Hometown Broadcasting Sports Friday 9/25/20
25 September 2020 Sports
The Brewers suffered a blow to their playoff hopes last night as the Cardinals won the first of a five-game regular season ending series 4-2 in St. Louis. In addition, starter Corbin Burnes left the game in the 4th inning with lower back discomfort.
With a win, the Brewers could have gained significant ground in the crowded chase for the postseason, since the Giants lost, the Reds and Phillies were idle, and the Brewers were playing another of the teams they’re chasing. Instead, the Brewers fell two games behind the Cards for second place — and a postseason berth — in the National League Central, and they remained one game back of the field for the final NL Wild Card spot.
It started out as tough night for Burnes as he walked the first batter he faced in a 24-pitch first inning, threw 22 pitches in the second and 22 more in the third before finally succumbing in the fourth. Brewers manager Craig Counsell, pitching coach Chris Hook and head athletic trainer Scott Barringer all visited Burnes after he walked Dexter Fowler, and they were sent away before Burnes surrendered a tiebreaking, two-run home run to Cardinals No. 9 hitter Dylan Carlson for a 3-1 St. Louis lead.
The discomfort, Burnes said, began in his last start, a scoreless, 100-pitch outing against the Reds five days earlier. But after treatment and a successful bullpen session, he took the mound Thursday at close to 100 percent, and he said he was still “feeling good” despite throwing a lot of pitches. Burnes final stats were 3 2/3 innings, six hits, three earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts. He not only saw his ERA rise to 2.11, but he was stuck on 59 2/3 innings for the season, one shy of the innings he would need to rank among the league’s qualifiers, assuming the Brewers play all 60 games.. Right-hander Eric Yardley replaced Burnes.
Cardinals starter Kwang Hyun Kim (3-0) picked up the win after going five innings and giving up one run on five hits while striking out three and walking two.
The team’s play a doubleheader tonight. In the first game, left-hander Brent Suter (2-0) starts for Milwaukee against right-hander Jack Flarherty (4-2). In the second game the Brewers send Josh Lindblom (2-3) against fellow righty Daniel Ponce de Leon (0-3) of St. Louis. The first game starts at 4:15 and can be heard on AM1100/98.3FM, WISS. The second game will also be heard starting about 30 minutes after the first game ends.
The Packers continue preparations for the Saints on Sunday in New Orleans. It’s a tough place to play and Green Bay’s last win there was in Super Bowl 31 against the Patriots.
The Packers are still trying to get healthy. On Thursday, defensive lineman Kenny Clark practiced and hopes to be ready as fights a groin injury suffered in the Lions game. Green Bay is also hoping wide receiver Davante Adams can return after leaving Sunday’s game because of a hamstring injury. Also center Corey Linsley suffered a hand injury and running back/receiver Tyler Ervin is being treated for a concussion.
Clark, and any other Packer who is out there Sunday night will have to know where Taysom Hill is at all times. The Saints’ Swiss Army Knife is the Packers’ one that got away. Just imagine how Matt LaFleur might have used the versatile weapon, had Ted Thompson not cut Hill loose following camp in 2017. In his time with New Orleans, Hill has blocked punts, caught touchdown passes, thrown them, and ran it in for scores as well. Opponents must keep their heads on a swivel.
The city of New Orleans is not allowing the general public to attend Sunday night’s game, but the team is allowed to invite 750 family members to attend.
It’ll be the first time Green Bay has seen anybody in the stands for a game so far this season. But still, 750 voices are a lot quieter than the 75,000 who normally inhabit the Superdome. The Packers won’t have to face the raucous revelry that the Big Easy’s boisterous dome is known for.
Sunday night’s game starts at 7:20 and can be heard on FM 102.3, The Bug, with the pregame beginning at 5:00.
In Thursday Night Football Miami (1-2) won its first game of the season by beating Jacksonville on the road 31-13. The Dolphins jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and never looked back in handing the Jaguars (1-2) their second loss of the year. Jacksonville quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 18 of 20 passes for 160 and two touchdowns as he picked apart the Jaguars defense. He also rushed for 38 yards on seven carries and a score. Jacksonville’s defense pressured Gardner Minshew who completed 30 of 42 passes for 275 yards with an interception.
In the NBA Western Conference Finals last night the Lakers beat Denver 114-108 to take a 3-1 lead in their series. The Eastern Conference Finals continue tonight as Miami meets Boston with a 3-1 lead in their series.
The Stanley Cup Finals continue tonight as Tampa Bay plays Dallas. Tampa Bay leads 2-1 in that best-of-seven game series.
In high school football tonight Berlin opens its season at home against Adams-Friendship in a non conference game. The pregame starts at 6:45 with the kickoff at 7:00 and can be heard on FM102,3, The Bug. Wautoma was forced to cancel its game at Montello/Princeton/Green Lake as a precautionary measure due to COVID-19. Several other games in the area were cancelled as well.
The Pac-12 is set to kickoff a seven-game football season Nov. 6 after it followed the Big Ten in overturning an August decision to punt on playing in the fall because of concerns about COVID-19. With the conference having secured daily COVID-19 testing for its athletes and been given the green light from state and local health officials, the Pac-12 CEO Group voted unanimously Thursday to lift a Jan. 1 moratorium on athletic competition. Three hours after the Pac-12 announced its return, the Mountain West did the same, using a tweet to say it is targeting an Oct. 24 start to an eight-game season.
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