Sports
MLB roundup: Despite loss, Guardians clinch AL Central title
Sep 21, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; The Cleveland Guardians pose for a photo on the field after the Guardians clinched the AL central division title after a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Ivan Herrera hit a three-run homer and scored twice as the St. Louis Cardinals held off the visiting Cleveland Guardians for a 6-5 win on Saturday night.
However, the Guardians still clinched the American League Central. Their magic number was one coming into Saturday’s action, and the second-place Kansas City Royals’ loss to the San Francisco Giants earlier in the day was enough to get the job done.
Jordan Walker hit a two-run shot for the Cardinals, who won for the fourth time in their past six games.
Jose Ramirez hit a three-run homer and Bo Naylor smacked a solo shot for the Guardians.
Reds 7, Pirates 1
Elly De La Cruz had three hits, four RBIs and two runs to help Cincinnati beat visiting Pittsburgh.
The Reds, who won the opener of the three-game set on Friday, have won five of their past eight games. Cincinnati starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (2-2) held the Pirates scoreless on five hits through five innings, and De La Cruz’s three-run shot to right field in the fourth inning provided the run support.
Billy Cook had a home run among his two hits for the Pirates, who have lost seven of nine.
Nationals 5, Cubs 1
MacKenzie Gore came within eight outs of the eighth no-hitter in franchise history, lifting visiting Washington past Chicago.
The Cubs didn’t get to Gore (10-12) until Patrick Wisdom clubbed a solo shot with one out in the seventh. That was the only hit and run the lefty allowed in his seven innings. Meanwhile, Joey Gallo broke the game open with a three-run homer in the sixth for the Nationals, who had dropped five straight. Jose Tena went 3-for-4 with a run.
Chicago is on the verge of being officially eliminated from postseason contention. Kyle Hendricks (4-12) got the start for the Cubs and yielded four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Tigers 6, Orioles 4 (10 innings)
Riley Greene singled in a run in the top of the 10th inning and Zach McKinstry added a sacrifice fly as Detroit pulled out the victory against host Baltimore.
The Tigers have won five of their past six games in their quest to rise in the American League wild-card mix. They rebounded after squandering a two-run lead in the ninth and had to hang on to extend the game. Orioles All-Star Gunnar Henderson’s two-run double with the bases loaded and no outs tied the score in the ninth. With runners on second and third after Henderson’s double, Cedric Mullins grounded out, Anthony Santander popped out and Colton Cowser flied out against Beau Brieske (3-4), who was summoned from the bullpen after Jason Foley failed to record an out while facing four batters.
The Orioles had a two-game winning streak snapped as they try to catch the New York Yankees atop the AL East. Starter Cade Povich was charged with two runs on two hits in five innings, striking out seven. The Orioles, who homered five times in Friday night’s 7-1 series-opening victory, didn’t have an extra-base hit Saturday until Henderson came through in the ninth.
Mets 6, Phillies 3
Francisco Alvarez homered in the second inning and laced a key two-run double in the seventh for host New York, which beat Philadelphia in the third game of a four-game series.
The win by the Mets prevented the playoff-bound Phillies from clinching their first National League East title since 2011. Philadelphia’s magic number stayed at one heading into the series finale Sunday.
New York remained a game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the third NL wild-card spot.
Braves 6, Marlins 2
Matt Olson slugged a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning as Atlanta defeated host Miami.
Gio Urshela followed Olson with another two-run homer in the seventh. Former Marlins star Jorge Soler had a solo blast in the second inning.
Marlins starter Adam Oller allowed two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out seven. He kept Miami in the game and left with a no-decision.
Rays 3, Blue Jays 2
Jonathan Aranda homered for the second straight game and starter Taj Bradley broke a seven-game skid as Tampa Bay secured a winning record at home this season by edging Toronto.
Aranda was the Rays’ offensive star Friday after homering off Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios for the game’s only run. On Saturday, he went 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs and a walk. He continued his power surge in the third inning with a two-run shot, swatting a Yariel Rodriguez 95 mph fastball 414 feet to straightaway center. Tampa Bay improved to 41-39 at home this season and are 4-1 on their homestand.
Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 3-for-5, while Spencer Horwitz had two hits, a run, an RBI and a walk. Alejandro Kirk drove in a run with his first career triple as the Blue Jays fell to 1-4 on their six-game road trip. Rodriguez (1-7) allowed three runs and four hits in four innings.
Giants 9, Royals 0
LaMonte Wade Jr. and Matt Chapman each belted a pair of solo homers and Mike Yastrzemski also went deep, lifting visiting San Francisco over Kansas City.
Landen Roupp (1-1) picked up his first career major league win after scattering three hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out three. The 26-year-old was making his 22nd appearance (third start) of the season for the Giants.
The reeling Royals had five hits and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position en route to losing their sixth game in a row. Kansas City has also dropped 15 of its past 22.
Diamondbacks 5, Brewers 0
Joc Pederson and Ketel Marte each had a two-run homer and Merrill Kelly tossed five innings of two-hit ball as visiting Arizona notched its third consecutive victory over Milwaukee.
