Philly Special 2.0

August 10, 2023

By: Carlos Alvarez

Good Morning,

Nothing like a Gatorade bath to break in the new threads… The Phillies traded for Michael Lorenzen last week, and he decided to throw a no-no in his first start at Citizens Bank Park. We call that \”making a splash\” at the trade deadline.

Our first round of golf’s three-week playoff take us closer to the weekend as the FedExCup Playoffs are about to tee off. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s jam-packed weekend primer with NFL preseason, English Premier League, World Cup quarterfinals, and much more.

Letter Rip!

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MLB

Philly Special: New Guy Throws No-No

\"\"/ — *Photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images*

New Phillies Pitcher Michael Lorenzen Throws No-Hitter Against Nationals in 1st Home Start Since Trade

Welcome to Philly, Michael Lorenzen! The former Tigers ace was traded to Philadelphia at the MLB trade deadline last week, and it’s safe to say no Phillies player has had a better home debut than this guy. Lorenzen struck out five and walked four on his way to a no-hitter and a 7-0 win against the Nationals. It took Lorenzen a career-high 124 pitches to get the job done. It’s his first career no-no, the fourth of the 2023 MLB season, and the 14th in Phillies franchise history. Philadelphia’s last no-hitter came in 2015, but it had been 13 years since Philly fans saw one at home (Roy Holladay, 2010).

2023 MLB No-Hitter Tracker

June 29: Domingo German’s Perfect Game (Yankees)

July 8: 3-Way Combined No-Hitter (Tigers)

August 1: Framber Valdez (Astros)

August 9: Michael Lorenzen (Phillies)

*All four no-hitters this season thrown in last six weeks

Watch: Phillies’ Newest Ace Michael Lorenzen No-Hits Nationals in Home Debut

A Special Night in Philly: Lorenzen’s no-no wasn’t the only memorable moment Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Nick Castellanos hit his 200th career home run. And after seven years in the minors, Weston Wilson’s first big-league hit left the ballpark. Philly (63-52) is comfortably in the driver’s seat of the NL Wild Card race.

MLB Quick-Hitters

Miggy’s Latest Milestone: Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-4 last night to pass Robin Yount for 19th on the MLB’s all-time hits list (3,145). The Tigers beat the Twins (9-5).

Crew Correction: Less than a day after their ugliest loss of the season, the Brewers beat the Rockies in the ugliest way possible — a four-run rally and an extra-inning walk-off error by the Rockies. The Crew beat Colorado (7-6, 10 innings).

Dusty Moves Up: The Astros handed the Orioles their second straight loss on Wednesday (8-2) and earned manager Dusty Baker’s 2,159th career win. That moves him ahead of Hall of Fame manager Bucky Harris into 7th all-time.

Bonus: Royals’ Triple-A Outfielder John Rave Makes Slow-Mo Catch You Have to See to Believe

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GOLF

Playoff Golf: 3 Weeks of Pressure

\"\"/ — *Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images*

The FedExCup Playoffs Primer: 3 Weeks of Golf’s Postseason, Points & Payouts Starts Now (By Marissa Kasch)

We have good news and bad news. Bad news: Golf’s majors have concluded for the year, culminating with Brian Harman\’s victory at Royal Liverpool. Good news: The conclusion of The Open can only mean one thing — It’s time for the FedExCup Playoffs. Let’s get ready for three weeks of postseason knockout golf with a quick refresher.

FedExCup Playoffs, Explained: FedExCup points are awarded throughout the season based on placement in PGA Tour events. The 70 players with the most points are eligible to compete over the next three weekends. The tournament features three events and progressive cuts.

St. Jude Championship — 70 Golfers (TPC Southwind, Memphis, TN)
BMW Championship — 50 Golfers (Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields, IL)
Tour Championship — 30 Golfers (East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, GA)

The competition in the FedExCup is fierce, considering that only 70 players qualify. In other words, gaining eligibility is no easy feat, and winning is an entirely different monster.

The points distribution is fairly simple until the FedExCup Playoffs start. The first two events in the tournament award 2,000 points to the winner – significantly more than regular season events. With such a significant amount of points up for grabs in the first two events, once you qualify for the tournament, you’re never out of it. The third and final event, the TOUR Championship, employs a more familiar scoring system centered around stroke play to determine the winner.

So, with all this talk about points and qualifying, where do your favorite players stand? Well, the top-10 qualifiers shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. We have winners from The Players Championship (Scottie Scheffler), the U.S. Open (Wyndham Clark), The Masters (Jon Rahm) and The Open Championship (Brian Harman). The only major champion missing from the field is Brooks Koepka because LIV golfers cannot compete in the FedExCup.

