Sports
Ascending Twins seek greater heights vs. struggling Mariners
Jul 31, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Twins third baseman Brooks Lee (22) throws to first base for a force out on Seattle Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson (4) (not pictured) during the ninth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images For much of the season, it looked like the Minnesota Twins would be sellers at the MLB trade deadline.
Victories in seven of their past nine games has changed all that, however. They will look to continue their ascension on Saturday when they play the second contest of a three-game series against the host Seattle Mariners.
The Twins rallied for a 5-3 victory on Friday behind homers from Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis and Ryan Jeffers to move into a tie with Cleveland for the American League’s third and final wild-card spot.
The Guardians and Twins also are tied for second in the AL Central, three games behind the Chicago White Sox.
After his team acquired reliever A.J. Minter from the New York Mets on Thursday night, Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll swung a deal for veteran starter Dean Kremer from the Baltimore Orioles on Friday.
“It’s something we were able to do without taking anybody that’s close to the major leagues and that’s important,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said of the three lower-level prospects surrendered in the two deals. “When you’re able to add starting pitching depth and you’re not doing it with someone that’s going to affect your major league team this year or next year, that’s important for us.”
While the Twins are surging, the Mariners are headed in the opposite direction.
The defending AL West champions have lost three in a row and eight of their past 10 to drop three games back in both the division and wild-card races.
While it has been assumed they’d be buyers at the deadline, there a slim chance that might no longer be the case.
Cal Raleigh hit a two-run double in the first inning Friday and Cole Young added a solo shot in the second, but the Mariners managed just one hit the remainder of the night.
“A lot of momentum swings,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “They were able to grab that momentum back there toward the end of the ballgame and offensively we just weren’t able to get that momentum back in our favor.”
Wilson, who usually brings in relievers at the start of innings, instead tried to get both Jose Ferrer and Eduard Bazardo to bridge two frames Friday. The move backfired, as both allowed homers.
“I just thought (Ferrer) was throwing the ball as well as he could and we just continued with him and that’s the plan we wanted,” Wilson said.
On Saturday afternoon, Twins rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp (3-5, 4.73 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound against Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert (8-6, 3.44).
Prielipp snapped a five-start winless drought Sunday in an 11-8 victory against the visiting Athletics as he allowed one run on two hits over five innings, with one walk and five strikeouts. He beat the Mariners 11-4 on April 27 in Minneapolis as he gave up two runs on one hit in five frames.
Gilbert didn’t get a decision in Seattle’s 6-4 victory Sunday at Texas when he allowed three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings. He’s 2-1 with a 4.06 ERA in six career starts against the Twins, although he didn’t get a decision in a 7-1 win April 28 at Minnesota despite allowing one run on six hits in five innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pirates acquire veteran RHP Camilo Doval from Yankees
May 27, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Camilo Doval (75) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired right-handed reliever Camilo Doval from the New York Yankees on Saturday in exchange for two prospects.
Doval, 29, is 3-1 with one save and a 4.54 ERA in 44 appearances out of the New York bullpen this season. The Pirates were seeking late-game relief help.
The Yankees received catcher Omar Alfonzo and outfielder Luis Cruz in the deal. New York also included cash as part of the trade.
New York acquired Doval, a former All-Star closer, in a deal with the San Francisco Giants at last year’s trade deadline.
Doval is 29-20 with 109 saves and a 3.53 ERA in 341 career relief outings with the Giants (2021-25) and Yankees. He tied for the National League lead with 39 saves in 2023 when he made the NL All-Star team.
Alfonzo, 22, was batting .238 with nine homers and 35 RBIs in 62 games this season, including 60 for Double-A Altoona.
Cruz, 18, was batting .300 with eight RBIs and eight steals in 19 games for the Pirates’ Dominican Summer League affiliate.
The MLB trade deadline is Monday at 6 p.m. ET.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Blazers sign F Jeremy Sochan to one-year contract
Mar 22, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Jeremy Sochan (20) runs up court after a basket during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Portland Trail Blazers forward Jeremy Sochan agreed to a one-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, per ESPN.
Sochan was the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
Across three-plus seasons with the Spurs, he averaged 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 212 games (149 starts). He shot 46.8% from the field and 28.7% from 3-point range.
He was waived by the Spurs in February. He then signed with the New York Knicks.
The 23-year-old only appeared in 16 regular season games for the Knicks, averaging a meager 6.9 minutes per game. In that limited run, he averaged 2.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists, while shooting 56.7% from the field.
During the postseason, he appeared in eight games during the team’s championship run, playing 26 total minutes and averaging 2.5 points.
Now, the former lottery pick will look to earn a bigger role on a revamped Blazers squad. Portland has a loaded backcourt with Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, Jrue Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson. The 6-foot-8 Sochan will give them frontcourt depth behind Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Athletics select LHP Ben Bowden, demote RHP Luis Morales
Jul 27, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Athletics relief pitcher Ben Bowden (62) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the ninth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images The Athletics selected left-hander Ben Bowden from Triple-A Las Vegas prior to Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers.
The 31-year-old was a second-round pick by the Colorado Rockies back in 2016, but has not had much production at the major league level.
Bowden was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 32 relief appearances for Las Vegas this season.
In 2021, he made his MLB debut for the Rockies, going 3-2 and posting a 6.56 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and 42 strikeouts across 35 2/3 innings.
He returned to the big leagues in 2025, away from hitter-friendly Coors Field, as a member of the Athletics. He had a 4.22 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and seven strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings.
Right-hander Luis Morales was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move. He was 0-2 and had a 14.06 ERA across 16 innings over five appearances (two starts) this season.
Morales was 1-3 with a 7.18 ERA in 19 appearances (nine starts) for Las Vegas earlier this season.
–Field Level Media
Pirates acquire veteran RHP Camilo Doval from Yankees
Report: Blazers sign F Jeremy Sochan to one-year contract
