ST. LOUIS — Opening day or not, that was a lot. Nineteen runs on 34 hits. A combined 14 pitchers. A steady stream of late-game leverage. A three-hour 38-minute time of game despite the pitch clock and not including Adam Wainwright’s surprise two-plus minute take on the Star-Spangled Banner before the festivities started.

And at the end, star power versus star power. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. first stemmed a St. Louis Cardinals rally in the seventh inning with a brilliant stab of a Tommy Edman chopper before making an off-balance throw home to save a run, then fought off 102.9 m.p.h. Jordan Hicks heat for a two-run single that put the Toronto Blue Jays up 8-7 in the eighth. Then it was a Lars Nootbar walk, a Paul Goldschmidt double and a two-run Nolan Arenado double off Yimi Garcia in the bottom half that restored a 9-8 lead for the defending National League Central champs.

.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::before {
content: “”;
position: absolute;
top: 45%;
left: 50%;
transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
height: 0px;
border-top: 14px solid transparent;
border-left: 22px solid #fff;
border-bottom: 14px solid transparent;
margin-left: 3px;
}

Not even Ryan Helsley, the other fire-breathing dragon in the Cardinals bullpen who came up in trade discussions between these two clubs during the off-season, could lock down that lead as he walked Whit Merrifield to open the ninth, Kevin Kiermaier followed with a base hit, George Springer flared an RBI single just into shallow left and Guerrero delivered a go-ahead sac fly.

Finally, Jordan Romano, the eighth Blue Jays pitcher of the day, put a lid on the madness, locking down a bonkers 10-9 season-opening victory before a festive crowd of 47,649 at Busch Stadium.

Such was the depth of drama at the end that the rough outings for all-stars Alek Manoah and Miles Mikolas, each of whom lasted only 3.1 innings and allowed five earned runs, could be easily forgotten.

In between there was so much to take in, from Manoah finding his velocity but still taking damage, to the defensive upgrades immediately showing dividends to clever baserunning helping to make the difference in the end.

More from Sportsnet

Blue Jays among World Series betting favourites ahead of 2023 opener

In midst of competitive window, Blue Jays pushing for more as 2023 dawns

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
gap: 20px;
}

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
color: black;
}

Source link

The Lamar Jackson sweepstakes are well underway, with the consensus being that the Baltimore Ravens will be forced to trade the superstar quarterback before the 2023 NFL Draft or the start of next season.

Although Jackson hasn’t been as hot a commodity as anticipated, the versatile quarterback may have a solid trade suitor in the form of the Indianapolis Colts, who admitted recently to not ruling out the prospect of trading for him.

It appears that Colts fans are avidly supporting the potential trade to acquire Jackson and have been trying to get team legend Reggie Wayne to help Indianapolis make the push for the one-time NFL MVP.

Wayne hasn’t been too happy about fans constantly nagging him to do something about the situation and responded with this hilarious tweet.

Will y'all stop @'n me to tell the Colts to get Lamar. I have no way of making your wish come true. Hell… I'm still trying to get my kids to listen to me… Let alone a organization.

— Reggie Wayne (@ReggieWayne_17) March 30, 2023

At this point, there’s no telling where Jackson will end up or how serious the Colts brass may be about going after the superstar quarterback.

The Ravens still want Jackson in the fold for the foreseeable future, especially head coach John Harbaugh.

However, the team has been reluctant to pay Jackson’s asking price, and that appears to be the only thing the 26-year-old quarterback cares about right now.

A fully guaranteed deal is what Jackson wants, and that’s a lot to ask for in a league that doesn’t give out fully guaranteed contracts.

Along with the league’s reluctance to make fully guaranteed deals the new trend in the NFL, Jackson has had injury issues, making it much more challenging for teams to commit a lot of money and years to a mobile quarterback.

The post A Colts Legend Has A Request For Fans appeared first on The Cold Wire.

Source link

The laws of shooting don’t apply to Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who presents a unique challenge for defending champion South Carolina.



Source link