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Pirates try to extend road win streak in matchup with the Cardinals

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

Pittsburgh Pirates (63-73, fourth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (58-78, fifth in the NL Central)St. Louis; Sunday, 2:15 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Johan Oviedo (8-13, 4.20 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 134 strikeouts); Cardinals: Zack Thompson (3-5, 3.92 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 47 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Pirates -120, Cardinals +100; over/under is 9 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates will try to keep a five-game road win streak going when they visit the St. Louis Cardinals.St. Louis is 58-78 overall and 30-40 in home games. The Cardinals are 36-14 in games when they out-hit their opponents.Pittsburgh is 63-73 overall and 31-37 in road games. The Pirates have a 25-8 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.The matchup Sunday is the 13th meeting between these teams this season. The Pirates have a 9-3 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Tommy Edman has 21 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs and 41 RBI for the Cardinals. Willson Contreras ...

Padres play the Giants leading series 2-1

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

San Francisco Giants (70-66, third in the NL West) vs. San Diego Padres (64-73, fourth in the NL West)San Diego; Sunday, 4:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: Alex Cobb (7-5, 3.57 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 125 strikeouts); Padres: Seth Lugo (5-6, 3.67 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 113 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Padres -140, Giants +119; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres take a 2-1 lead into the next game of the series against the San Francisco Giants.San Diego has a 37-34 record in home games and a 64-73 record overall. The Padres have a 32-12 record in games when they did not allow a home run.San Francisco has a 32-35 record on the road and a 70-66 record overall. The Giants are 37-11 in games when they did not give up a home run.The matchup Sunday is the 10th time these teams square off this season. The Padres hold a 5-4 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto has 26 doubles, a triple, 27 home runs and 82 RBI for the Padres. Xander Bogaerts is 9-for-39...

Phillies try to break road skid, take on the Brewers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

Philadelphia Phillies (74-61, second in the NL East) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (76-59, first in the NL Central)Milwaukee; Sunday, 1:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Phillies: Ranger Suarez (2-6, 3.88 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 89 strikeouts); Brewers: Wade Miley (7-3, 3.17 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 60 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Phillies -115, Brewers -105; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Phillies visit the Milwaukee Brewers looking to stop a three-game road skid.Milwaukee has a 40-27 record in home games and a 76-59 record overall. The Brewers are 27-13 in games decided by one run.Philadelphia has gone 33-35 on the road and 74-61 overall. The Phillies have the fourth-best team batting average in MLB play at .260.The teams meet Sunday for the sixth time this season. The Brewers are ahead 4-1 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: William Contreras has a .283 batting average to lead the Brewers, and has 33 doubles, a triple and 14 home runs. Carlos Santana is 14-for-37 with two home...

Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs meet in game 4 of series

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

Chicago Cubs (72-64, second in the NL Central) vs. Cincinnati Reds (71-67, third in the NL Central)Cincinnati; Sunday, 12:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Jameson Taillon (7-9, 5.62 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 106 strikeouts); Reds: Carson Spiers (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cubs -130, Reds +110; over/under is 10 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds host the Chicago Cubs with a 2-1 series lead.Cincinnati has a 33-35 record in home games and a 71-67 record overall. The Reds have the eighth-ranked team slugging percentage in the NL at .409.Chicago has a 72-64 record overall and a 35-33 record in road games. Cubs hitters have a collective .328 on-base percentage, the eighth-best percentage in the majors.The teams meet Sunday for the 13th time this season. The Reds are up 7-5 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Spencer Steer leads the Reds with a .270 batting average, and has 31 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 58 walks and 72 RBI. Christian Encarnacion-Strand is 10-for-36 with a home ...

A capsule look at all 20 Rugby World Cup teams in France

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

POOL AFRANCEWorld ranking: 3Captain: Antoine Dupont. Regarded as the best player in the world, for which he has been well rewarded. Six Nations Grand Slam, European and French club titles, world and Six Nations player of the year. Dupont’s ambition also reportedly includes a desire to play for France sevens at the Paris Olympics next year.Coach: Fabien Galthie. Played in four World Cups and one final. Assistant coach at the 2019 World Cup and took charge afterward. Has primed France to peak at its home World Cup thanks to a winning percentage of 80 and an unbeaten record at home for nearly two years.World Cup history1987 Final1991 Quarterfinal1995 Semifinal1999 Final2003 Semifinal2007 Semifinal2011 Final2015 Quarterfinal2019 QuarterfinalProspects: This tournament is France’s to lose. Les Tricolores have everything going for them; good coaching, a sweetly executed four-year buildup, strength and depth and smarts, and home advantage. In its unbeaten run at home since November 2021, Fr...

