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Former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel was among the dozens killed when the roof of a nightclub in the Dominican Republic collapsed during the early hours of Tuesday morning.

At least 58 people died and 160 were injured at the nightclub in Santo Domingo where a crowd that included athletes and politicians were attending a merengue concert.

Dotel, who was 51 at the time of his death, started his 15-year MLB career with the New York Mets in 1999. He played for a then record 13 different teams, spending the most time with the Houston Astros between 2000 and 2004. His career high-point came when he was part of the St Louis Cardinals that won the World Series in 2011. His final season in the majors was with the Detroit Tigers in 2013. Dotel was known as a strikeout pitcher and at his peak was one of the best relievers in the league.

Related: At least 58 people dead after roof collapse at Dominican Republic nightclub

“We are heartbroken to learn the tragic news that former Astros pitcher Octavio Dotel was one of several individuals that passed away when a roof collapsed in his native Dominican Republic last night,” the Astros said in a statement on Tuesday. “While in Houston, he was one of the top relievers in all of baseball and was a significant part of a dominant bullpen that included Hall of Famer Billy Wagner and All-Star Brad Lidge. A workhorse, Dotel’s club-leading 159 appearances in 2002-03 combined were second in the Majors in that span, during which he posted a 2.15 ERA.”

During the Mets-Marlins broadcast on Tuesday afternoon, longtime Mets play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen said: “Everyone who ever met Octavio loved him.”

Another Dominican baseball player, Tony Blanco, was killed in the collapse. He had briefly played for the Washington Nationals in 2005.

Dotel overcame significant challenges on his way to the majors, including the death of his father who was murdered during a robbery. Dotel said he used baseball as a way of keeping his mind off his father’s death. “I can do nothing if I go to the ballpark and think about him all the time,” Dotel said. “I just have to keep playing hard and get what I’m looking for. I think God helps me because I’m here. I’m here and I appreciate it. I would enjoy it more if my dad was still here, but everybody’s got to die.”

Jet Set, the nightclub where Tuesday’s tragedy took place, says it is cooperating with authorities. “The loss of human life leaves us in a state of deep pain and dismay,” the nightclub said in a statement.

There was one positive aspect to come out of the New York Rangers’ 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night. 

Before the start of the game, Jonathan Quick was named the winner of the Rod Gilbert Mr. Ranger Award. 

The award recognizes the Rangers player “who best honors Rod’s legacy by exemplifying leadership qualities both on and off the ice and making a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.”

Quick now joins Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, and Adam Fox as players to win this award.

“It’s an honor. I know a lot of guys who’ve won it over the years and what they’ve meant to this organization and obviously what he’s meant to this organization and the legacy he’s left behind,” Quick said.

Since coming to the Rangers in 2023, Quick has been forced to adapt to an entirely new role as the backup goalie behind Igor Shesterkin which he’s taken in stride. 

Not only has he taken it in stride, but the 39-year-old goalie is now one of the team’s most important and impactful leaders. 

The Rangers management clearly valued Quick and rewarded him with a one-year, $1.55 million contract extension a few weeks ago. 

Off of the ice through his time with the Rangers, Quick has gotten involved with the Garden of Dreams Foundation and helped spread awareness about the importance of mental health in athletes. 

“Through your experiences and what you’re able to go through, you look forward to the opportunity to give back, so that definitely means a lot,” Quick said.

Even approaching 40-years-old, Quick’s presence and value are still priceless.

What we learned as Giants waste Roupp's strong start in loss to Reds originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants’ original City Connects weren’t at all popular when they were first released, but over time, Tuesday nights at Oracle Park came to be associated with winning. The creamsicles were 30-16 before getting retired last September. 

The new version took the field for the first time on Tuesday, but it was another quiet night for the lineup and another loss to the Cincinnati Reds. After getting blanked 2-0 in the opener, the Giants fell 1-0 on Tuesday. The series loss is their first of the year, and they’ll try to avoid the sweep on Wednesday behind Justin Verlander. 

Debutando nuevos uniformes 🟠🟣 pic.twitter.com/Vfzf8ZWkUT

— SF Gigantes (@SFGigantes) April 9, 2025

A night after getting overwhelmed by Hunter Greene, the Giants had just three hits in six innings against lefty Nick Lodolo. Trailing by a run, they got a leadoff single in the bottom of the eighth, but the runner was quickly erased when Heliot Ramos bounced into a double play. Willy Adames followed with his third strikeout of the night and 15th of the season.

The Reds got a leadoff double from Gavin Lux in the top of the ninth, but Hayden Birdsong got out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts that stranded Lux on third. In his third career relief appearance, Birdsong allowed just one hit over three innings, but it didn’t lead to a comeback.

Here are three observations from the Giants’ second consecutive shutout loss:

Much More Like It

Landen Roupp fought his command the first time out, but on Tuesday he looked just like the pitcher who spent all spring winning a rotation job. Roupp needed just 81 pitches to cruise through a career-high six innings. He scattered seven hits, struck out four and walked none.

Roupp got two strikeouts on his sinker and two on his curve, which is the norm for him, but his cutter was also a standout. It’s a pitch Roupp added in the offseason as a way to give lefties a different look and he threw 10 of them, eight of which were strikes. 

