MLB

Red-hot Votto homers for seventh consecutive game, HR start for Yankees recruit Rizzo

By Sports Desk July 31, 2021

Cincinnati Reds in-form slugger Joey Votto scored a home run for the seventh consecutive game as his side won 6-2 over the New York Mets in the MLB on Friday.

At the top of the sixth inning with the Reds up 2-1, Votto hammered Mets reliever Drew Smith deep over the fence at center field, which breaking his own franchise record.

The 37-year-old also now has nine home runs in seven games, with nine of his last 10 hits leaving the ballpark. He becomes the eighth player in MLB history to hit home runs in seven straight games.

Reds second baseman Jonathan India hit two home runs in the victory, but was overshadowed by Votto's remarkable run of form.

"I’ve never been in a place like this before. It’s exciting," Votto said. "It’s so much more fun doing it on a winning team and doing it in connection with wins."

The Reds have now won four games in a row and six of their past eight to improve their record to 55-49 and second in the National League Central.

 

Rizzo starts with a homer

Trade deadline acquisition Anthony Rizzo homered for the first time for new franchise, the New York Yankees, in a 3-1 win over the Miami Marlins.

Rizzo went two-for-three in his first appearance for the Yankees following his trade from the Chicago Cubs, scoring his 15th home run for the year.

Eduardo Escobar also marked his first game for the Milwaukee Brewers with a home run in their 9-5 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Santiago Espinal took a bare-handed catch to complete the Toronto Blue Jays' 6-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Espinal can backwards from Jarrod Dyson's flare and reached up to snatch the ball.

Blue Jays teammate Bo Bichette said: “That was insane. Everything, the situation, the fact he used his hand and the fact he even thought to use his hand. It was crazy, but we’ve come to expect things like that from Santiago."

The benches cleared after James Karinchak's 96 mph fastball hit Jose Abreu flush on the helmet, leaving the batter floored, in the Chicago White Sox's 6-4 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Emotions stayed in check and there were no ejections while Abreu was able to stay in the game, before White Sox short-stop Tim Anderson delivered the go-ahead hit in the eighth inning.

 

Tatis re-injures shoulder

Home-run machine Fernando Tatis Jr re-injured his left shoulder diving for third base in the San Diego Padres' 9-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Tatis, who has hit 31 home runs this season, had previously had three issues with his left shoulder this season. Ryan McMahon's grand slam was decisive for the Rockies.

 

Altuve stars for Astros

Jose Altuve starred for the Houston Astros in their 9-6 win at the San Francisco Giants, with two home runs, including a grand slam, to total up five RBI. Altuve has 25 home runs this season, along with 105 hits and 65 RBI.

 

Friday's results 

Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0 Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals 4-3 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 Kansas City Royals
Cincinnati Reds 6-2 New York Mets
New York Yankees 3-1 Miami Marlins
Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 Boston Red Sox
Baltimore Orioles 4-3 Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers 9-5 Atlanta Braves
Seattle Mariners 9-5 Texas Rangers
Chicago White Sox 6-4 Cleveland Indians
St Louis Cardinals 5-1 Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics 2-0 Los Angeles Angels
Arizona Diamondbacks x-x Los Angeles Dodgers
Houston Astros 9-6 San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies 9-4 San Diego Padres

 

Red Sox at Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays (62-42) will host the Boston Red Sox (63-42) will both sides jousting for top spot in the competitive American League East.

Related items

  • Juventus 2-0 Torino: Weah and Yildiz lift Bianconeri to third after Derby della Mole victory Juventus 2-0 Torino: Weah and Yildiz lift Bianconeri to third after Derby della Mole victory

    Juventus climbed to third place in Serie A following a 2-0 victory over rivals Torino at the Allianz Stadium.

    A goal in either half from Timothy Weah and Kenan Yildiz settled the Derby della Mole, and saw Thiago Motta's side extend their unbeaten start to the league season.

    The Bianconeri broke through in the 18th minute when Vanja Milinkovic-Savic spilt a shot straight to Weah, who made no mistake from close range.

    Weah thought he had doubled the lead in the 72nd minute, but the USA international was penalised for handball in the build-up to the opportunity.

