Sports
MLB roundup: Andrew Benintendi slam lifts White Sox over Yankees
Jun 18, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; Chicago White Sox pinch hitter Andrew Benintendi (23) celebrates with his teammates after hitting a grand slam home run in the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Pinch hitter Andrew Benintendi belted a tiebreaking grand slam in the eighth inning as the visiting Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees 5-1 on Thursday. Chicago earned its first win at Yankee Stadium since June 8, 2023, ending a nine-game road skid vs. New York.
In the finale of a three-game series, the White Sox pieced together the winning rally in the eighth against Fernando Cruz (4-2), Tim Hill and Camilo Doval. Benintendi, who once played for the Yankees, batted for Randal Grichuk and snapped a 1-1 tie by lifting Doval’s first-pitch sinker into the right-center-field seats.
The American League Central-leading White Sox got a double from Sam Antonacci and had two batters hit by pitches to set up Benintendi’s blast. After Chicago opener Bryan Hudson allowed a hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings, bulk reliever Sean Burke (4-4) struck out eight while giving up one run on five hits in 7 1/3 innings.
Ryan McMahon homered as the Yankees had their four-game winning streak end while losing for just the sixth time in the past 21 games.
Royals 14, Cardinals 6
Bobby Witt Jr. homered and was one of seven Kansas City players with at least two hits — but later exited with right knee discomfort — while Salvador Perez’s solo shot made him the all-time home run leader at Kauffman Stadium as the host Royals beat St. Louis.
The star shortstop injured himself going into the hole to field Jordan Walker’s RBI infield single in the fourth. Witt finished the inning but was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the frame. Witt’s departure overshadowed a potent night for the Royals, who set season highs for runs and hits (17), while posting eight doubles, including a club-record five during their six-run second inning.
Meanwhile, Perez had three hits and his 137th homer at home — a 385-foot shot to left in the sixth inning — broke George Brett’s record to give Kansas City a 12-4 lead. Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt each had three hits while Jose Fermin added two with two RBIs for the Cardinals, who recorded 13 hits but stranded 15 runners.
Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 3
Brandon Valenzuela’s two-out double against Aroldis Chapman drove in Ernie Clement with the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and visiting Toronto completed a three-game sweep of Boston.
Valenzuela’s double came after the Red Sox tied the game on back-to-back home runs by Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Caleb Durbin in the eighth. Both home runs came against Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage, who allowed three runs on four hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six without a walk.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Nathan Lukes each hit a solo home run against Boston starter Sonny Gray, who gave up three runs on six hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Mets 6, Phillies 4
Juan Soto homered twice and Marcus Semien drove in a pair of insurance runs as visiting New York beat Philadelphia in the first matchup of the season between the rivals.
The Mets also received big efforts from Carson Benge (3-for-5) and A.J. Ewing (2-for-3, RBI). Huascar Brazoban (4-1) pitched a scoreless inning in relief for the win, and Devin Williams allowed a two-out run in the ninth before closing out his 11th save.
Alec Bohm finished with two hits and two RBIs for the Phillies. Jose Alvarado (3-2) yielded three runs in his lone inning. Trea Turner (right calf contusion) left after getting hit by a pitch.
Guardians 4, Brewers 2
Cleveland broke a tie in the seventh inning to rally for a win against host Milwaukee, earning a victory for just the third time in the past nine games.
Starting pitcher Parker Messick (7-3) gave up two runs on four hits and three walks, and struck out nine over six innings for the Guardians. Starter Shane Drohan went five innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks for the Brewers, who had won three straight.
Cleveland took its first lead of the game in the seventh inning off reliever Grant Anderson (1-3). Travis Bazzana ripped a fastball into the seats in right field to put the visitors ahead 3-2.
Twins 9, Rangers 3
Trevor Larnach went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, and Minnesota cruised to a win over host Texas.
