News Analysis India

Category: Sports

  • Kohli, Dhoni script India’s win

    M S Dhoni pulled off a tight finish for India just like old times to silence his critics after captain Virat Kohli laid the foundation for a series-levelling six-wicket win against Australia with his 39th ODI hundred here on Tuesday.

    Chase master Kohli could not take his team to the finishing line this time but Dhoni (55 off 54) and Dinesh Karthik (25 off 14) rose to the occasion with an unbeaten 57-run stand off 34 balls, taking India home with four balls to spare. Australia scored 298-8 after opting to bat.

    Man of the match Kohli was dismissed in the 44th over after making 104 off 112 balls with five fours and two sixes. Dhoni, who has been coping a lot of criticism for his waning finishing skills, turned back the clock and took India past the finish line with a final over six.

    The third and final ODI will be in Melbourne on Friday.

    India got off to a frantic start with Shikhar Dhawan hitting five boundaries in his 28-ball 32 runs. He put on 47 runs for the opening wicket with Rohit Sharma (43).

    The latter had another strong outing, adding 54 runs with Kohli for the second wicket as India crossed 100 in the 18th over. But just when things were going smoothly, he mishit a pull off Marcus Stoinis (1-46) and was caught in the deep.

    Ambati Rayudu (24) then came to the crease, and while he added 59 runs with Kohli for the third wicket, it was plain obvious that the number four batsman struggled for timing.

    But it was Rayudu who tried attacking the bowling and perished instead, caught in the deep off Glenn Maxwell (1-16) in the 31st over.

    Dhoni then joined Kohli, and the duo put on 82 runs for the fourth wicket, with clever rotation of strike as India crossed 200 in the 37th over to keep pace with the asking rate.

    Kohli changed gears as he hit two immaculate sixes through pure timing, and reached his hundred off 108 balls. It was his sixth ODI hundred against Australia.

    The turning point came in the 44th over though, when Australia masterminded Kohli’s dismissal through some clever field placement in the deep. He holed out to Maxwell off Jhye Richardson (1-59).

    Dhoni then took over and put on match-winning partnership with Karthik. In doing so, he turned back the clocks to lead India to a tense finish, and completed his second consecutive half-century in as many matches, 69th overall, off 53 balls.

    The veteran’s running between the wickets, laced with two sixes as the only boundaries, finished things off in style for India.

    The hosts were unchanged from the previous game, while India brought in debutant Mohammed Siraj in place of Khaleel Ahmed.

    Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-45) and Mohammed Shami (3-58) exerted themselves on proceedings with the new ball, and didn’t let the Australian openers get away quickly.

    Kumar bowled Aaron Finch (6) through the gate in the seventh over, in a near-similar replay of his dismissal in the first ODI. At the other end, Alex Carey (18) looked set once again before getting out two overs later, a top-edge off Shami’s quick bouncer caught at midwicket as Shikhar Dhawan took a skier.

    It brought Marsh and Usman Khawaja (21) together, and they put on 56 runs off 65 balls. Their partnership threatened to turn the game away, but Ravindra Jadeja affected a brilliant run-out in the 19th over to dismiss Khawaja with a direct throw from backward point.

    India were forced to bowl Kuldeep Yadav (0-66) and Jadeja (1-49) earlier in the innings than planned, and even Shami came back for a spell before the 25th over as the lack of a sixth bowling option started to show.

    Australia did them a favour by losing wickets at regular intervals. Peter Handscomb (20) was stumped off Jadeja in the 28th over with MS Dhoni affecting another quick dismissal. But he had added 52 runs with Marsh for the fourth wicket carrying Australia past 100 in the 22nd over.

    Marsh reached his half-century off 62 balls, and added 55 runs with Marcus Stoinis (29) for the fifth wicket. Their partnership threatened to change the pace of scoring but Shami struck in the 37th over, an inside edge caught behind, to dismiss Stoinis.

    Maxwell hit five fours and a six as Australia accelerated after reaching 200 in the 39th over. Marsh, meanwhile, had reached his hundred off 108 balls.

