Brewers score three late runs to beat San Diego in Cactus League action
Milwaukee scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to beat San Diego 8-5 on Wednesday in Cactus League action.
2020 first-round pick Garrett Mitchell broke the tie with an RBI single and later scored the final run to give the Brewers their third win in four games this spring.
Milwaukee jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks in part to a three-run homer from third baseman Pablo Reyes. Nicholas Kahle also drove in a pair of runs with a double in the seventh inning.
Drew Rasmussen got the start for the Crew and threw a pair of hitless innings. Brent Suter, Justin Topa and Angel Perdomo followed and didn’t allow a hit either. The Padres finally broke through with two runs off of Eric Yardley and three more charged to Zack Brown.
The Brewers will return to American Family Fields of Phoenix on Thursday to face Cleveland. You can catch all the action on 1670 AM and 96.7FM starting at 2:10 p.m.
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Wisconsin Basketball Frustrations Continued (0:00)
Hockey Insider Barry Richter & Badgers Associate Head Coach Mark Strobel (22:47)
Packers DC Joe Barry Speaks (41:26)
Brewers Spring Training Game 3 (59:11)
Bucks have 5-game winning streak snapped in blowout loss to Denver
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 37 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his ninth triple-double of the season and 50th of his career, and the Denver Nuggets trounced Milwaukee 128-97 on Tuesday to snap the Bucks’ five-game winning streak.
Jamal Murray added 24 points as the Nuggets earned their third straight victory and showed no signs of wear one night after winning 118-112 at Chicago. Denver handed Milwaukee its most lopsided loss of the year and shot 55.8%, the highest field-goal percentage by any Bucks opponent this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee as the Bucks finished an eight-game homestand in which they went 5-3. Khris Middleton added 20 points.
Milwaukee will now hit the road for a matchup with Memphis on Thursday, the final game before the NBA All-Star Break.
No. 25 Badgers fall again, this time at No. 23 Purdue
No. 25 Wisconsin lost its seventh straight game to a ranked team, falling at No. 23 Purdue 73-69 Tuesday night at Mackey Arena.
The Badgers had no answer inside for 7-foot-4 freshman Zach Edey. The Boilermakers’ freshman scored a career-high 21 points (8-for-11 FGs) and grabbed seven rebounds, while fellow freshman Jayden Ivey contributed 18 points.
Wisconsin’s offense was once again anemic, as the Badgers shot just 40.4% from the field, the 11th time in their last 14 games they’ve hit less than 41.7% of their shots. Things were even worse from beyond the arc where they went 7-for-29. That included going just 4-for-26 after making their first three shots from deep to open the game.
Guard Brad Davison led the way for the Badgers by scoring 15 points (4-for-12 FGs), while Aleem Ford, Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers all had 11 points. Reuvers shot 5-for-10 and had a couple blocks on the defensive end. Potter played just 15 minutes due to foul trouble. D’Mitrik Trice had 10 points but was just 2-for-10 from the field.
The game was a foul fest, with the two teams combining for 41, including 21 by Wisconsin, which was one off a season-high. The Badgers did get it done at the free throw line, going 16-for-21. Of Purdue's 73 points, 58 came in the paint or at the free throw line (20-for-26).
The Badgers fell to 10-9 in Big Ten play and still don’t have a win against a conference team with a winning record, falling to 0-7 against teams higher than them in the standings. They’ll have one more chance to get one in the regular season on Sunday when they go to No. 5 Iowa.
Packers: GM Brian Gutekunst doesn't rule out using franchise tag on RB Aaron Jones
The Green Bay Packers haven’t used the franchise tag in more than a decade. Not since applying it to nose tackle Ryan Pickett in 2010 have they made sure one of their key players would be back and not hit the open market in free agency.
“It’s very much case-by-case. It’s not an organizational philosophy to not use it,” GM Brian Gutekunst said Tuesday. “I think every situation is different. It is a tool that is out there for us to use if it makes sense for the football team. Whether it’s the franchise tag, the transition tag, or some of the other avenues for us to retain players, it’s always something we’ll look at. If that’s the best situation for us, we’ll go ahead and use it if we need to.”
With just a week before the deadline to use it this year, Gutekunst was asked whether running back Aaron Jones could be a candidate.
“We certainly could. I think it’s something we’re working through,” Gutekunst told reporters. “I do think there are usually better ways to go about it. But certainly if I think as we get down the road here over the next week or so, if that becomes what is in the best interest of the Packers, I think we’ll do that. But at this point, we haven’t done that.”
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Jones reportedly turned down a contract from the Packers that would have made him among the top five highest-paid running backs in the NFL but the deal was lacking the kind of guaranteed money the former fifth-round pick was looking for.
