THE INCREASE: The Grind - Xavier Scruggs

Baseball The Increase

THE INCREASE: The Grind – Xavier Scruggs

By The Increase Feb 19, 2020

(Photo courtesy of Xavier Scruggs)

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Baseball

DeAmez Ross helps lead UCF back to NCAA Tournament, leans on ‘my love for the Lord’

By Cole Claybourn May 28, 2026

Central Florida's DeAmez Ross, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Central Florida Baseball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years, and a big reason why is center fielder DeAmez Ross. The senior is batting .281 with three home runs and 34 RBIs, but perhaps his most important asset is his speed. He leads the team with 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts.

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The Knights (31-21) earned an at-large bid and the No. 2 seed in the Auburn Regional, and face North Carolina State on Friday. Ross played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Florida State, where he started 36 total games and hit .287 with 41 hits, two home runs and 17 RBIs. He ended his freshman season with a 12-game hitting streak.

DeAmez Ross goes back-to-back with a solo homer 💥 pic.twitter.com/4pbtcGTYuZ

— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 25, 2026

But he also missed 18 games due to an injury one season. That has since become a major part of who he is as a player, as well as his personal testimony.

“I just felt so lost,” he said in March on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast. “I didn’t know who I was. I wasn’t happy.”

Rather than turn inward, he turned outward. And upward. That season helped him become less focused on himself and instead learn how to be a better teammate. If his teammate needed a glove, he’d get it for him. When someone struck out, he was the first one there to keep their spirits up.

“I realized that it opened my eyes to understanding that this game of baseball can be taken away just like that, so be grateful for every moment that you put your cleats on, for every moment you get to be in the lineup,” he said on the podcast. “That truly changed my heart and the way I thought about baseball from my freshman year to now.”

He also started attending Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings regularly, where he was encouraged to get back in the Word consistently.

“It was a process. It took a week, and I grew deeper in my faith and my love for the Lord, just understanding that through this adversity, through these trials, that I was going to grow in my faith and learn something about myself, which was not to put my identity in baseball,” he said on the podcast. “I’m so glad that happened to me because I wouldn’t change it for the world. I became a better teammate, a better person.”

“I grew deeper in my faith and my love for the Lord.”

Listen to our full conversation with DeAmez Ross from @UCF_Baseball now!https://t.co/HfhwCcAGzc pic.twitter.com/7FqMA7i51W

— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) March 17, 2026

Now at UCF, he’s experiencing a more mature faith and he’s also seen as one of the leaders on the field. With the Knights in the postseason, he said he and the team have adopted an “attitude of gratitude” and they are playing for one another.

“We’re just grateful to put on this jersey and play with each other again,” he said while speaking with media after the NCAA Tournament selections. “We say that we have so much fun at practice, so we’re going to keep playing as long as we can because we just love each other. We’re brothers for life.”

And he’s continued being involved with FCA while at UCF.

“FCA at UCF is amazing,” he said on the podcast. “It’s something that is so much fun, and being athletes — especially baseball — we play Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so Sundays are literally filled with baseball. We don’t have time to go to church in the morning or do these things, so FCA on Monday really allows everyone to get the Word in and be in that community.”

He recently spoke at an FCA event on campus, where he shared his journey and encouraged athletes that their identity is in Christ, not their sport.

“Your sport is not who you are. Your sport doesn’t define you,” he said from the stage. “Your sport fills your journey, but God is what builds your everlasting — your character, the friendships you make.”

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Baseball

Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith knows ‘who I am in Jesus’ as he leads MLB in saves

By Kevin Mercer May 26, 2026

Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Baseball takes center stage as the calendar ticks toward summer, and the early returns are in for MLB teams with dreams of playing deep into the fall. The Cleveland Guardians are one of those teams passing with flying colors.

Behind one of the stronger pitching rotations in the majors, the Guardians sit at 32-24 and have opened up a 3.5-game lead in the American League Central through the first third of the season. A key cog in that staff has been the play of closer Cade Smith.

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Smith is leading all of MLB with 18 saves so far in 2026, which is already a career high. The 27-year-old Canadian has finished 23 of his 25 appearances on the season, allowing only one home run and five walks in 25.2 innings pitched.

