Sports
Guardians ready to celebrate in St. Louis
Sep 20, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas (8) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run off of St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Steven Matz (32) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images The Cleveland Guardians are on the brink of staging another celebration.
After clinching a playoff berth Thursday, the Guardians (90-65) reduced their magic number to one to clinch the American League Central title on Friday.
They can win the division crown Saturday with a Kansas City Royals loss or by earning another road victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
“You work every day to get into situations like this,” Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas told Bally Sports Cleveland. “I know the guys in this clubhouse like to work, and I think we’ll keep working until we get to where we want to be.”
Now they can win the division title and just about cement a bye in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
“We’ve been doing it all year, one game at a time,” catcher Austin Hedges said. “We play our ball; we’re a tough team to beat.”
Left-hander Matthew Boyd (2-1, 2.52 ERA) will continue his comeback from Tommy John surgery Saturday. He allowed just one earned run in five of his first six starts since signing with the Guardians as a free agent in the midseason and then completing his rehab work.
Boyd encountered trouble in his most recent outing, however, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks in 2 2/3 inning in a win against the Minnesota Twins on Monday. He struck out five of the eight batters he retired.
He is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two career outings against the Cardinals.
The Cardinals (77-77) ran out of mathematical life Friday. They were eliminated from the National League wild-card race after their 5-1 loss to the Guardians.
On Saturday, St. Louis will start Miles Mikolas (8-11, 5.49), who has struggled in the latter part of the season. He was 0-2 with a 6.39 ERA in five August starts, then he allowed 12 runs (nine earned) on 16 hits in just six innings in his first two starts this month.
He was somewhat better in his most recent start against the Toronto Blue Jays last Sunday. He allowed two runs on three hits in five innings in a game the Cardinals eventually lost 3-2.
Mikolas doesn’t like his team’s trend of losing close games this year.
“It’s Jon Bon Jovi ‘Livin’ on the Edge,'” Mikolas said. “It’s a fickle place to be. It’s rough walking the line on the razor’s edge there. It does make for some exciting games. I think if you asked a lot of people, we’d rather have some more blowouts in our favor.
“It’s a (Cardinals) lineup that can, for sure, put good swings on the ball and put a hurting on opposing pitchers. I think that’s something that we’ll start to do the end of this year and, hopefully, into next year as some of these young guys get more comfortable and the veterans get back into the swing of things.”
Mikolas lost his only career start against the Guardians while allowing two runs on five hits in seven innings. That was 10 years ago — Aug. 2. 2014 — when he was a member of the Texas Rangers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros place OF Joey Loperfido (quad) on injured list
Apr 11, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Joey Loperfido (10) is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring a run during the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images The Houston Astros placed outfielder Joey Loperfido on the injured list with a right quad strain on Sunday and recalled right-hander Jayden Murray from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Loperfido, 26, was batting .259 with six RBIs in 20 games this season. He started at least one game in all three outfield positions.
Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024 and then re-acquired via trade in February, Loperfido is a career .249 major league hitter with eight home runs and 45 RBIs in 142 games over three seasons.
Murray, 29, had one appearance earlier this season and has a 2.63 ERA in 10 games over the past two seasons for the Astros. His addition increases Houston’s staff to 13 pitchers.
Also on Sunday, the Astros traded minor league right-hander Wilmy Sanchez to the New York Yankees for infielder Braden Shewmake, a former first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2019.
In 31 major league games for the Braves and Chicago White Sox, Shewmake, 28, is batting .118 with a home run and four RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bryson DeChambeau (wrist) WDs from LIV Golf Mexico City
Apr 10, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Bryson DeChambeau reacts after his ball rolled down the slope on the 18th green during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images Bryson DeChambeau cited a wrist injury on Sunday for the reason he withdrew prior to the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City on Sunday in Naucalpan, Mexico.
“I experienced some discomfort in my wrist during (Saturday’s round) and have decided to withdraw from the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City to prevent further injury,” DeChambeau wrote on X. “Not how I wanted this week to go, but wishing the Crushers a strong finish. I’m going to take a few days to get evaluated and hope to be ready for LIV Golf Virginia.”
DeChambeau entered the final round at 2-over-par 215 at Club De Golf Chapultepec, 16 strokes behind leader Jon Rahm of Spain. DeChambeau hasn’t been too shy about complaining about the course conditions of the event, doing so on Friday for the second straight year.
DeChambeau, 32, prevailed in a playoff in consecutive weeks in March by winning at both LIV Golf Singapore and LIV Golf South Africa. The two-time U.S. Open champion has won five LIV Golf titles.
–Field Level Media
Sports
ATP roundup: Ben Shelton shows love of clay, wins BMW title
Ben Shelton connects with the ball during his second-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Friday, March 6, 2026. Ben Shelton rolled to his second title of the year, winning the BMW Open with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli at Munich, Germany.
Shelton won 85% of his first-serve points on the clay surface and saved all six break points he faced to win his fifth career title and first since Dallas earlier this year. Shelton showed his form early when he broke Cobolli’s serve twice in the first three games of the match.
With the second set tied 5-5, Shelton broke Cobolli again and won on serve on his first match point. Shelton became the first American man since 2009 to win three ATP 500 titles.
“I have big ambitions for the clay courts,” Shelton said in his post-match interview. “It is a surface I want to get better on each year. It is slowly becoming one of my favorite surfaces to play on.”
Barcelona Open
Arthur Fils of France held off a late charge from Russia’s Andrey Rublev to record a 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory in the final of the tournament.
Fils won his first title since returning in February after missing eight months because of a back injury.
Fils was well on his way to victory after cruising in the first set and leading 5-2 in the second before Rublev dug in his heels. Rublev broke Fils’ serve to pull within 5-4 in the second set, then staved off one match point to make it 5-5.
Rublev broke serve again to lead 6-5 in the second set before Fils finally regained control and finished off the match in a tiebreak.
“The end of the second set was just about the mental (pressure),” Fils said. “The whole match was a bit tough because I was a bit tight. I played well for a set and a half, but when I had to close, I started to think a little. But I’m very happy with the way I played the tiebreak.”
–Field Level Media
Astros place OF Joey Loperfido (quad) on injured list
Bryson DeChambeau (wrist) WDs from LIV Golf Mexico City
