"You can't go back home to your family, back home to your childhood, back home to romantic love, back home to a young man's dreams of glory and of fame, back home to exile ... back home to the ivory tower, back home to places in the country ... back home to someone who can help you, save you, ease the burden for you, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time, back home to the escapes of Time and Memory." -- Thomas Wolfe, "You Can't Go Home Again"

ST. LOUIS -- Nostalgia is a powerful weapon. It attracts so many, providing false comfort born of dreams only half-remembered, whitewashed by time and the long slog of ethereal existence. The times and places we long for are never, in reality, exactly as we remember them in our imagination. Except perhaps for the most blessed among us, like Albert Pujols.

"I'm gonna try to embrace it, try to enjoy it, and celebrate it with my family and wife and some friends," Pujols said before the start of his last St. Louis series. He did all of that and more.

Pujols' return to St. Louis this weekend was like a three-act fairy tale, corny as that may sound. One man -- only a ballplayer at that -- channeled the emotions of an entire city for three distinct games. The return. The homer. The farewell. And with that, we all move on, back to the grind of the long 2019 baseball season, back to our workaday worlds, back to daily batting practice and weekly columns. But few that were there to experience it will forget what unfolded along the western bank of the Mississippi, on a wet, storm-infused weekend, on the first three days of another Midwestern summer.

Act I: The return

The Los Angeles Angels landed in St. Louis in the middle of the afternoon on Thursday, giving Pujols a head start on his long-awaited homecoming. Of course, some disputed the fact that it was a homecoming in the first place. After all, a branch of Pujols' foundation still operates here, he still participates in fundraisers for it, and he still owns a home in a St. Louis suburb. Yet one fact was undeniable: Pujols would be playing in Busch Stadium for the first time ever as a visiting player, about 7⅔ years since his last game there, which was Game 7 of the 2011 World Series.

"Me and Kole [Calhoun] made sure we were out there early," Angels star Mike Trout said. "We wanted to be there when he went running out of the dugout for stretching, because we knew it would be a pretty cool ovation. It was."

With the Angels in town, there was more going on than Pujols' return. Trout would be playing in St. Louis for the first time, which wasn't at all the focus of media attention beforehand, but was acknowledged by the St. Louis crowd with a nice ovation the first time he was introduced. It also meant all three Molinas -- the only brotherly catching trio in big league annals -- would be getting together: Yadier (the St. Louis Cardinals' beloved backstop), Bengie (now a Cardinals broadcaster) and Jose (now the Angels' catching coach). Knowing that Pujols would have a lot of ground to cover in a short time, the Molinas loaned him one of their cars.

"It was one of the good ones," Yadier Molina said.

The day at the ballpark started with a long media conference, with Pujols answering questions for about 22 minutes, joking at times and growing misty-eyed at others, such as when he shared the memory of the late Darryl Kile telling him he'd made the Cardinals' roster for the first time back in 2001.

"You have success in this game, you build great relationships," Pujols said. "You accomplish so many things, but I think the best thing you accomplish is the relationships you build. With Yadi, with [Placido] Polanco, with [Mark] McGwire, I could list on and on. Nobody can take that away."

There were 48,423 fans at Busch Stadium that night, a number made significant for this reason: It was the second-largest crowd in the history of the venue. (St. Louis drew 132 more fans on May 12 -- Mother's Day -- this year against Pittsburgh. Go figure.)

The cheering and chanting for Pujols began well before the game did. On a wet night, many early-arriving fans crowded near the rail up from the Angels' dugout, hoping for an autograph, or at least a glimpse and a wave. (Pujols did not disappoint.) There was a great roar when the starting lineups were announced. And when he stepped to the plate for the first time, the standing ovation went on for about 1 minute, 20 seconds and might never have ended if Pujols had not finally said to Molina, "Let's get this thing going."

Of course, Molina, whom Pujols has always affectionately referred to as his little brother, was battling a few emotions of his own.

"Yeah," Molina said before the game. "Of course, having this time [together]. It's going to be emotional."

There were lesser versions of that first at-bat every single time Pujols strolled to the plate over the weekend. When it happened before his third at-bat on Sunday, Pujols couldn't help but smile and shake his head. Standing ovations, roars raising and dying with every ball he hit into play, where as much the soundtrack of St. Louis this weekend as ragtime was 120 years ago.

Cardinals fans didn't forget their own -- Molina drew his usual loud roar when introduced, the Angels' outs were cheered and they came to their feet when a St. Louis batter went deep. Yet every game felt like it was a series of Pujols moments strung together by anticipation of the next one, with the bizarre exception of a five-minute delay caused by an erroneous fire alarm on Friday. It blared across the field, freezing everyone in the park, including the players. The fans even started to leave before things got straightened out.

