It was a good-looking Shane Baz that greeted New York tonight. Not only did the O's starter make a big first impression, striking out three Yankees in the first inning (and on three different pitches!—curveball, heater, changeup), he also pinched into the seventh and struck out a season-high ten batters.
Alas, as my colleague Paul Folkemer put it in his preview of this series, through no fault of his own, Baz has been something of a bad-luck charm for this Orioles offense, and tonight, it was like that again. In total, the Birds managed just four hits (all but one singles). They scored just once, on a Coby Mayo solo homer (his second four-bagger in two nights), instead going 0-for-6 as a team with runners in scoring position, with seven men left on.
There's probably blame to be allotted for the bad hitting, but let's start with cheers for the good pitching. The box score says Shane Baz gave us 6 1/3 innings and three earned runs, but this is largely due to a Josh Walker stumble in the seventh. I'll be darned if Baz didn't look much better than that. So let's give him his deserved kudos.
Baz whiffed the first three Yankees hitters he saw, plus two more in the second. It was a ruthless beginning. Four of his first five outs were by K. The fastball was zippy, the sinker was running, and the knuckle curve was unhittable.
For six innings, Baz made just one mistake, a hung changeup to leadoff man Trent Grisham, who somehow was well out front of the offspeed pitch, put a weird swing on it, and still managed to send it to the flag court. Baseball is full of random things like that, but seeing how the two starters looked it was a real surprise, truthfully, that the Yankees had struck first.

#yankees #shane #good #tonight

The New York Yankees got a key piece of their rotation back Tuesday night with the return of three-time All-Star Carlos Rodón from a multi-week layoff.
Rodón was limited to 4 innings in his first MLB game since June 28, but he looked good in those frames while allowing a single run via a solo home run.
Rodón had been sidelined due to left elbow inflammation following a strong start to his season. He made multiple rehab starts before being cleared for Tuesday's road game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Rodón issued an early walk to Tyler O'Neill, but didn't allow another base-runner in the first inning. He then faced pressure in the second before working out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam that was created in part by an error by Jazz Chisholm Jr. on what could have been an inning-ending double-play ground ball.
Rodón got Carlos Narváez out with a swinging third strike for the second out of the frame. He then caught leadoff hitter Jackson Holliday looking with high heat on the outside corner.

#tuesday

PORTLAND, Maine — Red Sox left fielder Roman Anthony will play in a baseball game Tuesday for the first time in three-and-a-half months.
Anthony will serve as the designated hitter and bat second as he begins a rehab ******* ignment with Double-A Portland. First pitch at Hadlock Field against Reading is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
"I was driving here today, and it just felt weird to finally be here," Anthony said. "A long process for me and took a lot longer than I could have expected when I first did it. But I'm happy that it's all behind me and I can just play baseball."
The 22-year-old tore a ligament under his right ring finger while swinging during an at-bat in Detroit on May 4.
He initially expected to be on the injured list for the minimum 10 days.

#expected #maine

The National League Cy Young race has turned into one of the most competitive individual award battles in MLB. Several elite starters have put together seasons that would make them serious contenders in almost any other year, but only one pitcher will ultimately take home the hardware.
MLB.com's latest expert poll has five pitchers standing above the rest: Jacob Misiorowski, Cristopher Sánchez, Chris Sale, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Chase Burns.
MORE: MLB catcher Jake Rogers breaks a 122-year-old record
Jun 19, 2026; ****** berland, Georgia, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
Jacob Misiorowski has emerged as the clear favorite after a dominant season with Milwaukee. The hard-throwing right-hander has overwhelmed hitters with elite velocity and has separated himself from the rest of the field in the latest MLB.com voting. Misiorowski previously led the league in ERA, strikeouts and WHIP during the season, and his combination of run prevention and swing-and-miss ability has made him extremely difficult to hit.

