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West Ham United youngster Flynn Downes has hinted at David Moyes to give him more playing time moving forward, having so far had his minutes restricted at his new club.

The Lowdown: Downes struggling for minutes

The 23-year-old has found himself very much on the fringes so far this season, playing just one minute of Premier League action, which came against Manchester City on the opening weekend.

Downes only joined West Ham from Swansea City during the summer transfer window but it appears as though he will have to bide his time to become a fixture in the team.

It looks like he is a little frustrated by the current situation, following some recent remarks in light of a rare start for the Irons.

The Latest: Downes’ message to Moyes

Speaking to The Athletic, Downes said that he hopes to feature more prominently after a ‘man-of-the-match’ performance (in the words of writer Roshane Thomas) in Thursday’s 1-0 win away to Anderlecht, but admitted that his game-time will be at the mercy of Moyes’ discretion.

The 23-year-old said of his scant game-time so far for West Ham:

“It’s been tough. For any player not playing it’s tough. You’ve just got to keep your head down, keep working hard, trying to improve and get in the team.

“Then, when you get opportunities like that, you’ve got to take them. That’s what I’m trying to do and I’ll give 100 per cent every time I go out there.

“I felt alright out there, felt sharp, felt strong, and obviously when you don’t play week in, week out, it’s hard to get that match fitness. There are so many games — that’s why we’ve got a big squad. Hopefully, the gaffer can see what I can do and hopefully he plays me a bit more.

“But that’s up to him.”

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The Verdict: Time for a Premier League start?

Downes was excellent in the aforementioned win over Anderlecht in the Europa Conference League, enjoying a 90% pass completion rate, winning 10 duels and making two interceptions, according to Sofascore.

Following that performance, Moyes admitted that the 23-year-old has given him “something to think about” and “did a really good job” in Brussels on Thursday.

With Tomas Soucek struggling to find his best form this season, now could potentially be an opportunity to hand the Englishman his first Premier League start alongside Declan Rice in the middle of the park – something which has been hinted by Thomas of late.

Sunday’s home clash against Fulham could be an opportunity for Moyes to do just that, although whether or not he will be bold enough to take a gamble on a relatively unproven player at top-flight level remains to be seen.

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah will be dropped in the coming weeks if his form doesn’t improve, according to former Leeds United striker and BBC Radio pundit Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: Salah struggling for form

The Reds are going through an extremely tough spell at the moment, producing performances and results which are a shadow of the team that nearly won a quadruple last season.

Endless individuals are struggling for form at present and Salah is undoubtedly one of them, with the Egyptian not managing to have his usual impact in the final third.

He has only scored twice in seven Premier League outings to date this season, with his last goal in the competition coming at Manchester United in August.

The Latest: Whelan says Mo will be axed

Speaking to Football Insider, former BBC Radio Leeds man Whelan claimed that Salah could be axed from Liverpool’s team by Jurgen Klopp:

“I expect Salah will be dropped soon, and I don’t mean rotated, either. He’s been poor by his high standards this season and he knows that himself deep down.

“Jurgen Klopp has stuck with him up until now, but I think that could be about to change this week.

“Roberto Firmino is scoring goals and playing well, Luis Diaz is pretty much the first name on the team sheet and Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez will be pushing hard to start, as well as Fabio Carvalho.

“Salah will probably benefit from a spell on the bench, to reignite the fire and motivation of last season. Sometimes you need a horrible bit of medicine. He hasn’t been the same brilliant player since the African Cup of Nations.”

The Verdict: Feels highly unlikely

While Salah is undoubtedly not at his best currently, it would still be a huge surprise if he found himself out of the starting lineup for an extended period.

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The 30-year-old still looks one of the Reds’ biggest attacking threats in most games and his work rate is excellent – he just looks short on confidence, like so many of his teammates.

Salah is simply too special a player not to overcome this current slump, however, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he returned to goalscoring ways against Rangers in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Southampton signed some incredible young talent this summer, with Sam Edozie, Romeo Lavia and Gavin Bazunu headlining a £66.06m outlay.

