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Chicago Tribune
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago White Sox end 8-game skid with 7-1 rout behind home runs from Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr.
TORONTO — The Chicago White Sox used the long ball to bring their eight-game losing streak to an emphatic end. Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. hit tape-measure home runs in a 7-1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday at Rogers Centre. 'We did a good job collectively of controlling the zone,' manager Will Venable said. 'It was a full team commitment offensively to shrink the zone, and we didn't miss our pitches.' Benintendi blasted a 425-foot solo home run to right field against Blue Jays starter Spencer Turnbull in the first inning. It had an exit velocity of 108.3 mph. 'We want to be aggressive and he clipped that ball pretty good,' Venable said. 'Really did a good job of setting the tone for the group and the rest of the guys followed. Love the damage there.' Robert crushed a 441-foot, two-run home run to left field against reliever Mason Fluharty during a four-run third inning. It had an exit velocity of 114.2 mph. Robert is 9-for-33 (.273) with two home runs, two doubles and six RBIs in his last 10 games. 'He looked good here, has the last couple of days,' Venable said. 'Really staying through the baseball, swinging at good pitches. And you see the result today. You get excited when you see Luis do damage like that.' Austin Slater and Benintendi collected RBI singles in the second inning, and Josh Rojas knocked in two with a double in the third in the runaway win in front of 36,121. The Sox (24-52) used five pitchers in a bullpen game after placing scheduled starter Davis Martin on the injured list on Friday with a right forearm strain. Grant Taylor displayed his blazing fastball during a 1-2-3 first inning in his first major-league start. 'He pounded the zone with a plus fastball,' Venable said. 'For me, if you can throw 100 (mph), use that thing and see what you've got. And he did that tonight.' After two groundouts, Taylor ended the inning striking out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. swinging on a 99.2-mph high fastball. 'The big takeaway was that (Guerrero) at-bat — four heaters, three up top of the zone, got some swing and miss,' Taylor said. 'Was really excited about that.' Tyler Alexander earned the win in the bulk role, allowing four hits and striking out two during four scoreless innings. He induced ending-inning double plays in the fourth and fifth innings — the second of which erased a bases-loaded situation. 'We had a mound visit, talked through what we wanted to do (facing Tyler Heineman with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth),' Alexander said. 'Fortunately he put the ball on the ground early. That helped. The (Guerrero) double play (in the fourth), huge. Well-executed pitches and got weak contact.' Venable said Alexander's outing was 'amazing.' 'He continues to pitch crucial innings for us where he's attacking the zone,' Venable said. 'He's fearless too.' Wikelman González allowed one run on one hit with two strikeouts and two walks in his major-league debut. The right-hander, called up Friday from Triple-A Charlotte, struck out Ernie Clement swinging for his first MLB punchout to end the seventh inning. He got Guerrero to line out to Benintendi in left field with two on for the final out of the eighth. 'It was a little exciting to face one of the best hitters in the world, but I trusted my stuff and I'm glad I got him out,' González said through an interpreter. After several close losses during the skid, the Sox clicked across the board to return to the win column. 'They did a great job in every phase of the game,' Venable said. 'Pitching was outstanding, we pounded the zone all night. Defense was great, (Lenyn) Sosa made some great plays (at second base). … Really good stuff all over the field. 'These guys have been working so hard and to have it on a game like that where everyone contributed, everyone played well, it's really nice to see.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Blake Lively's Motion To Keep Taylor Swift Messages Private Denied — Report
Blake Lively and 's text messages have reportedly become accessible to Justin Baldoni in the legal battle. On Wednesday, a judge denied Lively's motion for a 'protective order' to block her 'It Ends With Us' co-star's attempts to seek their communications. The latest update drags Swift back into the case weeks after Baldoni's team dropped their subpoenas to the pop star and her lawyers at Venable, claiming they got what they needed. However, new documents stated otherwise. Judge Lewis J. Liman denied last week's motion to keep Blake Lively and Taylor Swift's text messages private. PEOPLE acquired court documents confirming that the latest update comes as a blow to Lively, who had moved to block her legal adversary from securing her and Swift's communications. In her filings from last Friday, she accused Baldoni and his legal team of strategically devising the 'tactic' to distract from his lawsuit dismissal. The new court documents revealed that although Baldoni and his team never received the texts after dropping their subpoena to Swift. They had continued pushing for these exchanges and even argued their relevance in a response filing, claiming these could prove crucial in disproving the sexual harassment and smear campaign allegations. They also blamed Lively for dragging the singer into the case by identifying the singer as someone with knowledge of what she experienced. Judge Lewis J. Liman called Justin Baldoni's request in the legal battle, seeking Blake Lively and Taylor Swift's text messages, 'reasonably tailored.' Liman justified his ruling, stating, 'Lively has represented that Swift had knowledge of complaints or discussions about the working environment on the film.' The judge further added that these exchanges coming to light could 'prove or disprove' the actor's 'harassment and retaliation claims.' The update came weeks after Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni's $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. In what looked like a legal victory, the actor-director can now gain access to the longtime friends' private chats, but only about the 'It Ends With Us' film. Furthermore, the 'Gossip Girl' alum's representative released a statement, slamming his 'desire to drag' the Grammy winner into their feud. The post Blake Lively's Motion To Keep Taylor Swift Messages Private Denied — Report appeared first on Reality Tea.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Justin Baldoni Drops Taylor Swift Subpoena in Blake Lively Lawsuit
Taylor Swift no longer has to worry about being dragged into Justin Baldoni's ongoing legal action against his It Ends With Us co-star, Blake Lively. The Wrap reports that on Thursday, he dropped his subpoena against the singer. Baldoni had claimed that Swift was present at Lively's Tribeca penthouse during discussions of rewriting one of the movie's pivotal scenes. Baldoni's suit further claimed that Lively called Reynolds and Swift her 'dragons' à la Game of Thrones in a text message. More from Rolling Stone Neil Young Stands With Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen in Trump's Musician War: 'You Work for Us' Taylor Swift's 'Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor's Version)' Featured on 'The Handmaid's Tale' Blake Lively's Lawyers Move to Penalize Justin Baldoni's Team After Taylor Swift Extortion Claim A rep for Swift refuted this description of events earlier this month when news of the subpoena first broke. 'Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film,' the rep told Rolling Stone. The rep said the subpoena was 'designed to use Taylor Swift's name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.' Swift's law firm, Venable, described the subpoena as an 'abuse of the discovery process.' 'There is no reason for this subpoena other than to distract from the facts of the case and impose undue burden and expense on a non-party,' it said in a statement. Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, then alleged in a legal filing that Lively was attempting to extort a statement of support from Swift. He claimed that Lively's lawyers contacted Swift's legal team asking 'that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature' would come out. Lively's lawyer described these claims as 'categorically false.' Her legal team then moved to penalize Baldoni's team in the form of sanctions and fees over the extortion claim. Three days later, Baldoni's team withdrew the subpoena. Freedman did not immediately return Rolling Stone's request for comment. 'We are pleased that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties have withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm,' a rep for Lively said, according to the Wrap. 'We supported the efforts of Taylor's team to quash these inappropriate subpoenas directed to her counsel and we will continue to stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed or threatened in the process.' In December, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and spearheading a smear campaign against her; she filed a lawsuit before the year was up. He countersued in January, alleging defamation, extortion, and invasion of privacy. A trial is scheduled for March. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Cardinals in search of rebound series as they visit White Sox
After posting a 4-8 record over an 11-day stretch, the St. Louis Cardinals more than welcomed their Monday off in Chicago ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the host White Sox. St. Louis hopes 24 hours were enough recovery time to stage a rebound and avoid falling farther behind in the National League Central race. St. Louis dropped three games in the standings over the past week to drop seven games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs. The good news? No one in the clubhouse is sulking. "Last month was a great month, and this month has been a tough month so far," said Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado. "Obviously, with no days off, that makes it even tougher, but there are no excuses because everyone has to go through it. "But the attitude is the same as when we were playing well, and that's great." A three-game sweep of the White Sox, who carry the fewest victories in the American League (23) into the series, would assure a winning road trip for the Cardinals. St. Louis eyed a split of its four-game weekend set in Milwaukee, but couldn't capitalize in the ninth inning Sunday. Brewers closer Trevor Megill struck out Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn with two runners in scoring position to close a 3-2 Milwaukee win. While the Cardinals broke through for eight runs Saturday, they hope to get their attack rolling again with second baseman Brendan Donovan healthy again. Donovan, who left a June 10 loss to Toronto with discomfort in his left big toe, had two hits on Sunday in his return to the lineup. Chicago returns home from a 1-5 road trip to Houston and Texas. Things started smoothly enough with a 4-2 victory against the Astros on June 10, but the White Sox were thumped the following night before losing three of their last four games by one run. White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (right thumb soreness) is expected to play against the Cardinals. He was scratched from Sunday's lineup with the ailment but pinch-ran in the eighth inning and stayed in the game to play center. "I have him penciled in the lineup for Tuesday," White Sox manager Will Venable said. "Give him the day and see where he's at. We expect him to be in on Tuesday." Venable missed all the scoring