Sports
Connelly Early hurls 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 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
Sports
After disappointing weekend, Yankees look to right ship at Orioles
May 2, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Ryan Weathers (40) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images The Baltimore Orioles need better results against the New York Yankees this week than in a recent series with the American League East rivals.
The three-game series begins Monday night in Baltimore.
The Yankees are suddenly reeling with a three-game losing streak and losses in four of their last five games. New York fell by 4-3 scores in its last two games, including Sunday at Milwaukee.
“Tough weekend obviously,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Didn’t play our best and they pitched really well against us and matched really well against us.”
The Yankees scored six runs in 28 innings in Milwaukee.
So a change of scenery might be good for New York, which fell into second place behind the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
“Look forward to getting on to Baltimore and righting the ship,” Boone said.
The Orioles won 2-1 against the visiting Athletics on Sunday, but it was only their third victory in their last 11 games.
“We know we can make those wins and we’ve just got to keep going and stay together,” Baltimore outfielder Leody Taveras said. “We’re going to have those types of games. We’ve just got to stay together.”
Part of the Orioles’ slump included getting swept by the Yankees in four games to begin May. New York outscored the Orioles by a combined score of 39-10 in those games.
The Orioles need to shore up their pitching and defense. They allowed three or more runs in 25 consecutive games before Sunday.
“We’ve shown that we could play clean defense, but also, we’ve shown that we haven’t,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “That’s the inconsistency of everything and that’s why our guys are diligent with their work. It’s not from a lack of prep, lack of work or lack of care.”
The defense provided a boost when Taveras threw out a runner at the plate.
Baltimore’s offense has been inconsistent, but at least various players have come through at different times. Dylan Beavers provided the clutch go-ahead hit Sunday.
“That’s his calling card,” Albernaz said. “That’s what I love about him. He grinds out at-bats, great strike zone awareness, great plate discipline and he has thump.”
Right-hander Brandon Young (3-1, 4.35 ERA) probably will be on the mound for the Orioles on Monday, with Albernaz saying there has been movement among available pitchers so there’s a chance that could change. Young has never faced the Yankees.
Baltimore has won three of the four games in which Young has worked this season, including Wednesday’s six-inning effort at Miami.
Left-hander Ryan Weathers (2-2, 3.03) is lined up to be the starter for the Yankees. He hasn’t pitched since May 2 when he was the winning pitcher against Baltimore, which was limited to one run and three hits in five innings.
That marked the fifth consecutive outing of five or more innings for Weathers. Earlier this month is the only time Weathers has faced the Orioles in parts of five seasons.
For the Yankees, Boone said it was good to see rookie outfielder Spencer Jones notch his first career hit Sunday in his third game in the big leagues.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Returning to form, Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi takes on D-backs
Apr 29, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) pitches against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Nathan Eovaldi appears to have turned the corner following a rocky start to the season.
The right-hander will look to take another step forward on Monday when the Texas Rangers open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Arlington, Texas.
The Rangers had lost five of their previous six games before registering back-to-back shutouts against the formerly white-hot Chicago Cubs. The latter team was riding high on the strength of its second 10-game winning streak of the season before dropping 6-0 and 3-0 decisions over the weekend.
Eovaldi (4-4, 4.15 ERA) surrendered 23 runs and nine homers en route to losing four of his first six starts before bouncing back in a big way in a pair of outings against one of his former teams, the New York Yankees. He scattered four hits over seven scoreless innings on April 29 before yielding one run on three hits over eight frames last Wednesday.
“He had such a good game plan, such a good feel for swings,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “He has a game plan but also can navigate a game on his own as good as anybody, based on what he’s seeing.”
Eovaldi, 36, is 3-1 with a 4.17 ERA in 11 career appearances (eight starts) against Arizona.
Right-hander Michael Soroka (4-2, 4.14) will look to snap a two-start losing streak when he takes the mound for the Diamondbacks.
