Sports
Diamondbacks pitchers determined to 'be better' vs. Mets
May 5, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (57) throws against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo summoned the starting rotation to his office on a road trip in Chicago during a recent rough patch.
“It was to remind us that we are really good, and what we are going through now is not who we are,” right-hander Merrill Kelly said.
Maybe the meeting was not required.
“Obviously, Torey’s message was good,” Kelly said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve been doing this for a long time. We know when we are pitching well. We all knew we weren’t doing our job. At the end of the day, we all felt we had to be better.”
The pitchers have improved even if Arizona is just 2-8 since the start of its road series in Chicago against the Cubs. The Diamondbacks have made quality starts in four of their past five outings, including Kelly’s 2-1 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday to even their series at one game apiece. They will play the rubber game Sunday in Phoenix.
Eduardo Rodriguez (3-0, 2.50 ERA), who started the five-game run last Tuesday, will be back on the mound Sunday as the Diamondbacks look for their first series win since they took a series from the Toronto Blue Jays April 17-19.
The Mets are expected to use left-hander David Peterson (1-4, 6.29) for the bulk of the game Sunday, likely after an opener. Right-hander Huascar Brazoban (2-0, 1.53) is listed as the starter on MLB.com.
Kelly gave up three hits and one run in seven innings on Saturday, by far his best start of the season after being delayed out of spring training with a back injury. He had given up 19 runs in 13 2/3 innings in his previous three starts.
“You almost felt like the kid who finally passed the test, who’s been getting Fs the whole time but finally got an A,” Kelly said.
The Mets continued to scuffle offensively, managing only three hits on Saturday after getting five hits — two in the first nine innings — in a 3-1, 10-inning victory in the series opener Friday.
They wasted a strong outing from Clay Holmes, who gave up two runs and five hits while in 5 2/3 innings, tying a season high with six strikeouts.
“I thought he was very good, even though they put together some really good at-bats,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “They made him work.”
Arizona’s Rodriguez threw seven scoreless innings in a 9-0 victory over Pittsburgh on Tuesday to start the streak, the best start in his 46 outings with Arizona.
“They’re dudes,” Lovullo said of his rotation. “They’re tough. I just created an awareness.”
The Diamondbacks went 13 straight games — two-plus times through the rotation — without a starter going as long as six innings before Rodriguez’s gem. He gave up two hits, struck out seven and walked three.
Only one Pirates hitter reached third against Rodriguez, who threw a season-high 103 pitches.
Rodriguez delivered his own strong message to Lovullo when the manager made a mound visit with two outs in the last of the seventh Tuesday with Arizona leading 7-0.
“He backed me down and said, ‘Give me one last hitter,'” Lovullo said. “I told him, ‘This is your last hitter.’ I challenged him. He challenged me back. I like that kind of stuff. It fires me up.”
Rodriguez is 2-1 with a 5.20 ERA in five career starts against the Mets, his best coming this season in a 7-1 victory at Citi Field pn April 9, when he gave up one run and five hits in six innings.
-Field Level Media
Sports
Defender Chris Richards returns to USMNT practice
June 8, 2026; Irvine, California, U.S.; Chris Richards of the U.S. signs an autograph for a fan during training. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Defender Chris Richards is back on the field with the United States Men’s National Team on Monday and appears to be on track for the World Cup opener against Paraguay this week.
“We will see … first time with the team,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said Monday. “Nearly everyone ready to be selected for the game.”
Richards sustained an ankle injury last month and is viewed as a vital defender in the center of the backline.
Miles Robinson and Mark McKenzie filled in for Richards on Saturday in the final World Cup tuneup against Germany in Chicago.
At Monday’s practice in Irvine, Calif., Tyler Adams was not on the field. He worked in the gym for load management purposes, Pochettino said.
Richards, 26, suffered a pair of torn ligaments in his left ankle on May 17 as his Crystal Palace team played Brentford in a Premier League match. He did complete the match but limped off the field and has not competed since.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Kings to hire Peter Laviolette as head coach
Mar 29, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette instructs his team as left wings Artemi Panarin (10), Chris Kreider (20) and Brennan Othmann (78) look on against the San Jose Sharks during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Kings are set to hire Peter Laviolette to a three-year deal as their next head coach, Sportsnet and ESPN reported Monday.
Laviolette had been in talks to become the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs as recently as last week, according to multiple reports, and the Edmonton Oilers had also reportedly looked at him as a candidate to fill their head coaching vacancy.
Laviolette, 61, has been an NHL head coach for 23 seasons.
He won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. He also reached the Stanley Cup Final as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 and the Nashville Predators in 2017.
He most recently coached the New York Rangers from 2023-25. The Rangers went 55-23-4 (114 points) in Laviolette’s first season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in a six-game series. New York went 39-36-7 (85 points) the following season to finish six points out of a playoff spot, leading to Laviolette’s dismissal in April 2025.
He owns an 846-562-161 record (25 ties) as head coach with the New York Islanders (2001-03), Hurricanes (2003-09), Flyers (2009-14), Predators (2014-20), Washington Capitals (2020-23) and Rangers.
His 846 regular-season wins are the most among United States-born coaches in NHL history and seventh all-time.
Laviolette appeared in 12 NHL games during his playing career as a defenseman, all during the 1988-89 season with the Rangers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Top 2 seeds ousted in chaotic opening day at Libema Open
Aug 27, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia serves against Wang Xinyu of China in the second round of the women’s singles at the US Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds each fell in straight sets on a chaotic first day of women’s competition in the Libema Open at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands on Monday.
No. 1 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia — a two-time winner at the event in 2022 and ‘23 — fell 6-4, 7-6 (5) to Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, who ranks nearly 50 spots lower (65th to 17th). In a match that was statistically even in a number of spots, the difference may have been Udvardy’s one more converted break (3 of 6) in an equal number of chances.
Second-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark lost 6-4, 6-4 to Slovakia’s Mia Pohankova, a 17-year-old who won the final five games of the match to secure her first career top-30 win. No. 3 seed Belgian Elise Mertens avoided the same fate with a thorough 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Canada’s Bianca Andreescu.
In other Monday action, Poland’s Magda Linette rallied for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Australian Kimberly Birrell, Robin Montgomery pulled out a 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 victory against Daria Kasatkina of Australia and Ukraine’s Daria Snigur swept Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-1, 7-6 (2).
HSBC Championships
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic rallied for a 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-3 defeat of McCartney Kessler in first-round action at London.
Pliskova was sloppy on her serve with three aces and 11 double faults but made up for it by winning 51% of her return points and converting 8 of 11 break-point opportunities.
In the only two other matches completed on Monday, when multiple matches were delayed or postponed by rain, Great Britain’s Harriet Dart beat Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, while Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian swept Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 7-6 (4).
The final match of the day, which pitted No. 8 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada against Great Britain’s Katie Boulter, was suspended due to darkness with Fernandez up a set and the second set level at 3 games apiece.
–Field Level Media
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