Sports
Josh Jung, Rangers shoot for series win vs. Athletics
Apr 21, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung (6) throws out Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Nick Yorke (not pictured) at first base during the ninth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Josh Jung is having an April to remember for the Texas Rangers, who will face the Athletics in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
Jung continued his hot streak with a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning of Saturday’s 4-3 victory. The win moved Texas one game over .500 and into a tie for first place in the American League West with the Athletics.
After going 0-for-17 in March, Jung is batting .371 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 20 April games. He said after Saturday’s contest that he remains focused on improving his approach at the plate.
“I think I could (improve) every night,” Jung said. “There’s a couple of at-bats I wish I could have back. But that (homer) was in a big spot. Over this little stretch I’ve been on, I’ve been able to execute. Every day is a battle to get in there and execute. You get four or five at-bats, and how many can you win.”
Sunday’s pitching matchup will feature a pair of right-handers as the Rangers’ Kumar Rocker (1-1, 3.48 ERA) faces J.T. Ginn (0-0, 3.74).
Rocker retired 13 consecutive hitters at one point and allowed one run across six innings in a 5-1 home win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.
“One of the best parts was, after the first inning, he put up five zeros,” Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. “To keep us in the game and then provide the innings after that, and just kind of shut the momentum down on their side, was a huge step for him.”
Rocker owns a 19-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in four starts this season covering 20 2/3 innings.
Shea Langeliers is 3-for-6 against Rocker, who is 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA in three career starts vs. the Athletics.
Ginn allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Seattle Mariners on Monday. The A’s won 6-4.
“It was a solid outing for J.T.,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “Any time a young guy goes out and gives up some (early) contact, it’s easy for things to kind of unwind. But I was impressed by how he finished. His sinker had a lot of life.”
Jung has two homers in eight at-bats against Ginn, who is 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA in five career starts vs. Texas.
The Athletics are looking to bounce back after losing Saturday despite out-hitting the Rangers 7-5.
“We came out and took some great at-bats,” Kotsay said. “Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap to the other starter, who gave them five good innings and kept us at three runs. Offensively, we just didn’t add onto the lead and give ourselves any margin for error.”
Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz tied a franchise record by drawing a walk in his 15th consecutive game.
Kotsay is monitoring the status of designated hitter Brent Rooker, who has not played since April 9 because of a right oblique strain and is nearing a return to the lineup. Kotsay said Rooker might not need a rehab assignment and could rejoin the team in the next few days.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Better-rested Nashville SC welcome Charlotte FC
Apr 11, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Nashville SC forward Sam Surridge (9) chases the loose ball during the second half against the Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images Two months into the regular season, Nashville SC built the best record in the Eastern Conference while juggling matches in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Now, Nashville will have had a rare full week’s rest when it hosts Charlotte FC on Saturday.
Nashville SC (6-1-1, 19 points) had Wednesday off while much of the league was in action. They also didn’t have a midweek Champions Cup fixture for a change: Nashville beat Club America on aggregate last week and will tussle with Mexican power Tigres UANL in the semifinals beginning April 28.
“I think when you actually get a full week of training, you can really focus on yourself for periods of time,” Nashville head coach B.J. Callaghan said. “Obviously when you’re playing every two days, a lot of it has to do with recovery and thinking about what you’re going to do for the opponent.”
Recovery helps, too. Callaghan said Nashville’s top scorer Sam Surridge, who hasn’t played since April 11 due to a hamstring injury, is back at practice and available for selection. He’s tied with Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi for third in the league with seven goals.
That April 11 match was the first meeting between regional rivals Nashville and Charlotte this year. Edvard Tagseth and Patrick Yazbek scored in either half to lift Nashville to a 2-1 road win.
“We didn’t play well in the first half against Nashville. We never got the ball back,” Charlotte coach Dean Smith said this week. “I didn’t think we pressed as well as we could’ve, with the intensity that we needed to. We certainly need to go and do that.”
Charlotte FC (4-3-2, 14 points) have dropped two of three in league play, most recently taking a 4-1 road loss to Orlando City on Wednesday. That was Charlotte’s highest yield of the season, yet Smith insisted his team played better than in its previous match, a 2-1 win over New York City FC. Defender Morrison Agyemang, 21, had his first career goal.
Smith said defender and U.S. men’s national team captain Tim Ream (adductor) will miss one more match but should be ready for May 2 at the New England Revolution.
“I think they’ve had to make a few adjustments with Tim Ream out,” Callaghan said, “but I think what you always get from Charlotte is a really well-coached team, organized in a lot of phases and again, that highlights a lot of — I would say, some of their individual attacking qualities really are able to come out from that.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Red-hot San Jose Earthquakes seek 1st-ever win over St. Louis City
Apr 22, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Earthquakes forward Timo Werner (11) celebrates scoring the team’s second goal against Austin FC in the second half at PayPal Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images St. Louis City SC has never lost or tied in six matches against the San Jose Earthquakes in their four-year existence.
If current form holds for both teams, that streak figures to end Saturday night when San Jose invades Energizer Park in a fixture of Western Conference squads.
After routing Austin 5-1 on Wednesday in northern California, the Earthquakes (8-1-0, 24 points) boast the top record in MLS and are tied with Vancouver for the best goal differential at plus-18.
Meanwhile, St. Louis (1-4-3, 6 points) is coming off a 4-1 loss last Saturday at Seattle that extended its MLS winless streak to three matches (0-1-2). Not only is it once again struggling to score goals — it has seven in eight matches — but its defense has conceded at least once in every match.
Midfielder Marcel Hartel didn’t have a real answer when asked why the team continues to struggle to finish its chances.
“That’s a good question,” he said. “We speak about it after every game — analyze the goals we concede, the goals we score. We defend good as a collective. … We have to score more goals. We have good opportunities in every game.”
The return of Eduard Lowen could help St. Louis unlock its offense. He played briefly at the end in Seattle and scored in stoppage time.
As for San Jose, its only problem might be overcheering. The team is scoring nearly three goals per match and its defense, an issue last year when it missed the playoffs, is maintaining its shape beautifully.
It’s adding up to another magical second season for coach Bruce Arena. If the Earthquakes earn the Supporters’ Shield, it would be the fourth team Arena has coached that has earned that honor in his second year with that squad.
“We won nine games last year. We have eight now,” he said. “I attribute it simply that they grind it out, they work hard every day and they like each other.”
Oussemi Bouda and Preston Judd each have five goals, while four other players have scored two goals each.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Timbers focused on present, not past disappointment vs. San Diego
Apr 18, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Portland Timbers forward Kristoffer Velde (99) controls the ball as Minnesota United FC defender Morris Duggan (23) defends during the second half at Allianz Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images The Portland Timbers will try to avoid focusing on vengeance for last season’s playoff exit on Saturday night when they visit a San Diego FC squad enduring the roughest stretch of the club’s two-year existence.
The Timbers (2-5-1, 7 points) were one of eight clubs that didn’t play on Wednesday.
That gave manager Phil Neville’s side a week to prepare for a San Diego side that eliminated Portland from the playoffs last season in a tightly contested first-round series.
But with Portland currently five points beneath the playoff line in the Western Conference, he hopes his squad can leave the emotion of that defeat behind.
“I don’t do revenge,” Neville said. “I think that’s very short-sighted. I think if you get clouded with that kind of emotion, you don’t have clarity of mind. … I think I see it as an opportunity rather than revenge, and I’m sure they do as well.”
Kristoffer Velde leads the Timbers with three goals, including the first in the Timbers’ 2-1 victory over LAFC two weekends ago.
Eight other players have each scored once for a side that has lost its first four away fixtures, including 2-0 at Minnesota last weekend.
San Diego (3-4-2, 11 points) enters having lost four straight in the league, one game more than its longest losing stretch in the club’s inaugural 2025 season.
Amid that dynamic, SDFC manager Mikey Varas agrees there won’t be much carryover from last postseason.
“Every season, the teams are a little bit different, so it’s all a fresh start,” Varas said. “The team is really hungry to continue making steps forward and get back to our best.”
Three of those four defeats have come on the road, with San Diego failing to score in two of those away fixtures.
San Diego has also seen a player sent off in four of its last five matches. Striker Amahl Pellegrino was dismissed in the 79th minute of Wednesday’s 1-0 loss at the Houston Dynamo and will serve his one-match suspension Saturday.
Marcus Ingvartsen leads San Diego with five league goals and Anders Dreyer has four.
–Field Level Media
Every Major Change One Piece Season 2 Made To The Source Material
Better-rested Nashville SC welcome Charlotte FC