#rest

Now that we're in August, training camps are in full swing, and the NFL is about to start its next regular season. Depth charts will shuffle, waivers will be used, and it will all lead to new visions for teams in development.
Until then, we get to look at some more power rankings before all that shuffling begins. The latest we are looking at is from ESPN, which takes a unique spin by giving future power rankings that project teams out over the next couple of years.
They discussed several topic and stories related to the teams coming out of the rankings. While they ranked the Vikings 18th in the piece, they also discussed a reason as to why Vikings fans should be hopeful for the future. According to ESPN's Ben Solak, it comes down to the coaching staff.
He writes, "They have elite coaches. Kevin O'Connell remains one of the league's preeminent schemers, and his history of elevating quarterback talent bodes well. On the defensive side, Brian Flores is the most unique playcaller in the NFL; his blitz-happy approach consistently puts the best offensive schemers on their backfoot. It's hard to imagine a bad long-term future with both of those coaches secured."
The Vikings have almost two head coaches on the staff at the moment due to having Flores there still. He is deserving of another head coaching chance, but the Vikings will enjoy their spoilment of riches. Also, not to be forgotten, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips and special teams coordinator Matt Daniels, who also deserve praise.

#future

It's already been do-or-die time for the Nationals as their chances of a playoff berth begin to slip away, but this series against the Texas Rangers might be their final chance to ignite a late push. Washington is 5-10 in the month of August, and, coming off a 3-game sweep at the hands of the New York Mets, find themselves 6 games below .500 and 7.0 games back of a playoff spot. If there's any chance that this team could see a playoff game, they need to swing the momentum immediately.
Their opponent, the Rangers, are clinging to the last Wild Card spot at just a 61-64 record. They're also just 2.0 games behind the Houston Astros for the top spot in the American League West, and this series could be a big one for them to instill themselves further in the playoff picture.
Game One – Tuesday 8:05 PM ET
WSH: LHP Jackson Kent (0-0, 6.75 ERA)
TEX: RHP Cal Quantrill (4-4, 3.44 ERA)
Kent showed a lot in his first start at the MLB level, with plenty of good and bad to go around. He racked up 6 strikeouts in 4.0 innings, but walked 5 and gave up 3 earned runs. The 23-year-old will have his chance to make an argument for his future on the MLB club in the next few weeks, and it starts with a good outing in the series opener.

#playoff #good

As in nearly every season since the Cleveland Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, there are questions about the quarterback position, with a camp battle to start the season between veteran Deshaun Watson and second-year player Shedeur Sanders. So far, it seems like Watson might have a leg up on the competition, but in the end, neither one of these two has looked like a franchise quarterback that can lead this team for years to come.
However, one thing that stuck out during the Browns' loss to the Bears in the preseason opener was the weapons around the position, like first-round pick KC Concepcion, who looked like the dynamic difference-making playmaker he was drafted to be.
ESPN ******* yst Mina Kimes agrees with this, saying that she thinks the Browns are just a quarterback away from winning games. Kimes also highlighted Harold Fannin Jr and Quinshon Judkins, who both showed impressive ability as rookies last year despite the rest of the offense around them being terrible.
More likely than not, this season will be about these young players getting experience and developing as the team prepares to draft their quarterback to be the missing piece in next year's draft, unless the team decides to get aggressive and make a move for a quarterback to take a swing on this year via trade.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: ESPN ******* yst believes Browns are a 'quarterback away' from winning

#Browns #season #year #team

The NFL season is only a few weeks away, with the preseason in full swing. A new quest for Super Bowl LXI will begin as the Seattle Seahawks open the season as defending champions.
The league has recently been placed front and center in the world of sports gambling. Most notably, the NFL and the NCAA had to deal with the threat of lawsuits from former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who sought to play professional football in 2026.
Now, the NFL continues to embrace its complicated relationship with sports betting. A recent report indicated that the league has struck a new deal with Fanatics Sportsbook to become an official sportsbook partner.
MORE: Roger Goodell has 'no doubt' there will be NFL teams outside the United States
"Fanatics has signed on as an official sportsbook of the NFL, breaking a logjam that left the sponsor category vacant for the league since multiyear deals with FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars expired at the end of March. The deal, expected to be announced before the start of the season, includes rights to promote across NFL-controlled media channels, allowing Fanatics to air spots during game broadcasts," Bill King of the Sports Business Journal reported.

