Sports
No. 6 Oregon welcomes old friend Jonathan Smith, Michigan State to Eugene
Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning is all smiles during the fourth quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images Sixth-ranked Oregon is new to the Big Ten, although the Ducks are familiar with struggling Michigan State.
The Spartans take on a second consecutive top 10 team in a trek to Eugene, Ore., to challenge the Ducks (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) on Friday night.
Oregon put together its most complete game of the season Saturday in beating UCLA 34-13. The Spartans (3-2, 1-1) attempt to bounce back from a 31-point loss to Ohio State under the watch of former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith.
Smith does know the feeling of beating the highly ranked Ducks. Most recently he orchestrated the upset in 2022 when he was Pac-12 Coach of the Year with the Beavers and bagged a 38-34 win over then-No. 10 Oregon in the game referred to in the state as the Civil War.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning said he sees some similarities in the Spartans and past Smith-coached teams.
“Yeah, there’s definitely some similar pieces,” Lanning said. “I think they always do a good job of challenging you in the run game, creating different pictures than maybe what you see across college football. They always do a great job of that. Defensively, a little bit different than what they were last year at Oregon State, but still really, really sound and do some things that challenge you as well.”
Oregon is chasing its first Big Ten home win and plays at Autzen Stadium for the first time since Sept. 7. The Ducks opened as a 23.5-point favorite and are 42-3 at home since 2017.
“Quick turnaround, but guys are attacking it really well,” Lanning said, noting Oregon is 6-0 in Friday night games. “Certainly excited to get back in front of our fans. Been a while since we’ve been here, so getting in front of Autzen (Stadium fans) will be quite the challenge and a good opportunity for us to see where we’ve improved and continue to get better.”
Lanning is especially pleased with a linebacker corps instrumental in holding UCLA without an offensive touchdown and limiting the Bruins to 172 yards of total offense.
“A lot of credit goes to those guys and the work that they put in,” Lanning said. “And then certainly a ton of credit goes to coach (Brian) Michalowski, and the job he’s done in developing those guys and getting them ready. Our scheme isn’t necessarily the easiest thing for linebackers, so having a guy that can coach them really well is very important, and Brian’s done a great job with those guys. But that’s also one of the hardest-working groups on our team. One of the most accountable groups on our team. They hold themselves to a higher standard as well.”
The Spartans are coming off a 38-7 loss to No. 3 Ohio State and will be looking to win their first regular-season, non-bowl game on the West Coast since beating Cal 19-0 in October 1957.
Michigan State has struggled offensively through its first five games. The rushing offense is ranked 97th nationally with an average of 132.4 yards per game and the scoring offense is 104th at 21.8 points per game. The Spartans have been plagued with turnovers, tied for the third most with 13 in five games.
Smith, who took over the Spartans last November after six seasons at Oregon State, called Friday’s game “a big-time challenge.” He has taken notice of Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel and the offense.
“When you look at Oregon, explosive offensively,” Smith said. “Quarterback’s a good player, accurate with the ball and might be leading the country in completion percentage. And they’ve got some athletes that he’s throwing it to.
“Flip it around, and they’ve got a solid defense. I look at those guys and they just continue to improve. From game one to game four, those guys have continued to improve and played real, real well.”
Smith said he’s not going to let his return to Oregon affect his approach to Friday’s game.
“Once the thing’s kicked off, your approach as a coach is preparing the guys,” Smith said. “You get locked in on the game. And it’s not just myself, we have some other guys with connections to the place and all that. Once it’s kicked off, it’s a college football game. You kind of emotionally approach it the same.”
Oregon and Michigan State last met in the 2018 Red Box Bowl. The Ducks won 7-6 on Justin Herbert’s fourth-quarter TD pass to Dillon Mitchell.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs ring up 14 hits in series-opening win over Cardinals
Jul 27, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman (3) rounds third base after hitting a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images Alex Bregman and Nico Hoerner each homered and had four hits apiece as the visiting Chicago Cubs opened a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 7-3 win on Monday.
Bregman doubled twice and drove in two runs and Hoerner had four RBIs for Chicago, which tallied 14 hits and won for the third time in its last four games. Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya added two hits apiece.
David Peterson (6-7) allowed two runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.
Jose Fermin hit a solo homer and Masyn Winn had two hits for St. Louis, which has lost eight of its 11 games coming out of the All-Star break.
After the start of the game was delayed 1 hour and 46 minutes due to rain, the Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on back-to-back doubles by Seiya Suzuki and Bregman against Matthew Liberatore (5-8).
