JVSportsTalk Recap: 8/10/22

Dodgers Extend Streak to 10 Straight; Mariners Take Series From Yankees

• The Los Angeles Dodgers are on yet another long winning streak, moving to 10 straight games with an 8-5 home win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.
• Chris Taylor had the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning, his first home run since early June.
• Joey Gallo also added his first home run with the Dodgers, which was a three-run shot in the seventh.
• It is the first time since July 2017 that the Dodgers have a double digit winning streak. 
• This was also their third straight series sweep and 14th of the season.
• Max Muncy also went deep for the Dodgers, who now have a 16-game lead on the Padres in the NL West.
• The Twins have now fallen out of first place in the AL Central, despite home runs from Jorge Polanco and Gary Sanchez, with the Guardians taking over the top spot.
• The Seattle Mariners have given their fans some exciting, playoff-caliber baseball this week, taking two of three from the New York Yankees with a 4-3 win on Wednesday.
• Carlos Santana had the game-winning home run in the seventh inning, which snapped an 0-for-17 slump.
• The Mariners scored three times in the seventh, taking a series from the Yankees for a second straight week.
• Aaron Judge did hit his major-league leading 45th home run of the season in the eight inning.
• The first-place Yankees have dropped eight of their past 10 games, but still hold a double digit lead on the Toronto Blue Jays.
• The Mariners have not lost a series to a team other than the Houston Astros since mid-June, as they are 10-10 since the All-Star break.
• The M's also improved to 27-14 in one-run games as they overcame a go-ahead home run from Kyle Higashioka. 

​Other key score saw Willy Adames hit the walk-off RBI single in the Milwaukee Brewers' 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Prospect Vaughn Grissom went deep as the Atlanta Braves doubled-up the Boston Red Sox, 8-4. The New York Mets won their sixth straight with a 10-2 rout of the Cincinnati Reds J.T. Realmuto had the go-ahead RBI single as the Philadelphia Phillies won their seventh straight, 4-3, against the Miami Marlins. Albert Pujols and Nolan Arenado went deep as the St. Louis Cardinals held off the Colorado Rockies, 9-5. The Cleveland Guardians extended their AL Central lead with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. And Austin Nolan and Brandon Drury had long balls in the San Diego Padres' 13-7 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Tigers Fire Vice President, General Manager Al Avila

• The Detroit Tigers are not nearly living up to the competitive expectations they had for this season, which led to them firing general manager and vice president Al Avila on Wednesday.
• The 64-year-old had spent over 20 years with the Tigers organization, and had the title of GM and VP for the past seven seasons.
• He was the only GM of Latin American descent in MLB, and one of just four people of color in that position.
• The Tigers finished in last place of the AL Central four times during his run, and has a 43-68 record this season, along with a -122 run differential, both of which are the third-worst in the majors.
• The team spent $140 million on shortstop Javier Baez and $77 million on pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, both of which have been busts for different reasons.
• They were supposed to contend for the Postseason for the first time since a run of four straight playoff seasons that ended in 2014.
• Instead, Baez has not nearly lived up to his expectations, Rodriguez is not with the team, Spencer Torkelson was sent to the minors, and most of their young arms are sidelined.
• So for the Tigers, it's time to start over, but how far back to they have to start is going to be the interesting outcome.​

Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman Out Indefinitely

• The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are starting to prepare for life without quarterback Sam Hartman, who has been ruled out indefinitely with a non-football-related medical condition.
• The program revealed that Hartman will miss "an extended period of time," but he is expected to return this season.
  
• Head coach Dave Clawson said that Hartman underwent a medical procedure on Tuesday night after seeking medical attention during a workout earlier that day.
  
• The school has not specified the nature of this situation, citing privacy laws.
  
• The QB accounted for 50 touchdowns last season for Wake Forest and was at practice on Wednesday, addressing the team afterward.
  
• He led the Demon Deacons to an Atlantic Division title last season and a Gator Bowl win, becoming one of 16 Power 5 QBs with a 50-touchdown season.
  

Browns to Start Deshaun Watson at QB in Preseason Opener

• The Cleveland Browns will be without quarterback Deshaun Watson for at least the first six games, if not longer, but that is not stopping them from giving him the start in the preseason opener.
• The Browns will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars to kick off their preseason Friday night.
  
• The team is waiting to see whether he will be suspended longer than the six games that judge Sue L. Robinson appointed to him last week.
  
• The league appealed Robinson's ruling on August 3rd, hoping for an indefinite suspension for the 2022 season.
  
• Nobody involves knows when the decision from the appeal will come through.​
  
• This news comes after there were over 20 accusations of sexual misconduct against him.
• The punishment was compared to 32 previous suspensions for the same issue, as 21 of those saw the player get six games.

Browns WR Jakeem Grant Done For Season With Torn ACL

• The Cleveland Browns confirmed that wide receiver Jakeem Grant Sr. has suffered a torn Achilles and will miss the entire 2022 season.
• The team placed him on injured reserve on Wednesday, this after being carted off the field during Tuesday's practice.
  
• The Browns gave Grant a three-year deal this past off-season and a kick and punt returner.
  
• Although, Grant ended up standing out as a wide receiver during training camp.
  
• The former Pro Bowl returner with the Chicago Bears has four punt returns and two kick returns for touchdowns.
  
• With him now sidelined, Demetric Felton Jr. is set to return punts and kicks.
  

Former NFL RB Frank Gore Facing Simple Assault Charge

• Former NFL running back Frank Gore is reportedly facing a simple assault charge for an alleged incident of domestic violence in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
• Officers reportedly responded to a call at the Tropicana Atlantic City on July 31st, finding a 28-year-old woman speaking with hotel security.
• No official complaint was filed at the time and the woman did not show signs of injury.
• All of this came from a news release on Tuesday from the Atlantic City Police Department.
• A police investigation afterward is what resulted in the simple assault charge, which means that bodily injury was caused or threatened.
• The 39-year-old Gore was issued a police summons to answer the charge on a future date.
• A TMZ report stated that Gore grabbed the woman by the hair and began "violently dragging her nude person" in the hallway on the 59th floor.