#fanatics

On August 6, Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) held its second-quarter 2026 earnings webcast, reporting strong quarterly net profit and gross profit driven by record production volumes rather than peak Brent prices. Executives said the quarter delivered the highest recurring net profit and the highest gross profit in company history, even though oil prices in the period ranked outside the ten highest quarters Petrobras has ever posted. That distinction matters, because it points to something more durable than a commodity tailwind: production that keeps beating its own targets.
Petrobras pumped 2.7 million barrels of oil per day in the quarter, a 15% jump from a year earlier and 200,000 barrels per day above its own 2.5 million target. Several platforms are doing more than they were built for. The Almirante Tamandare FPSO at Buzios has a nameplate capacity of 225,000 barrels per day but hit a peak of 270,000, making it the highest-producing platform in Brazil. Six other platforms are running above their original capacity too, adding more than 100,000 barrels per day combined, output the company says required no new construction spending.
Refining kept pace. Utilization topped 100% for the quarter and hit 102% in April and May, while the company held its mix of diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline steady rather than shifting toward cheaper output. That let Petrobras cut oil product imports by 40% from the prior quarter and lift exports by 12%. Adjusted EBITDA, excluding one-off items, reached $20 billion, up 70% from the first quarter and nearly double a year earlier, while operating cash flow climbed almost 50% quarter-over-quarter to $12.3 billion.
Growth this fast isn't free. Petrobras spent $5.3 billion on capital projects in the quarter, up 4% from the first quarter's $5.1 billion, with 82% of that aimed at exploration and production. First-half operating expenses reached $11.7 billion, already more than half the full-year plan of $20.2 billion, pressured by freight and logistics costs tied to the added output plus exchange-rate swings. Management said expenses could exceed that plan if logistics costs and the exchange rate hold at current levels.
Debt tells a mixed story. Petrobras prepaid $2.9 billion in loans and bonds during the quarter and is targeting $65 billion in net debt over its plan horizon, versus the $60.4 billion net debt and $70.8 billion gross debt it reported. But renegotiating recharter and well-service contracts to save over $1 billion through 2030 required reorganizing lease liabilities right away, pushing them higher near-term even as future payments shrink. And despite record output, Petrobras still needs imports to fully cover diesel demand.

#debt #highest #barrels #first

On August 7, AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) reported second-quarter sales of $421 million, up about 3% from a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA fell $24 million to $32 million and adjusted EPS dropped $1.50 to $0.19. Behind those numbers sits a story of two forces pulling in opposite directions: a $72 million year-over-year jump in raw material costs, and a fertilizer season where farmers spent less than the company expected. What stands out is how completely AdvanSix priced its way through the cost spike, even as volume told a rougher story.
The quarter's 3% sales growth broke down into 18% favorable pricing against a 15% volume decline. Raw material pass-through pricing rose 13% as benzene and propylene costs climbed, while market-based pricing improved 5%, largely on higher plant nutrient pricing tied to sulfur input costs. That combination fully offset the $72 million raw material headwind for the quarter, and the swing looked even sharper sequentially: a $10 million net price/cost headwind in the first quarter flipped into a $39 million tailwind in the second. AdvanSix also closed out the full fertilizer year near a record for domestic granular ammonium sulfate volume, supported by progress toward a 75% ammonium sulfate granular conversion mix, with its sustained growth program generating returns above 30%.
Looking ahead, the company plans to grow ammonia sales volume 30% in 2026 against 2025's already record year, and it is applying for a USDA grant to expand ammonia capacity further. Management also pointed to a stronger cash flow picture in the back half of 2026, citing a lower capital spending run rate, working capital tailwinds from the fourth quarter fertilizer pre-buy program, and 45Q carbon capture tax credits.
The same quarter that showed pricing discipline also showed real demand strain. Plant nutrient volume came in below expectations as rising grower input costs met steady, lower crop and grain prices, squeezing farmer profitability enough to cut overall fertilizer consumption and drive a $17 million unfavorable volume impact. A planned ammonia plant turnaround, shifted into the quarter to align with a supplier's pipeline inspection, added another $4 million operational hit. Sulfur costs have been a bigger problem still. The Tampa sulfur marker closed at a record $705 per long ton in the third quarter, up from $655 in the second, and AdvanSix estimates every $100 per long ton move costs it roughly $35 million a year.

