Sports
Orioles need to get offense going vs. Giants
Sep 13, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb (62) pitches during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images The San Francisco Giants almost certainly won’t be in the postseason, but they are off to a good start to a long road trip.
The Giants will aim to complete a three-game sweep of the host Baltimore Orioles on Thursday afternoon.
“Just an all-around great start to this road trip,” designated hitter Michael Conforto said after homering among his three hits in San Francisco’s 5-3 victory on Wednesday.
The Giants (74-78), who sit in fourth place in the National League West, thrashed the Orioles 10-0 on Tuesday in the series opener. San Francisco will make stops in Kansas City and Arizona to complete the nine-game road swing.
The Orioles (84-68), losers of eight of their past 10 games, fell five games behind the American League East-leading New York Yankees. Baltimore has only four home games remaining before finishing the season on the road next week.
There were signs of small progress in the latest game.
“I thought guys were really engaged in the dugout,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.
Baltimore is now assured of losing its fourth consecutive series. The Orioles are trying to block out the noise that would suggest there is panic.
“It’s really hard when things aren’t going your way, and being positive during a negative time,” catcher James McCann said. “We don’t need the fans or the media or the TV or whatever to tell us it’s not going right.”
In some ways, scoring three runs seemed like a breakout at the plate for the Orioles, who averaged 1.9 runs in their previous 11 contests. However, they stranded eight runners on Wednesday, all through the first seven innings.
“The encouraging thing about (the Wednesday game): I thought our at-bats were better,” Hyde said. “We created more traffic and we walked. Now we’re just waiting for some breaks offensively. But we gave ourselves opportunity.”
The Giants received first-inning leadoff home runs from Mike Yastrzemski in both games this week.
“Yaz set the tone in the first inning,” Conforto said. “Kind of putting the pitchers on their heels a little bit, and that’s what we talked about. Yaz being in that leadoff spot has been huge for us.”
The Orioles have right-hander Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.55 ERA) lined up as their Thursday starter. He is 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA since joining Baltimore from the Tampa Bay Rays in a July trade, but he lost his past two starts. The Friday setback shouldn’t be blamed on him because he went 6 2/3 innings while allowing only one run — a homer to the Detroit Tigers’ Kerry Carpenter.
Eflin has faced the Giants eight times (six starts), going 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA.
Right-hander Logan Webb (12-10, 3.53 ERA) will get the ball for the Giants. The All-Star is coming off his shortest start since May 5. He lasted four innings on Friday against the San Diego Padres, allowing four runs, three earned, and seven hits.
Webb worked seven innings on June 2, 2023, in his only career appearance against Baltimore, and he was tagged with a loss after giving up three runs on four hits.
Webb holds a 5-3 mark and a 3.62 ERA this year against American League teams. He will be in his 32nd start of the season, matching his 2022 total and one shy of his career high established last year.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Landen Roupp, Giants claim first matchup of season with Dodgers
Apr 21, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp (65) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images Landen Roupp outpitched Yoshinobu Yamamoto, San Francisco got RBI singles from Rafael Devers and Jung Hoo Lee in a three-run first inning, and the Giants held off the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night.
Roupp (4-1) allowed just one run on one hit in five innings, then watched five relievers combine for four innings of shutout ball, helping the Giants open a six-game homestand with a win after a 4-5 trip.
Roupp struck out seven and walked five in his first career win over the Dodgers.
Seeking his first-ever victory over the Giants, Yamamoto (2-2) went seven innings, allowing six hits and three runs, all of which scored in the first. He walked two and fanned seven.
Willy Adames got the cold night rolling for San Francisco with an infield single, after which Luis Arraez singled and Matt Chapman walked to load the bases.
Each of the next three batters delivered single runs, with Devers’ single chasing home Adames, Casey Schmitt’s sacrifice fly scoring Arraez, and Lee’s single plating Chapman.
Roupp allowed a two-out single by Hyeseong Kim in the second but no other hits until a wild spate in the fourth. He walked four of the first five batters he faced that inning, including Kim with the bases loaded to force home Teoscar Hernandez.
The right-hander got out of the one-out jam by inducing a double play grounder off the bat of Alex Call.
The Dodgers got the potential tying run on the bases with two outs in the seventh before Erik Miller struck out Kyle Tucker to retain the 3-1 lead.
Ryan Walker worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save.
