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For The New York Yankees, Sweeping The Kansas City Royals Is A Good First Step

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For The New York Yankees, Sweeping The Kansas City Royals Is A Good First Step


Aaron Judge began Sunday with spending a few minutes in the batter’s box on seeing 16 pitches from Jonathan Loaisiga and ended the day taking the stage at a Drake Concert at Madison Square Garden.

While none of those balls landed over fences or were in play, the progression to live pitching can qualify as some of the most encouraging news the Yankees received in a while, especially since Judge did not appear to be favoring his right toe which has a torn ligament stemming from the June 3 crash tracking down J.D. Martinez’s fly ball in Dodger Stadium.

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The progression has been steadily increasing for Judge, whom the Yankees are 18-22 without and including his earlier injured list stint are 22-28 without.

Last week he started to take batting practice and tracked pitches in the batter’s box. This time he had full clearance to take swings in front of a captive audience that included most of his teammates.

“To be able to take pitches where your swing says no, those are tests that he’s got to go through in working his way back,” manager Aaron Boone said about 20 minutes after Judge finished facing the tough challenge of trying to hit against Loaisiga. “So it seemed like a good day all around.”

Good day all around could describe what unfolded after Judge finished his latest step in the rehab from the unusual injury.

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Judge’s anticipated live hitting session was merely the appetizer for an encouraging weekend. It was one of those you can describe as the Yankees achieving what needed to be done with a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, who are locked in a tight race with the Oakland Athletics for the worst record in baseball.

Three wins over a bad team are hardly enough to proclaim the Yankees will go on a major run like winning 13 straight Aug. 14-27, 2021. That streak sent the Yankees’ record from 63-52 to 76-52 and it occurred after they were one game over .500 on July 4 and 53-47 – the same record they hold now heading into a Subway Series against the Mets ahead of six games against the Orioles and Rays, the two teams to rule the AL East.

This was a feel good weekend for the Yankees, who trailed for about 10 to 15 minutes all series. That was Friday night until Billy McKinney hit the go-ahead three-run homer in a game where he made two notable catches in center field.

All weekend the Yankees played clean baseball, there were no baserunning mistakes and plenty of good defensive plays as well as a low strikeout total of 23. That came when the Yankees reached their low point, a 7-3 loss where manager Aaron Boone conceded “we stink” after his team struck out 42 times in a three-game sweep by the Angels, who may or may not trade Shohei Ohtani.

And the most positive sign were the performances of the trio of Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, and DJ LeMahieu. All were central figures in the Yankees struggling without Judge but each were productive.

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Rizzo highlighted a 4-for-4 showing with his long-awaited homer. He had not homered since his final at-bat on May 20 in Cincinnati and his average tumbled from .303 to .244.

Rizzo’s four-hit game was the first by a Yankee since Judge hit his 58th and 59th homers Sept. 18 in Milwaukee. The home run ended a 45-game drought that spanned 187 plate appearances and 166 at-bats.

It also occurred at the end of a weekend of tweaks for Rizzo.

On Friday, he was spotted taking swings on the field off a tee in early batting practice. On Saturday, Rizzo ditched the batting gloves and choked up, getting a single to end an 0-for-20. On Sunday, the change was a musical one of him walking up to Taylor Swift’s 2017 song: “Ready for It”.

And when the homer finally happened, he was met with the silent treatment in the dugout before getting mobbed by supportive teammates.

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“It’s easy to look out and say, ‘I’m drowning and in the water,’” Rizzo said after seeing 25 pitches. “I just kept saying, ‘I’m on the boat and waiting for the winds to pick up.’ You’ve got to have fun with it. I think the reaction from the dugout and the guys shows that you’ve got to try to find highs, keep yourself up, stay positive.”

As for Stanton, he went 4-for-8 in the final two games and showed some signs of reversing things that saw his average drop to .193.

LeMahieu, who hit the tiebreaking homer Saturday, had another hit and is at .318 since July 6, the night of the ugly 14-1 loss to Baltimore.

