JV SportsTalk Recap: 8/7/22

Cardinals Get Wild Win to Sweep Yankees; Dodgers Streak to Eight Straight

• The St. Louis Cardinals are getting hot as we near the end of the summer, and they did so against one of the best teams in baseball this weekend, sweeping the New York Yankees with a 12-9 win on Sunday.
• Nolan Arenado and Paul DeJong both went deep for the Cardinals, who have won seven straight games.
• They also extend their NL Central lead to two games over the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Arenado's three-run shot gave the Cardinals the lead for good in the second inning, while DeJong's three-run shot extended their lead in the eighth.
• The game last four hours, 25 minutes, good for the longest nine-inning game of the season.
• DJ LeMahieu went deep for the Yankees, who have now dropped five straight games.
• St. Louis now sits a season-best 12 games over .500 with their 60th win and their first ever regular season sweep of the Cards.
• Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers clearly do not care about the additions the San Diego Padres made, as they completed the sweep with a 4-0 shutout on Sunday night.
  
• Cody Bellinger homered twice, as the Dodgers won their eighth straight game and hold the best record in baseball.
  
• Freddie Freeman added two RBI singles in their 30th win over the past 35 games.
  
• Tyler Anderson was marvelous on the mound, giving up just two hits over seven shutout innings. 
  
• Manny Machado's groundout completed the victory as Dodger Stadium chanted "SWEEP," "SWEEP."
  
• The Dodgers now hold a 15.5-game lead on the Padres in the NL West after outscoring them, 20-4, over the weekend.
  

Other key scores saw Jacob deGrom take a perfect game in the sixth and strike out 12 as the New York Mets downed the Atlanta Braves, 5-2. The Toronto Blue Jays got a controversial 3-2 extra-inning win over the Minnesota Twins after an out call at home plate was reversed, much to the displeasure of Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. Triston McKenzie pitched eight innings of shutout baseball as the Cleveland Guardians shut out the Houston Astros, 1-0. The Tampa Bay Rays struck for seven in the ninth to top the Detroit Tigers, 7-0. The Chicago White Sox pounded out 15 hits in an 8-2 blowout of the Texas Rangers. The Pittsburgh Pirates snapped the Baltimore Orioles' five-game winning streak with an 8-1 rout. Jesse Winker hit a grand slam as the Seattle Mariners doubled-up the Los Angeles Angels, 6-3. Aristides Aquino and Donovan Solano drove in runs in the 10th as the Cincinnati Reds took out the Milwaukee Brewers again, 4-2. And The Philadelphia Phillies hit four home runs to cruise to a sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 13-1 blowout.

Twins' Kirilloff to Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery

• The Minnesota Twins are set to be without outfielder Alex Kirilloff for the rest of this year, as he is set to undergo season-ending wrist surgery.
• The team announced on Sunday that he is undergoing the procedure on his right wrist, making it the second straight season that he has been through this.
  
• Kirilloff underwent a similar procedure last July, which ended his season short.
  
• He ended up on the injured list twice this season with issues, once in April and another time in June.
  
• The 24-year-old has played in 104 games over two seasons, batting .251 with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs.
  

White Sox's Tim Anderson Has Suspension Cut to Two Games

• Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson reached a settlement this past weekend, cutting his suspension from three games to two games with an appeal.
  
• The punishment came after he made contact with an umpire during a game against the Oakland Athletics.
• The 29-year-old did not agree with a first pitch strike in the seventh inning and then had words with umpire Nick Mahrley.
• The two exchanged words and Anderson's helmet made contact with Mahrley's hat because of how close they were.
• Anderson sat out Sunday's game against the Texas Rangers, and will do the same Tuesday, with Leury Garcia stepping in at shortstop.
  
• The star is hitting .301 this season with six home runs and 25 RBIs over 79 games this season.
  

Browns Deny Kareem Hunt's Trade Request

• The Cleveland Browns have a little bit more drama to deal with now, as running back Kareem Hunt has reportedly requested a trade.
• The fun part of this story is that the Browns have denied the veteran's request.
• Hunt is in the final year of a two-year $12 million contract, but missed team drills the past two practices.
• He has reportedly told the Browns that he will not participate until he gets an extension.
• Cleveland.com was the first to report this news, as the Browns look to juggle this and the Deshaun Watson fiasco.
• The 27-year-old Hunt missed nine games last season with calf and ankle injury.
• He finished with 386 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, finishing third behind Nick Chubb and D'Ernest Johsnon on the team in rushing yards.
• Hunt led the NFL as a rookie with 1,327 rushing yards with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017, but that relationship ended after a video surfaced of him shoving and kicking a woman.
• The Browns have given him a second chance on an NFL career, signing him in 2019, and now will have to sign him again to keep him.

Saints LB Kiko Alonso Retires From NFL

• The New Orleans Saints are all of a sudden feeling shorthanded, as linebacker Kiko Alonso announced that he is retiring from the National Football League.
• This comes one week after Alonso signed a one-year deal with the Saints.
  
• The 31-year-old practiced just once with the Saints in training camp, not even making it to a preseason game before making this decision.
  
• He was a second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in the 2013 event. 
  
• Alonso spent two seasons with the Bills, while also stopping by for stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, and one other time with the Saints.
  
• He was traded three times, and did not play at all in the 2021 season.
  
• The linebacker finishes with 86 games played in his NFL career, compiling 10 interceptions and one pick-six.