Sports
MLB roundup: Juan Soto clubs HR No. 40 as Yanks blast M's
Sep 17, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates a two-run home run against the Seattle Mariners with designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images Juan Soto hit a milestone home run and Aaron Judge drove in four runs as the New York Yankees pummeled the host Seattle Mariners 11-2 on Tuesday.
Jasson Dominguez also went deep for the Yankees, who extended their lead over the Baltimore Orioles atop the American League East to four games. Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (14-6) allowed one run on four hits over five innings.
Soto’s two-run shot in the fourth inning off Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (8-3) was his 40th homer of the season and 200th of his career. It also gave him home runs in every major league stadium.
Julio Rodriguez went 4-for-5 and Jorge Polanco and Luke Raley hit solo shots for the Mariners, who fell three games back of the final AL wild-card position. Woo gave up seven runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Marlins 11, Dodgers 9
Jesus Sanchez went 5-for-5 with three RBIs, two doubles and two runs as Miami defeated visiting Los Angeles.
Jake Burger had a big game for the Marlins with four RBIs. He had a pair of run-scoring groundouts and a two-run homer.
Shohei Ohtani slugged his National League-leading 48th homer of the season, finishing 1-for-5 with two RBIs for the Dodgers. Ohtani, who ranks second in the big leagues with 48 stolen bases, did not add to his steal total. He is trying to become the first major-leaguer to have 50 homers and 50 steals in the same season.
Astros 4, Padres 3 (10 innings)
Kyle Tucker’s RBI single in the top of the 10th inning lifted visiting Houston to a win over San Diego.
The hit scored Grae Kessinger, the automatic runner placed at second to start the inning. Yordan Alvarez’s groundout moved Kessinger to third before Tucker singled off Adrian Morejon (2-2). That made a winner of Josh Hader (8-7), who blew a save chance yet retired all four batters he faced.
Hector Neris worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the 10th, getting Manny Machado to ground into a forceout for his first save with Houston and 18th overall this year. Machado had a two-run homer for the Padres.
Giants 10, Orioles 0
Blake Snell held host Baltimore to one hit across six innings while striking out 12 and San Francisco began a nine-game road trip with a win.
Mike Yastrzemski had a big night at the plate with a home run and a run-scoring single, while LaMonte Wade Jr. and Michael Conforto also drove in two runs apiece. The Giants won for just the second time in their past seven games.
It was another damaging defeat for the Orioles, who have lost seven of their past nine games while struggling to keep up with the AL East-leading Yankees.
Twins 4, Guardians 1
Matt Wallner had a pair of RBI singles and Willi Castro provided some insurance with a late two-run homer as Minnesota beat host Cleveland.
Twins starter Zebby Matthews allowed five hits but yielded only one run in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one. Cole Irvin, Cole Sands (9-1), Ronny Henriquez, Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax (ninth save) combined to hold the AL Central-leading Guardians to three hits in 4 1/3 shutout innings.
Lane Thomas homered and Gavin Williams (3-10) allowed two runs, five hits and two walks in five innings for Cleveland.
Reds 6, Braves 5
Spencer Steer belted a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning to help erase a four-run deficit and lead Cincinnati past visiting Atlanta.
Atlanta built a 5-1 lead by the fourth inning thanks to homers from Michael Harris II, Matt Olson and Jorge Soler. But the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, and the Braves fell two games behind the New York Mets for the third and final NL wild-card spot, with 11 games left.
The Reds rallied behind a sacrifice fly by Jake Fraley in the fourth, an RBI double by Noelvi Marte and accompanying run via error in the sixth and Steer’s 20th homer of 2024. Brent Suter (1-0) recorded the final out of the seventh for his first win of the season and Alexis Diaz pitched a scoreless ninth for his 28th save in 32 chances.
Rays 8, Red Sox 3
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run shot — one of three Tampa Bay homers in the fifth inning — as the Rays rolled to a win over Boston in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Josh Lowe and Jose Siri also homered in the Rays’ four-run fifth. Siri added a double and drove in four runs, and Junior Caminero homered and doubled. Shane Baz (3-3) gave up two runs on two hits in seven innings.
Triston Casas slugged a two-run homer and Romy Gonzalez went deep for the Red Sox, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Nick Pivetta (5-11) allowed four runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Mets 10, Nationals 1
Pete Alonso homered and collected five RBIs as host New York solidified its grip on an NL wild-card spot by cruising past Washington.
Alonso and rookie Luisangel Acuna each finished a triple shy of the cycle for the Mets, who moved into a tie for the second and third wild cards after the Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.
James Wood had an RBI while Dylan Crews had three of the four hits registered by the Nationals, who fell to 7-8 this month.
Tigers 3, Royals 1 (10 innings)
Parker Meadows’ 10th-inning RBI single lifted visiting Detroit over Kansas City.
After Lucas Erceg (2-6) balked Trey Sweeney to third base with one out, Meadows dropped a broken-bat single into shallow left field for the Tigers, who have won eight of their past 10. Tyler Holton (7-1) recorded six outs without allowing a baserunner for the win.
The Royals had tied the game in the third when Bobby Witt Jr. walked with two outs and scored on Michael Massey’s single.
Phillies 5, Brewers 1
Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos each homered and Zack Wheeler allowed one run over seven innings to pace visiting Philadelphia over Milwaukee, denying the Brewers a chance to clinch the NL Central.
Milwaukee entered Tuesday with a 10-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the division and a magic number of two. The Brewers would have clinched with a win and a loss by the Cubs, who ended up falling 4-3 to the Oakland Athletics. Philadelphia moved two games ahead of the Dodgers for the best record in the majors. The Phillies’ magic number to clinch the NL East is four.
Wheeler (16-6) allowed four hits, striking out six and walking none to lower his ERA to 2.56. Milwaukee’s Frankie Montas (7-11) allowed three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out 10 and walking two.
Athletics 4, Cubs 3
Shea Langeliers hit two home runs and had three RBIs to help visiting Oakland beat Chicago.
Starting pitcher Mitch Spence (8-9) allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six in five innings for the Athletics, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Mason Miller gave up one run and fanned two in the ninth for his 26th save of the year.
Ian Happ pulled the Cubs within one in the ninth with his second home run of the night, a solo shot over the left field wall. With it, he matched a single-season career high with his 25th long ball of the season.
Cardinals 3, Pirates 1
Right-hander Lance Lynn allowed just one run on four hits in six innings as St. Louis edged visiting Pittsburgh.
Lynn (7-4) walked two and struck out five while improving to 6-0 at home this season. Jordan Walker hit a homer for the Cardinals, who have won the first two games of a four-game series.
Bryan De La Cruz hit a homer for the Pirates. Pittsburgh starter Bailey Falter (8-8) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings.
Rangers 13, Blue Jays 8
Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and scored three times to help Texas top Toronto in Arlington, Texas.
Leody Taveras had a two-run homer and two singles and Adolis Garcia had two hits and three RBIs for the Rangers, who ended a three-game skid. Reliever Matt Festa (5-1) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.
Davis Schneider homered, singled and scored twice and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits and two runs for the Blue Jays, who had won three in a row. Tommy Nance (0-2) took the loss in relief.
Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 2
Ezequiel Tovar had three hits, including a homer, Hunter Goodman also went deep and Colorado beat Arizona in Denver.
The victory was Bud Black’s 535th with Colorado, moving him past Clint Hurdle as the winningest manager in franchise history.
Christian Walker homered and Pavin Smith doubled twice for the Diamondbacks. Arizona has lost seven of its past 11 to drop into a tie with the Mets for the last two NL wild cards. Both teams have a two-game lead over the Braves.
Angels 5, White Sox 0
Griffin Canning allowed three hits over six innings and Eric Wagaman went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs as Los Angeles snapped a six-game losing streak with a victory over Chicago in Anaheim, Calif.
Canning (6-13) walked two and struck out six. Brock Burke, Hunter Strickland and Ryan Miller each tossed one inning of relief as the Angels handed the White Sox their 19th shutout loss of the season.
Dominic Fletcher and Nicky Lopez each had two hits for Chicago (36-116), which moved within four losses of matching the modern major league record for losses in a single season, set by the 1962 Mets (40-120).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick get 15-under for four-shot lead at Zurich
Apr 25, 2026; Avondale, Louisiana, USA; Alex Fitzpatrick hits tee shot on hole 2 during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images It might not get much better than this for English brothers Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick.
The duo began to break away from the pack by shooting a tournament-record 15-under 57 during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Saturday at Avondale, La.
“I think I can think of one bad shot that we both hit, and that was me,” Matt Fitzpatrick said. “Yeah, it was an awesome day.”
The Fitzpatricks were sparked by Matt’s eagle on the par-5 seventh hole and maintained the momentum during the four-ball format to carry a four-stroke lead into the final round at TPC Louisiana. This is the PGA Tour’s only team event.
The Fitzpatrick team is at 30 under. Davis Thompson/Austin Eckroat (61) and second-round leaders Alex Smalley/Hayden Springer (62) are next at 26 under. The team of Doug Ghim/Jeffrey Kang (61) is at 25 under.
The Fitzpatrick brothers could be headed toward special territory given that last year’s winning score was 28 under from the team of Ben Griffin/Andrew Novak.
“He played brilliant golf both of the last two days,” Matt said of this brother. “His game has really turned a corner these last few months, and I believe in him to continue that trend.”
The Fitzpatricks posted birdies on eight of the nine holes on the backside. They were without a bogey and had four pars.
They each provided the best score seven times.
Matt Fitzpatrick, the older of the brothers, has been on a roll recently, including winning last week’s RBC Heritage.
“Playing alongside my brother, who happens also to be one of the best players in the world is pretty fun,” Alex said. “When he’s playing well, it’s pretty cool to watch.”
The Fitzpatricks placed 11th in the Zurich Classic in 2024 and then missed the cut last year.
The format goes back to foursomes for the final round.
“Your mindset is kind of changed from day-to-day, so (Sunday) will be a different animal,” Thompson said. “Hopefully we can get off to a good start and put some pressure on those guys.”
Smalley said there won’t be an overhaul in strategy.
“I think if we just kind of stick to what we’re doing, just trying to give ourselves as many looks as we can,” he said. “I think that will serve us pretty well.”
The teams pursuing the Fitzpatricks don’t want to become overly consumed by the chase.
“At the end of the day, you have to hit your good shots and try to pick up after your partner if you need to,” Kang said.
Seven teams were in the lead or one shot back by mid-afternoon Saturday.
Then there was the case of Davis Chatfield and Belgium’s Adrien Dumont de Chassart. They were 9 under through 11 holes after Dumont de Chassart ‘s eagle on No. 2, which was the pairing’s 11th hole of the day. But they played the rest of the way at 1 over without another birdie.
Until some of the final groups came in, the day’s best score of 61 belonged to Canada’s A.J. Ewart and South Africa’s Casey Jarvis. That moved them to 22 under and in a tie for 10th place.
“Kind of ham-and-egged it, as some would say,” Ewart said. “Kind of working in shifts and not birdieing the same holes, but making sure we’re setting our partners up to kind of free will it and go at it.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Aryna Sabalenka improves to 25-1; advances to 4th round in Madrid
Mar 28, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus hits a forehand against Coco Gauff of the United States in the final of the women’s singles at the Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Top-seeded Aryna Sabaleka improved to 25-1 in 2026 and moved into the fourth round of the Madrid Open on Saturday with a routine 6-1, 6-4 victory over 29th-seeded Jaqueline Cristian of Romania.
Sabalenka has moved seamlessly onto the clay after a dominant early hard court season. The Belarussian captured the “Sunshine Double” in March, winning back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. Her lone loss occurred in the finals of the Australian Open, where she fell to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.
Cristian did have four break point chances to go ahead 4-2 in the second set, but Sabalenka wiped them all away, then broke her opponent and 4-4 and will now face Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the next round.
Osaka cruised past Anhelina Kalinina, 6-1, 6-3. She constantly put pressure on the Ukrainian’s service, winning nearly 50% while receiving and breaking six times.
The two WTA Tour veterans have only met twice, splitting their encounters, with Sabalenka prevailing, 6-2, 6-4 in the same round at Indian Wells.
No. 31 Ann Li recorded the biggest upset of the day, defeating fourth-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, but not in manner either player was totally satisfied with. Li led, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 3-0 when Swiatek had to retire due to illness.
“Defintely knew it was going to be a tough match, I’m super sorry for her that she’s had to pull out, it’s never easy to go like that,” said Li. “I was just super proud of the way that I fought and I pushed through.”
Ninth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Hungary’s Dalma Galfi. Like Osaka, Andreeva feasted on her opponent’s serve, winning 42 of 75 (56.0%) of her returns.
Andreeva improved to 9-1 on the clay in 2026.
“Clay is such a special surface,” said Andeeva. “You really have to adjust your game.”
In other third-round matches, No. 30 Hayley Baptiste upset eighth-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini, 7-5, 6-3; Switzerland’s No. 11 Belinda Benic edged Russia’s No. 18 Diana Shnaider, 6-2, 7-6 (6); Hungary’s Anna Bondar eliminated Czechia’s Laura Samson, 7-6 (3), 6-1 and Canada’s No. 24 Leylah Fernandez got post 15th-seeded Iva Jovic, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a match that lasted two hours, eight minutes.
Fernandez broke Jovic three times in the final set to advance to the fourth round, where she will face Li.
–Field Level Media
Sports
David Martinez's goal lifts LAFC over Minnesota United
Apr 25, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Football Club forward David Martinez (30) celebrates his goal during the first half against Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images David Martinez’s goal in the ninth minute was the lone score as Los Angeles FC defeated Minnesota United in Saint Paul, Minn., on Saturday.
For LAFC (6-2-2, 20 points), the win was its first since a victory over reigning CONCACAF champions Cruz Azul on April 7.
Minnesota (5-3-2, 17 points) hadn’t lost since a 6-0 defeat to Vancouver on March 15. Loons goalie Drake Callender recorded six saves in Saturday’s loss, his second highest tally of the season.
Martinez’s goal ended a 278-minute run without a goal scored in Minnesota’s Allianz field, a streak that spanned three matches.
The motto of the match was missed opportunities, as Minnesota accumulated 11 corner-kick opportunities compared to LAFC’s two, and 24 shot attempts to Los Angeles’ seven.
Stephen Eustaquio perfectly executed a touch through two Minnesota defenders that cruised with an in-motion Martinez. From the left side of Minnesota’s penalty area, Martinez delivered a strike to the high right side of the net that secured the only goal for either side.
The victory saw Hugo Lloris record his eighth clean sheet in league play this season, leading MLS. The win was also LAFC’s third straight 1-0 rout of Minnesota United.
LAFC hopes to use the win as momentum as they prepare to face Deportivo Toluca FC in the CONCACAF semifinals on Wednesday night.
Minnesota will look to rebound against San Jose in MLS play on Tuesday night.
Minnesota and LAFC are set to square off again on Nov. 1 in Los Angeles.
–Field Level Media
Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick get 15-under for four-shot lead at Zurich
Aryna Sabalenka improves to 25-1; advances to 4th round in Madrid
