Sports
Big plays give D-backs momentum entering clash vs. Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks batter Ketel Marte (4) high-fives teammate Tommy Troy (9) after his 2-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field in Phoenix on June 1, 2026. The Diamondbacks went deep late three times in a 4-1 victory over the Dodgers on Monday, reversing a trend after Los Angeles came back all three times in its season-opening series sweep of Arizona.
Home runs by Tommy Troy, Nolan Arenado and Ketel Marte accounted for all four Arizona runs on Monday, but manager Torey Lovullo was especially taken by Troy’s second hit — a two-out, 45-foot bunt single that set up Marte’s game-breaking, two-run shot in the eighth.
“The thing that stood out to me was that Tommy had some situational awareness,” Lovullo said. “Gets on and hands it off to Marte.
“That’s high baseball IQ. It’s things we believe in here. It’s things we talk about here. It helps you win games and helps you win the margins. That’s where we spend most of our space. That was a pretty special moment for this ballclub.”
Arizona right-hander Michael Soroka (7-2, 3.25 ERA) will face Dodgers left-hander Eric Lauer (2-5, 5.95) on Tuesday night in the second contest of the four-game series in Phoenix.
Of his key bunt on Monday, Troy said: “I saw (third baseman Max) Muncy go back. I’m like, here’s a good opportunity. It’s either going to be a foul ball or a hit. Glad it worked out. It was a great time to get Ketel up, because he’s hot against lefties.”
Marte’s homer, his 10th of the season, came off left-hander Jack Dreyer. Marte has five homers in his last 13 games; he was 24-for-47 before going 0-for-11 when the Diamondbacks were swept in Seattle over the weekend.
Arizona also received margin-winning defensive plays Monday from center fielder Jorge Barrosa, who made diving catches to take away hits from Will Smith in the fourth inning and Andy Pages in the fifth. Barrosa caught Pages’ drive in right-center field with one out and a runner on first base.
“The couple plays in center field were kind of big plays right there,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “then you get Marte hitting a two-run homer with two outs. Obviously a big play, too.”
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 17 games with three hits Monday. He is batting .415 with six doubles and four homers during the stretch.
Entering this series, the Dodgers had won seven of their past eight games and 14 of 17.
Soroka was 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA in five May outings and has given up more than two earned runs in only two of his 11 starts this season.
He has received a no-decision in all three career appearances against the Dodgers, most recently when he gave up three runs and struck out 10 while with Washington in the Nationals’ 13-7 loss on June 22.
Lauer will make his second start for Los Angeles since being acquired from Toronto on May 17, a move that helped the Dodgers maintain their favored six-man rotation. That allows rest for Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki because Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are on the injured list.
Lauer, designated for assignment by the Blue Jays before joining the Dodgers, gave up one run on four hits in six innings in a 15-6 thrashing of Colorado last Tuesday. He struck out four, and the only Rockies’ run off him came on Hunter Goodman’s homer.
“They kept it pretty simple for me,” Lauer said after working with pitching coach Mark Prior, who was San Diego’s minor league pitching coordinator when Lauer came up in that organization.
“There were a couple of slight adjustments I wanted to make. It wasn’t like, ‘Let’s work on too many things.’ We’re going to see what you’re like as a normal guy and kind of tinker after that.”
Lauer made a strong impression on the Dodgers in the 2025 World Series, when he held them scoreless over 5 2/3 innings in two appearances. He threw 4 2/3 shutout innings for Toronto in Los Angeles’ 6-5 win in 18 innings in Game 3.
Lauer was 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 28 appearances with the Jays in the regular season a year ago but was designated for assignment after his ERA jumped to 6.69 ERA in eight appearances this year.
He is 4-5 with a 2.63 ERA in 11 career appearances against Arizona.
–Field Level Media
Sports
With Michael Conforto waiting, Cubs vie to take rubber game from Tigers
Jul 21, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hitter Michael Conforto (20) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs have been getting instant offense off the bench from Michael Conforto, who hit his MLB-leading fourth pinch-hit home run of the season in an 11-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
Conforto is an outfielder by trade but has had to carve out a bench role because Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki are entrenched as starters.
