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Sometimes, you just don't have a good day at work. We've all been there. Such a day unfortunately came for future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw on Sunday during the Los Angeles Dodgers' game against the Milwauke Brewers. Kershaw cruised through three innings and looked to be on track towards earning a victory after the Dodgers spotted him a 3-0 lead.

But the wheels fell off in the top of the fourth inning.

The Dodgers defense let Kershaw down, committing a pair of errors that led to to the Brewers plating three runs. In the top of the fifth, Kershaw exited the game after hitting a batter, then allowing a single, after which the Dodgers committed another error.

The southpaw kept his cool on the mound in the midst of the errors but let his frustrations out when he got back to the dugout.

These have to be among the most frustrating days for a starting pitcher. The win is seemingly within the team's grasp, and then, because of circumstances out of the pitcher's hands, the lead disappears.

We feel your pain, Kershaw, we feel your pain.

علق جراهام أرنولد المدير الفني لـ منتخب العراق، على المباراة المنتظرة أمام الأردن ضمن لقاءات بطولة كأس العرب 2025 في قطر.

وقال جراهام أرنولد في تصريحات خلال المؤتمر الصحفي اليوم: “تركيزي على المنتخب العراقي وهدفي هو أن يتأهل المنتخب إلى كأس العالم لأول مرة منذ 40 عامًا”.

وتابع: “أتوقع مباراة قوية أمام منتخب الأردن الذي تأهل إلى كأس العالم، نحن قدمنا 3 مباريات جيدة وسنبذل أفضل ما لدينا في هذه المباراة”.

وأردف: “لدينا بعض الغيابات بسبب الإصابة، إضافة إلى غياب حسين علي للإيقاف، واللاعبون جاهزون نفسيًا بشكل كبير، وأمام الجزائر لعبنا تقريبًا مباراة كاملة ونحن منقوصي العدد”.

طالع | جمال السلامي: الأردن يحتاج 3 أشياء أمام العراق في كأس العرب

وأضاف: “حققت المطلوب خلال المباريات الثلاث، وكما رأيتم اخترت لاعبين من الدوري المحلي وقد فاجأني أداؤهم، وانبهرت كثيرًا ببطولة كأس العرب، أتيت من منطقة مختلفة وأعتقد أنها تشبه كأس العالم”.

واستطرد: “كانت البطولة فرصة جيدة لاختبار أنفسنا، ولا مانع من الارتقاء إلى مستوى أعلى، وطلبت من الجمهور دعم المنتخب، وقد رأيت ذلك بوضوح في مباراة الإمارات، عندما عدنا بعد التأخر بهدف بفضل مساندة الجماهير”.

وأتم: “تابعت المنتخب الأردني خلال السنوات العشر الماضية، وشاهدت مدى تطورهم وتأهلهم إلى كأس العالم”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Presidente do Palmeiras, Leila Pereira não demorou a responder provovação do presidente do Flamengo, Rodolfo Landim, sobre o gramado do Allianz Parque. O dirigente rubro-negro citou a derrota do Alviverde para o Internacional na quarta-feira (17), na Arena Barueri, e afirmou que, contra o time carioca, os paulistas “vão querer jogar no sintético”. A mandatária palestrina relembrou – em declaração ao portal “ge” – conquistas recentes do Verdão sobre o rival, vencidas sobre grama natural.

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– A declaração do Landim me causou bastante estranheza. Que eu me lembre, ganhamos a Libertadores de 2021 e a Supercopa de 2023, contra o Flamengo, em campo de grama natural, não é? – questionou Leila Pereira.

– O Landim sabe muito bem que o campo de grama sintética do Allianz Parque não oferece qualquer vantagem técnica ao Palmeiras. O gramado, inclusive, acabou de ser reformado para que tenhamos sempre grandes jogos em nossa casa. Se o Landim estivesse mesmo preocupado com a qualidade do gramado, o campo do Maracanã estaria em melhores condições – completou a presidente do Alviverde.

