Sports
MLB roundup: Cubs erupt in 6-run first, crush Framber Valdez, Tigers
Jul 21, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hitter Michael Conforto (20) celebrates with shortstop Dansby Swanson (7) after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The host Chicago Cubs sent 12 batters to the plate in a six-run first inning as they rolled to a comfortable 11-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
Pete Crow-Armstrong was a perfect 2-for-2 with three walks and two RBIs for Chicago, which evened the series after the Tigers’ 8-6 extra-innings win on Monday. Michael Conforto added a two-run homer. Cubs starting pitcher David Peterson (5-7) was the beneficiary of the run support and took full advantage, tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings. Detroit managed just three hits against Peterson, who struck out four and walked only one.
Dillon Dingler doubled in the second before hitting a two-run shot in the ninth to put the Tigers on the board. Dingler is now 6-for-8 with three long balls in the series. Valdez (5-7) recorded just two outs in 42 pitches, giving up five hits and two walks. He was charged with all six runs in the inning after Madden issued another bases-loaded free pass to Seiya Suzuki.
The first seven Cubs reached base against Detroit starter Framber Valdez (5-7). The scoring started with cleanup hitter Carson Kelly knocking a two-run single to right, followed by a bloop RBI hit for Michael Busch and a run-scoring infield single for Ian Happ. Crow-Armstrong — who started the big inning with a leadoff triple — drew a bases-loaded walk in his second at-bat and ended Valdez’s night, as he was pulled in favor of Ty Madden. Valdez (5-7) recorded just two outs in 42 pitches, giving up all siix runs on five hits and two walks.
Dodgers 2, Phillies 1
Max Muncy hit a two-run home run in support of Justin Wrobleski as visiting Los Angeles held on for a victory over Philadelphia.
Muncy’s fourth-inning blast off Zack Wheeler provided enough offense for Wrobleski (11-2), who allowed one run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. The All-Star left-hander walked one and struck out seven in lowering his ERA to 2.62. Wheeler (10-2) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, striking out nine without a walk. Alec Bohm had three hits and an RBI.
The Phillies had runners on second and third with one out in the ninth against Tanner Scott. Brandon Marsh hit a grounder to third that resulted in Justin Crawford getting tagged out in a rundown between third and home, and then J.T. Realmuto — who was already on third — retreated towards second and was thrown out to end the game.
Rays 12, Blue Jays 2
Nick Fortes and Yandy Diaz hit three-run home runs and visiting Tampa Bay posted a season-best 21 hits to clobber Toronto.
Fortes finished with three hits and four RBIs, Chandler Simpson and Ben Williamson each added four hits and Junior Caminero had two hits and three walks for the Rays, who took a 2-0 lead in the four-game series. Tampa Bay is 7-1 against Toronto this season to clinch the season series.
Ernie Clement and George Springer had two hits apiece for the Blue Jays, who have lost six of seven.
Diamondbacks 6, Athletics 5 (10 innings)
Ildemaro Vargas slapped a bases-loaded single to left with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning as Arizona recorded a victory over the Athletics at Phoenix.
Nolan Arenado delivered the tying single earlier in the inning as Arizona won for the seventh time in the past nine games. Max Kepler added a three-run homer for the Diamondbacks.
Jacob Wilson drilled a tying two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning and Jonah Heim hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 10th inning for the Athletics. Shea Langeliers also homered for the Athletics, who lost for the 16th time in their past 19 games.
Padres 8, Braves 3
Manny Machado hit a pair of home runs and starter Walker Buehler recovered from early troubles to pitch 5 2/3 strong innings and help visiting San Diego beat Atlanta.
Machado, who went 2-for-5, hit a 412-foot solo homer to left field in the fifth inning and added a 418-foot solo shot to center one inning later. The Padres also got home runs from Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr., and the Tatis homer traveled 474 feet, the longest in the major leagues this season. Tatis went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
Rookie Jim Jarvis hit a two-run triple for the Braves.
