Sports
Mariners set to turn RHP Bryce Miller loose for start vs. Tigers
May 31, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller (50) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images Seattle Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller finally can focus on going deep in an outing when he starts the middle game of a three-game series against the host Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
In his previous four starts this year since coming back from an oblique strain, Miller (1-0, 1.71 ERA) pitched between five and six innings each time, never allowing more than two runs.
He had been at times in an unusual tag-team with fellow right-hander Luis Castillo. Twice Castillo pitched in long relief behind Miller, and once Miller pitched in long relief behind Castillo.
This weekend at Detroit, however, manager Dan Wilson is giving them their own starts, Miller on Saturday, Castillo on Sunday.
Miller joked to the Seattle Times regarding when the Mariners might look to replace him on Saturday, “They come out before 80 (pitches), I’ll be (upset).”
Wilson said of Miller and Castillo, according to the Times, “Their approach won’t be any different. They’re routine-oriented, they’re going to continue to prepare and be ready to go in a very similar way, just it’ll be their own game.”
Miller is coming off a strong outing on Sunday. He limited the Arizona Diamondbacks to one hit while recording six strikeouts in five shutout innings. Castillo then replaced him and pitched the final five innings of a 3-2, 10-inning victory.
“I feel great,” Miller said. “The stuff has been really good this year, quite a bit better than it’s been at any other part of my career so far. Every outing just adds to the confidence leading into the next one.”
Miller has been nearly unhittable in three career outings against the Tigers, going 2-0 without allowing a run in three starts covering 19 innings. During those outings, he permitted just 10 hits and one walk while striking out 15.
Detroit will counter Miller with Keider Montero (2-3, 3.69). The right-hander produced a stellar start on Sunday, tossing six scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox. He gave up just two hits and no walks while fanning four.
Manager A.J. Hinch made a controversial move to take out Montero, who had thrown just 65 pitches. The Tigers wound up losing 2-1.
“We’re just trying to win the game,” Hinch said. “I mean, I understand like the common thought is that the other way would have worked out perfectly. … Just giving (them) another look (against Montero) was not the way we were going to go.”
Montero might soon find himself in a long-relief role. Ace Tarik Skubal, Justin Verlander and Casey Mize appear close to returning from the injured list, and Montero is a logical choice to move to the bullpen.
“We’re just focusing on the Seattle series right now,” Hinch said. “Coming out of the off day Monday and going into the Twins series, we will have to figure out where everybody is. … We’re going to leave our options open for any adjustments we’re going to make to the staff.”
The Tigers will be shooting for their fifth straight win on Saturday. They won the series opener 7-3 on Friday behind two-run homers from Kerry Carpenter and Spencer Torkelson.
The Mariners have lost back-to-back games immediately following an eight-game winning streak.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nneka Ogwumike's big night lifts Sparks over Sky
Jul 10, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike (30) looks to pass against Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud (9) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images Nneka Ogwumike scored a season-high 25 points and collected 12 rebounds and five assists to lead the Los Angeles Sparks to a 102-87 victory over the visiting Chicago Sky on Friday night.
All three of Ogwumike’s 3-pointers came in the fourth quarter as Los Angeles recorded its second straight victory. The Sparks made 11 of 15 shots in the final quarter, including 4 of 5 from behind the arc.
Dearica Hamby added 17 points and seven rebounds, Ariel Atkins had 17 points and six assists and Rae Burrell made four 3-pointers while also scoring 17 for the Sparks (10-11).
Erica Wheeler had 15 points and eight assists for Los Angeles, which outscored the Sky 29-17 in the fourth quarter.
Kamilla Cardoso (eight rebounds), Sydney Taylor and reserve Gabriela Jaquez scored 15 points apiece for Chicago (7-15).
Azura Stevens registered 10 points and eight rebounds and backup Jacy Sheldon added 10 points for the Sky.
Skylar Diggins (right knee) missed her second straight game for the Sky, who connected on 43.7% of their attempts, including a lowly 6 of 25 from behind the arc.
Los Angeles made 51.3% of its shots and hit 14 of 31 from 3-point range while continuing to play without Kelsey Plum (lower left leg).
Ogwumike buried a 3-pointer to give Los Angeles an 80-72 lead with 7:46 left in the contest. Burrell hit a 3-pointer 45 seconds later and the Sparks led by nine.
A short time later, Ogwumike canned another 3-pointer and Hamby converted a layup as Los Angeles led 90-80 with 4:32 remaining.
Chicago crept within six before Burrell scored on a layup and Ogwumike sank another trey to make it 95-84 lead with 2:29 left as the Sparks closed it out.
Chicago trailed by five at halftime before starting the third quarter with a 13-5 run. A three-point play by Cardoso and a trey by Taylor capped it to give the Sky a 61-58 lead.
Los Angeles answered with an 11-3 burst. Emma Cannon sank a 3-pointer and Ogwumike made two free throws to end it as the Sparks took a 69-64 lead with 3:10 left.
Cannon scored another basket with just under a minute left as the Sparks led 73-70 entering the fourth quarter.
