John Kruk gives high praise to Kyle Schwarber in postgame interview
John Kruk gives high praise to Kyle Schwarber in postgame interview originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
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NBC Sports
a minute ago
- NBC Sports
Fritz wins his opener at the DC Open and Sakkari beats No. 2 Navarro. Venus out in doubles
WASHINGTON — Top-seeded Taylor Fritz got his North American hard-court season off to a strong start by hitting 11 aces and saving the only break point he faced in a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Aleksandar Vukic at the DC Open. The second-seeded woman, Emma Navarro, was eliminated at night by Maria Sakkari 7-5, 7-6 (1). Sakkari was the 2023 runner-up to Coco Gauff in Washington. Fritz is coming off a semifinal run on the grass of Wimbledon. He will be trying to replicate last year's strong showing in this portion of the season, when he reached his first Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open. After getting a first-round bye, Fritz now will play in the third round against Matteo Arnaldi, who eliminated No. 16 Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 7-5. Seeded men advancing included No. 7 Alex de Minaur, No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, No. 9 Flavio Cobolli, and No. 11 Jiri Lehecka, but No. 5 Andrey Rublev was a 7-5, 6-2 loser against 19-year-old American Learner Tien, and No. 10 Alexei Popyrin was defeated by qualifier Wu Yibing 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. Tien has four wins over opponents ranked in the top 10 this season. Venus Williams' run in doubles with partner Hailey Baptiste ended in the second round with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 loss in a champion's tiebreaker to second-seeded Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai. The 45-year-old Williams is competing at her first tournament in more than a year — and first in doubles since 2022 — and she and Baptiste won their first-round match. Williams will play her second-round singles match against Magdalena Frech. Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, beating Payton Stearns — who is 23 — in straight sets. In women's singles play , unseeded Anna Kalinskaya eliminated No. 8 seed Magda Linette 6-4, 6-0, and No. 4 seed Clara Tauson beat qualifier Caroline Dolehide 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pros and Cons: Should Mets trade for Griffin Jax?
Contenders almost always covet elite bullpen arms at the MLB trade deadline, so Griffin Jax, a 30-year-old right-hander with eye-popping stuff, should be quite a popular guy over the next week-plus. That is, if the Minnesota Twins make the reliever, who's still got plenty of control, available for a deal. Already, Jax is being linked in media reports to the Dodgers and Phillies. Other heavyweights figure to be lurking, too. Heck, adding an accomplished reliever at the deadline is a great way for GMs and presidents of baseball operations to feel good about themselves, right? Nothing stings more than a late-inning loss during a playoff push, so bulking up the bridge to the closer is comforting. With that in mind, here's a look at whether the Mets should try to trade for Jax, setup man extraordinaire. What are the Pros and Cons? PROS The Mets were 12th in the majors in bullpen ERA (3.83) entering play Wednesday and they've encountered workload issues in the pen thanks to their starters not pitching deep into games most nights. When they get to Edwin Díaz, great -- but the Mets must make sure the path through the high-leverage innings before the closer arrives aren't a harrowing adventure, especially if they want to make October noise. Jax could help. The righty, who is under club control through the 2027 season, is the first graduate of the Air Force Academy to pitch in the major leagues and he's the son of an NFL linebacker. Jax's dad, Garth, played for 10 seasons for the Cowboys and Cardinals, starting in the mid-1980s. Last year, Jax, who forms a wicked 1-2 combo in Minnesota's bullpen with Jhoan Duran, had an incredible season, recording a 2.03 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP and striking out 95 in 71 innings while walking only 15. His ERA is much higher this season (4.09), but many underlying numbers still impress. His chase percentage (41.1) is the best in MLB and his whiff percentage and strikeout percentage are both in the 99th percentile, according to Statcast. His walks are up slightly, but he's still stingy there, too -- 2.1 per nine innings. Jax's 88 mph sweeper is his most-used pitch and hitters are batting just .211 against it. He's been quoted saying he learned the pitch during the pandemic and