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Jimbo Fisher is bringing in former Arkansas and Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino, one of the most respected offensive minds in football, to be Texas A&M‘s offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN.

Fisher has always called his own plays on offense and is one of the diminishing number of head coaches to do so, and although he will still be heavily involved in the Aggies’ offense, sources told ESPN that Petrino will take over primary playcalling duties.

Fisher just completed his fifth season at Texas A&M, a season that saw the Aggies go 5-7 and miss a bowl game for the first time since 2008.

Petrino was most recently at UNLV, for less than a month, after accepting the offensive coordinator job under new head coach Barry Odom on Dec. 15. Petrino spent the previous three seasons as Missouri State‘s head coach and guided the Bears to FCS playoff appearances in two of his three seasons. At the time of Petrino’s arrival, Missouri State had gone 30 years without a playoff appearance.

Fisher said following the Aggies’ disappointing 2022 season, which was marred by injuries and off-the-field issues, that he was open to relinquishing playcalling duties and hiring an accomplished offensive coordinator to come in and call plays, which would free up Fisher to be more involved in all facets of the program. Fisher and Petrino had talks about the Texas A&M offensive coordinator position in early December, but nothing materialized. Petrino then took the UNLV job later in the month after Odom was hired.

Petrino told Odom on Wednesday that he was leaving for Texas A&M, according to sources, and an official announcement by Texas A&M is expected soon.

It’s not uncommon for Fisher to take his time and wait until January to make a coordinator hire. He hired his last two defensive coordinators (D.J. Durkin and Mike Elko) after the New Year. For this job, Fisher also talked to TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, among others, sources told ESPN.

Petrino, 61, has extensive head-coaching experience and has found success at all of his college stops. He coached a Heisman Trophy winner in Lamar Jackson at Louisville, elevated Arkansas and Louisville to national relevance for the first time in years and has won 65.8% of his games as a college head coach.

But he’s also met controversy along the way, most notably at Arkansas, where he was fired in April 2012 after school officials said he lied about a motorcycle accident while riding with a female football staffer whom Petrino had hired and with whom he was having an affair. The Hogs won 11 games the previous season, including a Cotton Bowl victory, and finished No. 5 in the final AP poll. They won 10 games in 2010 and played in the Sugar Bowl.

“Unfortunately, I will always get to carry that with me, how it ended there,” Petrino told ESPN last summer. “I hurt a lot of people and let a lot of people down.”

Petrino’s SEC experience was particularly attractive to Fisher, whose Aggies plummeted to 101st nationally and next-to-last in the league in scoring offense last season (22.8 points per game). At Arkansas, Petrino’s offenses ranked second in the SEC in scoring in 2010 (36.5 points per game) and first in 2011 (36.8 points per game) at a time when defense ruled the SEC. In 2011, seven of the top 30 scoring defenses nationally belonged to SEC teams. Like Fisher, Petrino has also called his own plays as a head coach.

He also coached the Atlanta Falcons for part of the 2007 season before leaving to take the Arkansas job with three games remaining in the season. The Falcons were 3-10 at the time of Petrino’s abrupt departure. Overall, counting a couple of promotions, this will be Petrino’s 19th different coaching job.

Petrino inherits a Texas A&M offense that scored more than 24 points only twice last season against FBS competition. Conner Weigman returns at quarterback after starting the last three games in 2022 as a true freshman. Receiver Evan Stewart, also a true freshman, returns after leading the team in receiving. The Aggies also hope to get back several offensive linemen who suffered season-ending injuries in 2022.

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Misiorowski perfect into 7th, sets rookie record

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Misiorowski perfect into 7th, sets rookie record

MINNEAPOLIS — Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers lost his bid for a perfect game in the seventh inning of a 17-6 win against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

After issuing a walk to Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner lofted a home run to the flower bed just past the right-field wall, ending Misiorowski’s run of hitless innings to start his big league career at 11, the first starter to do that since 1900.

“I think this is exactly how I ever dreamed of it coming along,” the 23-year-old rookie said. “It’s exciting.”

He threw five no-hit innings against St. Louis on June 12, but left in the sixth with cramping in his right calf and quadriceps.

