MLB

First Call: What will Baltimore do with Trace McSorley?, Gronk’s acting, a monster homer

Tim Benz
Slide 1
Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley throws a pass over Pitt’s Saleem Brightwell during the first quarter Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, at Heinz Field. Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Share this post:

In Thursday’s “First Call,” Gronk’s acting debut. What the future holds for Trace McSorley in Baltimore. A bad break in Cleveland. And a bad fate for the Islanders?


McSorley mash-up

So, what are the Baltimore Ravens going to do with former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley?

It sounds like … everything.

Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta said the following on PFT Live: “He’s fast, he’s strong, he’s tough, he’s a playmaker, he’s a football player. We’ve seen other teams find ways to play with players like this and they can help you win football games. He fits our defense, he fits our offense, he fits special teams.”

The ProFootballTalk post went on to say, “McSorley could get playing time at safety, as well as making some plays on offense, returning kicks, possibly even punting if the Ravens asked him to.”

That is an interesting turn for a player who said he only wanted to be a quarterback in the NFL. I wonder if the high praise is an effort to help McSorley buy in.

Actually, I don’t wonder. That’s exactly what is happening here.


Let me know when it lands

Watch this bomb from Minnesota Twins second baseman Jonathan Schoop.

That was 465 feet into the upper deck of Target Field for Schoop’s fifth homer of the year.

Play it again. Listen to how understated the play-by-play guy is. I mean, I assume that this is the Houston play-by-play team. But, good Lord, man! You’ve got to get excited watching a ball like that fly, right?

The Twins went on to win 6-2.


See you at the Oscars

I hope Rob Gronkowski’s acting gets better. If it doesn’t, he may come back to football and torture the Steelers some more.

Take a look at Gronk at the Billboard Music Awards, portraying a security guard.

Wow. Breathtaking stuff. Clearly the best security guard performance since Kevin James’ first “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” film.


That’s bad

It’s already been a rough season for Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber. And it just got worse.

The two-time American League Cy Young winner entered Wednesday’s game against the Marlins with a 5.81 ERA over six starts, the highest of his career.

Now he’s got a broken pitching arm.

Brian Anderson’s 102-mph line drive resulted in a “non-displaced fracture of the ulna.” According to MLB.com, another pitcher — Toronto prospect Nate Pearson — was in a cast for five weeks after suffering a similar injury.

Cleveland ended up losing 4-2.


Skate save and a beauty

There were plenty of highlights for the Hurricanes en route to their 5-2 win over the Islanders in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

But none were better than this skate-blade save by goaltender Curtis McElhinney.

McElhinney stopped 28 of 30 shots for the ’Canes. They are now up 3-0 on the Islanders in the best-of-seven series.

So the team that swept the Penguins may now get swept themselves. The teams will play Game 4 on Friday.

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Tags:
Sports and Partner News