Sports
Sagging Diamondbacks sense opportunity in return to Arizona against Pirates
May 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) reacts after striking out against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images The Arizona Diamondbacks were beaten and battered on a 2-6 excursion and have fallen a game below .500.
The Diamondbacks will look to regain their form with a six-game homestand that begins Tuesday night in Phoenix with the opener of a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Arizona’s woes began before the trip with three losses in four home games. The Diamondbacks began their time away from home by splitting two games with the San Diego Padres in Mexico City before losing two of three to the Milwaukee Brewers and being swept in a three-game set by the Chicago Cubs.
Arizona lost the last four games by a cumulative 29-10 score. They allowed 13 runs in both of the setbacks in Milwaukee, sandwiched around a 6-2 victory.
“Bad,” shortstop Geraldo Perdomo told reporters. “Really bad. Win two out of eight? That’s not us. It was really bad. It was a disaster.”
The plunge is alarming after the Diamondbacks got off to a solid 13-8 start.
But they have since lost nine of 12 games, allowing 10 or more runs four times and scoring two or fewer runs on four occasions.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo expects a turnaround to occur immediately.
“I stand before you guys every single day and tell you that we’re working hard and things are going to turn, and we’re going to have good days. And I’m going to continue to believe in that,” Lovullo said. “Because I see how hard these guys work, and I think they just get frustrated when they don’t have results. We’ve got to get the tide to turn a little bit. … I’ll expect their absolute best on Tuesday.”
One Arizona player performing at a premium is first baseman Ildemaro Vargas, who was the National League Player of the Month for March/April.
The 34-year-old journeyman had his 27-game hitting streak end on Saturday. The switch-hitter leads the NL with a .382 batting average and leads the Diamondbacks with six homers and 21 RBIs.
Pittsburgh is coming off a three-game sweep of the visiting Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates scored 26 runs while winning the first two games and then prevailed 1-0 in Sunday’s series finale.
Rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin drove in the lone run with a two-out double in the bottom of the eighth.
Griffin was disappointed at the timing of the hit. Right-hander Braxton Ashcraft pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings before exiting, so the victory went to left-handed reliever Gregory Soto.
“He deserved it,” Griffin said of Ashcraft. “I wish we could have gotten it for him a little earlier, but he pitched his tail off and we tried to back him up the best we can.”
Griffin, who turned 20 on April 24, is batting .262 with two homers and 16 RBIs in 29 games since being promoted to the majors. He was the No. 9 pick in the 2024 draft.
Oneil Cruz leads the Pirates with nine homers and 28 RBIs.
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.03 ERA) starts for Arizona and he is coming off a no-decision against the Milwaukee Brewers last Wednesday. He gave up two runs and five hits over 4 2/3 innings in a game the Diamondbacks won 6-2.
Rodriguez, 33, is 1-1 with a 4.41 ERA in three career starts against the Pirates. Brandon Lowe (4-for-20) has three homers off Rodriguez while striking out 11 times, and Bryan Reynolds is 3-for-6.
Rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler (1-3, 4.97) will be on the mound for Pittsburgh. He has allowed nine runs over nine innings while losing each of his past two outings.
In his turn, Chandler gave up three runs and three hits over five innings while losing 5-4 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Chandler, 23, has never faced the Diamondbacks or any of their hitters.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blue Jays' Dylan Cease stifles Angels again
May 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) scores against Los Angeles Angels catcher Sebastian Rivero (38) in the third inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images Dylan Cease struck out 10 in seven innings Friday night and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Los Angeles Angels A2-0.
Cease (3-1) allowed five hits with no walks in the opener of a three-game series. It was Cease’s second win of the season over the Angels and it gave the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead in the season series. He struck out 12 in five innings on April 20 in Toronto’s 5-2 win at Anaheim.
Louis Varland pitched the ninth to earn his fifth save of the season and end Toronto’s four-game losing streak.
Toronto scored both runs in the third against left-hander Reid Detmers (1-3). George Springer led off with a single, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked with one out and Kazuma Okamoto grounded an RBI single to center. Daulton Varsho walked and Ernie Clement hit a sacrifice fly to right.
Cease retired his first nine batters with five strikeouts before Zach Neto led off the fourth with a single, but Mike Trout grounded into a double play. Nolan Schanuel singled to second and took second on Clement’s throwing error. Jorge Soler grounded out to end the inning.
A walk and a catcher’s interference put two on with one out in the Toronto fourth. Detmers struck out Myles Straw with his 96th pitch before Jose Fermin replaced him and finished the inning on Guerrero’s lineout to shortstop.
