Few modern-era NFL players sign six-year contracts. Almost none play out those deals. Von Miller became a major exception, signing a then-defender-record contract in 2016 and playing it out. Miller, 33, made four straight Pro Bowls on his six-year, $114.1M extension, anchoring several Broncos defenses held down by the franchise’s perennial issues at quarterback. Following a full-season absence in 2020, Miller returned to form last season by helping the Rams to their second Super Bowl title. This led to a strong free-agent market, one that wrapped with the Bills giving the future Hall of Famer a six-year, $120M accord. The Buffalo deal includes $45M fully guaranteed but features no guaranteed money after 2024. It also includes a considerable final-year pay bump to bring the AAV to $20M. But Miller, rather than identifying a retirement window during this lengthy contract, wants to be with the Bills over the duration of the through-2027 deal. “This is a six-year deal, so I’m looking forward to playing the whole thing,” Miller said, via the Buffalo News’ Mark Gaughan. “I’m trying to play the whole thing out. Tom Brady‘s done it; Bruce Smith has done it. All the guys that I look up to when it comes to longevity in careers. So I just take it one day at a time, and I’m just gonna take whatever God gives me. My intention is to play the whole thing out. I’m a real sicko when you get to know me. My mindset is different.” This is not the first time Miller has referenced Smith, nor is it the first time he has discussed playing well into his late 30s. The All-Decade defender worked as a vital part of the Rams’ Super Bowl push, registering nine sacks in the team’s final eight games — including two in Super Bowl LVI. The Bills beat out aggressive Rams interest for the star edge rusher’s services, bringing in the Broncos’ all-time sack leader to add an anchor to a pass rush that has lacked one for years. Although only Mario Addison collected six or more sacks at 33 or older last season, there have been 71 double-digit sack seasons since 1960 (though sacks are only official post-1982). Hall of Famers Smith, Reggie White and Kevin Greene are among those to remain prolific sackers into their late 30s, while Julius Peppers provides a recent example of such production (48 sacks from his age-33 season on). Miller ranks 22nd on the NFL’s official all-time sack list, with 115.5. The former Super Bowl MVP is 22 away from the top 10. The Bills are counting on Miller to stay on course, employing rookie-contract defensive ends (Gregory Rousseau, Boogie Basham and A.J. Epenesa) around him. The team did bring back Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips and signed ex-Washington D-tackle Tim Settle to round out this D-line retooling effort, however. It remains unlikely Miller will play out another six-year deal. The Bills should be expected to move on at some point in the mid-2020s. If Miller does thrive for a few years on this pact, the sides reaching another deal would likely be in play.
The Minnesota Twins made history Monday with MLB's first ever 8-5 triple play, thanks to base running mistakes made by the Chicago White Sox. With the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the White Sox had an opportunity to take the lead with no outs and runners on first and second base. Chicago's A.J. Pollock hit a deep fly ball, but it was tracked down by Twins center fielder Byron Buxton. Despite Buxton making the play at the wall, White Sox pinch runner Adam Engel took off for third base without tagging up at second. Chicago's Yoán Moncada left first base and was rounding second base when Buxton made his catch. Buxton fired the ball back into the infield and third baseman Gio Urshela tagged Moncada before stepping on second base to get Engel out. It was the first MLB triple play in 12 years that started with a fly out to center field, and the first time ever that a center fielder (8) and third baseman (5) combined for all three outs. It was the second two-player triple play in Twins history.
Belgian David Goffin upset No. 23 Frances Tiafoe in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon to advance to the quarterfinals against Cameron Norrie. Norrie, who is ranked No. 9, has won back-to-back matches in straight sets, showing he can be pretty dominant on the grass at Wimbledon. Now, Norrie is favored to advance to the semifinals at WynnBET, but does Goffin have another upset in him? Here are the latest odds: David Goffin vs. Cameron Norrie Odds, Spread and Total Spread: David Goffin +4 (-105) Cameron Norrie -4 (-115) Moneyline: David Goffin: +180 Cameron Norrie: -225 Total: 38.5 (Over -115/Under -105) David Goffin vs. Cameron Norrie Prediction and Pick It’s hard to deny that Norrie is coming into this in good form, as he defeated No. 30 Tommy Paul in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the quarters. Goffin needed five sets to get past Tiafoe, but the win could give him some more momentum heading into this showdown. If Goffin can continue to play Cinderella, he should be able to force this to go OVER the total of 38.5 games, but I would rather take Norrie to win this one outright and lay the -225 juice. Norrie needed just 23 games to win in the third round and 32 in the Round of 16. He should be able to handle Goffin, even if it doesn’t come in straight sets. Lean: Cameron Norrie ML (-225) Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.
