Sports
Royals' Seth Lugo set to return, Bobby Witt Jr. in question vs. Cards
Jun 4, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo (67) throws a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images As the Kansas City Royals are set to welcome back one key contributor from a scary injury, they hope their brightest star won’t be out for any extended period of time.
Right-hander Seth Lugo (2-4, 3.86 ERA) is slated to start on Friday night as the Royals try for a series victory over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. Kansas City will do so with the health status of two-time All-Star Bobby Witt Jr. in question.
Lugo took a line drive to the forehead off the bat of Texas’ Brandon Nimmo in the fourth inning on June 10. Lugo, though, bounced up and exited the contest on his own power, albeit with a noticeable bump on his head.
“That’s a pitcher’s nightmare,” Lugo told the Royals’ official website. “I was very, very lucky that it was kind of a glancing blow instead of straight on.”
After time on the concussion list, Lugo is scheduled to be on the mound at home, where he posted two straight quality starts before that outing against the Rangers. The veteran last faced the Cardinals in 2023 and is 1-0 with a 1.53 ERA in three career starts against them.
Meanwhile, Witt exited the Royals’ 14-6 win over St. Louis in Thursday’s series opener during the fourth inning with right knee discomfort. Witt, who hit his 10th homer and is batting .294, has dealt with knee soreness this season, though the severity of his current issue remains unknown.
Witt’s latest episode could be another blow for a club that’s dealt with a host of injuries in 2026, including to fellow All-Star Maikel Garcia, currently day-to-day with a hand issue.
“When Bobby goes down, it is really concerning,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.
Despite Witt’s departure, Kansas City set its season highs for runs and hits (17) on Thursday. The Royals also recorded eight doubles, including a club-record five during a sixth-run second inning.
Salvador Perez became the all-time home run leader at Kauffman Stadium with his 137th on Thursday. He is four shy of the overall club-record of 317 by Hall of Famer George Brett.
Meanwhile, Kansas City’s Carter Jensen had two doubles Thursday and is batting .366 with 10 RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak.
The Royals on Friday will try for a third straight win this season over St. Louis, which is 3-5 since winning six straight games.
The Cardinals pounded out 13 hits on Thursday but stranded 15 runners while starter Matthew Liberatore allowed seven runs (five earned) over 1 2/3 innings.
“These guys compete hard,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “You learn from it, flush, keep moving. We’ll be just fine.”
Talented St. Louis rookie JJ Wetherholt had three hits in the series opener and is batting .379 in his last 15 contests. Teammate Jordan Walker recorded two hits with an RBI on Thursday. He’s 6-for-17 against the Royals in 2026.
Friday’s scheduled Cardinals starter, Michael McGreevy (3-5, 2.99 ERA), ranks among the major league leaders with nine quality starts, including his three in June.
This will be the right-hander’s first career appearance against the Royals.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Angel Reese's double-double drives Dream to win over Fever
Jun 18, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) reacts to a basket and foul call in front of Indiana Fever forward Myisha Hines-Allen (2) in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Angel Reese scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on Thursday, leading the Atlanta Dream to a 108-101 victory over the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis.
Jordin Canada added 18 points while Naz Hillmon and Allisha Gray each scored 17 points for the Dream (10-4), who won their fourth game in five tries. Rhyne Howard chipped in 16 points and six assists for Atlanta, which eclipsed the 100-point mark for the second straight contest.
Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell each led Indiana (9-6) with 26 points, and Aliyah Boston contributed 23 points and eight rebounds. Sophie Cunningham scored 12 off the bench for the Fever, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Atlanta took the first double-digit lead of the game in the opening minute of the second half as Gray’s three-point play made it 61-51.
Five minutes later, Reese’s layup extended the margin to 13 before Indiana cut its deficit to 87-78 entering the final quarter.
After Hillmon’s trey gave the Dream a 93-84 lead, Mitchell scored seven straight to begin a 9-0 Indiana run, tying the game at 93 apiece with 5:08 remaining.
Reese and Mitchell then traded baskets before Gray’s four straight points gave the Dream a 99-95 lead with 2:09 left. Makayla Timpson’s free throws cut Atlanta’s lead in half, but Howard’s back-to-back baskets extended the margin to six with 48.2 seconds remaining.
Reese’s three-point play put the Dream ahead 106-99 with 23.1 seconds left, icing the outcome.
Indiana matched its largest lead of the first quarter when Mitchell’s jumper gave the Fever a 26-21 edge. Following a three-point play by Reese, Mitchell closed the first with a triple to give Indiana a 29-24 edge after 10 minutes.
There, the Dream began the second on a 10-2 run, taking a 34-31 advantage on Hillmon’s 3-pointer.
After Cunningham’s layup gave the Fever a 38-37 lead, Isobel Borlase’s layup and Gray’s triple put the Dream ahead by four with 5:12 remaining in the first half.
Gray’s back-to-back layups and Borlase’s three-point play accounted for a 7-0 Atlanta run to give the Dream a nine-point lead.
