Sports
MLB roundup: Nationals storm back from 6-run deficit to top Mets
Apr 27, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (2) is doused with water by first baseman Josh Bell (19) after a walk-off hit against the New York Mets at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images CJ Abrams scored on Pete Alonso’s throwing error in the ninth inning and the Washington Nationals rallied from a six-run deficit for an 8-7 win against the visiting New York Mets on Sunday.
Alex Call doubled leading off the ninth against Ryne Stanek (0-2) and pinch runner Jacob Young went to third on a groundout. Abrams singled to right to score Young with the tying run before James Wood walked. Luis Garcia Jr. hit a grounder to Alonso, whose throw eluded Stanek covering first.
Jorge Lopez (3-0) got the final out in the top of the ninth.
Juan Soto, Luis Torrens and Mark Vientos each had two hits for New York, which lost for just the second time in the past 10 games.
Riley Adams hit a three-run shot to pull the Nationals within 7-6 in the seventh, and Dylan Crews also homered for Washington.
Yankees 11, Blue Jays 2 (Game 1)
Austin Wells capped a six-run third inning with a bases-loaded double off a frustrated Kevin Gausman as host New York rolled to a rout over Toronto in the opener of a doubleheader.
Wells gave New York a 6-1 lead with a double off the base of the right-center field fence on a full-count fastball, knocking Gausman out of the game. Gausman (2-3), who allowed six runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings, was ejected as he walked off the field. Addison Barger had two hits and an RBI for Toronto, which has lost six of seven.
New York’s Max Fried (5-0) allowed one run on six hits in six innings and has won seven straight decisions dating back to last season. Anthony Volpe homered and drove in two, Jazz Chisholm Jr. also had two RBIs and Aaron Judge had two hits to extend his on-base streak to 23 games and ended the game with a .412 batting average.
Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1 (Game 2)
Aaron Judge hit a tiebreaking homer to highlight a three-run sixth inning as host New York beat Toronto to complete a doubleheader sweep.
A day after his 33rd birthday, Judge ended a nine-game homerless drought by lining a first-pitch cutter from Toronto starter Chris Bassitt (2-2) into the right-center field seats. Judge extended his on-base streak to 24 games and ended the doubleheader with a major-league-leading .406 batting average. Trent Grisham hit Bassitt’s third pitch of the game for a homer.
Anthony Santander broke an 0-for-25 skid with a tying homer off New York starter Clarke Schmidt in the third. Toronto lost for the seventh time in eight games and was held to three hits. Bassitt allowed four runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Mariners 7, Marlins 6
Logan Evans pitched five solid innings to win his major league debut and Cal Raleigh hit his American League-leading 10th home run as Seattle defeated visiting Miami.
J.P. Crawford also went deep for the AL West-leading Mariners, who won their sixth consecutive series. Evans, called up from Triple-A Tacoma after M’s ace Logan Gilbert went on the 15-day injured list, allowed two hits, walked three and struck out three.
Ramirez homered twice to cap a remarkable first week in the majors. Ramirez went 9-for-19 with four doubles, three home runs and five RBIs with a 1.682 OPS.
Phillies 3, Cubs 1 (10 innings)
Trea Turner went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Aaron Nola threw seven solid innings as visiting Philadelphia defeated Chicago in 10 innings.
Nola allowed one run on three hits. Jose Alvarado (3-0) struck out one in a clean ninth inning to earn the win, and Jordan Romano did the same in the 10th for his second save of the season. The Phillies took the final two games of the three-game series.
Cubs reliever Julian Merryweather (0-1) allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit in two-thirds of one inning. Starter Jameson Taillon gave up one run on five hits in seven innings.
Rays 4, Padres 2
Taylor Walls homered and Zack Littell got his first win after five straight losses as Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep of host San Diego, handing the Padres their fourth straight loss.
Chandler Simpson scored the tiebreaking run in the top of the fifth inning when he scampered home from third on a wild pitch by Randy Vasquez (1-3). Simpson added insurance in the ninth when he stroked a two-out RBI single to left that scored Travis Jankowski, finishing a 3-for-4 game.
Littell lasted five innings, permitting five hits and two runs. Four relievers worked hitless ball over the last four innings, with Pete Fairbanks pitching the ninth for his sixth save and second in as many nights.
Red Sox 13, Guardians 3
Ninth-place hitter Ceddanne Rafaela hit a three-run homer and had five RBIs, while Rob Refsnyder and Rafael Devers also went deep during Boston’s road rout of Cleveland.
