The Eagles' defense will probably be ahead of the offense to start the 2026 season, and that should prove positive for a unit that's completely meshed with their legendary defensive coordinator. Third down is where Vic Fangio's creativity and the Eagles' defensive versatility should become most apparent. Philadelphia can use Cooper DeJean and Michael Carter II together, move Jalen Carter across the defensive front, and rotate several edge rushers without sacrificing coverage on the backend. Fangio could remove traditional positions entirely when Philadelphia reaches obvious passing situations.
With Washington presenting a mobile quarterback and multiple receiving threats, here is what the Eagles' third-down defense could look like in Week 1.
A likely third-and-long package would feature Jalen Carter and Moro Ojomo inside, with Nolan Smith Jr. and Jalyx Hunt or Jonathan Greenard rushing from the edges. Jihaad Campbell could join the rush from several alignments. Zack Baun would remain as the primary linebacker because of his coverage ability and understanding of Fangio's scheme.
The secondary could include Riq Woolen and Quinyon Mitchell outside, Cooper DeJean and Michael Carter II inside, and Andrew Mukuba as the deepest safety. Marcus Epps or another pass rusher would claim the final position depending on the distance.
DeJean gives Fangio the ability to disguise the coverage. He can begin near the line of scrimmage before dropping to safety, blitz from the slot, or match a tight end. Carter can cover a traditional slot receiver and allow DeJean to move elsewhere.

#Eagles #defensive

The Philadelphia Eagles are less than ten days away from opening up the 2026 regular season, and it wouldn't be shocking to see the defense far ahead of a revamped offensive unit. Vic Fangio's defense is among the NFL's best, and his personnel will change with the situation, making a traditional 11-player depth chart less useful than identifying his primary packages.
Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Moro Ojomo should anchor the defensive line, with Ty Robinson and Byron Young rotating heavily enough to receive meaningful snaps. Carter will remain the interior pass-rush centerpiece, while Davis' conditioning should allow him to handle another substantial workload.
Nolan Smith is projected to start on one edge. Jonathan Greenard was acquired to start opposite him, but his uncertain Week 1 availability could push Jalyx Hunt into the opening lineup. Epenesa and Ebiketie provide experienced rotational depth. Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell give the Eagles two linebackers capable of rushing, covering, and defending the run. Trotter should remain involved, particularly in packages that allow Campbell to move toward the line of scrimmage.
Riq Woolen and Quinyon Mitchell project as the outside cornerbacks, with Cooper DeJean operating from the slot. DeJean's versatility also allows Fangio to move him to safety and insert Carter into the nickel role. Mukuba and Epps are the projected starting safeties, but Philadelphia's actual secondary could contain six defensive backs on obvious passing downs.
The depth gives Fangio several options. The primary Week 1 question is whether Philadelphia can generate enough edge pressure if Greenard is unavailable.

#fangio

Blue Jays 5 A's 6
I wanted to ***** le this 'Bad Pitching, Defense and Hitting Leads to a Loss' but that's too many words.
A bad moment on defense, in the first inning, turned out to be very costly. Dylan Cease was having a rough time in the first. A walk to Henry Bolte, who followed that with a steal. Then a ground rule double to score the first run of the game. A single gave the A's runners on the corners, with two out. Carlos Cortes went to steal second, Alejandro Kirk threw to second, and the runner on third came home. Ernie Clement threw back home in plenty of time to get the runner, but the runner stopped and turned around. Kirk chased him, and the runner seemed to be giving up, but Kirk threw to Kazuma Okamoto, and it wasn't a good throw, went off Okamoto's glove and the runner scored. 2-0 after half an inning. Just a bad play. Just chasing him back to third would have been fine.
Kirk homered in the bottom of the inning, making up for the mistake.
But the A's got two more in the third. Bolte again walked and stole season (maybe next year, Cease could come up with a way to hold runners?). After a popup, Bolte stole third. Next batter, Zack Gelof hit a ground ball to third, Okamoto came home but the throw was too late. Then Gelof steal second and third and a single scored him. 4-1 A's.

