Sports
Spring training roundup: Offseason acquisitions shine as Tigers, Orioles tie
Mar 12, 2026; Lakeland, Florida, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (35) throws during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images Offseason acquisitions Justin Verlander and Chris Bassitt set the tone on the mound as the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles battled to a 1-1 tie in spring training action Tuesday at Lakeland, Fla.
The 43-year-old Verlander, who won his first of his three Cy Young Awards with the Tigers in 2011, returned to Detroit this offseason and struck out six while walking none over 4 1/3 innings of one-run work to lower his spring ERA to 5.40.
Bassitt, 37, signed with the Orioles after spending the last three years with Toronto. He was even better in his start, allowing no runs on three hits with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings to lower his ERA to 2.51.
Bryan Ramos provided Baltimore’s only run with a fifth-inning homer, while Detroit’s sole run came on an eighth-inning wild pitch from Jose Espada which scored Max Clark. The teams each stranded eight runners and were a combined 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Yankees 3, Rays 2
Jacob Morales’ two-run single in the ninth pushed New York past Tampa Bay in Port Charlotte, Fla.
J.C. Escarra (3-for-4) added a solo homer for the Yankees, who preserved their one-run lead when Kervin Castro worked around the tying run at second base with no outs for his second save.
Raynel Delgado cut the 3-1 lead in half with a ninth-inning single, and Ben Williamson drove in a run with an RBI groundout. Ryan Pepiot issued more walks (three) than strikeouts (two), but he allowed just one run over five innings to maintain his spring ERA at an impressive 0.90.
Mets 5, Marlins 5
Bo Bichette drove in all five New York RBIs with two extra-base hits, but Jacob Jenkins-Cowart’s eighth-inning homer helped Miami come away with a tie in Jupiter, Fla.
Bichette, who signed a three-year, $126 million contract in January, hit his unofficial first homer as a Met and surpassed his RBI total (three) from his first 11 spring games combined. Sean Manaea tossed four perfect innings in his start.
Jenkins-Cowart’s three-run homer paired with an Esteury Ruiz sacrifice fly helped the Marlins rally from a 5-1 deficit in the final three innings. Ace Sandy Alcantara (5.63 ERA) continued an underwhelming spring showing, allowing two runs over four innings.
Red Sox 4, Braves 3
Nate Eaton’s two-run single in the fourth put Boston ahead for good in its defeat of Atlanta in Fort Myers, Fla.
Carlos Narvaez recorded the other two RBIs on a groundout and a single for Boston, which got a two-hit day that included a triple from Trevor Story. The No. 1 Red Sox prospect per MLB Pipeline, Payton Tolle, preserved the win with five strikeouts over four scoreless relief innings for a hold.
Brett Wisely, Kyle Farmer and Jordan Groshans each had RBI singles for the prospect-laden Braves squad. Reynaldo Lopez struck out six and allowed three runs over 3 2/3 innings but still has a 2.84 ERA this spring.
Nationals 1, Cardinals 0
Jake Irvin tossed five scoreless frames to set the tone for Washington’s four-hit shutout of St. Louis in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Irvin struck out five and scattered three hits, while Brady House plated the only run of the game on a first-inning double, his sixth of spring.
The Cardinals got a similarly strong start from former Dodgers and Red Sox pitcher Dustin May, who allowed one run over five innings. The top four hitters in the Cardinals’ lineup were 0-for-12 with six strikeouts.
Phillies 2, Twins 0
Adolis Garcia knocked in both runs of Philadelphia’s shutout victory over Minnesota in Clearwater, Fla.
The former Ranger, signed to be Nick Castellanos’ replacement, went 4-for-4 with a homer, accounting for over half of the Phillies’ seven hits. Jesus Luzardo’s five shutout innings headed the combined shutout by five different pitchers and lowered his ERA to 2.31.
Brooks Lee had two of Minnesota’s six hits, all of which were singles. Bailey Ober suffered a tough-luck first loss of spring, allowing one run on two hits over four innings.
Astros 10, Pirates 2
Top-11 Houston prospects Brice Matthews and Zach Cole cranked back-to-back homers to spark a runaway victory over Pittsburgh in Bradenton, Fla.
Shay Whitcomb added a pair of RBI singles for the Astros, who also got a two-run single from Cavan Biggio, who signed a minor league contract with his dad’s longtime team this offseason. Lance McCullers Jr. (3.38 ERA) allowed one run over four innings.
After a strong start to spring, Pirates starter Mitch Keller was lit up for six runs over four innings of work, striking out six but walking four. Pittsburgh mainstay Bryan Reynolds provided the team’s only run-scoring hit of the day, an RBI single in the third.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 4 Nebraska survives No. 5 Vandy on Braden Frager's late winner
Nebraska’s Sam Hoiberg (1) drives up court as Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner (3) defneds during a second-round game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament between Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday March 21, 2026. Braden Frager drove for the winning layup with 2.2 seconds left Saturday night and fourth-seeded Nebraska rallied for a 74-72 win over fifth-seeded Vanderbilt in the second round of the NCAA Tournament’s South Region in Oklahoma City.
The result wasn’t secured until the Commodores’ Tyler Tanner, who scored a game-high 27 points, barely missed a 3-point shot from beyond halfcourt as time expired. Tanner’s heave hit the glass and went in and out, causing a gasp and then a wild ovation from the pro-Cornhusker crowd inside Paycom Center.
Prager and Pryce Sandfort each scored 15 points for Nebraska (28-6), which will play either top-seeded Florida or No. 9 Iowa Thursday in Houston. The Gators and Hawkeyes match up on Sunday night in Tampa.
Rienk Mast added 13 and Berke Buyuktuncel contributed 12 points for the Cornhuskers, who converted 29 of 52 field goal attempts, including 9 of 19 from the 3-point line. Nebraska will make its first-ever Sweet 16 appearance.
Tyler Nickel added 16 points for Vanderbilt (27-9), which rallied in the second half by canning 10 of 22 3-pointers. Tanner’s layup gave the Commodores a 72-70 edge with 58 seconds remaining but Mast equalized with 37.0 seconds on the clock by tipping home Sam Hoiberg’s missed layup.
The game featured wildly contrasting styles. Vanderbilt sought to speed Nebraska up with pressure and the Cornhuskers attempted to carve up the Commodores with precise halfcourt execution.
In the first half, it was Nebraska’s halfcourt sets that ruled, even though the Commodores were able to force seven turnovers in 31 possessions. The Cornhuskers were able to overcome the high turnover rate by drilling 15 of 25 field goals, including 6 of 10 on 3-pointers.
Mast connected on 3 of 4 first-half 3-point attempts, helping Nebraska open up a 31-21 lead at the 3:59 mark. Vandy got a little traction later in the half but still headed for the break looking at a 39-32 deficit.
Tanner kept the Commodores in contention with 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting before intermission.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NWSL roundup: Kiki Van Zanten's brace leads Houston to rout of Boston
Mar 21, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA;
Houston Dash midfielder Kat Rader (22) celebrates after scoring a goal in the second half against the Boston Legacy FC at Shell Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images Kiki Van Zanten scored a brace for the Houston Dash in an impressive 3-0 victory against the visiting Boston Legacy on Saturday.
Van Zanten scored in the 43rd and 59th minutes to give the Dash a commanding lead and match her scoring total in 17 NWSL matches last season for Houston.
Katherine Ann Rader added the final goal in the 65th minute for Houston (2-0-0, 6 points), which is in pursuit of its first playoff berth since 2022 and just the second in 13 seasons.
Boston (0-0-2, 0 points), which got four saves from Casey Murphy, is still looking for the franchise’s first win. The Legacy’s inaugural season kicked off with a 1-0 home loss to Gotham FC on March 14.
Gotham FC 0, North Carolina Courage 0
Gotham FC and North Carolina Courage combined for 23 shots (four on goal) but played to a draw in Harrison, N.J.
The Courage (1-0-1, 4 points) completed nearly 170 more passes (459-290) and had three of the four shots on goal, two from Ashley Sanchez. Kailen Sheridan was tasked with just one save.
Gotham FC (1-0-1, 4 points) got three saves from and held 59% of the possession despite being outshot 13-10. Rose Lavalle had the side’s lone shot on goal. Ann-Katrin Berger made three saves to maintain the scoreless draw.
Angel City 3, Bay FC 1
Sveindís Jonsdottir had a brace as Angel City FC defeated Bay City FC in San Jose, Calif.
Gisele Thompson also found the back of the net in the 32nd minute on an assist from Jonsdottir for Angel City (2-0-0, 6 points), which is atop the standings two weeks in with a plus-six goal differential.
Taylor Huff had the lone goal in the 56th minute for Bay FC (1-1-0, 3 points) on an assist from Cristiana Girelli.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hot start helps Hyo Joo Kim take 5-shot lead at Fortinet Founders Cup
Apr 27, 2025; The Woodlands, Texas, USA; Hyo Joo Kim of Korea hits a tee shot on the first hole during the final round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim improved her grip on the lead to five strokes with a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday at the Fortinet Founders Cup in Menlo Park, Calif.
Kim, a seven-time winner on the LPGA Tour and the 2015 Founders Cup champion, led by two shots after the opening round and four through Friday’s play. The 30-year-old shot 6 under for the first six holes on Saturday and is 17-under 199 after three rounds at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club, which is hosting the event for the first time.
World No. 2 Nelly Korda, competing for the first time since winning the weather-shortened Tournament of Champions to open the 2026 season, is five strokes back at 12 under after she matched Kim’s 66.
Kim, ranked No. 8 in the world, had an adventurous round with only seven pars. She started on fire with birdies at Nos. 1, 3 and 4 before an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole to get to 16 under for the tournament. Another birdie followed at No. 6, then the first of her three bogeys on the day to make the turn in 31 shots.
“The start up to hole 6, I believe, was unbelievable golf and I can’t even believe it,” Kim said. “I had a lot of birdies and (an) eagle, too. But I did also have some bogeys I shouldn’t have done. The start felt like almost a game.”
The back nine included birdies at Nos. 10 and 13 sandwiched around two bogeys and her seventh birdie of the round at the par-4 No. 16.
Kim hit eight of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation on Saturday.
Korda carded 33 on both the front and back nines in her bogey-free round. Birdies came at Nos. 2, 7, 8, 10, 16 and 18.
“It’s nice to have a clean scorecard wherever you play,” Korda said. “Doesn’t matter. With kind of how tough it is off the tee and into the greens, just really happy with my round today.”
She needed only 27 putts in hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation.
China’s Ruixin Liu (66 on Saturday) and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (65) are tied for third at 11 under.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, who leads the Race to CME Globe standings, is tied for fifth at 9 under with three others: Australia’s Karis Davison (69), Japan’s Erika Hara (67) and South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi (69).
–Field Level Media
No. 4 Nebraska survives No. 5 Vandy on Braden Frager's late winner
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