Sports
MLB roundup: Royals blank White Sox for 6th straight win
May 8, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) hits a single during the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Kris Bubic scattered six hits over seven shutout innings and Bobby Witt Jr. went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs, two stolen bases and two runs as the Kansas City Royals completed a four-game sweep of the visiting Chicago White Sox with a 10-0 victory on Thursday.
Salvador Perez went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, Jonathan India went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs and Maikel Garcia had two hits, including a two-run triple. Kansas City tied its season-high with 17 hits while extending its winning streak to six games.
Bubic (4-2) walked one and struck out seven while lowering his ERA to 1.69. He helped himself by inducing three inning-ending double plays.
Davis Martin (1-4) allowed four runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings for Chicago, which lost for the 17th time in 20 road games.
Twins 5, Orioles 2
Brooks Lee stroked a tiebreaking two-run double with two outs in the eighth as Minnesota wrapped up a three-game sweep of visiting Baltimore.
Ty France, who posted three of the Twins’ five hits, had a pair of RBI singles and Trevor Larnach poked a solo homer. Starter Bailey Ober allowed two runs (one earned) during his five-inning stint. Griffin Jax (1-2) struck out two in a scoreless eighth, and Jhoan Duran tossed a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.
Emmanuel Rivera delivered three hits for the Orioles, who have dropped five in a row. Yennier Cano (0-2) allowed two runs while getting just one out in the eighth. Baltimore starter Dean Kremer gave up two runs in seven innings.
Tigers 10, Rockies 2 (Game 1)
Casey Mize tossed six strong innings and Detroit scored five runs while batting around in the second inning to knock off Colorado in Game 1 of a doubleheader in Denver.
Mize (6-1) gave up one run and three hits while fanning eight. After allowing a leadoff single in the first, he set down the next 13 Rockies. Spencer Torkelson (three RBIs), Justyn-Henry Malloy, Andy Ibanez, Javier Baez, Gleyber Torres and Trey Sweeney each produced two hits.
Rockies starter Kyle Freeland (0-5) surrendered nine runs (five earned) and 11 hits before departing after three innings. Mickey Moniak’s double was the only extra-base hit among Colorado’s four safeties.
Tigers 11, Rockies 1 (Game 2)
Gleyber Torres ripped a bases-clearing double to highlight a six-run third inning and Colt Keith added a 450-foot homer as Detroit breezed to the doubleheader sweep of Colorado in Denver.
Keider Montero (1-1), the Tigers’ 27th man for the doubleheader, fired eight innings and gave up just one run and five hits. Spencer Torkelson posted three hits while Kerry Carpenter and Trey Sweeney added two apiece. Brewer Hicklin, a 29-year-old rookie appearing in his 10th major league game, produced his first two hits as Detroit wrapped a 7-3 road trip.
Tanner Gordon (0-1), the Rockies’ 27th man for the day, surrendered seven runs and 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings in his first outing of the season. Mickey Moniak notched two of Colorado’s five singles as the Rockies lost their sixth in a row to drop their big-league-worst record to 6-31.
Red Sox 5, Rangers 0
Brayan Bello and three relievers combined for a five-hit shutout while Rafael Devers went 2-for-3 with a home run as Boston defeated visiting Texas to collect back-to-back wins for the first time in May.
Bello allowed four hits and five walks over 4 2/3 innings before giving way to Justin Slaten (1-3), who retired all four batters he faced. Garrett Whitlock handled the seventh before Liam Hendriks closed it out without allowing a hit. Ceddanne Rafaela added two hits for the Red Sox.
Rangers starter Jack Leiter (2-2) allowed three hits, four walks and four runs during his 5 1/3-inning stint. Tucker Barnhart went 3-for-3 as Texas settled for five singles. Wyatt Langford stole two bases, but the Rangers left 10 on base.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Angels activate OF/DH Jorge Soler from four-game suspension
Apr 7, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; A fight breaks out between Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo López (40) and Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jorge Soler (12) during the fifth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Angels activated outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler from the suspended list on Sunday and put him in the cleanup spot of the lineup for the series finale against the San Diego Padres.
Soler was given an original seven-game suspension for an on-field fight with former Atlanta Braves teammate Reynaldo Lopez on April 7. Soler appealed the suspension, and it was reduced to four games, while the Angels were in New York last week.
Soler, 34, is batting .231 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 18 games for the Angels this season.
In 13 major league seasons, Soler is a career .240 hitter with 208 home runs and 568 RBIs over 1,112 games for the Chicago Cubs (2014-16), Kansas City Royals (2017-21), Atlanta Braves (2021, 2024), Miami Marlins (2022-23), San Francisco Giants (2024) and Angels.
Lopez had his own seven-game suspension reduced to five games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Flyers aim to take 2-0 lead over rival Penguins
Apr 18, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) makes a save against Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Anthony Mantha (39) during the third period in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Flyers got the best of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1, but both teams understand that the Keystone State rivals are likely headed for a long series.
The Flyers aim to take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Penguins when the teams match up Monday in Pittsburgh.