#Third #runner #threw #home

The Athletics faced the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series on Labor Day at Sutter Health Park. The Green and Gold got out to an early lead before allowing the Blue Jays to claw back late, only for the A's to win 6-5 in walk-off fashion.
After A's starter Jacob Lopez tossed a scoreless first inning, the A's generated their first scoring chance against Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease in the bottom of that inning. Athletics center fielder Henry Bolte drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third with one out. Zack Gelof knocked Bolte in with an RBI ground-rule double, putting the hosts ahead 1-0.
With two outs, the A's scored a second run when Toronto misplayed a rundown, allowing Gelof to slide home safely.
The Blue Jays immediately answered back. Catcher Alejandro Kirk led off the second inning with his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot just over the right field wall. If he had taken a better route, A's right fielder Lawrence Butler would have had a chance to rob the home run.
Lopez followed that by allowing two straight baserunners before retiring the next three hitters to preserve his team's 2-1 lead.

#jays #inning #home

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Wheeler struck out nine in six sharp innings, Kyle Schwarber hit his MLB-leading 41st home run and the Philadelphia Phillies pulled within four games of the first-place Braves in the NL East with a 4-2 victory over Atlanta on Saturday night.
Luis Arraez had two hits and an RBI for the two-time defending division champion Phillies, who have won 16 of their last 20.
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley went deep for Atlanta, which lost for just the third time in 12 games.
Wheeler (12-5) escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first inning and then looked more like the dominant right-hander he has been for much of his career after a shaky August in which he had a 6.26 ERA. Wheeler allowed one run on three hits.
Jhoan Duran tossed a 1-2-3 ninth for his 30th save.

#philadelphia #Phillies #first #zack

Every baseball fan is familiar with the scam known as the shell game— after all, it's present, in more innocuous form, in the cap shuffle ubiquitous to scoreboards. Tonight Zack Wheeler offered the visiting Braves a shell game, tempting them with three baserunners through three at-bats… but when the Braves selected their shell, there weren't very many runs underneath.
The start was rather subpar for the home crowd, with Wheeler allowing a pair of singles to the first two Braves, then walking Matt Olson to load the bases with none away. But a pop fly and a strikeout (aided by a canny ABS challenge from J.T. Realmuto) put him just a single out away from pulling off the great escape. Ozzie Albies flew out to center, and the Braves trudged back to the dugout with the dreaded ****** LETIGER (No Outs, Bases Loaded, Ending in Team Incapable of Getting Easy Runs, it's a real term) nipping at their heels.
But the Phillies would give Atlanta starter Martin Pérez a rougher start. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner worked walks to start off the game, with the former dashing for third on a fly out from Bryce Harper, and slipping right past the tag. A single to right from Luis Arraez scored him, and the bases were then loaded on a walk of Alec Bohm. Realmuto walked to bring in a run (an ABS challenge on ball four proved fruitless for the visitors). The inning ended when Ronald Acuña Jr, looking truly superb, leapt into the air to turn a line drive from Bryson Stott into out number three.
Wheeler's second inning of work was a far smoother affair, with three up and three down. Pérez could not say the same. Derek Hill lined a ball to right, and Acuña suddenly looked far less superb, stumbling and allowing Hill to reach third. He then scored when Matt Olson bobbled a grounder at first.
The roller coaster ride that is Ronald then took another sudden swerve in the top of the third as he sent a Wheeler sweeper deep, deep into the left field seats. But the Phillies were certainly not inclined to let themselves be outslugged in their own ballpark: in the bottom of the fourth, Schwarber knocked a Pérez pitch over the fence in right. Two more hits, both with two outs, ensued, and Pérez's night ended.

