SPORTS LINE
The Milwaukee Brewers.
The Boston Red Sox traded Kyle Harrison to the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason, and he just had a career-best game on Sunday. Kyle Harrison collected a career-high 12 strikeouts and allowed just one hit and one walk in six scoreless innings as the Milwaukee Brewers avoided a sweep by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-0 on Sunday. He also got 23 whiffs. It was the most whiffs of any pitcher on Sunday. Harrison now has a 2.28 ERA with the Brewers. The Pirates were attempting to complete a sweep in Milwaukee for the first time since winning four straight games here in August 2016.
The Pirates’ last sweep of the Brewers came in August 2022 at Pittsburgh. Neither team scored until the bottom of the fourth, when Milwaukee broke through against Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski. William Contreras led off with a single, and Jake Bauers followed with a ground-rule double that likely would’ve scored him had it stayed in play. Gary Sánchez then grounded out to second, but Contreras came home from third to give the Brewers their first lead of the series. The Brewers have been known to develop pitching well, so it may not be a huge surprise that Harrison is thriving. However, it is a shock to see just how dominant he has been. Milwaukee didn’t hit a homer for a seventh straight game. That represents the Brewers’ longest such drought since August 1999, when they went a franchise-record 13 consecutive games without a home run. Some of the issues that have plagued the Brewers early in the season remain. The bullpen hasn’t been as dominant as in years past, but Sunday’s win felt like a step in the right direction.
The Milwaukee Bucks.
The team missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Giannis seemed ready for a split at times in a turbulent year, especially with all the rumors swirling around him. However, there is a possible path forward for a quick postseason return. It all starts with two priorities in the offseason, and the Bucks have possibly already crossed one of them off the list. The Bucks are finalizing a deal for a new head coach, and he’s one of the best on the market: Taylor Jenkins. The other key item the Bucks must address is convincing Giannis they’re still committed to winning. While that isn’t all that’s needed for things to turn around, for the Bucks, it starts there. The Milwaukee Bucks are rumored to hire Taylor Jenkins as their new head coach to replace Doc Rivers. Jenkins is no stranger to Milwaukee and Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jenkins, who comes from the Greg Popovich-Mike Budenholzer coaching tree, was an assistant on the Bucks’ 2018-19 squad that won 60 games.
Jenkins was seen as the top available option in the NBA coaching landscape, and his player development pedigree, along with his tenure as a culture-setter and someone who drives competitiveness, made him the Bucks’ top target. Antetokounmpo, when asked whether he has played his last game in a Milwaukee uniform earlier this month, did not close the door on staying with the Bucks. “That’s a very good question,” Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t know. It’s not up to me. We’ll see.” Hopefully, the new coach will see him as the valuable player that he is.
