues Amoirm has struggled with is profiling players in his infamous 3-4-2-1 system. There are still question marks over the suitability of Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes in a pivot.

The continued struggles of Fernandes and Casemiro

In modern football, having athletic midfielders is essential for success. A pivot of Casemiro, now aged 34 and still a brilliant ball-winner, next to Fernandes, who has been shoehorned into a deeper role by Amorim despite being one of the best number tens in the Premier League, has struggled.

That particular pairing has been Amorim’s go-to this term, but there is nothing to suggest it is optimising them. In fact, with Fernandes so deep, there is a case to be made that it is hurting the team.

United great Paul Scholes said earlier in the season that “there is no doubt” United’s captain should be playing as a ten.

He excels close to goal, with this goal in his recent hat-trick for Portugal a prime example of how effective he is in the final third.

As for Casemiro, the Brazilian is certainly lacking physically, despite being such a good ball-winner, averaging 3.62 tackles and interceptions per game this term.

As far back as 2023, Jamie Carragher said his “legs have gone.” He certainly needs someone more physically dominant playing next to him.

It is not just Fernandes and Casemiro who are being misprofiled by Amorim, though.

The two players struggling under Amorim

You certainly need to sign very specific players for Amoirm’s system to be a success. Indeed, the misprofiling of Fernandes as a deep-lying playmaker is just one example of making square pegs fit into round holes.

An area similar to that is at wing-back. They are, essentially, wingers, often the highest players for United, in one-vs-one situations with opposition full-backs. Amad is a player who fits the mould, but Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui do not.

Premier League Panel, an account on X, said their efforts in Monday’s 1-0 home defeat to Everton were “plain garbage.” Indeed, it wasn’t their best night at the office, but the roles they are being asked to perform, acting as wingers, are not playing to their strengths.

The fact that they are full-backs by trade certainly shows. Dorgu has just one assist playing high and wide on the left under Amorim. Mazraoui has also managed just the one, although he has played at centre-back, too.

Looking at their creative stats, you get a clear picture of the fact that they are misprofiled.

For example, focusing on the Premier League from last season and the start of 2025/26, Dorgu averages 0.3 crosses per game compared to 0.2 for Mazraoui.

Key passes

1.24

0.58

Expected assists

0.12xA

0.06xA

Crosses

0.3

0.2

Take-ons completed

0.36

0.87

Goal-creating actions

0.18

0.06

United lack an attacking threat out wide at the moment. Playing two full-backs at wing-back, who, it is worth noting, are good players when used correctly, is not helping.

It is certainly something Amorim should look to address in the coming weeks.

His time at United has been one to forget so far, but there is still time to salvage the season. It will be interesting to see if he keeps Dorgu and Mazraoui out wide, or switches them up for more attacking players.

Cunha upgrade: Man Utd could see £80m bid accepted for world's "best player"

This attacking star could improve Man Utd going forward

ByJoe Nuttall Nov 26, 2025

Saturday’s MLB action features a handful of high level pitchers from rookies to veterans, and we are targeting the player prop market for a handful of them. 

Paul Skeens has quickly emerged as the NL Rookie of the Year front runner. The No. 1 overall pick will look to build on his case against the Braves on the road, but can you trust him? 

Find out how I’m attacking the player prop market for pitchers on Saturday’s slate. 

Best MLB Prop Bets for Saturday, June 29th

• Aaron Nola Under 6.5 Strikeouts (-146)
• Paul Skenes Under 17.5 Outs (-102)
• Nestor Cortes Over 17.5 Outs (-146)

Aaron Nola Under 6.5 Strikeouts

Nola has failed to go over this mark in 11 of 16 starts this season, and despite being a poor offense, the Marlins don’t strikeout all that much. 

Miami has struckout the 10th fewest times this season, and Nola is posting his lowest whiff rate of his career. 

While he may pitch a lot, it may not come with a ton of K’s. 

Paul Skenes Under 17.5 Outs

Skeens has gone over this mark in six of his first eight big league starts, but I’m willing to wager that he has a setback of sorts on Saturday in the hitter friendly Truist Park. 

The Braves thrive at Truist Park, eighth in home OPS as the ball flies through wind tunnels. While Skeens is a strikeout artist, he also has been prone to hard contact that can be exaggerated in this particular stadium. 

The 2023 No. 1 overall pick is striking out 33% of the batters he has faced thus far, but is also in the 50th percentile in terms of hard contact and 37th percentile in terms of average exit velocity. The Braves are about league average in terms of strikeout rate, so with some plate discipline can come some hitter friendly conditions. 

I believe Skenes will be tested enough to warrant betting the under on his outs prop. 

Nestor Cortes Over 17.5 Outs

Cortes has gone over his mark in half of his starts this season, but there is good reason to believe that he can go deeper into this game given the Blue Jays pronounced struggles against lefty pitchers. 

Toronto is 24th in OPS against southpaws as the team can’t string together quality at bats. 

Why do I believe this is the best path to bet on a strong Cortes outing? The Blue Jays have struckout the fewest times against lefty pitchers, which means the team is making weak contact and easy outs so Cortes can keep his pitch count down. 

Bank on a quality start from the southpaw. 

The Blue Jays host the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night, with a shot at taking down the reigning champions and winning their first title since 1993.

While this year’s Blue Jays have had their fair share of “team of destiny” moments already in the postseason, the challenge of the Dodgers is simply on a different level. Los Angeles sports a lineup that can go bat-for-bat with Toronto, and a pitching staff the likes of which the Jays have not yet faced in the postseason.

Taking the mound for the Dodgers in Game 1 is two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who so far this postseason has pitched 21 innings and given up just six hits and two runs while striking out 28. Will the Blue Jays be able to break through against Snell? Or will the lefty continue his dominant run with another great start on the road?

Below we take a look at how some of Toronto’s best bats match up against Snell.

All stats come with the help of StatHead.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is in the midst of one of the greatest postseason runs we have ever seen from a hitter, and looking worth every dollar of the $500 million contract extension he signed back in April. Vladdy is slashing an absolutely absurd .442/.510/.930 so far this postseason, with six home runs, 11 runs scored and 12 RBIs. He has struck out just three times.

The Blue Jays will need Guerrero to keep up his hot streak if they are going to take the title, but the slugger will have his work cut out for him against Snell on Friday night. Guerrero is just 2-for-9 in his career against Snell, with three walks and no strikeouts. He has not produced a hit against Snell since the 2020 season.

Obviously we are working with small sample sizes here, and it’s possible that Guerrero’s current hot streak is more indicative than any stats on previous plate appearances vs. Snell could be, but it’s worth noting that Toronto’s best hitter will be facing his toughest competition yet on the mound.

George Springer

On Thursday night, MLB announced the MVPs of the 2025 season. As is usually the case, there were no surprises at the top of the ballot. Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani brought home his second consecutive NL MVP award for the Dodgers and his third straight MVP. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge earned the honor for the AL in a very tight race over Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.

However, the MVP ballot can historically contain a few oddities contained within. The Baseball Writer’s Association of America is in charge of voting for the league MVPs every year, based on a tally of 30 votes, and the voters are required to rank their top 10 choices for MVP. That creates a large enough pool of votes that each season’s ballot includes some unexpected names earning exactly one MVP vote.

Last year is a good example. Ohtani and Judge were unanimous MVPs, as it should have been. But on the NL side, Padres’ Dylan Cease and Brewers’ Jackson Chourio both received precisely one 10th-place vote. For the AL, those earning one vote included Astros’ Jose Altuve, Tigers’ Tyler Horton, Royals’ Seth Lugo, Rangers’ Corey Seager, and Astros’ Framber Valdez.

None of the names above deserved to win MVP over Judge or Ohtani. But their contributions to their teams’ respective season were substantial enough to be recognized with a vote in some capacity. It mostly makes for a fun bit of trivia down the line and serves as a glimpse into how baseball writers can rank the 5th to 10th-most deserving MVP candidates when the leaders are so obvious.

This year had some interesting names in this department. With the final votes tallied, here’s every player to earn exactly one MVP vote behind the winners. On the final ballot some players will finish with more “points” than others if their one vote came for a placement higher than 10th, but they all received one vote nonetheless.

PLAYER

TEAM

LEAGUE

Elly De La Cruz

Reds

NL

Nico Hoerner

Cubs

NL

Ketel Marte

Diamondbacks

NL

Seiya Suzuki

Cubs

NL

Aroldis Chapman

Red Sox

AL

Yandy Díaz

Rays

AL

Jacob Wilson

Athletics

AL

An interesting group, to be sure. While the winners earned their place atop the rankings these players can say they earned a vote for their performance this season. That’s something!