#wheeler #start #matt

Second-year safety Zack Harden was the talk of the town for Gophers football in the offseason. He played just 14 defensive snaps last season as a true freshman, but the departure of Koi Perich left a golden opportunity for a young player to ******* ume a bigger role. Harden was getting plenty of hype in the spring and summer, and he showed why on Thursday night against Eastern Illinois.
Harden started at safety alongside Kerry Brown. He played 12 snaps at strong safety, six at slot cornerback and nine at free safety. He produced with four total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries. Pro Football Focus (PFF) gave him a 79.2 defensive grade, which was the best in Minnesota's secondary.
Sep 3, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Zack Harden (4) celebrates during the second half against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Hailing from Covington, Georgia, Harden was heavily pursued as a high school prospect. He was just a three-star recruit, but he held notable top offers from programs such as Auburn, USC, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and many more. He was the Gophers' 11th-highest-rated signee in their 22-player class in the 2025 cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite, and he has hit the ground running.
Minnesota has had a long history of producing elite safety talent since P.J. Fleck arrived at the school in 2017. Antoine Winfield Jr., Tyler Nubin, Jordan Howden and Koi Perich have all produced at an elite level. Brown has established himself, but Harden has all the traits to be the next star at the position.

#safety #minnesota #brown

The Athletics played spoiler with a 7-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners in a nearly three-and-a-half-hour series opener. The A's pitching staff overcame eight walks with 18 strikeouts, while the offense scored early and late in the team's 55th victory of the season.
The A's took the lead immediately against Mariners starter Kade Anderson. The second batter of the game, left fielder Zack Gelof, hit his 16th home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center field, putting the A's up 1-0 before the Mariners came to bat.
The Mariners answered right back. A's starter Jack Perkins walked Seattle's leadoff hitter Randy Arozarena, who proceeded to score on Julio Rodríguez's RBI single. The next batter, Cal Raleigh, hit an RBI single, putting the Mariners up 2-1. With two outs, Lazaro Montes hit an RBI single, bringing home the Mariners' third run of the first inning.
Seattle sent all nine batters to the plate in the first inning, forcing Perkins to throw 40 pitches to complete one frame. The inning could have been worse had A's catcher Brian Serven not made a smart play to record the third out at home after a wild pitch.
Seeking a response of their own, the A's first three batters reached in the bottom of the second, setting up a bases-loaded no-out opportunity.

#first

Jets' search for quarterback leads to workout with second-round draft bust originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Jets are in the market for a quarterback for their practice squad and that has led to them working out two signal-callers on Thursday, one of which is a former second-round draft pick.
According to The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt, the Jets worked out quarterbacks Will Levis and Jack Plummer.
While the Jets could certainly use more insurance at quarterback on their 53-man roster, Rosenblatt notes New York is looking for a practice squad quarterback instead.
New York's current quarterbacks room includes Geno Smith and rookie Cade Klubnik, but the Jets don't have a signal-caller on the practice squad.

#squad #rosenblatt #draft

Love Is Blind's Bliss Poureetezadi-Goytowski is sharing how she's navigating postpartum depression
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, the reality TV star shared a post on Instagram candidly detailing how she's handling postpartum depression as a second-time mom
Bliss shares her two children with her husband Zack Goytowski
Love Is Blind's Bliss Poureetezadi-Goytowski is sharing how she's navigating postpartum depression.
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, the reality TV star shared a post on Instagram candidly detailing how she's handling postpartum depression as a second-time mom. In the 11-photo carousel post, Bliss shared her top tips for navigating the difficult time, including embracing the hard days, spending a lot of time outside and soaking up all the precious moments with her little one.