Jones has been a huge part of Green Bay’s offensive success the last two years, putting up 3,017 total yards and 30 touchdowns. If the Packers don’t resign Jones or put the franchise tag on him, he’ll become a free agent March 17. If they do franchise him, he would cost about $8 million against the 2021 salary cap.
Jones' backup, Jamaal Williams, is also slated to become a free agent, leaving 2020 second-round pick AJ Dillon as the most experienced running back currently signed for 2021.
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Watt Watch Ends (0:00)
Brewers Spring Training Update (19:23)
MLB Win Totals (35:39)
Lots of Sporting Disrespect (50:57)
Three former Brewers will be added to the team's Wall of Honor
Milwaukee is adding three more former players to its Wall of Honor.
The Brewers announced Monday that outfielder Carlos Gomez, starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo and relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez would be added to the Wall during a ceremony at a later date.
The honor is bestowed up players, coaches and executives who meet a set of criteria based on their service to the club and their career production.
Gomez played six years of his career with Milwaukee, earning a Gold Glove in centerfield in 2013, while also being a two-time All-Star. In his time with the Brewers, Gomez had 87 home runs, 288 RBI and 152 stolen bases.
Gallardo was the ace of Milwaukee’s staff for several years after the Brewers selected him in the second round of the 2004 draft. An All-Star in 2010, he finished his eight-year career with 89 wins and a 3.69 ERA, and still holds the all-time team record for strikeouts with 1,226.
Rodriguez was with Milwaukee for five years and saved 95 games during his tenure. The two-time All-Star also posted a 2.91 ERA during that time.
In addition to being added to the Wall of Honor, Gomez will ceremonially retire as a member of the Brewers at some point this season.
Brewers get 7-1 win over Arizona at Spring Training
Milwaukee moved to 2-0 in Cactus League play Monday with a 7-1 win over Arizona.
Fans got their first look at Corbin Burnes since his stellar 2020 season came to an end in September due to an oblique strain and kept him from taking part in the playoffs. Burnes got the ball to start against the Diamondbacks and pitched a scoreless first inning, including a pair of strikeouts.
Wisconsin native Jordan Zimmermann saw his first action, giving up three hits and the Diamondbacks’ lone run of the game.
Catcher Manny Pina hit a 2-run homer in the first inning and finished 2-for-2 for the Brewers. Mark Mathias got the start at third base and went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Garrett Mitchell, Milwaukee’s 2020 first-round pick, made his Spring Training debut. He singled to centerfield in his lone at-bat.
https://twitter.com/Brewers/status/1366517693323481088
The Brewers will return to the diamond tomorrow with a game against Oakland. First pitch is at 2:10 p.m.
Packers finalize coaching staff with promotions, new hires
A number of Green Bay coaches are getting promotions.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur announced Monday that defensive backs coach Jerry Gray would also become the team’s passing game coordinator, while offensive line coach Adam Stenavich would add run game coordinator to his title.
In addition, Rayna Stewart moves into the assistant special teams coach role after spending the last two seasons as a quality control coach. Also, Connor Lewis has been promoted to special teams assistant/game management specialist following last season’s role as an offensive quality control coach.
Gray was among those interviewed for Green Bay’s vacant defensive coordinator job that eventually went to Joe Barry. In his one year as the Packers defensive backs coach, Gray oversaw a unit that finished seventh in the NFL in yards allowed per game (221.2) and featured a second-team All-Pro in Jaire Alexander.
Stenavich just finished his second year as the Packers offensive line coach and his unit was arguably the best in the NFL. Two of his players, left tackle David Bakhtiari and center Corey Linsley, were first-team All-Pro selections, while versatile pieces like Elgton Jenkins and Billy Turner helped Green Bay overcome a slew of injuries.
The Packers also announced the hires of John Dunn as a senior analyst, Justin Hood as a defensive quality control coach, Ryan Mahaffey as an offensive quality control coach and Tim Zetts as an offensive quality control coach.
Badgers drop to No. 25 in latest AP Top 25
Wisconsin is still in the Associated Press Top 25 but just barely.
The Badgers came in at No. 25 in the latest poll released Monday morning, down two spots from last week. It came after Wisconsin played just one game, a 74-69 loss to then-No. 5 Illinois.
UW is one of six Big Ten teams in the poll. Michigan jumped one spot to No. 2, while Illinois moved up a slot to No. 4. Iowa made the biggest jump among conference teams, going from No. 9 to No. 5. Ohio State lost a pair of games last week but fell just three spots to No. 7. Purdue is the other team in the poll at No. 23.
Wisconsin will close out the regular season this week with difficult road trips. The Badgers will first head to West Lafayette, a place where they have just one win since 2006, though no fans will certainly help their cause. Then Wisconsin will visit the Hawkeyes on Sunday. They beat the Badgers by 16 in the first meeting in Madison.
Gonzaga stayed at No. 1 as the lone remaining unbeaten team in the country. You can find the full poll here.