Pujols flied out on a well-struck ball to center his first time up, bringing the fans to their feet -- Could he have? Did he really? -- but it was just a routine fly out. He walked his next trip, spurring Redbird Nation to actually boo their own starting pitcher, Michael Wacha. Then Pujols beat out a roller to third that Matt Carpenter took approximately 13 minutes to get to. Pujols' sprint speed was measured at 24.4 feet per second by Statcast -- his best home-to-first reading in years. Think he wanted that hit?

"Awesome," Pujols said. "It felt great. I didn't think that I still had those legs, but it feels like [I'm] 25."

After Pujols said that, he made a playful face at a reporter and added, "Don't believe that."

Finally, Pujols was removed for a pinch-runner in the seventh, giving the Busch Stadium crowd one last shot that night at mass adulation. The Angels lost, always at the forefront of Pujols' thoughts, but the return had gone as well as it possibly could have. Any notion that there was lingering resentment over Pujols' long-ago departure was thoroughly erased.

Afterward, Pujols lingered by his locker before showering and dressing, then was brought into the corridor outside of the Angels' clubhouse for one last media scrum. When he stepped out and saw the size of the gathering, he ever-so-subtly rolled his eyes and drooped his shoulders -- he was tired. But he regrouped quickly and answered every question.

"I can tell you if it's up to these fans, they will stand out there [cheering] for three hours," Pujols said. "Because that's the appreciation that they have, not just to me but everybody that has worn that uniform. It is a special place still for me and I love it. But words can't describe this night."

It had been a long day, and the weekend was just getting started.

Act II: The homer

The middle of anything is problematic, neither beginning nor end, neither place of departure nor destination. Three-act dramas often die in the middle, as the momentum from the first act dies out and the playwright awkwardly gropes for the conclusion. And so it figured to be this weekend. We knew Friday's game was Pujols' grand return; we knew Sunday's would be the fond farewell. But what would be the peg for Saturday's contest?

As generous as Pujols was with his time and money during his trip to St. Louis, he was at his most generous with all of us on Saturday, when he provided us with the signature moment. That was a no-doubt, vintage seventh-inning blast into the Angels' bullpen off St. Louis starter Dakota Hudson. All of it -- the homer, the eruption as he circled the bases, the sight of close friend Yadier Molina throwing dirt at him as he crossed home plate -- was fodder for a generation of highlight reels, especially the one that is pieced together for when Pujols is inducted in Cooperstown five years after he retires.

Still, the frozen moment, the one that spurred a mass outbreak of goosebumps, was the curtain call. Even though you knew it was coming, the sight of the once-staid and always composed Pujols bounding out of the dugout to acknowledge cheers that couldn't have been louder -- until they became louder -- was unforgettable. That's when it hit you: All of this is for a player on the visiting team.

"What makes [St. Louis fans] special is just the support, day in and day out," Pujols said. "It didn't matter whether we were playing good or bad. They just love their players. And not only in baseball. We saw that in football and now with hockey with the Blues winning. It's just a great city to play sports."

The Cardinals won the game, a fact that Pujols again bemoaned afterward. Yet he once again could hardly stop smiling. He knew what the rest of us did -- for this weekend, at least, the score of the games was really beside the point. He provided the memory that became instantly embedded in Cardinal mythology.

There were 46,711 fans at the game but 10 times that will say they were there in years to come. And you know what they'll say? They'll say that they were there for Albert Pujols' last home run in St. Louis, his record 111th at Busch Stadium III.

"It's gonna be up there for me," Pujols said. "For my career, for my family, my wife Diedre and my five kids and my friends and family that are here in town. It's just a moment that I will treasure forever."

Act III: The farewell

It wouldn't be the weirdest thing if the Angels ended up playing the Cardinals in the World Series at some point in the next couple of years. That possibility aside, Sunday was almost certainly the last regular-season game Albert Pujols ever will play at Busch Stadium, and likely his last game there, period. He knew it and the 47,114 fans in attendance knew it.

The first bit of good news came in the hours before the game. After a third-straight rain-soaked day in St. Louis, a dire forecast for the evening suddenly improved with a storm system mostly drifting by to the south of the city. The skies lightened and the field was prepared in time for the clubs to take batting practice for the first time all weekend.

Pujols spent the pregame as he had spent the hours before the first two contests -- hustling to fulfill ticket requests and media inquiries. He left $35,000 worth of tickets and luxury suite passes to friends and relatives during the series, and broke apart six-inch-high stacks of tickets to be distributed. He spoke before and after games, all with patience and a smile, almost as if he was actually enjoying himself. It was no act but, at the same time, you know the routine-driven Pujols is ready to get back to just playing baseball, not that he wouldn't gladly accept another day like the past three.

