Armadillo Sports

— Utah Jazz were 17-65 last year, worst record in the NBA, but they lottery screwed them; they wound up with the 5th pick in the draft, instead of the first pick.

Utah drafted G Ace Bailey from Rutgers, who didn’t work out for any teams, the only American player who didn’t. Word was he wanted the Washington Wizards to draft him, but now he goes to Utah, which also acquired Walter Clayton, who won a national title at Florida last year.

— Rutgers had Bailey and Dylan Harper last year; Harper was the 2nd player taken in this draft. If those two guys are so great, how come the Scarlet Knights were 15-17 last year, 8-12 in their conference games?

— Dallas Mavericks had only a 1.5% chance of getting the first pick in the draft, so they’re landing Cooper Flagg was quite a bonanza.

— This was first NBA Draft since 2007 that John Calipari didn’t have a player drafted in the first round; it was the first time since 2009 that Kentucky didn’t have a player drafted.

— 76ers drafted Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe with the #3 pick; if Philly can keep their nucleus of Emiid, George and Maxey together (they played together in only 15 games last year), they could make a jump back into the playoffs next year.

— Oklahoma City drafted Thomas Sorber from Georgetown, the Hoyas’ first player taken in the 1st round since Otto Porter Jr in 2013.

— Khaman Maluach is a 7-1 big man who played at Duke last year; he didn’t play basketball until he was 14, so he had ton of potential to become way better on offense.

— They said on ESPN that Tre Johnson was the best shooter in the draft; Wizards took him with the 6th pick, right after Harper went to Utah.

— As for ESPN’s coverage of the draft, I’m not a fan; we need more people on air who played or coached in the league. Kendrick Perkins is good, Jay Bilas was the NBA version of Mel Kiper Jr; we learned stuff from them. 

Former Warriors’ GM Bob Myers was on the ABC version of the draft; he is probably very good, but  I didn’t see it because I’m not spending 3.5 hours of my life listening to Stephen A Smith. 

Teams’ records by starting pitcher:
(thru Wednesday’s games)

Diamondbacks (41-39)
Gallen 7-10 (over 5-1 last six)
Kelly 9-7 (over 4-2 last six)
Burnes 6-5 (under 5-1 last six)
Pfaadt 9-7 (over 6-2 last eight)
Rodriguez 6-7 (over 8-2 last ten)
Nelson 4-3 (under 5-2)

— Braves (37-42)
Sale 8-7 (under 8-3 last eleven)
Schwellenbach 11-5 (over 9-3 last 12)
Smith-Shawver 5-4 (under 7-2)
Holmes 6-9 (3-7 last ten)
Elder 5-7 (under 9-2 last eleven)
Lopez 0-1
Strider 3-5 (under 6-2)
Fuentes 0-2
Blewett 0-1

— Cubs (47-33)
Imanaga 5-3 (under 6-2)
Steele 3-1 (over 4-0)
Taillon 8-8
Boyd 8-8 (under 5-1 last six)
Brown 7-7 (over 11-3)
Rea 9-4
Horton 6-2 (under 4-2 last six)
Pomeranz 2-0 (opener)
Keller 1-0 (opener)

— Reds (42-39)
Greene 6-5 (under 8-2 last ten)
Lodolo 7-8 (over 7-4 last 11)
Martinez 4-11 (over 5-0 last five)
Singer 9-7 (under 9-3 last 12)
Burns 1-0
Miley 2-0 (over 2-0)
Abbott 10-3
Petty 0-2
Suter 2-1 (opener)
Spiers 0-2

— Rockies (18-62)
Freeland 2-12 (under 9-5)
Senzatela 5-10 (over 3-1 last four)
Feltner 1-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Marquez 4-12 (over 10-5 last 15)
Dollander 3-10 
Palmquist 1-6 (under 5-2)
Gomber 1-1
Blalock 0-3
Gordon 1-2
Rolison 0-1 (opener)

— Dodgers (50-31)
Yamamoto 9-7
Kershaw 5-2 (over 7-0)
May 7-7 (over 4-1 last five)
Ohtani 2-0 (opener)
Snell 2-0 (over 2-0)
Glasnow 3-2
Sheehan 1-0
Sasaki 6-2 (over 6-2)
Knack 5-2 (over 5-2)
Gonsolin 3-4
Wrobleski 0-2
Miller 1-0
Casparius 1-1 (opener)
Dreyer 4-1 (opener)
Sauer 1-0 (opener)
Trivino 0-1 (opener)

— Marlins (33-45)
Alcantara 6-9 (under 6-2 last eight)
Quantrill 8-7 (under 8-1 last nine)
Bellozo 1-4
Meyer 5-7 (over 7-1 last eight)
EPerez 1-2
Cabrera 7-6
Junk 1-0
Weathers 2-3
Mazur 0-1
Gillispie 1-5 (over 5-1)
Gibson 1-0 (opener)
Veneziano 0-1 (opener)

— Famous birthdays, June 26th:

Edd Hargett, 78
Shannon Sharpe, 57
Chris O’Donnell, 55
Jason Kendall, 51
Chad Pennington, 49

Michael Vick, 45
Deron Williams, 41
Iman Shumpert, 35
Rudy Gobert, 33
Riley Adams, 29

— Brewers (45-36)
Peralta 10-7
Cortes 1-1
Patrick 5-11 (under 11-5)
Priester 4-6 (under 7-3)
Misioroski 3-0
Myers 2-3
Rodriguez 0-2 (over 2-0)
Alexander 2-2 (over 3-1)
Quintana 7-3 (under 8-2)
Henderson 3-1 (over 3-1)
Hall 2-0
Zastryzny 1-0 (opener)
Civale 3-2

— Mets (47-34)
Holmes 11-5 (under 6-2 last eight)
Megill 6-8 (over 9-2 last 11)
Senga 9-4 (under 12-1)
Canning 11-4 (over 5-1 last six)
Peterson 9-6 (home team 14-1)
Montas 0-1
Blackburn 1-2
Tidwell 0-2
Brazoban 0-2 (opener)

— Phillies (47-33)
Wheeler 11-5
Luzardo 10-6 (over 4-1 last five)
Nola 3-6 (under 6-3)
Sanchez 12-3
Walker 4-4 (under 3-1 last four)
Suarez 6-4 (under 6-1 last seven)
Abel 3-2 
Ross 0-1 (opener)

— Pirates (32-50)
Skenes 8-9 (under 9-4 last 13)
Keller 3-13 (under 7-2 last nine)
Falter 9-7
Heaney 5-11 
Burrows 2-3
Mlodzinski 3-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Harrington 0-1
Ashcraft 1-0

— Cardinals (44-37)
Gray 12-3 (under 4-1 last five)
Fedde 5-11 (under 5-1 last six)
Mikolas 7-8
Liberatore 7-8 (over 5-1 last six)
Pallante 9-6 (over 4-1 last five)
Matz 2-0
McGreevy 2-1 (over 3-0)

— Padres (44-36)
King 5-5 (1-5 last six) (over 3-0-1 last four)
Cease 9-7
Vasquez 9-7 (under 11-5)
Pivetta 10-6 (over 4-1 last five)
Bergert 4-1
Hart 3-3 (over 4-2)
Kolek 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Reynolds 0-1

— Giants (44-36)
Ray 13-3 (under 9-3 last 12)
Webb 9-8 (under 4-1 last five)
Verlander 4-8 (under 6-1 last seven)
Roupp 8-7 (under 6-1 last seven)
Birdsong 3-3 (over 3-0 last three)
Harrison 3-1 (under 3-1)
Hjelle 0-1 (opener)
Hicks 4-5 (over 7-2)

— Nationals (33-48)
Gore 6-11 (under 8-4 last 12)
Irvin 8-8
Parker 8-8 (under 9-5)
Williams 6-10 (under 4-0 last four)
Soroka 4-6
Lord 2-4

Notes on football teams in the SEC:
— Alabama
Last five years, Alabama is 37-26 (58.7%) against spread.
New QB Simpson threw only 25 passes as the backup LY.
Had only 25 sacks last year, their fewest since 2013.

— Arkansas
Arkansas has only 3 starters back on offense, 3 more on defense.
Hogs gained 459.5 yards/game last year, #10 in country.
Arkansas allowed 246.9 passing yards/game (#110)

— Auburn
Auburn scored only 19.1 ppg in its SEC games (2-6) last year
Tigers had a minus-9 turnover ratio (#119)
Auburn was 1-3 LY in games decided by 7 or fewer points.

