Sports
Cubs ride high-octane offense into rematch vs. Cardinals
Jul 27, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (2) is congratulated by third baseman Alex Bregman (3) after hitting a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs are playing like a team that could make some noise in the postseason, but manager Craig Counsell knows there still is work to be done.
The Cubs will look to build on their momentum when they continue a four-game series against the host St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. Chicago pounded out 14 hits in a 7-3 win on Monday.
Alex Bregman and Nico Hoerner each homered and had four hits for Chicago, which has won 26 of its last 38 games and holds a 5 1/2-game lead as the first wild card in the National League.
The Cubs have 25 runs over their past three games, going 2-1.
“Look, I think we have shown that we can play at a high level,” Counsell said. “The best thing about a major league season is you can’t fake your record, man, over 162 games. It’s too many games. And so, I feel like the teams that get to October, they’ve earned it. And we’ve got a long way to go.”
St. Louis has lost eight of its last 10 games and is a 1 1/2 games behind the final NL wild-card spot. The Cardinals also are back at .500 for the first time since April 13, when they were 8-8.
Like the Cubs, St. Louis is expected to be active ahead of the trade deadline next Monday. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said he has been connecting with his players to keep them focused amid any possible distractions.
“I just try to make sure we’re available to the guys that want to have a conversation to make sure that they’re in the right headspace,” Marmol said. “That’s basically it.”
The expected pitching matchup for Tuesday’s game will feature a pair of right-handers as the Cardinals’ Michael McGreevy (4-8, 3.07 ERA) faces Chicago’s Colin Rea (7-7, 4.85).
McGreevy, 26, allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings in a 10-6 home loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. He settled in after giving up a two-run homer to Tyler Locklear in the fourth inning.
“I think if I execute that pitch and I throw it a little farther down in the zone, it’s not a homer,” McGreevy said. “He might take it, he might hit a double down the line, but it’s not a two-run shot. But that’s just something you can learn from.”
Ian Happ is 4-for-8 against McGreevy, who is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA in three career starts vs. the Cubs.
Chicago will counter with Rea, who allowed four runs over five innings in a 5-1 home loss to the Detroit Tigers last Wednesday.
Rea, 36, has given up 17 home runs in 105 2/3 innings this season, including a three-run blast by Hao-Yu Lee in the loss to Detroit.
“I just threw a get-me-over fastball, and he put a good swing on it,” Rea said. “With two outs there, you’ve got to be thinking a little bit better. Even though it’s 3-0 there, you’ve still got to make a better pitch.”
Lars Nootbaar is 4-for-13 (.308) against Rea, who is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in five career starts vs. St. Louis.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros' 4-run small-ball rally in ninth inning sinks Angels
Jul 27, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels second baseman Vaughn Grissom (5) hits a home run during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images LaMonte Wade Jr. drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk during a four-run ninth inning as the Houston Astros rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday in Anaheim, Calif.
The decisive rally featured just one hit, a single that did not knock in a run.
Taylor Trammell homered, walked twice, was hit by a pitch and scored twice as Houston took the opener of a three-game series, its sixth win in seven games. The Astros trailed 4-0 after three innings.
Astros reliever Cristian Javier (1-1) allowed three hits and no walks over five shutout innings, striking out seven. Josh Hader pitched around two walks in the bottom of the ninth to pick up his 13th save.
Vaughn Grissom went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs for Los Angeles, which lost for the ninth time this season when leading after eight innings. Jose Fermin (3-2) was charged with three runs, one earned, while recording only one out.
Houston trailed 4-2 entering the ninth. Trammell was hit by a pitch to open the inning, advanced to second on a passed ball and went to third on a single by Christian Walker. Lucas Spence then hit a potential double-play grounder that bounced past Grissom at second, allowing Trammell to score.
It looked as if the Angels might get out of the jam when Christian Vazquez popped out on a bunt and pinch runner Nick Allen was thrown out at the plate on Jeremy Pena’s grounder to third. However, after Yordan Alvarez was intentionally walked to load the bases, reliever Sam Bachman hit Isaac Paredes with a pitch to force in the tying run, then walked Wade to make it 5-4.