#poureetezadi

For Dylan Sprouse, growing up on set may have not been the suite life after all.
The actor, 34, made his screen debut when he was just an infant in 1993, with him and his twin brother Cole Sprouse trading appearances on the sitcom Grace Under Fire.
Dylan and Cole Sprouse became Disney favorites when they began starring in "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" together (@ Getty Images)
But it would be 2005, when they were 12 years old, when they became America's new favorite set of twins when they began starring as Zack and Cody Martin in Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
They continued with the show's spin-off, The Suite Life on Deck, until 2011, and Dylan continues to act. But on a new episode of his podcast, Wildmen with Brendan Columbus (the son of filmmaker Chris Columbus), he compared his work as a child star to "child labor."

#sprouse

PHOENIX (AP) — Bryce Harper reached base five times, Jesús Luzardo threw 6 2/3 quality innings and the Philadelphia Phillies won their sixth straight game by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1 on Tuesday night.
The surging Phillies have won 15 of their last 17 and are now just three games behind the Atlanta Braves for the NL East lead.
Harper had four singles, including one on a surprise bunt in the first inning. The nine-time All-Star also walked, scored a run and drove in another, starting September with a terrific performance after slashing .333/.496/.573 in August.
Luzardo (13-5) gave up one run on six hits and a walk while striking out six. The hard-throwing lefty has a 1.32 ERA over his lasts six starts — joining Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sanchez for arguably baseball's best starting rotation.
The Phillies never trailed, jumping to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Trea Turner hit an RBI double off the center-field wall in the first while Alec Bohm's run-scoring single made it 3-1 in the fifth.

#first #harper #phoenix

TTD jumped 3% on Kokai Zuma's launch but remains down 64% year to date, while APP stock barely moved despite posting 53% revenue growth.
QQQ fell 0.2% while TTD rose 3%, confirming that the bounce was driven by Kokai Zuma's debut rather than broad sector momentum.
TTD trades at 11x forward earnings versus the industry's 20x average, and Zacks carries a Sell rating as near-term earnings momentum still runs against the shares.
Act now: the ***** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Trade Desk didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
Three ad-tech names shipped agentic AI in the same stretch, and the market has judged them on separate execution records rather than a shared sector trade. The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) stock is up 5% to $14.25 in morning trading after unveiling Kokai Zuma, the latest release of its Kokai platform for planning, buying, and measuring advertising across the open internet. That gain reads as a product-launch response inside a year-long derating that remains firmly in place.

#kokai #desk #remains #year

Dylan Sprouse revealed Barbara Palvin's surprising pregnancy craving
While The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alum and his pregnant model wife explored newborn essentials with Babylist, the soon-to-be parents openly talked about their journey to parenthood
During the conversation, Sprouse shared the surprising habit that Palvin, who first announced she was expecting back in May, has developed during her pregnancy
Dylan Sprouse is pulling the curtain back on his wife Barbara Palvin's surprising pregnancy craving.
While The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alum, 34, and his pregnant model wife, 32, explored newborn essentials with Babylist, the soon-to-be parents openly talked about their journey to parenthood. During the conversation, Sprouse shared the surprising habit that Palvin, who first announced she was expecting back in May, has developed during her pregnancy.