Rangers 10, White Sox 0
Brandon Nimmo and Wyatt Langford homered and Kumar Rocker and Marco Gonzales combined on a three-hit shutout as Texas routed visiting Chicago.
Nimmo powered the Rangers to a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, reaching White Sox starter Noah Schultz for a two-run blast with two out in the first inning. The Texas right fielder finished 4-for-4. Alejandro Osuna added three hits and three RBIs, Langford had two hits and two RBIs and Ezequiel Duran and Nicky Lopez both contributed two hits and an RBI.
Schultz (3-7), a rookie left-hander, endured one of his roughest outings. He allowed five runs on a career-high 11 hits over 3 2/3 innings. Rocker (3-8) countered with a sparkling effort to earn his first victory since May 19 at Colorado. The right-hander stymied Chicago over six shutout innings.
Guardians 5, Twins 2
Austin Hedges and rookie Petey Halpin had back-to-back sacrifice flies in a pivotal sixth inning, propelling Cleveland over visiting Minnesota.
Hedges brought home Kahlil Watson with the go-ahead run after the Guardians loaded the bases with no outs against Mike Paredes (0-3). After a double steal, Halpin’s sacrifice fly off Taylor Rogers drove in Travis Bazzana after a replay review overturned an out call at the plate to make it 4-2. Bazzana added a two-out RBI single in the seventh to make it 5-2.
Ryan Jeffers hit a solo homer in the first inning for the Twins, extending his on-base streak to 15 games.
Mets 4, Brewers 0
Zac Thornton tossed six scoreless innings and earned his first big-league win as visiting New York beat Milwaukee in the middle game of a three-game series.
Jared Young and Luis Robert Jr. homered while Carson Benge had an unusual two-run double for the last-place Mets, who have won three of five since the All-Star break against the Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies, each of whom currently occupy a playoff spot. The Brewers, blanked for just the fourth time this season, had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Thornton (1-1) allowed three hits, walked one and struck out two while extending his scoreless streak to 18 innings dating back to June 26. He has a 1.93 ERA in his first four major league starts. Brandon Sproat (3-5), who was dealt to the Brewers by the Mets in the Freddy Peralta trade in January, gave up two runs on four hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings.
Royals 3, Giants 2
Luinder Avila allowed two runs while setting career highs with seven strikeouts and 6 1/3 innings, while Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Loftin each had two hits and an RBI as Kansas City won over visiting San Francisco.
Pressed into the Royals’ injury-ravaged rotation since early June, Avila (5-3) yielded five hits while helping secure a series win. Pasquantino and Loftin delivered RBI singles in the sixth to help Kansas City erase a 2-1 deficit.
Tyler Mahle (2-9) was charged with all three runs and allowed five hits while completing five-plus innings for the Giants, who have lost four straight. San Francisco managed only five hits and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Astros 5, Marlins 3
Tatsuya Imai allowed one run over six innings, Isaac Paredes clubbed a three-run homer and Houston sent reeling Miami to its eighth straight loss.
Imai (6-4) produced his fifth quality start of the season. He retired the side in order only once — in the second — but stranded four baserunners in scoring position across six innings. Astros closer Josh Hader notched his 11th save with a scoreless ninth, working around a leadoff double.
Joe Mack shaved the Marlins’ deficit to 5-3 with a two-run homer off AJ Blubaugh in the seventh, his ninth home run of the season and second of the series.
Rockies 8, Nationals 7
Hunter Goodman hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting Colorado over Washington in Denver.
Goodman leads all catchers in homers with a career-high-tying 31. Jordan Romano pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his seventh save, making a winner of Juan Mejia (3-6), who tossed a clean eighth. Goodman finished with two hits, Mickey Moniak also went deep and singled, Cole Carrigg had three hits and Jake McCarthy added two hits for the Rockies.
CJ Abrams homered twice, James Wood had two doubles and two RBIs and Luis Garcia Jr. and Nasim Nunez also had two hits each for Washington.
