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Tarik Skubal returns home as Tigers face White Sox, trade questions

Apr 29, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesApr 29, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Tarik Skubal will make his first home start since April 23 when the Detroit Tigers host the Chicago White Sox on Friday. It could be one of his last appearances at Comerica Park in a Tigers uniform.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Unless the Tigers make a dramatic turnaround, they may have little choice but to deal Skubal before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Detroit is beginning a 10-game homestand after losing four of five on the road. The Tigers are tied with the Kansas City Royals for last place in the American League Central.

Skubal made a surprisingly quick return from non-invasive surgery on his pitching elbow. He had the procedure done during the first week of May and made his first major league start since the operation on Saturday. He lasted 4 2/3 innings and 80 pitches against the Cleveland Guardians, giving up three runs (two earned) and five hits.

He walked one and struck out four in a 3-1 loss.

Skubal wasn’t pleased with his outing.

“I need to be better, plain and simple. ‘Just happy to be there,’ that’s a loser mentality to me,” he said.

Skubal won’t be competing for the Tigers much longer unless the team gets back in the playoff hunt.

“I don’t think about (the trade-deadline implications) a lot,” Skubal told the Detroit News. “I try not to let that consume me because I need to worry about what I’m doing today. That way I can go perform on Friday. Just worry how I stack five really good work days so I can go out there and be ready to compete.

“But there’s also the reality part to it. Everybody, the whole room, needs to focus on winning tonight’s game, winning a series, winning the next series and just let it snowball.”

The Tigers didn’t win either series on their road trip. Their lone victory came on Monday when Colt Keith hit three home runs in a 9-3 victory at Houston.

“The urgency is heightened based on the hole that we’re in and where we are at with our win total,” manager A.J. Hinch said of the homestand.

Skubal (3-3, 2.81 ERA) has an 8-2 record and 3.72 ERA in 11 career starts against the White Sox.

Chicago’s starting pitcher on Friday, Erick Fedde (2-5, 4.50 ERA), is 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA in four career outings (three starts) against the Tigers. He allowed two runs and four hits in four innings during a relief outing against Detroit on May 29.

Fedde had a disastrous May in which he posted a 9.00 ERA in five appearances. He has only given up one earned run in 12 2/3 innings across three June outings, including 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

The White Sox are tied with Cleveland for first place in the AL Central despite the loss of slugger Munetaka Murakami, who had 20 homers before sustaining a hamstring injury against Detroit on May 29. Chicago has won five of its past eight games.

“They haven’t skipped a beat,” White Sox manager Will Venable said of his players. “I think it really speaks to what our offense was when we did have Mune. As good as he is, we’re getting contributions from everywhere. I think that’s evident now. You take him out of it and the guys are still performing well. Obviously, we want him back in that lineup, but the guys are doing a great job without him.”

The latest player to come through for Chicago was Andrew Benintendi. His pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning on Thursday lifted the White Sox to a 5-1 win over the host New York Yankees, allowing Chicago to salvage the finale of a three-game series.

–Field Level Media

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Fire reel off last 10 points, send Storm to ninth consecutive loss

Jun 17, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Seattle Storm center Dominique Malonga (14) is fouled by Portland Fire forward Emily Engstler (21) during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn ImagesJun 17, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Seattle Storm center Dominique Malonga (14) is fouled by Portland Fire forward Emily Engstler (21) during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Emily Engstler’s basket with 1:17 left snapped a tie and the Portland Fire scored the final 10 points Wednesday night to rally past the visiting Seattle Storm 94-89.

Engstler’s fadeaway jumper put Portland (8-9, 2-5 Commissioner’s Cup) ahead 91-89. Engstler then drove the lane on the Fire’s next possession and fed Bridget Carleton for her seventh 3-pointer of the game with 40.5 seconds remaining for a five-point advantage.

Carleton scored a team-high 24 points and set a career high for made 3-pointers, while teammate Carla Leite added 20 points and 10 assists. Sarah Ashlee Barker contributed 12 points, and Karlie Samuelson came off the bench to net 10.

Dominique Malonga starred in defeat for Seattle (3-13, 0-7) with a career-high 28 points and a season-best 11 rebounds. Natisha Hiedeman added 19 points and tied her season high with five 3-pointers, while rookie Awa Fam matched her season best with 18 points on her 20th birthday.

It wasn’t enough to prevent the Storm’s ninth straight loss, one that saw the visitors get outscored 27-15 in the fourth quarter.

Coming off a 107-74 loss at Minnesota on Monday, Portland got off the mark in a hurry, particularly from 3-point range. The Fire made four in less than two minutes as they started the game with a 16-7 spurt.

Seattle quit turning the ball over and got going behind Hiedeman, who canned a pair of 3-pointers in a 16-5 run that allowed the Storm to take a 23-21 edge to the second quarter.

Neither team led by more than four points in a back-and-forth second period, which ended with Fam making a foul shot with 21.9 seconds remaining to give the Storm a 48-47 lead at the break.

