Sports
Former Penguins get revenge vs. old team, lead Wild to victory
Oct 29, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Wild center Jakub Lauko (94) celebrates his goal with the Wild bench against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Frederick Gaudreau scored two goals and Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves against their former team, lifting the visiting Minnesota Wild to a 5-3 victory over the reeling Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
Gaudreau played in 19 games with the Penguins during the 2020-21 season while Fleury competed presumably in his last trip to Pittsburgh, where he spent his first 13 NHL seasons after the Penguins selected him with the top overall pick of the 2003 draft. Fleury, 39, announced that he is retiring at the end of the season.
A three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Penguins, Fleury was cheered for by the fans at PPG Paints Arena after being named the first star of the game.
Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov scored into an empty net and notched a pair of assists to extend his multi-point streak to a franchise-high-tying six games. Mats Zuccarello also recorded multi-point performances in six straight games in 2021-22.
Jakub Lauko and Zuccarello also scored, and Wild captain Jared Spurgeon finished with a plus-two rating in his return from a six-game absence due to a lower-body injury.
Pittsburgh’s Rickard Rakell scored two goals, Valtteri Puustinen also scored and Sidney Crosby notched three assists. Joel Blomqvist turned aside 34 shots for the Penguins, who have lost six in a row (0-5-1).
Rakell’s turnaround shot from the slot gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead with 4:29 remaining in the first period before Minnesota responded with a flourish.
Lauko’s sharp-angle shot from just inside the goal line slipped past Blomqvist to halve the deficit at 17:03 before Gaudreau chipped the puck under the crossbar to forge a 2-2 tie.
The Wild took advantage of a Penguins turnover in the offensive end, resulting in Gaudreau coming off the bench for a partial breakaway. Gaudreau skated in and beat Blomqvist inside the right post for his second goal of the game at 1:38 of the second period.
Kaprizov collected the puck in the right circle and alertly found Zuccarello at the back post for an easy conversion. Zuccarello’s fifth goal of the season gave Minnesota a 4-2 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the second period.
Rakell’s deflection in front of the net resulted in his sixth goal of the season at 3:36 of the third period, but Pittsburgh failed to net the equalizer.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Red Sox tie club mark with 15th straight win in DH opener vs. O's
Jul 22, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) hits a two run RBI double against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Ceddanne Rafaela homered, Jarren Duran drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox tied a franchise record for consecutive victories with 15 by beating the visiting Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the first game of a split doubleheader Wednesday.
The Red Sox, who also won 15 straight during the 1946 season, haven’t lost since a 10-2 home setback against the Washington Nationals on July 1.
Boston starter Jake Bennett (6-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and struck out five. Aroldis Chapman tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 23rd save of 2026 and 390th overall, tying him for ninth on the all-time list with former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley.
Dean Kremer (1-3) gave up six runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Rafaela, Caleb Durbin and Willson Contreras each collected two hits for the Red Sox, who never trailed.
Baltimore received a solo home run from Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who had three hits and two RBIs.
Durbin’s two-run single and a two-run triple from Duran handed Boston a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Baltimore made it 4-1 in the third, when Pete Alonso doubled and scored on Tyler O’Neill’s two-out double that Rafaela lost in the sun.
The Red Sox regained a four-run lead in the bottom of the third. Durbin scored on Duran’s sacrifice fly to make it a 5-1 contest.
Encarnacion-Strand’s home run came against Bennett in the fourth and cut Boston’s lead to 5-2. It was his second home run in as many games since being called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.
Rafaela’s home run, his ninth of the season, extended Boston’s edge to 6-2 in the bottom of the fourth, but Encarnacion-Strand’s third hit of the game was an RBI single that drove in Coby Mayo and trimmed Boston’s advantage to 6-3 in the sixth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Guardians star 3B Jose Ramirez activated, batting second
Jun 8, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) celebrates after scoring during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images In a virtual tie atop the American League Central, the Cleveland Guardians received a major boost with the activation of star third baseman Jose Ramirez, who is in the starting lineup and batting second Wednesday against the visiting Minnesota Twins.
Ramirez, 33, a seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger, had been out since June 13 with a left hamate fracture. He underwent surgery three days later and was given a timetable of five to seven weeks. Wednesday marked five weeks and a day since the procedure.
In a corresponding move, outfielder Kahlil WIlson was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
Without Ramirez, the Guardians went 15-15 but struggled offensively, ranking 28th in the majors in runs (121) and 26th in OPS (.690). In 72 games this season, the 14-year veteran is hitting .239 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs, along with 18 doubles and 24 stolen bases.
In other injury news, Cleveland outfielder Angel Martinez began a rehab assignment on Friday after suffering a non-displaced left foot fracture the same day of Ramirez’s injury.
Martinez played seven innings in his third rehab game for Triple-A Akron on Tuesday and could be activated by this weekend, MLB.com reported. In 66 games this season for Cleveland, he has hit .239 with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spain's Gavi: No suspension for Argentina’s Leandro Paredes
July 19, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.; Argentina’s Leandro Paredes clashes with Spain’s Gavi next to assistant coach Walter Samuel. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images Spain midfielder Gavi doesn’t feel Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes should be suspended for his postgame tirade following Spain’s 1-0 victory in Sunday’s World Cup final.
Tensions were high after the match and Paredes had a hand in elevating them further. While players were mixing it up, Paredes charged in from behind and crashed into Gavi, eliciting further pushing and shoving and an occasional swing.
FIFA said earlier this week it will have a prosecutor conduct an investigation.
Still, Gavi said Paredes shouldn’t receive a ban.
“I don’t think he should be suspended,” Gavi said after the match. “I understand it’s not a good image for children, but I think there’s also that side to football, which is a bit more physical, more aggressive.
“The most logical thing would have been to send him off during the match, and that’s it. In the end, I think it’s all football, and it has to be that way.”
Gavi became involved in the incident after attempting to intervene in a confrontation that involved teammate Eric Garcia.
At one point, Paredes was listed as receiving a red card for his postgame actions. That was deleted a short time later.
After the match, Paredes was asked about the incident.
“I was just talking to them after the match,” Paredes said. “Things got heated with their teammates being aggressive. … They didn’t need to get physical like that. It was childish.”
Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal in the 106th minute for Spain.
–Field Level Media
Red Sox tie club mark with 15th straight win in DH opener vs. O's
Guardians star 3B Jose Ramirez activated, batting second
