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Lionel Messi, Inter Miami hit road to face Atlanta United

MLS: Philadelphia Union at Inter Miami CFSep 14, 2024; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) prepares to take a corner kick in the second half against the Philadelphia Union at Chase Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Lionel Messi will travel with Inter Miami for a road match against Atlanta United on Wednesday night, but the Herons will be short-handed when they try to move closer to securing the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield.

Miami coach Tata Martino confirmed Messi will be with the team on a two-match road trip that begins at Atlanta and continues at New York City FC on Saturday. The plan comes after Messi played his first match in roughly two months during Saturday’s 3-1 home win over Philadelphia.

However, Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets will serve a yellow-card accumulation suspension Wednesday. Defender David Martinez departed Saturday’s victory early with a right adductor strain, and Atlanta’s artificial surface could convince Martino to limit the minutes of Messi, Luis Suarez and other veterans.

As Messi pointed out, if Miami (19-4-5, 62 points) did field a weakened team on Wednesday, it wouldn’t be anything new.

“The truth is that throughout the year, we had a lot of bad luck with injuries,” Messi said in Spanish after his first match following an ankle ligament injury. “We were never at full strength. Due to one thing or another, we were always missing players.

“But the team always pushed forward. Today, we are in first place with a big lead, and deservedly so. Hopefully, we can finish at the top for what it means and for what’s to come after as well.”

Miami leads the Los Angeles Galaxy by seven points in the Supporters’ Shield race and has a match in hand, and the Herons hold a 10-point Eastern Conference advantage on FC Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, Atlanta (8-13-7, 31 points) is in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and is fighting for its playoff life after a 2-0 upset defeat to 14th-place Nashville SC on Saturday. The loss ruined a bid for the club’s first back-to-back wins since mid-March.

Interim coach Rob Valentino’s squad begins Wednesday two points beneath the playoff line, with a match in hand on ninth-place D.C. United.

“I’m at a loss for words for that tonight,” Valentino said of the Nashville performance. “I apologize to the people that watched that, and that won’t be happening again. But we have to move on. I have no choice there.”

Atlanta has scored one total goal in its last three MLS matches, and the club’s three active goal-scoring leaders — Saba Lobjanidze, Daniel Rios and Jamal Thiare — are scoreless in the last four across all competitions.

–Field Level Media

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NBA Finals ticket prices continue to plunge ahead of Game 4

Madison Square Garden before Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 8, 2026.Madison Square Garden before Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 8, 2026.

Ticket prices for NBA Finals games continue to plummet with the get-in price ahead of Game 4 between the Knicks and San Antpnio Spurs dropping to $3,898 hours before the Wednesday night contest at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The get-in cost for the Knicks’ second home game of the series had skyrocketed to nearly $13,500 before New York’s loss in Game 3 on Monday. But the defeat means the Knicks can no longer sweep the series, which will extend to at least Game 5 in San Antonio.

That led to a drop in Game 4 get-in prices to $4,025 by Tuesday. The trend continued on Wednesday with the three-day average for the game now down 66% to $3,898, according to ticket tracking service TicketData.

And for the first time in the series, the three-day average for all remaining potential games have seen a decline — and now all are in double-digit decreases.

NBA FINALS GET-IN PRICES*

Game 4 — New York: $3,898 (down 66% past three days)

Game 5 — San Antonio: $1,414 (down 24%)

Game 6 — New York: $9,262 (down 19%)

Game 7 — San Antonio: $3,549 (down 18%)

*Source: TicketData

The soonest the Knicks could clinch their first NBA title in more than a half century is Game 5, which has the lowest get-in price among the remaining potential games. Should the series return to New York for Game 6, the get-in price has dropped below $10,000 for the first time since New York won Game 1 in San Antonio, but still remains by far the most expensive at $9,262.

For comparison, the past two Super Bowls had day-of-game get-in prices of $2,002 in 2025 and $3,251 this year. The average Super Bowl get-in price since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic has been $3,914, according to TicketData.

Outside of the World Cup and the Stanley Cup Final, the next-most expensive sporting event through the end of the year currently is UFC 329. The card featuring the return of Conor McGregor against Max Holloway currently has a get-in price of $1,369 and is set for July 11 in Las Vegas.

The Knicks opened the series as significant underdogs, but flipped to -140 favorites at BetMGM following their Game 1 victory. Now ahead 2-1 with up to two more games at home, New York is still the -185 favorite compared to San Antonio at +155.

–Field Level Media

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Drew Rasmussen dominates as Rays finish sweep of Red Sox

Jun 10, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Taylor Walls (6) throws to first base against Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) during the third inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn ImagesJun 10, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Taylor Walls (6) throws to first base against Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) during the third inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

Drew Rasmussen struck out a career-high 13 batters over seven scoreless innings, and the Tampa Bay Rays held on for a 7-5, series-sweeping win over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon.

