Sports
Diamondbacks look to stop slide vs. Rockies
Sep 13, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (57) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images The Diamondbacks’ push to return to the postseason has hit a bump in Denver this week. Arizona has dropped the first two games of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies, tightening the National League wild-card race.
The Diamondbacks will try to salvage the series finale when Eduardo Rodriguez (2-3, 5.50 ERA) takes the mound against Colorado’s Austin Gomber (5-10, 4.44) on Wednesday afternoon.
The Rockies’ 8-2 win on Tuesday night dropped Arizona (83-68) into a tie with the New York Mets (83-68) for the second NL wild card. Both are two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves (81-70).
The Tuesday result was the 535th win as Rockies manager for Bud Black, moving him past Clint Hurdle for the franchise record.
Rodriguez, who began the year on the injured list with a left shoulder strain, is slated to make his eighth start of the season. The Diamondbacks signed him last winter, and he didn’t make his season debut until Aug. 7 at Cleveland.
He won two of his first four starts but has lost his past three, most recently against Milwaukee on Friday. Rodriguez yielded two runs on five hits in five innings against the Brewers, striking out three and walking seven.
In three career starts against the Rockies, Rodriguez is 1-0 with a 6.19 ERA. He got a no-decision vs. Colorado on Aug. 13 after permitting three runs in five innings.
Rodriguez earned the win in his lone start at Colorado, when he gave up three runs in five innings for the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 28, 2019.
Arizona had scored 52 runs in the six games prior to coming to Denver, where batters usually have an advantage in the thin air. However, the Diamondbacks have scored just two runs in each of the first two games of the series.
“Offensively, these guys are always locked in,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I want more patient approaches. I think that’s what we’re so good at.”
Runs might be tough to come by against Gomber, who has posted a 1.93 ERA in two September starts. He has tossed at least six innings in each of his past six outings, including a win at Atlanta on Sept. 5 when he tied his career high by going eight innings.
Gomber isn’t a high-strikeout pitcher — he averages four punchouts a start — and relies on his defense to get him deep into games.
“Gomber’s style is not like most,” manager Bud Black said recently. “There (are) obviously 150 starting pitchers out there in the big leagues, and there are some guys like Gomby, but there’s more guys with low to mid 90s velocity with harder secondary pitches and what people might refer to as better stuff. But Gomber’s stuff plays. It’s a good hook. It’s a tight slider. It’s a good changeup. So, his style is his style.”
The 30-year-old Florida native is 3-0 with a 5.04 ERA in 13 career appearances (nine starts) against the Diamondbacks, including an 0-0 mark with a 4.32 ERA in three starts this year. He last faced Arizona on Aug. 13 and had a no-decision in a 4-3 loss at Phoenix, allowing two runs on six hits over six innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Lions running back David Montgomery “wants out” of Detroit after three seasons, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Montgomery, however, immediately appeared to refute the report on X, posting: “Damn, Dmo told you that?”
The ESPN report claims the Lions would want “a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder)” in the 2026 NFL Draft in return for Montgomery, who turns 29 in June and is owed $6 million next season.
The report follows general manager Brad Holmes’ remarks after the season about Montgomery being unhappy with his playing time in 2025. Sharing a backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs, Montgomery rushed for a career-low 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games (no starts).
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player,” Holmes said of Montgomery in January. “He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Holmes said the situation with Montgomery is “fluid.” He signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Yeah, I have been in touch with David’s agent, and his representation,” Holmes revealed. “Obviously, we love David, he’s a great player, we love to have him, you know, kind of want to put last year in the rear view, and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place as well. The conversations are still fluid, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Montgomery has rushed for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 45 games (28 starts) in three seasons with Detroit (2023-25). He has 76 catches for 650 yards in that span.
He began his career with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round in 2019. Montgomery rushed for 3,609 yards and 26 scores in 60 games (51 starts) with the Bears (2019-22).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
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