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madeyed · 3 years

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( * 💀 / aria shahghasemi, cis man, he / him ) — is that alastor moody i just saw rushing down the corridor ? i hear they’re a twenty-one year old hufflepuff, returning for their seventh school year, but their friends would tell you that they are protective & astute as well as paranoid & disagreeable. if you want to know more about them, i guess i could tell you that they’re pureblood, and from what i hear, they’re currently allying with the order. when our divination professor looks into their crystal ball, they see: a well-worn journal, locked & spelled shut; empty firewhisky bottles lined up along the windowsill; dark circles beneath suspicious eyes; the fading shadow of youthful bravado; a supple leather coat that still smells like home. — ( kit, she / they, 23, cet. )

tw — parental death ( murder ), assault & violence, mourning, alcohol mentions, allusions to mental health issues & addiction, hospital mentions.

basics ,

full name. alastor jawed moody. known as. alastor, moody, al only to select friends. age / date of birth. twenty-one / september 19th, 1958. year. seventh year. blood status. pureblood. house. hufflepuff. alliance. the order. gender / pronouns. cis man, he / him. orientation. bisexual. extracurriculars. beater for the hufflepuff quidditch team; member of the charms and toothill duelling clubs. additional stats. click here. pinterest. click here.

early life ,

alastor moody is born at home, in a small brick house by the seaside that has been in the family for generations; the yard is quaint, if somewhat overgrown, the wooden window frames spiderwebbed and peeling white paint, the chimney billowing smoke in the winters. although he often longs for a sibling, he remains an only child all his life. at the time of his birth, his parents are early in their careers as aurors, and thoughful, foresightful people above all; with their demanding schedules they think no more than one child is best. it’s not a terrible decision, by any means, and there is enough love in the household to go around.

he is raised with strong values, and a strong sense of duty, family, and respect; he is made aware of the weight of the world at a young age. or, his parents try to impress this upon him, making the world appear darker and heavier than it seems to the young boy. he loves and respects his parents, but he tends to disregard their warnings, to play more recklessly than they might like.

although his parents always make time for the shabbat, for birthdays and holidays, their job is by necessity demanding, and alastor learns independence at a young age. an only child, he longs for meaningful friendships, but struggles to make friends with muggle children in the village; instead, though he does his best, he spends much of his time alone or with children of his parents’ friends.

he thinks almost all his life that he is ready for death. it was a simple and honest truth in the moody household that their work, though important and necessary, was dangerous. he sees narrow brushes with danger all his young life, accompanying his parents to too many funerals to count; he learns protection charms before he learns to tie his shoes. and so he thinks of death as a family friend, a familiar acquaintance, and foolishly pats himself on the back for being so well-adjusted, for accepting reality instead of fearing it.

hogwarts ,

when he first arrives at hogwarts, he is calm, unassuming; he doesn’t arrive, like so many purebloods do, with the weight of countless expectations upon his shoulders. nor does he feel like he is escaping some restriction, and finally free; if anything, he is less independent here, under the watchful eyes of prefects and professors, and he grates a little against rules he thinks are foolish or unnecessary.

when it’s his turn to be sorted, the sorting hat only hesitates for a moment between gryffindor and hufflepuff; he is brave, yes, fearless to the point of recklessness, but when the hat poses the question, all alastor can do is shrug. his mother was a slytherin, his father a hufflepuff, and so he doesn’t really mind either way; he knows who he is, regardless of what house colors he wears, and that is enough for the sorting hat to know where he belongs.

he fits in well in hufflepuff, but doesn’t restrict himself to just that; he’s never felt particularly inclined to draw harsh lines in the sand, and makes friends across houses and even years. it helps that his name commands some respect — not from some purebloods, who sneer and consider him and his family all blood traitors, but from the rest, who read the headlines about aurors apprehending dark wizards and are pleased.

in his second year, though, the headlines change. he is called out of history of magic class — something he had almost enjoyed, at the time, and still hates himself for — and brought to the headmaster’s office, where he’s made to wait until his mother arrives. he’s sixteen when he hears of his father’s death, and it feels like the unshakeable world comes crashing in. he thinks he can prepare for death, steel himself against the pain and struggle through mourning with a straight spine and dry eyes, but he’s a fool, and just a boy at that.

he’s outgrown his childhood funeral suit, so he wears his father’s mourning robes to the funeral; they’re well-worn, mended at the hems, and alastor finds two knuts and a sickle in the pockets. he leans on his mother, and she leans on him, and she seems both stronger and more vulnerable than he’s ever seen her. they sit shiva together, the two of them in their little seaside home. alastor’s always felt distant from the muggle locals and neighbors, friendly but unable to connect, but they show up all the same. in twos and threes they arrive with their food, condolences, well-wishes, their offers to weed the yard or pick up groceries for the mourning family; it’s their good will that helps the moodys through their grief, more than the ministry’s stiff condolences and posthumous honours.

he returns to hogwarts changed; more anxious, more wary. his heart leaps in his throat every time he receives a letter, fearful it will be news of his mother’s death. he grows harder, less tolerant of snide anti-muggle comments even when they’re almost innocuous. he’s always been a relatively serious boy, but now he hardly laughs at all, and when he does, there’s a bite to it. he excels in school, working doubly hard, already certain he must become an auror and insistent upon achieving it, but there’s no pride in it, no competition; he just knows what needs to be done.

but as months turn to years the passing time lulls him into a false sense of security; at some point, the pain of loss turns from a sharp agony to an ever-present but dull ache. alastor joins the quidditch team, the duelling club ( where he quickly gains a formidable reputation ), has his first of many hogsmeades dates, and feels, foolishly, that life might simply carry on, without too much effort on his behalf. even as war brews on the horizon he assures himself it will be an easy victory, that strength and righteousness will always win out. he prepares, but with a youthful foolishness; he thinks this might be the chance to avenge his father, to protect the weak, to prove himself a warrior.

the summer between his sixth and seventh year, his mother is so busy she’s barely in the house; when she is, it’s never long before she’s called to yet another meeting, yet another raid. he visits her office often, tea and sandwiches in tow, memorizing the names and faces that are pinned up around the auror office, the most wanted, the suspected conspirators, the known associates. the writing is on the wall: danger approaches. the house is reinforced, protection charms everywhere, locks re-spelled, alarms at all entrances, but at the same time, life goes on.

it’s a rare evening when the two of them are home together, barbecuing kebab in the yard in the late summer sun, a moment of peace among all the concern. they share a bottle of firewhiskey, reminiscing, and laughing together, and making plans to weed the front yard, paint the window frames, and mend the fence — helpful little things alastor can do over the summer while his mother is so very busy at work.

he crawls into bed drunk and at peace, thinking about paint swatches, warm breeze through the open window, the cat curled up at the foot of his bed — and startles awake hours later, still half-drunk to the sound of crashing, glass shattering, the very foundations of the house trembling. the smell of something burning rises from the stairs, and despite his fear he jumps up instantly. there are death eaters in the house ( alastor counts four but thinks there may have been more ), in their black robes and silver masks, and by the time he’s halfway down the stairs his mother is already dead. he fights back as well as he can, but he’s alone, unprepared, and is hit with a curse before he can do much of anything.

they leave him there, unconscious in the slow-smoking ruins of the sitting room. something about not unnecessarily spilling pure blood, and he’s only a boy, and clearly no threat. he is awakened as other aurors arrive, his parents’ colleagues and friends, and he’s so out of sorts he must be petrified and sedated before he can be taken to st. mungos. this time, he is drunk at the funeral, hiding red eyes behind sunglasses, and he sits his shiva alone, permitting no visitors. he takes what he needs from home: clothes, books, heirlooms, the sneakoscope and foe glass and his father’s old coat, and leaves, renting a room at the leaky cauldron for the rest of the summer.

he returns to hogwarts changed once more; furious, pained, burning the candle at both ends trying to find a way to win a war that hasn’t even truly started yet.

personality , hcs , etc. ,

alastor has always been confident, wavering between self-assured and simply cocky, depending on who you ask. he was raised to respect and value everyone, and that includes himself, but he has always also thought of himself as a little more clued in, a little more worldly, than most others. this is in part because his parents confronted him with the reality of the world at quite a young age, and in part because of the horrors he has himself witnessed. although he isn’t usually a dick about it, he does tend to think he’s the most aware, clued in person in the room, or the only one who really knows how the world works.

