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Cincinnati Reds rookie left-hander Brandon Williamson is expected to return from the 7-day COVID injured list to start the team's series opener Tuesday night against the Tigers in Detroit.
Williamson enters his 20th Major League Baseball start with a 4-4 record and 4.20 ERA, with 87 strikeouts and 33 walks in 98 2/3 innings.
You might know that when Williamson wins, he's known to wear a big, red Snuggie-like pajama with Reds patches created by his wife's "Grandma Rene" and given to him as a Christmas gift.
But did you know he posted a 2.45 ERA in five July starts? And that he struck out 39 while walking just six in six August starts?
Here are five more things to know about Williamson:
The Reds got Williamson in the Eugenio Suarez/Jesse Winker trade with Seattle.
The March 2022 deal that sent Suarez and Winker to the Mariners brought Williamson, Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley and Connor Phillips to Cincinnati.
Williamson turned 25 in April.
He was among the Mariners' top pitching prospects when the Reds acquired him. In 2021, he made 19 starts between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas, posting a 3.39 ERA with 153 strikeouts in 98 1/3 innings.
Williamson has a lot in common with teammate Nick Lodolo.
Lodolo and Williamson were teammates at Texas Christian University, and both were selected in the 2019 draft.
Lodolo went in the first round (7th overall) to the Reds. Williamson was taken by the Mariners in the second round (59th overall), 10 picks after the Reds selected Rece Hinds.
They're both listed at 6-foot-6, tied for the tallest players on the Reds' roster.
Lodolo made the same number of starts (19) for the Reds last season that Williamson's made this season. But Lodolo has only started seven games this season because of the injury, a stress reaction in his left tibia, he suffered in May.
While Lodolo pitched for the Horned Frogs for three seasons, Williamson pitched for TCU for just one season after spending two seasons at North Iowa Area Community College.
Williamson was named 2019 Honorable Mention All-Big 12, posting a 4.19 ERA in 16 starts and striking out 89 while allowing just five home runs in 77 1/3 innings.
Only Graham Ashcraft and Luke Weaver have started more games for the Reds this season than Williamson.
In addition to the 98 2/3 innings Williamson's pitched (entering Tuesday) for the Reds this season, he pitched 34 innings for Triple-A Louisville before making his big-league debut on May 16 in Colorado.
In 2022, Williamson pitched a total of 122 2/3 innings between Double-A Chattanooga and Louisville.
Williamson is the only current Red from Minnesota.
In fact, Baseball-reference.com lists Williamson as the only big-league player ever born in Fairmont, Minnesota.
Williamson grew up in the middle of three small towns in rural Minnesota, Joshua Horton wrote in 2019, but his family's property has a Welcome (population: 750) address.
Williamson starred at Martin County West High School in Sherburn, Minnesota. He was a three-time all-conference honoree, and set a single-game strikeout record with 18.
Also born in Minnesota: National Baseball Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Charles Bender and Jack Morris.
Williamson credited pitching coach Derek Johnson for his recent improvement.
Williamson hasn't just been better in July in August than he was in May and June for the big-league club. He's come a long way from posting a 6.62 ERA in his eight starts with the Bats before he was promoted.
"(Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson) has been very specific and forward with what is expected and what needs to change and how I can get better," Williamson said, per The Enquirer's Charlie Goldsmith. "The uptick in velocity is directly correlated to working with him. Throwing more strikes is correlated to him."
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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