Sports
Kazuma Okamoto's first 2-homer game guides Blue Jays past Twins
May 1, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Yohendrick Pinango (24) catches a fly ball hit by Minnesota Twins right fielder Austin Martin (16) in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Kazuma Okamoto hit two homers and drove in three runs as the Toronto Blue Jays pulled away for a 7-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Yohendrick Pinango finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Toronto, which evened the series at one win apiece. Lenyn Sosa went 3-for-4 with a double.
Byron Buxton went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to lead Minnesota. Ryan Jeffers tallied the other RBI for the Twins.
Blue Jays left-hander Patrick Corbin (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5) gave up six runs (four earned) on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked one and fanned two.
The Blue Jays started the scoring in the second inning.
Daulton Varsho and Sosa hit back-to-back singles with one out, and they advanced on a wild pitch by Woods Richardson. Pinango hit a ground ball moments later, and Twins first baseman Josh Bell fired an errant throw past home plate that allowed the Blue Jays to take a 2-0 lead.
The Twins pulled even at 2-all in the third.
Brooks Lee led off the inning with a single, and Buxton followed two batters later with a home run just past the wall in left field. The shot was Buxton’s fourth home run in the past five games and his ninth of the season.
Toronto quickly responded to grab a 4-2 lead in the fourth.
Okamoto put the Blue Jays on top with a leadoff homer to left. Sosa hit a one-out double and scored the second run of the inning on Pinango’s single to center.
In the fifth, Okamoto struck again, this time with a two-run homer that increased the Blue Jays’ lead to 6-2. The blast gave the 29-year-old rookie from Japan his first career multi-homer game and seven long balls on the season.
Pinango hit another RBI single in the seventh to put Toronto ahead 7-2.
Jeffers pulled the Twins within 7-3 on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Courage transfer M Manaka Matsukubo to Chelsea
May 8, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; North Carolina Courage midfielder Manaka Matsukubo (34) controls the ball against the Orlando Pride in the second half at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images The North Carolina Courage transferred 2025 NWSL Midfielder of the Year Manaka Matsukubo to Chelsea FC on Friday.
The 21-year-old Japan international signed a five-year contract with the English club, which competes in the Women’s Super League.
“I’m so excited to be joining Chelsea, a club with a lot of history,” Matsukubo said in a Chelsea press release. “As a small child, I followed Chelsea because it is a club everyone in the world knows about.
“The club has a strong history of winning trophies and has done so well at the top of the game, so I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, and I want to help continue this club’s tradition of winning trophies for years to come.”
Matsukubo joined the Courage on loan in 2023. She tallied 19 goals and 10 assists in 58 matches with North Carolina, including 11 goals last season and five goals through nine matches in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees place Carlos Rodon on IL, reinstate Trent Grisham, Ryan McMahon
Jun 23, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) takes the ball to relieve pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images The New York Yankees returned center fielder Trent Grisham and third baseman Ryan McMahon to their active roster prior to Friday’s home game against the Minnesota Twins.
To make room for them on the 26-man roster, left-handed starting pitcher Carlos Rodon was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation and utility man Oswaldo Cabrera was sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Grisham, 29, has not played since June 12 due to a hamstring strain and was on the 10-day IL. The Yankees’ frequent leadoff hitter has posted a .232/.341/.406 slash line with eight home runs, 35 RBIs and six stolen bases in 66 games this season.
McMahon, 31, has not been in the Yankees’ lineup since June 21 due to ear and throat issues and was on the 10-day IL. An All-Star in 2024 with the Colorado Rockies, McMahon has delivered a .210 batting average, eight homers and 23 RBIs in 69 games this year.
Rodon, a three-time All-Star including in 2025, hits the injured list after one of his best starts of the year. The 33-year-old surrendered one hit and no earned runs over five innings on Sunday at Boston. In nine starts this season, Rodon has fashioned a 4-2 record and 3.30 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 26 walks over 46 1/3 innings. He began the season on the IL following offseason elbow surgery and later injured his hamstring in March before making his season debut on May 10.
He was slated to start Saturday against the Twins.
Cabrera, 27, appeared in three games while McMahon was sidelined. He went 0-for-9 with two sacrifice bunts in his 11 plate appearances.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Williams sisters to play doubles Saturday at Wimbledon
Jul 6, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) hug at the net after their match on day seven of The Championships Wimbledon at the AELTC. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images Serena and Venus Williams will play their Wimbledon first-round doubles match on Saturday after organizers gave Serena time to recover from a knee injury.
The sisters, who won the grass-court Grand Slam doubles title six times (most recently in 2016), take on Argentina’s Solana Sierra and Colombia’s Camila Osorio at the All England Club.
Playing her first singles match in nearly four years on Tuesday, the 44-year-old Serena tweaked her knee in the first set of a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to Australia’s Maya Joint.
Tournament director Jamie Baker told the Associated Press the first-round doubles match was pushed back to give Serena “as much time” as possible to recover. All other first-round matches in the Ladies’ Doubles draw were contested Thursday and Friday.
“We want her to play if she … possibly can,” Baker said Friday.
Venus, 46, and Serena last played doubles at the 2022 U.S. Open, losing in the first round to Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.
The winner of Saturday’s match will face ninth-seeded Ellen Perez of Australia and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in the second round.
–Field Level Media
Courage transfer M Manaka Matsukubo to Chelsea
Yankees place Carlos Rodon on IL, reinstate Trent Grisham, Ryan McMahon
