NBA Draft Headlined by Ayton, Trades
The NBA Draft was not as predictable as many thought it would be in the first two rounds on Thursday night. Outside of the top two picks, everyone was bouncing around in the first round with trades and different-styled selections for their team. Before the craziness took place, the obvious kicked things off, with Deandre Ayton going No. 1 to the Phoenix Suns and Marvin Bagley Jr. going to the Sacramento Kings at No. 2. These two picks were to the surprise of no one, as Ayton gets to stay in his home town in a move that he saw coming weeks ago when he guaranteed that he would be selected first. And then the trades took place, including the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks swapping their rights to the third and fifth picks respectively, as the Mavs landed international star Luca Doncic and the Hawks ended up with Trae Young, who was expected to go to the Cleveland Cavaliers with the eighth pic. Instead, they were left with Alabama's star Collin Sexton, who made a pitch to do something big in Cleveland with LeBron James. Although, I'm not sure that will be enough to sway James's decision in his potential free agency. The Philadelhpia 76ers had made Mikal Bridges' dreams come true, for six picks, as he was drafted by his home town team before getting traded to the Phoenix Suns later in the draft. A similar trade took place in the top 15, as the Los Angeles Clippers sent their No. 12 pick to the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 11 selection. That sent Michigan State's Miles Bridges to the Hornets, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the Clippers. This draft also featured another New York Knicks pick getting booed out of the building, as Kevin Knox did not get the best reaction, similar to that of Kristaps Porzingis, who reached out to the rookie to for a pep talk on how to deal with that reaction. Elsewhere, Michael Porter Jr.'s injury haunted him, as he did not go until the 14th pick to the Denver Nuggets, after being projected as a top-5 pick. Grayson Allen went to the Utah Jazz, much to the delight of Donovan Mitchell, who was there to celebrate with his new teammate. And the Los Angeles Lakers left LiAngelo Ball on the board by taking Mo Wagner of the Michigan Wolverines. Ball will not be on the Lakers' Summer League team for reasons that are "much more than basketball." The draft kept everyone interested, as the introductory press conferences are sure to be the same on Friday afternoon.
Bumgarner Shuts Down Padres For First Win
Madison Bumgarner slowed himself down with an unfortunate, non-baseball accident that caused him to miss most of last season. That was followed by an injury late in Spring Training, which added to the frustration of the San Francisco Giants' ace, who let all of that frustration out on Thursday. Bumgarner went eight innings of shutout baseball in the Giants' 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres. The left-hander allowed just three hits and struck out eight in his first win of the season. Bumgarner was relieved by closer Mark Melancon in the ninth, who earned his first save since returning from injury. The former World Series MVP starter also helped himself at the plate by knocking in his first run of the season with a sacrifice fly. That helped him get the best of Padres' starter Tyson Ross, who allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings in his fifth loss of the year. Ross struck out three and walked three, dropping his record to an even .500 on the season. His counterpart was previously 0-2 with a 4.67 ERA in three outings since returning from a broken pinkie that was suffered in his final start of Spring Training. It was the fourth time in his career that he had a scoreless start and the game-winning RBI in the same game, tying Stephen Strasburg and Fernando Venzuela for the most such games in the past 40 years. Melancon had missed some time with a right elbow flexor strain, and earned his first save since June 20, 2017. These two teams will play three more games at AT&T Park this weekend.
Yankees Sweep Away Red-Hot Mariners
The New York Yankees made a major statement this past week as the top team in the American League by sweeping away the red-hot Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Judge and Miguel Andujar each had two-run home runs in the Yankees' 4-3 victory to give them a three-game series sweep. Both of those home runs came in the first inning off of James Paxton, who dropped to 6-2 despite striking out nine over five innings. Luis Severino enjoyed the early support en route to his 11th victory, as he pitched in to the sixth inning and struck out five, despite having three runs against him. That helped the Yankees win their fourth in a row, 17th in the past 21, and improve their record to a major league-leading 50-22, two games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. They've also handed the Mariners their season-high fourth straight loss, as their record dropped after getting up to 20 games over .500 entering the series. The Yankees used the long ball for this success over the M's, launching eight home runs in the series and lead all of baseball with 122 of them. They nearly had one more from Giancarlo Stanton, who was robbed of a dinger by Mitch Haniger with a leaping catch in the series finale. Stanton had gone deep in each of the first two games of the series, including a walk-off blast in Game 2 on Wednesday. Kyle Seager had a two-run home run off of Severino, but outside of that, the Mariners' offense could not get going, which was their unfortunate trend the entire series. Severino's vicory improved him to 7-0 at home this season, while David Roberston, Dellins Betances, and Aroldis Chapman finished off the sweep. Chapman struck out Dee Gordon on three pitches with a runner at second to end the game for his 22nd save in 23 opportunities. The Yankees will hit the road this weekend to battle the Tampa Bay Rays. Meanwhile, the Mariners' challenging road trip continues when they head to Fenway Park to go against the Boston Red Sox.
