Sports
Kasparas Jakucionis helps No. 22 Illinois slip past Washington
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood, center, gestures to his team during the second half against Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. Kasparas Jakucionis had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds as No. 22 Illinois held on to defeat Washington 81-77 on Sunday afternoon in Seattle and complete a sweep of its trip to the Pacific Northwest.
Tre White had 17 points and seven rebounds and Kylan Boswell added 14 points, including two clinching free throws with six seconds left, for the Fighting Illini (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten), which has won four consecutive games, including a 109-77 victory Thursday at No. 9 Oregon.
DJ Davis led the Huskies (10-5, 1-3), who were coming off a 75-69 upset of Maryland, with career highs of 31 points and seven 3-pointers. Luis Kortright scored 10, the only other Washington player to reach double-digits.
Illinois shot 31 of 66 from the field (47.0 percent) despite going just 5 of 26 from 3-point range. The Huskies shot 28 of 65 (43.1 percent) and were 10 of 26 from behind the arc. The Illini had a 43-30 rebounding edge and outscored UW 52-30 in the paint.
Ben Humrichous opened the second half with a 3-pointer to extend Illinois’ advantage to 14 points. The Huskies trimmed the lead to four on three occasions in the final seven minutes before Davis scored on a reverse layup with 1:01 remaining to pull Washington within 75-73.
White’s errant pass led to a layup by Kortright to tie the score with 47 seconds left.
Jakucionis made a left-handed driving layup with 32 seconds left to give the Illini a 77-75 lead.
Illinois forced a held ball on a scramble on the floor with 14 seconds left and got possession. Jakucionis was fouled with 12 seconds to go and made both free throws to extend the lead to four.
Davis made a driving layup with 6.7 seconds to go and the Huskies fouled Boswell, who made both free throws.
Jakucionis scored 10 points in the first half as the Illini took a 42-31 lead.
Illinois used an early 8-0 run to take a 10-2 lead and it extended the advantage to 27-10 with 7:13 remaining.
Davis nearly single-handedly kept the Huskies in the game before the intermission, scoring 11 points — including three 3-pointers — during an 18-6 run that pulled them within 33-28 with 2:17 left.
Washington’s Great Osobor, who had 20 points, 14 rebounds and four assists against Maryland, was held scoreless in the first half on 0-for-5 shooting and had just one rebound. Osobor finished with nine points and four boards.
It was the first time the teams met in Seattle since Dec. 27-30, 1927, when the Fighting Illini played a three-game series at what was then known as University of Washington Pavilion — the arena in which the Huskies still play — when it was dedicated.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andrew Vaughn's homer powers Brewers over Cardinals
May 6, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter Andrew Vaughn (28) reacts as he runs the bases after hitting a three run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Andrew Vaughn hit a three-run homer for the Milwaukee Brewers, who had five pitchers team up to limit the host St. Louis Cardinals to just four hits in a 6-2 victory on Wednesday afternoon.
Vaughn, reinstated from the injured list Monday after breaking the hamate bone in his left hand on Opening Day, capped a four-run first with his first homer of the season, which he hit off Andre Pallante 403 feet to left-center field.
Pallante (3-3) got the first two Brewers batters out to start the game, but he allowed Brice Turang to reach on a single and hit William Contreras. Jake Bauers singled home Turang before he and Contreras scored on Vaughn’s blast, which came on a full count.
Milwaukee scored all its runs with two outs. Joey Ortiz scored on a Pallante wild pitch in the fifth, and Jackson Chourio’s ninth-inning double to right off Matt Svanson scored Sal Frelick.
The Brewers pounded out 11 hits to split the two-game series with the Cardinals. Bauers went 2-for-3 with a walk. Vaughn added a single as part of a 2-for-4 day, while Chourio and Frelick both enjoyed 2-for-5 games.
Brandon Sproat threw four shutout innings and allowed just a hit while striking out five. However, three walks and a hit batsman kept the 25-year-old right-hander, who entered Wednesday having allowed 20 earned runs in 26 2/3 innings, from being able to claim his first career major league victory.
Aaron Ashby (6-0) allowed just a walk in two innings of relief to get the victory. DL Hall pitched a perfect fifth inning with a strikeout for the Brewers.
Pallante went six innings, gave up eight hits and two walks and struck out three.
The Cardinals’ only hit through seven innings was Ivan Herrera’s first-inning double. Alec Burleson put the hosts on the board with an eighth-inning single off Trevor Megill that scored Victor Scott II to end the shutout.
Cardinals left fielder Nathan Church exited after three innings due to a left leg contusion he suffered when Sproat hit him in the second.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tigers place 2B Gleyber Torres (oblique) on 10-day IL
Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) bats a single against Texas Rangers during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The Detroit Tigers placed three-time All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left oblique strain.
Torres, 29, had progressed in recent days but continued to feel pain while swinging. He was unable to serve as a pinch hitter, leading the Tigers to put him on the IL, retroactive to Monday.
“It’s a mild left oblique strain that continues to nag him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “Obviously, Gleyber has been getting treatment and getting looked at by doctors — and it continues to be stagnant. Hopefully, this will resolve itself within a short time period, but nowadays, I don’t know.”
In his ninth MLB season, Torres is hitting .259 with two home runs, 11 RBIs and a .716 OPS in 32 games.
“I was getting better and better, but I still feel it a little bit in that area,” Torres said. “At this point, we don’t want to push it. It’s not a really big strain, so hopefully, I can get back (on a rehab assignment) in five days — not two weeks. Let’s see what’s going to happen in the next couple of days.”
Torres is a career .264 hitter with 156 homers, 526 RBIs and a .769 OPS in 1,065 games with the New York Yankees (2018-24) and Tigers.
Third baseman Jace Jung, 25, was recalled from Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move. He has appeared in two games this season for Detroit, collecting one hit and one run in four at-bats.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tigers' Framber Valdez suspended for beaning Trevor Story
Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, on May 5, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan, with players and coaches from the Tigers and Red Sox on the field after a hit-by-pitch from Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez. Detroit Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez received a six-game suspension and an undisclosed fine Wednesday for intentionally throwing at Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story on Tuesday night.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch also received a fine and a one-game suspension, which he will serve in Wednesday night’s series finale against the visiting Red Sox. Bench coach George Lombard will fill in as manager.
Both benches emptied in the fourth inning after Story got plunked by a fastball from Valdez, earning the pitcher an ejection following the worst start of his career.
Valdez allowed a career-high 10 runs (seven earned) on nine hits, including three homers, in three-plus innings, taking the loss in the 10-3 setback.
Valdez, 32, is 2-2 with a 4.57 ERA through eight starts in his first season with Detroit, which signed him to a three-year, $115 million deal in February.
A two-time All-Star with Houston (2022, 2023), Valdez is 83-54 with a 3.41 ERA in 196 career games (174 starts) with the Astros (2018-25) and Tigers.
–Field Level Media
Andrew Vaughn's homer powers Brewers over Cardinals
Tigers place 2B Gleyber Torres (oblique) on 10-day IL