— Florida
Six starters back on offense, seven on defense, a lot for an SEC team.
Gators have four starters back on the offensive line.
Florida was helped last year by its +6 turnover ratio (#35)

— Georgia
Last two years, Dawgs are only 9-17 ATS
Georgia has only seven of 22 starters back from LY.
Dawgs ran ball for only 124.4 yards/game LY, #102 in country.

— Kentucky
Wildcats have only 3 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Kentucky missed a bowl LY for first time in nine years.
Wildcats threw ball for only 184.8 yards/game LY (#112)

— LSU
Only six of 22 starters are back, only one on offensive line.
Gave up 364.4 yards/game LY, #61 in country. Mediocre.
QB Nussmeier is in his 5th year; his dad is the Saints’ offensive coordinator. .
— Ole Miss
Lane Kiffin has a 44-18 record in five years with the Rebels.
Ole Miss has only five of 22 starters back this year.
Rebels scored 38.6 ppg LY, #3 in country.

— Famous birthdays, June 25th:
June Lockhart, 100
Ricky Gervais, 64
Dell Curry, 61
Carlos Delgado, 53
Linda Cardellini, 50

Aramis Ramírez, 47
Matt Schaub, 44
Paul Maholm, 43
Gerald Everett, 31
Desmond Bane, 27

— Mississippi State
Bulldogs were 2-10 LY, including a 41-17 home loss to Toledo.
Miss State allowed 216.9 rushing yards/game (#129)
Bulldogs have only three starters back on defense.

— Missouri
Tigers have 7 starters back on defense, only 4 on offense.
Mizzou allowed only 317.5 yards/game LY, #17 in country.
Tigers don’t play a road game until October 18, at Auburn. 

— Oklahoma
Sooners have a new OC, who is 29; he brought the QB from Wazzu with him.
Oklahoma gained only 331 yards/game LY, #113 in country.
Oklahoma has only three starters back on offense.

— South Carolina
Gamecocks allowed only 18.1 ppg LY, #12 in country.
South Carolina has a new punter, kicker, long snapper, holder for kicks.
Gamecocks haven’t won a league title since they won the ACC in 1969.

— Tennessee
New QB Aguilar is a transfer from Appalachian State, via UCLA.
Aguilar threw for 6,700+ yards, 56 TD’s in two years at App State.
Vols have 7 starters back from a defense that allowed 16.1 ppg LY (#7 in country)

— Texas
Only 3 starters back on offense; Arch Manning is the new QB.
Texas ranked 71st in country in rushing yards LY; they’ve got 4 new starters on OL
First 4 weeks in October; three road games, and the Oklahoma game in Dallas.

— Texas A&M
Have six starters back on offense, seven on defense.
Aggies ran ball for 195.5 yards/game LY (#26); they’ve got 4 starters back on OL
A&M lost four of last four games LY, after a 7-1 start.

— Vanderbilt
Last year’s 7-6 season was their best since 2013.
Vandy brought in six transfers who play on OL, to protect QB Pavia.
Someone offered Pavia $4M to bolt to their school; he declined the offer.  

— Braves 3, Mets 2
Ronald Acuna homered for the Braves.
Mets have lost nine of their last ten games.
Atlanta is 25-9 in its last 34 games against the Mets.

— Reds 6, Bronx 1
Elly De La Cruz homered, tripled, drove in three runs.
Reds are 11-5 in their last sixteen games.
New York is 3-8 in its last eleven games.

— Pirates 5, Brewers 4
Nick Gonzales went 5-for-5 with two RBI
Over his last five games, Gonzales is 12 for 22.
Over his last 26 games, Christian Yelich is hitting .402 with 30 RBI.

Yelich drove in 8 runs in a game last week, without hitting a home run; he is the first major leaguer to do that. Ever.

— Cardinals 8, Cubs 2
St Louis hit four HR’s in a game for first time since April 30th.
Matthew Liberatore allowed two runs in 7 IP.
Cubs lost four of their last five games.

— Angels 9, Red Sox 5
Zach Neto had three hits, including a first inning home run.
Angels scored four runs in bottom of the 8th.
Highly touted prospect Roman Anthony is hitting .128 in his first 38 AB.

— Famous birthdays, June 24th:
Michele Lee, 83
Peter Weller, 78
Duval Love, 62
Sherry Stringfield, 58
JJ Redick, 41

Taj Gibson, 40
Tremayne Anchrum, 27
Wilyer Abreu, 26
Christopher Morel, 26
Slade Cecconi, 26

— Last six college baseball national champs:
2025- LSU
2024- Tennessee
2023- LSU
2022- Ole Miss
2021- Mississippi State
2019- Vanderbilt

All SEC teams.

— LSU pitcher Kade Anderson is listed as the #3 prospect in this summer’s amateur baseball draft; he threw 130 pitches in LSU’s win over Coastal Carolina in the College World Series on Saturday.

Someone on TV was saying how that will be the last time ever that Anderson will be asked to throw that many pitches. Pro teams coddle their pitching prospects; no one in the majors has thrown 120 pitches in a game this season.

— Arizona’s star OF Corbin Carroll has a chip fracture in his left wrist, is out indefinitely.

— Roku had the Baltimore-Bronx game on Sunday morning; Buck Showalter was one of the TV analysts. He needs a more prominent role on TV; Showalter is an excellent analyst.

— Word of the Day: Jocularity- the quality of being happy and liking to make jokes.

Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H used to say “jocularity” a lot. 

— NBA season ended Sunday night, with the Thunder winning their first title since 1979, when they were the Seattle SuperSonics; the draft is Wednesday-Thursday, so lot of NBA stuff this week.

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Halliburton has already had surgery to fix his injured achilles tendon. Pacers’ odds to win the title next year dropped from 10-1 to 40-1. 

— Former NBA star Nick Van Exel posted this on Twitter:

“There have been Achilles tears throughout the years but my thoughts on them is that they happen more now and I think it has something to do with them dam lows the players wear nowadays. Cover them ankles up fellas.”

Van Exel thinks more players should wear high-top sneakers, to give ankles/feet more support, which makes a lot of sense.

— Phoenix Suns traded 37-year old Kevin Durant to Houston for:

Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks
the 10th pick in Wednesday draft.
Five second round draft picks

Rockets were the #2-seed in the West, but lost in the first round of the playoffs for Golden State. They’re trying to improve their offense- their half-court offense was bad against the Warriors.

Houston’s odds to win the NBA title next year improved from 18-1 to 8-1.

— Celtics traded Jrue Holiday to Portland for Anfernee Simons and two second round picks.
35-year old Holiday is owed around $72M the next two years; the deal saves Boston $40M in luxury tax payments next season.

— Dallas Mavericks are signing C Daniel Gafford to a 3-year, $60M extension; Gafford scored 12.3 ppg in 57 games for the Mavericks this season. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Giants, Mil/StL
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Mariners

Trends for major league teams
(thru Sunday’s games)

— Arizona (39-38)
Arizona is 8-4 in its last 12 games.
Over is 8-3 in their last 11 home games.
Arizona is 6-14 in last 20 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (35-41)
Braves won seven of their last ten games.
Atlanta is 22-15 at home, 13-26 on the road.
Under is 17-7 in their last 24 home games.

— Cubs (46-31)
Chicago is 7-9 of its last sixteen games.
Chicago scored in first inning in five of its last six games.
Cubs are 35-21 vs righty starters, 11-10 vs lefties.

— Reds (40-38)
Cincinnati is 9-6 in its last 15 games.
Reds are 8-3 in last eleven series openers.
Reds are 31-24 vs righty starters, 9-14 vs lefties.

— Rockies (18-60)
Colorado is 6-5 in its last eleven games.
Over is 5-2 in Rockies’ last seven home games.
Rockies are 2-19 vs lefty starters, 16-41 vs righties. 

— Dodgers (48-31)
Dodgers are 6-2 in their last eight games,
Dodgers are 30-14 at home, 18-17 on the road.
Dodgers are 37-20 vs righty starters, 11-11 vs lefties.
Over is 24-7 in their last 31 home games.

— Marlins (31-45)                                                                       )
Marlins are 8-7 in their last fifteen games.
Miami is 17-24 at home, 14-21 on the road.
Under is 10-2 in Marlins’ last 12 games.
Miami is 2-10 in road series openers.

— Brewers (43-35)
Brewers won eight of their last nine games.
Milwaukee scored 43 runs in its last four games.
Brewers are 23-15 at home, 20-20 on the road.
Under is 17-7 in their last 24 home games.

— Mets (46-32)
Mets lost eight of their last nine games.
Mets are 27-10 at home, 19-22 on the road.
Over is 6-3 in their last nine games.

