Sports
Braves, after clinching at last chance, open playoffs in San Diego
Sep 30, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) hits a single against the New York Mets in the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Michael King was one of the assets the San Diego Padres obtained when they traded Juan Soto to the New York Yankees in December, and there was uncertainty regarding the role he would fill.
King made 49 appearances for New York in 2023, and only nine were starts. However, San Diego badly needed a starter after seeing Blake Snell (the 2023 National League Cy Young Award winner), Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha all depart as free agents.
Nearly 10 months later, there is no debate about King’s role. The 29-year-old right-hander will start Game 1 of the best-of-three NL wild-card series when the fourth-seeded Padres host the fifth-seeded Atlanta Braves on Tuesday evening.
Atlanta had uncertain pitching plans after squeezing into the postseason at the last opportunity on Monday.
King went 13-9 in 31 appearances (30 starts) during the regular season and ranked fourth in the NL in ERA (2.95) and fifth in strikeouts (201). He gave up two or fewer earned runs in 23 of his 30 starts.
“He’s pitched exceptionally well,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said Monday. “He’s up there in ERA … and he’s able to navigate both sides of the plate with his arsenal. Michael is really nasty and he’s competed very well.”
Shildt said he informed King on Saturday that he would be the Game 1 starter. Joe Musgrove will start Game 2 on Wednesday and fellow right-hander Dylan Cease will pitch Game 3, if necessary, on Thursday.
Tuesday will mark King’s second career postseason appearance. He pitched two perfect innings of relief for the Yankees in Game 3 of the 2020 American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
That series was played in San Diego during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ballpark was empty. Now Petco Park is considered to have one of the top environments in the majors, and King is looking forward to the atmosphere.
“It’s incredibly uncomfortable for a team to come into,” King said of the raucous environment. “It’s going to be a very tough time for our opponent. I can’t wait to turn up my PitchCom (device) and make sure I can hear everything. It’s going to be a fun time (Tuesday night).”
King has faced Atlanta just once in his career, and that occurred last season with the Yankees. He pitched 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and gave up one hit.
The Braves clinched a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive season by splitting a doubleheader with the New York Mets on Monday. Atlanta blew a ninth-inning lead in the first game and lost 8-7 before wrapping up the postseason bid with a 3-0 victory in the second game.
Ace Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale (18-3, 2.38 ERA) was unavailable for the doubleheader due to back spasms that affected him in his previous start on Sept. 19 against the Cincinnati Reds. Braves manager Brian Snitker said he doesn’t expect Sale to pitch in the series against San Diego.
The Braves boarded their long flight from Atlanta to San Diego on Monday night without declaring who would start Game 1. Promoting a pitcher from Triple-A Gwinnett is one of the options.
Star first baseman Matt Olson wasn’t overly concerned about the situation his club is facing, as the Braves were injury-riddled all year.
The biggest offensive loss was 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr., who sustained a season-ending knee injury in May. Slugger Austin Riley (broken hand) also is done for the year, while three-time All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies recently returned from a fractured wrist.
Among the pitching losses was standout right-hander Spencer Strider, who made two starts at the outset of the season before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery.
“Everybody battles through injuries throughout the year,” Olson said Monday. “You get hyper-focused on it when it’s yourself. … Nobody on the outside cares. We never used it as an excuse. Those are obviously some big names in the game and guys with some stats on their baseball cards. But we never let it faze us and we continued to grind.”
The Padres went 4-3 against the Braves this season.
–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
Michael Massey's blast lifts Royals over Tigers
Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers pound Rockies 11-2
