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On Sunday, that profe sional sports teams of his state are now free to "begin spring training." The use of the baseball term "spring training" strongly suggests that he's referring Marc-Edouard Vlasic Jersey primarily to the and , who, like the rest of Major League Baseball, have been shut down by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. is , which all sides hope to get under way in early July. Satisfying that timetable Tommy Wingels Jersey will require a restart of spring (or summer) training with enough time -- likely two to three weeks -- for players to ramp back up to game shape.One idea reportedly being discu sed is for to hold the resumption of Joe Pavelski Jersey spring training in their home ballparks, and Cuomo's announcement would seem to clear that path for the Yankees and Mets. As for the Yankees, they may San Jose Sharks Jersey instead be leaning toward holding the remainder of spring training at their usual Grapefruit League complex in Tampa. Baseball writer Bob Klapisch recently tweeted that the Yankees were planning to .New York has been the state hardest hit by the pandemic, but has prompted Cuomo to ease some of the shutdown restrictions in place. That of course is good news on a number of more important levels, and it's also a positive sign when it comes to the po sibility that a 2020 MLB season, Tomas Hertl Jersey featuring something like an 82-game regular season and Justin Braun Jersey expanded playoffs, will be held. Players and owners must still come to terms on a number of i sues -- -- but conditions continue to augur a return for baseball and other major profe sional sports leagues in the U.S.

ATLANTA Two hours after a crowded and celebratory news conference to mark arguably the biggest moment in his life, Braves rookie Michael Harris II sat quietly at his locker Wednesday afternoon, all alone, engaged Joonas Donskoi Jersey in a minor struggle to get some stubborn athletic socks onto his feet.It was a small moment of human normalcy in an afternoon that had been anything but for the una suming 21-year-old, whose nickname Money Mike had suddenly become quite the accurate moniker. It was also a moment that encapsulated the e sence of Harris after a couple of months in the big leagues: a noticeable and determined presence, but not one to draw undue attention to himself.MORE: Yet, the moment offered no hint that Harris, the youngest player in MLB this season, had signed an eight-year, $72 million contract extension that will keep him with the Braves through at least 2030. After just 71 games as a big leaguer, Harris, an Atlanta-area native, got the ultimate vote of confidence from his hometown team. Harris has plenty of confidence in himself, too, and we'll get to that in a bit.But first: Why would a defending World Series champion give an eight-year, $72 million contract to a kid who was riding buses in the low minors just one year ago? A valid question, perhaps, but only if you've never seen Michael Harris II play baseball. If you have, though, it's pretty much a no-brainer for multiple reasons. First, there's Harris' calling card."Platinum glove-quality center field," Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud told The Sporting News. "It's pretty incredible to see a ball hit off someone's bat and think there's no shot, and then he gets there easily and he's standing under it like a piece of cake."This is a common theme when polling Harris' teammates about his abilities the constant surprise, even awe at what he's able to do in center field."Gosh, he covers so much ground out there," Austin Riley told TSN. "There's balls that've been hit and I'm like, 'That Patrick Marleau Jersey 's probably not getting caught,' and the next thing you know, he's making (the catch)."He covers so much ground and saves so many runs."Indeed, Harris' six Outs Above Average (in MLB's 94th percentile) is tied for second-most among all center fieldersand his five Defensive Runs Saved leads the NL at the position. Both numbers are even more impre sive considering that Harris didn't debut until May 28.But it's not just the range, Riley Mikkel Boedker Jersey said. "He's got a hose, too." Observe: Since arriving in late May, Harris has lengthened the Braves' lineup considerably, primarily in the nine spot.Coming into play Wednesday, through 254 at-bats, Harris led all qualified MLB rookies with a .825 OPS. He was named NL Rookie of the Month in June with a .347/.371/.574 and since June 13 leads all rookies in homers with 12 and is second in hits with 58."To have the production he's had at the plate has been pretty incredible," d'Arnaud said.The Braves don't view it as a coincidence that the team turned its season around with a 14-game winning streak that began just a few days after Harris arrived."He brought a spark," staff ace Max Fried said. "... He's been a big catalyst for us."Added Riley: "Just being a guy hitting nine hole who can Chris Tierney Jersey do damage and be consistent at the plate (has been huge). He's put up very profe sional at-bats." The more Harris plays, the more he shows off thefive coveted tools.A sizable percentage of his powers comes from sprint speed that'sjust a few ticks away from "elite." (His 29.3 feet per second puts him in MLB's 94th percentile in the category.) That comes in handy both when he chases down those seemingly impo sible-to-catch fly balls and when he runs the bases. To wit: He's 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts, a total that leads all NL rookies.Harris has also drawn praise for one of his intangibles: Though just 21, he never seems to get rattled or feel overwhelmed by the stage or the moment. "A