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Tag: Joe Musgrove

  • Today in History: December 4, the “Million Dollar Quartet”

    Today in History: December 4, the “Million Dollar Quartet”

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    Today in History

    Today is Sunday, Dec. 4, the 338th day of 2022. There are 27 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlights in History:

    On Dec. 4, 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins gathered for the first and only time for a jam session at Sun Records in Memphis.

    On this date:

    In 1783, Gen. George Washington bade farewell to his Continental Army officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.

    In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson left Washington on a trip to France to attend the Versailles (vehr-SY’) Peace Conference.

    In 1942, during World War II, U.S. bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time with a raid on Naples. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration, which had been created to provide jobs during the Depression.

    In 1965, the United States launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Cmdr. James A. Lovell aboard on a two-week mission. (While Gemini 7 was in orbit, its sister ship, Gemini 6A, was launched on Dec. 15 on a one-day mission; the two spacecraft were able to rendezvous within a foot of each other.)

    In 1978, San Francisco got its first female mayor as City Supervisor Dianne Feinstein (FYN’-styn) was named to replace the assassinated George Moscone (mahs-KOH’-nee).

    In 1980, the bodies of four American churchwomen slain in El Salvador two days earlier were unearthed. (Five Salvadoran national guardsmen were later convicted of murdering nuns Ita Ford, Maura Clarke and Dorothy Kazel, and lay worker Jean Donovan.)

    In 1986, both houses of Congress moved to establish special committees to conduct their own investigations of the Iran-Contra affair.

    In 1992, President George H.W. Bush ordered American troops to lead a mercy mission to Somalia, threatening military action against warlords and gangs who were blocking food for starving millions.

    In 1995, the first NATO troops landed in the Balkans to begin setting up a peace mission that brought American soldiers into the middle of the Bosnian conflict.

    In 2000, in a pair of legal setbacks for Al Gore, a Florida state judge refused to overturn George W. Bush’s certified victory in Florida and the U.S. Supreme Court set aside a ruling that had allowed manual recounts.

    In 2016, a North Carolina man armed with a rifle fired several shots inside Comet Ping Pong, a Washington, D.C., pizzeria, as he attempted to investigate an online conspiracy theory that prominent Democrats were harboring child sex slaves at the restaurant; no one was hurt, and the man surrendered to police. (He was later sentenced to four years in prison.)

    In 2018, long lines of people wound through the Capitol Rotunda to view the casket of former President George H.W. Bush; former Sen. Bob Dole steadied himself out of his wheelchair to salute his old friend and one-time rival.

    Ten years ago: Two Australian radio disc jockeys impersonating Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles made a prank call to a London hospital and succeeded in getting a nurse to tell them the condition of the Duchess of Cambridge, who was being treated for acute morning sickness; another nurse who had put the call through would be found dead three days later in an apparent suicide.

    Five years ago: Declaring that “public lands will once again be for public use,” President Donald Trump scaled back two sprawling national monuments in Utah; it was the first time in a half century that a president had undone that type of land protection. The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to fully enforce a ban on travel to the United States by residents of six mostly Muslim countries. Trump formally endorsed Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate race, looking past sexual misconduct allegations against the GOP candidate.

    One year ago: James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of a Michigan teen charged with killing four students at a high school earlier in the week, were arrested in a Detroit commercial building where police said they’d been hiding; a judge later imposed a combined $1 million bond for the couple, who pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting rampage. CNN fired anchor Chris Cuomo less than a week after new information emerged about how he assisted his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as the politician faced sexual harassment allegations earlier in the year. Country musician Stonewall Jackson, who sang on the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years and had No. 1 hits with “Waterloo” and others, died after a long battle with vascular dementia; he was 89.

