The NZ allrounder followed figures of 2 for 16 with 46 off 24 balls
AAP27-Nov-2025Alice Capsey’s four wickets – including three in an over – were not enough as Sophie Devine led Perth Scorchers to a WBBL win over Melbourne Renegades.Scorchers survived a dramatic collapse to beat Renegades by four wickets and deny the home side a share of top spot on the WBBL ladder.Chasing 150 on Thursday at Junction Oval, Scorchers were cruising at 116 for 2 in the 13th over.After taking two wickets, Sophie Devine had been promoted to open and her blazing innings had put Scorchers in what appeared to be an impregnable position.But first Georgia Wareham bowled Maddy Darke for 15 and two balls later, Alice Capsey had opener Beth Mooney stumped for 41. The English spinner stunningly snared another two wickets in the same over to leave the Scorchers in major strife at 118 for 6.But Freya Kemp (18 not out) and Lilly Mills (15 not out) stopped the rot, guiding Perth to 151 for 6 with eight balls left.Capsey snared 4 for 14 from her three excellent overs of offspin.Earlier, Devine had taken the key wicket of Renegades No.3 Sophie Molineux for only 5 before Renegades were all out on the last ball of their 20 overs.The New Zealand star then moved up the order and belted the Renegades attack around Junction Oval, hitting six fours and two sixes in her knock of 46 from just 24 balls that ultimately proved the difference.The Renegades would have joined Hobart Hurricanes at the top of the ladder with a win. Instead, they stayed third ahead of Saturday’s big local derby against the second-placed Melbourne Stars.Chloe Ainsworth claimed two wickets in the 13th over of the Renegades’ innings and they were struggling at 94 for 7.Nicola Faltum and Sarah Coyte then had a quickfire stand of 46 for the eighth wicket that meant the home side posted a competitive score.Coyte was run-out for 24 from 18 balls and Fulton top-scored with an unbeaten 41 off 28 deliveries, with six fours.Ainsworth returned a miserly 2 for 17 from her four overs and Amy Edgar also claimed two wickets.
Martin O’Neill’s time in charge of Celtic couldn’t have gone much better really.
The legendary manager saw his beat their Old Firm rivals, reach a cup final and draw level with Hearts at the top of the SPFL table.
It took the Hoops a while to find their new manager but they finally have their man in the form of Wilfried Nancy who arrives following a stint in MLS.
That said, for those at Parkhead, chiefly Liam Scales, he’s not had much time to think about what could be in store under the new boss.
Scales preparing for new era at Celtic
Republic of Ireland international Scales was asked after the 1-0 victory over Dundee on Wednesday evening whether he had been doing his research on the 48-year-old Nancy.
“No, I haven’t had time,” the defender said. “It’s been so busy. Obviously we know bits and pieces but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We need to focus on the games that we have and now is the time where we’re going to have to really focus on the tactical changes and whatever he wants us to do.
“It’s hard to do homework on someone you’ve never met because you don’t want to create a false idea of them. It’s better just to wait and really learn from them in person.”
Nancy arrives ahead of a crucial run of games. Celtic will go top of the Premiership if they beat Hearts on Sunday before facing St Mirren in the League Cup final a week later.
“It doesn’t get much bigger than the week he has come in. It’s probably ideal. You want to come in and be part of massive games and he has a chance to win a trophy early on.
“If you come in and do well over the next three games, it’s the best way you can start a job. We’ll be doing our best to make that happen for him because we want to be successful as a team.”
Scales could be set for new role under Nancy
Scales was in excellent form under O’Neill, notably hailed as Celtic’s “player of the year” by some. Evidently, he thoroughly enjoyed his time with the interim manager in the dugout.
The defender said of O’Neill: “He’s been really good. It’s been a positive four weeks or five weeks. We’ve won a lot of games. We’ve obviously won a cup semi-final and won an away game in Europe as well. They were big wins. It’s just been really enjoyable and positive.
“In the game now, the defenders are on the ball a lot and you need to link play. But to go back to basics and just be told that you need to win your headers, you need to win your duels, I’ll keep that with me.”
Liam Scales in action for Celtic.
Whether the centre-back continues his form remains to be seen. After all, Scales could be set for a modified role given Nancy’s preference for a back three. “I’ve played in back threes, I’ve played in back fives, I’ve played in back fours. I just want to be in the team. That’s all I care about.”
Better than Maeda: Celtic star is going to be undroppable under Nancy
This Celtic star who was even better than Daizen Maeda against Dundee should be Wilfried Nancy’s first undroppable star.
Leeds United have made a major decision in their pursuit of AZ Alkmaar and Republic of Ireland striker Troy Parrott.
Parrott has made himself a national hero in Ireland in recent weeks, producing plenty of goalscoring heroics in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, scoring five times in two matches.
The 23-year-old scored the vital winner away to Hungary that booked his country’s place in the playoffs next years, with Ray Houghton waxing lyrical about his impact.
“In moments like that you are trying to find the right words to actually put across your feelings. As an ex-player, you know what’s at stake, you know what they’ve been through, you know that when you go through hard times you want to remember the good times even more, and it means so much to you.
“I understood it, that Troy was a young lad who came through and was going to be a sensational talent, went to Spurs as a kid, made his debut when he was 17 and had so much ahead of him, but it didn’t quite go the way everyone anticipated. He had to reinvent himself as a player, so to see the joy he had playing for his country and doing what he did, hopefully it will inspire the next generation of players.
Leeds have been linked with a move for Parrott, looking to bring him back to England, and there has now been a development regarding the situation.
Troy Parrott now moving up Leeds striker shortlist
According to a new report from talkSPORT‘s Alex Crook, Leeds now have Parrott “high on their list” of attacking options. Both the Whites and Wolves are “among the clubs” keen on snapping him up in 2026, with his current club demanding as much as £20m for his signature.
Parrott is the man of the moment, with his stock never higher in his career to date, and he could be a strong signing for Leeds, whether it be in the January transfer window or next summer.
Whites supporters will no doubt hope that it is the former, in order for the Irishman to help Daniel Farke’s side avoid relegation from the Premier League back to the Championship.
Parrott is far from a flash in the pan, having been highly-rated as a youngster and Tottenham, and being lauded by Alkaar head coach Maarten Martens.
Leeds in one of the biggest transfer battles of all time for England midfielder
He could add so much quality and bite to the midfield.
By
Henry Jackson
Nov 25, 2025
There is likely to be a battle for Parrott’s signature among Premier League clubs, but if Leeds can come out on top, it could prove to be an inspired piece of business, especially given the striker’s age.
Perfect for Parrott: Leeds could sack Farke for "world-class" 4-3-3 manager
Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Felix were on target as Al-Nassr comfortably thrashed Neom 3-1 to extend their lead over Al-Taawoun to three points at the top of the Saudi Pro League table. After a quiet second half, the floodgates opened with Gabriel's powerful shot before the Portuguese icon doubled the lead. Felix then scored the final goal to seal a memorable win for the Saudi giants.
Al-Nassr's eighth consecutive win
Al-Nassr and Neom played out an exciting first half, albeit goalless, as both teams had numerous chances to break the deadlock. Al-Nassr, of course, dominated proceedings with each of Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Sadio Mane coming close to opening their account in the game but they failed to keep the ball inside the goal.
Ronaldo possibly squandered the easiest chance of the half as he failed to keep his header on target from close range. Mane too missed a simple opportunity after miskicking the ball when inside the box.
The Saudi giants, though, did not take much time in the second half to open their scoring as in-form midfielder and ex-Chelsea star Angelo Gabriel broke the deadlock with a picture-perfect finish. In the 48th minute, Ronaldo took a free-kick from just outside the box, which was blocked by the Neom defenders but from the rebound, Gabriel scored with a brilliant grounded shot.
Just seven minutes later, Neom were dealt another blow as striker Luciano Rodríguez was given his marching orders for a reckless challenge. The Uruguayan attacker was taking his position on the edge of the box to meet a cross from the left side when he intentionally elbowed an Al-Nassr player in the neck. The referee consulted the VAR before brandishing a red card. It was indeed a massive blow for Neom as they had already lost ex-Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette in the first half due to injury.
Ronaldo soon completed his 953rd career goal after finding the back of the net from the penalty spot. In the earlier move, Ronaldo had seen his attempt saved from close range by compatriot Luis Maximiano but Joao Felix chased the second ball. The Portuguese forward tried to regain possession, but he was shoved from behind, which led to the spot-kick.
Ahmed Abdo pulled one back for the hosts in the 84th minute as Mohamed Simakan was caught napping. Abdo received the ball behind Simakan and comfortably placed it into the goal. Neom's celebrations were, however, short-lived as Joao Felix scored the third and final goal of the game to secure crucial three points.
