Sports
MLB roundup: Braves overcome D-backs, Eugenio Suarez's 4 HRs


Matt Olson scored on Justin Martinez’s wild pitch in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves overcame Eugenio Suarez’s four-homer game for an 8-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Saturday.
Suarez homered in the second, fourth, sixth and ninth innings — the last one tying the game and forcing extra innings — to become the 19th player in major league history with four homers in a game. But the D-backs were unable to score in their half of the 10th in losing their fourth straight.
Olson, starting the 10th on second base, moved to third on a leadoff groundout then scored on Martinez’s one-out wild pitch. The run is the first Martinez (1-1) has allowed in 10 appearances this season.
Outfielder J.D. Martinez is the only other Arizona player with four homers in a game, accomplishing the feat Sept. 4, 2017, in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. It was the most recent four-homer game in the majors.
Cardinals 6, Brewers 5
Nolan Arenado hit a walk-off solo homer to lift St. Louis past visiting Milwaukee, handing the Brewers their fourth straight loss.
Arenado’s homer bailed out Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley (1-0), who allowed Jackson Chourio’s game-tying two-run homer in the ninth. Milwaukee reliever Trevor Megill (0-2) took the loss after allowing Arenado’s homer.
Lars Nootbaar drove in two runs and scored twice for the Cardinals, who improved to 10-4 at home. Chourio went 4-for-5 with his homer and three RBIs for the Brewers.
Royals 2, Astros 0
Michael Wacha threw six scoreless innings and Vinnie Pasquantino launched a solo home run, propelling Kansas City past visiting Houston.
Wacha (1-3) allowed just four hits. Mark Canha had a hit and an RBI for the Royals, who clinched the weekend series and won their sixth straight game. Carlos Estevez threw a perfect ninth for Kansas City, securing his seventh save.
Framber Valdez (1-3) threw an eight-inning complete game, allowing the two runs on three hits. Isaac Paredes had two of the Astros’ six hits as the club dropped its second in a row following a three-game winning streak.
Rays 4, Padres 1
Brandon Lowe homered and Ryan Pepiot fired six strong innings as visiting Tampa Bay defeated San Diego for its fourth straight win.
Pepiot (2-3) allowed just three hits and a run. Three relievers protected the lead from there, with Pete Fairbanks pitching the ninth for his fifth save.
Dylan Cease (1-2) took up the loss after working the first 4 1/3 innings and allowing three runs (two earned) off six hits and four walks. Cease fanned six and threw 95 pitches in San Diego’s third straight loss.
Mets 2, Nationals 0
Francisco Alvarez hit a two-run homer and New York won its 17th game in April, a team record for that month, in beating host Washington.
Francisco Lindor had three hits for the Mets, and New York starter Clay Holmes (3-1) pitched five innings, allowing four hits. Mets reliever A.J. Minter left the game with a triceps injury in the eighth inning and is to be evaluated on Sunday. Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
Washington starter Brad Lord (0-3) gave up two runs on five hits over four innings. Dylan Crews and Luis Garcia Jr. had two hits each for the Nationals, who had won five of seven.
Reds 6, Rockies 4
Austin Hays hit a pair of solo homers, including the tie-breaking shot in the sixth inning that lifted Cincinnati past Colorado in Denver.
Noelvi Marte hit a two-run homer in the second for the Reds, who won their third straight game to improve to 5-3 on a road trip that ends Sunday. Michael Toglia and Adael Amador homered and combined for all four RBIs for the Rockies.
Hays homered off Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela (1-4) leading off the fourth and sixth. The two-homer game was the seventh of Hays’ career. Hunter Greene (3-2) earned the win for the Reds after allowing three runs on seven hits.
Guardians 5, Red Sox 4 (Game 1)
Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez each had two hits and an RBI and Cleveland overcame an early deficit to beat visiting Boston in Game 1 of a split doubleheader.
Kwan’s two-out, bloop RBI single in the sixth a 4-4 tie for the Guardians, who have won 12 of 16 and improved to 8-2 at home. Starter Ben Lively allowed four runs on homers to Wilyer Abreu and Rafael Dever in five innings for Cleveland, but relievers Tim Herrin (3-0), Hunter Gaddis, Emmanuel Clase and Cade Smith (third save) combined to allow just one hit.
Boston’s Tanner Houck yielded all four of his runs and five of eight hits in the first inning but settled down to finish five. Alex Bregman added two hits for the Red Sox, who have lost three straight after winning six of seven.
Red Sox 7, Guardians 3 (Game 2)
Jarren Duran had three hits with two RBIs and pulled off a straight steal of home as Boston beat host Cleveland to gain a split of a doubleheader.
Duran tripled and then made a highlight-reel steal of home in the third. Rafael Devers had two hits and was one of five Red Sox with at least one RBI. Walker Buehler (4-1) yielded all three Cleveland runs in the fourth inning for Boston, which snapped a three-game skid.
Jhonksensy Noel clubbed a two-run homer for the Guardians, who have dropped two of three after winning five straight. Cleveland starter Doug Nikhazy (0-1) made his major league debut, allowing six runs, six walks and five hits.
White Sox 10, Athletics 3
Michael A. Taylor had a career-high three doubles and drove in three runs and Luis Robert Jr. homered in Chicago’s win over the host Athletics in Sacramento, CA.
