For months now, Cubs fans have been wondering who No. 30 is and what he's done with right fielder and designated hitter Kyle Tucker.

Tucker, whose gaudy early-season numbers helped turn Chicago into one of the most exciting teams in baseball, slashed just .218/.380/.295 in July. He has been even worse in August, posting a .148/.233/.148 slashline in 15 games. His last extra-base hit came on July 30.

On Wednesday, Cubs fans received a reported explanation for Tucker's struggles. According to a report from ESPN's Jesse Rogers, Tucker has been playing through a hairline fracture in his right hand suffered June 1 against the Reds.

"Tucker, 28, wanted to keep playing for the then-first-place Cubs, choosing against an (injured-list) stint as he compiled a .982 OPS that month. But his numbers have tanked since the beginning of July, leading to him getting several days off this week for a reset," Rogers wrote.

Even with the reported injury, Tucker is 10th in the National League among position players with a bWAR of 4.1. If Chicago can get him remotely healthy by the end of the season, its prize offseason acquisition could turn into a dangerous October wild card.

MatériaMais Notícias

Atlético-MG e Cruzeiro se enfrentam pelo jogo de ida da final do Campeonato Mineiro, neste sábado (30), às 16h30h (de Brasília), na Arena MRV. O jogo terá transmissão da Globo, Sportv e Premiere.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasDicasAtlético-MG x Cruzeiro: odds, estatísticas e informações para apostar na final do MineiroDicas29/03/2024NotíciasApostando R$100, se o Cruzeiro for campeão mineiro, você recebe R$230; se o Atlético vencer, você leva R$155Notícias29/03/2024DicasCruzeiro x Internacional: estatísticas e informações para apostar no jogo do Brasileiro FemininoDicas22/03/2024

➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte

Confira abaixo todas as informações que você precisa saber sobre o confronto (onde assistir, horário, escalações e local).

✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
ATÉTICO-MG X CRUZEIRO
CAMPEONATO MINEIRO – IDA (FINAL)
Data e horário: sábado, 30 de março de 2024, às 16h30h (de Brasília);
Local: Arena MRV, em Belo Horizonte (MG);
Onde assistir: Globo, Sportv e Premiere;
Árbitro: Felipe Fernandes de Lima;
Assistentes: Felipe Alan Costa de Oliveira e Magno Arantes Lira;
VAR: Emerson de Almeida Ferreira.

⚽ PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES
ATLÉTICO-MG (Técnico: Gabriel Milito)
Everson, Bruno Fuchs, Lemos, Jemerson, Zaracho, Battaglia, Igor Gomes, Saravia, Arana, Paulinho e Hulk.

continua após a publicidade

CRUZEIRO (Técnico: Nicolás Larcamón)
Rafael Cabral, William, Zé Ivaldo, João Marcelo, Marlon, Lucas Romero, Lucas Silva, Matheus Pereira, Matheus Vital, Arthur Gomes e Dinenno.

Tudo sobre

Atlético-MGCampeonato MineiroCruzeiroFutebol Nacional

Every call is critical in the three-game series between the Guardians and Tigers that's helping decide the wild AL Central race. First base umpire Chris Guccione may have taken that a bit too seriously as he waited entirely too long to make his call on a close play at first Thursday night.

In the bottom of the fourth inning with a runner on second, Guardians second baseman Brayan Rocchio hit a dribbler to second base, which Gleyber Torres fielded with his bare hand and flipped to first. It was a bang-bang play, but Guccione took some time making his call, which caused C.J. Kayfus to dash for home. Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson was unsure what to do, but threw home after a moment of reflection to try and get Kayfus.

Home plate umpire Brennan Miller didn't make a call either, mainly because he wanted to know what was going on at first. Guccione eventually called Rocchio out, which ended the inning in an incredibly strange sequence.

On the replay, Rocchio was clearly out and Guccione made the right call. Better late than never, I guess.

The Guardians took the first two games of the series in Cleveland to claim the AL Central lead in miraculous fashion. They trailed the Tigers by 15 1/2 games on July 8 and 10 1/2 games at the start of September. Cleveland has won 17 of their past 19 games while Detroit has dropped eight in a row and 11 of their last 12. The Tigers were able to jump out to an early lead Thursday in what's continuing to be an incredible race in the division.

