Tarik Skubal's Dodgers Era Begins

Summary

PTI Podcast Summary

Episode: Tarik Skubal's Dodgers Era Begins

Date: August 5, 2026
Hosts: Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon

Overview

This episode centers on Tarik Skubal’s much-anticipated debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers, his impact on their recent struggles, and broader implications for playoff races in MLB. It also covers Luis Arraez’s unique fit in the Phillies lineup, Kevin Durant’s social media shots about the new-look Sixers, and a rapid-fire segment with ESPN’s Jeff Passan about trade deadlines, pitching woes, and surprise streaks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tarik Skubal’s Dodgers Debut (00:53–04:48)

• Debut Performance: Skubal pitched six innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, and striking out six, but the Dodgers lost 5–1 to the Cubs, marking their fifth straight defeat.
• Assessment of Skubal: Both hosts found his start solid, praising his composure in a challenging environment:
  • Wilbon: “He gave up two earned and... against a terrific Cub lineup. They should feel fine about [him].” (01:45)
  • Kornheiser: “He gave them what he's supposed to give them... managers are happy with two runs in six innings.” (02:46)
• Bigger Issues for Dodgers:
  • Dodgers’ depth hurt by lack of catching with both Will Smith and Dalton Rushing out (03:19)
  • Uncharacteristic cold streak since July 1st, under .500 and losing to playoff-caliber teams (Cubs, Red Sox, Padres, Brewers, Phillies, Braves)
  • Kornheiser on the myth of Dodger invincibility: “If they have all these great players, how come their record is what it is?” (03:35)
  • Wilbon reinforces: "Baseball’s not that sport... The better team doesn’t always win." (04:09)

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2. Luis Arraez Batting Cleanup for Phillies (04:48–07:32)

• Mattingly’s Logic:
  • Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly placed contact-hitter Arraez at the cleanup spot, saying, “You figure he's coming up with men on base. Doesn't take a homer to drive in a run. A base hit drives in a run from second.” (04:48)
  • Arraez delivered in his first two at-bats: RBI single and double.
• Hosts’ Reaction:
  • Kornheiser: “He doesn’t look like a traditional fourth batter, but... he makes contact all the time. He’s that kind of player.” (05:23)
  • Wilbon passionately defends batting average and RBIs:
    “Runs batted in do matter. I want to smack somebody across the face for saying they don’t.” (06:36)
  • Both endorse lineup flexibility and express admiration for Bryce Harper’s willingness to switch positions for the team (07:07).

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3. Kevin Durant on LeBron to 76ers & Superteams Debate (07:45–10:36)

• Durant’s Comments:
  • Durant said the new Sixers with LeBron, Embiid, Jaylen Brown, and Maxey are greater on paper than the Warriors 'superteam’.
  • Direct quote via Kornheiser:
    “Klay Thompson, never an MVP candidate in nothing. I don't get how the warriors team is better on paper.” (08:12)
• Hosts’ Takes:
  • Wilbon: Dismisses social media barbs as "agenda-driven" and recalls Draymond Green's burner phone joke (09:14).
  • Kornheiser: Perceives Durant as “sort of unhappy and unfulfilled... chasing a title, and he’s not even coming close.” (09:39)
    Emphasizes that the '17–’18 Warriors were historic even before Durant, and Klay is a future Hall-of-Famer (10:17).
  • Both say the Sixers have to prove chemistry and happiness; roster changes aren't everything (10:52).

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4. Interview: Jeff Passan on Dodgers, Brewers, and MLB Trade Deadline (11:39–18:13)

Dodgers’ Outlook (12:35)

• Passan:
  “The easy answer... is that it’s baseball and even good teams go through bad stretches. But the Dodgers aren’t panicking... they know they're so talented, they’ll make the playoffs.” (12:35)

Brewers’ Trade Decisions (13:38)

• Brewers declined to trade key pitcher Logan Henderson for Skubal; value future control
• Passan laments small-market constraints:
  “The issue... is teams like Milwaukee aren’t able or willing to push all their chips in. If any team needed Tarek Skubal, it was the Brewers.” (15:29)

Paul Skenes’ Struggles (16:11)

• Skeens has high July ERA and diminished velocity.
• Passan on possible causes:
  “Could be a couple of things... I think it’s probably mechanical... nobody works as hard as Paul Skenes.” (16:11)
  Expects bounce-back.

