Sports
Oilers, Penguins eager to put surprisingly poor starts behind them
Oct 17, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm (14) passes the puck against the Nashville Predators during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images A pair of struggling teams desperate to change their fortunes will hit the ice when the Edmonton Oilers play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.
Both the Oilers and Penguins are on a quest to rebound from disappointing extra-time setbacks in their last outing.
The Penguins arrive after surrendering a lead in the final minute of regulation en route to a 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, while the Oilers wasted a two-goal third-period lead in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes that same evening.
Edmonton, which came into the season with high hopes after reaching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, has only two wins in seven games and owns the third-worst goal differential in the NHL (minus-13).
Despite the struggles, the message is to remain calm. After all, this is a team that rebounded from a month-long skid last season before changing its fortunes.
“I’m completely confident in our group,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “I know it’s early in the year and it’s a matter of working through it, and I wasn’t expecting everybody to be firing where we left off or whatnot. It’s going to take a little bit of time, but I do like our team and I think we’re on the right track.”
The Oilers are surprisingly struggling with the man-advantage. Their vaunted power play has scored only twice this season (2-for-19) and is tied for 27th in the league at 10.5 percent, and personnel changes are being tried in the past couple of practices.
“With the way their season has gone, there’s been a lot of things to address: the power play, the penalty kill, scoring goals,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “(The power play) was one thing that I didn’t anticipate that we were going to have problems doing.”
The Penguins, who are winless in three games, have their own concerns, having opened a four-game road trip with consecutive defeats. However, they had every chance to win in Calgary.
“Obviously there’s opportunity to get better, but I think we were a heck of a lot better than we have been in recent games,” forward Bryan Rust said. “We didn’t have huge, massive breakdowns like we did in the last three or four games, or whatever it was. So, I think that we’re definitely making strides.”
Even though the Penguins wasted a pair of third-period leads, they held momentum for most of the clash, especially the third period. They were just unable to find the insurance goal while outshooting the Flames 38-25 through overtime, nor the winning tally in the shootout.
“We had that five-on-five mentality — go in there and outwork them, get the puck out of the corner — and we score,” Rust said. “I think we needed a little bit more of that. It wasn’t there as consistently as we would have liked. … It’s still a work in progress, but I think the intentions are there. I think we’re trying to play with a little bit more pace. We’re trying to get things going in the right direction.”
That said, the Penguins have a glaring issue that must be addressed. No team has surrendered more goals than Pittsburgh, and even though goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic showed last game that he may be the one who can solidify that position, he was unable to hold the fort to the final buzzer.
“I got to do a better job of staying on pucks and just bailing us out there,” Nedeljkovic said. “I mean, it wasn’t a very difficult shot (on Nazem Kadri’s late game-tying goal). It wasn’t a very hard shot or a very well-placed shot. It was just a puck on net, so, not much else to it than that.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Surging Yankees vie for another win vs. White Sox
Jul 27, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Yankees catcher Ali Sanchez (39) rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the eight inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Even as injuries keep mounting for the New York Yankees, the club’s victory total is following suit.
After defeating the White Sox 9-5 on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series in Chicago, the Yankees can secure at least a split with a win Tuesday night .
New York has won four of its past five games to pull 2 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay for the American League East lead. New York was 3 1/2 games ahead in the division on June 17 but has a 15-18 record since. The Rays are 20-13 in that span.
On Monday, the Yankees collected 10 hits shortly after learning that outfielder Cody Bellinger would be out four to six weeks with a left hamstring strain.
“I feel like we just want to pick up our teammates, you know,” Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “We just want to keep on going. And when someone is down, we want to just keep on picking them up. Just keep on working.”
Chisholm had two hits, two RBIs and two runs on Monday. He was on base when catcher Ali Sanchez hit his first career home run, a three-run blast in the eighth inning that broke the game open.
Sanchez debuted in the major leagues in 2020 and has played for six teams, never appearing in more than 31 games in a season.
“It’s always great when you get to see a teammate do well,” Chisholm said. “Especially when it’s their first career hit or home run. Especially the grind that he’s been through, man.”
Chicago took a 3-0 lead in the first inning but was unable to maintain the advantage despite three hits and two RBIs from Colson Montgomery.
Montgomery served as Chicago’s designated hitter but is expected to return to his usual shortstop position during the series. He is working through a bruised shin that kept him out of the lineup for Sunday’s victory against Houston.
That’s the lone win the White Sox have in the first four games of a seven-game homestand. While Chicago remains atop the AL Central with a two-game edge over the Cleveland Guardians, the White Sox know there’s room for improvement.
Defense was among the culprits as the White Sox fell to 1-3 against the Yankees this season. Third baseman Miguel Vargas, catcher Edgar Quero and reliever Sean Newcomb each committed an error.
“It was a sloppy game defensively,” Chicago manager Will Venable said afterward. “Even some plays that didn’t end in errors, you know. Just not sharp there. I thought it really impacted the game, obviously, and it really was the difference there. So we’ve got to keep it up, go to work tomorrow and be better next time.”
Left-hander Anthony Kay (7-4, 4.21 ERA) will start for the White Sox on Tuesday against Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole (3-5, 3.92).
Kay won for the first time since June 12 on Wednesday, delivering five innings of two-run, five hit ball in a 4-2 victory over Texas. He walked two and struck out four.
The host Yankees defeated Kay 10-5 on June 17, reaching him for four runs and six hits in four innings, including a two-run homer from Bellinger.
Kay has five career appearances (two starts) against New York, with an 8.10 ERA. He has surrendered 12 runs in 13 1/3 innings.
Cole defeated Chicago 12-2 on June 16 of this season. He spaced two runs and three hits in six innings with two walks and six strikeouts. Andrew Benintendi connected for a solo shot.
Cole is 4-2 with a 3.99 ERA in six career starts against Chicago.
He is coming off Wednesday’s no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won 5-3 in 10 innings. He allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings with no walks and a season-high 11 strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WNBA Picks Tuesday: Best Bets for Lynx, Fever and Aces
Jul 22, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) shoot the ball against Seattle Storm center Awa Fam (11) during the second half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images The All-Star Break is done and it is time for the WNBA season to pick up where it left off. To that end, the league has given us a five-game slate today with plenty of great betting opportunities. Let’s talk about which ones are the WNBA Best Bets for the day.
There are several good ones, but the following are my top picks (odds via FanDuel):
Toronto Tempo vs. Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota hasn’t beaten a team by more than 15.5 points since June 17 (99-83 vs. Sparks). In the nine games they were double digit favorites, they covered in only three. So, why should we believe they’ll cover this spread tonight? There are several reasons:
Napheesa Collier is back and proved before the break she is ready to play. There may be some hiccups as the Lynx figures out how to keep everyone involved. But that shouldn’t be an issue against the team with one of the worst defenses in the league (92.3 ppg allowed).
My Pick: Lynx -15.5 at -110
Collier’s return should fix many of Minnesota’s recent issues. Big spreads warrant caution, but Toronto can’t match a healthy Lynx team. Minnesota beat Toronto by 28 on May 21. I don’t expect another beatdown, but the Lynx should cover.
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Indiana Fever vs. Seattle Storm
Indiana went into the All-Star Break absolutely rolling, averaging 105 points per game over the last five games while holding teams to 89.2 ppg. In the last five games leading up to the break, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell averaged nearly 50 combined points per game (49.4).
Does a struggling Seattle team stand a chance?
The Storm averaged around 90 ppg over the last five games prior to the Break. But there defense allowed an average of 96 ppg. But they did give Indiana a good fight the last time these two played (July 17, 110-107).
My Pick: Indiana -9.5 at -110
Clark is probable, while Malonga is questionable. If Malonga sits, Mitchell, Clark, and Boston should thrive inside. If she plays (or if Clark sits), it will be more challenging, but Indiana still should cover.
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Portland Fire vs. Las Vegas Aces
Las Vegas should absolutely win this game. They have one of the most explosive offenses in the league, not to mention the WNBA’s best player in A’ja Wilson. With Wilson and the roster rested and ready to go, Portland will have its hands full just trying to keep up.
However, based on how both teams were playing prior to the break, Portland may be able to do just that. They lost five of their last eight before the break but went 7-1 ATS. Vegas went 3-3 before the Break outright but 2-4 ATS. Vegas won both prior meetings but went 1-1 ATS.
My Pick: Portland +11.5 at -110
If this was a single-digit spread, I’d probably go the other way. But with how both teams were playing before the break, I don’t see Vegas dominating this game. The Aces will win, but not by double digits.
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Sports
Cubs ride high-octane offense into rematch vs. Cardinals
Jul 27, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (2) is congratulated by third baseman Alex Bregman (3) after hitting a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs are playing like a team that could make some noise in the postseason, but manager Craig Counsell knows there still is work to be done.
The Cubs will look to build on their momentum when they continue a four-game series against the host St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. Chicago pounded out 14 hits in a 7-3 win on Monday.
Alex Bregman and Nico Hoerner each homered and had four hits for Chicago, which has won 26 of its last 38 games and holds a 5 1/2-game lead as the first wild card in the National League.
The Cubs have 25 runs over their past three games, going 2-1.
“Look, I think we have shown that we can play at a high level,” Counsell said. “The best thing about a major league season is you can’t fake your record, man, over 162 games. It’s too many games. And so, I feel like the teams that get to October, they’ve earned it. And we’ve got a long way to go.”
St. Louis has lost eight of its last 10 games and is a 1 1/2 games behind the final NL wild-card spot. The Cardinals also are back at .500 for the first time since April 13, when they were 8-8.
Like the Cubs, St. Louis is expected to be active ahead of the trade deadline next Monday. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said he has been connecting with his players to keep them focused amid any possible distractions.
“I just try to make sure we’re available to the guys that want to have a conversation to make sure that they’re in the right headspace,” Marmol said. “That’s basically it.”
The expected pitching matchup for Tuesday’s game will feature a pair of right-handers as the Cardinals’ Michael McGreevy (4-8, 3.07 ERA) faces Chicago’s Colin Rea (7-7, 4.85).
McGreevy, 26, allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings in a 10-6 home loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. He settled in after giving up a two-run homer to Tyler Locklear in the fourth inning.
“I think if I execute that pitch and I throw it a little farther down in the zone, it’s not a homer,” McGreevy said. “He might take it, he might hit a double down the line, but it’s not a two-run shot. But that’s just something you can learn from.”
Ian Happ is 4-for-8 against McGreevy, who is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA in three career starts vs. the Cubs.
Chicago will counter with Rea, who allowed four runs over five innings in a 5-1 home loss to the Detroit Tigers last Wednesday.
Rea, 36, has given up 17 home runs in 105 2/3 innings this season, including a three-run blast by Hao-Yu Lee in the loss to Detroit.
“I just threw a get-me-over fastball, and he put a good swing on it,” Rea said. “With two outs there, you’ve got to be thinking a little bit better. Even though it’s 3-0 there, you’ve still got to make a better pitch.”
Lars Nootbaar is 4-for-13 (.308) against Rea, who is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in five career starts vs. St. Louis.
–Field Level Media
Surging Yankees vie for another win vs. White Sox
WNBA Picks Tuesday: Best Bets for Lynx, Fever and Aces