"You know what, buddy," Pujols said. "If I get to come tomorrow and do it again here, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I enjoy the game of baseball and I felt like this weekend took me back like it was 2011, in the playoffs and the World Series. I enjoy every moment."

As the Angels took their turn in the batting cage on the field, Pujols was still trying to balance the needs of being a player in that night's lineup with being the prodigal son returned. With a bat in his hand, he did a radio interview on the field with the Cardinals' Spanish-language crew. He chatted with a season-ticket holder through the back screen. He convened with all three Molina brothers, who had gathered nearby to meet a young fan on crutches. Cries of "Albert! Albert!" rang out from the early arrivals.

Finally, Pujols was able to extract himself from the hub-bub, pausing first to exchange commiserations with Angels media relations guru Adam Chodzko, who helped keep him pointed in the right direction amid an endless stream of asks and inquiries and photo opps. Then he did what he most wanted to do, stepping into the batting cage and taking a few whacks.

Pujols was introduced before the game with several young fans who have been involved with his family foundation, which helps children living with Down syndrome. Three of them threw out first pitches to Pujols, crouched at home plate. On the first one, he had to stretch like he has done so many times at first base, but he fielded all three offerings.

"This is about celebrating with the best fans of baseball," said Pujols, who also recorded a video message that was played for the fans on the scoreboard during the ninth inning. "To celebrate the time that I played here and, for me, the timing was perfect -- eight years -- because if I had come the next year after I had been here, I don't think it would have been that special, like it was this weekend."

The game was more of what we'd seen all weekend. Standing ovations every time Pujols' name was announced for a plate appearance, beginning with a first-at-bat tip of the batting helmet. With runners on the corners for that first at-bat on Sunday, Pujols rolled to shortstop. In the third, he reached out and hooked a two-out single into the left-field corner, a ball that likely would have resulted in a double during Pujols' early days. In the fifth, he bounced to short. In the seventh, he singled again.

That brings us to the ninth, for what very well may have been Pujols' final at-bat at Busch Stadium. Pujols was the fourth scheduled batter of the inning, so somebody needed to get on. Trout made quick work of that issue by lacing a hit to center to begin things. Justin Upton walked and Kole Calhoun singled, setting up an "are you kidding me" opportunity: Pujols at the plate, for the last time at Busch Stadium, with the bases loaded. One more ovation and one more tip of the helmet from Pujols to the adoring crowd.

It brought to mind the final at-bat for Stan Musial at the original Busch Stadium, an RBI single past the outstretched glove of Pete Rose. Musial was lifted for a pinch-runner. It also stirred memories of Ted Williams' last at-bat homer, and Derek Jeter's last at-bat single. Pujols has hundreds of more at-bats in front of him, but this one is different because we knew what it (probably) was -- a Hall of Famer's last at-bat in the city that loved him most.

When the count went to 1-1, the crowd started in with the "Albert! Albert!" chant for the first time in the game. The Angels' lead was just 2-0 -- the fans were rooting for what would almost certainly be a decisive blow against their own team. The count went full after Pujols took a 2-2 pitch that looked like a strike on the pitch tracker. (Plate umpire Angel Hernandez probably did the right thing.) The fairy-tale finish was not to be: Pujols popped weakly to first baseman Matt Carpenter.

But you know what happened anyway? The St. Louis fans cheered Pujols so loudly and incessantly that he had to come out the dugout one more time for a curtain call.

"There nothing that [the fans] did this weekend that was surprising," Pujols said. "That's what they do. We shared a lot of great moments, ups and downs with this organization in 11 years here."

Sure, all of this celebration in St. Louis was motivated by heroics from a player who left town of his own volition nearly eight years ago. And so much of what has been written about Pujols since has been related to the cold analysis of what he's getting paid by the Angels against what he has produced during his declining years. That analysis has its place.

But what this weekend did above all else was to remind us starkly of what Pujols was and what he did, right here in St. Louis, and how that towers above everything he does on the field now, and how it all pales to what he does off the field and what he means to so many.

Epilogue

The thing about Pujols' 2019 season is that it's not exactly living up to by-now-familiar narratives about his failing body and suboptimal performance. No, Pujols isn't providing surplus value on the $28 million he's slated to earn this season. Yet if you dig beneath the hood long enough, you see a player who hasn't raised the white flag against the relentless onslaught of Father Time.

The superficial numbers are modest. He's hitting .237/.309/.448 with 13 homers and 41 RBIs -- a pace of 27 and 85 for the season. At the same time, his strikeout rate has improved by nearly two percentage points over last season, his best mark since 2015. His walk rate is at its highest since 2010 -- the last monster Pujols campaign. Looking at those categories in ratio to each other, Pujols is displaying better command of the strike zone in any season since 2011. His secondary average is his highest since 2012, and his isolated power figure is his best since 2015.

What has kneecapped Pujols' offensive percentages is a career-low .214 BABIP. A number that low is invariably at least partially due to bad luck. In his case, it's also not a complete fluke -- Pujols' line-drive rate is less than half what it was even a season ago, as he has taken to producing more fly balls from an average launch angle that is at a Statcast-era high, and he rarely goes to the opposite field as he once did with such acumen.

Pujols has had to make concessions to age and injury, though, at 39, it would be freakish if that wasn't the case. Still, with a nice run of luck in the BABIP department the rest of the way, Pujols could end up with his best full season since at least 2016. Say what you will about his decline, especially as it relates to his contract, but the guy is still battling.

"Obviously, he has meant a lot for St. Louis," said Trout, who somehow seems unaware that all of the plaudits he gives Pujols also mostly apply to him. "I was looking at his numbers. If he retired after his 11 years here, he'd still be in the Hall of Fame. It's pretty remarkable. But it's a great time for his family, and obviously for him."

That in itself might partially explain why the fan base Pujols jilted eight years ago holds no animosity. It's quite the opposite -- his absence has seemed to make everybody's heart grow just a little bit fonder over the years. And as a result, this series proved to be one of those rare cases when the pangs of nostalgia were quenched by a reality that perfectly matched our wildest imaginings.

Maybe Tom Wolfe was right. Maybe you can't go home again. But for Pujols and Cardinals fans, maybe it's because the entire weekend lacked that whole "he's no longer one of us" vibe. It's a cliche to say so, but anyone lucky enough to spend some of the past few days at Busch Stadium would agree: The truth about this weekend in St. Louis is that it felt like Pujols had never left. And perhaps in the most important ways, he never did.

KOKOMO, Ind. – Robert Ballou won Sunday’s Bob Darland Memorial race for non-winged sprint cars at Kokomo Speedway, but was injured in a crash just after the checkered flag.

Ballou led all 30 laps of the feature at the quarter-mile Indiana dirt track, but coming to the checkered flag found the ailing car of Koby Barksdale in his path.

Ballou could not avoid Barksdale’s machine in time and the two cars collided as Ballou crossed under the checkered flag, with Ballou’s car eventually going over the top of Barksdale’s machine before coming to rest upside down.

Ballou was then extricated from his car, placed onto a stretcher – where he waved to the crowd – and transported to a local hospital.

Ballou’s family provided an update on his official Facebook page just after 10 p.m. on Sunday night, confirming that he broke one of his arms in two places.

Justin Grant finished second behind Ballou, followed by Chris Windom, Scotty Weir and Kevin Thomas Jr.

Dave Darland, Josh Hodges, Jarett Andretti, Tyler Hewitt and Jaden Rogers capped off the top 10.

CHASKA, Minn. -- Hannah Green never felt more nervous than standing over a 5-foot par putt Sunday at Hazeltine National with a chance to win her first major at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.

Neither did Karrie Webb, who has won seven majors in her Hall of Fame career.

Webb watched from outside the ropes, her heart racing. It was 11 years ago in Minnesota that Webb started a scholarship program to bring young Australian amateurs to majors to spend a week with her and experience golf's biggest events. Four years ago, Green was one of those scholarship winners.

And now she's a major champion.

Green held her nerve to the end, hitting 8-iron to 15 feet for a pivotal birdie on the 16th hole, and getting up and down from a bunker on the 18th hole for an even-par 72 and a one-shot victory over defending champion Sung Hyun Park.

"I can't believe I'm in this position right now," said Green, a 22-year-old Australian in her second year on the LPGA Tour. "I've always wanted to win an event, and to win a major championship as my first is crazy."

She became the first wire-to-wire winner of this major since Yani Tseng in 2011, and even more amazing is who she held off to claim the silver trophy. She started the final round with a one-shot lead over Ariya Jutanugarn, the most powerful player on tour and a two-time major champion. Jutanugarn didn't make a birdie in her round of 77.

Then it was Park, another former No. 1 and two-time major winner, making an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 68 that left Green no margin for error.

Watching it all unfold was Webb, as clutch as there was in her prime, the only woman to capture the "Super Slam" of five different LPGA majors. She stayed with Green in a house during the past week, along with the two most recent scholarship winners -- Becky Kay and Grace Kim -- who were draped in Australian flags at Hazeltine.