#quarter #year #pricing #sulfur

The Crosstown Classic started with a soul-crushing extra-inning heartbreak for the White Sox with a Cubs walk-off. Despite the game staying close and competitive, poor challenges and sloppy defense doomed the South Siders. The Sox fell 7-5 in the opener.
The game got off to an ugly start after the White Sox went down in order and Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki answered with back-to-back homers. With two outs, the Cubs threatened again with back-to-back singles, but Pedro Ramírez sent a ball right to Brenton Doyle, ending the first.
After wasting an ABS challenge to start the third, Sam Antonacci reached anyway when he was plunked. But that wouldn't yield any good results, as Shōta Imanaga shut down the next three White Sox batters. Luis Castillo seemed to have settled in by the bottom of the third, and the guys behind him helped strand the only baserunner in the frame.
The first hit for the White Sox came in the fourth via Miguel Vargas, right after a walk to Munetaka Murakami. Then, with one swing of the bat, Randal Grichuk gave the Good Guys the lead with a three-run homer.
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#back #good #walk

Yesterday against the Phillies, the Twins scored four in the first, failed to add on in the middle innings, and ended up losing the game after the bullpen blew the lead. Tonight, the Twins scored four in the first, failed to add on in the middle innings, but won the game when the bullpen was able to preserve the lead. Though, they were one nice Kody Clemens play away from this being almost exactly the same as yesterday.
Let's start at the beginning.
After a short rain delay, the Twins came into this outing with a clear strategy against old friend Martín Perez: don't swing at anything low if you don't have two strikes, and it worked very well as Perez couldn't find the bottom of the zone early. The first six Minnesota batters reached to give the Twins an early advantage.
Luke Keaschall led off the bottom of the first with a hustle double, then Perez walked both Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers to load the bases for the middle of the lineup. Josh Bell then hit a two run double to give the Twins an early lead, but however you're picturing this Bell double came to pass, you're almost definitely wrong.
View Link

#first

The Los Angeles Dodgers are starting their road trip off on a strong note at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies, and it was none other than Max Muncy who broke open the floodgates at the plate on Monday, Aug. 17.
In the top of the third inning, Muncy took full advantage of a sinker right down the middle of the plate from Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano and turned on it, sending the ball sailing into the second deck for a three-run home run to open up a five-run lead for LA. Coming in at a Statcast-projected 461 feet, it was the longest home run hit by a Dodger in 2026. The team's previous longest homer this season also belongs to Muncy at Coors Field when he hit one 452 feet on April 17.
Shohei Ohtani matched that with a 452-footer of his own in the top of the sixth on Monday.
Muncy continues to swing the bat well even as the Dodgers have collectively struggled at the plate since the trade deadline, hitting 10-for-44 with three home runs and 11 RBI with a .477 slugging percentage in the month of August while LA has dropped 11 of their last 16 games, including three of a pivotal four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers that could have postseason implications.
"We haven't been good," Muncy told reporters after Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Brewers. "It's one of those stretches. We need urgency. We need to fix some things. … Today really sucked. It was a big game. We kind of needed to win this one, and we didn't. But it's just how it goes."

#Dodgers #Rockies #Monday

Red Sox Prospect Wears No. 34 and Has Other Similarities With David Ortiz originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox have had the pleasure of watching some of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history put on their jersey.
At the top of that list is David Ortiz, the now 50-year-old former first baseman and designated hitter who is a Hall of Famer, three-time World Series champion, and 10-time All-Star.
All Ortiz did throughout his career was swing the bat at a ridiculously high level, finishing with 541 home runs and driving in 1,768 RBIs.
Anyone comparing a player to Ortiz is probably being a bit outrageous.