    Siraj had a woeful day as he missed out twice on Maxwell’s wicket as the hard-hitting batsman survived on 26 and 41. First, DRS overturned an lbw decision in the 44th over with the ball going down leg, and then Rohit Sharma dropped a tough chance at extra cover in the 47th over.

    Kumar returned to account for both Maxwell and Marsh in the 48th over and it dented momentum towards 300, as Australia lost a flurry of wickets.

  • Rinku’s ton guides UP to 340/7 against Saurashtra

    Middle-order batsman Rinku Singh struck a fluent century to guide Uttar Pradesh to 340 for seven in their first innings on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match against Saurashtra, here on Tuesday.

    Rinku made 150 off just 181 balls with the help of 19 boundaries to take Uttar Pradesh out of trouble after the hosts were reduced to 54 for 4 at one stage on the first day of the four-day match

    Rinku stitched two crucial partnerships — 145 runs for the fifth wicket with Priyam Garg (49) and 85 runs with Umesh Yadav for the sixth wicket — to keep Uttar Pradesh afloat.

    Besides Rinku and Priyam, opener Madhav Kaushik (37), Saurabh Kumar (26 not out) and Shivam Mavi (28 not out) also made useful contributions with the bat.

    Left-arm orthodox bowler Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (3/111) was the most successful bowler for Saurashtra, while skipper Jaydev Unadkat (2/65) also chipped in with two wickets. 

    Free from national duty, India’s middle-order mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara is turning out for Saurashtra in the last-eight encounter.

    Karnataka grab 1st day honours

    Bengaluru: Karnataka grabbed honours on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, bowling out formidable Rajasthan for 224 in their first innings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here onTuesday.

     At stumps, Karnataka were 12 without loss in five overs with openers Ravikumar Samarth and Dega Nischal batting on seven and five, respectively.

    The day also saw a couple of bad decisions by the umpires. Robin Bist’s leg before dismissal came despite the ball climbing up and Rajesh Bishnoi was lucky to survive off K Gowtham.

    Sent into bat, none of the batsmen made any significant contributions, except for skipper Mahipal Lomror (50) and Rajesh Bishnoi (79) hitting fifties batting lower down the order.

    All the bowlers were among the wickets, barring Ronit More. Gowtham and Abhimanyu Mithun bagged three wickets each to emerge as highest wicket-takers.

    kERALA REDUCE GUJARAT TO 97/4

    wAYANAD: Kerala hit back to reduce Gujarat to 97 for 4 after being bowled out for 185 in 39.3 overs on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals here on Tuesday.

    Gujarat won the toss and sent the host into bat and struck at regular intervals to take control. Opener Mohammed Azharudeen (17) was the first to go, bowled by Rush Kalaria.

    After a 23-run partnership, Kerala lost the wickets of P Rahul (26), Sijomon Joseph and Sachin Baby at the score of 52.

    Medium-pacers Roosh Kalari (2 for 63) and C T Gaja (4 for 57) did most of the damage. Sandeep Warrier and Basil Thampi scalped two each to lead the Kerala fightback.

    Thampi struck a big blowwhen he dismissed Parthiv for 43 as Gujarat trails by 88 runs.

    Sudha-pANWAR COME TO RESCUE

    nAGPUR: Middle-order batsman Avneesh Sudha hit a patient 91 to guide Uttarakhand to a respectable 293 for six against reigning champions Vidarbha on day one of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final here on Tuesday.

    Put in to bat at the Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Stadium in Jamtha, Uttarakhand lost their skipper and opener Vineet Saxena (5) early after he was cleaned up by medium pacer Rajneesh Gurbani.

    The visitors were in a spot of bother as they lost two more wickets in quick succession. But then Sudha along with Vaibhav Singh Panwar (67 off 128 balls) resurrected the visitors’ innings and steadied their ship.

    The duo conjured a crucial 140-run stand for the fourth wicket to bail the side out of trouble and frustrate the Vidarbha bowlers.

  • ICC Test rankings: India still on top, Kohli remains No.1 Test batsman

    India captain Virat Kohli finished as the number-one ranked batsman in the world in the latest ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after the completion of the five-match series against England at London.