Rafaela, whose towering homer to left-center field in the seventh made it 12-3 and capped his productive day, was one of six players with at least two hits for Boston, which outscored Cleveland 20-6 in winning the last two of this three-game set. The Red Sox’s Jarren Duran had four hits with an RBI, while Refsnyder and Kristian Campbell each drove in two.
In his second start, Boston’s Brayan Bello (2-0) yielded six hits and three walks, but only Nolan Jones’ three-run homer in his sixth and final inning. Meanwhile, Logan Allen (1-2) allowed seven runs, nine hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings for Cleveland, which committed four errors and some poor baserunning while dropping its first 2025 home series.
Giants 3, Rangers 2
Heliot Ramos led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a “Little League home run,” taking advantage of two Texas throwing errors to circle the bases on an infield single and hand host San Francisco a walk-off win.
Ramos chopped reliever Luke Jackson’s first pitch between the mound and third base, where Jackson bare-handed it and threw it past first baseman Jake Burger. Burger chased down the ball in foul territory down the right field line, but his attempt to gun down Ramos streaking for third was off-line, allowing the Giant to dash home.
Camilo Doval (2-1), who needed just 10 pitches to retire the Rangers in order in the top of the ninth, was credited with the win. Jackson (0-3) took the loss. Marcus Semien hit a two-run single for Texas. San Francisco’s Wilmer Flores drew a bases-loaded walk and Christian Koss hit an RBI single.
Tigers 7, Orioles 0
Tarik Skubal struck out 11 in six dominant innings and host Detroit completed a three-game sweep of Baltimore. Skubal (3-2) held the Orioles to four hits without a walk in a 91-pitch effort.
Gleyber Torres drove in three runs while Javier Baez scored two runs and knocked in two more as Detroit won its fourth straight game. Jace Jung and Dillon Dingler had the other Tigers RBIs.
Baltimore starter Dean Kremer (2-4) gave up five runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. The Orioles have dropped six of their last seven games.
Astros 7, Royals 3
Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Pena drove in three runs apiece and Chas McCormick went 3-for-4 with three runs as Houston avoided a sweep in Kansas City.
Alvarez put the Astros up with a three-run home run, his third of the season, that went 436 feet to center field. Houston starter Hunter Brown (4-1) pitched six innings, allowing an earned run on seven hits and striking out nine.
Jonathan India reached three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and an RBI on a sacrifice fly for the Royals. Salvador Perez went 2-for-4 for his third multi-hit game in his last four starts.
A’s 3, White Sox 2 (10 innings)
Luis Urias hit a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Athletics a walk-off victory over Chicago in the rubber game of their three-game series in West Sacramento, Calif.
Urias hit the first pitch he saw from reliever Jordan Leasure (0-2) an estimated 398 feet over the left field fence, driving in ghost runner Jacob Wilson and giving the Athletics their fourth win in the last five games.
Brent Rooker went 2-for-3 with a double, walk and RBI for the Athletics, who won back-to-back home series for the first time this season. Joshua Palacios went 2-for-4 with a home run for Chicago, which finished its 10-game road trip 3-7.
Twins 5, Angels 0
Joe Ryan threw seven scoreless innings, Ryan Jeffers and Ty France each drove in two runs, and Minnesota beat Los Angeles in Minneapolis to complete a three-game sweep.
Ryan (2-2) allowed just four hits, struck out 11 and walked one as the Twins handed the Angels their fifth loss in their last six games.
Los Angeles’ Jose Soriano (2-4) allowed five hits over five innings, surrendering four runs (three earned), striking out four and walking one. Luis Rengifo was the only Angel to muster two hits.
Brewers 7, Cardinals 1
Jose Quintana tossed five solid innings and Christian Yelich had two hits and two RBIs as Milwaukee avoided a three-game sweep with a win over host St. Louis.
Quintana (4-0) allowed one run on five hits on Sunday and over four starts has yielded three runs in 23 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out six. Brice Turang, William Contreras, Sal Frelick, Rhys Hoskins and Caleb Durbin each drove in a run for the Brewers, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Brendan Donovan doubled in a run and Lars Nootbaar had two hits and a run for the Cardinals, who had won three of their last four games.
Reds 8, Rockies 1
Nick Lodolo tossed seven innings of two-hit ball, Noelvi Marte had three hits and three RBIs and Cincinnati beat Colorado in Denver to sweep the three-game series.
Cincinnati totaled 14 hits and has matched a season high with four straight wins. Lodolo (3-2) got through 5 2/3 innings without giving up a hit until Jordan Beck legged out an infield single to shortstop. Lodolo struck out nine in his longest outing of 2025.