In Saturday’s series opener, Philadelphia posted a 3-2 victory behind third-period goals from Travis Sanheim and Porter Martone. Sanheim, one of the team’s veteran players, scored the go-ahead goal midway through the final session before Martone added an insurance tally with 2:37 remaining.
Martone’s goal proved to be critical as Bryan Rust scored with 1:01 to play. However, Philadelphia goaltender Dan Vladar stayed firm down the stretch as the Flyers held on.
“I think I understand the level that’s needed to play in the playoffs,” said Sanheim, who helped keep Sidney Crosby off the scoreboard. “I understand the challenge ahead and my job, playing against top guys.”
Crosby and Sanheim received penalties late in the third period – Crosby for slashing and Sanheim for cross-checking – that forced both key players off the ice for the final stretch.
“That’s going to be part of a series,” Crosby said. “I think we’ve got to stay out of it a little bit more and trust that when they do it and try to start it up, that they’re going to get penalized for it. But that’s more something I think they’re looking to do. We’ve got to stay out of it and trust they’ll be undisciplined.”
Jamie Drysdale also scored for Philadelphia, while Rasmus Ristolainen notched a pair of assists. The headline, though, was Martone with the game-winning goal in his postseason debut.
“Everyone’s been great,” said the 19-year-old Martone, the sixth pick in the 2025 draft. “I think we were all pretty excited going into this game, being able to play in the playoffs. For me, it’s my 10th NHL game. It’s pretty special, and it’s an opportunity you can’t pass up.”
Philadelphia is in the postseason for the first time since 2020, while Pittsburgh is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022. The Penguins certainly don’t want to go down 2-0 in the series before heading across the state for Games 3 and 4.
“(The Flyers) make it hard,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “I think that’s part of their game. They’ve been doing that for a while. … They can make it difficult. I think we got away from things that worked. Part of that is the intensity. Everything is ramped up here in the playoffs.”
Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin was a force in Game 1 with a goal and an assist. He has 68 goals and 114 assists in 178 career playoff games.
“We played good all year long,” Malkin said. “We know how we play and we just, like, maybe nervous too much or we want (it) too much. We just (weren’t) thinking a little bit, I think.”
The Flyers are expecting a crisper overall effort by the Penguins in Sunday’s affair.
“We did a good job, but we know they’re going to respond,” Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier said. “We know they’re going to come hard next game. We’ve got to keep respecting their skill and just be prepared.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Best College Basketball Transfer Portal Players Still Available
The college basketball portal window has lived up to expectations so far, as long as your expectations were pure chaos.
Approximately a third of all Division-I players — what was projected to be over 3,000 players — have entered the portal.
Louisville landed the top portal player, Kansas big Flory Bidunga, to anchor the elite class of transfers it is assembling.
But there is still plenty of talent available in the portal, which is set to close for entries early next week.
Here’s a look at the best players remaining in the portal:
Milan Momcilovic
Ranked by On3, 247Sports and ESPN as the best transfer still available, Momcilovic is coming off an exceptional shooting season at Iowa State.
In his third season with the Cyclones, the 6-foot-8 forward saw his shooting percentages jump up significantly, making 50.6% of his shots and a nation-leading 48.7% of his 3-pointers.
Mind you, that perimeter performance wasn’t in a small sample size. He finished the season with 136 made threes, ranking fifth nationally with 3.7 made shots outside the arc per game.
Momcilovic also entered his name in the NBA draft. But considering he’s not considered a first-round pick, it’s entirely possible he returns for his senior season at some school and immediately gives their offense a big shooting boost.
John Blackwell
Similar to Momcilovic, Blackwell has been a gradual bloomer in college basketball at Wisconsin.
He went from 8.0 points as a freshman to 15.8 as a sophomore and, most recently, 19.1 points per game this season for the Badgers. The 6-foot-4 guard also made his impact in a number of ways with 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game, making 43% of his shots and 38.9% of his 3-pointers.
With a finalist list of Alabama, Arizona, Duke, Louisville, Illinois and UCLA, that shows the caliber of teams in on Blackwell coming off his second straight strong season in Madison.
Juke Harris
Harris exploded onto the scene at Wake Forest this past season.
He jumped up from 6.1 points per game as a freshman to 21.4 as a sophomore, good for third-most in the ACC.
Harris was only a 33.2% perimeter shooter, but made 44.4% of his total shots, showing his ability as a slasher and jumpshooter. He also led the Demon Deacons in rebounds (6.5 per game) as a 6-foot-7 guard.
He’s reportedly receiving interest from a number of top teams in the portal, including defending champs Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Massamba Diop
Arizona State didn’t have a very good 2025-26 season, finishing 17-16 and seeing head coach Bobby Hurley fired after the season.
But one thing the Sun Devils did have going for them was an exceptional season from freshman big Massamba Diop, who unfortunately for them and new coach Randy Bennett entered the portal after the season.
The 7-foot-1 native of Senegal finished second on the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.8). He was also second in the Big 12 in blocks (2.1) behind Bidunga.
A 30.8% 3-point shooter in a small sample size (8 of 26) and a 56.9% shooter from the floor, Diop showed his well-rounded ability which could make him a star on a better team next season.
