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Oakland A’s send struggling Fujinami to bullpen after only four starts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

ANAHEIM — Oakland Athletics rookie pitcher Shintaro Fujinami is being moved to the bullpen after struggling in his first four major league starts.A’s manager Mark Kotsay said before Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels that the Japanese right-hander would be available for relief duty starting Tuesday.Fujinami is 0-4 with a 14.40 ERA. He allowed eight runs on seven hits, with three walks, a hit batter and two wild pitches in 2 1/3 innings during last Saturday’s 18-3 loss at Texas.Kotsay said Fujinami was told Sunday about the plan going forward.“It’s tough. We gave him four outings,” Kotsay said. “His fastball and splitter can be devastating and in shorter stints. We’re hopeful to get him out there to build his confidence back up and just continue to grow from there.”The 29-year-old Fujinami signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with Oakland after spending 10 seasons with the Central League’s Hanshin Tigers. He could earn an additional $1 million in performance bonu...

Family Guy skit pokes fun at Oakland A's

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

(KRON) -- The Oakland A's have the worst record in MLB, the worst attendance mark in MLB, and now, they are getting mocked on national TV. On Sunday night, Family Guy aired a cut scene making fun of the team. MLB commissioner: ‘Sorry’ for Oakland fans; A’s can compete in Vegas The scene involved a back-and-forth between two animated A's announcers:"Welcome back to A's baseball, the biggest 'who cares' in professional sports.""Bottom of the fourth now, Tim. Which Oakland A is batting next?""I've said it before and I'll say it again, Greg. Who cares?" The joke mocks Oakland's batting lineup, which features players that even the most die-hard MLB fans may not know. The team's starting center fielder and leadoff hitter is Esteury Ruiz, who had 35 MLB at-bats over two seasons before landing in Oakland. The A's may not be in Oakland for long. Last week, news broke that the A's purchased land in Las Vegas that is expected to go towards a new stadium that the team will eventually move in...

Rangers suddenly looking for answers after two close losses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — After a pair of easy wins in their first two games across the Hudson River in New Jersey, the New York Rangers appeared to be cruising along to another postseason series win.Not so fast.Two tight losses at home later, the Rangers’ stagnant offense can’t seem to get anything going as they head back on the road for the next game.A 3-1 loss to the Devils on Monday night evened the first-round series at two games apiece heading into Game 5 back at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday night. The Rangers, who reached the Eastern Conference final last year, opened this series with 5-1 wins in Games 1 and 2 at Prudential Center before returning to Madison Square Garden and falling 2-1 in overtime on Saturday and 3-1 in Game 4 on Monday night.“They were perfect games, we’ve said that and we talked about that,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of the first two games following the latest loss. “We come home, big crowds. The overtime game was a...

Kraken lose Jared McCann to injury in 1st period of Game 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Kraken lost leading scorer Jared McCann to an injury in the first period of Game 4 against Colorado on Monday night following a hit from Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar. McCann was down on the ice for several minutes before being helped to the bench and headed straight back to the Seattle locker room. There was no announcement about his injury but he did not return for the start of the second period. McCann was hurt on a short-handed attempt midway through the first period. The shot was saved by Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev and appeared to go into the netting behind the goal. McCann did not seem ready for the hit by Makar. Makar was originally given a 5-minute major penalty but it was reduced to a 2-minute minor. Seattle scored on the ensuing power play to take a 2-0 lead. McCann led Seattle with a career-high 40 goals and 70 points in the regular season. He had one assist in the first three games of the series. ___AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl ...

Maton hits 3-run homer, Boyd gets win as Tigers beat Brewers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nick Maton had a three-run homer and Matthew Boyd pitched effectively for five innings to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.Boyd (1-1) allowed two runs on five hits in five innings, striking out eight and walking one as the Brewers lost consecutive games for the first time this season.José Cisnero, Tyler Holton and Jason Foley each tossed a scoreless inning and Alex Lange finished with a perfect ninth for his second save in three chances.“Definitely needed that one,” said Maton, who entered hitting .129 and hitless in 21 at-bats before a bunt single in the first. “Personally, and as a team, too.”Maton put the Tigers up 3-1 in the third, salvaging the inning with his homer off Colin Rae (0-1). Detroit had three walks and two hits in the inning, but had a runner caught stealing and another caught in a rundown. Javy Báez’s two-out single put two aboard, and Maton sent a 3-1 pitch 390 feet to right for his fourth homer.“...

Maple Leafs rally to beat Lightning in OT, lead series 3-1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Alexander Kerfoot scored on the power play at 4:14 of overtime after Toronto wiped out a three-goal deficit in the third period, and the Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 Monday night to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in their first-round playoff matchup.Alex Killorn scored twice in helping the Lightning build a 4-1 lead that the Maple Leafs erased with three goals — two by Auston Matthews — in a span of 6 minutes, 20 seconds. Morgan Rielly’s second goal of the series tied it 4-all at 16:04 of the third period.Mikhail Sergachev and Steven Stamkos also scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots and had a couple of big saves in the overtime period before Kerfoot redirected Mark Giordano past the goaltender for the win.Noel Acciari scored for the second straight game for Toronto, deflecting Juston Holl’s shot past Vasilevskiy early in the second period to briefly get the Maple Leafs within one goal before Tampa Bay pulled away with go...

Dave Hyde: “The Big One” era continues as Jimmy Butler makes history in Heat’s win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

Here’s the thing about history: It’s hard to see coming. Monday night’s drama began, undramatically enough, with Jimmy Butler making a pedestrian 20-foot shot with just over five minutes left in a troubled game.“Frustrating,’ Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called Game 4 against Milwaukee to that point. “Things weren’t going our way.”No one considered Butler’s shot was the start of anything, much less the start of something unbelievable that would put the Heat up 3-1 this series.How could they? That shot merely brought the Miami merely brought within what seemed like a constant eight-point cushion for Milwaukee. It really just set up the next shot, which was a Butler drive and five-foot runner.Which was followed by his two free throws and we were getting somewhere.Then came a breakaway dunk to put the Heat in the lead, and the hinges started coming off the night as Milwaukee threw a timeout to try to stop him and Butler kept shou...

‘Big George Foreman’ biopic celebrates a legend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

It’s a life worth celebrating, one with such spectacular turns and twists that it outdoes any Hollywood fiction.The title of his biopic, opening Friday, says it all: “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World.”Born into poverty, shy and inarticulate, Foreman, 74, was twice heavyweight boxing champion – the second time when he was 45.  From boxing with his formidable fists and power punches, Foreman became a minister and then, thanks to the George Foreman Grill, a multi-millionaire.In this colorful a life, what stands out? What matters the most with everything he’s done?“I’ll be honest with you,” Foreman began in a Zoom interview from Atlanta’s Four Seasons Hotel, “I got a second, third, even a fourth chance in the United States of America. I’ll never outlive that one. To be able to come from nothing, and even without hope!“You know, people take for granted, you hear the word ‘hope’ and ‘faith.’ But you can actually ...

Boys basketball All-Scholastics and league All-Stars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-SCHOLASTICSDREAM TEAMMarius Canery (Lawrence)Ryder Frost (Beverly)Nick Martinez (Malden Catholic)Jose Padilla (Newton North)Zach Wolinski (North Andover)ALL-SCHOLASTICSNoah Beaudet (Norwood)Henry Bickford (Needham)David Brown (St. Mary’s)Malachi Bryant (Catholic Memorial)Josh Campbell (Archbishop Williams)Brian Cloonan (Needham)Tavajo Cope (Fenway)Matthew Gaffney (Malden Catholic)Tyrese Melo Garcia (Lynn English)Joey Hart (Central Catholic)Jaylen Hunter-Coleman (Charlestown)Warren Keel (Lynn English)Ajay Lopes (Wareham)Ryan MacLellan (Andover)Hunter Matteson (Dartmouth)Liam McBride (Hingham)Eddie McCoy (Mansfield)Jacob McLoughlin (Sharon)Cameron Monteiro (Brockton)Sean O’Leary (Franklin)Alex Penders (Foxboro)Danny Reyes (Lawrence)Luke Rinaldi (Dover-Sherborn)Jaeden Roberts (Burke)Ryan Svendsen (Arlington Catholic)Zach Taylor (North Quincy)Mike Wilkinson (Wakefield)Jayden Williams (Arlington)HONORABLE MENTIONMatt Baur (Sharon)Tyrone Countrymon (Marbleh...

Sonny Gray, Joey Gallo return to hurting Yankees in loss to Twins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

MINNESOTA — The year is 2023, and Sonny Gray and Joey Gallo are still hurting the Yankees.The difference now is that the two are wearing Twins uniforms instead of pinstripes. Gray and Gallo flopped during their respective stints in the Bronx, but they exacted some revenge on Monday at Target Field in a 6-1 win for Minnesota.Gray continued his hot start to the season, dealing for seven innings. The right-hander limited the Yankees to three hits, and he struck out eight while walking two over 107 pitches. He also lowered his ERA to a microscopic 0.62.“Spinning it,” Aaron Boone said when asked what made Gray so difficult. “It’s what he does so well. He mixed in enough of his sinker to keep us honest. But whether it was cutter, breaking ball, slider, he was on top of it. But we gotta be able make that adjustment.“Sonny’s throwing the ball great. He’s off to a great start.”Gallo, meanwhile, hit his sixth home run in his 13th game for ...