Pirates take on the Diamondbacks in series rubber match

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

Pirates take on the Diamondbacks in series rubber match Arizona Diamondbacks (26-20, second in the NL West) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (24-21, second in the NL Central)Pittsburgh; Sunday, 1:35 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Merrill Kelly (4-3, 3.27 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 55 strikeouts); Pirates: Roansy Contreras (3-4, 4.40 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 32 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Diamondbacks -129, Pirates +109; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks play on Sunday with the winner claiming the three-game series.Pittsburgh is 11-10 at home and 24-21 overall. The Pirates have a 15-2 record in games when they scored at least five runs.Arizona has a 12-10 record on the road and a 26-20 record overall. Diamondbacks hitters have a collective .436 slugging percentage to rank fourth in the NL.The teams match up Sunday for the third time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds has 15 doubles, a triple and six home runs for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is 12-for-34 with a home run over the past 10...

Giants and Marlins meet in series rubber match

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

Giants and Marlins meet in series rubber match Miami Marlins (24-22, second in the NL East) vs. San Francisco Giants (21-24, third in the NL West)San Francisco; Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Jesus Luzardo (3-2, 3.16 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 55 strikeouts); Giants: Alex Wood (0-0, 2.87 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 16 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Giants -128, Marlins +108; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Francisco Giants and Miami Marlins meet on Sunday with the three-game series tied 1-1.San Francisco is 21-24 overall and 14-11 at home. The Giants have the eighth-ranked team ERA in the NL at 4.38.Miami has a 10-11 record in road games and a 24-22 record overall. The Marlins have a 17-4 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents.Sunday’s game is the sixth time these teams square off this season. The Marlins hold a 3-2 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Conforto is sixth on the Giants with 10 extra base hits (two doubles and eight home runs). Joc Pederson is 4-for-21 wi...

Phillies and Cubs meet, winner takes 3-game series

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

Phillies and Cubs meet, winner takes 3-game series Chicago Cubs (20-25, third in the NL Central) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (21-24, fourth in the NL East)Philadelphia; Sunday, 1:35 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Justin Steele (6-1, 2.44 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 47 strikeouts); Phillies: Taijuan Walker (3-2, 6.53 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 39 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Phillies -121, Cubs +101; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: Both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs are looking for a series win with a victory on Sunday.Philadelphia has a 12-8 record at home and a 21-24 record overall. The Phillies have a 10-2 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.Chicago has a 9-14 record in road games and a 20-25 record overall. The Cubs are 19-4 in games when they out-hit their opponents.The matchup Sunday is the third time these teams match up this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Nicholas Castellanos has 14 doubles, five home runs and 26 RBI while hitting .299 for the Phillies. Bryce Harper is 12-for-39 with four doubles and a home run...

Cardinals face the Dodgers leading series 2-1

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

Cardinals face the Dodgers leading series 2-1 Los Angeles Dodgers (29-18, first in the NL West) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (20-27, fourth in the NL Central)St. Louis; Sunday, 2:15 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (6-3, 2.52 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 63 strikeouts); Cardinals: Jack Flaherty (3-4, 5.24 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 49 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Dodgers -149, Cardinals +128; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals lead 2-1 in a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.St. Louis is 10-15 in home games and 20-27 overall. The Cardinals have an 11-5 record in games when they did not allow a home run.Los Angeles has a 29-18 record overall and a 12-11 record on the road. The Dodgers are 14-3 in games when they did not allow a home run.Sunday’s game is the seventh time these teams square off this season. The Dodgers are up 4-2 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Paul Goldschmidt has 16 doubles and seven home runs for the Cardinals. Nolan Gorman is 15-for-33 with three doubles, si...

Rusia y China contraatacan a un G7 que los considera una amenaza

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

Rusia y China contraatacan a un G7 que los considera una amenaza (CNN) — Moscú y Beijing arremetieron contra la cumbre del G7 en Hiroshima, en la que los líderes de las principales democracias prometieron nuevas medidas contra Rusia y hablaron sobre su creciente preocupación por China.El ministro ruso de Asuntos Exteriores, Serguéi Lavrov, criticó el sábado al G7 por entregarse a su “propia grandeza” con una agenda que pretendía “disuadir” a Rusia y China.Mientras tanto, el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores chino acusó a los líderes del G7 de “obstaculizar la paz internacional” y dijo que el grupo debía “reflexionar sobre su comportamiento y cambiar de rumbo”.Beijing había hecho “serias gestiones” ante el país anfitrión, Japón, y “otras partes” por su decisión de “desprestigiar y atacar” a China, dijo.Tanto el brutal ataque de Rusia a Ucrania como la forma de tratar a un Beijing cada vez más asertivo han estado presentes en la reunión de tres días de las prin...

