Sports
Nationals RHP Zack Littell closes out stellar May against Padres
May 20, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Zack Littell (18) pitches against the New York Mets during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Washington right-hander Zack Littell looks to put a bow on a turnaround month of May when the Nationals host the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
Littell (4-4, 5.23 ERA) opposes right-hander Griffin Canning (0-3, 7.24) in the series finale after the teams split the first two games with Washington rallying for a 9-4 win on Saturday.
Littell was 0-4 with a 7.85 ERA at the end of April. In May he is 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA and 14 strikeouts and six walks in 24 2/3 innings. He has worked behind an opener in three of his five May appearances, including last time out when he entered in the third and tossed seven strong innings to beat the host Cleveland Guardians 10-2. He gave up a run on five hits while striking out seven and walking two.
With 94 pitches after eight innings, Littell lobbied manager Blake Butera to pitch the ninth.
“This was the perfect opportunity to give the guys in the bullpen a break, so I told Blake I wanted them to be able to take a break,” said Littell, who stayed in the game and totaled 106 pitches.
The 30-year-old Littell is 2-0 with a 4.55 ERA in 20 games (two starts) versus the Padres.
Canning has been undergoing a turnaround of his own. After allowing six earned runs in consecutive outings, Canning’s ERA ballooned to 10.64. In each of his past two starts, the 30-year-old has given up just three earned runs. Last time out, he went 6 2/3 innings in a 3-0 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. He gave up three hits, two of them home runs.
“If you talk to any starter, that’s what we’re trying to do every single time,” Canning said of pitching into the seventh. “I just was able to get some quick outs earlier in the game, so I was able to get a little bit deeper.”
Canning is 1-0 with a 4.03 ERA in four starts versus the Nationals.
Washington used an unusual six-run seventh inning to win on Saturday. With only walks, singles, fielders’ choices and a hit batter, the Nationals turned a 3-1 deficit into a 7-3 lead. The key hit was Luis Garcia Jr.’s two-run single. He notched his sixth multi-hit performance in his past 19 games.
Curtis Mead provided a two-run double in the eighth and finished with three RBIs after entering as a pinch hitter, and Drew Millas hit his second home run of the season.
“The guys are doing an awesome job,” Mead said. “Just high quality at-bats after one another. That was a fun one. (Padres starter Michael) King was kind of rolling early, so it was fun to be able to put a break to that and put up a few runs.”
The Nationals lead the majors with 311 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. homered for the Padres, who have lost five of six. Tatis hit his first home run of the season after going 55 games without one, since Sept. 27, 2025. He hit 25 in 155 games last season.
“He’s been carrying that burden, the team has been carrying that burden,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “He finally got it. It was a good celebration in the dugout. It’s what baseball is all about, acting like little 10-year-olds.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Athletics survive erratic 9th to snap their skid, Yankees' win streak
May 30, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom (21) rounds third base after hitting a solo home run against the New York Yankees during the sixth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz drilled two-run homers and Tyler Soderstrom hit a solo shot as the Athletics notched a 6-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
J.T. Ginn pitched six solid innings as the Athletics snapped a four-game losing streak.
Kurtz went 3-for-4 and scored twice and Soderstrom reached four times on three hits and one walk.
New York had just six hits – none producing a run — while seeing a five-game winning streak come to an end.
Ginn (3-3) gave up just one unearned run and four hits. He struck out four and walked three.
The Yankees loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth with a single and two walks against Jack Perkins. Scott Barlow entered and walked Ben Rice, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger in succession to force in three runs before getting Jazz Chisholm Jr. to bounce out to first to post his second save.
New York’s Ryan Weathers (2-3) served up three homers and allowed five runs and six hits over 6 2/3 innings. He matched a season-best with 10 strikeouts and walked three.
Weathers retired the first two batters in the seventh with the Yankees trailing 3-1. He then walked Colby Thomas to bring Kurtz to the plate.
Manager Aaron Boone scurried out to talk to Weathers, but the left-hander remained in the game.
In turn, Kurtz smacked the first pitch to the wall and New York center fielder Trent Grisham leaped but couldn’t catch the drive that gave the Athletics a 5-1 lead, ending Weathers’ outing.
In the eighth inning, Jake Bird hit Brent Rooker with a pitch and Soderstrom followed with a double. One out later, Zach Gelof singled to left to score Rooker.
