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
Kerry Carpenter's double propels Tigers past White Sox
Jun 19, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox in the second inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images Kerry Carpenter had a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning and the host Detroit Tigers held on for a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Matt Vierling hit a two-run homer and Dillon Dingler supplied three hits and scored two runs for the Tigers.
Detroit ace Tarik Skubal allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Skubal, who recorded eight strikeouts, was making his second start since undergoing a surgical procedure on his pitching elbow.
Drew Anderson (3-3) struck out three in 1 1/3 innings of relief to get the win. Kenley Jensen pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
Junior Perez had the first two hits of his career, including a solo homer, for the White Sox. Randal Grichuk also homered.
Erick Fedde (2-6) gave up two runs in 4 2/3 innings for Chicago, striking out four and walking one.
Grichuk, the second batter of the game, drove a 1-2 changeup over the left-field wall to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. The Tigers answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Dingler smacked a single before Vierling drove a Brandon Eisert fastball over the left-center-field wall. Eisert was used as an opener, allowing the two runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Kevin McGonigle led off the bottom of the third with a double, but Fedde retired the next three batters to leave him stranded.
Chicago pushed across a run in the fifth to tie the score.
Sam Antonacci and Luisangel Acuna led off with singles to put runners on the corners. Tristan Peters hit into a fielder’s choice as Antonacci scored. Miguel Vargas singled and Grichuk walked to load the bases. Peters was thrown out at home on Chase Meidroth’s groundout and Colson Montgomery struck out, leaving the score at 2-all.
Perez gave the White Sox the lead on his breakthrough homer with one out in the sixth. He drove a Skubal changeup over the left-center-field wall.
Detroit regained the lead at 4-3 in the bottom of the frame. Dingler led off with a single and Riley Greene drew a one-out walk. With two down, Carpenter blooped a double to center to bring in both runners
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Big 12 keeps Brendan Sorsby lawsuit active amid draft questions
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby goes through warmups before the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Big 12 is not ready to close the book on the Brendan Sorsby case, even after the Texas Tech quarterback moved to leave college football behind.
The conference’s presidents and chancellors have not withdrawn the federal lawsuit filed earlier this week, with lingering questions about Sorsby’s NFL future and whether Texas Tech could still face consequences from the legal fight, a Big 12 source told ESPN. The league’s board of directors is expected to meet early next week to discuss its options.
“We don’t know the answer to those questions,” the source said. “We haven’t done anything different at this point. We’re going to reconvene next week to run through all the options. Right now that case is still active.”
The Big 12 filed suit Monday in the Northern District of Texas, looking for a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief that would allow the conference to use its bylaws to potentially discipline Sorsby. Hours later, Sorsby moved toward the NFL supplemental draft and dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA, a step needed for him to be declared ineligible in college by Monday’s deadline.
Sorsby admitted to violating NCAA rules by placing thousands of bets, including 40 on Indiana football while he was on the Hoosiers’ roster. The NFL still has to approve his application for the supplemental draft, which has not produced a selected player since 2019.
The Big 12 could also revisit whether Texas Tech should be responsible for the costs associated with the dispute. One Big 12 athletic director said the issue is less about punishment and more about whether the entire league should absorb legal fees from a case that other schools did not start..
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brazil's Raphinha (leg) departs match vs. Haiti
June 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.; Brazil’s Raphinha in action with Haiti’s Martin Experience. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — Brazil attacker Raphinha departed in the 40th minute of Friday night’s World Cup Group C clash against Haiti in Philadelphia with an apparent leg injury.
The 29-year-old FC Barcelona winger was making his second start of the tournament for manager Carlo Ancelotti after going the full 90 in a 1-1 draw against Morocco last Saturday.
He was a critical part of Brazil’s most recent qualifying effort, scoring five of the Selecao’s 24 goals while appearing in 13 of their 18 matches.
It was unclear what caused him to drop to his haunches shortly before halftime and eventually exit in favor of Rayan. He departed with his side leading 2-0 through Matheus Cunha’s brace, before Vinicius Junior added a third in first-half stoppage time.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Kerry Carpenter's double propels Tigers past White Sox
Report: Big 12 keeps Brendan Sorsby lawsuit active amid draft questions