Red Sox Surging (17:20)

• Passan:
  “Pitching has been incredible. Chad Tracy has been a revelation as manager.” (17:42)
• Red Sox posting franchise-best 29–5 stretch.

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5. Rapid Fire Headlines & Notable Moments

MLB Commemoration—Comeback Anniversary (20:29)

• Cleveland’s 12-run comeback in ‘99; nostalgia about bullpen meltdowns vs “the Washington Nationals bullpen” (20:38)

Preakness Stakes Date Shift (22:00)

• Move sets up “Triple Crown in tremendous jeopardy” with scheduling confusion (22:20)

NFL/NBA Quick Hits (22:43–23:25)

• Stefon Diggs joins Commanders; Wembanyama hosts Spurs minicamp in France.
• Hosts briefly riff on player invitations and NBA summer culture.

Quote Highlight:

• Wilbon on advanced stats skepticism:
  “I want to smack somebody across the face for saying that [RBIs don’t matter].” (06:36)
• Kornheiser on Durant:
  “I have always thought that Durant is sort of unhappy and unfulfilled... he’s running around now chasing a title, and he’s not even coming close.” (09:39)
• Passan on small market frustrations:
  “It’s a shame because if any team right now needed Tarek Skubal, it is the Milwaukee Brewers.” (15:29)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Opening banter, food talk: 00:27–01:03
• Dodgers/Skubal debut: 01:03–04:48
• Arraez batting cleanup: 04:48–07:32
• Durant’s Sixers comments: 07:45–10:36
• Jeff Passan interview: 11:39–18:13
• Happy Time/Anniversaries: 19:51–22:41
• Big Finish (sports headlines): 22:42–23:55

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Memorable Quotes

• “If you’re a manager... and your starter is going to give up two runs in six innings, you’re happy with that.”
  — Tony Kornheiser (02:46)

• “Runs batted in do matter. And I just want to smack somebody across the face for saying that [they don’t].”
  — Michael Wilbon (06:36)

• “The Dodgers aren’t panicking. They’re so talented they know they’ll make the playoffs.”
  — Jeff Passan (12:38)

• “I have always thought that Durant is sort of unhappy and unfulfilled... he’s running around now chasing a title, and he’s not even coming close.”
  — Tony Kornheiser (09:39)

• “If any team right now needed Tarek Skubal, it is the Milwaukee Brewers.”
  — Jeff Passan (15:29)

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Tone & Style

• Classic PTI: banter-heavy, humorous, occasionally combative, rich in sports nostalgia and skepticism of analytics hype.
• Tony plays the “grumpy realist,” Wilbon often the passionate traditionalist.
• Jeff Passan offers sharp, analytic insight with a touch of lament for small-market struggles.

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Listeners get a whirlwind tour of baseball’s mid-season drama, the ongoing battle over superteams in basketball, and trademark PTI energy—balancing sharp analysis, historical memory, and sports fan’s heart.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbot. Is National Green Peppers Day. Tony, you like green peppers?

[C]

I'm Tony Kornheiser. Here is my ranking. Green Peppers, Julius Peppers, Sargent Peppers. Now that's not true. Sergeant Peppers would blow away the others. I like red peppers.

[B]

Here's my peppers ranking. It's right narrowly ahead of pickles.

[C]

You don't eat peppers. And you've never had a pickle in your life. You've claimed this. You've never had a pickle. Never had a pickle. I grow peppers in the garden.

[B]

What?

[C]

And I grow red peppers. And if you let. All you have to do is let a green pepper go.

