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Christian Vazquez smacked a three-run homer and the Minnesota Twins extended their winning streak to nine games by beating the host Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the first game of a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon.
Brooks Lee also homered for the Twins. It was the first homer of the season for Vazquez, who joined teammates Trevor Larnach, Carlos Correa and Lee with two hits apiece.
Six Minnesota pitchers combined on a four-hitter, helping to mitigate the Orioles drawing six walks and the Twins committing four errors.
Gunnar Henderson, who had two of Baltimore's hits, smacked a two-run homer in a three-run third inning. Ryan Mountcastle had the other two hits. The Orioles have lost seven of their last nine games.
Four of Minnesota's victories in the winning streak have come against the Orioles.
Minnesota starter Bailey Ober lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out three. Brock Stewart (1-0) was awarded the victory, striking out three in the sixth inning.
Dean Kremer (3-5) logged 5 2/3 innings for the Orioles, giving up four runs on seven hits.
The Orioles took the lead on Mountcastle's RBI double in the third before Henderson's sixth home run of the season. The advantage didn't last long.
Lee homered to put the Twins on the board in the fourth, and later in the inning Vazquez gave them the lead.
The Twins tacked on two runs in the ninth inning, the first coming on Larnach's double and the other on reliever Keegan Akin's wild pitch.
The Orioles put two runners on base with two outs in the seventh before Ryan O'Hearn lined out to end the inning. They had two more base runners in the eighth before Griffin Jax struck out Ramon Urias.
Baltimore had at least one runner on base in every inning except for the second.
The twin bill was necessary after Tuesday night's postponement.
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Diamondbacks Pitcher Elects Free Agency
One of the unsung heroes of the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2025 season has decided to test out his market. According to his transaction log page, right-handed pitcher Nabil Crismatt has officially elected free agency after spending a brief (but productive) stint with the D-backs in the latter end of the 2025 season. Arizona Diamondbacks' Nabil Crismatt Elects Free Agency Crismatt's short-lived tenure was his second with the D-backs' organization. He made one relief appearance for Arizona in the 2023 season before bouncing around between the Dodgers, Padres, Rangers and Phillies organizations. He joined the D-backs on August 9, following yet another injury to Arizona's starting rotation. The D-backs had traded Merrill Kelly and lost interim starter Anthony DeSclafani to a thumb injury. Crismatt joined the rotation having never served as a major league starting pitcher. He had one career start in MLB prior — back in the 2022 season. He'd been primarily a starter in the minor leagues in recent seasons. Crismatt himself noted he enjoyed the opportunity to start — feeling as if his unconventional method of pitching (utilizing a slow changeup primarily) was better suited to the preparation and process that went into pitching out of the rotation. "I feel more like who I am as a starter," said the righty in an interview with Diamondbacks On SI. "To be honest, I've been loving it. Being a starter, that's what I feel more comfortable with." Related Content: How Diamondbacks' Unsung Hero is Finding Unconventional Success He was quite proficient in his five starts for Arizona and made two successful relief appearances, sporting a 2.61 ERA through his first 31 innings. A five-run blowup against the Dodgers in his final bulk relief outing of the season ballooned his ERA to 3.71, but Crismatt's efforts were quite the positive boost to a needy D-backs' pitching staff. Following that blowup, Crismatt was designated for assignment. It was not a move born out of dissatisfaction, but rather a roster crunch. With just three games remaining, Arizona needed to bring up a fresh arm, while Crismatt's bulk workload would have made him unavailable for multiple days. The veteran righty did clear waivers, and was later outrighted to Triple-A Reno on September 28, but the minor league season had long concluded. Arizona faces rotation questions ahead of 2026. While Crismatt might not have been a long-term solution, perhaps a reunion deal to bring him back — either in long relief or as a spot-starter — could be beneficial to a team that may be down its top two rotation arms heading into next season. Arizona Diamondbacks Latest News
North Carolina reportedly considering nuclear option with Bill Belichick, and that's justified
Bengals' Zac Taylor explains shocking Joe Flacco move for Packers game
Roughly 24 hours after outsiders learned that the Cincinnati Bengals were acquiring veteran quarterback Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed that Flacco will start over Jake Browning when 2-3 Cincinnati plays at the Green Bay Packers (2-1-1) this coming Sunday. While speaking with media members, Taylor explained that somewhat surprising decision. Why Zac Taylor believes he can get Joe Flacco "up to speed quickly" "He's already spent a lot of time meeting with us, getting up to speed, so I feel really good about where he's at," Taylor said about Flacco, per Dave Clark of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "You just know him. ...Very comfortable with his style, concepts he's good at, things that we do. All of the terminology, there's a carryover, more so than I would have anticipated. So I feel like we can get him up to speed quickly." Flacco lost three of four September starts with the Browns before the Super Bowl XLVII Most Valuable Player was benched in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel. According to Pro Football Reference stats, Flacco began Wednesday ranked last in the NFL among qualified players with a 60.3 passer rating for the ongoing season. Additionally, he's 28th out of 32 signal-callers with a 36.7 adjusted QBR. That said, Flacco is a 40-year-old who has seen every defensive concept an opposing coordinator could and will throw his way. Back on Sept. 21, he helped the Browns earn a 13-10 win over the Packers in downtown Cleveland. Zac Taylor likes that Joe Flacco faced this Packers defense in September "It's different than a young quarterback coming in, trying to learn the system and understand what a defense is trying to do to try to challenge you," Taylor added about his decision to start Flacco versus the Packers. "Not only that, but he's played Green Bay this year, so he's already gone through a week of prep. ...Now the communication and the weekly rhythm is maybe different and unique, but he's already prepared for this opponent. So he gets a chance to refresh himself on that, while at the same time just learning our system and our terminology...and how we operate." Shortly after Taylor made his comments, ESPN BET had the Bengals listed as massive 14.5-point underdogs against Green Bay. Perhaps that line and the fact that he was discarded by Cleveland will give Flacco some extra motivation heading into the showdown that will take place at Lambeau Field.