Although a strange play, at least the odd moment didn't cause any controversy.

تحدث ستيف نيكول، أسطورة ليفربول السابق، عن اللاعب الذي يستحق أن يكون خليفة محمد صلاح، نجم الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالريدز.

وتحوم الشكوك حول مستقبل محمد صلاح، مع ليفربول بعد الأزمات التي حدثت بينه وبين آرني سلوت بسب بجلوسه على دكة البدلاء لمدة 3 مباريات متتالية.

وشارك محمد صلاح في مباراة ليفربول الأخيرة أمام برايتون ضمن منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وظهر صلاح بديلًا في منتصف الشوط الأول للاعب جو جوميز بعدما تعرض للإصابة، وحينما نزل صلاح إلى أرض الملعب انهال الجمهور في تشجيع الملك المصري.

اقرأ أيضًا | إيان بول جوي: صفقة انتقال محمد صلاح إلى الدوري السعودي أهم من رونالدو

وقال ستيف نيكول، في تصريحات عبر قناة ESPN FC بخصوص احتمال رحيل صلاح: “الشيء الوحيد الآن هو أن يكون لديهم شخص جاهز لشهر يناير”.

وبسؤاله حول خليفته قال: “كنت سأختار سيمينيو من بورنموث لكن سيكون من الصعب إخراجه في يناير”.

وأكمل: “إذا لم يتمكنوا من فعل ذلك، فهل يمكنك حقًا تركه يرحل؟ الفرق على الجانب الأيمن عندما دخل إلى الملعب مقارنةً بما رأيناه، كنا ننظر إلى جو جوميز ولم يكن هناك أي شيء آخر، صفر”.

وأتم: “لذلك ما لم يستقدموا شخصًا مثل سيمينيو، فلا يمكنهم السماح لمحمد صلاح بالرحيل”.

ويملك أنطوان سيمينيو، نجم بورنموث شرطًا جزائيًا بقيمة 65 مليون جنيه إسترليني يمكن تفعيله هذا الميركاتو الشتوي.

Manchester United have an exciting production line of stars for the future, and now appear to be interested in adding to that by capturing a gem that shone at the Under-17 World Cup.

The Red Devils will have enjoyed taking some time over the international break to digest what has been a credible start to the Premier League campaign, even if Ruben Amorim came under pressure during the early stages at Old Trafford.

Sitting tenth with a game in hand, Manchester United could move as high as fourth position with three points against Everton on Monday night, albeit they could be without Matheus Cunha due to a surprise injury concern.

Ben Jacobs confirmed on X that the Brazilian had suffered a head knock during training, forcing him to miss Altrincham’s Christmas light switch-on as a result, sparking attention on social media.

Nevertheless, the nature of his injury looks only to be minor, so there may still be a chance that he features against the Toffees if deemed fit to do so by the Red Devils’ medical staff.

As ever, Manchester United will hope to avoid a mounting list of absentees over the festive period. However, that is bound to affect everyone, especially with a heavy fixture schedule.

The January window could prove pivotal at Old Trafford, and the Red Devils are now favourites to sign Ajax prodigy Jorthy Mokio ​​​​​​amid concerns over Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo.

Now, they also have eyes on a gem who performed at his best during the Under-17 World Cup, which has garnered attention from clubs around Europe.

Man Utd make approach to sign Mohamed Zongo

According to Africa Foot, Manchester United have made an approach to sign Tenakourou Academy star Mohamed Zongo, who they are now keen to hold discussions over signing on a permanent basis.

At only 15 years of age, the Burkina Faso youth international shone at the Under-17 World Cup with two goals and three assists to his name, leading to him being dubbed a “revelation” in some quarters.

Earning man of the match awards several times during the competition, his highlight came in a 1-0 victory over Germany where he was the only scorer in a famous victory for his country.

An attacking midfielder by trade and capable of featuring across the forward areas, Zongo is also on the radar of Manchester City, Villarreal and Anderlecht, illustrating how high his ceiling could potentially be with the correct development path.

Ultimately, he still has a tonne of growth left before coming into contention at first-team level overseas. However, Manchester United may be the best environment to earn his stripes.

Mainoo 2.0: Man Utd can axe Ugarte for one of England's "best young players"

Are bettors for some MLB playoff madness? 