[D]

Going, Going.

[B]

You live in the city? Yeah. What are you doing? Growing pep. You got no grocery stores in your neighborhood.

[C]

I also grow potatoes. I'm growing potatoes this year. I'm hoping for a big run. I'm gonna go to a farmer's market and try and have a second job. Welcome to pti, boys and girls. In today's episode, Kevin Durant assesses the Sixers, Stefan Diggs joins the commanders and Jeff Passon joins us for five good minutes. But we begin today with Tarek Scott making his Dodger debut last night and throwing 85 pitches over six innings, giving up four hits, two earned runs and striking out six. Scubal left the game down 21 to the Cubs, who eventually won 5 1. This was the Dodgers fifth consecutive loss, second to the Cubs. Wilbon, how should Scuba and Dodgers feel after his first start with this team? Just fine.

[B]

Comes over to a new team. He goes into a difficult place to pitch against a team with, depending on the metric, you're looking at one of the three best offenses in the game. He gave up two earned. I know his strikes to balls ratio was not what it usually is. Significant the last couple of years. Yeah. So he gave up two earned and so, you know, again, I guess a terrific Cub lineup. So no, they have every reason to feel great about Scubal. Who does he have a sea legs. It was interesting to hear Skubal talk about the atmosphere at Wrigley and How he loved it and how it seemed to him like a postseason atmosphere. And by the way, those two teams could meet whether it's in the division around or the nlcs. And it seems like now they're both armed for great series if they play each other with the two leading MVP candidates in the National League. But they should feel fine about.

[C]

Did you say the nlcs? So you got them going ahead of the Brewers?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

I got them catching.

[C]

You are rooting. You're rooting for the coach again. The most Chicago centric show in the history of espn.

[B]

Good.

[C]

I would love to disagree with you. I do not. I think Scubal should feel fine. He gave up two runs in six innings. That is a quality start by any measure. It's not his fault that they didn't hit. You know, he gave them what he's supposed to give them. I mean, if you're a manager and you. And you're told your starter is going to give up two runs in six innings, you're happy with that. And as you say, it is a hostile atmosphere. He was booed. It is a hostile atmosphere. My sense of this is that the Dodgers should feel worse than Skubal should feel because The Dodgers since July 1st are under.500. They have also, I think at this moment, I understand an afternoon game today, but going into the afternoon game today, they had lost seven out of their last 10. I mean, everybody says the Dodgers are invincible. There was a plane that. That flew over Wrigley yesterday with a sign that says the Dodgers ruined baseball. Okay, but if they have all these great players, how come their record is what it is? And one of the reasons is at the moment, they don't have a catcher. Will Smith has been out for a while. He's not coming back until September. Their substitute catcher, the second guy, Dalton Rushling. Do I have that name somewhat correct. Rushing. He tore a ucl. If they have all these great players, what are they going to do? They're going to sign Johnny Bench. Because you can't do this. You can't win every.

[B]

Even if you have great players. Baseball's not that sport. I give you credit for mentioning this yesterday. It's not the NBA.

[C]

No. It's not.

[B]

Where you play four out of seven all the time. And the better team almost always wins. Not. Not.

[C]

And by the way, and this is an important fact to say, the Dodgers are losing games to playoff teams. The Red Sox swept them and the Cubs. These are exactly the kind of teams you see in the playoffs. The Dodgers are not Cubs, Brewers, Padres.

[B]

They should not be in fear. Living in fear this summer, the rest of it, or the fall of the Dodgers. Go out there and play them.

[C]

I'd add the Phillies to that.

[B]

And the Phillies, absolutely.

[C]

And the Braves. National League's loaded, you know, they really are, yeah.

[B]

American League, not so much. Let's move to another player debuting with his new team, Luis Arise. Phillies interim manager Dom Mattingly inserted his new high average but power challenged second baseman into the traditional slugger spot of cleanup. Last night. Mattingly said, quote, you figure he's coming up with men on base. Doesn't take a homer to drive in a run. A base hit drives in a run from second. Close quote. Which is exactly what happened in Arise's first two trips to the plate. Tone, what do you make of Matting Lee's logic in hitting Arise?

