Sports
Astros send OFs Jake Meyers, Joey Loperfido to Triple-A Sugar Land
Jun 22, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Houston Astros center fielder Jake Meyers (6) tries to catch a fly ball against the Toronto Blue Jays during the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images The Houston Astros demoted outfielders Jake Meyers and Joey Loperfido to Triple-A Sugar Land prior to Saturday night’s contest against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Houston recalled utility player Zach Dezenzo and activated first baseman/outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. from the injured list.
Meyers, 30, has batted just .206 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 52 games. He is in his sixth season with the Astros.
“He’s helped us to win a lot of games, helped us win a lot of postseason games,” Houston manager Joe Espada told reporters. “He’s part of this organization’s success, but he understood it. We’re going to help him. We’ve pinpointed some things that he’s going to be working on in Triple-A.”
Meyers has a .240 career average in 517 games. He has 36 homers, 172 RBIs and 38 stolen bases.
Loperfido, 27, is batting .216 with one homer and 12 RBIs in 39 games this season. He is in his second stint with Houston.
Dezenzo, 26, batted .191 with one homer and two RBIs in 21 games with the Astros earlier this season.
Wade, 32, was signed in early June and went 4-for-12 with a homer and four RBIs in four games before sustaining a right hamstring injury. He last played for Houston on June 8.
Wade received regular playing time earlier in his career with the San Francisco Giants (2021-25). He owns a .236 batting average with 56 homers and 189 RBIs in 564 games with four big league teams.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Joey Chestnut wins Nathan's hot dog contest for 18th time
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating champion Joey Chestnut’s belt before the Lugnuts game against the TinCaps on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, at Jackson Field in Lansing. The G.O.A.T. remains the top dog when it comes to devouring frankfurters on the Fourth of July.
Joey Chestnut won his 18th Nathan’s Famous hot dog-eating contest on Saturday in Coney Island, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Chestnut, 42, consumed 66 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. He holds the event record with 76 in 2021.
He ate 15 more than runner-up Patrick Bertoletti on Saturday.
“I knew I was going to be able to get the win,” Chestnut said afterwards “I’ve got so much room left.”
Miki Sudo, 40, won the women’s contest for the 12th time by downing 38.75 hot dogs.
Nathan’s Famous has been hosting the annual Independence Day contest since 1972.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jonas Vingegaard takes Tour de France lead at Stage 1 team time trial
UAE Team Emirates XRG’s Tadej Pogacar in action during Stage 12 – Cycling – Tour de France – Stage 12 – Auch to Hautacam – Hautacam, France – July 17, 2025
Jonas Vingegaard leaned into his Team Visma/Lease a Bike teammates and grabbed the yellow jersey after Stage 1 of the Tour de France on Saturday at Barcelona, Spain.
The stage marked the return of a team trial to the Tour de France, with a new format as each rider was timed individually, instead of receiving a collective team time. A team time trial was last contested in the 2019 event and was last used as the opening stage in 1971.
Denmark’s Vingegaard broke from his teammates during a pair of 1.1-kilometer climbs before the finish line and completed the 19.6-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 47 seconds. He was eight seconds faster that Italy’s Filippo Ganna of Netcompany INEOS, while two-time defending champion and Slovenian native Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates was in third, 12 seconds off the lead.
Spain’s Juan Ayuso was fourth, 16 seconds behind Vingegaard.
“I would say it’s a perfect start,” said Vingegaard, who won the Giro d’Italia stage race in May. “It’s still a long tour, but it’s a perfect start. My teammates did an amazing job today. They were so strong. I didn’t have to do too much, to be honest. They just drove me to the finish.”
Vingegaard won consecutive Tour de France titles in 2022 and 2023, but was removed from cycling’s throne by Pogacar, who won the event in 2024 and 2025. That made Pogacar a four-time champion after also winning in 2020 and 2021.
Despite his third-place finish in the opening stage, Pogacar is well within striking distance to win his record-tying fifth title. Pogacar rallied on the late uphill section of the course with the fastest time over the final 3.3 kilometers to earn the polka-dot jersey, given to the top climber.
Sunday’s Stage 2 is a hilly 168.5-kilometer course that travels through Spain from Tarragona and along the Mediterranean Sea before heading inland and finishing at Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium.
The race will enter France during Stage 3 on Monday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rangers activate RHP Chris Martin, place RHP Jakob Junis on IL
Apr 8, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Chris Martin (31) throws to the plate during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images The Texas Rangers activated right-hander Chris Martin from the injured list on Saturday and placed right-hander Jakob Junis on the IL retroactive to Wednesday.
Martin, 40, has been out for just over a month with a right shoulder impingement. He was 1-1 with a 7.84 ERA over 12 relief appearances this season and is 19-25 with a 3.45 ERA over 430 relief appearances in 11 seasons for seven different clubs.
Junis, 33, is dealing with a right hip impingement. He is 1-1 with a 2.80 ERA in 31 appearances (one start) for the Rangers this season, and in 10 career seasons, he is 47-47 with a 4.29 ERA in 280 appearances (117 starts) for six different clubs.
–Field Level Media
Joey Chestnut wins Nathan's hot dog contest for 18th time
Jonas Vingegaard takes Tour de France lead at Stage 1 team time trial
