Sports
Trent Thornton stepping up as Cubs eye series win vs. Reds
Jul 11, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya (9) reacts with relief pitcher Trent Thornton (49) after the victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images Right-hander Trent Thornton is emerging as a much-needed weapon in the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen, which is exceeding expectations while closer Daniel Palencia remains sidelined with right elbow inflammation.
Thornton has made four straight scoreless outings for the Cubs, who face the host Cincinnati Reds in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday.
Chicago evened the series with a 5-3 win on Saturday. Alex Bregman hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning and Carson Kelly added a solo shot for Chicago, which won for the fourth time in its last six games.
The Reds had runners on second and third in the ninth inning before Thornton entered and retired Sal Stewart on a grounder to second base for his third save.
“He’s doing a heck of a job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s got guts; he’s got big guts. Credit to him. At the end of the game, that last out in the ninth inning is a difficult out. Thorny has certainly stepped up when we needed it.”
Counsell used five relievers and continues to juggle roles without Palencia, who is not expected to return until later this month.
“When the phone rings (in the bullpen), they don’t necessarily know who it’s going to be,” Counsell said. “But they’re all doing their jobs really well. I couldn’t be happier with what they’re doing.”
Cincinnati is looking to head into the All-Star break on a high note after losing Saturday for the fifth time in its last eight games. Nathaniel Lowe, Eugenio Suarez and JJ Bleday each hit solo homers for the Reds, who went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“We had some really good at-bats and we drove the ball out of the ballpark,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “But when you don’t have a ton of opportunities, if you don’t cash in, it becomes more glaring.”
The pitching matchup for the series finale features a pair of left-handers as Chicago’s Matthew Boyd (4-1, 4.31 ERA) opposes Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott (5-5, 3.92).
Boyd, 35, pitched six scoreless innings in a 5-2 road victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.
“He was really good,” Bregman said. “I thought the fastball was really good. The slider was good, and the curveball, too. He was in a rhythm.”
Boyd is 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA in three starts since coming off the injured list. He has been limited to eight starts this season due to two separate IL stints.
Eugenio Suarez is 1-for-12 with six strikeouts all-time against Boyd, who is 1-3 with a 6.48 ERA in five career starts versus Cincinnati.
The Reds will counter with Abbott, 27, who allowed three runs over six innings in a 4-1 home loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
Abbott retired the first seven batters before running into trouble in the third, when Kyle Schwarber capped a three-run outburst with a two-run homer.
“I kept a good offense pretty quiet other than one mistake,” Abbott said. “But then again, Schwarber is a good hitter. Fastball is one of my best pitches. He just put a good swing on it.”
Dansby Swanson is 6-for-17 (.353) with two homers against Abbott, who is 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA in eight career starts versus the Cubs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ty France powers Padres past Blue Jays in back-and-forth game
Jul 11, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France (25) celebrates with right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images Ty France’s solo homer snapped a tie in the bottom of the sixth inning Saturday night as the San Diego Padres outlasted the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 8-7.
France cracked his 11th homer of the season an estimated 377 feet into the second level of the Western Metal Supply building in left field off Mason Fluharty (4-1). It broke the game’s third tie.
San Diego’s bullpen held the line from there. Bradgley Rodriguez (2-2) fired a 1-2-3 seventh, Adrian Morejon pitched the eighth and closer Mason Miller took care of the ninth for his 24th save in as many chances.
Neither starter made it past the second inning, both undone by wildness. Toronto’s Trey Yesavage lasted only 1 2/3 innings, giving up one hit and four runs thanks to his seven walks. The Padres’ Walker Buehler pitched only two innings, yielding three hits and four runs with four walks and a strikeout.
Yesavage gifted San Diego two runs in the bottom of the first with four walks, the last to Gavin Sheets with the bases loaded. France accounted for the other run via a sacrifice fly.
The Blue Jays erased that deficit quickly in the second with four runs, fueled by Buehler’s four walks. Alejandro Kirk doubled down the right field line for an RBI, followed by Andres Gimenez’s run-scoring groundout and Jonatan Clase’s two-run homer to right, his second of the year.
Three more walks by Yesavage in the second teed up Manny Machado for a two-run single that made it 4-4. The Padres regained the lead in the third on a two-out, two-run single by Sung-Mun Song.
Jake Cronenworth increased the lead to 7-4 in the fourth by grounding a two-out RBI single up the middle that scored Sheets. But Vladimir Guerrero Jr. erased that lead in the sixth when he belted a three-run homer to left. The 385-foot shot was his sixth of the year.
The teams combined for 17 walks, 11 by Toronto’s five pitchers. The teams drew 11 walks in the first two innings, the most in a major league game this year.
