Let’s start with the good from the Phillies. They won their fourth-straight series after taking two out of three against the Nationals over the weekend.

Friday night was an absolutely dominant 12-2 rout of the Nats at Nationals Park. Odubel Herrera went 4 for 5 with two RBIs and a home run, while Carlos Santana brought in four runs. Nick Williams also had three RBIs, and Zach Eflin had another strong outing on the mound.

The next two games would be more competitive battles. Thanks to Maikel Franco going 4 for 4 at the plate and scoring two runs, including a big one in the top of the seventh, the Phils won by a 5-3 margin.

Last night’s game had a little bit of everything. The Phils jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a Rhys Hoskins dinger before the Nationals tied things up. With two men on base and no outs in the bottom of the fourth, the game was delayed 38 minutes due to rain. After that, Nick Pivetta struck out the next three batters. He struck out seven, but also gave up eight hits and two runs.

It looked like the Phillies would return home with a sweep after Odubel Herrera tripled and Nick Williams each brought in two runs to extend the lead to 6-2. But the Nats scored three runs in the sixth and in the eighth to salvage an 8-6 win.

A terrible way to end the weekend. And to make things worse, Franco and Andrew Knapp got injured in last night’s loss. Neither injury looks to be serious, and Franco has even mentioned about playing tonight. The team did activate Dylan Cozens off the DL, but placed Jesmuel Valentin on paternity leave. The baby was born late last night or early this morning:

Speaking of Franco, trade rumors began this weekend, with the San Diego Padres being one of the teams interested in him.

A big interleague series begins tonight as the Phils welcome the New York Yankees to town. Vince Velasquez gets things started tonight at 7:05 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

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The Roundup:

Check out a brand new episode of the Crossing Broadcast, featuring the Phillies, Markelle Fultz and his yips, and the World Cup.

Speaking of drafts, the Flyers came out of the NHL Draft with two first round picks, a bunch of other picks, and still with Wayne Simmonds. Pretty much a quiet couple of days before free agency starts on Sunday.

Here’s the Class of 2018:

  • LW Joel Farabee (1st Round, Pick 14), USNTDP (USHL)
  • C Jay O’Brien (1st Round, Pick 19), Thayer Academy (MA), going to Providence College next year
  • D Adam Ginning (2nd Round, Pick 50), Linköpings HC (SHL)
  • D Jack St. Ivany (4th Round, Pick 112), Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
  • D Wyatte Wylie (5th Round, Pick 127), Everett Silvertips (WHL)
  • G Samuel Ersson (5th Round, Pick 143), Brynäs IF Gävle J20 (SuperElit)
  • C/LW Gavin Hain (6th Round, Pick 174), USNTDP (USHL)
  • Marcus Westfält (7th Round, Pick 205), Brynäs IF Gävle (SHL)

According to Corey Pronman of The Athletic, it didn’t impress him:

https://twitter.com/nickhlywiak/status/1010708145763684354

Flyers GM Ron Hextall trusted his scouts throughout the entire draft process, especially with the O’Brien pick:

“I’ve never been one to be safe. I don’t think it’s a good philosophy,” Hextall said. “I don’t think you can be successful that way.”

A safe pick would have been Rasmus Kupari, Isac Lundestrom, or Joe Veleno, three centers who have faced stiffer competition and were ranked higher than the Providence-bound O’Brien by most scouts and drafting experts. All went later in the first round, Kupari to Los Angeles at No. 20, Lundestrom to Anaheim at No. 23, and Veleno to Detroit at No. 30.

In the end, Hextall showed his trust in his scouts.

“If we believe in something, we do it,” Hextall said. “We believed in picking Jay O’Brien higher than most people thought he should go, and we feel good about it.”

He was also trying to move up in the first round but couldn’t get a trade going.

Next up is free agency in a week. It looks like we know the goalie situation moving forward, with Petr Mrazek not coming back:

Meanwhile, it appears the Vegas Golden Knights don’t like Flyers fans invading their arena.

More on Brett Brown and the Mikal Bridges trade from Thursday night’s NBA Draft, including how the Sixers live stream reacted to the trade.

NBA trainer Drew Hanlen has been working with Markelle Fultz this offseason. He said Fultz had a case of the yips and hopes to have his shot back by the end of the summer.

Free agents can begin to talk to teams on July 1. They can officially sign contracts on July 6.

Lot of former Eagle news here. First, former cornerback Lito Sheppard’s car was allegedly vandalized by another former Eagle, wide receiver Jabar Gaffney.

Former wide receiver Jason Avant is on American Ninja Warrior tonight at 9 PM on NBC.

https://www.facebook.com/anwnation/videos/10156425247144395/

The Birds love their old veterans. They have 10 guys over the age of 30.

Take a behind the scenes look at how the Eagles ring party went.

Finally, more mocking of the Vikings “Skol” chant? Yes please.

As Sebastian Le Toux got inducted into the Union’s Ring of Honor, the squad shutout the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0 at Talen Energy Stadium on Saturday. Borek Dockal scored twice for the Union, while Ilsinho and Fafa Picault also added goals. Their next game is on Saturday out on the west coast against Los Angeles FC for the first ever meeting between the two teams.

In other sports news, here’s a look at how things stand in the FIFA World Cup after each country has played two out of their three matches in group play.

Today, Uruguay-Russia and Egypt-Saudi Arabia play at 10 AM, while Spain-Morocco and Portugal-Iran face each other at 2 PM.

Mike Missanelli and producer Tyrone Johnson got in a heated argument before Missanelli’s show started on Friday.

LeBron doesn’t want to hear elaborate recruiting pitches this time around.

John Carlson and the Washington Capitals agreed to a new eight-year deal worth $64 million.

In the news, a small plane illegally landed on a Coast Guard beach in Cape May.

US prosecutors have cancelled a meeting with Stormy Daniels.

Amazon Prime discounts are starting to appear at Whole Foods stores.