His most recent appearance on Sunday against the Phillies in Philadelphia ended with a strikeout to close out the 3-1 victory.

Cade Smith, Vicious 88mph Splitter. 😤 pic.twitter.com/X4aOIa5Lfl

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 24, 2026

In his third year in the majors, Smith has been dominant in his role as full-time closer with the Guardians. It’s a role he took over part of the way through last season after the team lost Emmanuel Clase, and Smith performed so well (converting 13 of 17 save opportunities with a 2.79 ERA) that Cleveland stuck with him in 2026.

Smith, who contemplated a career as an eye surgeon after majoring in biology at the University of Hawaii, has earned the trust of the Guardians’ coaching staff.

“The dude’s not afraid to operate on someone’s eye,” manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com in March. “He’s probably not going to be afraid of getting three outs at the end of a game.”

Despite now being entrenched in his role, Smith said he recognizes the gift it is to be called a MLB closer.

“I’m not taking it for granted that I’m solidified on the team,” Smith told MLB.com. “… I’m happy to step up and happy to go out and perform, knowing that the work that I’ve done has prepared me for that, and also understanding that it’s an honor to actually be asked to pitch in those situations.”

Smith’s steady demeanor is the perfect temperament for a closer who is frequently asked to perform in high-pressure situations. That steadiness, he said, is rooted in his firm foundation of faith in Christ.

“The first and most important thing is that I’m confident and certain that my identity is not based in baseball,” he said in an interview with Guardians TV last year. “My identity is based in my faith, and that’s something that can’t be taken from me and it can’t be shaped by the highs and lows of this game, whether I go out and perform or whether I fail, because I am going to fail.”

Each time he takes the field, Smith carries a piece of God’s Word with him. Last season while signing autographs for fans before a game at Progressive Field in Cleveland, he asked them about the Bible verse inscribed on his glove, 1 Corinthians 6:11.

“Does anyone know this verse off the top of their head?” Smith asked. “This is one of my favorite verses, because basically (verses) nine and 10 are a statement of universal condemnation. … It means everyone sins. No one’s good enough. You’re not getting to Heaven on your own. Verse 11 starts, ‘and that’s what you guys were, but you were washed, justified and sanctified by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.’

“Regardless of how any outing goes — up or down, if I succeed or I struggle or I do really bad — I know that I’m not actually a pitcher. I’m washed. I’m justified. I’m sanctified. And those are things that no one can take from me.”

“Does anyone know this verse?”
Love this from Guardians pitcher Cade Smith sharing his faith with fans.

1 Cor 6:11

(📲 Nobles Darby/IG) pic.twitter.com/NsEx2uaAl1

— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) August 16, 2025

Smith reiterated the message of 1 Corinthians 6:11 during an on-field interview following a game later in the season.

“The absolute biggest thing for me is my faith,” he said, “because I know who I am in Jesus Christ. I know my relationship with Him. I’m justified, washed and sanctified, and so what I do on the baseball field doesn’t affect that.”

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A post shared by Sports Spectrum (@sports_spectrum)

Smith may be embracing and thriving in his new role as Guardians closer, but he wants everyone to know it’s a role he plays and not an identity he carries. His identity is and always will be as a beloved child in the eyes of his Heavenly Father.

With his identity secure in Christ, Smith will seek to continue to perform at an All-Star level for his teammates when they need him most. The Guardians’ next contest comes against the Washington Nationals (28-27) at home on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m. ET.

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Padres’ Gavin Sheets earns 1st Player of the Week honor, has given ‘my whole life to God’

By Cole Claybourn May 20, 2026

San Diego Padres player Gavin Sheets rounds the bases after hitting a home run, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

San Diego Padres slugger Gavin Sheets made Major League Baseball history last week when he became the first player to hit three go-ahead, three-run, ninth-inning home runs in the same season. What’s more, he accomplished the feat before the middle of May.

He continued his hot start to the season by following it up with three home runs over the weekend against the Seattle Mariners, including two in Sunday’s game.