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➡️ Siga o Lance! Palmeiras no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Verdão

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Palmeiras e Flamengo se enfrentam no próximo domingo (21), pela terceira rodada do Brasileirão. A bola rola a partir das 16h no Allianz Parque, em São Paulo (SP). O Alviverde ocupa a 12ª colocalçao do campeonato, enquanto o Rubro-Negro é líder após duas partidas.

Tudo sobre

FlamengoLeila PereiraPalmeirasRodolfo Landim

With Major League Baseball's trade deadline a week away, the New York Yankees are looking for help in the hot corner.

Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Eugenio Suárez, who has hit a whopping 36 homers this season, is the hot name on the rumor mill. The Yankees are certainly interested—and have inquired—in bringing in his services, but they reportedly have a backup plan in the works.

According to a new report from MLB Network insider Mark Feinsand, the Yankees have interest in Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon if they can't get a deal done for Suárez.

Suárez, 34, is slated to become a free agent after this season while the 30-year-old McMahon's current contract runs through the 2027 season. McMahon is in the midst of his ninth MLB season, all with the Rockies, and was named an All-Star last year. This season, he's slashing .219/.315/.406 with 16 homers and 35 RBIs for the MLB-worst Rockies.

The Yankees have had six different players play at least one game at third base this year: Oswald Peraza (47), Oswaldo Cabrera (33), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (29), Jorbit Vivas (12), Pablo Reyes (5) and J.C. Escarra (2). As Suárez enters the deadline on a heater and the best bat available, several teams could be willing to give up a better package than the Yankees are willing and able to offer. Although the D-Backs just got swept by the Houston Astros which bumped them 5 1/2 games back of the National League's third wild card, they could decide to keep Suárez too.

Even if he doesn't land in pinstripes, the Yankees seem zeroed in on getting help at third base ahead of the July 31 deadline.

The Phillies got eliminated by the Dodgers in equally heartbreaking and embarrassing fashion on Thursday night.

In the 11th inning of Game 4 of the NLDS, the score was tied 1-1 and Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering was on the mound with two outs. With the bases loaded, Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages hit a weak ground ball right to Kerkering, who only needed to throw to first base to get the third out and end the inning. But after Kerkering picked up the ball, he lifted his head and immediately threw it to catcher J.T. Realmuto at home plate. The ball sailed over Realmuto, the Dodgers scored a run, and just like that, Philly's 2025 season was over.

Following Kerkering's brutal error, he walked off the field surrounded by his teammates. He was met by manager Rob Thomson at the entrance of the dugout, and the two shared a brief embrace and an emotional moment. Thomson appeared to impart some words of consolation to the reliever before patting Kerkering on the chest and sending him on his way:

Kerkering also received support from his teammates in the dugout as he sat on the bench and looked visibly shaken by what just transpired.

What a truly terrible way for the Phillies to go out, though Kerkering still has plenty reason to keep his head up and move on from this lowlight, as his manager no doubt hopes he will do.

"He just got caught up in the moment a little bit. Coming down the stretch, he pitched so well for us," Thomson said of Kerkering postgame. "I feel for him because he's putting it all on his shoulders. But we win as a team and we lose as a team."

It may have taken six years, but Tarik Skubal has finally found his money pitch. And the Guardians were feeling it in Game 1 of the divisional round on Tuesday.

These Guardians know Skubal well. In addition to facing him three other times this season, they faced him just days ago in a crucial Tigers loss, one that helped cement Cleveland’s huge comeback to secure the AL Central title that, at one point, Detroit had a 15.5-game lead on Cleveland. 

So, it was reasonable to wonder whether Skubal’s pitching would be effective Game 1, or whether the Guardians would have him figured out. 

"It means a lot to take the ball in Game 1," Skubal said to a scrum after the game. "To have the trust of our whole organization, teammates, coaching staff, it means a lot."

Ultimately, he rose to the challenge of that honor, helping secure Detroit's 2–1 win. Skubal held Cleveland to a single earned run in 7.2 innings of work with a career-high 14 strikeouts. Propelled by his pitch, Skubal brought a strong body of work.

