Sports
Spring training roundup: Prospects help Red Sox hold off Tigers
Feb 27, 2025; Lakeland, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Marcelo Mayer (39) watches his fly ball during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images Marcelo Mayer went 3-for-3 with an RBI triple and a two-run home run, Roman Anthony added the go-ahead double and the visiting Boston Red Sox hung on to beat the Detroit Tigers’ split squad in spring training action Thursday in Lakeland, Fla.
Anthony and Mayer are considered two of the top prospects in baseball, as is their teammate Kristian Campbell, who scored a run. Anthony’s double in the fifth inning put Boston ahead for good, and David Hamilton and Trayce Thompson added home runs in the sixth to provide crucial insurance, as the Tigers rallied from a 6-1 deficit to make it a one-run game.
Justice Bigbie had an RBI in a three-run Detroit seventh and then hit a run-scoring single in the ninth before Boston’s Hobie Harris struck out Max Anderson looking to end the game.
Red Sox starter Quinn Priester allowed two hits and two walks in two innings before Josh Winckowski (1-0) got the decision in two innings of relief. Jack Flaherty started for the Tigers and finished with one run on one hit and two walks with two strikeouts. Kenta Maeda (0-1) yielded three runs and five hits in three relief innings while fanning five.
Tigers 7, Rays 7
Tres Barrera, Tanner Murray and Tristan Peters each hit solo home runs in the bottom of the ninth for Tampa Bay to earn a come-from-behind tie with visiting Detroit in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Barrera, Murray, Peters and Jake Mangum each had two hits in the Rays’ 14-hit attack. Starter Mike Vasil lasted 1 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out two.
Spencer Torkelson opened the scoring with a two-run shot for the Tigers and Tomas Nido went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Starter Matt Manning went 2 2/3 frames and gave up one run on four hits and two walks, fanning two.
Yankees 7, Phillies 7
Philadelphia drew a hit by pitch and three consecutive walks in the bottom of the ninth, the last one scoring Oscar Mercado to force a tie with visiting New York in Clearwater, Fla.
Johan Rojas and Rafael Lantigua homered for the Phillies in the back-and-forth game. Zack Wheeler started for the hosts and struck out four with just one hit over two innings.
Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera went deep for the Yankees before prospect Tyler Hardman put the Yankees ahead 7-6 in the eighth with a three-run shot. Starter Carlos Rodon was tagged for three runs on four hits while striking out four in 2 2/3 innings, and reliever Cade Austin was responsible for the disastrous ninth.
Mets 5, Astros 0
Converted reliever Clay Holmes went three innings in his second start of spring, yielding one hit and one walk while fanning two, as host New York blanked Houston in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Ryan Clifford and Brett Baty each provided two-run home runs in the sixth inning for the Mets, with reliever TJ Shook (1-0) picking up the win with one out of relief.
New Astros first baseman Christian Walker supplied two of the team’s four hits. Starter Colton Gordon struck out three with one hit over two innings, and Miguel Ullola (0-1) surrendered all five runs on three hits and two walks in 1 2/3 frames.
Cardinals 8, Marlins 4
Trade candidate Nolan Arenado hit a three-run homer and a double for St. Louis in a win over visiting Miami in Jupiter, Fla.
Willson Contreras broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the second with a single to score Victor Scott II. Starter Andre Pallante pitched one-plus inning and gave up all four Marlins runs in the top of the second before Matthew Liberatore (1-0) pitched two perfect innings.
Andrew Pintar hit a two-run single and Xavier Edwards and Matt Mervis added RBIs in the Marlins’ second-inning uprising after St. Louis’ four-run first off starter Cal Quantrill. Valente Bellozo (0-1) threw two innings of relief.
Pirates 12, Twins 1
Nick Solak went 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs and an RBI as visiting Pittsburgh hammered Minnesota in Fort Myers, Fla.
Jack Suwinski drove in runs on a single in the second inning and a double in the fourth before the Pirates poured on three runs in the sixth and another five in the eighth. Starter Caleb Ferguson (1-0) scattered one run and five hits in two innings, fanning three.
The Twins’ only run came when Ferguson hit Matt Wallner with a pitch with the bases loaded in the second. Ty France went 2-for-2 to lead Minnesota’s offense while starter Pablo Lopez (0-1) allowed three runs on four hits and two walks with four Ks in two innings.
Orioles 11, Blue Jays 8
Ramon Urias delivered a two-run shot and Tyler O’Neill had a three-run blast in a seven-run second inning for host Baltimore in a victory over Toronto in Sarasota, Fla.
Nine different Orioles had one hit apiece, including Sam Basallo’s solo homer in the seventh. Roansy Contreras (1-0), the second of nine pitchers, threw 1 1/3 spotless innings.
Orelvis Martinez and Myles Straw had two-run singles for the Blue Jays, and Charles Mcadoo cut the deficit in half with a three-run bomb in the ninth. Starter Easton Lucas (0-1) went 1 2/3 innings and gave up three runs off three hits and two walks.
–Field Level Media
Sports
CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls
Apr 18, 2026; Montreal, Province of Quebec, CAN; CF Montreal forward Prince Owusu (9) celebrates with teammate midfielder Victor Loturi (22) after scoring a goal against the Red Bull New York during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Prince Owusu recorded a goal and three assists as CF Montreal bested the visiting New York Red Bulls 4-1 in the home side’s first match under interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy.
