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Yainer Diaz homered for the second consecutive game and the Houston Astros held off a late charge from the visiting St. Louis Cardinals for an 8-5 win on Tuesday.
Diaz capped a four-run third inning with his fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot to right field that gave the Astros a 6-1 lead. Diaz hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning Monday that carried Houston to victory in the series opener.
Despite that cushion, the Astros needed insurance runs in the fourth and seventh innings Tuesday to keep the Cardinals at bay. Jeremy Pena drove in Alex Bregman with a sacrifice fly in the fourth to give Houston a 7-2 lead and Victor Caratini knocked in Jake Meyers to push the Astros' lead to 8-5 in the seventh.
Alec Burleson gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead with his eighth home run in the first inning. Astros rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who gave up the homer, departed after three innings with a left calf contusion sustained when Ivan Herrera hit a comebacker off Arrighetti's leg in the second.
Arrighetti allowed one run on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (1-2) allowed six runs, six hits and three walks with a strikeout in three innings.
Masyn Winn, who finished 3-for-3, hit a two-run homer, his third of the year, in the sixth off Astros left-handed reliever Parker Mushinski. Nolan Gorman added his fourth homer in three games and his 14th of the season an inning later off Astros right-hander Seth Martinez to slice the deficit to 7-5.
The Cardinals loaded the bases later in the seventh, but Astros reliever Bryan Abreu retired Brendan Donovan on a called third strike to escape the threat.
Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Pena recorded two hits apiece for the Astros. Bregman scored three runs and added a walk. Pena finished 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs.
Houston right-hander Ryan Pressly worked a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the year. Tayler Scott (2-2) earned the win in relief.
More must-reads:
- Yankees' unlikely answer emerges from depth chart to save season — for now
- Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
- The 'MLB playoff home run leaders' quiz
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Paul Skenes continues home dominance in Pirates' shutout
Paul Skenes tossed six shutout innings and struck out eight to lead the host Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night. Despite allowing a career-high seven hits (five singles), Skenes (7-8) delivered another dominant performance to bolster his case for the National League Cy Young Award. Skenes also beat the Reds for the fourth time in four starts in his career and first time this season. Jared Triolo and Henry Davis each had two hits and two RBIs to give Skenes more than enough of a cushion to secure a win for the third time in his past four starts. It was Skenes' third consecutive start with eight or more strikeouts. It was also the Pirates' fifth shutout of the season in a Skenes start and their 14th overall shutout. It was the Reds' 10th shutout loss. Skenes lowered his major-league best ERA to 1.94 and continues to be exceptionally good at PNC Park, where he has not allowed an earned run since June 3. Bryan Reynolds, who also had two hits, homered in the first inning off Reds' starter Brady Singer (9-9), who lasted only 3 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits, walked four and struck out two. Reynolds' home run came with two outs. Singer proceeded to issue three consecutive walks to Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen and Jack Suwinski to load the bases, setting up a two-run single by Triolo, which gave the Pirates a 3-0 lead. Cruz and Spencer Horwitz each had an RBI and Davis belted a two-run home run off Reds reliever Brent Suter in the bottom of the seventh. Gavin Lux had three hits, and TJ Friedl and Matt McLain each had two hits to lead Cincinnati offensively. But the Reds went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base. McLain and Elly De La Cruz hit back-to-back singles off Skenes with one out in the first. But Austin Hays grounded into an inning-ending double play to end the threat. -Field Level Media
Jalen Milroe surges past former NFL starter on first Seattle Seahawks depth chart
Despite being viewed as a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe ended up sliding into the third round. The 22-year-old — who was the starter for Alabama for two seasons — was selected with the No. 92 pick by the Seattle Seahawks. Although every player's dream is to go in the first round, Milroe likely couldn't have gone to a better situation. There is virtually no pressure on him as the Seahawks signed former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract this offseason, and they also have Drew Lock, who has started 28 career games on the roster as well. However, based on ESPN's initial depth chart, Milroe may be climbing the depth chart sooner than most expected. Seattle Seahawks depth chart As reported by ESPN, the Seahawks depth chart goes as follows: QB1: Sam Darnold QB2 Jalen Milroe QB3 Drew Lock If this truly ends up being the case, Milroe has taken major strides following his final season at Alabama. During his last year in Tuscaloosa, Milroe was criticized heavily for forcing passes into windows that weren't there after being late on reads. In his final season at Alabama, Milroe threw a career-high 11 interceptions to just 16 touchdowns, an increase of five more interceptions than he threw in 2023. Although training camp is still ongoing and the preseason games have yet to be played, clearly, Milroe is finding some success in the Pacific Northwest.
