NBA

Mavericks sign PG Spencer Dinwiddie to one-year contract

This pact is presumably for the league minimum, the most Dinwiddie should be earning at this stage of his career. The 31-year-old split time between the Nets and Lakers in 2024, averaging 10.5 points and 4.7 assists per game. The point guard can’t be counted on to start anymore — he won’t for Dallas — but he can still provide sporadic offense on the bench. The problem for the Mavericks, though, is if Dinwiddie takes court time away from Quentin Grimes and Jaden Hardy, two young perimeter players with upside.

Grade: B-

MLB

Yankees 9, Rays 1

If Juan Soto wants to sign for 12 or more years this offseason, I think he’ll get $500 million. The 25-year-old is arguably the best pure hitter in baseball, sporting generational plate discipline and enough power to terrify opposing pitchers. Soto went 3-for-5 and hit home run Nos. 24 and 25 in this game.

Jose Siri has become very unlikeable with his words and antics, and was at it again yesterday. After homering in the fifth inning, the center fielder proceeded to taunt the Yankees, irking Aaron Judge, who has been worth 5.5 times as many wins as Siri this season. The 29-year-old isn’t good enough — and never will be — to act and talk the way he does.

Pirates 2, Cardinals 1

Mitch Keller doesn’t get enough credit for being one of the more consistent starters across baseball. Last night, the right-hander put together seven innings of one-run ball. Pittsburgh will need to keep leaning on Keller every fifth day as it tries to run down St. Louis.

The Cardinals were hot for a while, separating themselves from the Pirates, Cubs and Reds at the bottom of the NL Central, so it was surprising to me when I noticed St. Louis now leads Pittsburgh by only one game. The Cardinals, unless Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt turn back the clock, are a pretty easy bet to miss the postseason.

Tigers 8, Guardians 3

A Tarik Skubal start and eight runs of support? That’s a winning formula for Detroit. Skubal wasn’t quite his normal, dominant self — he gave up 10 hits — but the Cy Young contender limited the damage to just one run, improving his record to 11-3.

Cleveland has had a nice year, but it’s been on fraud watch since April, so it’s not shocking that the Guardians have started slipping. The team is still 59-40, but there are noticeable cracks — cracks that are more obvious every time Carlos Carrasco is trotted out on the hill. The Guardians need to make a trade, and Chris Antonetti knows it.

Mets 6, Marlins 4

Francisco Lindor has a reputation as one of MLB’s best shortstops, but it doesn’t always feel warranted. That’s not a knock on Lindor — it’s hard to consistently outperform the rest of the league! Since late May, though, the 30-year-old has been an elite shortstop, lifting the Mets into the playoff chase and earning every penny of his $34.1 million salary. Lindor’s run continued in this win, as he went 2-for-4 with two homers.

Reds 4, Braves 1

Hunter Greene is becoming an ace before our eyes. The 24-year-old was named to his first All-Star team this season, and he’s been lights out for almost a month. After pitching seven scoreless innings in this contest, Greene’s ERA is down to 3.14.

Where has Atlanta’s offense gone? Injuries haven’t helped, but the Braves aren’t hitting anywhere close to the level they were in 2023. There are obvious candidates for improvement — I’m looking at you, Austin Riley, Matt Olson and Sean Murphy — but positive regression is no guarantee; Atlanta needs its pitching to be elite to win the World Series this season.

Cubs 3, Brewers 1

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer all but confirmed yesterday that his club won’t be a buyer later this month. At 49-53, that’s logical, but it probably doesn’t matter to Chicago’s players, who will likely keeping plugging along. If Ian Happ keeps up his July performance, perhaps Hoyer will even change his mind. Happ slugged homer No. 16 last night.

Brice Turang came running out of the gates this season with great speed, defense and contact hitting, but he ran right into a wall about a month ago and hasn’t gotten up. Turang continued his slump in this loss, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. I don’t think the second baseman should be leading off for the Brewers right now.

Braves sign 2B Whit Merrifield to one-year, $274,482 contract

The Braves received just about the worst news on Ozzie Albies possible, as the second baseman suffered a fractured wrist and will be sidelined for approximately eight weeks. Atlanta’s biggest move to replace Albies is promoting Nacho Alvarez, the club’s No. 5 prospect. Alvarez will get the first shot at replacing Albies on a full-time basis, but Merrifield will surely have opportunities in a utility role. At the league minimum, Atlanta could do worse than the experienced super-utility player, even if he hit just .199 with the Phillies this year.

Grade: B