Led by 10 first-half points apiece from Gray and Howard, the Dream held a 58-49 halftime lead. Clark’s 17 paced the Fever before the break.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Angel Reese's double-double drives Dream to win over Fever
Jun 18, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) reacts to a basket and foul call in front of Indiana Fever forward Myisha Hines-Allen (2) in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Angel Reese scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on Thursday, leading the Atlanta Dream to a 108-101 victory over the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis.
Jordin Canada added 18 points while Naz Hillmon and Allisha Gray each scored 17 points for the Dream (10-4), who won their fourth game in five tries. Rhyne Howard chipped in 16 points and six assists for Atlanta, which eclipsed the 100-point mark for the second straight contest.
Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell each led Indiana (9-6) with 26 points, and Aliyah Boston contributed 23 points and eight rebounds. Sophie Cunningham scored 12 off the bench for the Fever, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Atlanta took the first double-digit lead of the game in the opening minute of the second half as Gray’s three-point play made it 61-51.
Five minutes later, Reese’s layup extended the margin to 13 before Indiana cut its deficit to 87-78 entering the final quarter.
After Hillmon’s trey gave the Dream a 93-84 lead, Mitchell scored seven straight to begin a 9-0 Indiana run, tying the game at 93 apiece with 5:08 remaining.
Reese and Mitchell then traded baskets before Gray’s four straight points gave the Dream a 99-95 lead with 2:09 left. Makayla Timpson’s free throws cut Atlanta’s lead in half, but Howard’s back-to-back baskets extended the margin to six with 48.2 seconds remaining.
Reese’s three-point play put the Dream ahead 106-99 with 23.1 seconds left, icing the outcome.
Indiana matched its largest lead of the first quarter when Mitchell’s jumper gave the Fever a 26-21 edge. Following a three-point play by Reese, Mitchell closed the first with a triple to give Indiana a 29-24 edge after 10 minutes.
There, the Dream began the second on a 10-2 run, taking a 34-31 advantage on Hillmon’s 3-pointer.
After Cunningham’s layup gave the Fever a 38-37 lead, Isobel Borlase’s layup and Gray’s triple put the Dream ahead by four with 5:12 remaining in the first half.
Gray’s back-to-back layups and Borlase’s three-point play accounted for a 7-0 Atlanta run to give the Dream a nine-point lead.
Led by 10 first-half points apiece from Gray and Howard, the Dream held a 58-49 halftime lead. Clark’s 17 paced the Fever before the break.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Torrid Olivia Miles leads Lynx into battle vs. Valkyries
Jun 17, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles (5) celebrates in the first half against the LA Sparks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Two hot teams that barely missed representing the Western Conference in the Commissioner’s Cup get an opportunity to take out some frustration on the other when the Minnesota Lynx visit the Golden State Valkyries on Friday night in San Francisco.
The pairing is a rematch of an 87-84 home win by the Lynx early in the Commissioner’s Cup schedule, a game in which Minnesota’s Olivia Miles got much the better of Golden State’s Veronica Burton in a duel of star point guards.
Miles torched the Valkyries for 28 points, mostly on the strength of a WNBA-rookie-best 8-for-11 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. The No. 2 overall pick also found time for seven assists and three blocks, including one on Burton, who finished with eight points on 3-for-8 shooting.
Miles has since put up 29 points in a narrow loss at Las Vegas that wound up costing the Lynx (12-3) a Commissioner’s Cup tie-breaker, before pouring in a season-best 31 in a win Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Sparks that allowed the Lynx to tie the Aces for the West’s top record in the in-season tournament.
The early flurry has not only vaulted Miles well clear of the competition in the Rookie of the Year race, but also has placed her firmly on the league’s Most Valuable Player watch list.
Frankly, she’d rather talk about her team’s best record in the WNBA.
“It honestly just means that our team’s doing really well, which is what I’m most proud of,” she told the Los Angeles media about the MVP conversation. “Whether I win awards or not, I’m still the same me.”
As the Lynx complete a two-game trip, Miles will have to deal with a Golden State defense that has done a number on two of the league’s top players this week.
In running their winning streak to four, the Valkyries (10-5) held Kelsey Plum to nine points on 3-for-10 shooting in a 20-point home win over the Sparks on Monday, then limited Paige Bueckers to 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting in a 91-80 win over the Dallas Wings on Wednesday.
Backup point guard Kaitlyn Chen, a fan favorite in San Francisco, played a big role in the defensive game plan against Plum and Dallas’ Azzi Fudd, who also struggled (4-for-13, 10 points) in her Bay Area debut on Wednesday.
“I think Kaitlyn has fun because she prepares so much,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said after the win over the Wings. “Behind the scenes, the preparation, from reading a scout, to watching film. … When she steps on the court, it’s like her playground.”
-Field Level Media
Angel Reese's double-double drives Dream to win over Fever
Angel Reese's double-double drives Dream to win over Fever
