MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired minor league left-handed pitcher Leo Crawford to complete the trade that sent former All-Star reliever Corey Knebel to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
When the trade was announced Dec. 2, the Dodgers received Knebel for a player to be named or cash. The player heading to Milwaukee was identified as Crawford on Friday.
Crawford, who turns 24 on Feb. 2, went 7-4 with a 2.81 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings while splitting the 2019 season between the Dodgers’ Single-A affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A team in Tulsa. He made 21 starts that year.
Milwaukee president of baseball operations David Stearns said Crawford has some similarities to current Brewers left-hander Brent Suter in that both rely on deception to overcome a relative lack of velocity.
“He’s left-handed, he throws in the high 80s, so you’re going to get some of that,” Stearns said. “He relies on deception and changing his offerings. There is some of that. I think they probably get to their deception a little bit differently. Obviously Brent works incredibly fast and has used that to his advantage over the years. Leo, when you watch him kind of with his actual pitching mechanics, with his pitching motion, he’ll vary timing in order to disrupt the hitters a little bit. But they are two left-handed pitchers who’ve had success despite not having overpowering fastballs.”
There was no minor league season in 2020. Stearns said he believes Crawford spent most of the 2020 season in Nicaragua and currently is pitching in winter ball there. Crawford was born in Nicaragua.
Knebel, 29, made the NL All-Star team in 2017 and was a key part of Milwaukee’s bullpen before missing the entire 2019 season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. The right-hander posted a 6.08 ERA in 15 games last season.
Purdue pulls away in second half for 80-72 win over Penn State
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Sasha Stefanovic led a balanced attack with 15 points, Trevion Willilams had a double-double and Purdue held off rusty Penn State 80-72 on Sunday.
It was Purdue’s first home game since Christmas Day and the first game for Penn State since Dec. 30 after four conference games were postponed due to cornavirus concerns across the league.
Eric Hunter Jr. scored 14 points for the Boilermakers (10-5, 5-3 Big Ten Conference), Williams had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Brandon Newman also had 13 points and Mason Gilles added 12.
Myreon Jones scored a career-high 23 points for the Nittany Lions (3-5, 0-4), who have lost four straight while starting a run of four games in seven days. John Harrar added a career-high 14 points with 14 rebounds and Izaiah Brockington scored 12.
Gillis hit a 3-pointer just before halftime to give Purdue a 33-32 lead and opened the second half with another 3 to start a 10-0 run and the cold-shooting Nittany Lions could never quite recover.
Penn State shot 28% (13 of 47) in the second half but more than half (7 of 26) were from 3-point range. It helped that of the Nittany Lions’ 49 rebounds, 23 were on the offensive end for 29 second-chance points.
Purdue, after starting the second half going 10 of 15 to hold a 64-48 lead with 8:43 to play were 2 of 8 the rest of the way. But as Penn State inched closer, finally getting within four on a Jones 3-pointer with 17 seconds to go, Purdue was scoring its last 12 points from the foul line on 16 attempts. Jones had four 3s in the last 2:37.
The Boilermakers play at Ohio State on Tuesday and the Nittany Lions are at Illinois on Tuesday and home against Rutgers on Thursday and Northwestern on Saturday.
FIFA Club World Cup 2020 – News – Lee: My European experience would be a weapon against Bayern
Lee Chungyong one of Ulsan Hyundai’s most experienced players
The winger starred in Europe and played at two FIFA World Cups
Lee: “We can compete with Bayern”
Few South Koreans have enjoyed as long a stay in Europe as Lee Chungyong. The 32-year-old spent 11 years between Bolton Wanders, Crystal Palace and Bochum before joining Ulsan Hyundai last year.
Lee helped the Tigers win the AFC Champions League in December and consequently book a trip to the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020™, which will begin next month. And he believes his experience on the Old Continent will be an asset if Ulsan can secure a dream match-up against the mighty Bayern Munich.
“My experiences in Europe are perhaps the biggest weapon,” the winger told FIFA.com. “They are one of the best clubs in the world. We may not be on the same level as them, but I played in Europe for years and I am pretty sure we can compete against them if we make the best of our strengths.”
Lee has reason to be confident. Upon the resumption of the AFC Champions League in September, Ulsan won seven straight matches to reach the semi-finals. There, they battled from behind to see off Andres Iniesta and Vissel Kobe, before another fightback victory, this time over Persepolis, in the final. The winner came from a penalty earned when Lee’s cross was handled.
“I’m proud of my team for this achievement,” said Lee. “Our journey proved tough and the campaign was hard-fought throughout. But our players maintained a relaxed mindset during the competition, and this was the reason why we enjoyed this campaign and won it.
“Every team participating in the AFC Champions League is of a high standard. But Vissel Kobe and Persepolis proved harder to play against. Against both of them we conceded the first goal and had to fight back.
“But we trusted each other and believed that we could reverse the match, and we made it. The bond between us team-mates is solid.”
Ulsan will travel to Doha under a new coach – none other than Korea Republic legend Hong Myungbo. Lee, having helped his side finish K League runners-up and become Asian champions, wants to continue being an example to his team-mates.
“Perhaps my place in the team is not fixed yet, but I want to share my experience with our youngsters,” he said. “I want to be a role model both on and off the pitch. Maybe this is what the coach is expecting me to be.”
Lee is no stranger on global scene, having figured prominently for Korea Republic at two FIFA World Cups™: South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014. The Seoul native is now excited to play in his first Club World Cup.