“I felt calmer and ready to go compared to the first one,” Misiorowski said. “Nerves were going pretty heavy on the first one, so it’s good to finally feel the feet under you.”

The 6-foot-7 right-hander struck out six with a fastball topping out at 102.1 mph and a slider and changeup in the mid-90s.

“It’s important to prove to yourself as a young player that you belong in the big leagues and taste success and realize that you do belong here,” said Christian Yelich, who had a career-high eight RBIs. “He should believe he’s a really good major league pitcher because he is. All the nights probably aren’t going to go as smooth as the first two, but you see the ability.

“He’s got a chance to something special every night he goes out there.”

Misiorowski is the only big leaguer since 1900 to have more wins (2) than hits allowed (1) in his first two career starts, according to OptaSTATS.

“He was attacking, but mixing, too,” manager Pat Murphy said. “It wasn’t just heaters.”

After seeing four straight pitches of at least 100.8 mph from Misiorowski, Willi Castro twisted like a corkscrew and dropped to the ground as he struck out on a 95.5 mph slider in the first inning.

“You don’t see a guy throwing a slider 95, 96,” Castro said. “It’s really hard to pick up.”

Misiorowski threw 29 pitches of 100 mph or higher and had 12 of 101 mph or more. Since tracking started in 2008, the only starting pitchers to throw more in a game at 101 mph and above are Hunter Greene (33 on Sept. 17, 2022; 21 on March 30, 2023; 18 on July 26, 2022; and 13 on April 16, 2022) and Jordan Hicks (on July 12, 2022), according to Major League Baseball.

After the homer by Wallner, Misiorowski was pulled for reliever Nick Mears and left to a standing ovation. He threw 86 pitches, 60 for strikes, and departed with Milwaukee leading 8-2.

The Brewers scored five runs in the top of the seventh, a long time for starter to sit in the dugout, but Misiorowski was adamant about going back to the mound.

“He said, ‘Yes I’m getting toward the end, but I want to challenge myself,'” Murphy said. “It was a good time to have him do that.”

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Suarez, managers suspended for Padres-L.A. feud

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Suarez, managers suspended for Padres-L.A. feud

LOS ANGELES — San Diego Padres closer Robert Suarez was suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount Friday for intentionally hitting Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a pitch during the NL West rivals’ contentious meeting Thursday night.

Suarez will appeal the suspension, keeping him eligible to play for San Diego on Friday night against Kansas City. He did not pitch in the Padres’ 6-5 loss.

Padres manager Mike Shildt and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also received one-game suspensions and undisclosed fines for their roles in the brouhaha that occurred in both halves of the ninth inning during the Padres’ 5-3 victory at Dodger Stadium.

“I support it,” Roberts said about the league’s disciplinary decision. “I think that obviously I never want to make the game about the managers. It shouldn’t be. It should be about the players and winning, so last night, both managers are protecting their teams, and it just unfortunately got to the point that we became the focus, and that’s not the way it should be.”

Both managers were ejected in the top of the ninth after they ran onto the field and bumped into each other during a vociferous argument that almost got even more physical before their players and assistant coaches intervened.

Shildt believed Dodgers reliever Jack Little intentionally hit Fernando Tatís Jr. in the right hand with a pitch, igniting the latest bench-clearing incident between local rivals with several years of bad-tempered history.

“Circumstances were really challenging this past series, and at the end of the day I don’t regret standing up for a guy that I love in Tati, and a team that I love and a city that I love,” Shildt said. “In that regard, I have no regrets how it got to that point. Again, we can all have our comments and thoughts and theories. But as far as my actions, it’s not something you want to do every night or needs to be done, hopefully ever again. But appropriate actions for the circumstances were taken, and I don’t regret it at all.”

Shildt and Roberts served their suspensions Friday. Bench coach Danny Lehmann managed the Dodgers in their 6-5 win over the Washington Nationals, and Padres bench coach Brian Esposito was in San Diego’s dugout vs. the Royals.

In the bottom of the ninth, Ohtani was hit on the back of his right shoulder by Suarez’s pitch, putting the tying run on base during the Dodgers’ three-run rally. Ohtani’s teammates appeared to be preparing to storm the field for the second time before Ohtani waved them back. The three-time MVP then walked to the Padres’ dugout for some light banter, defusing the tension.