The wins left the Yankees two games out of the final wild card but considering the state of the Mets, there are worst places to be and everything they achieved this weekend can be classified as a good first step.



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Sporting Kansas City vs Austin FC Match Thread

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Sporting Kansas City vs  Austin FC Match Thread


Time: 7:30 pm CST

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas

How to Watch: Apple TV MLS Season Pass

Referee: Sergii Boiko

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The Teams

Sporting Kansas City

2-5-5, 11 points

13th in the West

Head Coach: Peter Vermes (16th season)

Injury Report: OUT: Logan Ndenbe (knee), OUT: Kayden Pierre (ankle), QUESTIONABLE: Dany Rosero (quad), QUESTIONABLE: Remi Walter (knee)


Austin FC

5-4-4, 19 points

6th in the West

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Head Coach: Josh Wolff (5th season)

Injury Report: QUESTIONABLE: Guilherme Biro (hamstring), QUESTIONABLE: Ethan Finlay (hamstring)

 





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Two members of the Kansas City Chiefs arrested in Kansas

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Two members of the Kansas City Chiefs arrested in Kansas


Godrick-photo Johnson Co.

JOHNSON COUNTY —Two members of the Kansas City Chiefs were arrested Friday in Johnson County.

According to the sheriff’s booking report  23-year-old Chukwuebuka Godrick and 23-year-old Wanya Morris were booked into jail for misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Morris-photo Johnson County
Morris-photo Johnson County

Both were released on Friday afternoon after posting $2,500 bond. 

Morris, an offensive lineman from the University of Oklahoma, was a third-round draft pick (92nd overall) by the Chiefs in the 2023 NFL Draft, according to his bio on the team web site.

Godrick, an offensive lineman, is also entering his second season with the Chiefs. He originally entered the NFL as a designated International Pathway Player with the Chiefs in 2023, according to his bio on the team web site.  

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Both are due back in court May 23, according to online records.



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Women Are Roasting The Kansas City Chiefs Over Harrison Butker's Speech

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Women Are Roasting The Kansas City Chiefs Over Harrison Butker's Speech


Women Are Roasting The Kansas City Chiefs On Instagram
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On May 11th, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker gave a commencement address to graduates from Benedictine College. During his speech to the private Catholic liberal arts college in Kansas, he suggested Pride Month was a “deadly sin,” condemned abortion rights, and informed women that they had “the most diabolical lies” told to them (after he quoted a Taylor Swift song earlier in his speech, of course).

He went on to speak about his wife, Isabelle, claiming she would be the first to say that “her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother” and that he was able to be the man who he is because his wife embraced one of the most important titles of all: being a homemaker.

After Harrison gave his speech, it not only garnered a direct response from the NFL stating that Harrison’s views were not those of the NFL as an organization but also widespread backlash from people across the country. But while a lot of people have vocalized their disgust about the commencement address on their own personal social media accounts, women have begun to leave sarcastic comments about their “abilities as a woman” directly on the Kansas City Chiefs’s Instagram account — and they’re brutal in the best way possible.

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1.

Here are some of the top comments that were left on multiple Chief’s Instagram posts, like this woman who’s sad she won’t be able to attend any more games because of her “true vocation.”

2.

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Or this woman who said her life hasn’t begun because she’s not married to a man yet.

3.

It seems like snack time is vital for this couple.

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4.

This commentor also wants some clarification.

5.

A woman watching men on TV? Not in this household.

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6.

Sorry, gotta skip the game, the kitchen is calling.

7.

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Maybe this person’s husband is nice enough to give permission. Fingers crossed.

8.

Who needs thoughts when you have a husband, am I right?

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9.

Shoot, I bet our 84 cents to the dollar won’t even be worth anything.

10.

I would be concerned, too.

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11.

This woman doesn’t even believe she’s considered to be “alive” before marriage.

12.

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Even the men are wondering what they can do with their wives now.

13.

At least this man is honest about his wife’s “abilities.”

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14.

It’s a valid question.

15.

Finally, does anyone know the answer to this question?

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Do you have any thoughts about Harrison Butker’s commencement speech? Tell us in the comments below.





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