slow heartbeat" is how manager Brian Snitker likes to describe it.Harris offers a simple reason."Honestly, I don't even think I have emotions," he told reporters Wednesday. "Like when I got drafted, I didn't have any emotion. I was just staring at the TV. Everybody else was running around the living room. I'm just the one person standing there, no emotion. ... I don't really show emotion in the moment."MORE: Put it all together and it was a long-term relationship the Braves had to have."I told him in spring training, 'I'm not Logan Couture Jersey trading you,'" general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Wednesday. "When we made the Matt Olson trade ... I think our clubhouse was obviously shocked by some of the guys that got moved. But we were really excited about him long term." The Braves' confidence in Harris is perhaps matched only by Harris confidence in himself. After he finally got those socks on at his locker in that quiet moment before Wednesday's game against the Mets, I asked Harris whether he's been surprised by his early succe s at the big league level, given that he never played above Double-A before his call-up."Yes and no," hetold me. "I feel like growing up I had the right people around me to kind of guide me to do the right things and be prepared for this moment. I feel like just because I've had them in my San Jose Sharks Jersey life and teaching me the right ways has allowed me to do what I'm doing now."The surprisingpart, he said? The transition from Double-A standout to everyday MLB player has been easier than expected. It's still just baseball."I feel like it's all the same game," Harris said. "The biggest difference is the amount of fans and, I gue s, the lifestyle. But I feel like pretty much it's the same (style of) play as Double-A."The elite competition has not been a surprise, however. Harris knew what he was getting in to after his promotion, but this is where he belongs, having played himself to the top of the list of NL Rookie of the Year contenders."I kind of expected it to be the highest, hardest level," Harris said. "I feel everything is pretty much living up to what I expected it to be."And so far, as the eight-year extension would suggest, Harris has been just what the Braves expected too.

While Major League Baseball right about now is quite understandably dominating the consciousne s of the sport, let's take this fitting juncture to make some time for the college ranks.The juncture is fitting because the Division I regular Andrej Sekera Jersey season will soon be behind us. Conference tournaments are ongoing at this writing, and on Monday we'll know what the will look like. So even if you do not number among the college baseball enthusiasts of this world, you'll probably want to keep a spare eyeball on the next month-plus of action. And in the event that you haven't been paying all that much attention to the collegians, we're here to get you up to speed on what you need to know about the 2021 season.Let's do that now -- i.e., get you up to speed on what you need to know about the 2021 season -- with eight things to know about the college baseball season.On Monday, May 31 -- Memorial Day -- the 64-team NCAA Division I tournament field will be announced starting at noon ET. Those 64 teams usually break down into 31 conference champions that receive automatic bids and 33 at-large berths chosen by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee. This year, however, just 30 conference champions will receive bids Laurent Brossoit Jersey , as the Ivy League opted not to play the 2021 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In most instances, those automatic bids will go to the winners of the conference tournaments. However, some conferences aren't playing tournaments this season on account of COVID. As such, we already know a handful of automatic qualifiers -- Arizona in the Pac-12, Nebraska in the Big Ten, Norfolk State in the MEAC, and Southern in the SWAC. The tournament gets underway on June 4.Most weeks this season, Arkansas has been the consensus top-ranked team, and that's with good cause. Right now, Dave Van Horn's squad is 44-10 and 23-8 in the juggernaut SEC (more on that mighty circuit below). Those tallies also include a win over No. 3 Vanderbilt in a highly anticipated SEC Tournament match-up on Thursday. High-level mathematics will tell you that the Razorbacks are also 21-2 in out-of-conference games. They're also just the second team in SEC history, joining Vanderbilt in 2010, to win all 10 regular season conference series. Need more? All right: The Hogs are 17-4 against teams from quadrant one in the RPI (i.e., teams ranked 1-25 in the RPI). Along the way, they've out-scored opposition by a margin of 412-222.As is typically the case, the SEC lords over all it surveys in college baseball. In the latest rankings over at , SEC teams occupy three of the top four spots (No. 1 Arkansas, No. 3 Vanderbilt, and No. 4 Tenne see) and have a total of six teams in the top 25. There's a real shot they get 10 teams into the field of 64. Four teams -- Georgia, LSU, Alabama -- have realistic designs Zack Kassian Jersey on a berth despite having losing conference records. Relatedly, only one SEC team, Mi souri, had a losing record in out-of-conference games, and overall the conference was 262-85 (.755) in out-of-conference games this season. All of this isn't especially surprising, given that the SEC has claimed six of the last 11 national championships. The conference tied a record by placing four teams in the 2019 College World Series, and multiple SEC teams have made the eight-team College World Series in each of the last three seasons (save for, Patrick Maroon