Sports
MLB roundup: Juan Soto clubs HR No. 40 as Yanks blast M's
Sep 17, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates a two-run home run against the Seattle Mariners with designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images Juan Soto hit a milestone home run and Aaron Judge drove in four runs as the New York Yankees pummeled the host Seattle Mariners 11-2 on Tuesday.
Jasson Dominguez also went deep for the Yankees, who extended their lead over the Baltimore Orioles atop the American League East to four games. Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (14-6) allowed one run on four hits over five innings.
Soto’s two-run shot in the fourth inning off Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (8-3) was his 40th homer of the season and 200th of his career. It also gave him home runs in every major league stadium.
Julio Rodriguez went 4-for-5 and Jorge Polanco and Luke Raley hit solo shots for the Mariners, who fell three games back of the final AL wild-card position. Woo gave up seven runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Marlins 11, Dodgers 9
Jesus Sanchez went 5-for-5 with three RBIs, two doubles and two runs as Miami defeated visiting Los Angeles.
Jake Burger had a big game for the Marlins with four RBIs. He had a pair of run-scoring groundouts and a two-run homer.
Shohei Ohtani slugged his National League-leading 48th homer of the season, finishing 1-for-5 with two RBIs for the Dodgers. Ohtani, who ranks second in the big leagues with 48 stolen bases, did not add to his steal total. He is trying to become the first major-leaguer to have 50 homers and 50 steals in the same season.
Astros 4, Padres 3 (10 innings)
Kyle Tucker’s RBI single in the top of the 10th inning lifted visiting Houston to a win over San Diego.
The hit scored Grae Kessinger, the automatic runner placed at second to start the inning. Yordan Alvarez’s groundout moved Kessinger to third before Tucker singled off Adrian Morejon (2-2). That made a winner of Josh Hader (8-7), who blew a save chance yet retired all four batters he faced.
Hector Neris worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the 10th, getting Manny Machado to ground into a forceout for his first save with Houston and 18th overall this year. Machado had a two-run homer for the Padres.
Giants 10, Orioles 0
Blake Snell held host Baltimore to one hit across six innings while striking out 12 and San Francisco began a nine-game road trip with a win.
Mike Yastrzemski had a big night at the plate with a home run and a run-scoring single, while LaMonte Wade Jr. and Michael Conforto also drove in two runs apiece. The Giants won for just the second time in their past seven games.
It was another damaging defeat for the Orioles, who have lost seven of their past nine games while struggling to keep up with the AL East-leading Yankees.
Twins 4, Guardians 1
Matt Wallner had a pair of RBI singles and Willi Castro provided some insurance with a late two-run homer as Minnesota beat host Cleveland.
Twins starter Zebby Matthews allowed five hits but yielded only one run in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one. Cole Irvin, Cole Sands (9-1), Ronny Henriquez, Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax (ninth save) combined to hold the AL Central-leading Guardians to three hits in 4 1/3 shutout innings.
Lane Thomas homered and Gavin Williams (3-10) allowed two runs, five hits and two walks in five innings for Cleveland.
Reds 6, Braves 5
Spencer Steer belted a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning to help erase a four-run deficit and lead Cincinnati past visiting Atlanta.
Atlanta built a 5-1 lead by the fourth inning thanks to homers from Michael Harris II, Matt Olson and Jorge Soler. But the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, and the Braves fell two games behind the New York Mets for the third and final NL wild-card spot, with 11 games left.
The Reds rallied behind a sacrifice fly by Jake Fraley in the fourth, an RBI double by Noelvi Marte and accompanying run via error in the sixth and Steer’s 20th homer of 2024. Brent Suter (1-0) recorded the final out of the seventh for his first win of the season and Alexis Diaz pitched a scoreless ninth for his 28th save in 32 chances.
Rays 8, Red Sox 3
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run shot — one of three Tampa Bay homers in the fifth inning — as the Rays rolled to a win over Boston in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Josh Lowe and Jose Siri also homered in the Rays’ four-run fifth. Siri added a double and drove in four runs, and Junior Caminero homered and doubled. Shane Baz (3-3) gave up two runs on two hits in seven innings.
Triston Casas slugged a two-run homer and Romy Gonzalez went deep for the Red Sox, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Nick Pivetta (5-11) allowed four runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Mets 10, Nationals 1
Pete Alonso homered and collected five RBIs as host New York solidified its grip on an NL wild-card spot by cruising past Washington.
Alonso and rookie Luisangel Acuna each finished a triple shy of the cycle for the Mets, who moved into a tie for the second and third wild cards after the Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.
James Wood had an RBI while Dylan Crews had three of the four hits registered by the Nationals, who fell to 7-8 this month.
Tigers 3, Royals 1 (10 innings)
Parker Meadows’ 10th-inning RBI single lifted visiting Detroit over Kansas City.
After Lucas Erceg (2-6) balked Trey Sweeney to third base with one out, Meadows dropped a broken-bat single into shallow left field for the Tigers, who have won eight of their past 10. Tyler Holton (7-1) recorded six outs without allowing a baserunner for the win.