Soroka was gashed for eight runs on 10 hits in three innings of a 13-1 shellacking by the Milwaukee Brewers on April 30. He pitched much better on Wednesday, yielding just one run on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 1-0 setback to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Soroka, 28, sizzled in his lone career appearance versus Texas, scattering two hits over six scoreless innings to pick up the victory last June while with Washington.
He’d be wise to pitch carefully around Josh Jung, who collected consecutive three-hit performances for Texas on the heels of an 0-for-12 effort in his previous three games. Jung was riding high on a 13-game hitting streak before that.
While Jung consistently is finding success at the plate, the same cannot be said for Corey Seager. The latter is 0-for-14 with six strikeouts in his last four games to see his batting average slip to .193 for the season.
Perhaps Seager’s workload is slowing him down. After all, he has started 19 consecutive games without an off day.
“Corey and I talk every day about how he feels and where he’s at physically, but the other part of this is, you’re trying to win a series, right?” Schumaker said before Sunday’s game. “He’s still our best player. I don’t care what he did yesterday or the day before. It means something to us when you see him in the lineup. We do have a day circled here soon.”
The Diamondbacks lost seven of eight games before capturing the final two contests of a three-game series versus the New York Mets. Arizona allowed a total of two runs on seven hits in its last two games.
Making his second start in the majors, Ryan Waldschmidt recorded his first three career RBIs on two hits in the Diamondbacks’ 5-1 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday. He also made a dazzling catch in the fifth inning to preserve Eduardo Rodriguez’s no-hit bid.
“I took off for it, I knew I was getting close to the fence, but I was going to do whatever I could to catch that ball,” Waldschmidt said. “I was going full speed into the wall, catch or not. I’m glad I was able to make that catch for him and keep that thing going.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers hope offense shakes out of funk vs. rival Giants
Apr 25, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Needing a jolt amid an unimpressive offensive stretch, the Los Angeles Dodgers welcome the rival San Francisco Giants for the first of a four-game set Monday night.
Los Angeles is coming off a weekend series against the Atlanta Braves that saw it muster a total of four runs in back-to-back games, dropping two of three.
“As far as building innings, we just haven’t been able to do that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “As a unit, I don’t think that we’re one piece right now. It’s not from a lack of effort. We’ve been in this funk for quite some time. That’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-12 with four strikeouts in the series, seeing his batting average drop to .241.
On the mound, struggling Los Angeles right-hander Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA) will look to build off his first six-inning outing of the year in the opener. Sasaki allowed three runs on five hits in six frames on May 2, losing 3-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals. The 24-year-old will face the Giants for the first time Monday.
The Giants enter their first of 10 straight road games as owners of the third-worst record in the National League. San Francisco is coming off a rare series win, though, taking two of three from the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.
Trevor McDonald (1-0, 1.29) is slated to make his second start after being recalled to the big league club for the third time this season. McDonald, 25, threw seven innings of one-run, two-hit ball in his season debut last Monday, a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. The right-hander struck out eight and walked none in just his third career start.
“Big moment, big opportunity,” McDonald said of his outing, which helped end San Francisco’s six-game losing streak. “There was some adrenaline to where I could go out there and give us a spark and do the best I can to get back on that winning streak.”
An 11th-round draft pick of the Giants in 2019, McDonald hasn’t seen sustained success at the minor-league level, going 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in five appearances (four starts) for Triple-A Sacramento this season. If the right-hander can replicate his 2026 debut, McDonald could remain in the Giants’ rotation.
“Regardless of what the immediate future holds, I think in the distant future, the long term, he’s going to get the ball in his hand again in a vital situation,” Giants manager Tony Vitello said. “I think he sent a message that I hope rang true for all of his buddies on the pitching staff.
“Attacking is the way to go, and when we’ve attacked this year as a pitching staff, we’ve almost always had success.”
McDonald has faced Los Angeles once, allowing one run across six innings in a road no-decision last Sept. 21. The Giants won 3-1.
–Field Level Media