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HOLY SHEETS!!! pic.twitter.com/BXvli2vI4M

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 14, 2026

Oh Sheets, here we go again. pic.twitter.com/qQxHF1WrPZ

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 18, 2026

He tallied a .625 batting average with four home runs and eight RBIs last week, and as a result, the 30-year-old was named the National League Player of the Week.

“It’s a cool honor. You think of all the players in the National League, and to win that for a week is pretty exciting,” Sheets told MLB Network. “But, more importantly, we played really good baseball and had two really good series on the road.”

Since arriving in San Diego before last season on a minor-league deal, Sheets has provided much-needed spark and versatility to a Padres lineup looking to keep pace with the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers. He made the opening-day roster last year and responded with the best season of his career: a .252 batting average, 19 home runs and 71 RBIs — all career highs. The Padres reached the postseason, but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card round.

Sheets has picked up where he left off, batting .254 this year with nine home runs and 21 RBIs in 44 games played, and he’s a key reason the Padres are sitting just a half-game behind the Dodgers in the NL West standings. He’s also considered one of the leaders in the clubhouse despite being in only his second full season with the club.

“I think it’s something that’s organically happened,” he told MLB Network. “Last year I came in and built relationships with the guys around here. It’s such a great clubhouse and such a great culture. Everybody just wants to win. I think there’s a respect factor when you go about things the right way and put in the work.”

There was a time earlier in his career when he would’ve let those numbers and that success define him. That mindset crumbled and his perspective shifted entirely during the pandemic-shortened season in 2020.

Sheets was drafted in the second round by the Chicago White Sox in 2017 out of Wake Forest and quickly began ascending the minor league system. He put together his best pro season in Double-A in 2019 and earned an invitation to major league spring training in 2020. Then the pandemic brought everything to an abrupt halt.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is OK. This isn’t the path I had. This isn’t the way my plan was going, but that’s OK. Baseball is going to come back and we’ll be fine,'” he said in a Sports Spectrum “I Once Was” video.

Later that June, baseball did resume — though in an abbreviated, 60-game season without fans. The minor league season was canceled, but some players were asked to report to what was essentially extended spring training to play intrasquad games against teammates. But not everyone would be participating. Some players in the organization would stay home without structured baseball activity for the time being.

A bunch of guys started getting calls about when to show up to the facility and getting relayed logistics about the season and their assignment. Sheets’ phone never rang.

“I had made baseball this idol in my life,” he said in the video. “All of my plans in all my mind, my relationships, everything was in this idol that I’d created, and I didn’t know what to do. It was a mix of emotions — anger and questioning. It was the first time that I’d really searched for God, in that moment.”

It was also the first time he realized baseball would go on whether he was a part of it or not. That was a hard pill to swallow.

“So, this thing that I had put my identity in, I’m sitting at home watching it go on. I’m watching these guys play and I’m not a part of it, and it’s not slowing down,” he said while speaking at a chapel event last month for Christian Unified Schools of San Diego. “I realized I’m putting my identity in something that doesn’t care for me.”

He soon thereafter received a text message from his college coach, Tom Walter, whom he hadn’t spoken to in about a year. The message included a story about a pastor and a farmer that was meant to provide comfort and remind Sheets to trust in God when things happen that we don’t understand.

The text also read: “You’ve always risen to the occasion. This will be no exception. Hang in there. Love you, brother.” Reading it made him break down in tears.

“I just thank God,” he said. “I just felt His presence for the first time where I needed Him the most, where I called out to Him. It was the first time where I felt myself giving my whole path to God, giving my whole future to God, giving my whole life to God and just saying, ‘I can’t do this on my own.'”

Later that summer, while visiting his grandparents, his grandfather fell and broke his leg. Because baseball had been put on pause, Sheets was able to stay home for several weeks and help care for him alongside his grandmother. Then his aunt — whom he described as being like a second mother to him — became ill and passed away later that same summer. He was there with her when she took her final breath.

“Being there and being with my family and realizing that God had greater plans than I could’ve ever imagined,” he said in the video. “The plans that I had for myself were not even half of what God had planned for me.”