Jersey of course, 2020, when the College World Series was canceled).The Big Ten this season was one of two conferences to play a conference-only schedule in response to the pandemic. As such, it's going to be very difficult for the committee to a se s the cases of Big Ten teams when it comes to at-large bids. As noted above, Nebraska is already in, and teams like Michigan, Maryland, Indiana, and maybe Iowa have arguments for being in the field of 64. Normally, the committee heavily weighs RPI, but in the Big Ten this year it's not all that illuminating because no Big Ten team played any games outside the conference.The other conference to play all games within is the Metro Atlantic, or MAAC. With the conference tournament ongoing, Fairfield at 36-2 (!) is the favorite to land the automatic berth. Take it away, Nail Yakupov Jersey Texas Tech broadcaster Geoff Haxton: Note the impre sive "framing" of the foul ball.It's po sible that Vanderbilt will become the first team to produce the top two picks of a given draft. Mock drafts will vary, but many of them have or have recently had Commodore right-handers Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter going 1-2 in one order or the other. Each has authored a highly impre sive 2021 season, in terms of both run prevention and strikeouts (a combined 262 strikeouts in 167 2/3 innings). As well, each boasts lights-out stuff, although Rocker's fastball velocity has wavered at times. Obviously, having a front of the rotation like that makes them serious threats to win it all, and the capstone to head coach Tim Corbin's third national title would be seeing two of the top pitchers in program history being tabbed with the top two overall picks.On the unfortunate side of that same coin, not one but three pitchers who project as high draftees have succumbed to Tommy John surgery this season.First came , whom our own R.J. Anderson ranked as the No. 9 2021 draft prospect . Then it was , ranked No. 7 by Anderson in this year's cla s. Finally, recently learned he'd need to undergo the procedure. He was in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick in 2022. Ole Mi s is a lock to make the tournament, and LSU and Alabama are bubble teams. In other words, these absences could be acutely felt when it matters most.The College World Series didn't happen last year because of COVID, as mentioned above. That makes this year's edition even more special than usual. Compounding the good news is that, thanks to the broadly succe sful vaccination effort, the College World Series in Omaha will permit full capacity at games. In April, the NCAA announced that the games would be played Milan Lucic Jersey at 50 percent capacity, but thanks to more recent COVID trends all attendance restrictions have been lifted for the Greatest Show on Dirt.That's great news, especially for fans of the eight teams that eventually make it to Omaha this year.

Teams trending in opposite directions meet when the take on the in an interleague matchup on Friday afternoon. The White Sox (63-46), first in the American League Central, have opened up a 9.5 game lead over Wayne Gretzky Jersey the second-place . The Cubs (52-58), fourth in the National League Central, are 3-7 in their last 10 games after trading away several of their best players at the trade deadline. The teams split six games a year ago. This will be their first meeting of 2021.First pitch from Wrigley Field is set for 2:20 p.m. ET. The White Sox lead the all-time series 69-65, including a 35-32 edge in games played on the north side. The White Sox are a -172 favorite on the money line in the latest White Sox vs. Cubs odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total runs scored is nine. Before making any Cubs vs. White Sox picks, .This model, which simulates every pitch of every game 10,000 times, is a profitable 140-113 on top-rated through 18 weeks in the 2021 season. It also had a banner 2019 season, the league's last full schedule, returning more than $1,400 on its top-rated money-line and run-line picks. Anyone following it has seen some huge returns.Now, the model has dialed in on and revealed its predictions and best bets. . Here are Andrew Ference Jersey the and betting trends for Cubs vs. White Sox: White Sox vs. Cubs money line: White Sox -172, Cubs +157White Sox vs. Cubs run line: White Sox -1.5White Sox vs. Cubs over-under: 9 runsCWS: The White Sox are 50-22 in their last 72 games as a favoriteCHI: The Cubs are 15-6 in their last 21 home games against a team with a winning record Featured Game | Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox Moneyline Spread Total CHC CHW Why you should back Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Jersey the White SoxThe White Sox are expected to send right-hander (10-3, 2.07 ERA) to the mound. Lynn has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last seven starts. His worst start in that stretch was his last one when he faced the Cleveland Indians on July 30. In that game, he allowed three earned runs on seven hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out seven and received a no-decision. In the start prior, he shut down the NL Central-leading by allowing Nail Yakupov Jersey just one earned run on six hits in six innings.Offensively, first baseman has hits in four of his last five games. He is batting .245 with 20 homers, 82 RBIs and 53 runs scored in 102 games on the season. He has hit well against the Cubs. In 30 career games against them, Abreu is batting .348 with seven doubles, 10 homers and 25 RBIs. He also enjoys hitting at Wrigley Field, where he is a .317 lifetime hitter with three doubles, six homers and 14 RBIs.Why you should back the CubsThe Cubs