Sports
Auburn, Texas clash in wake of wins over ranked opponents
Jan 24, 2026; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Auburn Tigers guard Keyshawn Hall (7) drives to the basket past Florida Gators center Rueben Chinyelu (9) during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images Host Auburn has won three straight games and has seemingly found its stride but will need to be at its best when enigmatic Texas comes calling on Wednesday in a Southeastern Conference contest.
The Tigers (13-7, 4-3 SEC) have captured four of their past five games, with the most recent outing a 76-67 win at then-No. 16 Florida on Saturday. Keyshawn Hall scored 24 points for Auburn in the triumph, with KeShawn Murphy adding 16 points, Tahaad Pettiford hitting for 11 and Kevin Overton tallying 10.
“That’s an unbelievable win for our ball club,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said after the victory. “I thought our guys, for about 32 minutes, executed the gameplan to perfection.
“We’ve just continuously gotten better as a group. For us, it’s about what we do from here. … If we let this thing affect us in a way that can distract us from the next one, then it really doesn’t mean anything.”
Hall, who racked up the Tigers’ first 10 points in the victory over Florida, was named Co-SEC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 21.5 points per game in road wins over Ole Miss and the Gators. Hall is third in the SEC in scoring with 20.3 ppg.
The Longhorns (12-8, 3-4) have been a giant killer of late, with all three of their league wins over teams ranked In the AP Top 25. Texas’ latest such performance was an 87-67 home victory over then-No. 21 Georgia on Saturday as Dailyn Swain poured in 26 points and Tramon Mark had 23.
Texas trailed by seven points at halftime but took over in the final 14 minutes, bursting away from a tied game while shooting 68.8% from the floor after the break. Matas Vokietaitis and Jordan Pope finished with 14 points apiece for the Longhorns.
“(Coach Sean Miller) told us it was like a horse race,” Swain said. “All the horses are together, nobody knows their names, but if you just keep going as fast as you can, you can end up winning the race. You can’t let a fast or slow start affect you, you just have to keep your head up and go.”
Swain, who is Texas’ leading scorer this year with a 16.9 ppg average, paced the Longhorns for the third straight game and the ninth time this season. Miller said that, combined with his 29-point performance against Kentucky in a loss on Jan. 21, it was the best two-game stretch Swain has played.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cam Smith drives in 2 in 10th, Astros edge Red Sox
May 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Houston Astros right fielder Cam Smith (11) hits a two run RBI against the Boston Red Sox during the tenth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Cam Smith had three hits, including a two-run single in the top of the 10th inning, to help the visiting Houston Astros earn a 3-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Smith’s two-out single came against Zack Kelly (0-2) and drove in Braden Shewmake and Jose Altuve.
Boston had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the 10th, but Bryan Abreu got Ceddanne Rafaela to ground into a double play to end the game.
Jarren Duran hit a solo home run for the Red Sox, who stranded 13 runners and were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Duran’s home run was his third of the season and his second of the series. He hit a three-run homer in Boston’s 3-1 victory Friday night.
Abreu (1-2) pitched two scoreless innings to get the win. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out one.
Willson Contreras collected three of Boston’s nine hits in the loss.
Christian Walker and Christian Vazquez each had two-hit games for the Astros, who won two games in the three-game set.
Boston starting pitcher Ranger Suarez was pulled after four scoreless innings because of hamstring tightness. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three. Suarez threw 70 pitches.
Duran’s home run off Houston reliever AJ Blubaugh opened the scoring in the fifth. Houston tied the game in the sixth, when Walker reached on an infield single, took third on Altuve’s double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brice Matthews.
The Red Sox had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. An error on Abreu allowed Contreras to reach second with two outs in the inning, but Roman Anthony grounded out to first to end the inning.
Houston had the bases loaded with no outs in the 10th, but Altuve grounded into a 6-2-5 double play. Following a walk to Matthews, Smith delivered his two-run single.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Michael Busch drives in 4 as Cubs win, sweep D-backs
May 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hitter Moises Ballesteros (25) celebrates his two-run home run with second baseman Nico Hoerner (2) against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the third inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images Michael Busch drove in four runs to lead the host Chicago Cubs to an 8-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday.
Busch doubled and scored a run in the second and broke the game open for good with a three-run triple in the fifth as Chicago finished the three-game sweep with its 11th straight win at home.
