Sports
Capitals topple Flyers to continue strong form from before break
Feb 25, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin (38) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Hannah Foslien-Imagn Images Logan Thompson made 23 saves and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored late in the third period to give the Washington Capitals a 3-1 win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
The Capitals are 5-1-0 in their last six games, as their good form continued in their first game back after the NHL’s Olympic hiatus.
With the score tied 1-1 at 14:08 in the third period, Aliaksei Protas and Declan Chisholm set up a tic-tac-toe passing play finished by van Riemsdyk in the slot. It was van Riemsdyk’s second goal of the season, and just the 27th tally for the veteran defenseman over his 12 NHL seasons.
Protas earned an assist on van Riemsdyk’s marker and then collected his 20th goal by scoring an empty-netter with 26 seconds left in the third period. Rasmus Sandin scored Washington’s other goal.
Thompson celebrated his 29th birthday by stopping all but one of Philadelphia’s 24 shots. Thompson is 20-16-4 with a .913 save percentage over 40 starts this season.
The loss was another setback to Philadelphia’s fading playoff hopes. The Flyers have won just once (1-4-2) in their last seven games and are 3-9-4 in their last 16 games.
Noah Cates scored the Flyers’ only goal, and Dan Vladar stopped 26 of 28 shots.
Some early rust was apparent in both teams’ first game since Feb. 5. It took almost 34 minutes until the game’s first score, and both goalies made strong saves against the few quality offensive chances.
Sandin finally opened the scoring 13:52 into the second period. Hendrix Lapierre’s slick pass through the slot found Sandin entering into the circle, and the defenseman buried a well-placed shot for his third goal of the season.
The Flyers found the equalizer just 29 seconds into the third period. Cates ended his 18-game goal drought by tipping in Travis Sanheim’s long-range shot from the point.
After van Riemsdyk put Washington ahead, the Flyers gained a power-play chance in the final minute of play. The late push for the equalizer was quickly cut off by Protas’ short-handed goal into Philadelphia’s open net.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Red Sox tie club mark with 15th straight win in DH opener vs. O's
Jul 22, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) hits a two run RBI double against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Ceddanne Rafaela homered, Jarren Duran drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox tied a franchise record for consecutive victories with 15 by beating the visiting Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the first game of a split doubleheader Wednesday.
The Red Sox, who also won 15 straight during the 1946 season, haven’t lost since a 10-2 home setback against the Washington Nationals on July 1.
Boston starter Jake Bennett (6-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and struck out five. Aroldis Chapman tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 23rd save of 2026 and 390th overall, tying him for ninth on the all-time list with former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley.
Dean Kremer (1-3) gave up six runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Rafaela, Caleb Durbin and Willson Contreras each collected two hits for the Red Sox, who never trailed.
Baltimore received a solo home run from Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who had three hits and two RBIs.
Durbin’s two-run single and a two-run triple from Duran handed Boston a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Baltimore made it 4-1 in the third, when Pete Alonso doubled and scored on Tyler O’Neill’s two-out double that Rafaela lost in the sun.
The Red Sox regained a four-run lead in the bottom of the third. Durbin scored on Duran’s sacrifice fly to make it a 5-1 contest.
Encarnacion-Strand’s home run came against Bennett in the fourth and cut Boston’s lead to 5-2. It was his second home run in as many games since being called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.
Rafaela’s home run, his ninth of the season, extended Boston’s edge to 6-2 in the bottom of the fourth, but Encarnacion-Strand’s third hit of the game was an RBI single that drove in Coby Mayo and trimmed Boston’s advantage to 6-3 in the sixth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Guardians star 3B Jose Ramirez activated, batting second
Jun 8, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) celebrates after scoring during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images In a virtual tie atop the American League Central, the Cleveland Guardians received a major boost with the activation of star third baseman Jose Ramirez, who is in the starting lineup and batting second Wednesday against the visiting Minnesota Twins.
Ramirez, 33, a seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger, had been out since June 13 with a left hamate fracture. He underwent surgery three days later and was given a timetable of five to seven weeks. Wednesday marked five weeks and a day since the procedure.
In a corresponding move, outfielder Kahlil WIlson was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
Without Ramirez, the Guardians went 15-15 but struggled offensively, ranking 28th in the majors in runs (121) and 26th in OPS (.690). In 72 games this season, the 14-year veteran is hitting .239 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs, along with 18 doubles and 24 stolen bases.
In other injury news, Cleveland outfielder Angel Martinez began a rehab assignment on Friday after suffering a non-displaced left foot fracture the same day of Ramirez’s injury.
Martinez played seven innings in his third rehab game for Triple-A Akron on Tuesday and could be activated by this weekend, MLB.com reported. In 66 games this season for Cleveland, he has hit .239 with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spain's Gavi: No suspension for Argentina’s Leandro Paredes
July 19, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.; Argentina’s Leandro Paredes clashes with Spain’s Gavi next to assistant coach Walter Samuel. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images Spain midfielder Gavi doesn’t feel Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes should be suspended for his postgame tirade following Spain’s 1-0 victory in Sunday’s World Cup final.
Tensions were high after the match and Paredes had a hand in elevating them further. While players were mixing it up, Paredes charged in from behind and crashed into Gavi, eliciting further pushing and shoving and an occasional swing.
FIFA said earlier this week it will have a prosecutor conduct an investigation.
Still, Gavi said Paredes shouldn’t receive a ban.
“I don’t think he should be suspended,” Gavi said after the match. “I understand it’s not a good image for children, but I think there’s also that side to football, which is a bit more physical, more aggressive.
“The most logical thing would have been to send him off during the match, and that’s it. In the end, I think it’s all football, and it has to be that way.”
Gavi became involved in the incident after attempting to intervene in a confrontation that involved teammate Eric Garcia.
At one point, Paredes was listed as receiving a red card for his postgame actions. That was deleted a short time later.
After the match, Paredes was asked about the incident.
“I was just talking to them after the match,” Paredes said. “Things got heated with their teammates being aggressive. … They didn’t need to get physical like that. It was childish.”
Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal in the 106th minute for Spain.
–Field Level Media
Red Sox tie club mark with 15th straight win in DH opener vs. O's
Guardians star 3B Jose Ramirez activated, batting second