[C]

Fourth, as you would suspect, because the Nats were playing that game. I watched every single pitch of that game. I mean, you know, here's the. I saw the Nats score no runs. The Washington Nationals run a road trip at Atlanta, at Philadelphia, they're.06 at the moment. In those six games, they have been outscored 34 to 14. And in the seventh and eighth innings, the bullpen innings, they've been outscored 12 to 4. You know, so the Phillies got 11 hits last night. Doesn't matter where Arise would have batted. But yes, the point to be made is the first two times up at bat, Arise showed you why you got him. He had an RBI single hand and RBI double against two different pitchers. Now, he doesn't look in the first and the third innings, he doesn't look like a traditional fourth batter because he's not a power guy. But I agree with Mattingly. First of all, he makes contact all the time. Even the two times he was out was a fly out and a ground out. He does not strike out. If you put R, I, S P out there, he's going to knock somebody in. I mean, he's that kind of player.

[B]

Listen, you know, my first love in sports, my first love in my life is baseball. And yet I hate baseball because baseball has gotten to a point where people, too many people try to tell you things like, well, runs batted and don't really matter.

[C]

Do matter.

[B]

And I just want to smack somebody across the face for saying that. Don't tell me that a guy who gets on base not just gets on base, but who hits his way on 33% of the time is the same as a guy who's batting 216 I don't want to hear that. That's garbage. And so you get a guy like Luis de Rios, you can bat him anywhere you want. And I like Mattingly saying this, too. You can hit him first. Cause he gets on. Oh, you got a guy like Schwarber who knocks the hell out of it and drives him in.

[C]

Schwaber and Harper and Harper and Aurora.

[B]

Figure it out.

[C]

You're going to get. I guess I know you've been down on Harper. I've got to say something good about Harper. Harper volunteered to play right field last night. He had not played the outfield.

[B]

He didn't play on the first ball hit.

[C]

He had not played in the outfield since 2022. He had been at first base. He's an MVP player. And he said, if you need me, I'll go out there. Not what Rafael Devers did. Okay, I. I think that he did that. One of the reasons he did that is to say to Dave Dombrowski, thanks for getting a rise on this team. This is exactly what we need.

[B]

Listen, the Phillies got to figure this out. They're not the only team in Philly. We'll get to the one in November, which has a bunch of new guys, has figured out this batting order. Mattingly's gotta take a couple of weeks and he'll figure he's Don Mattingly.

[C]

You stick those four guys in a row, it doesn't matter what order it's in. Let's move to basketball. And Kevin Durant weighing in on LeBron James going to the 76ers. That other team in Philly.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Durant said he was excited about seeing them and he called them contenders for the NBA title. Durant said, quote, last time they put three 20 point scorers on a team, they said it was unfair, unquote, referring to Durant joining Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on the Warriors. Then on social media, Durant indicated these 76ers are far better than those warriors writing. Quote, Joel Embiid, MVP recently. Jaylen Brown, recent Finals mvp. Tyrese Maxey, All Star in the last three years. We all know what Braun does. Klay Thompson, never an MVP candidate in nothing. I don't get how the warriors team is better on paper. Unquote. He wrote that. Wilbur, how did Durant's remarks sit with you?

[B]

I don't pay attention. I don't. And I'm not saying I don't pay attention to Kevin Durant. I've had the chance, the privilege, of having conversations with Kevin Durant going back to he Grew up here for years and years and years with Kevin Durant. And those conversations are fine. And Kevin Durant. But when he does this, there are agendas. Social media carries agendas. He does it. Braun does it. They almost all do it. Kevin Durant is essentially saying, you guys criticize me for glomming on to the champion Warriors. And I don't hear that same criticism around this Philly. He's fine. Somebody joked. I think it was Draymond Green. It was a funny line. He said Durant didn't realize he was not using his burner cell.

