Sports
Knicks feeling their way entering clash with inconsistent Rockets
Oct 14, 2023; New York, New York, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) reacts after a dunk against New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) and guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images The acquisition of Karl-Anthony Towns during training camp allowed the New York Knicks to pair a second exceptional scorer with Jalen Brunson, whose emergence as a standout offensive performer last season thrust the Knicks into the upper echelon in the Eastern Conference.
And while the merger of their respective talents will take time to coalesce, the Knicks — who will continue their four-game road trip on Monday against the Houston Rockets — have already witnessed glimpses of what might manifest when Towns or Brunson are clicking.
Two days after Towns paired 44 points with 13 rebounds in a nine-point road victory over the Miami Heat, Brunson tallied 36 points and five assists in a 128-98 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
Offensively, the Knicks appear to be just scratching the surface. Defensively, their reputation under coach Tom Thibodeau remains ironclad. And central to that defensive might is versatile forward OG Anunoby, whose all-around excellence against the Pistons complimented Brunson.
Anunoby posted 21 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals in the victory. When Anunoby joined the Knicks via trade last season, his impact was immediate. Injuries undermined the influence Anunoby had on the Knicks last postseason. Still, now that he is fully settled in, it has become clear to everyone involved how critical a role Anunoby will play moving forward.
“I love the way OG played,” Thibodeau said. “I thought his activity was phenomenal for us.
“I think his teammates, his coaches, the organization — we know how valuable he is to us. He’s really invaluable.”
Inconsistency remains the buzzword for the Rockets, who followed a road victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday during which they coughed up most of a 23-point lead with a 127-121 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Host Houston rallied from a 31-point deficit against the Warriors to force the extra period, even taking a one-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The rollercoaster started in the series opener. The Rockets blew an 18-point lead in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets before registering a 20-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Rockets never trailed during their 106-101 road win over the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 28 but had to hold on late after leading by 21 points late in the third quarter.
The erratic play has made the Rockets a difficult team to peg. Their in-game variance has yielded a philosophical conundrum of viewing the glass half full or half empty in terms of praising the Rockets for their resilience or dismissing them for their penchant to fall into massive holes or blow significant leads.
“Inconsistency is obviously not a good thing,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “The fact that you either build a lead or fight back from a deficit, there are some positives to it. On the flip side is letting leads slip away or getting yourself in a big hole.
“The thing we talk about is being more consistent coming in and we’ve been anything but that. We’ve pretty much played halves all year other than the Dallas game where we played three good quarters.”
Houston knocked off the Knicks 105-103 on Feb. 12 to snap an eight-game losing streak in the series.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Franchise-worst skid over, Marlins shoot for another win over Phillies
Jul 27, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Griffin Conine (18) celebrates his wining hit against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Griffin Conine and the Miami Marlins will look to build off a rare victory when they continue their home series with the scuffling Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
Miami had lost 12 straight games — a franchise record — before rallying to stun Philadelphia on Monday in the series opener. The Marlins trailed 7-5 entering the ninth inning before plating three runs against Phillies All-Star closer Jhoan Duran, capped by Conine’s walk-off hit.
“I think it was just believing the whole time that we could win this game,” Conine said after his first career game-ending hit.
Conine supplied a homer earlier in the game, while Heriberto Hernandez homered in addition to delivering the game-tying two-run single in the ninth inning.
“Everybody feels good,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said. “It’s no lie. Everybody in the building has been grinding hard for a couple of weeks. … Certainly it feels great to get a win.”
Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer for Philadelphia, while J.T. Realmuto also drove in two runs. Zack Wheeler lasted just three innings — his shortest start of the season — and allowed a season-worst five runs.
“That was a weird game in that they got to two of our very best pitchers,” said Realmuto, whose team is just 3-7 since the All-Star break.
Miami will look to continue the momentum behind right-hander Sandy Alcantara (10-6, 4.01 ERA), who absorbed a loss Wednesday against the Houston Astros. The former National League Cy Young Award winner gave up five runs and nine hits in seven-plus innings in that game, although he didn’t get much run support in the 5-2 defeat.
“He was fantastic,” McCullough said. “I thought he was in control most of the night. He had a very efficient pitch count. He really moved things along well after the first couple of innings. I hate how things went down there (when Alcantara allowed three runs in the eighth), but I thought he threw the ball fantastic.”
The Marlins have scored a total of five runs in Alcantara’s past three outings.
Alcantara is 7-11 with a 3.84 ERA in 23 career starts against the Phillies. He faced Philadelphia once this season and allowed four runs (two earned) in six innings in a 12-4 win on June 17.
The Phillies will turn to right-hander Aaron Nola (3-8, 5.82), who has not won a game since May 26, going 0-4 with a 5.92 ERA in 10 starts. He is 0-3 with a 5.01 ERA in four starts this month, although he has generally been solid in July aside from giving up five runs in 5 1/3 innings on Wednesday against the Dodgers.
Nola gave up two home runs vs. Los Angeles and has surrendered six homers over his last three starts and 14 in his past eight outings.
“When I have gone out the sixth and seventh, I’ve been hurt by the long ball,” Nola said. “I’ve struggled with the long ball this year, which I’ve got to be better at.”
Nola is 6-12 with a 3.59 ERA in 26 lifetime starts against Miami. He faced the Marlins on May 4 and worked six scoreless innings in a 1-0 triumph.
