#player-performance

#player-performance

The Ecuadorian was billed as a replacement for Theo Hernandez when he joined Milan from Brighton last summer, lumbered with unreasonable comparison from the start. Hernandez, at his best, was one of the most effective attacking full-backs on the planet. Estupinan, at 28, is yet to put himself in that conversation, but the hope was that he could offer some of the same directness and ability to get up and down the left flank.

When I'm playing someone who's at the top like that, I think they have an extra 10 miles an hour on their serve than me. If I'm not feeling it, that gap feels more evident in terms of weight of shot, in terms of power. You just feel a little bit behind and your punches aren't landing as much as theirs are.

Newly signed star closer Edwin Diaz and Team Puerto Rico will face Team Colombia at 3 p.m. Pacific Time. That game will be broadcast on FS1. It's the squad's first game of the WBC, and it also will mark Diaz's return to the competition after he sustained a ruptured tendon while celebrating a strikeout in the 2023 WBC.

India and England two teams vying to become record-breaking three-time T20 World Cup champions will meet in the second semifinal of the tournament on Thursday. India are also out to break the voodoo of a host nation and defending champion successfully retain the title, but England will hope the pressure of playing in front of a cricket-crazy home crowd will help halt their opponent's march at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Boston acquired Willson "Don't Forget The Second L" Contreras in late December from the St. Louis Cardinals, in exchange for SP Hunter Dobbins and pitching prospects Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita. A catcher for the first nine years of his career with the Cubs and Cardinals, Contreras shifted to first base a year ago, playing 120 games at the position to go with 15 at designated hitter.

He looked like the rare interior guy whose movement skills popped straight off the bat. He put in an impressive 5.02s forty yard time plus an explosive 32" vertical (both 94th percentile), and then he repeatedly stood out in the drills. The on-field activity was the separator with Bisontis, his pass-pro sets looked natural for a player with tackle experience, so the workout read like a plug-and-play starter.