Sports
Facing Cards, Kevin Gausman could make final start for Jays
Jul 26, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images With the Monday trade deadline looming, Kevin Gausman could be making his final start for the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon when he opposes the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
The right-hander’s name has been among the most frequently mentioned in trade rumors since he can become a free agent in the offseason.
“I don’t want to go anywhere, but I also understand that it’s a possibility,” Gausman told Sportsnet. “It’s kind of where we’re at the way we’ve played up to this point. But you just never know in this game. I’ve been around long enough to kind of know that, and that’s why I feel so lucky that I’ve been here long enough that this is the first year where I have to kind of deal with this.
“Whatever happens, it’s kind of out of my control.”
The Blue Jays have won two in a row after defeating the Cardinals 3-1 on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series. Pinch hitter Luis Urias snapped a tie with a two-run single in the eighth inning.
“No matter what happens over the next couple days, I want the guys to play like they did today and have a little bit of urgency,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
The Blue Jays are 4 1/2 games out of the third American League wild-card spot, but their task is made all the more difficult given that five teams stand in the way. As a result, speculation continues that Gausman (4-10, 4.51 ERA) could be traded. He is 1-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 11 career games (seven starts) against St. Louis.
The Cardinals are in a trickier position. They are three games out of a National League playoff spot after their loss and have four teams in between, so players like their outfielder Lars Nootbaar have been mentioned in rumors.
If Gausman makes his scheduled outing Saturday, the middle game of the series will feature starting pitchers from opposite ends of the spectrum.
At the other end is left-hander Quinn Mathews, who is slated to make his major league debut Saturday for the Cardinals after being promoted from Triple-A Memphis.
The 25-year old Mathews was 5-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 19 appearances (all starts) at Memphis following a slow start to the season. He was 0-2 with a 4.58 ERA in five starts in April and 1-1 with a 5.85 ERA in five starts in May.
Since the beginning of June, Mathews is 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA while holding hitters to a .131 batting average.
“He’s put together some really good games down below,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “And we’re looking forward — and I’m personally looking forward — to seeing it at this level.”
Mathews said that he changed his routine between starts to help improve his command.
“I got tired of (stinking), to be honest with you, in terms of command,” Mathews said on Friday. “You walk three, four, five guys in an outing, you’re not in the zone. You can only go so many innings. You’re not efficient. You can’t pitch deep in the game. You can’t put together quality starts.”
In Friday moves by Toronto, right-hander Braydon Fisher was reinstated from the restricted list (bereavement) and left-hander Adam Macko was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.
Outfielder Jesus Sanchez was activated from the injured list (sprained right ankle) and Yohendrick Pinango was optioned to Buffalo. Sanchez started in left field Friday and was 0-for-2 before leaving for a pinch hitter.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Keyshawn Davis withdraws from welterweight title bout with Devin Haney
Feb 8, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Jose Pedraza (gold/black trunks) and Keyshawn Davis (blue/gold trunks) box during their WBO Intercontinental Lightweight bout at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Keyshawn Davis is pulling out of his ordered welterweight title bout with champion Devin Haney, the WBO announced Friday.
The WBO said Davis’ decision was due to his split of the purse. Davis was set to receive 25%, or $2.14 million, as the mandatory challenger. Haney would’ve pocketed 75%, or $6.41 million, as the reigning champion.
Top Rank, Davis’ representation, secured the rights to the bout Thursday with a purse bid of $8.55 million.
“The matter will now be referred to the WBO Championship Committee and Ratings Committee for the appropriate ruling under the WBO World Championship Rules and Regulations,” the WBO said.
Davis (15-0, 10 KOs) is a former WBO lightweight champion. His last fight was a unanimous victory over Nahir Albright in May.
Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) defeated Brian Norman Jr. in November to become the welterweight champion. He’s also won belts at lightweight and junior welterweight.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras leaves game after being hit in helmet
Jul 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Boston Red Sox infielder Willson Contreras (40) is hit in the head with a pitch thrown by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Cole Irvin (not pictured) during the third inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras was removed from Friday’s game in the third inning against the Dodgers in Los Angeles after he was hit in the helmet by a 95.4 mph fastball.
After Contreras was nearly hit by right-hander Will Klein on the first pitch of the at-bat, he was hit on a 1-1 pitch near his left ear. After a visit from a team trainer, Contreras took first base and played out the top of the third inning.
In the bottom of the third, Nick Sogard moved from second base to first base, while Anthony Seigler took over at second and assumed the No. 5 spot in the batting order in place of Contreras.
Contreras entered Friday’s game batting .289 with a .944 OPS, 23 home runs and 67 RBIs. In his first season in Boston, he was named an All-Star for the fourth time in his career.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Terry Rozier asks judge to throw out charges from gambling probe
Mar 31, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards guard AJ Johnson (5) during the first quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images The lawyers of Terry Rozier, in an effort to have two of the four federal charges against the NBA veteran thrown out, filed a motion Friday that a text message proves that Rozier was not involved in a sports gambling scheme.
Attorney David Markus wrote that Deniro Laster, a co-defendant and a friend of Rozier, sent a text on March 29, 2023, to a person to not tell Rozier of the bet made on him six days prior, while Rozier was with the Charlotte Hornets.
Rozier’s lawyers said he did not know anyone was betting on his statistics during that game and never agreed to change his play on the court to appease sports gamblers.
“Don’t tell chum ’bout the bet,” Laster said in the message, referring to Rozier by what his lawyers say is his nickname.
“This should end the case,” lawyers for Rozier wrote in the legal filing. “One does not hide a bet from the person who supposedly sold it.”
Federal prosecutors responded with a motion for the judge to deny Rozier’s request, writing that they have “developed evidence from multiple sources that this text chain does not relate to sports gambling.”
Markus and Anita Margot Moss, Rozier’s other attorney, are asking the charges of sports bribery and honest services fraud be dismissed from the case brought out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Markus and Moss also requested that the case be moved to the Southern District of Florida.
“Terry Rozier is innocent,” the lawyers for Rozier wrote in a motion to dismiss the case filed Friday. “He is a basketball player, not a gambler. He never bet on anything, never agreed to underperform, never did underperform, and did not know that anyone was wagering on his statistics in the Charlotte Hornets’ March 23, 2023, game.”
In December, Rozier asked the judge to throw out the other two counts — wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering — but the judge has not sent a decision.
According to federal prosecutors, Rozier agreed to accept $100,000 to remove himself from that March 2023 game with the Hornets so a group of gamblers would successfully wager on his prop bets. He failed to reach his season averages in points, assists and 3-pointers but eclipsed the over/under line on rebounds.
Rozier, one of six people originally charged, is set for a trial Feb. 8 along with former NBA player Damon Jones and Shane Hennen. Allegedly one of the gamblers involved in the probe, Hennen pleaded guilty earlier this week in a case that claimed he was involved in a rigged poker game scheme that implicated 30 others, including Hall of Famer and former Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups.
Rozier, 32, was arrested and charged in October before prosecutors added sports bribery and honest services wire fraud conspiracy counts to the case in May. Rozier pleaded not guilty and denied the charges through his attorneys.
–Field Level Media
Keyshawn Davis withdraws from welterweight title bout with Devin Haney
Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras leaves game after being hit in helmet
