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3 takeaways from the Chicago White Sox-Washington Nationals series, including Michael Kopech as an opener

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

The Chicago White Sox were aiming for their first series win since early August.Instead, they made two errors and gave up a grand slam in the first three innings Wednesday against the Washington Nationals.The Sox dropped the series finale 13-3 in front of 23,275 at Nationals Park. Lane Thomas hit the grand slam in the third inning against Jesse Scholtens, giving the Nationals an 8-1 lead.“We made a couple errors that were costly,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “Other than that, we didn’t pitch very well and we didn’t hit.”The Sox surrendered three home runs, walked seven and hit two batters on Wednesday. They lost two of three in the series and are a season-worst 37 games under .500 at 58-95. Their last series victory was Aug. 7-9, when they won two of three against the New York Yankees at Guaranteed Rate Field.Here are three takeaways from Nationals Park.1. Michael Kopech worked on his slider as an opener.Michael Kopech got the groundball he needed....

Orioles spoil another Kyle Bradish gem vs. Astros in 2-1 walk-off loss, ending 4-game winning streak

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

Brandon Hyde has shown his sarcastic side this week.The Orioles manager’s bullpen entered Wednesday’s game having covered 14 1/3 innings over the previous three nights. He joked after Monday’s hectic win that his bullpen was in “excellent shape, fresh as all could be.” On Wednesday morning, he once again quipped his taxed bullpen, which needed two innings from starting pitcher Jack Flaherty the night before, was “fresh.”The dire state of the Orioles’ bullpen was never more evident than in the late innings of Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros. An exhausted relief corps blew a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning and allowed a walk-off single in the ninth to spoil another gem from ace Kyle Bradish.Shintaro Fujinami was erratic in the eighth, walking two batters, and Mike Baumann followed to allow one of Fujinami’s runners to score. With the game tied in the ninth, left-hander Danny Coulombe allowed a leadoff double to Yaine...

Biden brings back $600M COVID test program

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household — aiming to prevent possible shortages during a rise in coronavirus cases that has typically come during colder months.The Department of Health and Human Services says orders can be placed at COVIDTests.gov starting Sept. 25, and that no-cost tests will be delivered for free by the United States Postal Service.Twelve manufacturers that employ hundreds of people in seven states from California to Maryland have been awarded funding and will produce 200 million over-the-counter tests to replenish federal stockpiles for government use, in addition to producing enough tests to meet demand for tests ordered online, the department said.The new effort is meant to guard against supply chain issues that sparked some shortages of at-home COVID tests made over...

Some veterans discharged under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell can seek Massachusetts benefit

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey appointed five members Wednesday to a review board created this year that is tasked with opening up a pathway to state-based veterans benefits for those who received an other than honorable discharge under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.The board, created in the fiscal 2023 state budget, will review veterans’ cases and recommend their eligibility for state-based benefits, a move Healey said marked a “historic milestone” in Massachusetts.“We need to make sure that all of our veterans and all of our LGBTQ veterans in particular, today are truly honored for their service by making sure that as we go forward, they receive the benefits that they earned and are earning by serving our country,” Healey said.The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy barred openly LGBTQ+ people from serving in the military. It was repealed in September 2011. More than 13,000 service members were separated under the policy from 1994-2011, according to Department of Defense data.Veterans in Massa...

Illegal immigrant who allegedly attempted to scam Westport couple doesn’t show up to court

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

The fact that an illegal immigrant failed to show up to court for allegedly trying to scam a Westport couple out of $6,000 should come “as no surprise” to anyone, according to Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.Hector Arias-Guzman, 28, of Boston, has been free since immediately posting a $4,000 cash bail that Fall River Judge Thomas Barrett set in August during an arraignment on attempted larceny and conspiracy charges.A pretrial hearing had been scheduled on Tuesday, but Arias-Guzman did not show up to Fall River District Court, said Quinn, who blasted Barrett for letting the illegal immigrant off too easy.The judge declined a request from Assistant District Attorney Nicole Cheney to hold the defendant in jail on $25,000 cash bail during the August arraignment, before he set it at $4,000.Customs and Border Protection apprehended Arias-Guzman in January for entering the United States illegally via the Del Rio area of Texas, authorities say.“The defendant’s failure to appear ...