    Today’s Birthdays: Game show host Wink Martindale is 89. Pop singer Freddy Cannon is 86. Actor-producer Max Baer Jr. is 85. Actor Gemma Jones is 80. Rock musician Bob Mosley (Moby Grape) is 80. Singer-musician Chris Hillman is 78. Musician Terry Woods (The Pogues) is 75. Rock singer Southside Johnny Lyon is 74. Actor Jeff Bridges is 73. Rock musician Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd; the Rossington Collins Band) is 71. Actor Patricia Wettig is 71. Actor Tony Todd is 68. Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson is 67. Country musician Brian Prout (Diamond Rio) is 67. Rock musician Bob Griffin (formerly with The BoDeans) is 63. Rock singer Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge) is 60. Actor Marisa Tomei is 58. Actor Chelsea Noble is 58. Actor-comedian Fred Armisen is 56. Rapper Jay-Z is 53. Actor Kevin Sussman is 52. Actor-model Tyra Banks is 49. Country singer Lila McCann is 41. Actor Lindsay Felton is 38. Actor Orlando Brown is 35. MLB pitcher Joe Musgrove is 30. Actor Scarlett Estevez (TV: “Lucifer”) is 15.

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  • MLB Playoffs: Astros seek 2-0 lead vs Yanks; NLCS tied, off

    MLB Playoffs: Astros seek 2-0 lead vs Yanks; NLCS tied, off

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    Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros got the jump on the New York Yankees again.

    Now they’ll try to take a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series when All-Star lefty Framber Valdez pitches against Yankees right-hander Luis Severino on Thursday night in Houston.

    It’s a day off in the NLCS, with the Padres and Phillies tied 1-all as their best-of-seven series shifts from San Diego to Philadelphia for three games beginning Friday night.

    Verlander recovered from a rocky start and struck out 11 over six strong innings to lead the Astros past the Yankees 4-2 on Wednesday night.

    Yuli Gurriel launched a tiebreaking homer in the sixth. Chas McCormick and rookie Jeremy Peña also went deep as the AL West champions improved to 4-0 in the playoffs after going 106-56 during the regular season.

    It was a familiar result in the power struggle between the teams over the past few years.

    Houston knocked New York out of the playoffs in 2015, 2017 and 2019 before going 5-2 against the Yankees during the 2022 regular season.

    This is the sixth straight ALCS appearance for the Astros, their third meeting with the Yankees during that span.

    Houston is trying to reach the World Series for the second consecutive season and fourth time in six years. New York hasn’t made it since beating the Phillies in 2009 for the most recent of its 27 championships.

    Verlander set a major league record with his eighth double-digit strikeout game in the postseason. He passed Clayton Kershaw (213) to become the career leader in postseason strikeouts with 219.

    New York whiffed 17 times in all to only two for the Astros — the largest difference ever in a postseason game.

    “They’re obviously really dynamic,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Outstanding starting pitching, but can shorten the game with the best of ’em. So we’ve got to find a way to break through against them.”

    Valdez went 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA during the regular season. He led the American League with 201 1/3 innings pitched and three complete games. In Game 2 of the Division Series against Seattle, he allowed four hits and two runs over 5 2/3 innings.

    Severino was 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts this season. He yielded eight hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings in Game 3 of the ALDS versus Cleveland.

    Here’s what else to know about the MLB playoffs Thursday:

    THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times ET)

    ALCS Game 2: New York Yankees at Houston, 7:37 p.m., TBS

    OH, BROTHER!

    In danger of heading to Philadelphia down 0-2 in the NLCS, the Padres produced another huge rally in front of their rowdy fans to put some punch into the all-wild card matchup.

    Brandon Drury hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a five-run outburst in the fifth inning and San Diego stunned Aaron Nola and the Phillies 8-5 on Wednesday to tie the NLCS at one game apiece.

    The fifth-inning surge started with Padres catcher Austin Nola hitting an RBI single off his younger brother that brought the sellout, towel-twirling crowd of 44,607 to life after San Diego trailed 4-0 early.

    Drury and Josh Bell hit back-to-back homers. Manny Machado went deep late.

