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Drew Pyne, one of the top available quarterbacks in the NCAA transfer portal, is transferring to Arizona State from Notre Dame, he announced Monday.

Pyne visited ASU over the weekend, according to sources, and clicked with first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham. Pyne appreciated Dillingham’s work in developing Bo Nix at Oregon last year and was attracted to the program’s new energy and playing for a quarterback-friendly head coach.

According to sources, Pyne also felt the momentum building within the program.

The addition of Pyne marks the 26th new recruit or transfer brought in since Dillingham’s hire in late November, and Pyne left Tempe wanting to be part of that program’s building. While ASU needed to reload on the offensive line, it’s arguable that none of the individual commitments was bigger than Pyne.

Pyne will have three years of eligibility remaining. He comes to ASU after starting 10 games at Notre Dame last season, leading it to an 8-2 record and finishing No. 20 nationally in individual quarterback efficiency in the regular season. Pyne completed 22 touchdown passes and 64.6% of his passes overall. That 8-2 record included a 4-1 record against top 25 teams.

Pyne impressed the Arizona State staff with his productivity in a pro-style system that’s generally conservative and lacked dynamic weapons, as tight end Michael Mayer was Notre Dame’s top pass game threat. Pyne showed toughness in both his ability to create plays and take hits. While Pyne isn’t physically imposing at 6-foot and 205 pounds, he showed the ability to stay healthy and absorb hits without getting injured. He also took care of the ball, showed quick twitch on his throws and the ability to deliver from different platforms.

Arizona State finished last season 3-9, as many of the program’s top players fled to the transfer portal after the 2021 season as former coach Herm Edwards’ program unraveled. Edwards was fired in September.

The addition of Pyne gives Dillingham’s rebuilding effort a linchpin player for the upcoming seasons. He’ll join a few solid offensive weapons, as both sophomore receiver Elijhah Badger (866 yards) and sophomore tight end Jalin Conyers (422 yards) emerged last year as two of the more promising young skill players in the Pac-12.

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Greene returning to Reds rotation for playoff push

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Greene returning to Reds rotation for playoff push

Hunter Greene will return to the Cincinnati Reds‘ rotation Wednesday night.

The right-hander will start against visiting Philadelphia after being out since June 4 with a strained right groin. The same injury sidelined Greene for two weeks in May.

Greene is 4-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 11 starts this season. The 26-year-old was selected to the All-Star Game last year for the first time.

In three rehab starts for Triple-A Louisville, Greene allowed 11 runs in 11 innings.

Cincinnati (61-57) entered Sunday 2½ games behind the New York Mets for the third wild-card spot in the National League.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Phillies call up Robertson, 40, for bullpen assist

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Phillies call up Robertson, 40, for bullpen assist

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Philadelphia Phillies recalled 40-year-old reliever David Robertson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday, three weeks after he signed a free agent deal with the National League East leaders.

Robertson made six relief appearances with Lehigh Valley and had a 10.13 ERA, though he had four scoreless outings. He struck out six, walked one and allowed 11 hits and six runs in 5⅓ innings.

The Phillies made the move before their series finale at Texas, where Robertson was 3-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 68 games last season.

Right-hander Alan Rangel was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the 26-man roster.

Over his 16-year major league career, Robertson has a 2.91 ERA in 861 games, all but one of those in relief. This is his third stint with the Phillies, first as a free agent before the 2019 season and then after being acquired in a trade from the Chicago Cubs in 2022. He played nine seasons with the Yankees over two different times in New York, which drafted him in the 17th round of the 2006 amateur draft.

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Ohtani hits 40-HR mark for 4th time in career

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Ohtani hits 40-HR mark for 4th time in career

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th home run of the season Saturday night in the fifth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 9-1 win against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ohtani hit a solo shot 417 feet to center off starter Chris Bassitt to give the Dodgers a three-run lead.

“That was one of those swings where he was behind the ball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He stayed into the ground. I know he and the hitting guys have been working on some things mechanically. That was as good of a swing as you’re going to see.”

Ohtani was not made available to the media.

The two-way Japanese star reached 40 homers for the fourth time in his career — and the third straight season — after winning MVP awards in each of the previous three years he did it.

He is the third player with multiple 40-HR seasons in the American League and National League, joining Jim Thome and Mark McGwire.

He did it this time in his 115th game, the fewest needed to reach the mark in a season in Dodgers history.

With 45 regular-season games left, Roberts was asked if he thought Ohtani could reach 55.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Roberts said. “Guys like Shohei always look for something to motivate them. He likes round numbers. I know 50 is on his radar. We’ll see how it goes.”

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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