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After a frankly miserable road trip out west, the Braves are back on track following a two-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox, and last night was particularly encouraging, thanks to big performances from Chris Sale and Marcell Ozuna.
Sale toed the rubber against his former team for the first time and pitched arguably his best game as a member of the Atlanta Braves, tossing six shutout innings with a season-high ten strikeouts. It was electric from the seven-time All-Star, who is looking the best he’s looked in over five years, boasting a 5-1 record with a 2.95 ERA and 11.0 K/9 through his first seven starts with the Braves.
However, the pitching hasn’t been the problem of late in Atlanta. It’s been the bats, and while last night wasn’t their best performance, Marcell Ozuna continued his tear to start the season, blasting two home runs and driving in four of the Braves’ five runs on the night. The Big Bear now leads MLB in homers with 12, as his comeback story keeps getting better.
Over the last calendar year, Ozuna now has 51 homers in 160 games. But what makes this triumphant return to stardom that much better is the overwhelming praise he consistently receives from teammates regarding his clubhouse presence. Last night, it was his new teammate, Chris Sale, raving about the positive energy he brings into the building day in and day out.
Chris Sale on Ozuna: “He’s setting records. And who he is as a teammate. He’s got a like a magnetic field around him. You just want to be around him. He’s a fun guy to play with, he keeps the energy up in the clubhouse, dugout, on the bus, the plane, no matter where you’re at."
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 9, 2024
The entire baseball world was shocked the Braves hung onto Marcell Ozuna for as long as they did. He had become one of the worst offensive players in the league, didn’t play defense, and was arrested on two different occasions.
Most thought the only reason he was still around was because of the four-year, $65 million contract he signed following the 2020 season. However, while the money certainly played its part, the Braves never really considered parting ways with Ozuna because of his attitude. Quite literally everything was going wrong. His own fan base jeered him into oblivion every time he stepped into the batter’s box. Yet, Ozuna’s infectious personality and work ethic never wavered.
Without those two things, this comeback would never have even been possible. But damn, are we glad that it is.
More must-reads:
- Surprising Marlins earn MLB first in sweep of Yankees
- Brewers place All-Star righty Jacob Misiorowski on 15-day injured list
- The '250-strikeout MLB seasons' quiz
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Marlins troll Yankees with fitting song amid series sweep
The Miami Marlins turned to good ol’ Neil Diamond to clown on the New York Yankees during their impressive weekend triumph. Miami pulled off an improbable three-game series sweep of the Yankees on Sunday with a 7-3 win at LoanDepot Park in Miami. It marked the sixth consecutive series victory for the Marlins as well as their first-ever three-game sweep of the Yankees in franchise history. As Sunday’s game was nearing the end, the Marlins decided to have some fun. With the Yankees down to their last three outs entering the top of the ninth inning, “Sweet Caroline” began loudly playing inside the ballpark. Here is a video: Of course, “Sweet Caroline” is an anthem of the Boston Red Sox, the hated rivals of the Yankees. The song plays in the eighth inning of every game at Fenway Park. Fittingly enough, the 62-51 Red Sox are officially now ahead of the Yankees in the AL East standings (thanks to the Yankees’ brutal weekend against the Marlins putting them at 60-52). The Yankees only had themselves to blame for their poor weekend showing, piling on several more embarrassing mental mistakes during the series. As for the Marlins though, they are quickly looking like one of the best stories of the second half. After sitting at a dismal 25-41 in mid-June, Miami is suddenly a .500 team again at 55-55 and it has clawed to within 5.5 games back of a wild-card spot in the NL.
