Sports

Manoah, Springer joining Guerrero Jr. and Kirk at MLB All-Star Game – TSN

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2022

The Associated Press

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah and centre-fielder George Springer were added Sunday to the American League lineup for the July 19 All-Star Game.

Manoah, 24, leads Blue Jays starters with nine wins and a 2.34 earned run average, both stats rank third among American League pitchers.

The second-year pitcher also ranks third in the AL with 107.2 innings pitched.

It will be his first trip to the All-Star game.

The 32-year-old Springer will be making his fourth all-star appearance. His 16 home runs are second most on Toronto, trailing fellow all-star Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s 19 homers.

Guerrero and catcher Alejandro Kirk were named All-Star starters on Friday after being selected to the American League team after finishing atop their positions in the second round of fan voting.

Springer finished fourth in voting for American League outfielders.

A year after Shohei Ohtani became baseball’s first two-way All-Star, the Los Angeles Angels sensation did it again.

Ohtani was picked for the American League pitching staff on Sunday as a Major League Baseball selection, two days after he was elected by fans to start at designated hitter.

Pitchers Clay Holmes, Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes made the AL team from the Yankees along with catcher Jose Trevino, giving New York six All-Stars for the first time since 2011. Outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton were elected to start.

Defending AL champion Houston has five All-Stars, with pitchers Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez, outfielder Kyle Tucker and designated hitter Yordan Álvarez selected along with starting second baseman Jose Altuve. Álvarez went on the injured list Sunday because of right hand inflammation.

The Blue Jays, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals all boast four All-Stars.

Seattle outfielder Julio Rodríguez was the lone rookie picked and at 21 is the youngest of this year’s All-Stars. There are 30 first-time All-Stars and Rodríguez, who debuted on April 8, is among 10 age 24 or younger.

Ohtani, the reigning AL MVP, is hitting .260 with 19 homers and 59 RBIs and is 8-4 with a 2.44 ERA, 111 strikeouts and 20 walks in 81 innings. He has won five consecutive starts and is coming off a Wednesday outing at Miami when he became the first player in major league history to strike out 10 batters, drive in two runs and steal a base.

Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera is the senior All-Star with 12 selections and St. Louis DH Albert Pujols is second with 11, both picks of baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred under a provision for career achievements in the new collective bargaining agreement.

The 92nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game will played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2022.

With files from the Associated Press

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Sports

Cavaliers and free agent forward Isaac Okoro agree to 3-year, $38 million deal, AP source says

Published

15 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.

ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.

The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.

The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.

Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.

His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.

Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

Published

1 day ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.

Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.

In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

Published

1 day ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.

Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.

Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.

He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.

The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.

Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.

He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.

George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.

Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.

In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.

St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ON DECK

Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.

The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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