⚾ ‘They’re grinders’ | Sports Daily Newsletter
Phillies earn a feel-good series win against the Dodgers.
Yes, we know. It’s only April. Still, the Phillies and their fans had to appreciate their weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Nick Castellanos smacked a grand slam on Sunday. Shohei Ohtani finished the series 1-for-11 with five strikeouts. The Phillies battled back for an 8-7 win in the series finale and wound up taking two of three from the World Series champs.
Now they are 7-2 with a trip to visit the 1-8 Braves up next.
“I thought it was a great series,” said Bryce Harper, whose leadoff double started the decisive rally in the seventh. “That’s a really good team over there, obviously. Knowing we match up pretty well against them, that’s huge for us.”
A huge addition could come by midseason, too, if Andrew Painter stays on track. On a long recovery from Tommy John surgery, the Phillies’ top prospect will begin minor-league assignment when he pitches Friday for Clearwater.
Overall, manager Rob Thomson likes the way things are going for his club. “They’re grinders,” he says of the Phillies. “They’re fighters. I love the club. I love the chance that we have of being special.”
— Jim Swan, @phillysport, [email protected].
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In a forgettable season for the Sixers, Guerschon Yabusele has risen from the ashes from a flamed-out NBA career. The Frenchman is likely to be a hot commodity when he hits free agency this summer.
“At the end of the day, even though this season isn’t going our way, we still have players that [have] a lot to prove and a lot to gain from this experience,” Yabusele says.
The team’s tank job is not done yet. Keith Pompey maps out what the Sixers need to do to secure a top draft pick.
Thankfully, there are only four games left.
Karsen Dorwart grew up in Sherwood, Ore., which is anything but a hockey hotbed. When he made his NHL debut with the Flyers on Saturday, it came in hockey heaven, Montreal. Jackie Spiegel writes about the 22-year-old’s unlikely climb from Oregon to Michigan State and ultimately the NHL.
The Union paid a $3.4 million transfer fee to bring in Uruguay’s Bruno Damiani, so there was no way the team was going to use him as a bench player. Damiani finally supplanted Mikael Uhre in the starting lineup on Saturday, but it did not result in a Union win. Still, manager Bradley Carnell found positives in the 0-0 draw with Orlando City.
Centerback Ian Glavinovich says he suffered a knee injury in the game, but the team has not confirmed it.
Torpedo bats burst on the scene in Major League Baseball when the Yankees hit nine home runs on opening day, many with the bats that are shaped like bowling pins.
Victus Sports, a King of Prussia-based sporting goods company, manufactures bats for a majority of major league hitters, and company CEO Jared Smith personally delivered some torpedo bats to the Phillies before their home opener. Seems like everyone wants the newfangled bats these days.
“The torpedo will be here to stay,” Smith says. “I can say that. Somebody in the big leagues will always be swinging a torpedo barrel from here forward.”
Scott Lauber examines the bat’s origins and more, including the reason they’re not for everybody.
Worth a look
Another UConn title: Norristown’s Geno Auriemma captured his 12th NCAA women’s championship as Connecticut routed South Carolina.
A different kind of court: Villanova great Kris Jenkins is suing the NCAA and some of its member conferences.
NHL history: Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for career goals.
What you’re saying about Joel Embiid
One more response to our question about what the Sixers should do with Joel Embiid:
Hope the surgery appears to be successful so the next greater fool can decide to accept him in a trade. Knees can sometimes be repaired. ... It’s more difficult to repair lack of heart; an unwillingness to train; and a selfish nature. — Peter S.
On this date
April 7, 1984: Bobby Clarke played in his last NHL game, a 5-1 Flyers loss to the Washington Capitals as they were swept in the Patrick Division semifinals. The Hall of Famer played in 1,144 regular-season games, finishing with 358 goals and 852 assists.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Gina Mizell, Keith Pompey, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jeff Neiburg, and the Associated Press.
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Still a little shocked by the way Duke coughed up that game to Houston on Saturday night. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you in Tuesday’s newsletter. — Jim