Skubal’s changeup to thank for huge Game 1 victory

Skubal’s changeup has emerged gradually year over year as a proportion of his pitching profile, with it finally overtaking his four-seam fastball as the most-used pitch he threw in a season in 2025 (31.4% frequency). 

Here's a look at just how long this pitch has taken to emerge as his most used and most dominant:

Tarik Skubal changeup usage, run value

Year

Changeup Portion

Changeup Run Value

2020

16%

-1

2021

12%

0

2022

15%

4

2023

24%

9

2024

27%

7

2025

31%

25

So it was only right that on Tuesday, in an important Game 1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians, the majority of his 14 strikeouts came on the changeup, now his best pitch, dialed in over a number of years. 

Tarik Skubal's strikeout pitches in Game 1 vs. Guardians

Pitch Type

Strikeouts

Changeup

7

Fastball

4

Sinker

2

Curveball

1

Seven—of half of his total strikeouts—came on the changeup. Twelve out of the 23 times he threw the pitch resulted in a swinging strike, with it being hit in play just three times. 

"I was just kind of worried about executing each pitch and trying to do my best to live pitch-by-pitch… getting ahead and getting guys into leverage," Skubal said of his performance after the game.

The changeup went for a hit twice in the game: One was a soft ground ball by Angel Martinez, the other a line drive hit 105.5 MPH off the bat by Kyle Manzardo. Overall, the Guardians managed a single quality hit on the pitch all afternoon. 

Tarik Skubal's slider was important, too

The changeup is, of course, a pitch that seldom gets the job done on its own. As a slower pitch, it’s one that catches hitters off guard after the pitcher has shown them something faster in the repertoire. 

Skubal most frequently used the slider as his immediate setup pitch (the pitch right before the strikeout pitch) in Game 1. The slider was his strikeout pitch, but it served a clear purpose, forcing Guardians batters into seven foul tips and overtraining them to the ever-so-slight speed difference from the changeup.

Tarik Skubal pitch counts, ALWC Game 1

Pitch Type

Pitch Count in Game 1

Average MPH, Game 1

Fastball

30

99.12

Slider

27

91.91

Sinker

23

98.7

Changeup

23

89.42

Curveball

4

84.27

Skubal strikeout on Tuesday was a swinging strikeout, proving just how well his deception worked as a result of the sequencing, for which catcher Dillon Dingler deserves credit for as well. Neither of the two hits off the changeup came with the slider as the setup pitch.

Asked about the slider usage after the game, Skubal laughed and said, "Is Dingler coming in here? Yeah, I don't know, he calls it and I throw it. That's kind of it. That's kind of how all of it goes. There's like two shakes a game and the rest are him calling it, and I just try to throw it."

Notably, his curveball, thrown just four times, was set up by a slider the lone time it baited a Cleveland batter to swing at it, and miss, on Tuesday.

It was a strong afternoon at the office for Skubal, putting the Tigers just a game away from advancing and finally putting the 2025 Guardians in their rearview.

It's no wonder Camilla Kuver can't stop smiling. After making her Champions League debut only a couple of weeks prior, the 22-year-old has just won her first and second caps for Germany, starting both games against France over the last international break to help her country qualify for the Nations League final. These would be milestones worth celebrating for any player, but they are particularly special for the Wolfsburg defender, given the incredible bad luck she has had with injuries over the past four years.

“I’m not even really sure how I handled it all,” Kuver admits. Coming into this season, Germany’s new centre-back had made just five first-team starts since tearing her ACL in November 2021, at the tender age of 18. In fact, she didn’t get onto the pitch once in the 2024-25 campaign, that her second season with Wolfsburg, the two-time European champions and the most successful club in the history of German women’s football.

But after enduring setback after setback, Kuver looks to finally be on the other side and back on track in a career that still has so much promise. After all, despite all of those injuries, her goals in football were never really gone. “They were just postponed,” she notes.

