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Jays Annihilate Defunct Franchise 12-1

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I don’t have a ton to say about the Blue Jays today except that that Kikuchi was great and everybody else did a good job. So let’s talk about the A’s. Their run differential is now -224, which a) would have been in the bottom three in any of the last five full seasons, after 80 games, and b) puts them on pace for -454, which would shatter the modern record of -349, by the 1932 Boston Red Sox (and whose owner was forced into selling the team that winter, I’m just saying). They’re also on pace for 41 wins, which would pass the 2003 Tigers for the worst record by a non-expansion team in the integration era (the original Mets did go 40-120 in 1962). It’s a slap in the face to the city of Oakland to have a storied franchise leave town with a deliberately garbage effort like this. The stadium in Vegas may not open for a couple more years, but already there is no major league baseball being played in Oakland.


Yusei Kikuchi was excellent today. He didn’t allow a baserunner until there was one out in the fourth (seconds after someone in the booth said the word “perfect”, you’d think professionals would know better). He shrugged it off, though, and struck out the next two batters.

The A’s did get on the board in the sixth. Tony Kemp lead off with a home run into the visitors’ bullpen, but again Kikuchi bounce back to retire the next three A’s.

Ultimately, he’d pitch seven innings of one run ball, issuing two walks and two hits and striking out eight. It was his longest and probably best outing for the Blue Jays, and arguably the second best of his five season MLB career (the best by far being his complete game shutout of the Jays back in August of 2019).

Trent Thornton (who is with the Jays right now, to my surprise) took over for the eighth. He gave up a leadoff single to Conner Capel, but got a fielder’s choice and a double play ball to efficiently exit the inning.

The game long over, Bowden Francis was asked to sweep up and turn off the lights. He issued a walk, but got a strikeout and a couple of pop outs to end it.


George Springer did his usual thing, welcoming Luis Medina to the Rogers Centre with a leadoff bomb to claim an early 1-0 lead. The homer was his 55th to lead off a ball game, passing Alfonso Soriano for sole possession of second place on that leaderboard (Rickey Henderson, with 82, is miles in front).

Whit Merrifield followed up with a walk, and Vladimir Guerrero jr brought him home on a line single to the gap that centre fielder Esteury Ruiz misplayed, allowing Merrifield to score from first and Guerrero to take second.

They added a third run in the second. Santiago Espinal and Kevin Kiermaier walked, and Tyler Heineman bunted for a single to load the bases with nobody out. Springer grounded into a double play, but it did allow Espinal to come home.

In the fourth, Matt Chapman took a two out walk, and a Cavan Biggio single and Espinal walk loaded them up. A Medina wild pitch allowed Chappy to score (making it 4-0), but Kevin Kiermaier struck out to prevent the Jays from really cracking it open.

Medina finally worked a clean inning in the fourth, working around a Springer walk and making a terrific stab to catch a Bo Bichette liner that was otherwise a hit. The fifth was similar, with a walk to Biggio but no more runs.

Ken Waldichuk took over in the sixth. Ruiz blew another read, misplaying a Kiermaier liner that probably should have been a single into a triple. Springer hit a deep sac fly, almost his second homer of the day, to stretch the lead back to four.

They got some insurance in the seventh, thanks in part to Oakland’s truly awful outfield defence. Bo got on with an infield single. Vlad liner a double off the base of the right field wall that Brent Rooker possibly could have gotten to or at least cut off with a decent route, and Espinal scored them on a ground rule double to centre facilitated by another questionable route by Ruiz. With that, they matched yesterday’s total of 7 runs.

There was an odd moment in the eighth. Tyler Heineman pulled up with what looked like a cramp after a foul tip, forcing Danny Jansen to step into a full count. He walked, went to second on a Springer single, third on a Merrified ground out, and scored on a Bichette single into left field. That was the end of the line for Waldichuk. Yacksel Rios was brought in to face Vlad, who grounded out but brought Springer in. Rios then walked Chapman and gave up a laser of a home run to Biggio, pushing the score to 12-1.


Jays of the Day: Kikuchi (0.222) and Vlad (0.100) had the number, but like yesterday it was a team effort. The only Jays in negative territory were Bichette and Biggio, both of whom had a couple of hits (including a homer for Biggio!) but struck too late, after the Jays win probability was effectively 100%.

Relocated (to the back of the plane): nobody


The bay area squads switch now, with the Giants coming to town for a three game set after tomorrow’s off day. Starters haven’t been announced yet, but we’ll get things rolling at 7:07pm ET on Tuesday night.

 

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Ravens win fifth straight game by beating Bucs 41-31

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.

The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.

Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.

Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.

The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.

Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.

Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.

It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.

Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.

Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.

It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.

Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Struggling Whitecaps, Timbers set to meet in MLS wild-card matchup

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VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.

With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.

The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.

The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.

An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”

Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.

There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.

“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.

Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.

“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”

Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.

“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.

“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”

The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).

The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.

Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).

The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.

To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.

“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”

A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.

The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.

“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)

Wednesday, Providence Park

HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.

ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.

POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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No rugby, field hockey, badminton, triathlon or cricket at leaner 2026 Commonwealth Games

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GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.

Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.

The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.

There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.

The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.

It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.

“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.

Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.

More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.

The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”

Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.

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