A look at what’s happening around the majors today:
BIG ARMS IN THE BRONX
With slugger Giancarlo Stanton heating up at the plate
Sam Hubbard Jersey , the major league-leading Yankees (49-22) go for a three-game sweep of visiting Seattle. Luis Severino (10-2, 2.09 ERA) pitches for
New York against lefty James Paxton (6-1, 3.44), who is 5-0 with a 2.55 ERA
since the beginning of May – a nine-start span that includes a no-hitter in
Toronto. The Mariners have lost three straight for the first time since April
17-19 against the World Series champion Astros.
STRANGE TO SEE
Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (10-3, 2.06 ERA) tries to avoid his first three-game losing streak since August 2015 when the Nationals host
lowly Baltimore. He’ll hope to get some help on offense from slumping slugger
Bryce Harper, who went 0 for 4 in a rain-delayed 3-0 loss Wednesday night,
dropping his batting average to .209. Washington manager Dave Martinez said
Harper has been working hard with batting coach Kevin Long. ”He’s going to hit.
I know he’s going to carry us for a month or two or for whatever,” Martinez
said.
DOCTOR’S APPOINTMENT
Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha (8-2, 3.20 ERA) is scheduled for an MRI after exiting Wednesday’s start with a left oblique strain. ”Feeling a little
bit better,” he said following the game. ”I’m hoping for the best.” Carlos
Martinez (3-3, 2.73) pitches for St. Louis in the opener of a four-game set at
Milwaukee. He is 6-4 with a 1.95 ERA against the Brewers. Slumping outfielder
Ryan Braun is expected to rejoin the Brewers after the team sent him to Los
Angeles on Wednesday for treatment on his achy right thumb. The six-time
All-Star is hitting just .236 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs.
SEEKING HIS FIRST WIN
Giants ace Madison Bumgarner (0-2
Sam Darnold Jersey , 4.67 ERA) pitches at home against last-place San Diego, which has dropped four straight. Bumgarner missed the first two months of the
season with a broken pinkie. He has lost four in a row to the Padres, who
counter with Tyson Ross (5-4, 3.51). Meanwhile, San Francisco right-hander Jeff
Samardzija (shoulder tightness) is set to make his second rehab start with
Triple-A Sacramento.
READY TO GO
White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia (right hamstring strain) could return to the lineup against Oakland in the opener of a four-game series. Garcia was
hitting .333 with two home runs and seven RBIs during a six-game rehab stint
with Triple-A Charlotte. He batted .330 with 18 homers and 80 RBIs last season,
making his first All-Star team.
COMING UP EMPTY
Boston will be looking for a couple of clutch hits against the Minnesota Twins in the finale of its road trip. The Red Sox were 0 for 9 with runners in
scoring position Wednesday and are 2 for 22 in the first two games of the
series. They stranded 18 runners in those two games and have lost four of five
overall. Rick Porcello (8-3, 3.70 ERA) starts against Twins right-hander Kyle
Gibson (2-4, 3.27), who has allowed only five runs over his last four starts
spanning 26 2/3 innings.
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The NBA offseason has arrived, which means nothing will happen for the next four months other than a draft, three summer leagues
Lamar Jackson Youth Jersey , free agency, the creation of a new schedule, coaching hires, trades, roster reworkings and possibly movement toward letting
high school graduates jump directly into the league again.
It all adds up to very little downtime.
There is no shortage of questions about what will happen this summer – leading off, of course, with yet another decision to be made by LeBron James
about his future and where he’ll play next season as he resumes his quest for
more championships.
Here are some non-James topics heading into the offseason:
KAWHI LEONARD
The mystery of the 2017-18 NBA season is the mystery of the offseason as well. Leonard played in only nine games for the Spurs this season while dealing
with a leg injury, the specifics of which are a closely guarded secret even by
San Antonio’s notoriously tight-lipped standards. He could get a supermax deal,
he could get traded, he might still be hurt. But the Spurs – and the league –
need answers, because he can change a lot of directions in a hurry.
COACHES
The vacancies in Detroit and Toronto should be filled soon. The Pistons might be best-served to hire Dwane Casey
Cheap Kolton Miller Jersey , who led the Raptors to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference this season. This is a crucial hire for the Raptors, since
whoever will be calling the shots next season will have a team that should be
good enough to contend for the East title.
THE DRAFT
Arizona center Deandre Ayton will likely go No. 1 to Phoenix, which makes sense on a lot of levels. The intrigue really starts there. Does Vlade Divac use
the No. 2 overall pick and bring Luka Doncic, the young Slovenian who has been
talked about as a can’t-miss NBA star for some time, to Sacramento? What does
Atlanta do at No. 3? Inevitably, someone will move up on draft night and that
probably means an established player (or players) will be on the move.
GAMBLING
The Supreme Court ruling already has bets on games being placed in Delaware, and more states will be following suit soon. Expect the NBA to continue pushing
for 1 percent of the action, which the league says is needed in part to cover
what will be its new costs as far as protecting the integrity of the game and
the players. It’s also unclear if injury reports will have to be more
specialized in a betting world. Wouldn’t bettors have liked knowing LeBron James
had a badly injured – he says broken – hand in Games 2, 3 and 4 of the NBA
Finals?
OFFICIATING
The NBA knows fans, players and coaches aren’t thrilled with the level of officiating in the league right now. This will absolutely be a big topic – maybe
the primary topic – when the board of governors meet in Las Vegas next month.
Also, there will be a challenge-flag-type item tinkered with during summer
league games; it won’t be a red cloth like in the NFL
Uchenna Nwosu Jersey , but the concept will be the same as the league studies whether something like that should be added.
THE LAKERS
Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka should have about $62 million in cap space to go shopping with when free agency opens July 1 – including for James, meaning
the Lakers could get transformed and become a playoff team again in a hurry.
Expect them to use the No. 25 pick in the draft on a 3-point shooter, since no
team can surround James with enough of those.
CHRIS PAUL AND PAUL GEORGE
Again, like so many other topics, the futures of Chris Paul and Paul George will probably have some impact on whatever James decides to do this summer – or
vice versa. Paul wants a max contract, and if his hamstring didn’t pop late in
Game 5 of the Western Conference finals he and the Houston Rockets may very well
have been in the NBA Finals. George seemed to be hinting that he could stay in
Oklahoma City, but is a Los Angeles native. It seems likely that either, or
both, would try to align with James – but how?
THE PELICANS
Yes, the Pelicans. West semifinalists this season, New Orleans needs to decide what it wants to do with DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo. The Pelicans
have already given coach Alvin Gentry an extension
Joe Mixon Jersey , and keeping either Cousins or Rondo – or both – to play alongside Anthony Davis might make New Orleans a sleeper pick in the West next
season. Question is, will Cousins be full-go coming off his Achilles injury.
THE HEAT
Dwyane Wade has been talking about retirement, and there’s been no indication yet if he’s anywhere near a decision. Miami is in a tough situation on the cash
front – Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, Goran Dragic and James Johnson will
make nearly $78 million themselves next season – and the Heat wants to find a
way to keep Wayne Ellington. What will Wade do? And if he stays, how much can
the Heat pay him? Or do they make big trades and add some star power?
THE KNICKS
Two questions for the Knicks to figure out: Will they allow David Fizdale the time he needs to build the team he wants? And what will they do with Kristaps
Porzingis this season? Give Fizdale time, and he’ll win in New York. But rushing
Porzingis back off ACL surgery could be a most unnecessary risk for a team that
isn’t going to contend next season anyway.
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