Sports
Guardians, back above .500, return home to face Twins
Apr 22, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Connor Prielipp (61) follows through on a pitch against the New York Mets during the third inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images The Cleveland Guardians are the only American League Central team with a winning record, sitting one game over .500 after completing 4-3 road trip against the Athletics and Kansas City Royals.
Following victories in the final two contests at Kansas City, the Guardians are back home to begin a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.
In the opening contest, Cleveland left-hander Parker Messick (3-1, 2.40 ERA) will take on Twins lefty Connor Prielipp (1-0, 3.86) in a battle of rookies.
Messick absorbed his first loss in his latest start, when he gave up four runs in five innings against the Athletics on Sunday. He pitched adequately in defeat, striking out six without a walk, but was done in by allowing three home runs.
“The thing I like to live on is any pitch is the right pitch in the right spot,” said Messick, who is 6-2 with a 2.56 ERA through 14 major league starts. “And the quicker I can control the tempo in the game, the more I can control.”
The burly hurler has faced the Twins once, working 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a no-decision last Sept. 19 in Minnesota. Messick is 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA in seven career home appearances and 3-1 with a 2.52 ERA in seven road starts.
He credits Guardians catchers Austin Hedges, Bo Naylor and David Fry with helping him make a smooth transition to this level. Hedges was behind the plate when Messick came within three outs of a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on April 16.
“Hedgey, he’s the man back there for me,” Messick said. “He’s constantly communicating, sometimes telling me to slow down and sometimes speeding me up when I need it.
“It’s all the guys, really. I’m super blessed to be a young guy on a team with three great catchers.”
Minnesota is midway through a six-game trip, having dropped its final two to the Washington Nationals by a combined 22-7 score to match its low mark of six games under .500.
The Twins’ trip to Washington ended on a very sour note Thursday as starter Simeon Woods Richardson and Anthony Banda combined to hit two batters and walk two more in the fifth inning, leading to three runs and a 7-5 loss.
“We did not play a good baseball game and there are a lot of things we need to improve from it,” Minnesota manager Derek Shelton said. “We can’t hit guys and have free passes. We allowed them to have extra outs, and we can’t do that.”
The Twins went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position as Brooks Lee drove in two runs and Ryan Jeffers homered and doubled twice, but Shelton also wasn’t pleased with the club’s offense.
Leaving nine runners on base in a two-run game was his primary complaint.
“We had chances, but we gave away outs,” Shelton said. “We had three runners on third base with less than two outs. You have to take advantage of those situations.”
Prielipp, who made his major league debut April 22 against the New York Mets, earned his initial win five days later at home against the Seattle Mariners. He has given up exactly two runs in all three of his starts, totaling 15 strikeouts and five walks over 14 innings.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in two outings against AL foes, but this will be his first appearance against the Guardians.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Veteran QB Taylor Heinicke announces retirement
Dec 24, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) throws the football during the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images Veteran quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who went from undrafted to a playoff starter in the NFL, announced his retirement on Thursday.
“For 25 years, I had the pleasure to play this great sport of football,” Heinicke wrote in an Instagram post. “It has taught me a lot, not only about myself but about life as well. Many ups and downs throughout the years, but the ups outweigh the downs tenfold. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would’ve been able to live this life.
“Thank you to all who have supported me in this journey. Thank you all who have believed in me. And thank you to those who gave me the opportunity to live out my childhood dream. Excited for this next chapter of my life!”
Heinicke, 33, signed with the then-Washington Football Team in 2020 after appearing in seven games (one start) over the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers, respectively.
A month after signing to the practice squad, he started Washington’s wild-card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 9, 2021, completing 26 of 44 passes for 306 yards, a touchdown and an interception in a 31-23 loss.
That performance led Washington to sign Heinicke to a two-year contract. He made 15 of his 29 career starts in 2021 for Washington, completing 65% of his passes for 3,419 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also ran for 313 yards in 2021, finishing with a 7-8 record as a starter.
Heinicke last played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024 and was released from the team during preseason ahead of the 2025 season.
He finishes his career with 6,663 yards, 39 touchdowns and 28 interceptions in 42 games for the Texans, Panthers, Washington Commanders (2020-22), Atlanta Falcons (2023) and Chargers. Heinicke went 13-15-1 as an NFL starter.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Vikings agree to 1-year deal with former 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings
Dec 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) runs to score a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the second half at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images The Minnesota Vikings added to their receiver depth by agreeing to deal with former San Francisco 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings on Thursday.
The team didn’t disclose the terms, but The Athletic reported it’s a one-year deal with a base salary of $8 million with incentives which could pay Jennings as much as $13 million.
Jennings, 28, was a seventh-round pick by the 49ers in 2020 but became a critical member of their receiver corps. He broke out with 975 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 77 catches in 2024 and led all of San Francisco’s receivers with 643 yards last season, catching a team- and career-high nine touchdown passes.
Over five seasons of action with the 49ers, Jennings caught 210 passes for 2,581 yards and 22 touchdowns.
San Francisco elected not to re-sign him this offseason, allowing Minnesota to add to one of the better receiver rooms in the league as Jennings joins Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
That’s a strong trio of options for whoever wins the Vikings’ quarterback competition between 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy and free-agent signee Kyler Murray.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dominant Hurricanes blow past Flyers to take 3-0 series lead
May 7, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period in game three of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and an assist Thursday as the visiting Carolina Hurricanes topped the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven second-round series.
Frederik Andersen made 18 saves and Jalen Chatfield scored the go-ahead goal for Carolina, which improved to 7-0 this postseason. The Hurricanes will go for a sweep when the teams reconvene in Philadelphia for Game 4 on Saturday.
After upsetting the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, Philadelphia has had its hands full with the Hurricanes. Dan Vladar made 26 saves and Trevor Zegras scored the lone goal for the Flyers, who went 0-for-5 with the man advantage while allowing two power-play goals as well as a shorthanded tally.
With the game tied 1-1 late in the second, Philadelphia began a power play with an offensive zone draw, but it was Carolina that scored 11 seconds later. Jordan Martinook made a diving play to spring a 2-on-1, and Staal fed Chatfield for a one-timer that zipped just under the crossbar.
The Flyers failed to score on that power play, even though they had a two-man advantage for more than a minute of it.
The Hurricanes tacked on a pair of third-period goals – Svechnikov’s one-timer on a 4-on-3 power play and Nikolaj Ehlers’ wrister on a breakaway.
The Flyers pressured Andersen early with a handful of great chances in the first period.
Travis Konecny snuck behind the Carolina defense, only to have his shot skim off the post. Several minutes later, Porter Martone hit the crossbar. Then the rookie winger set up Alex Bump on a great opportunity on a 2-on-0 in front of the net, but Andersen was up to the challenge.
Finally, a shot by Rasmus Ristolainen slipped through Andersen and was about to cross the goal line when Jaccob Slavin swept it away at the last moment.
In the midst of the Flyers’ pressure, the Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead. A shot by Svechnikov hit off the boards and caromed back in front of the crease, where Staal swept the puck off Vladar and into the net.
Carolina led 1-0 after one period, but Philadelphia tied it up 2:31 into the second. A loose puck found its way to Zegras in the right circle, and he elevated a shot past Andersen to forge a 1-1 tie.
Emotions ran high throughout the third period, where 36 of the game’s 58 penalty minutes were given out. That included a game misconduct on Konecny with 2:19 left and 26 penalty minutes in the final three minutes when the game had been effectively decided.
–Field Level Media
Veteran QB Taylor Heinicke announces retirement
Vikings agree to 1-year deal with former 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings
