No joy in Melbourne? | Sports Daily Newsletter

The U.S. women’s national team is unbeaten at the World Cup and has allowed only one goal in three matches Down Under. Still, bad vibes surround Vlatko Andonovski’s team.

A round of 16 clash with Sweden awaits on Sunday in Melbourne, Australia, but, as Jonathan Tannenwald writes, there is something wrong with the USWNT.

Some intangibles have been missing. The joy that the U.S. has so often played with isn’t there, and it is palpable. U.S. captain Lindsey Horan said the team has spent the days since the group stage-ending scoreless tie with Portugal trying to rebuild that side of its mentality.

“Obviously we want to play better; we want to perform better — we want to entertain our U.S. fans more, and for ourselves as well,” Horan said. “... We want to play better and find those little pieces of joy in the game as well.”

The U.S. has beaten Sweden just once in a major tournament in the last 16 years — the 2019 World Cup group stage finale. And the Americans will be without one of their most important playmakers, Rose Lavelle, because of yellow card accumulation.

So this is it. Either that joy will return Sunday or the Americans will face one long flight home.

Next: U.S. vs. Sweden, Sunday at 5 a.m. Philadelphia time (Fox29, Telemundo 62, Peacock).

— Jim Swan, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Look, it was one start. The Phillies probably aren’t going to get 10 more that look exactly like the one Michael Lorenzen delivered in his Phillies debut on Thursday. He is already sitting at a career high in innings at 113⅔. At the same time, one start was enough to show us the potential impact that he can have. Before Thursday, the Phillies were 8-8 in games in which they scored four runs (excluding extra innings). This is why every general manager is always looking for pitching. You can never have too many guys who can make you feel like four runs is enough. David Murphy writes that Lorenzen has a chance to be something much greater than Kyle Gibson or Noah Syndergaard.

Lorenzen was pretty “stoked” to get the chance to go back out for the eighth inning in his Phillies debut. His longest outing of the season led the Phillies to a series victory over the Marlins.

Brandon Marsh’s long, wet hair and a long, dry beard were introduced to the nation when the Phillies made their unlikely World Series run last season. Lorenzen found it hilarious because “I’m pretty sure I helped start that.”

Next: The Phillies return home to open a three-game series against Kansas City at 7:05 p.m. Friday (NBC10). Aaron Nola (9-7, 4.43 ERA) will start against Royals right-hander Jordan Lyles (2-12, 6.15).

Jalen Hurts didn’t want to talk about it, but if it’s any indication how motivated he is, his iPhone lock screen has a photo of himself walking off the field amid confetti after the Super Bowl loss. He has looked good during training camp and also spoke of building a new level of chemistry this summer with A.J. Brown, his already reliable target and friend.

With new Eagles quarterback Marcus Mariota in place, Hurts also is taking the time to draw from his backup. “His experience, how he sees the game, I’m all for it because I’m a sponge and I want to soak in that knowledge,” Hurts said of Mariota.

Meanwhile, rookies Nolan Smith and Tyler Steen got some reps at different positions at practice, perhaps giving us clues about how the Eagles see the roster shaping up.

Next: The Eagles practice today and then hold an open practice before fans on Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field. Twenty years ago, the Linc opened its doors for the first time, and we have a look at the top Eagles games ever played at the stadium.

James Harden’s unexpected decision to exercise his $35.6 million player option for the coming season — and request a trade — puts the Sixers in an interesting longer-term position. They have the ability to maintain flexibility to use salary-cap space to swiftly remake the roster surrounding reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid and rising star Tyrese Maxey once Tobias Harris’ (and potentially Harden’s) lucrative contracts come off the books. And their situation is particularly intriguing, given that the CBA’s new restrictions on the highest-spending teams will make it more challenging to add to or keep together expensive, talent-rich rosters. Gina Mizell writes that the Sixers have a unique opportunity for a team with their blend of talent, expectations, and uncertainty.

Montrezl Harrell will be out for several months after suffering a torn ACL, but the Sixers do not plan on parting ways with the reserve center.

The Flyers’ offseason has featured numerous trades and the selection of the highly-regarded Matvei Michkov in the draft. Beat writer Giana Han addresses the significance of the moves and more in answering the biggest questions stemming from the offseason.

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We asked you: Which Phillie do you most want to see more from in the second half and why? Among your responses:

More from: Schwarber. Tired of sitting around waiting for his weekly homer. Need more hits, doubles. Turner. Don’t know if he needs a shrink or a month in triple A. Also need return of first-half Castellanos, last year’s bat of Realmuto, and more dingers from harper. Too many insufficiencies right now. — Barry S.

The player the Phillies need more from is definitely Trea Turner. We all thought he would be an addition who could be as valuable as Bryce Harper. Instead, we get a mediocre run of the mill shortstop, both offensively and defensively. He is so far from his previous seasons, it makes you wonder if something isn’t physically wrong. — Tom E.

Many are underperforming including Aaron Nola, a few relievers, J.T. offensively, Bryce power wise due to the surgery, Nick still not fully there, but I think the team’s major concern has to be Trea Turner. Trea was coming here as a star and his arrival was enthusiastically anticipated. He is an All-Star with 134 lifetime home runs, 468 RBI’s, 251 stolen bases, and a WAR of 30.5 that right now is 0.9. And because he is obviously stressed and trying so hard his always excellent fielding has also been affected. If Trea can turn it around the Phillies will indeed be a factor come playoff time. — Everett S.

Beyond a doubt it’s Trea Turner. He has made too many errors in the field and his offense is almost nonexistent. He’s being paid handsomely to play baseball. Now he needs to earn his dough. — Kathy T.

I can give you 300 million reasons why we must demand more from Trea Turner ! — Joe R.

Trea Turner without a doubt. He’s been a total disappointment both defensively and offensively. If he gets going and the rest of the top of the lineup get going, a deep run is possible. The pitching hasn’t been bad, and it got a little better at the trade deadline. — Tom G.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jonathan Tannenwald, Alex Coffey, Josh Tolentino, Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, Olivia Reiner, David Murphy, Lochlahn March, Kerith Gabriel, Sapna Bansil, Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, and Giana Han.