#ortiz #time #prospect #wears

Peter Thiel's Thiel Macro hedge fund has been conspicuously out of investing in stocks for a while.
His fund reported zero 13F holdings at the end of December 2025 and again showed nothing as of March 31, 2026.
That's why Thiel Macro's Q2 filing is particularly shocking, returning with a massive $418.7 million portfolio.
His biggest Q2 swing is the most interesting.
The Big Tech giant has been firmly in the green over the past month after reporting earnings, after investors got clearer evidence that the enormous capex is translating into durable sales. Nevertheless, its management ****** ped 2026 capital spending to $220 billion.

#conspicuously

Enjoy your free Monday nights now.
In exactly four weeks, the first "Monday Night Football" game of the season will take place.
With training camp and preseason in full swing and roster cuts coming up at the end of the month, the new season is just around the corner.
That means it won't be long before NFL football will be on your TV screens every Monday through the end of the year. The Green Bay Packers play just once on MNF and it's not until Week 17, the final week of "Monday Night Football."
Here's what to know about the NFL season and the Monday Night Football schedule:

#green

Rory McIlroy shook off some rust at the FedEx St. Jude Championship — but not much else.
Returning from a long layoff for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the opening playoff event, McIlroy posted rounds of 74, 70, 72 and 72 to finish in 66th place. He said the week was a constant battle with his swing and he was never able to get comfortable.
"Obviously didn't come in here with a ton of reps, almost felt like the more the week went on, the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit," McIlroy said after Sunday's final round. "Swing wasn't in sync and obviously didn't do a ton of practice coming in here."
2026 FedEx Cup standings: Who made top 50 entering BMW Championship?

#swing #week #here

MomTok's infamous soft-swinging scandal — which became the subject of Hulu's Secret Lives of Mormon Wives — is facing new scrutiny
On Aug. 14, Kenna Gibbons, who was involved in the scandal, made a new series of videos addressing her involvement and slamming former friend Taylor Frankie Paul
Paul's mom, Liann May, and ex-husband, Tate Paul, have since weighed in through a series of fiery social media messages
Taylor Frankie Paul's mother and ex-husband are publicly feuding about the infamous "soft-swinging scandal" that kicked off The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
In 2022, Paul went viral when she announced on TikTok that she and her then-husband, Tate Paul, were getting a divorce after he crossed a line in their soft-swinging arrangement. The reality star revealed at the time that she and several other members of MomTok — a group of Mormon mothers and influencers based in Utah — had an agreement where they traded partners for romantic intimacy.

#mormon #lives

The Jets had a bit of a scare during Monday's practice.
Star running back Breece Hall was forced to leave the session early as he went down untouched while running after pulling in a swing pass in the open field.
Hall walked off slowly alongside trainers to the medical tent.
Head coach Aaron Glenn revealed later Monday morning that the 25-year-old strained his groin, and is set to undergo further evaluation.
The initial belief, though, is that the injury isn't believed to be serious.

#hall #running #scare

USA Today's Austin Curtright named the top 10 most impactful transfers in the Big Ten for the 2026 college football season. There are a lot of impact positions in this group of course.
Now, will all these transfers pan out? Not necessarily. But, these teams took some big swings in some cases to fill roster holes and it could be boom or bust. Not to mention, there are a few quarterbacks on this list.
$19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage
So without further ado, let's take a look at the 10 most impactful transfers in the Big Ten for 2026. We'll start out west with two guys who followed their coach for a new, sunny location!
Knight followed his head coach Bob Chesney to the Big Ten after playing for James Madison. It took him until 2024 to get solid reps and get moving, but he broke out in 2025.