Kutter Crawford struck out a career-high eight batters in 5 1/3 two-hit, shutout innings and Trevor Story homered in the fourth to propel the Boston Red Sox to a 4-0 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Monday afternoon. Story went 2-for-4 and joined Rafael Devers and Christian Arroyo (both 2-for-4) as repeat hitters for Boston, which has won back-to-back games thanks to its seventh shutout win of the season. The Red Sox were playing the first of 17 consecutive games against American League East rivals. The Boston pitching trio of Austin Davis, Crawford (2-2) and John Schreiber held Tampa Bay to just a pair of singles by Yandy Diaz and Wander Franco. Neither team scored until the fourth inning. With two outs, Story sent his 13th homer of the season into the Boston bullpen in right-center field. Arroyo's leadoff double inside the left-field line and Bobby Dalbec's groundout set the table for the second Red Sox run in the fifth. Devers drove Arroyo home on a two-out infield single. Devers, J.D. Martinez and Christian Vazquez began Boston's eighth with consecutive singles before Alex Verdugo's bases-loaded fielder's choice comebacker slid under the glove of the Rays' Josh Fleming to bring in a run. Franchy Cordero then made it 4-0 with a single to right. Fleming (2-4) worked five innings of relief allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits. Both starting pitchers received unexpected assignments and lasted two innings. Davis subbed in for Michael Wacha, who has "dead arm" and who Alex Cora hopes can start later this week. Davis pitched two scoreless, hitless frames with two strikeouts. Boston had scheduled a bullpen game as a result, but Crawford took it over by facing just four batters over the minimum in the longest outing of his MLB career. All of Boston's traffic against Tampa Bay opener Jalen Beeks came in the second inning as Vazquez walked and Story and Arroyo singled. Beeks struck out Dalbec to strand the bases loaded. Crawford worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning bookended by strikeouts before a one-out wild pitch in the eighth forced Schreiber into the game. Schreiber recorded the last five outs for his third save.
Yordan Alvarez clubbed a walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth inning as the Houston Astros capped a five-run rally by defeating the visiting Kansas City Royals 7-6 on Monday. Alvarez drilled a 3-1 slider from Royals closer Scott Barlow (2-2) to right-center field for his 24th home run. It marked the second consecutive walk-off win for Houston, winners of 12 of 14. Handcuffed by Royals right-hander Jonathan Heasley, who allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six solid innings, the Astros rallied for three runs in the eighth off a pair of Kansas City relievers. Right-hander Wyatt Mills departed after issuing a leadoff walk to Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena, giving way to left-hander Amir Garrett. Garrett failed to record an out, issuing back-to-back walks before Kyle Tucker lined a two-run single to center that scored Pena and Alvarez and sliced the deficit to 6-5. Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel then greeted Royals reliever Taylor Clarke with a game-tying RBI single. The Astros' rally negated a multi-homer game for Royals catcher MJ Melendez, whose second homer of the game and eighth this season gave Kansas City a 6-3 lead in the top of the eighth. Astros right-hander Jake Odorizzi endured a rocky return to the rotation following a 42-game absence tied to a lower left leg tendon strain. Odorizzi had pitched splendidly over his prior four starts prior to sustaining the injury at Boston on May 16, going 3-0 with a 0.79 ERA. He found trouble almost immediately against the Royals, surrendering consecutive singles to Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino after issuing a one-out walk to Andrew Benintendi. Hunter Dozier followed with a two-run single the opposite way to right for a 2-0 advantage. The second inning nearly mirrored the 36-pitch first for Odorizzi, who surrendered a leadoff infield single to Michael A. Taylor two batters before Whit Merrifield delivered a double that advanced Taylor to third. Benintendi added a two-run single that doubled the Royals lead to 4-0. Odorizzi completed four laborious innings but not until he surrendered the first Melendez homer in the third and consecutive one-out singles in the fourth. He threw 90 pitches, 58 for strikes, while allowing a season-high five earned runs on a season-high nine hits plus one walk with three strikeouts.