Angels 5, Cardinals 1
Jo Adell hit a two-run home run to highlight a five-run first inning and rookie Walbert Urena allowed one run on six hits over six innings to lead Los Angeles to a victory over slumping St. Louis in Anaheim, Calif.
Jorge Soler had a two-run double, Jose Siri doubled and had two hits and Zach Neto and Adell also had two hits for Los Angeles, which won its third straight game. Urena (6-7) threw 28 pitches during a scoreless first inning, 16 of which registered 100 mph or better. Mitch Farris, Chase Silseth and Ryan Zeferjahn combined to allow one hit over three shutout innings.
Alec Burleson had three hits for St. Louis, which lost its fourth straight and fifth in six games. Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (5-7) allowed five runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Reds 4, Mariners 2
Chase Burns pitched five scoreless innings to win his 11th straight decision as Cincinnati defeated host Seattle.
Elly De La Cruz, Eugenio Suarez and Nathaniel Lowe homered for the Reds, who snapped Seattle’s three-game winning streak and knocked the Mariners out of first place in the American League West. Weston Wilson and Julio Rodriguez went deep for the hosts.
Burns (12-1), in his first full season, allowed three hits — singles by Josh Naylor and Victor Robles in the second and another single by Naylor in the fourth. The Mariners were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10. Luis Castillo (3-9) made a quality start, giving up three runs on four hits over seven innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Twins ride momentum into homestand opener against Athletics
Jul 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Brooks Lee (22) celebrates with second baseman Luke Keaschall (15) after the Twins beat the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images The Minnesota Twins return home with their chins up despite a losing road trip.
Minnesota will try to keep its confidence high when it opens a three-game series against the Athletics on Friday night in Minneapolis. The contest marks the start of a six-game homestand for the Twins, who also will host the Kansas City Royals for three games.
The Twins are coming off a 3-4 road trip. However, they closed the trek with back-to-back wins over the Cleveland Guardians, which gave manager Derek Shelton reason to believe that the team is on an upswing.
That could prove to be important as the Minnesota front office tries to decide whether to buy, stand pat or sell ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
“To bounce back, it’s one of the few times going home 3-4 that I feel good about it,” Shelton said after the Twins escaped with a 3-1, 12-inning win over the Guardians on Thursday.
The Athletics will try to spoil the good feelings for Minnesota. They are coming off back-to-back losses against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, and they are 2-4 since returning from the All-Star break.
Injuries have decimated the Athletics, who put right-handers J.T. Ginn and Mark Leiter Jr. and infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer on the injured list this week. A slew of other players such as Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz, Zack Gelof, Luis Severino and Justin Sterner also have been sidelined by injuries.
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said the injuries are testing the team’s depth, particularly in the late innings, where he now must rely mostly on unproven hurlers.
“It’s challenging,” Kotsay said. “You look at the bullpen collectively, and there’s just not a lot of experience. There’s not a lot of guys with track records that can come in and shut down an inning. We’re going through a tough stretch here of trying to find those guys. We’re not going to stop trying. We’ll continue to make moves.”
The Twins will turn to right-hander Zebby Matthews (4-7, 5.40 ERA) as they seek their third win in a row. Matthews hopes to bounce back from his worst start of 2026 after the Chicago Cubs slammed him for 10 runs (eight earned) on nine hits in three-plus innings during a 10-1 rout on Sunday.
This will be Matthews’ second career start against the Athletics. He faced the A’s on June 4, 2025, and earned a win after holding them to one run on four hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out four.
The Athletics will counter with left-hander Jacob Lopez (4-4, 6.64 ERA), who will make his 16th appearance and 13th start of the season. He is looking for his first victory since May 24 against the San Diego Padres.
In his most recent outing, Lopez took a 5-2 loss against the Washington Nationals on Sunday after giving up two runs on two hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked two and matched his season high with six strikeouts.
