Sports
Munetaka Murakami, White Sox blast way past Cubs
May 15, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) reacts before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Munetaka Murakami hit two home runs to lead a five-homer barrage and right-hander Davis Martin delivered six strong innings as the host Chicago White Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Saturday.
The White Sox regrouped from Friday’s 10-5 loss to even the crosstown series at one game apiece while improving to 6-2 on a nine-game homestand.
Murakami, in his first major league season, highlighted the power display with his first career multi-homer game. Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery each went deep for the second straight night while Andrew Benintendi contributed his first round-tripper since April 23.
Miguel Amaya had two hits for the Cubs, including a solo homer. Pete Crow-Armstrong capped the scoring with a two-run blast in the ninth.
Vargas vaulted the White Sox to an early lead with a three-run shot in the first, jumping on a 1-1 pitch from Cubs starter Jameson Taillon.
Murakami drilled a solo shot to center with one out in the third. Montgomery followed with a solo home run two batters later.
Murakami stretched the advantage to 7-0 with a two-run blast in the fifth, his American League-leading 17th home run of the season. Benintendi chased Taillon from the game with a solo shot to open the sixth.
Martin (6-1) retired the first nine Cubs before Nico Hoerner singled to lead off the fourth. Amaya led off the sixth with a solo shot and the Cubs put two men in scoring position with one out before Martin escaped further trouble with strikeouts of Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki.
Martin spaced one run and five hits in six innings with zero walks and seven strikeouts.
Taillon fell to 2-3 after allowing a career-high five homers. He yielded eight runs on eight hits in five innings with one walk and two strikeouts.
Alex Bregman and Amaya both had two hits for the Cubs, who left seven men on base.
Sam Antonacci, Murakami and Benintendi had two hits each for the White Sox.
The game was delayed 13 minutes in the bottom of the fourth after home-plate umpire Brian O’Nora took a Jarred Kelenic foul ball off the mask near his jaw. O’Nora left the game to undergo further testing. Erich Bacchus took his place behind the plate.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marlins' 8-run 10th snaps Rays' home winning streak
May 16, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins catcher Liam Hicks (34) bats during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images Liam Hicks ripped a two-run single and Javier Sanoja added a three-run double to highlight an eight-run 10th inning that fueled the Miami Marlins to a 10-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Marlins loaded the bases in the 10th against Hunter Bigge (1-1) before Hicks’ single to right. Otto Lopez followed with a sacrifice fly, Connor Norby added an RBI single and Sanoja cleared the bases before coming home on Esteury Ruiz’s run-scoring single.
The late offensive eruption made a winner of former Rays closer Pete Fairbanks (1-2), who saw former Marlin Nick Fortes rip an RBI single off the glove of third baseman Sanoja with two outs in the ninth. Fairbanks spent six-plus seasons with Tampa Bay before signing with Miami in the offseason.
Lake Bachar yielded a two-run double to Junior Caminero and an RBI single to Jonathan Aranda in the 10th before closing out the game.
Bigge was charged with eight runs (seven earned) on six hits and two walks in one inning.
Miami’s Jakob Marsee collected his third hit, a single, with two outs in the ninth and the score 1-1. Marsee didn’t stay on first base long as he hustled around the bases when Sanoja deposited a first-pitch changeup from Bryan Baker off the wall in left-center field.
Heriberto Hernandez belted a pinch-hit solo homer in the seventh inning for the Marlins, who banged out 15 hits to overcome four errors.
Chandler Simpson had an RBI single in the third inning for the AL East-leading Rays, who saw their 11-game home winning streak come to an end. The setback was just their fourth in 21 games overall.
Tampa Bay’s Richie Palacios celebrated his 29th birthday by collecting two hits and reeling in a basket catch to strand a runner on third base in the top of the sixth. Palacios, however, was picked off third by Miami catcher Joe Mack to end the bottom of the sixth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Corey Day passes Justin Allgaier to claim BetRivers 200
May 16, 2026; Dover, Delaware, USA; NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Corey Day (17) races during the BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images DOVER, Del. — Twenty-year-old Californian Corey Day took the lead from veteran Justin Allgaier with four laps remaining to claim his second NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory Saturday in the BetRivers 200 in his first Dover Motor Speedway start.
Allgaier, a three-time winner this season and the current championship leader, looked poised to add yet another trophy at Dover’s famed Monster Mile. Ultimately, Day was able to run up high against the outside wall — he and Allgaier splitting Blake Lothian’s lapped car — with Day pulling ahead and driving away from Allgaier.
It was enough momentum to propel Day’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a .461-second victory over Allgaier, who led a race-high 71 of the 200 laps, and was a worthy sequel to Day’s first victory three weeks ago at the series’ largest track, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
“Man, I was hoping that’s how it would play out, I saved so hard there early in the last run once we put on tires and the yellow came out and I thought, ‘Aw, this is just going to be a caution fest and it was all for nothing,’ but oh man, it all just worked out good,” said an elated Day, who screamed congratulations to his crew on the cool-down lap.
His “mentor,” reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, sitting in the pit stand, was all smiles watching the outcome.
“This one feels really, really good,” Day said. “The Talladega one was unexpected at a superspeedway, but we earned this one.”
Allgaier’s effort Saturday boosted his championship points advantage to an amazing 175 points over Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed, who finished 18th.
Allgaier acknowledged he was disappointed — perhaps frustrated — with a lapped car playing such a crucial role in deciding Saturday’s outcome.
“Good teaching moment,” Allgaier said after speaking with Lothian on pit road. “He kind of made a move to inside then back outside and I just didn’t know which lane he was going to go in. And unfortunately, it allowed the 17 to get to my outside.
