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Padres begin 2-game series with the Giants

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

San Francisco Giants (11-14, fourth in the NL West) vs. San Diego Padres (13-14, third in the NL West)Mexico City; Saturday, 6:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: Sean Manaea (0-1, 6.61 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 18 strikeouts); Padres: Joe Musgrove (1-0, 5.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, six strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Padres -181, Giants +154; over/under is 15 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres host the San Francisco Giants on Saturday to open a two-game series.San Diego has a 5-8 record at home and a 13-14 record overall. The Padres have a 9-2 record in games when they scored five or more runs.San Francisco has an 11-14 record overall and a 4-7 record in road games. The Giants have the 10th-ranked team on-base percentage in the NL at .319.The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season between the two teams.TOP PERFORMERS: Xander Bogaerts leads the Padres with a .316 batting average, and has four doubles, five home runs, 14 walks and 12 RBI. Jake Cronenworth is 7-for-36 with five...

Dodgers face the Cardinals with 1-0 series lead

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

St. Louis Cardinals (10-16, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (13-13, second in the NL West)Los Angeles; Saturday, 9:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Jordan Montgomery (2-3, 3.81 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 25 strikeouts); Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (4-1, 2.32 ERA, .87 WHIP, 32 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Dodgers -149, Cardinals +127; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Dodgers lead 1-0 in a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.Los Angeles is 13-13 overall and 7-6 in home games. The Dodgers have gone 6-3 in games when they did not give up a home run.St. Louis is 5-9 in road games and 10-16 overall. The Cardinals have an 8-2 record in games when they scored five or more runs.Saturday’s game is the second time these teams meet this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Max Muncy has 11 home runs, 20 walks and 21 RBI while hitting .254 for the Dodgers. James Outman is 13-for-41 with four doubles, four home runs and nine RBI over the past 10 games....

Rockies host Arizona Diamondbacks, look to break home losing streak

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

Arizona Diamondbacks (15-12, first in the NL West) vs. Colorado Rockies (8-19, fifth in the NL West)Denver; Saturday, 8:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Tommy Henry (0-0, 6.23 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, one strikeout); Rockies: Noah Davis (0-0, .93 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 10 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Diamondbacks -113, Rockies -106; over/under is 12 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Rockies host the Arizona Diamondbacks looking to stop their six-game home slide.Colorado is 8-19 overall and 3-8 at home. The Rockies have a 0-18 record in games when they have allowed at least one home run.Arizona has a 7-6 record in road games and a 15-12 record overall. The Diamondbacks have the fifth-best team batting average in MLB play at .262.The matchup Saturday is the second time these teams meet this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Kris Bryant has three home runs, nine walks and eight RBI while hitting .309 for the Rockies. Ryan McMahon is 11-for-38 with three doubles, a home run and four RBI ove...

Le Maire doubles down on reform plans after Fitch cuts France’s credit rating

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire vowed that the government will push ahead with structural reforms after Fitch Ratings pointed to social unrest over the planned pension reforms in lowering its assessment of France’s credit rating.“I believe that the facts invalidate the assessment by the Fitch agency,” Le Maire told AFP on Saturday.Citing the government’s reform plans for pension and unemployment benefits, Le Maire added that “we are in a position to pass structural reforms for the country … And we will continue to pass structural reforms for the country.”Le Maire said the government of French President Emmanuel Macron is planning a “whole series of reforms” that will speed up “the transformation of France’s economic model.” A green industry plan, which the government will present “in a few days,” will allow France to “open new industrial sites and create new jobs,” he said.Fitch on...

Ukraine will need another €18B in 2024, Kyiv says

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

STOCKHOLM — Ukraine’s budget needs for next year will remain as high as for this year, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said on Saturday before joining a meeting of EU finance ministers where support for Ukraine will be discussed.The European Union is providing Kyiv with €18 billion in loans this year to help fill a budget hole estimated at around $3 billion to $4 billion per month. Grants from the U.S. and loans from the International Monetary Fund, as well as minor bilateral contributions, make up for the rest.“Concerning possible financing needs for 2024, this also will be huge,” Marchenko said, adding: “I think that it will not be an easy task for us to decrease drastically our expenses. Of course it depends on the military campaign, but I think it could be no less than the €18 billion as we [had] for this year.”Asked whether the EU was ready to repeat that level of support for next year, EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said that ...