#impactful #austin

The USC Trojans started fall camp being dealt a bad hand. Starting center Kilian O'Connor went down with an injury, but it's safe to say the play they will get at tackle will be more than serviceable, with a new 5-star recruit starting training camp with a bang. Keenyi Pepe has been off to a great start, and it will be hard to keep a guy with his traits off the field.
In a recent article, Billy Tucker highlights a freshman who can make a key impact for USC this season in the trenches. Here is what he had to say about Keenyi Pepe:
"Pepe is USC's best offensive tackle recruit since ESPN introduced the rankings in 2006 and the highest-graded offensive tackle to reach campus since Chuma Edoga in 2015. Pepe has excellent size at 6-7, 330 pounds, light feet and savvy technique for being 19 years old. Those are the building blocks for a long-term cornerstone left tackle. USC threw him into the fire in spring ball, getting Pepe reps at both tackle positions, and he could push for early playing time as a swing tackle."
Pepe will be a difference maker for USC with the versatility he has. His size and big frame are one thing that definitely stands out, but how quickly he can move will make a big impact when he gets his chance to start. The Trojans' offense will be even more explosive with someone like him on the offensive line getting out in **** e, wreaking havoc. The 5-star tackle will not wait to make an impact for the Trojans, and with some injuries already taking place in camp, Pepe has a real shot to be a day 1 contributor.
Contact/Follow TrojansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of USC Trojans news, notes and opinion.

#pepe #Trojans #camp #keenyi

WNBA fans engaged in an intense discussion about Caitlin Clark's MVP prospects on Sunday after the Indiana Fever superstar scored 26 points and dished nine ******* ists against Angel Reese's Atlanta Dream.
Clark led Indiana to a 95-91 overtime win, too. Former NFL player-turned-analyst Robert Griffin III initiated the talks after declaring Clark an MVP "frontrunner."
"Caitlin Clark 26 pts, 9 ******* ists, 3 Rebs and a big time win over the Atlanta Dream. Caitlin Clark should be the front runner for WNBA MVP. ******* ody impacts the game more with scoring & ******* ists. 3rd in PPG 1st in ******* ists/game," Griffin wrote. "No one in WNBA history has ever finished top 3 in PPG & 1st in ******* ists."
Griffin believes Clark's contributions in two major ways, with her scoring and ******* isting, should be a swing factor in fueling her MVP case. Clark is on course to finish as a top-three scorer and No. 1 in ******* ists, averaging 22.0 ppg and 8.3 apg.
After initial concerns about her shooting efficiency, Clark has improved in those areas, too. She's converting 45.0% of her field goal attempts and 35.4% of her 3-point attempts.

#WNBA #indiana

ARDMORE, Pa. — Merion, the club and the course, is about as English as anything American thing could be, and Sunday here — for the finale of the 126th U.S. Amateur — was dank and wet and of-so-English. An Englishman was playing a kid from California. The Englishman won. Not a shocker.
There was something truly great about this Am, the whole seven days of it: six days of hot, dry golf leading to this rainy, cool Sunday; 312 players whittled down to two; and a final featuring two totally dissimilar golfers. Jack Whaley, deeply tanned and powerfully built, grew up in Doncaster, England, plays at Florida State and has a ready-for-the-Tour swing and a grind-it-out demeanor. Jay Leng Jr. grew up in San Diego, plays at Stanford, could not weigh 130 pounds, has a stance wider than Moe Norman's and a backswing shorter than Jon Rahm's, and follows no known playbook but his own. It was a delight watching these two go at it in this 36-hole final. Whaley won the match with a birdie on 15, the final nail in his 4-and-3 victory.
Arnold Palmer, who won this event in 1954, offered this as a swing tip for life: "Swing your swing." A cousin to you do you. Leng, winner of the Western Amateur earlier this summer who will represent the U.S. at next month's Walker Cup at Lahinch in Ireland, did not know Palmer's three-word phrase but understood its message. "I've always done things my own way and it seems to be working so I don't see any reason to change now," Leng said Sunday night, about to board a van for a ride back to the clubhouse as Whaley's new trophy was being brought to the 15th green.
By 14, Leng was playing without a hat, his black hair so wet he looked like he had just stepped out of a shower, his shirt close to soaked. Asked if he had learned anything over the course of the day about playing in the rain, he said, "Maybe carry more towels?" He was wet and worn out and tired. A U.S. Amateur can take a lot out of a guy, and so can golf in a steady rain.
Andy North won his two U.S. Opens playing in cold and wet conditions. He is now a member of the USGA executive committee — nice get, USGA! — and was at the award presentation. "Not a shock to see a player from England play so well in these conditions — you would think he has a lot of experience at it," North said Sunday night. "Playing in the rain really requires you to stay as dry as you possibly can while keeping your mind totally focused on the shots you have to make, never giving in to the rain for a second." Andy North was a master of keeping two towels in the spokes of his umbrella while playing in the rain, one for the grips, the other for his hands.