#sprouse #barbara

With the Mariners showing no consistent signs in the second half that they'd put their first-half struggles behind them, many fans have put to bed their hopes for the playoffs, especially as the team entered into this particularly grueling stretch of a long road trip combined with playing three very tough NL teams: the Brewers, Cubs, and now the Phillies. Both the Brewers and Cubs series featured brutal, humiliating losses, the Brewers a historic 22-0 drubbing and the Cubs – despite a series win thanks to scraping out wins in the first two games – a game that saw multiple position players have to take the mound in a 19-2 loss. But just as the Mariners bounced back to ******* a game from the Brewers after making team history (derogatory), they again bounced back tonight to surprise the Phillies with a dominant 9-2 win that also made history (complimentary).
It certainly didn't look like things were going to go this way. The game got off to a rough start for Logan Gilbert, who walked Kyle Schwarber on five pitches to lead off the game. He struck out Trea Turner on a spicy 98 mph heater, but then surrendered back-to-back singles to Bryce Harper and Luis Arraez to load the bases with just one out. To Gilbert's credit, though, he didn't wilt under pressure, continuing to execute pitch after pitch. Alex Boehm hit into an RBI groundout on a slow roller that could have been an inning-ending double play, and then Gilbert bullied Bryson Stott on four pitches, striking him out on another spicy heater. In the end, the Phillies only got one run out of all that traffic, and the only real damage was done to Logan's pitch count, at 29.
But Zack Wheeler had his own struggles in the bottom of the first, and would finish the inning with a similarly inflated pitch count (33) but significantly more damage on the scoreboard thanks to two Mariners home runs. MULTI-run home runs, even, which is delightful. Randy Arozarena led off the game with a walk, followed by a sharply-hit single from Dominic Canzone (110 EV), and then Julio Rodríguez – who scuffled in the Cubs series, going 1-for-13 with seven strikeouts – tattooed a splitter that caught too much plate for a home run into the visitor's bullpen.
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And then, and this is the part you'll really like, the Mariners didn't stop there. So often we've seen this team score a few early and then take their foot off the gas. Instead, they kept the pressure on Wheeler in the first, with Josh Naylor singling into right field (but then getting thrown out and also bonked on the head trying to stretch it into a double, no Josh!), and then Taylor Ward refusing to chase off the plate for a walk to extend Wheeler's inning. That brought up Cal Raleigh, and Wheeler tried to dispense of him with a fastball up, a pitch Cal has been consistently missing this season. He did not miss this one:

#game #first #Phillies #back

In the past 10 days, the Twins have been swept by the Phillies, swept the Braves, and then were swept by the Padres. It's all or nothing in the dog days of summer and hopefully the win today puts them back in the "all" category.
The Twins got off to a great start and, unlike some other games in recent weeks, kept on adding throughout the middle innings to put this one out of reach for the opponent. Byron Buxton walked and Ryan Jeffers singled to put two men on for RBI machine Josh Bell. Bell crushed the first pitch he saw to left-center for what he thought was a three-run dong, but instead bounced off the very top of the wall for a double. Buxton scored but the A's got the ball back in quickly to keep Jeffers at third. Either way, the Twins took yet another early lead.
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Bell also drove in Minnesota's second run, though this one came in a very different matter. After hitting his first one about 379.9 feet, this one went all of six feet. But with Buxton on third base, that was all the Twins needed to score.
The homeless A's rallied in the third to bring the game within one. Twins starter Zebby Matthews gave up back to back singles to rookie Henry Bolte and veteran Jeff McNeil to start the inning, but the damage was limited thanks to a Zack Gelof GIDP. Lawrence Butler still drove in Bolte with a two out single, but Matthews did a good job keeping things in check.

#back #buxton #bell

SEATTLE (AP) — Cal Raleigh busted out of a season-long slump with the first three-homer game of his career Monday night.
The switch-hitting catcher capped a five-run first inning with a two-run shot off struggling Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. Raleigh added a leadoff homer against Wheeler in the fifth and a solo drive off reliever Chase Shugart in the seventh to give him 17 home runs this season.
It was the first multihomer game of the year for Raleigh, who finished 3 for 3 with a walk in a 9-2 victory and raised his batting average from .159 to .167.
Raleigh was runner-up for the AL MVP award last year, when he led the majors with 60 home runs and added 125 RBIs.
___

#first #homer #home

Zack Wheeler's struggles continued as the Philadelphia Phillies' (73-59) MLB-best nine-game winning streak came to screeching halt with a 9-2 humbling at the hands of the Seattle Mariners (63-69).
Wheeler surrendered eight runs on nine hits, five walks and four home runs, raising his ERA from 2.92 to 3.40. It was the second time in his career he allowed five first inning runs and first as a member of the Phillies. He has an 8.51 ERA in his last six starts.
The Phillies loaded the bases in the first frame of the game and put up the first run on an Alec Bohm sacrifice fly.
The first six batters Wheeler faced reached base and accounted for five runs on a pair of multi-RBI homers by Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh.
Struggling most of the year after a historic campaign last year, Raleigh had his best game of 2026 with his first career three-home run game, two of which came against Wheeler and another by Chase Shugart in his mop up duty.