it's really enhanced his repertoire with its lateral movement. Jax can throw five or six pitches, but another reliable weapon is his changeup, which is 86-plus mph. Batters have a .154 average against that delivery. Jax has had one taste of the postseason -- in 2023, he made four scoreless appearances over two series for the Twins, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out five. Since 2022, when Jax became a full-time reliever, he's accumulated 5.1 WAR, according to Only 15 relievers have been better, including the guy just above Jax on the list -- Díaz, at 5.2. CONS Jax is hard to hit. But once batters have been putting the ball in play, they've had success against him this season. Jax is allowing a .367 BABIP and he's giving up more line drives and more hard contact, according to Opponents have fared well against his hard stuff, a 97-mph four-seamer and a sinker. There may be some luck involved in how his ERA is bigger. While his ERA is where it is, his FIP (fielding independent pitching), sits at 1.91. His expected ERA is 2.88, which is ranked in the 91st percentile in MLB, according to Statcast. The Mets actually had a hand in making his ERA balloon -- on April 16, they staged a rally against Jax. Down 3-0 in Minnesota, they scored three times in the eighth off him, thanks to RBI doubles by Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker and an RBI single by Luisangel Acuña. Two nights later, the Braves clobbered him, too. Over that span, Jax allowed seven runs and seven hits in 1.1 innings. Since then, though, he has a 2.04 ERA. VERDICT Another easy yes, though the usual cost cautions certainly apply as well. Jax is very good, has two more seasons of team control and will be hotly pursued by other contenders. But the Twins don't HAVE to trade him, so this is no pennies-on-the-dollar deal. Minnesota was 49-52 entering Wednesday and a fringe playoff hopeful, but they'd have Jax for two more pennant races if they kept him. So how far, in terms of prospect return, would this year's powerhouses be willing to go to help solidify their bullpens, especially when Jax is a long-term asset? The Dodgers just put Tanner Scott on the IL and their bullpen needs help even more than the Mets' pen does. Los Angeles has already been hunting relievers. The Phillies are ranked 23rd in relief ERA, one slot above the Dodgers. The Yankees and Tigers both have bullpen ERAs above 4.00, too. The Mets had a rollicking ride to the NLCS last year. Another deep run probably requires more high-end bullpen parts. Jax qualifies.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The D'Amore Drop: Yes, wrestling has to evolve with the times, but are we pulling back the curtain too far?
The D'Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D'Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D'Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. I'm really intrigued by WWE and Netflix's new show "Unreal," which premieres next Tuesday. It promises to take viewers inside the booking room and show exactly how the sausage is made — or at least, how they want you to think it's made. From what I've heard, it won't be a pure documentary, if such a thing even exists. Like many 'docuseries' these days, it's going to be a bit of a work. That is just the reality of modern production. Being a fly on the wall doesn't just happen, not over and over. Producing compelling TV means the fly needs to be on this wall, at this moment, to capture that conversation. You can't rely on luck or have 100 crews on 100 people all the time when you're spending Netflix money. Still, I think it'll be a hit. The appetite for behind-the-scenes content in wrestling is bigger than it's ever been, and "Unreal" looks tailor-made for that audience. The big question is if it can do what 'Drive to Survive' did for Formula One and bring in a brand new audience. But here's the difference: F1 is a real sport. The more you understand it, the more exciting and dramatic it becomes. With wrestling, I worry the opposite is true. Pull back the curtain too far, and the drama in the ring starts to feel flatter — not deeper. Because wrestling is supposed to be mysterious. That's part of the magic. Yes, I am just about self-aware enough to get that I am here writing a weekly column for Uncrowned — offering opinions on current storylines, casually using terms like 'heel' and 'work,' while also saying I'm uneasy about a TV show that openly exposes the business. In fact, I am actually contradicting myself way worse than that… For my own promotion, Maple Leaf Pro-Wrestling, we produce a YouTube series called "Beyond the Ring" that goes behind the scenes. We show backstage footage, even of opponents — who are at each other's