“Of course I’m looking forward to playing in the Club World Cup,” he said. “It’s been quite a while [since my last FIFA tournament]. All the clubs in the competition are world-class and I can’t wait to play against them.”
Lee got his country’s goal in a 4-1 loss to Lionel Messi and Argentina at South Africa 2010, and his second of the tournament against Uruguay in the Round of 16. Is he dreaming about finding the target at Qatar 2020?
“It would be truly wonderful if I can score goals,” he said. “But for me, the team always comes first. I have to do whatever I can to help my team win.”
HIGHLIGHTS | 🇮🇷 Persepolis FC 1-2 Ulsan Hyundai 🇰🇷
Updates, analysis and colour from the third day of the fourth Test
Welcome to our live report of the third day of the Australia-India Test from Brisbane. Join us for updates, analysis and colour. You can find our traditional ball-by-ball commentary here
5.34pm: Stumps
David Warner’s counterpunch at the end remining us that Australia have still finished the day with a handy lead and two days to go. But the rain forecast for the last two days is sure to play on their minds as they seek a 2-1 scoreline for the series, the only one that guarantees the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for them. Perhaps only Josh Hazlewood goes back feeling like he had a good day today, another incisive day of Test match bowling for him, finishing with a five-for.
For the second innings in a row, India found resistance from their last recognised batting pair to deny Australia a strong push for a win. On this occasion, it was debutant Washington Sundar and bowler Shardul Thakur batting together for 36 overs, across sessions, and making maiden Test fifties to help India post 336 after they were reduced to 6 for 186 just after lunch.
Full report to follow…
5.01pm
4.59pm
4.40pm Hazlewood
It must be said that Josh Hazlewood’s the only bowler who hasn’t lost sight of the right plan to get wickets here. He has been consistently fuller than the other bowlers and, more or less, stuck with his trademark style. In isolation, his figures would look good in any innings. But this is some effort as Australia’s bowlers have shown signs of tiring out.
4.05pm
3.44pm: Some history
This pair now becomes the 18th seventh-wicket stand to get 100-plus for India in an away series. You don’t know when these guys will be in an Indian XI again. Perhaps Sundar will play in the England series at home. But then you also wonder if that’s why they, and the other newbies before them in this series, have played out of their skins. The Indian Test team is not an easy one to break into these days and there are plenty of players who’ve shown they can do a job in the unlikely event of this many setbacks.
But to zoom back into this match a little – Australia have now gone two innings in a row where they are this close to opening India’s tail end and have just been unable to do it. The frustration is showing, the weather forecasts that Indian fans were frantically checking over the last few days is probably now on Tim Paine’s mind. He’s also put down a half-chance not long ago. The faces tell the story.
2.43pm: Tea
The session could not have begun better for Australia, but this pair, batting together for the first time in Tests, has wiped away a major chunk of Australia’s advantage. They’ve added 67 – India’s highest 7th wicket stand on this ground – and brought the deficit down to 116. Apart from that, it will grate on Australia that they’ve taken more time out of this Test. Remember, Australia need to make it 2-1 to win the trophy and with rain in the forecast, they’ll need to be out batting pretty quickly if they want to enforce a result.
2.11pm
12pm: Lunch
Quality session first up today and India might have been really proud of how they’ve done if they hadn’t lost Rahane towards the end there. But he had his chances playing exactly the shot that eventually got him, against the same bowler but this time with a plug in the slip cordon. Pujara looked the more assured batsman but was the one who fell first, caught off the thin outside edge yet again as he looked to play the initial angle of a ball that straightened.
For Agarwal, it’s been a much more comfortable innings than he had before being dropped for the last Test. With the older ball not really coming back into him and the bowlers a little more tired than they are when they have a new ball against him as an opener, he’s settled in well and got to play a lot more of Nathan Lyon than before as well. The deficit is still 208 though and Australia still have the upper hand here.
11.17am: Agarwal the middle-order batsman, and Australia’s bowling plans
The No. 5 numbers are from today, so it is his maiden first-class innings in this position. He does still have the Pat Cummins challenge, and it is proving quite difficult for him at that end. But on the other is Cameron Green, against whom he has looked fairly comfortable. He also got to start against Nathan Lyon. You’d think he would be most comfortable against those two in this bowling line-up. Could Australia be applying more pressure on him?
10.43am
10.19am: Lengths
The first bits of shadow are visible now as the sun peeks out at the Gabba. Pujara and Rahane have been extremely watchful – and a bit lucky, in the case of the latter – as Australia slam the pitch just short of a good length. That’s also given Pujara, in particular, some boundary scoring opportunities square of the wicket. In the 36th over we saw Starc changing up to a more full length to him, and Hazlewood has immediately started on the fuller side of good length as well. It’s a pitch with pace and bounce, but it’s not as lively as it sometimes appears. Perhaps Australia have understood that keeping these two on their back foots is not as effective at the moment.
9.36am: The forecast
Much better viewing than yesterday’s hourly breakdown.
9.10am: Another crucial first hour
They always are, and India, two down and 307 behind at the moment, have quite a task on their hands. There’s plenty of pace and bounce here at the Gabba, though not a whole lot of seam movement, so it should be a balanced contest between bat and ball. It will be interesting to see if the cracks open up a little more today as well. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are at the crease, after Rohit Sharma fell in polarising fashion. He copped a lot of criticism for the shot he played, having looked so good while settling in, but Sidharth Monga offers some balance in this piece.