    In the Test team rankings, India continued to be at the No.1 position but England grabbed the fourth spot.

    Kohli, who amassed 593 runs at an average of 59.3 in the series which the visitors lost by 1-4 margin, had started the series 27 points behind Australia’s Steve Smith and finished one point ahead of his closest rival.

    Kohli had first reached the top after the Edgbaston Test and then reclaimed the top spot after the Trent Bridge Test. He will now defend his number-one ranking in the two-Test home series against West Indies, which starts on October 4.

    India’s KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant also made big gains in the latest rankings with the opener advancing 16 places to 19th position after his knock of 149. Pant also moved up 63 places to 111th position after his 114 in only his third Test match.

    Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 86 in the first innings has helped him gain 12 places to reach 58th among batsmen while he has also moved up one place in the all-rounder’s list to second position.

    Cook finishes career in top ten

    Among others, England opener Alastair Cook signed off from international cricket on a remarkable note, moving into the top-10 of the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after a Player of the Match performance in the final Test at The Oval.

    The left-hander’s scores of 71 and 147 made him only the fifth man in history to notch a century in his first and last Test matches, and also helped his side win by 118 runs to complete a 4-1 win in the five-match series.

    This memorable performance lifted the 33-year-old 11 positions to 10th in the latest rankings, which were released on Wednesday morning.

    Cook had achieved a career-high ranking of second in September 2011 after he had scored a Test best 294 against India at Edgbaston. This was the same year when Cook won the prestigious ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award.

    The former England captain has ended an impressive career with the third-best ranking for a retiring England batsman after Wally Hammond (fifth) and Geoff Boycott (eighth).

    However, he has finished in a higher position than any of the batsmen who scored more runs than him in the Test format. Jacques Kallis hung his boots in 12th position, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid both ended their careers in 18th spot and Ricky Ponting finished in 26th place.

    Apart from winning the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award in 2011, Cook was named in the ICC Test Team of the Year in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016 (as captain).

    He also made his way in the ICC ODI Team of the Year in 2012, the year in which he reached his career-best fifth position in ODIs during the month of June.

    In other movements amongst the batsmen, captain Joe Root has moved up one place to fourth position after a fine knock of 125 in the second innings while other England batsmen to gain in the rankings include Jos Buttler (up nine places to 23rd) and Moeen Ali (up five places to 43rd).

    In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, England fast bowler James Anderson started and finished the series with the number-one ranking. After the Lord’s Test, Anderson reached a career-high 903 points. He had started the series with 892 points and finished just one point shy of the coveted 900-point mark.

    Other bowlers to make an upward movement after The Oval Test include Ben Stokes (up one place to 27th), Adil Rashid (up six places to 44th) and Sam Curran (up four places to 51st) all advancing after taking three wickets each.

    India lose points after 4-1 loss

    India had started the series at 125 points but the series loss meant it is now on 115 points.

    India had lost the five-match series after conceding a 1-3 lead to hosts England after the fourth Test. The visitors on Tuesday lost the fifth and final Test by 118 runs.

    England began the series in fifth position and 97 points but the emphatic victory over top-ranked India has resulted in a big gain of eight points and lifted them to 105 points as they surpassed New Zealand.

    Joe Root’s England side are now just one point behind South Africa and Australia, who are both on 106 points with the former marginally ahead on decimal points.

    With New Zealand not far behind on 102 points, there are now four teams within a space of five points of each other on the points table.

  • Asian Games: Hockey India, Malaysia defeated in semi-finals

    Asian Games current champion defeated Malaysia 6-7 in penalty shootout from the semi-finals of India. Earlier, both the teams were equal to 2-2 in the full-time. India’s performance in the whole Asian Games was fantastic. India scored a total of 76 goals in the Asian Games 2018 and was at top of Group A.

    Before this, India has lost in the Azlan Shah Cup in addition to the 2017 World Cup from Malaysia. There was not a single goal from both the sides till half time. At the time of the first quarter, Malaysia had taken the lead on India, but India took video referrals and the Malaysian goal was dismissed. After this, the Indian hockey team showed great game and at the moment has taken 2-1 lead in the match. Varun had scored the second goal for India through penalty corner.