“But hats off to Corey and that whole 17 team. He was running me down there at the end. Proud of our team. It wasn’t the day we wanted early on, but the team worked really hard all day long.
“Just disappointed to walk out of here with a second after leading that many laps at the end, but hats off to Corey and everyone on that team.”
The race featured nine caution periods and a lot of short-run strategy.
Sam Mayer, Creed’s Haas teammate, finished third. Joe Gibbs Racing’s William Sawalich was fourth and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill claimed fifth place — the perennial championship contender’s best finish since a runnerup showing on the Austin road course back in March.
JGR’s Brendan Jones won the first stage and NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain won the second stage after pacing the field four different times for a combined 68 laps. His shot at a trophy ended just past the race’s midpoint when he and JGR’s Taylor Gray collided and spun out.
JR Motorsports’ Carson Kvapil finished sixth and extended the team’s top-10 streak to an amazing 71 races. Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith and Anthony Alfredo rounded out the top 10.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race — BetRivers 200
Dover Motor Speedway
Dover, Delaware
Saturday, May 16, 2026
1. (3) Corey Day, Chevrolet, 200.
2. (13) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
3. (6) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 200.
4. (8) William Sawalich, Toyota, 200.
5. (17) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 200.
6. (2) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 200.
7. (7) Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, 200.
8. (11) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200.
9. (18) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 200.
10. (27) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 200.
11. (20) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 200.
12. (26) Austin Green, Chevrolet, 200.
13. (1) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 200.
14. (4) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 200.
15. (21) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.
16. (9) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 200.
17. (24) Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, 200.
18. (12) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 200.
19. (31) Andrew Patterson, Chevrolet, 200.
20. (22) Dean Thompson, Toyota, 200.
21. (28) Patrick Staropoli #, Chevrolet, 200.
22. (16) Brent Crews #, Toyota, 200.
23. (10) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 200.
24. (25) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 200.
25. (32) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 199.
26. (33) Blake Lothian, Toyota, 199.
27. (34) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 199.
28. (35) Dawson Cram, Chevrolet, 198.
29. (19) BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 195.
30. (37) CJ McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 193.
31. (30) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 189.
32. (5) Taylor Gray, Toyota, Suspension, 183.
33. (38) David Starr, Chevrolet, Vibration, 62.
34. (29) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, Accident, 59.
35. (36) Logan Bearden, Ford, Brakes, 30.
36. (23) Lavar Scott #, Chevrolet, Engine, 23.
37. (15) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, Accident, 10.
38. (14) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, Accident, 10.
–NASCAR Wire Service
Sports
PGA is widest-open major in years: ‘Never seen anything like it’
May 16, 2026; Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA; Jon Rahm plays the ball on the sixth hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Jon Rahm studied the leaderboard on the digital screen inside the player interview tent at Aronimink Golf Club. Once before he began his first answer, then again when answering a question in Spanish.
“Can we move this? How many of them are at 3 under?” Rahm asked a PGA of America official as he inspected a wall of minus-4s and minus-3s.
Even when his press conference was done, the two-time major champion hung back, asking questions, seemingly mystified that the PGA Championship had gotten this way.
At the time, Rahm was one of five co-leaders at 4 under par, and even though Alex Smalley emerged from the chaos late Saturday afternoon to grab a two-shot lead, the intrigue remained.
Five players are two shots behind Smalley, another four are three off the pace and 12 players are tied at 2 under. That’s 21 players who’ll go to bed Saturday night correctly believing they have a real shot to come from behind and win this major championship.
“I mean, my PGA Tour career isn’t necessarily very long at this point, but I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Ludvig Aberg of Sweden (4 under).
“It’s very tight. I think there’s a lot of good players within striking distance going into (Sunday), and it’s a cool thing, I think, for the viewers. I think it’s cool to see that many guys have a chance to win a tournament.”
It’s as wide-open of a major as men’s golf has seen in recent memory. The five-way tie for second behind an outright leader at the 54-hole mark is just the fifth in major championship history. The 22 players at or within four shots of the lead is a PGA Championship record, per The Athletic.
And though Smalley will have to fend off players with majors on their resume like Northern Ireland’s Rory McIIroy, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Reed (all at 3 under) and Rahm, six of the top 10 (counting Smalley) — and another eight of the 12-way tie at 2 under — are all angling for their first career major wins.
At a time when McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler have collected four of the past five majors, it’s a chance for some new blood.
“I was pretty busy with the conditions out there, but I saw myself on top (of the leaderboard) once, and that was good,” said Germany’s Matti Schmid (4 under), who will play in the final pairing after posting 65 and, like Smalley, has never won on the PGA Tour.
The 2-under group features three players who shot 5-under 65s early in the day when the course was at its easiest: Chris Kirk, Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan and Englishman Justin Rose.
Rose said after his round that he hopes the lead doesn’t get past 6 or 7 under, and he got his wish. He also said carrying the lead into Sunday would come with a burden.
“There’s some chain reaction moments out there. If you don’t do the right thing — and if you’re a leader, you realize everyone is making a run, but if you don’t hit the right shot at the right time, it’s going to feel challenging out there,” said Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion.
McIlroy and others had posited that some of the PGA of America’s uber-difficult pin locations Thursday and Friday led to the bunched leaderboard, as nobody was taking chances, leading to a smaller variety of outcomes and scores.
A more lenient setup Saturday did little to spread players out. And that means high potential for a photo finish on Sunday evening.
“As hard as it is to play, the challenge can also be kind of fun if you do well,” Rahm said. “That’s probably the reason why the leaderboard is so bunched up and it’s going to be such a good Sunday tomorrow. So in that sense, showmanship-wise, they’ve done a great job.”
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
