Sports
Cardinals strive to take another step forward vs. Reds
Jul 25, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Gordon Graceffo (44) celebrates with catcher Ivan Herrera (48) after the Cardinals defeated the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Despite struggling as a group for most of July, the St. Louis Cardinals continue to hang close in the National League playoff picture.
Their next chance to make progress comes Sunday afternoon in the decisive contest of a three-game series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.
To make a genuine postseason push over the final third of the regular season, the Cardinals will need production from slugger Ivan Herrera like he provided in their most recent victory.
Herrera went 2-for-4 from the cleanup spot Saturday night, lining a two-run double to help the Cardinals pull away for a 7-0 victory.
Herrera also caught right-hander Andre Pallante, who allowed two hits and tied a season high with eight strikeouts over seven innings.
After starting the month with an 8-13 record prior to Saturday’s win, the Cardinals closed within 1 1/2 games of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final wild-card spot.
“We’ve struggled with the offense, but we came up big today,” Herrera said. “It’s good to see guys coming up clutch.”
Herrera batted .284 with 19 home runs and a .464 slugging percentage in 2025, which led to big expectations at the plate. His production has not quite matched them — yet. While Herrera was named to the National League All-Star squad, but he’s not performing like teammates Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson or rookie JJ Wetherholt.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said he’s hopeful that Herrera’s swing is coming around. He hit two balls with exit velocities of 102 mph or faster against the Reds, including his double in the sixth against right-hander Hunter Greene that put the Cards on the path to a six-run inning.
“Things he’s been working on, he’s been able to carry over to the game,” Marmol said. “His misses were what they needed to be and his hits were too. A good combo.
“When he’s going well, it’s certainly helpful.”
Four trailing teams are within 1 1/2 games of the Cardinals, who send right-hander Kyle Leahy (7-4, 3.59 ERA) to the mound on Sunday against left-hander Andrew Abbott (5-6, 3.89) in the series finale.
Leahy allowed one run on three hits in six innings of a no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday.
He also recorded a pair of no-decisions versus the Reds this season, yielding a total of eight runs on 12 hits over nine innings. He has a 7.11 ERA without a decision in 10 career appearances (two starts) against Cincinnati.
Abbott lost for the second time in his last three outings on Monday despite allowing just one unearned run on four hits in six innings of an 8-0 setback to the Seattle Mariners.
He is 4-4 with a 3.94 ERA in nine career appearances (all starts) versus the Cardinals.
The Reds, who stand six games out of the projected playoff field, are 2-5 against the Cardinals this season.
Cincinnati couldn’t muster any rallies against Pallante, and while Greene performed well until the sixth inning, his third trip through the order against the Cards lineup unraveled his night.
“The mistakes he made were mainly with his breaking ball,” manager Terry Francona said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jadelyn Allchin's hot bat leads Talons to AUSL title
Jun 2, 2024; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; UCLA Bruins outfielder Jadelyn Allchin (40) hits a single in the third inning against the Stanford Cardinals during a Women’s College World Series softball losers bracket elimination game at Devon Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images Championship Series MVP Jadelyn Allchin homered, doubled and drove in three runs to lead the Utah Talons to a 6-1 victory over the Chicago Bandits on Sunday at College Station, Texas, to win the Athletes Unlimited Softball League Championship for the second straight year.
Allchin hit a two-run homer in the first inning and an RBI double in the fourth to lead the Talons to the victory in the clinching Game 2 of the best-of-three championship series. Utah recorded a 2-1 victory over the Bandits in Game 1 on Saturday.
Bri Ellis and Sahvanna Jaquish also homered for the Talons. Right-hander Montana Fouts pitched a complete game and gave up eight hits. She struck out four and walked one.
Skylar Wallace drove in the lone Chicago run with a single in the seventh inning. It was her second hit of the game.
Bandits right-hander Kat Sandercock gave up four runs (two earned) and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. Allchin’s double knocked her out of the contest.
The Talons also beat the Bandits in last year’s championship series in the first campaign of the AUSL.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Freddy Peralta says Sunday was 'probably' his final Mets start
Jul 20, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; New York Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Freddy Peralta believes he may have made his final start for the New York Mets on Sunday, with the struggling club expected to trade the right-hander before the Aug. 3 deadline.