    The Indian hockey team’s performance in the Asian Games was so spectacular India defeated Hong Kong 26-0, Indonesia 17-0, Japan 8-0 and Sri Lanka 20-0. At the same time, India had beaten Korea 5-3 in the quarterfinals.

    India-Malaysia have so far played 102 matches, in which 70 matches have been won by the Indian team, while Malaysia has won 14 times. On the other hand, there are 18 remaining draws.

  • The charismatic aspect of Kohli can make him a dictator: Michael Beerley

    Team India captain Virat Kohli is often in the headlines about his aggressive attitude. Former England cricketer Michael Beerley raised questions about Kohli’s aggression. Mike Beerley believes that Captain Virat Kohli’s charismatic aspect of Team India can make him a dictator.

    Bereli also said that when a captain seems to have more authority, then the team’s players withdraw from talking to him. He said, Kohli has a lot of energy. I love watching them play cricket. He is a very smart captain and his presence on the field is quite good, but his charisma, artistry and rights are extremely high, fearing that he will not become a dictator either.

    Bereli said, he has the ability to tell people what to do, but if you start telling a lot of authority then you are not open for other ideas. Being too impressive can also mean that people are afraid to give you feedback and then you are not gathered. You need to be 11 captains in the team, you just have to be in charge.

    He said, the captaincy needs a lot of ease. You can not decide what is going on in someone’s mind by asking it to someone else.

    He said, “I have not seen much of the captain continuously, I think MS Dhoni is a great ODI captain, but I do not believe he can be a better Test captain.” He has been quite good in ODIs and what he did, done himself and made decisions.

  • LIVE IND vs ENG: England start batting, replaces Pandya-Ashwin in Hanuma-Jadeja team

    The fifth and final match of the five-match Test series between Team India and England is being played on the ‘The Oval’ ground in London. Batting first, winning the toss, the England team scored 9 runs without losing any wickets in 3 overs. Alastair Cook (4 runs) and Ketan Jennings (4 runs) are on the crease.

    England once again won the toss and decided to bat first and handed the bowling to India. There has been two changes in Team India’s playing XI Ravindra Jadeja has got an opportunity to replace all-rounder Hardik Pandya instead of Hanuma Vihari and off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

    Hanuma Vihari has been debuting in international cricket with this match. Now became the 292th player to play Test matches for India. This is the last match of former England captain Alastair Cook’s career. After that he will retire from cricket. Root has not made any changes to this match in his last XI.

    The Indian team, who lost the series against England by losing the fourth Test in Southampton, would like to end the series with a win here. The world number one Test team had to face defeat by South Africa by 60 runs in Southampton. In the second innings of the fourth Test, the Indian batsmen were floppy, leaving the captain Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane.

  • Far from madding crowd, MS Dhoni trains alone at NCA

    BENGALURU : The best in the business prepare quietly  for tougher battles and Mahendra Singh Dhoni is no exception as he went through a rigorous net session at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), far from public gaze, ahead of England tour.

    Legends at the business end of their careers prepare and follow a customised blue-print to increase their longevity.

    Sachin Tendulkar during his last few years in international cricket would train all by himself at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai and Dhoni’s training session at NCA on Monday looked similar.

    He faced hundreds of deliveries with 70 percent being throw-downs.

    Dhoni, who took the YoYo test on June 15 with other limited overs specialists, had stayed back and perhaps waited for the hullabaloo around the team to die down before taking the field.

    On what would have been the fifth day of the Afghanistan Test match (had it not finished in two days), Dhoni walked inside the National Cricket Academy nets team’s throw-down expert Raghu and speedster Shardul Thakur in tow.

    The next two and half hours was an intense session with Dhoni facing Raghu’s customary throw-downs from 18 yards and Thakur’s deliveries in between.

    It was two hours at a stretch and after a short break, he again resumed batting and this time Siddarth Kaul also joined the session.

    There wasn’t too many people around to watch and experience a Dhoni net session.

