Anchor Drop, April 23, 2023: Drowning in a funnel of Franzia

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

Well, that sucked: Vanderbilt ensured itself a series loss with a 17-1 loss to Tennessee yesterday, a game in which Bryce Cunningham started in place of the, uh, fatigued Hunter Owen, gave up nine runs, got two outs, and got yanked for Sam Hliboki ... who gave up four runs in 3.1 innings. On the other side of things, R.J. Schreck hit a first-inning home run and that 1-0 lead was the high-water mark of the day for Vanderbilt.

And then, well...

“He’s on the roster?” Look, if Jerry Stackhouse said this after a blowout loss in which he benched a starter... oh, right. The point is, the fan base would be collectively losing its shit. As it probably should. I mean, yes, Vanderbilt was ranked as the #4 team in the country entering this week. You cannot pull this shit against Tennessee. It’s the rare time that I have to just say I do not understand what Corbin is doing here. That quote almost makes it sound like it’s now a disciplinary issue. Anyway, Game 3 is today at noon CT on ESPN2. Do better, guys.

(Now, full perspective: again, this team entered the week in first place in the SEC and ranked fourth in the country. Still, we hate losing to Tennessee. Tim Corbin should know this by now, if we did not make it abundantly clear last year.)

In other news, men’s golf beat Alabama and Tennessee on Saturday to advance to the final game of match play, in which the Commodores will play Florida looking to make it three consecutive SEC titles. That match starts at 7 AM CT and will air on the SEC Network.

Lacrosse dropped to 3-11 on the season with yesterday’s 22-6 loss at Florida.

Sports on TV

All times Central. SEC baseball schedule here.

• 11:05 AM: MLB: Rockies at Phillies (Peacock)
• 12:00 PM: NBA: Cavaliers at Knicks, Game 4 (ABC)
• 12:00 PM: PGA Tour: Zurich Classic, Final Round (Golf Channel)
• 12:00 PM: NHL: Hurricanes at Islanders, Game 4 (TNT)
• 12:30 PM: MLB: Astros at Braves or White Sox at Rays (MLB Network)
• 2:00 PM: PGA Tour: Zurich Classic, Final Round (CBS)
• 2:30 PM: NBA: Kings at Warriors, Game 4 (ABC)
• 2:30 PM: NHL: Bruins at Panthers, Game 4 (TNT)
• 3:07 PM: MLB: Royals at Angels (ESPN+)
• 3:30 PM: MLB: Cardinals at Mariners or Padres at Diamondbacks (MLB Network)
• 5:30 PM: NHL: Stars at Wild, Game 4 (TBS)
• 6:00 PM: NBA: Celtics at Hawks, Game 4 (TNT)
• 6:00 PM: MLB: Mets at Giants (ESPN)
• 8:00 PM: NHL: Oilers at Kings, Game 4 (TBS)
• 8:30 PM: NBA: Nuggets at Timberwolves, Game 4 (TNT)

Scoreboard

SEC Baseball: Georgia 9, Arkansas 8 ... Texas A&M 6, Kentucky 3 (Game 1) ... South Carolina 7, Florida 5 ... LSU 8, Ole Miss 4 ... Mississippi State 11, Auburn 10 ... Alabama 10, Missouri 4 ... Texas A&M 8, Kentucky 7 (Game 2.)

MLB: Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2 ... Nationals 10, Twins 4 ... Dodgers 9, Cubs 4 ... Phillies 4, Rockies 3 ... Marlins 6, Guardians 1 (Game 1) ... Rays 4, White Sox 3 ... Giants 7, Mets 4 ... Pirates 2, Reds 1 ... Orioles 5, Tigers 1 ... Rangers 18, A’s 3 ... Brewers 5, Red Sox 4 ... Astros 6, Braves 3 ... Padres 5, Diamondbacks 3 ... Marlins 3, Guardians 2 (Game 2) ... Royals 11, Angels 8 ... Mariners 5, Cardinals 4.

NBA: 76ers 96, Nets 88 (76ers win, 4-0) ... Suns 112, Clippers 100 (Suns lead, 3-1) ... Heat 121, Bucks 99 (Heat lead, 2-1) ... Lakers 111, Grizzlies 101 (Lakers lead, 2-1.)

NHL: Golden Knights 5, Jets 4 (Golden Knights lead, 2-1) ... Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 3 (Maple Leafs lead, 2-1) ... Devils 2, Rangers 1 (Rangers lead, 2-1) ... Avalanche 6, Kraken 4 (Avalanche lead, 2-1.)