Kurtz singled with one out in the first before Langeliers came to the plate. Weathers threw a 2-2 fastball that Langeliers jumped on and sent the ball flying 426 feet to center to give the A’s a 2-0 lead.
The Yankees got a run in the fourth with help from two Athletics’ errors.
Bellinger walked with one out and Chisholm followed with a single to center with Bellinger moving to third when Henry Bolte fumbled the ball.
Chisholm then attempted to steal second and Langeliers’ throw was on the mark but Alika Williams failed to catch the ball for an error and it went into center field, scoring Bellinger.
In the sixth, Soderstrom sent a 1-0 fastball from Weathers over the wall in right-center to make it 3-1.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mariners go yard 4 times, Bryan Woo shuts down D-backs in win
May 30, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (22) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images Julio Rodriguez hit one of Seattle’s four solo home runs and Bryan Woo pitched seven scoreless innings as the Mariners defeated the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 on Saturday night in an interleague game.
Luke Raley, Dominic Canzone and Colt Emerson also went deep as the Mariners won their fifth game in a row and moved above .500 (30-29) for the first time since they were 3-2 on March 30.
Woo (5-3) retired the first 13 batters he faced before Adrian Del Castillo lined a one-out single to center field in the fifth. An out later, Ildemaro Vargas lined a single to center, but Woo caught Jose Fernandez looking at a called third strike to get out of the inning.
Those were the only two hits Woo allowed. The right-hander didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine, matching his season high.
Raley hit a solo shot to right-center with one out in the second off Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson (2-4). It was Raley’s team-leading 13th homer of the season. An out later, Canzone went deep to right, nearly reaching the second deck, to make it 2-0.
Emerson led off the Seattle third with another homer to right. An out later, Rodriguez went deep to straightaway center, his 10th homer of the month and 12th of the season.
The Mariners added on without the benefit of a long ball in the sixth. Randy Arozarena reached on a throwing error by third baseman Fernandez, Raley singled to left and Cole Young lifted a sacrifice fly to right for a 5-0 lead to end Nelson’s night.
The Diamondbacks, who have lost two in a row, scored their lone run in the ninth. Geraldo Perdomo walked with two outs, took second on defensive indifference and scored from there on a passed ball by catcher Mitch Garver as reliever Alex Hoppe failed to cover the plate.
Nelson gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander didn’t walk a batter and struck out three.
Arizona third baseman Nolan Arenado was a late scratch from the lineup for what the team called “precautionary reasons.” Arenado, who has been dealing with groin tightness, was hit in the left arm by a fastball from Mariners closer Andres Munoz in the ninth inning Friday night.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Edmundo Sosa's 2-run homer helps Phillies rally past Dodgers
May 30, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (16) scores past Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) during the second inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Edmundo Sosa hit a go-ahead two-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Bryce Harper added an RBI single in a three-run eighth, while Alec Bohm hit a second-inning home run for the Phillies. Orion Kerkering (3-0) gave up a run in the eighth and Jhoan Duran pitched the ninth for his 12th save.
The Phillies improved to 4-1 on a six-game West Coast road trip, while ending the Dodgers’ season-best six-game winning streak.
Alex Call had an RBI single and a run scored for Los Angeles, while Santiago Espinal drove in a run in his return and Mookie Betts added a run-scoring single. Left-hander Tanner Scott (1-2) gave up all three Phillies runs in the eighth inning.
Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki gave up one run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings while Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo gave up two runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
The Phillies’ only hit off Sasaki in the opening five innings came when Bohm hit a home run to center in the second for a 1-0 lead. It was his sixth of the season.
The Dodgers answered immediately in the second when Will Smith led off with a single, Miguel Rojas walked and Call singled to center to score Smith and tie the game.
Call doubled in the fourth and went to third base when Adolis Garcia bobbled the ball in right-center field. Espinal followed with his sacrifice fly.
Philadelphia had a prime scoring opportunity in the sixth when Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner singled with one out against Sasaki and Harper walked against left-hander Alex Vesia. Sosa struck out and Bohm grounded out to end the threat.
Los Angeles took a 3-1 lead in the seventh when Betts singled to right field to score Andy Pages.
–Field Level Media
Athletics survive erratic 9th to snap their skid, Yankees' win streak
Mariners go yard 4 times, Bryan Woo shuts down D-backs in win