he’s also quite concerned with projecting the image of strength, not because he’s really that concerned with what other people think, but more because he believes pretty strongly in the whole ‘fake it till ya make it’ idea, and feels like showing weakness means you are weak. plus it makes you a target.

has a fat orange cat named fried egg, or just fry for short; she’s four years old, and the grandchild of the same cat his father had when he was at hogwarts. she’s a hellish little demon cat who does her best to catch rats, frogs, small owls, bowtruckles, bag charms, and pretty much anything else she can get her little paws on. can and will claim a whole couch in the common room by stretching out right in the middle. if there’s a small dead creature in the hufflepuff common room or dorms you know who to blame.

alastor enjoys quidditch, but isn’t particularly competitive; he likes playing beater as it’s a pretty good release for aggression. he plays an aggressive match especially against slytherins, and will more use quidditch as an outlet for his personal vendettas, rather than that it informs them. absolutely fearless on the pitch, and has broken multiple bones, including his nose. don’t play chicken with him, he can and will run straight into you just to prove a point.

although he’s something of a duelling prodigy ( or rather, he’s been well trained since a young age ) and excels at defense against the dark arts and transfiguration, alastor’s top favorite class is care of magical creatures. he just thinks they’re neat. is he a bit of a dragon fanboy ? maybe so.

deeply paranoid, suspicious, and untrusting, especially now. he keeps a notebook of notes, newspaper clippings, observations and overheard conversations, helpful spells and countercurses, and a running list of which classmates and families he suspects of being death eaters, and of which students he fears might become targets. it’s well-spelled to keep out prying eyes, but you can often find him scribbling in it when he should be taking notes in class.

more to be added !

plots ,

just wanted to say first of all that i love plotting, hc’ing, brainstorming, etc. so please hit me up ! if nothing here works i’m super happy to think of something else. also, every single one of these is open to all genders unless specified ! i also especially love plotting based on other connections ( i.e. muse a and muse b are friends, muse b and muse c are exes, therefore muse a and muse c do not get along, or smth ) idk i just have a lot of ideas !

best friends. any house, but preferably for seventh years ? should be either order aligned or neutral but sympathetic to the order. these would be the very few people in the world alastor is still somewhat vulnerable around, and the few who can still get him to smile these days. also the only people he will take any shit from. the people he considers family, now that he has none of his own left.

other order members. the options here are so many ! people who fully share his convictions and with whom he can share his theories, who problem-solve and discuss together. people ( particularly muggleborns or younger students ) whom alastor feels very protective of and worried about. can be annoying and overbearing or he’s just keeping an eye on them from a distance, or maybe helping them train. or people who are in the order but whom alastor doesn’t trust; pretty much any pureblood / slytherin / anyone with death eater family would fall under this. lots of options !

family friends. alastor’s parents were very well-respected in the wizarding community, upstanding citizens, well-known and talented aurors, and all around good people; they could have gone to hogwarts with your muse’s parents or otherwise gotten to know them from work or through pretty much any other avenue ! this could go a few different ways, either they can be good long-term childhood friends, or perhaps they never got along but had to suck it up because their parents were friends, etc.

enemies. listen, i’m sure alastor has a ton of these ! gimme all the baby death eaters, slytherins, and pureblood supremacists. or even just characters who are just neutral but tangentially related to anyone who might be a death eater. alastor doesn’t discriminate between hatefulness and cowardice, it’s all the same to him: two sides of the same self-serving coin that gets other people killed. he can and will cause problems for them on purpose. absolutely will not hesitate to cause physical injury, or curse someone if they are out of line; you use the word mudblood in his presence and he can and will hex your tongue in a knot or, idk, turn you into a ferret.

people involved in his family’s deaths. ok this would definitely be quite a heavy plot and would need to be discussed quite a bit, but i think it could be neat ? alastor’s father died in the line of duty and may or may not have been targeted, but his mother was explicitly killed by death eaters because of the threat she posed. that could have been your muse’s death eater parents, or the hit could have been part of your character’s death eater initiation ( and maybe even the reason why al was allowed to live ? idk man just gimme the drama ) but either way ! alastor is investigating, angry, suspicious, and there will be hell to pay if he figures it out. think it could b a cute terrible dramatic plot.