#game #raleigh #nine #came

The Philadelphia Phillies open a series against the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 24 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle Philadelphia.
The Phillies are riding a nine-game winning streak. Here's what you need to know about today's games:
The Phillies face the Mariners at 9:40 p.m.
Right-hander Zack Wheeler (10-4, 2.92 ERA) will start for the Phillies. Right-hander Logan Gilbert (10-7, 3.35 ERA) will start for the Mariners.
The Phillies (73-58) are second in the National League East, 3 games behind the Atlanta Braves (76-55).

#philadelphia #right #games #mobile

Phillies ace receives surprising boost in crowded NL Cy Young race originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Jacob Misiorowski has the breathtaking ERA. Chris Sale has the overwhelming strikeout numbers. Zack Wheeler has the established reputation. ESPN's awards model still considers Cristopher Sánchez the pitcher to beat for the National League Cy Young Award.
Sánchez earned a 154.1 rating in the latest edition of ESPN's AXE rankings, placing him ahead of Milwaukee Brewers phenom Misiorowski at 150.5. Philadelphia Phillies teammate Jesús Luzardo ranked third at 140.7, followed by Cincinnati Reds starter Chase Burns and Sale. That makes Sánchez the statistical front-runner in one of baseball's most crowded award races, even though the betting markets have focused more heavily on Misiorowski and Sale.
"The consensus narrative seems to have turned against Sánchez, who has been at or near the top of the AXE leaderboard all season," ESPN's Bradford Doolittle wrote in the latest MLB Awards Watch.
Sánchez may not have the loudest Cy Young campaign. His season has been too good to ignore.

#crowded #latest

The Philadelphia Phillies (73-58) head out to the Pacific Northwest tonight to open a three-game interleague series against the Seattle Mariners (62-69) at T-Mobile Park. Here's how to watch:
The Phillies will play the Mariners at 9:40 p.m. Eastern.
Today's Phillies game against the Mariners is on NBCSP (Philly) and Mariners.TV (Mariners). You can also listen on 94WIP and the iHeart app (Philly), and Seattle Sports (710 AM) (Mariners).
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Zack Wheeler (Phillies) vs. Logan Gilbert (Mariners)

#game

Given Oracle's (ORCL) strong growth and low valuation, along with the fact that it's benefiting a great deal from the ongoing AI revolution, Oracle's stock looks like a good buy for both value investors and growth investors. What's more, renowned investor Paul Tudor Jones acquired a sizable position in ORCL stock last quarter, while multiple, well-known investment banks and Zacks, a prominent research firm, are upbeat on the shares.
In Oracle's fiscal fourth quarter that ended in May, its revenue jumped 21% versus the same period a year earlier to $19.2 billion, while its earnings per share, excluding certain items, soared 24% year-over-year (YoY) to $2.11. Moreover, propelled largely by the AI Boom, its total cloud revenue climbed 47% YoY to $9.9 billion. Also noteworthy was that its remaining performance obligations (RPO), which include preferred revenue and backlog, jumped 363% YoY to a very impressive $638 billion.
Third Point Starts to Raise Alarm Bells on Broadcom After Dumping AVGO Stock in Q2
Nvidia Q2 Preview: Strong Earnings and Low Valuation Set the Stage for Upside
A $28.7 Billion Reason to Buy SK hynix Stock Now

