Hometown Broadcasting Sports Wednesday 9/25/19
25 September 2019 Sports
Sports for September 25th
Ryan Braun added to his impressive total of homers at Great American Ball Park, and the Brewers moved one win away from clinching a wild-card berth Tuesday night, beating the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 for their fifth straight victory. Just like last season, when Milwaukee put on a late rush to take the NL Central title, the Brewers have closed in on a playoff spot with a September flourish. They’ve won 16 of 18, positioning themselves for one of the NL wild cards along with Washington. A win at Great American on Wednesday night or another Cubs loss in Pittsburgh — Chicago fell 9-2 on Tuesday night — would give Milwaukee a second straight playoff appearance. Washington clinched a Wild Card spot after taking a doubleheader from Philadelphia, 4-1 and 6-5 and lead Milwaukee by two games in the race for the top Wild Card spot. The Brewers trail the Cardinals in the NL Central by 2 ½ games.
With 2018 National League MVP Christian Yelich sidelined by a broken right kneecap, the Brewers have turned to their deep bullpen and different combinations of hitting stars each night. Milwaukee has the best record in the majors in September at 18-4. Braun connected for his 21st homer off Sonny Gray (11-8), making the final start of his All-Star season. Braun’s 27 homers at Great American his most in any road ballpark, and his 44 career against Cincinnati are his highest total against any team. Braun has been a solid contributor lately, going 9 for 21 in his last seven games. He also singled off Gray, who went five innings and fanned six to top 200 strikeouts for the first time in his career. Yasmani Grandal’s double tied it at 2 in the third, and Keston Hiura put the Brewers ahead to stay with a sacrifice fly.Houser gave up a broken-bat RBI double by Aristides Aquino and a run-scoring single by Tucker Barnhart in the first inning. The Reds lead the majors with 128 runs and 125 RBI in the first inning. Suter allowed three hits in three innings. Josh Hader allowed a pair of hits in the ninth before fanning Kyle Farmer on a slider for his 36th save in 42 chances. Game two is tonight as Jordan Lyles (11-8) starts for Milwaukee against the Reds Tyler Mahle (2-11). He hasn’t won since May 31st, but has been a victim of a blown save in two of his last four starts. First pitch is at 5:40 and the game can be heard on AM1100/98.3FM, WISS.
Meanwhile, manager Craig Counsell said right-hander Brandon Woodruff won’t pitch in Cincinnati. Woodruff returned from an oblique injury on Sept. 17 and had made a pair of two-inning appearances as the Brewers ease him back.
The Green Bay Packers did not practice for the second straight day on Tuesday, instead choosing to do a walk-thru and recover their bodies in order to prepare for short week with Thursday night football against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Packers are 3-0 but have won with defense. Green Bay is plus-six in the turnover differential, which is the best in the NFL. While the defense has been solid, the offense has not been as productive. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has thrown just four touchdowns through three games this season, the fewest since 2012 and the second lowest of his career. He said Tuesday that the offense has to be better. The Packers offense after three weeks is only averaging 286.7 yards per game, which is the fifth worst in the league. Rodgers said following Sunday’s win against the Denver Broncos, that he “wants to have greatness out there” and score more points. A sore point is third-down conversions where Packers have converted just nine of their 36 third downs attempts. The Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) lost to the Detroit Lions in week three, 27-24. The pregame starts at 5:00 with the kickoff at 7:20 on 102.3, The Bug.
On Tuesday, the Packers added outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith onto the injury report with a knee injury.
The NBA fined the Milwaukee Bucks $50,000 on Tuesday over a comment general manager Jon Horst made about the team’s plans to offer league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo a “supermax” extension. The league says Horst violated league rules “governing the timing of discussions regarding future player contracts and permissible commitments to players.” The Bucks cannot publicly commit to offering anyone a supermax until the summer following that player’s seventh season. Antetokounmpo is entering his seventh season. He would be eligible to sign a record five-year extension worth nearly $250 million in July 2020, with that new deal beginning in the 2021-22 season. Horst was asked at a televised event about the status of Antetokounmpo’s long-term contract. He replied by saying “right now, you can’t talk and negotiate anything. Giannis, basically, a year from now, will be eligible for a supermax extension. At that time, of course, he’ll be offered a supermax extension.”
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