Month: June 2022

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Jack Suwinski homered three times Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, making his way into history by becoming the first rookie in MLB history to have a three-homer game that included a walk-off home run.

The 23-year-old Suwinski took a walk in his first at-bat of the game, then hit a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game 2–2. He gave Pittsburgh the lead when he hit another solo home-run in the sixth inning. Suwinski’s third and final home run came in the bottom of the ninth inning when he drilled a slider from San Francisco sidearmer Tyler Rogers over the fence in right field at PNC Park for his second walk-off home run this month (after hitting one on June 4 against the Diamondbacks), and giving the Pirates a 4–3 victory over the Giants.

Suwinski’s father, Tim, was in the stands to see him on what turned out to be a very special Father’s Day. Sunday’s history-making outing is just part of an already impressive season for Suwinski in Pittsburgh. The former 15th round pick now has 11 home runs in 47 games this year, tied with fellow outfielder Bryan Reynolds for the team lead. Suwinski is the second Pirates rookie to hit three homers in a game, joining Andrew McCutchen who did so in 2009.

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England’s Matt Fitzpatrick captured his first career major championship on Sunday, winning the 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline. The 27-year-old Fitzpatrick is the first Englishman to win the U.S. Open since Justin Rose in 2013, finishing the tournament -6, and winning the U.S. Open by one stroke. Fitzpatrick joins Jack Nicklaus as the only two players to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open titles on the same course. Nicklaus accomplished the feat at Pebble Beach in 1972.

Fitzpatrick shot a 68 in the final round, outlasting Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.  Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris were deadlocked at the top of the leader board to enter the final round Sunday. Zalatoris and Scheffler both finished -5, a stroke behind leader Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick nailed a 50-foot birdie-putt on 13, followed by a clutch 20-footer at 15, and on the 18th, Fitzpatrick made a shot from the bunker to the green to win the 122nd US Open title.

Fitzpatrick told reporters after clinching the championship: “The feeling’s out of this world. It is so cliche, but it’s stuff you dream of as a kid. To achieve it, I can retire a happy man tomorrow.”

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The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics 103-90 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at TD Garden, winning their fourth championship in the past eight seasons.  The Warriors’ Steph Curry scored 34 points and earned NBA Finals MVP for the first time in his career, as the Warriors captured their seventh NBA title in franchise history.

For Curry and his fellow longtime teammates Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, it’s a fourth NBA title together. Their first three championship rings came in 2015, 2017 and 2018, when Golden State made five straight trips to the Finals.

Andrew Wiggins excelled in his first Finals appearance, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks in Game 6. Jordan Poole had 15 points and three rebounds off the bench, Green had 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Thompson had 12 points and five rebounds for the Warriors.

For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown led with 34 points, while veteran center Al Horford had 19 points and 14 boards. Jayson Tatum notched 13 points, but he shot just 6 of 18 from the field in a disappointing series. Boston also committed 22 turnovers in the loss.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr earned his ninth overall championship — five as a player, and four as a head coach. He became the sixth head coach to win four titles, joining Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley, Red Auerbach and John Kundla.

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Indianapolis Colts starting safety Khari Willis announced on Wednesday that he is retiring after three seasons in the NFL to pursue a future in ministry.

The 26-year-old Willis wrote in an Instagram post: “With much prayer and deliberation, I have elected to officially retire from the NFL as I endeavor to devote the remainder of my life to the further advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I thank all of my family, friends and those who have supported me on this journey thus far and I look forward to your continued support through the next phase of my life. I am both humbled and excited to pursue the holy call that God has for my life which brings me much joy and purpose. Thank you all for your support over the years …”

Colts head coach Frank Reich said in a statement: “We’re thankful and appreciative of Khari’s contributions to the Colts both on and off the field over the last three seasons. Khari’s character, leadership, and professionalism will be missed in our locker room as will his play on Sundays. I admire and respect his decision to transition into the next stage of his life and ministry and my prayers will always be with him.”

A fourth-round pick in 2019, Willis became the Colts starting safety halfway through his rookie year. He finishes his career with 219 tackles and four interceptions while starting 33 out of the 39 games he played in.

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