Man gets life in prison for 2019 Cape Cod murder

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

A 36-year-old man was found guilty of the 2019 Cape Cod stabbing murder of Brendan Flynn, 28.A Barnstable Superior Court jury convicted Nicholas Galanto, 36, of second-degree murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon. Galanto was sentenced to life in prison. He won’t be eligible for parole for at least 24 years, following the required imprisonment terms of four to four and a half years for the assault charge and at least 20 years for murder.On May 19, 2019, Barnstable Police responded to a 911 call for a stabbing at the Village Green Park in Hyannis a little after 10:30 p.m. There, a man told police that Galanto had swung a knife at him and at Brendan Flynn, according to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office. The man was able to defend himself, ward off Galanto and attempt to save Flynn’s life. Flynn would be pronounced dead that night at Cape Cod Hospital.

Freetown man charged with killing woman he lives with

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

A Freetown man has been charged with the murder of a woman he lives with.Matthew Lucas, 54, is accused of killing Heidi Chace, 44, who he lived with at 92 Chace Road in East Freetown. Police responded to the scene shortly after 4:20 a.m. Wednesday and found Chace’s body.Police located Lucas “hiding in a shed” on Burns Lane in Freetown about four hours later, according to the Bristol District Attorney’s office. Lucas made an initial appearance later in the day at Fall River District Court on a murder charge.

Chicago White Sox expected to add 3 new front office members: Josh Barfield, Brian Bannister and Gene Watson

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol lauded Josh Barfield’s presence, Brian Bannister’s creativity and Gene Watson’s wealth of knowledge.Grifol was asked about the three expected additions to the White Sox front office after Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.“I think (general manager) Chris (Getz) has assembled a really good team around him,” Grifol said.MLB.com was first to report Tuesday night that Barfield would be joining the Sox as an assistant general manager. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was first to report Bannister’s role in pitching development and Watson in player personnel.Barfield, 40, is director of player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played four major-league seasons (2006-09) as a second baseman for San Diego and Cleveland.“I met Josh not too long ago; he was extremely impressive,” Grifol said. “Great presence. Just a really good demeanor. A smart guy.R...

Boston man held without bail, charged with crushing Charlestown woman’s skull

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

A heavyset man shorter than 6 feet tall who likes to go by the name “Tank” also allegedly likes to beat women, according to Boston prosecutors.Terry “Tank” Robinson Jr., 33, of Boston, is being held without bail following a dangerousness hearing in Charlestown Wednesday.Robinson is charged with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and armed assault to murder after he allegedly bludgeoned a woman with an unknown object causing her to bleed for days, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s office. A portion of the woman’s skull had to be removed and she now wears a helmet to protect further injury to her brain.“This is a bizarre and concerning incident. It is miraculous that the victim is alive after suffering such a violent and traumatic injury without receiving immediate medical care,” Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden said in a Wednesday statement. I commend the first responders for recognizing the victim’s situation so quickly, and the Boston police for tracking down the p...

Google Maps directs man off collapsed bridge, lawsuit

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. — The family of a North Carolina man who died after driving his car off a collapsed bridge while following Google Maps directions is suing the technology giant for negligence, claiming it had been informed of the collapse but failed to update its navigation system.Philip Paxson, a medical device salesman and father of two, drowned Sept. 30, 2022, after his Jeep Gladiator plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court. Paxson was driving home from his daughter’s ninth birthday party through an unfamiliar neighborhood when Google Maps allegedly directed him to cross a bridge that had collapsed nine years prior and was never repaired.“Our girls ask how and why their daddy died, and I’m at a loss for words they can understand because, as an adult, I still can’t understand how those responsible for the GPS directions and the bridge could have acted with so little regard for human life,” his wife, Alicia Paxson, s...