Connect with us

Sports

Chris Sale, Braves eager to add to Phillies' woes

MLB: Cleveland Guardians at Atlanta BravesApr 12, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

A pair of talented left-handers will take the mound on Saturday night when Chris Sale and the Atlanta Braves visit Cristopher Sanchez and the scuffling Philadelphia Phillies.

Both pitchers are off to solid starts this season. Sale (3-1, 3.27 ERA), the 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner, remains a force for first-place Atlanta in the NL East. Philadelphia, meanwhile, continues to count on Sanchez (2-1, 2.01), the runner-up to Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes in the 2025 NL Cy Young race.

Sale has allowed one or fewer runs in three of his four outings this season. He held the Cleveland Guardians to one run in six innings on Sunday, throwing a season-high 97 pitches in a 13-1 victory.

“Hall of Famers are just different, and that’s what he is,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “I think he ran it up to 99 (mph) tonight on a pitch, and he had some 98s. He’s just a marvel, really.”

Sanchez also is coming off a victory — 13-7 Monday over the Chicago Cubs in a game in which he gave up two runs over six innings. He hasn’t been particularly sharp this month, however, as he’s allowed 21 hits and seven walks in 16 1/3 innings.

“It can be better,” Sanchez said via the team’s interpreter. “It can get better. The changeup can definitely be better. The good thing is I’m coming into my sinker, so it’s helping a lot. And my slider is good, so I’m able to throw those pitches even if my changeup is a little (off).”

Sanchez has never defeated the Braves in seven career games (six starts), going 0-3 with a 3.58 ERA. He held them to three runs in 12 2/3 innings last season but couldn’t come away with a victory.

Sale is just 2-2 with a 4.05 ERA in seven lifetime starts against the Phillies. However, he might be catching them at a good time, as they’ve been shut out three times while going 2-7 in their last nine games.

That was the story of Friday’s series opener, as Martin Perez tossed six strong innings to help Atlanta breeze to a 9-0 win over Philadelphia.

“Everything can’t always be great or awesome,” Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber said. “You’re going to have to fight through things. That’s the journey of the year. … There’s always a sense of urgency to go out there and win a baseball game. That’s the mindset we always have.”

Bryce Harper went 3-for-4 and J.T. Realmuto added two hits, but the rest of the Phillies’ lineup was a collective 1-for-25.

“We’ve got to turn this thing around, someway, somehow,” manager Rob Thomson said.

Austin Riley hit two home runs for Atlanta, while Michael Harris II and Dominic Smith also went deep for the visitors. Harris finished with three hits on the night, and Riley and Drake Baldwin collected two apiece as the Braves improved to 7-2 in their last nine games, including three wins in a row.

“Just a great, great night all around,” Weiss said. “Offense — Austin Riley heating up, hitting homers the other way, that’s a great sign for him. Just a great team win.”

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Team Spirit, Team Vitality punch tickets to IEM Rio semifinals

Syndication: Arizona RepublicA backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.

Jordan Woodruff

Team Spirit and Team Vitality kicked off the playoff stage at the $300,000 Intel Extreme Masters Rio event with quarterfinal victories Friday, moving into the final four in Brazil.

Spirit blanked MOUZ 2-0 and Vitality did the same to Natus Vincere. While the losing sides were eliminated, Spirit will meet Team Falcons and Vitality will oppose FURIA in the semifinals Saturday.

Sixteen Counter-Strike 2 teams are competing this week for a top prize of $125,000.

The double-elimination group stage began with two groups of eight teams, with all matches best-of-three. The group winners advanced to the playoff semifinals, with the group runners-up entering the quarterfinals as high seeds and the third-place teams entering the quarterfinals as low seeds.

In the single-elimination playoffs, all matches are best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final.

On Friday, Spirit defeated MOUZ 13-5 on Dust II and 13-8 on Mirage. Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich of Belarus paced the winning side with 39 kills and a 1.86 match rating. Dorian “xertioN” Berman of Israel had 25 kills to lead MOUZ.

Meanwhile, Vitality rolled past NaVi 13-4 on Mirage and 13-6 on Dust II. Frenchman Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut starred for Vitality with 44 kills and a 1.92 rating. Ukraine’s Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov had a team-high 25 kills for NaVi.