#billion #valuation

PHOENIX – The Cincinnati Reds continue to get their money's worth on one of the last free agents they signed during the offseason.
Outfielder JJ Bleday, who was signed after being released over the winter by the Athletics, earned a spot in the Reds history books Saturday (Aug. 22) against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, when he became the eighth Red to hit for the cycle and first since Elly De La Cruz did it in his 15th big-league game in 2023.
Bleday, who doubled, tripled and singled, in order, in his first three at-bats, led off the sixth inning with a first-pitch, line-drive over the right-field wall against former Red Zack Littell to finish his first career cycle.
Bleday, who won the National League Player of the Month award for May in his first full month in a Reds uniform, recorded the Reds' first cycle on the road since Heinie Groh in 1915 in the second game of a doubleheader at Chicago's Wrigley Field.
De La Cruz also took a cycle bid into the late innings Saturday against the Diamondbacks, hitting a double, single and home run in three of his first four at-bats.

#first #reds #bleday #league

JJ Bleday leaned out and turned on a Zack Littell meatball in the Top of the 6th inning of Saturday night's game between the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks down in the Land of the Endless Strip Mall, and the laser flew over the fence in right field at Chase Field for a homer.
That's cool in a nutshell. What made it even more special, though, is that the Cincinnati outfielder had already picked up a single, double, and triple on the evening, and this homer game him the cycle.
The cycle – just the 8th in the long, storied history of the Cincinnati Reds – was a marked change from where Bleday's form has been so far in August. Despite scorching the earth with his play in May after being recalled from AAA Louisville, he's fallen into something of a three true outcomes slugger ever since, with the hits and homers being much fewer and more far between.
Not so on Saturday, though.
Bleday's homer played pile-on for the Reds, who held an 8-2 lead at the time. Each of JJ, Elly De La Cruz, and Sal Stewart had been electric at the plate so far on the day, and that's pretty much the lone recipe for the Reds having success on any given night.

#cincinnati #saturday #field #game

In this week's Saints reacts poll, we asked our readers, which player impressed them the most against the Jaguars?
In a VERY close vote, 35% said it was Zack Wilson who was the most impressive in last Saturday's matchup against the Jaguars. The second-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft signed a one-year deal with the Saints in March after spending last season with the Miami Dolphins. In a competition with Spencer Rattler for the backup quarterback role, Wilson stepped onto the Superdome turf Saturday and put on a show. The 27-year-old impressed in his New Orleans debut, completing 11 of 16 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions and a 118 QBR.
33% of voters said it was DE Michael Heldman that stood out to them as the UDFA from Central Michigan had a breakout game recording two sacks, six tackles, including three for a loss while unveiling one very cool sack celebration mimicking Dr. Strange's spell summoning circles. Heldman's inspiration for the unique stance came from being a huge Marvel fan. He said that didn't want to copy anyone or just do something normal… "No one's ever hit the Dr. Strange. That'd be kind of cool."
While Kellen Moore declined on Thursday to announce who would be starting in place of Tyler Shough on Saturday against the Rams, we know that Wilson will get some significant playing time again this week.
Let's see if he can repeat last week's performance at SoFi Stadium and help get the Saints in the win column this week.

#impressed

U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials are reportedly investigating Hayden Panettiere's death.
On Sunday, the Heroes actress was found unresponsive at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina and was ******* ounced dead at the scene. She was 36.
At present, officers at the Greenville City Police Department are leading the investigation into Panettiere's sudden passing, but on Wednesday, journalists at ABC News reported that agents at the DEA are "assisting".
Representatives for the DEA and the Panettiere family have not yet commented on the update.
Previously, editors at TMZ claimed Naloxone - a drug that can be used to reverse an opioid overdose - was found at the apartment where the Nashville star died.
In a police report, the officer stated that Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zack Hickerson, were at the residence when emergency services arrived at the scene.