exes. gimme a handful of these, with a bit of variety, please, i love them. something short-lived and intense over the course of one semester, that ends when one or both of them gets a little too far into their feelings ! something sweet and quaint in their early years, with first little hogsmeade dates and hand-holding ! a former fwb thing with bad communication that falls apart and leaves them both with some hard feelings ! good friends that think they have feelings for each other, date for two weeks, and then give it up and go back to just being pals ! honestly especially when he was slightly younger and less paranoid, depressed, etc. alastor was definitely weak as fuck for a pretty face.

the one bad ex-ish. listen i just very specifically love the idea of alastor having some insanely intense chemistry with a death eater aligned character, that enemies to lovers ( who are still definitely enemies ) vibe. every time they hook up they both regret it intensely, and are to embarrassed to ever tell their friends. they both kinda think they hate the other person, and know they’re on different sides of a brewing war, but also. brain empty very sexy.

crushes / unrequited / un-acted-upon feelings. ok listen, correct me if i’m wrong, call me out, etc. but alastor’s a whole 6′2″ of broad shoulders, gorgeous hair, green eyes, he’s all tall dark and handsome and also tortured, also a quidditch player, intimidating, etc. and i love the idea of people having crushes on him bc he’d be either annoyed or oblivious and that amuses me greatly. what a man tbh. also love the idea of him having feelings for someone, perhaps even over a longer period of time, but absolutely not wanting to tell them bc he has a bit of a martyr complex, is afraid of losing the people he loves, and also thinks he’s no good and gonna get them killed ! also could just be someone he had a crush on earlier and no longer does, but still thinks they’re just incredibly cool and admires them. could go lots of ways tbh.

study buddy. so, honestly, alastor’s not concerned that much with school beyond needing the qualifications to become an auror. this would probably be someone with similar aspirations/goals; someone who wants to get the grade but spends more time researching obscure defensive spells and countercurses and hex reversals which will never be on the test, because those are ultimately more important. they both just help support each other academically to make sure they get where they need to be, and practice and work on more advanced combat magic together as well.

neighbors. kind of, not really ? after his mother’s death alastor’s been living in a rented room in diagon alley, avoiding his family home at all costs. this could be someone who either lives there or in london more generally who he keeps running into over that summer. he’s probably deeply unpleasant particularly at that time so forgive him in advance pls.

drinking buddies. does alastor have a drinking problem ? maybe. but he also has much, much bigger problems he has to solve first, hence the drinking. he’ll manage just fine on his own too, but that doesn’t mean it’s not nice to sit in relative silence next to someone. he prefers the quiet and general Bad Vibes at the hog’s head over the three broomsticks, but isn’t that picky.

duelling rival. a member of the duelling club who alastor absolutely hates, and who hates him. they absolutely drive each other to perform better and push each other hard, but that’s not because they’re trying to help the other improve; it’s because when they duel they are actually straight up trying to kill each other, while making it seem like an accident.

#revelio.intro #⧽ constant vigilance ∖ development .#parental death tw /#death tw /#murder tw /#alcoholism tw /#assault tw /#mourning tw /#wow lots of tags for this one oops #also this is ... not great and def will be edited/added to but i just wanted to get smth out so i can also get started plotting !

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insidethegiftbasket · 3 years

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Nationals (12-15) at Yankees (16-15)

Note From Evan: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, jabronis and jabronettes, and Yankee fans of all ilk, Sam and I are here to let you know that we now have a third contributor here at Inside the Gift Basket, and this is his first post. Everyone say hi to Julio and from now on you’ll have to bring on more cupcake to class to share with everyone. And with that, onto the good stuff.

Game 1: Friday at 7:05pm EDT on YES and MLBN – Jameson Taillon (1-2, 5.24 ERA) vs. Patrick Corbin (1-3, 8.10 ERA)

Game 2: Saturday at 1:05pm EDT on YES and MLBN – Corey Kluber (2-2, 3.03 ERA) vs. Max Scherzer (2-2, 2.54 ERA)

Game 3: Sunday at 1:05pm EDT on YES and MLBN – Domingo German (2-2, 4.32 ERA) vs. Joe Ross (2-2, 4.39 ERA)

Nationals Injury Report

SP Stephen Strasburg: 10-day IL (shoulder inflammation) – will miss series

RP Wander Suero: 10-day IL (oblique strain) – both he and Strasburg will throw in a simulated game Friday

RP Seth Romero: day-to-day (ribs) – will begin throwing next week

LF Juan Soto: day-to-day (shoulder strain) – should get some at-bats this series, may start at DH

Nationals Pitching

Strong starting pitching was a hallmark of the Nationals during their run of eight straight winning seasons from 2012 to 2019, culminating in a World Series victory the final year of the streak. While their core ace trio of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin remains intact, only Scherzer of the three has continued to see success in 2020 and 2021, and the starting rotation as a whole has struggled, posting a 4.67 ERA (23rd in MLB). Strasburg has barely pitched as he has been plagued by injuries over the last year and a half.

Clay, NY native and childhood Yankees fan Patrick Corbin will pitch the opener opposite Taillon. In 2018 and 2019 Corbin was one of the better pitchers in baseball, finishing 5th and 11th respectively in the NL Cy Young Award race those years while frustrating batters with his trademark tailing-away slider. To say he suffered a World Series hangover may be an understatement:

What has gone wrong for Corbin? Even he and Nationals manager Davey Martinez aren’t sure as it doesn’t appear to be a physical or mechanical issue, and his velocity is close to the same as in his 2018-2019 peak.

There are a few possible explanations. One is that he’s lost some spin on his slider (from 2398 rpm in 2019 to 2218 rpm in 2021), and it has gone from one of the best single pitches in the game to basically league average, with opposing batters just not chasing it like they used to:

This means that Corbin has fallen behind on counts more than in the past, forcing him to go over the heart of the plate with his sinker to get strikes, and that pitch has been absolutely destroyed this year. It wasn’t a particularly great pitch for him in the past, either, but this year hitters are just teeing off on it (1.091 SLG).

Corbin is not striking guys out like he used to and is giving up hard-hit fly balls at an alarming rate. The average launch angle against his pitches has risen to a career-high 14.7° in 2021, and subsequently he has already allowed 7 home runs in just 23.1 IP. For the sake of comparison, he allowed 15 HR in all of 2018 (200 IP).

There are some encouraging signs as he has looked better lately after a cataclysmic start. He allowed 16 ER in 6.1 IP to the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in his first two starts of the season but has pitched to a 3.18 ERA in three starts (17 IP) since. He hasn’t exactly faced red-hot offenses in that span (Mets, Cardinals, Marlins), and the underlying numbers are still not all that great, but it’s progress.

Max Scherzer will pitch the second game in what could be a very good duel with the surging Corey Kluber. Now in his age 36 season, Scherzer is continuing to put up excellent numbers, and like in recent years, the key to beating him is the long ball. He has allowed a measly 27 hits all year in 39 innings pitched, but 7 of the hits have been homers. He doesn’t walk guys, so the Yankees’ best bet against him is to try to barrel up his occasional mistakes and knock them out of the park.

The finale pits RHP Joe Ross against Domingo German, with both pitchers posting remarkably similar numbers so far this season:

Rather like Corbin, however, Ross’ numbers are inflated by one very bad performance (10 ER allowed to the Cardinals on April 19), and he has pitched well outside of that game. Ross has been a mediocre pitcher most of his career, though, so it’s not like these numbers aren’t indicative of what to expect from him. His slider is his definitive put-away pitch (responsible for 15 of his 21 strikeouts), but his other offerings have been hit hard. He also has a strong platoon split (vs RHH: .241/.287/.394, vs. LHH: .297/.376/.474), so expect the Yankees to give most of their available lefty hitters a start in the series finale.

While the rotation has been disappointing, the Nationals’ pen has been a strength for the team in the early going. Washington relievers own a league-best .185 batting average against, admittedly aided by one of the better defenses in the league (league-leading 24 DRS), and offseason acquisition Brad Hand has been a stabilizing force at the back of games, having yet to allow an earned run this year.

Daniel Hudson, Austin Voth, Sam Clay, and Wander Suero (who is likely going to miss this series) have all posted solid numbers behind him, and their most-used reliever, Kyle Finnegan, threw an immaculate inning in their just-completed series with the Braves. Ex-Astro Will Harris was recently activated off the IL and has very good career numbers, though the Yankees have hit him well historically.