That season made him realize he wasn’t using baseball or his platform to glorify God, and that needed to change. Sheets continued training on his own, and used the time to learn how to play outfield in an effort to make himself more valuable to a roster. He made his major-league debut the following year — at a position he had never played before, which he learned while being at home during the pandemic.

“Now I’m here to share my journey and how it all took a turn for a path that was even greater than I expected,” he said.

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Milwaukee Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby making history while trusting that ‘Christ loves us’

By Kevin Mercer May 18, 2026

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Aaron Ashby, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

As the calendar ticks toward summer and the first quarter of the 2026 MLB campaign draws to a close, a record-setting season may be brewing in Milwaukee.

Brewers relief pitcher Aaron Ashby has already notched eight wins (with no losses) this season in just 21 appearances, currently two more than any other pitcher in baseball, starter or reliever. Those eight wins are also already a career high for the 27-year-old in his fifth year at the MLB level.

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Ashby boasts an impressive 2.17 ERA so far in 2026, nearly matching his career-high 2.16 ERA during his breakthrough season a year ago. His hot start has been so hot, racking up so many wins, that he’s actually accomplished something that hasn’t been done in modern MLB history, which is saying something for the oldest major professional sports league in the United States. According to OptaSTATS, he is the first to collect two more relief wins than any other MLB pitcher had total wins at the end of any given day.

After Friday night, the @Brewers' Aaron Ashby now has 8 wins this year – all in relief. No one else in MLB has more than 6 wins.

It's the first time in the modern era a pitcher had at least 2 more relief wins than any other MLB pitcher had total wins at the end of any given day. pic.twitter.com/bBVianwJfU

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) May 16, 2026

The record for the most wins by a relief pitcher in MLB history is 18, set by Roy Face of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959 (57 appearances). The number seems astronomical, but Ashby is nearly halfway there and it’s only May.

In order for a reliever like Ashby to get credited with a win, the score of a given game needs to flip in their favor at a very specific time. The Brewers would need to be tied or trailing when he was called in from the bullpen and leading when he was replaced.

It’s uncommon for this to occur with relief pitchers, because their appearances are often so short. For example, Ashby’s longest appearance this season was on May 1, when he pitched 2.2 innings against the Washington Nationals. It wasn’t even one of his eight wins.

Every ball knower is a fan of Aaron Ashby pic.twitter.com/YqkmpXInYR

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 10, 2026

Aaron Ashby Filth. 😷 pic.twitter.com/VCLRtkT0qk

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 10, 2026

Ashby’s expertise on the mound this season has helped Milwaukee to a 26-18 record, good for second in a competitive National League Central. But now, as his performance is drawing attention from every corner of the baseball world, the lefty originally from Kansas City will continue to be steadied by the steadfast love of Jesus.

“I recently became a father,” Ashby wrote in a devotional for the Spring 2026 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine, “and it’s helped me gain a new glimpse into how much Christ loves us. … My wife and I look down on [our son] with this love we didn’t even know was possible — and that’s how God looks down on us.”

Before becoming parents, Ashby and his wife, Avery, struggled with fertility issues. It was a time that drove them to cling to God’s Word in Psalm 23.

“To go through that valley of darkness (v. 4) and then see it redeemed,” he wrote, “it feels like we’re now in a moment of green pastures (v. 2).”

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A post shared by Avery Ashby (@averykayashby)

“We never understand what God’s doing when we’re in the midst of a tough time. We don’t know the full picture like He does,” Ashby wrote of the darkness of infertility. “If you’re in a low moment and wondering what God is doing right now, let me encourage you to be prayerful and lean on someone around you.

“… You’ll soon look back on what you experienced and know God was with you through it all, giving you confidence that He actually never leaves your side.”

Ashby knows deeply that God gives and God takes away, even as He never leaves His children. And right now God is giving abundantly to Ashby, both in his job as a pro baseball player and personally as a father and husband.

Confident in God’s presence, Ashby will seek to continue his hot start and keep Milwaukee on its playoff trajectory. The Brewers begin a three-game series on the road against the division-leading Chicago Cubs (29-18) on Monday at 7:40 p.m. ET.

>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<