Sports
Against Astros, Rangers counting on Evan Carter to carry hot bat into August
Jul 31, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers center fielder Evan Carter (32) runs to first base on a single during the second inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images After a miserable first few months of the 2026 season, Texas Rangers center fielder Evan Carter finally showed just what he can do in July.
Carter posted a sub-.200 batting average in each of the first three months of the schedule, but delivered in July with a .315 average and a .912 OPS in 22 games. As the Rangers battle the Houston Astros and the Seattle Mariners for first place in American League West, manager Skip Schumaker and the Rangers will want to see two more months like July from Carter.
The Rangers will look to avoid a sweep on Sunday against the Astros as the teams conclude a three-game series in Houston. The home team won the first two games, 11-2 and 5-4. The Astros are on a 10-1 streak and lead the AL West by 1 1/2 games over the Rangers and three over the Mariners.
Carter didn’t have a hit on Saturday but he walked twice and scored, and Schumaker acknowleged the 23-year-old still has plenty of room to grow. Although he has appeared in 131 games from 2023-25, this is Carter’s first season assigned full-time to the MLB roster.
“The thing is about certain young guys is you have to allow them to develop and to play,” Schumaker said. “You can’t just not play them anymore because they have a bad week (or) a bad month if they’re young. It’s different if they’re 32 years old and they’ve had a chance before.
“He hasn’t played this many games in the major leagues this consistently maybe his whole career. That means he’s still learning. He’s still learning on the bases. The instinctual stuff he’s still growing with, and as far as the at-bats, you can see them continuing to get better and better each month. It’s not surprising to me.”
Right-hander Kumar Rocker (4-8, 4.03 ERA) has the starting assignment on Sunday for the Rangers. He earned a 7-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners last Monday after allowing two runs on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. Rocker has won his past two starts, posting a 1.42 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings.
Rocker is 0-2 with a 9.28 ERA in two career starts against the Astros, both of which occured this season. He took a 9-3 home loss to Houston on July 11 after allowing seven runs on eight hits and two walks with six strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.
Right-hander Peter Lambert (8-5, 3.06 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Astros. He went 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in five starts last month with 32 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings. Lambert allowed two runs or fewer in each outing and has allowed more than two runs only once in his last 11 starts.
The Rangers are 8-3 in those games.
Lambert is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against the Rangers. Both of those decisions came this season; he is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts against Texas in 2026.
The Astros moved right-hander Tatsuya Imai to the bullpen instead of giving him his scheduled turn in the rotation on Sunday. Imai (6-4, 5.83 ERA) has labored throughout his first MLB season after nine seasons of pitching in Japan.
In his most recent start, against the Los Angeles Angels last Monday, Imai failed to complete one inning for the third time this season. The Astros won 6-4, however.
“We’re going to work on a couple of things that we noticed in his last start,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Just trying to get him going that way. Hopefully we can give him a few innings (out of the bullpen), but if not, we’ve got a pretty good plan here moving forward to get him back (on track).”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Warriors bringing back key reserve Gary Payton II
Apr 7, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II (0) makes a layup past Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) in the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images Gary Payton II is returning to the Golden State Warriors on a one-year contract for the veteran minimum of $3.9 million, according to multiple reports on Saturday.
Payton, 33, is a 6-foot-2 guard with the athleticism to play in the frontcourt. He’s coming off one of his best seasons after dealing with injuries in earlier seasons. Payton averaged a career-high 7.5 points along with 3.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 15.6 minutes in a career-best 73 games (one start) last season.
He averages 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 15.1 minutes in 343 regular-season games (52 starts) for the Milwaukee Bucks (2016-18), Los Angeles Lakers (2018), Washington Wizards (2019-20), Warriors (2020-22, 2023-present) and Portland Trail Blazers (2022-23).
He won the NBA championship with the Warriors in the 2021-22 season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Walk-filled 3rd inning helps Pirates beat Reds, snap 4-game skid
Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain (9) tags out Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez (55) on his way to second in the third inning between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, August 1, 2026. Pittsburgh starter Braxton Ashcraft threw five solid innings and Jake Mangum had two hits and a run to lift the visiting Pirates to a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.
