Sports
Early upsets abound in opening round in Dubai
Jul 30, 2024; Washington, DC, USA; McCartney Kessler (USA) reaches for a volley against Marie Bouzkova (CZE) (not pictured) on day four of the Mubadala Citi DC Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images For Amanda Anisimova and Jelena Ostapenko, the letdown was real in the United Arab Emirates.
After the two stormed through the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last week, with Anisimova beating Ostapenko in the final of the WTA 1000 event on Saturday, they were bounced Monday in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Qualifier Moyuka Uchijima of Japan chalked up her first Top 30 win with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Latvia’s Ostapenko. McCartney Kessler earned her maiden win over a Top 20 player, beating fellow American Anisimova 6-2, 6-3.
It was just earlier Monday that Ostapenko (No. 26) and Anisimova (No. 18) moved up the rankings ladder. Because of their late climb into the rankings, they were unseeded in Dubai, another WTA 1000 event.
“Mentally, I was looking forward to it,” Anisimova said after her first-round loss. “Obviously I have confidence right now. But flying and not being able to test out the conditions — I didn’t step out on the court at all ahead of the match. Physically I was having a very hard time. Didn’t sleep much the last few nights. I was in a little bit of pain.
“McCartney was playing very well today. It was just a tough turnaround for me. I tried to find my game today, but it was pretty difficult physically … I am happy with the way I was trying to fight and do as much I could. It just really wasn’t enough against high-level players here.”
Kessler needed just 67 minutes to win, boosted by taking 89 percent of points on her first serve, converting five of nine break opportunities and capitalizing on seven double faults by Anisimova.
Next up for Kessler is No. 3 seed Coco Gauff.
Ostapenko wasn’t on her service game, despite five aces, against Uchijima. She won just 61 percent of points on first serve, struck nine double faults and was broken five times.
The task doesn’t get easier for Uchijima, whose second-round competitor is No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
Also advancing in straight sets were a pair of seeded Russians, No. 11 Diana Shnaider and No. 12 Mirra Andreeva, while their compatriot, No. 10 Daria Kasatkina was knocked out. Another Russian, Anastasia Potapova, eliminated Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, seeded No. 13.
Others moving to second round were Peyton Stearns, Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Clara Tauson of Denmark, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and Eva Lys of Germany.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Michael Massey's blast lifts Royals over Tigers
Jul 26, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Lane Thomas (15) hits a home run in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Michael Massey hit a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth inning and the visiting Kansas City Royals hung on for a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Massey’s eighth homer made a winner of Nate Pearson (2-0), who was making his Royals debut after being acquired in a trade with Houston. Steven Cruz survived a ninth-inning jam to record his second save.
Lane Thomas had a solo homer and Luke Maile added an RBI double as the Royals salvaged a split of the four-game series.
Dillon Dingler had two hits and drove in two runs for Detroit.
Kansas City took a 2-0 lead in the first. Leadoff hitter Thomas hit a 3-2 pitch to the opposite field that just cleared the wall. The Royals then scratched out an unearned run. Nick Loftin singled and Salvador Perez was hit by a pitch. Valdez retired the next two batters before walking Isaac Collins to load the bases.
Second baseman Hao-Yu Lee then bobbled Tyler Tolbert’s grounder, allowing Loftin to score.
The Royals made it 3-0 in the fourth. Tolbert drew a one-out walk and Maile followed with a double down the left field line to knock him in.
Detroit took a 4-3 lead in the fifth. Lee led off with a double and Colt Keith walked. Kevin McGonigle singled to load the bases. After Gleyber Torres struck out, Avila was removed for Matt Strahm. Riley Greene hit a bouncer up the middle that got by second baseman Andrew Velazquez for an error. Two runs scored and Greene raced all the way to second. Dingler then knocked in McGonigle and Greene with a single up the middle.
Collins had a bloop single off Drew Sommers with one out in the eighth. Sommers (0-1) struck out the next batter but Massey took advantage of a hanging slider and deposited over the right field wall to give his club a 5-4 advantage.
