Connect with us

Sports

Liberty seals top overall seed, drops Mystics under playoff line

WNBA: Minnesota Lynx at Los Angeles SparksJul 9, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Detailed view of Wilson official WNBA Evo NXT basketball at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Breanna Stewart collected team highs with 15 points and 10 rebounds as the New York Liberty clinched the league’s best record and top seed in the WNBA playoffs with an 87-71 victory over the host Washington Mystics on Tuesday night.

The Liberty (32-7), with one regular-season game remaining, secured the top mark for the first time since 2015. They have three consecutive conference titles, including last season, but are still seeking their first WNBA crown. The Minnesota Lynx (30-9), who defeated the Connecticut Sun 78-75 on Tuesday night, will finish in second in the regular-season league standings.

The Mystics began Tuesday in a three-way tie with Atlanta and Chicago for the final playoff spot. After Washington (13-26) lost and the Dream (14-25) earned an 86-70 win over the Sky (13-26) on Tuesday, Atlanta holds a one-game edge with one regular-season game remaining for all three teams.

Washington hosts the Indiana Fever on Thursday, the same day Atlanta plays at New York while Chicago visits the Connecticut Sun.

Stewart’s layup with 8:15 remaining in the first quarter gave New York a lead it would not relinquish. Her basket was part of a 10-0 run, and the Liberty put up 29 points in the opening quarter to take early control of the game.

Washington (13-26) pulled within seven points on Stefanie Dolson’s 3-pointer for a 53-46 deficit with 5:58 left in the third quarter. The Liberty answered with a 19-4 run to extend their lead to 22 points and cement the victory.

Stewart led the high-scoring Liberty’s balanced offensive attack. Also scoring in double figures were New York reserves Leonie Fiebich with 13 points and Nyara Sabally with 12 points. Starting center Jonquel Jones added 11 points and seven rebounds, and forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton chipped in 11 points.

Washington struggled on the boards, getting outrebounded 45-29, and also committed 17 turnovers. Ariel Atkins had 22 points to pace the Mystics as she drained 8 of 14 shots. She was the only Mystics player with double-figure scoring, as the team connected on just 37.7 percent of its field-goal attempts, while New York made 45.3 percent of its attempts from the floor.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Rockies' Cole Carrigg eager to make impression vs. Cubs

Jun 9, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies center fielder Cole Carrigg (16) advances in the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn ImagesJun 9, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies center fielder Cole Carrigg (16) advances in the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Coors Field usually is packed with Chicago Cubs fans when the team comes to Denver, but Tuesday night there wasn’t much for them to cheer about against the Colorado Rockies.

Colorado jumped ahead early and cruised to a 7-3 win to snap a four-game skid.

The Rockies will go for their second straight win and a series victory when the teams clash again on Wednesday night.

Colorado will send right-hander Michael Lorenzen (2-8, 8.01 ERA) to the mound against left-hander Shota Imanaga (4-6, 4.74) in the second contest of a three-game set.

Lorenzen, 34, has struggled in his first season with the Rockies, posting the highest ERA in the majors with a minimum of 10 starts. He hasn’t fared well against Chicago in his career, going 2-4 with a 7.36 ERA in 42 appearances (three starts).

Wednesday’s game will feature Cole Carrigg, who made his major league debut in the series opener. The 24-year-old popped up on the first big-league pitch he saw, struck out in his second at-bat, but lined a triple down the right-field line in the fifth inning for his first hit.

Carrigg has hit well all season, which prompted his promotion. In 257 plate appearances at Triple-A Albuquerque, he batted .338 with five triples, six homers, 42 RBIs and 30 stolen bases, numbers that were tough to ignore.

“When you are playing well, it’s kind of hard not to look up here,” Carrigg said Tuesday. “It’s hard to stay where your feet are, but that’s the best thing you can do — keep taking advantage of those opportunities at Triple-A and make sure you’re ready when you get here.”

The Cubs have dropped two games in a row and seven of their past 10.

Right-hander Jameson Taillon went on the 15-day injured list with a strained hamstring and is expected to be out until after the All-Star break next month, adding to the string of injured pitchers.

Imanaga has stayed healthy all season and is scheduled to make his 14th start of 2026 and face Colorado for the second time in his career. He made his major league debut against the Rockies on April 1, 2024, allowing only two hits and striking out nine over six scoreless innings to earn his first victory.

He will need to have a similar outing if Chicago’s offense continues to struggle. The Cubs have scored three or fewer runs while losing six of their last eight games and hope getting utility man Matt Shaw back from injury will help, especially in late-game situations.

Shaw missed three weeks with back tightness but was activated from the IL before Tuesday night’s game. He didn’t play but is ready to step in when needed.

“Obviously ready to help in any way you can, you know,” he said earlier Tuesday. “Whatever that kind of looks like, whenever that kind of manifests into whether, again, it could be some of those late-inning pinch running situations, and I look forward to those.”

