Sports
Angels end 7-game skid with offensive outburst against Rangers
Jul 8, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jo Adell celebrates after he hits a three run home run against the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning at Globe Life Field. Jo Adell hit two homers and drove in a career-high five runs as the Los Angeles Angels snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 13-1 rout of the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas.
Vaughn Grissom had four hits and four RBIs and Mike Trout homered in his return off the injured list for the Angels.
It was the 10th multi-home run game of Adell’s career. Zach Neto went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs. Denzer Guzman doubled and singled, and Jose Siri had two hits and an RBI. Josh Lowe scored twice for Los Angeles, which finished with 15 hits.
Trout, sidelined since June 18 with a right hamstring injury, went 1-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs while playing designated hitter.
Samy Natera Jr. (1-0) picked up his first major league victory in relief of Walbert Urena, striking out five of the six batters he faced during two perfect innings. Urena gave up only a third-inning single to left by Josh Smith, who was thrown out at second by Lowe trying to stretch it into a double.
Kyle Higashioka homered for Texas, which finished with just three hits. MacKenzie Gore (5-8) allowed seven runs on nine hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out seven.
Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Neto led off with a double into the left field corner and scored one out later on Grissom’s single to center.
Adell extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth with a two-run opposite-field homer to right, driving in Grissom, who had singled.
The Angels then broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by a 433-foot three-run homer to left-center by Adell.
Grissom extended the lead to 9-0 in the sixth with a two-run double. Trout, celebrating the 15-year anniversary of his major league debut, made it 11-0 with a two-run homer in the eighth, a 438-foot drive to left.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nneka Ogwumike, Rae Burrell guide Sparks to victory over Fever
Jul 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks to pass as Los Angeles Sparks guard Erica Wheeler (17) defends during the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Nneka Ogwumike scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Rae Burrell finished with 22 points, and the Los Angeles Sparks earned a 106-92 win over the visiting Indiana Fever on Wednesday.
Los Angeles (9-11) ended a run of three consecutive losses, all blowouts, since Kelsey Plum sustained a left leg injury on June 21. Included in that run was a 111-87 setback at Indiana on June 27.
However, in the return matchup on Wednesday, the Sparks found the right combination of balanced offense and defense to pull out of their tailspin. Every Los Angeles player who saw the floor scored, led by all five starters reaching double figures.
Dearica Hamby posted 21 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Ariel Atkins and Erica Wheeler each added 12 points. Wheeler dished six assists and Ogwumike added five.
Burrell shot 9-for-15 from the floor to finish two points shy of matching her career high. Burrell also delivered in clutch moments during the second half, including one fourth-quarter sequence in which she dished to a streaking Erica Wheeler for a basket, then on the ensuing possession attacked the rim for a twisting reverse layup.
Burrell’s big night also included a pair of 3-pointers, as the Sparks shot 9-for-20 from long range to match their total of made triples from the previous two games combined.
Indiana (12-9) welcomed Caitlin Clark back to the lineup after she missed two games with a back injury, but the third-year guard was limited to 15:39 of playing time. She shot just 4-of-12 from the floor and finished with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.
Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers with 29 points to pace Indiana. Damiris Dantas scored 12, and Tyasha Harris added 10. Monique Billings grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Fever were without leading rebounder and key interior presence Aliyah Boston, however. She was scratched from the lineup due to a right leg injury.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pete Crow-Armstrong homers twice as Cubs outslug Orioles
Jul 8, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) is congratulated by infielder Michael Busch (29) after hitting a home run in the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two of Chicago’s five home runs and the Cubs held on to beat the host Baltimore Orioles 9-7 on Wednesday night.
Crow-Armstrong’s second long ball of the game and 21st of the season put the Cubs ahead for good, 4-3 in the fifth inning, before the teams combined for nine runs across the last three innings.
Michael Conforto and Carson Kelly hit back-to-back solo blasts in the fifth, then two batters later, Crow-Armstrong went deep. Crow-Armstrong earlier hit a solo shot in the third inning, and Seiya Suzuki added a three-run homer in the seventh.
The Cubs, who will go for a sweep of the three-game series on Thursday, produced their offense with eight hits and four walks. They won for the eighth time in the past 10 games.
Tyler O’Neill hit two home runs across the final three innings for the Orioles, and Pete Alonso and Coby Mayo also homered. Jackson Holliday rapped four of Baltimore’s 14 hits, but he never scored a run in what became the team’s third consecutive loss.
Right-hander Colin Rea (7-5) won his second start in a row, allowing three runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two. Jacob Webb was called upon to pitch the ninth, and the right-hander notched his fourth save by retiring the side in order.
Baltimore right-hander Dean Kremer (1-2) gave up four runs on six hits in five innings in his second start after coming off the injury list. He fanned four and walked one.
Following Crow-Armstrong’s third-inning home run, the Orioles built a 3-1 lead on Alonso’s two-run homer in the fourth.
Chicago’s three-homer fifth inning was followed by a five-run seventh for a 9-3 advantage.
O’Neill entered the game in the seventh as a pinch hitter and delivered his first homer of the game. The Orioles tacked on another run on Taylor Ward’s run-scoring single but stranded two runners on base while trailing 9-5.
Mayo slugged a pinch-hit homer in the eighth before O’Neill made it back-to-back blasts for the Orioles.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mookie Betts' tiebreaking hit sends Dodgers to series win over Rockies
Jul 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker (23) hits a 2-RBI single in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Mookie Betts delivered a go-ahead single in the eighth inning and Kyle Tucker drove in two runs as the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off a 4-3 victory over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.
Roki Sasaki rebounded from a shaky outing last week to allow three runs over six innings as the Dodgers managed to win two of three in the series despite seeing early leads erased in all three games. Los Angeles improved to 21-3 at home against Colorado since 2023.
Edgardo Henriquez (4-0) recorded one out to earn the win, and Tanner Scott pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 13th save.
In his first career start and second appearance, Colorado’s Gabriel Hughes allowed three runs over six innings, and he retired 16 of the last 17 batters he faced. Kyle Karros and Edouard Julien homered for the Rockies, who played a trio of one-run games against Los Angeles.
The Dodgers were quick to get to Hughes in the opening inning. Tommy Edman singled with one out, Freddie Freeman doubled and Betts walked to load the bases. Edman scored on a wild pitch, and Tucker later delivered a two-out, two run single for a 3-0 lead.
Karros and Julien both went deep in the second inning, cutting the Rockies’ deficit to 3-2. It was Karros’ eighth of the season and second ever at Dodger Stadium, where his father, Eric Karros, holds the ballpark record with 130 homers.
Colorado pulled even in the third inning when Brett Sullivan walked and ultimately scored on a sacrifice fly by Mickey Moniak.
Hughes allowed four hits and two walks while fanning seven. Sasaki gave up four hits and a walk, and he struck out five.
The Rockies missed out on a chance to take the lead in the eighth inning when they had runners on second and third with no outs and the bases loaded with one out. TJ Rumfield struck out against Alex Vesia, and Karros flied out against Henriquez.
Edman and Freeman hit one-out singles in the bottom of the eighth off Antonio Senzatela (8-1) before Betts provided the tiebreaking hit.
–Field Level Media