    However, Juve did put the contest to bed six minutes from time, when Yildiz nodded in Francisco Conceicao's deep cross at the far post.

    Extending their unbeaten streak against Torino to 18 matches, Motta's side moved to within a point of Serie A leaders Napoli.

    Data Debrief: Bianconeri extend unbeaten start with yet another clean sheet

    Juventus have now registered nine clean sheets in Serie A this season, the most by any team in the big five European leagues.

    Weah got the ball rolling, as he became the second American after Weston McKennie in December 2020 to score for the Bianconeri against Torino in Serie A.

    Yildiz then sealed the victory. The 19-year-old became the third-youngest Juventus player to find the net in the Derby della Mole, after Felice Placido Borel (18 years and 243 days in 1932) and Bruno Nicole (18 years and 244 days in 1958).

    Meanwhile, Torino have now suffered three successive defeats without scoring in Serie A for the first time since 2014.

  • Crystal Palace 0-2 Fulham: Smith Rowe and Wilson send Silva's side up to sixth Crystal Palace 0-2 Fulham: Smith Rowe and Wilson send Silva's side up to sixth

    Emile Smith Rowe and Harry Wilson were on target in either half as Fulham triumphed 2-0 over 10-man Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

    Smith Rowe broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time, taking Raul Jimenez's pass into his stride before finishing past Dean Henderson.

    Fulham forward Smith Rowe had another goal ruled out in the second half for offside, before Daichi Kamada's 76th-minute red card for a poor challenge on Kenny Tete made matters worse for the hosts.

    Wilson, the two-goal hero against Brentford on Monday, made sure of all three points with seven minutes remaining, latching onto Alex Iwobi's superb throughball and slotting home.

    The Wales international saw another late strike overturned for handball, but another London derby victory moved Marco Silva's side up to sixth place and saw them join a cluster of sides on 18 points.

    Meanwhile, Palace's sixth league defeat of the season leaves them 17th and just a point clear of the relegation zone heading into the international break.

    Data Debrief: Cottagers extend streak as super sub Wilson strikes again

    Fulham have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last four away league games against Palace, not going longer without conceding against a single opponent on the road.

    Now unbeaten in seven Premier League London derbies, the Cottagers are now on their joint-longest run without defeat in such matches.

    Wilson sealed the victory with his third goal as a substitute in the space of a week. Only Collins John (four) has netted more times as a substitute for Fulham in a single season than the Wales international.

    A difficult day for Palace was worsened by Kamada's dismissal. Three of the Eagles' last six Premier League red cards have come against the Cottagers, against no other side have they seen more.

  • The Numbers Game: Can Chelsea dent title hopes of misfiring Gunners? The Numbers Game: Can Chelsea dent title hopes of misfiring Gunners?

    Ten matches into the Premier League season, Arsenal's hopes of ending their long wait for a league title are already in danger.

    Last week's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United made it just seven points from five games, and they now trail leaders Liverpool by seven points.

    Injuries and suspensions have taken their toll on Arteta's men, and things do not get much easier for them on Sunday, against a Chelsea team currently above them on goal difference.

    Enzo Maresca's Blues fought back to draw 1-1 with Manchester United last time out, and only Manchester City and Liverpool have beaten them since the Italian took over.

    We delve into the Opta data to preview Sunday's headline fixture at Stamford Bridge.

    What's expected?

    Given the two sides are only separated on goal difference ahead of Sunday's match, the Opta supercomputer finds it difficult to split. 

    Across 10,000 pre-match simulations conducted by the supercomputer, Arsenal were victorious in 41.2%, giving them a slight edge over their hosts, who are a 33.2% shot.

    The likelihood of a draw is rated at 25.6%, but you sense Arsenal need to take all three points after seeing their hopes of winning the title drop to 4.4% in Opta's season predictions. Chelsea's own hopes are rated at 0.3%, with City (61.9%) still clear favourites ahead of Liverpool (33.4%).

