Torquay United bring back striker Ilesanmi on loan
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The Herald Scotland
6 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
MLB All-Star snub 2025: Juan Soto among top players left off rosters
Still, sometimes the formula doesn't work in the favor of the game's greatest players, particularly with the X factors of fan voting, the timing of player voting and the stipulation that all 30 teams - yep, even those in the Mountain time zone and the South Side of Chicago - are represented. With that, we take a look at a half-dozen players omitted from the July 6 roster drop, yet may find themselves summoned to the Atlanta suburbs come July 15: Juan Soto, OF, Mets Money can't necessarily buy happiness, and now we know it can't ensure All-Star spots, either. Soto, signed to a record $765 million contract in December, got off to a predictably slow start as he reacclimated to the National League and joined a new lineup. But look at him now: A .396 OBP (second in the NL, fourth in the majors), 21 home runs and a .904 OPS (seventh in the NL). Put those numbers next to another player and you'd say, "Should be an All-Star." Just because they're not quite Sotoesque doesn't mean the man doesn't deserve his fifth Al-Star appearance. And hey, the viewing public does watch this game to, you know, see the stars play. Michael Busch, 1B, Cubs Sometimes it really does come down to timing. Had Busch not waited until the Fourth of July to drop a three-homer game on Chicago's archrivals, he might have scored higher in the player or fan voting. Alas, his .939 OPS (fourth NL, seventh in the majors) and 18 home runs will be free to go fishing next week. The democratization of All-Star voting - thanks largely to online balloting, as opposed to who draws the most fans - is generally a good thing. Yet the Cubs and their 53-36 record - just shy of the Dodgers for best in the NL - are strangely underrepresented with just three selections. Slugging outfielder Seiya Suzuki also has a strong case, but the Cubs will have to make do with the very deserving Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Matthew Boyd. Cristopher Sanchez, LHP, Phillies This would have been back-to-back All-Star nods for Sanchez, and deservedly so. He ranks seventh in the NL with a 2.68 ERA and has given up just seven home runs, his 0.62 home runs per nine ranking fifth. He's also in the top 10 in strikeouts per nine innings. While the 6-foot-6 left-hander's strikeout total (108 in 100 innings) pales a bit compared to some electees, the Phillies are 9-2 in the 11 starts in which he's completed at least six innings, and 13-4 in all his outings. Perhaps he'll be the first one to hear his phone ring when Chris Sale (rib fracture) is declared out due to injury. Trevor Megill, RHP, Brewers In this day and age of nasty stuff and bullpen hyper-specialization, it's rare when a capital-C closer is viewed as a snub. Yet Megill has been the busiest and perhaps best of them in the NL so far. He's converted 20 of 23 opportunities, an 87% rate that's second only to the Mets' Edwin Diaz among relievers with at least 13 saves. More notably, the Brewers have been one of the game's best teams and stories all season and have just one All-Star - starter Freddy Peralta - to show for it. A reliever's life is always volatile and there's no guarantee Megill has a season like this going forward. Perhaps he'll get a just reward in coming days. Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays This one's fairly shocking, and more the product of positional glut than anything. The timeless Jose Ramirez won fan voting and was joined by player's vote winner Alex Bregman, both deserving recipients. But Caminero has more than exceeded the breakout year expected of him, with 21 home runs and an .809 OPS. He's probably a little more deserving than Rays teammate Brandon Lowe, who got a reserve nod at second base with 19 homers and an .813 OPS. Caminero's .301 OPS didn't do him any favors, but it's hard to argue with 40 extra-base hits and a .508 slugging percentage before the All-Star break. Framber Valdez, LHP, Astros Valdez should get some measure of revenge come the winter, when he may receive the largest free agent contract among pitchers. For now, his resume speaks pretty well on his behalf: 115 strikeouts in 115 innings, a 2.90 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP. But man, the AL pitching field is so loaded, Valdez's ERA is good for just 11th in the league, and eight of the 10 arms before him got selected. Valdez has one of the top overall profiles when you combine innings pitched, strikeout rate and ERA, but this is a tough crowd to stand out in. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news -- fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Reuters
Cubs' bats, pitching on point in shutout of Cardinals
July 7 - Matthew Boyd celebrated his All-Star Game selection by striking out nine batters in five innings as Chicago Cubs demolished the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 11-0 Sunday night. Fellow All-Star selection Kyle Tucker drove in three runs for the Cubs, who have won eight of their last 11 games. Seiya Suzuki contributed a double, home run and two RBIs to the outburst, while Nico Hoerner had three hits, three runs and an RBI and Reese McGuire drove in two. Boyd (9-3) allowed just three hits and a walk while winning his third straight start. Jordan Wicks threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings and Daniel Palencia retired the last two batters to complete the shutout. The Cardinals have lost five of their last six games to fall 6 1/2 games behind the National League Central-leading Cubs. St. Louis starter Erick Fedde (3-9) allowed three runs on two hits and four walks in 1 1/3 innings. Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Tucker walked, stole second and scored on Pete Crow-Armstrong's single. The Cubs knocked Fedde out of the game in the second inning. Hoerner hit a leadoff double and took third on a one-out wild pitch. After Fedde walked Matt Shaw and Ian Happ, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol summoned John King. Tucker greeted King with a two-run single to put Chicago up 3-0. The Cubs increased their lead to 8-0 in the third inning. Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson walked, then Hoerner hit a blooped single to load the bases. McGuire hit an RBI single to force another pitching change -- and the onslaught continued against reliever Matt Svanson. Shaw's fielder's choice grounder resulted in a run-producing throwing error. Happ hit an RBI groundout, Tucker hit a sacrifice fly, then Suzuki smacked an RBI double. Hoerner's RBI triple and McGuire's run-scoring grounder pushed Chicago's lead to 10-0 in the fourth inning. Suzuki's homer in the fifth inning made it 11-0. --Field Level Media
BBC News
19 hours ago
- BBC News
Truro re-sign defender Oxlade-Chamberlain
National League newcomers Truro City have signed defender Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain on a two-year deal following his release by Kidderminster 27-year-old brother of former Liverpool and England midfielder Alex was a key player while on loan with the Tinners last season as they won promotion from National League Portsmouth youth product scored twice in the campaign and was also an important attacking asset due to his long throw becomes Truro's third summer signing as they prepare for life in the National League, after Harry Kite and Lirak Hasani. "After what we achieved last season, it was only right to carry things on into the new league to see what we could do," Oxlade-Chamberlain told the club website., external"It is almost silly when I think back to when I signed, considering what we went on to achieve. [Promotion] certainly wasn't on my bingo card, but it was a great way to finish the season and then the party afterwards, with the bus parade, was just fantastic."