#playing #amateur

After the Boston Red Sox ripped off a 15-game winning streak, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow ended up being a buyer, rather than a seller, at the MLB trade deadline on August 3.
Breslow's team went from the basement of the American League standings at the end of July to the second AL wild-card spot by the deadline. It was a no-brainer which direction he was heading two weeks ago. Breslow's big move at the deadline was acquiring catcher Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles.
He was on the injured list when he was acquired with left wrist inflammation, but after a couple of rehab ***** ignment games in Triple-A with the Worcester Red Sox, he was activated on August 11 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Since going into the lineup, things haven't gone as planned for Rutschman or the Red Sox.
Boston finished a seven-game road trip against the Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates at 2-5 after an 8-3 loss on Sunday. They dropped three out of four in Toronto and two out of three in Pittsburgh. During that stretch, Rutschman has struggled at the plate.
The former No. 1 overall pick by the Orioles in 2019 is just 1-for-17 with nine strikeouts. Some of the at-bats have produced some bad-looking swings. However, Rutschman isn't going to change much heading to Fenway Park for his first series as a member of the Red Sox.

#rutschman #august #pittsburgh

It didn't take long at all for Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson to know that something was wrong after he swung through a 96 mph fastball in the third inning of Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
And now, the Cubs might be without their starting shortstop for an extended time.
Almost immediately after the swing, Swanson tossed his batting helmet out of frustration and leaned forward in pain. He knew right away that it was the kind of injury that could sideline him. And after a brief conversation with the training staff and manager Craig Counsell, Swanson exited the game into the clubhouse.
During the game, the team described Swanson's injury as "left side discomfort." But after the 11-4 loss to the Cardinals, Counsell confirmed that it was an oblique injury for Swanson.
The team placed Swanson on the 10-day Injured List, and he's set to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.

#Cubs #dansby #almost

Your recap for the Cubs' 11-4 loss to the Cardinals Sunday is basically in the headline. Edward Cabrera returned from injury, got hit hard and didn't have command, and then Dansby Swanson took a swing in the third inning and immediately came out of the game.
I guess I could wrap things here, but… you come here for a complete recap and you are going to get one.
First, I was amused by this sequence of social media posts. When Craig Counsell met with media before the game, here's what he said about the Cubs upcoming rotation:
Five-plus hours later, after Cabrera's disastrous outing, here's what the media heard from Counsell:
Gee, Craig. Ya think?!?!?!

#counsell #sunday

From 70 to 50. The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs rolls on to Week 2 of the postseason and now just 50 golfers remain.
The second leg of the playoffs takes the Tour to Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis for the BMW Championship, the lone playoff event to be played at a different venue each season. The postseason started with 70 golfers and only Sungjae Im, who finished T-5 and surged from No. 53 at the start of the week, to No. 40, did enough at the FedEx St. Jude Championship to get through to the next week. And if Im moved up, that means someone also had to move down, and Keith Mitchell was the odd-man out.
Maverick McNealy entered the week as the "Bubble Boy," and he did just enough to hang on, shooting 1-under 69 on Sunday and finishing T-19. He advanced at No. 49.
"Much happier trip not going to the airport and just driving a car up the river," McNealy said. "I think the top 50 number is probably the most important number on the PGA Tour right now. I'm excited to get to St. Louis and just take a Hail Mary swing to see if I can get into the Tour Championship, which is the goal every year."
The last man to qualify for the BMW was Matt McCarty, who finished 50th, less than 8 points ahead of Mitchell.

