⚾️ Y! Sports AM: What's wrong with Paul Skenes?
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🚨 HEADLINES
⚾️ Skubal loses Dodgers debut: Tarik Skubal pitched well in his Dodgers debut (6 IP, 2 ER), but his new team's bats went silent in a 5-1 loss to the Cubs. And the fans at Wrigley Field gave him and the Dodgers a taste of what's to come the rest of the season, raining boos down on the team that "ruined baseball."
🏈 Mega extensions: The Falcons gave Bijan Robinson a three-year extension worth up to $75M, making him the highest-paid RB ever; The Ravens gave Zay Flowers a four-year, $140M extension with $108M guaranteed, the most ever for a WR; The Bears gave Darnell Wright a four-year, $116M extension, the richest ever for a right tackle.
🎾 Alcaraz withdraws: Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the upcoming Cincinnati Open due to his lingering wrist injury, despite it reportedly being "completely healed" for the past few weeks. His status for the U.S. Open remains up in the air.
🏀 Cleveland Sirens: Cleveland's WNBA expansion franchise will be called the Sirens, named for "Lake Erie's power and pull." The league's 16th team is set to debut in 2028, followed by additional expansion clubs in 2029 (Detroit) and 2030 (Philadelphia).
⛳️ Koivun's latest honor: PGA Tour rookie Jackson Koivun, currently in the hunt for a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, was named the SEC Male Athlete of the Year, becoming the first golfer to win the award in its 51-year history, and the first Auburn athlete to win it since Bo Jackson in 1986.
See what else is trending on Yahoo Sports.
⚾️ WHAT'S WRONG WITH PAUL SKENES?
(Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)Paul Skenes takes the mound today in unfamiliar territory. For the first time in his brief but brilliant career, Pittsburgh's ace is legitimately struggling.
A month to forget: The reigning NL Cy Young pitched to a 6.25 ERA in six July starts — 6.38 if you include his final sub-par outing of June. That's raised his season-long ERA from 2.86 to 3.90, and put a massive dent in his chances of winning another Cy Young this year.
- It hasn't been all bad, as Skenes mixed three victories into the middle of his month, but he's suddenly allowing far more men to reach base, and then struggling to keep them from scoring.
- While he remains an elite strikeout merchant, his hit and walk rates have nearly doubled, allowing 1.2 hits per inning in his last seven starts (up from 0.73 in his first 16) and issuing 0.38 walks per inning (up from 0.2).
Wild stat: Skenes has allowed 5+ earned runs as many times in his last six starts (3) as he did in the first 72 starts of his career.
What's causing this? Skenes' slump is likely due, at least indirectly, to his velocity being way down. After throwing 1,552 pitches at 98+ mph across his first two seasons (an average of 28 per start), he's thrown just 95 such pitches this year (4 per start).
- On the one hand, he said recently that "I don't think velocity is something I need to pitch well," and there are numbers that lend credence to that claim: His opponent batting average and slugging percentage against his four-seamer are in line with career norms.
- But the issue is how that dip in velocity affects the rest of his arsenal. Indeed, batters are crushing his offspeed pitches this season (.286 AVG and .397 SLG, up from .189/.250 last year), as they no longer need to sell out for a triple-digit heater.
Looking ahead: The worst-case scenario is that Skenes, like so many other young flamethrowers, is beginning to show the signs of what will eventually lead to elbow surgery. But he also may just be enduring a blip fueled by some bad luck (his 2.91 FIP* ranks sixth in the majors). We'll see if he can right the ship tonight against Milwaukee (7:30pm ET, ESPN).
*FIP, explained: Fielding Independent Pitching is similar to ERA, but it focuses only on events pitchers have control over — strikeouts, walks, hit-by-pitches and home runs. In other words, it removes results on balls hit into the field of play.
🏀 CAITLIN CLARK JUST WANTS TO SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE
(Soobum Im/Getty Images)Caitlin Clark just wants to "shut up and dribble." It's time for people on both sides of the political divide to let her.
Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports:
No matter the discourse that flares up around her style of play, the fouls she takes from opposing players or the various political controversies that find their way into the WNBA ecosystem, Caitlin Clark has been remarkably consistent about one thing during her entire career.
She wants no part of your agenda.
If you're on the left and believe Clark is doing something to foster online racism and harassment toward her opponents, it is apparent that no amount of denunciation (which she has done many times) will convince you that she just wants to play ball.
And if you're on the other side of the spectrum, trying to bait her into one of these hot-button debates that dominates right-wing media, you, too, will find yourself disappointed by her equal-opportunity evasiveness.
In an era where every athlete is supposed to have an opinion on everything for the rest of us to judge as we retreat into ideological camps, here's a basketball player who literally just wants to shut up and dribble.
And her reward is getting attacked from both sides.
It's exhausting. It's pathetic. And everyone would be much better off if they simply let Clark handle her career and her image in the way she sees fit.
🏈 BIJAN RUNS IT BACK IN ATLANTA
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)The following is an excerpt from Yahoo Sports Biz, our new sports business newsletter authored by Dylan Dittrich. Sign up here to get on the list.
Bijan Robinson became the highest-paid running back in NFL history on Tuesday, signing a three-year extension with the Falcons worth up to $75 million.
The impact: While the deal raises the bar for the position (great news for Jahmyr Gibbs), it doesn't radically alter the complexion of a league that has paid less of the cap to star running backs over the last decade. Nor does its three-year term represent a marked shift from prioritizing youth at the position.
Youth movement: Teams have grown accustomed to restraining their running-back investment beyond a certain age — usually a back's mid-to-late 20s — instead prioritizing youth at the position.
- The cash-pay chart above only looks as favorable as it does in recent years because of the high draft positions and hefty signing bonuses for Ashton Jeanty (6th in 2025) and Jeremiyah Love (3rd in 2026). Teams are willing to invest in a back's explosive early years.
- Superstars at the position still earn lucrative second contracts, so long as those deals don't take them past their presumed shelf-lives. Robinson's contract extends through his age-28 season, offering the Falcons protection from a decline.
Bye-bye, bell cow: The league emphasis on passing and the prioritization of fresh legs has numbered the days of the traditional bell-cow running back. This season's highest-paid running back (by cap hit) is Jonathan Taylor, whose hit ranks only 110th in the league. 15 years ago, Adrian Peterson ranked 13th. No running back in the last decade has cracked the top 20.
Quarterback envy: In 2011, the top QB cap-hit belonged to Peyton Manning at $16 million, while Peterson's trailed closely behind at $13 million. Compare that to the upcoming season: Matthew Stafford's hit is $48.2 million, up 201% from the Sheriff's, while Jonathan Taylor's $15.5 million is only a 20% improvement on AP's.
Go deeper:Bijan Robinson's extension resets our beliefs about the value of running backs(Jeff Eisenberg, Yahoo Sports)
🏈 BUCKEYES, DUCKS TOP PRESEASON POLL
(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports)The Big Ten has the top two teams in the 2026 preseason Coaches Poll, with Ohio State at No. 1 and Oregon at No. 2.
Conference call: While the Big Ten has three of the top six teams in the poll, the SEC has five teams in the top 10 and nine ranked teams overall, one more than the Big Ten's eight. The Big 12 has four teams in the top 25, while the ACC has three.
📺 WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5
Seattle celebrates after winning last year's Leagues Cup. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)⚽️ Leagues Cup, Group Stage
The World Cup is over, but the Leagues Cup is here, as 36 teams from MLS and Liga MX are competing in a month-long tournament for North American bragging rights and spots in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
South of the border: For the first time ever, there will be Leagues Cup matches played in Mexico, starting with tonight's headliner between top-seeded Toluca and defending champion Seattle (10pm ET, Apple/FS1). Another one worth watching: Lionel Messi and Inter Miami host Atlético de San Luis (7:30pm, Apple).
More to watch:
- ⚾️ MLB: Cardinals at Yankees (7:05pm, Prime); Pirates at Brewers (7:30pm, ESPN) … Can Paul Skenes (6.25 ERA in July) bounce back in August?
- 🏀 WNBA: Storm at Liberty (7pm, USA); Sparks at Sky (9pm, USA) … New York (18-13) has won five of six, immediately after losing six of seven.
🥇 TRIVIA TIME
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)Question: 10 years ago today, the 2016 Summer Olympics kicked off in what city?
Answer at the bottom.
🌊 PHOTO FINISH
(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AFP via Getty Images)The annual World Dog Surfing Championships were held this weekend in Pacifica, California (about 14 miles south of San Francisco), and the photos did not disappoint. Way to rip, Rusty!
(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)The dogs, sporting colorful life vests, were assisted by human participants, who spotted the best waves to carry them to shore as thousands of spectators cheered — and barked — from the beach.
(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)The event, which benefits local animal charities, included a tandem competition. Here we have Bradley "Shortboard" Cooper, Rippin' Rosie and Charlie competing as the "dream team.” Absolute legends.
Trivia answer: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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