    The rally was similar to the one the Padres pulled off Saturday night, when they scored five runs in the seventh inning of a 5-3 victory that eliminated the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers.

    Joe Musgrove is scheduled to start Game 3 for his hometown Padres against Ranger Suarez.

    STILL SLUMPING

    Astros star Jose Altuve, a three-time batting champion, went 0 for 3 with a walk in Game 1 against the Yankees and is 0 for 19 this postseason.

    The 2017 AL MVP hit .300 with 28 homers during the regular season.

    “Jose, he’s due to break out and have some remarkable games,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “This guy has been good for so long, and sometimes the rest of your lineup’s got to carry a guy like that until he gets going.”

    OFFSEASON INJURY UPDATES

    José Ramírez didn’t let a torn thumb ligament stop him from leading the Guardians during a surprising season.

    Cleveland’s All-Star third baseman played the second half — as well as the team’s playoff run that ended Tuesday in the AL Division Series — with a torn right thumb ligament that will require surgery.

    Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners will head into the offseason with four key players needing downtime or surgery to heal injuries, including AL Rookie of the Year favorite Julio Rodríguez. The star center fielder broke his left pinkie during the Game 3 loss to Houston that ended their AL Division Series.

    The Guardians said Ramírez injured the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb during a June game in Los Angeles. The 30-year-old could have opted for surgery, which would have sidelined him for two months, but decided to keep playing.

    He’ll have an operation in the next few weeks. Renowned hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham will perform the surgery in Dayton, Ohio.

    The Guardians said the rehab will not significantly impact Ramírez’s offseason training or availability for next season.

    Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said an exit exam this week revealed the injury to the 21-year-old Rodríguez, but he’s not expected to need surgery. He got hurt sliding headfirst into second base on a double in the eighth inning of what became an 18-inning marathon defeat.

    Also needing downtime to recover from injuries are Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh (left thumb) and standout reliever Andrés Muñoz (foot), while outfielder Jesse Winker has already undergone one of two operations needed to repair injuries to his left knee and neck that he dealt with during the season.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Dominant Dodgers, hot Padres bring SoCal rivalry to NLDS

    Dominant Dodgers, hot Padres bring SoCal rivalry to NLDS

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    LOS ANGELES — The San Diego Padres knocked off the 101-win New York Mets in the National League wild-card series.

    Awaiting them in the NL Division Series is an even bigger challenge: the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers.

    “They’re hot and we’ve been hot for seven months,” a smiling — or was it smirking? — Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman said Monday.

    Call it a postseason Freeway Series.

    “It’s going to be a very intense series,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

    Unlike the regular season.

    The Southern California rivals were separated by a whopping 22 games in the NL West, with the Dodgers controlling first place for much of the time and the Padres finishing second.

    “They handed it to us pretty good this year, so we realize what we’re up against,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “It feels a little bit better now that we’re not looking at the standings.”

    That’s not the only way in which the Dodgers dominated the Padres. Los Angeles went 15-4 against them, never lost a series and outscored them 109-47.

    As a result, the Dodgers are solid favorites coming into the best-of-five NLDS that begins Tuesday night in Los Angeles. In Game 1, right-hander Mike Clevinger takes the mound for the Padres against left-hander Julio Urías, a 17-game winner for the Dodgers.

    Right-hander Yu Darvish, a 16-game winner, starts for the Padres in Game 2 on Wednesday against left-hander Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers’ three-time Cy Young Award winner.

    The Dodgers are well-rested, having been been off since closing out the regular season a week ago. While the Padres flew cross-country to outscore the Mets 16-8 in winning the wild-card series in three games, the Dodgers played simulated games in their empty stadium.

    They gathered at a high-end steakhouse on Sunday night for a team dinner with the decisive Padres-Mets game on in the background. Watching Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove getting his ears checked for illegal substances by the umpire, “it got a little louder in the room,” Freeman said.

