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
Nelly Korda shoots 2 under to keep lead at Chevron
Apr 25, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Nelly Korda prepares to putt on the 18th hole during the third round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images Two straight stellar rounds gave Nelly Korda a cushion to endure some bumps in the road.
She found those bumps on Saturday, but still shot a 2-under-par 70 to hold a five-shot advantage heading into the final round at the Chevron Championship in Houston.
Back-to-back 65s had given Korda a six-shot advantage, and the start of her third round on Saturday looked like more of the same. Two straight birdies to open got her to 16 under for the tournament, and she quickly added two more on Holes 5-6 to get to 18 under.
But that was it on the birdie front for the World No. 2. Worse still, Korda suffered bogeys on the eighth and 13th holes while battling the wind to settle for 16 under.
That represented a notable shift for Korda after she carded five of her eight birdies Friday on the back nine at Memorial Park Golf Course.
“I played really solid on the front and then just kind of — not may have lost concentration, but the wind started picking up and then I just put myself into — I mean, I put myself into great positions; didn’t kind of execute really well,” Korda said.
Korda is pursuing her third career major title, which would be her first since winning this event at a different course in 2024.
“This is why we do it, right, to be in contention on major championship Sunday?” Korda said. “I’m just going to focus on myself, kind of work on my process, really dial into that, make sure that I have tunnel vision, and not really focus on the exterior noise.”
Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit continues to lurk in second place. She crept closer to Korda with a 3-under 69, making up a shot, and she now sits at 11 under for the tournament.
Tavatanakit’s day featured four birdies on Holes 1, 6, 14 and 16, with a bogey on the par-4 13th.
She admitted an aggressive mindset could serve her well on Sunday.
“Yeah, I have nothing to lose. I have nothing to lose from day one,” Tavatanakit said. “I’m trying to be aggressive but sometimes the ball just doesn’t go there.”
China’s Ruoning Yin (66) and France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (67) put themselves in position to contend with low rounds Saturday and are now tied for third at 10 under, six shots behind Korda.
South Korea’s Ina Yoon (71) is alone in fifth at 8 under.
Amateur Farah O’Keefe, who has been the surprise of the tournament to this point, fell off the pace a little with her even-par round, moving her from a tie for third into a tie for sixth.
Yet O’Keefe, a native of nearby Austin and a member of the University of Texas golf team, is maintaining her composure.
“I’m having a great time,” O’Keefe said. “The thing that I do is just play my game. However it stacks up against everybody else is the way that it happens to finish.”
Tied with O’Keefe at 7 under are Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (66), Yealimi Noh (69) and China’s Yan Liu (71).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Zach Johnson takes 3-point lead in Mitsubishi's unique format
Retief Goosen of South Africa putts on No. 6 during the third round of the 2025 Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone Country Club, Saturday, June 21, 2025, in Akron, Ohio. Zach Johnson increased his overnight lead from one to three points on Saturday after two rounds of the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga.
The tournament is using the Modified Stableford scoring system to encourage aggressive play. Rather than scoring relative to par, points are awarded per hole — minus-1 for a bogey, zero for par and two for birdie. Eagles are worth five points while double bogeys are minus-3.
Johnson finished +13 on the day, and combined with his opening round of +15, sits at +28 heading into Sunday’s final round.
The two-time major champion on the PGA Tour carded seven birdies and made one bogey on Saturday. He birdied four of the last seven holes and has a three-point lead over South African Retief Goosen (+25) and seven-point lead over four others.
“(I) hit it nice. Really hit my driver nice with the exception of 18 and maybe one other one if I’m not mistaken,” said Johnson. “Encouraged, encouraged with the trajectory of my game.”
Johnson, who finished tied for eighth at last week’s Senior PGA Championship, is optimistic about his game.
“I was volatile last week. I know I had a decent week from a finish standpoint, but I had 10 bogeys and three doubles,” said Johnson, who turned 50 in February and won his first title on the senior tour in March. “It was very colorful, if you will. I’m trying to clean that up.”
Goosen improved from +12 on Friday to +13 on Saturday. He picked up 12 points on his last 11 holes, which included birdies on two par-threes.
Asked if his round felt like a score of 66, Goosen said, “I don’t know what it feels like really. You don’t really — you’re just so much more into points and trying to just birdie every hole. It’s funny how it works, you’re not really thinking about a score, you’re just thinking birdie.”
Goosen’s countryman Rory Sabbatini, David Duval, George McNeill and Ben Crane are all at +21, while Alex Cejka of the Czech Republic is at +20.
Canada’s Stephen Ames fired the best round of the tournament on Saturday with a score of +16 and is tied for 10th at +18. He earned five points on his first hole of the day, making an eagle on the par-5 No. 10.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Avalanche on verge of grinding out defensive-minded sweep of Kings
Apr 23, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) looks on as the puck gets past Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) for a goal by Los Angeles Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) during the third period of game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images The Colorado Avalanche are one game away from a sweep as they prepare to face the Los Angeles Kings on the road for Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series Sunday.
However, don’t mistake the chance for a sweep as the Avalanche dominating the Kings. The first two games in Denver were 2-1 games, and in Game 2, the Avalanche needed a goal from Gabriel Landeskog with 3:35 left in regulation to force overtime.
Thursday’s Game 3 in Los Angeles was another tight affair that Colorado pulled out 4-2 thanks to a Brock Nelson’s empty-netter sealing the win with 2:18 left.
Colorado will likely be down a key player Sunday. Sturdy defenseman Josh Manson took a hit from Joel Edmundson with about 90 seconds in the first period Thursday. He tried to play in the second period, but exited for good with 12 minutes left in the period.
On Saturday, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters that Manson was still sore and unlikely to play Sunday.
Manson has two assists in the series, including a helper on Landeskog’s Game 3 goal. Both Manson and fellow blueliner Devon Toews share the lead in assists for Colorado in the series.
Forward Artturi Lehkonen leads Colorado with three points on two goals and an assist. He scored a short-handed goal with less than 13 minutes left in Thursday’s game to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead.
On Friday, Kings coach D.J. Smith told reporters there would be some changes to the lineup. However, Smith said there would not be any drastic moves, with maybe a couple new faces and possibly reconfiguring the top two lines.
“Honestly, they get a bounce on the first goal,” Smith said. “If we get a bounce, we’re sitting here with a different story. So, I think you got to stick with what you’re doing. You just got to do it better, longer and harder.”
The Kings, who scored the fourth-fewest goals (220) in the regular season, have been led by Artemi Panarin. The forward acquired in early February from the New York Rangers has two of the team’s four goals in the series. He shares the lead in points with Alex Laferriere, who has three assists.
The closeness of the games should not come as a surprise. Colorado, which allowed the fewest goals (197), and Los Angeles, which allowed the seventh-fewest (238), are in one of only two first-round series that feature both teams ranked in the top seven in goals allowed.
Colorado also led the league in goals scored (298). However, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Cale Makar, who all averaged better than a point per game in the regular season, have so far been held to just three points combined in the series. Makar, a defenseman, has the only goal amongst the trio.
Each playoff series presents a different challenge, Bednar told reporters Saturday. This series has put the defense to the test, which he said it has passed, but the coach said the Avalanche’s best game this series could be yet to come.
“For all we know, if you’re fortunate to move on, this can be the best defending team that we play in the whole entire playoffs,” he said. “You have to be prepared to hit the ground running and play the way you need to play right away without having any lapses.”
–Field Level Media
Nelly Korda shoots 2 under to keep lead at Chevron
Zach Johnson takes 3-point lead in Mitsubishi's unique format
