Sports
Disappointment in Detroit:Justin Verlander lands on IL, will miss start against Cardinals
Mar 30, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (35) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images The first Sunday night game at Comerica Park in Detroit this season was supposed to be a special event. Then came the bad news on Saturday afternoon.
Justin Verlander was scheduled to make his home first start in a Detroit Tigers uniform since Aug. 20, 2017, against the St. Louis Cardinals. However, the 43-year-old right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list due to left hip inflammation.
Verlander said the injury wasn’t serious but the organization didn’t want to take any chances this early in the season.
“It’s frustrating for me, obviously,” he said. “I also know a lot of fans were excited about [Sunday] night.”
Verlander won the first of his three Cy Young Awards in 2011 with the Tigers. He pitched in Detroit from 2005-17 and later played for the Houston Astros, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants before returning to Detroit as a free agent. Of his 266 career wins, 183 came as a member of the Tigers.
Right-hander Keider Montero was recalled from Triple-A Toledo and is expected to take the mound in Verlander’s place during the finale of a three-game series.
The team had marketed the nationally televised event as Verlander’s long-awaited return, but the fans and TV audience will have to settle for Montero’s 29th start in a Tigers uniform.
Montero was 5-3 with a 4.37 ERA in 20 appearances with Detroit last season, including 12 starts. He gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings of relief in his lone career outing against the Cardinals last May but didn’t figure into the decision in the 11-4 loss.
“We didn’t anticipate needing rotation help this week,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “But it came up and we have someone who arguably could have been on the team from the get-go. And now he gets an opportunity to help us. We’re very lucky to have someone of his caliber, who’s pitched in some of the biggest moments in the last couple of years to come up and be ready to go.”
The Tigers will be looking for a sweep. Detroit’s bats heated up on Saturday, as it clobbered four home runs in an 11-6, rain-delayed victory.
Kerry Carpenter, Zach McKinstry, Gleyber Torres and Matt Vierling each supplied their first home runs of the season. The Tigers had just two home runs, both by catcher Dillon Dingler, in their first seven games.
Montero will be opposed by right-hander Kyle Leahy (0-1, 7.20 ERA). In his first start this season, Leahy gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings in a 4-2 to the New York Mets on Monday.
“I made a lot of good pitches with runners on, but then I made some not-great pitches to let those runners get on,” Leahy said. “Definitely, a lot to learn from this one and be better as it goes.”
Leahy’s fastball velocity went down from the first inning, when he averaged 95.8 mph. It was closer to 93 mph the rest of the way. Leahy is still getting used to starting after being used as a reliever his first three seasons.
“That’s just part of the transition for my body getting used to this again,” Leahy said. “I felt really good early, and I thought I pitched with not my best stuff (Monday) and still competed as hard as I could. That’s just a build-up thing, and hopefully I’ll be better off as the year goes.”
Leahy has made two relief appearances against Detroit in his career and was tagged with a loss both times. His ERA in those games is 10.13 after allowing three runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings.
-Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs, Guardians set for Easter doubleheader after rainout
Mar 29, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) delivers during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs were not going to waste an opportunity to take batting practice Saturday, even after their scheduled game at the Cleveland Guardians was postponed due to impending thunderstorms.
They wrapped up the session before heavy rains arrived and even got in some on-field work. The teams now will play a traditional doubleheader on Sunday.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt knows how the weather can change quickly in the city.
“It’s Cleveland, so we know how the weather goes,” Vogt said. “Today, I was out in the yard playing Wiffleball in shorts and a T-shirt before coming to the ballpark because it was 80 degrees and beautiful.
“When we saw the forecast, we all agreed that we wanted to play both (Sunday), instead of messing around with Chicago having to make another trip here later in the season.”
Cleveland will start right-hander Slade Cecconi (0-1, 12.46 ERA) in the opener and left-hander Parker Messick (1-0, 0.00 ERA) in the second game. The Guardians have won two straight, including a 4-1 victory Friday in their home opener over the Cubs.
Chicago is sending right-hander Edward Cabrera (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound in Game 1 and left-hander Shota Imanaga (0-1, 7.20 ERA) in Game 2.
“Imanaga tunnels the ball really well,” Vogt said. “We’ve seen him a couple of times over the last few years and we know when he’s executing, he’s tough.
“We’ve got to lay off the split and can’t go chasing him underneath. We have to try and get him up in the zone and hopefully go to work.”
The Cubs placed 2025 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Cade Horton on the injured list Saturday. He only threw 17 pitches and one scoreless inning Friday before leaving with right forearm discomfort. Left-hander Riley Martin was recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
Horton’s next start was slated for Wednesday, but manager Craig Counsell could opt for a bullpen game.
“Cade is very important to us,” said Colin Rea, who pitched 3 1/3 innings immediately after Horton was lifted. “Hopefully, he caught it early, and hopefully it’s nothing too bad and he doesn’t miss too much time.”
Martin, who is set to make his major league debut, has spent six years in the minor leagues, compiling a 24-13 record and 3.76 ERA in 174 appearances (three starts).
Counsell was scheduled to speak with reporters in the dugout Saturday but opted not to do so once the game was called off. Cubs players were already stretching and went through with their activities.
Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who committed to attend Vanderbilt before turning pro, did joke with the media about his basketball skills. The 24-year-old said he could have been a a sixth-year senior for the Commodores in the NCAA Tournament.