"I feel like I won a golf tournament today I'm so excited for her," Webb said. "You didn't do it yourself, but you supported someone who realized that dream."

They all charged the 18th green to celebrate with Green, spraying her with cans of beer in true Aussie fashion. It's become a tradition on the LPGA Tour for friends to spray winners with water bottles, and Webb would not allow that to happen.

"It was Budweiser," she said.

Green, who won three times on the Symetra Tour in 2017 to earn an LPGA Tour card, became the first Australian to win an LPGA Tour major since Webb won her most recent one, in 2006 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

"I'm speechless," Green said as she fought to get the words out through such strong emotions. "I was really nervous playing the last five holes."

She finished at 9-under 279 and won $577,500.

It was hard work, even though Green never surrendered the lead on a cloudy day at Hazeltine with some light drops of rain at the end.

Green rolled in a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 seventh for a three-shot lead. With the group ahead still waiting to tee off, a 7-year-old girl handed her a blue sheet of paper. It was a poem she wrote to Green, along with the words, "You can win this." Green, who had given Lily Kostner a golf ball at the ANA Inspiration this year, read the poem and hugged the girl, and then drilled another tee shot to birdie range.

"I had it in the back of my yardage book because I didn't want it to get rained on," Green said. "A couple times on the back nine when I was feeling nervous and had some time, I actually read it to myself."

The nerves didn't really leave, especially after Green made three bogeys in a four-hole stretch that dropped her to 8 under, a four-shot lead suddenly down to one.

Mel Reid closed with a 66 and posted at 6-under 282.

Nelly Korda was one behind until a soft bogey on the par-5 15th. Park birdied that hole to get to 7 under, and Green couldn't afford any mistakes. It looked as though she had it wrapped up when she made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th, the signature hole at Hazeltine, followed by a par on the 17th.

Park wasn't finished, however, and she hit her tee shot so hard on the 18th that it went through the corner of the rough into the fairway, setting up a tidy approach to the back pin position and one final birdie.

Green answered that challenge with the bunker save, and the celebration was on with Webb and the two scholarship winners, plus Stacey Peters from Golf Australia and Green's boyfriend, Jarryd Felton, who plays on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

"I always wanted to win in front of an Aussie crowd," Green said. "That's what it was like today. I'm over the moon."

Korda (71) and Reid tied for third, while Lizette Salas (72) and Danielle Kang (70) were four shots behind. The surprise was Jutanugarn, who started the final round one shot behind on a course that measured nearly 6,800 yards, perfect for her power. She tied for 10th.

Green becomes the 10th player to win the past 10 majors on the LPGA Tour, a sign of growing parity. She also is the third winner in the past five LPGA majors who had never won on the LPGA Tour.

Los Angeles is wasting little time pitching Kawhi Leonard on a potential move to the Clippers.

Two digital billboards went up over Interstate 5 in Downey, about 10 miles southeast of Staples Center, encouraging the Southern California native to come home.

Free agency around the corner? Must be billboard season in LA. pic.twitter.com/2MAVZ8Yvwx

— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) June 24, 2019

One bears an image of a California license plate personalized to read "KAWHI," with the hashtag #ClipperNation; the other reads "King of SoCal," with the hashtag #KAWHI2LAC.

A team source told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk that "the Clippers knew nothing" about the billboards.

Leonard, 27, is expected to be a prime commodity on the free-agent market this summer after leading Toronto to its first NBA title.

Teams can start negotiating with free agents next Sunday, though no deals can be signed until July 6.

Let's admit it: When your name is Will Smith and you're playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the shadow of the "Hollywood" sign that sits up in the Santa Monica Mountains, it's going to be difficult to divert attention away from that other guy named Will Smith, who also works in Los Angeles.

Well, this is a good way to do it. The Dodgers' Smith pinch-hit with two outs and two on in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday and delivered a three-run walk-off home run to send Dodger Stadium into a fever of joy:

WEST SIDE WALK IT OUT. pic.twitter.com/DqNiS8QoZS

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 23, 2019

Smith, a rookie catcher drafted 32nd overall in 2016 out of Louisville, had played in six games with the Dodgers earlier this season, hitting a walk-off home run for his first major league homer to beat the Phillies on June 1. He had just been recalled before the game to replace injured David Freese. With Matt Beaty on second base, Rockies manager Bud Black elected to intentionally walk veteran Russell Martin to have Scott Oberg instead face Smith.

Oops.

These walk-off home runs have become standard fare in L.A. It was the third game in a row the Dodgers hit one to sweep the Rockies -- and all three were hit by rookies, Beaty taking hero honors on Friday and Alex Verdugo in the 11th inning on Saturday.

Two rookie walk-offs wasn't enough?