[C]

So.

[B]

Great line. Great line from Draymond. I don't. Life is too short.

[C]

Can I start with one thing? Really? What? A shot at Klay Thompson. Let's go through this again. I looked it that way, really. Klay Thompson was never an MVP candidate in the.

[B]

I wonder what the highest Klay finished.

[C]

What prompted that? What prompted that?

[B]

When you have an agenda and your agenda is to defend yourself.

[C]

Right. You know where I stand on Durant.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay. I have always thought that Durant is sort of unhappy and unfulfilled. I have used the word miserable at times to describe him. I know he's a great player. I know he loves basketball. It doesn't seem he loves the players he plays with most of the time. He's running around now chasing a title, and he's not even coming close. I don't mind chasing rings. I'm okay with LeBron doing it. I'm okay with Durant doing it. But. But when you say that the Sixers team is so much better than the team you were. Hold on a second. The team that you were on at one, you know, before, after and during. Kevin Durant, they won. They won 73 games without him. They won two titles with him, two titles without him. They got three guys going to the Hall. Klay Thompson's going the hall of Fame, Draymond Green, Steph Curry, he played with

[B]

the two greatest shooters at one time who've ever played. And by the way, anybody on this Philly team as good defensively as Draymond Green? Answer. No.

[C]

So what are you talking about?

[B]

Don't pay attention.

[C]

What are you talking about?

[B]

Let it go.

[C]

I'm not letting it go.

[B]

Let it go.

[C]

I'm not letting it go. Let's take a break. Coming up, why are the Red Sox suddenly so good? We're going to ask Jeff Tassen.

[B]

We'll also ask him why Paul Skeens is struggling so much lately.

[C]

He is obviously stung by the criticism of eight years ago.

[B]

He was always stung by it, right?

[C]

But the Philadelphia 76ers, we don't know. We don't even know if Jaylen Brown's gonna be happy there. He was traded there. He didn't go there.

[B]

We don't even know if Joel Embiid

[C]

is ever gonna play. No, no, no.

[D]

So Pardon the Interruption is brought to you by Applebee's. Help Us Squeeze Out Childhood Cancer as

[A]

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[C]

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[A]

The easy answer, Tony, is that it's baseball and that even really good teams go through bad stretches. There are, though, questions about the Dodgers offense. You know they're missing Will Smith right now. Mookie Betts is not having the kind of season that we expect of Mookie Betts. Andy Pahes has seen his OPS fall from over a thousand early in the season to under.800 at this point. But the reality is the Dodgers aren't panicking because not only did they add Tarek Skubal, they're getting Blake Snell back as soon as next week. Potentially, Tyler Glasnow is going to be rejoining the team at some point. They've got Edwin Diaz back already. The reality with the Dodgers is very simple. They really don't care about the regular season because they know that they are so talented they're going to make the playoffs. What they want to do is get ready for October and have all of their guys rested, healthy and ready to go to try to become the first team in National League history to win three consecutive championships.

[B]

Well, the team with a better record in the National League than the Dodgers would be the Brewers. And their manager Pat Murphy said the notion that his team did not try to get Targ scubal is erroneous. But Jeff, do you think the brewers did enough given their position and what they've got at stake this regular season?

[A]

