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Skubal gives up 3 runs in 5 innings in Dodgers home debut

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LOS ANGELES — Tarik Skubal yielded three runs on four hits while pitching five innings in the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner’s home debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers against Kansas City on Monday night.

Skubal left with the Dodgers trailing 3-2 after a decent, if unspectacular, first start in the home whites. Although he struck out six, Skubal didn’t live up to manager Dave Roberts’ pregame prediction of “an electric night” for the vaunted left-hander and his slumping club, which lost eight of nine heading into this homestand.

The Dodgers did rally to win the game 6-5, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth and the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

Skubal needed 95 pitches and managed just one 1-2-3 inning against the Royals, with Jac Caglianone tagging him for a two-run homer and an RBI single. Skubal also issued two walks and hit a batter in just his second career appearance at Dodger Stadium, taking the mound nine days after the defending champions acquired him from Detroit in the biggest trade of the deadline.

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Los Angeles gave up three promising prospects for what might be a short-term rental of the 29-year-old Skubal, who will reap the benefits of unrestricted free agency this winter.

Skubal made his Dodgers debut at Wrigley Field last Tuesday, pitching six innings of two-run, four-hit ball with six strikeouts in his new team’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

The back-to-back World Series champions had the prospects and the impetus to get out and get the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner — and Skubal’s reception at Chavez Ravine showed their fans still don’t take their deep-pocketed team’s winning mentality for granted.

When Skubal was announced in the starting lineup, Dodgers fans responded with loud cheers and a serenade of “Skuuuuuu!”

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“I think with great players, there’s very few things that are new to them, that get the nerviness or excitement, or whatever you want to call it, in them,” Roberts said. “And I think that making his first appearance in a home jersey at Dodger Stadium is doing that to Tarik. I think he’s very excited about tonight, and I think that energy is going to be translated into the stands, in the dugout. There’s kind of a buzz in the clubhouse.”

But after that warm pregame reception, Skubal yielded two soft singles and a run to Kansas City’s first three batters, with Bobby Witt Jr. stealing second and scoring on Caglianone’s dribbler up the middle.

Nick Loftin then doubled in the third before Caglianone hit his 21st homer of the season to right, smashing a hanging slider for a 410-foot shot that induced grumbles from the stands.

Skubal retired six straight Royals after Caglianone’s shot, but he got into trouble again in the fifth, hitting Loftin and walking Witt with two outs. Skubal dug in and struck out Caglianone to end it, getting him with his signature changeup on his final pitch.

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The Dodgers probably hoped for a more dominant beginning to Skubal’s career in blue, but they care most about the games he’ll pitch in October, when the champs expect to make their 14th consecutive playoff appearance.

Roberts is uncommonly impressed by his new left-hander after just over a week together.

“This guy, he’s as different as anyone I’ve ever been around in this short period of time,” Roberts said. “He’s special in every way. … He’s just built differently. The mind, the body, the focus, the humility, the willingness to serve, to help. He puts himself out there. He’s different than any player I’ve ever been around, really. Again, it’s a small sample, but I’ve dug in on him. I got a pretty good gut. This guy is something like I’ve never seen.”

The start was Skubal’s 18th of the season and just his 11th since he missed a month and a half following elbow surgery, theoretically leaving him fresher for the challenges ahead in the pennant race.

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The Dodgers’ injury-plagued rotation gets more help Tuesday when two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell comes off the shelf to make only his second start of the season.

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Peter Fury delivers verdict on Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury taking place in the US

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Top trainer Peter Fury has considered why his nephew, Tyson, is set to face Anthony Joshua on away soil.

The two British heavyweights completed their respective warm-up fights last month, albeit with varying degrees of difficulty, and effectively kept hopes alive for their long-awaited November showdown.

Initially, it seemed we were in for a drama-free weekend as Fury, while facing a 46-year-old Mariusz Wach, was able to bank seven rounds of minimal action.

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Joshua, however, did not quite get the memo as he suffered two knockdowns in the opening round of his clash with Kristian Prenga, who was widely considered a low-risk opponent.

