Category: Sports

Jacob deGrom displayed no signs of rust and the Mets tarnished Aaron Blair’s Major League debut with Sunday afternoon’s 3-2 win over the Braves to complete a three-game series sweep at Turner Field.

deGrom gained a one-run lead before throwing his first pitch and then quickly settled in as he limited the Braves to one run and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. This was just the second start of the season for the right-hander, who spent most of the past two weeks tending to a strained lat muscle and complications that followed his son’s birth.
Blair settled down after surrendering a first-inning run, but he faded in the sixth before seeing his debut conclude with Michael Conforto’s go-ahead double. The highly-regarded prospect surrendered three runs over 5 1/3 innings for the Braves, who have lost five straight since snapping their 0-9 start with a four-game win streak. The Mets have won eight of their past 10 games.
“Going out there and giving your team a chance to win is always the goal,” Blair said. “But there are still some things I need to work on. Hopefully, the next outing will be a little better.”
Jeff Francoeur’s RBI single accounted for one of the three ninth-inning hits Jeurys Familia surrendered before notching his fifth save.
While deGrom allowed the Braves to set the table, he would not allow them to eat. Making his first start since April 8, deGrom frustrated Atlanta’s No. 3 through 6 hitters. They went 3-for-12 (.250), with Freddie Freeman being retired on a pair of comebackers. Cleanup hitter Adonis Garcia had two singles, but never advanced past first, A.J. Pierzynski was 0-for-3 and grounded into a double play, while Kelly Johnson had one hit, an infield dribbler.
“He made pitches when he had to,” Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki said. “That’s how you have success and that’s how you get out of innings, and that’s what he did today.”
Freeman hoped Saturday night’s two-hit game was a sign he was breaking out of his early-season funk. But the first baseman went hitless on Sunday and in the process did not take advantage of any of the three hits Daniel Castro notched in front of him. After Nick Markakis delivered a game-tying single and Castro followed with an infield single to put runners at the corners in the fifth inning, Freeman grounded back to the mound for the second time in a three-inning span.
Blair surrendered hits to three of the first five batters he faced, but with the assistance of two double play groundouts, he limited his damage through the first five innings to Conforto’s first-inning sacrifice fly. The right-hander, who ranks as baseball’s No. 54 overall prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, concluded his outing by walking Granderson, surrendering an Asdrubal Cabrera single ahead of Conforto’s decisive double. His fastball became more lively and he displayed an effective changeup during this 80-pitch debut.
“For his first Major League outing against a team that is swinging the bat pretty good and against a team that has professional hitters up and down the lineup, I thought he did great,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He’s one of those guys, where I can’t wait to see him pitch four days from now.”
Right-hander Julio Teheran (0-2, 5.64) will take the mound when the Braves open a two-game series against the Red Sox on Monday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Boston closer Craig Kimbrel notched a pair of saves when he made his initial return to Turner Field with the Padres last year.

The Nashville Sounds dropped another one-run game Sunday afternoon, this time a 4-3 decision to the New Orleans Zephyrs in front of 7,593 fans at First Tennessee Park.

Along with the Sky Sox, the Sounds have played the most one-run games in the Pacific Coast League and are 2-5 in such games.

Pitching on only three days’ rest, Sounds starter Jesse Hahn labored through a 34-pitch first inning. After a 4-RBI night in the series opener last night, Destin Hood’s run-scoring single gave the Zephyrs a 1-0 lead just four batters into the game.

Three batters later, catcher Adrien Nieto made it a 3-0 game with a two-run single to right.

Max Muncy cut into the lead in the bottom of the first with a solo blast to right field – his third long ball of the season.

The teams exchanged runs in the top of the fifth and bottom of the sixth. A one-out walk issued to Muncy, along with back-to-back doubles from Jake Smolinski and Renato Nunez, netted the Sounds a pair of runs and cut the deficit to 4-3.

Nashville put a runner at third in the seventh but came away empty handed when Muncy struck out to end the inning.

The bullpen combination of Daniel Coulombe, Angel Castro, Patrick Schuster and J.B. Wendelken held down the Zephyrs and gave the Sounds a chance.

Matt Olson singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth but Bruce Maxwell flied out to left and Chad Pinder struck out the end it.