are expected to start right-hander (13-4, 3.71 ERA). Zack Kassian Jersey Hendricks has won 11 consecutive decisions and is coming off a win at Washington in his last outing. In that game, he allowed one earned run on four hits in seven innings. He is just 1-4 in eight career starts against the White Sox, but has a respectable 3.74 ERA. He has walked just eight against 39 strikeouts. Since the Cubs' trade deadline moves, third baseman has taken advantage of his playing time. He has hits in eight of his last 10 games, including Andrej Sekera Jersey a 3-for-4 performance at Colorado on Wednesday. In that game, he doubled and drove in three runs. For the season, he is batting .272 with 16 homers, 32 RBIs and 31 runs scored.How to make Cubs vs. White Sox picksSportsLine's model is leaning under on the run total, as the simulation projects the teams to combine for eight runs. It also says one side of the money line has the value. .So who wins White Sox vs. Cubs? And which side of the money line has all the value? , all from the advanced model that has been profitable on picks in 2021, and find out.

The arrival of the offseason means that it's time to rank stuff. Already this winter, , both on an overall and positional basis. There's no law that prevents us from ranking minor-league players in addition to their big-league counterparts. As such, we're going to spend the winter evaluating every team's farm system.The lack of a minor-league season makes that more of a challenge this year. It doesn't help that some teams opted against sharing video and data from their alternate-site camps with the rest of the league. As such, we've opted against overthinking this. Our rankings will e sentially be the same as they were last winter with a few changes. First, we'll exclude anyone who graduated by exhausting their rookie eligibility; second, we'll replace Joe Greene Jersey them with draftees or other worthy prospects; and third, and lastly, we'll present the information in a new format.In every article in this series, you'll find a team's top five prospects as well as five others we felt like including, either because of their promise or some other reason. For those top five prospects, you'll find a quick summation of their pros (their saving grace, if one will) and their cons (their fault line), as well as beefier report and Alejandro Villanueva Jersey our attempt to peg their "likeliest outcome."These rankings were compiled by talking to industry folks -- scouts, analysts, and other evaluators -- and include a touch of our own evaluative biases. Remember, that this is more of an art than a science, and that the write-ups matter more than the rankings themselves. Now, let's get on to the top five prospects in the system.Age (as of 4/1/2021): 23Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 195 poundsAcquired: No. 15 pick in the 2016 draft (Plum High School, Pennsylvania)Highest level: Saving grace: BatFault line: Defensive homeScouting report: Kirilloff made his big-league debut during the playoffs, going 1 for 4 in the Twins' Wild Card Series lo s against the . Expect him to get hundreds of more plate appearances during the 2021 season, and expect him to do far more damage. Kirilloff has the potential to hit for average and power, which will be more pivotal to him than the standard high-ranked hitting prospect: he's never walked in as much as nine percent of his plate appearances as a profe sional. Defensively, Kirilloff has enough arm strength to man right, though he could end up sliding to first base on a permanent basis as he matures.Likeliest outcome: Regular in right fieldAge (as of 4/1/2021): 21Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 200 poundsAcquired: No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft (JSerra Catholic High School, California)Highest level: Double-ASaving grace: UpsideFault line: Shortstop defenseScouting report: Lewis entered the 2019 season in contention for the title of "baseball's best Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey prospect (other than )." Unfortunately, he had a rough season. He didn't take well to a swing change, leaving him out of whack for much of the year. He also didn't look any better at shortstop, suggesting his long-term defensive home might be in center, where his speed could make him an a set. Lewis is still young and talented enough to give another year, but there's far more risk a sociated with him and his profile than it seemed just two years ago.Likeliest outcome: Starting center fielderAge (as of 4/1/2021): 22Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 215 poundsAcquired: Fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft (St. Martin SS High School, Ontario) Kevin Greene Jersey Highest level: High-ASaving grace: Deep arsenalFault line: UpsideScouting report: Balazovic enjoyed a pop-up 2019, during which he threw a career-high 93 innings and posted a 2.69 ERA and a 5.16 strikeout-to-walk ratio between Single- and High-A. He has above-average control and four pitches that should be average or better at maturation. The Twins have brought Balazovic along slowly, tasking him with two years in the Gulf Coast League to begin his career, so it seems unlikely he'll take a rotation spot until 2022.Likeliest outcome: Mid-rotation starterAge (as of 4/1/2021): 24Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 223 poundsAcquired: No. 20 pick in the 2018 draft (Oregon State)Highest level: Double-ASaving grace: BatFault line: Secondary valueScouting report: It's a credit to Larnach that he reached Double-A in his first full profe sional season. He fared well, too, hitting .295/.387/.455 in 43 games. Predictably Jesse James Jersey , he has an