Cardinals come into matchup against the Mets on losing streak

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:44:44 GMT

St. Louis Cardinals (27-43, fifth in the NL Central) vs. New York Mets (33-36, fourth in the NL East)New York; Saturday, 4:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Adam Wainwright (2-1, 5.79 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 21 strikeouts); Mets: Kodai Senga (6-3, 3.34 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 79 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Mets -153, Cardinals +131; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals, on a six-game losing streak, play the New York Mets.New York has a 17-13 record at home and a 33-36 record overall. The Mets have a 22-14 record in games when they record at least eight hits.St. Louis has gone 14-22 in road games and 27-43 overall. The Cardinals have a 19-8 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.The teams square off Saturday for the second time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Brandon Nimmo leads the Mets with a .286 batting average, and has 11 doubles, four triples, six home runs, 34 walks and 29 RBI. Starling Marte is 14-for-42 with a home run and three RBI over th...

Giants bring win streak into game against the Dodgers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:44:44 GMT

San Francisco Giants (36-32, third in the NL West) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (39-30, second in the NL West)Los Angeles; Saturday, 9:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: TBD; Dodgers: Bobby Miller (3-0, .78 ERA, .83 WHIP, 23 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Dodgers -170, Giants +145BOTTOM LINE: The San Francisco Giants will attempt to build upon a five-game win streak with a victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.Los Angeles has a 39-30 record overall and a 22-12 record in home games. Dodgers hitters have a collective .330 on-base percentage, the seventh-best percentage in the majors.San Francisco is 36-32 overall and 19-15 in road games. Giants hitters have a collective .422 slugging percentage to rank 10th in the majors.The teams meet Saturday for the fifth time this season. The season series is tied 2-2.TOP PERFORMERS: Will Smith has nine doubles, 10 home runs and 36 RBI for the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman is 10-for-32 with a double and three home runs over the past 10 games.Mic...

Arraez leads Marlins against the Nationals after 5-hit game

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:44:44 GMT

Miami Marlins (39-31, second in the NL East) vs. Washington Nationals (27-41, fifth in the NL East)Washington; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Braxton Garrett (2-2, 4.10 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 69 strikeouts); Nationals: Jake Irvin (1-3, 6.10 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 23 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Marlins -154, Nationals +131; over/under is 9 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Miami Marlins take on the Washington Nationals after Luis Arraez had five hits against the Nationals on Friday.Washington is 27-41 overall and 12-22 at home. The Nationals have gone 17-33 in games when they have allowed a home run.Miami has gone 18-18 in road games and 39-31 overall. The Marlins have gone 17-26 in games when they have given up a home run.Saturday’s game is the fifth time these teams match up this season. The Marlins hold a 4-0 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Lane Thomas leads Washington with 10 home runs while slugging .477. Keibert Ruiz is 11-for-40 with three home r...

Pirates look to end 4-game road slide, play the Brewers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:44:44 GMT

Pittsburgh Pirates (34-34, third in the NL Central) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (35-34, first in the NL Central)Milwaukee; Saturday, 4:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Mitch Keller (8-2, 3.41 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 101 strikeouts); Brewers: Wade Miley (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Brewers -111, Pirates -109; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates will attempt to end a four-game road slide when they face the Milwaukee Brewers.Milwaukee has a 35-34 record overall and a 19-16 record in home games. The Brewers have the fifth-ranked team ERA in the NL at 4.12.Pittsburgh has a 34-34 record overall and a 16-18 record on the road. The Pirates have a 24-9 record in games when they record at least eight hits.The matchup Saturday is the second meeting between these teams this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Christian Yelich has nine home runs, 33 walks and 30 RBI while hitting .265 for the Brewers. William Contreras is 9-for-34 with two doubles, two home runs and three RBI over the l...