Kyle Farmer singled in the seventh and Alan Trejo, acquired from Texas on Saturday, led off the eighth with a single and scored on Beck’s sacrifice fly. Right-hander Bradley Blalock, (0-1) who was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to make the start, allowed six runs on seven hits in four-plus innings.
Diamondbacks 6, Braves 4
Geraldo Perdomo homered, Brandon Pfaadt won his National League-leading fifth game and Arizona avoided a three-game series sweep with a victory over Atlanta in Phoenix.
Josh Naylor had two doubles among his three hits along with two RBIs and Corbin Carroll had the first two-triple game of his career for the D-backs, who had lost four in a row and six of eight. Pfaadt (5-1) gave up three runs (two earned) and nine hits in six-plus innings, leaving with a 4-2 lead three batters into the seventh inning after a season-high 100 pitches.
Alex Verdugo had four hits and two RBIs and Marcell Ozuna had two hits and an RBI for Atlanta, which had won seven of eight.
Dodgers 9, Pirates 2
Andy Pages continued his hot streak with four hits, a home run and a career-high four RBIs as Los Angeles withstood the early injury departure of starter Tyler Glasnow to beat visiting Pittsburgh.
Pages delivered an RBI single in a four-run first inning and a two-run homer in a three-run fifth as the Dodgers overcame an early 2-0 deficit to win their second consecutive game after dropping four of five. He had 10 hits in the three-game series.
Glasnow gave up back-to-back home runs to the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen and Enmanuel Valdez in the first inning, then left the game with right shoulder discomfort after warming up for the second. He also departed his previous start with lower leg cramps. McCutchen had four hits, while starter Bailey Falter (1-3) gave up seven runs (five earned) on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Flyweight Manel Kape continues successful run at UFC Fight Night
Dec 14, 2024; Tampa, Florida, UNITED STATES; Manel Kape (red gloves) reacts during he fight against Bruno Silva (blue gloves) at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Flyweight Manel Kape stopped Kyoji Horiguchi in the third round for his fourth straight victory on Saturday night in the UFC Fight Night main event in Las Vegas.
Kape’s TKO at 2:42 in the third of five scheduled rounds marked a transition period in a division whose champion, Joshua Van, successfully defended his title for the first time last month at UFC 328.
Kape (23-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC), a native of Angola fighting out of Portugal, exacted revenge against Japan’s Horiguchi (36-6, 1 NC MMA) from their 2017 bout in RIZIN, when Kape suffered one of only two submission losses in his career.
Kape paid respects to Horiguchi, recognizing that without him, his path to a potential title shot would look a little different, as he faced adversity in both fights.
Kape did make one thing clear, though.
“I knew he was going to touch me at some point,” Kape said after the fight about Horiguchi. “Because I felt his hand (speed) before. But, if I touch you one time — believe me — you’re gonna be dead.”
Kape, who has won seven of his last eight bouts, said he doesn’t know if he’ll get a title shot against Van immediately but was gracious toward UFC brass, including CEO Dana White.
The co-main event featured a pair of surging light heavyweights in New Zealand’s Navajo Stirling and Ion Cutelaba of Moldova.
After surviving five takedowns and a few potentially fight-ending submission sequences, including a standing guillotine, Stirling railed to secure a brutal TKO against Cutelaba at 3:23 of Round 2.
Since making his promotional debut in 2024, Stirling (10-0 MMA) is 5-0 in the UFC with back-to-back finishes and 10 straight victories.
Cutelaba (20-12-1), on the contrary, is 3-3 in his last six UFC fights, having been a fringe top-15 contender in the division and remaining part of the promotion since 2016.
The finishes kept coming in a trio of featherweight bouts, as Christian Rodriguez’s first-round head-kick marked the beginning of the end for Hyder Amil of the Philippines.
At 3:43 of the round, Rodriguez (13-4) successfully found an opening to secure a guillotine choke following the kick, after much of the fight was spent on the feet. The American has won four of his last seven, while Amil (11-3) fell to 3-3 in the promotion after three straight losses.
Featherweight Murtazali Magomedov added his name to the UFC history books with a modified twister submission 1:17 into the opening round against the usually durable Melsik Baghdasaryan.
Since the UFC’s inception in November 1993, only three other fighters have successfully executed the combined version of a neck crank and a spinal lock: Chan Sung Jung (2011), Bryce Mitchell (2019) and Da’Mon Blackshear (2023).
Magomedov (11-0 MMA) of Kyrgyzstan was making his UFC debut, while Armenia’s Baghdasaryan (8-4 MMA) has dropped two in a row and three of his last four.
The UFC Vegas 119 main card kicked off with Brazilian featherweight Vinicius Oliveira securing a second-round TKO (4:56) against Andre Fili of the United States to secure his fifth win in his last six outings.
Oliveira (24-4 MMA) now has two UFC wins by KO/TKO, marking the 19th finish of his career. Meanwhile, Fili (25-14, 1 NC MMA) fell to .500 in the UFC (13-13) since 2013.
The UFC caps off June with a trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, next Saturday for the second straight year.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Austin Hill captures emotional win at Naval Base Coronado
Jun 20, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Nascar OReilly Auto Parts Series driver Austin Hill (21) celebrates his victory of the United Rentals Driven To Serve 250 at San Diego Street Course. Mandatory Credit:
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images SAN DIEGO – Austin Hill’s thrilling last-lap pass earned the veteran his first career road course NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory Saturday on a dramatic and ultimately emotional afternoon for his Richard Childress Racing team – capping a long and competitive day of racing in the inaugural United Rentals Driven to Serve 250 on Naval Base Coronado.
It marked the first win for the legendary RCR team since unexpectedly losing its NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch four weeks ago after the two-time series champion passed away unexpectedly due to complications from pneumonia. The emotion in Victory Lane Saturday was palpable – the celebration both a nod to Hill’s achievement and an ode to Busch and what he meant to the team and to the sport.
“It’s extremely special, just to finally check that box of getting that road course win, we’ve been so close so many times,” said Hill, whose No. 21 RCR Chevrolet had to be towed to Victory Lane after the rear wheels of the car were flattened after he performed a long burnout around Busch’s No. 8 logo painted on the track.
Hill, who now also drives the car Busch once drove in the NASCAR Cup Series, claimed Saturday’s win may have included a little divine intervention from his former teammate.
“I’m not gonna lie, I started talking to this guy a little bit down the straightaways,” Hill said, pointing to his hat, which carries the number eight Busch carried for the team. “I was like ‘Man, Kyle, if you’re here, give me something, let me find another gear.’
“And for whatever reason, the car started coming to life and the two leaders got together and when there was blood in the water behind the 54 (runner-up Taylor Gray), I knew it was going to be tough to get around him, that it was going to be a battle. And when I got clear of him, I was very surprised to see how much of a gap I got on him.
“I can’t thank these guys enough, everyone on this 21-team, at RCR. We’ve been through a lot these last several weeks. … Man, this is awesome, so cool.”
His Hall of Famer owner Childress was openly emotional as he greeted Hill in Victory Lane.
“It’s great to win here, and we all have Kyle in our hearts,” said Childress, his voice cracking in the poignant scene.
“You may not show it on the outside, but you do here,” he added, pointing to his heart.
Hill consistently showed Saturday he had a strong car – winning the opening stage — throughout an eventful day that included two red flags totaling more than an hour of race stoppage, an enthusiastic fan who jumped a fence and greeted driver Sheldon Creed during that red flag break, and lots of daring passes on the 3.4-mile 16-turn circuit around the famous Naval Base.
With five laps remaining in the 60-lap event, JR Motorsports’ Carson Kvapil led Gray and looked to claim his first career win and extend an already record 11-race road course winning streak for the JRM team.
However, with three laps to go, Gray pulled his No. 54 Toyota alongside Kvapil’s No. 1 Chevy and the contact bounced Kvapil’s car off a tire barrier and out of the lead.
Two laps later, Hill was able to get around Gray as they took the white flag signaling the last lap of the race. The 32-year-old Georgia-native went on to win by a convincing 1.127 seconds over Gray, who led the most laps (16) on the day and won Stage 2.
Gray blamed “wheel hop” for his contact with Kvapil.
“Pretty disappointed in myself, really proud of everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Racing. … Obviously would love to be in victory lane right now, that’s where my guys deserve to be,” Gray said.
“Got really bad wheel hop, that’s what it boils down to,” he added. “He raced me tight like he should and I wheel-hopped underneath him.”
Kvapil and Gray spoke briefly after the race.
“It’s really hard to make peace with that, obviously I feel like that robbed me and everyone at this Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet,” Kvapil said. “They brought us a really fast car and gave us position to win a race and obviously we didn’t. That one really hurts.”
Haas Factory Team’s Creed finished third, followed by Kvapil and JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith – who turned in an impressive rally forward after an eventful, full-contact day of his own.
Hill’s RCR teammate Jesse Love also rallied on the day, finishing sixth after starting from the last row of the 37-car field. Viking Motorsports’ Parker Retzlaff, who led five laps, finished seventh with Austin Green, Harrison Burton and Corey Day rounded out the top-10.