Cecconi has not faced Chicago, while Cabrera lost his only start against Cleveland, giving up five runs in 5 1/3 innings last Aug. 14 while with the Miami Marlins.
Imanaga is 1-0 with a 5.23 ERA in two career starts against Cleveland, allowing five homers in 10 1/3 total innings. Messick will pitch against the Cubs for the first time.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andy Pages, Dodgers chase series sweep vs. Nationals
Mar 30, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) runs to first base after hitting a single against the Cleveland Guardians in the second inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages might have been overlooked during spring training on a star-studded roster, but his hot start has everyone taking notice.
Pages is hitting 15-for-30 (.500) with three homers for the Dodgers, who look to complete a three-game series sweep of the host Washington Nationals on Sunday.
Pages slugged a three-run homer among his three hits in the Dodgers’ 10-5 victory on Saturday. The 25-year-old has homered in back-to-back games with multiple hits in five straight games.
“He’s having a great start,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that what we’re seeing is he’s taking professional at-bats. He’s controlling the zone. He’s fighting when he gets two strikes. He is hitting to all fields. Right now, he’s showing he’s a complete hitter. And that’s really good to see.”
Roberts is monitoring the status of star shortstop Mookie Betts, who exited in the middle of the first inning of Saturday’s game due to right lower back pain and was replaced by Miguel Rojas.
Roberts said Betts would have an MRI exam on Saturday night and will likely miss the series finale.
Even if Betts is out for an extended period, the Dodgers boast a loaded lineup that finally appears on track and has homered six times in the last two games.
“I think pitching against us would suck, for sure. Glad I don’t have to do it,” Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow said. “I think talking to other guys even on other teams, there’s just no break. There’s no ‘Pitch around this guy to get to this guy,’ because everyone is good at baseball. It makes it really hard. It’s nice to be on this side of it.”
Washington has lost four straight and been outscored 23-11 in the first two games against Los Angeles. One bright spot has been the play of shortstop CJ Abrams, who has homered in three straight games and has 12 RBIs through eight games.
Los Angeles will send right-hander Roki Sasaki (0-0, 2.25 ERA) to the mound in the series finale for his first career appearance against Washington.
The 24-year-old Sasaki allowed one run on four hits over four-plus innings in a 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians last Monday. The outing marked a step forward after Sasaki posted a 15.58 ERA over 8 2/3 innings in spring training.
Washington will counter with left-hander Foster Griffin (1-0, 3.60), who allowed two runs over five innings in a 13-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies last Monday.
The 30-year-old Griffin impressed in his first appearance in the majors since Sept. 22, 2022. He spent the last three seasons pitching in Japan.
“I felt very confident going in with the changes that I made in Japan as well as the scouting report we put together,” Griffin said.
After his promising Nationals debut, Griffin faces another challenging matchup in his first career appearance against the Dodgers. Washington manager Blake Butera said his starter won’t be easily rattled.
“He’s like a tactician out there,” Butera said. “Just the way he thinks through how he wants to attack hitters, he’s like a silent assassin. He’s a pretty quiet guy, but you see he’s always paying attention to what’s going on so he’s never really surprised at any moment.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alice Pereira Delivers Knockout of the Year Contender at UFC Vegas 115
UFC Vegas 115 was another night filled with that trope that a card that seems weak on paper and is filled with a lot of unknown names can be more entertaining than some of the bigger cards the UFC puts on. From Renato Moicano’s submission win over Chris Duncan, to any of the other exciting finishes on the night, to a seemingly soccer-kick KO (that wasn’t a KO), which generated a lot of controversy, UFC Vegas 115 was a fire card.
And yet, one of the bigger highlights from the night came from the undercard. And for the second straight week, a fight on a UFC card has produced a Knockout of the Year contender. Last week, it was Alexa Grasso sending Maycee Barber into oblivion. This week, it was the strength of the hard-hitting Alice Pereira.
First of all, no, Alice Pereira is not related to Alex Pereira. But when you look at what Alice Pereira did on this night, it might be hard for some fans not to draw a connection between the two.
During the UFC Vegas 115 prelims, Alice Pereira squared off with Hailey Cowan. The first round proved well for Pereira, known as “Golden Girl.” Pereira was able to beat her opponent to the (literal) punch, using her quickness and power to batter Cowan during the opening five minutes. Cowan, in fact, was visibly bruised around her face as a result of that frame.
But Cowan is a tough fighter who was not to be deterred. In the second round, Cowan landed a major slam in the center of the Octagon, and it appeared that she was in control of the action. Cowan was unable to do much with her ground game, however, and she didn’t seem to put up much of a fight as Pereira got the action back to the feet.
And then, just as round two was coming to an end, Pereira unleashed a devastating knee that landed directly on Cowan’s face. Cowan dropped in a heap, and the referee quickly stepped in to wave off the fight.
It was definitely a needed performance from Pereira. She dropped her UFC debut to Montse Rendon at Noche UFC 3 in September, a performance that Pereira has openly admitted she’d like to move on from. Well, here, move on is what she did.
Pereira displayed the power that got her attention from the UFC in the first place. And the thing is, even though her name is “Golden Girl,” she isn’t an elderly woman from the classic TV show. Pereira is just 20 years old.
Imagine what this power turns into if she continues to develop well over the next five years.
Cubs, Guardians set for Easter doubleheader after rainout
Andy Pages, Dodgers chase series sweep vs. Nationals