The one major blip is Tanner Rainey, who was one of their most important relievers the last two years but has struggled mightily so far this season. He is likely to be limited to low-leverage action until he gets his act together.

Nationals Lineup

A consistently strong offensive team during their 2010’s run, peaking in 2017 when they led the NL in team OPS, the Nationals have had to weather the departure of important contributors like Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon in recent years. While they still have a few dependably great hitters in the lineup, their offensive output in 2021 has been, at best, mediocre:

As a team they get a lot of hits (for 2021 standards, anyway), as their .247 batting average somehow actually leads the National League. However, they rarely draw walks and have not hit for power so far this year (outside of Trea Turner), resulting in a poor .696 team OPS and a marked difficulty putting up runs – they have yet to score more than 7 runs in any game this season and have been shut out five times. They are coming off a three-game sweep at home at the hands of the Braves in which they only scored six runs.

With Juan Soto battling a shoulder injury, Trea Turner has been their most important and all-around best position player:

While his numbers are a bit down from an outstanding 2020 (163 OPS+) that saw him finish 7th in the NL MVP race, he hits the ball hard to all fields, runs like the wind, and is a plus defender at shortstop. He has been a top 20 player in baseball this year in both bWAR and fWAR.

Antoher bright spot has been Josh Harrison, who signed with the Nationals as a reclamation project after seemingly forgetting how to hit sometime between 2018 and 2019; he has just about revived his career and been one of the team’s best hitters. The same cannot be said for his longtime Pirates teammate Josh Bell, who has been a nonfactor at the plate. While the Nats have been giving him (and the also-struggling Kyle Schwarber) plenty of opportunities to snap out of it, expect them to give more playing time to the hot-hitting Ryan Zimmerman at first base moving forward.

Lastly, keep an eye out for young phenom Juan Soto – he just came off the IL from a shoulder injury and pinch-hit a few times in the Braves series. According to the Nationals, he is ready to start hitting every day, but they are reluctant to let him play the field as his shoulder is not yet fully recovered and he should not be making throws. Luckily for them they are playing in an AL park this weekend, so he may get some starts at DH against the Yankees (which is, of course, bad news for us).

Yankees focus on: Wandy Peralta

LHP “Magic” Wandy Peralta came over from San Francisco (along with a PTBNL) in exchange for beloved backup OF Mike Tauchman, much to the chagrin of certain Yankees fans. Now in his 6th season, the 29 year-old Peralta has, on the surface, been largely unremarkable as a major leaguer to date, with a career 4.66 ERA and 1.477 WHIP. While he is coming off a solid 2020 in which he posted a career-best 3.29 ERA, he struggled to start this season in San Francisco and fell out of Gabe Kapler’s Circle of Trust™.

The raw numbers don’t jump out at you, but clearly the Yankees viewed Peralta as an interesting piece if they were willing to go so far as to part with Tauchman for him. After a bit of digging, it’s not hard to see why they found him appealing:

The underlying metrics have been impressive. In fact, his stuff has looked much better so far this year than it did in 2020, despite posting better standard stats last year.

It may be a microscopic sample size, but Peralta has looked promising in his first few appearances with the Yankees. The coaching staff has encouraged him to spam his wipeout changeup, to great effect:

While he has lost command of the changeup at times earlier in his career, it’s an incredible pitch when he’s throwing it well. So far this season: xBA of .109, xSLG of .133, and a -3 launch angle.

Last year his slider was a very good pitch, but this year it hasn’t been as effective, thus the Yankees have responded by ramping up his changeup usage and cutting back on the slider. In an ideal world, Peralta can learn to use them both effectively to pair with his plus heater. The raw stuff is there, and it always has been; the hope is that the Yankees’ coaching staff can get Peralta to harness his talent and potential.

With Tauchman playing well in San Francisco to this point and providing much-needed support for their banged-up outfield, this could be a trade that proves to be a win-win for both teams involved.

#Yankees #New York Yankees #Nationals #Washington Nationals #Baseball #MLB #Series Preview #Interleague Play #Natinals #Juan Soto #Trea Turner #Wandy Peralta #Everyone Say Hi to Julio

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