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Ronaldo was once again on target as Al-Nassr extended their winning streak in the Saudi Pro League to eight games. The 40-year-old veteran star displayed a lively performance throughout the 90 minutes and also scored the team's crucial second goal from a spot-kick.
The big loser
Uruguayan striker Rodríguez was the main villain for Neom tonight as his reckless behaviour on the pitch led to his team being reduced to 10 men. Up until the sending off, Neom were fighting tooth and nail against the giants of the league, but his red card completely changed the complexion of the game. Rodriguez should have kept in mind that he was the team's last attacker for the night, especially after Lacazette's injury.
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You'll Never Walk Alone? Liverpool supporters started streaming out of Anfield long before referee Andy Madley brought an end to Saturday's shambolic showing against Nottingham Forest. They knew that there was no way back for their team after Morgan Gibbs-White fired in the visitors' third and final goal with 12 minutes remaining. Truth be told, it felt like the game was up for the hosts as soon as Murillo opened the scoring after just over half an hour of play, because this is a side suddenly bereft of backbone.
The Reds repeatedly came from behind to win or draw games during last season's Premier League title triumph, picking up 23 points from losing positions in total, but they've not managed to do so once this term. The net result is six defeats from 12 games, and Saturday's loss was the most embarrassing yet.
Despite starting the day in the relegation places, Forest cruised to victory at the home of the beleaguered champions, allowing their fans to spend the closing stages joyously alternating between demanding a fourth goal and mocking Arne Slot with chants of 'You're getting sacked in the morning!'
He wasn't fired, of course. Slot is still Liverpool's manager going into Wednesday's Champions League clash with PSV – but for how much longer? Slot himself admitted losing 3-0 at home to Forest was "a very, very, very bad result", so just how bad would things have to get before the club's owners decided to act?…
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Isak issues a major problem
Tom Werner was in attendance on Saturday, meaning the Liverpool chairman will now be acutely aware of the severity of the situation – if he wasn't already before.
The American would have arrived hoping to see the Reds kickstart their campaign with the help of their £125 million ($165m) man, Alexander Isak, who was surprisingly selected to lead the line ahead of Hugo Ekitike. What he witnessed was a complete and collective "mess", as captain Virgil van Dijk admitted afterwards.
Isak was painfully poor, so utterly ineffective that some fans were left pining for Darwin Nunez, a wasteful finisher but a chaotic character always capable of making something happen. Isak, by complete contrast, offered absolutely nothing, touching the ball just 14 times before being mercifully withdrawn after 68 minutes of mediocrity.
There can, of course, be zero sympathy for the Sweden striker, who is paying a heavy price for arriving at Anfield in such poor physical condition. However, that only made Slot's decision to start him all the more inexplicable.
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Running out of time and patience
Isak was meant to have played at least twice for Sweden during the international break but, after making an appearance off the bench against Switzerland, he wasn't used at all against Slovenia because new coach Graham Potter didn't want to run the risk of him picking up a booking that would have ruled him out of next March's World Cup play-off semi-final against Ukraine.
So, why on earth was a ridiculously rusty Isak picked ahead of a fully-fit Ekitike, who had scored his first goal for France last Thursday week? Slot pretty much answered the question before the game by admitting that Liverpool are so desperate to get their club-record signing back up to speed that they're willing to give him game time ahead of more deserving team-mates.
"This morning I had a conversation with the performance staff about what is the best way for Alex – not for Liverpool – to get him as fast as we can to 100 per cent," Slot said in his pre-match press conference on Friday. "I always have to find the balance between what is the best for him as an individual and for us as a team.
"I do know that a 100% fit Alexander Isak is a big, big, big plus for this team. But for him to get there he might need to have minutes where you could argue that another player might be further ahead of him in terms of match fitness. Alex will end up being the player he was at Newcastle if we get him fit. That will take a little bit of time."
It was a remarkable revelation, given both time and patience are running out on Merseyside.
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Gomez's puzzling lack of game time
One can understand Liverpool's pressing need for the time, money and patience they've invested in Isak to start reaping dividends – but starting him only makes sense if he's capable of contributing. Liverpool are carrying enough passengers as it is at the moment, so they hardly need to burden themselves with one more.
The message it sends out is also awful. One can only imagine Ekitike's frustration when he learned that an immobile Isak would be starting ahead of him. Of course, Joe Gomez was probably feeling just as aggrieved on Saturday afternoon.