Detmers allowed two runs, two hits and six walks while striking out three in 3 2/3 innings. He also lost to the Blue Jays on April 20.
The Angels’ first extra-base hit was Jo Adell’s double to center with two out in the seventh. Cease struck out Josh Lowe to end the inning.
Pinch hitter Vaughn Grissom led off the eighth against Jeff Hoffman with a double to left. Hoffman worked out of the inning with a groundout, a popup and a strikeout.
Former Blue Jay Alek Manoah pitched in the majors for the first time since May 29, 2024, when he worked the bottom of the eighth. He received a mixed reaction from the fans. Manoah, who had elbow surgery, tossed a perfect inning with one strikeout.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alex Newhook, Canadiens level series vs. Sabres in Game 2
May 8, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) makes a blocker save during the second period against the Buffalo Sabres in game two of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images Alex Newhook posted his first two-goal postseason game for the Montreal Canadiens, who evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the host Buffalo Sabres on Friday thanks to a 5-1 victory in Game 2.
The Canadiens seized home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven set ahead of Game 3 in Montreal on Sunday.
Newhook now has three goals for the Habs this postseason, and Nick Suzuki added an empty-netter with 4:01 remaining to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games. Five of Montreal’s six defensemen got points as Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier netted their first playoff goals while Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson each registered an assist.
Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes rebounded from a subpar Game 1 performance, making 27 saves in the victory.
Zach Benson recorded his third playoff goal for the Sabres, with assists from Conor Timmins and Josh Doan.
Buffalo goaltender Alex Lyon endured his worst game of the playoffs as he gave up four goals on 27 shots.
The Canadiens needed just 96 seconds to take the lead with Newhook in the slot tipping Guhle’s shot past Lyon.
Less than three minutes later, Matheson doubled the Habs’ lead. Phillip Danault won the faceoff in the offensive zone and the puck went back to the defenseman, who found a lane and ripped a shot from the blue line that went in off the post.
Newhook, who entered Friday with just three goals in 40 Stanley Cup playoff games, netted his second of the night with 15:13 left in the second period. On a 2-on-2 with Evans, Newhook found a way to get past Rasmus Dahlin and beat Lyon, who could not glide back before the puck got to Newhook.
Buffalo managed to score in the final minute of the second, with Benson at the post to redirect Timmins shot from the right circle.
The Canadiens regained momentum less than four minutes into the third with Carrier getting the puck in the defensive zone off a Tage Thompson turnover and converting it into an unassisted goal that secured the victory.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Connelly Early hurls a gem as Red Sox defeat Rays
May 8, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Connelly Early (71) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images A pair of solo home runs stood up as Connelly Early pitched a career-high seven shutout innings, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 2-0 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Wilyer Abreu’s two-out blast in the third was all that Boston needed, but Ceddanne Rafaela (2-for-4) added a homer of his own in the next inning for good measure.
Early (3-2) fanned eight while allowing just four hits and one walk on the way to his first scoreless start of the season. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman followed the southpaw with scoreless innings, preserving Boston’s MLB-leading sixth shutout of the season.
Nick Fortes (2-for-3) had two of the four hits for Tampa Bay, which was blanked for the first time this season and had a seven-game win streak snapped.
After allowing just one base hit through the first two innings, Early escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam with a strikeout and a 5-4-3 double play to end the third without any damage done. Back-to-back hits by Nick Fortes and Taylor Walls had started the frame.
The Red Sox went without a hit for the first 3 2/3 innings against Jesse Scholtens (3-2) — a primary reliever who completed 4 2/3 in his second start of the season — before breaking up the shutout bid with one swing. With two outs in the third, Abreu crushed a solo job over the bullpens in right-center field.
Rafaela joined the action an inning later, giving Boston a 2-0 lead with a line-drive shot over the Green Monster in left.
Early was dominant following the Rays’ big threat, allowing only one base hit — a Fortes single with one out in the fifth — through the remainder of his outing. After Fortes’ second knock, the southpaw bounced back to strike out back-to-back batters and the side.
Though the Red Sox were unable to extend their lead and logged just two hits themselves after scoring in the fourth, Early punctuated the night with a looking strikeout of Fortes in the seventh.
With Chapman on to close, third baseman Caleb Durbin made a diving stop to help retire Junior Caminero in a 1-2-3 ninth with two punchouts. Chapman earned his eighth save.
–Field Level Media
Blue Jays' Dylan Cease stifles Angels again
Alex Newhook, Canadiens level series vs. Sabres in Game 2