Rasmussen (6-2) allowed just two hits in the dominant outing. He struck out the side in order twice and did so again while working around a walk in his final frame. It marked the second straight outing in which Rasmussen threw seven shutout innings.

Nick Fortes went 4-for-4 with three runs scored to lead the Rays, including back-to-back doubles in his first two at-bats. Yandy Diaz added a 3-for-5 showing with one run scored and two RBIs.

After Ceddanne Rafaela’s three-run home run brought Boston within 5-4 in the top of the eighth, Cedric Mullins provided insurance for the Rays with a two-run shot out to right-center field.

Caleb Durbin accounted for half of Boston’s hits, going 3-for-4 with solo homers in the eighth and ninth innings.

Rasmussen mowed down the Red Sox in the early going, striking out the side in order twice while facing the minimum through the first four innings.

After Boston counterpart Jake Bennett (1-2) fanned three of his first six batters, the Rays manufactured the opening run after Fortes hit a leadoff double just off the top of the left-center field wall in the third. Fortes advanced to third on Mullins’ sacrifice bunt and scored on a Taylor Walls sacrifice fly.

The Rays knocked around Bennett for four hits in five batters to begin the fifth, upping their lead to 4-0. Fortes sparked the inning with a second opening double before back-to-back singles by Taylor Walls and Yandy Diaz plated another run.

Austin Slater’s RBI double made it 3-0, as his line drive up the middle deflected off Bennett and into a vacated hole between shortstop and third base. Two batters later, Ryan Vilade added a sacrifice fly.

Bennett was charged with four runs on seven hits through the first five innings.

In the sixth, Diaz’s second run-scoring single in as many innings brought home the fifth Tampa Bay run. Fortes started the frame with a one-out single before Wells’ single moved him up to third.

Durbin greeted Tampa Bay reliever Cole Sulser rudely to begin the eighth, depositing a leadoff solo homer down the line in left. After Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked and Jarren Duran singled off Steven Matz, Rafaela crushed a three-run homer out to left-center two batters later.

The Mullins homer proved to be key, as Durbin knocked out a two-out solo shot to deep left in Boston’s ninth, but Garrett Cleavinger finalized the save with the final two outs.

–Field Level Media

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Yanks' Carlos Rodon continues success vs. Guardians in sweep

Jun 10, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) scores around the tag of Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges (27) during the sixth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesJun 10, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) scores around the tag of Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges (27) during the sixth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a two-run triple and three RBIs and Trent Grisham scored three times as the visiting New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians with a 8-4 victory on Wednesday afternoon.

The Yankees are 10-4 since May 24 and have the second-best record in the American League, a few percentage points behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

Grisham tripled and provided the go-ahead run on Jose Caballero’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, when the Yankees scored three times to go up 6-3. Anthony Volpe and Paul Goldschmidt added RBI hits in chasing Guardians starter Parker Messick (6-3).

New York blew the game open in the seventh, making it 8-3 on Caballero’s single that scored Grisham and Chisholm’s RBI fielder’s choice.

Yankees starter Carlos Rodon (2-2) improved his strong career numbers against Cleveland, striking out seven over six innings. The left-hander allowed three runs on four hits with three walks, improving to 11-5 with a 2.62 ERA in 25 appearances (23 starts).

Messick gave up a career-high five runs (four earned) on five hits over 5 2/3 innings. The lefty struck out four and walked three in losing consecutive starts for the first time in his two-year career.

New York outscored the Guardians 18-11 during the series, posting its first sweep of Cleveland since April 22-24, 2022.

Leadoff hitter Angel Martinez homered on Rodon’s second pitch in the first, but New York answered with three runs in the second. Grisham and Caballero each singled and scored on Chisholm’s triple off the wall.

Chisholm scored one batter later when Travis Bazzana fumbled Volpe’s grounder into the outfield. Messick also committed a throwing error in the inning.

Cleveland scored twice in the fourth to tie it at 3-all, taking advantage of back-to-back walks to Bazzana and Stuart Fairchild. Austin Hedges doubled in Bazzana and Brayan Rocchio’s sacrifice fly brought home Fairchild.

Hedges had a second RBI double in the ninth off Ryan Yarbrough, resulting in the Yankees getting closer David Bednar warmed up. Yarbrough retired the next two hitters to end the game.

The Yankees resume their six-game road trip Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays, while the Guardians continue their six-game homestand with the Detroit Tigers in town Friday.

–Field Level Media

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