Sports
Mets look to continue turning corner at Padres' expense
Jun 5, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets first baseman Jared Young (29) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images Things have picked up lately for the New York Mets, with the recent play of first baseman Jared Young nudging them in the right direction.
Young enjoyed his second straight two-hit game Friday night in his team’s 5-0 blanking of the San Diego Padres, giving them a chance for their first road series win in a month on Saturday night in Petco Park.
Young’s 422-foot solo homer in the second inning provided New York with the only run it needed as it prevailed for the sixth time in eight games. He added a single in his next at-bat and finished the evening 2-for-4, making him 5-for-15 on the road trip and 8-for-27 in the last eight games with three homers.
On the season, Young is hitting .313 with three homers and six RBIs, taking advantage of his recent opportunity at steady playing time.
“I think that helps, I’m not going to ignore it. When you play more often, it’s easier to get out there and feel good,” Young said. “Baseball’s a game of confidence, so when you get out there and you feel confident, you’ve got to run with it. It’s a crazy game. We all know that.”
While Young has helped fuel the offense, the Mets have also gotten good starting pitching lately. Nolan McLean (3-4, 4.21 ERA) will try to level his record at .500 after earning a 10-1 victory on Sunday against Miami.
McLean allowed only two hits and a run while fanning two but lasted just five innings because he walked five hitters and threw 94 pitches. This will be his first career start against San Diego.
On the other side, former Met right-hander Griffin Canning (0-4, 7.16) aims for his first win in seven Padres starts. Canning was the loser Sunday in a 4-2 setback at Washington, permitting six hits and three runs in five innings with two walks and three strikeouts. He has faced New York twice, going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and fanning 17 over 12 innings.
Not even a return home could stop San Diego’s skid. Friday night’s loss was its sixth straight, punctuated again by a lack of offense. The Padres managed only three hits — one over the last seven innings, and took just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position.
They have scored just 14 runs during their losing streak and 26 in dropping 10 of their last 11 games.
“Any time you lose it’s disappointing,” said first-year manager Craig Stammen. “We’ve got to find a way and we’re still searching for it. We’ve got to try any way possible to get it going. The players are trying to keep it together and it just didn’t work.”
The Padres fielded a lineup Friday night with just two players hitting better than .233. Their team average is .215, the lowest in the majors, and their 3.8 runs per game are also fewest in the majors.
San Diego absorbed bad news off the field as well with the announcement that outfielder Ramon Laureano will undergo hip surgery and probably miss the rest of the season. Laureano, who was placed on the injured list earlier this week, hit .203 with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 53 games.
–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
