Connect with us

Published

on

CHICAGO — Sean Manaea pitched two-hit ball over seven innings, Francisco Lindor belted his 29th home run and the New York Mets defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Sunday, handing them their franchise-record 107th loss.

Chicago (31-107) broke the club mark for losses set by the 1970 team. The White Sox also completed the first 0-10 homestand in franchise history, becoming the first team since the 1965 Mets to have three 10-game losing streaks in one season.

Lindor gave New York a 1-0 lead when he connected leading off the fourth against Garrett Crochet. Starling Marte drove an RBI double off the center-field wall against Justin Anderson in the ninth, and the Mets squeezed out their fourth straight win and ninth in 13 games to finish a 7-3 trip. They began the day trailing Atlanta by two games for the final NL wild card.

“We knew coming in here, especially after playing the Padres and the Diamondbacks, that we needed to keep the intensity, we needed to stay locked in, match their energy,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I’m proud of the guys that we were able to do it one day at a time. And finally getting that last one 2-0 was important for us.”

Manaea (11-5) struck out five, walked two and hit a batter with a pitch. The left-hander is 3-0 in his past four outings, and New York has won 12 of his past 15 starts.

He retired his first 11 batters before walking Lenyn Sosa, but then picked off Sosa at first base to end the fourth. The White Sox didn’t get a hit until Miguel Vargas lined a single to left with two outs in the fifth.

Chicago threatened to score in the seventh, only to come away empty.

Luis Robert Jr. got hit by a pitch leading off but was thrown out trying to steal second. Andrew Vaughn walked with two outs and Gavin Sheets singled in front of sliding left fielder Jesse Winker, putting runners on the corners. Manaea then retired Vargas on a fly to left to escape that jam.

Reed Garrett retired all three batters in the eighth. Edwin Díaz struck out the side in the ninth for his 16th save in 22 chances as the Mets completed their sixth shutout of the season — all since July 11.

The White Sox were shut out for the 15th time. They’ve been on the wrong end of 22 series sweeps — tops in the majors by a wide margin. Miami is second with 10.

Chicago is 4-36 since the All-Star break and 3-18 under interim manager Grady Sizemore. The worst White Sox homestand prior to this one was when they went 0-7 from May 23 to May 29. They’ve lost 12 straight games at Guaranteed Rate Field, equaling a season high.

Crochet (6-10), one of Chicago’s few bright spots, tied an American League record by striking out the first seven batters and whiffed eight in all over 3⅓ innings. The All-Star left-hander gave up one run and three hits without a walk.

The White Sox are limiting Crochet’s workload because he missed most of the past two seasons following Tommy John surgery and was a reliever before that.

“He was pretty frustrated when I came out there, but I think he knows the situation and what we’re trying to do,” Sizemore said. “He threw well. He was on, he had good stuff. It’s going to be tough when he’s on a short leash like that and a pitch count, that he’s never going to get to go as deep as he wants.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Rich Rod bans Mountaineers from TikTok dancing

Published

on

By

Rich Rod bans Mountaineers from TikTok dancing

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, like all football coaches, wants his players to show up on time, work hard and play their best.

Oh, and another thing: Don’t dance on TikTok.

“They’re going to be on it, so I’m not banning them from it,” he said Monday. “I’m just banning them from dancing on it. It’s like, look, we try to have a hard edge or whatever, and you’re in there in your tights dancing on TikTok, ain’t quite the image of our program that I want.”

Making TikTok dance videos is a popular activity among high school- and college-age users of the social media platform. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, Boise State star Ashton Jeanty and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola are among college football players who have posted dance videos.

Rodriguez is beginning his second stint as Mountaineers coach. He said he has talked to his players about the tendency in society to emphasize the individual rather than the team and that banning TikTok dancing is something he can do to put the focus where he thinks it belongs.

“I’m allowed to do that. I can have rules,” he said. “Twenty years from now, if they want to be sitting in their pajamas in the basement eating Cheetos and watching TikTok or whatever the hell, they can go at it, smoking cannabis, whatever. Knock yourself out.”

As for now, he said: “I hope our focus can be on winning football games. How about let’s win the football game and not worry about winning the TikTok?”

Continue Reading

Sports

Battle, DB star at USC and former Jet, dies at 78

Published

on

By

Battle, DB star at USC and former Jet, dies at 78

LOS ANGELES — Mike Battle, an All-American defensive back and a member of USC‘s 1967 national championship team who later played two seasons for the New York Jets, has died. He was 78.

He died of natural causes on March 6 in Nellysford, Virginia, the school said Tuesday.

In 1967, Battle led a USC defense that allowed only 87 points all season. The Trojans were 26-6-1 and won three conference titles during his three-year career. Battle played in the 1967, 1968 and 1969 Rose Bowl games, all won by the Trojans.

Battle was USC’s annual punt return leader in each of his three seasons and still owns the school record for most punts returned in a season. He was the NCAA statistical champion in 1967, when he had 49 returns for 608 yards, a 12.4-yard average. He also holds the school mark for most punts returned, with 99 during his three years.

He was chosen in the 12th round of the 1969 NFL draft by the Jets and played for two seasons in 1969 and 1970.

Battle appeared in the 1970 film “C.C. and Company,” a biker film starring Jets teammate Joe Namath and actor Ann-Margret.

He is survived by his wife Laura and children Christian Michael, Hunter, Frank, Michael, Kathleen, Murphy and Annie.

Continue Reading

Sports

Stars forward Hintz out a week with facial injury

Published

on

By

Stars forward Hintz out a week with facial injury

Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz will be sidelined for a week with a facial injury but avoided a fracture.

General manager Jim Nill said Tuesday that Hintz has to keep his heart rate down for 5-7 days to avoid pressure or swelling.

Hintz, 28, was struck in the face by a puck midway through the second period in Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Edmonton. He did not return.

Hintz is tied for second on the Stars in goals (25) and is fourth in points (52) through 59 games this season.

He has 362 points (172 goals, 190 assists) in 451 career games in seven NHL seasons. Dallas drafted him in the second round in 2015.

Continue Reading

Trending