The series continues Monday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Henderson Alvarez gets the ball for the Sounds in a MLB rehab assignment against right-hander Kendry Flores (0-1, 1.76) for the Zephyrs. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The Anaheim Ducks scored twice in the second and three times in the third to take Game Five by a 5-2 final over the Nashville Predators on Sunday night at the Honda Center. Anaheim won their third consecutive game to take a 3-2 series lead, leaving the Preds on the brink of elimination.

“We have a good leadership group in there, and I think that’s the starting point; when we look back on this game, there’s a lot of good things that we did,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “And I hate the score.”

“There’s only a couple things I think we’ll need to touch up, and then just throw it back at them,” forward Ryan Johansen said. “We need the same effort and some consistent battle level and hopefully get the results we want.”

After a scoreless first period, in which the Preds had a number of quality chances on 13 shots, they converted in the second. Colin Wilson found Ryan Johansen, who walked out from the corner and floated a backhander over the shoulder of Frederik Andersen for a 1-0 lead. But just 22 seconds later, Anaheim got a bounce as a David Perron shot deflected on the way in and just over top of the outstretched glove of Pekka Rinne to knot things at 1-1.

The Ducks took the lead at 16:23 when Ryan Garbutt stuffed the puck home at the side of the net for his first of the playoffs and a 2-1 Anaheim lead to carry into the second intermission.

Sami Vatanen added Anaheim’s third goal on a breakaway before Miikka Salomaki scored his first-career Stanley Cup Playoff goal to bring the Preds to within one. But Cam Fowler scored a late power-play goal for the Ducks to regain a two-goal lead, before Anaheim added one more into an empty net.

The Preds now head home facing an elimination contest on Monday night, something they have to take one period, one shift, one play at a time. Although the Ducks have won their last three games, someone has to win four to take the series, and that hasn’t happened yet.

“We’re going to take the good things from this game, we’re going to go home and regroup and be ready to play,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I have no question that our guys will be ready.”

“You look at any team that’s won the Cup and it’s never been smooth sailing though the playoffs,” Johansen said. “Adversity is going to hit and our backs are against the wall now. One thing in our favor is we’re going home to a city that’s going to be buzzing to try and help us and be there with us and support us. Our job is to throw on the jersey at home and try and bring it back here to Anaheim.”

The Predators will play host to the Ducks on Monday in Nashville.  Faceoff will be at 7 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that game as part of the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network.

David Wright provided two doubles and Steven Matz produced his second straight strong start as the Mets extended their recent success with an 8-2 win over the Braves on Saturday night at Turner Field.

Matz might not have been as dominant as he was in a scoreless outing against the Indians last weekend, but he managed to allow just two runs despite surrendering nine hits over 6 1/3 innings. The Mets tallied a two-run first inning against Jhoulys Chacin, and Wright added to that advantage when he delivered a two-out, two-run double in the fourth.
Chacin allowed four runs — three earned — over 5 2/3 innings, and the Braves did not take advantage of Freddie Freeman’s two-hit performance while suffering their fourth straight loss and falling to 1-9 at home this season. The Mets have won seven of their past nine games.
In the ninth inning, Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera hit back-to-back home runs, the fourth time New York has done that this season. The Braves have homered just three times this season and the Mets have outhomered them 23-0 dating back to April 14.
Aaron Blair will make his Major League debut when he starts Sunday’s series finale against the Mets. The 23-year-old right-hander is ranked baseball’s 54th-best prospect by MLBPipeline.com. He was acquired in the blockbuster December trade that sent Shelby Miller to the D-backs.  First pitch is set for 12:35 PM CT and Thunder Radio will bring you the action as part of the Braves Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at Noon.

Felix Salinas

Four goals in the first 5 minutes was the kind of start that Coach Jonathan Graf wanted from his Westwood Rockets soccer team on Friday night as they breezed to a 12 to 0 win over Cascade in the semifinals of the Central Tennessee Soccer Conference being held at Dyer-Bouldin Field. Felix Salinas ended the night with 4 goals, including 3 goals in the first 5 minutes for the Rockets as they advanced to their 3rd straight conference title game.
Leo Suarez, Angel Gonzales and Eric Randolph all added 2 goals each. Leo Basurto and Keiton Sherrill each had a goal as Basurto also tallied 3 assists.
Westwood will face off against Webb on Saturday morning in the CTSC tournament fianls. That match is set to get underway at 11:30 AM at Westwood’s Dyer-Bouldin Field.