They also did not sign anyone older than 25, further supporting their philosophy of buying the next generation of world-class talent.

One man who they were linked with throughout the summer, and would perfectly fit this mould, is Cody Gakpo.

The 23-year-old has started this season off in sensational fashion too, surely infuriating Ralph Hasenhuttl, who would’ve been desperate to get this deal across the line.

The touted fee for the forward was around £25m, but if he should continue this kind of form until the next transfer window it will surely spark a huge increase.

He already has 10 goals and nine assists in just 13 games in all competitions – an astounding 19 goal contributions – while he makes an average of 4.4 key passes per game and boasts a 56% dribble success rate.

This unsurprisingly sees the forward average a simply sensational SofaScore rating of 8.99, with eight of his strikes coming in his last seven matches alone.

The Dutch international seems to grow with each year, seemingly preparing to improve upon last season’s phenomenal 21 goals and 15 assists in all competitions.

He will continue to show the Saints what they are missing, and it seems like with his continued red-hot form, they may struggle now to complete the deal should they move again for him in January.

Everyone will want the magical winger with skill, speed and a stunning finish.

Journalist Hamzah Khalique-Loonat actually labelled him “tall, fleet-footed and dangerous”.

The widespread interest in the summer seems like it was for good reason, as he continues to light up every competition he partakes in.

Former Netherlands midfielder Theo Janssen also had the following to say on Gakpo and his prospects in the national team: “That boy (Gakpo) has everything. Fine feeling for the ball, a good through ball, dribbles and is strong between the lines. I really enjoy him. He is going to be an important player for the Orange squad. 

“He is ready to be in the base of the Orange squad. I would definitely draft him. There are other options, but they are not as effective as him.”

Hasenhuttl will never forgive his hierarchy should they miss out again and have to suffer watching him inevitably shine for one of his rivals.

And does Sunil Gavaskar hold the record for scoring the lowest percentage of career runs in wins?

Steven Lynch26-Aug-2025Matt Breetzke just scored his fourth half-century in his fourth ODI. Has anyone else done this? asked Harvey Osborne from South Africa

By scoring 88 against Australia in Mackay last week, South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke became the first man to reach 50 in all of his first four one-day internationals: he started with 150 against New Zealand in Lahore in February, added 83 against Pakistan two days later, and then started last week with 57 against Australia in Cairns.Although Breetzke is the first to reach 50 in his first four ODI matches, there is another man who did it in his first four innings: India’s Navjot Singh Sidhu started his ODI career during the 1987 World Cup with innings of 73, 55, 51 and 55 – but that run included a match against Zimbabwe in which he did not bat.Only two other men have scored half-centuries in their first three ODIs, and both were representing Netherlands: Tom Cooper and Max O’Dowd.Australia’s top three all made centuries in the recent ODI in Mackay. Was this a first? asked Mike Roberts from Australia

Australia’s huge total of 431 for 2 against South Africa in Mackay last weekend included 142 from Travis Head, a round 100 by captain Mitchell Marsh, and an unbeaten 118 from Cameron Green. It was the fifth ODI innings to contain three centuries, but only the second time these had come from the top three in the order, after South Africa (439 for 2) against West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015, when Hashim Amla made 153 not out, Rilee Rossouw 128 and AB de Villiers 149 from 44 balls at No. 3. De Villiers’ century needed only 31 deliveries, the ODI record: Green’s 47-ball ton in Mackay puts him joint 11th on that list.Here are some more statistical highlights from the weekend’s match.No batter is repeated in Kraigg Brathwaite’s (left) haul of 29 Test wickets so far•AFP via Getty ImagesWhen Sam Konstas made his Test debut he was the youngest player in the side by about 11 years. Was this a record? asked Dean Harrison from Australia