Seven things we learned from Ravens’ mandatory minicamp | ANALYSIS

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:44:44 GMT

A lot of things go on during an NFL practice.One of them on Thursday included Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey occasionally sidling up to team owner Steve Biscotti as the 63-year-old observed the proceedings from a nearby golf cart. The two have become close since Baltimore drafted the former Alabama standout and future All-Pro 16th overall in 2017.What were they talking about?“If I’m really being honest, we were talking about ladies, specifically my lady,” Humphrey said. “He was giving me some advice on love, actually, believe it or not. At football practice, we were talking about love. So, he gave me some good advice there.”It was a moment of levity at the end of the offseason and conclusion of the three-day mandatory minicamp in Owings Mills, the last time players will be together until the start of training camp in late July.Of course, there were many more pertinent things to be gleaned from the final practices of the offseason, with the sessions p...

Ask Amy: My rich boss wants us to provide the food for his party

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:44:44 GMT

Dear Amy: My coworkers and I are employed by a doctor in a small successful practice. Including the doctor, there are eight staff members. He bought the practice several years ago from our former boss.Our former boss was generous and of a different generation. He lived within his means, was not extravagant, and didn’t try to compete with his peers.Our current employer is of a younger generation, lives in one of the more affluent neighborhoods, and has only given us raises when we bring it up to him as a group.He is very generous when it comes to bonuses, but bonuses are not something that can be counted on.The doctor has recently invited staff and their families to a lake house owned by his parents. The doctor will be there with his wife and five children.The problem we’re having is that he has asked that we all bring a dish to share and make this a potluck-style affair.None of us has had a raise since January of 2022, and that was our first raise in two years.Many of us are having ...

Pentagon’s Secret Service Trawls Social Media for Mean Tweets About Generals

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:44:44 GMT

When the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley enters into his scheduled retirement later this year, one of the perks will include a personal security detail to protect him from threats — including “embarrassment.” The U.S. Army Protective Services Battalion, the Pentagon’s little-known Secret Service equivalent, is tasked with safeguarding top military brass. The unit protects current as well as former high-ranking military officers from “assassination, kidnapping, injury or embarrassment,” according to Army records.Protective Services’s mandate has expanded to include monitoring social media for “direct, indirect, and veiled” threats and identifying “negative sentiment” regarding its wards, according to an Army procurement document dated September 1, 2022, and reviewed by The Intercept. The expansion of the Protective Services Battalion’s purview has not been previously reported.The country’s national security machinery has become increasingly focused on s...

Fowler, a fan favorite, takes center stage for the weekend at the US Open

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:44:44 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A fan favorite. An underdog. A comeback story.All those storylines are in play heading into the weekend at the U.S. Open.And, as luck would have it, they are all wrapped up in the same player — Rickie Fowler.One of the sport’s most popular personalities has been emerging from a three-year slump, and now he’s heading into the weekend at Los Angeles Country Club with a one-shot lead and as good a chance as he’s had in a while to capture his first major championship.“This is where I want to be,” Fowler said as he spoke with about a dozen reporters in a media tent usually reserved for players in the hunt. “It’s nice to be back in here.”As much as his round — an eight-birdie, six-bogey, 2-under 68 roller coaster that left him one shot ahead of Wyndham Clark — Fowler was asked about his struggles of the past few years and how he managed to make it through that rough patch without sacrificing his everyman, and everykid, persona.“I feel like I̵...

At least 41 killed in rebel attack on Ugandan school near Congo border

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:44:44 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan authorities recovered the bodies of 41 people, including 38 students, following an attack by suspected rebels on secondary school near the border with Congo, the local mayor said Saturday. The victims included the students, one guard and two members of the local community who were killed outside the school, Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Mayor Selevest Mapoze told The Associated Press. An unknown number of people were abducted by the rebels, who fled across the porous border into Congo after the raid on Friday night. Mapoze said that while some of the students suffered fatal burns when the rebels set fire to a dormitory, others were shot or hacked with machetes.Police said that rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, who have been launching attacks for years from their bases in volatile eastern Congo, carried out the raid on Lhubiriha Secondary School in the border town of Mpondwe.The school, co-ed and privately owned, is located in the Ugandan district of Kasese...