Suarez on Friday insisted he hadn’t retaliated for Tatís.

“I was never trying to get anyone into trouble or hit anybody,” Suarez said through an interpreter. “Unfortunately it happened. I got ejected and I couldn’t finish out the game, but we won as a team, and we were able to salvage that game. … [The Dodgers are] entitled to their opinion. They can say whatever they want. That was not the case. I was out there to try to save the game.”

Ohtani threw a bullpen session as scheduled Friday despite getting hit by Suarez on his pitching shoulder. Ohtani’s second mound start for the Dodgers is still expected to happen Sunday, Roberts said.

Tatís was in the Padres’ lineup as usual Friday. Manny Machado said afterward that the Dodgers should “pray” Tatís had escaped serious injury, encouraging them to “put out a candle.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Devers, facing Boston, clarifies first base mindset

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Devers, facing Boston, clarifies first base mindset

SAN FRANCISCO — As he prepared to face his former team just five days after being traded, San Francisco Giants slugger Rafael Devers wants to leave things in the past as it pertains to the Boston Red Sox.

But he did provide some insight into his feelings when he was asked Friday why he would consider playing first base for the Giants when he refused to do so for the Red Sox.

“I put up some good numbers in Boston and I feel like I earned some respect,” Devers said through an interpreter. “If they would have asked me at the beginning of spring training, yes, I would have played [first].”

Of course, back then the Red Sox didn’t have an opening at first base as Triston Casas didn’t get hurt until about a month into the season. But the overall damage had been done.

The lack of communication between the sides seemingly led to the stunning trade, and now just three games into his career with San Francisco, Devers has to face his old teammates in a weekend series at Oracle Park.

“Whatever happened, happened,” Devers said. “But they’re still my friends.”

Devers actually got to see his friends after they arrived in town Thursday, but as of early Friday afternoon, he had not seen or talked to manager Alex Cora. He’s confident he will.

Devers was pressed about his former manager.

“I don’t want to talk about the past,” Devers said. “I don’t have anything good or bad to say about Alex. I just want to leave everything in the past.”

Cora addressed the subject during his pregame media availability, saying, “There’s a lot of stuff that Rafy did for us that we’re going to miss. We’re very proud of him.”

Asked if the two need to clear the air about anything, Cora replied, “Clear the air about what? It’s a trade. It’s baseball. It’s a business. That’s how it works.

“It’s not the first guy that’s gotten traded. It’s not the last guy. People have their opinions about the whole thing. Communication, first base, DH, third base, the manager, the GM, the owner, whatever. It’s a baseball trade. From my end, I turn the page.”

Cora was then asked if he’s “surprised” Devers is working at first base, to which the manager offered a succinct, “No.”

Devers acknowledged it’s been a “long week” but he’s feeling more relaxed and even happy now. Entering Friday, he was 3-for-11 with two walks and four strikeouts for his new team, which desperately needs his presence in its lineup.

Devers, batting third and serving as the Giants’ designated hitter, got a standing ovation before grounding out in his first at-bat in the first inning Friday and hit a drive to the wall in left-center that Ceddanne Rafaela caught against the wall.

He would finish the game 0-for-5 as San Francisco lost 7-5 and dropped to 1-3 since the trade. It was the second time this season Devers went 0-for-5 or worse (0-for-6 at at Detroit on May 13), and the first time he did so in a home game since Sept. 26, 2023 (Rays at Red Sox).

Eventually, he’ll see time at first base — but only when he’s ready.

“It’s not a position I’m going to learn how to play overnight,” Devers said.

“It’s not the first guy that’s gotten traded. It’s not the last guy. People have their opinions about the whole thing. Communication, first base, DH, third base, the manager, the GM, the owner, whatever. It’s a baseball trade. From my end, I turn the page.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora

He was asked several times when he might get a start there.

“Whenever I feel like I’m comfortable,” he answered.

The conversation eventually came back around to his relationship with the Red Sox, but Devers insisted on putting it behind him.

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” he said. “I want to concentrate what’s in the future for me.”

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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