Conforto already has tied the franchise single-season record for pinch-hit homers, set by Glenallen Hill in 1999, and hopes to be involved in the decisive contest of a three-game series against visiting Detroit on Wednesday night.
“All year, it feels like (Michael’s) biggest hits have been pinch hits,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “I don’t know if there’s any blueprint for it, but Michael has done a fabulous job at it. You feel like it’s a real weapon to have somebody like that.”
Wednesday’s matchup will be the rubber game of the series after Detroit won 8-6 in 10 innings on Monday and the Cubs took Tuesday’s game.
Colin Rea (7-6, 4.74 ERA) will start for Chicago on Wednesday. The right-hander snapped a two-start winning streak in his last appearance on Friday, allowing four runs (three earned) in six innings as the Cubs lost 5-2 to Minnesota.
Rea is 0-1 with a lifetime 6.43 ERA vs. Detroit in three appearances (one start).
Right-hander Keider Montero (6-5, 3.22 ERA) will start for Detroit on Wednesday. He has been used as a reliever throughout July after making starts in 15 of his first 16 appearances this season, but Montero is moving back into the rotation.
He got a win in his most recent outing, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief as the Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on Friday.
Montero has faced the Cubs once, on June 7, 2025. Serving as the bulk reliever on a bullpen day, he gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings and didn’t figure into the decision.
Montero has gone an inning-plus in every relief appearance he’s made this month. A versatile pitcher such as Montero gives Detroit manager A.J. Hinch extra flexibility as the team is in a stretch of playing 13 games in 13 days.
“I’ve always said when I pitch (Montero), I’m going to pitch him a lot,” Hinch told the Detroit Free Press.
“When you see him go out for a second inning or a third inning or a fourth inning, part of that is competitive and strategic. The other part of it is to keep him stretched out to where it doesn’t disrupt his volume.”
Montero’s ability to ease back into the rotation quickly took on even greater importance after the Tigers were forced to place Jack Flaherty (right flexor inflammation) on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday. Flaherty reported discomfort after throwing four innings in the series opener the day before.
Hinch explained the decision to put Flaherty on the IL after Tuesday’s game.
“It wasn’t a clear-cut IL (decision) when we woke up this morning,” Hinch told reporters. “And then as the day went on and the more opinion we got, the more we realized he wasn’t going to pitch in five or six days.”
Flaherty has made 19 starts for Detroit this season, going 3-8 with a 4.59 ERA.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Heat: Link for LeBron James presser posted by mistake
Nov 5, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) reacts after making a basket against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Heat beat the Raptors 104-95. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images The Miami Heat said a live-stream link titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” was posted by mistake to the team’s YouTube channel.
The post, which included the date July 27, was later deleted. A team spokesperson told ESPN on Tuesday night that the club’s social media department had been preparing for the possibility of the superstar forward rejoining the Heat and errantly published the link.
James, 41, who won two NBA championships in four seasons with Miami from 2010-14, is a free agent for the first time since 2018 after announcing last month that he would not re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Potential landing spots for the league’s all-time leading scorer other than Miami reportedly include the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers (another former team) and the Golden State Warriors.
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games with the Lakers in 2025-26. The four-time NBA champion owns career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in a record 1,622 games over 23 seasons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spurs C Victor Wembanyama to grace NBA 2K27 cover
Dec 27, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after scoring during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Spurs star Victor Wembanyama will grace the cover of the NBA 2K27 video game, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
The 7-foot-4 center powered San Antonio to the 2026 NBA Finals, with the Spurs falling to the New York Knicks in five games last month.
In his third NBA season, Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-leading 3.1 blocks.
Previous cover athletes in the NBA 2K series have included Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Jayson Tatum.
Wembanyama, 22, is the third Spurs player to make the cover of at least one version of the game, joining Tony Parker (NBA 2K16, French version) and Pau Gasol (NBA 2K17, Spanish version).
–Field Level Media
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With Michael Conforto waiting, Cubs vie to take rubber game from Tigers