Sam Konstas made his Test debut for Australia in Melbourne last year at 19: unusually, there was no one in their twenties in that Australian side; the next youngest was Marnus Labuschagne, who was 30 at the time.The age difference between Konstas and Labuschagne (about 11 years three months) is indeed a record for the youngest member of any Test side. Previously the record was nine years four months, between Aaqib Javed (aged 16) and Saleem Malik (25) for Pakistan against New Zealand in Wellington in 1989.There are a few bigger gaps between the most senior member of a Test team and the next oldest. The biggest of all is 17 years nine months, between Miran Bakhsh (aged 47) and Pakistan’s captain Abdul Hafeez Kardar (30) in two Tests in India early in 1955.In the very first Test, against Australia in Melbourne in 1877, England’s James Southerton – the oldest Test debutant of all, at 49 – was nearly 14 years older than his team-mate Tom Emmett, who was 35.Although Sunil Gavaskar scored more than 10,000 Test runs, only 1671 of them came in winning causes. Is that the lowest in terms of percentage in a career, among players who scored a minimum of 3000 runs? asked Kumar Bhagat from the UAE

You’re right that only 1671 of Sunil Gavaskar’s 10,122 Test runs came in victories. That’s 16.51%, which actually isn’t too bad for a time when India won rather less often than they do now. Among those who scored 3000 Test runs, there are 11 men whose percentage in wins is lower than Gavaskar’s: they include four other Indians – Vijay Manjrekar (270 out of 3208, or 8.42%), Polly Umrigar (456/3631, 12.56%), Ravi Shastri (492/3830, 12.85%) and Chandu Borde (504/3061, 16.47%).Lowest of all is Bangladesh’s Habibul Bashar: he scored 3026 Test runs, but only 149 (4.92%) came in wins. Two famous names come next: Hanif Mohammad made 3915 Test runs for Pakistan, but only 285 (7.28%) in wins, while John Reid’s 3428 runs for New Zealand included just 297 (8.66%) in victories.Who has taken the most Test wickets without ever dismissing one batter more than once? asked Ayan Ghosh from India

The leader here is a current player, although he’s out of favour at the moment and so might not get the chance to add to his tally. The West Indian opener Kraigg Brathwaite has taken 29 Test wickets so far, all of them different batters.Mohammad Ashraful of Bangladesh dismissed 21 different batters, and Sajeewa de Silva of Sri Lanka 16. Travis Head of Australia has dismissed 16 different men so far. The Surrey and England pair of Mark Butcher and Gareth Batty both took 15 Test wickets, all different people.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Ben Stokes is back from ODI retirement and Joe Root’s recent form isn’t inspiring. But England remain among favourites

Matt Roller29-Sep-20232:49

Can England defend their World Cup title?

World Cup pedigree: England are in uncharted territory as defending champions, sneaking past New Zealand on boundary count to win their maiden title at Lord’s four years ago. Once the laughing stock of one-day cricket – from 1992 and before the 2019 semi-finals, they hadn’t won a single knockout game at a 50-over World Cup – they are now among the favourites at every limited-overs ICC event.Recent form: This squad’s only meaningful preparation was last month, when they came from 0-1 down to beat New Zealand 3-1. England had only played nine ODIs in the preceding 13 months, and the entire World Cup squad rested during their recent 1-0 win against Ireland. Bilateral results have been considered low priority since Matthew Mott’s appointment as white-ball coach last year; after all, in 2022, his side peaked at the right time to lift the T20 World Cup in Australia.Selection: Ben Stokes returns as a specialist batter after a brief ODI retirement, while Harry Brook was a late replacement for Jason Roy. England have picked six seamers, anticipating niggles and a variety of conditions across their nine group games in eight different cities, while Jofra Archer will travel as a reserve.Related

• England rope in Indian sidearm specialist for World Cup prep

• Jason Roy axed from World Cup squad, Harry Brook included

• Brook vs Malan vs Roy – How three into two couldn't go

• Matthew Mott keeping World Cup reserve options open after show of power from back-up batters