advanced approach and above-average strength. Larnach isn't going to add much of anything elsewhere, be it on the basepaths or in the field, but the bat is good enough to envision him reaching the majors and contributing as soon as late in the 2021 season.Likeliest outcome: Starting corner outfielderAge (as of 4/1/2021): 23Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 235 poundsAcquired: Second-round pick in the 2018 draft (University of North Carolina Wilmington) Highest level: MLBSaving grace: PowerFault line: Hit toolScouting report: Jeffers took advantage of and misfortune to reach the majors in his first full profe sional season. In 26 games, he performed admirably, hitting .273/.355/.436 with three home runs. The book on Jeffers is that he has above-average strength in his bat and his arm. He graded as an above-average framer as well. The main concern here is that Jeffers swung and mi sed a lot against big-league pitching. That could be because of his circumstances, or it could be a preview of things to come. We'll see.Likeliest outcome: Slugging catcherAaron Sabato, 1BSabato was a draft-eligible sophomore who the Twins popped in the first round. He's not going to offer much of any secondary value, but he can smoke the baseball and he performed well against good collegiate competition. , RHPDuran has a starter's frame and arsenal, and he's not had much trouble throwing strikes. There is some concern that the head whack in delivery will limit his command. If it Justin Hunter Jersey doesn't, he could become a mid-rotation starter. , 1B/DHRooker, who likely would've debuted in 2019 were it not for injury, received the call in 2020. He hit .316/.381/.579 in seven games. Rooker is a right-right corner player with serious strikeout i sues, meaning he could be written off as a Quad-A player with poor timing. , RHPEnlow is a well-built right-hander who throws a bunch of average pitches for strikes. He generated nearly 60 percent grou

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. in Monday night's win vs. the Rangers ( ). The grand slam was his second homer in the game and the 21-year-old now stands atop 's home run leaderboard.Here's the grand slam, Tatis' 11th homer of the year:The homer, which came off a 3-0 pitch from Juan Nicasio, angered the Rangers and led to a sequence of events, including Texas manager Chris Woodward citing the "unwritten rules" of baseball in disapproval. "There's a lot of unwritten rules that are constantly being challenged Jordan Berry Jersey in today's game," Woodward after the game."I didn't like it, personally. You're up by seven in the eighth inning; it's typically not a good time to swing 3-0. It's kind of the way we were all raised in the game. But, like I said, the norms are being challenged on a daily basis. So just because Le'Veon Bell Jersey I don't like it doesn't mean it's not right. I don't think we liked it as a group."Tatis' eighth-inning homer came with the Padres up 10-3 with the bases loaded, and of course, on a 3-0 count. Prior to giving up the grand slam, Nicasio had walked two batters and gone to a 3-0 count on three straight batters. Tatis was the fourth straight batter to get to three balls. After the homer, Nicasio was replaced by Ian Gibaut. The first pitch from Gibault was a 93 mph fastball behind Manny Machado. Monday night's umpires immediately gathered to discu s the incident, but no warnings or ejections were handed out. The Rangers just threw behind a Padres hitter because the previous hitter (Fernando Tatis Jr.) hit a granny on 3-0.Here's a thought: how about you learn how to not give up 14 runs and not give up 7 RBI to a kid who can barely Jack Ham Jersey legally buy a beer. Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) After the game, Padres manager Jayce Tingler said that Tatis mi sed a take sign during his at-bat."He's young, a free spirit and focused and all those things," Tingler . "That's the last thing that we'll ever take away. It's a learning opportunity and that's it. He'll grow from it." It's worth noting Tingler spent the previous 13 years as a coach for the Rangers, including last season on the staff of then-rookie manager Woodward."Just so you know, a lot of our guys have green light 3-0," Tingler Eli Rogers Jersey added. "But in this game in particular, we had a little bit of a comfortable lead. We're not trying to run up the score or anything like that."Tatis' teammate, Padres right-hander Zach Davies, however took the opposite direction of his manager and publicly defended Tatis. "A lot of guys talk about unwritten rules of baseball, but you're in the heat of the moment, you're gonna try to get your pitch as a hitter and he didn't mi s," ."So you can't really fault him for that, in my opinion. Some guys feel differently, but everybody has their own opinion on it. Make sure your 3-0 pitch is a little bit better. I've been hit on 3-0 and homers have been hit off me, maybe not in the same situation, but that's something that everybody kind of has a little bit different Cameron Sutton Jersey opinion on."And, Tatis, himself -- one of the most electric talents in baseball right now -- took the high road when addre sing the homer in his postgame pre s conference. "I've been in this game since I was a kid, and I know a lot of unwritten rules," Tatis said after the game. "And this time, I was kind of lost on this one. From those experiences, Ben Roethlisberger Jersey you have to learn. Probably next time, I'll take a pitch. I love this game and I respect this game a lot. Every time I go out there, I just want to feel respect for everybody else. This game is hard for everyone, so why not just celebrate and have fun the way you wanna have fun?"