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love’s ‘Fiery’ Response to Wife’s Take on Franchise’s Timeless Tradition
Green Bay Packers star quarterback Jordan Love and his wife, Ronika Stone Love, are truly in, well, love. The couple just got married in June, and with the Packers deep into their preparation for the upcoming 2025 NFL season, Ronika shows full support for her husband. In a social media post on Instagram, Ronika shared a series of photos from last Saturday’s Packers Family Night at Lambeau Field. The first photo on the post shows a happy Ronika in the arms of the former Utah State Aggies star signal-caller. “My version of a Lambeau Leap,” Ronika wrote as a caption. Last season, Love played in 15 games, throwing for a total of 3,389 passing yards to go along with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. That year was considered a down one for Love, but many expect him to come up with a bigger performance in 2025, as Green Bay looks to surpass its 11-win total in 2024. Fans react to Jordan Love’s wife’s Green Bay Packers Lambeau Leap Apart from Love, many others reacted to Ronika’s heartwarming post. Here are some of them: “Two Green Bay 10’s right there,” said a fan. Another one said: “Hair looks amazing” From a commenter: “Awhhhh y’all are so cute!! And I’m obsessed with the hair it’s giving SZA!! ” “Love the Loves!,” a social media user posted. Via a different commenter: “your outfit is adorable” Said another: “I love the fit! Both of yall ”
Justin Fields Called 'Biggest Loser' In Jets Training Camp
The New York Jets opted to cut Aaron Rodgers and sign Justin Fields to replace him during the offseason. This kind of commitment to Fields should bolster his confidence, but it could also place a lot of pressure on his shoulders. To this point, Fields has looked solid in training camp, aside from a scary toe injury that was quickly resolved in July. Justin Fried of the Jet Press recently reported that Fields' training camp may have reached a new low over the weekend as the young signal caller struggled. "Justin Fields put together his best practice of the summer to this point on Friday, completing his first 12 passes en route to an excellent all-around performance. The same can't be said about his showing on Saturday, however," Fried wrote. "Fields finished the day an abysmal 2-of-10 in the air, including a drop from rookie tight end Mason Taylor. "Some of his incompletions were catchable balls, but the Jets' passing game struggles on Saturday can largely be blamed on No. 7. Fields did flash his running ability with a 25-yard rushing score on the first play of red-zone drills, but the Jets would like to see more consistency in the air from the starting quarterback. Saturday's scrimmage was far from his best showing of the summer." Fields is a runner first at the NFL level, but his arm is nothing to scoff at. For most of training camp, his arm talent has been better than advertised, but during Saturday's scrimmage, it just wasn't there. A 2 for 10 performance is unacceptable for a $40 million quarterback who was signed to take over the team. The running game should open up the passing game for the Jets, which is going to need to be the case if Fields is going to struggle like this. However, it's just one day of camp. It's nothing to be too concerned about. Just because Fields lost this specific practice doesn't mean he's heading in the wrong direction as a whole.
Packers Quarterback Jordan Love Showed Something That Was Missing Last Year at Family Night
The 2024 season was a difficult one for Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love. He suffered an injury in the season opener against the Eagles in Sao Paulo and never fully recovered. He missed two full games and parts of two others while never consistently showing the form that made him a dominant quarterback during the second half of 2023. But at Family Night on Saturday, Love showed something that was missing last year. That has to be very encouraging for the Packers coaching staff. Packers QB Jordan Love Showed Something That Was Missing Last Year: Background When Love entered the league in 2020, one of the traits that the Packers liked in him was his ability to evade the rush when necessary. While Love was not as fast as Lamar Jackson, he was capable of picking up key first downs when pressure came or holding onto the ball and evading the rush long enough to get a pass away when the designed play broke down. In his first season as a starter in 2023, Love ran the football 49 times for 247 yards, a 4.9-yard average per rush. He lived up to his advanced scouting report by evading the rush and extending plays. He also ran for 16 first downs or roughly an average of one per game. Last season, when injuries struck, Love curtailed his running. He was less capable of avoiding the rush and he gained just 83 yards on 23 carries. Not only were his carries down by more than 50 percent but his average yards per carry went down to 3.3, a reduction of more than a yard and a half per carry. He ran for just nine first downs, a little more than half the number he picked up the previous season. Simply put, Love was less mobile, and the reduced mobility hampered his game in many ways. Family Night Shows a Change But on Family Night at Lambeau Field on Saturday, we saw a more mobile version of Love. He not only ran out of the pocket for an 18-yard gain on one play but seemed much more confident in his ability to escape the pocket and evade defenders. Even though the quarterback was wearing the red, no-contact jersey at Family Night, the difference was blatantly obvious. Last season, the Packers offense had a more mobile quarterback when Malik Willis was in the lineup. Willis gained 138 yards on 20 carries and averaged 6.9-yards per rush. He ran for six first downs and one touchdown despite starting two games and getting substantial playing time in just two more. Ultimately, the mobility that Willis brought to the table was helpful to the offense although Matt LaFleur had to adjust his play calling to suit Willis’ strengths and skill set. Packers QB Jordan Love Showed Something That Was Missing Last Year: Looking Ahead The Packers coaching staff wants to see Love run more often. If he stays healthy, this should be something we see more of like we did at Family Night on Saturday. When asked if Love should run more frequently, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich was direct. “Absolutely,” he said after practice last week. “Anytime you get an opportunity to escape the pocket, or the defense gives you a rush lane to run through, I think that’s a huge weapon. And Jordan has that ability to make some big plays down the field. So, yeah, and we encourage that for sure.” The key question is how much Love will be willing to run and how effective he can be doing it. His past history indicates that he can be effective in this area, although don’t expect him to become the next great running quarterback in the NFL. If Love returns to his 2023 form, he should give the Green Bay offense a dimension it often lacked last year because of Love’s limitations. That will only help the Packers attack in 2025.
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