–Field Level Media
Sports
D-backs RHP Brandon Praadt, timely hits too much for Dodgers
Jul 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (32) throws during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images James McCann hit two home runs, Brandon Pfaadt opened with five scoreless innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks finished off a 9-2 victory over the host Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Nolan Arenado also hit a home run while Tim Tawa and Max Kepler each had two RBIs as the Diamondbacks won three consecutive games for the first time since a five-game winning streak in May.
Pfaadt (3-1), in the right-hander’s third start since returning to the rotation June 30, gave up two runs on six hits with no walks over 5 1/3 innings.
Andy Pages and Mookie Betts had RBI singles as the Dodgers dropped the first two contests of the three-game series and lost back-to-back games for the first time since June 20-21 at home against Baltimore.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (9-6) tied his career high by allowing six runs on five hits with four walks over six innings and was unable to become the team’s second 10-game winner before the All-Star break along with Justin Wrobleski.
The Diamondbacks struck first in the fourth inning when Gabriel Moreno scored on a Tawa groundout.
Arizona knocked around Yamamoto in the sixth inning, making it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly from Kepler and an RBI double from Tawa. With two outs, Yamamoto intentionally walked Arenado and McCann responded with his three-run homer to left and first of the season.
The Dodgers finally got to Pfaadt in the bottom of the sixth. Tommy Edman led off with a double and scored on a Pages single. Mookie Betts followed a Freddie Freeman single with one of his own to bring Los Angeles within 6-2.
Kepler added his second sacrifice fly in the seventh inning before Arenado and McCann hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth off Landon Knack, who was making his season debut after he went down with an oblique strain during spring training.
Arizona lost center fielder Tommy Troy in the fifth inning when he slammed his right shoulder into the wall while catching a drive from Teoscar Hernandez. Troy was replaced by Jorge Barrosa.
The Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo was hit in the right hand with a pitch in the seventh and remained in the game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Conor McGregor's long-awaited UFC return ends with another leg injury
Jul 11, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Conor McGregor (red gloves) fights Max Holloway (blue gloves) in a welterweight bout during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images In the highly anticipated UFC 329 welterweight main event, Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon ended in disaster as he sustained another severe leg injury, resulting in a TKO stoppage against Max Holloway at 1:09 of the first round on Saturday night from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
After slipping multiple times early in the opening frame, Ireland’s McGregor (22-7 MMA) sustained the injury in his right leg when landing while attempting the left-footed kick, his first of the bout..
It brought an abrupt, shocking halt to his first UFC fight in five years, with his last fight against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 also ended by McGregor sustaining a right leg injury, that time a broken tibia which resulted in a doctor’s stoppage.
Holloway (30-7 MMA) said he didn’t think the fight had really started and called for a trilogy once McGregor is back to full health. McGregor exited the Octagon immediately and walked backstage without being interviewed, leaving more questions than answers about his future as he’s set to turn 38 on Tuesday.
“We got to run it back” a visibly frustrated Holloway said. “One more time. One more time for the boys.”
In the lightweight co-main event, England’s Paddy Pimblett defeated Benoit Saint Denis of France via submission (D’arce choke) 52 seconds into the first round.
Pimblett (24-4 MMA) secured the spectacular victory by initially jumping a guillotine before seamlessly flipping Saint-Denis (17-4, 1 NC MMA) over to lock in the fight-ending choke.
Bantamweight contender Mario Bautista secured a crucial victory, defeating former title challenger Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) to position himself for a potential title shot.
While the bout was largely uneventful, Bautista (18-3 MMA) put the finishing touches on the fight with a decisive third-round knockdown to avenge his 2019 short-notice loss in his UFC debut. Sandhagen (18-7 MMA) appeared to have sustained a knee injury during a ground transition in the fight, though the injury remains unconfirmed.
In flyweight action, Brandon Royval (18-9 MMA) survived immense early adversity to secure a spectacular submission victory, defeating England’s Lone’er Kavanagh (10-2 MMA) via rear-naked choke at 3:40 of Round 3. Despite being dropped several times in an unbelievable back-and-forth war, Royval rallied in the final frame to lock in the choke and force the tap.
In the lightweight main-card opener, King Green (36-17-1, 1 NC MMA) delivered one of the most spectacular buzzer-beater comebacks in UFC history, knocking out Terrance McKinney (18-9 MMA) at 4:59 of Round 1.
After surviving McKinney taking his back late in the frame, Green escaped to his feet with only seconds remaining. He instantly turned the tide, unleashing a devastating combination-landing a left hand, two front kicks, and a brutal body shot-to fold McKinney and secure the walk-off stoppage at the literal horn.
-Field Level Media
Ty France powers Padres past Blue Jays in back-and-forth game
D-backs RHP Brandon Praadt, timely hits too much for Dodgers