Owusu scored his fifth goal of the season, as Montreal (2-6-0, 6 points) claimed their 100th win all-time at Stade Saputo.
Montreal strode past the visitors’ backline with relative ease in the early going. Red Bulls (3-3-2, 11 points) captain Emil Forsberg failed to control a hurried pass from his goalkeeper, allowing Owusu to play in Victor Loturi, who blasted it past Ethan Horvath in the fifth minute to make it 1-0.
Owusu nearly extended their lead soon after when Ivan Jaime played him through on a one-on-one. The towering center forward opted to hold the ball up before sending it wide of goal.
Owusu made no mistake on his 39th-minute penalty, catching out Horvath with a sly stutter step and slotting it into the left corner to make it 2-0. The penalty came as a result of Dylan Nealis’s handball.
Montreal’s Matty Longstaff knocked balls into both nets at the start of the second half. Longstaff met Owusu’s perfectly threaded through ball to make it 3-0 in the 49th minute. The English midfielder then overhit an attempted backpass to goalkeeper Thomas Gillier four minutes later and inadvertently brought the Red Bulls back within two.
More than the flurry of goals, the single biggest change in Montreal’s approach was in their defensive setup. Eullaffroy’s zonal marking stood in stark contrast to Marco Donadel’s aggressive man-marking, the Red Bulls managing just one shot on goal all game long. Eullaffroy also started Samuel Piette in the midfield after the Montreal captain remained on the bench in their last two outings.
Owusu chipped the ball over Matthew Dos Santos and into the path of Kwadwo Opoku, who guided it into the open net to restore Montreal’s three-goal lead.
The victory marked Montreal’s first at home since August of last year. Both of Montreal’s wins this season have come against the Red Bulls. New York, meanwhile, has won just one of its last six league matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Carson Kelly's pinch-hit homer propels Cubs over hapless Mets
Apr 18, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pinch-hitter Carson Kelly (15) hits a three-run homer against the New York Mets during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Carson Kelly hit a tie-breaking three-run pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning Saturday afternoon for the host Chicago Cubs, who beat the skidding New York Mets 4-2.
The pinch-hit homer was the second of Kelly’s career and his first since Aug. 25, 2021, when he went deep for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Anthony Banda.
Ian Happ homered in the second for the Cubs, who have won four straight and have scored 51 runs while winning five of their last six games. Chicago scored 59 runs in its first 14 games this season.
Kelly’s homer off Brooks Raley made a winner of Jameson Taillon (1-1), who gave up one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings.
Mark Vientos provided the visitors a short-lived lead by homering in the top of the second for the Mets, who have lost 10 straight — their longest skid since an 11-game losing streak from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004. New York hasn’t led at the end of an inning since first inning of an 11-6 loss to the Athletics on Apr. 11 — a span of 62 frames.
New York’s Bo Bichette scored when second baseman Nico Hoerner threw wide of the bag on Francisco Alvarez’s two-out grounder in the eighth. But reliever Ben Brown induced Vientos to ground out to third and strand two before Caleb Thielbar struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his first save of 2026.
Freddy Peralta (1-2) took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 5 2/3 innings. Peralta issued both walks with two outs in the sixth, after which Kelly took Raley deep on the first pitch he saw. The homer was the first surrendered by Raley since 2023.
The Cubs only managed five hits as Happ reached in 3-of-4 plate appearances with a pair of walks.
Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. had two hits apiece for the Mets, who were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Elena Rybakina continues sizzling start to 2026
Elena Rybakina waves to the crowd after advancing to the quarterfinals after Sonay Kartal retired from their match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Top-seeded Elena Rybakina continued her outstanding 2026 campaign by overwhelming sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.
Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, will face No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final. Muchova pulled off a mild upset with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 4 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
Rybakina, who won the 2026 Australian Open and reached the finals at Indian Wells, exchanged breaks with Andreeva before winning four of five points on the Russian’s serve to capture the first set. She cruised in the second set, winning a combined 21 of 25 points on her first serves and Andreeva’s second service offerings.
The deciding set between Muchova and Svitolina looked to be going the distance, but the Czech won the final eight points of the match — four on her opponent’s serve in the ninth game — to set up the fourth all-time meeting with Rybakina. Muchova has won two of three prior matches, including a quarterfinal victory in January at Brisbane.
Rouen Metropolitan Open
Top-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine cruised past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-0 to reach the finals in Rouen, France.
Kostyuk will take on teenage qualifier and countrywoman Veronika Podrez. She advanced in a walkover prior to her scheduled match against Romania’s Sonia Cirstea, who withdrew due to a leg injury.
Kostyuk, who will be trying to win her second WTA title and first since a 2023 championship in Austin, Texas, fended off all four break points in the match against the 38-year old German. Maria could not contain Kostyuk’s power, dropping 32 of 43 (74.4%) service points.
Podrez, 19, advanced to the semifinals with wins over Sloane Stephens, No. 7 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy and Great Britain’s Katie Boulter.
–Field Level Media
CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls
Carson Kelly's pinch-hit homer propels Cubs over hapless Mets