The NBA Draft was not as predictable as many thought it would be in the first two rounds on Thursday night. Outside of the top two picks, everyone was bouncing around in the first round with trades and different-styled selections for their team. Before the craziness took place, the obvious kicked things off, with Deandre Ayton going No. 1 to the Phoenix Suns and Marvin Bagley Jr. going to the Sacramento Kings at No. 2. These two picks were to the surprise of no one, as Ayton gets to stay in his home town in a move that he saw coming weeks ago when he guaranteed that he would be selected first. And then the trades took place, including the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks swapping their rights to the third and fifth picks respectively, as the Mavs landed international star Luca Doncic and the Hawks ended up with Trae Young, who was expected to go to the Cleveland Cavaliers with the eighth pic. Instead, they were left with Alabama's star Collin Sexton, who made a pitch to do something big in Cleveland with LeBron James. Although, I'm not sure that will be enough to sway James's decision in his potential free agency. The Philadelhpia 76ers had made Mikal Bridges' dreams come true, for six picks, as he was drafted by his home town team before getting traded to the Phoenix Suns later in the draft. A similar trade took place in the top 15, as the Los Angeles Clippers sent their No. 12 pick to the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 11 selection. That sent Michigan State's Miles Bridges to the Hornets, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the Clippers. This draft also featured another New York Knicks pick getting booed out of the building, as Kevin Knox did not get the best reaction, similar to that of Kristaps Porzingis, who reached out to the rookie to for a pep talk on how to deal with that reaction. Elsewhere, Michael Porter Jr.'s injury haunted him, as he did not go until the 14th pick to the Denver Nuggets, after being projected as a top-5 pick. Grayson Allen went to the Utah Jazz, much to the delight of Donovan Mitchell, who was there to celebrate with his new teammate. And the Los Angeles Lakers left LiAngelo Ball on the board by taking Mo Wagner of the Michigan Wolverines. Ball will not be on the Lakers' Summer League team for reasons that are "much more than basketball." The draft kept everyone interested, as the introductory press conferences are sure to be the same on Friday afternoon.
Bumgarner Shuts Down Padres For First Win
Madison Bumgarner slowed himself down with an unfortunate, non-baseball accident that caused him to miss most of last season. That was followed by an injury late in Spring Training, which added to the frustration of the San Francisco Giants' ace, who let all of that frustration out on Thursday. Bumgarner went eight innings of shutout baseball in the Giants' 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres. The left-hander allowed just three hits and struck out eight in his first win of the season. Bumgarner was relieved by closer Mark Melancon in the ninth, who earned his first save since returning from injury. The former World Series MVP starter also helped himself at the plate by knocking in his first run of the season with a sacrifice fly. That helped him get the best of Padres' starter Tyson Ross, who allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings in his fifth loss of the year. Ross struck out three and walked three, dropping his record to an even .500 on the season. His counterpart was previously 0-2 with a 4.67 ERA in three outings since returning from a broken pinkie that was suffered in his final start of Spring Training. It was the fourth time in his career that he had a scoreless start and the game-winning RBI in the same game, tying Stephen Strasburg and Fernando Venzuela for the most such games in the past 40 years. Melancon had missed some time with a right elbow flexor strain, and earned his first save since June 20, 2017. These two teams will play three more games at AT&T Park this weekend.
Yankees Sweep Away Red-Hot Mariners
The New York Yankees made a major statement this past week as the top team in the American League by sweeping away the red-hot Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Judge and Miguel Andujar each had two-run home runs in the Yankees' 4-3 victory to give them a three-game series sweep. Both of those home runs came in the first inning off of James Paxton, who dropped to 6-2 despite striking out nine over five innings. Luis Severino enjoyed the early support en route to his 11th victory, as he pitched in to the sixth inning and struck out five, despite having three runs against him. That helped the Yankees win their fourth in a row, 17th in the past 21, and improve their record to a major league-leading 50-22, two games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. They've also handed the Mariners their season-high fourth straight loss, as their record dropped after getting up to 20 games over .500 entering the series. The Yankees used the long ball for this success over the M's, launching eight home runs in the series and lead all of baseball with 122 of them. They nearly had one more from Giancarlo Stanton, who was robbed of a dinger by Mitch Haniger with a leaping catch in the series finale. Stanton had gone deep in each of the first two games of the series, including a walk-off blast in Game 2 on Wednesday. Kyle Seager had a two-run home run off of Severino, but outside of that, the Mariners' offense could not get going, which was their unfortunate trend the entire series. Severino's vicory improved him to 7-0 at home this season, while David Roberston, Dellins Betances, and Aroldis Chapman finished off the sweep. Chapman struck out Dee Gordon on three pitches with a runner at second to end the game for his 22nd save in 23 opportunities. The Yankees will hit the road this weekend to battle the Tampa Bay Rays. Meanwhile, the Mariners' challenging road trip continues when they head to Fenway Park to go against the Boston Red Sox.