Instead of going for the jugular, Prenga then opted to afford ‘AJ’ ample space in the following three minutes, leading to him getting stopped in brutal fashion.

As a result, the wheels are now in motion for Joshua and Fury to square off in New York, with Madison Square Garden having been named as a likely venue.

Unsurprisingly, this has caused quite the stir among British boxing circles, yet Peter Fury has made the valid point to IFL TV that, wherever it takes place, both fighters will have an equal chance at victory.

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“I think it would’ve been nice to happen over here, but it’s the promoters paying for it. If they’re giving all that money, they can put it wherever they like.

“For the fighters, it’s a square ring. I’ve always said: It doesn’t matter if it’s on the moon.”

Interestingly enough, Joshua has not fought at Madison Square Garden since his seventh-round stoppage defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, while Fury fought at the Theatre – MSG’s smaller room – when he climbed off the canvas to stop Steve Cunningham in 2013.

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MLB Roundup: Baty hits first career slam to spark Mets’ win over Braves

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ATLANTA — Brett Baty hit the first grand slam of his career and the New York Mets held off the Atlanta Braves 8-5 on Monday night for their sixth win in seven games.

Francisco Lindor was 3 for 5 with a 420-foot home run, Jared Young had two hits and two RBIs, and Bo Bichette drove in a run and scored.

Daniel Duarte (1-0) earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief, and Kodai Senga pitched a scoreless ninth for his first career save. Regular closer Devin Williams was placed on the 15-day injured list earlier in the day.

Baty’s grand slam came in the first inning off Bryce Elder (8-7), who was unable to follow up on his past three starts where he gave up just one run each game.

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TORONTO — Charles McAdoo homered and Jameson Taillon pitched four scoreless innings before leaving with an injury as Toronto beat Boston to hand the Red Sox their third loss in a row.

Boston’s skid follows a nine-game winning streak that capped a franchise-record string of 27 victories in 30 games.

McAdoo hit his second major league home run in nine career games leading off the fifth. The 24-year-old rookie made his first start at third base in place of Kazuma Okamoto, a late scratch due to a bruised left knee.

Taillon gave up one hit and walked three before exiting with forearm discomfort. It was his second start for the Blue Jays and first at home since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs in a trade on Aug. 2.

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Simeon Woods-Richardson (2-7) replaced Taillon to begin the fifth and gave up one run in three innings for the win. Louis Varland pitched a scoreless ninth for his 25th save.

MINNEAPOLIS — Austin Martin had four hits including a home run, Josh Bell also homered and Minnesota beat Baltimore.

Dean Kremer (2-4), in his second start with Minnesota since being brought over from Baltimore at the trade deadline, allowed one run and one hit in seven innings against his former team. He struck out seven.

Martin led off the third with his homer to left-center field to open the scoring. He singled in the first and reached on a bunt single in the seventh, part of a five-run inning for the Twins. He added another single in the eighth.

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Ryan Jeffers singled in the seventh to score Martin and Royce Lewis was walked to set up Bell’s three-run shot that made it 7-1. Jeffers hit an RBI double in the eighth inning, and Lewis delivered a single to make it 9-3.

ST. LOUIS — Edmundo Sosa drove in three runs and Kyle Schwarber reached base four times as Philadelphia beat St. Louis.

Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter took a no-hitter into the sixth before running out of steam. Iván Herrera’s one-out double broke up the no-hit bid and Alec Burleson followed with a two-run single that chased Painter after 93 pitches.

Painter (2-8) allowed two runs on two hits, walked three and struck out six in 5 1/3 innings as the Phillies won their second straight and for the seventh time in 10 games. Jonathan Bowland earned his first save in four chances.

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Brandon Marsh singled and scored on a Hunter Dobbins throwing error, and Sosa followed with an RBI single to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

Schwarber, who leads the National League with 35 homers, singled and scored in the fifth, and doubled home Garrett Stubbs in the seventh to add to the lead. Schwarber also walked twice.