Battenfeld: House Judiciary Chair says GOP 2024 playbook leads with Trump, immigration reform

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

The GOP playbook for 2024 includes immigration reform, school culture wars and Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, a leading Republican congressman tells the Herald.House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) says he expects Trump to lead the party back to the White House with issues like restricting asylum seekers, finishing the wall with Mexico and “common sense” school reform.Jordan, who has been one of the most outspoken GOP leaders in Congress, said in an interview with the Herald that he expects Trump to win the nomination over his Republican rivals despite an all-out effort by Democrats to investigate and prosecute him.“That’s who I want to win. I think he’s going to be the nominee and I think that’s good,” said Jordan, who will be making a political trip to Massachusetts in a few weeks.“I think (Trump) is in a very strong position,” Jordan added, despite challenges from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and several others, and an indictment from the Manhattan DA’s office. ...

Feds raise environmental concerns about proposed gun range on Cape Cod, but National Guard says it lacks other options

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

Despite new concerns raised by the feds around a proposed machine gun training range at Joint Base Cape Cod, the National Guard says the location remains best suited for the facility.The Environmental Protection Agency has just issued a draft determination that the 138-acre gun range, featuring eight firing lanes with automated targets, could harm the Cape’s drinking water and create a public health hazard for more than 220,000 year-round residents.There are no reasonably available alternative drinking water sources for residents should the Cape Cod aquifer become contaminated, the EPA said.The Massachusetts National Guard wants to set up a machine gun training range at JBCC’s Camp Edwards because there’s nowhere in the state that allows guardsmen to meet Army training requirements.Guardsmen currently have to travel to northern Vermont or Fort Drum, N.Y. for training.Ammunition used on the range would be limited to copper, and no lead bullets would be fired, according to a web...

Ravens draft pick Zay Flowers always felt like an ‘underdog.’ His journey from South Florida shows why.

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

The NFL draft and Lamar Jackson’s long-term extension with the Ravens were still a few months away when general manager Eric DeCosta visited Jackson in South Florida in January. One of the topics of discussion was the upcoming class of wide receivers — a major position of need and perhaps an overture to the star quarterback about providing him with another playmaker.“If you’re from South Florida, he’s going to know who you are,” DeCosta said of Jackson on Friday. “He gave me a full breakdown of every receiver in the draft from South Florida.”Jackson had strong opinions on all of them, including Zay Flowers, who grew up in Fort Lauderdale, one town over from where Jackson starred in Pompano Beach in high school. “He was very, very excited that we got him last night,” DeCosta said of the Ravens’ selection of Flowers with the 22nd overall pick on Thursday night. Indeed, Flowers was a star long before becoming the first B...

Nevada governor’s support for ambitious bills is uncertain

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — At the end of a hearing for a bill that would further expand coverage for gender-affirming medical care, transgender rights advocate Brooke Maylath shifted her focus from the majority-Democratic senators before her to the Republican governor who likely will decide the bill’s fate.“This bipartisan support has been described as ‘The Nevada Way,’” Maylath said, repeating Gov. Joe Lombardo’s mantra coined during his January inaugural address. In the speech, Lombardo vowed broadly to push conservative tenets like school choice and bolster criminal penalties while working with the Democratic-controlled Legislature.Five months later, little more is known about how Lombardo will respond to several ambitious policy proposals advancing in the Legislature. He has declined to comment publicly on most bills, setting the stage for last-minute deals and conflicts as the final month of the session nears.The stakes are high in one of the few Legislatures meeting every other ...

Ukraine welcomes EU deal on continued farm exports

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:15:08 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukraine on Saturday welcomed the European Union’s hard-fought deal to keep farm exports flowing into and through the bloc to world markets, saying that the Middle East and Africa would specifically stand to benefit from it. Late Friday, the 27-nation EU ended a damaging internal standoff over a destabilizing glut of Ukraine farm imports by granting five eastern member countries the right to temporarily ban the most problematic produce while allowing all farm products to transit onward.Resolving the issue allows the EU to maintain a unified stance in the face of Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. “We welcome that we resolved this issue,” Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Stockholm.Under the deal, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania can keep four farm products that make up the overwhelming mass of exports from Ukraine out of their local markets but must guarantee unfettered access to the rest of the blo...