Matthew Boyd (2-1) picked the win. The southpaw gave up four hits and two earned runs over six innings, walking one and fanning five in 94 pitches. The quality start was the Cubs’ seventh in their last 10 home games.
Chicago tied a season high with six extra-base hits. Busch, Nico Hoerner, Moises Ballesteros, Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly all contributed a pair of hits.
The Cubs extended a 3-2 lead with a three-run fifth.
Ballesteros led off with a walk and Alex Bregman reached on a fielder’s choice when Nolan Arenado’s throw was too late to get Ballesteros at second.
Ian Happ loaded the bases with a walk and Busch tripled into the right-field corner to clear the bases and give Chicago a 6-2 lead.
The triple chased Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly (1-3). The veteran right-hander went 4 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and six earned runs. He struck out five and walked three in 92 pitches.
The Diamondbacks opened the scoring in the second when Arenado doubled with one out and Gabe Moreno hit his first home run of the season deep to left field for a 2-0 lead.
The Cubs cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning when Kelly singled in Busch with two outs.
Chicago took the lead for good in the third when Hoerner singled to deep short and Ballesteros smashed an opposite-field home run to left-center for a 3-2 advantage.
The Cubs scored a pair of insurance runs in the seventh when Happ led off with a walk and Suzuki doubled into the left-field corner.
Busch drove in his fourth run of the game with a deep sacrifice fly to right to make it 7-2 Cubs and Kelly singled in Suzuki to give Chicago an 8-2 lead.
D-backs pinch-hitter Adrian Del Castillo hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth to finalize the scoring. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 2-for-3 with a run for the visitors.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Padres' Walker Buehler looks for better results vs. Giants
Apr 28, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Walker Buehler (10) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images A pair of two-time All-Stars accustomed to big-time winning will look to wipe out losing records when Walker Buehler and the San Diego Padres continue a brief three-game road trip against Logan Webb and the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.
The Giants snapped a six-game losing streak in Monday’s series opener, riding Trevor McDonald’s pitching to a 3-2 victory. It was San Francisco’s third win in four meetings with San Diego this season.
Buehler (1-2, 5.40 ERA) will take the mound in San Francisco for the 10th time in his career. The right-hander has gone 6-2 with a 3.65 ERA at Oracle Park and 7-3 with a 3.00 ERA overall in 15 appearances (13 starts) against the Giants in his career.
In his first season with the Padres, Buehler has struggled in his past two starts, lasting a total of 7 1/3 innings in a pair of 8-3 losses to the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs.
“Just not good enough,” Buehler told reporters after his most recent outing a week ago against the Cubs. “Got to get deeper and get more efficient. We’ve kind of established that the stuff has improved, and I’m in a lot better spot. But I haven’t quite had that one that it all kind of clicks together in terms of the execution.”
Buehler will be facing a Giants team that has totaled just 12 runs in its last seven games.
San Francisco went homerless while going winless on a six-game trip to Philadelphia and Tampa Bay last week, a drought Casey Schmitt ended in the first inning of Monday’s win.
The Giants have won their past three home games. The long flight home from Florida and a change of scenery was just what the doctor ordered, Schmitt said.
“The big thing was to flush that road trip. Obviously it didn’t go any way we wanted it to go,” Schmitt said. “It’s a new series, a new day.”
No doubt, Webb (2-3, 4.30) also would be perfectly happy to turn the page after having nothing to show for a pair of hard-luck efforts in his past two outings. The right-hander allowed just four runs over 14 innings to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Phillies in those starts, games the Giants lost 3-0 and 3-2.
Webb would like nothing better than to get the level of support he received when he pitched in a 9-3 win at San Diego in the first week of the season. It improved his career record against the Padres to 5-5 with a 3.23 ERA in 18 games, including 17 starts.
Schmitt got the loudest of San Francisco’s six hits in the series opener on Monday and Luis Arraez chipped in with a pair of doubles and scored twice. The biggest news of the night offensively, however, was the two-RBI performance of Rafael Devers, who hadn’t had a multiple-RBI game since April 8.
Playing first base, Devers responded on a day when the Giants promoted one of their top prospects, Bryce Eldridge, who is seen as the future of the first base position in San Francisco.
Eldridge was used as the DH in his big-league season debut Monday, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout.
The 21-year-old, who got 37 plate appearances last season, has never faced Buehler.
–Field Level Media
