Sports
MLB roundup: Orioles blast record 6 homers to rout Blue Jays
Mar 27, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles centre fielder Cedric Mullins (31) hits a home run and celebrates with Baltimore Orioles centre fielder Tyler O’Neill (9) against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images Cedric Mullins and Adley Rutschman each hit two home runs and the visiting Baltimore Orioles trounced the Toronto Blue Jays 12-2 on Thursday afternoon in the season opener for both teams.
Mullins was 3-for-5, including a three-run homer and five RBIs as Baltimore outhit Toronto 14-4.
Tyler O’Neill also smashed a three-run blast in going 3-for-3 with two walks and Jordan Westburg added a solo homer for the Orioles. O’Neill has homered on Opening Day a record six consecutive seasons, adding to his major league record.
The six home runs were an Orioles’ record for Opening Day.
Orioles starter Zach Eflin (1-0) gave up two runs and two hits in six innings, allowing Andres Gimenez’s two-run homer. Toronto starter Jose Berrios (0-1) completed five innings, allowing six runs, nine hits and two walks.
Astros 3, Mets 1
Framber Valdez tossed seven shutout innings and Houston beat visiting New York.
Valdez scattered four hits, issued two walks and recorded four strikeouts. The Astros took a 3-0 lead in the third inning as Yainer Diaz hit an RBI single and Christian Walker scored on an error.
The Mets scored their run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Francisco Lindor. Juan Soto, the prized free-agent signing, went 1-for-3 with two walks in his Mets debut. Clay Holmes, a converted reliever making his first start since 2018, allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.
Padres 7, Braves 4
Jackson Merrill knocked in four runs and Gavin Sheets homered to spark a four-run seventh inning that allowed San Diego to rally for a win over visiting Atlanta.
San Diego’s bullpen shouldered 6 1/3 innings of work after Michael King struggled in his 2 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and four walks. Wandy Peralta (1-0) got the last out of the top of the seventh to earn the win, and Robert Suarez closed it out in the ninth for the save.
Ozzie Albies drove in three runs, two on a home run, for Atlanta. Austin Riley also homered. Braves starter Chris Sale left with a 4-3 lead after yielding six hits, a walk and three runs in five innings, striking out seven.
White Sox 8, Angels 1
Rookie right-hander Sean Burke pitched six scoreless innings in his first Opening Day start and Austin Slater, Andrew Benintendi and Lenyn Sosa homered as host Chicago routed Los Angeles.
Burke (1-0) became the seventh pitcher since 1929 to make an Opening Day start with fewer than 20 career innings pitched. He retired the final 14 Angels he faced while giving up three hits and three walks and hitting one batter. Miguel Vargas hit a two-run double, Benintendi drove in three with his eighth-inning homer and Sosa hit a two-run shot in the eighth.
The Angels’ Yusei Kikuchi (0-1) scattered three runs and five hits with five strikeouts over six innings. Los Angeles avoided the shutout in the ninth on Logan O’Hoppe’s two-out, two-strike solo homer against Cam Booser.
Giants 6, Reds 4
Patrick Bailey singled home the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning and Wilmer Flores broke the tie one batter later with a three-run homer as San Francisco rallied to win a season opener in Cincinnati.
Heliot Ramos hit a two-run homer for the Giants. Starting pitcher Logan Webb was charged with three runs on six hits over five innings, striking out five and walking three.
Jeimer Candelario singled twice and drove three runs for the Reds. Starting pitcher Hunter Greene struck out eight in five innings. He allowed three hits and two runs, striking out eight and walking one on 84 pitches.
Yankees 4, Brewers 2
Carlos Rodon pitched effectively into the sixth inning and was backed by two early homers as host New York hung on for a victory over Milwaukee.
Austin Wells hit a leadoff homer three pitches into the home half of the first inning and Anthony Volpe connected in the second as the Yankees improved to 7-1 in season openers under manager Aaron Boone. Aaron Judge added an RBI double in the seventh and Cody Bellinger followed that at-bat with a sacrifice fly in his Yankees debut.
Vinny Capra, in his 21st career game, hit his first homer in the third. The Brewers, however, struck out 13 times. Leadoff batter Jackson Chourio struck out five times.
