Coverage: TNT
- Los Angeles, CA
- Line: LAL -3.5
- Over/Under: 224
Capacity: 19,068
Mark Lindsay, Kane Fitzgerald, Dedric Taylor
HOUSTON -- With Max Scherzer facing Gerrit Cole in Game 1 of the World Series, we had grand visions of an epic pitchers' duel between the three-time Cy Young winner and the hottest pitcher on the planet.
We didn't get that. We got something better: a reminder that as much as we try to script what will happen in a baseball game, you can never predict what will happen in a baseball game.
The Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 5-4 in an action-packed thriller as the two starters combined to allow seven runs and 13 hits over their 12 innings. Juan Soto and George Springer performed heroic feats of strength, and the Nationals' bullpen huffed and puffed to the end but managed to prevent Washington's lead from being blown, immediately flipping the script in a World Series in which the Astros entered as the biggest betting favorites since 2007.
This game will be remembered for 20-year-old super sophomore Soto twice beating Cole in the matchup of the phenom of phenoms against the ace of aces. Soto crushed a 417-foot home run to the opposite field in the fourth inning, then lined a two-run double with two outs -- opposite field again -- off the wall below the Crawford Boxes in the fifth inning. The first blow tied the score at 2, and the second capped a three-run rally to give the Nationals a 5-2 lead.
The unbeatable Cole, riding a streak of 19 consecutive winning decisions stretching back to May -- the Astros hadn't lost a game started by Cole since July 12 -- proved beatable after all. Soto, who hit .188 with seven strikeouts in the Nationals' sweep in the NLCS, proved why he's too good to go into any extended slump. Before the game, Astros manager AJ Hinch discussed facing the Nationals' lineup with a 12-man pitching staff of all right-handed pitchers. "Soto is going to be a big part of this series," Hinch said. That's not particularly prescient -- Soto, after all, is Washington's cleanup hitter -- but there is little doubt that the Nationals' lineup needs Soto to produce. They beat the Cardinals without him doing much, but they're unlikely to beat the Astros if he hits .188 again.
Soto led off the fourth. He took a slider for a ball and then jumped on a 96 mph fastball up in the zone, hitting the ball into an area of Minute Maid Park where few lefties not named Yordan Alvarez have gone this season.
Solo became the fourth-youngest player to hit a World Series home run:
Andruw Jones, Braves, 1996: 19 years, 180 days
Miguel Cabrera, Marlins, 2003: 20 years, 187 days
Mickey Mantle, Yankees, 1952: 20 years, 352 days
Juan Soto, Nationals, 2019: 20 years, 362 days
That fastball up in the zone was a classic strength versus strength confrontation. Cole (and the Astros) love to throw four-seam fastballs up in the zone. It has become one of their analytical staples. Soto, however, is one of the best high-ball hitters in the majors, with the second-highest OPS in MLB (behind Christian Yelich) on pitches in the upper half of the strike zone.
In the fifth inning, with the Nationals up 3-2 after Kurt Suzuki walked and scored, Soto came up again with runners at first and third and two outs. Cole fell behind 3-0 but elected to go after Soto rather than pitch to the right-handed veteran Howie Kendrick. Soto took a 3-0 slider for a strike, swung through a changeup and then drilled another slider to left field. Michael Brantley initially stood his ground and then, as the ball refused to start sinking, suddenly turned around. Soto's balls don't sink like most other hitters'. They keep going. Two runs scored.
Springer tried to rally the Astros. He homered in the seventh off Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey, his record fifth consecutive World Series game with a home run, breaking a mark he had shared with Lou Gehrig and Reggie Jackson. In the eighth, he doubled in another run off Daniel Hudson to make it 5-4 -- just missing a game-tying two-run home run. Jose Altuve flied out softly to right field, and Sean Doolittle escaped the inning when Brantley lined out to left field, with Soto in perfect position to make the easy grab.
Doolittle then cruised through the bottom of the ninth, striking out Alex Bregman and getting two routine fly outs. On a night when Scherzer scuffled through five innings while throwing 112 pitches -- but managed to limit the damage after a two-run first inning -- the Nationals pulled it off: They handed Cole his first loss since May 22.
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk left Tuesday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers after being injured early in the second period.
Dubnyk was upended after Minnesota's Ryan Donato fell to the ice while battling the Oilers' Brandon Manning. Dubnyk tried to leap over both sliding players, but fell hard on his backside and appeared to hit the back of his head on the ice.
