I Dig Sports
WASHINGTON -- Nationals ace Max Scherzer is expected to return from the injured list Thursday.
"He felt good today," manager Davey Martinez said of Scherzer, who threw a bullpen session Monday prior to the opener of a four-game series between the Nationals and Rockies getting rained out. That contest has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday, with the finale coming Thursday afternoon.
Assuming Scherzer doesn't suffer any setbacks between now and then, he would take the hill in the finale.
Scherzer has been dealing with an inflamed bursa sac below his right shoulder and has not pitched since July 6, when he tallied 11 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals. One week later, the Nats placed him on the injured list, retroactive to July 10.
On Tuesday, Martinez said the Nationals considered the calendar for the remainder of the regular-season schedule, as well as the postseason, before landing on Thursday as the likely return date for Scherzer.
"We actually sat down and looked at the schedule, and that's basically how we came up with Thursday," said the Nats' second-year skipper. "I went all the way 'til the wild-card game. I'm hoping that we're not the wild-card team. But we sat down and mapped everything out from that day."
Washington began the day 6.5 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East, and in possession of the top wild-card spot in the NL. If Scherzer is able to go on Thursday, he would then line up to start in all three of his team's remaining series against the Braves, as well as in Washington's lone remaining series against the third-place Phillies. He'd also be in position to take the mound in a potential NL wild-card game.
A three-time Cy Young winner, Scherzer has been one of the game's most durable hurlers, having made at least 30 starts in all 10 of his full seasons since debuting in 2008. Since signing a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Nationals prior to the 2015 season, the 34-year-old righty had made only one other trip to the injured list, in August of 2017.
This season, Scherzer is 9-5 with a 2.30 ERA. In 129.1 innings, he has recorded 181 strikeouts, most in the National League. In June, prior to hitting the shelf, he went 6-0 with a 1.00 ERA and was named the NL Pitcher of the Month.
Atlanta Open: Dan Evans beats Jason Jung to reach round two
British number three Dan Evans coasted into the second round of the Atlanta Open with a 6-1 6-1 win against Taiwanese qualifier Jason Jung.
The 29-year-old world number 55, who reached the third round at Wimbledon this month, needed only 57 minutes to beat the 30-year-old world number 138.
In the pair's first meeting, Evans, seeking his maiden ATP title, served out to win on his third match point.
He plays American Tennys Sandgren or Moldovan sixth seed Radu Albot next.
The player to cause arguably the biggest surprise was Korea Republic’s Lee Migyu; bronze medallist at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta. Competing in women’s singles class 3, she accounted for China’s Li Qian, the no.3 seed, the four times world champion. Lee Migyu in her one and only match of the day, succeeded in five games (11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 14-12).
Defeat for Li Qian but hopes of progress to the main draw are still alive. In her opening match of the day, she accounted for India’s Sonalben Patel (11-8, 10-12, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3). Li Qian is no relation to the reigning European champion by the same name or the young lady crowned world junior champion in 2003. Staged on the second day of play, the contest between Lee Migyu and Sonalben Patel will decide the final order.
Third seeds suffer
Likewise in women’s singles class 8 there was a surprise; Mao Jingdian and Huang Wenjuan, the respective top two seeds, duly completed their initial group phase matches unbeaten but there was defeat for colleague, Li Guiying, the no.3 seed and bronze medallist at the 2018 Asian Para Championships. She lost to India’s Suwarti Suwarti (11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9) and had to settle for second place in the group. Suwarti Suwarti remained unbeaten to reserve first position.
Problems for the third seeds; in women’s singles class 6 it was the same scenario but the outcome more acute. Macao’s Lam Oi Man was beaten by Korea Republic’s Moon Sungkeum (11-9, 11-8, 11-6) and by Iraq’s Najlim Al Dayyeni (11-6, 11-8, 11-3); the end result elimination. Moon Sungkeum and Najlim Al Dayyeni now meet to determine first place in the group.
