Sports
Drew Rasmussen dominates as Rays finish sweep of Red Sox
Jun 10, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Taylor Walls (6) throws to first base against Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) during the third inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images Drew Rasmussen struck out a career-high 13 batters over seven scoreless innings, and the Tampa Bay Rays held on for a 7-5, series-sweeping win over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon.
Rasmussen (6-2) allowed just two hits in the dominant outing. He struck out the side in order twice and did so again while working around a walk in his final frame. It marked the second straight outing in which Rasmussen threw seven shutout innings.
Nick Fortes went 4-for-4 with three runs scored to lead the Rays, including back-to-back doubles in his first two at-bats. Yandy Diaz added a 3-for-5 showing with one run scored and two RBIs.
After Ceddanne Rafaela’s three-run home run brought Boston within 5-4 in the top of the eighth, Cedric Mullins provided insurance for the Rays with a two-run shot out to right-center field.
Caleb Durbin accounted for half of Boston’s hits, going 3-for-4 with solo homers in the eighth and ninth innings.
Rasmussen mowed down the Red Sox in the early going, striking out the side in order twice while facing the minimum through the first four innings.
After Boston counterpart Jake Bennett (1-2) fanned three of his first six batters, the Rays manufactured the opening run after Fortes hit a leadoff double just off the top of the left-center field wall in the third. Fortes advanced to third on Mullins’ sacrifice bunt and scored on a Taylor Walls sacrifice fly.
The Rays knocked around Bennett for four hits in five batters to begin the fifth, upping their lead to 4-0. Fortes sparked the inning with a second opening double before back-to-back singles by Taylor Walls and Yandy Diaz plated another run.
Austin Slater’s RBI double made it 3-0, as his line drive up the middle deflected off Bennett and into a vacated hole between shortstop and third base. Two batters later, Ryan Vilade added a sacrifice fly.
Bennett was charged with four runs on seven hits through the first five innings.
In the sixth, Diaz’s second run-scoring single in as many innings brought home the fifth Tampa Bay run. Fortes started the frame with a one-out single before Wells’ single moved him up to third.
Durbin greeted Tampa Bay reliever Cole Sulser rudely to begin the eighth, depositing a leadoff solo homer down the line in left. After Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked and Jarren Duran singled off Steven Matz, Rafaela crushed a three-run homer out to left-center two batters later.
The Mullins homer proved to be key, as Durbin knocked out a two-out solo shot to deep left in Boston’s ninth, but Garrett Cleavinger finalized the save with the final two outs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-NFL wide receiver Lance Rentzel dies at 82
Unknown date; Unknwon location, USA; FILE PHOTO; Dallas Cowboys reciever Lance Rentzel (19) on the bench during a game. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons- Imagn Images Lance Rentzel, who made headlines on and off he field during his nine NFL seasons, has died.
Media reports said he died Sunday in Alexandria, Va., with no cause of death revealed.
Rentzel was a second-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings out of Oklahoma in 1965. He made his way into the franchise record books as a rookie when he returned a kickoff 101 yards, a record that lasted until 2007.
The Vikings traded Rentzel to the Dallas Cowboys in 1967 after two injury-hampered seasons and an off-field issue, and he immediately became a key player in the Tom Landry offense. He gained more than 950 yards in each of his first three seasons in Dallas, playing in all 14 games each year. And in 1969, he led the NFL with 12 touchdown receptions and an average of 22.3 yards per catch.
With the Cowboys, he also caught a touchdown pass from Dan Reeves in the “Ice Bowl” against the Green Bay Packers in 1967.
His career in Dallas ended in 1970 after his arrest on charges of exposing himself to a young girl — repeating an allegation from an incident in Minnesota in 1966. In the 1970 incident, he received a three-year suspended sentence after entering a guilty plea and was put on probation. In the 1966 case, the judge ordered psychiatric care.
Following the 1970 arrest, Rentzel was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, and his wife — singer and actress Joey Heatherton — divorced him to end their brief marriage.
He played three seasons with the Rams between 1971 and 1974. The NFL suspended him indefinitely — it lasted the 1973 season — after his conviction for possession of marijuana.
In his career, Rentzel made 268 receptions for 4,826 yards, averaging 18 yards per catch, in 115 games (84 starts). He hauled in 38 touchdowns, ran for two more and returned 32 kckoffs for 783 yards.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Canada's Ismael Kone (fever) misses training session
Jun 1, 2026; Edmonton, Ontario, CAN; Team Canada midfielder Ismael Kone (8) is tackled by Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov (2) during there first half at Commonwealth Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images Canada midfielder Ismael Kone did not train with the team on Wednesday due to a fever, TSN reported.
Kone, 23, was wearing full gear before getting into a car and leaving practice on Wednesday, two days before the club is set to play its opening match of the World Cup.
Star defenders Moise Bombito (leg) and Alphonso Davies (hamstring) participated in the light training session.
The Canadians have until 3 p.m. ET on Thursday to adjust their roster.
They will compete in Group B and play their World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto on Friday. They also will meet Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24, with both matches in Vancouver.
Canada’s World Cup expectations were heightened by a fourth-place finish in the 2024 Copa America, the best performance of the six CONCACAF guest sides.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Elbow surgery to cost Phillies OF Johan Rojas rest of season
Jul 23, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas (23) hits an RBI single against the Boston Red Sox in the eleventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas will not return from suspension after all with the club ruling him out for the remainder of the season on Wednesday to undergo elbow surgery.
Rojas was handed an 80-game suspension in March that began at the start of the regular season after he was determined to have violated the league’s joint drug prevention and treatment program.
Wednesday’s Phillies game against the Toronto Blue Jays was the 68th game of the suspension.
As Rojas increased baseball activities in anticipation of his return, right elbow discomfort led to imaging that revealed a UCL tear. Surgery is scheduled for the coming weeks with the 25-year-old expected to be at full strength for the start of spring training next season.
Rojas appeared in 71 games for the Phillies in 2025 and batted .224 with one home run, 18 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. In 250 career games over three seasons, all in Philadelphia, Rojas has amassed six homers, 73 RBIs and 51 stolen bases while batting .252.
–Field Level Media
Ex-NFL wide receiver Lance Rentzel dies at 82
Report: Canada's Ismael Kone (fever) misses training session