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

'Stubborn' Angels seek rare series win vs. Astros

May 30, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers (48) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesMay 30, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers (48) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Angels will attempt to win a series against the Houston Astros for the first time in nearly 25 months when the teams complete a three-game set on Wednesday night at Anaheim, Calif.

The Astros regularly have beaten the Angels since, winning six series and tying two others, including a four-game. season-opening split in Houston in March.

After Houston won Monday’s series opener, 5-4 in 10 innings, the Angels scored seven runs in the first two innings and sailed to a 10-1 victory on Tuesday.

Oswald Peraza had three RBIs and Jo Adell and Wade Meckler drove in two runs apiece. Meckler scored three times and reached base five times on three walks, one hit and once via error.

“We had a good approach as a team,” Meckler said. “Guys were being stubborn, looking for it in the zone and making pitchers work.”

Astros manager Joe Espada was OK with his team’s approach but it didn’t pay off when needed.

Houston had three hits and five walks in five innings against Los Angeles starter Walbert Urena but couldn’t score against him.

“One big hit,” Espada said of what the Astros needed. “And I thought that we were going to get him, just to get us back in the game. Drove the pitch count, we were really patient. But we just couldn’t get a big hit.”

Houston’s only run came in the seventh inning on pinch hitter Brice Matthews’ RBI single. The Astros were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

It was a tough Tuesday on the injury front for the Angels.

During the game, Angels catcher Sebastian Rivero had two singles to give himself a streak of seven straight hits before injuring his left wrist while fouling off a pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning. Logan O’Hoppe replaced him for the final two pitches of the at-bat and he took a called third strike. with the strikeout charged to Rivero to end his streak.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said Rivero will undergo a CT scan on Wednesday.

Los Angeles first baseman Nolan Schanuel (left calf tightness) departed the game prior to the top of the fourth inning and is day-to-day. He was plunked by a pitch in the calf in the opening inning.

Before the game, the Angels revealed that third baseman Yoan Moncada (right knee) will undergo surgery next week and right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (torn UCL) will undergo Tommy John surgery.

Kochanowicz could be sidelined through the 2027 season while Los Angeles is in wait-and-see mode regarding Moncada.

“We don’t know the timetable,” Suzuki said of Moncada. “All I heard was he decided to get surgery and we’ll know more after it gets done. That’s the best answer I can give you.”

Left-hander Reid Detmers (2-5, 4.26 ERA) will be on the mound for the Angels. He is tied for seventh in the majors with 88 strikeouts.

Detmers received a no-decision last Friday when he allowed two hits over six shutout innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1-0 loss.

Two outings earlier, Detmers struck out a career-best 14 batters while giving up just one hit – a homer – over eight innings of a no-decision against the Texas Rangers in a 2-1 win.

Detmers, 26, is just 1-4 with a 7.63 ERA in 13 career appearances (10 starts) against the Astros. Jose Altuve is 7-for-21 with two homers and Jeremy Pena is 7-for-20 off of Detmers.

Astros right-hander Peter Lambert (5-4, 3.55) will look for his fourth consecutive victory when he takes the mound on Wednesday.

Lambert, 29, gave up five hits in each of the three wins. He beat the Athletics on Friday when he allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings.

Lambert has allowed two hits over 3 1/3 scoreless innings in two career relief outings against the Angels.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Reports: Myles Garrett's revised deal includes $37M guaranteed in '26

Jun 6, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett looks on prior to throwing out the honorary first pitch before a game between the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn ImagesJun 6, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett looks on prior to throwing out the honorary first pitch before a game between the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images

Defensive end Myles Garrett’s revised deal with the Los Angeles Rams includes a $5.5 million raise for this season, according to numbers reported by multiple outlets Wednesday.

The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was acquired by the Rams in a June 1 trade that sent Pro Bowl pass rusher Jared Verse and three draft picks, including a first-round selection in 2027, to the Cleveland Browns.

Garrett’s restructured five-year, $208.2 million deal includes $37 million fully guaranteed in 2026 and $99 million guaranteed through the 2028 season along with a signing bonus and multiple option bonuses, according to Spotrac.

Garrett’s revised cap numbers include $8.8 million in 2026, $15.0 million in 2027, $27.6 million in 2028, $39.9 million in 2029 and $48.2 million in 2030, with another $39.9 million not scheduled to count against the cap until after the contract voids in February 2031, according to NFL Network.

His salary for the upcoming season climbs from $31.5 million to $37 million, per the reports.

The Rams have become a heavy favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, which will be played in their own stadium in February 2027. The last time the Rams won a Super Bowl after the 2021 season, it was also in their stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

Garrett, 30, had an NFL-record 23 sacks for the Browns last season. His 125.5 career sacks equate to an average of 15.9 per season. He also led the league with 33 tackles for loss last season.

The five-time All-Pro selection was the first overall draft pick of the Browns in 2017 and had 412 tackles, 149 tackles for loss and 239 quarterback hits in 134 games (131 starts) with Cleveland.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading