NBA

Heat sign C Bam Adebayo to three-year, $166 million contract extension

This extension ties Adebayo with the Heat through 2029, his age-31 season. Miami’s center is one of the top players at the position — a three-time All-Star and four-time All-Defensive honoree — but this is a ton of money. Obviously, Adebayo needs to maintain is high level of play, even with a rising salary cap, for this contract to make sense for Miami.

For the Heat, the next step is to navigate the Jimmy Butler situation — be it an extension or a trade.

Grade: B

MLB

Mariners 5, Rays 2

Seattle dropped three games in a row entering yesterday, so Scott Servais couldn’t have been feeling great when Andres Munoz entered for the save and immediately lost control of his pitches. The Mariners’ standout closer ended up walking two Rays without recording an out — a problematic start to the game’s final frame — but Seattle held on. The Astros are on fire and hold a better run differential than the Mariners, so despite Seattle leading the AL West by five games, this division could come down to the wire. The defending-champion Rangers are lurking, too, at seven games back.

Offense is a big problem for the 40-41 Rays at the halfway point, but I doubt an upgrade is in the cards for budget-conscious Tampa Bay. If anything, the Rays need to hope for internal improvement, most notably from Randy Arozarena, batting just .189 after yesterday’s tilt.

Pirates 6, Reds 1

Bryan Reynolds has flown under the radar, at least nationally, for too long. Pittsburgh’s left fielder extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a single in this contest, and while Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game streak will probably never be touched, it’ll be fun to track how long Reynolds’ run lasts. Can he approach Jimmy Rollins’ 2005-06 mark of 38 games?

Cincinnati is too decimated at the moment to trot out an MLB-level lineup, at least at the bottom. Batting fifth through ninth for the Reds in this game: Nick Martini, Santiago Espinal, Stuart Fairchild, Livan Soto and Levi Jordan. Looks more like to Louisville Bats than the Cincinnati Reds. The 37-43 Reds need to find some semblance of health — and soon.

Astros 7, Rockies 1

Well, well, well. It only took half a season, but the Astros have finally reached .500, their best record since … opening day. Houston is still far from the team it was from 2017-2022, but the club has momentum on its side, and at this point, how can one not say that a playoff berth is likely? After all, for the third wild-card spot, all Houston has to do is run down Boston and Kansas City — both three games in front of the surging Astros.

Royals 5, Marlins 1

Kansas City still has a few extra years of control on Brady Singer and Cole Ragans, but the Royals ought to ink one, if not both, young starters to a long-term deal. In this affair, Singer lasted into the eighth inning, allowing just one run for a Royals team hanging on for dear life to the position created by a sizzling first half.

Jake Burger had a fun 2023, hitting a combined 34 homers for the White Sox and an equally fun Marlins team, but it hasn’t carried over to this year — for Burger or the Marlins. After a 0-for-3 day yesterday, Burger’s average is down to .211, but perhaps more worrisome is the third baseman’s six home runs.