Sports
Alex Bowman announces retirement following 2027 racing season
Jun 13, 2026; Long Pond, Pennsylvania, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman signs an autograph for a fan during practice and qualifying for The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images NASCAR driver Alex Bowman said Thursday he will retire from full-time racing following the 2027 season.
Bowman signed a one-year extension to keep him in the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports prior to the announcement.
“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what’s next, and this feels like the right decision at the right time,” Bowman said. “The sport asks a lot of you, and I’ve learned it’s important to listen to your body and make the right choices for yourself. …
“My focus now is on making the most of my time on the racetrack and competing for wins. We still have a lot to accomplish, and I want to close my career on a high note for our team and our fans. To have the chance to do that with this organization and these people is really special.”
Bowman, 33, battled vertigo earlier this season. He had an incident in a race in Austin, Texas, in early March and ended up missing four races.
“I was dizzy in the car and throwing up on myself in the car, spinning and kind of all that stuff,” Bowman said last month.
In 12 years, Bowman has eight Cup Series wins and seven playoff appearances. His most recent victory came in the Chicago street race in 2024.
Among his other wins were prevailing at tracks in Richmond, Dover, the Poconos, Martinsville and Las Vegas.
He also had three consecutive top-six finishes at the Daytona 500 from 2023-25. Bowman placed fifth in 2023, second in 2024 behind teammate William Byron and sixth in 2025.
This season, Bowman ranks 29th in points, far behind the 16-driver cutoff for the postseason.
Next season will be Bowman’s 10th with Hendrick Motorsports.
“Alex has meant so much to our organization for a long time,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “He’s overcome adversity, won big races and represented our team and partners with professionalism, personality and class.
“Alex is a tremendous talent in the race car and an even better person outside of it. We’re proud he’ll have the opportunity to finish his full-time career with us on his terms. He’s family.”
The Tucson, Ariz., native also missed time in 2022 due to a concussion and 2023 because of a back injury.
–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
Sports
Cubs get timely hitting to down Pirates in extras
Jul 24, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch (29) greets designated hitter Pedro Ramírez (75) crossing home plate with the game winning run on a bases loaded walk against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the tenth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Dansby Swanson had an RBI single in the 10th inning to fuel the visiting Chicago Cubs in a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
Pedro Ramirez reached on an infield single to join automatic runner Ian Happ on the bases in the 10th inning. Swanson’s single to center field off Yohan Ramirez (6-3) plated Happ to give Chicago a 2-1 lead, and Seiya Suzuki tacked on a crucial insurance run by drawing a bases-loaded walk.
That made a winner out of Caleb Thielbar (3-2), who retired the side in order in the ninth inning. Gavin Hollowell yielded a run-scoring groundout in the 10th before securing his first save of the season.
Yohan Ramirez permitted two runs on two hits with two walks in one inning.
Pete Crow-Armstrong belted a solo homer and had two of the six hits for the Cubs, who have won four of their last six games.
Henry Davis had an RBI single and joined Jake Mangum and Ryan O’Hearn in recording two hits for the Pirates.
Marcell Ozuna and Brandon Lowe each worked a walk off Matthew Boyd to lead off the fifth inning and Jared Triolo reached on an infield single to load the bases. Ozuna came home to open the scoring while Davis legged out an infield single to second base.
Boyd, however, limited the damage by retiring the next three batters to end the inning.
The slim advantage didn’t last long, as Crow-Armstrong deposited a 3-1 slider from Jared Jones over the wall in right field in the sixth inning. Crow-Armstrong’s homer was his team-leading 22nd of the season and first since he went deep on two occasions against the Baltimore Orioles on July 8.
Chicago second baseman Nico Hoerner kept the game scoreless in the third inning after following up his diving stop on a grounder in the hole by throwing behind Davis at third base. Alex Bregman, the Cubs’ third baseman, raced up the third-base line and tagged Davis to end the inning.
Happ, a left fielder, kept the game tied at 1-1 after throwing out Davis at the plate to end the seventh inning.
–Field Level Media
