Dodgers' Wood Suffers First Loss
It has been a tough couple of days for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and it's not just due to the losses, but more of what those losses meant. After their 11-game win streak came to an end on Thursday, Alex Wood suffered his first loss of the season on Friday in a 12-3 defeat against the Atlanta Braves. Wood gave up nine runs, seven of which were earned, in 4.2 innings against his former team. He struck out four and walked four in his shortest outing since April 21st. The Dodgers hadn't lost two in a row since June 5-6 against the Washington Nationals. It's now another NL East team getting the best of them, as the Braves have outscored them 18-6 in the first two games of the series. Wood had won his first 11 decisions of the year, including 10 wins in his last 12 starts. For the Braves, they improved to 3-8 at Dodger Stadium since 2014, led by Jaime Garcia, who has been the center of recent trade talks. Garcia earned his fourth win, and helped himself at the plate with a two-out grand slam in the fifth inning, which ended Wood's night. Tyler Flowers also went deep in the win for Atlanta, who continues their series in L.A. on Saturday night.
Cubs Fall for First Time in Second Half
The Chicago Cubs returned home for the first time in the second half on Friday, but they also suffered their first loss of the second half. The Cubs gave up nine runs in the eighth inning in an 11-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Paul DeJong broke a tie with a two-run double, as the Cardinals had 11 consecutive batters reach in what was their highest-scoring inning of the season. The Cubs held a 3-2 lead before the Cardinals' eighth-inning explosion, which was their largest scoring inning since scoring nine against the Cubs in August of 2014. Carl Edwards Jr. suffered the beginning of the rally in his second loss for the Cubs, who had won six in a row out of the All-Star break. St. Louis sent 14 batters total to the plate in the inning. Ben Zobrist had three hits, while Wilson Contreras hit his 14th home run in the loss for Chicago. They will host Game 2 of the series on Saturday afternoon, before capping it off on Sunday Night Baseball.
Wizards Give Wall $170 Million Extension
In a move that has been expected all off-season long, John Wall agreed on an extension with the Washington Wizards on Friday. The deal is for four years and is worth $170 million. It will not begin until 2019, does include a fourth-year player option, as well as a 15 percent trade kicker. The 26-year-old still has two years and $37 million remaining on his current deal. He sent in a video to UNINTERRUPTED to confirm the news and thank the organization for everything they have done. The Wizards had offered the point guard a supermax deal on June 30th, which Wall did not commit to. Although, he sticks around with teammates Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr., who have both signed deals the last two years to remain with the team. The Wizards have remained in the top four seeds of the East as of late, as they look to compete with LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East.
It has been a tough couple of days for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and it's not just due to the losses, but more of what those losses meant. After their 11-game win streak came to an end on Thursday, Alex Wood suffered his first loss of the season on Friday in a 12-3 defeat against the Atlanta Braves. Wood gave up nine runs, seven of which were earned, in 4.2 innings against his former team. He struck out four and walked four in his shortest outing since April 21st. The Dodgers hadn't lost two in a row since June 5-6 against the Washington Nationals. It's now another NL East team getting the best of them, as the Braves have outscored them 18-6 in the first two games of the series. Wood had won his first 11 decisions of the year, including 10 wins in his last 12 starts. For the Braves, they improved to 3-8 at Dodger Stadium since 2014, led by Jaime Garcia, who has been the center of recent trade talks. Garcia earned his fourth win, and helped himself at the plate with a two-out grand slam in the fifth inning, which ended Wood's night. Tyler Flowers also went deep in the win for Atlanta, who continues their series in L.A. on Saturday night.
Cubs Fall for First Time in Second Half
The Chicago Cubs returned home for the first time in the second half on Friday, but they also suffered their first loss of the second half. The Cubs gave up nine runs in the eighth inning in an 11-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Paul DeJong broke a tie with a two-run double, as the Cardinals had 11 consecutive batters reach in what was their highest-scoring inning of the season. The Cubs held a 3-2 lead before the Cardinals' eighth-inning explosion, which was their largest scoring inning since scoring nine against the Cubs in August of 2014. Carl Edwards Jr. suffered the beginning of the rally in his second loss for the Cubs, who had won six in a row out of the All-Star break. St. Louis sent 14 batters total to the plate in the inning. Ben Zobrist had three hits, while Wilson Contreras hit his 14th home run in the loss for Chicago. They will host Game 2 of the series on Saturday afternoon, before capping it off on Sunday Night Baseball.
Wizards Give Wall $170 Million Extension
In a move that has been expected all off-season long, John Wall agreed on an extension with the Washington Wizards on Friday. The deal is for four years and is worth $170 million. It will not begin until 2019, does include a fourth-year player option, as well as a 15 percent trade kicker. The 26-year-old still has two years and $37 million remaining on his current deal. He sent in a video to UNINTERRUPTED to confirm the news and thank the organization for everything they have done. The Wizards had offered the point guard a supermax deal on June 30th, which Wall did not commit to. Although, he sticks around with teammates Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr., who have both signed deals the last two years to remain with the team. The Wizards have remained in the top four seeds of the East as of late, as they look to compete with LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East.
