Sports
Carson Benge, Mets on the climb as they welcome consistent Cardinals
Jun 7, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) hits a RBi triple during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images The St. Louis Cardinals are five games out of first in the National League Central. The New York Mets are five games out of the league’s final wild-card spot.
And while the Cardinals seek a fifth straight win when they visit the Mets on Tuesday night, not everything about their series revolves around the number five.
For example, after enduring four West Coast trips in the first two months of their difficult season, the Mets start a stretch where they don’t have to leave the Eastern time zone for 35 straight games.
The Mets enter this stretch after winning seven of their past 10, which enabled them to shave two games from their wild-card deficit.
Rookie outfielder Carson Benge helped the Mets earn a split of their fourth West Coast trip by going 5-for-5 and scoring three times in Sunday’s 7-3 win at San Diego. Benge has posted a .316 average (42-for-133) with five homers and 20 RBIs in his past 34 games after hitting .189 in April, when the Mets endured a 12-game losing streak.
“I’m not surprised,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Benge. “We’ve seen the type of player and the talent (he is) and a lot of the things he can do on the baseball field. He’s finally settling, he’s comfortable, he’s playing his game, and we’re going to see a lot of games like that when he’s locked in.”
The Cardinals have been locked in all season as they continue to be unfazed by deficits. When they stretched their winning streak to four with a 5-3 win over Cincinnati on Sunday, Victor Scott II and Ivan Herrera drove in runs in the eighth inning on balls that did not leave the infield and went for errors, giving the Cards their 19th comeback victory.
“We continue to do a nice job of just staying focused,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “That’s a big part of this. You can easily get distracted and start to think about what just happened or start thinking too far ahead of what it’s going to take to come back. But the guys just continue to stay focused on what’s right in front of them and have done a nice job of coming back often.”
Jordan Walker keeps doing the job regardless of the score. He has strung together four straight multi-hit games and owns a .478 average (11-for-23) in his past five games.
Dustin May (3-6, 4.59 ERA), who is 0-4 with a 3.86 ERA in his past seven starts, opens the series for St. Louis. May has completed at least six frames in five of those outings and took a no-decision last Tuesday while allowing three runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings against Texas.
May did not face the Mets when the Cardinals took two of three March 30-April 1. The right-hander has three no-decisions and a 4.97 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against the Mets. He’s held Juan Soto to two hits in 11 at-bats.
Freddy Peralta (4-4, 3.63), who is 3-1 with a 3.40 ERA in his past seven starts, goes for the Mets. Peralta allowed one run on six hits in six innings during a 7-1 win on Wednesday at Seattle after allowing 11 runs over his previous three outings.
Peralta is 5-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 21 career appearances (17 starts) against the Cardinals.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Defender Chris Richards returns to USMNT practice
June 8, 2026; Irvine, California, U.S.; Chris Richards of the U.S. signs an autograph for a fan during training. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Defender Chris Richards is back on the field with the United States Men’s National Team on Monday and appears to be on track for the World Cup opener against Paraguay this week.
“We will see … first time with the team,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said Monday. “Nearly everyone ready to be selected for the game.”
Richards sustained an ankle injury last month and is viewed as a vital defender in the center of the backline.
Miles Robinson and Mark McKenzie filled in for Richards on Saturday in the final World Cup tuneup against Germany in Chicago.
At Monday’s practice in Irvine, Calif., Tyler Adams was not on the field. He worked in the gym for load management purposes, Pochettino said.
Richards, 26, suffered a pair of torn ligaments in his left ankle on May 17 as his Crystal Palace team played Brentford in a Premier League match. He did complete the match but limped off the field and has not competed since.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Kings to hire Peter Laviolette as head coach
Mar 29, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette instructs his team as left wings Artemi Panarin (10), Chris Kreider (20) and Brennan Othmann (78) look on against the San Jose Sharks during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Kings are set to hire Peter Laviolette to a three-year deal as their next head coach, Sportsnet and ESPN reported Monday.
Laviolette had been in talks to become the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs as recently as last week, according to multiple reports, and the Edmonton Oilers had also reportedly looked at him as a candidate to fill their head coaching vacancy.
Laviolette, 61, has been an NHL head coach for 23 seasons.
He won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. He also reached the Stanley Cup Final as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 and the Nashville Predators in 2017.
He most recently coached the New York Rangers from 2023-25. The Rangers went 55-23-4 (114 points) in Laviolette’s first season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in a six-game series. New York went 39-36-7 (85 points) the following season to finish six points out of a playoff spot, leading to Laviolette’s dismissal in April 2025.
He owns an 846-562-161 record (25 ties) as head coach with the New York Islanders (2001-03), Hurricanes (2003-09), Flyers (2009-14), Predators (2014-20), Washington Capitals (2020-23) and Rangers.
His 846 regular-season wins are the most among United States-born coaches in NHL history and seventh all-time.
Laviolette appeared in 12 NHL games during his playing career as a defenseman, all during the 1988-89 season with the Rangers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Top 2 seeds ousted in chaotic opening day at Libema Open
Aug 27, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia serves against Wang Xinyu of China in the second round of the women’s singles at the US Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds each fell in straight sets on a chaotic first day of women’s competition in the Libema Open at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands on Monday.
No. 1 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia — a two-time winner at the event in 2022 and ‘23 — fell 6-4, 7-6 (5) to Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, who ranks nearly 50 spots lower (65th to 17th). In a match that was statistically even in a number of spots, the difference may have been Udvardy’s one more converted break (3 of 6) in an equal number of chances.
Second-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark lost 6-4, 6-4 to Slovakia’s Mia Pohankova, a 17-year-old who won the final five games of the match to secure her first career top-30 win. No. 3 seed Belgian Elise Mertens avoided the same fate with a thorough 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Canada’s Bianca Andreescu.
In other Monday action, Poland’s Magda Linette rallied for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Australian Kimberly Birrell, Robin Montgomery pulled out a 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 victory against Daria Kasatkina of Australia and Ukraine’s Daria Snigur swept Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-1, 7-6 (2).
HSBC Championships
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic rallied for a 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-3 defeat of McCartney Kessler in first-round action at London.
Pliskova was sloppy on her serve with three aces and 11 double faults but made up for it by winning 51% of her return points and converting 8 of 11 break-point opportunities.
In the only two other matches completed on Monday, when multiple matches were delayed or postponed by rain, Great Britain’s Harriet Dart beat Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, while Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian swept Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 7-6 (4).
The final match of the day, which pitted No. 8 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada against Great Britain’s Katie Boulter, was suspended due to darkness with Fernandez up a set and the second set level at 3 games apiece.
–Field Level Media
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