Now, as huge Champions League encounters with the likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid and, on Wednesday, Manchester United loom, Kuver has plenty of opportunity to show everyone just why she remains one of the most highly-rated young defenders in the game.

Getty ImagesInjury hell

As GOAL walks through Kuver’s injury history with her, it’s no wonder she admits there were times where there would be questions in the back of her mind asking, ‘Is it even worth it?’ After coming through the youth national teams as a talented and versatile full-back, and breaking into the Eintracht Frankfurt first team as a 17-year-old, an ACL tear during her second senior season would spark the beginning of an incredibly difficult few years.

Kuver was back on the pitch at the start of the 2022-23 campaign, only to suffer another knee injury that would keep her out for eight more months. Then, after making just five appearances during her first season at Wolfsburg, having completed a move to the German giants during her rehabilitation process, she would miss the entire 2024-25 campaign in what she describes as “definitely the toughest” part of an extremely taxing time. Having overcome cartilage damage in her knee that sidelined her for half of the year, a dislocated shoulder and a ligament injury in her foot took care of the rest.

“At some point I couldn't even take myself seriously, I feel like, because I came back from injury and then the next one came. Then I thought, 'Okay, now I'm really getting back', and then the next thing came,” Kuver tells GOAL. “Looking back on that time, I'm not even really sure how I handled it all. I just kind of did. I mean, I had to. I think that's what makes this time right now even more special.”

AdvertisementGetty ImagesFighting through

A lot of people would’ve given up had they experienced the setbacks Kuver did. Yet, aside from what she describes as the occasional “tiny questions in the back of my head”, the 22-year-old never considered quitting. Why? “Just because I love playing football,” she responds. “It's always been the greatest joy in my life.

“During rehab, I realised there's nothing that could compare and there's nothing that could give me the same kind of joy. That was something. I just wanted to be back on the field. Also, I had so many goals – for one, the national team goal. I still wanted to prove myself. I still wanted to show what I can do. That was always something, the mindset of, 'I'm not really done yet'. Even though there were all the injuries and stuff, my goals weren't gone. They were just postponed. That was definitely something that kept me going.”

Getty ImagesHelpful factors

Other factors helped, too. Kuver had several friends who were either enduring or had endured long-term setbacks like hers, meaning she could talk to people who knew exactly what she was going through.

“I've always felt it was easier to talk to people who have gone through the same thing because, of course, people are trying to support you and be empathetic, and I'm sure they can imagine just how hard it is, but it's different when you've gone through it,” she explains. “That was definitely easier for me to talk to those people with. It was very, very important, actually.”

School was a welcome distraction during her ACL recovery, while Wolfsburg’s decision to sign her when she was sidelined the following year provided a confidence boost. “It was definitely nice to hear that people saw my abilities and, despite my injuries, they thought it was worth it,” she says.

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Getty ImagesSavouring the 'special' moments

The hope now is that all of that is well behind Kuver. She speaks to GOAL as a regular starter for the team placed second in the Frauen-Bundesliga table and as someone who, last month, experienced Champions League and senior international football for the first time. The player who ranked ninth in the 2022 NXGN list of the best teenage talents in the world is reminding everyone why she generated so much hype as she broke through. And while the injuries are something she would’ve gladly done without, they have made the recent months all the more sweet.

Kuver describes playing for Germany as something she thought about during her rehab process, “because it’s not always easy to be motivated to go to rehab every single day”. “That was just one of the big goals and dreams that made it possible for me to even get through it,” she recalls. “It is a very, very special feeling. I think it's also important that I keep reminding myself that it is very special, given the journey that I've been on.”