Even weeks after making his much-anticipated debut in the major leagues, Adley Rutschman's contributions are dissected regularly. Some of the latest evaluations are bound to be positive even as the Baltimore Orioles rookie catcher is batting .215 across 35 games. He'll carry momentum into Tuesday night's game against the Texas Rangers in Baltimore. The Orioles collectively should have a bit of a jump in their steps following Monday's 7-6, 10-inning victory that included a game-saving, two-out double from Rutschman in the bottom of the ninth to extend the game. "A huge moment for him, a huge moment for us," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "(Rutschman) has been grinding a little bit. Delivers a big hit late." Often the Orioles do much of their good work when they score first, though they've relied on late-game heroics as Monday's outcome came courtesy of the sixth walk-off triumph of the season. They're 24-9 in games in which they score first. Baltimore's improvement is notable given that its 37-44 record at the schedule's halfway mark is a 10-win improvement from the same spot on the schedule a year ago. It's gloomier on the other side. "We had a chance to win a game and we just didn't finish at the end," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. The Rangers have right-hander Spencer Howard (0-1, 12.15 ERA) slated to start in what will be his fourth appearance of the season but his first since April 29. Howard is coming off an 11-strikeout effort in Triple-A and he's getting another chance with the Rangers, who've lost four of their last five games. If they're going to get it turned around, upgrades on the mound likely will be necessary. "We made so many mistakes on the pitching side," Woodward said. "So many mistakes on defense." Baltimore will use right-hander Austin Voth (0-1, 7.34 ERA) as its starter. This will be his fourth start and seventh outing since joining the Orioles from the Washington Nationals. The bullpen largely has been a strength for the Orioles this season. But with closer Jorge Lopez hitting a rough patch there's reason for concern. He worked in three of the past four games, allowing at least one run in all three of those appearances. "(Lopez) had really good stuff today," Hyde said Saturday. "We just need to get through this." But relievers Keegan Akin, Logan Gillaspie and Dillon Tate -- all whom Hyde identified as unavailable for Monday -- should be back in the mix. "We'll try to piece it together," Hyde said. For the Rangers, they might look to first baseman Nate Lowe to get them going. He went 1-for-5 on Monday, but he has five homers all-time in 16 games at Camden Yards. Texas scored in just two innings Monday and in only one inning on Sunday against the New York Mets, so that means it has scored in only three of their last 19 innings. In their last seven defeats, Monday marked the first time the Rangers scored more than four runs. "We've got to get more run support," Woodward said. "We've just got to play better."
After letting Monday's series opener slip away in extra innings, the visiting Chicago Cubs will turn to veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks when they face the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday. Hendricks (4-6, 4.76 ERA) will be making his 31st career start against the Brewers. Rookie right-hander Jason Alexander (2-0, 3.82 ERA) is scheduled to start for Milwaukee. The Brewers salvaged the opener 5-2 on Victor Caratini's three-run walk-off homer with two outs in the 10th inning on Monday. Chicago had taken a 2-1 lead in the ninth of Seiya Suzuki's improbable inside-the-park homer off Brewers closer Josh Hader, who leads the majors with 25 saves. Milwaukee tied it in the bottom of the ninth when Christian Yelich walked to force in a run, but the Brewers left the bases loaded. The Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the 10th but failed to score. Caratini had struck out in his first four at-bats before delivering the winner. "The ninth inning, I think on both sides, was a crazy inning," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "The ball that Suzuki hits, we haven't seen that ball hit here in quite a while, the one that gets off the wall like that and shoots the other way." Milwaukee, which has moved back in front of St. Louis in the NL Central, is 18-8 in its last 26 home games against the Cubs. Hendricks will be facing the Brewers for the fourth time this season. He is 10-8 with a 3.54 ERA in his career vs. Milwaukee, including 4-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 14 starts at American Family Field. He has not won in Milwaukee since April 8, 2017. Hendricks is 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA against the Brewers this season, allowing 10 earned runs on 18 hits in 14 2/3 innings. Hendricks has won his last two starts, giving up two runs in 13 1/3 innings. "I felt like he was pretty much in control the whole day," Cubs manager David Ross said following Hendricks' last start. "I really felt like early on, the sinker was really sharp. From the side, there was some good angle. Pushed a couple change-ups there at times, but I thought he was in control. Got the ground balls when he needed them, no panic, felt like he was vintage Kyle." Cubs catcher Willson Contreras left Monday's game after batting in the 10th inning with what Ross said was hamstring tightness. Alexander will make his sixth start since being called up from Triple-A to bolster the Brewers' injury-riddled rotation. He has pitched in relief his last two times out. "To call on a guy and he's delivered five starts and given you a chance to win every single day he's taken the mound, you can't ask for anything more than that from the situation we're in," Counsell said after Alexander's last start. "So, hat tipped to what Jason's done for us. It's been really, really valuable." Alexander has allowed just two homers in 30 2/3 innings, but opponents are batting .328 against him. Alexander made his big-league debut on the road against the Cubs on June 1, giving up three runs (two earned) in seven innings. He did not get the decision in the Brewers' 4-3, 10-inning loss.
