fo the second NL Wild Card! The team remains three games back of St. Louis for the NL Central, but, for now, have a playoff spot to themselves. Here’s how everyone did last night:Milwaukee Brewers 5 vs. San Diego Padres 1St. Louis Cardinals 5 at Chicago Cubs 4 — f/10 inningsAtlanta Braves 5 vs. Philadelphia Phillies 4Here are the current standings: NL Central Standings TeamW-LGames BackLast 10Elimination # TeamW-LGames BackLast 10Elimination # St. Louis Cardinals 90-71 - 6-4 -Milwaukee Brewers 89-72 1 9-1 1 Wild Card Standings TeamsW-LGames Back TeamsW-LGames Back Washington Nationals 92-69 -Milwaukee Brewers 89-72 3 The Brewers can win the NL Central if:The St Shohei Ohtani Jersey. Louis Cardinals go 3-6The Chicago Cubs go 6-3The Milwaukee Brewers go 7-2The Brewers can win the first Wild Card spot if:The Washington Nationals go 5-6The Chicago Cubs go 6-3The Milwaukee Brewers go 6-3The Brewers can win the second Wild Card spot if:The Washington Nationals go 6-5orThe Chicago Cubs go 6-3andThe Milwaukee Brewers go 6-3Today’s Games:Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:10 p.m.Chase Anderson (6-4, 4.50 ERA) vs. Steven Brault (4-5, 4.98 ERA)Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 1:20 p.m.Alec Mills (1-0, 3.42 ERA) vs. Michael Wacha (6-7 Luke Maile Jersey, 4.76 ERA)Miami Marlins vs. Washington Nationals, 6:10 p.m.Robert Dugger (0-2, 3.95 ERA) vs. Anibal Sanchez (9-8, 3.86 ERA)Cleveland Indians vs. Philadelphia Phillies, 6:10 p.m.Shane Bieber, (14-7, 3.26 ERA) vs. Drew Smyly (4-6, 6.22 ERA)Cincinnati Reds vs. New York Mets, 6:10 p https://www.fanmb.com/lorenzo-cain-jersey.m.Luis Castillo (15-6, 3.22 ERA) vs. Jacob deGrom (9-8, 2.61 ERA)

were cut far too short https://www.mmfanstore.com/jazz-chisholm-jr-jersey. Nonetheless, baseball fans in South Florida will always remember his time with the Miami Marlins with fondness https://www.mmfanstore.com/braxton-garrett-jersey. The 2013 National League Rookie of the Year, Fernández would finish his career with a 38-17 record and 2.58 ERA. Fernández set single-season pitching records for Miami and appeared in two All-Star Games. His final All-Star appearance came on this day five years ago. Unlike in 2013 when he shined as a rookie, Fernández didn’t have as great of a showing on July 12, 2016 at Petco Park in San Diego. In a contest won by the American League 4-2, Fernandez was the first National League pitcher out of the bullpen. With his team trailing 3-1, Fernández entered with two outs in the second inning and promptly struck out Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to end the frame https://www.mmfanstore.com/trevor-rogers-jersey. Fernández ran into trouble in the third. José Fernández’s reaction to walking David OrtizAfter walking David Ortiz, of the Boston Red Sox, with one out, Fernández gave up a double to Boston’s Xander Bogaerts before allowing an RBI single to Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals. Fernández was able to get Boston’s Mookie Betts to hit into a double play to end the inning and his night.As far as the game went, it was actually pitching that dominated. Kris Bryant, of the Chicago Cubs, homered in the first inning to give the National League an early 1-0 lead. Hosmer and Kansas City’s Salvador Pérez homered in the third to put the American League ahead for good, 3-1.Following Hosmer’s RBI single off Fernández, it was a Marlin who would plate the final run of the night. Marcell Ozuna singled home Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants in the top of the fourth to cap the scoring. Although Fernández allowed a run in 1 1⁄3 innings, he still seemed to enjoy himself during his final Midsummer Classic. That appearance came on this day five years ago.

