1st Down: Nate Eovaldi had far from the dream showing on Tuesday as the Boston Red Sox were bludgeoned 13-4 by the Houston Astros. Having thrown a quick and painless first, Eovaldi was greeted by five separate home runs in the second frame, forcing him to vacate the mound and making him just the fifth pitcher in MLB history to have given up so many dingers in one single inning.
2nd Down: Don’t look now, but the Chicago Cubs are making a run. Sitting at 15-20, they might not get a lot of publicity, but they have won four in a row after Tuesday night’s 7-0 shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Christopher Morel hit a homer in his very first at-bat and they extended their season-high run of wins in the process. They are still seven back of Milwaukee, but there is a long way to go in the NL Central Race.
3rd Down: The XFL’s third attempt will begin in February 2023, and this time it will be broadcast by ESPN and its family of networks. All 40 regular-season games as well as three playoff contests will be on ESPN, ABC, and FX, it was announced on Tuesday. Eight teams are slated to play in season one.
4th Down: Liverpool kept their hopes of winning the Premier League title alive on Tuesday night as they won 1-2 on the road at Southampton in come-from-behind fashion. Having made nine changes from Saturday’s FA Cup Final win and gone a goal down early, the Reds looked down and out but got goals from Takumi Minamino (27th) and Joel Matip (67th) to overturn it. They will now need to win on Sunday against Wolves while hoping that Manchester City either draws or lose against Aston Villa.