Gap between star WR Terry McLaurin, Commanders revealed
As of Thursday morning, the Washington Commanders and Terry McLaurin remained in a contract stalemate after the 29-year-old wide receiver in the final year of his current deal requested a trade. During Thursday's edition of the ESPN "Get Up" program, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler noted that the Commanders and McLaurin are locked in "a classic standoff" as McLaurin allegedly looks to secure "parts" of the five-year, $150M deal that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf this past March. "They have been far apart," Fowler said about the negotiations between the Commanders and McLaurin, as shared by Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report. "...[McLaurin] has wanted metrics of the DK Metcalf contract, which is $32M. I'm told the Washington Commanders have only been slightly above where he was before, which is $23M. So take that gap, that's $7M to 8M that they have to bridge." Fowler added that Washington "has got some calls about McLaurin" this summer because "there's some interest league-wide" in learning whether or not the wideout could become available. For what it's worth, numerous reporters have said since McLaurin went public with his trade request that he likely won't go anywhere before Washington opens the season with a home game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7. ESPN's John Keim mentioned that Washington's joint practice with the New England Patriots on Wednesday showed that the Commanders "need McLaurin back on the field" as soon as possible. That's understandable, as McLaurin recorded team highs of 117 targets, 82 receptions and 1,096 receiving yards to help quarterback Jayden Daniels become the Offensive Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season. Additionally, McLaurin finished the 2024 campaign ranked second in the entire NFL with 13 touchdown catches. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list a Washington team coming off a trip to this year's NFC Championship Game sixth among the betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LX. Perhaps Wednesday's joint practice will spark more positive conversations between McLaurin's camp and the Commanders that will result in the playmaker rejoining summer practices as soon as early next week.
'I'm Way Happier': Fever Star Sophie Cunningham Does Not Hold Back After Return to Phoenix
Phoenix Mercury fans gave Sophie Cunningham a warm welcome on Thursday as she made her comeback following her offseason trade to the Indiana Fever. The Mercury acknowledged Cunningham upon her return by showing a tribute video before the game. The crowd at PHX Arena gave their former player an ovation as they expressed their appreciation for her six years in Phoenix. Sophie Cunningham Steps Up, Indiana Fever Falter Cunningham’s homecoming did not go according to plan for the Fever, though. This is after Indiana suffered an embarrassing 95-60 loss to mark its second defeat in three days. Cunningham did all she could for the Fever, scoring a team-high 18 points in the blowout. She shot 6-of-9 from the field with five triples, two rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes of action. It’s just a shame that one of Cunningham’s best games in a Fever uniform came during a deflating blowout loss to her former team. Cunningham’s Honest Reaction to Phoenix Return Cunningham took the podium after the loss, and the first question she was asked was about her return to Phoenix. The 28-year-old got brutally honest in her response. "AZ was good to me, but I'm way happier where I'm at right now," she said. "It's good to see people. It was fun to play in front of some fans, but for me, I'm way happier in Indiana." Cunningham has nothing against the fans in Phoenix, but she’s made it abundantly clear that life has been better for her now that she’s with the Fever. This is a pretty big statement from the 6-foot-1 forward, considering how she’s only been in Indiana for six months—a far cry from the six years she spent with the Mercury. Fever Must Bounce Back The good news for Cunningham and Co. is that they get an opportunity to avenge Thursday night’s shellacking soon. They finally get to go home after a four-game road trip, and they will host their rivals, the Chicago Sky, on Saturday. The Sky, who have not had the services of Angel Reese over the past four games, suffered their ninth loss in 10 contests on Thursday. They are one of the worst teams in the WNBA at the moment with an 8-22 record, and the Fever should be considered the favorites to secure a win on Sunday.
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