Sports

TORONTO -- The alternative was proper there. The Rays entered Friday’s recreation as baseball’s most fearsome squad. Their offense was thriving, their pitching was untouchable and so they’d racked up 13 straight wins to start out the yr. One extra victory would have surpassed the 1982 Braves and ‘87 Brewers for the longest winning streak to start a season in MLB’s Modern Era. Against Blue Jays starter José Berríos (who got here in with an 11.17 ERA), Tampa Bay was teed as much as feast but once more. But a 6-3 loss at Rogers Centre confirmed that historical past could be elusive. From the get-go, the Rays weren’t crisp -- an oddity given how constant the season started. Drew Rasmussen's command uncharacteristically drifted all night, however the mess didn’t actually start till he departed ...

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports After I wrote about Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran final month, contemplate this the subsequent installment of my extremely unrelated, only-for-the-joke “Duran Duran” collection; right now we take a completely separate have a look at 25-year-old Twins nearer and velocity king Jhoan Duran. This Duran was one in every of baseball’s greatest relievers as a rookie in 2022; this 12 months, he returned to the Twins’ bullpen with rather a lot much less to show after his spectacular rookie marketing campaign. Nevertheless, he has made some vital tweaks to his already devastating arsenal, and he’s bringing extra warmth in his sophomore season than ever earlier than. Duran arrived on the scene in Minnesota final 12 months at a relatively unsure time in his pros...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Forward Miles Bridges might want to serve a 10-game suspension as soon as he indicators a contract with an NBA crew and returns to the league. The league formally suspended the restricted free agent for 30 video games Friday following a home violence incident final summer time. But the NB...

NEW YORK -- Byron Buxton didn’t even need to see the sneakers to start out getting excited. Just the field was sufficient. “Are these the shoes?” the Twins All-Star outfielder mentioned, his eyebrows raised, because the field was handed to him throughout a go to to MLB headquarters in Manhattan. “We got the new ones, huh?” Seconds later, Buxton was turning over Nike’s new Jackie Robinson Air Force 1 sneaker in his palms, his eyes broad, taking in all the main points. “These are nasty,” Buxton mentioned. “Oh my goodness!” So … does that imply they do justice to baseball’s best trailblazer? “100 percent,” Buxton answered with no hesitation. “It’s kind of hard to put these into words, but they definitely do justice. [No.] 42 on the sides, the baseball stripes on the back … it represents him t...

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports When the Braves gained the World Series in 2021, Ronald Acuña Jr. was a bystander, as a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his proper knee knocked him out for the second half of the season and the complete postseason. He returned to motion close to the tip of April final 12 months, however whereas he was the Braves’ second-most priceless outfielder — which wasn’t saying a lot as a result of slumps and calamities that befell the group’s different fly chasers — his efficiency was far in need of the excessive commonplace he’d set since debuting in 2018. With a robust begin to his 2023 season, Acuña is displaying indicators of recovering his pre-injury kind, although his efficiency in a few areas does elevate issues. After hitting a scorching .283/.394/...

CLEVELAND — New York Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone was ejected within the first inning Wednesday towards the Cleveland Guardians following a heated change with umpires over a play that was not initially reviewed by instantaneous replay. Boone spent a number of minutes pleading his case after the Yankees a...

DETROIT -- The Giants locked up their homegrown ace on Friday, saying a five-year, $90 million extension with right-hander Logan Webb that can hold the Rocklin, Calif., native within the membership’s rotation via at the very least 2028.  The deal -- the most important given to a pitcher beneath Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi -- will kick in subsequent yr and purchase out Webb’s remaining two years of arbitration and his first three years of free company. The 26-year-old will earn $8 million in 2024, $12 million in 2025, $23 million in 2026, $23 million in 2027 and $24 million in 2028. He may even make annual donations to the Giants Community Fund that can complete practically half 1,000,000 {dollars} over the lifetime of the contract.  Zaidi confirmed that the members...