Sports
Cristopher Sanchez twirls CG shutout, fans 13 as Phils blank Pirates
May 16, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (right) greets first baseman Bryce Harper (3) crossing home plate on a three run first inning home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Cristopher Sanchez struck out a career-high 13 in his second career shutout to guide the visiting Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
Bryce Harper hit a mammoth three-run homer for Philadelphia, which evened its record at 23-23 with its 14th win in 18 games since Don Mattingly took over for Rob Thomson as interim manager late last month. Mattingly missed Saturday’s game to attend his son’s college graduation, so bench coach Dusty Wathan guided the team in his place.
Trea Turner went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Harper reached base three times, adding a pair of walks to his three-run blast.
Marcell Ozuna went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts for Pittsburgh, which managed only six hits and drew no walks against Sanchez (5-2). Pirates starter Bubba Chandler (1-5) allowed five runs (four earned) on three hits and four walks in three innings.
Philadelphia got started early against Chandler, beginning with Trea Turner’s leadoff single. Kyle Schwarber followed with a walk before Harper sent a 3-1 fastball over the center-field wall for his 11th homer of the season.
The visitors added two more runs in the second, thanks to a rally that began with a pair of walks. With two outs and two on, Schwarber’s double to right — combined with a throwing error by right fielder Jared Triolo — plated a pair of runs.
Meanwhile, Sanchez was cruising. He retired the first 11 batters he faced until Bryan Reynolds doubled with two outs in the fourth. However, Sanchez quickly bounced back to strike out Ozuna to end the inning.
In the fifth, Sanchez yielded a one-out single to Nick Gonzales before inducing a double-play grounder to end any potential threat.
The left-hander then set down the Pirates in order in the sixth, striking out O’Neil Cruz for the final out. He gave up a leadoff double to Konnor Griffin in the seventh, but slammed the door thereafter.
That set the stage for Philadelphia to tack on an insurance run in the eighth. Justin Crawford walked with two outs against Justin Lawrence before Turner followed with an RBI double to make it 6-0.
Sanchez struck out two more in the eighth before surpassing his career high in punch-outs with a strikeout of Ozuna in the ninth. His 108th and final pitch of the day resulted in Nick Yorke’s game-ending grounder.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mets place RHP Clay Holmes on IL with fibula fracture
May 15, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes (35) delivers a pitch during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images The New York Mets placed right-hander Clay Holmes on the 15-day injured list Saturday after he fractured his right fibula when he was hit by a comebacker in Friday’s game against the New York Yankees.
In a corresponding move, right-hander Joey Gerber was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.
Holmes was hit by a 111.1-mph line drive from Spencer Jones in the fourth inning but remained in the game and faced seven more hitters. The fracture was revealed in X-rays at the ballpark.
“It’s a huge blow,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s been one of the most consistent guys that we had in that rotation.”
Holmes, 33, is 4-4 with a 2.39 ERA in nine starts this season and has gone 40-34 with a 3.53 ERA during 353 appearances (44 starts) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2018-21), New York Yankees (2021-24) and Mets.
Gerber, 29, made one relief appearance for the Mets last month and has a career 3.27 ERA in 20 relief appearances with the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Mets going back to 2020.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blue Jays RHP Jose Berrios scheduled for elbow surgery
Sep 16, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios (17) walks to the dugout after he pitched the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios, who has not pitched in a major league game since last September, will undergo surgery for a stress fracture in his elbow, manager John Schneider said Saturday.
Berrios, 31, did not participate in the Blue Jays’ run to the World Series last season or the World Baseball Classic this spring for his native Puerto Rico with what was first diagnosed as right elbow inflammation last season.
After making four minor league appearances while on a rehab assignment this season, more elbow discomfort led to a diagnosis of a stress fracture.
A timetable for a return will be made after surgery is performed Wednesday with a possibility he could miss the entire 2026 season.
Berrios was 9-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 31 appearances (30 starts) last season. In 10 major league seasons, the two-time All-Star is 108-82 with a 4.08 ERA in 275 appearances (273 starts) for the Minnesota Twins (2016-21) and Blue Jays.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Elina Svitolina defeats Coco Gauff in 3 sets for Italian Open title
Elina Svitolina hits a return during her match against Elena Rybakina at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., March 13, 2026. Elina Svitolina recovered from a second-set tie-breaker loss and went on to defeat Coco Gauff, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 on Saturday to win her third Italian Open championship in Rome.
The 31-year-old Ukrainian became the second woman age 30-plus to take the WTA 1000 title in the Italian capital. Serena Williams won three after she turned 30 in 2013-14 and 2016.
Svitolina, who was seeded seventh in the tournament, won back-to-back Italian Open titles in 2017-18 and her win on Saturday was the 20th in her career.
“It’s very hard to believe that it’s been eight years since I held this trophy,” said Svitolina on-court after the match. “Very, very pleased with the two weeks here. I want to say congrats to Coco for a great tournament and for your team as well. You’re such a great champion. Hopefully we’ll have more battles in the future.”
“I want to thank my team. I had a tough loss in the final in Dubai this year. It was my 19th title and I was aiming for 20. I told my coach it would be nice before I finish my career to have a round number.”
The third-seeded Gauff broke her foe’s serve out of the gates and led, 4-2, before Svitolina rallied to win the next four games to capture the set. She saved 8-of-10 break points, while Gauff conceded all three break points on her shaky service.
The two women held serve for the first ten games of the second set. Then, there were back-to-back breaks, with Gauff failing to hold at 6-5. But she won all five points on serve during the tie-breaker and tallied the final six points to send the match to a decider.
The Floridian had one break point chance at 2-1, but Svitolina responded and captured 17 of the next 24 points of the match to take a 5-2 lead.
Ever the fighter, Gauff dug in, earning three break points and fending off two match points before Svitolina won her first WTA 1000 title since 2018.
She defeated the No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina (quarterfinals) and No. 4 seed Iga Swiatek (semifinals) to reach the big stage in Rome.
Ukrainian women swept the clay court WTA 1000 events in 2026, as Marta Kostyuk captured the 2026 title in Madrid last month.
–Field Level Media
Mets place RHP Clay Holmes on IL with fibula fracture
Blue Jays RHP Jose Berrios scheduled for elbow surgery