Ryan Borucki, Matt Gage and Keaton Winn also contributed to the three-hitter in the first meeting of the season between the longtime California rivals.
Lee was the only player in the game with multiple hits, a pair of singles. The Giants out-hit the visitors 6-3, with the Dodgers’ Hernandez stroking the game’s only extra-base hit, a double.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Logan Cooley lifts Mammoth past Knights for Utah's 1st playoff win
Apr 21, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Utah Mammoth defenseman Sean Durzi (50) attempts to deflect a shot attempt by Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) during the first period of game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Logan Cooley scored the go-ahead goal on a rebound with six minutes remaining to give the Utah Mammoth the first playoff win in franchise history, 3-2 over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Cooley buried a rebound of a Dylan Guenther shot just inside the left post, even the best-of-seven series at one victory apiece. The scene now shifts to Salt Lake City for the next two contests, with Game 3 on Friday.
Guenther had a goal and an assist, Kailer Yamamoto had two assists and MacKenzie Weegar also scored for Utah. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves, including a close-in shot by Mark Stone from the left side of the net with five seconds left to seal the win.
Stone and Ivan Barbashev each a scored goal and Jack Eichel had two assists for Vegas, which lost for the first time in regulation in 10 games (8-1-1) under coach John Tortorella. Carter Hart finished with 26 saves.
The teams exchanged own goals during the first period, which ended with the score 1-1.
Vegas, which rallied for a 4-2 victory in Game 1, took a 1-0 lead at the 11:40 mark on a power-play goal. Stone’s cross-crease pass for Tomas Hertl near the right post caromed straight into the net off the skate of Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. It was Stone’s 43rd career playoff goal and his sixth in the past six games dating back to the regular season.
Utah tied it near the end of the period when Weegar’s shot from the right point deflected off the stick of Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin and then off the pads of Hart into the low slot toward Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who kicked the rebound into the net.
The Mammoth took a 2-1 lead in the second period on a one-timer from the top of the left circle by Guenther off a pass from Yamamoto.
The Golden Knights tied it 62 seconds later. Barbashev intercepted a clearing pass by Sergachev in the neutral zone and then skated in and split a pair of Utah defensemen before roofing a backhand shot into the top far corner for his second goal of the playoffs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Munetaka Murakami extends HR streak as White Sox pound D-backs
Apr 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami hits a home run in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Rookie Munetaka Murakami homered for the fourth straight game, Colson Montgomery went deep for the third straight and the Chicago White Sox slugged four homers in an 11-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Tuesday.
Murakami, Michael Vargas and Montgomery hit consecutive solo shots with two outs in the second inning to help stake Sean Burke (1-2) to a 7-0 lead.
Murakami, who has nine homers in 23 games, reached base four times, adding two infield singles and a walk. He singled and scored in a four-run first off Merrill Kelly (1-1).
Vargas homered for the second straight game, Montgomery and Sam Antonacci notched two hits and three RBIs apiece and Tristan Peters had three hits. The White Sox have won three of four and scored 33 runs over that span.
Arizona’s Ildemaro Vargas had a three-run homer in the ninth to extend his season-opening hitting streak to 16 games, the longest in the majors. Dating back to the end of the 2025 season, Vargas has hit in 18 straight. Alek Thomas had two hits, including his first homer of the season for the Diamondbacks, who had won 10 of 14.
The White Sox have 11 homers in their last three games and 14 in their last five.
Antonacci had a two-run inside-the-park homer in the ninth when his ground ball inside the bag at third appeared to be touched by the ball boy along the left field line. Left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. did not immediately attempt to field it as Antonacci circled the bases for his first career homer.
Burke gave up two runs on five hits in six innings in his first road victory since a 4-0 decision at Detroit on Sept. 28, 2024. He struck out three and walked one.
Kelly gave up eight runs and 10 hits before leaving with one out in the fifth. He struck out five and walked three in his second start of the season after opening on the injured list.
The first four White Sox batters reached in the first. Andrew Benintendi singled, Murakami reached on an infield single, Vargas walked and Montgomery doubled in two. Everson Pereira hit a sacrifice fly and Antonacci tripled for a 4-0 lead.
Murakami, Vargas and Montgomery homered in the second for a 7-0 lead after 13 batters.
–Field Level Media
Landen Roupp, Giants claim first matchup of season with Dodgers
Logan Cooley lifts Mammoth past Knights for Utah's 1st playoff win