#apartment #scene #agency

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the ninth after pinch-hitter Tyler Tolbert hit a tying two-run single, giving the Kansas City Royals a 4-3 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday night.
Trailing 3-1, the Royals loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on a catcher's interference call, a single and a walk. Tolbert batted for Kyle Isbel and grounded a single into left off Hogan Harris (3-2) to tie it. Elvis Alvarado replaced Harris and got Isaac Collins to line out before Witt blooped a single into left for the Royals' sixth walk-off win of the season.
The Athletics took an early lead as Zack Gelof drew a first-inning walk, and Jonah Heim drew another to load the bases. Then, Tommy White knocked in the game's first run with a single to left. A second runner nearly scored, but was thrown out at the plate.
Athletics left-hander Brady Basso exited the game after just one out in the third inning. He gave up two hits and recorded one strikeout in his short, 32-pitch outing.
Jack Perkins inherited one baserunner when he took over, but caught Carter Jensen stealing second. The Royals flew out to end the inning. Perkins also worked around a leadoff walk in the fourth. Perkins held Kansas City to one hit and struck out four in 3 2/3 innings.

#athletics

The Athletics' blew another late lead on Tuesday night in Kansas City, allowing three runs in the bottom of the ninth to let an easy win slip right through their fingers. This one hurt.
Facing Kansas City left-hander Daniel Lynch IV tonight, the A's got to work right away against the reliever-turned-starter. Zack Gelof drew a one-out walk to spark the first-inning rally and was immediately followed by a Jeff McNeil single and another walk to Jonah Heim. That loaded the bases and brought up rookie infielder Tommy White. A productive out would have been fine but the A's ideally needed a hit, and White delivered with a base knock to left field to drive home one:
McNeil got a bit greedy behind Gelof trying to score and was gunned down at the plate. That took the air out of the rally and the A's would ultimately only come away with one. Felt like they left some meat on the bone there.
That one run was enough for the Athletics' pitching early. Righty Jack Perkins was initially slated to start but a late change saw left-hander Brady Basso get the ball for the first couple frames. He had a clean 1-2-3 bottom of the first then allowed one harmless single in the second. Pressing his luck, Mark Kotsay sent Basso back out for the third and Basso allowed another hit but also got one more out before getting pulled for Perkins.
Perkins was just as effective as Basso. He finished the third inning and would end up pitching through the sixth inning. He'd only allow two base runners in his work tonight, looking sharper as the game went on. He ended his night on a massive high, striking out the side in the sixth including an inning-ending punchout of Royals star Bobby Witt Jr.

#basso

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryson Stott put the Phillies ahead with a two-run single in the sixth inning, and Philadelphia rallied for its fifth straight victory, 6-4 over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.
The Phillies trailed 3-1 before they sent nine batters to the plate in the sixth and scored four times against reliever Michael Petersen (2-3). Alec Bohm, who also had an RBI single in the first, opened the scoring in the sixth with a run-scoring double. After Stott's hit — which extended his on-base streak to a career-high 19 games — Justin Crawford had a run-scoring single to make it 5-3.
Philadelphia occupies the second NL wild-card spot after sweeping Minnesota and winning the first two against the Marlins.
Alex McFarlane (1-1) allowed one unearned run in the sixth, earning his first career win. Brooks Raley, the fifth Phillies pitcher, retired the side on 12 pitches in the ninth for his first save.
Phillies starter Zack Wheeler gave up two runs in five innings. He struck out seven and walked four.

#Career

The Philadelphia Phillies (68-58) host game two of their three-game divisional series against the Miami Marlins (64-62) tonight at Citizens Bank Park. Here's how to watch:
The Phillies will play the Marlins at 6:40 p.m. Eastern.
Today's Phillies game against the Marlins is on NBCSP (Philly) and Marlins.TV presented by Werner, Hoffman, Greig & Garcia BA (Marlins). You can also listen on 94WIP and the iHeart app (Philly), and WQAM 104.3 and WAQI 710 (Marlins).
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Cade Gibson (Marlins) vs. Zack Wheeler (Phillies)

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