Philadelphia holds a 5-3 lead in the season series with Miami.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Troy Melton, opposing Orioles, attempts to end Tigers' skid
Jul 17, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Troy Melton (52) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images Dean Kremer gave up a season-high six runs in his latest start. The Baltimore Orioles right-hander will try to turn things around in the second contest of a three-game road series against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.
Kremer gave up four of those runs in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday but managed to hang around for six innings.
“It was a grindy performance by Dean,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “They did a great job of having some really tough at-bats against him, being able to move the ball forward and fight off some tough pitches and get some hits, and then the pitches that were out over the plate, they did damage on. But Dean grinded through and gave us six.”
Kremer (1-3, 5.06 ERA) was making his fourth start since missing 2 1/2 months due to a quad injury. He went 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA in the prior three outings.
Kremer, 30, lost both of his starts against the Tigers last season, allowing nine runs in 12 2/3 innings. He has a 0-3 record and a 7.13 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against Detroit.
Troy Melton (5-1, 1.95 ERA) will be Kremer’s mound opponent. The 25-year-old right-hander has surrendered two runs or fewer in nine of his 10 starts this season.
He dealt with control issues in his past two starts, walking four each time. Melton threw 90 pitches to get through five-plus innings against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, but he allowed just two runs on five hits.
Melton made his season debut against Baltimore on May 24 after recovering from an elbow injury. In his lone career outing against the Orioles, he permitted one run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings while walking three and fanning three.
The Tigers won’t be able to stack as many left-handed batters as they would like against Kremer. Outfielder Kerry Carpenter was placed on the injured list on Monday due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
Carpenter had 26 homers in 130 games in 2025 and 13 long balls through the end of June this season. Battling a heel issue, Carpenter had no extra-base hits or RBIs in 52 July at-bats while batting .115.
Right-handed-hitting Eduardo Valencia was called up from Triple-A Toledo to take Carpenter’s spot on the active roster.
“It’s always a balance act,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’ve seen Hao-Yu Lee (a right-handed hitter) step up against right-handed pitching and not be as much of a platoon decision for us in his role. And there are things we can changes series by series if we need to.”
The Orioles took the series opener 8-5 on Monday thanks in large part to the production of Coby Mayo and Jackson Holliday. Mayo hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs. Holliday delivered a four-hit game and scored twice for Baltimore, which has alternated losses and wins for six games.
The Tigers have dropped three straight games. The margin of victory on Monday marked the first time in five games that a Detroit outcome wasn’t decided by a single run.
Lee, who drove in two runs on Monday, will carry a 12-game hitting streak into the Tuesday contest.
–Field Level Media
Sports
D-backs' Brandon Pfaadt strives to extend torrid run in clash vs. Pirates
Jul 23, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (32) throws against St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Blaze Jordan (33) during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt has done nothing but win since rejoining the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rotation last month.
With five wins in five starts since late June, Pfaadt will return to the mound Tuesday night as the Diamondbacks vie to snap a three-game skid in a matchup against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
Pfaadt (5-1, 4.43 ERA) will oppose Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler (3-8, 4.47) as the Diamondbacks enter the game tied with Pittsburgh for the National League’s final wild-card spot.
On Monday, Arizona squandered a 2-0 lead and a strong start from Merrill Kelly, who gave up no earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in the team’s 3-2 loss in 10 innings. The Diamondbacks’ three consecutive defeats followed a stretch of 10 wins in 12 games.
Pfaadt has a 2.33 ERA in 27 innings in his past five starts. He has only 14 strikeouts but has induced 48 ground-ball outs and has walked only three batters during that span.
Pfaadt is 1-0 with a 6.06 ERA in three career starts vs. Pittsburgh.
In his most recent outing, Pfaadt overcame a rough start on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals last Thursday when he gave up two runs in the first inning before recording an out. He didn’t allow another run and exited after six innings, allowing seven hits and two walks, with only one strikeout, in a 10-6 victory.
Pfaadt, who has relied on his success pitching to contact, beat the Cardinals five days earlier at home, 5-3.
“It’s always tough when you face a team back-to-back times, and we knew that going in,” Pfaadt said. “I think to get out of that [first inning] was huge.”
Meanwhile, the Pirates’ bullpen, which has struggled this season, showed the resolve it will need if Pittsburgh is to end an 10-year postseason drought. Four relievers combined to throw 4 2/3 scoreless innings on Monday, capped by Mason Montgomery’s scoreless 10th inning. Montgomery worked his way out of a jam that had runners on second and third base with one out.
“We understand what we can do here in the clubhouse,” Brandon Lowe told Sportsnet Pittsburgh after the game. “We want everybody here to be excited about it as well. We’re ready to win a lot of ballgames.”
Lowe had three hits, including the game-winning single in the 10th inning, on Monday.
Chandler is coming off his best outing of the season last Wednesday, when he threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the New York Yankees. He struck out five, walked none and gave up only two hits, but the Pirates lost 2-0.
Chandler’s outing was a welcome sight, though, for the Pirates, who have seen their rookie right-hander struggle with walks this season.
Chandler walked the first batter he faced against the Yankees but recovered quickly.
“I figured out what I wanted to do,” he said. “Everything kind of fell into place after that. It was a good day.”
Chandler struggled in his only career start against Arizona on May 5. He walked six batters that day, struck out four and allowed two runs over five innings in a game the Diamondbacks won 9-0.
–Field Level Media
