Sports
Brewers host Phillies, look to clinch NL Central
Sep 17, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott (5) turns a double play as Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio (11) slides into second base during the sixth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images The Milwaukee Brewers will turn to right-hander Freddy Peralta with a chance to clinch the National League Central when they host the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday in the finale of the three-game series between division leaders.
Peralta (11-8, 3.75 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Aaron Nola (12-8, 3.62).
Despite losing 5-1 to the Phillies on Tuesday night, the Brewers’ magic number dropped to one with the Chicago Cubs’ 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos each homered and Zack Wheeler allowed one run over seven dominant innings as the Phillies evened the series.
With the Cubs playing a day game Wednesday, there’s a chance the Brewers (87-64) could clinch before their game gets underway. Milwaukee leads Chicago by 10 games.
Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins played in the postseason in 2022, the last of his six seasons with Philadelphia, and acknowledged it’s an unusual situation.
“It’s weird. Actually, I’ve never been in that position,” Hoskins said of the possibility of coming to the ballpark as division champions. “The team that I was on that made the playoffs, we were kind of in control of our own destiny, and … got to clinch because we won a game.
“Obviously tomorrow with the schedule, that’s a little bit out of our control,” he said. “In our eyes, we still have to win games here.”
The Phillies (91-60) lowered their magic number to clinch the NL East to four, and to one to secure a postseason berth. Philadelphia leads the Dodgers by two games for best overall record in the NL. Milwaukee is two games back of Los Angeles. The top two teams get a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Philadelphia also secured the tiebreaker against Milwaukee, thanks to a three-game sweep in June.
“We needed a win here for sure,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “We’ll try and win the series (Wednesday), but getting the tiebreaker over these guys, I think it’s going to be huge coming down the stretch.”
Peralta picked up the win his last time out, allowing one run in five innings in a 2-1 victory at Arizona last Friday.
Peralta is 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA over his past seven starts. After pitching six innings in three of his five starts in August, his longest outing in three starts this month is 5 1/3 innings.
Peralta is 0-2 with a 4.01 ERA in six career games, including five starts, against Philadelphia.
Nola has won just once over his past 11 starts, going 1-4 since July 11. In his most recent start, he allowed six runs in 4 1/3 innings in an 11-3 loss to the Mets. He has given up five homers in 15 innings in his three starts this month.
Nola is 7-2 with a 2.76 ERA in 13 career starts vs. the Brewers. He has faced Milwaukee once this season, tossing seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 Phillies victory on June 5.
Harper has three homers in his past four games after a 30-game homerless stretch.
With their win Tuesday, the Phillies improved to 34-1 this season when a starting pitcher goes at least seven innings, including 34 straight. That’s the longest streak in Phillies history and second-longest in major league history behind the 1942 Cardinals (42 straight).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Scottie Scheffler ready to tackle 3M Open for first time
Jul 18, 2026; Southport, ENG; Scottie Scheffler plays his shot from the second tee during the third round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Competing in the 3M Open for the first time this week, Scottie Scheffler fielded nearly as many questions about Minnesota’s NFL team as he did about the golf tournament.
The World No. 1 met with reporters at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn., after playing in Wednesday morning’s pro-am with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
“This might be my first time in Minnesota. I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually been to this state before,” said Scheffler, who is coming off a T4 finish at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Scheffler said he added the 3M Open to his calendar this year because he didn’t want to take time off with the PGA Tour playoffs starting next month.
“This was a tournament that I had heard a lot of good things about and so far everything seems true,” he said. “The people have been tremendous, the fans have been really nice to me so far and the tournament seems to do a really good job just taking care of everybody.”
Even though he’s a football fan, Scheffler said he tried not to pump McConnell for information.
“I love the NFL,” Scheffler said. “I wasn’t going to just start hammering him with questions about football. He’s about to start the season so he’s going to be thinking about football for quite a long period of time, but we did a little bit.
“Yeah, he seemed like a really nice guy. You can tell why he’s such a good coach, seemed very smart. I got to ask him a few questions and he told me some stuff. It was definitely very fun for me to be able to spend some time with him. Like I said, I love the NFL and I’m fascinated by what they’re able to do, especially the head coach. I think in football it’s easily the most important position on the team. I mean he’s got to handle a lot of different personalities and the X’s and O’s. He was definitely an impressive guy to be able to talk to and spend some time with.”
Scheffler was asked he if he had any advice for O’Connell on the X’s and O’s of golf.
“He actually moved it pretty well and hit some really nice shots,” Scheffler said. “I think any advice I give him now will surely be wasted because he’s probably not going to see the golf course for the next six months or so, and hopefully a deep postseason run for them.”
Scheffler, 30, is looking for his first win since The American Express in January.
He said the golf course “has a decent amount of length to it” and the biggest challenge will be keeping the ball in play off the tee.
“There’s some pretty long par 4s and a good amount of water, and so when the rough is up like that there’s going to be a premium I think on hitting fairways,” he said. “When you’re in play, you’re going to get some scorable clubs on some certain holes. And the green are fairly big, so if you’re in the fairway, things are going to be a lot easier for you. Once you start hitting in the rough it could be tough to get on the greens in two.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Azzi Fudd lone rookie to compete in WNBA 3-point contest
Jul 20, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd (35) warms up before the game against the New York Liberty at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images Rookie Azzi Fudd is accustomed to being in the national limelight after winning an NCAA championship with UConn in 2025 and being drafted No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings last April.
On Friday night in Chicago, Fudd will be back in the spotlight as one of six WNBA players participating in the 3-Point Contest during All-Star weekend festivities.
Also competing is Atlanta Dream star Rhyne Howard, who, like Fudd, was a rookie the first time she took part in 2022. Rounding out the field are Marina Mabrey of the Toronto Tempo, Bridget Carleton of the Portland Fire, Natisha Hiedeman of the Seattle Storm, and Janelle Salaun of the Golden State Valkyries.
Only Mabrey and Howard have competed in the past.
Defending champion Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty declined to take part.
The 3-point contest is a two-round event, with all six players getting their turn in the first round. The championship round will be the top two finishers only.
The contest is set to start at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, and it will be televised by ESPN. The All-Star Game will be played Saturday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Game time is 8:30 p.m.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A's place top pitcher J.T. Ginn (blister) on 15-day IL
Jul 18, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics starting pitcher J.T. Ginn (35) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The Athletics placed right-hander J.T. Ginn on the 15-day injured list Wednesday due to a blister on his right middle finger.
The move is retroactive to Saturday for Ginn, who leads the team’s starters in wins (eight), ERA (3.46) and strikeouts (100) while making 22 appearances (19 starts) this season.
Ginn, 27, allowed just one hit and struck out seven batters over 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a 15-1 romp over the Washington Nationals in his last trip to the mound.
He is 13-14 with a 4.20 ERA in 53 career games (41 starts) with the Athletics.
Also on Wednesday, the A’s recalled right-hander Mason Barnett from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Barnett, 25, is 1-0 with two saves and a 4.64 ERA in 13 relief appearances with the Athletics this season. He is 3-1 with a 4.34 ERA in 10 games (all starts) with the Aviators.
–Field Level Media
Scottie Scheffler ready to tackle 3M Open for first time
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