Sports
Padres remain 'on a mission' ahead of opener vs. Astros
Sep 15, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis, Jr. (21) celebrates his solo home run during the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images Good teams show the ability to win games in different ways.
The Houston Astros and San Diego Padres are doing that as they collide to start a three-game series Monday night in San Diego.
Both are coming off weekend series sweeps of losing teams that moved them closer to securing postseason berths.
Houston (81-68) posted a 6-4 win Sunday at the Los Angeles Angels to maintain a 4 1/2-game lead on the Seattle Mariners in the American League West. The Padres (85-65), in turn, nipped San Francisco 4-3 in 10 innings to stay 1 1/2 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League’s first wild-card spot.
San Diego’s 4-1 road trip through Seattle and San Francisco also has put it in play for the NL West title, thanks to a recent slump by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although the Dodgers won 9-2 Sunday night in Atlanta, their once-healthy lead is down to 3 1/2 games with three games remaining next week against the Padres. And San Diego owns any tiebreaker on the Dodgers since it’s already won the season series.
“This team is on a mission and we definitely want to get there,” right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. said of clinching a playoff berth. “This is just what it takes for us to get there. So keep it with the same mentality, same approach and coming every single day just to win.”
Tatis did his part Sunday on the only pitch he saw, ripping a pinch-homer that gave the Padres a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning. While Robert Suarez blew the save in the ninth, he got the win anyway when San Diego scored twice in the 10th.
The Padres will send right-hander Yu Darvish (5-3, 3.52 ERA) to the mound for the series opener.
Darvish is coming off a 7-3 win against the Mariners on Tuesday night in which he allowed two runs on seven hits in five innings. In his career against the Astros, Darvish is 5-5 with a 3.64 ERA in 15 career starts, striking out 123 hitters over 94 innings.
Houston will send rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (7-12, 4.72) to the hill.
Arrighetti last worked on Tuesday night in his team’s 4-3 loss in 12 innings to Oakland, giving up two runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings with a walk and seven strikeouts. This will be his first outing against San Diego.
The Astros bring a four-game winning streak to Petco Park, largely because of their newest acquisition. Right fielder Jason Heyward went 3-for-3 with his eighth homer of the year and knocked in two runs. He joined the team on Aug. 29 after the Dodgers released him.
He’s batting .300 in September.
“It’s nice to have a job with a team competing to win and wanting to win a World Series,” he said. “That really does make a difference because that is hard. It’s hard to be the last team standing. So it’s just nice to step into another clubhouse with that mentality, that mindset and experience.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mark DeRosa Needs To Take More Accountability for Team USA
Mar 18, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; USA manager Mark DeRosa (4) returns to the dugout after a pitching change during the fifth inning against Venezuela at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Team USA was dealt a massive upset loss to Italy in the World Baseball Classic, falling 8-6. The US battled back, with Gunner Henderson and Aaron Judge having at-bats in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game, but ultimately fell short in what will be one of the greatest upsets in WBC history.
The US was -1100 entering the matchup, and it seemed like a night to give a few guys some rest. Well, that would have been the case if Team USA hadn’t needed a win to move on to the quarterfinals. Manager Mark DeRosa completely mismanaged the team, benching multiple key starters to get Paul Goldschmidt and Ernie Clement some ABs.
Somehow, nobody had told DeRosa that the US could be eliminated with a loss, and now they have to wait for the results of Mexico and Italy to learn their fates. Mistakes happen; at this level, they shouldn’t, but they do. However, the biggest issue in this entire debacle is that DeRosa was never looking to take any accountability for this disaster.
DeRosa was on MLB Network’s ‘Hot Stove’ the morning before the Italy matchup, and he openly said he was resting guys because they had their ticket punched to the quarterfinals. That mistake alone should get you fired, but he didn’t say that by accident; he had no idea that they could be eliminated with a loss!
DeRosa had Clayton Kershaw warming up in the 8th inning, then mysteriously sat him back down to get Mason Miller into the game for the top of the 9th. Somebody must’ve told him that this game was still a must-win, and he wasn’t going to waste some innings with a mostly retired Kershaw.
In the post-game, he has to take way more accountability in that situation. He messed up; he didn’t just bungle his words. DeRosa needed to step on the stand after that game and, honestly, say he didn’t know the rules of the pool calculations, and that mistake was on him.
I’m not sure how anyone can take DeRosa seriously at this point. Anytime he’s criticizing a managerial decision on MLB TV, you’ll only be thinking about how he made one of the dumbest managerial moves you’ve ever seen in the sport. Also, if he was ever thinking of actually managing an MLB team, you can kiss that goodbye.
Honestly, it’s somewhat insane that the US Baseball Federation hasn’t fired him yet. This still shouldn’t all be on DeRosa. Even if you were playing with your C team, you shouldn’t be having any issues getting past Italy. Well, when you look at Italy’s roster, it’s essentially the USA’s C team, since it’s full of guys who aren’t even dual citizens.
Well, it’s a waiting game now to see if Team USA advances. If Italy wins, Team USA advances, or if Mexico wins and scores five or more runs, the Americans also still advance. No matter what happens, I don’t think we will be seeing DeRosa in the dugouts past this WBC.
Sports
Darryn Peterson, Kansas gear up for sizzling TCU in Big 12 tourney
Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) shoots the ball against Kansas State Wildcats guard David Castillo (10) during the Sunflower Showdown game in Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday, March 7, 2026. No. 14 Kansas is rested and ready to use this week’s Big 12 tournament as a tune-up of sorts for the NCAA Tournament.
