Sports
Reds hope to have Austin Hays back for DH vs. Cardinals
Apr 27, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Cincinnati Reds left fielder Austin Hays (12) during the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Austin Hays was not listed in the Cincinnati Reds’ starting lineup for the scheduled Tuesday game against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals before Mother Nature intervened, causing the postponement of that contest.
With a split doubleheader on tap between the National League Central rivals on Wednesday, Hays’ availability for either game was not immediately known.
Reds manager Terry Francona revealed Hays received an MRI for a “tender” hamstring on Tuesday, one day after the slugger sprinted from first base to home plate during the sixth inning of Cincinnati’s 3-1 victory.
Hays is batting a robust .365 to go along with five homers, 13 RBIs and 15 runs in 13 games this season.
Noelvi Marte went 1-for-2 with an RBI triple and two walks in the series opener, helping Cincinnati win a season-best fifth game in a row.
The third baseman is 16-for-34 (.471) with 16 RBIs in his past eight games.
Marte started the season at Triple-A Louisville with Francona indicating that he would have to earn his way back onto the major league roster.
After batting .353 through nine games for Louisville, Marte was called up, but he was sent back down after going 1-for-6 in three major league games.
A few days later, the Reds promoted Marte again, and he took over as the regular third baseman on April 18.
“He’s been a good worker, and he was the same worker when we sat him down in spring training, which is always a good sign,” Francona said. “And like hitting, he’s moving his feet better at third, which is good offensively. You could tell he feels good because he’s swinging hard. But he’s also not just abandoning that right-center approach, which I think really keeps him balanced and staying through the ball.”
The Cardinals are looking for any signs of hope on the road as they have started the season 2-12 away from St. Louis.
The Cardinals were victimized Monday by another aspect of Cincinnati’s hot streak — slick defense. Center fielder TJ Friedl robbed Nolan Gorman with a sliding catch in the fourth inning. In the fifth, catcher Jose Trevino threw out the lead runner at third for the first out and then McLain robbed Lars Nootbaar of an RBI single when he picked off a grounder and started an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
“You’re hoping for a crooked number there, especially with the way (Nootbaar) has been swinging it at the top of the lineup, if we get those guys over and get them in,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “But that didn’t happen.”
St. Louis will send Miles Mikolas (0-2, 5.70 ERA) to the mound in the opener against Cincinnati’s Brady Singer (4-0, 3.62) in a battle of right-handers. Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz (2-0, 1.80) will start the nightcap. The Reds had yet to announce their Game 2 starter.
Last Wednesday, Mikolas had his best outing of the young season, throwing six shutout innings, allowing six hits but receiving a no-decision in a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. The Cardinals have lost all five of Mikolas’ starts this year.
Mikolas, 36, is 5-8 with a 5.80 ERA in 21 career appearances (19 starts) against Cincinnati.
Singer, 28, has been the beneficiary of strong run support, as Cincinnati has posted 42 runs in his outings. Singer has started just once in his career against St. Louis, a loss on Sept. 22, 2020. He allowed three hits and three runs while walking five over three-plus innings.
Matz, 33, will make his second start of the season on Wednesday, having won the other one with five innings of one-run ball against the Houston Astros on April 16. He is 4-1 with a 4.40 ERA in six career appearances (five starts) vs. the Reds.
–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