The last week in MLB has seen a ton of changes to the playoff picture, starting with the San Diego Padres briefly taking the division lead in the NL West from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A Dodgers win on Sunday put the teams into a tie atop the standings, but San Diego has been making a serious push to win this race for quite some time.

In the American League, the Boston Red Sox shot themselves back into the top spot in the AL wild card race, taking three of four games from the New York Yankees. 

New York’s win on Sunday gave it a slight edge over the Seattle Mariners — who are just two games back in the AL West — for the No. 2 wild card spot.

Injuries have taken a toll on a contender as well, as the Philadelphia Phillies lost ace Zack Wheeler for the rest of the season due to thoracic outlet syndrome, which will require surgery. 

Philly has a massive lead now over the New York Mets in the NL East standings, but can it make a deep playoff run without Wheeler? 

Speaking of the Mets, they have just a 1.5-game cushion in the wild card over the pesky Cincinnati Reds? Once again, I’ll examine the chances of the Reds sneaking into a playoff spot based on the latest odds.

A new week means that we’re taking a look at the latest betting odds to make the playoffs at SI Betting, and there may be a couple teams with some value to either win the division or make the postseason via the wild card.

American League Playoff Odds

Division Leaders

• Toronto Blue Jays: N/A
• Detroit Tigers: N/A
• Houston Astros: -2000

The division leaders in the American League have remained the same, only now oddsmakers have taken both the Blue Jays and Tigers off the board – a sign that they are locks to make the postseason.

Houston still has a lot of work to do, as it only has a two-game lead on the Mariners in the AL West. 

Wild Card Race

• New York Yankees: -1400
• Seattle Mariners: -575
• Boston Red Sox: -575
• Kansas City Royals: +290:
• Texas Rangers: +550
• Cleveland Guardians: +1000
• Tampa Bay Rays: +2000
• Minnesota Twins: +4000
• Los Angeles Angels: +4000

Even after dropping three of four games to Boston, New York’s playoff odds increased from -1100 to -1400. Vegas appears to be very high on the Yankees, even though they’ve been awful against their own division, going 17-22 overall and 5-15 against division teams that are over .500.

Boston isn’t getting much love in this market, as it remains tied with the Mariners in the odds to make the playoffs despite moving back to the top wild card spot.

Kansas City, the only team that has a chance to really dethrone this top group, sits three games back of Seattle at the moment. At +290, the Royals certainly have a chance to get in, but they’re not nearly as close as the Reds in the NL – despite having better odds. 

National League Playoff Odds

Division Leaders

• Philadelphia Phillies: N/A
• Los Angeles Dodgers: -20000
• Milwaukee Brewers: N/A

Even with Wheeler’s injury, the Phillies have joined the Milwaukee Brewers as the only teams in the NL with their odds off the board to make the playoffs. Both squads have sizable leads in their division races heading into the home stretch of the regular season.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are in a dead heat with San Diego in the NL West, although both teams are -20000 to make the playoffs this season. 

Wild Card Race

• San Diego Padres: -20000
• Chicago Cubs: -20000
• New York Mets: -350
• Cincinnati Reds: +310
• San Francisco Giants: +2500
• St. Louis Cardinals: +2500
• Arizona Diamondbacks: +3000

San Diego and Chicago appear to have locked up wild card spots – at least – in the NL, but the final spot appears to be a two-team race between the Mets and Reds.

Despite remaining just 1.5 games out, the Reds’ odds to make the playoffs actually fell from +280 to +310, although the Mets fell from -370 to -350 in the process.

Cincy is certainly within striking distance, but it has the second-hardest remaining schedule in MLB.

Cubs second baseman Nico Hoener wasn't expecting to hit a low slider by Reds relief pitcher Yosver Zulueta in the eighth inning of Wednesday afternoon's game. He attempted a check swing, but ended up hitting the ball instead of avoiding contact.

Luckily for Hoerner, his swing had enough power behind it for him to hit a single to left field. As he eyed the ball to make sure it dropped, Hoerner got extremely excited when he realized his mistaken hit was turning into an RBI for him and a run for the Cubs. He was able to bring in his teammate Matt Shaw from second base to home.

Marquee Network caught the perfect shot of Hoerner's reaction once he realized his hit was a happy accident.