Amanda Mukai of CCMS softball

The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider softball team could only manage 2 walks and 2 hits as they fell to top-seeded Warren County on Friday night in the winners’ bracket finals of the CTC Softball Tournament. Ashley Evans and Amanda Mukai had the hits for Coffee County as Mukai led off the 4th inning with a single. Mukai scored on a throwing error after going from 1st to 3rd on Jayden Scheller’s bunt. Mukai also reached base when she was hit by a pitch and Kiya Ferrell had a walk for Coffee County.
Lady Raider pitcher Hannah Richardson did her part as she held Warren County to 3 hits and a walk. The Lady Raiders will now face Tullahoma in the semifinals on Saturday morning at CCMS. First pitch is set for 10 AM. A win there would set up a rematch with Warren County at noon in the finals. Coffee County would need to beat Warren County twice to claim their 2nd consecutive conference title.

Tori Bell (Photo by John StClair – JohnStClairPhoto.com)

The Lady Raider softball team of Coffee County CHS was held to 4 hits against Forrest as they fell 4 to 2 in the opening round of the Lincoln County Border Battle in Fayetteville. Forrest jumped out to a 3 to 0 lead in the first 2 innings before Tori Bell rapped a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 2nd. Kasarah Scheller led off the bottom of the 5th inning with a double and scored on Katie Rutledge’s infield single but time expired after 5 innings to quell the Raider comeback.
In the nightcap, Paige Baker raced home on an error by the 3rd baseman as Coffee County defeated Northeast High School out of Clarksville 2 to 1. Once again, the Lady Raider bats were quiet as they could only scratch out 4 hits. Bell led Coffee County with 2 hits. Freshman Katie Rutledge went the distance in the circle to get the win for Coffee County.
The Lady Raiders conclude pool play at 9 AM on Saturday when they return to Fayetteville to take on Buckhorn High School out of Alabama. The single elimination portion of the bracket begins around noon.

Breyer Taylor

Four goals by Breyer Taylor lifted the Coffee County Red Raider soccer team to an 8 to 0 win over Lawrence County on Friday night in high school soccer action.
Taylor notched goals in the 20th minute, on an assist from Ben Reid, and the 30th minute, on an assist from Leo Botello. Ethan Hickman found the back on the net in the 35th minute on a through ball from Reid to close out the scoring in the 1st half.
Leading 3 nil at the half, Coffee County got 5 goals from 4 different players in the 2nd half to cruise to the district win. Taylor got a goal in the 45th minute on an assist by Paco Barrera to secure the hat trick. Ethan Abplanalp scored 3 minutes later before Taylor added his 4th goal at the 54 minute mark on a feed from Hickman. Ben Reid made the score 7 nil when he drilled a laser from 40 yards out into the net and John Parigger added a goal in the 72nd minute on a feed from Miquel Mendoza.
The Raiders return home for their final district game of the year on Saturday morning when they welcome Lincoln County to the Raider Soccer Field. That match kicks off at 11 AM.

Grant Sadler pitched 6 strong innings as the Coffee County Red Raider JV baseball team opened play in the Rebel Classic JV Tournament with an 8 to 3 win over Central Magnet. The Red Raiders touched up the Tigers pitching for 8 hits as A.J. Rollman was 3 for 3 at the plate to lead the hitting attack. Not to be outdone, the Raider defense also stepped up big with a pair of inning-ending double plays with the bases loaded to preserve the win. The Raiders are back in action on Saturday when they play at Lincoln County at 10 AM and Tullahoma at 2 PM in Winchester.

Curtis Granderson homered twice, including a grand slam, to drive in five runs and Matt Harvey got his first win of the season as the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3 on Friday night.

Granderson’s sixth career grand slam was a line-drive shot he pulled into the right-field seats off Bud Norris (1-3) in the second inning. Granderson had three hits, including another homer off Norris in the fourth, giving him four on the season.

New York has 21 homers in its last seven games — the most in a seven-game span in franchise history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Harvey (1-3) ended a streak of four straight losing decisions, including his first three starts this year. He needed 101 pitches to make it through five innings as he allowed two runs and seven hits and one walk.

Jeurys Familia pitched the ninth for his fourth save.