Sports
Jordan Walker stuns home favorite Kyle Schwarber in HR Derby final
Jul 13, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) at bat during the home run derby at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — Not even the partisan Philadelphia Phillies fans could get St. Louis Cardinals breakout star Jordan Walker out of his groove when it mattered most.
Walker homered on his last four swings to extend his final round and pull off a shocking victory over hometown hero Kyle Schwarber, finishing the round with 12 homers to Schwarber’s 11 to capture the 2026 Home Run Derby on Monday night.
Walker had arguably the best performance in every stage of the event, tying the Boston Red Sox’s Willson Contreras with 13 blasts in Round 1, then besting Tampa Bay Rays slugger Junior Caminero with several swings to spare in the semifinal.
But he needed a little extra in the final round, silencing 43,863 booing fans by taking advantage of the event’s magenta ball rule that allowed hitters to extend their stay at the plate if they homered on their final swing, given bonus swings until a ball fell short of the fences.
It was just another exceptional moment in the 24-year-old Walker’s first career All-Star campaign that has included 22 home runs and an MLB-best 74 RBIs.
For Schwarber, it was eerily reminiscent of his first Derby appearance eight years ago, when now-Philadelphia teammate Bryce Harper went on a similarly exceptional late run to win the 2018 event in front of his then-hometown Washington fans.
The 33-year-old Schwarber also added a bonus home run in his final round, and when it was over, he raised his arms skyward to the delight of the crowd, perhaps believing he’d done enough.
Harper also competed again, but only homered only eight times in the 20-swing first round, one of four who failed to make the cut.
Schwarber defeated Contreras by one homer with nine in his semifinal, while Walker made easy work of Caminero in the other.
In the first round, Contreras and Walker each clubbed 13 homers, while Caminero had 12 and Schwarber hit 10 to round out the top four.
Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami (nine), the Kansas City Royals’ Jac Caglianone (eight) and the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice (seven) joined Harper among those eliminated in the first round.
Schwarber needed a late surge in the first round to qualify for the latter stages, but was in his element once he got there.
With three swings to go in his semifinal against Contreras, he raised an arm to implore the crowd for more noise, then clubbed his eighth and ninth homers. Those fans then cheered every Contreras miss, eventually roaring approval when he fell one short of forcing a tiebreaker.
Caminero had the evening’s longest home run at 491 feet in his semifinal. And while Caglianone did not move on, he became the first hitter to touch the third deck in right field since Phillies legend Ryan Howard did it on a 2009 grand slam.
In the city of Rocky Balboa, Joe Frazier and Bernard Hopkins, Philadelphia leaned into its combative spirit from the start.
Famous boxing master of ceremonies Michael Buffer introduced the eight contestants, who strode into a makeshift ring at second base, as the crowd booed everyone but their hometown heroes.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Sports
Robert Lewandowski could debut as Fire host Whitecaps
Jul 30, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski (9) gets ready to take a penalty kick in a tie breaker during a Champions Tour friendly match against Manchester City at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images The Vancouver Whitecaps visit the Chicago Fire on Thursday when the MLS regular season resumes play, and what was already an intriguing matchup between two of the league’s top teams now carries the possibility of Robert Lewandowski’s MLS debut.
Lewandowski signed a Designated Player contract with the Fire at the end of June and could see some on-field action as soon as Thursday. With the Fire (8-4-2, 26 points) already sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference, the team could emerge as full-fledged MLS Cup contenders with the two-time Best FIFA Men’s Player winner in the fold.
The 37-year-old Polish International comes to Chicago after finishing a four-season stint with Barcelona. The European side won three LaLiga championships during his tenure.
“I saw that already the team developed a lot the last months if you compare this season and the last season,” Lewandowski said during a Tuesday press conference.
“I’ve seen they’re doing a great job, and I hope I help my teammates, my new colleagues, to play better (and) to win more games. … And always when I’m starting to play at a new club, always in front of me is to win some titles.”
Lewandowski and Hugo Cuypers might already be the league’s most dangerous striker pairing. Cuypers leads MLS with 13 goals this season.
The Fire and Whitecaps are playing their first regular-season match since May 23, as MLS was on hiatus due to the FIFA World Cup.
Vancouver got a chance to shake off some rust in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Championship. The Whitecaps advanced in the tournament with a 5-2 aggregate win over Calvary FC in matches played on July 8 and 13.
“I think the physical state of the team looks very good,” Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen said Monday. “A lot of players have played a lot of minutes in these two games, and we’ve seen that they’ve been capable of doing so. … We got tested very, very well before going into (MLS play).”