Hoerner's RBI single brought in the sixth and final run of the day for the Cubs. Chicago beat Cincinnati 6-1, pushing the Cubs to a 66-48 record to secure a stronger second-place hold in the NL Central behind the MLB-best Brewers.

The Phillies were able to keep their season alive with an 8–2 win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night and leading the way once again was the man who put the team on his back so often during the regular season—Kyle Schwarber.

The lefty slugger hit two home runs in the must-win game, including an absolute Schwarberbomb in the fourth inning that tied the game at 1–1 and gave the rest of his team new life.

Schwarber's solo shot almost left Dodger Stadium, landing just over the back row of seats in the right field bleachers.

Aftter the game Schwarber had the coolest comment about his titanic blast, saying, via :

“I didn’t even see where it landed. I was looking in the dugout trying to get the guys going. Get back in the dugout, everyone is high-fiving. And I knew I hit it good. I didn’t know where it went. Eventually, somebody tells me. You watch it on video to see where it goes."

Imagine hitting a baseball that far in a playoff game and not even caring about where it landed but instead thinking about your teammates and trying to lift them up? That's a true leader right there.

Here's that 455-foot moonshot:

Schwarber had some other great things to say about it:

“I was just more focused on our guys there," he said. "I don’t care. It could go in the first row, it could hit the freakin’—that board right there. I don’t care. But hits are great, homers are great, walks are great. Anything positive for our offense is going to be great. But, yeah, it was a cool moment.”

Schwarber and the Phillies will have their season on the line again Thursday night in Game 4. The Dodgers might want to think about not giving him anything to hit, or this series could very well end up going back in Philadelphia for a winner-take-all Game 5.

MLB's hot stove cooked up a stunner during the winter meetings on Tuesday, as three-time All-Star closer Edwin Díaz, who was being pursued by both the incumbent Mets and the defending champion Dodgers, chose to leave New York for Los Angeles on a three-year, $69 million contract. The deal set an average annual value record for a relief pitcher.

It was a major coup for the Dodgers, who, despite spending big on two relievers last offseason, never had a reliable closer emerge throughout the regular season.

But it was a big blow to the Mets, who seemingly did everything they could to bring back the talented reliever. New York's offer was reportedly $66 million over three years.

So why didn't Díaz return to Queens if the money was similar between the Mets' and Dodgers' offers?

Díaz miffed by Mets, Dodgers' recruitment aided by brother

Díaz was reportedly unhappy with the Mets' decision to part ways with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, according to Mike Puma of . While manager Carlos Mendoza's status was safe in the aftermath of New York's stunning collapse, Hefner was one of five coaches New York decided to let go in a coaching staff shakeup on Oct. 3. Evidently Díaz, who recorded the three lowest ERA marks and two highest strikeout rates of his career during the six seasons Hefner was with the club, was not pleased to see the coach heading out the door.

Plus, Los Angeles, already a desirable destination with the Dodgers coming off back-to-back World Series titles, had a secret weapon in its free agent recruitment of Díaz: Díaz's brother. Alexis Díaz, an All-Star in 2023, was acquired by Los Angeles in May of 2025 but he struggled to the tune of a 5.00 ERA in nine innings pitched for the Dodgers. Los Angeles in September of 2025 designated Díaz for assignment. But he still spoke glowingly of the Dodgers organization to his brother, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN and Puma.

Prior to Díaz's departure, the Mets signed free agent reliever Devin Williams to a three-year, $50 million contract. According to Passan, Díaz was unhappy that Mets brass did not give him a heads up about the signing of Williams. New York president of baseball operations David Stearns, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, couldn't acknowledge the Díaz deal but seemed to indicate that the Williams signing impacted the club's desire to bring back Díaz.

“I'm not going to talk about any specific negotiation," Stearns said. "What I'll say is once you add to a certain part of our team that will change the calculus in how you look at your team in general.”