FedExCup Points Standings

1. Jon Rahm — 3,320 points

2. Scottie Scheffler — 3,146 points

3. Rory McIlroy — 2,304 points

4. Max Homa —- 2,128 points

5. Wyndham Clark — 1,944 points

6. Brian Harman — 1,827 points

7. Viktor Hovland — 1,795 points

8. Keegan Bradley — 1,774 points

9. Rickie Fowler — 1,732 points

10. Tony Finau — 1,655 points
Full FedExCup Points Standings

Favorites

Whoever wins this tournament will receive the honor of becoming the 2023 Tour Champion (oh, and $18 million). Will it be a consistently great golfer like Jon Rahm? Will it be a fan favorite like Scottie Scheffler? Will it be a dark horse like Rickie Fowler looking to cement his legacy with an unlikely comeback? Here’s what Vegas says: J. Rahm (+285), S. Scheffler (+300), R. McIlroy (+500), M. Homa (+1200), R. Fowler (+1400), V. Hovland (+1400), P. Cantlay (+1800), X. Schauffele (+2000), W. Clark (+2200), T. Finau (+2200), C. Morikawa (+2200)

Stroke Adjustment for Final Event

Though the final round at East Lake uses stroke-play scoring, it’s anything but standard. After points have been awarded for the St. Jude and BMW Championships, they are wiped out and replaced with stroke adjustments heading into the final round. The No.1-ranked player will tee off at East Lake at 10-under par. The rest of the stroke adjustment rules are written below.

No. 1-ranked player: 10-under par

No. 2-ranked player: 8-under par

No. 3-ranked player: 7-under par

No. 4-ranked player: 6-under par

No. 5-ranked player: 5-under par

No. 6-10 players: 4-under par

No. 11-15: 3-under par

No. 16-20: 2-under par

No. 21-25: 1-under par

No. 26-30: Even par

The winner is then determined by their final score at East Lake after the stroke adjustment. As we can see, though points are no longer in play at this point, they hold significance until the very end.

It’s tee time at St. Jude! Three weeks of golf playoffs begin now…

St. Jude Championship Tee Times (Today)

Yahoo! Sports: Rory McIlroy to Begin FedExCup Playoffs Title Defense in Memphis

PGA Tour: Wet Conditions in Memphis Sets Up Ball-Striking Bonanza for Playoffs Opener

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NFL

Most Valuable NFL Franchises

The first full week of NFL Preseason action kicks off tonight. Before we start playing football, let’s see how each franchise stacks up in off-the-field value. There\’s no surprise which team still leads the way in 2023…

1. Dallas Cowboys: $9.2 Billion | 20% Increase

2. New York Giants: $7.04 Billion | 23% Increase

3. Los Angeles Rams: $6.94 Billion | 17% Increase

4. New England Patriots: $6.7 Billion | 14% Increase

5. San Francisco 49ers: $6.15 Billion | 19% Increase

6. New York Jets: $6.11 Billion | 27% Increase

7. Washington Commanders: $6.05 Billion | 27% Increase

8. Chicago Bears: $6 Billion | 20% Increase

9. Philadelphia Eagles: $5.95 Billion | 27% Increase

10. Las Vegas Raiders: $5.77 Billion | 41% Increase

Full Valuation List Released by Sportico

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STORYLINES

NFL Preseason Power Rankings

Each new NFL season brings hope and promise. At the moment, everyone is tied for No. 1 in their own version of the Power Rankings. But not in our eyes. (NFL.com)

Guide to the FIBA World Cup

On the world stage, few (if any) tournaments rival the FIBA World Cup, which tips off on August 25 and runs through September 10. (Bleacher Report)

Premier League Mega Preview

A lot has happened this summer — and plenty more is likely to happen with the summer transfer window. Experts predict the 2023-24 English Premier League season. (ESPN+)

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NEWS

Knicks & Josh Hart Finalize 4-Year, $81 Million Extension (ESPN)
Ex-Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III Sentenced 3-10 Years for Deadly 2021 Crash (SI)
ACC Expansion Targets SMU Along With Stanford & Cal From Pac-12 (CBS Sports)
Malika Andrews to Replace Mike Greenberg as ESPN’s NBA Finals Host (USA Today)
UConn’s Paige Bueckers Says She’s ‘All Cleared’ to Play After Knee Recovery (B/R)
Ex-ESPN Host Rachel Nichols to Join Richard Sherman & Skip Bayless as ‘Undisputed’ Co-Host (Yahoo! Sports)

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TODAY\’S SCHEDULE

FIFA Women’s World Cup

Spain vs. Netherlands (Thurs. 9:00 pm ET)

Japan vs. Sweden (Fri. 3:30 am ET)

NFL Preseason

Texans at Patriots (7:00 pm ET)

Vikings at Seahawks (10:00 pm ET)

MLB

Astros at Orioles (12:35 pm ET)

Blue Jays at Guardians (1:10 pm ET)

Nationals at Phillies (6:40 pm ET)

Rockies at Dodgers (10:10 pm ET)