Sports
Cubs continue search for offense against Athletics
May 30, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) reacts as St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) throws to complete the double play against Nico Hoerner at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs continue to be stuck in an offensive slump that has seen the club score three or fewer runs in 10 of its past 16 games.
The Cubs will attempt to break out of the pattern on Wednesday night in the middle contest of a three-game series against the Athletics in Chicago.
The Cubs were 13 games over .500 in mid-May but have since dropped 13 of 16 games, including a 10-game slide, and stand just a half-game ahead of the last-place Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central.
Chicago had just four hits as it dropped the opener 2-1 on Tuesday. The Cubs were handcuffed by Athletics left-hander Gage Jump, who gave up one run and three over seven innings.
Jump, making his second big league start, retired the final 14 batters he faced.
“There’s still a lot of time left,” Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said of the team’s struggles. “But, again, you don’t want to fall into a trap of getting too comfortable. And when stuff isn’t going very well, there comes a time where you do want to turn it around. And it kind of has to.”
A homer by Nick Kurtz and a run-scoring single by Zack Gelof gave the Athletics the runs they needed. Kurtz’s homered was the 20th allowed this season by Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon, who gave up two runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings.
“That’s a good start,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “You get in a 2-1 game and every play feels like it matters. Of course you want something back, but Jamo pitched well. He got us to the seventh inning with two runs on the board. I think that’s a start we need to produce more runs to win that game.”
Chicago’s lone run scored on Alex Bregman’s first-inning groundout.
The Athletics also have been slumping, and Monday’s victory was just their third in the past 10 games.
Kurtz homered for the third time in four games and is 7-for-14 with five RBIs and five runs during the stretch. His solo blast Monday went the opposite way to left-center despite the wind blowing in.
“I thought I hit it further out than it went,” Kurtz said. “I guess I hit it low enough where the win didn’t affect it too much.”
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay was impressed with Kurtz’s strength.
“I don’t think the wind matters to Nick when he hits it,” Kotsay said. “It’s pretty impressive that he can hit a ball the opposite field and you know when it leaves the bat that it’s a homer.”
Kurtz is coming off a stellar May in which he batted .333 with a 1.025 OPS. He hit five homers and led the majors with 26 RBIs.
Right-hander Colin Rea (5-3, 4.70 ERA) starts for the Cubs on Wednesday.
Rea, 35, defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates last Thursday when he gave up two runs and four hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Rea is 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA in two appearances (one start) against the Athletics. Brent Rooker is 3-for-5 with a homer off Rea.
The A’s will start left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-6, 4.07), who has dropped four straight starts and is 0-6 over his last eight outings.
Springs, 33, lost to the Seattle Mariners on May 27 when he allowed five runs (two earned) and six hits over five innings.
Springs is 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA in four appearances (one start) against the Cubs.
Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki (1-for-1) hit a three-run homer off Springs last season. Ian Happ is 3-for-4 and Michael Conforto is 3-for-5 with three doubles.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Aaron Donald’s Return Would Make the Rams’ Myles Garrett Trade a Victory
If Aaron Donald comes out of retirement to suit up for the Rams, then Los Angeles officially wins the Myles Garrett trade.
Really, if the trade results in a Super Bowl championship for Los Angeles, the trade is a win. But Donald and Garrett on the same defensive line with that offense would be lethal.
According to ESPN’s Pat McAfee and NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Donald is contemplating coming out of retirement if he could find the fire to lace up the cleats one more time. Garrett’s arrival in Los Angeles has piqued Donald’s interest following the legendary defensive tackle’s retirement in 2024.
Garrett, Donald and newly-acquired superstar cornerback Trent McDuffie would make life a living hell for NFC West quarterbacks including turnover-prone Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold, Jacoby Brissett and Brock Purdy. The Rams are already a big Super Bowl favorite, if they added Donald, even at 35, those odds would move even further.
The Rams sent the Cleveland Browns defensive end Jared Verse, a 2027 first round pick, 2028 second round pick and 2029 third round pick. After Rams general manager Les Snead drafted Ty Simpson No. 13 overall, Los Angeles felt comfortable going all in for Garrett.
A Super Bowl is the expectation. Anything less would be a disappointment.
Offensively, the Rams should be loaded. They’re returning Matthew Stafford for his age 38 season. The reigning MVP is defying time, battling through back injuries to lead the Rams through another Super Bowl title window. Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Kyren Williams are all star players in their respective ways, giving Stafford plenty of options to put up points.
Why Garrett could be even more dangerous on the Rams
That’s what could make this Garrett thing even more lethal, with or without Donald in Los Angeles.
Last season, Garrett broke the NFL’s single-season sack record with 23. The Browns won only five games. Many of Cleveland’s 12 losses were blowout defeats. Yet still, Garrett was finding ways to get sacks when the other team was running the ball with a massive lead.