in Chicago's 2-1 defeat. He was ejected in the bottom of the first inning for arguing balls and strikes. To right-hander Aaron Civale, who made his team debut following a Friday trade from the Brewers, Venable's gesture showed belief in a team that continues to compete. "Anytime a manager goes and fights for the players, that's an awesome sign," Civale said. "When you have each other's backs, that's how you know you're in a good position and the culture's good. When you're fighting for each other, that's what's important." St. Louis left-hander Matthew Liberatore (3-6, 4.17 ERA) will get the call as he looks to stop a three-start losing streak. Liberatore's latest defeat came Wednesday against Toronto, when he yielded five runs and nine hits in five innings. Rookie righty Shane Smith (3-3, 2.37) will start for the White Sox. Smith picked up the victory in Houston on June 10 thanks to six innings of one-run, seven-hit ball. --Field Level Media
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Manager Will Venable gets ejected in 1st inning as Chicago White Sox get swept with 2-1 loss
ARLINGTON, Texas — Manger Will Venable wasn't around long for starting pitcher Aaron Civale's debut with the Chicago White Sox. Venable took exception to some ball-strike calls from plate umpire Marvin Hudson and got ejected three batters into the bottom of the first inning Sunday against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. 'There was early frustration, you could call it, and obviously you saw what happened,' Venable said. Civale appreciated what he saw from his new skipper. 'Anytime the manager goes and fights for the players, that's an awesome sign,' Civale said. 'When you have each other's backs, that's how you know you're in a good position and the culture's good. When you're fighting for each other, that's important.' The Sox put up a fight but suffered another close loss, falling 2-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 38,037. Civale, acquired in Friday's trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for first baseman Andrew Vaughn, allowed two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks in five innings. 'Definitely not the cleanest,' Civale said of his outing. 'A lot more balls than I would have wanted going into the game. Some of the game plan is these guys are aggressive in that lineup. More first-pitch strikes is definitely the target moving forward, and definitely it's been a whirlwind of a week. 'First couple of innings you're just getting back out there and settling in and getting used to the new team and the catcher and all of the above.' Civale walked leadoff hitter Josh Smith on a 3-2 pitch that, according to MLB Statcast, touched the outside corner. Venable was tossed after a 2-2 pitch to Corey Seager was called a ball. Statcast recorded the pitch as off the plate away to the left-handed batter. Venable and Hudson had a heated discussion after the ejection. 'Just a couple of calls we thought didn't go our way,' Venable said. It was his second ejection of the season. The first came on Mother's Day. Sunday was Father's Day. Civale walked three in the first but made it through the inning without allowing a run. His control battle continued in the second when he issued a one-out free pass to Adolis García. The Rangers made him pay for that walk with a two-out RBI double by Ezequiel Duran. 'For me it's not going to cancel it out in the box score, but anytime you get a double play after a walk (like the Sox did in the first), that's an improvement over what you were just doing,' Civale said. 'Until Adolis scored, a walk hadn't hurt me, and typically if you let a guy get on base via walk, those guys score. 'Sometimes it catches up to you, sometimes you stay ahead of it. Just something we can work on improving moving forward, and as the comfort level gets higher and higher here, it'll just settle into that.' Civale settled in, with the only other Texas run coming on a sacrifice fly by Marcus Semien in the fifth. 'This is my third time doing it,' Civale said of being traded during a season in his seven-year big-league career. 'It never gets easier. There's comfort and experience that you have. But every time it's new and it's a challenge in itself. You're trying to make that adjustment as quick as you can and that's the game. 'It's a game of adjustments. Was out there just trying to compete and I wasn't filling up the zone like I would have liked to. Just did my best to compete with what I had.' Miguel Vargas homered in the sixth for the lone Sox run. They had runners on first and third with one out in the seventh, but Josh Rojas got thrown out trying to steal second. 'It was just one of those plays where we had a little something on the pitcher (reliever Cole Winn), thought it was a good opportunity to go and it just didn't work out,' Venable said of the stolen-base attempt. Mike Tauchman then struck out looking to end the inning. The Sox had runners on second and third with two outs in the eighth, but Edgar Quero lined out to Seager at shortstop. The Sox left eight on base while suffering their fifth straight defeat. Three of the losses during that stretch have been by one run. Luis Robert Jr. was a late scratch from the lineup with a sore right thumb. He's day to day and anticipates being back in the lineup for Tuesday's series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at Rate Field. 'I think it's going to be good,' Robert said of the thumb through an interpreter after the game. Robert entered as a pinch runner in the eighth but was stranded on third. The Sox (23-49) were limited to six runs while getting swept in the three-game series. 'There were pitches in the zone we weren't able to turn around,' Venable said. 'At the same time, we weren't able to draw the walks like we had previously. Take the day off (Monday) and regroup and get back to our approach that we had had previous to this series.'
