Sports
F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare retires after 700 games
Apr 18, 2024; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Seattle Kraken left wing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (41) reacts before a face-off against the Minnesota Wild in the second period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare officially has retired after 700 NHL games over 10 seasons with five teams.
Bellemare, who last suited up for the Seattle Kraken in 2023-24, played the most games by a French-born player in league history.
He recorded 138 points (64 goals, 74 assists) and a plus-22 rating with the Philadelphia Flyers (2014-17), Vegas Golden Knights (2017-19), Colorado Avalanche (2019-21), Tampa Bay Lightning (2021-23) and Kraken.
Vegas selected Bellemare with its 12th pick in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.
Bellemare, 41, also tallied five goals and 10 assists in 85 postseason games. His teams twice fell in the Stanley Cup Final: the Golden Knights lost to the Washington Capitals in 2018, and the Lightning lost to the Avalanche in 2022.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Athletics' Zack Gelof, Nick Kurtz look to create more runs vs. Angels
Jun 17, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics third baseman Zack Gelof (20) watches the ball after hitting a home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Angels and Athletics will get together for a four-game series when the American League West rivals begin the set on Thursday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
The Athletics took three of four games from the Angels in Anaheim from May 18-21, scoring 23 runs in the three victories.
A’s star Nick Kurtz had a season-best five RBIs — matched on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates — in one of the victories and the Athletics posted two 10-inning wins against the Angels during the set.
The Los Angeles victory came in dramatic fashion as Athletics right-hander J.T. Ginn took a no-hitter into the ninth inning on May 18. Adam Frazier singled to break up the no-hit bid and Zach Neto followed with a two-run walk-off homer to give the Angels a stunning 2-1 victory.
The Athletics just lost the final two contests of a three-game set against Pittsburgh. In the finale, the Pirates mauled the A’s 12-4 on Wednesday.
“We lost the series,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “We have the Angels coming in, a divisional opponent.
“We played the Angels pretty well down in (Anaheim), I think the games were really close and I expect the same type of games going into this weekend.”
Zack Gelof homered in the bottom of the ninth to extend his career-best hitting streak to 21 games. It rates as the top active streak in the majors.
Gelof is batting .366 (30-for-82) during the streak. He also has five homers in the past nine games.
Kotsay said it isn’t easy to keep a streak going in a player’s last at-bat of a game.
“Anytime you have a hitting streak on the line, you obviously know that this is an at-bat that you’re either going to end it or continue it,” Kotsay said. “Pretty impressive at-bat to not only get a hit, but to hit a home run. He’s competing and that’s what we want from these guys.”
The Angels have dropped three of their past four games after losing 8-1 to the host Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
Neto homered for the second straight game and has back-to-back two-hit outings after going 2-for-23 with 13 strikeouts over a five-game span. He also had a triple on Tuesday.
“It was good to see him walk and lay off some tough pitches,” Los Angeles manager Kurt Suzuki said. “The home run to center field, especially on an off-speed pitch, I thought that was a great sign. He’s just got to keep going and keep getting better.”
Mike Trout was 1-for-3 on Wednesday to increase his hitting streak to eight games. He has three homers during the stretch.
Trout leads the squad with 17 homers. Neto has 15.
Left-hander Gage Jump (2-1, 3.09 ERA) will make his fifth career start for the Athletics and first versus the Angels on Thursday.
The 23-year-old Jump took a no-decision against the Colorado Rockies in Las Vegas last Friday. He gave up three runs and five hits over five innings.
Jump won his previous two starts and allowed one run and six hits over 13 1/3 innings during the span.
The Angels haven’t announced a starter and could dip into Triple-A Salt Lake and summon one to West Sacramento.
Los Angeles also hasn’t tabbed a Friday starter but ace right-hander Jose Soriano (8-4, 2.79) could get the call.
Soriano received a no-decision against the Athletics on May 21 when he gave up two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings of the Angels’ 3-2 loss in 10 innings. He is 1-3 with a 7.82 ERA in nine career appearances (seven starts) against the A’s.
Soriano pitched five shutout innings of three-hit ball in an 8-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays last Saturday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
First round of U.S. Open suspended due to fog
Jun 17, 2026; Southampton, New York, USA; Grounds crew water the green on hole 18 iduring a practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images The first round of the 126th U.S. Open was halted soon after it began on Thursday.
Play at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., was suspended due to fog at 7:05 a.m. ET, approximately 30 minutes after the first group teed off.
When the horn sounded, 14 players had completed a hole.
Golfers on the course initially were told to hold in place for 15 minutes, but they were summoned quickly instead to the clubhouse given the visibility issues.
A 60% chance of precipitation and wind gusts approaching 36 mph are in Thursday’s forecast.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Guardians Injuries Could Change Cleveland's Trade Deadline Plans
It was an exciting start to the season for the Cleveland Guardians. They jumped out to an early lead in the AL Central, quickly pulling away from who they thought would be their biggest competitors, the Detroit Tigers.
They were even 5-0 against the team they had faced in the playoffs the prior two years. Then, in the blink of an eye, things got ugly. Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter, and Angel Martinez, the team’s 1-2-3 hitters, all went down in the same game.
Any team losing the top of their order would be a problem, but it especially hurts when the 27th-ranked scoring offense loses the top of their order.
Jose Ramirez is impossible to replace. Even in a down year, he already had generated 2+ WAR, and will always be the heart and soul of the Guardians lineup, and maybe even the city of Cleveland.
Luckily, Gabriel Arias was just activated off the IL, and he will fill in at 3B for the time being. He’s not Jose, but he has been a 99 OPS+ so far this season, meaning he’s essentially been a league-average hitter. He’ll also provide some pop in a lineup that’s in desperate need of power.
DeLauter and Martinez aren’t nearly as good as Ramirez; however, finding an outfielder to replace them in the Cleveland organization will be far more difficult. Petey Halpin makes his return from AAA, but I would be shocked to see him add much offensive support. Steven Kwan, Stuart Farichild, and Daniel Schneeman fill out the rest of an outfield that is the worst offensively in the sport.
Kahlil Watson is also getting the call from Columbus after slashing .255/.333/.436 with 12 HRs in AAA. He might be able to provide support to a struggling offense, but these injuries cause far bigger concerns.
Cleveland was looking like a potential buyer at the trade deadline, but I don’t see that happening now. The Guards are 25th in baseball in total home runs, and desperately need to add some power to the middle of their order.
Rhys Hoskins and Kyle Manzardo haven’t done enough to drive in runs, especially being a part of an offense that is 8th in baseball in walks. I fear that with these injuries, Cleveland’s front office is going to be far too comfortable to sit out at the trade deadline.
Jose Ramirez won’t be sidelined for the entire season, and you’ll only get so many more elite seasons out of him in his age-33 season and beyond. The Chicago White Sox are your only real competition in the AL Central, and I think you’d be insane not to try to make this roster better.
They have a war chest of talent spread throughout their minor league system, so you can easily buy at the deadline without completely stripping down your farm system.
It’ll be an interesting few weeks in Cleveland, and if they can keep the ship afloat, maybe they still make a big trade at the coming deadline.
Does Toy Story 5 have a credits scene?
Athletics' Zack Gelof, Nick Kurtz look to create more runs vs. Angels