In Los Angeles, Garrett will be exposed to something relatively unfamiliar – playing with the lead. This is going to allow him to pin his ears back and get after the quarterback at a rate unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. If Donald returns, opposing offensive lines won’t sleep the entire week leading up to the Rams on the schedule.
Even after breaking the single-season sack record and winning back-to-back NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, Garrett still feels underrated. But he’s such a generational talent that his arrival in Los Angeles is causing another all-time great in Donald to contemplate giving it one last go.
Sports
Rookie hurler Gage Jump, Athletics shut down slumping Cubs
Jun 2, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Athletics third baseman Zack Gelof (20) reacts after hitting an RBI-single against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Gage Jump pitched seven stellar innings in his second big league start and Zack Gelof had the decisive tiebreaking single to lift the Athletics to a 2-1 victory over the host Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.
Jump (1-1) allowed one run and three hits and retired the final 14 batters he faced in an 85-pitch effort. He struck out five and walked one.
Nick Kurtz homered to help the Athletics win for just the third time in the past 10 games.
Justin Sterner pitched a perfect eighth inning and Hogan Harris replaced an ineffective Scott Barlow to record the final out for his fifth save.
Before Harris retired the final batter, Barlow encountered troubles in the ninth as Nico Horner led off with a walk and Pete Crow-Armstrong followed with a single, Chicago’s first hit since the second inning. Barlow then struck out Alex Bregman and retired Seiya Suzuki before being pulled.
The left-handed Harris came in, forcing the switch-hitting Happ to bat right-handed. Harris retired Happ on a fly to center to end it.
Bregman had the lone RBI for the slumping Cubs, who lost for the 13th time in their past 16 games.
Jameson Taillon (2-5) gave up two runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one. Taillon has allowed nine homers over his past four outings.
The A’s took the 2-1 lead in the fourth when Brent Rooker and Henry Bolte hit consecutive one-out singles to put runners on first and second. One out later, Gelof lined a single up the middle over the leap of Chicago second baseman Hoerner and into center to score Rooker.
Jump didn’t get off a great start, giving up singles to Hoerner and Crow-Armstrong in the bottom of the first. Crow-Armstrong proceeded to steal second.
Bregman’s infield grounder scored Hoerner. But the uprising was short-circuited when A’s catcher Shea Langeliers gunned out Crow-Armstrong trying to steal third. Jump then struck out Suzuki to end the inning.
In the second, Jump hit Happ with a pitch and allowed a one-out single to Michael Busch, the Cubs’ final hit off the 23-year-old. The inning ended when Langeliers threw out Kevin Alcantara trying to steal second with runners at the corners.
The Athletics tied the game in the third when Kurtz came up with two outs and smacked an 0-1 sweeper from Taillon over the wall in left-center.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Golden Knights pull out high-scoring win in Stanley Cup Final opener
Jun 2, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman K’andre Miller (19) shoots the puck against Vegas Golden Knights during the first period in game one of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images Tomas Hertl scored to break a third-period deadlock and give the Vegas Golden Knights a 5-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in the opener of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.
Shea Theodore scored once in a three-point performance for the Golden Knights in the comeback win. Brett Howden tallied once and added an assist, and Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson added singles.
Vegas goaltender Carter Hart made 23 saves, and Brayden McNabb posted a career playoff-high three assists.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice and Jordan Staal and Shayne Gostisbehere contributed a goal apiece for the Hurricanes, who blew a 2-0 lead. Jalen Chatfield recorded two assists, and goalie Frederik Andersen stopped 18 shots.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is on Thursday in Raleigh.
With overtime looming in the back-and-forth affair, Hertl played give-and-go with Colton Sissons, receiving the puck in the slot and firing a top-shelf shot with 3:24 remaining in regulation.
The club that claims the opener of the finals has won the Stanley Cup 76.4% of the time. When the visiting team has prevailed in Game 1, that mark drops to 65.6%.
The Hurricanes lost for only the second time in this year’s playoffs, but they are under pressure to draw even next outing before the series shifts to Las Vegas. Carolina had an early edge, too.
Ehlers opened the scoring with the third-fastest goal in history to start a finals. The first shot of the clash banked off the post and into the net after just 25 seconds.
Ehlers made it a 2-0 game with a breakaway tally at 12:08 of the first period.
The Golden Knights regrouped and responded with a trio of goals.
Theodore put Vegas on the board 80 seconds after Ehlers’ second tally, with his long point shot ricocheting off a defender and into the cage.
Barbashev tied the contest 30 seconds into the second period with a top-corner shot from the slot. Karlsson then gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead at 4:35 of the middle period when he converted a chance from the doorstep.
Staal tied the clash eight minutes later. The Hurricanes took advantage of a turnover in Vegas territory, and Staal wired a slot shot to make it 3-3 heading into the third period.
Howden gave Vegas its second lead when he redirected a shot-pass from Theodore 81 seconds into the third period.
However, Gostisbehere tied the clash again by finding the mark from the left faceoff dot at 11:19 of the final frame.
–Field Level Media
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