With injury-plagued duo Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong both unavailable, the presumption was that the versatile Gomez would be asked to fill in at right-back – not least because that would allow Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool's best player this season by some distance, to play in his preferred position in midfield.
However, the Hungarian was once again asked to play in defence, while Gomez spent the entire afternoon on the bench. Consequently, the sum total of Gomez's Premier League game time this season remains 43 minutes spread across four matches – which is just staggering in light of Ibrahima Konate's consistently calamitous displays.
Slot alluded to Gomez's longstanding fitness issues on Friday. "I think he's only played 90 minutes twice throughout the whole of this year," the former Feyenoord coach said. "If we want to keep him available longer, it is maybe a risk to play him seven times in 22 days."
It definitely would be, but the point is that Gomez is barely playing at all – and we need to know why. Either the England international can no longer cope with the rigours of Premier League football or Slot simply doesn't feel he's even good enough to play ahead of the increasingly error-prone Konate, who gifted Forest the corner from which they opened the scoring on Saturday with a horrible touch under no meaningful pressure whatsoever.
Of course, the fact that giving away a corner is akin to giving away a goal these days is another major problem for Slot.
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Losing too many battles
Murillo's 33rd-minute opener at Anfield may have been shrouded in controversy due to the fact that it didn't appear very different to the goal that Virgil van Dijk had disallowed at Manchester City two weeks beforehand – but it exposed Liverpool's shocking inability to deal with crosses into their area. Indeed, they've now conceded nine times from set-piece situations this season – equalling their tally for the entire 2024-25 campaign – and what's really worrying is that nobody seems to know what's going on.
Statistically speaking, Van Dijk remains the dominant aerial force in the Premier League, while Konate also ranks among the top 10 for average headers won per game (3.5, alongside Dan Burn and Gabriel Magalhaes). However, on far too many occasions this season, Liverpool players have reacted too slowly to flick-ons or second balls, and the air of apprehension among the supporters every single time a corner, free-kick or throw-in is conceded is an inevitable reflection of lack of confidence they're seeing on the pitch.
"I don't think there is nervousness before a set-piece [among the players]," a visibly angry Van Dijk said on Saturday. "We cleared the ones before [Murillo's goal]. I think overall we were just not good in terms of the battles, the challenges, the second-ball fight. Too rushed. It's just a very, very difficult situation at the moment and we have to get out of this."
The Arizona Diamondbacks hoped for better news on star outfielder Corbin Carroll's hand after he was hit by a pitch Wednesday in Toronto against the Blue Jays. He has missed the team's last five games with left hand soreness and unfortunately, the Diamondbacks will miss his services for even longer.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo announced Monday that Carroll has a chip fracture in his left wrist and is headed for a stint on the injured list, via team host and reporter Jody Jackson. According to an MLB.com report, initial X-rays came back negative but an MRI Monday revealed the fracture.
"That's a little bit confusing to all of us," Lovullo said via Blake Niemann of Fox 10 Phoenix. "It's on the back of his hand, the impact of the ball hit the side of his hand which just goes to show you how hard these guys are throwing today. There's definitely that fracture and he's going to continue to get some opinions just to find out what that official diagnosis means and what the timeframe will be."
Disappointing news for the Diamondbacks, especially after slugger Eugenio Suarez left the team's game Monday after he was hit by a pitch on the right hand. Josh Naylor also exited the Diamondbacks' 10-0 win over the Chicago White Sox Monday.
Before the injury, Carroll slashed .255/.341/.573 with 20 home runs, 44 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He also has an MLB-leading nine triples on the season.