Playing his 300th game with the Wild, Dubnyk was checked by a trainer before exiting after making nine saves. He was replaced by Alex Stalock.
An All-Star three of the past four seasons, Dubnyk entered the game with a 1-5-0 record, 4.18 goals-against average and .874 save percentage.
Minnesota went on to defeat Edmonton 3-0.
CHIBA, Japan – In May, Rory McIlroy said he would “likely” play next year’s Olympic Games in Japan. On Wednesday at the Zozo Championship, he removed the caveat and confirmed that he plans to play for Ireland in the 2020 Games.
“I’m excited to play the Olympics and call myself an Olympian,” McIlroy told Golf Channel. “Coming to such a golf-crazy country like Japan helps. It’s a really good atmosphere and just being here this week and seeing the enthusiasm of the fans makes me look forward to coming back next year and playing the Olympics.”
Although the deadline to qualify for the ’20 Games is just less than a year away, the Northern Irishman is a virtual lock to qualify following a season that included three victories and the FedExCup crown.
McIlroy skipped the 2016 Games in Rio in large part because he was in the difficult position of having to play for either Ireland or Team Great Britain, which covers Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Since having to make that decision, McIlroy has come to terms with his choice and embraced the opportunity to play in the Olympics for Ireland.
“I’ve had to deal with things in regard to the Olympics that others haven’t had to and that brings questions and difficulties,” he said. “But at the end of the day I thought I can’t let that stuff ruin my experience of going to the Olympics and playing.”
Editor's note: Tune into Morning Drive and Golf Central on Wednesday for more of McIlroy’s conversation with Golf Channel.
Every week brings a sobering reminder of how much more money the men play for on the PGA Tour than the women do on the LPGA tour.
With four tournaments left in the LPGA season, Danielle Kang became the 11th player to break the $1 million mark. The PGA Tour had 112 players earn at least $1 million last season. Already nine players have made at least $1 million through six PGA Tour events this season.
Mike Whan brought a different perspective Tuesday at the LPGA's new BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.
Prize money for the women is growing at a rate Whan didn't think possible when he took over as commissioner in 2010. It's also growing for the men.
''Not sure if we have closed the gap, even though we are playing for dramatically more money,'' Whan said. ''When I started, we were playing for just over $40 million and now we're playing for over $70 million. But the fact is, the men's (prize money) has grown as well. As a result, I don't want to be depressed by that. I think when golf and golf purses are growing for men and women, that's a good opportunity.''
The LPGA had 24 events and official prize money of $41.4 million in 2010. Whan said it had only one tournament with a purse of $3 million or more. This season, it had 32 official events and $70.2 million in prize money, an increase of 70 percent. Five tournaments had prize money of $3 million or more.
The PGA Tour had 46 official events in 2010 and 2019, and prize money grew from $310.1 million (including $35 million in FedExCup bonuses) to $413.6 million (including $60 million from the FedExCup and $10 million from the Wyndham Rewards). That's an increase of 33 percent.
Whan still has his eye on the gap, and he knows that closing it will take time.
''I have not had to be too loud about closing the gap because society has taken that banner for me,'' he said. ''Almost all of my sponsors, almost all of my tournaments, almost all of the people that help lift the LPGA are interested in lifting those purses and equalizing that difference, as well.
''But the reality of it is we have grown significantly, and the gap is about the same.''
MICKELSON AT 50
Phil Mickelson did just enough at the CJ Cup in South Korea - a 68 in the final round to tie for 31st - to fall only to No. 50 and keep alive for another week his remarkable streak of 26 years among the top 50 in the world ranking. How long will it last? That depends.
According to a world ranking analyst who goes by ''Nosferatu'' on Twitter, Mickelson still has a chance to stay at No. 50 even though he is not playing the ZoZo Championship in Japan.
One simplified outlook: The top 12 at the end of the tournament must all be currently in the top 50. And that assumes Lucas Bjerregaard, Tom Lewis or Lee Westwood does not win the Portugal Masters on the European Tour.
If he survives, the ball is back in Lefty's hands. He is to play the following week at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where he has won twice.
ADVICE FROM THE SHARK
Lanto Griffin couldn't find a place to eat during the Korn Ferry Tour opener in the Bahamas, so he and Will Wilcox dropped in on a pro-am dinner at Sandal Emerald Bay on Great Exuma, where the golf course designer was speaking. Greg Norman's words went a long way.