Mets first baseman Pete Alonso became only the second player in franchise history to claim victory in MLB’s Home Run Derby, and the first since Darryl Strawberry earned a tie atop the 1986 derby leaderboard. It was a memorable moment in a season full of them for the slugger, who broke the single-season rookie home run record (53) while setting a single-season franchise benchmark for home runs. With All Star activities cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, Alonso retained his crown for an additional year. Now, just over two years later, Polar Bear Pete is back to defend his title. It’s been a while since the last Home Run Derby, and a lot has happened since then, so we’re here here to catch you and preview what you can expect tonight.2019 Home Run DerbyThe 2019 derby was the fifth year of the updated format, which features a bracket that ranks competitors from one through eight and has them go head-to-head. Each player gets four minutes on the clock, and the goal is simply to hit more home runs than the player you are matched up against in the allotted time to advance into the next round. mlb.com ROUND 1Alonso, who had 30 home runs heading into the break in 2019, came in as the two seed and was matched up against Cleveland first baseman and not-the-famed-guitarist Carlos Santana, who had 19 homers up to that point in the season.Santana had the hometown crowd on his side, but it was not enough to propel him to victory over the rookie first baseman. Alonso pulled off a dramatic https://www.nymgear.com/jerseys, last-second win against Santana with 14 homers, even though he got off to a slow start thanks to some errant tosses from his appointed pitcher, his cousin Derek Morgan. He pulled off seven homers in the final minute, and four in the final 30 seconds to pull off the come-from-behind win and advance. In the round, his longest home run traveled an estimated 466 feet, with a 110 mph exit velocity. It was the kind of blast Mets fans had become accustomed to seeing from Alonso over the course of his rookie season.ROUND 2The second round featured a matchup between Alonso and division rival Ronald Acuña Jr. The sixth seed Acuña Jr. had easily dispatched Josh Bell with a 25-dinger performance in the previous round. The outfielder crushed 19 homers in the second round, which meant Alonso would need to step up his game in order to advance to the finals.The slugger did just that, as he entertained the crowd with a 20-homer performance to advance. As he did in the first round, he got off to a sluggish start before turning it on late and storming back to defeat his opponent. He homered in four of his final five swings over the final 24 seconds of the round to pull off the exciting win and stake his claim to one of the two spots in the finals. His longest home run in the round went one foot farther than his longest from the first round, with his 467-foot blast serving as his longest of the competition.ROUND 3Alonso’s second round win led to a titanic matchup between rookie phenoms Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who defeated Joc Pederson in the most entertaining head-to-head showcase of the derby. In the previous round, Vladito and Pederson were knotted up at 29 when time expired. The two went back-and-forth across three separate swing-offs to determine a winner, with Guerrero Jr. finally emerging victorious with a single-round record 40 (40!) homers to Pederson’s modest 39.Guerrero Jr., an underdog who entered the tournament as the eight seed, set an all-time derby record by launching 91 dingers, which included his 22 in the championship round. Needing to top his previous best of 20, Alonso met the challenge head on, cracking 23 home runs to take the title. In doing so, he picked up his third walk-off of the derby as he hit his 57th and final homer with 18 seconds to spare. Alonso, who showed a lot of emotion throughout the tournament, flipped his bat as his cousin leapt into his arms. In total, his 57 home runs were the fourth-most in a single derby, though it was the third most of the 2019 competition behind Pederson’s 60 and Guerrero Jr.’s record-setting 91.mlb.com 2021 Home Run DerbyAlonso officially announced his return to defend his title on June 23 in an Instagram post, making him the lone returning competitor from the 2019 field. He was one of the first to throw his name into the ring, as the rest of the field has slowly trickled in. The defending champ, who has 17 home runs through the All Star break, enters as the fifth seed in the tourney. This year’s competition features some of the game’s biggest and brightest stars, and it should be a fun field overall. Here’s who Pete will see on Monday, starting with the left side of the bracket.Salvador Perez (4)A Met taking on someone from the Kansas City Royals? Oh boy, what could go wrong? Perez will serve as the starting catcher for the American League All Stars on Tuesday, which is his seventh All Star selection. The 11-year veteran is the fourth member of the Royals to participate in the derby, and is looking to be their first ever winner. He is also looking to become the first catcher to take home the trophy. The longtime Royal has 21 home runs on the season, which leads all catchers in MLB and puts him in a tie for eight in the American League, while his .501 SLG is third among catchers with at least 200 plate appearances.Shohei Ohtani (1)Should Alonso advance past Perez, he will be tasked with facing either Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto. Let’s start with Ohtani and oh, where to even begin? There is