Bachman subsequently mishandled Jose Altuve’s comebacker, allowing Alvarez to score.
Los Angeles took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Astros starter Tatsuya Imai walked Zach Neto and Mike Trout to begin the frame, and both runners advanced on a balk. Nolan Schanuel drove in Neto with a sacrifice fly as Trout tagged and advanced to third. After Jorge Soler walked, Grissom singled to drive in Trout.
The Angels extended the lead to 4-0 in the third inning on Grissom’s seventh homer, a 395-foot drive to left-center, and Jo Adell’s RBI bloop double down the right field line.
Houston cut the gap to 4-1 in the fourth inning on Trammell’s fifth home run, a 412-foot shot into the bleachers in right-center.
The Astros closed within 4-2 in the eighth inning when Pena led off with a double into the left field corner and scored on a single by Alvarez, his American League-leading 78th RBI.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Conor McGregor calls for 'Last Dance' vs. Max Holloway in '27
Jul 11, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Conor McGregor on the ground during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Conor McGregor laid out his long-term plan on Monday, seeking a rematch of his recent loss to Max Holloway in what would be the final bout of his UFC deal.
In an Instagram post that references the UFC’s International Fight Week next July, McGregor wrote, “What was to be a generational beating is now to be reset. IFW 2027. The Last Dance.”
Should McGregor oppose Holloway again, it would be the pair’s third matchup.
In a welterweight fight at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on July 11, Holloway (28-9) won by technical knockout in just 69 seconds after McGregor (22-7) hurt his right knee on an early kick.
The two fighters also squared off in August 2013, when McGregor won by unanimous decision.
McGregor, a 38-year-old Irishman, is due to have his torn anterior cruciate ligament surgically repaired, which likely explains the long wait for the rematch.
Even though McGregor recently posted an Instagram video showing him going through leg exercises, UFC president Dana White said Sunday of McGregor, “Conor McGregor’s out for a year.”
The July 11 fight was McGregor’s first action in the Octagon in five years, since a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in Las Vegas. McGregor has lost each of his past three bouts and four of the past five.
Holloway, a 34-year-old Honolulu native, dropped a unanimous decision to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 in March in Las Vegas before bouncing back to defeat McGregor.
–Field Level Media
Sports
2B Curtis Mead (wrist) leaves Red Sox debut; X-rays negative
Jul 22, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hat and glove laying in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images Curtis Mead didn’t make it all the way through his Boston Red Sox debut on Monday, but the team is hopeful his injury isn’t serious.
The second baseman was plunked on the left wrist by a fastball from Athletics right-hander Jack Perkins in the fourth inning of Boston’s 4-2 victory at West Sacramento, Calif.
X-rays were negative, and the Red Sox termed Mead day-to-day with a bruised wrist.
“Squeezing my hand feels OK,” Mead said. “Just a little bit of pain rotating. We already got an X-ray and everything looked OK, so I’m hopeful that I’ll feel better (Tuesday) morning and it won’t be a problem.”
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said, “It looks like we dodged a bullet, maybe.”
Mead struck out in his lone at-bat before getting injured.
“Just super disappointed,” Mead said of leaving his club debut. “I wanted to come here and help the team and wanted to play. So yeah, it’s frustrating. But it was a pretty fun game. At least we were able to win my first game. That was the cool part of it.”
On Sunday, the Red Sox acquired Mead from the Washington Nationals in exchange for left-hander Connelly Early.
Mead was enjoying the best of his four major league seasons before the swap. In 87 games for Washington this year, he hit .254 with 17 homers, 17 doubles and 48 RBIs — all career highs.
The 25-year-old Australian played for the Tampa Bay Rays (2023-25) and the Chicago White Sox (2025) before the Nationals traded for him just before the start of the 2026 season.
In 240 career games, Mead owns a .244 batting average, a .321 on-base percentage, a .388 slugging percentage, 22 homers and 79 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Brandon Lowe's heroics help Pirates down Diamondbacks in 10
Astros' 4-run small-ball rally in ninth inning sinks Angels