Peralta conceded the likelihood of a move after allowing three runs — two earned — on six hits and two walks over four innings in an 8-3 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He needed 93 pitches to record 12 outs and finished with three strikeouts.
“I know it probably is,” Peralta said when asked whether he believes that was his last time pitching for the Mets.
Peralta is currently scheduled to start Friday against the Miami Marlins, but New York has little incentive to retain an impending free agent after falling well outside the National League playoff picture.
The Mets acquired Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers during the offseason with the expectation that he would lead their rotation. Instead, the two-time All-Star has gone 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA through 22 starts, going at least six innings only six times.
His struggles have become more pronounced of late. Peralta has not recorded a quality start since June 3 and has posted a 7.34 ERA since that outing.
“I know so far I’ve let them down,” Peralta said. “I haven’t done what I was supposed to do.”
The 30-year-old entered the season coming off a career-best season going 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA and 204 strikeouts over 176 2/3 innings with Milwaukee. That track record, along with the demand for starting pitching among contenders, should keep him among New York’s most marketable deadline pieces despite his recent results.
Peralta said he remains confident he can rediscover his previous form, whether that opportunity comes with the Mets or another organization.
“We haven’t done what we expected to do, in general, but especially myself,” Peralta said. “I know I can be way better than this. I still believe in myself. I was born to be a winner and not a loser. I think I have a lot in me, a lot to show. I know it can change because I still have time to make a change.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Stephen Curry's Future With the Warriors Suddenly Feels Less Certain
You can add the Golden State Warriors to your list of teams that missed out on LeBron James this summer.
The Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat are all probably a little miffed about LeBron’s drawn out decision to join the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
But as Golden State appears stuck in the middle of a loaded Western Conference, reports are circulating that superstar guard Stephen Curry might no longer be on the same page as the front office.
“I think he’s probably tired of the star chasing,” The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II reported.
After Kevin Durant’s departure, the Warriors won the 2022 NBA Championship by defeating the Boston Celtics. That was Steph’s first championship, and Curry won his first career Finals MVP.
But the Warriors have failed to reach the mountaintop since that last title six years ago. Curry is older. Draymond Green is older. Klay Thompson left Golden State in 2024 to join the Dallas Mavericks.
Curry is eligible for an extension at the end of August, and it’ll be very fascinating to see what the 38-year-old decides to do. If he decides to wait on a contract extension, Curry will be an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Even at 39, he would have no shortage of suitors if he decides to keep playing.
It’s so hard to imagine Curry in anything but a Warriors jersey. Right now, he’s faced with an interesting dilemma. He can become one of the rare NBA stars to play their entire career with the same team. It helps his case to be mentioned in the same breath as what Kobe Bryant meant to the Los Angeles Lakers and what Tim Duncan meant to the San Antonio Spurs.
On popular prediction markets, like Kalshi, that allow users to buy and sell contracts of real-world outcomes, Curry certainly has a chance to be moved. Kalshi has a market for Stephen Curry’s next team – if the future Hall of Famer is moved ahead of October 21, 2026.
It would be a blockbuster surprise if Curry were to be traded months before the deadline. But as of July 26, over $135,000 in volume has been traded on Curry’s next team.
On Kalshi, the overwhelmingly most likely outcome is for Curry to remain with the Warriors or retire by October 21st, an implied 87% chance of happening. They give the Spurs a 13% chance, the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks both have an 11% chance and Curry’s hometown Charlotte Hornets have a 9% chance. These odds will fluctuate by the minute.
Don’t expect the Warriors to trade Curry before the calendar flips to 2027. It would be a huge surprise if they did. But this report of a slight rift is something that bears monitoring.
Curry is still one of the great guards in this sport. He has a legacy to think about. And he just watched his buddy LeBron leave a pretty comfortable situation with the Lakers to gamble on bringing a championship to his fourth franchise.
Winning is what makes these greats happy. They want to contend for championships. The Warriors are planning for their future, so of course Curry doesn’t like that.
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