Hurricane forces Lightning, others to alter plans
The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have left Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton to practice the rest of the week in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area for their season opener at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
Milton, currently a Category 5 hurricane, is projected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday night. It had maximum sustained winds of 165 mph as of Tuesday afternoon, and forecasters warned of a storm surge as high as 15 feet in Tampa Bay, leading to evacuation orders for beach communities all along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The Lightning’s home opener, also against Carolina, is set for Saturday night and is on as scheduled for now.
The NFL’s Buccaneers made a similar decision, deciding to travel early to New Orleans for their game against the Saints on Sunday.
It’s third time in the past seven years the Bucs have shifted operations to another area to avoid bad weather.
The Glazer family, which owns the Bucs, booked two planes for a traveling party of about 350 people and 31 pets that included players, coaches and staff who would normally travel to an away game. Staff also had the ability to include their immediate family members and pets.
The team also purchased more than 200 hotels rooms in the Orlando and Gainesville areas for employees and families who wanted to evacuate from their homes ahead of the storm.
An NBA preseason game in Miami — which is not expected to feel hurricane conditions, but is likely to get strong wind gusts and several inches of rain — between the Heat and the Atlanta Hawks was pushed back from Thursday to Oct. 16.
Tropicana Field, home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, has been designated as a staging site for first responders and state and local emergency management services aiding with debris removal. The ballpark in St. Petersburg has been set up to host 10,000 people, with cots set up on the playing surface.
At the college level, the American Athletic Conference announced that the football game between Memphis and South Florida at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa has been rescheduled from Friday night to Saturday.
South Florida is relocating its football team to Orlando later Tuesday, coach Alex Golesh said.
The conference plans to monitor conditions after Milton passes and adjust accordingly.
UCF‘s Big 12 home football game vs. Cincinnati remains scheduled for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff in Orlando.
The Knights rescheduled events in several other sports, including shifting UCF’s home volleyball match against Colorado from Wednesday night to Sunday. UCF and Arizona changed the location of Thursday’s women’s soccer match from Orlando to Houston. With Arizona set to play at Houston on Sunday and UCF scheduled to play at Colorado the same day, the teams agreed to play Thursday’s match in Texas.
UCF’s men’s soccer match vs. Marshall was rescheduled from Friday night to Sunday. Other college events postponed include a women’s soccer match in Boca Raton between Florida Atlantic and Rice; it was slated for Thursday and now will be played Oct. 17.
The LPGA postponed qualifying for its Q-Series — which had been set to start Sunday and slated to run through Oct. 18 in Venice, Florida, at Plantation Golf and Country Club — and said in a statement that the safety of athletes, caddies, staff, volunteers and the local community is the top priority. The LPGA will announce an update after the storm.
“Our thoughts are with the entire Florida community as we prepare for the storm,” the LPGA said.
Countless high school sports events scheduled around Florida also were called off. In many counties, officials were waiting to see what would happen with football games scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski is a National League All-Star replacement, giving the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander a chance to break Paul Skenes‘ record for the fewest big league appearances before playing in the Midsummer Classic.
Misiorowski was named Friday night to replace Chicago Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who will be unavailable for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta because he is scheduled to start Saturday at the New York Yankees.
The 23-year-old Misiorowski has made just five starts for the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA while averaging 99.3 mph on his fastball, with 89 pitches that have reached 100 mph.
If he pitches at Truist Park, Misiorowski will make it consecutive years for a player to set the mark for fewest big league games before an All-Star showing.
Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander getting ready for his second All-Star appearance, had made 11 starts in the majors when he was chosen as the NL starter for last year’s All-Star Game at Texas. He pitched a scoreless inning.
“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Misiorowski, who said he was given the news a few minutes before the Brewers’ 8-3 victory over Washington. “It’s awesome. It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor.”
Misiorowski is the 30th first-time All-Star and 16th replacement this year. There are now 80 total All-Stars.
“He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is a starting AL outfielder for his seventh All-Star nod. “He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time so I think he deserved it and it’s going be pretty cool for him and his family.”
Carlos Rodón, Carlos Estévez and Casey Mize were named replacement pitchers on the AL roster.
The New York Yankees‘ Rodón, an All-Star for the third time in five seasons, will replace teammate Max Fried for Tuesday’s game in Atlanta. Fried will be unavailable because he is scheduled to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.
In his final start before the All-Star game, Rodón allowed four hits and struck out eight in eight innings in an 11-0 victory over the Cubs.
“This one’s a little special for me,” said Rodón, an All-Star in 2021 and ’22 who was 3-8 in his first season with the Yankees two years ago before rebounding. “I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t to going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”
The Kansas City Royals‘ Estévez replaces Texas’ Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to start at Houston on Saturday night. Estévez was a 2023 All-Star when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.
Mize takes the spot held by Boston‘s Garrett Crochet, who is scheduled to start Saturday against Tampa Bay. Mize gives the Tigers six All-Stars, most of any team and tied for the franchise record.
Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia will replace Tampa Bay‘s Brandon Lowe, who went on the injured list with left oblique tightness. The additions of Estévez and Garcia give the Royals four All-Stars, matching their 2024 total.
The Seattle Mariners announced center fielder Julio Rodríguez will not participate, and he was replaced by teammate Randy Arozarena. Rodríguez had been voted onto the AL roster via the players’ ballot. The Mariners, who have five All-Stars, said Rodríguez will use the break to “recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”
Arozarena is an All-Star for the second time. He started in left field for the AL two years ago, when he was with Tampa Bay. Arozarena was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2023 Home Run Derby.
Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a first-time All-Star, is replacing Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is scheduled to start Saturday night at Arizona. Rasmussen is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 18 starts.
San Diego added a third NL All-Star reliever in lefty Adrián Morejón, who replaces Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler. The Phillies’ right-hander is scheduled to start at San Diego on Saturday night. Morejón entered the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in 45 appearances.
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