Mike Dustin May has had a very good season this year and JoJo Romero is a solid left handed reliever to add to that bullpen. And Antonio Sansatello has been one of the better right handed relievers in baseball this year. That being said, it still feels like a hollow deadline for the brewers because we've seen them go after the great rental player before, a left hander in fact in 2008 with CC Sabathia and he was absolutely brilliant for them down stretch. And the notion of pairing Tarek Skubal and Jacob Misarowski together was just so tantalizing. You know, everybody in baseball is looking for ways to beat the Dodgers and you could argue that having the two best pitchers in baseball in your rotation is a pretty good way to do it. But the brewers look at it like this. They've gotten to the point that they are right now because they have followed a process and that process does not include overpaying significantly, especially for rental arms. And so it came down to this. The Tigers wanted a pitcher back and the pitcher they wanted from the brewers was Logan Henderson, who already is in their rotation, who's got five plus years of club control and who is precisely the kind of player that the Milwaukee brewers believe is going to help them win in 2027 and 28 and 29 and beyond. The issue with baseball's economic system right now, guys, isn't necessarily that the Dodgers spend so more than everyone else. It comes down to something at the deadline where teams like Milwaukee and like Tampa Bay aren't able or willing to go and push all their chips in because they believe it will be deleterious to their future. And it's a shame because if any team right now needed Tarek Scubal, it is the Milwaukee Brewers.

[B]

All right, speaking of high profile pitchers, let's go to Paul Skeens, who's had his struggles. He's back on the mound tonight against those brewers. His ERA in July was over 6 and his velocity is down. Jeff, what does that suggest to you?

[A]

Could be a couple of things Mike, when you see a drop in Velo, you wonder if a guy is hurt. I don't believe Paul Skeens at this point is hurt. I mean, you know, guys as they get older tend to lose a little bit on the miles per hour. So there's age as well. And we're talking about a guy who already was one of the hardest throwing pitchers in baseball. But I think it's probably mechanical. I think that Paul Skeens, at 6 foot 6 and 250 pounds, there are a lot of moving pieces in his delivery. There are a lot of moving parts. And sometimes even if something gets an inch out of whack, that's enough to lose a mile or two off of your fastball. And nobody works as hard as Paul Skeens. I feel confident in saying that. The man is an absolute machine, an animal when it comes to the gym, when it comes to his. When it comes to just the. The things that it takes to be an effective pitcher. And so is he ever going to be back where he was when he came out of college? Maybe not. But I anticipate he's going to find his fastball, going to right himself, and going to look like the guy who won the National League Cy Young Award last year.

[C]

We will get you out of here on this. We will ask you to be quick as well. The Red Sox were so bad early in the season, they fired their manager. But after yesterday's win over the White Sox, Boston is 295 in the last 34 games, the greatest 34 game stretch in franchise history. Jeff, what change for the Red Sox. And again, quick if you can.

[A]

The pitching has been incredible. And Chad Tracy has been a revelation as manager. He has brought a clubhouse together in a way that Alex Cora had not. And I think the Red Sox finally understood. Even if we have Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony out, there's still enough talent in this room to be good. This good. I don't think anyone anticipated it, but hey, they will take it. Along with Adlie Richmond.

[D]

Tony?

[C]

Yeah, oh, absolutely. They're the best team in baseball right now. Thank you, Jeff, as always. Thank you.

[A]

Thanks, fellas.

[C]

You can catch more Jeff on his baseball podcast. Sources tell Jeff passive. Let's take one last break. But still to come, Staphon Diggs joins the Commanders.

[B]

And less than two months after the spurs lost in the NBA Finals, Wemby and you know his guys are back on the court. Guess where they are?

[C]

Las Vegas? No, where?

[B]

France.

[C]

Oh, okay. Why not in Vegas? I thought all basketballs played in Vegas in the summer.

[B]

Would you rather be in France in the summer than Vegas?

[C]

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[C]

Happy time people. Happy 36 birthday. Nick Martinez Tampa Bay Rays right hander made the All Star team for the first time this year in his ninth major league season. Martinez was drafted out of fordham in the 18th round in 2011 by the Texas Rangers. Came up with the Rangers in 2014. Since then, Martinez has pitched for the Padres and Reds and spent four years pitching in the Japan League, working on a one year deal in Tampa. He's having his best season. Martinez is 103 with a 265 ERA leading the raise in wins and ERA. Overall, Martinez has a 58 and 62 record, 399 ERA, 739 strikeouts in 1063 innings.

[B]

There's such obsession over the Yankees and the Sox. Anybody realize Tampa's leading the damn division And Peralta? They got their bogman at that pitching staff.

[C]

Come on now, just look at my shirt. Happy Anniversary Cleveland Baseball on this day 25 years ago, Cleveland tied the record for the greatest comeback in the history of Major League baseball, down 12 runs to the Mariners, the best regular season team in the league. Cleveland scored three runs in the seventh, four in the eighth, five more in the ninth to send the game into extras, I will ask, parenthetically, who was pitching for the Mariners? The Washington Nationals bullpen in the 11th. Holbert Cabrera finished the job with a walk off Base hit to win 15 to 14. Much to the delight of the hardy souls who stayed around Jacobs field previously, the 1911 Tigers. The 1925 Philadelphia A's came back from 12 down as well.

[B]

I was at a more important game in Cleveland, a Game 7. If they'd won that game, you think that'd be a bigger comeback, which they almost pulled off against the Cubs in 2016. It would have been.

[C]

I am surprised it's only 12. I would have said 15 or 16. Oh, no, no, no. This is the Hawaiian shirt. From the Nats. Happy trails to the Preakness Stakes. Being two weeks after the Derby, a new deal with NBC now places the second leg of the Triple Crown three weeks after the Derby instead of two. The hope is that this will make owners and trainers less reluctant to skip a race that has had such a quick turnaround. But the Belmont Stakes are Now stuck just 13 days after the Preakness is Sunday running. And there's no word as to whether the longer and more grueling Belmont will now switch dates. Yesterday we did a story on how Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Authority. We're not including the Preakness in a new six race competition. But this NBC deal appears to have saved the second jewel. And if you're confused, join the club.

[B]

Tony, it doesn't make any difference. The key phrases, words were owners and trainers.

[C]

That's right.

[B]

They still have to decide. They think it's worth it because the last two out of three years they've skipped over the Preakness.

[C]

The Preakness is trying to now pressure the Belmont to go deeper into the trick again. There's no commissioner to tell people what they have to do. I don't know if it's gonna work. I think the Triple Crown is in tremendous jeopardy. But let's get back to Pimlico and back to Belmont. It's been in Laurel, it's been in Saratoga.

[B]

I know where it was for two years.

[C]

All right, let's go to the big finishers.

[B]

Let's do it.

[C]

Stefan Diggs is joining the commanders. Is that a good fit?

[B]

I hope so. He was sneaky good last year, but coming home can really swing it one way or the other. And this is his home. Falcons edge rush. Jalen Walker out for the season with a torn acl. That's terrible. It's a big loss.

[C]

It is. And the Falcons are, in recent years an underachieving team all the second year. Victor Wembanyama is holding a mid summer minicamp in France for eight to 10 spurs teammates, your thoughts?

[B]

I mean, I know that you think the Slovenian.

[C]

Yeah, he invited everybody.

[B]

He makes a lot more money.

[C]

He invited everybody.

[B]

Four Frenchmen. What is he, 30 million?

[C]

What about to two or three or four guys on that team that don't get invited?

[B]

Maybe they're 10 day guys.

[C]

Really?

[B]

Two way guys?

[C]

I don't know.

[B]

The Liv tour announced a term sheet with a new lead investor. Is that significant?

[C]

My sense is that that's going away. That all we ever hear is live is going away. And the PGA Tour is dominant again. Last one. The Akron Zips will offer a season ticket holder the chance to help script the team's opening drive against Robert Morris. Okay by you?

[B]

No. You bring these people. You let them be honorary captains. You give them a helmet and a coin. You bring them to the center of the field, say good night. Now.

[C]

You know what city Robert Morris is in? Do you know? Pittsburgh. Good job, buddy.

[B]

You.

[C]

We're out of time. We'll try to do better next time. Thanks for the shirt. I'm Tony Korn.

[B]

I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, knucklehead. Stephen A. You and I, trust me, we're not.

[C]

Not anymore. I'm gonna wear the shorts next week.

[D]

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