Stephen A. Smith walks back take on Texans' CJ Stroud after convincing argument from Ryan Clark
ON SECOND THOUGHT
20 August
Ryan Clark sets the record straight. Composite image by Jack Brame.
Tuesday on First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Ryan Clark, and Shannon Sharpe discuss the top QBs 25 and under and debate which player is most likely to make a Super Bowl, Jordan Love or CJ Stroud.
Smith makes a case that Stroud will struggle more than Love this season because NFL teams now have a season of tape to watch, and he won't sneak up on anyone this year.
What Smith overlooks, and Clark highlights, is that although Love has been in the league for several years, he only became the starter last season. Which means he's in the same boat as Stroud from that perspective. Both quarterbacks have about the same amount of film for teams to analyze.
Smith even says later in the video, “He got me. He got me on that one.”
Finally, Smith and Sharpe both decide to take Love over Stroud, but mostly based on the strength of the AFC with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson to deal with.
Check out the video above for the full discussion.
Dylan Cease pitched brilliantly into the ninth inning and Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Donovan Solano hit consecutive homers in the eighth for the San Diego Padres, who beat the AL West-leading Houston Astros 4-0 on Wednesday.
Machado homered twice for the Padres, who won two of three against the Astros and stayed two games ahead of Arizona for the first NL wild card. The Astros came in with a five-game division lead over Seattle.
Cease (14-11), who threw his first career no-hitter on July 25 at Washington, took a one-hitter into the ninth before Mauricio Dubón beat out an infield single to shortstop. Cease struck out Jake Meyers but then shortstop Xander Bogaerts booted Jose Altuve's grounder for an error that allowed Dubón to take third, and that was it for the right-hander after 103 pitches.
Cease retired the first 15 Astros batters before allowing a single to right field by Jason Heyward to open the sixth. Cease then retired the side.
Cease struck out five and walked none. Tanner Scott got two outs for his 21st save.
Machado, who has 29 homers, lined a shot to left-center off Framber Valdez opening the sixth.
Tatis, who struck out in his first three at-bats, hit reliever Kaleb Ort's first pitch into the first row in left-center leading off the eighth. It was his 19th. Machado followed with a shot deep into the seats in left and Solano hit a liner to left, his seventh. That was it for Ort, who threw just nine pitches.
Valdez (14-7) went seven innings, allowing one run and five hits while striking out six and walking two.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Padres: 1B/DH Luis Arraez got the day off to rest his sore left knee, which he jammed into home plate while being thrown out on Monday night. Arraez started at DH on Tuesday night.
UP NEXT
Astros: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (9-9, 4.29 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday night in the opener of a four-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels, who will go with LHP José Suarez (1-2, 6.80).
Padres: Hadn't announced their starter for Friday night's home series opener against the Chicago White Sox.
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