A look at what’s happening around the majors Thursday:
MIDSUMMER SKID
The Nationals open a series against Miami hoping to end a five-game skid and get back to .500. Washington fell to 42-43 with a loss to Boston on Wednesday
Authentic Minkah Fitzpatrick Jersey , the first time the preseason NL East favorites have been under .500 this late in the year since being 60-61 on Aug. 21, 2015. The Nationals held a players’ only meeting after a 3-0 loss to the Red Sox highlighted by Adam Eaton’s throwing error and a wild pitch from Ryan Madson. Jeremy Hellickson (2-1, 2.63) makes his second start since returning from the DL, while Marlins righty Pablo Lopez (1-0, 3.00) makes his second MLB start.
NOT VERY VERLANDER
Justin Verlander (9-4, 2.12) tries to stop a personal slide when the Astros open a series against the White Sox. Verlander has allowed nine runs in 11 2/3 innings over his past two starts, taking losses to Toronto (four runs) and Tampa Bay (five runs). Verlander hasn’t allowed four or more earned runs in three straight starts since June 2014 while with Detroit. Carlos Rodon (1-3, 4.55) is up for Chicago.
CUETO’S BACK
Johnny Cueto is expected to be reinstated from the disabled list and pitch when the Giants open a four-game series against the Cardinals. Cueto was placed on the disabled list May 1 with inflammation in his right elbow. A few days later, he visited Dr. James Andrews, who diagnosed him with a strained elbow. Cueto is 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA in five starts this season. The Giants are 41-21 in his starts since he joined the team in 2016.
PITCHING IN
Angels rookie Jaime Barria will start against AL West-leading Seattle in place of Tyler Skaggs a day after the left-hander went on the DL with a thigh strain. Barria is making his 12th start of the season and has given up two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. Lefty Marco Gonzales (8-5, 3.77) makes his first start since pitching the first complete game of his career in a 4-1 win over Kansas City.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Joe Mauer needs one double to give him 415 in his career, which would break a tie with Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett for the Twins’ franchise record. Minnesota has lost six straight and returns home from a 1-8 trip to play Baltimore, which has the worst record in the majors at 24-61. More good news for the scuffling Twins: Two-time All-Star Ervin Santana (right middle finger surgery) is scheduled to make his next rehab appearance for Class A Fort Myers.
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Bradley Chubb would normally be content relying on game tapes to make his case to scouts.
There, he insists
Authentic Mike Hughes Jersey , they will find a big man with edge-rushing skills and enough power to stuff the run. Watch enough of footage and it just might convince those NFL executives that Chubb is the best defensive player in this year’s NFL draft.
But this is no typical week for North Carolina State’s star defensive end. He’s participating in the NFL’s annual scouting combine in Indianapolis, answering questions and dropping names.
”I try to take Khalil Mack and Von Miller and put them into one person,” Chubb said Saturday. ”I’m a high-motor, high-energy guy.”
If team executives concur, his name could be one of the first three called in April.
Naturally, Chubb describes himself as the best player in Indy this weekend and who’s going to argue with a 6-foot-4, 269-pound man.
Not the deep, diverse quarterback group, which did its on-the-field workouts Saturday and will likely spend the next few years trying to escape Chubb’s grasp.
Not the highly touted running back class, which includes Saquon Barkley and Chubb’s own cousin, Nick, who will be running away from a lineman who posted 25 sacks and 54 tackles for loss over the past three seasons.
Sure, there are questions.
Is he big enough to hold up against the NFL’s massive tackles, does he have enough moves to make an immediate impact
Authentic Marcus Davenport Jersey , can he make a smooth transition to the more physical pro game?
He might also be asked to explain why he spat upon the Florida State logo following North Carolina State’s upset win or why he decided to skip the Wolfpack’s bowl game.
Those who know Chubb best have no doubt he will succeed.
”He’s so happy, always smiling,” said offensive tackle Will Richardson, a college teammate who routinely squared off with Chubb in practice.
”He’s a goofball. We used to get grapes after a game and he would come over and knock them out of your hands and someone would be like `Why did you do that?’ But he always had a few extra grapes in his other hand to give to you. He’s definitely a goofball, a goofball in a good way.”
Many believe there’s nothing goofy about him being possibly the best pass-rusher in a draft heavy on interior linemen – and thin at one of the NFL’s most coveted positions.
Those challenging Chubb’s title include Marcus Davenport of UTSA, Sam Hubbard of Ohio State, Arden Key of LSU and Harold Landry of Boston College.
Each had college careers that ranged from solid to spectacular, and each knows they must answer questions about size, injuries or the competition level they’ve faced.
”Nobody in this draft class has a first step like mine,” Landry said. ”My mindset and my approach to the game, I’m a guy that’s going to do whatever it takes to be the best at my position.”
But those who played alongside Chubb understand his impact cannot be measured in stats alone.
”We got to win more games,” college teammate and combine invitee Justin Jones said. ”Having a guy like Bradley Chubb on the edge, it turns a lot of plays back to us and the rest of the team. They want to take Bradley out of the game, and we have other (defensive) linemen that can make plays.”
Chubb appears to have the size to play right away
Authentic Josh Allen Jersey , room to grow and even bloodlines working in his favor.
His father, Aaron, played at Georgia. His older brother, Brandon, starred at Wake Forest before being signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and spending most of that season on the Detroit Lions‘ practice squad.
So if things fall the right way, Bradley Chubb could become the highest-drafted descendant of the family that established ”Chubbtown” – a rural area in northwestern Georgia, three miles from the Alabama border- in the mid-1800s.
And that’s an honor Chubb would treasure.
”When you’re there, you feel it,” he said. ”My last name is Chubb, and I wear it with pride.”
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