— Phillies (47-31)
Phillies won nine of their last eleven games.
Phillies are 37-19 vs righty starters, 10-12 vs lefties.
Phillies are 10-3 in home series openers.

— Pirates (31-48)
Pittsburgh is 20-21 at home, 11-27 on the road.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Pirates are 8-3 in last 11 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (42-36)
St Louis lost six of its last eight games.
Cardinals are 9-4 in home series openers.
St Louis is 24-15  at home, 18-21 on the road.

— Padres (42-35)
Padres are 5-8 in their last thirteen games.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.
San Diego starting pitchers have one win/six losses in last 20 road games.

— Giants (44-34)
Giants won 8 of their last 11 home games.
Giants are 36-20 vs righty pitchers, 8-14 vs lefties.
SF is 18-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Giants scored 23 runs in first six games (3-3) with Devers in lineup

— Washington (32-46)
Nationals lost 16 of their last 20 games.
Under is 15-5 in their last 20 home games.
Washington is 14-5 last 19 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Famous birthdays, June 23rd:

Bryan Brown, 78
Marty Barrett, 67
Jim Deshaies, 65
LaSalle Thompson, 64
Kevin Dyson, 50

Mike James, 50
Shaun O’Hara, 48
LaDainian Tomlinson, 46
O.J. Atogwe, 44
Rodney McLeod, 35

— Word of the Day— Integrity- the quality of being honest and having strong principles.

— Orioles (33-44)
Baltimore is 6-10 in its last sixteen games.
Orioles are 11-12 vs AL East foes, 22-32 vs everyone else.
Under is 16-4 in their last 20 games.

— Red Sox (40-39)
Red Sox are 10-4 in their last fourteen games.
Boston is 9-18 in one-run games.
Under is 8-1 in their last nine home games.
Red Sox scored 19 runs in six games (4-2) without Devers.

— White Sox (25-53)
Chicago is 12-9 in its last eleven games.
White Sox are 9-32 on the road.
Under is 10-2 in their last 12 road games.

— Cleveland (39-37)
Cleveland is 14-5 against its AL Central rivals.
Guardians are 32-23 vs righty starters, 7-14 vs lefties.
Under is 18-3 in their last 21zx  road games.
Guardians are 2-7 in last nine road series openers.

— Detroit (49-30)
Detroit is 13-8 vs its AL Central rivals.
Tigers are 9-9 in their last 18 games.
Over is 10-1 in their last eleven games.

— Houston (45-33)
Astros are 27-13 at home, 18-20 on the road.
Houston is 7-3 in its last ten series openers.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Astros are 15-9 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (38-40)
Royals lost their last seven home games.
Kansas City scored 36 runs in its last 12 games.
Under is 7-3 in Royals’ last 10 games.

— Angels (37-40)
Angels are 11-8 in their last 19 games.
Halos are 6-1 in last seven road series openers.
Angels are 17-8 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (37-40)
Twins are 3-13 in their last 16 games.
Minnesota is 20-15 at home, 17-25 on the road.
Over is 14-6-1 in their last 21 games.

— New York (45-32)
New York is 3-7 in its last ten games.
Under is 10-1 in their last eleven games.
New York is 34-25 vs righty starters, 11-7 vs lefties.

— A’s (32-48)
A’s are 6-4 in their last ten games.
Under is 6-3 in their last ten games.
Over is 7-3 in their last ten road games.

— Seattle (39-37)
Mariners won six of their last nine games.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine road games.
Under is 7-3 in Mariners’ last ten home games.

— Tampa Bay (43-35)
Tampa Bay won 22 of its last 31 games.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.
Rays are 13-5 in last 18 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (38-40)
Rangers are 9-5 in their last 14 games.
Texas is 6-13 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 23-16 at home, 15-24 on road.
Under is 20-9 in their last 29 road games.

— Toronto (41-36)
Blue Jays are 11-5 in their last 16 home games.
Over is 16-6 in their last 22 games.
Toronto is 9-4 in last 13 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Giants, Brewers
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Sea/Clev

Our best wishes go out to Angels’ manager Ron Washington, who is taking an indefinite leave of absence from his job, for medical reasons. Washington is 73 years old; he played 10 years in the major leagues, has managed in the majors for 10 years, getting Texas to the World Series in both 2010 and 2011.

Get well soon, Wash!!! 

Teams’ records in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on:
National League:
Giants 17-7
Phillies 17-12
Nationals 12-9
Mets 13-10
Dodgers 13-10

Padres 14-14
Marlins 11-11
Cardinals 12-12
Cubs 11-12
Pirates 12-14

Braves 13-15
Diamondbacks 11-14
Brewers 9-12
Rockies 7-12
Reds 6-11

American League
Mariners 19-9
Angels 16-8
Astros 15-8
Blue Jays 17-10
Rays 14-8

Guardians 11-7
Royals 14-12
A’s 12-11
Tigers 9-9
Twins 9-12

New York 9-13
Rangers 6-13
Orioles 4-10
Red Sox 10-15
White Sox 6-18

— I don’t get the whole “opener” thing, and I never have; Tampa Bay started it a few years ago, now a lot of teams do it, but Tampa Bay isn’t one of them, and when the Rays made it to the playoffs, they didn’t do it then. It is a gimmick.

Why start a stiff pitcher to face the best hitters on the other team? Detroit started an opener at Tampa Saturday; he gave up four runs in less than an inning. One year in the playoffs the A’s used Liam Hendriks as an opener; the game was over almost before it started.

Start your best pitchers; why would you use a lesser pitcher to start a game? 

— Astros pitcher Hunter Brown has walked 28 batters this season; none of them have scored; he is the only regular starting pitcher who hasn’t allowed one of his walks to score.

— Interesting factoid; Sammy Sosa hit 609 home runs in his 18-year career; his first home run came against Roger Clemens, not a bad way to start.

— Famous birthdays, June 22nd:

Bobby Douglass, 78
Meryl Streep, 76
Lindsay Wagner, 76
Bruce Campbell, 67

Clyde Drexler, 63
Amy Brenneman, 61
Kurt Warner, 54
Ian Kinsler, 43

Danny Green, 38
Josh Naylor, 28
Cam Akers, 26
Kellen Mond, 26

— Right now, Oklahoma City is favored by 7.5 points against the Pacers in tonight’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals; last time a team was favored by this much in a Game 7 was 1966, when the Celtics (-8) beat the Lakers, 95-93.

Average margin of victory in Game 7’s in NBA Finals is 6.9 points; the last six Game 7’s in the Finals have all been decided by 7 or fewer points.

— TJ McConnell is the first bench player in NBA Finals history with:
60+ points
25+ assists
15+ rebounds in an NBA Final.

— NBA is the only league where they announce trades during the playoffs; other leagues keep things under wraps until their seasons are over. Orlando-Memphis recently pulled off a big deal; would the publicity be better if they didn’t distract from the Finals?

— Apparently two rich people have each bid $1.7B to buy the Tampa Bay Rays; the second guy has apparently offered cash. Who the BLEEP has $1.7B in cash laying around?

— There were seven batters hit by pitches in the recently-played Dodgers-Padres games; tensions ran high. Luckily, no one got hurt.

— In the increasingly strange world of college football, Wisconsin has filed a tampering lawsuit against Miami over former DB Xavier Lucas’ recruitment- this has to do with the Hurricanes allegedly poaching Lucas from the Badgers.

Someone needs to come up with a concrete set of rules so BS like this stops.

— An SEC team offered Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia an NIL deal worth more than $4M to bolt the Commodores and join their program— Pavia turned them down. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: NY/Phil, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: NY/Phil, Giants, Mil/StL
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox

Some quick trends for Saturday’s baseball:

National League
— Reds (39-37) @ Cardinals (41-35)
Chase Petty is making his MLB debut here; he was 1-4, 2.76 in 10 starts at AAA.

Sonny Gray’s last four starts stayed under the total. Cardinals are 23-14 at home.

— Braves (34-40) @ Marlins (30-44)
Holmes is 0-3, 5.31 in his last four starts. Atlanta is 12-25 on the road.

Eury Perez gave up five runs in 7 IP in his first two starts this year. Marlins are 6-4 in their last ten games.

— Mets (45-31) @ Phillies (46-30)
Mets lost their last seven games. Canning is 1-2, 7.36 in his last five starts.

Phillies won eight of their last nine games. Abel is 2-0, 2.21 in four starts.

— Diamondbacks (38-37) @ Rockies (17-59)
Over is 4-1 in Kelly’s last five starts. Over is 8-2 in Arizona’s last ten games. 

Palmquist is 0-4, 8.10 in six starts. Colorado’s last five home games went over total.