They are down at No. 5 in the World Test Championship table and have plenty to do the the second half of their cycle
S Rajesh26-Nov-2025India’s 2-0 series defeat against South Africa has seriously dented their chances of making the World Test Championship final. Halfway into their 2025-27 cycle – India have played nine out of 18 Tests – they are languishing in fifth place on the table, at 48.15%.It’s still early days for many of the other teams – New Zealand haven’t played a single series yet, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have played one, and England have just started their second – but with Australia (100%) and South Africa (75%) having begun so strongly, India will have to do much more in the second half of their campaign to stand a chance of finishing in the top two.Going by the numbers from the last two WTC cycles, teams will need to be in the 60-65% range to stand a chance of making the cut. In the 2021-23 cycle, India qualified as the second team for the final with a percentage of 58.8, while Australia’s 67.54% won them second place in the previous edition.Related
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For India to get to 60%, they need to finish on 130 points, since they’re playing 18 Tests in this cycle (18 x 12 points = 216). Teams earn 12 points for a win, and four points for a draw. So India need 78 more points from their remaining nine Tests – two each in Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and five at home against Australia. They can get there in at least two ways, assuming they aren’t docked any points:- six wins and a couple of draws: 6 x 12 + 2 x 4 = 80 – seven wins: 7 x 12 = 84Before they take on Australia early in 2027 in their next home Test series, India have two-match series lined up in Sri Lanka (in August 2026) and New Zealand (October-November 2026). India have an excellent recent record in Sri Lanka, winning five of their last six Tests there (though the last tour was in 2017), but New Zealand has been a much tougher to crack: they lost 2-0 in 2020 and 1-0 in 2014. Even if India win all four of those Tests, they will probably still go into the series against Australia needing plenty of points to finish among the top two.Australia have made a terrific start to their WTC campaign with four wins out of four. With six home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand lined up in this cycle, they have an excellent chance of making another final, and accumulating most of the points they need for it before the tour of India begins.South Africa are well-placed too, with three wins from four Tests in two away series. Their only remaining overseas series in this cycle is against Sri Lanka in February 2027. Their home games won’t be easy, though, with six Tests against Australia and England, apart from two against Bangladesh. If they win both home Tests against Bangladesh, they will only need 41 points from their eight remaining Tests to finish at 60%.Some of the other teams could come into contention too as the cycle progresses – only 17 out of 71 matches have been played so far in this edition – but regardless of how the other teams perform, India’s home defeats could seriously hurt their prospects in this cycle, just as they did in the previous one.
Two wickets each for Hasaranga and Theekshana restricted Zimbabwe to 146, before SL blazed to the target
Madushka Balasuriya25-Nov-2025
Pathum Nissanka struck 98* off 58 balls•PCB
Pathum Nissanka found a timely return to form as he struck a devastating 98 off 58 deliveries to help Sri Lanka chase down a target of 147 against Zimbabwe in just 16.2 overs, with nine wickets to spare, in what was a must-win game in Rawalpindi. The result gives Sri Lanka their first win on the tour, and snaps a five-match losing streak in T20Is. It now means Sri Lanka go into their final game against Pakistan on Thursday knowing that a win will mean they qualify for the final of the tri-series.Before Nissanka’s blitz, Sri Lanka’s bowlers had done well to restrict Zimbabwe to a sub-par total of 146 for 5. Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga ended with identical innings-best figures of 2 for 23, as Zimbabwe struggled to push their innings into high gear.There were starts for Brian Bennett and Sikandar Raza, but both fell at inopportune moments, while a final flourish from Ryan Burl was still not enough to challenge a strong Sri Lanka batting performance. The rest of the Zimbabwe batting once more fell flat. There was also a debut for Pavan Rathnayake, though Nissanka ensured Rathnayake was not required to bat.Nissanka finds formAfter that monumental 107 against India in the Asia Cup, Nissanka’s next five white-ball scores read 29, 24, 24, 0 and 17. Not necessarily terrible form, but for a side that relies heavily on his power-hitting to set the tone, it’s no surprise that Nissanka’s dip in form has coincided with a lean period for Sri Lanka.But here, with Sri Lanka chasing a middling total and needing a win to stay in contention for the final, Nissanka finally got one to stick. Sri Lanka produced their best powerplay of the series – 64 for 1 – with Nissanka accounting for 37 of those runs. Through the middle overs, Sri Lanka struck a further 73 – and Nissanka 51 of those. And only three death-overs deliveries were needed to seal the chase – a wide, a four, and a mammoth six.File photo: Maheesh Theekshana got two wickets in the powerplay•Associated Press