In the NL, a pair of Cubs earned MVP spots in the form of Nico Hoerner and Seiya Suzuki. Hoerner hit .297 from the plate and racked up 178 hits on the year to pair with Gold Glove defense, while Suzuki recorded 32 home runs and over 100 RBIs. Then there’s Elly De La Cruz, the Reds’ highlight machine who put forth another great season with 22 home runs and 37 stolen bases. Last but not least, Ketel Marte enjoyed another good season for the Diamondbacks, earning an NL Silver Slugger award to go with this MVP vote.

In the AL, Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman earned himself a vote after a ridiculous season in which he went months without giving up an earned run and totaled 32 saves. In Tampa Bay, Yandy Díaz’s efforts were rewarded with a vote; he batted a clean .300 with 175 hits on the year. Finally, Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson impressively appears on the MVP ballot in his first full MLB season. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind his teammate, Nick Kurtz, and was named an All-Star for the first time as well.

It was a quite a season and these players will always be able to claim they wound up on an MVP ballot.

Full AL, NL MVP voting results for 2025 season

Every year for MVP voting, the Baseball Writers of America kindly release the full ballots showing every player who received votes, where those votes ranked those players, and how many total “points” they tallied.

Below you’ll find the full NL MVP award voting ballot for this season. You can look at a comprehensive breakdown of which votes were cast by each of the 30 writers here.

“I got a couple of on-drives in this innings and as a batsman, you know that you have to be doing a lot of things correct to hit an on-drive,” Agarwal says

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Hamilton16-Feb-2020Sometimes, you can tell a lot about a batsman by how he puts away a half-volley. The bowler was James Neesham, and the batsman was Mayank Agarwal, batting on 34. The ball was full and a little floaty, angling in towards off stump.Agarwal brought his bat down perfectly straight and presented its full face to the ball, which sped away to the straight boundary after bisecting umpire and non-striker. The straight drive to the on, the shot that made Sachin Tendulkar nod in approval whenever he played it, probably involuntarily but possibly not.This was the seventh four of Agarwal’s innings, and he had also hit a six by then. Some of those shots had come off better deliveries than this one, and some – such as an uppercut off Scott Kuggeleijn, played with both feet in the air – had required a greater exercise of his dexterity and hand-eye coordination.This, though, was perhaps the most important shot of his innings. This, and a virtual replica in Neesham’s next over, off a delivery of similar line but better length, not quite as full.”I got a couple of on-drives in this innings and as a batsman, you know that you have to be doing a lot of things correct to hit an on-drive,” Agarwal later said. “When I got a couple of those, it gave me the assurance that was required.”Agarwal was certainly in need of assurance. He had landed in New Zealand in the middle of January and batted 11 times since then, for India A, India, and the Indians. He hadn’t made a single fifty in those 11 innings.More than the scores themselves, the nature of some of his dismissals – particularly in the second and third ODIs – had pointed to a technical issue, wherein his trigger movement was getting him into too much of a closed-off position, with his front shoulder much further to the off side than his back shoulder, forcing him to play around his body and square up to compensate.Agarwal wasn’t too keen on dissecting the technical adjustments he’d had to make but revealed that he had indeed been getting too closed-off, and that he had worked on the issue with Vikram Rathour, India’s batting coach, after his early dismissal on the first day of this warm-up match.The efforts certainly seemed to bear fruit, never more emphatically than when he drove Neesham down the ground. No shot is better at telling batsmen that they are properly balanced, and properly aligned at the crease, than the straight- or on-drive. It tells them that their head isn’t falling over, and their front leg isn’t going too far across and getting in the way of their bat coming down straight. If he was still getting too closed-off, Agarwal might have had to play around his front pad, and work the same balls squarer, through midwicket or even square leg.The effect of being better aligned was apparent through the rest of his innings too – his footwork and weight transfer just looked more precise, whatever shot he played – and he flowed on to 81 before retiring at lunch. This may have been just a warm-up match, and one lacking first-class status, but runs are runs, and, perhaps more importantly in the lead-up to the first Test in Wellington, fluency is fluency.The two candidates to open with Agarwal, meanwhile, were both out to induckers from Daryl Mitchell, Prithvi Shaw bowled and Shubman Gill lbw. Both planted their front foot too firmly and both drove a little too loosely. But while Gill was out for his second low score of the match, Shaw made a shot-a-minute 39 off 31 balls, putting away even marginal errors in line and length, and more or less sealed his spot alongside Agarwal.