— Nationals (31-45) @ Dodgers (47-30)
Irvin is 1-2, 6.86 in his last four starts; Nationals are 1-12 in their last 13 games.

Dodgers are 5-2 in May’s home starts.  Over is 21-6 in their last 27 home games.

— Movie of the Day:
Moneyball (2011)- A major league general manager’s successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a smaller budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.

Brad Pitt plays Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane; Philip Seymour Hoffman plays A’s manager Art Howe, Jonah Hill plays Beane’s assistant Paul DePodesta (character in the movie is Peter Brand)

I’ve been an A’s fan since I was five years old, so obviously I loved this book/movie; also got to meet Michael Lewis once- he wrote the book the movie was based on, so that was fun. 

American League
— Tigers (48-29) @ Rays (42-34)
Tigers are 12-7 in one-run games, but 2-5 in extra innings. Detroit’s last seven games went over.

Pepiot is 2-1, 1.62 in his last five starts; under is 9-2 in his last 11 starts.

— Orioles (33-42) @ New York (43-32)
Orioles are 27-27 vs righty starters, 6-15 vs lefties. O’s are 11-10 vs AL East rivals, 22-32 against everyone else.

Schmidt is 2-1, 1.08 in his last four starts. Under is 5-1 in Schmidt’s last six starts.

— White Sox (24-52) @ Blue Jays (40-35)
Chicago lost eight of its last nine games; they’re 8-31 on the road.

Berrios is 1-1, 2.70 in his last four starts; Toronto is 24-15 at home.

— Astros (44-32) @ Angels (36-39)
Astros are 27-13 at home, 17-19 on road. Houston is 8-2 in its last ten games.

Angels are 1-5 in Soriano’s home starts. Under is 5-1 in Soriano’s last six starts.

— Guardians (37-37) @ A’s (32-46)
Ortiz is 0-2, 8.44 in his last two starts. Cleveland is 4-10 in its last 14 games.

Spence is 1-0, 1.20 in three starts (15 IP). A’s won six of their last eight games.

— Famous birthdays, June 21st:
Bernie Kopell, 92
Monte Markham, 90
Dan Henning, 83
Michael Gross, 78
Rick Sutcliffe, 69

Tom Chambers, 66
Derrick Coleman, 58
Maggie Siff, 51
Chris Pratt, 46
Garrett Crochet, 26

Interleague
— Brewers (41-35) @ Twins (37-38)
Milwaukee is 5-2 in its last seven games. Under is 7-2 in Quintana’s starts.

Twins are 20-13 at home, 17-25 on road. Over is 6-1 in their last seven home games.

— Mariners (38-36) @ Cubs (45-30)
Hancock is 1-0, 2.35 in his last four starts. Over is 5-2 in their last seven road games.

Cubs are 24-14 at home. Horton is 1-1, 3.25 in his last five starts.

— Rangers (37-39) @ Pirates (30-47)
Texas is 8-4 in its last 12 games. Rocker is 2-4, 7.53 in seven starts.

Keller is 0-7, 4.64 in his last nine starts; under is 6-2 in his last eight starts.

— Red Sox (40-37) @ Giants (42-34)
Boston won 8 of its last 9 games. Over is 5-2 in Bello’s last seven starts.

Roupp is 1-2, 6.50 in his last four starts. Giants lost five of their last six games.

— Royals (38-38) @ Padres (40-35)
Royals won their last four games. Cameron is 2-2, 1.91 in seven starts (under 5-2)

Cease is 1-3, 4.98 in his last four starts. Padres lost 8 of their last 11 games. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Giants, Mil/StL
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox

— Pacers 108, Thunder 91
Indiana led 64-42 at halftime.
Obi Toppin scored 20 points in 23:00 off the bench.
Oklahoma City is an early 8.5-point favorite for Sunday’s Game 7.
First time in nine years the NBA Finals have gone to a Game 7.

— Braves 7, Mets 1
Spencer Strider struck out 8 guys in 6 IP for Atlanta.
Mets lost their last six games, outscored 41-14.
Mets head to Philadelphia tied for first place with the Phillies.

— Phillies 2, Marlins 1
Kyle Schwarber hit his 23rd home run of the season.
Cristopher Sanchez allowed five baserunners in 8 IP.
Phillies won seven of their last eight games.

— Nationals 4, Rockies 3 (11)
James Wood hit two 2-run homers.
Washington snaps its 11-game losing skid.

— Giants 2, Guardians 1
Cleveland led 1-0 after the sixth inning.
Wilmer Flores’ pinch-hit double was the difference for SF.
Rafael Devers is 3-for-11 in his first three games with the Giants.

— Brewers 8, Cubs 7
Brewers led 8-3 in fifth inning, hung on for dear life.
Milwaukee moves within 5.5 games of the Cubs in the NL Central.
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 20th home run in a losing cause.

— Orioles 4, Rays 1
Baltimore has won Charlie Morton’s last five starts.
Colton Cowser hit a 3-run home run.
Rays P Hunter Bigee got hit in the head by a line drive while sitting in the dugout; he left the field on a backboard, but gave the thumbs-up signal as he left.

— Famous birthdays, June 20th:
Candy Clark, 78
Dave Elmendorf, 76
John Goodman, 73
Dickie Thon, 67

Gary Varsho, 64
Nicole Kidman, 58
Rodney Rogers, 54
LaVar Arrington, 47

Mike Birbiglia, 47
Kendrys Morales, 42
Darren Sproles, 42
Josh Childress, 42

— We mentioned yesterday how the Lakers were sold this week; here’s a breakdown.

Mark Walter already owned 27% of the Lakers; back in 2021, Walter paid $1.35B for that 27%. This week, he paid $4.8B for an additional 48% of the franchise, giving him 75%.

The Buss family maintains an 18% stake in the team; other people own the other 7%.

— Jurickson Profar is currently serving an 80-game PED suspension; he is playing rehab games in the minors now, can return to the Braves July 2nd. Coming into this week, Atlanta LF’s were hitting .217 this year, with a .554 OPS, so the Braves will be glad to get him in their lineup.

— Coming into this week, Braves had lost ten consecutive one-run games; they won 5-4 in extra innings Tuesday, so now they’re 1-10 in their last 11 one-run games, 10-19 for the season.

— In a couple weeks, we’ll begin to post college football nuggets; saw something on the Interweb this week that Purdue has only one starter back, out of 22 starters, the kicker and punter. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.

— Sacramento State is making a bigger investment in its sports program; they’re joining the Big West Conference in every sport but football, starting in 2026-27- they’re also trying to move up to I-A in football, and for now will be an independent on the gridiron. 

The Hornets recently hired former NBA star Mike Bibby as head coach and Shaquille O’Neal as a voluntary GM for the program. Since moving up to Division I in 1992, Sac State has had only two winning basketball seasons, has never played in March Madness.

— Forget to mention, but the DC Defenders won the UFL title, beating Michigan 58-34 in the championship game. Washington QB Jordan Ta’amu threw for 390 yards, four TD’s.

— Random stat: so far this season, major league hitters have swung at 48% of the pitches that were thrown to them.

— Pirates OF Andrew McCutchen posted this on Twitter about this year’s baseballs:

“I was told by a rep for MLB that the balls are indeed different this year. They stated “higher seams” which produces more drag on the baseball, causing baseballs to not travel as far as they should. When asked why, I was told ‘every baseball is hand sewn so no ball is the same.’” 

Batted balls are traveling roughly four feet less this year than the previous nine years; it is hard to believe that a business that is worth so much $$$$ can’t come up with a way to make the balls the same way every year.

— Tampa Bay Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg is in advanced talks to sell the team to a group led by Florida real estate developers, for $1.7B; the Rays are expected to stay in the Tampa area if this sale goes through.

Sternberg bought the team for $200M in 2004; the Rays have tried to get a new ballpark in Tampa or the surrounding area for well over a decade, but the damage done by Hurricane Milton this past winter.

Rays have been to the playoffs five times in the last six years; despite that, they regularly rank near the bottom of the league in attendance.

— Guy that owns the LA Dodgers bought the Lakers this week for $10B or so, that is BILLION, with a B.

The Buss family has owned the Lakers since 1979; they will keep a minority share of the team, just over 15%, and Jeanie Buss will remain the Lakers’ governor and continue to run the team for “at least a number of years.”

Dr Jerry Buss bought the Lakers, the NHL’s Kings and the LA Forum for $67.5M in 1979; Lakers have won 11 titles since then, more than any other NBA team.

— Indiana Pacers traded their first round pick in next week’s NBA Draft to New Orleans, getting back their own first round pick next year, which they had previously traded away.

