Front Row Seat: Padres’ Jason Adam suffers season-ending injury

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Section 1904John Gennaro

San Diego Padres

Padres’ Jason Adam suffers season-ending quad tendon rupture: Why it’s a blow to San Diego’s bullpen - The Athletic
Jason Adam, the San Diego Padres’ All-Star setup man, was diagnosed with a left quad tendon rupture after being carted off the field during Monday’s 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Adam said after the game that he expected to undergo an MRI on Tuesday to confirm the diagnosis, which would require surgery and come with a projected recovery time of six to nine months.

Padres Daily: Loss of Jason Adam a big blow, makes it more urgent starters step up - San Diego Union-Tribune
Yesterday was the fourth time in the past seven games and 12th time in the past 25 games that the Padres’ starting pitcher allowed multiple runs in the first four innings.

“It’s clearly a concern,” Shildt said. “We have a deep bullpen, a talented bullpen. But the way the game is built — and I know it’s morphing into shortening the game — over 162 games, starters are going to have to carry a lion’s share of the innings. We just haven’t been able to get that consistently, which is affecting (the results).”

San Diego FC

Chucky Lozano, Anders Dreyer score, ‘kill the party’ as visiting SDFC beats LAFC - San Diego Union-Tribune
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano and Anders Dreyer enabled SDFC to overcome an early deficit and earn a 2-1 victory that allowed the club to move five points ahead of second-place Minnesota United two weeks before their pivotal matchup at Snapdragon Stadium.

“It was nice to go here and kill the party,” Dreyer said. “We knew it would be a tough game. But we’re not afraid of playing anywhere.”

SDFC (17-7-5) used its seventh consecutive road victory to tie St. Louis City FC’s record for most wins by an expansion team in its debut season. The club also positioned itself one point behind LAFC’s mark for most points by a first-year expansion team, 57 in 2018, and drew within one point of the Philadelphia Union for the Supporters’ Shield.

"Ruthless" San Diego FC spoil Son Heung-Min's home debut - MLSsoccer.com
Assisting Lozano for his equalizer, Dreyer extended his lead atop the MLS goal contribution charts to 32 contributions (14g/18a), three above Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi (19g/10a), as he continues to make his Landon Donovan MLS MVP case on the field. He’s too humble to make the argument for himself off the pitch, but fortunately, his teammates are happy to do that for him.

“MVP for Anders Dreyer! That's my guy. The numbers don't lie. The performances don't lie,” goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos said.

Tom Krasovic: First-place San Diego FC so far succeeding where so many local teams failed - San Diego Union-Tribune
Historically, San Diego clubs tend to be at their best as underdogs. As nominal favorites in the bigger games, conversely, they often seem insecure.

SDFC entered Sunday atop Major League Soccer’s 15-team Western Conference. The league hyped up the match, the only one played that day. The action started at 7:45 p.m. — prime time.

Then coach Mikey Varas’ club performed like a first-place club. After an early goal by L.A. ignited a vocal crowd and led the goal-scorer to do a somersault and dance with teammates, San Diego FC regrouped, scored once in each half and held on for the win.

Odds & Ends

San Diego Wave FC Earns Shutout Against Seattle Reign FC - SanDiegoWaveFC.com
San Diego Wave FC (8-4-6, 30 points) played to a scoreless draw against Seattle Reign FC (7-5-6, 27 points) at Lumen Field on Friday night. Kailen Sheridan made an early highlight save, and despite controlling 64% possession and creating multiple second-half chances, the Wave were unable to find a breakthrough. With the result, San Diego extended its unbeaten road streak to seven matches, a new Club record.

Bill Belichick's terrible debut ends with ESPN using Kirk Herbstreit’s dog to call the game - The Sporting News
While the on-field product from Belichick's team was disappointing, the broadcast provided some comedy for those who stayed up. Peter has become a fixture around Herbstreit and ESPN’s College GameDay crew, but made his way into the booth as the game spiraled out of control.

Salt Lake City? Nashville? How six cities are faring in the race for an MLB expansion team - The Athletic
In recent weeks, The Athletic sought progress reports from six cities with established expansion efforts underway — Nashville, Raleigh and Orlando in the east; Salt Lake City, Portland and Austin in the west — about their latest updates and current priorities. Though Nashville and Salt Lake City are considered frontrunners by many in the industry, Manfred said last month the league has made “no pre-determinations” about locations. Taking the commissioner at his word, there’s still a chance one of the next expansion clubs will wind up in Montreal, Charlotte, San Jose, Vancouver or even Oakland.

Venus Williams is in the US Open women’s doubles quarterfinals and says Serena needs to show up - Associated Press
Venus Williams is into the U.S. Open women’s doubles quarterfinals with Leylah Fernandez and now wants her old partner to come back. She says it’s time for Serena Williams to come see a match.

Williams made the plea for her younger sister to show up after she and Fernandez beat the 12th-seeded duo of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-4 in their third-round match Monday in front of a capacity crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“She’s so happy for Leylah and I, and she’s given us advice,” Williams said. “We just need her in the box. So, my message is, ‘Serena, you need to show up.’”

Sinner on Alcaraz rivalry: 'It's not like you have to be enemies off court' - ATP Tour
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have created a scintillating Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry and the stars have been battling for No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings throughout the US Open. They could also meet in a third consecutive major final in New York.

But when asked what kids could learn from their rivalry, Sinner explained Monday evening that being opponents in big matches does not mean they need to be enemies.

“I think that we have a good friendship also off the court. It's something great to see,” Sinner said. “We see that this is possible, it's not like you have to be enemies also off the court. Of course we are enemies when we step on the court, we try to play our best tennis. But it ends there. After the handshake, everything is fine again.”

Alright, that's going to do it for today's edition of Front Row Seat. I'll be back tomorrow, and every weekday, to try and make it easier for you to follow the news.

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