Connect with us

Published

on

The Philadelphia Phillies are coming off a game in which they absolutely hammered the Houston Astros to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series.

Philadelphia jumped on Lance McCullers Jr. and never let up in the 7-0 victory Tuesday night, mashing five home runs off him to tie a World Series record for most home runs off single pitcher in a Fall Classic. Next, Cristian Javier will try to quiet down Philly’s monstrous bats in Game 4 on Wednesday night and prevent the Phillies from taking one step closer to one of the biggest upsets in World Series history.

Here are the best moments from Game 4.

Houston heats up

Phillies starter Aaron Nola held the Astros scoreless through four innings, but in the fifth inning, the dam broke.

Houston scored five runs in the fifth, taking a 5-0 lead with Astros starter Cristian Javier carrying a no-hitter through four innings.

The offensive onslaught started with a Chas McCormick single off of Nola followed by two more singles by Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and shortstop Jeremy Pena. With the bases loaded and no outs, Phillies manager Rob Thomson removed Nola from the game, bringing in lefty fireballing reliever Jose Alvarado.

But Alvarado immediately got off to a rough start, hitting Yordan Alvarez with a pitch, scoring McCormick to give Houston its first run of the night. Things only got worse from there for Philadelphia as Astros third baseman Alex Bregman knocked a double to right field, scoring Altuve and Pena and extending Houston’s lead to 3-0.

With both inherited runners scoring, Nola’s final pitching line was four innings pitched with three earned runs on seven hits, no walks and four strikeouts.

But the damage did not end with Bregman. Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker knocked a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Alvarez and moving Bregman to third base. Yuli Gurriel kept the offensive roll going, knocking a single into left field to score Bregman and extending Houston’s lead to 5-0. While Alvarado struck out Christian Vázquez and Aldemys Díaz to end the inning, the damage was done. — Joon Lee

Jayme Hoskins buys more beer for fans

Beer is on the Hoskins family.

Before Game 4 of the World Series, Jayme Hoskins — wife of Phillies first baseman Rhys — tweeted out a call for fans to meet her for beer at Citizens Bank Park.

Fans responded by meeting Hoskins and getting some beverages for the game.

The move from Hoskins followed up Game 3 when she bought a case of 50 beers for fans. — Lee

Pregame fashion

Game 4 lineups and pitchers

Starters: Cristian Javier (11-9, 148.2 IP, 2.54 ERA, 194 K) vs. Aaron Nola (11-13, 205 IP, 3.25 ERA, 235 K)

Houston Astros

1. Jose Altuve (R) 2B (.300 AVG, 28 HR, .921 OPS)
2. Jeremy Pena (R) SS (.253 AVG, 22 HR, .715 OPS)
3. Yordan Alvarez (L) DH (.306 AVG, 37 HR, 1.019 OPS)
4. Alex Bregman (R) 3B (.259 AVG, 23 HR, .820 OPS)
5. Kyle Tucker (L) RF (.257 AVG, 30 HR, .808 OPS)
6. Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B (.242 AVG, 8 HR, .647 OPS)
7. Christian Vasquez (R) C (.274 AVG, 9 HR, .714 OPS)
8. Aledmys Diaz (R) C (.243 AVG, 12 HR, .691 OPS)
9. Chas McCormick (R) CF (.245 AVG, 14 HR, .738 OPS)

Philadelphia Phillies

1. Kyle Schwarber (L) LF (.218 AVG, 46 HR, .827 OPS)
2. Rhys Hoskins (R) 1B (.246 AVG, 30 HR, .794 OPS)
3. J.T. Realmuto (R) C (.276 HR, 22 HR, .820 OPS)
4. Bryce Harper (L) DH (.286 AVG, 18 HR, .877 OPS)
5. Nick Castellanos (R) RF (.263 AVG, 13 HR, .694 OPS)
6. Alec Bohm (R) 3B (.280 AVG, 13 HR, .713 OPS)
7. Bryson Stott (R) SS (.234 AVG, 10 HR, .653 OPS)
8. Jean Segura (R) 2B (.277 AVG, 10 HR, .723 OPS)
9. Brandon Marsh (R) CF (.245 AVG, 11 HR, .679 OPS)

Continue Reading

Sports

Bedard hurt on last-second faceoff, out for Sat.

Published

on

By

Bedard hurt on last-second faceoff, out for Sat.

ST. LOUIS — Chicago star Connor Bedard was injured on a last-second faceoff in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night and will miss the Blackhawks’ game Saturday.