The trade clears out nearly $3.2M in salary cap space for the Pacers, who now have their own first-round pick in seven consecutive drafts starting in 2026.

— Memphis Grizzlies traded Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic, for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and four unprotected first-round picks- there is also a swap of future first round picks involved.

Orlando president Jeff Weltman made clear the Magic is taking an aggressive, win-now approach to this offseason. Bane is one of three NBA players with 800 made 3-pointers and 40% 3-point shooting since entering the league in 2020, and he has shot 43.2% on catch-and-shoot 3’s the last five years.

— Houston signed C Steven Adams to a 3-year, $39M contract extension; Houston was 52-30 this past season, was the #2-seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

— NFL teams who won the most games last year (7) without trailing in any of them:

Ravens, Packers, Eagles.

— Famous birthdays, June 19th:

Jerry Reuss, 76
Phylicia Rashad, 76
Duane Kuiper, 75
Kathleen Turner, 71

Mike Renfro, 70
Doug Mientkiewicz, 51
Anthony Parker, 50
Dirk Nowitzki, 47

Jacob deGrom, 37
Joe Noteboom, 30
Jordan Poole, 26
Bennedict Mathurin, 23

— Rays 12, Orioles 8
Baltimore led this game 8-0 in the second inning.
In his last seven games, Brandon Lowe is 13-28 with 8 runs scored.
Tampa Bay has won five of its last six games.

— Dodgers 4, Padres 3
Will Smith hit a walk-off, pinch-hit home run.
Padres had tied the game with two runs in top of the 9th.
Top four hitters in Dodger lineup went 1 for 15.

— Braves 5, Mets 0
Chris Sale went 8.2 IP (116 PT), just missed his first shutout since 2019.
Sale has eight quality starts in his last nine outings.
Atlanta is 21-15 at home, 12-24 on the road.

— Angels 3, Bronx 2
Angels scored winning run in 8th inning, on three walks and an error.
Halos were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
New York has lost six games in a row.

— Phillies 4, Marlins 2
Bryson Stott hit a three-run homer.
Ranger Suarez allowed one run, four hits in 7 IP.
Phillies won six of their last seven games.

— Rockies 3, Nationals 1
German Marquez got 17 outs, didn’t allow any runs.
Rockies have won four in row, are 7-7 in last 14 games.
Washington has lost 11 games in a row.

— Blue Jays 8, Diamondbacks 1
Vladimir Guerrero had 2 hits, 3 RBI after walking in his first 3 AB’s.
Toronto improved to 24-13 at home.
Blue Jays are 27-2 when they score 5+ runs. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Giants, Padres
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Guardians

Teams’ records by starting pitcher:
(thru Tuesday’s games)
Diamondbacks (36-36)
Gallen 6-9 (over 3-1 last four)
Kelly 8-7 (over 4-1 last five)
Burnes 6-5 (under 5-1 last six)
Pfaadt 9-6 (over 6-1 last seven)
Rodriguez 5-6 (over 6-2 last eight)
Nelson 2-3 (under 4-1)

— Braves (32-39)
Sale 7-7 (under 7-3 last ten)
Schwellenbach 10-5 (over 9-2 last 11)
Smith-Shawver 5-4 (under 7-2)
Holmes 5-9 (2-7 last nine)
Elder 5-6 (under 8-2 last ten)
Lopez 0-1
Strider 1-5 (under 5-1)
Blewett 0-1

— Cubs (45-28)
Imanaga 5-3 (under 6-2)
Steele 3-1 (over 4-0)
Taillon 8-6 (won last five; under 7-3 last ten)
Boyd 7-7 (home team 12-2; under 4-0 last four)
Brown -5 (over 10-2)
Rea 9-3 (under last 3-1 last four)
Horton 5-2 (under 4-1 last five)
Pomeranz 2-0 (opener)
Keller 1-0 (opener)

— Reds (38-35)
Greene 6-5 (under 8-2 last ten)
Lodolo 6-8 (over 7-4 last 11)
Martinez 4-10 (over 4-0 last four)
Singer 9-5 (under 7-3 last 10)
Miley 2-0 (over 2-0)
Abbott 9-3
Petty 0-2
Suter 2-0 (opener)
Spiers 0-2

— Rockies (16-57)
Freeland 2-12 (under 9-5)
Senzatela 4-10 (over 5-2 last seven)
Feltner 1-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Marquez 3-11 (over 9-4 last 13)
Dollander 3-8 (under 6-2 last eight)
Palmquist 1-5 (under 4-2)
Gomber 1-0
Blalock 0-3
Gordon 1-2
Rolison 0-1 (opener)

— Dodgers (45-29)
Yamamoto 8-6 (over 3-1 last four)
Kershaw 4-2 (over 6-0)
May 7-6 (over 3-1 last four)
Ohtani 1-0
Snell 2-0 (over 2-0)
Glasnow 3-2
Sasaki 6-2 (over 6-2)
Knack 5-2 (over 5-2)
Gonsolin 3-4
Wrobleski 0-2
Miller 1-0
Casparius 1-1 (opener)
Dreyer 3-1 (opener)
Sauer 1-0 (opener)
Trivino 0-1 (opener)

— Marlins (29-42)
Alcantara 5-8 (under 5-2 last seven)
Quantrill 7-7 (under 7-1 last eight)
Bellozo 1-4
Meyer 5-7 (over 7-1 last eight)
EPerez 1-1
Cabrera 6-5 (under 5-2 last seven)
Weathers 2-3
Gillispie 1-5 (over 5-1)
Gibson 1-0 (opener)
Veneziano 0-1 (opener)

— Famous birthdays, June 18th:

Paul McCartney, 83
Isabella Rosselini, 73
Neil O’Donoghue, 72
Eric Truvillion, 66

Andrés Galarraga, 64
Jeff Saturday, 50
Alana De La Garza, 49
Jake Meyers, 29

— Brewers (39-35)
Peralta 8-7 (under 6-2 last eight)
Cortes 1-1
Patrick 5-10 (under 11-4)
Priester 3-6 (under 7-2)
Misioroski 1-0
Myers 2-3
Rodriguez 0-2 (over 2-0)
Alexander 2-2 (over 3-1)
Quintana 6-3 (under 7-2)
Henderson 3-1 (over 3-1)
Hall 2-0
Zastryzny 1-0 (opener)
Civale 3-2

— Mets (45-28)
Holmes 10-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Megill 6-8 (over 9-2 last 11)
Senga 9-4 (under 12-1)
Canning 10-4 (over 4-1 last five)
Peterson 9-5
Blackburn 1-0
Tidwell 0-1
Brazoban 0-2 (opener)

— Phillies (43-30)
Wheeler 10-4
Luzardo 9-6
Nola 3-6 (under 6-3)
Sanchez 10-4
Walker 4-4 (under 3-1 last four)
Suarez 5-3 (under 4-1 last five)
Abel 2-2 (under 3-1)
Ross 0-1 (opener)

— Pirates (29-45)
Skenes 7-8 (under 8-3 last 11)
Keller 3-12 (under 6-2 last eight)
Falter 8-7 (under 6-3 last nine)
Heaney 5-9 (under 10-4)
Burrows 2-2
Mlodzinski 3-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Harrington 0-1

— Cardinals (38-35)
Gray 11-3 (under 4-0 last four)
Fedde 4-10 (under 3-1 last four)
Mikolas 7-7 (over 3-1 last four)
Liberatore 6-8 (over 4-1 last five)
Pallante 8-6 (over 4-0 last four)
Matz 2-0
McGreevy 0-1

— Padres (39-33)
King 5-5 (1-5 last six) (over 3-0-1 last four)
Cease 8-7
Vasquez 8-7 (under 10-5)
Pivetta 9-5 (over 3-0 last three)
Bergert 2-1
Hart 3-3 (over 4-2)
Kolek 4-4 (under 3-0 last three)
Reynolds 0-1

— Giants (41-32)
Ray 12-3 (under 9-2 last 11)
Hicks 4-5 (over 7-2)
Webb 8-7 (under 3-1 last four)
Verlander 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Roupp 7-7 (under 5-1 last six)
Birdsong 3-2 (under 2-0)
Harrison 3-1 (under 3-1)
Hjelle 0-1 (opener)

— Nationals (30-43)
Gore 6-9 (under 7-3 last ten)
Irvin 7-8
Parker 7-8 (under 9-5)
Williams 5-9
Soroka 3-6
Lord 2-4

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Giants, Padres
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Mariners

 

Trends for major league teams (thru Monday’s games)

— Arizona (36-35)
Arizona won nine of its last 12 games.
Over is 7-3 in their last ten home games.
Arizona is 6-13 in last 19 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (31-39)
Atlanta lost 16 of its last 23 games.
Braves are 19-15 at home, 12-24 on the road.
Under is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.