Arenado leads Cardinals against the Braves after 4-hit game August 28 sharefacebooktwitterredditlink Atlanta Oakland Athletics Jersey Braves (79-49, second in the NL East) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (73-54, first in the NL Central)St. Louis; Sunday, 7:08 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Jake Odorizzi (5-5, 3.95 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 61 strikeouts); Cardinals: Adam Wainwright (9-9, 3.11 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 126 strikeouts) LINE: Cardinals -125, Braves +105; over/under is 7 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals play the Atlanta Braves after Nolan Arenado had four hits against the Braves on Saturday.St. Louis is 41-22 at home and 73-54 overall. The Cardinals have the second-best team on-base percentage in the majors at .331.Atlanta has a 37-25 record in road games and a 79-49 record overall. The Braves have hit 191 total home runs to lead the NL.The teams meet Sunday for the seventh time this season. The Braves lead the season series 4-2.TOP PERFORMERS: Paul Goldschmidt has 34 doubles, 33 home runs and 105 RBI for the Cardinals. Albert Pujols is 10-for-25 with two Andrew Triggs Jersey doubles, three home runs and three RBI over the past 10 games.Dansby Swanson has a .289 batting average to rank fifth on the Braves, and has 28 doubles, a triple and 16 home runs. Matt Olson Terry Steinbach Jersey is 12-for-39 with two home runs and eight RBI over the past 10 games.LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 7-3, .304 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runsBraves: 7-3, .269 batting average, 3.26 ERA, outscored opponents by 27 runsINJURIES: Cardinals: Drew VerHagen: 60-Day IL (hip), Steven Matz: 15-Day IL (knee), Jack Flaherty: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alex Reyes: 60-Day IL (shoulder)Braves: Jackson Stephens: 7-Day IL (concu sion), Chadwick Tromp: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Adam Duvall: 60-Day IL (wrist), Orlando Arcia: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Darren O'Day: 15-Day IL Khris Davis Jersey (calf), Luke Jackson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ozzie Albies: 60-Day IL (foot), Manny Pina: 60-Day IL (wrist), Mike Soroka: 60-Day IL (achilles)___The A sociated Pre s created this story using technology provided by and data from . in this topic St. Louis Cardinals National League Major League Baseball Nolan Arenado Atlanta Braves Drew VerHagen Albert Pujols Alex Reyes Jack Flaherty Mike Soroka Manny Pia Matt Olson Orlando Arcia Luke Jackson Adam Wainwright Paul Goldschmidt Nolan Arenado Dansby Swanson Jackson Stephens Chadwick Tromp Atlanta Braves St. Louis Cardinals share World Cup fans find booze at hotels, Qatar's 1 liquor store Qatar's strict rules regarding alcohol have drawn attention as it hosts the World Cup 13 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Sterling leaves England World Cup camp after home break-in England forward Raheem Sterling has left his teams World Cup camp in Qatar and returned to the U.K. after a break-in at his home Jose Canseco Jersey 17 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ronaldo looks to shine like Mbapp and Me si at World Cup Cristiano Ronaldo has been overshadowed by the brilliance of Lionel Me si and Kylian Mbapp so far at the World Cup 41 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ottawa hosts Los Angeles after Giroux's 2-goal game The Ottawa Senators host the Los Angeles Kings after Claude Giroux's two-goal game against the San Jose Sharks in Tony Phillips Jersey the Senators' 5-2 win 1 HOUR AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Penguins host the Blue Jackets following Kapanen's hat trick The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets after Kasperi Kapanen's hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in the Penguins' 6-2 win 1 HOUR AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gerrit Cole didnt have a good answer to a question from the New York Posts Ken Davidoff in his Zoom pre s conference on Tuesday afternoon, mostly because there wasnt a good answer available for the Yankees ace.The veteran columnist point-blank asked him: Have you ever used Spider Tack while pitching?If he saidyes hes po sibly setting himself up for a suspension, as MLB prepares to crack down on pitchers who use illegal substances to increase spin rates on their pitches. If he saidno he Reggie Jackson Jersey would almost certainly be lying (theres no proof of that yet, but lots of evidence and testimony that says he has). And the truth almost always comes out in situations like these.So Cole gave a long pause, then said, I dont quite know how to answer that, to be honest.He answered without answering, of course.Watch for yourself:Gerrit Cole on if he ever used Spider Tack while pitching:"I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest...If MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that's a conversation that we can have" Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) Maybe the most Dave Henderson Jersey surprising thing is how caught off-guard Cole looked when he was asked the question. Its a bit stunning, actually. The topic has been dominating baseball conversations the past week or so, and even if Cole himself chose to tune Tony Phillips Jersey out the outside world during the baseball season po sible, sure someone with the Yankees had to give him a heads-up that this topic would be broached.Remember what ?Is it a coincidence that Gerrit Coles spin rate numbers went down (Thursday) after four minor-leaguers got suspended for 10 games? Is that po sible? I dont know. Maybe," he said. "At the same time, with this situation, theyve let guys do it.Zero chance this wasnt going to be brought up.Heres the truth of the situation: Cole almost certainly has used Spider Tack or something similar to improve his grip on the baseball and increase his spin rates, making the ball move more and, therefore,making Jed Lowrie Jersey it harder for batters to make contact. But hes certainly not the only one. Although we dont have numbers, its absolutely plausible likely, probably that more than half of the pitchers in baseball use something MLB would categorize as illegal.Because heres another truth: Baseball has long turned a blind eye to the rule-breakers on the mound. As long as pitchers werent too obvious about it, as long as they tried to hide it, the practice would be allowed. The powers-that-be ignored the i sue until it could no longer be ignored.That sounds familiar, right? In baseballs "steroid era," no definitive action was taken until the homerun record started to fall. And not just the most players to hit 40 homers in a year record, but when the fabled 60-home run mark started Andrew Triggs Jersey to be bypa sed in earlyto mid-September, something was finally done to effectively addre s the i sue.Same thing here.Spin rates have gone through the roof, and batting averages have plummeted to historic levels. Baseball has never been a thrill-a-second sport, but an exce s of strikeouts has started to make even the most hard-core fans grow weary. I mean, were a week into June and seven starters have sub-2.00 ERAs. Santiago Casilla Jersey And how about this fact: 29 starters are averaging more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings.Nolan Ryan, the strikeout king of all strikeout kings, only topped 11.0 in two seasons in his epic 27-year career. Yeah. Historic things are happening, and MLB is finally preparing to take action.This might have been the first time Colewas asked point-blank about using an illegal substance, but it will not be the last. And he wont be the only one.