After earning a 20-8 advantage in paint points in the first half, Seattle kept looking inside to Malonga in the third quarter, and she delivered. Malonga’s eight points helped the Storm establish the game’s largest lead at 68-56. While the Fire bounced back, they still trailed 74-67 going to the fourth period.

–Field Level Media

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Ryan O'Hearn's 6 RBIs spark Pirates' demolition of Athletics

Jun 17, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Athletics during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn ImagesJun 17, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Athletics during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Ryan O’Hearn homered and drove in a career-best six runs while leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to an easy 12-4 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday in West Sacramento, Calif.

O’Hearn had a two-run double in the first inning, a two-run blast in the fourth and a two-run single in the seventh as Pittsburgh racked up 16 hits while beating the Athletics for the second straight night to end a three-game series.

Marcell Ozuna homered among two hits while Bryan Reynolds (two RBIs), Spencer Horwitz (three runs), Nick Gonzales and Jared Triolo (two runs) also had two-hit games for the Pirates. Brandon Lowe drove in two runs.

Zack Gelof homered in the ninth for the Athletics to extend his career-best hitting streak to 21 games, which is the longest active run in the majors.

Jacob Wilson had a two-run single and Henry Bolte homered for the Athletics.

Pittsburgh starter Braxton Ashcraft (6-3) allowed two runs, one earned, and four hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked three.

The Athletics activated Aaron Civale (shoulder) off the injured list prior to the game. Civale (5-3) gave up six runs and nine hits in three-plus innings, striking out two and walking two.

The Pirates led 3-0 just four batters into the game.

Horwitz doubled and Lowe walked before Reynolds hit a ground-rule RBI double. O’Hearn followed with the two-bagger to left to make it a three-run margin.

Triolo led off the second with a single and Horwitz hit a one-out double. Lowe and Reynolds followed with consecutive run-scoring singles to make it 5-0.

Civale walked Lowe to start the fourth and was removed in favor of left-hander Jose Suarez. Two batters later, the left-handed-hitting O’Hearn sent the ball over the fence in left to make it 7-0.

The Athletics got on the board in the sixth. Nick Kurtz singled and Shea Langeliers walked before both moved up on an infield out. Wilson followed with a two-run single to center.

The Pirates piled on with five runs in the seventh, beginning with Ozuna’s 448-foot homer to center off Scott Barlow.

Jake Mangum followed with a single and Barlow hit both Triolo and Henry Davis to load the bases. Luis Medina walked Horwitz to force in a run, and Lowe hit a sacrifice fly to make it 10-2.

After Reynolds struck out, O’Hearn’s single to left-center boosted the gap to 10 runs.

Bolte hit his second career homer in the seventh for the A’s before Gelof continued his streak in the ninth.

–Field Level Media

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Jesse Marsch on Ismael Kone's injury: 'Could hear the bone snap'

June 18, 2026; Vancouver, Canada; Canada's Ismael Kone is stretchered off after sustaining an injury.  Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images June 18, 2026; Vancouver, Canada; Canada’s Ismael Kone is stretchered off after sustaining an injury. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images

Canada midfielder Ismael Kone was scheduled to undergo surgery on his injured left leg after sustaining the ugly injury in his national team’s 6-0 win over Qatar on Thursday in Vancouver.

Coach Jesse Marsch said postmatch, according to The Athletic, that he “could hear the bone snap.”

“Your heart goes out to him,” Marsch said. “Everybody’s shaken for him.”

The coach added, “I haven’t spoken to Ismael yet, but he’s at the hospital. He will prepare for a surgery. I’m going to go see him after this press conference. We’ll see exactly what we decide to do for him. His family is with him at the hospital, so his mother’s there and his family.”

In the 51st minute of the Group B match, Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo attempted a tackle on Kone, but his right foot brought Kone to the ground. Trainers were immediately called onto the pitch as Kone was in visible discomfort before being stretchered off moments later.

Sitting up on the stretcher, Kone gave a thumbs-up sign to the fans while taking oxygen.

After a video review, Madibo was shown a red card, Qatar’s second of the afternoon, leaving the team with nine players to finish the match.

Kone was replaced by Nathan Saliba, who scored in the 64th minute. Canada improved to 1-0-1 (4 points) to tie Switzerland for the top of the group standings, while Qatar dropped to 0-1-1 (1 point).

At the end of the match, Marsch and Qatari coach Julen Lopetegui had a tense exchange as they shook hands. In response to Lopetegui’s comments, Marsch gave a dismissive wave.

Kone, who turned 24 on Tuesday, has made 42 international appearances and scored four goals. He came on as a substitute in all three of Canada’s World Cup matches in 2022. On June 12, Kone started and played the full 90 minutes of Canada’s 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He started his professional career at CF Montreal in 2021 before stints at Watford, Marseille, Rennes and Sassuolo, his current club in Serie A in Italy.

“It’s a huge loss for us,” Marsch said of Kone. “He’ll be fine. Right, we’ll get him good doctors, we’ll get him back. Obviously, our heart is with him, but that kid’s got a big future, and he’s a big part of everything we do.”

–Field Level Media

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