The most exciting play in baseball lived up to its name on Monday thanks to Chicago Cubs rookie Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs played a thriller against the Milwaukee Brewers on Independence Day. With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the ninth inning, the Cubs slugger Suzuki tattooed a ball off the wall in left-center. It took a funny carom and squirted past Brewers center fielder Jonathan Davis. From there, Suzuki turned on the jets and made it all the way around the bases for a truly electrifying go-ahead inside-the-park home run. Check out the video (where Suzuki was really flying around the basepaths and just managed to narrowly avoid the tag at home plate). The Cubs shared some incredible angles of Suzuki’s inside-the-parker that ended up going viral. In particular, there were some tremendous close-ups of Suzuki sneaking into home plate (plus an overhead angle). Take a look. That was an impressive highlight for Suzuki, who just arrived from Japan this season. Though the Brewers tied it again in the bottom of the ninth (and eventually won 5-2 in 10 innings), Suzuki still has a moment to remember forever (and off one of baseball’s elite relievers in Josh Hader to boot). The camerawork on that play deserves some love as well. Those may have been some of the best shots we’ve seen since this player’s slide into home.
Victor Caratini was not supposed to be on the Milwaukee Brewers roster this year. The veteran backstop was acquired via trade when Pedro Severino tested positive for PED’s during Spring Training. On July 4, the day Severino made his season debut with the Brewers, Caratini found himself started at first base. Due to MLB’s rule regarding Severino not being eligible to play in the postseason, the Brewers have decided to keep three catchers on the roster for the time being. Caratini made the decision look good as he launched a three-run home run in the 10th inning to give the Brewers a 5-2 victory over his former team, the Chicago Cubs. Eric Lauer had been struggling for near a month when he took the hill for the Brewers on their Independence Day tilt with the Cubs. Despite not getting the win, Lauer pitched a quality start for the first time in nearly a month. His last quality start came on June 5 against the San Diego Padres when he went six innings and allowed three runs. Since then, Lauer has been far from efficient: Five innings and eight earned runs against the Washington Nationals. 6.1 innings and four earned runs against the Cincinnati Reds. Six innings and five earned runs against the St. Louis Cardinals. 4.1 innings and three earned runs against the Tampa Bay Rays. Against the Cubs, Lauer pitched six innings, allowed just one run and struck out nine. All season long, the Brewers have struggled against left-handed pitching. That trend continued on Monday as Cubs starter Justin Steele. The Brewers could muster just two hits against the Steele, one of which was Severino’s first hit as a Brewer. Despite the offensive struggles, the Brewers’ own pitching was able to limit the Cubs’ bats. After a mistake from Josh Hader allowed the Cubs to take a 2-1 lead in the ninth, Christian Yelich came through in the clutch with a two-out walk with the bases loaded that tied the game. After Brad Boxberger pitched a scoreless 10th frame, Caratini came to the plate with two Brewers runners aboard. The blast, after going 0-4 with four strikeouts in his previous at bats, made Caratini a part of history:
2022 is the final season of the seven-year, $217M free agent deal that David Price signed with the Red Sox in December, 2015, and it has been widely expected that the veteran left-hander will hang up his glove once his contract is up. Price all but confirmed as much earlier this week when speaking with Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register, initially telling Plunkett that he did plan to retire at season’s end, before making it more of a “yes and no” answer for family reasons. “My (two) kids love it so much. That’s the only thing that makes me even think about playing any longer,” Price said. “I always told myself I’d ask my son, ’Do you want daddy to play baseball or do you want daddy to be home all the time?’ I asked him before this year and he said, ‘I want you to be home.’ I said, ’Are you sure?’ He said, ’Yeah.’ Now when I ask him, he says, ’No, I want you to keep playing.’ “ Now in his 14th season, Price has had an outstanding career since being selected by the Rays with the first overall pick of the 2007 draft. The southpaw’s resume includes five All-Star appearances, the 2012 AL Cy Young Award, and a World Series championship with the Red Sox in 2018. Price was a member of the Dodgers’ roster in 2020, but opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns, and thus wasn’t a part of their run to the World Series. Returning to action in 2021, Price posted a 4.03 ERA over 73 2/3 total innings for Los Angeles, starting 11 of his 39 games. This year, Price has worked exclusively out of the bullpen, a role that Price is happy to fill even though the Dodgers have had some injury-related vacancies open up in the rotation. While Price said he would start again if the Dodgers asked, the left-hander is happy to see “these young guys getting their starts. I like them being able to get their numbers up so they can go to arbitration and they can get their money. I got mine….I love watching Mitch White pitch. He’s got good stuff. That’s what he needs. He needs to pitch in the big leagues, not pitch in Triple-A. That’s a waste of time.” Though he missed close to a month of action due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, Price has pitched well as a reliever in 2022, posting a 3.20 ERA, 28.9% strikeout rate, and 4.8% strikeout rate over 19 2/3 innings. The Dodgers haven’t used Price for many important late-game situations, but he has provided some useful innings for a bullpen that is still missing several key arms on the injured list. Certainly, capturing another Series ring would be a great way for Price to walk off into the sunset, if he indeed decided to retire once the season is done.
