First Call: Steelers’ preseason kickoff times set; Oneil Cruz has a Statcast challenger in the division; wildfires cancel games
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Thursday’s “First Call” has the remaining details about the Steelers preseason schedule. The teams directly in front of and behind the Pirates in the standings lit it up on Wednesday.
Plus some eerie photos of Yankee Stadium as the Canadian wildfires are forcing Major League Baseball cancellations.
Now it’s known
We’ve been aware of the Steelers schedule for a while. Now the final details have been ironed out.
The NFL has finalized the full preseason schedule for the 2023 season. That now includes kickoff times for Steelers’ three preseason games.
The 2023 preseason opener is Friday, Aug. 11 in Tampa Bay. Game No. 1 will have a 7 p.m. kickoff time.
The Steelers host the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 19 for the second preseason game. It’s a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.
The third (and final) preseason game is slated for Thursday, Aug. 24 in Atlanta. That is a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
As of now, none of the Steelers’ preseason games will appear exclusively on national television. So all three games will air locally on KDKA-TV Pittsburgh. Radio broadcasts can be heard on 102.5 WDVE-FM/ESPN Pittsburgh and the Steelers Radio Network.
Joltin’ Joey
If the team that is chasing you in the standings can’t beat the worst team in baseball, take advantage of it.
That’s what the Milwaukee Brewers have done the past two days as the Pirates dropped consecutive games to the dreadful Oakland A’s. Following a 4-3 10th inning win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, Milwaukee blew out the Birds on Wednesday, 10-2.
Joey Wiemer had the game-winning hit Tuesday. He also homered twice on Wednesday.
Red hot #ThisIsMyCrew | @JWiems17 pic.twitter.com/U0IkdP1Rtu
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 8, 2023
Everyone here: Joey! Joey! Joey! #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/4JDgCzAptj
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 8, 2023
Wiemer now has eight home runs and an eight-game hitting streak. The Brewers lead the Pirates by 1½ games atop the National League Central standings.
Cruz’s competition
It looks like injured Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz has some competition for being Major League Baseball’s biggest “Statcast star.”
And it’s coming from Cincinnati Reds phenom Elly De La Cruz. In his second MLB game, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound shortstop hit a home run 458 feet off of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Noah Syndergaard Wednesday. It left the park at 114.8 mph.
Elly De La Cruz casually goes 458 feet for his first MLB career home run… pic.twitter.com/diImkK58YP
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 7, 2023
Cruz hit a single at 122.4 mph against the Atlanta Braves last year, the hardest-hit ball in the seven years that Major League Baseball has measured exit velocity.
De la Cruz, a 21-year-old Dominican prospect, also knocked a triple to right center. He got to third base in less than 11 seconds. That’s the fastest-tracked home-to-third time in MLB this season.
Elly De La Cruz recorded a 10.83 home-to-third speed on this triple.
That's the fastest-tracked home-to-third time in MLB this season.
(h/t @SlangsOnSports) pic.twitter.com/UhXmPPFpcs
— MLB (@MLB) June 8, 2023
The Reds went on to win the game 8-6 on a Will Benson walk-off homer.
Will Benson's first career home run is a walk-off winner!
The second consecutive walk-off win for the Rally @Reds over the Dodgers!
What a night! #ATOBTTR pic.twitter.com/CHFWzo8PQT
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) June 8, 2023
That was the first homer of his career. Cincy is now just 3½ behind the Pirates for second place in the Central Division and five behind the Brewers.
Forced by the fire
The Canadian wildfires are so bad that Major League Baseball postponed games in New York and Philadelphia on Wednesday night because of poor air quality.
The New York Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader starting at 4:05 p.m. ET on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies’ contest against the Detroit Tigers was pushed back until 6:05 p.m. ET on Thursday. It was originally a day off for both teams.
What Yankee Stadium normally looks like vs. what it look like today pic.twitter.com/uutCu4Znqh
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) June 7, 2023
MLB issued a statement saying, “These postponements were determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and all of the impacted clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in both cities.”
Via ESPN.com, the National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for New York City, saying, “the New York State Department of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects.” In Philadelphia, the NWS issued a Code Red.