Two red flag periods – combining for more than an hour in time – slowed the action. The first coming out on the second lap and the later one coming out to properly repair the wall and fencing following a 23-car incident that eliminated many of the day’s strong cars.
While racing up front, Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer nicked the inside wall at Turn 1 and careened hard into the other wall collecting Anthony Alfredo’s No. 96 Chevrolet and starting a chain reaction among the mid-pack behind. The impact was enough to bring out a 43-minute red flag.
Almost immediately after the race start, there was an hour-long delay to repair a sewer vent cover in Turn 5 that came off in traffic and impaled into Day’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
The series championship leader, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier had an eventful day, and retired 17 laps early after being collected in multiple incidents on the day. Despite the DNF, the series-best five-race winner continues to hold an amazing 224-point advantage over reigning series champion Love atop the championship standings.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returns to action in next Saturday’s Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at the renowned Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway a couple hours North on the California coast. Connor Zilisch is the defending race winner.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race – United Rentals Driven to Serve 250
San Diego Street Course
San Diego, California
Saturday, June 20, 2026
1. (4) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 60.
2. (11) Taylor Gray, Toyota, 60.
3. (7) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 60.
4. (5) Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, 60.
5. (10) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 60.
6. (37) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 60.
7. (2) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 60.
8. (8) Austin Green, Chevrolet, 60.
9. (15) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 60.
10. (31) Corey Day, Chevrolet, 60.
11. (24) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 60.
12. (33) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 60.
13. (20) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 60.
14. (30) Andrew Patterson, Chevrolet, 60.
15. (27) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 60.
16. (17) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 60.
17. (22) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 60.
18. (13) Preston Pardus, Chevrolet, 60.
19. (26) Brad Perez, Toyota, 60.
20. (28) Patrick Staropoli, Chevrolet, 60.
21. (34) Dawson Cram, Chevrolet, 60.
22. (21) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 60.
23. (36) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 60.
24. (18) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 60.
25. (35) Jesse Iwuji, Chevrolet, 60.
26. (25) Leland Honeyman Jr(i), Chevrolet, 59.
27. (12) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, Electrical, 52.
28. (23) Dean Thompson, Toyota, 52.
29. (14) Lavar Scott, Chevrolet, 48.
30. (19) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 47.
31. (1) Brent Crews, Toyota, Engine, 44.
32. (16) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Engine, 43.
33. (32) Baltazar Leguizamon, Chevrolet, Engine, 41.
34. (6) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, Accident, 34.
35. (3) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, Accident, 34.
36. (9) William Sawalich, Toyota, Accident, 34.
37. (29) Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, Engine, 28.
–Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
Sports
Jake McCarthy, Tomoyuki Sugano help Rockies eke out win vs. Pirates
Jun 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Jake McCarthy (31) slides into home ahead of Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis (32) on an in the park home run in the first inning at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Jake McCarthy hit an inside-the-park home run and also doubled, Tomoyuki Sugano tossed six strong innings to outduel Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes and the Colorado Rockies survived a chaotic ninth inning to beat the Pirates 2-1 in Denver on Saturday night.
Sugano (8-4) scattered four hits over six innings and Jaden Hill got the final two outs for his second save.
Spencer Horwitz homered and singled for Pittsburgh, which started the game with back-to-back hits and had just four more the rest of the way for a grand total of six.
Skenes (6-7) was nearly untouchable against the Rockies in Pittsburgh on May 12, taking a no-hitter into the seventh and tossing eight scoreless innings. He wasn’t as dominant Saturday night but allowed just two runs on four hits and fanned eight over six innings.
He was nearly saved from a loss when his team loaded the bases with one out in the ninth. Tyler Callihan struck out and Jake Mangum hit a grounder to third baseman Kyle Karros, who couldn’t make a throw to any base.
However, the umpires ruled baserunner Billy Cook interfered with Karros and called him out to end the game.
Horwitz led off the game with a blast into the second deck in right field, his fifth career leadoff home run, but he was upstaged by McCarthy when he led off the bottom of the first.
McCarthy drove a tailing liner to center that got by the diving Mangum. It rolled to the wall where Callihan had trouble picking it up, giving McCarthy time to circle the bases and tie the game.
McCarthy doubled in the third and scored what would be the winning run on TJ Rumfield’s two-out single.
Sugano settled down after Horwitz’s home run and Brandon Lowe’s single that followed to hold down the Pirates. Sugano allowed a one-out double to Mangum in the second and Horwitz’s single in the third but Pittsburgh couldn’t cash in, finishing 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
–Field Level Media
Flyweight Manel Kape continues successful run at UFC Fight Night
Austin Hill captures emotional win at Naval Base Coronado