''He said when he looks at players on this tour, he looks at guys finishing consistently in the top 20,'' Griffin said. ''He doesn't look at guys who finish solo second and MC (missed cut) 10 times in a row, finish third and get their card. He was telling me I'm not who he looks at.''
Griffin thought back to the first time he earned a PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry. In his first 11 tournaments, he missed seven cuts and finished out of the top 50 in three others. And then he won. After that, he finished out of the top 10 in seven of his eight tournaments.
Most peculiar about that regular season? He didn't have any finishes in the 20s or 30s.
He tied for 62nd that week. Griffin says finishing 60th is like ''taking a week off without taking a week off.''
''I started thinking and playing smarter,'' he said. ''When you're 45th going into the weekend, you're being so aggressive to win a tournament and that's not always the best mindset. Let's see how many top 20s you can rack up. You need luck to win. The weeks you don't get lucky, turn 50th into 20th.
''That's the difference between having a good year and a bad year.''
It will be hard to top winning the Houston Open, his first PGA Tour victory. But he thought about the Safeway Open, where he made the cut on the number, then made one bogey on the weekend, shot 67-70 and tied for 17th.
''The year before if I made the cut on the number, I would have shot even on the weekend and finished 66th,'' he said. ''I was happy to make the cut, but I never got anything out of it.''
DIVOTS
Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson will be among those playing the PNC Father-Son Challenge on Dec. 5-8 in Orlando, Florida. They have 35 majors among them. ... Justin Thomas has 11 victories on the PGA Tour, five of them on the U.S. mainland. He has won twice in Malaysia, twice in South Korea and twice in Hawaii. ... The French Open had a strength-of-field value of 288 points last summer ahead of the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National. It was moved to October this year and had a points value of 51.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Cheyenne Knight and Danielle Kang are the first Americans to win back to back on the LPGA tour since Kang and Nelly Korda won consecutive events last October.
FINAL WORD
''There's a lot of countries trying to emulate what Korea has built. It's great, and it's creating opportunities for young girls in countries that didn't even play golf 10 or 15 years ago.'' - LPGA commissioner Mike Whan.
SAN FRANCISCO -- California prosecutors announced Tuesday that they won't charge Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri for shoving a sheriff's deputy after the deciding game of the NBA Finals in Oakland in June.
The Alameda County district attorney's office announced the decision Tuesday afternoon, when the Raptors were in Toronto receiving their championship rings for defeating the Golden State Warriors.
The DA's office said it met with Ujiri and his attorneys on Monday and decided the matter was better handled "outside of the courtroom."
"I am extremely pleased with the decision," Ujiri said in a statement issued through the team from Toronto, where the Raptors opened their regular season against the New Orleans Pelicans.
"While these past months have been difficult waiting for a determination on this matter, I understand the nature of the process and am appreciative of the efforts of all involved," Ujiri said. "I am happy that this is now behind me and I look forward to the task of bringing another Championship to the City of Toronto."
The Raptors had just won their first title after taking Game 6 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena on June 13 when Ujiri went onto the court to join his celebrating team.
A sheriff's deputy stopped him because Ujiri didn't provide the proper on-court credential, leading to a shoving match that was partially captured on video.
Several bystanders intervened, and Ujiri got onto the court without displaying any credentials.
An attorney for the deputy contended that the deputy suffered a concussion. The sheriff's office said only that he was placed on medical leave. The office filed a report of misdemeanor battery with the district attorney's office.
An effort Tuesday to contact a spokesman for the sheriff's office was unsuccessful. Messages to the Deputy Sheriffs' Association of Alameda County seeking comment from the deputy weren't immediately returned.
Ujiri attorney Robert Beles said his client is gratified and said the DA's office conducted a thorough investigation.
"It was definitely the right conclusion," he said, calling Ujiri "a decent human being and a good man."
Coverage: TNT
Capacity: 19,068
Mark Lindsay, Kane Fitzgerald, Dedric Taylor
Win %:55.8
41.4 - 1st
Kawhi Leonard defensive rebound
Kawhi Leonard defensive rebound
Quinn Cook misses 18-foot step back jumpshot
Kawhi Leonard makes 9-foot two point shot
enters the game for Maurice Harkless
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Clippers | 22 | 22 |
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HOUSTON -- Washington Nationals star Juan Soto became the second-youngest player in baseball history to hit a home run in his first World Series game, sending a titanic, 417-foot shot over the train tracks in left field at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday night, three days before his 21st birthday.
The left-handed-hitting Soto took American League Cy Young favorite Gerrit Cole deep to the opposite field in the fourth inning of Game 1 between the Nationals and Houston Astros. Only the Atlanta Braves' Andruw Jones, who was 19 years, 180 days at the time of his Game 1 homer in the 1996 World Series, was younger.
Soto is the fourth-youngest player to hit a home run in a World Series game, joining Jones, Miguel Cabrera (20 years, 187 days) and Mickey Mantle (20 years, 352 days), who hit a pair in 1952.
He wasn't done, either.
In the fifth inning, Soto delivered a two-run double off Cole to deep left field to put Washington ahead 5-2.
As the cleanup hitter for the Nationals in his second major league season, Soto hit .282/.401/.548 with 34 home runs and 110 RBIs. His bases-loaded single in the wild-card game propelled the Nationals into the division series, where his solo home run off Clayton Kershaw in the eighth inning of Game 5 helped send the game to extra innings before Howie Kendrick's go-ahead grand slam.
Entering the World Series, Soto was hitting .237/.326/.421 this postseason. In his first at-bat against Cole, he struck out on a high fastball -- the same pitch he later hit out for the historic home run.
The Astros still have just their two runs from the first inning on the board, but they continue to put Nats ace Max Scherzer through the meat grinder. He's at 96 pitches after four innings, with Houston's hitters averaging 4.8 pitches per plate appearance. The Astros have already fouled off 15 Scherzer's pitches.
A minute and a half after coming off the bench for Wales in the quarter-final against France, Ross Moriarty feared his World Cup could be over - win or lose.
The Dragons forward had just come on for injured back-rower Josh Navidi and made an immediate impact, although not in the way he had been hoping.
Moriarty caught France centre Gael Fickou in the jaw with a high tackle and stood nervously as referee Jaco Peyper studied replays and consulted with video officials before passing judgement.
"I had only been on for 90 seconds and I was thinking to myself, 'if he gives me a red card this is the end of me'," said Moriarty.
"That was definitely a big moment. I was just thinking, 'please, please don't be a red'. I've been in that situation before and it's not a nice feeling.
"It was a mistimed tackle, I closed my eyes and thought he was going to run round me, but he stopped and ducked under me."
Peyper, who had sent off Moriarty against Argentina in June 2018, this time produced a yellow card and Moriarty served his 10 minutes on the sidelines.
"I knew I had to come back come on and be squeaky clean and make sure I didn't do any more damage to the team and myself," added the 25-year-old.
"It does stick in your mind. I was thinking, 'please, no one come near me!'"
But Moriarty would again be the centre of attention as he crashed over from close range late on to bring Wales within a point of France, allowing Dan Biggar to kick the simple conversion for a 20-19 victory.
Moriarty admitted the only thing on his mind when he scored his crucial touchdown was 'don't mess this up'.
"It was probably the easiest try I've ever scored, but probably the most nervous I've been scoring one," he said.
"I didn't even want to reach out in case someone came from nowhere and kicked the ball out of my hands.
"So I just landed on my head first and got the ball under my chest to make sure no one could come in and get it.
"I haven't thought about it being a significant score. If we win this weekend then maybe people will think I scored the try that got us into the semi-final.
"Hopefully that's what they'll remember more than the yellow card."
With Navidi's tournament having been ended by the hamstring injury he suffered against France, Moriarty is set to start Sunday's semi-final against South Africa in Yokohama.
His father Paul and uncle Richard both played when Wales lost 49-6 to New Zealand in the 1987 World Cup semi-final.
If Moriarty takes the field on Sunday, he and his father Paul would become the first father and son to play in a World Cup semi-final.
"We all know the All Blacks are very physical, but South Africa are renowned for being a physical team, too," Moriarty said.
"This is a game I look forward to. I know what their forwards thrive on, which is being physical, and that's what I thrive on as well.
"Some players go hiding when it gets tough, but I think I get better in those situations."
Wales have won their last four meetings with South Africa, but their last defeat against the Springboks came in the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup.
"It's all come so quick," said Moriarty.
"To be involved in a game like this at the weekend is what I started playing the game for."
So after the red-card scare, another red-letter day awaits the Moriarty family.
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Former World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion and four-time winner of the Knoxville Nationals, Danny Lasoski, joins The Ralph Sheheen Show Presented by Lucas Oil. As one of the most talented and entertaining personalities in the sprint car scene, Lasoski is never short of interesting stories to share!
Catch this week’s full episode on SPEEDSPORT.com or download the podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Stitcher, iHeart Radio or Spotify.
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