Sports
Iran officials aim to meet with FIFA, discuss World Cup issues
Nov 29, 2022; Doha, Qatar; Iran defender Abolfazl Jalali (25) dribbles the ball against the United States of America during the second half of a group stage match during the 2022 World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-Imagn Images Soccer officials from Iran are intent on meeting with FIFA’s leadership about its upcoming World Cup matches in the United States.
Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s soccer administration, informed Iranian media Friday that the country’s soccer leadership has issues it wants to discuss with the international governing body. Iran was the only FIFA federation among the 211 member countries without representation at this week’s FIFA congress in Vancouver.
That meeting is expected to happen before May 20 at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, the Associated Press reported.
Taj gave further insight to an incident this week when he and the other traveling members of the Iran delegation had issues getting into Toronto while on the way to Vancouver for the FIFA congress. Canadian immigration authorities questioned Taj about ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
They were reportedly detained for two hours before being told they could continue on to Vancouver but instead elected to leave the country.
“We all had visas and were even checked in Turkey. They told us they had questions for you and asked if we were members of the IRGC,” Taj said, according to Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim.
“We told them that there are 90 million IRGC members in Iran. They said that we don’t allow people from this organization in. They said that it is the laws of our country.
“After a while, they said you can enter but we decided to return. They didn’t deport us and we decided to return ourselves… I told the Canadians that you kept us at the ?airport ?for three hours, you made us wait for nothing.”
There has been much speculation about whether Iran would be able and/or willing to participate in this summer’s World Cup in North America in the aftermath of the U.S. and Israel launching a dual military attack against Iran in February.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said at Thursday’s annual congress that Iran will be coming to the U.S. and playing as scheduled in the event. This goes against Iran’s request in March for its matches to be moved to Mexico.
Iran, which is in Group G alongside New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt, is scheduled to have its base camp set up in Tucson, Ariz. The team is set to play two group-stage matches in Inglewood, Calif. (June 15 and 21) before closing group play in Seattle on June 26.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Guardians' Travis Bazzana strives to heat up in finale vs. A's
Apr 29, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana (37) before the game between the Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Cleveland Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana is breathing a sigh of relief after recording his first major league hit in Saturday’s game against the Athletics, snapping an 0-for-12 spell to start his career.
Bazzana will look for more production at the plate on Sunday afternoon when Cleveland vies for a sweep of its three-game series against the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.
The Guardians selected Bazzana with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft after his standout college career at Oregon State. While his first full season in the organization in 2025 was hampered by an oblique injury, it did not delay his fast track to the majors. The 23-year-old from Australia made his debut on Tuesday.
A .407 hitter in his final college season, Bazzana got his first major league hit when he singled off Hogan Harris in the seventh inning of Cleveland’s 14-6 win over the A’s on Saturday. Bazzana even accomplished two goals in one swing — the single also gave him his first two RBIs.
“It was a competitive at-bat, and I was confident he was going to go at me with the fastball right there — I got a good one,” Bazzana said.
With his first hit out of the way, Bazzana hopes to catch the slipstream of his teammate Chase DeLauter, who’s been on a tear at the plate. DeLauter extended his hitting streak to seven games and has reached base in 11 straight after recording a single in the second inning on Saturday.
With 8-5 and 14-6 victories secured on Friday and Saturday, the Guardians already have snapped a stretch of three straight lost series. Now they will turn to left-hander Parker Messick (3-0, 1.73 ERA) to try and complete the series sweep.
The 25-year-old out of Florida State has instantly made a name for himself since debuting in August 2025, allowing two or fewer runs in 10 of his first 13 career starts.
On April 16, Messick took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against Baltimore but was removed after giving up two runs and two hits over eight innings. Sunday will mark his first-ever appearance vs. the Athletics.
Messick will oppose A’s right-hander Aaron Civale (2-1, 3.23 ERA), who spent the first four full seasons of his career in Cleveland before being traded to Tampa Bay in 2023. He then split time between the Rays, Milwaukee and both Chicago teams before joining the Athletics on a one-year deal this past offseason.
Civale, 30, is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four career starts against the Guardians. He was a late addition to the A’s roster in February but has emerged as one of their most consistent starters.
“Overall, he keeps us in games right now, and that’s a good sign,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said after Civale’s last start on Tuesday.
The A’s lost to Kansas City 4-1 in 10 innings, but Civale threw five shutout innings in a no-decision.
–Field Level Media
Sports
After late rally, Royals bid for rare road sweep of Mariners
May 2, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Lucas Erceg (60) shakes hands with catcher Carter Jensen (22) following a victory against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images As Emerson Hancock was warming up Saturday, he caught himself watching some of the video tributes on the scoreboard at T-Mobile Park for Randy Johnson, whose No. 51 jersey was retired by the Seattle Mariners in a pregame ceremony.
Hancock then went out did his best impression of the “Big Unit.”
The former first-round pick struck out a career-high 14 batters over seven innings but didn’t get a decision as the Kansas City Royals rallied for a 3-2 victory in 10 innings.
