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The Los Angeles Angels drafted one of the Joyce brothers in 2022. They grabbed the other one on Tuesday.

The Angels selected Zach Joyce in the 14th round after they took his twin brother, Ben, in the third round of last year’s amateur draft. Zach Joyce helped the University of Tennessee reach the College World Series this season, going 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 10⅓ innings over 13 appearances.

“The story of it being with Ben and being his brother is great, but this was a guy that regardless of any connection to the Angels, I was targeting him as a guy that could help us for sure,” said Tim McIlvaine, the director of amateur scouting for the Angels. “The story now with Ben, too, could be awesome at some point as well, but for sure, he’s a really talented kid.”

Ben Joyce, 22, also starred at Tennessee before he was drafted by Los Angeles. The hard-throwing right-hander made his big league debut on May 29. He went 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in five relief appearances before he was placed on the 15-day injured list with ulnar neuritis in his right arm.

Zach Joyce, who is four minutes younger than Ben, had Tommy John surgery in January 2020. The 6-foot-4 right-hander also stepped away from the game because of clinical depression and anxiety before returning this season with the Volunteers.

“I saw him this fall at Tennessee and he looked great,” McIlvaine said. “He was throwing the ball really well. He was spinning the ball really well, and the velocity started climbing back up.”

There were lots of family ties on the final day of the draft, which included rounds 11-20.

Kansas City selected Stone Russell in the 18th round. The 19-year-old catcher is the son of former major league player and manager John Russell.

DODGERS FIND A QB

DJ Uiagalelei, the former starting quarterback at Clemson Tigers who’s now at Oregon State Beavers, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 20th round (No. 610 overall) of the draft.

Uiagalelei was a pitcher in high school and has not played the sport competitively since then, instead focusing on football. The Dodgers listed Uiagalelei as a two-way player.

Uiagalelei, 22, spent the first three years of his college career at Clemson after being rated a five-star quarterback prospect in high school. He backed up Trevor Lawrence in 2020, showed promise in two starts while Lawrence was in COVID-19 protocol and took over the starting job in 2021.

Uiagalelei has thrown for 5,681 yards, 36 touchdowns and 17 interceptions with a 59.8 percent completion rate in his three college seasons.

CATCH THIS

The University of Louisville has become a bit of a catcher factory for the majors. Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Henry Davis of the Pittsburgh Pirates are in the big leagues, and Dalton Rushing is one of the Dodgers’ top prospects.

It looks like there is another Louisville catcher on the way.

Jack Payton was selected by San Francisco in the 11th round with pick No. 330 overall. The 21-year-old Payton hit .374 with 12 homers and 41 RBI in 48 games in his third season with the Cardinals. His older brother, Mark, appeared in a total of 40 major league games with two teams over the past three seasons.

FRENCH CONNECTION

Mathias LaCombe became the second France native to go in the amateur draft when he was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 12th round. The right-hander joins Joris Bert, who was picked by the Dodgers in the 19th round in 2007.

The 21-year-old LaCombe, who is from Pineuilh, France, played for Cochise College in Arizona this season. He went 5-3 with two saves and a 1.74 ERA in 19 appearances, including eight starts.

LaCombe made one appearance for France in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers last year, allowing one run and three hits in one inning during a 14-4 loss to Britain.

“We’re talking about a guy who is 93 to 95 with a real breaking ball, and there’s mechanical things that he knows we’re going to make better in his delivery,” said Mike Shirley, the director of amateur scouting for the White Sox.

CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE

The Pittsburgh Pirates are hoping Charles McAdoo can add a World Series title to his family’s list of NBA championships.

McAdoo, a second baseman from San Jose State, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 13th round at No. 377 overall. McAdoo’s cousin, Bob, won two NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers during his Hall of Fame career. James Michael McAdoo, another cousin, won a pair of championships with the Golden State Warriors.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Marlins def. Yankees, earn 1st-ever sweep of N.Y.

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Marlins def. Yankees, earn 1st-ever sweep of N.Y.

MIAMI — Kyle Stowers hit a three-run homer and the Miami Marlins defeated the New York Yankees 7-3 on Sunday, completing their first-ever sweep of the Yankees in a series of three or more games.

The Marlins (55-55) reached .500 for the first time since April 15, when the team was 8-8. Since June 13, the Marlins are 30-14; that’s tied with the 2003 team for the most wins in a 44-game span in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

The 2003 Marlins went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series in six games.

Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (5-5) pitched six innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts and one walk. His only blemish came against the first batter he faced. Trent Grisham drove Cabrera’s 98.1 mph four-seam fastball to right-center.

Miami rookie Jakob Marsee, who made his major league debut on Friday, was 2-for-4 and finished a single short of the cycle.

Stowers made it 6-1 when he connected on an 0-2 fastball from Brent Headrick, who entered in the fourth with two on after starter Luis Gil (0-1) was lifted 3⅓ innings into his season debut.

Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, struck out three and surrendered five runs and five hits while issuing four walks in his return from a high-grade lat strain. He threw 77 pitches.

Gil’s shaky debut comes at a rough point in the season for the Yankees, whose inconsistency has prompted a rash of criticism, the latest coming from former Yankees stars Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on Fox’s pregame show Saturday night.

“They make way too many mistakes,” Jeter said. “Way too many mistakes, and you can’t get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams.”

Added Rodriguez: “Where’s the accountability?”

Boone addressed those criticisms before Sunday’s game, saying it comes with the territory of being the Yankees, but he added after the loss that it’s “gut-check” time for his club.

New York’s weekend series at Miami included the Yankees blowing a six-run lead in a wild 13-12 loss on Friday, before a 2-0 loss on Saturday.

The Yankees had a seven-game lead in the AL East in late May. By July 2, the lead was gone and the Yankees have been looking up at Toronto in the division ever since. The red-hot Boston Red Sox, who were more than 10 games behind the Yankees about two months ago, have overtaken their rival for the second spot in the AL East and AL wild-card lead.

“It’s getting late,” Boone said. “And it’s certainly not too late for us. I am confident that we’re going to get it together. But that’s all it is right now is, you know, it’s empty until we start doing it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rodriguez makes history with 4th 20-20 season

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Rodriguez makes history with 4th 20-20 season

SEATTLE — Julio Rodriguez homered to become the first player in major league history with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.

Rodriguez hit a two-run shot in the third inning — his 100th career homer — and the slugging and speedy center fielder also added his 21st stolen base of the season after singling in the fifth inning.

Jorge Polanco added a solo shot in the second, and shortstop J.P. Crawford smacked a two-run blast in the fourth against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (10-4), who became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings Sunday.

The Rangers kept things close by pushing across three runs against Mariners starter Logan Evans (5-4), but tallied only one run against the Mariners bullpen before closer Andrés Muñoz locked down his 25th save of the season.

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White Sox place Vargas on IL with oblique strain

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White Sox place Vargas on IL with oblique strain

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Chicago White Sox placed infielder Miguel Vargas on the 10-day injured list on Sunday because of a left oblique strain.

Vargas, 25, was scratched from Saturday night’s 1-0 victory at the Angels. Vargas, who was acquired from the Dodgers as part of a three-team trade in July 2024, is batting .229 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs in 106 games.

The White Sox also recalled infielder Curtis Mead from Triple-A Charlotte before their series finale against the Angels. Left-hander Bryan Hudson and right-hander Elvis Peguero were claimed off waivers from Milwaukee and assigned to Charlotte.

Mead, 24, came over when the White Sox traded right-hander Adrian Houser to Tampa Bay on Thursday. Mead hit .226 with three homers and eight RBIs in 49 games with the Rays this year.

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