The Diamondbacks remained two games behind the San Diego Padres for the top spot in the NL wild-card race.
The Brewers have lost three straight since clinching the NL Central on Wednesday. The Brewers remained four games behind the Phillies and Dodgers for the best record in the National League. The top two teams get a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Mariners 8, Rangers 4
Julio Rodriguez went 4-for-6 with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored and Jorge Polanco doubled and had three hits as Seattle kept its playoff hopes alive with a victory over Texas in Arlington, Texas.
J.P. Crawford tripled and had two hits and Cal Raleigh and Justin Turner also had two hits for Seattle, which moved to within 1 1/2 games of idle Minnesota for the final wild-card spot in the American League. The Twins hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Josh Smith went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs, Travis Jankowski had two doubles with an RBI and a run scored and Ezequiel Duran also had two hits and an RBI and run scored for Texas, which lost its third straight game.
Astros 10, Angels 4
Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker each had four hits and a homer to support Ronel Blanco, who recorded his 14th quality start, as Houston rolled to a victory over visiting Los Angeles.
Tucker finished 4-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs for his second consecutive four-hit game, and Alvarez went 4-for-5 and scored twice. The Astros reduced their magic number to clinch the American League West to three games. Blanco (12-6) won his third straight decision.
Logan O’Hoppe went 4-for-4 with a solo homer for the Angels, who have lost three in a row. Angels starter Reid Detmers (4-8) allowed seven runs on nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts in two-plus innings.
Yankees 10, Athletics 0
Aaron Judge belted his major-league-leading 54th home run, Carlos Rodon threw six shutout innings and visiting New York bombarded Oakland, giving manager Aaron Boone the 600th career win.
The Yankees reduced their magic number to three to clinch the American League East after the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the day. Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run shot and Anthony Volpe added a solo blast.
Judge hit a leadoff homer in the seventh to give the Yankees a 7-0 lead. New York roughed up Oakland ace JP Sears (11-12) for six runs and nine hits in five innings. Rodon (16-9) allowed five hits and one walk with four strikeouts to add to his career high in wins.
Padres 6, White Sox 2
Xander Bogaerts, David Peralta and Elias Diaz all homered as San Diego sent visiting Chicago to the brink of modern major league history.
The Padres are three games behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West after Los Angeles lost to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.
Chicago starter Chris Flexen (2-15) yielded eight hits and four runs in five innings, walking two and striking out three. The outcome dropped the White Sox to 36-119 in 2024, putting them one setback away from matching the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a single season in modern big-league history.
Rockies 6, Dodgers 3
Ryan McMahon hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning, Charlie Blackmon went deep in the ninth and visiting Colorado beat Los Angeles.
McMahon reached 20 home runs for the fourth consecutive season and fifth straight not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Mookie Betts hit a two-run home run for the Dodgers, whose magic number for clinching their 11th division title in 12 seasons remained at five.
–Field Level Media
Sports
ATP Roundup: Top two seeds breeze into Estoril Open quarterfinals
May 29, 2026; Paris, France; Andrey Rublev returns a shot during his match against Nuno Borges of Portugal on day six at Stade Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images The top two seeds at the Estoril Open faced little trouble on Thursday as Russia’s Andrey Rublev and Italy’s Luciano Darderi dropped a combined three games to advance to the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 event in Portugal.
The top-seeded Rublev took down Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov 6-1, 6-1. Rublev converted 17 of 23 first serve points (74 percent) and also broke Skatov six times in a match that lasted 59 minutes. Darderi was even more dominant in his 6-0, 6-1 win over Spain’s Pedro Martinez. Darderi didn’t face any break points and registered points on 17 of his 19 second serves.
In the lone upset of the day, France’s Luca Van Assche beat eighth-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a match that lasted over two hours. Portugal’s Jaime Faria, who upset the No. 6 seed in the first round, continued his run into the quarterfinals with a win over Peru’s Gonzalo Bueno by a 6-2, 6-4 count.
Generali Open
Top-seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan pushed his title defense of this ATP 250 event into the semifinals by taking down Slovakia’s Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-2 in Kitzbuhel, Austria.
Though Molcan broke Bublik four times, Bublik responded by breaking Molcan seven times. In the second set, Molcan forged a 2-2 tie as Bublik committed five double faults in the fourth game. Bublik (13 aces) went on to win the next four games to clinch the match. Bublik will take on fourth-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the semis after the Argentinian got the better of Peru’s Ignacio Buse with a 6-2, 7-5 win.
In the other half of the bracket, France’s Quentin Halys beat Argentina’s Mariano Navone 7-5, 6-3, while Yannick Hanfmann of Germany beat Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-1. Hanfmann and Halys will face off in the other semifinal match.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Surging pitchers kick off series as Cubs visit Pirates
Jul 18, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) delivers the ball during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images Matthew Boyd and Jared Jones both look to continue torrid stretches Friday when the visiting Chicago Cubs open a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Boyd (6-1, 4.15 ERA) won his fourth straight start on Saturday after allowing just one solo homer and two other hits over six innings in Chicago’s 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins. The left-hander has a 2.57 ERA in five starts since returning from surgery to repair a meniscus tear sustained while playing with his kids.
