Sports
Pirates look to Paul Skenes to even series against Rockies
Jun 9, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Paul Skenes has dominated the Colorado Rockies in his home park, but his one start in Denver didn’t go as well.
The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander has made one start at Coors Field when he allowed four runs in five innings on Aug. 2, 2025 in a game Colorado won, 8-5.
Skenes (6-6, 2.85 ERA) gets another shot in Denver when he takes the mound Saturday night in the second contest of a three-game series against the Rockies.
Colorado counters with its best starter this season, Tomoyuki Sugano (7-4, 4.79).
The Rockies took the opener on Friday night, 4-3, holding on after Pittsburgh loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth inning.
Skenes is facing Colorado for the fourth time in his short career and is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in those outings. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning his last start against the Rockies, a 3-1 Pirates win in Pittsburgh on May 12.
Mickey Moniak broke up the no-hit bid with a one-out hit that night and Skenes left after eight shutout innings. It marked the last time he pitched beyond the sixth inning this season – or earned a win. The two-time All-Star lost his next three starts, and he has been victimized by little run support and a faltering bullpen in his three June outings.
He has allowed five earned runs this month but is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA. In his last start, against Miami on Sunday, he matched a season high with 10 strikeouts over six innings but was tagged with the loss after giving up two solo homers.
His teammates managed to put across just two runs in a 4-2 loss.
“It’s baseball,” Skenes said after the game. “I’ve dealt with it before. It’s a team sport. It’s just the nature of the game.”
Sugano, meanwhile, has received plenty of run support in June. He has won all three of his starts this month despite posting a 6.60 ERA and allowing eight runs – six earned – Sunday against the Athletics in Las Vegas.
He benefited from Colorado’s franchise-record 23 runs in the victory but he will likely have to pitch better with Skenes going for the Pirates. It will also be his first time facing Pittsburgh in his two-year major league career.
It will also be the first time a few Rockies’ players will see the Pirates. Recent call-ups Cole Carrigg and Sterlin Thompson are part of Colorado’s youth movement and each has made an impact in a small sample size.
Thompson hit his first two big-league homers in one game against the Chicago Cubs this week and Carrigg had three home runs in his first 36 at-bats and has flashed some impressive defense. He made a running catch into the ivy at Wrigley Field in Tuesday night’s 5-2 win, saving a run.
“It felt like brick – it was definitely pretty hard, not much cushion with the ivy,” Carrigg said after the game. “That’s a good highlight, for sure. Making a catch in the ivy is pretty cool.”
-Field Level Media
Sports
10-man Paraguay eke out win over 1-0 Turkey, still alive in World Cup
June 19, 2026; Santa Clara, California, U.S.; Paraguay’s Matias Galarza celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images Paraguay’s Matias Galarza scored the fastest goal in any World Cup match this year barely more than a minute in, leading Paraguay to a 1-0 win over Turkey on Friday night in Santa Clara, Calif.
The South American team overcame the loss of veteran Miguel Almiron to a red card just before halftime.
Paraguay (1-1-0, 3 points) kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, after the U.S. defeated Australia 2-0 earlier Friday in Group D. The U.S. (2-0-0, 6 points) clinched first place in the group thanks to the Paraguay-Turkey result.
Australia (1-1-0, 3 points) will face Paraguay on Thursday in Santa Clara, with the Aussies needing only a draw to clinch second place. Turkey (0-2-0, 0 points) were eliminated ahead of their group finale against the U.S. on Thursday in Inglewood, Calif.
Galarza delivered his decisive strike from 25 yards out as three defenders converged on him.
Turkey had shots hit the crossbar and the goalpost, rattling the woodwork but not going in.
Turkey pressed for a tying goal early in the second half but came up short, though they played with a man advantage for the last 45-plus minutes.
Almiron was shown a red card for covering his mouth when talking to an opposing player, a gesture banned under a new FIFA rule.
Can Uzun shot just wide in the 82nd minute, one of several attempts for Turkey as they desperately tried to salvage a point to stay alive for possible advancement.
An 85th-minute cross filtered through the box in front of the goal, another late missed Turkey chance. Three more attempts in the closing minutes didn’t hit the target, and Turkey players crumpled to the ground at the final whistle in disbelief over their elimination from advancement in the World Cup.