throats on-screen — relaxing together off-camera. And when I ran TNA with Don Callis, we pitched parent company Anthem a show called 'Behind The Booking Room Door' which was similar in concept to what Netflix is doing. So … I guess what I'm saying is this: Wrestling has to evolve with the times. No one can hold these changes back or put the 'it's not a sport' genie back in the bottle. But that doesn't mean we can't still feel a little nostalgic for the way things used to be, y'know? The insane PCO vs. Dan Maff war from Maple Leaf Pro is now on YouTube. You really should check it out. I'll never root against TNA. I put too much blood, sweat, tears and money into that company across two long stints. But as most of you know, my relationship with TNA ended about 18 months ago. So, watching them pull off their biggest show ever with Slammiversary last Sunday was bittersweet. It's wild to see guys in baseball caps doing podcasts claiming the TNA/WWE relationship 'all started' six months ago with Joe Hendry's appearance at the Royal Rumble. Ahem. TNA champion Mickie James — and her championship belt — entered the Royal Rumble three and a half years ago. That's when the critical TNA/WWE relationship began. Having AJ Styles appear in person on a TNA show was a lovely moment. (I say 'in person' because he appeared at the 20th anniversary Slammiversary via video, with the WWE's blessing, but... y'know). TNA is the house that AJ Styles built. He was the one we could point to, when everyone was saying 'TNA is nowhere near as good as WWE,' and say 'Yeah? Well, WWE has no one even close to THIS guy!' It made sense for TNA to use AJ's appearance to pass the X-Division torch to Leon Slater. Leon has a massive future, both in TNA and, eventually, AEW and/or WWE. Y'know, we discovered Leon during a TNA tour of the UK four years ago. He was a teenager, but like with Seth Rollins, who was also a teen when I met him, it was obvious Leon had 'it.' We'd heard about him, booked him on the tour, but he was even better than his reputation suggested. We signed him as soon as we watched him wrestle — and here he is, making me look like a genius when all we did was recognize HIS genius when it was right in front of us. Something's been bothering me. Everybody knows Tony Khan grew up with money. So why is he the one who understands that most families can't afford to spend over $1,000 on one night out at the wrestling? I know everything costs more these days, but I hate to see WWE become something only those with big disposable incomes can attend live. Months ago, I advocated in this column for a 'wait and see' approach when John Cena's heel turn with The Rock wasn't followed up on by WWE. And while I'll always ask fans to give the bookers and talent time to tell their story, six months after Cena's turn, we have to say that the turn hasn't been maximized. Even allowing for the fact that nothing will ever eclipse Hulk Hogan's 1996 WCW turn, and that John's promo work has been strong, it just hasn't hit like it could have. It's going to be very interesting to see if WWE turns John again next week at SummerSlam during or after the match with Cody Rhodes, and how they send him off into the sunset over this next (and final) five months of his career. The whole industry is watching to see how the first-ever two-night WWE SummerSlam is received. Turning WrestleMania into two nights made sense. Those shows were stretching to seven hours. Even the most diehard fans were getting worn out. But the two-night SummerSlam? I'm not sure this one was organic. This feels like a revenue move by TKO. That said, the cards look good. We'll see how it delivers. One of the best moments at Slammiversary was Moose handing off the X-Division torch to Leon Slater. I've got a lot of friends in TNA, but Moose is basically family. Frank Trigg, the UFC Hall of Famer, once called me and said he had a buddy who wanted to get into wrestling. Said he was an offensive tackle in the NFL. Told me, 'Just work out with him.' I was expecting some big farm boy, 360 pounds, built like a fridge, but instead this athletic monster walks in. He was ripped, fast, and within five minutes I knew he was going to be a star. Sure, there have been times I wished he were normal-sized, just so I could reach up and throttle him. Like I said, family. He's been to Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's house, the Canadian Thanksgiving. We were watching football. Moose was surprised that 'American' football was played on Canadian Thanksgiving. My mom, already smitten with the big lump, gently said, 'Well, honey, it's Sunday. That's when NFL games are played.' And Moose, mouth full of turkey, looked up and said, 'Oh? It's Sunday in Canada too?'