“Everything is just moving in the right direction: endurance, how you feel through the outing and afterward. All that’s feeling good,” said Boyd, who came off the injured list on June 25.
An All-Star for Chicago in 2025, Boyd has struggled in his career versus Pittsburgh. He is 1-3 with a 6.18 ERA in eight appearances (all starts) against the Pirates.
Seiya Suzuki also has experienced problems with Pittsburgh this season. He is just 5-for-24 (.208) with eight strikeouts in seven games against the Pirates, who have won four of those games.
Suzuki, however, has heated up this month.
He belted a solo homer in the first inning of Chicago’s 5-1 setback to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, giving him at least one hit in 10 of his last 11 games. He has gone deep four times during that stretch.
Unfortunately for the Cubs, the team’s bats went silent after Suzuki’s 17th homer of the season.
Like Boyd, Jones (2-1, 4.05) also has pitched well of late for Pittsburgh.
Jones allowed one run on three hits with a season-high nine strikeouts in five innings of a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians last Saturday.
He has yielded just two runs on five hits and fanned 23 batters against just three walks in three starts (15.0 innings) in July. He retired 30 batters in a row before Steven Kwan had a base hit in the third inning on Saturday.
That said, the opposition is batting just .100 (5-for-50) versus Jones during the three-game stretch.
“Giving up a run, I had some choice words for myself. But yeah, just hearing those numbers and sitting back and realizing what I’ve done over the last three games, it’s been pretty cool,” Jones said.
Jones’ impressive three-game stretch came on the heels of a rough six-start beginning to the season. The right-hander had been working out the kinks after missing all of last season after suffering an elbow injury during spring training.
Jones, 24, is 1-2 with a 5.24 ERA in four career starts against the Cubs — all coming during his rookie season in 2024.
The Pirates settled for a split of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees on Wednesday following a 2-0 setback in the nightcap.
Pittsburgh’s Nick Gonzales carries a seven-game hitting streak into Friday’s game. He is 12-for-31 with two homers and five RBIs during that stretch.
Gonzales, however, is 2-for-18 this season against the Cubs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees seeking to rekindle offense against Phillies
Jul 22, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) reacts after hitting a three run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images The New York Yankees continue to search for answers offensively as they open a 10-game road trip with a matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
The Yankees split a doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, although they scored in just two of their 18 innings that day. New York dropped the opener 5-3, managing only six hits in the process, while the nightcap resulted in an uninspiring 2-0 triumph.
“We’ve got to improve (at the plate),” manager Aaron Boone said. “I feel like I’ve said that a lot here over the last month. We know we’ve got to produce better offensively, and consistently, night in and night out. We’re working to get that done. For us to reach our peak, we’ve got to get some guys going and be more consistent.”
New York continues to play without star outfielder Aaron Judge, who has been out since May 31 with a fractured right rib.
“It’s Aaron Judge; it’s a massive presence,” Boone said. “But again, he’s not there right now. Look at these names. We have a lot of good names here, capable, and we’ve got to step it up a little better.”
The Phillies’ offense has not been particularly impressive lately either, managing only one run in three of their six games since the All-Star break. Their bats showed some life in Wednesday’s 9-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Alec Bohm leading the way with a homer and three RBIs.
“Nothing in this series changes our thoughts,” said Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly, whose team dropped two of three to Los Angeles. “If we play well, we’re capable of being fine.”
Philadelphia has played well with Jesus Luzardo (9-4, 3.43 ERA) on the mound, having won his last 10 starts. The lefty allowed one run in five innings against the New York Mets on Saturday in his first start since the All-Star break.
“He threw a lot of pitches in those first couple innings, and then he settled in and quickened up after that,” Mattingly said.
Luzardo has struggled against New York in his career, going 0-3 with an 18.36 ERA in three appearances (two starts).
New York will give the ball to Will Warren (7-4, 4.00), who made a relief cameo in Wednesday’s doubleheader against Pittsburgh. The lefty threw two-thirds of an inning in the nightcap with one strikeout, allowing one hit and one walk in a 16-pitch effort.
Now, Warren will make his first start since July 12, when he yielded one run in five innings against the Washington Nationals. He was originally slated to start Tuesday’s affair against the Pirates before that game was rained out.
“As a starter, I feel like I’m being crafty and pitching a little more than just the blacked-out adrenaline, throwing as hard as I can in the ninth,” Warren said Wednesday.
The 27-year-old has made two career starts against the Phillies. Each resulted in a no-decision, and he holds a 4.91 ERA in 11 innings against them.
–Field Level Media
ATP Roundup: Top two seeds breeze into Estoril Open quarterfinals
Netflix Sci-Fi Dark Comedy Series Is The Perfect One-Day Binge