     

    Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League games against Arsenal (two draws, six defeats), a 2-0 away win in August 2021. The Gunners have managed three victories in their last four league trips to Stamford Bridge (one draw) – as many victories as they recorded in their previous 20 visits (seven draws, 10 defeats).

    Arsenal have also won their last six Premier League London derby matches by an aggregate score of 22-3, winning six of those matches by five or more goals.

    One such occasion was a 5-0 rout of Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium last April, their biggest-ever margin of victory against the Blues in all competitions.

    Blues eye statement victory

    When the Premier League fixture list was drawn up, even the most optimistic Chelsea fan may have struggled to visualise the Blues sitting ahead of Arsenal in the table after 10 games.

    But Maresca's side have shown promising signs in the early stages of his tenure. Chelsea's last two Premier League defeats this season have come against last season's top three teams – 0-5 versus Arsenal in April, 0-2 versus City in August and 1-2 against Liverpool in October.

    They are unbeaten in their last 21 matches against all other teams, winning 14 and drawing seven while scoring 57 goals in total across those games.

    The future looks bright for Chelsea, who fielded a starting lineup with an average age of 23 years and 96 days at Old Trafford last week – their youngest-ever XI for a Premier League match against Manchester United.

    However, they are still waiting on a first statement win under Maresca, and getting one over on the Gunners would earn him plenty of goodwill among the fans.

    Their chances could be decided by the fitness of Cole Palmer, who is an injury doubt after suffering a knock against United.

     

    He opened the scoring when the Blues last welcomed Arsenal to west London for a 2-2 draw last October, scoring his first Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge.

    Since then, he has more home goals in the competition than any other player (21), also leading the way for goal involvements (12 – seven goals, five assists, alongside Mohamed Salah) and open-play chances created in 2024-25.

    Can fit-again Odegaard get Gunners firing?

    Last season, Arsenal won 42 of their 89 Premier League points on their travels, taking nine points from five matches at the homes of their Big Six rivals. 

    This campaign, however, their failure to hit top form on the road has threatened to end their latest title tilt before it truly got going. 

    Arsenal have collected seven points from five away matches this term, the same amount as Brighton and fewer than Liverpool (13), Nottingham Forest (11), Chelsea, City and Aston Villa (all 10).

    While Arteta has long preached the importance of control, Arsenal have simply not been good enough going forward in those matches. They have attempted just 37 shots on the road in the Premier League this season (7.4 per game), with only Brentford (seven) averaging fewer per away match across the entire division.

     

    The fact Arsenal played significant amounts of time at Manchester City and Bournemouth with a numerical disadvantage likely plays a part, but the fact five teams have attempted at least twice as many shots on the road does not make for good reading (Manchester City 90, Tottenham 83, Crystal Palace 79, Bournemouth 78 and Manchester United 74).

    Martin Odegaard's return to training after two months out with an ankle injury is a major boost, with the Norwegian having led all players in the Premier League for expected assists (11.17 xA) and chances created from open play (88) last season.

    Arsenal have actually outperformed their underlying attacking metrics this campaign, netting 17 league goals from 15.75 expected goals (xG), so their finishing does not appear to be an issue. The fact they rank eighth in the league for xG does, however, suggest chance creation is a problem.

    Arteta will hope Odegaard's return can make the difference, or a title challenge may prove a bridge too far. The last time they lost three successive away Premier League games was in December 2021, and they went on to miss out on a top-four finish that season.

    The Norwegian was a late substitute as they were beaten 1-0 by Inter in the Champions League on Wednesday. They have now lost three of their last six games in all competitions, as many as their previous 32 beforehand.

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson 

    Since the start of last season, Chelsea striker Jackson has been involved in more London derby goals than any other player in the Premier League (10 goals, two assists).

    All of his 12 involvements have come in his last nine such appearances, and he already has six Premier League goals this term.

     

    Arsenal – Bukayo Saka 

    Saka has provided more assists than any other player in the Premier League this season (seven). 

    He has also either scored (once) or assisted (twice) a goal in each of his last three away games against Chelsea in the Premier League, with Sergio Aguero (2013 to 2017) and Javier Hernandez (2012 to 2018) the only visiting players to do so in four consecutive appearances.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.