Taylor also scored two runs and stole a base, Robert scored three runs and Edgar Quero had two hits, scored twice, drove in a run and drew two walks. Jonathan Cannon (1-3) got the win as the primary pitcher, allowing three runs on six hits in 7 2/3 innings.
Luis Urias homered for the Athletics. Starter and loser Jeffrey Springs (3-3) allowed seven runs, five earned, on seven hits.
Tigers 4, Orioles 3 (Game 1)
Spencer Torkelson hit his team-leading eighth homer as host Detroit edged Baltimore in the first game of a doubleheader.
Winning pitcher Casey Mize (4-1) gave up one run on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. Will Vest got the last four outs for his third save. Javier Baez added three hits and an RBI for Detroit.
Ryan O’Hearn and Ramon Urias homered for the Orioles. Brandon Young (0-1) was charged with three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings in his second career start.
Tigers 6, Orioles 2 (Game 2)
Detroit’s Riley Greene hammered a three-run homer to add to the misery for Baltimore pitcher Charlie Morton and the host Tigers went on to complete a doubleheader sweep.
Spencer Torkelson provided a two-run double and the Tigers won for the fourth time in their last five games. Brant Hurter (1-0) was the winning pitcher with 2 1/3 innings of relief. Tigers starter Keider Montero went 4 1/3 innings, giving up one run on four hits.
The Orioles have been swept in 14 of their last 27 doubleheaders without a sweep in their favor during a stretch that extends almost nine years. Gunnar Henderson had two of Baltimore’s six hits, but it marked the team’s fifth loss in six games.
Twins 5, Angels 1
Carlos Correa went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and Minnesota beat Los Angeles for a second straight time in Minneapolis.
Ty France, Jonah Bride and Brooks Lee each had two hits and an RBI for Minnesota, which secured its second consecutive series win. Every player in the Twins’ starting lineup reached base at least once, and eight of the nine notched a base hit.
Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (2-2) allowed one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings. Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (0-4) remained winless on the season. He surrendered four runs on nine hits in two innings.
Phillies 10, Cubs 4
Max Kepler homered among his three hits and Jesus Luzardo tossed six strong innings, fueling Philadelphia past host Chicago.
Kepler joined Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in driving in a pair of runs for the Phillies, who rebounded after being shut out in the series opener to snap a five-game losing streak. Bryson Stott collected two hits and two runs. Luzardo (3-0) allowed two unearned runs on three hits.
Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki drove in three runs and Jon Berti had three of his team’s eight hits. Ian Happ walked three times and scored on Justin Turner’s sacrifice fly for the Cubs, who saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt.
Giants 3, Rangers 2
Pinch hitter Patrick Bailey hit Jacob Latz’s first pitch into right field for a walk-off single, delivering host San Francisco a win over Texas on a day when the Giants honored retired shortstop Brandon Crawford.
After Ryan Walker (1-1) had worked out of a two-on, none-out jam in the top of the ninth to preserve a tie, Heliot Ramos led off the bottom of the inning with a single off the fourth Rangers pitcher, Jacob Webb (2-1).
LaMonte Wade Jr. then walked and Christian Koss sacrificed Ramos to third before the left-handed Latz was brought in to flip the switch-hitting Bailey over to the right side. San Francisco’s regular starting catcher foiled the strategy, however, with his soft liner past Texas first baseman Jake Burger.
Mariners 14, Marlins 0
Jorge Polanco hit two home runs and Luis Castillo allowed one hit over six scoreless innings as host Seattle clobbered Miami and improved to 12-5 over its past 17 to move into a first-place tie with Texas atop the American League West.
Julio Rodriguez and Mitch Garver also homered and rookie Ben Williamson drove in four runs for the Mariners. The only hit Castillo (3-2) allowed was a line-drive single to right field by Dane Myers leading off the third.
Miami starter Connor Gillispie (0-3) lasted just two innings, giving up seven runs on six hits.
Dodgers 8, Pirates 4
Teoscar Hernandez and Enrique Hernandez each homered in a four-run eighth inning as Los Angeles pulled away for a victory over visiting Pittsburgh to end a three-game losing streak.
Teoscar Hernandez snapped a 4-4 tie with a home run to left field off reliever Colin Holderman for his seventh of the season. Enrique Hernandez hit a three-run pinch-hit homer off Joey Wentz three batters later, his fifth. After a 1-for-16 stretch, Los Angeles designated hitter Shohei Ohtani had three extra-base hits with two runs scored.
Oneil Cruz hit a leadoff home run and drove in two runs for the Pirates, while Ke’Bryan Hayes and Tommy Pham each had two hits. Holderman (0-1) gave up three runs on two hits and a walk without recording an out.
Blue Jays at Yankees (ppd.)
The game between Toronto and New York was postponed because of heavy rain.
The postponement was announced about 3 1/2 hours before the original first pitch and will be made up as part of a straight doubleheader on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
Max Fried was slated to oppose Toronto’s Kevin Gausman on Saturday and will pitch Sunday. The other original pitching matchup for Sunday was Clarke Schmidt against Toronto’s Chris Bassitt.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24


LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series


The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement


Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media