Squad: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (capt, wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Harry Brook, David Willey, Reece Topley and Gus AtkinsonKey player: He has hardly played 50-over cricket in the last four years, but Joe Root was England’s leading run-scorer at the 2019 World Cup, and his fortunes as their fulcrum at No. 3 may decide their progress. Root is England’s best player of spin, and spent two months preparing for this World Cup while running drinks for Rajasthan Royals at the IPL earlier this year. Root will hope that tailored preparation can help him overcome a lean run in ODIs, having played just 19 of them since the 2019 World Cup, with three half-centuries and no hundreds.Rising star: Although an established all-format international and already an IPL millionaire, Sam Curran is the second-youngest player in England’s squad at 25, and is more likely to play a significant role than Brook, the designated spare batter. Curran has only played 26 ODIs, and his numbers do not stand out either, but he proved in Australia last year that he revels on the big stage. Expect him to be used in a variety of roles across the tournament.World Cup farewells? Where to start? Only three players in England’s squad are younger than 29, and most members will be in their late 30s by the time the 2027 World Cup comes around. There will almost certainly be a substantial changing of the guard after this tournament, and several members of the touring party are unlikely to feature in ODIs again, including Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.

A look at the inaugural edition of the IPL through ESPNcricinfo’s T20 stats metrics

Sampath Bandarupalli20-May-2021Shane Watson – The MVP of IPL 2008
Shane Watson was pivotal to Rajasthan Royals’ success in IPL 2008: he was the fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament with 472 runs, and the joint fourth-highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps. He was named the Player of the Tournament, and was also ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats MVP with an impact score of 61.9 per game, the highest for a player to have played at least seven matches in the season.ESPNcricinfo LtdWatson’s total impact points of 928.8 was 141.7 more than the second best, Sanath Jayasuriya (787.1). Watson came up with a stellar show against the Delhi Daredevils in the semi-finals. He first scored a 29-ball 52 from No.4, and later took out Delhi’s top three – Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan – inside the powerplay.That performance alone was worth 165.1 impact points, the second-highest in a match through the tournament, behind Brendon McCullum’s 230.2 impact points on the opening night, when he smashed an unbeaten 158 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 18, 2008. Chennai Super Kings’ Albie Morkel was fifth on the MVP list. Morkel, despite batting in only 10 innings, finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer for the Super Kings with 241 runs. He also took 17 wickets in only 13 games, the joint-most for the franchise.ESPNcricinfo Ltd Maharoof Trumps Tanvir
Farveez Maharoof occupies the second spot in the MVP list with an impact of 59.09 points per match. The Sri Lanka allrounder claimed 15 wickets across 10 matches and scored 125 runs. As a support act to Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif for the Daredevils, Maharoof made a mark with the ball, conceding only 6.91 runs per over. During the middle overs, Maharoof collected nine wickets and went at 6.09 runs an over. Only three players picked up more wickets during this phase in the tournament. His bowling rating in the tournament was 42.95, the highest among the bowlers to have played a minimum of seven matches. His rating was well ahead of Purple Cap winner Sohail Tanvir (35.9 points).Maharoof registered a higher impact than Tanvir since he dismissed key batters in key situations: 13 of the 15 batters he dismissed batted in the top six. In comparison, only 14 out of Tanvir’s 22 wickets were of top-six batters, and 16 came during the death overs. Tanvir had only six wickets in the powerplay, at an average of 23.5. He didn’t have any success in the 3.1 overs he bowled during the middle overs. The left-arm pacer’s 22 wickets were equivalent to only 19.91 Smart Wickets. Although Tanvir won the Purple Cap, he finished third highest in terms of Smart Wickets. The India duo of S Sreesanth and Manpreet Gony finished ahead since they had similar success by setting up games against top-order batters during the powerplay.ESPNcricinfo LtdSreesanth and Shaun Marsh top leaderboard for Smart Wickets and Runs
Sreesanth topped the charts with 24.1 Smart Wickets. Sreesanth, who played for Kings XI Punjab, took 13 wickets in the powerplay, the joint-highest alongside Gony, who played for the Super Kings. Both bowlers took 15 wickets of top-six batters. Gony’s 17 wickets were worth 22.02 Smart Wickets, as 10 of his scalps were of openers. Gony had the highest bowling impact, 479.87 points, and benefited from playing all 16 games in the tournament.Shaun Marsh dominated the batting charts, winning the Orange Cap as well as scoring the most Smart Runs. Marsh scored 616 runs while Gautam Gambhir finished in second place with 534 runs. However, according to the Smart Runs leaderboard, Jayasuriya took second spot, with his 514 runs effectively worth 600.05 Smart Runs. Despite the Mumbai Indians not making the knockouts, Jayasuriya stood out with the bat, striking at 167.63 and scoring a 45-ball hundred against CSK.ESPNcricinfo LtdYusuf Pathan is another player who ranks higher in the Smart Runs list than in the tournament leaderboard. Pathan amassed 435 runs at a whopping strike rate of 179.01; his runs were worth 499.82 Smart Runs, which put him fifth in terms of Smart Runs. Yusuf also made valuable contributions with the ball, picking up 13 wickets. His total impact in the tournament was 753.98 points, behind those of only Watson and Jayasuriya. Yusuf had an impact per game of 47.12, sixth-best on the MVP list.