The Whitecaps (10-2-2, 32 points) are in first place in the Western Conference, and one point behind Nashville SC in the Supporters’ Shield standings. Vancouver’s plus-22 goal differential is the best in MLS.
Ryan Gauld is expected to make his regular-season debut on Thursday after recovering from offseason surgery on his left knee. Ralph Priso likely won’t play, as Sorensen said the midfielder is still dealing with a lingering left hamstring injury.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros trade RHP Lance McCullers Jr. to Brewers
Apr 24, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (43) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images The Houston Astros finalized a trade to send right-hander Lance McCullers Jr., left-hander Colton Gordon and cash to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. The Astros received minor league outfielder Jadyn Fielder in return.
McCullers, a two-time World Series winner and former American League All-Star, has pitched only 39 1/3 innings this season, posting a 2-3 record with a 6.86 ERA in eight starts.
He has been on the 15-day injured list since May 21 with right shoulder inflammation. The 32-year-old earns $17 million this season in the final campaign of his five-year, $85 million contract.
McCullers is 53-40 with a 3.85 ERA in 154 career games (148 starts) with the Astros since 2015. He was an All-Star in 2017 and won World Series titles in 2017 and 2022, but he missed three entire seasons (2019, 2023-24) due to injuries.
Gordon, 27, has surrendered 12 earned runs in four appearances in the majors this season, spanning 9 1/3 innings. He was 6-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) with Triple-A Sugar Land.
The 21-year-old Fielder is the son of Prince Fielder and the grandson of Cecil Fielder. The latter two combined for nine All-Star selections and 638 home runs in 25 MLB seasons. Jadyn Fielder is hitting .233 (31-for-133) with Class-A Wilson in his first full professional season, and has three home runs and 23 RBIs across 45 games.
The Brewers’ starting rotation has been affected by several injuries recently. Kyle Harrison (8-2, 3.01) sits on the 15-day IL while Brandon Woodruff (2-2, 2.98) recently joined the 60-day IL. Logan Henderson (3-1, 3.18) returned to active duty July 9 after missing six weeks.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Paige Bueckers, Wings to test 5-game win streak vs. Liberty
Jul 12, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Sky during the first half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images The Dallas Wings will look to expand on their season-best five-game winning streak when they host the slumping New York Liberty on Thursday in Arlington, Texas.
The teams are on different paths in advance of their third and final meeting of the season. Dallas took the first two matchups, both in Brooklyn, including an 88-77 decision on July 7 that started the Liberty’s current three-game losing streak.
The Wings (16-8) return to the floor after a gritty 96-91 win over Chicago on Sunday in a game played at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Paige Bueckers led the way with 22 points and 11 assists in that victory, while Jessica Shepard finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Arike Ogunbowale had 17 points, Azzi Fudd scored 16 and Li Yueru racked up 10 points and 10 boards.
Dallas won despite trailing by 10 points in the third quarter.
“We’re still continuing to find our identity,” Bueckers said. “We’re not perfect, and (the win over Chicago) wasn’t even close to our best game. But we stuck together, dug in, found a way to win, and I think that’s really been the key.”
Sunday’s performance marked just the third time in Wings history, and the first since July 31, 2018 (also at home against Chicago), that three Dallas players produced a double-double in the same game.
The victory pushed Dallas to its longest winning streak since the 2023 season — the most recent time the Wings have made the postseason. A triumph on Thursday would earn Dallas its longest winning streak since the 2015 campaign, when it forged eight consecutive wins early in the year and later six straight before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs.
Bueckers earned WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday for the first time in her career after averaging 23.6 points per game, 7.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds as Dallas carried a 5-0 record during the stretch.
The Liberty, meanwhile, are struggling. They head to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex having dropped five of their past six games and seven of their last 10.
New York’s most recent outing was a 93-91 road setback to the Toronto Tempo on Sunday in which it rallied from 16 points down after three quarters to tie the game on Breanna Stewart’s layup with 1:30 to play. After Toronto took the lead, Stewart missed a contested layup with 8.6 seconds left on the Liberty’s final offensive possession.
Sabrina Ionescu scored 28 points to lead the Liberty (13-11) in the loss. Stewart had 22, Pauline Astier finished with 14 points and Jonquel Jones collected 10 points and 10 boards.
New York has trailed by at least 13 points at some juncture in five of its past seven games and has dropped all five of those contests.
“It’s a matter of will and want,” Ionescu said. “And I’d say everyone that stepped out (on the floor) in that second half, especially, played with a lot of assertiveness and tried to do everything you could to get a win.”
–Field Level Media
Robert Lewandowski could debut as Fire host Whitecaps
Astros trade RHP Lance McCullers Jr. to Brewers