Winchester’s Corr gets big kick out of being one of nation’s best

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

After watching a meltdown turn into a miracle opportunity, Winchester High football head coach Wally Dembowski didn’t hesitate to put the fate of the game on the foot of his first-year starting kicker.Belmont scored a touchdown against the Red and Black with about 30 seconds left to take a 32-30 lead in Week 5 of last season. Winchester was on its way to a crushing loss, but the ensuing kickoff was returned over 50 yards into Marauders territory.Dembowski asked junior Kieran Corr if he needed a timeout before attempting a game-winner from 48 yards with three seconds to go, but he declined.Corr admits in hindsight he should’ve taken the timeout to prepare for the whipping winds that night, since his kick had the distance but pushed wide. The Red and Black lost, but Dembowski had no regrets. He knew what he had in Corr.Nine months later, the five-star kicker and punter announced his commitment to Harvard University. In the following days, he converted a 65-yard field goal to secure th...

Patriots point/counterpoint: Will Mac Jones, Bill Belichick and Co. make the playoffs?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

It’s been more than a year since the Patriots made the playoffs.It’s been close to five since they won a playoff game.How much longer can those streaks last?Oddsmakers are giving the Pats roughly a 30% chance to return to the postseason this January. They’re widely projected to finish fourth in the division and face the NFL’s toughest schedule, according to opponents’ projected win totals by Vegas odds. Exceeding expectations would require Mac Jones’ best season yet, maintaining an elite defense and fixing their special teams.And yet, the Patriots just might do it. Their dynasty was forged in the fires of public doubt and long odds. Can they surprise again with a playoff run?The Herald’s Patriots beat writers debate.Kyed: I’ll start here: I think the AFC East is a little overrated. The Buffalo Bills will still win the division assuming nothing catastrophic happens.Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion issues are serious, and the Miami Dolp...

Snap decisions: Dufault, Vinci among country’s best long snappers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

WESTWOOD — Westwood is clearly the hot spot for long snappers.Xaverian’s Andrew Dufault has become one of the premier long snappers in the country and recently committed to continue his craft at Penn State. Less than two miles down the road, Westwood’s Joe Vinci is a late bloomer to the art of long snapping, but has become so good at it that he’s drawn interest from several Power 5 colleges.Not surprisingly, both of them got their indoctrination to long snapping from the Crabtrees. Bill Crabtree is a longtime coach with Mass. Elite Football, while his son Kevin Crabtree played at Milton Academy before going on to Villanova, where he served as the team’s long snapper.“I went to play for coach (Bill) Crabtree’s Mass. Elite team back in the seventh grade, but I was about 5-foot-2 at the time and he said I was too small to play guard,” Dufault said. “He told me the only way I could play was to long snap. When the season came around, I would stay after pract...

Bavaria’s governor leaves his deputy in office despite a furor over antisemitism allegations

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The governor of the German state of Bavaria said Sunday that he will let his deputy stay in office despite a furor that started with allegations he was responsible for an antisemitic flyer when he was a high school student 35 years ago.Governor Markus Soeder, a leading figure in Germany’s center-right opposition, said he had concluded that it would be “disproportionate” to fire Hubert Aiwanger, his deputy and coalition partner, but that Aiwanger needs to work on rebuilding confidence with Jewish groups and others.A state election is due in Bavaria in a matter of weeks.In August, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that, when Aiwanger was 17, he was suspected of producing a typewritten flyer calling for entries to a competition titled “Who is the biggest traitor to the fatherland?”It listed, among other things, a “1st prize: A free flight through the chimney at Auschwitz.”Aiwanger, 52, said last weekend that one or more copies of the flyer were found in his sc...

Israel’s Netanyahu demands Eritrean migrants involved in violent clash to be deported immediately

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:53 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he wants Eritrean migrants involved in a violent clash in Tel Aviv to be deported immediately and has ordered a plan to remove all of the country’s African migrants.The remarks came a day after bloody protests by rival groups of Eritreans in south Tel Aviv left dozens of people injured. Eritreans, supporters and opponents of Eritrea’s government, faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal and rocks, smashing shop windows and police cars. Israeli police in riot gear shot tear gas, stun grenades and live rounds while officers on horseback tried to control the protesters.The violence on Saturday returned to the fore the issue of migrants, which has long divided Israel. Its resurgence comes as Israel is torn over Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan, and supporters cite the migrant issue as a reason why the courts should be reined in, saying they have stood in the way of pushing the migrants...