HOW ABOUT THREE? pic.twitter.com/c7NmPCilrL

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 24, 2019

Remember when the #Dodgers were the first team in MLB history to have rookies hit walk-off homers in two straight games? That's so yesterday. pic.twitter.com/g5K4mwlS4Y

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 24, 2019

WOW!!!!!! UN.REAL!!!!!! IS THIS REAL LIFE?!! #WalkoffsAreFun

— Enrique Hernández (@kikehndez) June 23, 2019

The Dodgers became just the sixth team to hit walk-off home runs in three consecutive games, joining the 2013 Rangers, 2004 Tigers, 2000 Royals, 1999 Diamondbacks and 1998 Tigers, and the first to do it with three rookies. (In fact, they were already the first team to have rookies do it in two consecutive games.)

What a weekend at Dodger Stadium as the team improved to 54-25. The New York Yankees have been hot, but the Dodgers are clearly the best team in baseball right now, with the best record in the majors, in the much tougher league, as they head to 55 wins in the first half.

This weekend not only showcased the Dodgers' depth of the 40-man roster, but also showcased why they're headed to a seventh straight division title -- with maybe the best team of the run, even better than the 104-win team of 2017. Consider the astute drafting:

-- The Dodgers took Smith as a supplemental first-round pick (acquired for losing Zack Greinke as a free agent). They liked his defense at Louisville, but his bat has been good enough to allow him to advance quickly -- he's hit .291/.397/.609 at Oklahoma City. In the same draft, the Dodgers selected infielder Gavin Lux with the 20th overall pick and he has become a top-30 prospect, hitting .310 at Double-A Tulsa. Given that several of the top-10 picks from that draft have struggled, getting Lux and Smith late in the first round looks like a steal.

-- Verdugo was a second-round pick in 2014 out of a high school in Tucson, Arizona. Many teams saw him as a pitcher with his low-90s fastball, but he wanted to hit and the Dodgers liked him in that role as well. Verdugo would have played regularly for a lot of teams last season, but had to wait his turn. The trade of Yasiel Puig and injury to A.J. Pollock opened up playing time this year, and Verdugo is hitting .302/.352/.489.

-- Beaty was a 12th-round pick in 2015 from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, not exactly a baseball powerhouse, but he hit .382 his junior season with more walks than strikeouts. He has hit .308 in his minor league career (he missed most of last season with a torn thumb ligament) and has made himself more valuable with his ability to play first base, third base and left field. He's hitting .333/.352/.478 in 69 at-bats.

When you're not picking high like the Dodgers, it becomes more difficult to build through the draft, but they've added depth and built one of the top farm systems by crushing those late first-round selections (Walker Buehler is another example) and finding other gems later in the draft (such as Cody Bellinger in the fourth round).

You won't believe this, but more crazy stuff happened with the Mets: The Cubs beat the Mets 5-3 on Javier Baez's three-run homer off Seth Lugo in the bottom of the eighth:

Javy, PLEASE.

Javy, THANK YOU. pic.twitter.com/aHA1oAZprI

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 23, 2019

Baez's home run came off an 0-2 sinker from Lugo -- well, it didn't sink enough as he probably wanted to bury it in the dirt -- and while 0-2 is usually an out for most hitters, Baez isn't a normal hitter:

All MLB hitters in 2019
On 0-2: .152 AVG/.397 OPS
After 0-2: .165/.464

Javy Baez in 2019
On 0-2: .314 AVG/1.057 OPS, 4 HR (35 AB)
After 0-2: .296 AVG/1.076 OPS, 9 HR (73 PA)

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) June 23, 2019

Anyway, the Mets. Too often, they just can't get out of their own way. Lugo has actually been the team's best reliever this year, so that wasn't the crazy thing that happened. After the game, tension escalated in the clubhouse when manager Mickey Callaway cursed out Newsday beat writer Tim Healey, and then pitcher Jason Vargas, in the words of Daily News writer Deesha Thosar, "took steps toward Healey looking for a fight before the two were separated by a handful of people." The confrontation with Callaway resulted when Callaway walked past Healey following his postgame news conference and Healey said, "See you tomorrow, Mickey," which the manager interpreted as the reporter being sarcastic. Callaway turned back to Healey and spewed out a string of words not suitable for print here.

The Mets issued a statement after the game: "The Mets sincerely regret the incident that took place with one of our beat writers following today's game in the clubhouse. We do not condone this type of behavior from any employee. The organization has reached out and apologized to this reporter and will have further discussions internally with all involved parties."

Is this a big deal? Probably not. Hey, maybe Vargas stepping up for his manager can even be viewed as a little team bonding. Or maybe it's the just the beginning of the final disintegration. Callaway may already be on edge after the team fired pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez a few days ago, and this certainly isn't going to please management. While Sunday's loss was painful, the series against the Cubs wasn't a complete disaster as they split four games. Still, the Mets fell to 37-41 and they haven't won a road series since early April. It's time for the Mets to beat up on some opponents, not reporters.

Phading Phillies: Heck, the Mets aren't even the biggest disaster in the NL East right now. The Marlins beat the Phillies 6-4, completing a series sweep and extending the Phillies' losing streak to seven. Jordan Yamamoto picked up his third win for the Marlins in three career starts and Miami pounded out 16 hits. The Phillies have lost 16 of 22 and dropped nine games to the Braves in the standings in that spell.

Phillies fans let out a chorus of boos when Roman Quinn popped out to end the game.

As Scott Lauber wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer, this is not what owner John Middleton paid for in believing the Phillies had constructed a World Series contender. They've been outscored 43-15 in the seven-game skid. "It's not good," Bryce Harper said.

There are few Phillies who might be expected to perform better -- Harper, for starters, although his high strikeout rate suggests he's not going to suddenly go on a big binge. J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura have been minor disappointments. The back of the rotation has been awful, but most teams have struggled with the backs of their rotations. The Phillies really just look like a .500 team and I don't see much reason to expect them to go 20 games over .500 the rest of the way. Indeed, FanGraphs currently projects a final record of 81-81. Next up: four games at home against the Mets. It feels like an important series for both teams.

Run of the day: The Pirates beat the Padres 11-10 in a wild extra-innings game (Kirby Yates finally blew his first save of the season), but check out Fernando Tatis Jr. scoring on an infield pop-up. I'm pretty sure I've never seen this before:

Fearless Fernando.@tatis_jr • #FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/nkoKJPqnVE

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 23, 2019

If you didn't watch the entire replay, Tatis was ruled safe upon review. This kid is absolutely electrifying and is hitting .323/.387/.571 after going 2-for-4 with two walks Sunday. He probably missed too much time with his hamstring injury to warrant All-Star consideration, but he is fifth among NL shortstops in WAR and two of those ahead of him (Trevor Story and Corey Seager) are currently on the injured list. Maybe the point isn't that Tatis deserves to be on the All-Star team, but he has certainly played like an All-Star when healthy.

Verlander avoids the sweep: It wasn't a fun trip to the Bronx for the Astros as the Yankees took the first three games of the series -- running Houston's losing streak to seven, their longest since a seven-game skid in June 2015. On Sunday, Justin Verlander finally turned things around, holding the Yankees to three runs on four hits in seven innings, and the Astros' lineup smashed four home runs. One of those came from Yordan Alvarez, his seventh in 12 games:

Yordan + Yuli = Cuban connection! #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/cOOFRgiBLI

— Houston Astros (@astros) June 23, 2019

OK, seven bombs in his first 12 games is amazing. He's the fourth to do it, joining Trevor Story (2016), Trey Mancini (2016-17) and Dino Restelli. What, you've never heard of Dino Restelli? Me neither.

He hit seven home runs in his first 12 games for the Pirates in 1949 -- and just six more in a brief major league career that was over in 1951. Just a fluke? Probably, although one issue was he wore glasses and they would constantly fog up in the East Coast humidity. (He kept a bright red bandanna in his back pocket to clean his glasses, a habit that apparently ticked off opponents.) Early in his career, after a glasses-cleaning timeout, Ewell Blackwell hit Restelli in the back of the neck. One theory says Restelli was never the same after that.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure Yordan Alvarez will have a much longer career than Dino Restelli.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Sunday at Watkins Glen Int’l was the last Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour race east of the Rockies this year.

As such, many competitors based in the eastern portion of the United States had one final shot at claiming a Hoosier Super Tour win in a race hosted by SCCA’s Finger Lakes Region.

The Spec Miata class saw a repeat winner Sunday in Elivan Goulart, in the No. 70 KRUGSPEED/SCDA1.com/Kessler Engineering/SCDA Driver Development Mazda Miata.

Goulart positioned himself in front of Tyler Kicera and Danny Steyn before a full-course caution came out on lap nine and ended the race early for contact back in the 23-car field.

Calvin Stewart, the overall and Formula 500 class winner with one lap to go, pulled out of the lead and let the Formula F drivers wage a fantastic battle.

“They put on an awesome show,” said Stewart, driver of the No. 7 SabbathTruth.com-backed Hoosier Tires Novakar Blade F600. “I saw them in my mirrors and I wanted to see them go across the line, so I let them go.

“I wanted to see them side by side,” he added. “It was really cool!”

