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Reds host the Cubs in first of 3-game series

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

Chicago Cubs (1-2) vs. Cincinnati Reds (2-1)Cincinnati; Monday, 6:40 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Drew Smyly (0-0); Reds: Connor Overton (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cubs -124, Reds +105; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds host the Chicago Cubs on Monday to open a three-game series.Cincinnati had a 62-100 record overall and a 33-48 record at home last season. The Reds averaged 7.8 hits per game last season while batting a collective .235 and slugging .372.Chicago had a 74-88 record overall and a 37-44 record on the road last season. The Cubs pitching staff had a collective 4.01 ERA while averaging 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings in the 2022 season.INJURIES: Reds: Joey Votto: 10-Day IL (bicep/shoulder), Nick Senzel: 10-Day IL (toe), Tony Santillan: 15-Day IL (back), Justin Dunn: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tejay Antone: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lucas Sims: 15-Day IL (back), Luke Weaver: 15-Day IL (forearm), Vladimir Gutierrez: 60-Day IL (elbow)Cubs: Brandon Hughes...

Braves visit the Cardinals to begin 3-game series

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

Atlanta Braves (2-1) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (2-1)St. Louis; Monday, 7:45 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Charlie Morton (0-0); Cardinals: Jake Woodford (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Braves -132, Cardinals +111; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Atlanta Braves to begin a three-game series.St. Louis had a 93-69 record overall and a 53-28 record at home last season. The Cardinals averaged 8.5 hits per game in the 2022 season with 3.1 extra base hits per game.Atlanta had a 101-61 record overall and a 46-35 record in road games last season. The Braves scored 4.9 runs per game while giving up 3.8 in the 2022 season.INJURIES: Cardinals: Giovanny Gallegos: day-to-day (back), Lars Nootbaar: day-to-day (thumb), Paul DeJong: 10-Day IL (back), Wilking Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Adam Wainwright: 15-Day IL (groin)Braves: Max Fried: day-to-day (hamstring), Huascar Ynoa: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kolby Allard: 60-Day IL (oblique), Tyler Matzek: 60-Day IL (elb...

Diamondbacks visit the Padres to start 2-game series

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

Arizona Diamondbacks (2-2) vs. San Diego Padres (2-2)San Diego; Monday, 9:40 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Ryne Nelson (0-0); Padres: Ryan Weathers (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Padres -140, Diamondbacks +119; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres start a two-game series at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.San Diego went 89-73 overall and 44-37 in home games last season. The Padres scored 4.4 runs per game while allowing 4.1 last season.Arizona went 74-88 overall and 34-47 on the road a season ago. The Diamondbacks averaged 7.6 hits per game last season while batting a collective .230 and slugging .385.INJURIES: Padres: Joe Musgrove: 15-Day IL (toe), Robert Suarez: 15-Day IL (elbow), Adam Engel: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Adrian Morejon: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jose Castillo: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Drew Pomeranz: 15-Day IL (elbow/flexor), Eguy Rosario: 60-Day IL (ankle)Diamondbacks: Corbin Martin: 60-Day IL (lat), Carson Kelly: 10-Day IL (for...

Mets visit the Brewers to start 3-game series

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

New York Mets (3-1) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (2-1)Milwaukee; Monday, 2:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Carlos Carrasco (0-0); Brewers: Freddy Peralta (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Brewers -123, Mets +104; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Milwaukee Brewers begin a three-game series at home against the New York Mets on Monday.Milwaukee had an 86-76 record overall and a 46-35 record at home last season. The Brewers averaged 7.8 hits per game last season while batting a collective .234.New York went 101-61 overall and 47-34 in road games last season. The Mets slugged .412 as a team in the 2022 season while hitting 1.1 home runs per game.INJURIES: Brewers: Justin Wilson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Urias: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Aaron Ashby: 15-Day IL (labrum), Adrian Houser: 15-Day IL (groin), Tyrone Taylor: 10-Day IL (elbow), Jason Alexander: 60-Day IL (shoulder)Mets: Justin Verlander: 15-Day IL (teres major), Stephen Ridings: 15-Day IL (lat), Edwin Diaz: 60-Day IL (knee), Elieser...

Rockies visit the Dodgers to open 2-game series

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

Colorado Rockies (2-2) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (2-2)Los Angeles; Monday, 10:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Rockies: Ryan Feltner (0-0); Dodgers: Michael Grove (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Dodgers -249, Rockies +202; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Colorado Rockies on Monday to begin a two-game series.Los Angeles went 111-51 overall and 57-24 at home last season. The Dodgers pitching staff put up a 2.81 ERA collectively last season while averaging 9.1 strikeouts and 2.5 walks per nine innings.Colorado went 68-94 overall and 27-54 in road games a season ago. The Rockies slugged .397 with a .315 on-base percentage as a team in the 2022 season.INJURIES: Dodgers: Alex Reyes: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Pepiot: 15-Day IL (oblique), Jimmy Nelson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Daniel Hudson: 15-Day IL (knee), Gavin Lux: 60-Day IL (knee), Tony Gonsolin: 15-Day IL (ankle), Walker Buehler: 60-Day IL (elbow), Blake Treinen: 60-Day IL (shoulder), J.P. Feyereisen: 60-Da...

In Montenegro election, youthful ex-minister Milatović beats longtime leader

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

Former Economy Minister Jakov Milatović is set to become the next president of Montenegro.Milatović, who campaigned on a pro-EU and anti-corruption platform, won around 60 percent of the vote in Sunday’s presidential runoff according to local pollsters.Milatović, who used to be part of the current coalition government, successfully defeated the Balkan republic’s long-standing incumbent, Milo Đukanović, who has held various positions of power for the past three decades. Đukanović has conceded defeat.Milatović was jubilant. “Tonight is the night we have been waiting for over 30 years. I wish you a happy victory,” Milatović told supporters of his center-right Europe Now movement on Sunday evening, according to Reuters. “Within the next five years, we will lead Montenegro into the European Union,” he added.Although the presidential role is mostly a ceremonial position in Montenegro, where most of the political power rests with the prime minister,...

‘Nobody is above the law:’ Kosovo ex-president’s trial opens

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Kosovo’s former president pleaded not guilty Monday to charges including murder, torture and persecution as he went on trial with three other former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, while a prosecutor insisted that “nobody is above the law.”Hashim Thaci resigned from office in 2020 to defend himself against the charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during his country’s 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia.“I am fully not guilty,” Thaci told judges at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers as the trial opened. The other three defendants also repeated not guilty pleas made at earlier pretrial hearings.The case has stirred an outpouring of support from across the political spectrum in Kosovo. On Sunday, thousands of people took to the streets to show their support for the defendants. Many Kosovars consider the Netherlands-based court an injustice and view it as an attempt to rewrite the history of their struggle for inde...

Ex-DeSantis staffer Parkinson runs for Kaine’s Virginia seat

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Scott Parkinson, a former congressional staffer and advisor to Ron DeSantis and other Republican officials, is set to announce plans Monday to seek the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia next year. Parkinson, who works for the conservative economic policy group Club for Growth, told The Associated Press ahead of a formal announcement that frustration over pandemic-related school and business closures “changed his worldview” and pushed him to seek public office for the first time. Kaine, a fixture in Virginia politics known for his down-to-earth approach, is vulnerable because of his votes for key pieces of President Joe Biden’s agenda that have contributed to inflation now crushing the middle class, Parkinson said. “I think that there’s this perception that he’s a nice guy,” Parkinson said. “He plays the banjo and the harmonica, and they don’t peel back the layers of the onion to see exactly how we got to where we ...

Suspect in Russian military blogger’s killing arrested

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

Russian police on Monday arrested a woman suspected of delivering a bomb that killed a well-known military blogger who fervently supported Moscow’s war in Ukraine.Russian officials said Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, was killed Sunday as he was leading a discussion at a cafe on the banks of the Neva River in the historic heart of St. Petersburg. Over 30 people were wounded by the blast, and 10 of them remain in grave condition, according to the authorities.Russian news reports said the bomb was hidden in a bust of the blogger that the suspect had given to him as a gift just before the explosion.Russia’s Investigative Committee, the top state criminal investigation agency said that Darya Tryopova was arrested on suspicion of involvement in Tatarsky’s killing. Tryopova, a 26-year-old St. Petersburg resident who had been previously detained for taking part in anti-war rallies. The Interfax news agency initially reported her arrest late Sunday, but later said that she was on th...

India’s opposition leader Gandhi to appeal defamation charge

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:50:10 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to appear in court Monday to appeal a criminal conviction for mocking the Prime Minister’s surname that saw Gandhi expelled from Parliament, dealing a huge blow to his Congress Party ahead of general elections next year. Gandhi, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his main challenger in the 2024 polls, was ousted after a court sentenced him to two years in prison for defamation for mocking the surname Modi in a 2019 election speech. The case against Gandhi, the great-grandson of India’s first prime minister and scion of the dynastic Congress party, were widely condemned by opponents of Modi as the latest assaults against democracy and free speech by a ruling government seeking to crush dissent. The speed of his removal from Parliament shocked political circles in India, with many criticizing the action as an assault against free speech. Gandhi is flying from the capital, New Delhi, to Sura...