The Royals had tied the game in the third when Bobby Witt Jr. walked with two outs and scored on Michael Massey’s single.
Phillies 5, Brewers 1
Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos each homered and Zack Wheeler allowed one run over seven innings to pace visiting Philadelphia over Milwaukee, denying the Brewers a chance to clinch the NL Central.
Milwaukee entered Tuesday with a 10-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the division and a magic number of two. The Brewers would have clinched with a win and a loss by the Cubs, who ended up falling 4-3 to the Oakland Athletics. Philadelphia moved two games ahead of the Dodgers for the best record in the majors. The Phillies’ magic number to clinch the NL East is four.
Wheeler (16-6) allowed four hits, striking out six and walking none to lower his ERA to 2.56. Milwaukee’s Frankie Montas (7-11) allowed three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out 10 and walking two.
Athletics 4, Cubs 3
Shea Langeliers hit two home runs and had three RBIs to help visiting Oakland beat Chicago.
Starting pitcher Mitch Spence (8-9) allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six in five innings for the Athletics, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Mason Miller gave up one run and fanned two in the ninth for his 26th save of the year.
Ian Happ pulled the Cubs within one in the ninth with his second home run of the night, a solo shot over the left field wall. With it, he matched a single-season career high with his 25th long ball of the season.
Cardinals 3, Pirates 1
Right-hander Lance Lynn allowed just one run on four hits in six innings as St. Louis edged visiting Pittsburgh.
Lynn (7-4) walked two and struck out five while improving to 6-0 at home this season. Jordan Walker hit a homer for the Cardinals, who have won the first two games of a four-game series.
Bryan De La Cruz hit a homer for the Pirates. Pittsburgh starter Bailey Falter (8-8) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings.
Rangers 13, Blue Jays 8
Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and scored three times to help Texas top Toronto in Arlington, Texas.
Leody Taveras had a two-run homer and two singles and Adolis Garcia had two hits and three RBIs for the Rangers, who ended a three-game skid. Reliever Matt Festa (5-1) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.
Davis Schneider homered, singled and scored twice and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits and two runs for the Blue Jays, who had won three in a row. Tommy Nance (0-2) took the loss in relief.
Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 2
Ezequiel Tovar had three hits, including a homer, Hunter Goodman also went deep and Colorado beat Arizona in Denver.
The victory was Bud Black’s 535th with Colorado, moving him past Clint Hurdle as the winningest manager in franchise history.
Christian Walker homered and Pavin Smith doubled twice for the Diamondbacks. Arizona has lost seven of its past 11 to drop into a tie with the Mets for the last two NL wild cards. Both teams have a two-game lead over the Braves.
Angels 5, White Sox 0
Griffin Canning allowed three hits over six innings and Eric Wagaman went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs as Los Angeles snapped a six-game losing streak with a victory over Chicago in Anaheim, Calif.
Canning (6-13) walked two and struck out six. Brock Burke, Hunter Strickland and Ryan Miller each tossed one inning of relief as the Angels handed the White Sox their 19th shutout loss of the season.
Dominic Fletcher and Nicky Lopez each had two hits for Chicago (36-116), which moved within four losses of matching the modern major league record for losses in a single season, set by the 1962 Mets (40-120).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lu Dort’s Antics Outshine Big Win for Oklahoma City Thunder
Luguentz Dort is a dirty player.
I’m not saying something entirely unheard of with this take. Dort, along with most players on the Thunder, benefit from a whistle not given to the rest of the league. Friday night’s matchup between the Nuggets and Thunder showed that at full effect.
This game was very physical from start to finish. These two teams do not like each other, and I feel much of that comes from the SGA vs. Jokic MVP debates. Jokic is probably the better player, but Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP last year and knocked the Nuggets out of the playoffs.
Things are different this time around. Jokic has far more help than in years past. Denver isn’t quite fully healthy yet, but in spurts, you’ve seen what this team could do in the playoffs.
OKC and Denver met at the start of the month, but the Nuggets were still missing multiple role players, and Jokic had a bit of a down night in only his second game back from injury. Even still, we saw a level of chippiness in this one that you normally won’t see in the NBA.
What happened on Friday had been building for the better part of two seasons.
While trying to get back on defense on a made basket, Dort purposefully hip-checked and tripped Jokic, leading to a mid-court fight between Jokic and Jaylin Williams.
Dort was given a flagrant two and ejected from the game, something Coach Daigneault disagreed with. He claimed that any player who trips someone running up the floor should be ejected now that this precedent has been set.
In most cases, if something like this occurs, a player should probably be ejected. Rocket’s Tari Eason did something similar earlier this week, and it led to Vince Williams Jr. tearing his ACL. Physicality is great in basketball, but dumb plays like the one Dort made are dangerous and could potentially injure a superstar like Jokic.
Another key factor is that Dort doesn’t deserve any benefit of the doubt. This isn’t a one-off play. He’s a Draymond Green-like character who is always toeing the line between fair and foul.
Dort has countless plays like this. If you feel like he’s close to doing anything dirty, he should be removed from the game and fined, because he’s constantly committing non-basketball fouls.
The Thunder did go on to win in OT, but luckily, these teams meet again in less than 10 days, so I doubt this is the end of this beef.