Notable casualties, in women’s singles class 11, the casualty was even more notable. Hong Kong’s Ng Mui Wui, gold medallist at the 2018 Asian Para Championships and bronze medallist at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, experienced defeat. After overcoming Thailand’s Phimolphan Deetam (11-5, 11-2, 11-5), she was beaten by Korea Republic’s Seo Yanghee (8-11, 10-12, 17-15, 11-9, 11-9). Seo Yanghee and Phimolphan Deetam confront each other to determine the final group order.
Biggest upset
Surprises amongst the leading names in the women’s singles events; there were also unexpected outcomes in the counterpart men’s singles competitions but not to the same extent.
Undoubtedly, the biggest casualty was Korea Republic’s Cha Sooyong; competing in class 2, after overcoming Thailand’s Thirayu Chueawong (11-5, 11-6, 11-8), he was beaten by Iraq’s Ali Al-Saedi (11-4, 11-9, 11-9). One match remains for each of the four players in the group.
Similarly there were defeats against the odds for Korea Republic’s Kim Kiyoung in class 5 and Japan’s Koya Kato in class 11. Kim Kiyoung, the no.3 seed and bronze medallist at last year’s Asian Games, was beaten by China’s Liu Fu (11-6, 11-8, 3-11, 11-3) and had to settle for second place in his group.
Meanwhile, for Koya Kato, after accounting Thailand’s Narongsak Paengjai (11-2, 11-5, 11-4), it was defeat when facing Korea Republic’s Chou Jaehyeon (11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3).
Otherwise, for the leading names it was a day without defeat; play in the individual events continues on Wednesday 24th July.
SONOMA, Calif. – The field is set for the annual Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle featuring the very best in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.
This race-within-a-race pits the top eight riders in the class against each other as they compete for a $25,000 prize on July 27 during the 32nd annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
Former world champions Eddie Krawiec, Matt Smith, Andrew Hines, Angelle Sampey and Hector Arana Sr. comprise five of the eight competitors who earned the most bonus points during qualifying between the annual events. Also among the elite eight are Hector Arana Jr., Angie Smith and Ryan Oehler.
Unlike previous years, the final standings (led by Krawiec) will not determine first-round matchups in this exciting battle. First-round pairings will be decided on stage during a pre-race ceremony only moments before competition begins. The riders will each select a special Mickey Thompson tire. The inside of each tire will be numbered one through four. The riders who select tires with the same numbers inside will be paired up against each other for the opening round.
Current world champion M. Smith won this iconic event in 2018 when he defeated Krawiec in the final round, providing a big boost of momentum going into the Countdown to the Championship and setting him on a positive course that stretched through the remainder of the season. Krawiec and his teammate Hines have been dominant forces in Pro Stock Motorcycle so far this year and each competitor understands how the Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle can set the stage for success in the countdown.
This year’s competition also marks a milestone for females in the sport as this is the first year to have more than one woman among this elite field. A. Smith and Sampey have both competed in the Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle in years past and both plan to be the first woman in NHRA history to bring home the $25,000 prize from this specialty race.
Introductions and tire flips for pairings for the Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle take place at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday followed by the first round at 1:15 p.m. The semifinals follow at 4:15 p.m., with the final round slated for 5:30 p.m.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Front Row Motorsports has swapped the crews on two of its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams.
Crew chief Mike Kelley and his crew will now service the No. 38 Ford driven by David Ragan and Seth Barbour and his crew will now work on the No. 36 Ford driven by rookie Matt Tifft.
Personnel changes to the No. 36 of @matt_tifft and No. 38 of @DavidRagan will take place this weekend at @poconoraceway and remain in effect for the duration of the 2019 season. pic.twitter.com/zMBG0YIt7Y
— Front Row Motorsports (@Team_FRM) July 23, 2019
Combined Ragan and Tifft have only earned one top-10 finish this season. Tifft earned his lone top-10 result during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona Int’l Speedway, when he finished ninth. Ragan’s best finish so far this year was 15th during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
KNOXVILLE, Iowa – With a little more than a week left in the battle for the Priority Aviation $20,000 Sponsorship, Carson McCarl continues to maintain his position at the front of the pack.
The cut off for donations/memberships towards your favorite race team/driver end at 6 p.m. CST on Wednesday, July 31.
It is still a very close race and no driver is out of the running. McCarl currently holds the lead in the race for the sponsorship over Lance Dewease and McKenna Haase.