really nothing that can be said about Ohtani that anybody reading this piece doesn’t already know. He is a two-way player who is a tremendous pitcher and an even better hitter. The odds-on favorite to win AL MVP honors, Ohtani is doing things never seen before in this sport. His 33 home runs and .698 SLG lead all players in baseball, and many of those homers are tape measure shots https://www.nymgear.com/jacob-degrom-jersey. Ohtani should come in as the favorite to win the competition, and with the baseballs not being stored in the humidor for the derby, there’s a good chance he could shatter the record for longer dinger at Coors Field.Juan Soto (8)Alonso could also find himself matching up against an NL East foe, as he did in 2019, if Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto can pull off the first-round upset against Ohtani. Mets fans are all too familiar with Soto, who has emerged as one of the sport’s bright young stars and is tied for the second-most home runs ever hit by a teenager (22) in MLB. The Rookie of the Year runner-up and 2020 batting champion enters the competition with 11 home runs on the 2021 season, and will look to follow in Bryce Harper’s footsteps and become the second National to win the derby. It’s hard to believe, but 2021 is Soto’s first career All Star game selection. While his power numbers are down from where they usually are at this point in the season, but he could still be a player to watch in this one.Joey Gallo (2)On the right side of the bracket, the leading contender to make the finals is Joey Gallo, who ranks second. The Texas Rangers outfielder is your traditional three-outcome player, and goes into the break leading the league in walks and strikeouts while ranking sixth with 24 home runs on the season. The slugger has a good chance at the third 40-plus homer season of his big league career. In addition to being a leading contender in the derby, he could also serve as one of the top names on the trading block at the deadline, with the Rangers well out of the American League West race. He is looking to become the first Ranger to win the derby since Juan Gonzalez did so in 1993.Trevor Story (7)Like in 2019, the home town hero will come in as the seven-seed in the tournament. Story didn’t quite have the numbers to earn his third straight All Star game selection, but he will have the Coors Field crowd on his side. The 28-year-old, who will headline a stacked free agent shortstop class this winter https://www.nymgear.com/tug-mcgraw-jersey, is twelfth among major league shortstops with 11 home runs at the break. Story also owns the longest home run in Coors Field history, having hit one 505 feet in 2018. Like Gallo, Story figures to get a lot of attention at the deadline, as the Rockies are well out of the race and are unlikely to offer him a long-term extension.Matt Olson (3)Olson is no stranger to socking dingers, as he has hit 124 for the Oakland Athletics since earning a full-time roster spot in August 2017. His 23 home runs at the break are the seventh-most in MLB. The slugging first baseman, who has a 156 wRC+ and a .567 SLG at the break, earned his first All Star game selection this year, as he will serve as a reserve behind Guerrero Jr. on the AL roster. He was the most recent to announce his participation, posting this video earlier this week on his Twitter account.Trey Mancini (6)Nobody in the field has as compelling and inspiring a story as Mancini, who missed the entire 2020 season as he battled stage three colon cancer. He has returned since announcing he was cancer-free last November and has subsequently had a terrific first year. While he fell short of making his first ever All Star game, his inclusion in the derby is a wonderful story, and he will no doubt have many in his corner rooting for him. The first baseman has hit 16 home runs so far this season.The 2021 T-Mobile Home Run Derby airs on Monday, July 12 at 8:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN.mlb.com

player among Orioles fans when his name and the team first started showing up in the same sentences this March.There was talk out there of him being superfluous, just another decent-at-best bat who plays little defense, and there were discussions not about how big a help he would be, but whether he would be a help at all.So far, it looks like the Franco addition — extra innings baserunning aside — is providing some early reward.Franco’s stats aren’t eye-popping. He went into Tuesday with a .254 batting average in 59 at-bats, including two home runs, but he sports a .333 on-base percentage (his career high of .343 came in 2015) and 14 RBI. The RBI is the weird stat; he’s tied for sixth (or, was, entering Tuesday) in Major League Baseball, playing for a team that has had trouble all season getting people on base, and is on pace for 142 RBI.Obviously this is early to be playing the wacky projections game (the last to reach that many RBI was Ryan Howard in 2008, in case you were curious), and RBI are not valued as their batter-independent statistical brethren, but they are a reflection of a hitter’s ability to step up and knock in guys that are on base.And in that category, Franco has been great so far. He’s had 15 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and has batted .417 (5-for-12) with a home run and 12 RBI. He’s actually been impressive in the early going in a few clutch stats; he’s batting .429 (9-for-21) with men on, and he’s hitting .304 (7-for-23) with two outs.This isn’t out of the ordinary for him. Franco is a career .253 hitter with runners in scoring position, but