Sports
After capturing gold, Wild trio focused on Blues
Feb 4, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) celebrates defenseman Jared Spurgeon (46) winning goal against the Nashville Predators during the overtime period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images A trio of United States Olympic gold medal winners are about to return “home.”
It’s likely that fans from the “State of Hockey” will welcome them back with a roar.
Matt Boldy and defensemen Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber will be front and center when the Minnesota Wild face off against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday in Saint Paul, Minn. It will be their first home game since Feb. 2 for the Wild, who had a three-week break for the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Faber might get the loudest cheer when he is recognized as part of a U.S. team that won the nation’s first gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980. The local product grew up in suburban Maple Grove, Minn., and starred collegiately for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
How’s he feeling after the whirlwind of February?
“Good enough, right?” Faber said. “I played hockey the whole time, so I’m still in game shape.”
The Wild have split their two games since returning from the Olympic break. They stormed to a 5-2 road win against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night but lost by the same score versus the Utah Mammoth on Friday.
The loss might have come with added cost as veteran forward Joel Eriksson Ek left the game after taking a high stick to the face.
Eriksson Ek’s status is uncertain for Sunday. He has 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) in 54 games this season.
“We all know the type of player ‘Ekky’ is and the situations we count on him to play in,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “It’s unfortunate, but hopefully he’s OK.”
St. Louis also will try to bounce back from a loss after falling short 3-1 against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Pavel Buchnevich scored the lone goal for the Blues.
Blues forward Jake Neighbours said he and his teammates needed to come out with a better effort against the Wild. He said the team recorded a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday because of a great effort level and lost its most recent game because of a reduced effort level.
“To me, it’s battles,” Neighbours said. “I thought on Thursday, our compete (level) was really high. We were excited. There was a lot of energy on the bench and in the dressing room.
“For whatever reason, (on Saturday), it just didn’t seem like we could muster up the momentum and the energy to take over the game.”
Joel Hofer could get the start for the Blues in net one night after Jordan Binnington turned aside 30 of 32 shots against the Devils. Hofer is 13-11-3 with a 2.87 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage this season, and he is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .944 save percentage in his only career game against Minnesota.
Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson likely will get the nod after fellow netminder Jesper Wallstedt started against Utah. Gustavsson is 21-9-6 with a 2.60 GAA and a .909 save percentage this season, and he is 5-2-0 with a 2.32 GAA and a .919 save percentage in eight career appearances against the Blues.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Islanders in playoff position, Panthers have work to do as teams meet
Jan 6, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice watches the play against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers do not have to be reminded that five of the eight teams currently occupying a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference did not make the postseason last year.
And the Panthers will get another glimpse at a team attempting to take their spot in the tournament Sunday night, when Florida opens a four-game road trip by visiting the surging New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.
The Panthers are coming off a 3-2 loss to the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Friday night. The Islanders are completing a back-to-back set after overcoming a two-goal deficit Saturday night and edging the host Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3, in overtime.
The loss Friday was the sixth in eight games for the Panthers (2-6-0), who are eight points behind the Boston Bruins in the race for the second wild-card spot with 23 games to play.
The Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Sabres — the latter of whom are in second place in the Atlantic Division — all missed the playoffs last year.
A reigning Stanley Cup champion hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2015, when the Los Angeles Kings came up two points shy of a tournament berth.
A spate of injuries has endangered the Panthers’ pursuit of the NHL’s first three-peat since the Islanders won the Stanley Cup four consecutive times from 1980-83. Captain Aleksander Barkov has yet to play due to a right knee injury suffered in training camp while Matthew Tkachuk has played just 12 games following offseason surgery for a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle. Tkachuk and Barkov were Florida’s second- and third-leading scorers last season, respectively.
The Panthers’ fortunes haven’t improved since returning from the Olympic break. Right winger Cole Schwindt will be out indefinitely with a lower body injury suffered in Thursday’s 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs while Uvis Balinskis was slated to be evaluated Saturday after exiting Friday’s game due to injury.
“Not cheating on effort,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “We’re doing the best we can.”
Simon Holmstrom’s goal 1:47 into overtime Saturday continued a pair of trends for the Islanders, whose effort to return to the playoffs after a one-year absence has featured plenty of comeback wins and extra session dramatics.
New York is tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have two games in hand. The Penguins also missed the playoffs last season.
The win Saturday was the fourth straight for the Islanders, who have trailed in three of those victories — including Thursday night’s 4-3 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens in which New York also came back from a 2-0 second-period deficit.
Holmstrom’s goal improved the Islanders to 8-0 in games decided in overtime. New York trailed in regulation in all eight overtime wins.
The only team in NHL history to record more overtime wins without a loss in a single season are the 2021 Vegas Golden Knights, who went 9-0 in overtime during the pandemic-shortened 56-game campaign.
“At the end of the day … I feel like we’re calm and we just focus on what needs to be done,” Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re behind. We find ways to get back into the game.”
–Field Level Media
Lu Dort’s Antics Outshine Big Win for Oklahoma City Thunder
After capturing gold, Wild trio focused on Blues