Newcastle United are believed to have made a contract offer to one of their most important players, as they look to stave off potential interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.

Ross Wilson "delighted" with Newcastle job

The Magpies have made huge progress on the pitch in recent years, excelling under Eddie Howe, but important figures off the field have also played their part in the club’s success.

Earlier this week, Ross Wilson was confirmed as Newcastle’s new sporting director, taking on the role vacated by Paul Mitchell, and he has spoken of his delight at coming in at St James’ Park.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be here at Newcastle United. This is such a special club, and I fully understand the passion, ambition and expectations of our incredible supporters, as well as the ambition and desire of our ownership to keep developing and building an even stronger Newcastle United.

“My conversations with ownership have been extremely positive, and I’ve also been in regular contact with Eddie Howe and David Hopkinson. The trust, cohesion and alignment we’re building already feels strong, and we believe that being united as a team will be so important as we continue to move the club forward together. I’m excited to work with everyone across the different areas within our football department.”

Now, a significant piece of Newcastle contract news has emerged, as the club look to tie down one of the most influential players at the club.

Newcastle make contract offer to star player

According to UOL [via Sport Witness], Newcastle have offered Bruno Guimaraes a new deal until the summer of 2030, continuing to see him as a huge figure.

The Magpies are wary that Saudi clubs could come in with bids for the Brazilian at some point in the future, so they are looking to tie him down for the next five years.

Bruno signing a new contract at Newcastle would be huge for anyone associated with the club, with his influence and passion at the heart of the midfield huge ever since he arrived at the club.

The 27-year-old’s quality was on show in last weekend’s 2-0 win at home to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, with Howe lauding him after the game.

“I thought we had control of the second half and we needed a moment to bring us the goal. Bruno’s goal was a moment of magic from an unbelievable player. He makes a difference more often than not.”

Anderson re-signs; £75m PL star joins: Ross Wilson's dream XI at Newcastle

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By
Angus Sinclair

Oct 11, 2025

At 27, the £160,000-a-week Bruno is at the peak of his powers, and there is no reason why that will change in the next three or four years, so giving him a contract extension is a no-brainer, also putting them in a strong position if another club does make a move for him, in terms of being able to demand huge money.

Sunderland can keep up their impressive record against arch rivals Newcastle United when Sunday rolls around.

Indeed, looking back at the more recent iterations of the fierce Tyne-Wear Derby, the Black Cats have some memorable victories to their name, with a 3-0 win in Sunderland’s favour being the last scoreline when the two rivals faced off at the Stadium of Light in Premier League action back in 2015.

