8/13/24 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Tuesday
13 August 2024 Sports
Mookie Betts homered and drove in three runs to mark his return from a broken left hand, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Monday night.
Clayton Kershaw struck out six in his first win this season, allowing one run over 5 2/3 innings as the Dodgers took the opener of a four-game series between NL division leaders.
The Dodgers activated Betts from the injured list earlier in the day and had him playing right field and batting second, with Ohtani leading off. Betts primarily had been playing shortstop and leading off this year before his hand got hit by a 98 mph fastball from Kansas City’s Dan Altavilla on June 16.
In his first at-bat of the night, Betts struck out swinging at a 2-2 slider from Freddy Peralta that sent the eight-time All-Star flailing. But when he faced Peralta again two innings later, Betts ripped a 2-1 fastball over the left-field wall to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
Betts also hit a two-out RBI single off Bryan Hudson in the seventh.
Ohtani a 424-foot drive to left-center on a 3-0 fastball from Peralta in the fifth for his 36th homer. Ohtani entered Monday tied with Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna for the NL lead.
Peralta (7-7) struck out four while allowing four runs, five hits and two walks in six innings. He got some help in the sixth when center fielder Garrett Mitchell leaped in front of the wall to catch a long drive from Gavin Lux.
Milwaukee cut Los Angeles’ lead to 4-2 in the sixth when William Contreras greeted Joe Kelly with a two-out, two-run homer to right. Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez then hit back-to-back singles to put the potential tying run on base before Kelly struck out Rhys Hoskins to end the rally.
The Dodgers added an insurance run in the seventh and held the Brewers scoreless the rest of the way. Daniel Hudson retired the side in order in the ninth for his 15th save in 16 opportunities. Kershaw (1-2) hadn’t pitched more than 4 2/3 innings in any of his three previous starts this year after undergoing offseason surgery to repair ligaments in his shoulder capsule.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner owns a 1.54 ERA in 10 career regular-season starts at American Family Field.
The Brewers activated LHP Bryan Hudson (oblique) from the injured list and optioned LHP DL Hall to Triple-A Nashville. They also placed OF Blake Perkins (right calf strain) on the 10-day injured list and recalled 1B Tyler Black from Nashville.
RHP Gavin Stone (9-5, 3.71 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers against RHP Colin Rea (10-3, 3.38) on Tuesday. First pitch is at 7:10.
In other games in the NL Central Monday the Indians edged the Cubs 9-8, the Reds beat the Cardinals 6-1 and the Padres shaded the Pirates 2-1. The Brewers still lead the Cardinals by 7 ½ games, the Cubs by 9, the Reds by 9 ½ and the Pirates by 11.
There were no games Monday in the Midwest League. Tonight the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers host Peoria with the first pitch at 6:40.
With Packers pass catchers Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, and Dontayvion Wicks all duking it out for the unofficial title of “number one wide receiver”, head coach Matt LaFleur is focused on other important business.
Wicks stole the show in Saturday’s preseason opener in Cleveland, catching a 65-yard touchdown on the third play of the game. Yet, he started only 6 games last year, tallying 581 receiving yards. Jayden Reed led last year’s team in receiving yards while also setting a franchise record for receptions for a rookie. Meanwhile, former second round selection Christian Watson is hoping for renewed health after missing eight games last year, and he’s hauled in 12 receiving touchdowns across his first two seasons in the league. The Packers coaches also credited the depth in the receiver room beyond those four, specifically highlighting Bo Melton, who broke out late last season but had multiple drops in Saturday’s game, and Grant DuBose, who tallied 5 catches in Cleveland and, according to the staff, also flashed strong run blocking ability.
Aaron Rodgers says in a soon-to-be-published book that he should have handled discussing his COVID-19 immunization status differently.
The New York Jets quarterback was still with the Green Bay Packers in 2021 when he told reporters he was “immunized” against the virus — and then tested positive for COVID-19 three months later and had to be sidelined for 10 days.
Rodgers unsuccessfully appealed to the league that his homeopathic treatment regimen should qualify him as vaccinated. The four-time NFL MVP was widely criticized for not being truthful about his status.
“If there’s one thing I wish could have gone different, it’s that, because that’s the only thing (critics) could hit me with,” ESPN reported Rodgers told author Ian O’Connor for the biography, “Out Of The Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers,” which goes on sale next week.
ESPN said Rodgers says in the book his main reason for claiming he was “immunized” was the statement represented “the crux of my appeal.”
Rodgers said at the time he was allergic to an ingredient in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines — polyethylene glycol — and was concerned about potential adverse reactions to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The book, based on interviews with 250 people, including Rodgers, also delves into other aspects of the quarterback’s life, including his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon after four snaps in his debut with the Jets last year, his long estrangement from his family, his introduction to using ayahuasca and details of his football playing career through college at Cal, his draft-day plunge in the first round in 2005 and his 18 seasons with the Packers.
Georgia is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for the second straight year as the super conference era begins with the SEC and Big Ten dominating the top 10 of the rankings.
The Bulldogs received 46 first-place votes and 1,532 points in the Top 25 released Monday and the SEC powerhouse finished comfortably ahead of No. 2 Ohio State (15 first-place votes and 1,490 points) of the Big Ten.
New Big Ten member Oregon is No. 3, receiving one first-place vote from the panel of 62 media members who cover college football. Texas, which joins Georgia in the Southeastern Conference this season, is fourth.
The Big Ten and SEC each have four teams in the top 10.
Conference realignment has reduced the Power Five to the Power Four, with the Pac-12 whittled to just two schools. The Big Ten now has 18 schools. The Atlantic Coast Conference has 17 football teams, and the SEC and Big 12 each have 16.
All the movement created an unprecedented preseason poll with just four conferences represented: The SEC leads with nine ranked teams. The Big Ten has six, the Big 12 has five and the ACC has four.
Alabama, in its first season without coach Nick Saban since 2006, starts No. 5. No. 6 Mississippi gives the SEC half the top preseason top six.
Independent Notre Dame is the highest ranked team from outside the SEC and Big Ten at No. 7.
No. 8 Penn State and No. 9 Michigan give the Big Ten four top-10 teams. Florida State from the ACC is No. 10.
Wisconsin did receive some votes.
The Milwaukee Bucks, NBA affiliate of the Wisconsin Herd, have signed center Anžejs Pasečņiks to a Two-Way contract and have waived Two-Way forward Jaylin Galloway.
Pasečņiks, 7-1, most recently played in 34 games (30 starts) last season with Zunder Palencia in Spain’s Liga ACB and averaged 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.9 minutes per game. The Latvian shot 60.4% from the field last season and was a two-time Liga ACB Player of the Week.
The 2023-24 season was Pasečņiks’ 11th professional season, which includes time in the NBA with the Washington Wizards during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. In that time, he appeared in 28 games with the Wizards and averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game while shooting 52.1% from the field. The 28-year-old’s career, which began in 2011, also includes time playing professionally in the NBA G League, Latvia and France. He was selected by the Magic with the 25th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Galloway originally signed a Two-Way contract with the Bucks last season on March 2.
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