Sports
Jake Burger homers, drives in 3 as Rangers defeat Mariners
Jul 24, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger (21) hits a two run home run during the fourth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images Jake Burger hit a two-run homer and added a tiebreaking single as the Texas Rangers defeated the visiting Seattle Mariners 5-4 on Friday in the opener of a four-game series.
Wyatt Langford also went deep for Texas, which moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the defending division champion Mariners in the American League West.
Peyton Gray (5-0) pitched a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts to earn the victory. All-Star Jacob Latz worked the ninth for his 20th save despite allowing a run on a double by rookie Colt Emerson, a groundout and a wild pitch.
Texas broke a 3-all tie in the sixth. Brandon Nimmo lined a one-out single to right, and Evan Carter walked. That was it for Mariners starter Bryce Miller (4-5), who was replaced by Eduard Bazardo.
Burger grounded the reliever’s first pitch for a run-scoring single to center, with Carter advancing to third on the play. Nicky Lopez then dropped down a sacrifice bunt, with Bazardo’s underhanded toss going off the end of catcher Cal Raleigh’s mitt as Carter came home.
Elias Diaz lined a single to right, loading the bases, before Bazardo struck out Alejandro Osuna and got Joc Pederson to foul out down the third base line.
Miller was charged with five runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings as the native of nearby Mount Pleasant, Texas, dropped to 0-4 in six career starts against the Rangers. The right-hander walked one and didn’t strike out a batter.
The Rangers took an early lead as Langford homered with one out in the bottom of the first inning, taking a 1-1 splitter from Miller just over the fence in left.
Seattle tied it in the second. Josh Naylor drew a one-out walk and took second as Cole Young grounded a single into right field. With two outs, Weston Wilson lined a run-scoring single to right to make it 1-1.
The Rangers regained the lead with two runs in the fourth. Ezequiel Duran led off by lining a single to left. Two outs later, Burger went deep to right on an 0-2 fastball.
The Mariners again rallied to tie it in the next inning. Emerson and Randy Arozarena began the frame with singles to right. An out later, Dominic Canzone lined a two-run double to left-center that just got between the outfielders and rolled to the wall.
Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore gave up three runs on seven hits over five innings. The left-hander walked two and fanned five.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mets OF Juan Soto departs Dodgers game with left calf soreness
Jul 20, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) during batting practice prior to the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto experienced left calf soreness and was replaced during a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.
The slugger was given Wednesday off to help him recover from a calf issue. He was in the lineup batting second Friday as the designated hitter, and he walked in both of his plate appearances.
Jorge Polanco pinch-hit for Soto in the bottom of the sixth inning, striking out on a foul tip.
Soto, 27, is batting .283 this season with 21 home runs and 52 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Eduardo Rodriguez, Diamondbacks earn tight win over Nationals
Jul 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (17) watches game action against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Gabriel Moreno drove in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly as the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Friday.
Moreno and Tim Tawa each had two hits and an RBI for Arizona, which has won four straight and six of seven.
Dylan Crews hit a two-run homer for Washington, which had won three of four.
Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3) allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked three. Rodriguez pitched out of trouble on several occasions to bounce back from a poor outing against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Paul Sewald pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 24th save.
Washington bulk reliever Zack Littell (7-8) gave up a run on four hits over five innings, with five strikeouts and one walk. Opener Carson Palmquist was charged with two runs in 1 1/3 innings.
In the seventh, Ketel Marte hit a one-out single off Littell, who was lifted for Tom Cosgrove. Corbin Carroll singled and Geraldo Perdomo walked to load the bases. Moreno flied to deep left, driving in Marte scoring from third to make it 3-2.
The D-backs squandered a chance in the first. After Carroll and Perdomo drew one-out walks, Moreno blooped a single to center. Carroll had to wait for the ball to fall and stopped at third. Perdomo rounded second too far and was thrown out trying to get back.
When Andres Chaparro doubled with one out in the bottom of the first, Washington had runners on second and third, but Rodriguez struck out CJ Abrams and got Crews to fly out.
Arizona took a 2-0 lead in the second. Max Kepler led off with a double and Tyler Locklear walked. After Adrian Del Castillo bunted the runners over, Littell replaced Palmquist.
Tawa laid down a perfect bunt and was safe at first as Kepler scored. Marte hit into what appeared to be a 3-6-3 double play, but Arizona challenged and Marte was ruled safe at first with Locklear scoring on the play.
The Nationals tied it in the fourth when Abrams singled and Crews followed with a homer to left-center.
The first two Nationals reached in the sixth, but after a sacrifice bunt, Rodriguez fanned Harry Ford, walked Luis Garcia Jr. and got Nasim Nunez to ground out.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cam Schlittler twirls gem as Yankees blank Phillies
Jul 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Cam Schlittler struck out 12 in 7 1/3 innings as the visiting New York Yankees blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 Friday in the opener of a weekend series.
Schlittler (10-6) allowed just three hits and no walks, lowering his ERA to 2.07 and boosting his American League-leading strikeout total to 157. New York hitters weren’t much better, as the Yankees struck out 12 times against Jesus Luzardo (9-5) and two relievers.
Luzardo allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out nine. His only blemish was a home run by Paul Goldschmidt, who had homered just once in his previous 19 games.
With the teams combining for seven hits, Phillies fans did not have much to cheer about on a day that LeBron James agreed to join the Philadelphia 76ers. The Phillie Phanatic got into the act by mimicking LeBron’s chalk toss on the field to the roar of the crowd.
Neither team had a baserunner in the first three innings. Schlittler struck out two in the first, a pair in the second and two more in the third inning.
Goldschmidt opened the fourth with a leadoff homer against Luzardo. The New York first baseman got ahead 2-0 before sending a sinker into the right-field seats for his 16th homer of the season.
Philadelphia got its first baserunner in the bottom half when Kyle Schwarber doubled with one out. He advanced to third on a grounder but was stranded when Brandon Marsh struck out on four pitches.
New York nearly extended the lead in the fifth when its first two hitters reached base. However, Luzardo was able to escape the jam to keep the score at 1-0.
Schlittler allowed a two-out single to J.T. Realmuto in the fifth but struck out Gabriel Rincones Jr. to end the frame. He struck out two more in a 1-2-3 sixth.
After an uneventful seventh inning, the Phillies had runners on first and second with one out in the eighth. Brent Headrick relieved Schlittler and allowed a single before recovering to get Trea Turner and Schwarber with the bases jammed.
David Bednar needed only nine pitches to pick up his 19th save.
–Field Level Media
Mets OF Juan Soto departs Dodgers game with left calf soreness
Eduardo Rodriguez, Diamondbacks earn tight win over Nationals