Since then, there has been only one meeting on Wearside soil in early 2024, when the then Championship strugglers were trounced by the Magpies 3-0 in the FA Cup.

Now, however, Regis Le Bris’ men will hope to collect another memorable league victory against their sworn enemy, with one figure in his talented camp now standing out as a modern-day version of Kevin Ball, who featured in various Tyne-Wear derbies himself as a legend of the club.

Kevin Ball's legend status at Sunderland

Noted as being a Sunderland legend in “the truest sense of the word” by current chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus in 2022, Ball really did embody the fighting spirit the Black Cats will need to show against Newcastle on the weekend throughout his long-standing stay on Wearside.

Lauded for always being “a warrior on the pitch”, by former Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson, Ball would go on to make a staggering 388 appearances for his beloved team, with many a memorable showdown with Newcastle popping up.

Ball’s consistent brilliance from the middle of the park would further see him chip in with 27 goals, which included this diving header being expertly put away.

On top of often being in the right place at the right time to put his neck on the line, the Black Cats hall-of-famer would also go on to collect two Player of the Year accolades at the end of the 1990/91 season and the close of the 1996/97 campaign, while also even temporarily being handed the reins as Sunderland’s caretaker boss in 2013.

To put it simply, Ball is synonymous with the famous red and white stripes of Sunderland, with Le Bris hoping he can see the same verve and determination Ball had in spades coursing through his team’s veins on Sunday, as one key individual – in particular – continues to stick out as a Ball-style figure.

The £110k-per-week star who is Le Bris' own Ball

Unfortunately, the Frenchman will be without Luke O’Nien for the showdown with the Magpies after his red card against Manchester City.

The no-nonsense 31-year-old would have loved to feature against Sunderland’s Tyneside enemies if he hadn’t been dismissed, with O’Nien recently being branded as a “remarkable” icon of the club by EFL pundit George Elek.

He’s worthy of such adoration, as well, as the full-blooded defender has notched up a crazy 316 appearances for his team now. His mammoth journey started way back in League One, with his dedication to the cause undoubtedly similar to that of Ball’s.

Yet, even with these substantial numbers next to O’Nien’s name, Granit Xhaka is managing to stand out even more as a figure made in the same mould as the ex-Sunderland captain

The Swiss international is not afraid to launch himself into a tackle or a battle if necessary, as seen in him being branded a “monster” centrally by Arsenal-based writer Connor Humm, when he was still at the Emirates.

Games played

15

Goals scored

1

Assists

4

Touches*

66.5

Accurate passes*

42.3 (83%)

Key passes*

1.2

Big chances created

5

Ball recoveries*

4.5

Total duels won*

5.4

But, much like Ball, too, as seen when looking at his mightily impressive statistics at Sunderland so far this season, Xhaka is more than capable of popping up with a crucial goal and assist, with his one goal and four assists this campaign sitting pretty next to his 5.4 duels won on average.

Managing to collect six wins in the North London Derby when on the books of the Gunners, Xhaka’s know-how under pressure has already seen him be handed the Sunderland captain’s armband, amid shouts that he is the club’s “signing of the season” by Wayne Rooney.

Of course, he still has some time to go before he will be considered a Hall-of-Fame-worthy recipient like Ball, but it’s clear from his past exploits at Arsenal and his battling nature with the Black Cats so far that the £110k-per-week star will leave everything out on the pitch against Newcastle, just like Ball would have done.

The nerves will be there from Sunderland’s perspective, with the Premier League not hosting this tense contest since 2016.

But, with Xhaka present, Le Bris will be optimistic that his side can reign supreme, to continue their fine start to the season.

Sunderland's "signing of the season" is now their best player since Amad

This Sunderland star has been the club’s most impactful signing since Amad Diallo.

ByDan Emery 6 days ago

A bizarre moment took place Friday night at Oracle Park when a fan appeared to test his arm in the middle of the San Francisco Giants-Atlanta Braves game.

There's a time and a place to see how far you can throw a baseball, but the fourth inning of an MLB game is not one of them. In that frame, Braves' Sean Murphy hit a fly ball to right field as Matt Olson rounded third and raced toward home plate. As Olson got closer to home, a second ball was thrown from the upper stands at Oracle Park and landed on the field near home plate. This happened just as Giants' Mike Yastrzemski made a throw to try and get Olson out.

After collecting the throw home, Giants' catcher Patrick Bailey quizzically looked around, clearly baffled by the whole situation.

Watch that weird play below:

Olson ended up scoring on the play. The umpires convened to discuss the play but didn't issue any rulings, and the game resumed as if nothing had happened.

Afterward, Giants manager Bob Melvin spoke about how confused he was by the strange incident.

"That's a first," Melvin said. "I've never seen that before. I don't know where it came from. I don't know what the rule is. I think everybody was a little surprised by it. It didn't affect the play but it was extremely odd to see another baseball come on the field."

Maybe someone on the Giants' subreddit has an idea of who's to blame here. The Giants went on to beat the Braves, 5-4.

Former Liverpool star Sadio Mane explained exactly why he's blown away by 'incredible' Al-Nassr team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. Mane has shared a dressing room with Ronaldo for more than two years and has built a formidable partnership with the Portuguese legend in the Al-Nassr attack. Mane moved to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023, just six months after Ronaldo arrived at the club.

• Mane and Ronaldo Al-Nassr's brightest stars

  Al-Nassr set the trend of signing top players from across the world in January 2023 when they shocked everyone by securing a transfer for Ronaldo, who was a free agent at that time after leaving Manchester United by mutual agreement in November 2022. The former Real Madrid, Juventus and United star's arrival in the Kingdom created quite a stir and also opened new avenues for the other Saudi Pro League clubs.

  In the subsequent summer, top stars from European football headed to the Middle East, with the likes of Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante joining Al-Ittihad, while Neymar moved to Al-Hilal. Al-Nassr too further bolstered their attack by signing Mane from Bayern Munich.

  In the last two seasons, Al-Nassr have made several high-profile signings, especially in the last transfer window as they landed Joao Felix, Inigo Martinez and Kingsley Coman. However, Mane and Ronaldo continue to remain the brightest star in their squad.

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  'I've never seen another player like him'

  Speaking highly of his Portuguese colleague, the ex-Liverpool winger said via : "I didn't know him, but I read and saw on television things about his dedication, his mentality, and his professionalism. When I arrived in Saudi Arabia, that's exactly what I saw. It's incredible. Even at 40 years old, you can see that. He's an athlete, a complete athlete. He's an example for all footballers in the world. That's Cristiano. His mentality, his thirst for victory… His professionalism is impressive. I've never seen another player like him."

• Ronaldo told he is 'the best in history'

  A couple of weeks ago, a former Al-Nassr team-mate of Ronado, Anderson Talisca had told : "It was an incredible two years. When he arrived, I had already been there for two years. I spent four years at the club, an incredible story. Playing with him was surreal, it was a dream for me. For me, he is the best in history. We trained together and did incredible things. Working with him, for me, as an athlete and as a human being, was about maximising the athlete's potential, being more professional, caring more about himself. It was incredible."

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  1000 goals and titles on Ronaldo's mind

  After failing to win a single major trophy in Saudi Arabia in his first two and a half years, Ronaldo is determined to end his wait for silverware this season. He urged the club to sign quality players like Felix and Coman, alongside former Barcelona defenderMartinez and so far the investment has paid off. Al-Nassr, under the tutelage of Jorge Jesus, have won their first eight matches in the Saudi Pro League and are three points clear at the top of the table.

  Ronaldo will also aim to reach the 1000-goal mark at the end of the season, although it will be difficult to achieve the feat this season itself as he is still 47 goals short of the magic figure. Al-Nassr will next face Al-Khaleef in the SPL on Sunday.