Play continues Saturday with the two semifinal matches:

–Team Falcons vs. Team Spirit

–FURIA vs. Team Vitality

IEM Rio prize pool:

1. $125,000

2. $50,000

3. $30,000

4. $20,000

5-6. $12,500 — MOUZ, Natus Vincere

7-8. $7,000 — G2 Esports, Aurora Gaming

9-12. $5,000 — RED Canids, 3DMAX, B8, HOTU

13-16. $4,000 — Gentle Mates, Team Liquid, Passion UA, Legacy

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Sei Young Kim grabs lead at midpoint of LA Championship

LPGA: KPMG Women's PGA Championship - Second RoundJun 20, 2025; Frisco, Texas, USA; Sei Young Kim plays her shot from the sixth tee during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

World No. 10 Sei Young Kim of South Korea carded a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 on Friday and took a one-shot lead after two rounds at the JM Eagle LA Championship in Tarzana, Calif.

Kim sits at 14-under 130 at El Caballero Country Club, just ahead of first-round leader Chizzy Iwai of Japan. Coming off a course-record-tying 63 on Thursday, Iwai carded a 68 on Friday, leaving her at 13 under.

South Korea’s Ina Yoon holds third place at 12 under following a 64. Tied for fourth at 9 under are Melanie Green and South Korea’s Jin Hee Im, who each shot 68 on Friday, and Jessica Porvasnik, who logged a 69.

Jenny Bae (second-round 68), Japan’s Minami Katsu (69), Australia’s Hannah Green (69) and Thailand’s Suvichaya Vinijchaitham (71) are level at 8 under, tied for seventh.

Kim birdied two of the first three holes and was 2 under at the turn. She then reeled off five birdies in a seven-hole span on the back nine.

“Little less windy today, because yesterday (it was a) very dry golf condition because (I started in the) afternoon,” Kim said. “So today … I can attack to the pin more than yesterday.”

Kim owns 13 career LPGA victories, but just one in the past six years, at the BMW Ladies Championship last October.

“This course (offers) a lot of the opportunity if you play well, so I think some players or couple players (will) play good and we’ll see, yeah, what’s going on,” Kim said. “Yeah, (I) like my position so I just want to keep (moving) forward (the) next two days.”

Iwai had another good round, albeit nowhere near as good as her first-round 63. She had two birdies and one bogey through the first 12 holes, then added three birdies in a four-hole stretch starting at No. 13.

“My front nine, I didn’t make … short birdie putts, but my driver and my second shot was all consistent, my swing,” Iwai said. “Yeah, my shot is pretty good.”

Yoon charged into contention with a sizzling start to her round, making seven birdies and two pars on the back nine. She then played the front nine and cooled off, adding only one more birdie in a bogey-free day.

“First nine holes was awesome,” Yoon said. “I never shoot 29 for nine hole in my life. It was unbelievable.

“The back nine was little bummer, but I had pretty good shot on the back nine as well. Some tricky putts on there. I made some. But it was good overall.”

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Red Sox halt Tigers' win streak on walk-off hit in 10th

MLB: Detroit Tigers at Boston Red SoxApr 17, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Masataka Yoshida knocked a pinch-hit, walk-off single in the 10th inning, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 1-0 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series.

Yoshida’s hit through the right side of the infield drove in Jarren Duran, the automatic runner on second base to begin the extra frame who advanced to third on a wild pitch by Detroit reliever Will Vest (1-3).

After starter Ranger Suarez tossed eight innings of two-hit ball, Red Sox relievers Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock (1-1) each pitched scoreless frames.

Suarez did not allow a hit after the first inning and retired the final 13 batters he faced.

Chapman gave up a pair of hits in the ninth, including a leadoff single by Javier Baez, who was then caught stealing. After Kevin McGonigle’s fielder’s choice and a Jones double into the left field corner, Dillon Dingler struck out to end the threat.

Whitlock dealt a 1-2-3 10th.

Jahmai Jones went 2-for-4 with a double and starter Casey Mize struck out seven in 6 2/3 scoreless innings for Detroit, which was on a six-game win streak but lost its ninth straight road game.

Both teams recorded just four hits.

Suarez worked around back-to-back hits to post a scoreless first, as a relay from the outfield cut down Jones trying to stretch a one-out hit into a double — thanks to a successful challenge overturning a safe call — before Dingler struck out to end the frame.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, were held hitless until Connor Wong’s two-out, ground-rule double deep to the center-field triangle in the third. Mize struck out three across the first two innings and induced an inning-ending double play in the fourth.

Caleb Durbin’s leadoff double into the left field corner started Boston’s sixth, but he was stranded on third as two fly balls and a strikeout. Duran’s two-out single in the seventh chased Mize, though Kyle Finnegan stranded the inherited runner in scoring position following a stolen base.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading