With his future secure, Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt takes on Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (32) pitches against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field in Phoenix on Sept. 29, 2024. Arizona right-hander Brandon Pfaadt will make his first start of the 2025 season with the security of a new multi-year contract when the Diamondbacks host the Chicago Cubs on Saturday in Phoenix.
Pfaadt signed a five-year, $45 million contract Friday, again signaling the Diamondbacks’ commitment to their young core.
“Brandon falls very much in the group of players that we feel like getting some certainty around,” Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said. “What the future is going to look like is very important in terms of building a roster and keeping this team together for as long as we can. We feel like these things are important for us.”
Pfaadt is scheduled to oppose Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga in the third game of the four-game set. The teams have split the first two.
Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suarez is off to a hot start, similar to the way he finished the 2024 season, when he had 24 of his 30 homers after July 1. In the first two games, he has three home runs and five RBIs.
Suarez hit a pair of two-run homers in the D-Backs’ 8-1 victory Friday, and with his solo homer Thursday tied Luis Gonzalez’s franchise record for homers in the first two games of a season.
“Geno was clearly the highlight,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “Just a special day. Those are the ones you dream about from a player’s standpoint, where you go out there and clip a couple of baseballs and do your job and help your team with a baseball game.”
Pfaadt was 11-10 with a 4.71 ERA in his first full season in the majors in 2024 after thriving in the Diamondbacks’ run to the 2023 World Series. He made 32 starts and threw 181 2/3 innings last season, both team highs.
“He’s done a great job over the last couple of years,” Hazen said. “There have been some really big highlights for sure. The consistency that he brings to the table, from the worth ethic and the makeup and innings eating even at a young age, is something that we value tremendously.”
Pfaadt appears to have a favorable matchup Saturday. He is 1-1 with a 2.13 ERA in four previous appearances, three starts, against the Cubs.
Imanaga (0-0, 0.00 ERA) enters after a strong performance in his season opener, a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo on March 18 in which he did not factor in the decision.
Imanaga, the subject of much attention in a return to this home country, did not give up a hit in four innings against the Dodgers, walking four and striking out two.
“As much as anything, we were impressed in how he handled just a challenging week in what was asked of him,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He continues to perform and entertain. He does all of it. It is fun to watch.”
Imanaga pitches primarily off a 92 mph four-seam fastball and an 82 mph splitter, and he increased his slider usage against the Dodgers in his first outing. He struck out 10 in seven innings in his one start against Arizona last season, taking a no-decision in a 2-1 extra-inning victory.
Imanaga debuted in the majors last season after eight seasons in Japan. He was 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 29 starts and made the National League All-Star team.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tyler Reddick starts bid for 3rd straight NASCAR Cup win with pole run
Feb 22, 2026; Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick rounds the track at EchoPark Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images AUSTIN, Texas — One of the few things that wasn’t startling about Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Circuit of the Americas was Tyler Reddick’s run for the pole position.
Negotiating the 2.4-mile road course in 97.760 seconds (88.380 mph) in the second qualifying group, Reddick claimed his third Busch Light Pole Award in six attempts at the track. He will lead the field to green in Sunday’s DuraMAX Grand Prix Powered by Reladyne (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Of course, there’s more at stake for Reddick than simply a victory at COTA. In winning at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta last Sunday, the driver of the No. 45 Toyota became the sixth Cup competitor to start a season with two consecutive wins. No driver has ever won three straight to open a season.
The 23XI Racing driver acknowledged that the pole position, the 12th of his career, is a positive first step toward that goal.
“It helps the chances, certainly,” said Reddick, whose series-best average finish of 4.6 at COTA includes a victory in 2023. “I think starting up front is huge.”
Michael McDowell led the first qualifying group of 19 drivers with a lap at 88.031 mph but fell to sixth soon after the second group took to the track. Ultimately, Ross Chastain posted the second-fastest lap at 88.256 mph (97.897 seconds) and will start on the front row beside Reddick.