The Royals, who came to Seattle with a 3-12 road record, will try for a sweep of the three-game series Sunday afternoon. They’ve already clinched their first road series victory of the season.
“You know a lot of these games are going to be close when you’re playing good teams,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Today the pitching really held up and the offense came through. (Friday) it was more the opposite. When things are going well for you, you’re winning games no matter which way you have to do it.”
Hancock, whose previous best was nine strikeouts set March 29 against Cleveland in his first start of the season, allowed one run on six hits and didn’t walk a batter.
“Congrats to Randy on an incredible career,” Hancock said. “It was an honor for me to pitch on a night like this. You just want to go out and execute the best you can.”
Catcher Cal Raleigh was a late scratch for undisclosed reasons, so Hancock worked with veteran backup Mitch Garver instead.
“He and Garve had an incredible game plan, mixing hard and soft,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.
Wilson described Raleigh, coming off a record-breaking season with 60 home runs, as having “just a little soreness.” He said the catcher would undergo additional testing Sunday but refused to disclose what part of Raleigh’s body was ailing.
The Royals tied the score in the ninth inning.
Salvador Perez led off with a single and was replaced by pinch-runner Lane Thomas, who advanced to second on a balk by Mariners closer Andres Munoz. With one out, Jac Caglianone lined a single to left-center, with the ball bouncing between the legs of outfielder Julio Rodriguez and rolling all the way to the wall, allowing Thomas to score and Caglianone to take third.
Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice fly in the 10th produced the winning run after ghost runner Michael Massey stole third base on a pickoff attempt by Garver.
“Not exactly how we drew it up,” Quatraro said.
The Mariners took the lead in the fifth as Leo Rivas scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded. They blew a chance at a big inning when Randy Arozarena forgot the count and was picked off first base.
“It was kind of a crazy game with the balk and Randy losing track …” Wilson said. “You don’t play this game without embarrassing things happening at times.”
Sunday’s series finale is set to feature Royals left-hander Kris Bubic (2-1, 3.74 ERA) against Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo (0-2, 6.35).
Bubic took a no-decision Tuesday against the Athletics in a game the Royals won 4-1 in West Sacramento, Calif. He went five innings and allowed one run on four hits, with four walks and six strikeouts. Bubic is 1-0 with a 7.27 ERA in four career starts against Seattle.
Castillo is coming off an 11-4 loss at Minnesota in which he gave up seven runs over five innings. He’s 3-2 with a 3.47 ERA in eight previous starts versus the Royals.
–Field Level Media
Sports
White Sox pursue sixth straight victory, sweep of Padres
May 1, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5), right is congratulated by center fielder Tristan Peters (29), left, and catcher Drew Romo (36) after hitting a three-run home run during the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images While the Chicago White Sox’s power duo of Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery didn’t homer on Saturday night, their ability to hit the long ball has fueled the team’s longest winning streak in four years.
Chicago beat the host San Diego Padres 4-0 on Saturday night for its fifth straight victory and will go for a series sweep on Sunday afternoon.
Murakami leads the majors with 13 homers, and Montgomery is tied for 13th with nine. They’ve homered in the same game seven times in the team’s first 33 contests, the most by any teammate duo within the first 35 games of a season in MLB history.
“When you have guys in the middle of the order that are able to change the score with one swing, obviously it’s going to make a big difference,” White Sox manager Will Venable said.
Add Miguel Vargas’ six homers to the mix and you have three players teaming for 28 of the club’s 40 homers, which are good for a ninth-place tie in MLB.
Murakami, in his first season in the majors after playing in Japan, only figures to be more dangerous as he learns more about the pitchers, most of whom he’s facing for the first time.
“There’s still a lot of learning curve of the game,” he said through an interpreter.
Murakami and his teammates will try to provide plenty of run support Sunday for left-hander Anthony Kay (1-1, 6.12 ERA), who’s coming off a no-decision Monday in his team’s 8-7 home win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Kay permitted seven hits and four runs in four innings, walking two and striking out two. This will be his first career start against San Diego.
The Padres announced a change to their rotation after Saturday night’s game. Manager Craig Stammen said right-hander Griffin Canning would be activated from the injured list to make his first start of the season.
Canning, who was 7-3 with a 3.77 ERA last year for the New York Mets before suffering a season-ending ruptured Achilles, is 3-1 with a 2.86 ERA in four career starts against the White Sox.
Stammen said that the plan to start Canning on Sunday actually came to fruition earlier in the week.
“We just wanted to split Michael (King) and Randy (Vasquez) up a bit,” Stammen said.
Besides adding depth to a rotation that has battled injuries to start the season, Stammen also is looking for better, more consistent approaches from his hitters. San Diego has just nine runs in a four-game losing streak and was blanked at home Saturday for the first time this year.
“While there are some good at-bats in there, there are also some not-so-good at-bats in there,” Stammen said. “We have to figure out a way to stick nine good ones together through the entire lineup.”
The Padres are batting just .235 with a .307 on-base percentage this season, ranking 21st and 25th, respectively, in the majors. Their 29 homers are tied for 24th.
–Field Level Media
