Sports
Never-say-die Twins vie to clinch series win vs. Red Sox
May 22, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Minnesota Twins designated hitter Byron Buxton (25) celebrates his a two run home run against the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images The Minnesota Twins powered up late for a series-opening win and will seek to take two games in a row from the host Boston Red Sox when the teams continue their three-game set on Saturday afternoon.
Minnesota rallied from 4-0 and 6-3 deficits to win 8-6 on Friday, as Byron Buxton and Austin Martin each hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning.
“I was jazzed up about the fact that we were able to battle back,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “We did a nice job. Total team victory. (Rookie pitcher Connor Prielipp), for the first time, struggled with his command a little bit, but we just continued to go.”
Shelton’s club has won eight of its last 12 games. Nine of its 24 victories this season have come in come-from-behind fashion.
Buxton started the late surge back with his 11th homer in an 18-game span. Martin snapped a 0-for-17 slump with the eventual go-ahead home run, ultimately recording his ninth multi-hit game of 2026.
“Right when you think we’re out of it, we’re not,” Martin said. “We just continue to put together good ABs, pitchers continue to attack the zone, and we continue to make plays on the field. … It was a great win, but we’ve got work to do (Saturday).”
Friday was a 2-for-5 night for both home-run hitters and also featured the MLB debut of outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez, who had a hit, scored a run and walked twice. He was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul and immediately played with infielder Tristan Gray on the paternity list.
Four consecutive one-out hits in the first inning led to a 4-0 start, but the Red Sox managed just three the rest of the way and had their three-game winning streak snapped on Friday.
Wilyer Abreu (fifth multi-hit performance in nine games) and Nick Sogard both had multiple hits in the loss.
After Payton Tolle struck out nine across the first six innings, Minnesota slugged the game-winning runs off reliever Justin Slaten, who had not been charged with an earned run through his first nine appearances this season.
“Just one of those nights. I’ve been feeling really good, but tonight just didn’t have my stuff,” Slaten said. “It’s the game we play; sometimes you just got to go out there and battle with what you got, and it just didn’t go my way tonight.”
Before Friday’s game, it was announced that Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story had sports hernia surgery that is expected to sideline him for six to 10 weeks. According to interim manager Chad Tracy, Marcelo Mayer could slide from second base to shortstop for Sunday’s series finale.
“There’s a little bit more work (infield coach Jose David Flores) wants to do with him, but I definitely think you’ll see more of him (at shortstop),” Tracy said of Mayer. “Does that mean he’ll play there every single day? Maybe not, but we’re definitely going to explore that.”
Neither team’s Saturday starter officially was announced before the series, but Minnesota right-hander Taj Bradley (4-1, 2.87 ERA) is expected to be activated from the injured list (right pec inflammation) for his first outing since May 5.
Bradley is 4-1 with a 3.44 ERA in six career starts against the Red Sox.
Boston will start left-hander Jovani Moran (0-1, 2.81 ERA) as an opener for right-hander Brayan Bello (2-5, 7.16).
Bello allowed seven runs on eight hits over five innings in an 8-1 loss Sunday to the Atlanta Braves. He had thrown 13 1/3 innings of two-run ball while following an opener in his previous two starts. He is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA in three career starts vs. the Twins.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fire take down Tempo in first battle of expansion franchises
May 23, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Portland Fire forward Bridget Carleton (6) dribbles against Toronto Tempo guard Brittney Sykes (20) during the first half at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images The Portland Fire used an 11-point run in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 99-80 victory over the host Toronto Tempo on Saturday in the first meeting between the WNBA’s new expansion teams.
Emily Engstler posted 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks to pace a balanced effort for the Fire (3-3), who continued their pattern of following a loss with a win. Bridget Carleton, who went 4-for-8 on 3-point attempts, and Carla Leite added 15 points apiece.
Kiki Rice and Marina Mabrey scored 19 points each for the Tempo (3-4), who shot just 24% (6 of 25) from 3-point range. Top scorer Brittney Sykes was held well below her 22.3 points per game as she finished with 10 points on 3-for-9 shooting. Sykes also committed seven turnovers.
The teams were tied after the first and second quarters, but Portland opened a five-point lead after three and seized control early in the fourth quarter.
Toronto pulled within 66-63 on a Rice layup 21 seconds into the fourth. Portland responded with the decisive 11-0 run in just 81 seconds. Leite converted an old-fashioned 3-point play and Engstler followed in kind. After a Luisa Geiselsoder layup, Nyadiew Puoch drilled a 3-point shot to push the edge to 77-63 with 8:07 to play. Toronto never pulled within 12 points again.
Leite returned to a starting role in her second game back from an ankle injury and added a game-high nine assists. Megan Gustafson added 14 points and made 6 of 8 shots off the bench. Fellow reserve Sarah Ashlee Barker provided points on 5-for-6 shooting.
Portland shot 10-for-15 (66.7%) in the fourth quarter and made 10 of 11 free throws en route to 33 points in the frame.
Mabrey shot 7-for-15, including 3-for-8 from 3-point range, and dished eight assists while claiming five rebounds. Rice connected on 8-for-11 shooting from the field and also pulled down five boards.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cloud9 escapes with win over FlyQuest in LCS Spring playoff opener
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. After an unbeaten regular season, Cloud9 opened the playoffs of the LCS Spring event in Los Angeles with a narrow win over FlyQuest in the first upper-bracket semifinal on Saturday.
Cloud9 jumped out to a 2-0 lead before losing the next two games. It all came down to the fifth and final game, which Cloud9 won to advance to the upper-bracket final while FlyQuest fell into the lower-bracket quarterfinals, where it will next face Sentinels on May 30.
Eight teams competed in the best-of-three matches in the round-robin regular season with the top six advancing to the playoffs of the League of Legends event. The playoffs will be contested in best-of-five matches in a double-elimination format. The top two teams will qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational.
Cloud9 leapt ahead with a 25-minute win on red followed by a 32-minute victory on blue. FlyQuest leveled the match at 2 behind a 30-minute red triumph and a 31-minute win on blue. The deciding game was the longest of the match, with Cloud9 prevailing on red in 35 minutes.
Robert “Blaber” Huang was the MVP of the match for Cloud9, finishing with a combined kill-death-assist ratio of 10-15-35. Su-hyeong “Quad” Song of South Korea led FlyQuest with a 12-5-30 K-D-A ratio.
No. 2 seed LYON faces No. 3 seed Team Liquid in the other upper-bracket semifinal on Sunday. Both teams finished the regular season with a 5-2 record.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Suddenly surging Jays look to finish off sweep of Pirates
Apr 27, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Dylan Cease (84) delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images The host Toronto Blue Jays will send out Dylan Cease Sunday afternoon as they go for a three-game sweep of the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Blue Jays have won a season-best four straight, including the first two of a three-game series with the Pirates after a 5-2 victory on Saturday. Toronto left-hander Patrick Corbin allowed one run in six innings and struck out a season-best seven.
The Pirates have lost six of eight and their ace, Paul Skenes, allowed four runs and a career-high nine hits in taking the loss on Saturday. Skenes has allowed nine runs (five against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 17) over his past two starts and his ERA has jumped from 1.98 to 3.00.
“I wasn’t super unhappy with some of the execution on some of the pitches, but could have executed a number of them better,” Skenes said. “I’ll have to re-watch it again, but yeah, I think, probably similar to last week, probably not as bad as the line would suggest.”
Cease (3-2, 2.98 ERA) is coming off a May 19 road loss to the New York Yankees, who tagged him for five runs in five innings. He struck out nine but walked four.
“You walk guys, you fall behind, you’re probably not going to win,” Cease said. “When I’m in the zone, I like where I’m at. Didn’t do a good job of it today.”
Cease is 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA in five career starts against the Pirates. In two starts against them last season, he was 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA.
The Pirates are scheduled to start right-hander Mitch Keller (4-2, 3.86), who is 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in two career starts against the Blue Jays.
Toronto designated hitter George Springer appears to have overcome his early-season struggles. He led off the bottom of the first with his fifth homer of the season and his third of the week on Saturday. He has 65 career leadoff homers. He also had a double on Saturday.
Springer is on a six-game hit streak, batting .320 (8-for-25) with two doubles, three homers and five RBIs.
“He’s trending in the right direction,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He’s taking some good swings this past week. It’s good to get him rolling a little bit.”
The Blue Jays have won seven of their past 10.
“I think our last 15, 16 games have been great,” Springer said. “Guys are starting to settle in and play to their strengths.”
Ernie Clement is one of those surging players. He was 1-for-4 with an RBI single on Saturday. In his past 14 games, he is hitting .362/.400/.574 with four doubles, two homers and seven RBIs.
Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds was 2-for-3 with a walk Saturday, becoming the 34th player to reach the 1,000-game plateau as a Pirate.
Former Blue Jay Spencer Horwitz was 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch Saturday. The Pirates first baseman has played 18 games in May, and is batting .310 (18-for-58) with five doubles, one triple, one homer and 12 RBIs.
Pirates manager Don Kelly was ejected during the sixth inning of the loss. The Pirates felt that Jesus Sanchez had struck out on a checked swing before eventually hitting an RBI double in the three-run inning.
“We’re in a big moment right there,” Kelly said. “I thought Sanchez had check swung and went, for sure, at that ball. I just felt like it was a big moment. Obviously, I didn’t agree with the call.”
–Field Level Media
Fire take down Tempo in first battle of expansion franchises
Cloud9 escapes with win over FlyQuest in LCS Spring playoff opener