Full or short, it didn’t matter, Nissanka dealt with them all just the same. There were sweeps off seamers, flat-batted wallops over extra cover, slaps down the ground, and mega pulls right across the square boundary. Richard Ngarava was singled out in particular, with the tall left-arm seamer being taken for four fours and three sixes.Nissanka struck 11 fours and four sixes in total. Such was Nissanka’s control over proceedings that the final shot of the chase – a front-foot pull for six over backward square leg – had Nissanka looking up at the sky with a wry smile. No, not in celebration, rather disbelief that he had struck six when he intended to hit a four, as the latter would have allowed him to make a run at a second T20I century.Theekshana stakes his claimIn 11 T20Is in 2025, Theekshana has 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.78. It is his most expensive year so far – his overall economy rate stands at 6.97 – while also being his least impactful (in which he has played at least ten matches) since his debut in 2021. It has meant that despite picking up 24 wickets in 2024 at a strike rate of 18.7 – the figure stands at 23.1 for 2025 – Theekshana has found himself the odd man out on more than one occasion.So having been dropped for Sri Lanka’s second game in this tri-series, Theekshana was recalled for this match, and promptly handed the new ball. By the time his three-over powerplay spell had ended, two of Zimbabwe’s top three had been sent back – he beat both edges to rattle the stumps of Tadiwanashe Marumani and Dion Myers – as his figures at that stage read 2 for 19. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, ended the powerplay on 44 for 2.Theekshana’s final over arrived at the start of the death-overs period, and in it he gave away just four runs. That was four quality overs in the game’s most difficult period for bowlers on a good batting track. In a year where he hasn’t been at the top of his game, Theekshana seemed to have provided a timely reminder of what he offers when he’s at his best.Sikandar Raza steadied Zimbabwe in the middle overs•PCB
Raza, Bennett to the rescue againOf the 581 runs Zimbabwe have struck over the course of four games this series, 273 have come off the bats of Bennett and Raza – that roughly accounts for 46%. It is a worrying dependency as of late, but one that Zimbabwe will be grateful for at present.After Theekshana’s early strikes, it was Bennett who ensured the scoring rate remained above seven runs an over, particularly with Brendan Taylor struggling for fluency at the other end. It meant that despite Taylor’s 14 off 16 balls, their partnership of 36 still came off 28 deliveries.And once Taylor fell, it brought Raza to the crease, and together he added 36 off 30 balls with Bennett – they mixed the odd boundary with intelligent strike rotation. While they were together, Zimbabwe looked on track for at least 160 as the pair navigated the middle overs expertly.Burl’s late show spares blushesBurl has flattered to deceive throughout this series, but against Pakistan last time out, his 67 off 49 deliveries finally realised some of what he had been threatening. Unfortunately for Burl, that knock came in a doomed cause, whereas on Tuesday evening, he revived an innings that had been limping to a close.After Bennett and Raza had both fallen in the space of 13 deliveries courtesy Hasaranga’s double strike, Zimbabwe’s innings was in danger of unraveling. Of the four overs bowled at the death, two went for three and four runs, respectively. But Burl, who had been on 1 off 7 balls when Raza fell midway through the 15th over, ensured the innings retained some momentum by striking 36 runs off his next 19 deliveries.If Tashinga Musekiwa had been able to offer more support than his eventual 6 off 14 balls, Zimbabwe may have reached the 160 they had been eyeing – or perhaps more.
Until Sunday, the 12 teams in playoff position at the All-Star break were the same 12 teams holding playoff spots with one week to play. No more. The Reds leapfrogged the sagging Mets, and the molten-hot Guardians can replace the Tigers as soon as Tuesday. You want chaos? This is your week, when baseball becomes a high-stakes, minute-by-minute sprint.
The third wild card is proving its intention: inject sizzle back into September. And don’t worry about a watered-down playoff field. The six No. 6 seeds in three years of the 12-team format have won between 84 and 89 games with an average of 86.9 wins. We again should see the last two teams qualify in that range.
How crazy is the tournament? In the three seasons with six playoff teams in each league, the No. 6 seeds (32–26) have won as many postseason games as the No. 1 seeds (32–22). Just get in, baby.
Wild card spots are not all that’s at stake this week. We’ve got playoff seedings, major awards and MLB records also up for grabs. Here’s your guide to what’s on the line in Chaos Week:
The collapse of the Mets
They no longer control their playoff fate now that the Reds, who hold the tiebreaker over the Mets, caught them for the third wild card.
Since Aug. 19 the Mets are 13–18, including 3–8 against the Marlins and Nationals. But this is not just a late fade. From 45–24 in their first 69 games to 35–52 in their next 87, the Mets have been a bad team longer than they’ve been a good team.
They have used more pitchers than any team in history, received the fourth fewest innings from starters, lost more games out of the bullpen than any playoff contender, walked far too many batters, not once rallied to win after trailing after eight innings and whiffed on trade deadline acquisitions Cedric Mullins and Ryan Helsley, who had been in one organization for a decade before they were dropped into the heat of a New York pennant race.
