MINNEAPOLIS — Summoned into the game with Twins runners on second and third base and only one out, Erik Swanson's first four pitches to Joey Gallo badly missed the strike zone. Consider it a game-saving semi-intentional walk for the Blue Jays.
Gallo jogged to first base, and the Twins' rally abruptly died, as it almost always does this season, from an overabundance of baserunners. Michael A. Taylor took a called third strike — or at least, home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman said he did — and Donovan Solano grounded out, dooming the Twins to their sixth consecutive series-opening loss, 3-1 to Toronto at Target Field.
As Memorial Day arrives, some of the weaker teams in baseball are still very much within striking distance in the postseason race. In fact, FanGraphs only lists five teams in the major leagues with less than a 5% chance of reaching the postseason. Those are the Royals, Athletics, Nationals, Reds and Rockies. And even Cincinnati is only four games out of first in the NL Central. On May 29 last year, there were 11 teams with less than a 5% chance of a playoff berth.
Chip Towers - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)
DESTIN, Fla. – Josh Brooks inherited 15 head coaches when he succeeded Greg McGarity as Georgia’s athletic director in January of 2021. Twenty-eight months later, he has replaced eight of them.
CHICAGO — Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams delivered a block on Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne ith 4:27 left in the fourth quarter and the score tied 62-62, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
SOLANA BEACH, Calif. — When the limelight fades and cheers give way to unsettling silence, many elite professional athletes struggle to walk away. Loosening the vice grip on something so engrained, so second nature, can spin things out of control.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — If heaven has a ground floor, this must be it, where the land and sea meet to make Pebble Beach golf’s most picturesque, breathtaking backdrop.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Eight of the 16 regional hosts selected for the NCAA Tournament are from the Southeastern Conference. The hosts have locked up spots in the national tournament. The rest of the 64-team field will be unveiled Monday. Each regional will be made up of four teams playing in a …
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Eight of the 16 regional hosts selected for the NCAA Tournament are from the Southeastern Conference. The hosts have locked up spots in the national tournament. The rest of the 64-team field will be unveiled Monday. Each regional will be made up of four teams playing in a …
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Luke Boyers and Brayden Taylor each hit a home run, Luke Savage pitched 4 innings of scoreless two-hit relief and No. 4 seed TCU beat Oklahoma State 12-5 to win the Big 12 Tournament for the second time in the last three years. TCU, which has won six games in a row an…
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Eight of the 16 regional hosts selected for the NCAA Tournament are from the Southeastern Conference. The hosts have locked up spots in the national tournament. The rest of the 64-team field will be unveiled Monday. Each regional will be made up of four teams playing in a …
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Eight of the 16 regional hosts selected for the NCAA Tournament are from the Southeastern Conference. The hosts have locked up spots in the national tournament. The rest of the 64-team field will be unveiled Monday. Each regional will be made up of four teams playing in a …
Nepal’s government is honoring record-holding climbers during celebrations of the first ascent of Mount Everest 70 years ago. Mountaineers and other people attended a rally in Kathmandu to mark the anniversary Monday. Kami Rita was honored after he climbed the world’s highest mountain twice this season for a record 28 times overall. Sanu Sherpa, who has climbed all of the world’s 14 highest peaks twice, said May 29, 1953, was remembered as the day Sherpas became known. It was the day New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit. During the 2023 climbing season, hundreds of climbers and their guides scaled the peak. Seventeen died or went missing.
Fernando Alonso has five podiums in six races in a remarkable season for Aston Martin yet still feels he’s no closer to catching Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The two-time Formula One champions now head to a race with special significance for both of them. Next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix is where Verstappen won his first race as an 18-year-old on his Red Bull debut in 2016. It’s also where Alonso last won a race in 2013 so it would be the perfect place for the 41-year-old Spaniard to end his winless run. But he's realistic and says that Red Bull looks “untouchable” after winning every race so far this season.
A prominent Hawaiian waterman wants to build another Hawaii wave pool facility using the latest technology to simulate the ideal conditions top-notch surfers need to stay competitive. But some people, including fellow Hawaiians, want to stop the project. They say another wave pool is a waste of water and pointless in Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing where a good break is often just minutes away. A lawsuit filed in state environmental court by a group of Hawaiians and residents near the proposed site not far from a popular surfing beach alleges the project will cause damage to nearshore limu, or seaweed, and desecrate iwi kupuna, or ancient Hawaiian remains.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell says he smoked marijuana before playing some NFL games during his career. Bell told Barstool Sports’ “Steel Here” podcast he would smoke and then run for 150 yards and two touchdowns. The 31-year-old Bell hasn’t played in the league since the 2021 season. The running back also blasted then-New York coach Adam Gase on the podcast, saying he was a “terrible” play caller during his brief tenure with the Jets.
