Sports
Kyle Hendricks aims to extends Cubs' perfect mark vs. Nats
Sep 15, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks (28) pitches in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Kyle Hendricks is starting to feel like himself again.
The Cubs right-hander has put a rocky first half behind him to find his footing, and he will attempt to keep rolling on Saturday afternoon when Chicago continues a four-game series with the visiting Washington Nationals.
Since the start of August, Hendricks is 1-2 with a 4.68 ERA. However, the ERA was inflated by an Aug. 28 start against the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he allowed six runs in just 1 2/3 innings.
Excluding that outing, Hendricks has surrendered 12 runs (11 earned) in his past 31 innings, good for an ERA of 3.19. All that comes after he went 3-9 with a 6.86 ERA through the end of July.
Hendricks (4-11, 6.25 ERA) was especially strong last time out, earning a win against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday after giving up just one run on two hits in six innings.
“I can’t thank (the Cubs) enough,” Hendricks said. “All the way to the top, they just kept giving me opportunities that I didn’t deserve, to be honest with you. All the way through this year. I’m just so thankful and grateful just to keep going.”
In 10 career starts against Washington, Hendricks is 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA.
The Nationals (68-86) plan to counter with left-hander MacKenzie Gore (9-12, 4.17).
Gore is coming off a Sunday win against the Miami Marlins. He lasted six innings in that outing, yielding one run, which was unearned, and two hits.
Saturday marks Gore’s fourth career start against Chicago, which has pinned the southpaw with a 1-2 record and a 7.04 ERA.
If Gore wants to end his career-long woes against the Cubs (79-75), he will need some help from a Washington offense that was held to five hits in a 3-1 loss on Friday. The defeat was the Nationals’ fifth in a row.
Rookie James Wood, the Nationals’ No. 3 hitter, smacked a solo shot in the eighth inning, but the top five batters in Washington’s lineup combined to go 1-for-16 (.063).
“This is kind of the time where you’ve got to buckle in and just make that last push,” Wood said. “I know the offseason is close, but you can’t really be focused on that when we’ve still got games on the table.”
A late push is just what Chicago needs with its playoff chances dwindling. The Cubs sit six games behind the New York Mets in the chase for the final National League wild card.
Even if the Cubs make a historic rally into the postseason, doing so through the wild-card race isn’t acceptable to Chicago second baseman Nico Hoerner.
“This is a team and an organization that should not be set up for competing for wild cards,” Hoerner said. “Definitely, you want to be the class of your division, and we weren’t that this year. The division being clinched (by the Milwaukee Brewers) on Sept. 18 is significant.”
Fortunately for the Cubs, they have dominated the Nationals in 2024, winning all five games between the teams.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: A's C Shea Langeliers (knee) could miss rest of season
Jul 18, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers (23) throws to first base for an out against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images Athletics’ All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers could miss the remainder of the season after tearing the meniscus in his right knee while running the bases, ESPN reported on Sunday morning.
Should he opt for surgery, he is expected to miss the rest of the season.
The Athletics placed Langeliers on the 10-day injured list Sunday — retroactive to Saturday — and recalled fellow catcher Brian Serven from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Backup Jonah Heim, a former All-Star, is expected to receive the bulk of the work in Langeliers’ absence.
Langeliers, 28, is batting .263 with 23 homers and 51 RBIs in 93 games this season. He leads American League catchers in homers and hits (99).
He is hitting .240 with 111 homers and 288 RBIs since being selected by the Atlanta Braves with the ninth overall pick of the 2019 MLB Draft. He was acquired from the Braves in the Matt Olson trade on March 14, 2022.
Serven, 31, is batting .308 with nine homers and 46 RBIs in 61 games with the Aviators this season.
With the Athletics, he has appeared in two games on the season with a .250 average (1-for-4). against the Miami Marlins on July 5.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jenny Shin captures first win in 10 years at Scottish Open
Apr 23, 2026; Houston, Texas, United States; Jenny Shin of Korea hits a tee shot on the first hole during the first round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images Jenny Shin recorded her first win on the LPGA Tour in 10 years on Sunday by securing a two-stroke victory at the Women’s Scottish Open in North Ayrshire.
Shin entered the final round with a five-stroke lead — and needed it. She overcame five bogeys to finish at 3-over-par 75 on Sunday at Dundonald Links and finished at 9-under 279 for the tournament.
The 33-year-old South Korean’s last win on the tour was her maiden one in 2016, at the now-defunct Volunteers of America Texas Shootout.
“Yeah, my first win didn’t really feel like a win at the time. I didn’t feel like I deserved it,” said Shin, who was still wet after being doused with water during the post-round celebration.
“But this one definitely feels a lot different. This one feels like I earned it. I worked hard for it. I started working with my putting coach four years ago, and he asked me what my goal was. I said I needed to win before I retire.
“So I had been wanting it so badly in the last four years. I’m very, very excited.”
The last LPGA Tour player to go 10 or more years between official victories was Vicki Fergon, who went 12 years and three months between wins at the 1984 S&H Golf Classic and the 1996 Michelob Light Heartland Classic.
Shin carded bogeys on hole Nos. 6-8 before stopping her skid with birdies on hole Nos. 10 and 12. She limped down the home stretch with bogeys on Nos. 16 and 18.
“I feel like I’ve done everything wrong, just wasn’t hitting it like I was the last three days and was hitting it into bunkers, bushes, and it wasn’t fun,” Shin said. “With the three bogeys in a row, I thought, ‘Oh, boy, I don’t know where this is going to go.’
“But yeah, I hung in there and so I’m quite proud of myself. Very happy.”
A Lim Kim recorded a 68 on Sunday to ascend into second place at 7-under, two strokes ahead of Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn (74).
Kim, of South Korea, answered a bogey on the second hole with a birdie on the third. She rattled off four straight birdies on Nos. 9-12.
Germany’s Esther Henseleit (73) finished in fourth place at 4-under for the tournament.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brewers DFA recently acquired Lance McCullers Jr.
Jul 20, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (50) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the New York Mets at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images The Milwaukee Brewers designated Lance McCullers Jr. for assignment on Sunday morning, less than two weeks after they acquired the right-hander from the Houston Astros.
The move comes one day after McCullers allowed three runs on one hit and four walks in 1 2/3 innings in Milwaukee’s 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
McCullers has posted a 3.86 ERA in two relief appearances since he, left-hander Colton Gordon and cash were sent to the Brewers in exchange for minor league outfielder Jadyn Fielder on July 15.
A two-time World Series winner and former American League All-Star, McCullers has pitched only 44 innings this season, posting a 2-3 record with a 6.55 ERA in 10 appearances (eight starts).
McCullers, 32, is 53-40 with a 3.85 ERA in 156 career games (148 starts) with the Astros and Brewers. He was an All-Star in 2017 and won World Series titles in 2017 and 2022, but he missed three entire seasons (2019, 2023-24) due to injuries.
Also on Sunday, the Brewers recalled right-hander Garrett Stallings from Triple-A Nashville.
Stallings posted a 3-3 record with a 4.11 ERA in 18 appearances (13 starts) with the Sounds. He also pitched three scoreless innings in two appearances earlier this season with Milwaukee.
–Field Level Media
Report: A's C Shea Langeliers (knee) could miss rest of season
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