Sports
Nationals SS Nasim Nunez playing 'nasty' against White Sox
Apr 25, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Washington Nationals shortstop Nasim Nunez (26) hits a two-run single against the Chicago White Sox during the fourth inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images Washington Nationals shortstop Nasim Nunez delivered two hits, four RBIs and a stolen base during Saturday’s 6-3, 10-inning victory against the host Chicago White Sox.
Nunez acknowledged he was aiming to emulate one of his favorite players, current New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor — a path that might serve Nunez well again Sunday afternoon when Washington meets Chicago in the rubber game of a three-game set.
“Honestly, I was just like, ‘Let’s be nasty,'” Nunez said. “I told my parents before the game I was trying to channel my 2018 Lindor (then with Cleveland). I model my game after him, so I was watching some highlights and stuff. I just channeled that and just went out there to be.”
Washington evened the series behind an opportunistic attack. Automatic runner James Wood scored the go-ahead run in the 10th on a passed ball.
Nunez hit two-run singles in the fourth and 10th, and Keibert Ruiz doubled for the Nationals’ lone extra-base hit of the game.
Miguel Vargas doubled for the White Sox, who out-hit the Nationals 7-6 one night after out-hitting them 8-6 to key a 5-4 victory.
“It’s working, just putting the foot on the gas at all times,” Chicago rookie infielder-outfielder Sam Antonacci said.
The White Sox will try to rev their offense on Sunday against Nationals left-hander Foster Griffin (3-0, 3.38 ERA), who will oppose Chicago southpaw Bryan Hudson (0-0, 1.54).
Griffin is set to make his first career appearance against the White Sox. He pitched in seven games for Kansas City and Toronto over 2020 and 2022 but most recently competed in Japan.
Griffin defeated the Atlanta Braves 11-4 on Tuesday behind his first quality start, scattering five hits for three runs in six innings with one walk and three strikeouts.
“We hadn’t seen him before; that’s always a challenge,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “He’s got a lot of pitches. He’ll throw the kitchen sink at you. When you do that and you throw strikes with it, it makes it tough on the hitter, because you’re not sure what you’re going to get.
“He really showed an ability to pitch, and with a lot of different offerings.”
Hudson will serve as the opener for Chicago, as he did Friday night, when he worked around a hit and walk to notch a scoreless first inning.
Right-hander Sean Burke (1-2, 4.10 ERA) is expected to follow in bulk relief. Burke took a no-decision at Washington on Sept. 27, 2025, allowing two runs — on a Daylen Lile home run — and two hits in 4 1/3 innings with one walk and 10 strikeouts.
Burke has pitched to a 3.63 ERA in four April appearances, including three starts. He’s coming off Tuesday’s 11-5 victory in Arizona, when he spaced two runs and five hits in six innings with one walk and three strikeouts.
White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami is 1-for-8 with a solo home run and four strikeouts to begin the series.
Murakami has homered in six of his past eight games, but the 26-year-old rookie has four multi-strikeout games over the same span. He shares the major league lead of 11 home runs with Houston’s Yordan Alvarez.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Austin FC look to home match vs. rival Dynamo to end winless swoon
Apr 11, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Austin FC midfielder Joseph Rosales (30) controls the ball against LA Galaxy midfielder Lucas Sanabria (8) during the first half at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images Austin FC hope that the added intensity of a rivalry match at home with the Houston Dynamo changes their recent winless swoon when the sides square off Saturday in the latest edition of the quest for Copa Tejas.
The Dynamo head northwest to the Texan capital on the heels of a 1-0 home win over San Diego FC on Wednesday. Ibrahim Aliyu’s goal in the 35th minute was the difference-maker and keeper Jonathan Bond had to save just one shot to secure a second consecutive shutout for Houston (4-4-0, 12 points).
The shutout streak comes after Houston surrendered six goals in a shellacking at Colorado on April 11.
“After that loss, there was a refocus on the defensive side, on how we look off the ball and how we look after each other,” Dynamo coach Ben Olsen said after Wednesday’s victory. “We could have made things easier for ourselves with a second goal — we have to do a better job of understanding when it’s time to go against a team that leaves itself exposed.”
Dynamo starting striker Ondrej Lingr, who assisted on Aliyu’s goal on Wednesday, was shown a red card late in that match and will not be available versus Austin.
Austin travels home from the Bay Area after a 5-1 walloping Wednesday at the hands of San Jose. That match was the third on the road in nine days for the Verde (1-4-4, 7 points), with Joseph Rosales scoring Austin’s lone goal while goalkeeper Brad Stuver saved 11 of the 16 shots with which he was peppered before the floodgates opened.
Austin is winless in its last seven MLS matches (0-4-3) and has allowed 12 goals in its past four contests. The Verde, who scored a Western Conference-low 37 goals last season, have been outscored 19-12 over their nine matches this year.