Wheeler scored 15 points in the first half as the Sparks held a 53-48 advantage. Sheldon scored 10 in the half for Chicago.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kazuma Okamoto's 3-run homer helps Blue Jays power past Padres
Jul 10, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) hits an RBI single during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images Kazuma Okamoto belted a historic three-run homer Friday night during a four-run fifth inning as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays stopped the San Diego Padres 5-2.
Okamoto’s 22nd homer of the year came off reliever Jhony Brito, who fired a sinker down and in that was golfed an estimated 377 feet to the left field seats. It scored Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and tied Shohei Ohtani’s Japanese major league rookie record.
Mason Fluharty (4-0) got the win after striking out Gavin Sheets to end the bottom of the fifth. Four other relievers finished up, with Louis Varland pitching the ninth to garner his 19th save in as many chances despite allowing a two-out RBI single to Jackson Merrill.
JP Sears (2-2) absorbed the loss, yielding six hits and three runs over 4 1/3 innings while walking one and fanning three. Toronto starter Shane Bieber fell an out shy of qualifying for the win, getting hooked after 4 2/3 innings and 97 pitches. He permitted six hits and two runs with three walks and four strikeouts.
Sears entered the fifth with a 2-1 lead but found trouble via Myles Straw’s bunt single and Clement’s one-out single that pushed Straw to third. Brito relieved but Guerrero legged out an infield hit, setting the stage for Okamoto’s blast.
The long ball put San Diego up 2-0 after an inning. Bieber walked Merrill with one out and then fired a 2-0 fastball to Xander Bogaerts, who slugged it an estimated 401 feet to left-center for his ninth homer of the year.
Sears kept Toronto off the board until the fourth. He walked Guerrero to start the inning and then allowed a one-out single to George Springer. Alejandro Kirk cashed in Guerrero with an RBI double to center.
Meanwhile, the Padres missed on a chance to add on to the lead in their half of the fourth. Miguel Andujar walked with one out and Rodolfo Duran singled with two outs but Bieber fanned Fernando Tatis Jr.
–Field Level Media
Sports
After scoring outburst, White Sox want repeat against Athletics
Jul 10, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas (20) celebrates in the dugout after his home run during the eighth inning against the Athletics at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images An overdue outburst propelled the Chicago White Sox to a lopsided victory against the visiting Athletics on Friday night.
The White Sox will aim to keep slugging and earn a series victory on Saturday afternoon.
Chicago rolled 14-1 in the series opener after managing two combined runs over three straight home losses to Boston this week.
“It’s nice to get these fans some runs,” White Sox left fielder Sam Antonacci said. “They’ve been bearing with us the past few days.”
Tristan Peters highlighted Friday’s eruption, going 4-for-4 with four RBIs while becoming the first White Sox player to hit for the cycle since Jose Abreu in 2017.
“That was incredible,” Peters said. “To do it in front of these folks, it’s awesome. It’s amazing.”
The slumping Athletics lost their season-high seventh consecutive game and have been outscored 58-20 over that stretch. Tyler Soderstrom drove in the lone run Friday with a solo homer in the seventh inning.
The team placed outfielder Zack Gelof (right knee laceration) on the 10-day injured list Friday and may soon follow suit with All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz (right thumb strain).
“I talked to the team (Friday) about adversity and no one feeling sorry for us,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “We have to come together here with a next-man-up mentality to go help us win games.”
Right-hander Erick Fedde (4-6, 4.34 ERA) is likely to be the bulk pitcher for Chicago with left-hander Bryan Hudson (3-2, 2.25) serving as the opener. Fedde, who is seeking his third consecutive win, worked as a bulk reliever in Cleveland on Sunday, spacing three runs, two earned, and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Fedde took a no-decision against the visiting Athletics on April 18, allowing three runs on two hits in 4 2/3 innings with four walks and three strikeouts.
Although he has pitched ineffectively in his past two outings, Athletics left-hander Gage Jump hopes to find a jolt against a White Sox lineup that has struggled against rookie southpaws lately.
Jump has yielded 11 runs (10 earned) and 19 hits in 7 2/3 innings since recording a career-best nine strikeouts over five shutout innings at San Francisco on June 24. That includes the first four home runs he has surrendered in his career after keeping opponents in the ballpark in his first six starts.
Still, the White Sox showed susceptibility versus Boston’s young lefties. Red Sox starters Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett limited Chicago to six hits in 13 shutout innings with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
Kotsay challenged Jump and the rest of the rotation to improve after the rookie allowed six runs (five earned) and eight hits over three innings in Sunday’s 9-8 home loss to Miami.
“That’s something we’re in the middle of right now,” Kotsay said, “really getting the details to how we’re going to go about attacking and pitching going forward.”
Chicago first baseman Munetaka Murakami went 1-for-5 with four strikeouts and an RBI double Friday in his first game since sustaining a right hamstring strain on May 29.
–Field Level Media
Nneka Ogwumike's big night lifts Sparks over Sky
Kazuma Okamoto's 3-run homer helps Blue Jays power past Padres
