Sports
Mariners out for continued road success in matchup vs. struggling Royals
May 22, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Mitch Garver (18) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images The scuffling Kansas City Royals are providing a good opportunity for the Seattle Mariners to continue their recent road success.
After winning the opener of a three-game set vs. the Royals, the Mariners will aim for a fifth victory in their last six road contests on Saturday afternoon.
Seattle lost eight of nine games on the road starting in early April but is 10-4 there since. On Friday, Mitch Garver’s two-run homer in the seventh inning was all the offense Seattle needed, as four pitchers held the Royals to four hits in a 2-0 victory.
“That’s a big win,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “We’ll just continue to grind it. (Saturday) is another day and we come back swinging.”
Garver and Julio Rodriguez each recorded two hits for the Mariners, who have won three of the last four games overall. Rodriguez is batting .381 in 27 career games against the Royals.
Kansas City, meanwhile, is batting .216 while managing just 28 runs during a current 1-10 rut. That lack of offensive potency could benefit Saturday’s scheduled Seattle starter, George Kirby (5-3, 3.45 ERA), as he looks to bounce back from his worst outing of 2026.
The right-hander, who has won at least 10 games in each of the past three seasons, held a 2.84 ERA entering his 10th start of the year on Sunday against San Diego. He lasted 5 2/3 innings but was charged with six runs, five coming in the sixth, of an 8-3 defeat.
It was just the third time this season the 2023 All-Star has allowed more than two runs in a start. Kirby has been strong against the Royals, going 2-0 with a 2.08 in four career starts. He’s yielded just one homer and no walks in those contests.
That likely doesn’t bode well for Kansas City, which has a season-high five-game home losing streak.
“We’ve got to get back to playing good baseball, and we know that this team can do it,” said Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who is batting .197 this season.
“We know it will come, and we’ve got to keep working to get there.”
With Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic sidelined by injuries, Saturday’s scheduled Kansas City starter, Stephen Kolek (2-0, 4.24 ERA), has been serviceable in his three starts since being slotted into the rotation this month. The right-hander yielded four hits with a walk over 6 1/3 stellar innings of the Royals’ 2-0 victory at St. Louis on Sunday to bounce back from giving up five runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox on May 12 in his previous start. Kansas City lost 6-5.
“Steve does a great job every time he pitches,” teammate Michael Massey told the Royals’ official website. “He keeps the ball on the ground a lot, so you know you’re going to be busy as an infielder.”
Kolek is 0-2 with a 3.95 ERA in three career appearances vs. Seattle.
Though the Royals continue to struggle at the plate, star Bobby Witt Jr. is a career .328 hitter against the Mariners in 14 home games. He’s 5-for-12 with two doubles vs. Kirby.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mets' Juan Soto (illness) scratched from lineup vs. Marlins
May 22, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; New York Mets designated hitter Juan Soto (22) looks on against the Miami Marlins during the fourth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Slugger Juan Soto was scratched from the New York Mets’ starting lineup for Sunday’s game against the host Miami Marlins due to an illness.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Soto came to the ballpark on Sunday with a fever to go along with body aches.
“Soto’s ill, so he is out of the lineup,” Mendoza said prior to the game. “… He’s been battling the past three days, show up with fever today, body aches, didn’t have much sleep. Hopefully he recovers.
“There’s a lot of people for the past week have been dealing with this. Kind of a like a flu going around.”
Soto originally was slotted in the lineup as the team’s designated hitter and No. 3 in the lineup. Instead, MJ Melendez will serve as the team’s DH.
Soto, 27, belted a solo homer in New York’s 2-1 loss to Miami on Friday. The four-time All-Star and 2020 National League batting champion has a team-leading 10 homers to go along with 21 RBIs and a .294 batting average in 37 games this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Crazy Raccoon rally to win 2026 Champions Clash
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Crazy Raccoon won the final two maps to secure a 4-3 victory over Twisted Minds on Sunday in the grand final of the Overwatch Champions Series 2026 Champions Clash in Tokyo.
Crazy Raccoon overcame a 3-2 deficit by posting a 2-1 victory on Oasis and 3-1 triumph on Suravasa in the best-of-seven series.
By winning the double-elimination Overwatch 2 event, Crazy Raccoon qualified for this summer’s Midseason Championship in Paris.
?2026 OWCS Champions Clash?
CR #1 WORLD CHAMPION
LETS GOOOOO ????#CRWIN #Overwatch#OWCC #OWCS2026 #OWEsports pic.twitter.com/6vQgaxXBHG— Crazy Raccoon (@crazyraccoon406) May 24, 2026
Crazy Raccoon got off to a fast start with a 2-0 win on Ilios and 1-0 victory on Circuit Royal before Twisted Minds responded with a flourish. Twisted Minds recorded a 4-3 win on King’s Row, 3-2 victory on New Junk City and a 104.37m-62.65m triumph on Runasapi.
Crazy Raccoon advanced to the grand final with a 3-1 win over ZETA DIVISION.