Detroit had two runners on with no one out in the ninth as Lee walked and Keith singled. Cruz then recorded two strikeouts, sandwiching a popout, to end the contest.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers pound Rockies 11-2
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) throws during the first inning of their game against the Colorado Rockies Sunday, July 26, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jacob Misiorowski retired the first 14 batters he faced and finished with 12 strikeouts, Andrew Vaughn homered and the host Milwaukee Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies 11-2 on Sunday.
Jackson Chourio, Joey Ortiz, Luis Lara, Cooper Pratt and Jake Bauers had two hits apiece for Milwaukee, which broke open a close game in the sixth inning to win the series.
Misiorowski struck out seven in a row to start the game and 12 of the first 13 batters he faced with pitches consistently above 100 mph. Cole Carrigg ended the bid for a perfect game with an opposite-field homer to left.
Willi Castro was hit by a pitch before Misiorowski got Troy Johnston to ground out to end the inning — and his afternoon. Misiorowski (11-4) allowed one run on one hit and didn’t walk a batter in his five innings.
Carrigg’s home run was his fifth of the season and Castro hit a solo home run in the seventh for the Rockies, who finished with five hits and fanned 15 times.
Chourio led off the bottom of the first with the first of his two doubles and scored on Brice Turang’s single. One out later, William Contreras doubled to put runners on second and third, Turang scored on a Freeland wild pitch and Contreras came home on a groundout.
Freeland (2-10) settled in, giving up just two hits over the next four innings before Vaughn led off the sixth with his fourth home run. Freeland left after a one-out walk to Bauers, having allowed five runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
The Brewers added on against Colorado’s bullpen.
Bauers stole second and Jimmy Herget walked Gary Sanchez ahead of three straight doubles. Lara brought home Bauers with the first two-bagger, Pratt made it 7-1 with a two-run double and Ortiz put runners on second and third with the next double.
Pratt capped the inning when he scored on a groundout.
After Castro’s 10th home run, Sanchez and Lara had RBI doubles in the bottom of the seventh and Vaughn a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Munetaka Murakami strokes 2 of White Sox's 5 homers in rout of Astros
Jul 26, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) is greeted in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Miguel Vargas hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the sixth inning and Munetaka Murakami added a pair of homers as the host Chicago White Sox routed the Houston Astros 12-3 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep.
Chicago clubbed a season high-tying five home runs compared to three from Houston to extend its lead atop the American League Central to 2 1/2 games over Cleveland.
With his parents throwing out first pitches on his bobblehead day, Murakami went 3-for-5 with a career-high six RBIs. He drilled an opposite-field two-run homer in the first, drove in a run with a third-inning groundout, added a two-run single in a four-run seventh and finished with a solo clout to right in the eighth.
Jeremy Pena cracked solo homers in his first two at-bats and Taylor Trammell added a solo homer for the Astros, whose five-game winning streak came to a close.
The White Sox’s breakout against Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco in the sixth turned the tide. Sam Antonacci, who collected two hits, led off with a double and advanced to third on a Murakami groundout. Vargas followed with a two-run blast to left field, his 21st homer this season, to put the White Sox ahead 5-3.
Blanco (0-1) scattered five runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings with three walks and four strikeouts. It marked his second start since rejoining the rotation last week following Tommy John surgery in June 2025.
After Pena opened the game with a home run, Murakami reached Blanco for a two-run home run in the first to stop a 13-game homerless streak.
Houston’s own penchant for the long ball kept the club afloat in the early innings. Jeremy Pena stretched his hitting streak to eight games with a pair of home runs.
White Sox starter Erick Fedde yielded three solo home runs among his five hits over 4 1/3 innings. Pena homered against Fedde with one out in the third, then Taylor Trammell sent Fedde’s first delivery of the fifth over the wall in right center.
Fedde walked one and struck out two. Sean Newcomb (1-2) worked around a hit and walk to get the final two outs in the sixth to notch the victory.
Chase Meidroth homered in the seventh for Chicago and Junior Perez added a two-run blast in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
