Sports
Josh Jung, Rangers shoot for series win vs. Athletics
Apr 21, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung (6) throws out Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Nick Yorke (not pictured) at first base during the ninth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Josh Jung is having an April to remember for the Texas Rangers, who will face the Athletics in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
Jung continued his hot streak with a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning of Saturday’s 4-3 victory. The win moved Texas one game over .500 and into a tie for first place in the American League West with the Athletics.
After going 0-for-17 in March, Jung is batting .371 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 20 April games. He said after Saturday’s contest that he remains focused on improving his approach at the plate.
“I think I could (improve) every night,” Jung said. “There’s a couple of at-bats I wish I could have back. But that (homer) was in a big spot. Over this little stretch I’ve been on, I’ve been able to execute. Every day is a battle to get in there and execute. You get four or five at-bats, and how many can you win.”
Sunday’s pitching matchup will feature a pair of right-handers as the Rangers’ Kumar Rocker (1-1, 3.48 ERA) faces J.T. Ginn (0-0, 3.74).
Rocker retired 13 consecutive hitters at one point and allowed one run across six innings in a 5-1 home win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.
“One of the best parts was, after the first inning, he put up five zeros,” Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. “To keep us in the game and then provide the innings after that, and just kind of shut the momentum down on their side, was a huge step for him.”
Rocker owns a 19-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in four starts this season covering 20 2/3 innings.
Shea Langeliers is 3-for-6 against Rocker, who is 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA in three career starts vs. the Athletics.
Ginn allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Seattle Mariners on Monday. The A’s won 6-4.
“It was a solid outing for J.T.,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “Any time a young guy goes out and gives up some (early) contact, it’s easy for things to kind of unwind. But I was impressed by how he finished. His sinker had a lot of life.”
Jung has two homers in eight at-bats against Ginn, who is 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA in five career starts vs. Texas.
The Athletics are looking to bounce back after losing Saturday despite out-hitting the Rangers 7-5.
“We came out and took some great at-bats,” Kotsay said. “Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap to the other starter, who gave them five good innings and kept us at three runs. Offensively, we just didn’t add onto the lead and give ourselves any margin for error.”
Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz tied a franchise record by drawing a walk in his 15th consecutive game.
Kotsay is monitoring the status of designated hitter Brent Rooker, who has not played since April 9 because of a right oblique strain and is nearing a return to the lineup. Kotsay said Rooker might not need a rehab assignment and could rejoin the team in the next few days.
–Field Level Media
Sports
BetBoom Team advances to grand final of PGL Wallachia 8
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. BetBoom Team downed Aurora Gaming 2-1 on Saturday to advance to the grand final of the PGL Wallachia Season 8 event at Bucharest, Romania.
Aurora Gaming could earn a rematch in Sunday’s grand final if they can defeat Team Falcons in the lower-bracket final earlier in the day.
Sixteen teams began the $1 million Dota 2 tournament with the top eight advancing from the Swiss-system group stage. The double-elimination playoffs continue with all matches best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final on Sunday. The winning side will take home $300,000.
On Saturday, BetBoom Team opened the upper-bracket final with a marathon 82-minute victory on red, then Aurora Gaming drew level with a win in 40 minutes on red, before BetBoom emerged with a 37-minute win on green.
Russian Danil “gpk” Skutin paced BetBoom with a 32-7-44 kill-death-assist ratio over three games.
Team Liquid swept the South America Rejects in one lower-bracket quarterfinal, winning in 38 minutes on green and 49 minutes on red.
Poland’s Michal “Nisha” Jankowski led Team Liquid with a 22-6-28 K-D-A ratio.
In the other lower-bracket quarterfinal, Team Falcons swept PARIVISION by winning in 45 minutes on red and 43 minutes on green.
Jordan’s Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf paced Team Falcons with a 21-11-17 K-D-A ratio.
Team Falcons outlasted Team Liquid 2-1 in the lower-bracket semifinals. The Falcons won the opener in 53 minutes on green, Liquid drew even in 38 minutes on green and Team Falcons won a 74-minute battle on green in the deciding faceoff.
Oliver “skiter” Lepko of Slovakia helped Team Falcons’ cause with a 30-9-35 K-D-A ratio.
