Sports
Fresh off stellar MLB debut, Tigers' Max Clark looks for encore vs. A's
Jul 31, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder Max Clark (15) hits a double against the Athletics deighth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images Max Clark didn’t wait long to put on a show, reaching base four times and excelling in his major league debut.
Clark will attempt to make Game No. 2 a hit as well when the Detroit Tigers battle the Athletics on Saturday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
The 21-year-old Clark, the Tigers’ No. 1 prospect, went 3-for-4 with a walk in his first big league outing as Detroit rolled to a 13-1 victory over the A’s on Friday night. The center fielder scored twice and drove in one with his parents, wife and other family members in the stands.
“It has been surreal. It’s a childhood dream come true,” the left-handed-hitting Clark said after a performance that included two doubles. “I’m blessed to say the least. … I felt very confident coming in (Friday), just backed by the guys and we got it done.”
Clark was rated as the No. 13 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. The No. 3 overall pick in 2023, he arrives at a time in which Detroit’s season hangs in the balance.
The Tigers are six games below .500 and stand eighth in the American League wild-card battle in which only three teams will make the postseason.
The trade deadline is Monday and starting pitchers Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize are among the players who could be on the move.
Clark isn’t worried about that aspect. He‘s focused on making an impact.
“I’m going to do everything I can to play winning baseball,” Clark said. “The stats will come and go. Baseball has an ebb of ups and downs when it comes to the hitting side.”
Dillon Dingler belted his first career grand slam, Ben Malgeri hit his first career homer and Kevin McGonigle also went deep in Friday’s game.
Jonah Heim had an RBI double for the struggling Athletics, who have dropped six of seven games and 27 of 34.
All-Star slugger Nick Kurtz went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and a walk and is 1-for-36 over the past 12 games.
But nobody is happy with a month that saw the Athletics go 5-19.
“We need to improve, right? That’s a fact,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “It’s never fun going through a month like this. We need to turn the page, start fresh in August, and start stacking as many wins together as we can.”
The Athletics will look to solve Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez (5-7, 4.53 ERA), who has a 1.38 WHIP and only 92 strikeouts in 21 starts. He fanned 187 batters in 31 outings for the Houston Astros last season.
Valdez, 32, defeated the Athletics on July 9 when he gave up one run and three hits over seven innings. He struck out a season-best nine and walked none.
However, he gave up six runs in two-thirds of an inning while losing to the Chicago Cubs on July 21. He then received a no-decision against the Kansas City Royals five days later when he allowed three runs (two earned) and four hits over five innings.
Valdez is 9-4 with a 2.49 ERA in 18 appearances (16 starts) against the A’s. Heim (7-for-32) has hit two homers off Valdez and Kurtz (4-for-9) has taken him deep once.
Right-hander Jack Perkins (2-6, 6.45) takes the mound for the Athletics. He lost to the Boston Red Sox on Monday despite taking a no-hitter into the sixth — he gave up two runs and one hit over 5 2/3 innings.
Perkins struggled in July by going 0-3 with a 7.79 ERA in four appearances (three starts). One of the losses came in relief against the Tigers when he gave up three runs and two hits in three innings in the contest started by Valdez.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sabrina Ionescu (27 points), Liberty surge past Mercury
Aug 1, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) against Phoenix Mercury forward Noemie Brochant (1) in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Sabrina Ionescu had 27 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and the New York Liberty overcame a 10-point second-half deficit for a 94-92 victory over the host Phoenix Mercury on Saturday afternoon.
Breanna Stewart had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Han Xu had season highs with 17 points and three 3-pointers for the Liberty (17-13), who have won four of five.
DeWanna Bonner had a season-high 25 points along with seven rebounds and Kahleah Copper also scored 25 for the Mercury (11-19), who had a three-game winning streak broken.vAlyssa Thomas contributed 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Jonquel Jones added 16 points and nine rebounds, and her putback gave the Liberty an 89-83 lead with 1:38 left. Rebecca Allen’s 3-pointer on the next possession made it 92-84.
The Liberty swept the three-game season series after winning back-to-back games in New York on May 27 and 29.
Bonner made a 3-pointer after a New York turnover to close the gap to 92-90 with 24.1 seconds remaining after the last of three straight Liberty turnovers.
Stewart hit two free throws with 12.7 left for a 94-90 lead. Thomas’ layup with four seconds left brought the Mercury close, but the Liberty inbounded the ball and the Mercury could not foul as time expired.
The Liberty had a 37-23 rebounding edge, 16 second-chance points and 44 points in the paint.
Ionescu had seven points in the first quarter, when the Liberty scored 11 of the first 12 points and used a late 9-2 run for a 26-15 edge at the quarter. Their largest lead of the game was 13.
Bonner scored eight points as the Mercury closed the second quarter on an 18-9 stretch to get within 46-43 at the break. Stewart, who passed Candace Parker as the 10th-leading all-time scorer in the league Thursday, had six points in the first half.
Noemie Brochant’s 3-pointer gave the Mercury their first lead at 50-48 with 8:17 left in the third quarter.
Copper’s second 3-pointer capped a 12-0 run to give the Mercury their largest lead at 62-52 with 4:06 remaining in the third. The Liberty closed on a 12-1 run capped by Ionescu’s 3-pointer for a 66-65 edge.
The Liberty did not trail the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pirates acquire veteran RHP Camilo Doval from Yankees
May 27, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Camilo Doval (75) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired right-handed reliever Camilo Doval from the New York Yankees on Saturday in exchange for two prospects.
Doval, 29, is 3-1 with one save and a 4.54 ERA in 44 appearances out of the New York bullpen this season. The Pirates were seeking late-game relief help.
The Yankees received catcher Omar Alfonzo and outfielder Luis Cruz in the deal. New York also included cash as part of the trade.
New York acquired Doval, a former All-Star closer, in a deal with the San Francisco Giants at last year’s trade deadline.
Doval is 29-20 with 109 saves and a 3.53 ERA in 341 career relief outings with the Giants (2021-25) and Yankees. He tied for the National League lead with 39 saves in 2023 when he made the NL All-Star team.
Alfonzo, 22, was batting .238 with nine homers and 35 RBIs in 62 games this season, including 60 for Double-A Altoona.
Cruz, 18, was batting .300 with eight RBIs and eight steals in 19 games for the Pirates’ Dominican Summer League affiliate.
The MLB trade deadline is Monday at 6 p.m. ET.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Blazers sign F Jeremy Sochan to one-year contract
Mar 22, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Jeremy Sochan (20) runs up court after a basket during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Portland Trail Blazers forward Jeremy Sochan agreed to a one-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, per ESPN.
Sochan was the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
Across three-plus seasons with the Spurs, he averaged 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 212 games (149 starts). He shot 46.8% from the field and 28.7% from 3-point range.
He was waived by the Spurs in February. He then signed with the New York Knicks.
The 23-year-old only appeared in 16 regular season games for the Knicks, averaging a meager 6.9 minutes per game. In that limited run, he averaged 2.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists, while shooting 56.7% from the field.
During the postseason, he appeared in eight games during the team’s championship run, playing 26 total minutes and averaging 2.5 points.
Now, the former lottery pick will look to earn a bigger role on a revamped Blazers squad. Portland has a loaded backcourt with Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, Jrue Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson. The 6-foot-8 Sochan will give them frontcourt depth behind Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara.
–Field Level Media
Sabrina Ionescu (27 points), Liberty surge past Mercury
Pirates acquire veteran RHP Camilo Doval from Yankees