he has an .800 OPS in those spots. He’s gotten better as his career has progressed, batting .275 over the last four seasons, a stretch that includes a .323 average (20-for-62) last season.Most encouraging to the Orioles, though, is that he’s shown signs that the improvement last season on some disappointing lows in Philadelphia (a .230 average in 2017 and .234 figure in ’19) will continue in Baltimore. According to the Baseball Info Solutions figure listed on Fangraphs, his hard-hit percentage of 38.3 percent is higher than it was when he batted .278 as a Royal last season (32.8), and is the highest of his career to this point.These aren’t the stats and measurements of a star, but they imply that, as best as can be implied after 16 games, the Orioles got the Franco they were hoping to get.He’s gone about a familiar start while showing some differences in either his plate discipline or his fortunes in the box. While strikeouts have been on the rise throughout the sport, Franco’s totals — he’s only exceeded 100 strikeouts once, when he fanned 106 times in 2016 — have looked like a throwback to a previous wave of players.So far this season, Franco has been more susceptible to the so-called “true” outcomes Dillon Tate Jersey. With 12 strikeouts in 16 games he’s on pace for 122 for the season, and his strikeout rate of 18.2 percent is the highest it’s been since his rookie season. Meanwhile, with seven walks he’s been more disciplined, walking at a rate of 10.6 percent that beats his previous high of 8.4 in 2019. This isn’t a fickle figure; in four of the previous five seasons, his number has been between 6.2 and 6.6. It’s been established, he doesn’t walk. So either he does now, or he’s just stumbled into some wild pitchers.Either way, he’s done a good job of fulfilling that part from the start of the story — his need. At the time of those articles, the Orioles didn’t need Franco. They had Yolmer Sanchez, a Gold Glove winner, at second base, and Rio Ruiz at third. Pat Valaika was in the mix, and so were Ramon Urias and Jahmai Jones. There wasn’t a logjam, but there wasn’t a gaping hole, particularly for a team that wasn’t planning on being competitive.As the season’s gone on, however, Franco’s become a solid fit for a hole that ended up forming Stevie Wilkerson Jersey. Sanchez’s awful spring prompted his departure and threw the infield into potential disarray. Like on a football team when one player’s removal from the offense or defense forces several others to move into more awkward-fitting roles, the Orioles would have been left without an arrangement that checked all the boxes. There would have been a light bat somewhere, or an inadequate glove.Franco has provided that stability the Orioles ended up needing https://www.baltimoregearshop.com/pat-valaika-jersey, and his stats have reflected it. Hopefully the months to come either continue, or even improve, the narrative.

player among Orioles fans when his name and the team first started showing up in the same sentences this March.There was talk out there of him being superfluous, just another decent-at-best bat who plays little defense, and there were discussions not about how big a help he would be, but whether he would be a help at all.So far, it looks like the Franco addition — extra innings baserunning aside — is providing some early reward.Franco’s stats aren’t eye-popping. He went into Tuesday with a .254 batting average in 59 at-bats, including two home runs, but he sports a .333 on-base percentage (his career high of .343 came in 2015) and 14 RBI. The RBI is the weird stat; he’s tied for sixth (or, was, entering Tuesday) in Major League Baseball, playing for a team that has had trouble all season getting people on base, and is on pace for 142 RBI.Obviously this is early to be playing the wacky projections game (the last to reach that many RBI was Ryan Howard in 2008, in case you were curious), and RBI are not valued as their batter-independent statistical brethren, but they are a reflection of a hitter’s ability to step up and knock in guys that are on base.And in that category, Franco has been great so far. He’s had 15 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and has batted .417 (5-for-12) with a home run and 12 RBI. He’s actually been impressive in the early going in a few clutch stats; he’s batting .429 (9-for-21) with men on, and he’s hitting .304 (7-for-23) with two outs.This isn’t out of the ordinary for him. Franco is a career .253 hitter with runners in scoring position, but he has an .800 OPS in those spots. He’s gotten better as his career has progressed, batting .275 over the last four seasons, a stretch that includes a .323 average (20-for-62) last season.Most encouraging to the Orioles, though, is that he’s shown signs that the improvement last season on some disappointing lows in Philadelphia (a .230 average in 2017 and .234 figure in ’19) will continue in Baltimore. According to the Baseball Info Solutions figure listed on Fangraphs, his hard-hit percentage of 38.3 percent is higher than it was when he batted .278 as a Royal last season (32.8), and is the highest of his career to this point.These aren’t the stats and measurements of a star, but they imply that, as best as can be implied after 16 games, the Orioles got the Franco they were hoping to get.He’s gone about a familiar start while showing some differences in either his plate discipline or his fortunes in the box. While strikeouts have been on the rise throughout the sport, Franco’s totals — he’s only exceeded 100 strikeouts once, when he fanned 106 times in 2016 — have looked like a throwback to a previous wave of players.So far this season, Franco has been more susceptible to the so-called “true” outcomes Dillon Tate Jersey. With 12 strikeouts in 16 games he’s on pace for 122 for the season, and his strikeout rate of 18.2 percent is the highest it’s been since his rookie season. Meanwhile, with seven walks he’s been more disciplined, walking at a rate of 10.6 percent that beats his previous high of 8.4 in 2019. This isn’t a fickle figure; in four of the previous five seasons, his number has been between 6.2 and 6.6. It’s been established, he doesn’t walk. So either he does now, or he’s just stumbled into some wild pitchers.Either way, he’s done a good job of fulfilling that part from the start of the story — his need. At the time of those articles, the Orioles didn’t need Franco. They had Yolmer Sanchez, a Gold Glove winner, at second base, and Rio Ruiz at third. Pat Valaika was in the mix, and so were Ramon Urias and Jahmai Jones. There wasn’t a logjam, but there wasn’t a gaping hole, particularly for a team that wasn’t planning on being competitive.As the season’s gone on, however, Franco’s become a solid fit for a hole that ended up forming Stevie Wilkerson Jersey. Sanchez’s awful spring prompted his departure and threw the infield into potential disarray. Like on a football team when one player’s removal from the offense or defense forces several others to move into more awkward-fitting roles, the Orioles would have been left without an arrangement that checked all the boxes. There would have been a light bat somewhere, or an inadequate glove.Franco has provided that stability the Orioles ended up needing https://www.baltimoregearshop.com/pat-valaika-jersey, and his stats have reflected it. Hopefully the months to come either continue, or even improve, the narrative.

the GameJoey Votto had cobbled together some walkin’ since returning to the Cincinnati Reds from the IL with a busted thumb, but he’d yet to really bash one. That changed on Thursday, however, as Votto parked the 301st dinger of his career into the GABP stands.As it turns out, that was both an early highlight and one of the very few on the day as a whole for the Reds, however, who limped to another loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, this time one that resulted in a series loss.Key PlaysFor the second consecutive game, Luis Urias was plunked as the games opening batter. For the second consecutive game, that haunted Reds pitching, as a walk and a single later he scooted home to score the game’s initial run. Reds trailed early, 1-0.Votto got that run back in the Bottom of the 2nd, however, turning around a Freddy Peralta meatwad for a 400-foot solo homer into the RF seats. Game tied, 1-1.The Reds got a bit of good fortune when play resumed post-rain in the Bottom of the 5th, as Kyle Farmer reached on an infield single and moved to 2B on a sac-bunt by Castillo. Jesse Winker then poked a ribbie-single into LF, and the Reds held a 2-1 lead.Walks, as they are wont to do, haunt. Such was the case for Castillo in the Top of the 6th, as he walked the a pair of batters he faced before battling to K Avisail Garcia for the inning’s second out. That was his final batter, though, and manager David Bell turned to Lucas Sims to put out the fire. Sims’ hose was dry Mike Moustakas Jersey, though, and he not only allowed both inherited runners to score, he allowed a run of his own, too. Reds trailed, 4-2.The Reds had a chance to turn a 5-4-3 double play in the Top of the 7th that would’ve ended the inning, but Jonathan India’s turn at 2B went wide of Votto at 1B, and Luis Urias ended up on 2B with 2-out as a result. That doomed, of course, because that’s just how this works when you’re a Reds fan - Daniel Vogelbach spanked a Sean Doolittle meatball for a 2-run jack into the RF seats https://www.crfanshop.com/joey-votto-jersey, and the Reds were buried, 6-2.Another Reds reliever was on for the Top of the 8th. The Brewers scored then, too. Reds trailed, 7-2, which is how this one wrapped.Tony GraphaninoSource: FanGraphsOther NotesA 37 minute rain delay pressed pause on this one after the end of the 4th inning. That was enough for the Brewers to call time on Freddy Peralta’s day, though Luis Castillo returned to the mound for the Reds.Speaking of Castillo, he was largely excellent until the 6th inning became his undoing. Yes, he was bitten by the Reds’ league-worst strand rate when both inherited runners scored to tag his ledger, but you can’t ignore the fact that he walked both guys in the first place. His final line, therefore, is a bit rougher than you’d like to see - 5.2 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K on 96 pitches.An entire series, at home, against the division leaders, and Tejay Antone never pitched once. I can’t tell you how often the list of why the hell did theys is longer than the oh, that makes senses with this franchise, y’all.The Reds will welcome the Colorado Rockies to town tomorrow, who are positively abysmal on the road. Seriously. They’re 5-23 outside of Coors Field, which is far and away the single worst road record in all of baseball https://www.crfanshop.com/bobby-tolan-jersey, if not perhaps the history of the game. Look that up.Anyway, the Reds have a buttered biscuit on their plate to devour this weekend, and I sure as hell hope they do so. Friday’s matchup will feature Tyler Mahle on the mound with some arm of Bud Black’s choosing getting the nod for Colorado. First pitch is set for 7:10 PM ET, and get yer butts to the ballpark to see some bashing.Tunes.

