Sports
Mike Trout homers, Angels get rare back-to-back wins
May 23, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) hits a two-run home run during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Mike Trout hit a two-run homer to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif.
It was the 417th homer of Trout’s career. Zach Neto went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double and two runs scored for Los Angeles, which won the first two games of a series for the first time opening the season with back-to-back wins at Houston on March 26-27.
Walbert Urena (2-4) picked up the win, allowing one run on five hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out six. Kirby Yates pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his first save with the Angels and the 99th of his career.
Kyle Higashioka hit a home run and Alejandro Osuna went 3-for-3 with a run scored for Texas. Nathan Eovaldi (5-5) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on five hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out six.
Eovaldi, who came into the contest allowing just one run over his previous 22 innings in three starts, gave up two to the first two batters he faced in the game. Neto led off with a walk and then scored on Trout’s 13th home run, a 411-foot drive to left-center. It marked the fourth straight game that the Angels hit a homer in the first inning.
Texas cut the lead to 2-1 in the second when Osuna led off with an infield single, went to second on a walk by Jake Burger, advanced to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ezequiel Duran.
The Angels extended the lead to 3-1 in the fifth inning when Neto doubled into the left field corner and scored one out later on a double into the right field corner by Nolan Schanuel.
The Rangers cut the lead to 3-2 in the seventh when Higashioka led off with his third home run, a 395-foot drive to left-center.
The Angels added a couple of insurance runs in the eighth inning on a two-run, bases-loaded single by Oswald Peraza.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Padres top A's in game light on hitting, heavy on walks
May 23, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Lucas Giolito (55) delivers during the first inning against the Athletics at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images Lucas Giolito tossed five shutout innings Saturday night and the San Diego Padres took advantage of surprising wildness from Athletics starter J.T. Ginn in a 2-0 home victory.
Giolito (2-0) allowed four hits and issued five walks while striking out two but was able to pitch out of multiple jams. He stranded three walks in the fourth when he induced an inning-ending 3-6-3 double play ball from Jeff McNeil.
San Diego used its high-leverage relievers to wrap up the victory. Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam each handled an inning before former Athletic Mason Miller, facing his old team for the first time since being traded at the deadline last year, worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 16th save in as many chances.
Ginn (2-3), who threw eight no-hit innings Monday night before losing 2-1 to the Angels in Los Angeles, left this one with a no-hitter. But he only lasted 2 1/3 innings because he walked six, hit a batter and threw 73 pitches. Ginn fanned four and was charged with both runs.
Ginn entered the game having issued only three walks in his previous three starts. But two first-inning walks hinted at what happened an inning later. In the third, he gave up free passes to Jackson Merrill, Freddy Fermin and Sung-Mun Song, then hit Fernando Tatis Jr. to force Merrill home.
An inning later, Ginn was pulled after walking Nick Castellanos with one out. Jose Suarez relieved and promptly gave up a double to Merrill, followed by Ty France’s groundout that scored Castellanos.
The Padres didn’t manage another hit until Gavin Sheets singled with two outs in the seventh. They coaxed eight walks but went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine runners.
The Athletics’ Nick Kurtz was the only player for either team with two hits, and teammate Shea Langeliers managed the A’s only extra-base hit, a double in the eighth. But they were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men aboard.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Evander has hand in 5 goals as Cincinnati hammers Orlando City
May 23, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; FC Cincinnati midfielder Pavel Bucha (20) kicks the ball against Orlando City SC in the first half at TQL Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images Evander scored two goals and assisted on three others, including Kenji Mboma Dem’s eventual match-winner in the 52nd minute, sending FC Cincinnati into the World Cup break with a 6-2 rout of visiting Orlando City on Saturday evening.
Despite allowing a brace to Orlando’s Martin Ojeda, Cincinnati (5-5-5, 20 points) snapped a 0-1-2 slump in resounding fashion, winning for the first time since May 2.
Orlando (4-9-2, 14 points) saw its three-match unbeaten streak across all competitions (2-0-1) come to an end.
Cincinnati, which entered Saturday with the most goals scored in MLS (30), dominated an Orlando defense that had conceded a league-worst 38 times.
With the match tied at 2-2, Mboma Dem put Cincinnati ahead for good in the 52nd minute with his second goal of the night and fourth of the season. He rushed into the box and struck Evander’s pass first-time into the net to put Cincinnati ahead 3-2.
In the 58th minute, Evander completed his own double with his ninth goal of the season, confidently striding to the top of the box and lacing a low, driven effort past Orlando goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau to make it 4-2.
Kevin Denkey made it 5-2 in the 77th minute, bringing his season total to nine goals thanks to Evander’s third assist of the evening.
Tom Barlow capped the scoring in the first minute of second-half stoppage time with his fifth goal of the season.
After Ojeda opened the scoring for Orlando in the 16th minute, Cincinnati pulled ahead with two goals late in the period. Mboma Dem’s header past Crepeau off Evander’s corner kick tied the match at 1-1 in the 42nd minute. Evander then put Cincinnati ahead 2-1 in the third minute of first-half stoppage time off an assist from Pavel Bucha.
Cincinnati’s six goals were its most in an MLS regular-season match since a 6-1 win over Inter Miami on July 6, 2024. Orlando allowed six goals in a match for the second time this season, most recently in a 6-0 loss at Los Angeles FC on April 4.
Evander now has seven goals and five assists in his last five matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
LA Galaxy, Houston Dynamo battle to 1-1 draw entering World Cup break
May 23, 2026; Carson, California, USA; Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz (19) moves the ball while pressured by LA Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil (28) and midfielder Justin Haak (15) during the first half at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images Guilherme Santos scored the tying goal in the 41st minute and Jonathan Bond recorded five saves as the visiting Houston Dynamo earned a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy on Saturday in a Western Conference dustup in Carson, Calif.
It was the final game for both teams before MLS’s two-month World Cup break. The draw was the first this season for the Dynamo (7-6-1, 22 points), who head to the break two points clear of the Galaxy (5-5-5, 20 points) in the West standings.
Houston has earned points in four of its past five league matches (3-1-1). Los Angeles is 3-1-2 in its past six MLS contests.
The Galaxy were the aggressor in the early minutes of the match, as Erik Thommy and then Joseph Paintsil tested Bond with shots on target in the 14th and 17th minute, respectively.
Paintsil broke through in the 30th minute, making short work of a scoring play that started when Edwin Cerrillo passed to the right side of the box to Miki Yamane. Yamane worked hard to center the ball but it bounced through traffic in front of the goal before Paintsil ripped a right-footed shot past Bond and into the top-left corner of the net for a 1-0 Los Angeles lead.
Guilherme had an excellent chance to produce the equalizer for the Dynamo five minutes later but missed over the crossbar from short range.
Guilherme made the most of his next opportunity, taking a pass from Jack McGlynn outside the top of the box and hitting a curving shot past Galaxy keeper JT Marcinkowski (three saves) into the bottom-right corner. Antonio Carlos was credited with a secondary assist on that tying tally.
The second half was full of unrealized scoring chances.
Marcinkowski kept the match knotted with a stop on a low-percentage shot by McGlynn in the 56th minute. He then stopped shots from Mateusz Bogusz in the 70th minute and Jose Artur in the 73rd to quell Houston scoring chances.
Cerrillo, Matheus Nascimento and Gabriel Pec had shots on target in the final 15 minutes for the Galaxy, but Bond rose to the task to save each of them and allow the Dynamo to split the points.
–Field Level Media