Ashcraft (11-4) allowed one run on two hits with one walk and five strikeouts before a 106-minute weather delay preceded the bottom of the sixth inning.
Bryan Reynolds, Esmerlyn Valdez, Nick Gonzales and Henry Davis finished with an RBI apiece for the Pirates, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Gregory Soto pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 14th save. Three Pittsburgh pitchers combined to hold Cincinnati to three hits. The Pirates recorded six hits.
Pittsburgh took a 3-0 lead in the third despite collecting only one hit. Davis drew a leadoff walk, Mangum singled and Brandon Lowe coaxed a walk to load the bases. Reynolds and Valdez drew consecutive bases-loaded walks to make it 2-0.
Gonzales followed with a fielder’s choice to plate Brandon Lowe and give the Pirates a three-run lead. As a steady rain fell throughout the inning, the grounds crew briefly tended to the mound.
Cincinnati got on the board in the fifth when Jose Trevino opened the frame with an opposite-field homer to right.
The Pirates extended their advantage to 4-1 in the sixth when Davis feathered an RBI single into shallow center, just beyond the reach of a diving TJ Friedl.
The Reds, who were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, threatened in the fourth. Sal Stewart was hit by a pitch before being forced out at second on JJ Bleday’s fielder’s choice. Nathaniel Lowe singled to center and, after Noelvi Marte popped out, Bleday advanced to third when no one covered second on Ashcraft’s pickoff attempt. But Eugenio Suarez struck out to end the inning.
Elly De La Cruz lined a rocket to center to open the eighth, but Mangum chased it down and made a leaping catch.
Reds starter Andrew Abbott (5-7) allowed three runs on three hits while matching a season high with five walks over five innings. He struck out one.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hunter Goodman (2 HRs, 5 RBIs), Rockies rough up Royals
Aug 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman (15) celebrates with center fielder Brenton Doyle (9) in the dugout after hitting a three run home run during the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Hunter Goodman homered twice and drove in five, Willi Castro also went deep and the Colorado Rockies beat the Kansas City Royals 12-6 in Denver on Saturday night.
TJ Rumfield finished with three hits and three RBIs, Kyle Karros had two hits and two RBIs and Jake McCarthy also had two hits for Colorado, which won its 44th game of the season, eclipsing last year’s victory total with 51 games remaining.
Jac Caglianone, Salvador Perez homered and John Rave all went deep and Tyler Tolbert and Nick Loftin had two hits each for Kansas City, which pulled outfielder Lane Thomas from the game in the middle of the fourth inning. Multiple outlets reported Thomas had been traded to Atlanta along with left-hander Bailey Falter.
Rockies starter Ryan Feltner worked out of a jam in the first inning but couldn’t escape trouble in the second. Isaac Collins led off with a triple to the gap in right-center and one out later scored on Michael Massey’s sacrifice fly to left.
Tolbert started the third with a double to right and stole second, and two outs later Caglianone hit his 18th home run of the season. Perez followed with his 16th homer to give the Royals a 4-0 lead.
Feltner (4-5) allowed four runs on eight hits over six innings.
Kansas City starter Luinder Avila faltered in the third when Colorado sent 11 batters to the plate. The Rockies loaded the bases with two walks and a single, then Karros drove in the first two with a double and Rumfield made it 4-3 with a single.
Goodman capped the scoring with his 32nd home run of the season, breaking his franchise mark for homers by a catcher in a season that he set last year, and gave Colorado a 6-4 lead.
Avila (5-4) was charged with six runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings.
Colorado added to the lead in the fourth on Rumfield’s RBI single. Castro hit a solo homer in the fifth, his 12th, to make it 8-4.
Goodman extended his franchise record with a leadoff homer in the seventh and drove in another run in the Rockies’ three-run eighth. The Royals scored twice in the ninth.
-Field Level Media
Reports: Warriors bringing back key reserve Gary Payton II
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on August 2