With 0.8 seconds left, Bedard attempted to win the draw to give Chicago one last chance, but he was knocked down by Blues center Brayden Schenn. Bedard grasped at his right shoulder and immediately headed to the locker room, accompanied by a trainer, while his teammates remained on the ice and the bench.

“He won’t play tomorrow,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said of the team’s game at home against Detroit on Saturday night. “I won’t know more info tomorrow, so don’t ask me tomorrow. At some point through the weekend, I’ll know more, so I’d probably have more info come Monday.”

Asked whether Bedard’s injury would be only short term, Blashill offered few details.

“I’d hate to say that without knowing the information,” he said. “Until we get the information, again, he’s not going to play tomorrow.”

Bedard ranked fifth in the NHL in points heading into the game, and he assisted on both of Chicago’s goals in the loss. He now has 12 goals and 25 assists.

He was pushed into desperation mode when the Blues iced the puck and a half a second was put back on the clock. Blashill said he’d have to see the play again, but his initial impression was that nothing dirty occurred on the play.

“Honestly, I think it’s a freak accident,” Blashill said, “to be honest with you.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Canucks trade Hughes to Wild for 3 players, pick

Published

on

By

Canucks trade Hughes to Wild for 3 players, pick

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild, the teams announced on Friday. It was a blockbuster deal in which Vancouver received three roster players — defenseman Zeev Buium, center Marco Rossi and winger Liam Ohgren — as well as a first-round pick.

It’s one of the boldest moves in Wild franchise history, and signals GM Bill Guerin’s hunger to win now after signing Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history this summer. The Wild have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2015.

Hughes, 26, is a 2018 first-round pick of the Canucks and considered one of the best defensemen in the league. He is one of six players already named to the Team USA Olympic men’s hockey team. Hughes won the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 when he recorded a career-high 92 points for a first-place Canucks team.

However, a Hughes trade became increasingly inevitable after the Canucks got off to a poor start. Vancouver entered Friday in last place in the Pacific Division at 11-17-3 with a minus-24 goal differential. Late last month, the Vancouver front office sent a memo across the league that it was open to trading any of its pending unrestricted free agents. That did not include Hughes, who is under contract through the end of next season.

However, it empowered many general managers across the league to inquire about Hughes, who did not have any trade protection.

The Canucks got plenty in return. Buium, 20, is a 2024 first-round pick of the Wild and can inherit Hughes’ role as a true power-play quarterback. Rossi, 24, and Ohgren, 21, are also former first-round picks of the Wild.

Though Hughes never asked for a trade, many around the NHL believed he did not want to re-sign in Vancouver after his contract expired in the summer of 2027. The prevailing belief is that Hughes preferred to play for a United States-based team on the East Coast. Hughes spends his offseason in Michigan. His brothers, Jack and Luke, play for the New Jersey Devils.

According to sources, the Devils did make a trade offer for Hughes to reunite him with his two younger brothers. However, New Jersey couldn’t match what Minnesota gave up.

Minnesota began engaging with Vancouver about a week ago, according to sources, and the deal came together quickly. The Canucks received at least six other offers, according to sources, but Vancouver believed Minnesota presented the strongest overall package that can best set the team up for the future.

Hughes is not eligible to sign an extension with the Wild until July 1.

Continue Reading

Sports

San Jose State receiver Scudero to enter portal

Published

on

By

San Jose State receiver Scudero to enter portal

San Jose State wide receiver Danny Scudero, the leading receiver in FBS this season, will enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens in January, he announced Friday.

The 5-foot-9, 174-pound redshirt sophomore caught 88 passes for 1,291 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season with the Spartans, becoming a semifinal for the Biletnikoff Award and earning first-team All-Mountain West honors.

Scudero is expected to be one of the more coveted wide receivers available when the transfer portal officially opens on Jan. 2 and has two more seasons of eligibility remaining.

Scudero spent two years at Sacramento State before transferring to San Jose State after the 2024 season. He broke out with 189 receiving yards to open the season against Central Michigan and surpassed 100 yards in five more games, including a career-high 215 and two touchdowns against Hawaii.

Scudero’s 88 receptions ranked fourth-most in FBS, and he leads all receivers this season with 16 catches of 30 or more yards.

The Spartans produced the No. 14 passing offense in FBS this season but went 3-9 in their second year under coach Ken Niumatalolo.

Continue Reading

Trending