OBF: Celtics need to quickly flip the script against the Heat

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

OBF: Celtics need to quickly flip the script against the Heat In a playoff run defined by “The Town,” the Celtics must flip the script in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat if they want a Hollywood ending.They are two losses from joining “The Departed.”Game 3 is tonight in South Beach.“The Verdict” after choking away Games 1 and 2 at home to “The Heat”?“Knives Out” for Joe Mazzulla.The late-game “Spotlight” has been too bright for Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and their teammates.There has been no “Celtic Pride” on display thus far against Miami. Nor does this team appear to be getting “Stronger.” They might as well have been taking a dip at Singing Beach in “Manchester By The Sea.”Miami’s Jimmy Butler has reprised his role as the “Boston Strangler” this spring.In Games 1 and 2, Butler averaged 31 points, 6.5 boards and 6.5 assists. He scored nine points during Miami’s 24-9 run that closed out Game 2, after scoring seven in the final 6:48 of Game 1.“How do you like them apples?”Yes, Grant Williams “poked the bear.” But the Celti...

One year of Adley Rutschman: Ranking the 10 best moments from the Orioles star catcher

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

One year of Adley Rutschman: Ranking the 10 best moments from the Orioles star catcher Adley Rutschman’s impact isn’t hard for Brandon Hyde to quantify.“The record kind of speaks for itself,” Hyde said.From the start of the 2019 season — Hyde’s first as the manager of a rebuilding team — to Rutschman’s debut May 21, 2022, the Orioles won 34.7% of their games (147-277). Since the star catcher arrived in the big leagues, Baltimore has won 57.7% of its games (97-71), competing for a playoff spot last year and looking poised to do so again this season.“Our season definitely changed when he got here last year, and I think he was a huge part of that,” the fifth-year manager added.For as long as Rutschman is on the Orioles and the club is competitive, May 21 could become a holiday of sorts. It won’t only be an annual reminder of when the franchise star — a No. 1 overall pick and consensus No. 1 prospect — finally arrived, but the point at which the Orioles transformed from a rebuilding cellar-dwell...

Police: 3 dead, 2 wounded in early morning shooting at Kansas City bar

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

Police: 3 dead, 2 wounded in early morning shooting at Kansas City bar KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two people were killed at the scene and a third victim died at a hospital following a shooting at a Kansas City, Missouri, bar early Sunday, police said.Two other victims were wounded and transported to a hospital, including one who was in critical condition and another who was in stable condition, Kansas City Police Department Officer Donna Drake said in an email.Multiple officers responded to the Klymax Lounge on Indiana Avenue at 1:25 a.m.One of the victims who was killed at the scene was inside the bar, while the second was outside the building, Drake said.The victims were all adults, police said, but their ages and identities were not immediately available.Homicide detectives and crime scene investigators were at the scene early Sunday, police said.The Associated Press

G7 ends with Ukraine in focus as Zelenskyy meets world leaders, Russia claims a battlefield victory

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

G7 ends with Ukraine in focus as Zelenskyy meets world leaders, Russia claims a battlefield victory HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddled with some of his biggest backers as the Group of Seven summit closed in Hiroshima on Sunday, building momentum for his country’s war effort even as Russia claimed a symbolic victory on the battlefield.The Ukrainian leader’s in-person appearance in his trademark olive drab underscored the centrality of the war for the G7 bloc of rich democracies. It also stole much of the limelight from other priorities, including security challenges in Asia and outreach to the developing world, that the leaders focused on at the three-day gathering. “G7 reaffirmed our commitment to continue our strong backing for Ukraine from every possible dimension,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. Zelenskyy held two major rounds of meetings Sunday, one with G7 leaders and a second with them and a host of invited guests including India and South Korea. He also held one-on-one talks with several of the leaders.Hanging ov...

Zelenskyy says ‘Bakhmut is only in our hearts’ after Russia claims control of Ukrainian city

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:36:22 GMT

Zelenskyy says ‘Bakhmut is only in our hearts’ after Russia claims control of Ukrainian city KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Bakhmut was “only in our hearts,” hours after Russia’s defense ministry reported that forces of the Wagner private army, with the support of Russian troops, had seized the city in eastern Ukraine. Speaking alongside U.S. President Joe Biden at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Zelenskyy said the Russians had destroyed “everything.” “You have to understand that there is nothing,” he said.“For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts,” he said. “There is nothing in this place.”The Russian ministry statement on the Telegram channel came about eight hours after a similar announcement by Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin. Ukrainian authorities at that time said that fighting for Bakhmut was continuing. The eight-month battle for Bakhmut has been the longest and probably most bloody of the conflict in Ukraine.Zelenskyy’s comments came as Biden announced $375 million more in aid for Ukraine, which incl...