Red Sox 5, Rangers 2
Wilyer Abreu went 3-for-3 with two home runs, four RBIs and three runs scored as Boston earned a win over host Texas. The top slugger among American League rookies last season, Abreu homered in the fifth and ninth innings to lead the Red Sox to their second straight season-opening victory.
Abreu’s second round-tripper broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth, coming after Trevor Story drew a one-out walk and stole second before highly rated prospect Kristian Campbell recorded his first MLB hit on a line single to third base. David Hamilton pinch ran for Campbell before the deciding swing.
Josh Jung and Kevin Pillar each had multiple hits for Texas, while the Red Sox won late after recording two runs on three hits and striking out nine times across Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi’s six-inning start.
Phillies 7, Nationals 3 (10 innings)
Alec Bohm smacked a tiebreaking two-run double in the top of the 10th inning and the visiting Philadelphia went on to beat Washington on Opening Day.
With two outs in the 10th inning of a 3-3 game, runner Bryson Stott stole third and Bryce Harper walked against Colin Poche (0-1). Bohm then lined a double into the gap in left-center to score both runners, and JT Realmuto added a two-run triple to make it 7-3.
Harper and Kyle Schwarber hit seventh-inning solo home runs for the Phillies. Keibert Ruiz had two hits, including a homer, for the Nationals. Zack Wheeler allowed a run on two hits over six innings, striking out eight and walking two. MacKenzie Gore tossed six innings of one-hit ball and struck out 13 for a new Nationals Opening Day record.
Guardians 7, Royals 4 (10 innings)
Kyle Manzardo was 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs for Cleveland, which overcame a blown save by All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase to beat host Kansas City in an Opening Day clash.
Steven Kwan led off the 10th with the tiebreaking RBI double for the Guardians, who also got a two-run double in the inning from Manzardo. Manzardo began the comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the fourth, when he tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jhonkensy Noel.
Vinnie Pasquantino hit a three-run homer in the third before he began the Royals’ comeback by lacing a leadoff double against Clase (1-0) in the ninth. Salvador Perez followed with a single to send pinch runner Freddy Fermin to third before Fermin trotted home on Michael Massey’s sacrifice fly.
Marlins 5, Pirates 4
Catcher Nick Fortes tripled to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and Kyle Stowers drilled a no-out, line-drive single down the right-field line as host Miami rallied for a walk-off win over Pittsburgh in the opener for both squads.
It was Miami’s first walk-off victory on Opening Day. After Fortes’ first triple since 2022, Stowers then hit the winner off closer David Bednar (0-1). Marlins reliever Jesus Tinoco (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless top of the ninth. Sandy Alcantara, who missed the 2024 season, allowed two hits, two runs and four walks in 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven.
Pittsburgh’s biggest offensive plays were Bryan Reynolds’ two-run single in the fifth and Nick Gonzales’ two-run homer in the sixth. Paul Skenes, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, allowed three hits, two walks and two runs and struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings.
Dodgers 5, Tigers 4
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman hit home runs, Blake Snell went five strong innings and defending champion Los Angeles capped a day of celebration with a victory over visiting Detroit.
In his Dodgers debut, the free-agent addition Snell (1-0) gave up two runs on five hits over five innings with two strikeouts. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was able to work around four walks. Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save.
In his first start since winning the American League Cy Young Award last season, Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal (0-1) gave up four runs on six hits over five innings with a walk and two strikeouts. Spencer Torkelson hit a home run with four walks for Detroit, while Manuel Margot had a sacrifice fly in his Detroit debut.
Cardinals 5, Twins 3
Lars Nootbaar hit a two-run homer and scored twice to lead St. Louis to a season-opening victory over visiting Minnesota.
Nolan Arenado hit a solo homer and Brendan Donovan went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI for the Cardinals. Starter Sonny Gray (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits in five innings to earn the victory. Ryan Helsley, the sixth St. Louis pitcher, earned the save.
Minnesota starting pitcher Pablo Lopez (0-1) allowed four runs, two earned, on eight hits in five innings. Harrison Bader hit a two-run homer and Willi Castro hit an RBI double for the Twins.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series
May 5, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) throws to first for an out against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Yordenis Ugas in a world welterweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
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