Tigers Take Fight-Filled Series Finale From Yankees
The Detroit Tigers were able to avoid the series sweep on Thursday afternoon with a 10-6 win over the New York Yankees at Comerica Park. Justin Upton and James McCann both went deep, while Jose Iglesias drove in four in the win. Although, this was far from the headline for this game. This got testy very quick between these two teams, leading to three bench-clearings and eight ejections on the afternoon. After Gary Sanchez hit his fourth home run of the series, he was hit by the pitch from Tigers starter Michael Fulmer in his next at-bat. That led to Miguel Cabrera getting a pitch thrown behind him by Yankees starter Jaime Garcia, who was immediately ejected. During the pitching change, right after Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected, Cabrera got into it with catcher Austin Romine, which led to pushing and shoving, and then punches being thrown to start the first brawl. Benches cleared for the scuffle, headlined by Cabrera and Romine, and featuring some cheap shots from behind by Sanchez to the Tigers' slugger. An inning later, James McCann was hit in the head by a pitch from Dellin Betances, who was promptly ejected, despite him claiming that it was not on purpose. One pitcher that is admitting to his beaning is Tigers reliever Alex Wilson, who plunked Todd Frazier in the eighth inning. He instantly threw his arms above his head as he was ejected, and admitted in the postgame interview that it was intentional. So two things are certain after Thursday's contest: there are suspensions and fines on the way, and these two teams do not like each other.
Wentz, Newton Impress in Preseason Victories
The third preseason game is always the contest that sees the most time from the starters. The Philadelphia Eagles were pleased by what they saw in their starting quarterback on Thursday night, as Carson Wentz led them to a 38-31 win over the Miami Dolphins. Wentz threw two touchdown passes, one to Torrey Smith and another to Alshon Jeffrey, sparking a scoring outburst for the Eagles. The second-year QB went 6-for-10 for 129 yards, but did have one interception in the win. The Dolphins were also happy in the second outing for Jay Cutler, who was efficient at 5-for-8 for 105 yards and a touchdown. Cutler's one scoring pass went to Julius Thomas, while Jay Ajayi scored twice on a couple of short runs. Philadelphia did get a highlight on the defensive side of the ball with a 31-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Mychal Kendricks. The Carolina Panthers feel good about what Cam Newton did on Thursday as well, despite his outing being a lot shorter than others. Newton played just one series, but went 2-for-2 for 21 yards and a touchdown in a 24-23 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Newton capped off a 10-play drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin, He would then sit out the rest of the night to rest up the rotator cuff that he had surgery on back in March. The Jaguars continued to try and figure out their quarterback situation, as Chad Henne got the start and went 8-for-14 for 73 yards, but was sacked three times. He did lead the team on two scoring drives in the loss.
Indians Rock Sale to Earn Series Split
The Cleveland Indians' offense finally woke up this week against the unlikeliest of opponents in Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale. The left-hander lasted just three innings and allowed seven runs on seven hits in what was a 13-6 win for The Tribe, earning the series split. Sale's issues against Cleveland continued, as he is now 5-8 with a 4.87 ERA in his previous 29 appearances against them. He allowed four runs in the second and three more in the third inning on Thursday night. Yandy Diaz led the way for Cleveland with four hits and fell a long ball shy of the cycle, while Giovany Urshela drove in four on the night. Both Jay Bruce and Francisco Lindor went deep for the Indians, who had 18 hits after recording a combined four hits in the previous two games. Sale had six of the runs be earned against him and was pulled in the third inning for just the fourth time in his career. He gave up a season-high seven runs against this same team on August 1st at Fenway Park. Trevor Bauer cruised to his 13th win by going 5.1 innings and giving up just four runs, as he earned a win in his sixth straight decision. The one upside on the day for Boston was a two-home run night for Mitch Moreland. The Red Sox will return home to host the Baltimore Orioles this weekend, while the Indians stay home to host the Kansas City Royals.
The Detroit Tigers were able to avoid the series sweep on Thursday afternoon with a 10-6 win over the New York Yankees at Comerica Park. Justin Upton and James McCann both went deep, while Jose Iglesias drove in four in the win. Although, this was far from the headline for this game. This got testy very quick between these two teams, leading to three bench-clearings and eight ejections on the afternoon. After Gary Sanchez hit his fourth home run of the series, he was hit by the pitch from Tigers starter Michael Fulmer in his next at-bat. That led to Miguel Cabrera getting a pitch thrown behind him by Yankees starter Jaime Garcia, who was immediately ejected. During the pitching change, right after Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected, Cabrera got into it with catcher Austin Romine, which led to pushing and shoving, and then punches being thrown to start the first brawl. Benches cleared for the scuffle, headlined by Cabrera and Romine, and featuring some cheap shots from behind by Sanchez to the Tigers' slugger. An inning later, James McCann was hit in the head by a pitch from Dellin Betances, who was promptly ejected, despite him claiming that it was not on purpose. One pitcher that is admitting to his beaning is Tigers reliever Alex Wilson, who plunked Todd Frazier in the eighth inning. He instantly threw his arms above his head as he was ejected, and admitted in the postgame interview that it was intentional. So two things are certain after Thursday's contest: there are suspensions and fines on the way, and these two teams do not like each other.
Wentz, Newton Impress in Preseason Victories
The third preseason game is always the contest that sees the most time from the starters. The Philadelphia Eagles were pleased by what they saw in their starting quarterback on Thursday night, as Carson Wentz led them to a 38-31 win over the Miami Dolphins. Wentz threw two touchdown passes, one to Torrey Smith and another to Alshon Jeffrey, sparking a scoring outburst for the Eagles. The second-year QB went 6-for-10 for 129 yards, but did have one interception in the win. The Dolphins were also happy in the second outing for Jay Cutler, who was efficient at 5-for-8 for 105 yards and a touchdown. Cutler's one scoring pass went to Julius Thomas, while Jay Ajayi scored twice on a couple of short runs. Philadelphia did get a highlight on the defensive side of the ball with a 31-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Mychal Kendricks. The Carolina Panthers feel good about what Cam Newton did on Thursday as well, despite his outing being a lot shorter than others. Newton played just one series, but went 2-for-2 for 21 yards and a touchdown in a 24-23 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Newton capped off a 10-play drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin, He would then sit out the rest of the night to rest up the rotator cuff that he had surgery on back in March. The Jaguars continued to try and figure out their quarterback situation, as Chad Henne got the start and went 8-for-14 for 73 yards, but was sacked three times. He did lead the team on two scoring drives in the loss.
Indians Rock Sale to Earn Series Split
The Cleveland Indians' offense finally woke up this week against the unlikeliest of opponents in Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale. The left-hander lasted just three innings and allowed seven runs on seven hits in what was a 13-6 win for The Tribe, earning the series split. Sale's issues against Cleveland continued, as he is now 5-8 with a 4.87 ERA in his previous 29 appearances against them. He allowed four runs in the second and three more in the third inning on Thursday night. Yandy Diaz led the way for Cleveland with four hits and fell a long ball shy of the cycle, while Giovany Urshela drove in four on the night. Both Jay Bruce and Francisco Lindor went deep for the Indians, who had 18 hits after recording a combined four hits in the previous two games. Sale had six of the runs be earned against him and was pulled in the third inning for just the fourth time in his career. He gave up a season-high seven runs against this same team on August 1st at Fenway Park. Trevor Bauer cruised to his 13th win by going 5.1 innings and giving up just four runs, as he earned a win in his sixth straight decision. The one upside on the day for Boston was a two-home run night for Mitch Moreland. The Red Sox will return home to host the Baltimore Orioles this weekend, while the Indians stay home to host the Kansas City Royals.