Again, Crazy Raccoon won the first two maps — a 2-1 victory on Ilios and a 5-4 decision on Circuit Royal — before ZETA DIVISION responded with a 3-1 win on Suravasa. Crazy Raccoon ended the match with a 3-2 victory on King’s Row.
ZETA DIVISION fell behind quickly in their lower-bracket final against Twisted Minds, who secured a 2-1 win on Ilios and 3-1 victory on Suravasa. ZETA DIVISION answered with a 5-4 triumph on King’s Row, but Twisted Minds advanced to the grand final following a 3-2 decision on Circuit Royal.
Champions Clash prize pool (pool is crowdsourced and TBD):
1. Crazy Raccoon, qualifies to Midseason Championship
2. Twisted Minds
3. ZETA DIVISION
4. Virtus.pro
5-6. Dallas Fuel, Weibo Gaming
7-8. All Gamers, Spacestation Gaming
–Field Level Media
Sports
Angels fans have clear message: 'Sell the team'
May 23, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels fans gather outside Angel Stadium before the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers to protest the Angels team owner Arte Moreno. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Los Angeles Angels fans are making it clear that they want owner Arte Moreno to sell the team.
Buoyed by the operators of various Instagram accounts — such as Angels Boycott and Angels Central — fans have held organized protests at Angel Stadium recently. The protests are expected to culminate with Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers in a matchup that will be aired nationally on Peacock from Anaheim, Calif.
On Friday, Angels fans were asked to wear all black and be vocal. On Saturday, more than 100 fans gathered at the main entrance to the stadium before the Angels-Rangers game to protest Moreno’s ownership.
That followed a protest on Thursday among fans seated in an otherwise empty upper deck, who drew attention to their cause by following the new shirtless “tarps off” trend. Chants of “Sell the Team” and vulgar expressions directed toward Moreno have been heard throughout the stadium.
Angels fans have many issues with the team, but they boil down to performance. The Angels have not had a winning record since 2015 (85-77), and they are on their sixth manager, Kurt Suzuki, since Mike Scioscia departed after the 2018 season.
The Angels enter play Sunday with an MLB-worst 19-34 record.
The Angels Central page said this about the campaign:
“The chants will continue all season long because this is no longer just about wins and losses. It’s about accountability, leadership, and the future of the franchise. We are not rooting for wins anymore, we are rooting for change.
“For the first time in a long time, Angels fans are united behind one common goal, change in ownership. And the frustration is directed at the person that is responsible for holding this organization hostage. Arte Moreno.”
The Angels joined the American League in 1961 with entertainer Gene Autry as their owner. Upon his death in 1998, his widow, Jackie Autry, took over the team.
The Walt Disney Co. took over ownership until 2003, selling the Angels to Moreno after the team won its only World Series title in 2002.
Moreno paid $183.5 million for a franchise now valued by Forbes at $2.8 billion, placing it No. 11 among MLB teams in valuation.
In August 2022, Moreno announced he was taking the first steps toward selling the club. And with several interested suitors, a sale was considered a done deal.
But the follwing January, Moreno said the team had “unfinished business” and was off the market.
A perennial contender in the first decade of the 2000s, the Angels have made the playoffs just once since 2009, being swept in three games in 2014 by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series.
Those are the only three playoff games in the career of Mike Trout, a three-time American League MVP.
The Angels’ issues are numerous.
First, Moreno has been criticized for his failure to spend money on free agents to pair with two of the biggest stars of this generation — Trout and Shohei Ohtani, who combined to win five MVP awards in an Angels uniform. And when Moreno did spend money, it turned out to be poorly spent.
Before the 2012 season, the Angels signed 32-year-old Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $240 million contract, and his numbers with the Angels didn’t come close to replicating his first 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.
After Anthony Rendon won the 2019 World Series with the Washington Nationals, the Angels signed him to a seven-year deal worth $245 million. He is no longer with the team — an agreement was made to make deferred payments to honor the final year of his contract — and he played in only 257 games. He produced 22 home runs and 125 RBIs. In 146 games with the Nationals in 2019, he hit 34 homers and drove in 126 runs.
Off the field, the Angels and the city of Anaheim — the owner of Angel Stadium — have been trying to reach an agreement about a stadium lease and renovations.
The team’s lease runs through 2032, and the team wants renovations to the stadium, which opened in 1966 and doesn’t include the upgrades of modern stadiums. It is the fourth-oldest venue in the majors.
Anaheim mayor Ashleigh Aitken has informed Moreno that the team needs to shed its Los Angeles designation and become the Anaheim Angels again — the franchise held that name from 1997-2004 — before substantial talks can take place.
The California state Assembly also unanimously passed a bill called the “Home Run for Anaheim Act,” which would require the team to reinstitute the former team name as a condition for any future stadium redevelopment, lease or sale agreement. It requires approval by the state Senate.
–Field Level Media
Mets' Juan Soto (illness) scratched from lineup vs. Marlins
Crazy Raccoon rally to win 2026 Champions Clash