Padres switch Tatis bobblehead giveaway to Soto shirt night August 16 sharefacebooktwitterredditlink SAN DIEGO (AP) The San Diego Padres have replaced a planned Fernando Tatis Jr. bobblehead night with a Juan Soto T-shirt giveaway after the superstar shortstop was following a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug.Tatis, a Marco Estrada Jersey 23-year-old sensation and one of the brightest stars in all of Major League Baseball, was on the cusp of returning to the Padres from a broken wrist that had sidelined him all season. He was on track to rejoin the team well before the Sept. 7 bobblehead night until the positive test.Instead, the Padres will offer fans shirts in the club's City Connect color scheme with Soto's name and No. 22 on the back before they play the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team announced the change Tuesday.Soto, also 23 and one of baseball's most Jose Bautista Jersey well-known young faces, was acquired from the Washington Nationals in a blockbuster deadline deal Aug. 2.The Padres' City Connect jerseys, which they wear for Friday night home games, feature vivid colors that celebrate the cro s-border culture of San Diego and Tijuana. MLB said Tatis tested positive for Clostebol, an anabolic steroid. Tatis said he accidentally took a medication to treat ringworm that contained the banned substance. Several of Tatis following Friday's announcement, including pitcher Mike Clevinger, Russell Martin Jersey who talked about being disappointed in Tatis and hoping the shortstop Paul Molitor Jersey realizes its about more than just him right now.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports in this topic National League Major League Baseball San Diego Padres Fernando Tatis Jr. Juan Soto Fernando Tatis Jr. San Diego Padres share World Cup fans find booze at hotels, Qatar's 1 liquor store Qatar's strict rules regarding alcohol have drawn attention as it hosts the World Cup 29 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Sterling leaves England World Cup camp after home break-in England forward Raheem Sterling has left his teams World Cup camp in Qatar and returned to the U.K. after a break-in at his home 32 MINS AGO Roy Halladay Jersey ASSOCIATED PRESS Ronaldo looks to shine like Mbapp and Me si at World Cup Cristiano Ronaldo has been overshadowed by the brilliance of Lionel Me si and Kylian Mbapp so far at the World Cup 56 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ottawa hosts Los Angeles after Giroux's 2-goal game The Ottawa Senators host the Los Angeles Kings after Claude Giroux's two-goal game against the San Jose Sharks in the Senators' 5-2 win 1 HOUR AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Penguins host the Blue Jackets following Kapanen's hat trick The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets after Kasperi Kapanen's hat Kevin Pillar Jersey trick against the St. Louis Blues in the Penguins' 6-2 win 1 HOUR AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS

The 2021 MLB regular season is now two months old and I think we've all settled into the daily grind that is marathon regular season baseball. The 60-game sprint was fun in Roger Clemens Jersey its own way last year given the circumstances. Give me the full 162-game experience every day of the week though. Throughout the season the CBS Sports scribes will bring you a weekly roundtable breaking down, well, pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. . This week we're going to tackle two preseason contenders having disappointing years.R.J. Anderson: I think it has to be the Yankees. If you told everyone during the preseason phase that the Yankees would rank seventh in staff ERA entering mid-June (and, mind you, I'm writing this on Tuesday afternoon), would anybody have gue sed they'd be in fourth place with a negative run differential? Conversely, if you told everyone that the Yankees would rank fifth-to- Toronto Blue Jays T-Shirts last in runs scored at this point, they would've a sumed you had sorted the leaderboard the wrong way. There's still time for the Yankees to get things on track, be it through internal improvement or external additions, but for now they're far more disappointing to me than the Braves. Matt Snyder: The Braves going two-plus months without ever being above .500 feels like it tips things for me. It's easy to get caught up in the standings and see "fourth place" or the number of games out, but if the Yankees were in the NL East, they'd have been in first place for several days and would be within a quick winning streak of being back on top. The Braves are in what's been an objectively-bad division so far and haven't taken advantage of everyone else being either bad or simply mediocre. The Yankees' offense has been incredibly disappointing for sure, but at Jaime Garcia Jersey least they've played a tough schedule. The Braves have a negative strength of schedule rating on and still have disappointed. Katherine Acquavella: I'd have to say the Yankees slightly edge the Braves on the disappointment scale. While, yes, the Yankees' pitching staff has overperformed, it's the team's offense that's most concerning. The Braves entered the season with a lot of question marks, even after they made a handful of offseason upgrades. Randal Grichuk Jersey But, New York entered the season with expectations of another year of high offensive numbers from a dominant (and healthy) lineup. and continue to battle injuries, while is out for the year because of wrist surgery. , and veteran are struggling. Aaron Judge has been the only consistently good hitter for the Yankees. I think the NL Devon Travis Jersey East still is very winnable for the Braves, while pre sure weighs heavier on the Yankees, who need to turn things around as soon as po sible.Mike Axisa: The Yankees. The Braves looked like a regre sion candidate coming into the season because there's a lot of injury risk in their rotation, and because several hitters had incredible seasons last year that they were unlikely to match this year ( , , even ). I didn't expect them to be hovering around .500 at the one-third point of the season, but Atlanta taking a step back is not the most surprising thing in the world. The Yankees haven't been but they have fallen way short of expectations. They're 27th in runs per game (3.74!). How in the world? If you'd have told me before the season Roberto Osuna Jersey that their run prevention would be this good (3.82 runs per game, sixth best in MLB), I would've a sumed they were on pace to win 110 games. Instead, pretty much everyone in the lineup except has underperformed, and the Yankees are struggling to keep their head above water. They're a bigger disappointment to me than the Braves.