Brooks Lee added a three-run homer for Minnesota, which completed a three-game sweep over the Rangers. Ryan Kreidler hit a two-run homer, and Victor Caratini finished 3-for-4.
Wyatt Langford, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue each hit a solo home run for Texas. Josh Smith doubled for the Rangers’ only other extra-base hit.
Mariners 3, Orioles 0
Bryan Woo (6-5) pitched seven-plus scoreless innings as host Seattle defeated Baltimore. Woo allowed three hits, walked one and fanned nine.
The Mariners did all their damage with a two-out rally in the first inning off Orioles starter Shane Baz (4-7), using a run-scoring double from Cole Young and a two-run single from Colt Emerson to take a 3-0 lead.
Baz overcame the shaky start to last seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out nine.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Trevor Rogers tosses 7 1-hit innings, Orioles eke out win vs. Dodgers
Jun 20, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Leody Taveras (30) runs to third during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images Left-hander Trevor Rogers gave up one hit over seven scoreless innings and Blaze Alexander had a two-run double as the visiting Baltimore Orioles escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Rogers took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and finished with two walks and six strikeouts.
The Orioles improved to 2-3 on a West Coast road trip that started in Seattle and concludes against the Los Angeles Angels next week.
Los Angeles right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto went six innings as he was unable to reprise his near no-hitter at Baltimore last season. He allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
After missing one game for the birth of his second child, the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani returned to the leadoff spot and hit a home run in the ninth inning. Edman had a pair of singles for Los Angeles, which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
The Orioles jumped in front 1-0 in the second when Leody Taveras and Colton Cowser led off the inning with consecutive singles to put runners on the corners. Coby Mayo’s groundout scored Taveras.
Baltimore increased the advantage in the fourth inning. Again they opened an inning with consecutive singles, this time from Samuel Basallo and Taveras. After Mayo walked with one out to load the bases, Alexander hit a two-out double down the third-base line to score a pair of runs for a 3-0 lead.
Rogers cruised into the fifth inning where he gave up his first hit of the game on a two-out single to center from Edman.
Rogers’ only scare came in the seventh inning when he walked Mookie Betts with two outs before Miguel Rojas hit a ball to the base of the center field wall that was caught by Cowser.
The Dodgers pulled within a run in the ninth when Ohtani hit a home run and Edman’s line drive was dropped by Taveras with two outs, allowing a second run to score. Yennier Cano finished off his first save by striking out Kyle Tucker to strand runners on the corners.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Connelly Early, Red Sox handle Mariners for second straight win
Jun 20, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Boston Red Sox starter Connelly Early (71) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images Wilyer Abreu homered and Connelly Early overcame a shaky first inning to make a quality start as the Boston Red Sox defeated the host Seattle Mariners 5-1 on Saturday night.
The Red Sox have won the first two games of the series and will go for a sweep Sunday afternoon.
Early (6-5), who had lost his previous three starts, went six innings and allowed one run on two hits. The left-hander walked two and struck out seven, one shy of his season high.
Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock and Danny Coulombe each pitched a perfect inning of relief to complete the two-hitter.
The only run Early allowed came in the first inning.
Early walked leadoff hitter J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh lined a single to left field. Julio Rodriguez grounded into a forceout before Josh Naylor lined a run-scoring single to center. Rodriguez was caught on the front end of an attempted double steal, and Early struck out former teammate Rob Refsnyder to get out of the jam.
Mariners starter Emerson Hancock (5-4) retired the side in order in each of the first three innings before Anthony Seigler led off the fourth by grounding a single to left. An out later, Abreu went deep to straightaway center field to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead.
Boston extended its advantage with a three-run sixth, despite hitting just one ball out of the infield.
With one out, Masataka Yoshida lined a single to right and stole second. Abreu walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Willson Contreras reached on a base on balls to load the bases.