The shocker was not that Chastain, the 2022 COTA winner, fashioned an excellent lap. What was surprising was that his two Trackhouse Racing teammates, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch — both vaunted road course racers — failed to crack the top 10 in qualifying.
Van Gisbergen was 13th fastest on his third lap. Zilisch could do no better than 25th. Van Gisbergen is seeking his sixth straight road course victory in the Cup Series, a mark that would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for most consecutive road course wins.
Chase Briscoe (88.242 mph) will start third, followed by Ryan Blaney (88.179 mph) and Chase Elliott (88.161 mph). Elliott leads active drivers with seven road course victories.
Behind McDowell in sixth, AJ Allmendinger qualified seventh, followed by defending race winner Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and William Byron.
“We’ll see how it gets going,” Reddick said. “Certainly, Ross, Shane, Ryan Blaney-there’s a number of good drivers who were really strong in practice today. We’ll try to understand what that all looks like and make our best decisions on the car and everything.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Warriors F Gui Santos signs multi-year extension
Feb 25, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos (15) passes the ball as Memphis Grizzlies guard Javon Small (10) defends during the third quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos signed a multi-year contract extension on Saturday.
Specific terms were not disclosed by the Warriors. However, ESPN reported it was a three-year, $15 million contract extension with a player option in 2028-29. Santos was in line to become a restricted free agent prior to this extension.
Santos, 23, is posting career-best averages in points (6.6), rebounds (3.2) and assists (1.7) in 48 games (13 starts) this season.
He is contributing 4.9 points, 3.0 boards and 1.4 assists in 127 career games (15 starts) since being selected by the Warriors in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Isaiah Evans, No. 1 Duke overwhelm No. 11 Virginia
Feb 28, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Isaiah Evans (3) grabs a pass as he moves around a pick center Patrick Ngongba II (21) as Virginia Cavaliers guard Sam Lewis (5) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images Isaiah Evans used a hot start on the way to 19 points and top-ranked Duke’s defense contained No. 11 Virginia for much of Saturday afternoon’s showdown in a 77-51 victory at Durham, N.C.
The Blue Devils, with two games remaining, secured at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship and locked up the top seed for the upcoming ACC tournament.
Cameron Boozer racked up most of his 18 points on free throws for Duke (27-2, 15-1 ACC), which built its lead to 28 points in the second half. Boozer also had a team-high nine rebounds, while Patrick Ngongba II added 11 points.
Thijs De Ridder had 16 points for Virginia (25-4, 13-3), which was bidding to pull even atop the ACC standings. Instead, the Cavaliers’ nine-game winning streak was halted as they were held to a season-low point total.
Virginia went 29.1% from the field, including 7-for-35 on 3s, so the Cavaliers’ 12-for-13 shooting at the foul line couldn’t save them. Virginia collected nine offensive rebounds despite its volume of missed shots.
Evans shot 5-for-9 on 3-pointers and was 7-for-11 overall from the floor, accounting for nearly half of Duke’s 12 baskets from 3-point range.
Boozer had 11 first-half points on 11-for-12 free-throw shooting, but didn’t make a field goal until a 3-pointer early in the second half. He ended up 3-for-9 from the field in 33 minutes in Duke’s second-to-last home game of the season.
Aside from De Ridder, Virginia’s starters shot a combined 4-for-22 from the field.
An 11-0 run in the second half stretched Duke’s advantage to 70-43.
Duke built an 18-9 lead across the first 11 minutes, with Evans providing 14 of those points. The Blue Devils carried a 41-26 lead into halftime.
Virginia shot 4-for-17 on first-half 3s, while going 4-for-8 on 2-point range attempts.
By game’s end, Boozer attempted 12 of Duke’s 14 free throws.
–Field Level Media
Tyler Reddick starts bid for 3rd straight NASCAR Cup win with pole run
Warriors F Gui Santos signs multi-year extension