Sunday’s schedule
Lower-bracket final — Team Falcons vs. Aurora Gaming
Grand final — BetBoom Team vs. lower-bracket final winner
PGL Wallachia Season 8 prize pool
1. $300,000 — TBD
2. $175,000 — TBD
3. $120,000 — TBD
4. $80,000 — Team Liquid
5-6. $60,000 — South America Rejects, PARIVISION
7-8. $40,000 — HEROIC, Team Spirit
9-11. $20,000 — GamerLegion, Xtreme Gaming, MOUZ
12-14. $15,000 — Vici Gaming, Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere
15-16. $10,000 — Team Yandex, Tundra Esports
–Field Level Media
Sports
OpTic Texas, Los Angeles Thieves in semifinals at CDL Stage 3 Minor
OpTic Texas, the Los Angeles Thieves, FaZe Vegas and the Miami Heretics won their quarterfinal matches on Saturday at the Call of Duty League Stage 3 Minor.
The semifinals on Sunday will pit Texas against Los Angeles, then Vegas against Miami with the winners in the grand final later in the day.
All 12 CDL teams are competing in the tournament, which will reward $20,000 and 30 CDL points to the champion. The single-elimination bracket is seeded based on teams’ standing following Major 2. All matches are best-of-five.
On Saturday, OpTic Texas started fast, then took a loss before eliminating Toronto KOI. Texas won 250-219 on Den Hardpoint and 6-3 on Gridlock Search and Destroy. Toronto stayed alive with a 5-1 victory on Scar Overload before OpTic secured the match with a 250-81 triumph on Scar Hardpoint.
The Los Angeles Thieves swept G2 Minnesota 3-0, winning 250-229 on Sake Hardpoint, 6-3 on Scar Search and Destroy and 6-0 on Scar Overload.
FaZe Vegas ousted the Riyadh Falcons 3-1, opening with a 250-146 win on Den Hardpoint and 6-2 decision on Fringe Search and Destroy. The Falcons forced a fourth map by taking Scar Overload 5-3, but Vegas emerged with a 250-187 triumph on Sake Hardpoint to finish the match.
The Miami Heretics dropped the opener to the Paris Gentle Mates, 250-236 on Sake Hardpoint. Then it was all Heretics, winning 6-3 on Fringe Search and Destroy, 4-3 on Scar Overload and 250-203 on Colossus Hardpoint.
Call of Duty League’s Stage 3 Minor prize pool
1. $20,000, 30 CDL points
2. no money, 20 CDL points
3-4. no money, 10 CDL points
5-8. no money, no CDL points — Toronto KOI, G2 Minnesota, Riyadh Falcons, Paris Gentle Mates
9-12. no money, no CDL points — Carolina Royal Ravens, Cloud9 New York, Vancouver Surge, Boston Breach
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cloud9 remains unbeaten at LCS Spring
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Cloud9 and FlyQuest each swept their Week 4 matches Saturday to remain in playoff position at the LCS Spring event.
Cloud9, one of two remaining unbeatens, became the first team to reach 4-0 in the regular season with a 2-0 defeat of Shopify Rebellion. FlyQuest held firm at fourth in the standings with its 2-0 win over Dignitas, which remains the only team still searching for its first win.
Eight teams will compete in best-of-three matches in the round-robin regular season before advancing to the playoffs of the League of Legends event, which will be contested in best-of-five matches in a double-elimination format. The top two teams will qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational.
Cloud9 won in 36 minutes on red and 24 minutes on blue. Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen of Denmark led the victory with a 13-2-19 kill-death-assist ratio. South Korea’s Yoo “Zinie” Baek-jin was Shopify Rebellion’s most effective player with a 5-5-5 K-D-A.
FlyQuest completed its sweep with a 26-minute win on red and a 43-minute triumph on blue. Turkey’s Ibrahim “GaKGoS” Samet Bulut and Song “Quad” Soo-hyung of South Korea earned MVP honors in FlyQuest’s wins, posting K-D-As of 11-2-15 and 11-4-20, respectively. Australia’s Ian Victor “FBI” Huang led Dignitas with an 8-7-9 K-D-A ratio.
Week 4 schedule
Sunday
LYON vs. Disguised
Team Liquid vs. Sentinels
Regular-season standings (Win-loss total, map differential)
T1. Cloud9, 4-0, 8-2
2. Team Liquid, 3-0, 6-2
3. LYON, 2-1, 5-3
4. FlyQuest, 2-2, 6-4
5. Sentinels, 1-2, 4-5
6. Disguised, 1-2, 2-5
7. Shopify Rebellion, 1-3, 2-6
8. Dignitas, 0-4, 2-8
–Field Level Media
Creative Assembly drops first look at the Alien: Isolation sequel
BetBoom Team advances to grand final of PGL Wallachia 8