Titans looked awful in the first half but came to life in the third quarter to dig their way out of a 21-3 halftime hole and defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 22-21, on Saturday.It was the first postseason victory for the Titans in 14 years Whit Merrifield Jersey, and they became the first road team since 1957 to overcome an 18-point, second-half deficit to win.The Titans will have to wait until Sunday to find out where they’re headed next week after advancing. If the Jacksonville Jaguars win, Tennessee will travel to face the New England Patriots. But if the Buffalo Bills come away with a victory, it’ll be a road game for the Titans against the Pittsburgh Steelers.If Tennessee plays the way it did in the second half and avoids the pitfalls that led to a slow start, the Titans may be able to do some damage next weekend. Here’s how they fell behind and then managed to pull off the come-from-behind victory Saturday:Alex Smith was efficient and mistake-free in the 1st halfThe Chiefs’ quarterback gets knocked for struggling to make the big plays sometimes, but one things he rarely does is lose a game for his team. He has just one multi-interception game in the last two seasons, and he avoided throwing any to the Titans on Saturday.His most impressive moment came at the end of the first half when he led the Chiefs down the field on a nine-play, 79-yard drive that was capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson with three seconds left in the half. By halftime, the Chiefs had a 21-3 lead, and Smith had one of the most impressive starts to a game in his entire career.Alex Smith: 19-of-23 (82.6 pct) in 1st half, with 2 dropsOnly 1 player in last 25 seasons had 20+ throws and a higher comp pct in the 1st half of a playoff game: Aaron Rodgers (2010 at ATL)'s 231 passing yards are his 5th-most in a half of any game, including playoffs— NFL Research January 6, 2018Most of the big plays for the Chiefs’ offense were short passes from Smith that turned into something more, but even in those cases, the quarterback did what he could to contribute. On one play, he even blocked linebacker Wesley Woodyard to help spring Tyreek Hill for a first down. But all those good tidings came to a screeching halt at halftime. In the first 24 minutes of the second half, he had just 11 yards passing and couldn’t lead the Chiefs to first downs https://www.kcrgear.com/tyler-zuber-jersey, let alone points. Even when Adoree’ Jackson muffed a punt to set Kansas City up with great field position, the Chiefs did nothing with it.Smith finished the game with 264 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. That’s a strong stat line, but not when you consider that he already had 231 yards and two touchdowns at halftime.His contract runs through the 2018 season, but the Chiefs can save $17 million by releasing him. With Kansas City not doing anything with four trips to the playoffs in the last five years, it looks like it’s time for Patrick Mahomes, who was drafted with the No. 10 pick in the 2017 draft.Marcus Mariota did enough in the second halfThis was not a good year for the No. 2 pick from the 2015 NFL draft. There’s still reason to be concerned about Mariota’s development after he finished his third year in the league with 13 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and a 79.3 passer rating after finishing with a rating over 90 in his first two years.It looked like more of the same early Saturday when he finished the first two quarters with no touchdowns and one interception. It led to a huge hole for the Titans to dig out of.He finally managed to get the Titans rolling and back in striking range in the third quarter when he threw a touchdown to himself Kansas City Royals Hoodies. That play proved to be a turning point for the Titans, swinging momentum in Tennessee’s favor.Derrick Henry closed the gap further with a 35-rushing touchdown, and Mariota finally gave the Titans a lead when he found Eric Decker for a 22-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Mariota finished with 205 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception and played with toughness in the second half, even springing Henry on a game-clinching run by throwing a key block.The Titans’ slow start wasn’t all Mariota’s faultIf the Titans hope to get Mariota on track and off to a fast start next week, the offense around him needs to do him more favors.On one scoring opportunity, he was annihilated by Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson, who had a free path to the quarterback because Henry completely missed his block. On Mariota’s interception, he threw into traffic, which was hard not to do when three receivers were all in the same place. What a bunch of Mularkey.The absence of Travis Kelce hurt the ChiefsKansas City jumped all over the Titans early, including a 13-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Kelce in the first quarter that made it 14-0. But on the last drive of the first half, Kelce took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Titans safety Johnathan Cyprien that left the tight end woozy and having difficulty standing. He exited the game and didn’t return.The Chiefs finished the drive with a touchdown, but with Kelce gone in the second half, Kansas City’s offense couldn’t get going and allowed the Titans to climb back into contention.The Titans didn’t get the two-point conversions they neededIf Tennessee kicked extra points, and Ryan Succop managed to knock them all through, the Titans would’ve had a three-point lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.It wasn’t a bad choice by head coach Mike Mularkey to go for two, considering one touchdown put the Titans down five points and another put the team up one. If either were converted, it would’ve made the score a field-goal difference, but neither worked.That may be a result of the Titans not having attempted a two-point conversion in the regular season.It looked like it could’ve been disastrous when the Chiefs drove into Tennessee territory late in the fourth quarter, but the Titans defense held, and the two-point conversions didn’t come back to haunt them.Derrick Henry ate up the ChiefsAll eyes are on Mariota most of the time in Tennessee, but by the end of the game, Henry had bulldozed his way to 156 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.For some reason, the Titans gave DeMarco Murray the majority of the touches during the regular season despite Henry’s superior production. Tennessee couldn’t do that in the final two weeks after Murray suffered a knee injury, and it certainly doesn’t appear to be a problem that Henry is the one taking all the carries now.The Heisman Trophy winner ran through a Kansas City defense that struggled for most of the season, and he put the game on ice with a couple more first downs in the last three minutes that kept the Chiefs from getting another offensive possession.If the Titans are going to knock off one of the AFC powers in the Divisional Round, they’ll need to lean on Henry again.The top stories from the Wild Card Round

Titans looked awful in the first half but came to life in the third quarter to dig their way out of a 21-3 halftime hole and defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 22-21, on Saturday.It was the first postseason victory for the Titans in 14 years Whit Merrifield Jersey, and they became the first road team since 1957 to overcome an 18-point, second-half deficit to win.The Titans will have to wait until Sunday to find out where they’re headed next week after advancing. If the Jacksonville Jaguars win, Tennessee will travel to face the New England Patriots. But if the Buffalo Bills come away with a victory, it’ll be a road game for the Titans against the Pittsburgh Steelers.If Tennessee plays the way it did in the second half and avoids the pitfalls that led to a slow start, the Titans may be able to do some damage next weekend. Here’s how they fell behind and then managed to pull off the come-from-behind victory Saturday:Alex Smith was efficient and mistake-free in the 1st halfThe Chiefs’ quarterback gets knocked for struggling to make the big plays sometimes, but one things he rarely does is lose a game for his team. He has just one multi-interception game in the last two seasons, and he avoided throwing any to the Titans on Saturday.His most impressive moment came at the end of the first half when he led the Chiefs down the field on a nine-play, 79-yard drive that was capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson with three seconds left in the half. By halftime, the Chiefs had a 21-3 lead, and Smith had one of the most impressive starts to a game in his entire career.Alex Smith: 19-of-23 (82.6 pct) in 1st half, with 2 dropsOnly 1 player in last 25 seasons had 20+ throws and a higher comp pct in the 1st half of a playoff game: Aaron Rodgers (2010 at ATL)'s 231 passing yards are his 5th-most in a half of any game, including playoffs— NFL Research January 6, 2018Most of the big plays for the Chiefs’ offense were short passes from Smith that turned into something more, but even in those cases, the quarterback did what he could to contribute. On one play, he even blocked linebacker Wesley Woodyard to help spring Tyreek Hill for a first down. But all those good tidings came to a screeching halt at halftime. In the first 24 minutes of the second half, he had just 11 yards passing and couldn’t lead the Chiefs to first downs https://www.kcrgear.com/tyler-zuber-jersey, let alone points. Even when Adoree’ Jackson muffed a punt to set Kansas City up with great field position, the Chiefs did nothing with it.Smith finished the game with 264 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. That’s a strong stat line, but not when you consider that he already had 231 yards and two touchdowns at halftime.His contract runs through the 2018 season, but the Chiefs can save $17 million by releasing him. With Kansas City not doing anything with four trips to the playoffs in the last five years, it looks like it’s time for Patrick Mahomes, who was drafted with the No. 10 pick in the 2017 draft.Marcus Mariota did enough in the second halfThis was not a good year for the No. 2 pick from the 2015 NFL draft. There’s still reason to be concerned about Mariota’s development after he finished his third year in the league with 13 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and a 79.3 passer rating after finishing with a rating over 90 in his first two years.It looked like more of the same early Saturday when he finished the first two quarters with no touchdowns and one interception. It led to a huge