This week the Mets play three games at Wrigley Field against the Cubs (where they see pitchers Cade Horton, Matt Boyd and Shota Imanaga) and three games in Miami against the Marlins, while asking three kids in their rotation to save their season.
The Reds have three at home against Pittsburgh (including one start by Paul Skenes) and finish with three at Milwaukee against the Brewers. Cincinnati has the edge because of its starting pitching. It also has the tiebreaker advantage over Arizona, which still lurks in the wild card race.
The Tigers in freefall
Detroit takes a six-game losing streak into Cleveland for a huge series against the Guardians that starts Tuesday, then goes to Fenway to finish against the Red Sox, another team hanging on by its fingernails. The Tigers are in a 7–18 freefall in which their 11.5-game AL Central lead has shrunk to one.
The length of the season has exposed the flaws of the Tigers. They strike out too much, their bullpen has the worst strikeout rate in baseball and they are a 46–54 team when anybody other than Tarik Skubal or Casey Mize starts.
American League musical chairs
The Tigers (85–71), Red Sox (85–71), Guardians (84–72) and Astros (84–72) are separated by one game with six to play and three spots up for grabs. One spot will go to either Detroit or Cleveland as the AL Central winner (Cleveland wins the head-to-head tiebreaker with one more win). That leaves three teams for two wild card spots. Here is the skinny on the race:
Tigers: The good news is by finishing against Cleveland and Boston they don’t need help. Their fate is smack in front of them. But that schedule—finishing on the road against two contenders—is also the bad news, especially after Detroit hit .182 against the Guardians while getting swept in three games last week. The Tigers are in trouble, especially if they lose with Skubal on the mound Tuesday in Cleveland.
Red Sox: They are 3–10 against Toronto and Detroit, their opponents this week. They see veteran pitchers Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber in Toronto. Holding tiebreakers against Cleveland and Houston and with head-to-head games with Detroit, Boston still has a good chance of getting in.
Guardians: Manager Stephen Vogt went to a six-man rotation to survive 17 games in 17 days. It worked, not just to keep his starters fresh, but also because pitching coach Carl Willis had them throw two bullpen sessions in between starts to dial in mechanics and pitch shaping. Cleveland is 16–5 with a 2.32 ERA this month. Cleveland is the only one of these four bubble teams to finish all this week at home. If they take two of three from Detroit, the Guardians will be in first place (by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker) and control their fate entering a series against Texas.
Astros: This is the bubble team in the most trouble, if only because they lose the tiebreakers to the Tigers, Red Sox and Guardians and they don’t have Yordan Alvarez (ankle) in the lineup. The Astros are 12–16 in August and September without Alvarez. They need to go at least 4–2 on the road against the Athletics and Angels.
Will Cal Raleigh’s historic year be enough to propel him past Aaron Judge in the AL MVP race? / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The AL MVP race
If you like positional importance, you like Cal Raleigh (118 games behind the plate) over Aaron Judge (89 games in the outfield). But when it comes to impacting games at bat, Judge has the significant lead.
Raleigh is having a historic season when it comes to comparisons to switch hitters, hitters who have played for the Mariners and catchers. Judge is having a historic season compared to … well, everybody, especially dead legends. He is likely to join Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Mantle as the only players to hit 50 home runs and win a batting title. He leads in all three percentage triple crown categories—. He has been better than Raleigh with runners in scoring position (.327 to .242) and better in September across all three slash categories, including an absurd .506 OBP.
The slight edge overall goes to Judge. But it’s close enough for Raleigh to make one last push this week to steal it. How about four more home runs to get to 62?
The 50-150 club
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers needs nine runs to become the second player since Ted Williams in 1949 to score 150 runs (Jeff Bagwell had 152 in 2000.) Only two players have hit 50 homers and scored 150 runs: Babe Ruth (four times) and Foxx.
The (crowded) 30-30 club
Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jose Ramírez, Juan Soto and Corbin Carroll are in. Julio Rodríguez (two stolen bases), Pete Crow-Armstrong (one home run) and Francisco Lindor (two home runs) are close. There has never been a season with five players reaching 30-30.
The (sparse) 200-inning club
Garrett Crochet of Boston and Logan Webb of San Francisco are getting there. Skubal may get there if the Tigers need him to pitch Game 162 on Sunday. And that’s likely it. That would mark the fewest 200-inning pitchers in any season in history.
The (closed for renovations) 100-win club
Unless the Brewers go 5–1 this week, this will mark the second straight season no team has won 100 games. There were 22 100-win teams in the previous eight full seasons.
These things run in cycles. There were no 100-win teams from 2012–14. The talent gap between teams has shrunk. And the incentive to max out wins has declined with the expanded playoff format and the conservative use of pitchers to try to keep them healthy.
The single season strikeout record
With 215 strikeouts, Nationals outfielder James Wood is just eight strikeouts short of tying the record of Mark Reynolds that has stood for 16 years. The Nationals have six games remaining.
Paul Skenes could become the first pitcher to win the Cy Young with a losing record. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
One more win for Paul Skenes
No starting pitcher has won the Cy Young Award without a winning record. Only two were one game better than .500 over a full season: Félix Hernández (13–12) in 2010 and Jacob deGrom (10–9) in 2018. Skenes is 10–10 with one start remaining: Wednesday in Cincinnati against the Reds.
Rock bottom for the Rockies
Colorado needs to go 4–2 to avoid a 116th loss, which would put it behind only the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (134) and 1962 New York Mets (120) as the third worst team in NL history. The Rockies already have clinched the worst run differential in MLB (-406), blowing away the 93-year-old record of the 1932 Red Sox (-345).
Before the second innings in Durban, the South Africa captain had 22 fifties but only two hundreds to his name
Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Nov-2024Yes, it is a bowlers’ era, and sure, this is not the strongest South Africa batting order there has ever been, but eventually people are going to look across your stats, find the column under “Hundreds”, and check.Temba Bavuma is aware of this. Painfully aware.Before the second innings at Kingsmead, he had only two trips to triple figures, compared to 22 fifties. The rock to throw at him is that this is a poor conversion rate, even if many of those fifties came in difficult match situations. Both his team-mates and his opposition, for example, have praised his first-innings 70, for having taken South Africa from a truly modest total to a halfway-respectable 191, given the conditions.Related
Leap and joy: Stubbs and Bavuma's centuries add colour to festive Kingsmead
SA quicks leave SL on the brink after Stubbs, Bavuma tons
Still, that column on the stats page has eyes on it. And on Friday, at Kingsmead, he raised the count to three, hitting 113 against Sri Lanka. Will people wonder how he has been doing as captain and see that he averages 54.22? Will they wonder how many of his innings have come at No. 6 and lower (51 off 103 innings, by the way), and reason that these are not positions where centuries are harder to come by? Perhaps not many will. Hundreds are kind of a big deal.”Getting to a three-figure mark is always a lot more satisfying, personally,” Bavuma said, about making centuries vs important fifties. “When you bat in positions where the team is in trouble, and you get to a 50 to 60, I guess it’s good in terms of getting the team into a competitive position. But once you’re able to go over, you really get the team into a strong position.”Hundreds are a currency as a batter as well, I guess that increases that value. There’s obviously a lot of confidence that comes from scoring a hundred, and I think in terms of the batting line-up we’re getting to a stage where we’re starting to believe that in each innings, someone is able to go and get a hundred, so it’s good to add to that confidence.”
“Getting to the three-figure mark was quite nerve-racking. I went over to him and said, ‘Stubbo, please get me on strike. I can’t wait on this end'”
Bavuma’s approach to the hundred was fraught, however. Between getting to 80 and getting to triple figures, there was an edge that dropped short of the slips, a ball that jumped up and hit him on the glove, plays and misses, and an lbw shout and a review to the shot (it came off his glove) he got to triple figures off. Bavuma had, in fact, been asking for the strike.”I think I’m not too good when I get to the 80s and 90s. I’m going to try and get there [to a century] as soon as I can. They had the second new ball as well, and there was still something on offer for the bowlers. I was always looking to score.”Then, obviously, getting to the three-figure mark, it was quite nerve-racking. Against the spinner [Prabath Jayasuriya], I got one off the first ball, and then the next two balls Tristan Stubbs blocked. I went over to him and said, ‘Stubbo, please get me on strike. I can’t wait on this end.’ He was able to do that, so I was always going to play that shot.”The shot was a paddle sweep, and he just managed to get a glove to the ball before it hit him on the pads in front of the stumps.”It was a bit high risk, but the way the spinner was bowling, I was thinking of getting to that three-figure mark and then kind of starting again.”Sri Lanka reviewed that lbw, shout, but Bavuma had known he had got enough on it. He politely waited for the big screen to show the little spike as the ball brushed his glove.Then he celebrated his third hundred.