Several noteworthy performances for South Africa as new-look ODI side finds a template for success

Firdose Moonda at Newlands04-Feb-2020This was exactly what South African cricket needed. Ordinarily, one isolated ODI win, even against the world champions, would not mean much. But after three successive Test series defeats and ahead of an important month of white-ball cricket with a new-look squad this victory will, even if only briefly, pause the panic that South African cricket is on the verge of collapse. It may even ignite the smallest spark of hope that in the distance a strong South Africa lurks again.That may sound like an overly dramatic summation of the first ODI both these teams have played in more than six months, since the 2019 World Cup, and by the end of the week, it may be proved exactly that. After all, we’ve seen this kind of false dawn before. Just five weeks ago, when South Africa won the first Test against England, it seemed the involvement of former greats and the overhaul in the CSA offices was bringing swift and sweeping rewards. It was not to be. And it may not be this time either.England are resting two match-winners (Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler) and have a second-choice seam attack at their disposal, so perhaps South Africa cannot read too much into their record chase at Newlands. What the hosts can take from this is the renewed energy, evident in the 74 singles and 11 twos new captain Quinton de Kock and recalled batsman Temba Bavuma put on in their 173-run partnership, as well as the 20 overs Tabraiz Shamsi and Jon-Jon Smuts shared between them, which cost 81 runs and brought four wickets.ALSO READ: All-formats star van der Dussen shines for SAIn those two passages of play, South Africa caught a glimpse of what could become the foundation of their new-look 50-over side and it offers them something on which to build.Let’s start with de Kock, who began his captaincy tenure in the best way possible, by batting his team to a win, despite what history warned about chasing at Newlands. Only nine out of the 33 teams batting second in day-night games have been victorious but de Kock is not one to work with the past. Even that small part of de Kock’s character is noteworthy because South Africa have a habit of dwelling on what has been and it is partly to blame for their many major tournament blowouts. The next one is eight months’ time, and though de Kock is not the designated T20 captain, a replication of his attitude would not go amiss and could easily rub off on the many players in this squad who are likely to make the trip to Australia.Bavuma is bound to be one of them. Even when he was dropped from the Test side, there were hints that he would be considered in shorter formats, where he had not really been given enough opportunity before. Bavuma’s reputation as a player on the go-slow (not helped by a Test strike rate under 50) belies his natural aggression, which was on full display in 98 from 103 balls, including everything from the cute paddle sweep over his left shoulder to the uppercut pull into the stands. He was particularly strong against the short ball and his stability at the crease and command of the situation are all good signs for his white-ball future.In the praise that will come for de Kock and Bavuma, it must be remembered that they would have had a more daunting task if not for the work of Smuts, and especially Shamsi, with the ball. Smuts was brought on at first change in the eighth over after England got off to a solid start. In his second over, he had Jason Roy caught at long-on and his first spell off 1 for 15 in four overs pulled England back.

Imran Tahir’s retirement after the World Cup has set the stage for Shamsi to step-up, and in the first opportunity he got, he took it

Seeing the success pace off the ball was having, de Kock brought Shamsi on from the other end. He had Eoin Morgan sharply caught by Bavuma at the end of his first over and England had slipped to 83 for 4. In nine overs, the momentum of England’s innings shifted and then Shamsi seized it for South Africa. In a spell of eight overs, he showed good skill with his flight, line and consistency, rather than his variations. He was rewarded with two more wickets and ended as the standout bowler of the South Africa pack, a fine accomplishment for someone who was, just last week, attracting fitness concerns.Shamsi, along with Smuts, Lungi Ngidi and Sisanda Magala, was pulled from active cricket duty and deployed to a strength-and-conditioning camp. Over the course of three weeks, the quartet were put through intense drills, given nutrition advice and expected to lose weight and improve their bleep-test results. All of them did, Magala not enough to be considered for selection yet, but the other three showed the results in this game.Ngidi was slightly expensive in his seven overs but adapted well with cutters and slower balls. Smuts, who is diabetic and has struggled with his fitness in the past, played a sterling supporting role, the kind Shamsi had to get used to in the past, when Imran Tahir was first-choice. Tahir’s retirement from ODIs after the World Cup has set the stage for Shamsi to step-up, and in the first opportunity he got, he took it.That’s what South Africa want to see from the players they open the door to in this transition phase. Not all of them will win matches all of the time, which is to be expected, but their attitude and their intent will be what they are judged on. There’s no better person to look at than de Kock for a yardstick. Before this match, he bullishly said that he wants to embrace the treble responsibility of opening the batting, keeping wicket and captaining because it could bring out the best in him. It’s early days, yet, but de Kock may just be right. And if he is, that will really be exactly what South African cricket needs.