hole for the Titans to dig out of.He finally managed to get the Titans rolling and back in striking range in the third quarter when he threw a touchdown to himself Kansas City Royals Hoodies. That play proved to be a turning point for the Titans, swinging momentum in Tennessee’s favor.Derrick Henry closed the gap further with a 35-rushing touchdown, and Mariota finally gave the Titans a lead when he found Eric Decker for a 22-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Mariota finished with 205 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception and played with toughness in the second half, even springing Henry on a game-clinching run by throwing a key block.The Titans’ slow start wasn’t all Mariota’s faultIf the Titans hope to get Mariota on track and off to a fast start next week, the offense around him needs to do him more favors.On one scoring opportunity, he was annihilated by Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson, who had a free path to the quarterback because Henry completely missed his block. On Mariota’s interception, he threw into traffic, which was hard not to do when three receivers were all in the same place. What a bunch of Mularkey.The absence of Travis Kelce hurt the ChiefsKansas City jumped all over the Titans early, including a 13-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Kelce in the first quarter that made it 14-0. But on the last drive of the first half, Kelce took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Titans safety Johnathan Cyprien that left the tight end woozy and having difficulty standing. He exited the game and didn’t return.The Chiefs finished the drive with a touchdown, but with Kelce gone in the second half, Kansas City’s offense couldn’t get going and allowed the Titans to climb back into contention.The Titans didn’t get the two-point conversions they neededIf Tennessee kicked extra points, and Ryan Succop managed to knock them all through, the Titans would’ve had a three-point lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.It wasn’t a bad choice by head coach Mike Mularkey to go for two, considering one touchdown put the Titans down five points and another put the team up one. If either were converted, it would’ve made the score a field-goal difference, but neither worked.That may be a result of the Titans not having attempted a two-point conversion in the regular season.It looked like it could’ve been disastrous when the Chiefs drove into Tennessee territory late in the fourth quarter, but the Titans defense held, and the two-point conversions didn’t come back to haunt them.Derrick Henry ate up the ChiefsAll eyes are on Mariota most of the time in Tennessee, but by the end of the game, Henry had bulldozed his way to 156 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.For some reason, the Titans gave DeMarco Murray the majority of the touches during the regular season despite Henry’s superior production. Tennessee couldn’t do that in the final two weeks after Murray suffered a knee injury, and it certainly doesn’t appear to be a problem that Henry is the one taking all the carries now.The Heisman Trophy winner ran through a Kansas City defense that struggled for most of the season, and he put the game on ice with a couple more first downs in the last three minutes that kept the Chiefs from getting another offensive possession.If the Titans are going to knock off one of the AFC powers in the Divisional Round, they’ll need to lean on Henry again.The top stories from the Wild Card Round

year, we have kept you posted on what the Yankees have been up to on social media. Although baseball is getting back to normal Gary Sanchez Jersey, it’s still fun to check in our favorite players and Yankee figures, so we will continue to do so throughout 2021. Here’s your weekly update on what your favorite Yankees have been doing on social media!Memorial Day remembrance from the YankeesLast Sunday, we honored the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. The Yankees, Aaron Boone, Alex Rodriguez, and others posted on social media to express their gratitude for those who lost their lives for our country.Today we honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation https://www.nyygear.com/aaron-judge-jersey. Thank you, veterans. pic.twitter.com/i4VErTa4OG— New York Yankees May 31, 2021Grateful for those who gave all for our country. #MemorialDay #USA— Aaron Boone May 31, 2021View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alex Rodriguez Celebrating Clint Frazier’s walk-off homerRed Thunder blasted a two-run walkoff home run against the Rays on Tuesday. It was a big win for the Bombers as they were in a bit of a funk entering the game https://www.nyygear.com/michael-king-jersey. Kyle Higashioka posted a funny tweet with his reaction to Clint’s celebration as he ran home!Clint with a celebration pic.twitter.com/GJom15l02u— Kyle Higashioka June 2, 2021Luke Voit welcomes his first childCongratulations to Luke Voit and his wife Victoria on the birth of their first born child, Kennedy! She was coincidentally born on 5/28 at 5:28 p.m. Luke is currently on the IL with a right oblique strain, but I’m sure this monumental moment in his life is making him feel a bit better! Congrats again to the Voit fam!View this post on Instagram A post shared by lukevoit