DIAMONDBACKS 9, ROCKIES 0

PHOENIX — Nolan Areando hit a grand slam in the first inning against his former team, Michael Soroka had a successful return on the mound and the Arizona Diamondbacks jumped out to a big early lead for a 9-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

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The D-backs (64-56) moved to eight games above .500 for the first time this season.

Arenado hammered a fastball up in the zone from Gabriel Hughes over the left-field fence for his eighth career grand slam and second of the season. The eight-time All-Star played his first eight seasons in the big leagues with the Rockies.

The D-backs pushed their lead to 7-0 in the second with three more runs. Corbin Carroll had a run-scoring double, Ketel Marte brought home another run on a single and Geraldo Perdomo scored on a wild pitch.

Gabriel Moreno and Ryan Waldschmidt had two hits apiece.

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Soroka — who missed nearly two months with a strained left glute — threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his return. The veteran right-hander gave up three hits, walked three and struck out four.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jeremy Peña hit a go-ahead single with none out in the 10th, Isaac Paredes added a two-run double one out later and the Houston Astros rallied for a 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.

LaMonte Wade Jr. led off the 10th with Cam Smith on second as the automatic runner, and Smith moved to third on a wild pitch by Jason Foley (0-1).

Josh Hader (4-1) pitched two perfect innings for the win.

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Smith hit a tying RBI single with two outs in the ninth against closer Dylan Smith after connecting for his 16th home run in the seventh.

Drew Gilbert hit a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the seventh after an earlier sacrifice fly and Jung Hoo Lee connected in the fifth, but the Giants blew it.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Junior Caminero hit a three-run homer in an eight-run eighth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied for a 10-6 victory over the Athletics on Monday night.

Caminero hit his 34th of the year after Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda both singled to kick off the inning, bringing the Rays within one. Chandler Simpson’s RBI single tied the game, and Taylor Walls hit a two-run single to give Tampa Bay an 8-6 lead. Díaz hit a sacrifice fly and Aranda hit an RBI single in his second at-bat of the inning to make it 10-6.

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Rays reliever Chris Roycroft (1-0) pitched the seventh inning, giving up three hits and three earned runs. Starter Freddy Peralta pitched the first six innings, with five strikeouts, three earned runs and a walk.

Díaz homered on the second pitch of the game to make it 1-0. The A’s responded with an RBI double by Tyler Soderstrom to tie it, followed by Soderstrom stealing home later in the inning to make it 2-1.

Zack Gelof hit a solo home run in the fifth inning for the Athletics in his first game back after being on the injured list with a right knee laceration he sustained against the Detroit Tigers on July 9. He hit an RBI double in the seventh inning.

Jeff McNeil hit a sacrifice fly and Jacob Wilson doubled in the seventh to give the A’s a 6-2 lead.

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Jose Suarez (1-4) gave up four runs while getting just one out in the eighth, after Seth Johnson was charged with four runs and failed to record an out. Jacob Lopez pitched the first seven innings, allowing two runs with five strikeouts and a walk.

LOS ANGELES — Tarik Skubal yielded three runs over five innings in his home debut for the Dodgers, and Shohei Ohtani scored the go-ahead run in the seventh while Los Angeles rallied for only its second victory in 10 games, 6-5 over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

Skubal allowed four hits and struck out six in the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner’s second start for his new team since arriving from Detroit in the majors’ biggest deadline trade. Jac Caglianone homered and drove in all three runs off the Dodgers’ vaunted new left-hander, who left trailing 3-2.

Max Muncy hit a three-run double in the sixth on his bobblehead night for the Dodgers, but Kyle Isbel responded with a tying two-run homer in the seventh for Kansas City.

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Ohtani then singled and stole his first base since May 16 before he scored on Freddie Freeman’s single, putting Los Angeles ahead to stay in this back-and-forth homestand opener.

Ohtani also had an early RBI double for the Dodgers, who improved to 8-12 since July 19.

SAN DIEGO — Jackson Merrill hit a two-run homer to center field in the seventh inning and Mason Miller earned his NL-leading 30th save to give the San Diego Padres a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

With the Padres trailing 2-1 in the seventh, Ty France singled with one out and Merrill followed with his 19th homer on an 83 mph changeup from starter Logan Henderson (6-2). Merrill has nine homers since the All-Star break.