In two career appearances (one start) against the Twins, Lopez is 1-1 with a 6.10 ERA. He has given up eight runs (seven earned) in 10 1/3 innings, but he also has walked only two batters while striking out 17.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reds get first look at Cardinals RHP Dustin May
Jul 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dustin May (3) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images With both sides attempting to gain ground in the National League wild-card race, the St. Louis Cardinals host the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.
The Cardinals have dropped five of seven games since the All-Star break and sit 1 1/2 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL wild-card spot. St. Louis also is a half-game behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are currently the first NL team out of the playoff picture.
Trying to stay afloat in the playoff chase, the Reds enter their third consecutive road set riding a pair of series victories. Cincinnati, which is six games behind the Diamondbacks, took two of three from both the Colorado Rockies and the Seattle Mariners.
Since St. Louis’ Dustin May hurled a one-hit shutout against the San Diego Padres on June 15, little has gone right for the right-hander. In five starts since the gem, May (5-7, 4.78 ERA) is 0-1 with a 9.92 ERA.
May threw five innings for the first time in more than a month on Saturday, but he surrendered five runs on eight hits while striking out six and walking four in a 5-3 loss at Arizona.
Despite May’s rough patch, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol has confidence the 28-year-old can find his rhythm again.
“He’s competed well. He went through a stretch there where he gave us some really good outings,” Marmol said. “After the complete game, there have been some ups and downs, but he’s good enough to get out of this.”
Making the 91st appearance (77th start) of his major league career, May will face Cincinnati for the first time.
Among the Reds getting their first look at May will be All-Star first baseman Sal Stewart. The 22-year-old ranks fourth in the majors with 74 RBIs after knocking in nine runs across the club’s first two series since the midseason break.
“I think there are guys that relish those opportunities,” Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said of Stewart’s success with runners on base. “He’s so strong and he’s got great hitter’s hands. The ball just jumps off his bat.”
Despite the RBI surge, Stewart is batting just .130 (3-for-23) since the break.
On the mound, Rhett Lowder (3-7, 5.75 ERA) will be chasing a bounce-back effort for Cincinnati.
After appearing as a starter for his first 13 outings of the year, Lowder made three appearances out of the bullpen before re-emerging in the rotation after the All-Star break. Last time out, the 24-year-old right-hander lasted just 2 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs on 11 hits in a 10-3 loss to the Rockies on Saturday in Denver. He struck out two and didn’t walk a batter.
“(Colorado) was just being aggressive and I was probably leaving too many thick pitches for them. Balls were just finding holes,” Lowder said of that outing. “It was very frustrating.”
Lowder has thrown eight scoreless innings across a pair of starts against the Cardinals during his career. He faced St. Louis on June 7, allowing just one hit but walking five across three scoreless innings in a no-decision. The Reds lost 5-3.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Duke-Michigan game canceled over broadcast dispute
Mar 29, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer talks to a referee against the UConn Huskies in the first half during an Elite Eight game of the East Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images A blockbuster nonconference game between national champion Michigan and Duke, scheduled for Dec. 21, has been canceled, multiple outlets reported Friday.
The game was set to be played at Madison Square Garden and streamed on Prime Video as part of a three-game agreement with the Blue Devils. Instead, Duke will meet Texas Tech in New York, with the game remaining on Prime.
The Michigan-Duke matchup had been a question mark for about three months, with the Big Ten — backed by Fox Sports — contending it owned the broadcast rights, in part based on the game location. ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference already had given approval for the transfer to Prime Video, which is taking its first steps into the live streaming of college sports with the Duke games.
An effort to move the game to the Miami Marlins’ stadium — chosen, in part, because the venue is outside of a geographic area that the Big Ten could call neutral territory — did not pan out, forcing the cancellation.
The cancellation and rescheduling had not been announced as of Friday morning by Duke, Michigan or Texas Tech.
Amazon’s first foray into broadcasting live college sports also will feature the Blue Devils’ games against UConn on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas and Gonzaga on Feb. 20 in Detroit.
–Field Level Media
Twins ride momentum into homestand opener against Athletics
Reds get first look at Cardinals RHP Dustin May