No replacement was nominated for him for the ODIs, while Fakhar Zaman is called up to the T20I squad

Danyal Rasool09-Nov-2025

Hasan Nawaz’s T20I run over the past few months has become a problem for Pakistan•AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan have dropped batter Hasan Nawaz from their upcoming ODI and T20I series later this month. He has been sent instead to participate in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. No replacement was nominated for him for the ODIs, while Fakhar Zaman is called up to the T20I squad in his stead.Nawaz, who initially rose to prominence when he scored a match-winning T20I hundred against New Zealand at Eden Park in March in his third T20I, was initially marked out as a shining talent. Consequentially, he was allowed an extended run in the side despite numerous failures including five ducks in his first ten games.However, his ability for big hitting, especially during the middle and late stages of T20 innings, was deemed extremely valuable, and his ceiling was considered higher than just about every other player. That reputation was burnished further thanks to a dazzling PSL campaign where he took Quetta Gladiators to the final, finishing as the third highest run-scorer at a strike rate over 162.But over the past two months, he has begun to be viewed as more dispensable. He was dropped from the later stages of Pakistan’s run to the Asia Cup final this year for Hussain Talat, a batter with a much lower explosive profile. He has only played four ODIs – three against the West Indies in August, and averages over 56.Even so, the manner of his dismissal in the first game, when he charged George Linde on a spinning track and ended up stumped, signalled a particular lack of match awareness, and he was not picked for the remaining games. Similarly, his T20I run over the past few months has become a problem for Pakistan. In his last eight matches, he has reached double figures just once, averaging under 7.Pakistan play three ODIs against Sri Lanka from November 11 before commencing a T20I tri-series that also involves Zimbabwe from November 17. It will be the first multi-team T20I tournament ever held in Pakistan.Pakistan squadsODIs: Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali AghaT20I tri-series: Salman Ali Agha (capt), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq

The Phillies saw their 2025 season come to a dramatic end in Thursday night's Game 4 loss to the Dodgers, a bitter defeat that arguably stings that much more due to how the game ended.

With bases loaded and two outs, Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering had the chance to end the 11th inning after Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages hit a weak ground ball right to him. Kerkering had an easy toss to first base to get the third out, but he instead chucked it to home plate way above catcher J.T. Realmuto's head. That wild throw drove in Dodgers pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim for the winning run, allowing L.A. to clinch the 2-1 win and punch its ticket to the NLCS.

Kerkering bafflingly threw to home despite Realmuto very clearly pointing to first base right after Pages's grounder. Maybe the Phillies catcher could have given him a more audible heads-up instead of physically gesturing, but the error ultimately fell on Kerkering for automatically throwing it to Realmuto for some bizarre reason.

A photo of Realmuto pointing to first just before Kerkering makes his unfortunate error is going viral on social media, and it's a pretty sad one:

Better luck next time for the Phillies.

They replace Shabnim Ismail, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Madeline Penna in a last-minute change

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2025South Africa allrounder Dane van Niekerk has been picked by Guyana Amazon Warriors for the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) 2025. The franchise announced van Niekerk, New Zealand medium-pacer Molly Penfold and Ireland wicketkeeper-batter Amy Hunter as replacements for Shabnim Ismail, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Madeline Penna.This will be van Niekerk’s first stint in a franchise league since August 2023, when she played in the women’s Hundred. She was also part of the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League in 2023, where she was signed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru but did not play a single game, and she was released ahead of the 2024 season. It will be her first stint in the WCPL.Van Niekerk recently made a U-turn on her international retirement after returning to domestic cricket and was part of a training camp with the South Africa national team, but will not be a part of the upcoming ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka that begins on September 30. She had initially announced her international retirement after being left out of South Africa’s squad for the home T20 World Cup in 2023 after failing to meet fitness requirements.Related

• Shreyanka Patil among three Indians picked in WCPL draft

• How Salonee Dangore went from track and field to the CPL

However, South Africa head coach Mandla Mashimbyi has said she’s being looked at for future series.Van Niekerk played the 2024-25 domestic season for Western Province, and finished fourth on the list of highest run-scorers in the CSA Women Pro20 Series, with one century and a fifty.Amazon Warriors will kick off WCPL 2025 against Trinbago Knight Riders in Providence on Saturday.