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
Wyatt Langford helps Rangers uncork 4-run 8th to beat Astros
Jul 10, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford (36) bats against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Wyatt Langford slugged a tiebreaking home run as the Texas Rangers exploded for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning en route to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros on Friday in Arlington, Texas.
Langford answered the Astros’ rally from a three-run deficit with his ninth homer of the season. He drilled a 1-0 fastball from left-handed reliever Bryan King 404 feet to left field, marking the first homer King (2-2) has allowed to a right-handed hitter this season.
Three batters later, Jake Burger joined Langford in that exclusive category. After Langford supplied the Rangers with a 4-3 lead, King walked Josh Jung and surrendered a single to Brandon Nimmo before Burger smacked his 16th homer to left-center. King had not allowed more than one run since April 21 before Texas hung a four-spot on him.
Trailing 3-0 entering the top of the sixth, the Astros mounted their comeback against Rangers starter Cal Quantrill, who had retired eight consecutive batters. Yordan Alvarez blasted his 30th home run of the season and 200th of his career leading off the sixth, a 455-foot shot to right.
Yainer Diaz clubbed a two-run homer off Texas reliever Chris Martin that knotted the score at 3-3 in the seventh.
Quantrill stranded Jeremy Pena and Isaac Paredes in the first after Pena was doubled off at second base on a Christian Walker flyout to left field. Jose Altuve and LaMonte Wade Jr. stroked consecutive singles to open the second, only for Quantrill to retire the subsequent three batters.
After Alvarez singled with one out in the third, Quantrill hit his stride before Alvarez struck a bigger blow. Quantrill allowed one run on five hits and one walk with one strikeout in six innings.
The Rangers struck for two runs in the bottom of the first against Astros right-hander Hunter Brown. Nimmo plated Langford on a single and Burger followed with a run-scoring groundout that drove home Jung.
Joc Pederson stretched that lead to 3-0 with his leadoff homer in the fifth, his 15th of the season.
Brown labored but completed six innings, allowing three runs on four hits with five walks and four strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Aaron Donald works out with Rams as comeback rumors swirl
Former Pittsburgh Panther and retired NFL defensive tackle Aaron Donald waves to the crowd while walking out onto the field during his jersey number retirement ceremony during halftime of the Pittsburgh Panthers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on November 15, 2025. Former Los Angeles Rams All-Pro Aaron Donald has made rumblings about a potential comeback in 2026 after the 10-time Pro Bowler retired in 2024.
The chances of the standout defensive tackle coming out of retirement look significantly more likely after TMZ released photos of Donald working out at the Rams’ facilities on Friday.
?? EXCLUSIVE: Deep breath, Rams Nation … Aaron Donald was spotted working out at the team’s practice facility on Friday — as the retired NFL superstar continues to mull a comeback! (?? @TMZ_Sports ) pic.twitter.com/IHjQP5akmD
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 11, 2026
A dominant presence for the Rams with eight All-Pro selections over a 10-year career, Donald has been out of action since he last suited up and recorded eight sacks in the 2023 season.
Speculation about a potential comeback has ramped up since the Rams traded for the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett. Should Donald be able to play anywhere near his own stellar standards, a Donald-Garrett pairing would be a dynamic force for the Rams.
Head coach Sean McVay did little to throw water on the situation last month, saying in part he had “talked to (Donald) about the opportunity to bring him on board.”
“If Aaron decides he wants to dust ‘em off at the age of 35,” McVay said, “I bet you he can still do it at a pretty high clip.”
Donald, who had 111 sacks, 543 tackles and 176 tackles for loss in his career, acknowledged at the time that McVay’s pitch had piqued his interest.
“It for sure got me thinking,” Donald told media personality Pat McAfee.
Garrett, 30, owns the NFL record for sacks in a season with 23 last year. He has played nine seasons and 134 career games and recorded 412 career tackles, 125.5 sacks, 23 forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries, all with the Cleveland Browns.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sonny Gray-led Red Sox top Mets for 7th straight victory
Jul 10, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (7) hits a two run double against the New York Mets during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Wilyer Abreu had three hits, including a two-run homer, Friday night as the Boston Red Sox capped an eventful day by beating the host New York Mets, 6-2, in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
The first pitch was pushed back from 7:15 to 7:51 p.m. ET after the Red Sox didn’t land at nearby LaGuardia Airport until after 4 p.m. ET. Boston’s flight out of Chicago was delayed almost 24 hours due to multiple mechanical issues on the club’s charter plane.
Anthony Seigler was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer for the Red Sox, who won their seventh straight. Masataka Yoshida was 2-for-4 with a two-RBI double while Tsung-Che Cheng also had two hits.
Sonny Gray (11-1) won his ninth straight decision after giving up one run on five hits and one walk while striking out three over six innings.
Brett Baty homered and went 3-for-4 as he extended his career-long hitting streak to 10 games for the Mets, who lost for the second time in six games. New York scored 42 runs in its previous five contests.
Juan Soto had a sacrifice fly while Jared Young and A.J. Ewing finished with two hits each.
Starter Nolan McLean (6-6) allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven over six innings.
Seigler’s leadoff fly to left glanced off the glove of Soto for a two-base error. Seigler went to third on a bunt by Ceddanne Rafaela and Abreu walked before both runners scored on Yoshida’s two-out double down the third base line.
The Mets built a run in the third. Baty singled and stole second before Zack Short worked a walk. Baty went to third when Short was forced on A.J. Ewing’s grounder and raced home on Soto’s fly to left.
Seigler hit a two-run shot just fair down the left field line against A.J. Minter in the seventh. Abreu hit his two-run homer off Cionel Perez in the ninth.
Baty homered with two outs in the ninth.
–Field Level Media
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