The Rangers beat the Rays last night, but perhaps only because Marty Foster's strike zone extends to Plano. This was the strikeout the ended the game, a 5-4 Texas victory, and Tampa Bay is wondering what could should have been. Joe Nathan had been shaky. He had already given up one run. There was a runner on first. Ben Zobrist saw that Nathan couldn't find the plate, so he never once took the bat off his shoulder over a six-pitch at-bat. Every pitch was out of the strike zone. Three of them were called strikes, with strike three being the most egregious of all. This is how baseball makes you sad. Joe Maddon was furious, taking to his Twitter account afterward to opine, "That can't happen in a major league game." Joe Nathan, who locked down his 300th career save, knew he got away with one. "It’s pretty safe to say we got fortunate," he said. Even Marty Foster owned up to his oopsie. And this was all presumably before anyone saw the pitch tracker. Nathan threw a breaking ball, and it broke hard. Even ignoring where A.J. Pierzynski gloved it, it was still more than six inches outside, and probably low to boot. Foster, to his credit, admitted as much. “I saw the pitch and, of course I don’t have the chance to do it again, but if I did, I wouldn’t call that pitch a strike,” Foster said after the game. “Joe was not violent. Joe was very professional. He was frustrated and I understand. He acted probably the best he can under that situation.” These things do happen over the course of a 162-game season, and sometimes they even out. But karma rarely puts the tying run in scoring position.
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Market: Hull City win
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In a battle between two sides searching for a play-off charge, Hull will welcome a stalling Nottingham Forest to the KCOM on Boxing Day afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, putting in a dominant display and picking up a 3-0 win over Birmingham on Saturday, there is no doubt that Head Coach Grant McCann will be most impressed by his side s continued success on home soil. Led by leading marksman Jarrod Bowen who has continued to steal the show at the KCOM this season, the Tigers have won four of their last five matches in front of their own supporters, including winning each of their last three straight matches on home soil. Thursday s hosts should also be boosted by their most recent meeting against Forest back in October. When the two…
Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez has been linked with a return to the Premier League on numerous occasions
Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez seems to have thrown doubt over his future in Germany by failing to confirm his loyalty to Bayer.
The 28-year-old has two years left on his contract but has stated he is not sure if he will stay, because of past experiences.
Unsure about future
The striker has moved clubs on deadline day in both 2014 and 2015, so is unsure over whether he will still be with Leverkusen when the transfer window shuts.
Hernandez is quoted in Marca as saying: “You never know in football. In the last two years, I have changed [teams] on the last day of the transfer window. I thought that I was go…
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Guerrero is set to miss the World Cup as a result, an outcome FIFPro previously described as unfair and disproportionate .
And the organisation has now contacted FIFA in a bid to have Guerrero s ban overturned, so he can go to the World Cup with Peru.
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The Eredivisie competitive but of a poor standard
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The Scottish Premier League (SPL) announced Thursday they would not have a winter break next season although it could return for the following campaign.
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An SPL board meeting here Thursday decided the early finish to the season dictated by the start of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa would make a winter break impossible.
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According to the latest reports, Saint Etienne are in advanced talks for Nice midfielder Valentin Eysseric, who should soon be arriving at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
The 23-year-old has informed the club chiefs that he wants to join les Verts this summer and they are unlikely to stand in his way.
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It seems I have less right than others to make mistakes, he told Telefoot.
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Atalanta are preparing for their first ever season in the UEFA Champions League! After their record-breaking third place in Serie A 2018-19, Atalanta are about to feature in the group stages of the elite European competition and for that they will need some experience. Martin Skrtel is supposed to have plenty of it, as he became the new signing of the Italian club.
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