    Raghu started with usual length deliveries as he warmed up with usual knocking.

    Slowly the pace increased and the veteran was peppered with short balls which reared from back of the length. He gingerly defended a few, confidently brought a few down and even swayed out of the line in case of a few.

    However, the moment there was some width, Dhoni would slash it over point.

    He would call up Shardul and ask him about his imaginary field placings. Shardul would be seen pointing at imaginary field positions like mid-wicket, extra cover and deep fine leg. Dhoni would play shots accordingly.

  • ‘Aching’ Neymar urges referees to ‘do their job’ as Brazil are left frustrated

    According to Opta, Neymar became the most fouled player in a World Cup game since England’s Alan Shearer against Tunisia in 1998, the Selecao striker having been illegally halted by Switzerland 10 times throughout the game.

    “I have nothing to say about it,” he said.

    “All I have to do is to play football, or try to do it. It’s for the referee to see it. I guess that will be normal [to be fouled regularly], we have to pay attention to it, but that’s something normal in football.”

    Brazil wasted several chances to snatch a winner late in the game, and centre-back Thiago Silva acknowledged the team could have been more clinical in attack.

    “When you see the moment on [the] replay, people celebrating the goal… I was seeing it again but it’s not for me to talk about it, there are four professionals working for that. They have to do their job.

    “We didn’t deserve to end with a draw. But we can improve, we can play better. But it was a match to show us that it won’t be easy.”

    Neymar, playing in his first competitive fixture since suffering a broken metatarsal in February, was seen limping at various moments in the game, but the 26-year-old assuaged fears he had suffered another fitness problem.

    “I was hit and it was aching, but [it’s] nothing to worry… after your body is cold, it aches a little more but that’s OK,” he said.

  • Thursday’s Sports Minute: Jazz dump Rockets

    Jazz dump Rockets, even series
    The Utah Jazz are heading home after evening their Western Conference semifinal series at a game apiece.

    Joe Ingles set career highs with seven 3-pointers and 27 points as the Jazz surprised the top-seeded Rockets, 116-108 in Houston. Ingles nailed a pair of treys while Utah was scoring eight straight to go ahead 108-96 with 4 ½ minutes to play.

    Rookie Donovan Mitchell added 17 points and 11 assists, the first playoff game in which he didn’t lead the team in scoring. Mitchell provided a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter, giving the Jazz breathing room after the Rockets turned a 19-point, first-half deficit into a two-point lead.

    James Harden had 32 points and 11 assists in the Rockets’ first loss in six games against the Jazz this season. Chris Paul added 23 points for Houston, which plays Game 3 Friday at Salt Lake City.

    Thunder GM says Donovan will return
    Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti says coach Billy Donovan’s job is safe, despite a disappointing season.

    Oklahoma City had high expectations this season after trading for Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to join reigning MVP Russell Westbrook. Even with the added star power, the Thunder won just one more regular-season game than last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Utah.

    Palat’s 2 goals help Lightning cruise to 2-1 series lead
    The Tampa Bay Lightning now have the upper hand in their Stanley Cup second-round series against the Boston Bruins. And the San Jose Sharks have evened their second-round series with Vegas at a game apiece.

    Ondrej Palatscored twice in the first 3:19 to put the Lightning ahead to stay in a 4-1 win at Boston. Anthony Cirelli completed Tampa Bay’s three-goal first period, about 2 ½ minutes after Patrice Bergeron scored on a power play for the Bruins.

    Steven Stamkos added an empty-netter and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots in the Lightning’s second straight win since a 6-2 setback in the series opener.
    Game 4 is Friday in Boston.

    In San Jose, Martin Jones recorded his second shutout of the postseason and sixth of his playoff career by stopping 34 shots in the Sharks’ 4-0 victory over the Golden Knights.

    Brenden Dillon set up goals by Marcus Sorensen and Joonas Donskoi four-17 apart late in the first period. Tomas Hertl added a second-period goal and Joe Pavelski capped the scoring midway through the third.

    Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 shots for the Knights, who will host Game 5 on Friday.

