MILWAUKEE (AP) — Spencer Horwitz hit a three-run double and the Pittsburgh Pirates extended their dominance over the Brewers this season, beating Milwaukee 4-3 in the opener of a four-game series. Pittsburgh has won six of seven games against the NL Central-leading Brewers this season. The Pirates jumped on Brewers starter Brandon Sproat (3-7) for three runs in the third. Pirates starter Bubba Chandler (4-8) held the Brewers without a hit until David Hamilton’s single up the middle with two outs in the fifth. Mason Montgomery pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save in five tries.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers had their sights set on acquiring a top-tier pitcher before the trade deadline — namely Tarik Skubal — but had to shift gears when the back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner ended up with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Instead, the Brewers, who entered Monday tied with the Dodgers for the best record in the major leagues, settled for veteran starter Dustin May, who was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals shortly before the deadline. Milwaukee also got left-handed reliever JoJo Romero in the deal. In exchange, the Brewers sent minor league outfielders Alexander Frías and Josiah Ragsdale to the Cardinals. The NL Central leaders bolstered their bullpen further by obtaining reliever Antonio Senzatela from the Colorado Rockies for two minor leaguers.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers’ starting right tackle is changing his name from Zach Tom to Zach Bako-Bewele as a way of paying tribute to his Nigerian ancestry. Bako-Bewele told reporters Sunday that Bako is the last name of his father’s mother and Bewele is the last name of his father’s father. He said the process toward changing his name began around March of this year. Bako-Bewele said he had been thinking about doing this for a few years, “probably back since college at least.” He started researching it more this offseason.
(Green Bay, WI) — Packers tight end Tucker Kraft has returned to practice after the team removed him from the PUP list Friday. Kraft is just working out individually, so far. Coach Matt LaFleur says they’ll take things slow with one of Green Bay’s top offensive players. Yahoo Sports reports number 85 could be involved when the Packers and Arizona Cardinals hold a joint practice August 26th. LaFleur’s top goal is to have Kraft ready to go for Week 1 of the NFL season.
The Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences have agreed to support a Senate bill that seeks to regulate college sports, ending a breakneck week of negotiations and pulling the bipartisan measure out of what looked like a certain death spiral. School presidents from both conferences voted to back the bill after receiving last-minute concessions over language regarding third-party name-image-likeness deals and the so-called “associated entities” that often make those arrangements. More details need to be worked out, but the headline is that the bill still has a chance to earn the 60 votes it needs to halt debate and head to an up-or-down vote before the Senate heads for summer break.