#tour #postseason

It was a bad week in Memphis for Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy struggled his way through TPC Southwind and ended up finishing alone in 66th at 8-over for the week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. While he is safely into the BMW Championship next week — McIlroy entered the tournament at No. 12 in the FedExCup standings — it was McIlroy's worst finish of the season by far.
"Obviously [I] didn't come in here with a ton of reps," McIlroy said on Sunday. "Almost felt like the more the week went on, the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit."
McIlroy entered the PGA Tour's postseason after a long break. He hadn't competed since his T40 finish at the British Open in mid-July. And that showed.
McIlroy opened the tournament with a 4-over 74, and failed to break par in all four rounds. While he was already well out of contention at this point, McIlroy just looked out of it to start play on Sunday. He opened the final round with a double bogey on the first, and then went 5-over through the first six holes.

#entered #felt

St. Louis Cardinals rookie Joshua Baez made some baseball history on Saturday night in Chicago.
Baez, making his big-league debut, smacked the very first pitch he saw out of the park for a home run.
It was already a dream come true for the young slugger — everything you could wish and more out of your first time stepping up to the plate in the majors. Then he homered two more times.
With each successive home run, the excitement in the voice of Cardinals announcer Chip Caray rose, and by his third at-bat of the night, he was in just as much awe as the rest of us watching along at home.
"SWING, DRIVE, WELL HIT, RIGHT," said Caray as Baez lifted his third ball over the fence. "SUZUKI BACK. IT IS GONE! IT IS GONE! IT IS GONE! THREE HOMERS FOR BAEZ! MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY AT WRIGLEY FIELD!"

#baez

On August 14, autoworkers at Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) learned their union had been told the company is weighing the sale of its Brampton, Ontario plant, a move Unifor tied directly to US tariffs on Canadian goods. The timing is awkward. Days earlier, Stellantis had posted a swing back to profit, which looked like the first real evidence that its turnaround plan is working. Now investors have to weigh a genuine operational rebound against a labor and trade headache tangled up in the very North American market the company is counting on.
Stellantis reported a Q2 net profit of 293 million euros, a sharp reversal from a loss of 1.87 billion euros a year earlier, while adjusted operating income more than tripled to 773 million euros. North America, the region investors watch most closely, saw market share climb to 7.4% from a flat 7%, and Ram notched its fourth straight quarter of year-over-year sales growth, up 6%, breaking a seven-year losing streak. Renewed demand for the reintroduced Hemi V8 helped drive that gain, and Stellantis is leaning further into high-margin performance vehicles to extend it.
The Ram 1500 TRX SRT, priced at $102,590 with shipping, just reached dealerships only six months after its unveiling, and a lower-priced Rumble Bee variant is coming in the lower $60,000s. SRT trims carry margins two to three times higher than standard versions, and the automaker plans eleven SRT models across Ram, Jeep, and Dodge over the next five years. Combined with two all-new and three refreshed vehicles launched in the quarter, and nine more on the way, that product cycle backs up a stated goal of pushing North American margins to 8% to 10% within five years.
Wall Street was not impressed by the Q2 print. Adjusted operating income fell short of the 914 million euro estimate, and the stock dropped nearly 10% on the news before recovering part of that loss, a sign the turnaround still has to prove itself. That skepticism looks more justified given what surfaced on August 14, when Unifor said Stellantis notified the union it may close and sell its Brampton plant, ending decades of vehicle ***** embly there. Stellantis pointed to US tariffs on Canadian goods as the driver, and Brampton would not be the first casualty.
The plant was already idled for retooling in 2024, paused again in 2025, and lost its planned Jeep Compass production to a factory in Illinois once the tariffs hit. Brampton employed 2,200 workers before closing, and Canada's government, including Industry Minister Melanie Joly's office, has been pushing Stellantis to restart it. Stellantis has also previously discussed building electric vehicles in Canada with Chinese partner Zhejiang Leapmotor, an idea Unifor has openly opposed. All of this lands just as Unifor enters new contract talks covering Brampton and two other plants, with the current agreement expiring in September.

#north #plant #million #euros