    Elsewhere in the league:
    — A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that the Dallas Stars will hire the University of Denver’s Jim Montgomery to be their next head coach. The 48-year-old Montgomery has spent five seasons in charge of the Pioneers and led them to a national title in 2016-17. He would replace Ken Hitchcock, who retired last month and will become a consultant for the Stars.

    Three-peats by Betts, Encarnacion
    Mookie Betts and Edwin Encarnacion are the latest major leaguers to homer three times in a game this season. In Betts’ case, it’s the second time he’s done it since opening day.

    Betts launched three solo blasts while going 4-for-4 to lead the Red Sox past the Royals, 5-4. It’s the fourth three-homer game for the 25-year-old Betts, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Ted Williams for the most in franchise history.

    J.D. Martinez also homered and Drew Pomeranz allowed three runs over six innings as the Red Sox improved to an American League-leading 22-8.

    Encarnacion tops the Indians with nine home runs after slamming three more in a 12-4 rout of the Rangers. Encarnacion launched a three-run shot in the first inning before adding a two-run blast and a solo homer in Cleveland’s highest-scoring game of the season.

    Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor also homered to support Corey Kluber, who improved to 5-1 despite yielding solo homers by Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara and Juan Centeno.

    Cleveland still leads the AL Central by three games over Detroit.

    In other major league action:
    — The Yankees earned their second straight 4-0 win over the Astros as Luis Severino struck out 10 while allowing five hits in his first career complete game. Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and had four RBIs in the Yankees’ 11th victory in 12 games.
    — JaCoby Jones tripled and scored the winning run on John Hicks’ bunt single to send the Tigers to a 12-inning win over the Rays, 3-2. James McCann tied it with a solo shot in the seventh after Michael Fulmer tossed two-run ball over six innings for Detroit.
    — Fernando Romero won his major league debut by scattering four hits over 5 2/3 innings of the Twins’ 4-0 shutout of the Blue Jays. Eddie Rosario homered in Minnesota’s second victory in 13 games.
    — Jed Lowrie launched a game-tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning and Mark Canha delivered a solo blast in the ninth to lift the Athletics past the Mariners, 3-2. Seattle’s bullpen wasted a fantastic performance by starting James Paxton, who struck out a career-high 16 and held Oakland to five hits over seven shutout innings.
    — Albert Pujols is two hits shy of 3,000 after furnishing a homer and a double in the Angels’ 10-7 win against the Orioles. Justin Upton hit a three-run blast and Mike Trout added his 11th homer of the year to tie for the major league lead.
    — The Dodgers’ ended a four-game skid and won for the first time in nine tries at Phoenix as Alex Verdugo doubled and scored twice in a 2-1 decision over the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers received 7 2/3 strong innings from the bullpen after Hyun-Jin Ryu left the game with what the ballclub said was a left groin strain.
    — Sean Newcomb tossed two-hit ball over a career-high seven innings and the Braves slammed three home runs off Mets relievers in a 7-0 romp in New York. Ender Inciarte and Johan Camargo blasted two-run shots and Ryan Flaherty added a solo shot. Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis each had three this and an RBI to help Atlanta take over first place in the NL East.
    — The Phillies were 6-0 winners at Miami behind Aaron Nola, who scattered four hits over 7 1/3 innings to move to 4-1. Cesar Hernandez led off the game with a homer off Jose Urena, who fell to 0-5 and is winless in his last nine starts dating to last season.
    — The Nationals earned their fourth straight win as Bryce Harper hit a leadoff homer and drove in three in a 9-3 thrashing of the Pirates. Stephen Strasburg fanned 11 and yielded two earned runs in seven innings to even his record at 3-3.
    — Nolan Arenado belted two of Colorado’s four homers and collected five RBIs as the Colorado Rockies blasted the Cubs, 11-2 in Chicago. Trevor Story and Chris Ianetta went deep against Yu Darvish, who was rocked for five earned runs and seven hits over 4 1/3 innings.
    — Wade Miley won his season debut by holding the Reds to a run and only three hits over six innings of the Brewers’ 3-1 victory at Cincinnati. Christian Yelich went 2-for-5 with a solo homer for Milwaukee, which leads the NL Central by a half-game over St. Louis.
    — Carlos Martinez was the star in the Cardinals’ 3-2 win over the White Sox, smacking his first big league homer and limiting Chicago to a run and five hits over 7 1/3 scoreless innings. Dexter Fowler added a two-run homer against the White Sox, who have dropped four straight and 13 of 17 to fall a season-low 12 games under .500.
    — The Giants rolled to a 9-4 romp over the Padres as Nick Hundley homered, doubled and matched a career high with four hits. Brandon Crawford drove in three runs to help San Francisco finish 7-3 on their 10-game homestand.