The opportunity benefiting the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum for a $20,000 sponsorship from Priority Aviation is available to any driver competing at Knoxville in August at either the 360 Nationals or 410 Nationals.
Currently, 20 drivers have taken advantage of the contest. McCarl leads Dewease, Haase, Bill Balog, Sammy Swindell, Tyler Courtney, Tanner Holmes, Jac Haudenschild, David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, Scott Thiel, Austin McCarl, Parker Price-Miller, Craig Dollansky, Clint Garner, California’s Mason Daniel, Kyle Larson, Chad Kemenah, Joe Beaver and Shane Stewart.
All that sprint car teams and fans need to do is have their prospective members or donors visit www.SprintCarStuff.com and order a membership there, or contact the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum and request membership packets or make a donation. If ordering online, specify your driver or race team in the “Notes” section on the final page.
The museum can ship membership and donation information out for the drivers and teams to pass out at their races in July. The driver or team with the highest amount of donations returned to the museum before July 31, will receive the $20,000 sponsorship funding.
All funds collected will go towards paying off remaining construction costs on the Bryan Clauson Suite Tower. Memberships start at $25 per year, but any donation amount will be accepted. So everyone can afford to help out their favorite race team and the museum.
For more information on the Priority Aviation $20,000 Knoxville Nationals Sponsorship, please call the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum at 1-800-874-4488.
LONG POND, Pa. – The calendar says we are just one month into summer, but the racing schedule says the ARCA Menards Series season will reach its three-quarter mark with the completion of the FORTS USA 150 at Pocono Raceway.
The 60-lap race will be the series’ 69th visit to the 2.5-mile Pocono triangle since 1983 and the 70th overall counting a singular visit to the facility’s defunct three-quarter mile oval that encircled what is now the track’s garage area back in 1969.
Despite the season winding towards its conclusion, the battle for the series championship has stayed close over the course of the season. Michael Self has a 90-point lead over Bret Holmes in the standings. Self has three wins on the season, coming at Five Flags Speedway, Salem Speedway, and Michigan International Speedway, but he’s also faced some bad racing luck and mechanical issues along the way that have prevented him from building a significant lead on the field.
Self has repeatedly said his priority is winning races, not counting points. He has maintained that stance as the season concludes a ten-races-in-eleven-weeks stretch at Pocono.
“I really don’t want to talk about points at all,” Self said after the recent series race at Madison Int’l Speedway in Wisconsin. “Our priority all along has been winning races. If we win all of the races then the points situation will take care of itself.”
Holmes, a 22-year-old building sciences major at Clemson University, is still searching for his first career ARCA Menards Series win as a driver. Although that first win has been elusive as a driver, his team has collected an ARCA Menards Series victory. It happened, of all places, at Pocono with former series champion Grant Enfinger at the wheel in 2016.
Sitting second in the standings with twelve top-ten finishes in 14 races so far in 2019, Holmes has had a career season to this point. Holmes and his team collected an eighth-place finish last Friday night at Iowa Speedway, doing so in their backup car after a crash in practice damaged their primary car. A car that was the fastest on the track at the time of the crash. Holmes didn’t let the bad luck discourage him or his Shane Huffman-led team.
“The backup car wasn’t nearly as strong as the primary car,” Holmes said of last week’s Iowa run. “The guys worked super hard on it in the heat to get it ready for the race. We did what we could with the time that we had. I think if we could have raced our primary car, we definitely would have been up there contending for the win. We aren’t giving up, this just makes us a stronger team.”
Self and Holmes will both need to be at the peak of their game if they want to walk away with the series championship. A third contender has emerged, or re-emerged, in the battle as the season readies for the final run to its conclusion.
After back-to-back third-place finishes to start the season, Christian Eckes led the series standings heading into the third round of the season at Salem. But Eckes fell ill the night before the race and was unable to compete. The next time out at Talladega, Eckes was involved in a crash not of his doing and finished last in the 26-car field. In two races, he gave up 325 points to Self. Eckes sits just 105 points behind Self with six races remaining.