The Verde are still looking for a balance between pressing to score and limiting their opponents’ opportunities. San Jose had a 37-6 edge in shots on Wednesday while defeating Austin.
“We were not a team that scored many goals (last season),” Austin coach Nico Estevez explained. “This is something we talked about in the offseason. And it’s true that sometimes when you focus so much on improving one thing, you can get worse in other aspects.”
The Verde have historically been dominant at home in MLS matches against Houston, forging a 5-1-1 mark the seven times the sides have clashed at Q2 Stadium.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cowboys, Ravens square off for NFL's first game in Rio in September
Aug 16, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Ravens place kicker Tyler Loop (33) kicks a field goal during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images The Dallas Cowboys will play the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL’s first game in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the league announced on Friday.
The Cowboys had been announced in early February for the game but not the opponent nor the date, which is Sunday, Sept. 27, at 4:25 p.m. ET at Maracana Stadium. The game will be carried on CBS and Paramount+ as well as the NFL+ app.
The 78,000-seat Maracana Stadium has hosted World Cup matches and the 2016 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. The league previously announced Rio as one of its new international markets; at least three regular-season games will be played there in the next five years.
“The international expansion of our great game has been remarkable,” Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said in a press release. “South America is home to some of the world’s most passionate sports fans, including our Ravens Flock in Brazil. We look forward to playing in the iconic Maracana Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys, as our league continues to engage with fans across the globe.”
The NFL came to Brazil for the first time in 2024, and its Sao Paulo games in 2025 and 2026 were played on Friday of Week 1. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo in 2024 and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs there this past year at Corinthians Arena.
The league said in Friday’s release that there are more than 36 million NFL fans in Brazil.
“Playing in the legendary Maracana Stadium against the Ravens in front of such a passionate and growing fan base on a global stage will be very special for our team, our entire Cowboys organization and the millions watching back home and around the world,” Cowboys owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones said in the press release.
The NFL has scheduled a record nine international games for 2026 across four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums. The cities are London, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Munich, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.
The San Francisco 49ers will play the Los Angeles Rams at Melbourne Cricket Ground for the NFL’s first game in Australia, but other matchups have not been announced. The 49ers also will play a regular-season game at Mexico City’s Estadio Banorte.
The NFL will play its first regular-season game in Paris this fall with the New Orleans Saints as one of the participants at Stade de France Stadium. The Atlanta Falcons are ticketed for a regular-season game in Madrid, Spain, at Bernabeu Stadium, while the Detroit Lions will play at FC Bayern Munich Stadium in Germany.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will be designated as the home team for two games in London this year. The games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium will be played in consecutive weeks in October. A second game overseas was added to the Jaguars’ schedule due to the ongoing renovations at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.
The league also previously announced that the Washington Commanders will serve as the host team for a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fire endeavor to keep unbeaten run alive vs. last-place SKC
Apr 18, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Fire FC forward Hugo Cuypers (9) (center) dribbles forward during the second half of an MLS match against FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kareem Elgazzar-Imagn Images After letting a second-half lead slip away in their last outing, the host Chicago Fire renew their rivalry with fellow Midwestern foe Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.
While the Fire (4-2-2, 14 points) are unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions (4-0-1), they blew a 3-1 second-half lead against FC Cincinnati on April 18. Evander’s penalty kick in the 79th minute and Dje D’Avilla’s own goal seven minutes later engineered Cincinnati’s 3-3 come-from-behind draw.
“For us, there were a couple things we did wrong, and a lot of that is correctable. We looked at the video and worked on it. It’s something we want to stay focused,” Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter said.
Though Kansas City (1-6-1, 4 points) is currently at the bottom of the Western Conference, that’s “a little bit misleading,” Berhalter said.
“They have played better at times than the results show, and they pose some problems. For us, it’s being really focused on what we’re trying to do, being aggressive and trying to set the team up for success,” he said.
Sporting KC have dropped five in a row across all competitions, including a 3-0 upset loss to USL Championship side Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 on April 14. They have been outscored 16-3 in that span.
It’s far from what SKC head coach Raphael Wicky anticipated, ahead of his first meeting against the club he helmed for just shy of two seasons in 2020 and 2021.
“When you look at all these games, there’s always moments where we’re good, that we’re in the game, and then very quickly we make a mistake or we concede, and then we’re quickly out of the game,” Wicky said. “So that is always frustrating, but that is where I think we have to keep going.”
Chicago forward Jonathan Bamba (personal matters) will remain out against Kansas City, per Berhalter. Defender Leonardo Barroso (lower-body injury) is out as well.
Wicky was 12-26-14 in 52 matches as the Fire’s head coach.
Hugo Cuypers has netted half of Chicago’s 12 goals. Dejan Joveljic has four of SKC’s seven to lead the visitors.
–Field Level Media
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