Turkey had five shots on target and 31 shots overall, while Paraguay had just two and seven, respectively. Turkey also had 11 corner kicks to zero for Paraguay, but Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill made five saves for the clean-sheet win.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A's storm back from 7-run deficit to edge Angels in 10th
Jun 19, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) celebrates with first baseman Nolan Schanuel (18) after hitting a home run against the Athletics during the fourth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images Jonah Heim drilled a pinch-hit, tying two-run homer in the ninth inning and Nick Kurtz drew a bases-loaded walk in the 10th as the Athletics rallied from seven runs down to post a wild 12-11 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Heim’s homer came off Sam Bachman with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Jacob Wilson homered and drove in three runs and Lawrence Butler and Max Muncy also went deep for the Athletics.
Jose Siri and Logan O’Hoppe each slammed three-run homers as the Angels tied their season best with five blasts. Denzer Guzman added a two-run homer and Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel hit solo shots as the Angels lost for the fifth time in six games.
Butler started the 10th as the runner on second and Henry Bolte walked off Kirby Yates (0-3). Butler and Bolte then executed a double steal. One out later, Yates hit Gelof in the helmet to load the bases.
Samy Natera Jr. entered to face Kurtz and walked him on five pitches.
Elvis Alvarado (3-1) gave up one hit in two scoreless frames for the A’s.
O’Hoppe and Oswald Peraza each had three hits for Los Angeles. The Angels also hit five homers during a 7-1 road victory over the New York Yankees on April 14.
The Angels fell to 7-for-23 in save opportunities.
Zack Gelof had one hit to extend his career-best hitting streak to 23, the top active run in the majors.
Tyler Soderstrom had three hits, including a one-out double in the ninth. Bachman then retired Wilson before Heim drilled the tying homer.
The Angels recovered from a four-run deficit and scored the next 11 runs, including seven in the fourth inning.
Christian Moore hit a sacrifice fly to get Los Angeles on the board in the fourth before Guzman delivered a two-run homer. Siri later slugged a three-run shot to make it 6-4.
Justin Sterner entered and Neto ripped his second pitch over the wall.
O’Hoppe came up with two on and two outs in the fifth and homered to make it 10-4.
Schanuel delivered a one-out homer in the sixth for a seven-run advantage.
The A’s tallied in the sixth when Gelof hit a broken-bat single off Mitch Farris to score Butler.
Wilson hit a two-run blast in the seventh to pull the A’s within 11-7.
One inning later, Muncy hit a two-run blast off Chase Silseth.
Jose Soriano gave up four runs and six hits over five innings for Los Angeles.
Springs gave up six runs and four hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Earlier, Butler sent a fastball over the fence in the second inning to put the A’s ahead.
In the third, Shea Langeliers and Wilson had RBI doubles and Carlos Cortes’ infield out plated another to make it 4-0.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Shohei Ohtani misses game, away from Dodgers awaiting birth of child
May 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) swings for a single during the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images For the second Friday in a row, the Dodgers held Shohei Ohtani out of the lineup.
But it wasn’t knee inflammation sidelining him this time.
Prior to their game against Baltimore in Los Angeles — a game the Dodgers won on a walk-off 6-5 — the Dodgers announced their star is away from the team on paternity leave as he and his wife expect the birth of their second child.
However, the Dodgers announced Ohtani “is expected to be back at some point this weekend” and he was not placed on the paternity list. (Being placed on the paternity list requires a player to miss at least one game but no more than three before being taken off the list.)
Ohtani was the starting pitcher in the Dodgers’ previous game, getting the win in a 5-4 victory over Tampa Bay on Wednesday. He is not expected to be back on the mound until the middle of next week.
Kyle Tucker took Ohtani’s usual leadoff spot in the lineup while rookie Ryan Ward served as the designated hitter. Tucker went 1-for-4 with a run scored while Ward was 0-for-3 with a pair of walks and scored the winning run.
–Field Level Media
10-man Paraguay eke out win over 1-0 Turkey, still alive in World Cup
A's storm back from 7-run deficit to edge Angels in 10th