In the ten races since Talladega, Eckes has outscored Self 2,095 to 2,020. He has six races, including the FORTS USA 150, to close the 105-point gap in the battle for the series title. While Self is not paying attention to the points battle just yet, Eckes and his team have no other option.
“It’s hard not to pay attention to it,” Eckes said. “We are in the hunt. But we just need good finishes. Every time we get a good break, then we shoot ourselves in the foot. At Nashville we were 80 points back and we continuously shot ourselves in the foot afterwards. It’s unfortunate that it keeps happening. Everyone on the team is working hard to get it turned around. We need to string together six good finishes. We are going for wins right now. We have to. We aren’t that close where we can ride it out. We need good finishes. We can’t finish seventh anymore. We have a team that is capable of winning every week. But we’ve made some mistakes that have put us behind.”
Course reverses stance on hitting balls into Lake Michigan for environmental reasons
ARCADIA, Mich. - An exclusive golf course in northern Michigan has changed its website to no longer encourage players to hit balls into Lake Michigan after a diver hired by a newspaper found hundreds in the water.
State environmental regulators said they're investigating what has occurred at Arcadia Bluffs, where a round of golf on the course overlooking the northeastern shore of the lake costs $215 during the peak summer season. A beverage cart employee said she was fired for discouraging players from hitting balls into the lake.
Experts say golf balls are made of plastic and rubber and eventually will break down in Lake Michigan. The Detroit Free Press said it hired diver Chris Roxburgh to check the water beyond the 12th tee, which overlooks the lake. The newspaper said he found at least 200 balls within about an hour, some looking new and others covered in algae.
''It's dumping without a purpose. There's no benefit to it. ... It's kind of hedonism,'' said Mike Shriberg, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes Regional Center.
A description of the 12th hole on the Arcadia Bluffs website used to encourage golfers to hit a ball into the water before striking a tee shot by saying: ''Go ahead and do it, everyone does.'' The newspaper said that was dropped from the website last week.
''Thank you for drawing our attention to this outdated reference,'' Arcadia Bluffs president William Shriver told the Free Press. ''We certainly do not want to encourage the practice of hitting golf balls into Lake Michigan.''
He said there had been a sign at the 12th tee discouraging golfers from hitting balls into the lake, but the sign had the opposite effect.
''The vast majority of our guests do not hit golf balls into Lake Michigan,'' Shriver said. ''By not drawing attention to the issue, we believe that the incidents of hitting balls into the lake have decreased. We take our environmental responsibilities seriously.''
Separately, Sara Padden, who sold beverages from a cart at No. 12, said she was fired in June after telling golfers that hitting balls into the lake would harm the environment. Arcadia Bluffs said it wouldn't comment on a personnel matter.
''A lot of guys will bring old balls that they don't play, specifically for that purpose, just whacking them into Lake Michigan,'' Padden told the Free Press.
Schauffele clears air on failed driver test: 'Don't think R&A leaked information'
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Open was an eventful week both on and off the course for Xander Schauffele.
A closing 78 at Royal Portrush left him tied for 41st at the year’s last major, but as he soaked in the warm sun at TPC Southwind on Tuesday it wasn’t his final-round scorecard that he wanted to put behind him.
Last Tuesday, Schauffele’s driver failed a CT (characteristic time) test, which uses a pendulum to measure the amount of microseconds a metal ball is in contact with the face when it’s swung against it, and he was forced to find a hasty replacement.
The bigger issue for Schauffele was the inequality of the R&A’s testing and how quickly word spread among players and caddies that his driver had failed.
“I don’t think the R&A leaked the information,” Schauffele said. “The fact is it was leaked, some way or another, to caddies or other players on the range. During the testing time the door was wide open. I don’t know how it happened. [But] their intentions weren’t to ruin any player.”
Schauffele also reiterated that if the ruling bodies are going to perform driver testing they should test every driver, not just the 30 samples that were tested last week by the R&A. He also said that he’s spoken with the player who had jokingly teased him for failing the driver test.
“I cleared the whole cheating thing, me being called a cheater by another player, that got cleared up,” he said. “I’m cool with everyone out here. At no point in any sport do you want to be known as a cheater. I decided to take a stance for my own integrity.”
Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: 
Email: 
