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Rafael Devers in lineup for his 163rd game of 2025 season

If playing in 162 games is the ultimate mark of durability for position players, Rafael Devers is doing them one better. The Giants slugger was batting third as San Francisco’s DH for the regular-season finale on Sunday against the Rockies at Oracle Park in his 163rd game of the 2025 season.

Devers appeared in 73 games for the Red Sox before his June 15 trade to San Francisco, making his Giants debut in their 73rd game of the year. He’s the first player to play in more than 162 regular-season games since Justin Morneau in 2008, when the Twins and the White Sox were forced to play a Game 163 tiebreaker.

The last player to play in more than 162 games in a single season as a result of a trade was Todd Zeile in 1996. Zeile played 134 games with the Phillies and then 29 more after he was dealt to the Orioles, who played 163 games that season due to a suspended-game tie against the Rangers. (MLB rules at the time recognized stats from a suspended game but still required the matchup to be made up as a separate game on the schedule.)

Since the American League switched to a 162-game schedule in 1961 (the National League would follow suit in 1962), only 29 players have played 163 or more games in a season. Postseason spots have been determined by mathematical tiebreakers since 2022, negating the need for a Game 163 tiebreaker and making a midseason trade the only avenue to the feat.

That Devers realized the unique accomplishment is even more remarkable considering the 28-year-old slugger wasnâ€t fully healthy when the Giants acquired him on June 15. Devers dealt with a nagging groin injury that initially limited him to DH duties, though he managed to overcome the issue and make his first career appearance at first base on July 22.

The Giants nearly gave Devers a full day off on Aug. 24 at Milwaukee, but he ended up entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, which kept the possibility of a 163-game season in play. He hasnâ€t been out of the starting lineup since.

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Hockey

Penguins To Feature Intriguing Lineup Saturday. And Fleury, Too.

The Pittsburgh Penguins enter Saturday on the back leg of a pre-season back-to-back, and everyone in North America is aware that a special someone is back in town for one last hurrah.

But Marc-Andre Fleury won’t be the only source of entertainment when the Penguins take on the Columbus Blue Jackets for second and final time this pre-season.

In their 3-2 comeback win against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, the Penguins featured mostly a prospect- and AHL-focused lineup. There were a few exceptions in guys like Danton Heinen, Blake Lizotte, Philip Tomasino, Connor Dewar, and Matt Dumba, but may others were players fighting for role positions on the NHL roster.

That’s not the case for Saturday’s game.

Not only are the big veteran players in Fleury, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, and Rickard Rakell slated to start, they will also ice most of their top organizational prospects – offering fans a glimpse into what the future could look like for the Penguins.

During the summer, we released our full Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects list. As it turns out, many of them are going to be in the lineup Saturday for the Penguins. Top-five prospects Harrison Brunicke, Ville Koivunen, Ben Kindel, and Sergei Murashov are all listed on the roster, as are Owen Pickering, Tristan Broz, Filip Hallander, Finn Harding, and Avery Hayes.

It should be a nice blend of past, present, and future, gift-wrapped within a game that may not have any meaning in terms of standings and points but hold significant emotional value.

“We felt like this was one… today’s a little bit unique,” head coach Dan Muse said. “You got the uniqueness there of Marc-Andre Fleury being here and the celebration of him going into the game, so I think this is just the way it lined up.”

Blue Jackets At Penguins Preseason Preview: Marc-Andre Fleury Returns To Pittsburgh
Blue Jackets At Penguins Preseason Preview: Marc-Andre Fleury Returns To Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins picked up their first preseason win on Friday night against the Detroit Red Wings.

Here are the lines and pairings for Saturday’s game:

Forwards
A. Hayes – Crosby – Rust
Anthony Mantha – Malkin – Justin Brazeau
Koivunen – Rakell – Kindel
Boko Imama – Broz – Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Hallander

Defensemen
Parker Wotherspoon – Karlsson
Caleb Jones – Letang
Pickering – Brunicke
Harding

Goaltenders
Murashov
Fleury

It is already known that Fleury will suit up for the third period and Murashov will anchor the opening two. Murashov has emerged as a legitimate prospect candidate to take the reins as the Penguins’ goaltender of the future, as his dominance at every level of professional hockey has been something to marvel at.

In some ways, Murashov is remniscent of a young Fleury – quick, athletic, agile, cool, confident, and poised. So it’s only fitting that – akin to the rest of the roster – past and future get to suit up in the same game.

And Fleury’s advice for Murashov and other young Penguins’ goaltenders?

“You better try hard,” Fleury said Friday. “I’m coming to take your spot.”

And for one night, one period only, he will.

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‘I’m Happy It All Worked Out’: Fleury, Teammates Relish Chance To Share Ice One Last Time
Normally, NHL training camp is an all-business kind of affair, and that’s exactly how it’s been at Pittsburgh Penguins’ camp this year.

Bookmark THN – Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab  to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!

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Hockey

Strong Lineup To Face Light Version Of Maple Leafs

The Montreal Canadiens will be playing their third preseason game tonight, and Martin St-Louis is pulling no punches. For the first time, heâ€s going to be icing his full projected top six, his top defensive pairing, starter Samuel Montembeault, and Jacob Fowler.

That means that on Thursday night, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kirby Dach is going to see his first real action since sustaining yet another knee injury in February. There were rumours of setbacks this summer, and then, when camp started, he only took part in one of the three scrimmages, which of course prompted questions from the media. The coach said that there was a plan and he was sticking to it, before adding that Dach would see some preseason action.

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Asked what he thought about the big center so far at Camp, the pilot explained:

I think heâ€s really involved and intense. Now itâ€s time to play the game tonight, take one shift at a time, and make the plays the game calls for. Please get back into the swing of things, but weâ€ll continue to evaluate and stick to the plan we have for him. […] I wouldnâ€t call it a leash. I think Dacher is in a better place. He did things differently this summer, and I think heâ€s further along. So I think he will be more ready to get going right away.

–

Turns out itâ€s time for that action now. While the bench boss said Dach was penciled in as the second-line center this season, he still needs to see what the Albertan center can offer and if some chemistry can bloom between him, Patrik Laine, and Ivan Demidov. Needless to say, everyone will be keeping an eye on that line when the puck drops on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, the Leafs have opted for a lineup that doesnâ€t include any of their marquee names, such as Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly. However, they are bringing along promising prospects Easton Cowan and Matias Maccelli, who might find their way into a top-six role. Former Hab Max Domi, whoâ€s dealing with a lower-body injury, wonâ€t be part of the roster, but there will be one former Canadien: Micheal Pezzetta. Cedric Pare, who injured Laine last year, will not be in the lineup.

As for the bottom of the Canadiens’ lineup, it will include two interesting young lines: Filip Mesar, Vinzenz Rohrer, and Joshua Roy will be skating together, while Florian Xhekaj will center Jared Davidson and Luke Tuch. It will be another opportunity for these young players to showcase their abilities.

On the blueline, David Reinbacher, who had a tough outing Tuesday, will be paired with Kaiden Guhle while Lane Hutson has a day off. Ryan Oâ€Rourke and Nate Clurman will complete the defense corps.

It will be interesting to see if the Cola Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky line can perform as well as they did on Tuesday night. At practice on Thursday morning, Slafkovsky was wearing a full cage following the skate to the face he took in the game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The puck drop is set for 7:00 PM, and this is the second-to-last home exhibition game. On Saturday, the Canadiens will face the Leafs again, this time in Toronto, before taking on the Ottawa Senators on September 30 in Quebec City and playing them again in Montreal on October 4.

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