— Cubs (44-28)
Chicago is 13-3 of its last 16 home games.
Under is 16-4 in their last 20 games.
Cubs are 9-3 vs American League teams.

— Reds (37-35)
Cincinnati is 12-8 in its last 20 games.
Reds are 7-2 in last nine series openers.
Reds are 28-21 vs righty starters, 9-14 vs lefties.

— Rockies (15-57)
Colorado is 3-2 in its last five games.
Over is 7-1 in Rockies’ last eight games.
Rockies are 1-19 vs lefty starters, 14-38 vs righties. 

— Dodgers (44-29)
Dodgers are 21-19 in their last 40 games,
Dodgers are 25-12 at home, 18-17 on the road.
Dodgers are 34-18 vs righty starters, 10-11 vs lefties.
Over is 20-5 in their last 25 home games.

— Marlins (28-42)                                                                       )
Marlins are 5-4 in their last nine games.
Miami is 14-21 at home, 14-21 on the road.
Marlins are 2-10 in road series openers.

— Brewers (39-34)
Brewers are 11-6 in their last 17 home games.
Brewers are 23-15 at home, 16-19 on the road.
Under is 17-7 in their last 24 home games.

— Mets (45-27)
Mets lost their last three games.
Mets are 27-10 at home, 18-17  on the road.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.

— Phillies (43-29)
Phillies won their last five games.
Phillies are 34-17 vs righty starters, 9-12 vs lefties.
Phillies are 9-3 in home series openers.

— Pirates (29-44)
Pirates are 7-3 in last 10 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Pittsburgh is 19-19 at home, 10-25 on the road.
Under is 14-4 in their last 18 road games.

— St Louis (37-35)
St Louis lost seven of its last eight games.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.
St Louis is 22-14 at home, 15-21 on the road.

— Padres (39-32)
Padres lost five of their last seven games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Padres are 11-8 against their NL West rivals.
San Diego starting pitchers have one win/five losses in last 17 road games.

— Giants (41-31)
Giants won their last five home games.
Giants are 33-18 vs righty pitchers, 8-13 vs lefties.
SF is 16-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Over is 5-0 in Giants’ last five games.
Where will they play Devers/bat him in the lineup?

— Washington (30-42)
Nationals lost 12 of their last 14 games.
Under is 13-4 in their last 17 home games.
Washington is 13-5 last 18 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Famous birthdays, June 17th:
Dave Concepción, 77
Mickey Brantley, 64
Greg Kinnear, 62

Mike Magnante, 60
Jason Hanson, 55
Popeye Jones, 55

Andrew Chefin, 35
Yusei Kikuchi, 34
Shane Baz, 26

— Orioles (30-41)
Baltimore is 3-7 in its last ten games.
Orioles are 8-9 vs AL East foes, 22-32 vs everyone else.
Under is 11-3 in their last 14 games.

— Red Sox (38-36)
Red Sox are 8-1 in their last nine games.
Boston is 9-17 in one-run games.
Under is 8-1 in their last nine home games.
Red Sox’ lineup is sketchy, minus Bregman/Devers.

— White Sox (23-49)
Chicago is 12-8 in its last 20 home games.
White Sox are 7-31 on the road.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine road games.

— Cleveland (35-35)
Guardians lost nine of their last 12 games.
Cleveland is 14-5 against its AL Central rivals.
Guardians are 30-22 vs righty starters, 5-13 vs lefties.
Under is 12-3 in their last 15 road games.

— Detroit (46-27)
Detroit is 13-8 vs its AL Central rivals.
Tigers are 6-6 in their last 12 games.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.

— Houston (38-30)
Astros are 27-13 at home, 14-18 on the road.
Houston is 6-3 in its last nine series openers.
Under is 22-10 in their last 32 games.
Astros are 14-7 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (34-38)
Royals are 6-15 in their last 21 games.
Kansas City scored 11 runs in its last six games.
Over is 8-4 in Royals’ last 12 games.

— Angels (34-37)
Angels are 8-5 in their last 13 games.
Over is 10-6 in their last 16 road games.
Halos are 15-7 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (36-35)
Twins are 2-8 in their last ten games.
Minnesota is 20-12 at home, 16-23 on the road.
Over is 11-5 in their last 16 games.

— New York (42-29)
New York lost its last four games, scoring four runs.
Under is 5-0 in their last five games.
New York is 32-22 vs righty starters, 10-7 vs lefties.

— A’s (30-44)
A’s won their last four games.
A’s scored in 1st inning in six of last 12 home games.
Over is 17-3 in their last 10 road games.

— Seattle (36-35)
Mariners lost eight of their last 10 road games.
Seattle is 7-12 in its last 19 home games.
Under is 6-1 in Mariners’ last seven home games.

— Tampa Bay (40-32)
Tampa Bay won 19 of its last 25 games.
Under is 21-9 in their last 30 home games.
Rays are 12-4 in last 16 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (36-36)
Rangers won seven of their last eight games.
Texas is 6-13 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 23-13 at home, 13-23 on road.
Under is 19-7 in their last 26 road games.

— Toronto (38-33)
Blue Jays won eight of their last 10 home games.
Over is 13-3 in their last 16 games.
Toronto is 8-3 in last eleven games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Giants, Padres
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox

— Blockbuster trade Sunday night; Red Sox unloaded DH Rafael Devers and the $270M or so he is still owed thru 2033, to San Francisco, in exchange for two pitchers, two other prospects.

Pitchers Boston got are Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks.
Minor league prospects are OF James Tibbs, P Jose Bello

Consensus from the people I listened to Sunday night said this is mostly a salary dump- the players the Red Sox got don’t match up to trading an elite hitter, even if he is only a DH.

— San Francisco is a way worse hitters’ ballpark than Fenway; Giants haven’t had a player hit 30+ home runs since 2004. 

Where will Devers play in the field? 1B? 3B? Will he even play in the field?

Interesting questions to follow over the next week or so, especially when you realize that the Red Sox visit San Francisco this coming weekend.

Would make sense if the Red Sox use the $31.8M/year they just got out from under to add another potent bat, to hit between Jarren Duran, Alex Bregman, when Bregman gets healthy.
It also figures that Boston is way more likely to sign Bregman to a longer-term deal now that Devers is gone.

— Around 6:45 Sunday night, Kyle Harrison was headed to the dugout in Los Angeles, so he could stay warming up for the Giants-Dodgers game, when he was pulled back and told he was traded to Boston. Giants had a bullpen game in their 5-4 loss to the Dodgers Sunday night.

— Shohei Ohtani makes his return to the mound Monday night, when the Dodgers play San Diego, but apparently he’s just going to be an opener, throwing 1-2 innings, as he builds his workload up.

— Giants’ ace Logan Webb has had seven starts this season where he’s thrown 7+ innings; the entire Dodger pitching staff has had three games where their starter lasted 7+ innings.

— Major League Baseball has to be happy with the pitch clock/rule change.

%age of MLB games that have lasted 3+ hours:
2021- 67%
2022- 60%
2023- 17%
2024- 12%
2025- 15%

— Cubs beat Detroit 6-1 in a game last week, despite not having any at-bats with a runner in scoring position, the first team since the 2016 Twins to win a game by 5+ runs without having an at-bat with a runner at second or third base.

— Famous birthdays, June 16th:
Joan Van Ark, 82
Rick Adelman, 79
Al Cowlings, 78
Ron LeFlore, 77
Al Skinner, 73

Frank Corral, 70
Tree Rollins, 70
Laurie Metcalf, 70
Darrell Griffith, 67
Wally Joyner, 63

Calvin Schiraldi, 63
Kerry Wood, 48
Austin Blythe, 33
Will Benson, 27
Justin Jefferson, 26

— Obscure Stat of the Day, part 1:
Rangers’ SS Corey Seager has drawn a walk in 10 consecutive games; the all-time MLB record for most consecutive games drawing a walk is 22, set by Detroit’s Roy Cullenbine in 1947.

Cullenbine was a 1B/OF who played for six different teams in his 10-year career. 1947 was the last year he played; he had a career .408 on-base %age.

— Obscure Stat of the Day, part 2:
2020 San Diego Padres hold an odd record; they hit a grand slam in four consecutive games, which no one else has ever done. Would’ve thought someone had a longer streak, but no,

— Reds 8, Tigers 4
Elly De La Cruz scored 3 runs, homered and had 3 RBI.
De La Cruz has now homered in four consecutive games.
Three Detroit errors led to five unearned runs for the Reds.

— Marlins 3, Nationals 1
Eric Wagaman had two RBI as the Marlins swept this series.
Washington has lost eight games in a row; manager Dave Martinez called out his players over the weekend, rarely a good thing for the manager.

— Rangers 2, White Sox 1
Kumar Rocker threw five scoreless IP, while fighting cramps; he drank couple of small bottles of pickle juice on the mound— wasn’t sure that was legal. 

Rangers have quietly won seven of their last eight games.

White Sox manager Will Venable got tossed in the bottom of the first inning, after his pitcher had thrown only 13 pitches. It turns out Venable was thrown out of games on both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day this year.

— A’s 3, Royals 2
A’s swept this 3-game series; before Friday, A’s had lost their last 14 road games.
Nick Kurtz hit the game-winning home run in the ninth inning.
Royals went 0-6 on their homestand, scoring total of 11 runs.
Kansas City has lost its last six home series.

— Rockies 10, Braves 1
This game was 1-1 after the sixth inning.
Braves P Grant Holmes struck out 15 guys in 6.1 IP, but took the loss.
Colorado improved to 7-30 on the road.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Giants, Padres
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards:  Rays, Blue Jays, Mariners

— Happy Armadillo Day; started this blog 24 years ago this week. Hope you enjoy reading it every day- you DO read it every day, right? 🙂 

The world has changed a lot since 2001; some for the better, some not so much, but hopefully things will get better again soon.

I try to focus on the positive here, but mostly aim for being realistic.

Thanks for reading, even if you read it only because it helps you sleep better 🙂

— Panthers 4, Oilers 2
Panthers led 2-0 after the first period.
Florida scored their five goals on only 19 shots.
Brad Marchand scored twice for Florida.
Game 6 is in Florida Tuesday night.

Panthers’ star Marchand has scored six goals for Florida in this year’s Final.

He scored five goals for the Bruins in the 2011 Finals. 

He is the first player in NHL history to score 5+ goals in a Stanley Cup Final with two different teams.

— Was watching Tigers-Orioles game the other night, and the great actor JK Simmons showed up in the Orioles’ TV booth, unannounced. Simmons is a big-time Tigers’ fan; he was also the manager of the Tigers in the excellent Kevin Costner movie For Love of the Game.

He has 245 acting credits on IMDB; he was Dr Skoda in 45 episodes of Law and Order, just a tremendous career.

— Atlanta Braves were minus-350 favorites over Colorado Saturday, huge favorites. Remember reading something a long time ago advising you to never lay more than -150 on baseball.

My cousin KL Wheat, who is smart with his bets, never lays more than -120.

— Pirates P Paul Skenes has a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts this year, but he is 4-6 in those start; Pirates have scored 3 or fewer runs in 10 of his 15 starts. Under is 8-3 in his last 11 starts.

— Cardinals 8, Brewers 5
Willson/William Contreras became the first brothers since 1933 to homer in the same inning in the same game, when they were on opposing sides in that game. 

Last year, Cleveland’s Josh/Bo Naylor did it as teammates.

— Heading into this weekend, the average OPS in the major leagues was .712; in 2019 it was .758, in 2020 it was .740. Getting harder and harder to hit.

— Famous birthdays, June 15th:
Dusty Baker, 76
Jim Belushi, 71
Wade Boggs, 67
Helen Hunt, 62
Courteney Cox, 61

Kerwin Bell, 60
O’Shea Jackson Sr., 56 (Ice Cube)
Andy Pettitte, 53
Michael Doleac, 48
Derek Anderson, 42

Tim Lincecum, 41
Trevor Plouffe, 39
Jake Locker, 37
Cooper Kupp, 32
Dom Smith, 30

Happy birthday to the Big Dawg, whose birthday is this weekend. He’s been a good friend for many years, he’s a good NFL handicapper.

— When Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points off the bench the other night, it was the most points a sub scored in an NBA Finals game since Jason Terry scored 27 in 2011.

Both players were coached in those games by Rick Carlisle.

Pacers’ star Tyrese Halliburton has scored 71 points in the first four games of the series vs Oklahoma City; he’s taken a total of only three foul shots in the four games, all of them in the Game 4 loss.

— Diamondbacks 8, Padres 7
Arizona led 3-1 after the sixth inning.
San Diego led 7-3 in the middle of the ninth. 

Diamondbacks scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth; Geraldo Perdomo’s bases loaded triple was the big blow in the inning.

— It was a good week for a couple of NFL punters:

Monday, Jaguars gave P Logan Cooke a 4-year, $16M contract, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL. 

Tuesday, Seahawks gave P Michael Dickson a 4-year, $16.2M contract, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL.

— Houston Texans WR Nico Collins had 142 receiving yards negated by Houston penalties last year, more than any other player.

— White Sox traded 1B/OF Andrew Vaughn to Milwaukee for P Aaron Civale, who the Brewers had demoted to the bullpen. White Sox had demoted Vaughn to AAA.

— I’m curious if baseball executives who were really good ballplayers look down their noses at the nerdy, non-athletic guys who are often in front offices these days?

I’m guessing they do; John Smoltz was on TV Saturday night, saying how official scorers should consult with former players when they make scoring decisions, to find “how difficult a play that really was”

— Baseball seriously needs to promote itself better; a good reality show would include current players watching fantasy baseball podcasts on YouTube, where nerdy types criticize players, as they add/drop or trade these players. 

A quick trend for all of Saturday’s starting pitchers:
NL games
Marlins @ Nationals
Miami is undecided on their starter; they’re 1-4 in second game of a series, if they won the opener.

Nationals are 4-7 in Williams’ last 11 starts.

Pirates @ Cubs
Burrows is 2-1, 3.77 in his first three starts.

Cubs are 5-0 in Boyd’s home starts.

Rockies @ Braves
Under is 5-2 in last seven Dollander starts.

Strider is 0-5, 5.76 in his first five starts.

Cardinals @ Brewers
Pallante is 0-1, 6.64 in his last four starts (over 3-1)

Bewers are 6-2 in Quintana starts (under 7-1)

Padres @ Diamondbacks
San Diego won Bergert’s first two starts (0-0, 1.74, under 2-0)

Gallen is 1-4, 6.94 in his last six starts.

Giants @ Dodgers
Under is 4-1 in Roupp’s last five starts.

Over is 5-0 in Kershaw’s starts.

AL games
Angels @ Orioles
Anderson is 0-3, 5.63 in his last nine starts.

Under is 9-1 in Sugano’s last ten starts.

White Sox @ Rangers
Chicago is undecided on their starter; they’re 7-29 on the road. 

deGrom is 6-1, 1.46 in his last eight starts.

Twins @ Astros
Ryan is 5-0, 2.89 in his last five starts.

Brown is 7-2, 1.82 in his last ten starts.

A’s @ Royals
Lopez is 0-3, 6.61 in four starts.

Lorenzen is 1-1, 9.88 in his last three starts.

Bronx @ Red Sox
Under is 11-4 in Rodon’s starts.

Dobbins is 3-1, 4.74 in five home starts.

Guardians @ Mariners
Under is 8-2 in Bibee’s last ten starts.

Kirby is 1-1, 3.00 in his last two starts.

Famous birthdays, June 14th:
Vince Evans, 70
Sam Perkins, 64
Eric Murdock, 57

Bruce Bowen, 54
Sammy Watkins, 32
Bobby Witt Jr, 25

Interleague games
Reds @ Tigers
Under is 7-2 in Singer’s last nine starts.

Flaherty is 3-0, 0.50 in his last three starts.

Blue Jays @ Phillies
Francis is 0-6, 6.29 in his last nine starts.

Sanchez is 1-1, 2.41 in his last three starts.

Rays @ Mets
Rasmussen is 4-0, 0.62 in his last five starts.

Over is 8-2 in Megill’s last ten starts. 

Trends for major league teams (thru Thursday’s games)

— Arizona (34-34)
Arizona won seven of its last ten games.
Diamondbacks scored in first inning in 6 of  their last 11 home games.
Arizona is 4-12 in last 16 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (29-38)
Atlanta lost 15 of its last 20 games.
Braves are 17-14 at home, 12-24 on the road.
Under is 16-5 in their last 21 home games.

— Cubs (42-27)
Chicago is 11-2 of its last 13 home games.
Under is 13-4 in their last seventeen games.
Cubs are 9-3 vs American League teams.

— Reds (35-34)
Cincinnati is 10-7 in its last seventeen games.
Reds are 7-1 in last eight series openers.
Reds are 27-21 vs righty starters, 8-13 vs lefties.

— Rockies (13-55)
Colorado is 6-22 since they changed managers.
Under is 16-4 in Rockies’ last 20 road games.
Rockies are 1-19 vs lefty starters, 12-36 vs righties. 

— Dodgers (41-28)
Dodgers are 18-18 in their last 36 games,
Dodgers are 23-11 at home, 18-17 on the road.
Dodgers are 32-17 vs righty starters, 9-11 vs lefties.
Over is 16-5 in their last 21 home games.

— Marlins (25-41)                                                                       )
Marlins are 4-11 in their last fifteen games.
Miami is 14-20 at home, 11-21 on the road.
Marlins are 1-10 in road series openers.

— Brewers (37-33)
Brewers are 9-5 in their last 14 home games.
Brewers are 21-14 at home, 16-19 on the road.
Under is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.

— Mets (45-24)
Mets won 11 of their last 13 games.
Mets are 27-7 at home, 18-17  on the road.
Under is 11-5 in their last 16 home games.

— Phillies (39-29)
Phillies lost ten of their last thirteen games.
Phillies are 30-17 vs righty starters, 9-12 vs lefties.
Phillies are 8-3 in home series openers.

— Pirates (28-42)
Pirates are 6-3 in their last nine games.
Pittsburgh is 19-19 at home, 9-23 on the road.
Under is 11-4 in their last 15 road games.

— St Louis (36-33)
St Louis lost its last five games.
Cardinals are 11-3 when Sonny Gray starts.
Over is 7-4 in their last eleven games.
St Louis is 22-14 at home, 14-19 on the road.

— Padres (38-29)
Padres won 11 of their last 17 games.
Under is 8-2 in their last ten road games.
San Diego is 8-4 in its last 12 series openers.
Padres are 10-5 against their NL West rivals.

— Giants (40-29)
Giants won seven of their last eight games.
Giants are 32-17 vs rightly pitchers, 8-12 vs lefties.
SF is 16-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Under is 19-5 in Giants’ last 24 games.

— Washington (30-38)
Nationals lost eight of their last ten games.
Under is 11-2 in their last 13 home games.
Washington is 13-4 last 17 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Famous birthdays, June 13th:
Marcel Lachemann, 84
Happy Feller, 76
Richard Thomas, 74
Ernie Whitt, 73
Tim Allen, 72

Ally Sheedy, 63
Šarūnas Marčiulionis, 61
Jonathan Lucroy, 39
Hassan Whiteside, 36
James McCann, 35

— Orioles (27-40)
Baltimore is 2-4 in its last six games.
Orioles are 8-8 vs AL East foes, 19-32 vs everyone else.
Under is 9-1 in their last ten games.

— Red Sox (34-36)
Red Sox are 4-1 in their last five games.
Boston is 7-17 in one-run games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Red Sox are 19-17 at home, 15-19 on the road.

— White Sox (23-46)
Chicago is 12-8 in its last 20 home games.
White Sox are 7-28 on the road.
White Sox are 17-36 vs righty starters, 6-10 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (35-32)
Guardians lost six of their last nine games.
Cleveland is 14-5 against its AL Central rivals.
Guardians are 30-19 vs righty starters, 5-13 vs lefties.
Under is 10-2 in their last 12 road games.

— Detroit (45-25)
Detroit is 13-8 vs its AL Central rivals.
Tigers won four of their last six games.
Under is 9-1 in their last ten home games.

— Houston (38-30)
Astros are 24-13 at home, 14-17 on the road.
Houston is 5-2 in its last seven series openers.
Under is 19-9 in their last 28 games.
Astros are 12-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (34-35)
Royals are 6-12 in their last eighteen games.
Kansas City is 19-16 at home, 15-19 on the road.
Over is 7-2 in Royals’ last nine games.
Kansas City is 12-10 in one-run games.

— Angels (33-34)
Angels won seven of their last nine games.
Over is 8-4 in their last 12 road games.
Halos are 14-7 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (36-32)
Twins are 2-5 in their last seven games.
Minnesota is 20-12 at home, 16-20 on the road.
Over is 10-3 in their last 13 games.

— New York (42-25)
New York won 23 of its last 32 games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
New York is 32-19 vs righty starters, 10-6 vs lefties.

— A’s (26-44)
A’s lost 24 of their last 28 games.
A’s have lost 14 straight road games.
Over is 10-4 in their last 14 games.

— Seattle (33-34)
Mariners lost eight of their last nine games.
Seattle is 4-11 in its last 15 home games.
Under is 4-0 in Mariners’ last four home games.

— Tampa Bay (36-32)
Tampa Bay won 14 of its last 20 games.
Under is 20-9 in their last 29 home games.
Rays are 12-4 in last 16 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (33-36)
Rangers won four of their last five games.
Texas is 5-13 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 20-13 at home, 13-23 on road.
Under is 19-7 in their last 26 road games.

— Toronto (38-30)
Blue Jays won 12 of their last 14 games.
Over is 11-2 in their last 13 games.
Toronto is 8-2 in last nten games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Pacers 116, Thunder 107
Bennedict Mathurin (+16) scored 27 points in 22:00 off the bench.
Pacers outscored Oklahoma City 21-11 over the last 8:00.
Indiana leads series, 2-1; Game 4 is Friday in Indianapolis.

— In the history of the NBA Finals, when the series was tied 1-1, the team that won Game 3 has gone 33-8 in those series.

— According to the Interweb, the New York Knicks franchise is worth $7.5B, the 2nd-most valuable franchise in the NBA (Golden State is worth $8.8B).

Knicks made the Eastern Conference finals this year for the first time since 2000, they did really well. People should be optimistic. But here is where it gets dicey.

They fired their coach, Tom Thibodeau, and seem to be clueless about who they’re going to replace him with. What the hell is going on? 

Thibodeau was 226-174 in five regular seasons in New York, 24-23 in playoff games, with this year his biggest success, but he got fired, which is their business, but if you fired a successful coach, you damn well better have a new coach right there, ready to replace him. 

Maybe Michael Malone, who won the NBA title two years ago in Denver? He was an assistant for the Knicks from 2001-05.

— Four other NBA teams have already rejected the Knicks’ request to interview their current head coach to move to Manhattan.

— USC Trojans recently named former NBA guard Earl Boykins an assistant coach; the 5-foot-5 Boykins played 13 years in the NBA. He is the shortest player in NBA history to score 30+ points in a game. He was an assistant coach at UTEP the last four years. 

— Famous birthdays, June 12th:
Timothy Busfield, 68
Rory Sparrow, 67
Tim DeKay, 62
Rick Hoffman, 55

Ryan Klesko, 54
Kerry Kittles, 51
Antawn Jamison, 49
Dallas Clark, 46

Andre Davis, 46
Jrue Holiday, 35
Sean Newcomb, 32
Aaron Civale, 30

— Mets 5, Nationals 0
David Peterson threw a 106-pitch complete game.
Brandon Nimmo homered twice.
Pete Alonso has 20 RBI in his last ten games.
Mets are 26-7 at home, 18-17 on the road.

— Dodgers 5, Padres 2
Teoscar Hernandez hit a 3-run homer in 6th inning.
This was the first series between the rivals this season.
Teams play again next week in Los Angeles.

— Guardians 11, Reds 2
Carlos Santana hit a grand slam.
Jose Ramirez extended his on-base streak to 37 consecutive games.
Loss snapped Cincinnati’s 5-game winning streak.

— Braves 6, Brewers 2
Schwellenach pitched a complete game.
Acuna/Harris both homered for the Braves.
This was Atlanta’s first series win in their last seven series.

— Angels 6, A’s 5
A’s led 3-0 after the fifth inning.
A’s lost their 14th consecutive road game.
Angels won seven of their last nine games.

— Astros 10, White Sox 2
Christian Walker homered, drove in four runs.
Jose Altuve had two hits, including the 2,300th hit of his career.
White Sox slipped to 7-27 on the road.

— Twins 6, Rangers 2
Byron Buxton hit a 479-foot home run.
David Festa got the win, giving up three hits in 6 IP.

— Red Sox 4, Rays 3
Rookie Mayer homered twice for the Red Sox.
Boston hit four solo home runs.
Only third time in last 19 games that the Rays’ pitcher allowed more than 3 earned runs.

— Red Sox promoted their #1 prospect Roman Anthony to the majors this week; apparently his family isn’t very original with names:

His grandfather is Anthony Anthony
His father is Anthony Anthony
One of his brothers is also Anthony Anthony.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: New York, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Blue Jays, Twins, Rays
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Giants, Phillies, Padres