Why Blue Jackets winger is a logical trade target for the Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are ready to start the 2025-26 season, with high expectations around the team with a reinforced young core. On Wednesday, Heavy.com proposed a trade between Columbus and Montreal. The Canadiens would acquire Yegor Chinakhov, with a cap hit of $2.1 million, and the Blue Jackets would receive Patrik Laine, with a cap hit of $8.7 million. The outlet had previously proposed an alternative, where the Canadiens obtained Chinakhov for a package of Josh Anderson and Arber Xhekaj, freeing up $4.7 million in cap space. The Columbus coach confirmed that Chinakhov will be a healthy scratch in the Blue Jackets' season opener. Chinakhov requested a trade in July, so a change is not seen as improbable. Blue Jackets' Yegor Chinakhov would fit in well with the Canadiens This trade pitch makes sense because Chinakhov needs a change to get stable minutes on a top-nine team. In Montreal, he could benefit from an environment that maximizes its young offensive players. The Russian's profile would also fit Martin St. Louis' system, as he shoots well and plays well without the puck. In a system that prioritizes possession, the volume and quality of his shots should improve. As he is a restricted free agent (RFA) in 2026, Montreal could maintain contractual control if his production improves. It is a buy-low with upside, as he has recorded a season with 16 goals. This would reduce the risk in relation to larger contracts. The Canadiens could offer a development environment without demanding immediate results. He would not have pressure to be the "savior." Furthermore, not all benefits would be for the player. The Habs are looking for more talent for their wings and scoring depth without sacrificing their defensive structure. The Russian would add shooting threat and quick transitions, especially with centers who gain the zone of control, which could be Suzuki or Kirby Dach.
4 concerning Vikings statistics that must improve after the bye
The Minnesota Vikings are a 3-2 football team heading into their bye week. They've done some good things through the first five weeks of the season, but they also have a lot of areas they need to improve. Frankly, the Vikings are a bit fortunate to have three wins, considering the comebacks they had to mount to beat the Bears and Browns. They've trailed going into the fourth quarter in four of their five games, including three games where they didn't score a touchdown in the first 45 minutes of action. That level of play isn't going to be nearly good enough for the rest of this season. The Vikings have had one of the easier schedules in the league so far, but they have one of the toughest schedules for the remainder of the campaign. Improvement must start with cleaning up these four unsightly statistics, which are all areas where the Vikings rank at or near the bottom of the league. Sack percentage (offense): 11.7 percent NFL rank: 32nd Through five weeks, no team has taken more sacks than the Vikings, whose quarterbacks have gone down 21 times on 180 dropbacks. That 11.7 percentage leads the league; the Ravens are the only other team with at least a 10 percent sack rate on offense. J.J. McCarthy was the worst offender, taking nine sacks on just 55 dropbacks over the first two weeks (16.4 percent). But Carson Wentz was sack-prone too, with 12 of them on 120 dropbacks. It's something McCarthy will have to show that he can improve in order to regain the starting role. Sacks fall on the play-caller, the quarterback, and the offensive line to varying degrees. All three have to find a way to fix this drive-killing issue for the Vikings after the bye week, starting against an Eagles defense that is surprisingly towards the bottom of the league in sacks so far. Third down conversion percentage (offense): 31 percent NFL rank: 31st This one, to some extent, goes hand in hand with the previous stat. The Vikings are converting third downs less than a third of the time, which is not where you want to be. Only the Titans and rookie QB Cam Ward have been less effective on third down this season (29 percent). Kevin O'Connell's team was up near 40 percent last year. Part of this stat has to do with the average third-down distances teams face. But despite their sack woes, the Vikings are actually near the middle of the pack in terms of yards needed on third down. One reason for that is that third down is where a big chunk of those sacks have occurred. Third and longs are tough for everyone, so a big key to being successful on third down is avoiding those situations by staying on schedule on early downs. With that said, the Vikings are also well below the league average with a 47 percent conversion rate on third downs of three yards or fewer remaining, so they also need to improve in short-yardage situations. Percentage of first downs gained via rush (defense): 47.1 percent NFL rank: 32nd Most of the statistics for the Vikings' defense are pretty positive. They've been good so far, even if it's fair to admit that their advanced numbers are skewed a bit by a dominant performance against the Bengals in Week 3. The one area why the Vikings could use some real improvement is in their run defense. The raw numbers for the Vikings' rushing defense (yards per game, yards per carry, etc.) aren't great. But this stat we found was particularly interesting. 47 percent of Vikings opponents' first downs are coming on the ground, which is the highest rate in the league. Teams aren't having a ton of success against the Vikings through the air, but why throw the ball when you're confident you can move the chains with the run game? That stat would be notable by itself, but it's even more interesting when you look at the 2024 numbers and see that the Vikings had the second-lowest rate in this category last season, with just 25.5 percent of opponent first downs being acquired via the run. Accepted penalties per game: 8.8 NFL rank: 1st (in a bad way) Simply put, the Vikings have to find a way to stop generating so many flags against them. They lead the league in both total accepted penalties (44) and penalties committed on a per-game basis. They've had procedural issues on offense, they've committed fouls on defense, and they've been flagged in the kickoff and punt phases on special teams. Across the board, they have to clean up their execution and avoid the negatives that put them in more difficult siutations.
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