Sports
Nationals, in thick of wild-card race, turn to hot Cade Cavalli vs. Jays
Jun 25, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli (24) throws to the Philadelphia Phillies during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images Cade Cavalli will look to continue his torrid stretch and help the Washington Nationals bounce back against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
Toronto took the opening game of the three-game series 3-2 on Monday behind some stellar bullpen work after Max Scherzer kicked things off in his return to Nationals Park.
The Blue Jays’ Shane Bieber (2-1, 4.70 ERA) will oppose fellow right-hander Cavalli (7-4, 3.58) in the middle game of the series.
Bieber, 31, will make his seventh start of the season. Over his past two efforts, he has allowed only one earned run in 13 innings. On Thursday, he gave up a run on three hits over seven innings in a 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Rays in one of his best outings of the season.
“That was outstanding,” manager John Schneider said of Bieber’s effort. “Limiting hard contact against a really good offensive team, especially the top of the order. And we played really good defense behind him.”
Bieber has faced the Nationals once in his career, pitching six innings and allowing three runs on nine hits in a no-decision while a member of the Cleveland Guardians in 2023.
Cavalli is 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA, 45 strikeouts and six walks over his past six starts. Last time out, he struck out eight and pitched six scoreless innings in an 8-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. It was Cavalli’s third straight six-inning start, and five of the past six outings have been quality starts.
“His stuff’s so good,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said afterward. “He’s able to, it seems like, take it to a next level or another level when guys do get into scoring position, and there’s running threatening. He made some big pitches for us.”
Cavalli has never faced the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays helped Scherzer celebrate his 42nd birthday Monday night, though he did not pick up the individual win after allowing a run on four hits in 2 2/3 innings. He threw 75 pitches against the Nationals, whom he played for from 2015-21.
Six relievers combined to allow one run as closer Louis Varland finished — though he made it interesting by giving up a two-out single and a walk before striking out Luis Garcia Jr. to end the game.
Luis Urias homered, Myles Straw had an RBI single and a double, and Ernie Clement doubled in a run for Toronto, which had lost seven of 10 games since the All-Star break heading into Monday’s game.
“It’s frustrating as heck that we’re in this position, but we’re professionals,” Scherzer said of Toronto’s last-place standing in the American League East. “We have a job to do. … You’ve got to go out there and do everything you can to win, every single day. That’s the mentality we have in the clubhouse, and we kind of let the other stuff just be noise.”
Andres Chaparro hit a pinch-hit homer, and Garcia and Nasim Nunez had two hits each for the Nationals, who had won two straight entering the game.
Washington sits one game out of the third and final wild-card spot in the National League.
“It just felt like a night when we had opportunities and couldn’t capitalize,” Butera said after Washington went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. “It’s frustrating doing that when the pitching’s as good as it was for us tonight.”
Chaparro is batting .323 (10-for-31) with five homers, eight runs and 14 RBIs across his past 14 games.
CJ Abrams — named NL Player of the Week after going 15-for-26 (.577) with six home runs, 12 RBIs, and eight runs scored in six games — went 0-for2 with two walks.
–Field Level Media
Sports
ATP roundup: Terence Atmane upsets Frances Tiafoe in Washington
Jul 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Terence Atmane (FRA) hits a backhand against Frances Tiafoe (USA) (not pictured) on day one of the Mubadala DC Open 2026 at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images France’s Terence Atmane avenged a first-round Wimbledon loss to Frances Tiafoe, prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Monday in the first round of the Mubadala DC Open in Washington.
Tiafoe, a Washington-area native, was the tournament’s sixth seed.
Atmane got the decisive service break in the next-to-last game, then served out the match.
Earlier in the day, third-seeded Taylor Fritz swept his service games and rolled to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.
Fritz saved all four break points he faced while converting two of his four break opportunities. The California native was playing his first match since losing in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon to Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
Fourth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti won an all-Italian matchup when Matteo Arnaldi retired while trailing 6-0, 3-1. Musetti was returning from injury issues that kept him out since early May.
Also advancing to the second round were Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic, Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.
Mifel Tennis Open
Australia’s Bernard Tomic was nearly perfect in the first round at Los Cabos, Mexico, powering to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Mexico’s Alex Hernandez.
Hernandez, a 27-year-old qualifier who is ranked No. 498 in the world, held serve while trailing 5-0 in the first set to avoid a double bagel. Tomic, a 33-year-old who is ranked 171st, made the main draw as a lucky loser from qualifying.
In other first-round action, U.S. qualifier Tristan Boyer downed Canada’s Gabriel Diallo 7-5, 6-2. The night slate included fifth-seeded Cameron Norrie of the United Kingdom facing Aleksandar Kovacevic, and Hong Kong’s Chak Lam Coleman Wong opposing Darwin Blanch.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Former DC champ Liudmila Samsonova wins opener
Jul 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Liudmila Samsonova celebrates after her match against Madison Keys (USA) (not pictured) on day one of the Mubadala DC Open 2026 at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Liudmila Samsonova, the 2022 Mubadala DC Open champion, enjoyed her return to Washington on Monday, beating sixth-seeded Madison Keys 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.
The Russian withstood 10 aces from Keys by winning 80% of her first-serve points (35 of 44).
It was a less stressful day for other seeded players, as eighth-seeded Emma Navarro defeated Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5 and seventh-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Canada controlled Poland’s Magda Linette 6-1, 6-4.
Other winners on Monday were Ashlyn Krueger, Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Indonesia’s Janice Tjen.
Memphis Classic
Katie Volynets battled for a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (3) upset win against third-seeded Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in first-round action at Memphis.
Volynets rallied after losing the first three games of the final set. Golubic was hurt by committing eight double faults without serving an ace in the match.
The only other seeded player in action, fifth-seeded Camila Osorio of Colombia, defeated Australian qualifier Storm Hunter 7-5, 7-5. Osorio prevailed on 76% (26 of 34) of her first-serve points.
Other Monday winners were Australia’s Maya Joint, Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova and Tatiana Prozorova, Germany’s Tatjana Maria and Belarus’ Iryna Shymanovich.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tyler Mahle, 3 Giants relievers shut out Brewers in series opener
Jul 27, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tyler Mahle (54) throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Tyler Mahle limited the Milwaukee Brewers to three hits over six-plus innings, Grant McCray smacked a two-run homer and the San Francisco Giants defeated the visiting National League Central leaders 3-0 on Monday.
Mahle (3-9) never allowed a runner past second base, aided by three double plays in the opener of a three-game series.
Milwaukee’s only baserunners against the veteran right-hander came via singles by Jake Bauers, Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio plus walks drawn by Vaughn and Cooper Pratt.
Bauers’ hit and Vaughn’s walk came consecutively with one out in the second inning in a scoreless game. Mahle then got Garrett Mitchell to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
En route to their third win in four games on their current homestand, the Giants took the lead for good in the third against Brewers starter Brandon Sproat (3-6). Jesus Rodriguez led off with a double and Luis Arraez followed with an RBI single.
McCray belted his first homer of the season and the sixth of his three-year career in the fourth after Willy Adames stroked a two-out single.
Mahle was pulled with a 3-0 lead after allowing a leadoff single to Chourio in the seventh. Sam Hentges came on to retire the next three Brewers to complete the inning. Dylan Smith threw a 1-2-3 eighth and Erik Miller struck out two of the three men he faced in a perfect ninth for his third save.
Winning for the second time in his past three starts, Mahle struck out three.
Sproat went six innings and was charged with all three Giants runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out five.
Garrett Stallings kept the visitors within arm’s length with two shutout innings in relief. Milwaukee, nonetheless, was beaten for just the third time in its past 10 games.
The Giants logged their third in five games against the Brewers this season.
–Field Level Media
ATP roundup: Terence Atmane upsets Frances Tiafoe in Washington
WTA roundup: Former DC champ Liudmila Samsonova wins opener