    BOLSTERING THE RANKS

    San Diego got better at the trade deadline by adding closer Josh Hader and two-time All-Star Juan Soto, who was a teammate of current Dodger Trea Turner on the Washington Nationals.

    Hader closed out Game 3 against the Mets and Soto went 2 for 4 with two RBIs in the clincher.

    The Dodgers signed Freeman in March, adding offensive punch to an already potent lineup. Freeman hit .325 and finished .001 points behind the Mets’ Jeff McNeil for the NL batting title.

    ALMOST LIKE HOME

    The last time the Padres were in the playoffs in a full season in front of fans in 2006, Roberts was their leadoff hitter and left fielder. He’ll be able to sleep in his own bed during the NLDS since he lives in the San Diego area.

    BUEHLER’S NIGHT OUT

    Walker Buehler will be on the mound for Game 2 on Wednesday — to toss out the ceremonial first pitch. The two-time All-Star who helped the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series had his second career Tommy John surgery in August. He’s not expected back until the 2024 season. Buehler was 6-3 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 starts this season before having surgery.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Mets Demand Ump Fondle Padres Pitcher Joe Musgrove’s Ear Because… Um…

    Mets Demand Ump Fondle Padres Pitcher Joe Musgrove’s Ear Because… Um…

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    In a matter of 10 days, the New York Mets lost their division lead to the Atlanta Braves and their wild card playoff series against the San Diego Padres.

    But on Sunday night, they might’ve lost a little dignity, too.

    Trailing the Padres 4-0 in the final game of the best-of-three series, the Mets apparently griped that San Diego pitcher Joe Musgrove was shutting them down with the help of a foreign substance to doctor the baseball.

    So Mets manager Buck Showalter had the umps check him out ― including his ears, which were glistening with what the team and its fans seemed to think was more than just sweat.

    The umps stopped the game and gathered around the mound. One ump checked out Musgrove’s hat, glove… and ears.

    You can see Musgrove gamely playing along and his various teammates’ reactions ― including one who shakes his head in disbelief:

    The umps found nothing and play continued.

    After the game, Showalter was unapologetic, saying the team is “privy” to more information, that he “loves” Musgrove as a pitcher and that he feels “kind of bad about it,” according to the LA Times.

    “I’m charged with doing what’s best for the New York Mets,” he said. “If it makes me look however it makes me look or whatever, I’m going to do it every time and live with the consequences.”

    One of the more immediate consequences was this reaction from Musgrove after he got out of the inning:

    “I mean, I get it dude,” Musgrove said after the game. “They’re on their last leg, they’re desperate. They’re doing everything they can to get me out of the game at that point. It is what it is.”

    It wouldn’t be the first time Musgrove was part of a cheating club: He was on the infamous 2017 Astros, which used an elaborate ― and illegal ― sign-stealing scheme as they ultimately won a World Series that even Musgrove himself isn’t proud of.

    “I still don’t feel great about wearing that ring around or telling people that I was a World Series champion on that team,” he admitted to the Associated Press last week. “I want one that feels earned and that was a true championship. So that’s the goal.”

    He ultimately threw seven innings, giving up just one hit and a walk while recording five strikeouts as the Padres won 6-0 to advance to the next round.

    But on Twitter, all the talk was about Musgrove’s ear-check:

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  • Musgrove pitches hometown Padres past Mets 6-0 and into NLDS

    Musgrove pitches hometown Padres past Mets 6-0 and into NLDS

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    NEW YORK — Joe Musgrove brushed off chants of “Cheater!” after a bizarre spot check by umpires on the mound, pitching his hometown San Diego Padres into the next round of the playoffs Sunday night with seven innings of one-hit ball in a 6-0 victory over the New York Mets.

    Trent Grisham hit an RBI single and made a terrific catch in center field that helped the Padres take the best-of-three National League wild-card series 2-1. Austin Nola and Juan Soto each had a two-run single.