    Cueto may meet with Dr. Andrews
    Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto may meet with specialist Dr. James Andrews on the team’s upcoming road trip to get his sore pitching elbow evaluated.

    Cueto was placed on the disabled list Tuesday night with inflammation in his right elbow. Manager Bruce Bochy later acknowledged that Cueto had been pitching with soreness in his previous two starts.

    Cueto leads the majors with a 0.84 ERA.

    Elsewhere in the majors:
    — Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy says he is feeling discomfort when he runs as he tries to come back from right knee surgery. Murphy says he’s not running the way he would if at 100 percent, adding that it’s frustrating to be unable to play while his teammates compete so hard each night.
    — Mets ace Jacob deGrom had to leave Wednesday’s start after four shutout innings because of a hyperextended pitching elbow. DeGrom has thrown 18 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings and seemed in control against the Braves, striking out four straight at one point and lowering his ERA to 1.87.
    — Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery could miss up to eight weeks because of strained left flexor in his left elbow. Montgomery left Tuesday’s start with the injury after the first inning. He is 2-0 with a 3.62 ERA in six games this year.
    — Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson was pulled from Wednesday’s game against the Mets for precautionary reasons in the sixth inning due to a sore left wrist. The first overall pick in 2015 is batting .289 with two homers and 13 RBIs this year.
    — The Diamondbacks have reached an agreement with Maricopa County that would give the franchise the immediate right to explore rebuilding Chase Field or moving to another site. The memorandum of understanding also gives the Diamondbacks complete control of Chase and stipulates the team will play there for at least five more seasons unless a new facility is ready elsewhere in the Maricopa County.

  • Women In Sports Coming Together Is Just A Start

    Women in sports are coming together. This week eight leagues –a list that includes the WNBA, National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL), National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), Women’s Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL), and the U.S. Tennis Association — announced they were joining forces to form SheIS, an initiative designed to increase demand for women’s professional sports in North America. Women’s professional sports clearly do not attract the attention given to men’s professional leagues. So, perhaps by sharing resources women can close this gap.

    In a sense, this approach seems consistent with something Adam Silver — the NBA’s commissioner — said about the WNBA. Silver recently repeated (yes, he has said this before) his observation that the WNBA is simply not doing enough to connect to young women. According to Silver, if the WNBA did a better job of marketing it would become more successful. In other words, Silver seems to think the issues facing the WNBA could be solve by the WNBA simply trying harder.

    Elena Delle Donne — who stars for the Washington Mystics — was quick to respond to this criticism via twitter:

    “We continue to cover the negatives of the WNBA as a league and it’s exhausting. We have a great product as a league and don’t get the support and coverage we deserve. … We absolutely do not get promoted as our counterparts do. Yes, I’m talking about the NBA. When you put millions into marketing athletes and allow fans to get to know the players on the court they develop a connection. … Fans feel like they know NBA players.  How is anyone to get to know me or any of my colleagues if we aren’t marketed as much? Yes, this is a business. But, like any business have to invest to get a return. This goes for EVERY industry. Not just the WNBA.”

    Silver and Delle Donne both agree that marketing is an issue for the WNBA. Where they differ is that Silver seems to think the issue is the quality of the WNBA’s marketing efforts. For Delle Donne, the issue is clearly the quantity of these efforts.

    Whether the issue is quality or quantity, there is yet another more important issue facing the WNBA. And it’s the same issue facing all the women’s sports leagues who have come together for the SheIS movement.