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San Diego has won 13 of its last 17 games. The Padres remained a game out of the final National League playoff spot.

Henderson had won his last six decisions over seven starts before taking the loss versus San Diego. In 6 1/3 innings, he gave up three runs and five hits while striking out seven.

San Diego reliever Yuki Matsui (3-1) got the victory, pitching a scoreless seventh inning. Miller worked a scoreless ninth.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Brandon Nimmo singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 on Monday night to snap a five-game road losing streak.

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Texas has won five of its last six overall and is a half-game behind AL West-leading Houston.

Nimmo and Elias Díaz each finished with two hits and an RBI.

Peyton Gray (6-0) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the win. Jacob Latz worked a scoreless 10th for his 23rd save.

Luke Murphy (0-1) came on to start the 10th for the Angels. Wyatt Langford drew a leadoff walk and Corey Seager singled to load the bases. Ezequiel Duran popped out, Blake Weiman replaced Murphy and Nimmo’s line drive to right field drove in automatic runner Nicky Lopez before Jake Burger’s two-run single capped the scoring.

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Ifeanyi Ndukwe: The Liverpool teenager who can’t play in Premier League because of Brexit

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Since Brexit, and with the UK no longer part of the European Union, clubs now have to navigate a more complex work permit system to ensure players – especially those who are yet to establish themselves at the top level – are able to move to England.

Austria youth international Ndukwe doesn’t currently have enough points to obtain a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) to obtain a work visa.

There is another route into the squad, through taking up an Elite Significant Contribution (ESC) slot, which is awarded to foreign players who do not qualify for the standard GBE.

Premier League and Championship clubs have up to four ESC places available, based on the percentage of minutes clubs gave to their England Qualified Players (EQP) in the previous campaign.

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But clubs are not entitled to all four spots automatically.

The magic number is 35% of minutes, which means clubs can use four ESC players. Dropping below that begins to reduce the number of ESC slots available.

Liverpool‘s percentage last season means they only get one ESC place, which has already been taken by Senegalese 18-year-old Mor Talla Ndiaye.

Last season, Freddie Woodman, Gomez, Rhys Williams, Curtis Jones, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha were the only English players in Liverpool‘s squad, playing a collective 83 times in the Premier League.

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This comes after Liverpool lost the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarell Quansah, Tyler Morton and loaned out Harvey Elliott.

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Dana White: “It’s horrible” – Dana White opens up on death of UFC star Allan Nascimento 

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The MMA world was left shocked at the sudden passing of fighter Allan Nascimento. The Brazilian had reportedly suffered a heart attack in his sleep last week.

A release from the UFC added that medical teams tried to revive him, but were unable to do so.

The 34-year-old had won 22 fights and seven losses with a record of four wins and two losses in the UFC. Nascimento made his UFC debut in 2021 at UFO 267.

The flyweight’s death saw several stars speak out about how devastating it was for them, and Dana White recently shared his own thoughts on the same.

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He was part of a media scrum during a recent event and was asked about Nascimento. The UFC president said:

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“It’s horrible. I know that his whole crew and team were literally devastated, I mean these guys were so upset.”

He continued:

“It’s just one of those freak tragedy things that happen to a young guy that it shouldn’t happen to.”

Check out Dana White’s comments on Allan Nascimento below:


Charles Oliveira left shattered after death of Allan Nascimento

Allan Nascimento was close to UFC BMF champion Charles Oliveira, and the Brazilian posted an emotional tribute to the late flyweight.

Oliveira posted several messages on social media after Nascimento’s death, and in one of them, he called the UFC flyweight his brother:

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“Today I’m just going to say one thing, live your life to the fullest because it goes by too fast. Don’t care about other people’s lives but your own because we live in a world full of jealous, evil and mean people. You don’t know what else. And right from wrong”

The former UFC lightweight champion added:

“Today I lost a brother, a guy, speechless and how it hurts I love you forever and you will never be forgotten until after the end brother @allanpuroosso”