That won’t be easy when the third-seeded Jayhawks face perhaps the hottest team in the conference, No. 6 seed TCU, in the nightcap of the Big 12 quarterfinals on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas (22-9) ended the regular season with a 104-85 win over rival Kansas State on Saturday to snap a two-game losing streak. Still, the Jayhawks lost four of their final seven games after going over a month between losses with eight straight wins from Jan. 13 to Feb. 9.
TCU (22-10) won its sixth straight game — tied with top-seeded Arizona for the longest active Big 12 streak — in its tournament opener Wednesday with a 95-88 victory over Oklahoma State.
Both teams will be in the NCAA Tournament regardless of how this rematch plays out. However, Kansas is projected much higher (4 seed in ESPN’s latest update) than TCU (projected 9 seed) despite similar records.
The Jayhawks have high-level wins, including against then-No. 1 Arizona, then-No. 2 Iowa State and No. 5 Houston.
They’re also getting their most consistent availability of the season from star freshman guard Darryn Peterson.
Peterson, who averages a team-high 19.9 points per game, missed 11 regular-season games with a host of issues, including quad, hamstring and ankle injuries. He was spotted checking himself out of games and drew outside questions about if he was looking ahead to the NBA as a projected top-three pick in this year’s draft.
But he’s turned a corner health-wise, playing in each of Kansas’ final seven regular-season games. And he closed out with one of his best games, hitting 10 of 15 shots for 27 points — his most since Jan. 6 — in the Kansas State win.
“I’m feeling good,” Peterson said. “It’s perfect timing, if you ask me, going into the Big 12 tournament and NCAA. I’m feeling probably the best I’ve felt all year.”
“That’s the best he’s moved all year long, without a question,” Kansas coach Bill Self added.
The Horned Frogs, who were firmly on the bubble before ending the regular season with five straight wins, had to work for their win over Oklahoma State. They trailed by 10 with 13:48 left and by five with 6:32 left before ending the game on a 22-10 run.
A career-high 26 points from leading scorer David Punch (14.0 ppg) anchored TCU’s comeback bid. Punch made 9 of 14 shots, and was supplemented by Xavier Edmonds’ sixth double-double in the last eight games with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Horned Frogs, who rank 12th in the Big 12 in shooting percentage, shot 50.7% in the win. It’s just the third time they’ve made at least half their field-goal attempts against a conference opponent and the first time since Jan. 24 vs. Baylor.
TCU and Kansas met in early January in the second conference game for each team. The Jayhawks prevailed 104-100 in overtime over the visiting Horned Frogs behind a career-high 32 points from Peterson.
“We played hard, but we’re a lot better team than we were then,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said of the prior matchup. “I think that was a good — I wouldn’t say a good experience but a learning experience.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kirill Kaprizov stepping up as Wild take aim at Flyers
Mar 10, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (32) and left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) celebrate their teams win against the Utah Mammoth during the third period at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Many teams in the NHL might need to choose between goal scoring from their top stars or from their depth players.
The Minnesota Wild have enjoyed both heading into their game on Thursdayt against the Philadelphia Flyers in Saint Paul, Minn.
“It’s nice that some of the guys that we’re expecting to score are continuing to do that and play well,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “But it also takes a little bit of the load off them when you have guys that can score and produce. It makes you a harder team to defend.”
The Flyers are vying for two wins in as many nights after knocking off the Washington Capitals 4-1 on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Owen Tippett notched a goal and an assist for the Flyers, and Travis Konecny, Trevor Zegras and defenseman Jamie Drysdale each scored one goal.
Philadelphia is 5-2-0 in its past seven games as it aims for a postseason run. The Flyers are seven points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
The Wild also have their hopes pinned on the playoffs and are in third place in the Central Division. Minnesota is 3-0-1 in its past four contests and has a 12-3-2 record in its past 17.
Kirill Kaprizov has led the way for Minnesota. He has 78 points (37 goals, 41 assists) in 65 games this season, and he leads the team with 16 goals on the power play.
Hynes said Kaprizov is playing as well as he has all season. He praised his star after the Wild’s 5-0 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night, during which Kaprizov finished with a goal and an assist.
“Kirill, he was physical, playing with power,” Hynes said. “He’s such a skilled player, but when he plays a power game, when he’s tenacious like a dog with a bone, that’s when you really stand out. I think that goal (he scored against Utah) was indicative of that.”
On the opposite bench, Konecny leads Philadelphia in goals (24), assists (34) and points (58). Zegras is second on the team in all three categories (22, 31, 53).
The Flyers likely will start Dan Vladar in net one night after Samuel Ersson made the start against the Capitals. Vladar is 20-11-6 with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage this season, and he is 3-1-1 with a 2.63 GAA and an .896 save percentage in five career games against the Wild.
Vladar will try to bounce back from a rough performance Monday against the New York Rangers, who scored six goals against him on 24 shots.
Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said he gave Vladar an extra day of rest Wednesday after his difficult performance earlier in the week.
“He might have been a little bit tired,” Tocchet said. “You know he’ll never admit it. We have to be cautious of that.”
Minnesota could counter with Filip Gustavsson or Jesper Wallstedt in net.
Gustavsson is 24-10-6 with a 2.46 GAA and a .913 save percentage this season, and he is 0-2-0 with a 6.09 GAA and a .709 save percentage against Philadelphia.
Wallstedt is 14-6-5 with a 2.81 GAA and a .911 save percentage this season, and he is 0-0-1 with a 1.92 GAA and a .905 save percentage in his lone start versus the Flyers.
-Field Level Media
Mark DeRosa Needs To Take More Accountability for Team USA
Darryn Peterson, Kansas gear up for sizzling TCU in Big 12 tourney