    San Diego advanced to face the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five Division Series beginning Tuesday — ensuring the Padres will play in front of their home fans in the postseason for the first time in 16 years when they return to Petco Park for Game 3.

    “We know that. We would love for them to be able to see some postseason games,” manager Bob Melvin said Sunday afternoon. “To an extent, we feel like they’re a part of us.”

    It was the fifth time the Padres have won a playoff series. They took a first-round matchup against St. Louis in their own ballpark with no fans permitted after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season before being swept in the Division Series by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.

    For the Mets, a scintillating season ended with a whimper at home in front of empty seats. Baseball’s biggest spenders won 101 games — the second-most in franchise history — but were unable to hold off Atlanta in the NL East after sitting atop the division for all but six days.

    New York was up by 10 1/2 games on June 1 and seven on Aug. 10 before finally ceding control last weekend. The defending World Series champions snatched away their fifth consecutive division title and a first-round playoff bye on the strength of a head-to-head sweep in Atlanta — and the Mets never fully recovered.

    New York ace Max Scherzer got rocked in a Game 1 loss to San Diego and, after the Mets won Game 2 behind Jacob deGrom to stave off elimination, they mustered almost nothing against Musgrove and finished with one hit in the loss.

    No. 3 starter Chris Bassitt lasted just four innings, giving up three runs and three hits with three costly walks to batters near the bottom of the order.

    Pete Alonso’s leadoff single in the fifth and Starling Marte’s walk to start the seventh were the only baserunners permitted by Musgrove in his first postseason start.

    Robert Suarez and Josh Hader finished up for the Padres.

    Musgrove grew up a Padres fan in the San Diego suburbs and pitched the franchise’s first no-hitter last year in his second start with the team.

    He was working on a one-hitter and warming up for the sixth inning Sunday when Mets manager Buck Showalter came out of the dugout and spoke to first base umpire Alfonso Marquez.

    All six umps huddled and then went to the mound as Marquez, the crew chief, felt Musgrove’s glove, cap — even his ears — apparently searching for any illegal sticky substances.

    The spin rate was up on all six of Musgrove’s pitches. Umpires let him continue, and he worked a 1-2-3 sixth.

    Fans yelled “Cheater!” at Musgrove, a member of the 2017 Houston Astros World Series champions that were found by Major League Baseball to have stolen signs illegally to help their hitters.

    The Astros’ cheating scandal rocked the sport. Musgrove has said he feels uncomfortable wearing his championship ring and wants “one that feels earned” with the Padres.

    “I guarantee Musgrove has Red Hot on his ears,” Milwaukee outfielder Andrew McCutchen tweeted. “Pitchers use it as mechanism to stay locked in during games. It burns like crazy and IDK why some guys thinks it helps them but in no way is it `sticky.′ Buck is smart tho. Could be trying to just throw him off.”

    THINKING OF MR. PADRE

    During batting practice, San Diego second baseman Jake Cronenworth wore an old-school Tony Gwynn No. 19 uniform T-shirt, a giveaway at Petco Park one day this season.

    “We all got ‘em,” Cronenworth said. “Usually a lot of us wear ’em, but I think everybody’s wearing hoodies today.”

    Cronenworth, however, figured this was a day to salute the late Padres Hall of Famer.

    “It was just in my locker and I brought it with me for a reason, so I decided I’d wear it,” he said. “Tony was one of the best, so give us some support from up above.”

    TRAINER’S ROOM

    Mets: Francisco Lindor was shaken up after fouling a ball off the inside of his right knee in the fourth. As the star shortstop was checked by an athletic trainer, manager Buck Showalter strolled to the plate, picked up Lindor’s bat and handed it back to him. Lindor stayed in the game and struck out.

    UP NEXT

    San Diego went 5-14 against the first-place Dodgers this season and finished 22 games behind them in the NL West.

    New York begins its spring training schedule next year with split-squad games Feb. 25 against Miami and Houston. The regular-season opener is March 30 at Miami.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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