Dexter Czuba, Tyler O’Connor and Josh Green all took turns at the front of the Formula F field during the race. But Green, driving the No. 82 Dufour Aerospace Mygale, was in front by .050 seconds at the stripe.

“All three of us were bumper to bumper the entire race,” Green said. “There was a lot of strategy the two laps before with each of us placing ourselves and trying not to lead onto the back straightaway. Tyler set that up the best by being third and having a two-car draft, but he just didn’t suck up enough. I was able to lead through the back section, and when I was able to defend going into turn eight, that was enough for the win.”

A 14-lap race with no caution flags allowed Tim Kezman’s No. 44 Porsche 997.2 to turn the tables on Kurt Rezzetano’s Pontiac Firebird in the Touring 2 class.

“It started the way it should have,” Kezman said. “Kurt jumped ahead, and we stayed with him a little bit. We tried to wear him down. We got lucky we didn’t get a yellow this time. We just out lasted him. He probably burned his tires off a little bit. It was a good race.”

Winged open-wheel cars and Prototypes saw a full-course caution with a green flag coming back out with three to go. That gave Ahsen Yelkin a chance to keep his No. 79 Everclear Swift 014 Formula Atlantic in front of Larry Howard to the finish for an overall win.

Yelkin powered away in the straights, but saw Howard close up under braking.

With temperatures climbing throughout the day, the Production and Big Bore groups had a hot, slippery track to contend with. It didn’t slow the racing, however.

Eric Vickerman, in the No. 10 The Vickerman Gang Austin Healey Sprite, dashed away from VW Rabbit drivers Jason LaMatta and father Vincent LaMatta in H Production. The LaMattas finished on the podium behind Vickerman, with father Vincent earning the silver medal.

“It’s a hot day out today,” Vickerman said. “Vince got the best of me on the start and dashed out a little bit. I just put my head down and tried to pull away a little bit and pace myself. It was a long race today.”

Jim McAleese drove his No. 03 McAleese & Associates/Jetco Engineering Chevrolet Camaro to a GT-1 win on Sunday after a mechanical ended his day just three corners from the checkered flag on Saturday.

“Everything was great today,” McAleese said. “The car held together like a beast. This is so much fun. The traffic with us racing together, we’re completely side by side the entire race. This is really racing. It’s completely awesome. I had more fun out there than I’ve had in years.”

In the same group, Amy Aquilante and her No. 57 TAR/Hoosier/Hawk Pontiac Firebird held off the Chevrolet Camaro of Philip Smith for an American Sedan win.

“It was a blast out there,” Aquilante said. “We finally got the car to finish. We had a little bit of issues yesterday but, man, it was hooked up out there. It was a fun race. Me and Phil were going at it for a while and, luckily, we were able to get through traffic smoothly and keep together. It was a blast.”

To view a full list of class winners, advance to the next page.

An emotional Marta bid farewell to another unsuccessful World Cup campaign on Sunday with a challenge to Brazil's women: work harder and do more if you want to win.

With tears in her eyes after the 2-1 extra-time loss to hosts France, the woman considered by many to be the greatest ever to play the game said the future of Brazilian soccer was dependent on new generations pushing themselves.

"It's about wanting more, it's about training more, it's about looking after yourself more, it's about being ready to play 90 minutes and then 30 minutes more," Marta said after Brazil went down to a 107th-minute goal in Le Havre.

"So that's why I am asking the girls. There's not going to be a Formiga forever, there's not going to be a Marta forever, there's not going to be a Cristiane. Women's football depends on you to survive. Think about it, value it more."

- FIFA Women's World Cup: All you need to know
- Full Women's World Cup fixtures schedule

Looking straight at the camera with a mix of sadness and defiance, she said: "Cry now so you can smile at the end."

Marta was once again one of the stars of the World Cup with her goals against Australia and Italy taking her overall total to 17, the most of any player in the history of the game.

And though the future of the six-times FIFA world player of the year is uncertain, the 33-year-old gave no sign she would quit after France, her fifth World Cup.

"It was a great experience for all of us, and now it's time to take advantage of this exposure and make the women's game even bigger and better," she said.

"The World Cup has ended for Brazil, but we need to keep on going. Next year we have the Olympics. And we are very grateful about all the love that came from our country during this run."

The Brazilian side who came to France looking for their first World Cup win surpassed expectations, winning two out of three group games after losing all nine of their warm-up matches ahead of the tournament.

With the future of veterans such as Formiga, 41, now in doubt, coach Vadao said they would now look to blend new talent with experience.

"There is a renewal taking place but, going forward, there shouldn't be too many changes," he said. "Players like Marta and Cristiane should be playing for a few more years yet."