That was it for Hancock, as the Mariners brought in lefty Jose A. Ferrer. He got Jarren Duran to ground into a forceout to first baseman Naylor, with Yoshida thrown out at the plate. Duran just beat the throw back to first in an attempt for an inning-ending double play.
Ferrer’s wild pitch scored Abreau and advanced Duran to second and Contreras to third. Caleb Durbin hit a grounder on which shortstop Colt Emerson made a diving stop, but the rookie had no play on the infield single and Contreras scored. Marcelo Mayer then hit a high chopper to second baseman Cole Young, who likewise had no play as another run scored to make it 5-1.
Hancock was charged with five runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander walked two and fanned six.
–Field Level Media
Sports
FURIA, Team Falcons set to clash for IEM Cologne crown
Nolan Starkey, a senior at Rossville High School, plays Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Monday, April 15, 2019, in Rossville. Starkey signed his letter of intent Wednesday to play esports at Trine University in Angola, Ind.
Rossville High School Senior Signs With Trine University To Play Esports
Team Falcons and FURIA will meet in Sunday’s grand final of the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major after semifinal victories Saturday in Germany.
FURIA swept Aurora Gaming 2-0, while Team Falcons edged Team Spirit 2-1 in the other semifinal playoff. Both first-place Team Spirit and second-place FURIA had gone 3-0 in Stage 3 group play, while third-place Aurora Gaming was 3-1 as was fifth-place Team Falcons.
All four teams had advanced out of the quarterfinals, which were on Thursday and Friday.
The Counter-Strike 2 tournament with 32 entrants competing for their share of a $1.25 million prize pool began June 2 with the start of the first stage.
The field was ultimately trimmed to the final eight playoff teams through a series of three stages, where all matches were best-of-three, as were most of the playoffs. Sunday’s grand final will be best-of-five, with the winner taking home $500,000 while the runner-up settles for $170,000.
On Saturday, Team Falcons opened with a 16-14 win on Anubis before Team Spirit drew even with a 13-8 victory on Mirage. The Falcons captured the deciding map, Dust II, by a 16-12 outcome.
Nikola “NiKo” Kovac of Bosnia and Herzegovina led the Falcons with 59 kills to 52 deaths and a 1.26 rating to earn Player of the Match honors. Russian teammates Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin (60 kills, 1.18 rating) and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov (68 kills, 1.16) also contributed to the victory.
Russia’s Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov paced Team Spirit with 69 kills to 49 deaths and a 1.24 rating.
FURIA ousted Aurora Gaming, winning 13-9 on Dust II and 13-4 on Nuke.
Yuri “yuurih” Santos of Brazil was Player of the Match, pacing FURIA with a 34-19 K-D differential and 1.62 rating. Teammate Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato of Brazil posted a 29-20 K-D and 1.38 rating, while Mareks “Yekindar” Galinskis of Latvia recorded a 32-28 K-D and 1.30 rating. No Aurora Gaming players had a positive rating.
Intel Extreme Masters Cologne prize pool
1. $500,000
2. $170,000
3-4. $80,000 — Team Spirit, Aurora Gaming
5-8. $45,000 — BetBoom Team, 9z Team, Team Vitality, G2 Esports
9-11. $15,000 — Natus Vincere, FUT Esports, The MongolZ
12-14. $15,000 — MOUZ, Monte, Legacy
15-16. $15,000 — B8, PARIVISION
17-19. $10,000 — paiN Gaming, TYLOO, BIG
20-22. $10,000 — MIBR, M80, Astralis
23-24. $10,000 — GamerLegion, FlyQuest
25-27. $5,000 — Lynn Vision Gaming, NRG, Team Liquid
28-30. $5,000 — THUNDERdOWNUNDER, Sharks Esports, HEROIC
31-32. $5,000 — Gaimin Gladiators, SINNERS Esports
–Field Level Media
Trevor Rogers tosses 7 1-hit innings, Orioles eke out win vs. Dodgers
Connelly Early, Red Sox handle Mariners for second straight win