First Of All

Casey Schmitt had a costly misplay in Houston, but it made sense. He was starting at first base for the first time in six years and had just a couple of days to prepare before games. Given an extra week, and a lot of extra coaching on this homestand, Schmitt looked much more comfortable Tuesday. 

The biggest moment came in the fourth, when the Reds put two on with one out. Jose Trevino tried to put a squeeze down, but Schmitt charged it and made a perfect exchange and throw to the plate, preventing a run. The Giants always knew Schmitt had the hands and athleticism to handle first, but they were concerned that it might take some time for the natural third baseman to figure out where to be on every play. That wasn’t an issue Tuesday. 

Schmitt nails the runner at the plate ‼ pic.twitter.com/mmn5RfGQzx

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 9, 2025

Schmitt also picked up his first two hits of the year, a double down the left field line and a single to right that was the first hit off Lodolo’s changeup this season. 

On The Board

Schmitt wasn’t the only one who put a batting average on the scoreboard. Sam Huff was hitless in his first 10 plate appearances of the year, but he lined a single through the right side of the infield in the third inning and then singled again to lead off the bottom of the eighth. Huff also made a strong throw down to second in the fourth inning to keep Christian Encarnacion-Strand from swiping a bag. 

The Giants need their backup catcher to keep it up, because they’re having a hard time finding breaks for Patrick Bailey. The starting catcher has appeared in all 11 games this season, never getting a full day off. He has entered all four of Huff’s starts in the late innings, and he did so Tuesday. 

After Huff’s second hit, Christian Koss took over as a pinch-runner. Bailey was behind the plate for the top of the ninth. 

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Francisco Lindoris thinking about a game against the Miami Marlins about a week ago. In the first at-bat against Sandy Alcántara — the Cy Young award-winner who returned to the mound this season after missing a year — Lindor got ahead 2-1 before Alcántara induced a weak ground out. 

“Then, the next at bat, there’s a guy on third base and I had a better game plan against him and [knew] how the ball was moving,” Lindor said, “ended up getting a base hit.” 

Pregame, he’d prepared to face Alcántara, of course. Watched tape, maybe even took some swings against a robotic replication of the ace’s arsenal using the Trajekt Arc machine. But there are some things you can’t learn until you actually step into the batter's box against a pitcher on a particular day. 

“The way the ball moves,” Lindor said. “How the weather is, and how does that affect his outing. Whether he can locate certain pitches or is his fastball not the same way. Also, you learn the umpire. You understand the catcher a little bit more. Then you see how the infield is playing you. There’s a lot. Yeah, you could study film, but until you’re in the moment, doesn’t really mean that it’s going to go how you studied.”

The single scored a run, though the Mets went on to lose, 4-2. If he had gotten a chance to face Alcántara a third time in that game, the numbers show Lindor could have done even more damage

Hitters, as a monolith, do better facing pitchers a third time in the game. Historically, that phenomenon has been framed as a pitcher problem — the “times through the order penalty.” In fact, rarely do starters get the chance to face an order the third time through because of how entrenched that understanding has become in the modern game. Alcántara, for instance, has allowed a .603 OPS to opposing hitters the first time he faces them in a game and .718 if he’s left in to face them a third time. 

There’s far less research done on the “times through the order” boost that batters enjoy. But a recent article in Baseball Prospectus looked at just that — and specifically whether improving as the game goes on is a skill that certain hitters excel at. What the researchers found was that there is “stickiness” to that ability — which is to say, the guys who are good at it, stay good at it year over year — and that, last year, no one was better at it than Lindor. His expected wOBA improved .027 points from the first time facing a pitcher in a game to the third time. 

“It makes sense, it makes sense,” Lindor said when he was told this superlative on Monday. He does feel more comfortable as the game goes along. Still, he was a little surprised. “I know I’m good at getting better. I know I'm good at gathering the information and then making it better. But I never think of like, I'm the best, I'm the best, I'm the best. My confidence doesn’t work like that.” 

His president of baseball operations, David Stearns, however, was not surprised. 

“It doesn't surprise me that he would do well on that list,” Stearns said Monday. He hadn’t seen the research but was intrigued by the concept. “[Lindor] is such an intelligent player, and I think he understands very quickly what many pitchers are trying to do to him on that given day. And so just the incremental data gain that he gets from (an) at-bat or from pitch to pitch, it does not surprise me that maybe it benefits him a little bit more than it would benefit another player.” 

Lindor said he always watches back his at-bats on the dugout iPads as soon as he can. “But I’m not watching to see sequences because I remember sequences. I'm watching to see if I made the right decisions [on swings],” he said. “Because I can hit anybody. But if I’m not making the right decision, most likely won’t be successful.”

Brandon Nimmo was 10th last year in wOBA improvement from the first to third time facing a pitcher in a single game. And Juan Soto — then on the Yankees but, of course, now sharing a clubhouse, lineup, and any intel gathered mid-at-bat with the rest of the Mets — was third. 

“On Soto,” Stearns said, “I would imagine you could look at almost analytic offensively over the last couple years, and he would rate pretty well.”