With two runners on and one out in the second inning, Amaya added to Chicago’s lead with a run-scoring single to right field.
Fermin put the Cardinals on the board with a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the second. The 407-foot blast was Fermin’s fifth homer of the season.
Bregman began the third inning by depositing Liberatore’s first offering into the right-field seats for his 11th homer of the season.
Liberatore allowed three runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.
The Cubs extended their lead to 5-1 in the fifth inning. Bregman and Kelly hit consecutive singles and both scored on Hoerner’s one-out single.
Gavin Hollowell replaced Peterson with a runner on second and two outs in the sixth. Winn greeted Hollowell with a run-scoring single, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Bryan Torres’ ground-rule double.
The Cubs added to their lead in the ninth when Hoerner hit a two-run blast for his fifth homer of the season and first since April 21.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brandon Lowe's heroics help Pirates down Diamondbacks in 10
Jul 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (5) receives a water bath after hitting an RBI single to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks in ten innings at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Brandon Lowe’s single in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Billy Cook and propelled the host Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
The Pirates drew even with the Diamondbacks for the final National League wild-card spot, dealing Arizona its third loss in a row.
Lowe’s game-winner off Diamondbacks reliever Taylor Clarke (2-2) was a liner that got past first baseman Ildemaro Vargas. Lowe finished with three hits and two RBIs.
Endy Rodriguez, who was activated from the 10-day injured list pregame after recovering from a left glute strain, singled to right to open the 10th, putting runners on the corners with no outs.
Jake Mangum grounded to second base, and Billy Cook was caught in a rundown between third and home. But Cook bought enough time and made it back to third just as Rodriguez did, resulting in one out, but ensuring the Pirates still had a runner at third.
Max Kepler had three hits, drove in the Diamondbacks’ two runs and had a chance to give Arizona the lead in the top of the 10th. However, with the bases loaded and two outs, Kepler lined out to center against reliever Mason Montgomery (4-3).
Montgomery also struck out Gabriel Moreno two batters prior after Arizona had put runners on second and third with one out.
Bryan Reynolds knotted the game at 2 in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out RBI double to score Lowe, who doubled in the prior at-bat. The clutch hit came moments after Pirates manager Don Kelly was ejected by third base umpire Ben May after arguing a check-swing call during Reynolds’ at-bat.
The teams were locked in a scoreless stalemate until Kepler’s two-run double with the bases loaded put the Diamondbacks in front in the top of the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Mangum scored on a single by Lowe to cut Arizona’s lead to 2-1.
Pittsburgh’s hot-hitting rookie Esmerlyn Valdez was struck by a 91.4 mph fastball from Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly on his left hand and exited the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Valdez has 14 home runs in his first 38 career games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros' 4-run small-ball rally in ninth inning sinks Angels
Jul 27, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels second baseman Vaughn Grissom (5) hits a home run during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images LaMonte Wade Jr. drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk during a four-run ninth inning as the Houston Astros rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday in Anaheim, Calif.
The decisive rally featured just one hit, a single that did not knock in a run.
Taylor Trammell homered, walked twice, was hit by a pitch and scored twice as Houston took the opener of a three-game series, its sixth win in seven games. The Astros trailed 4-0 after three innings.
Astros reliever Cristian Javier (1-1) allowed three hits and no walks over five shutout innings, striking out seven. Josh Hader pitched around two walks in the bottom of the ninth to pick up his 13th save.
Vaughn Grissom went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs for Los Angeles, which lost for the ninth time this season when leading after eight innings. Jose Fermin (3-2) was charged with three runs, one earned, while recording only one out.
Houston trailed 4-2 entering the ninth. Trammell was hit by a pitch to open the inning, advanced to second on a passed ball and went to third on a single by Christian Walker. Lucas Spence then hit a potential double-play grounder that bounced past Grissom at second, allowing Trammell to score.
It looked as if the Angels might get out of the jam when Christian Vazquez popped out on a bunt and pinch runner Nick Allen was thrown out at the plate on Jeremy Pena’s grounder to third. However, after Yordan Alvarez was intentionally walked to load the bases, reliever Sam Bachman hit Isaac Paredes with a pitch to force in the tying run, then walked Wade to make it 5-4.
Bachman subsequently mishandled Jose Altuve’s comebacker, allowing Alvarez to score.
Los Angeles took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Astros starter Tatsuya Imai walked Zach Neto and Mike Trout to begin the frame, and both runners advanced on a balk. Nolan Schanuel drove in Neto with a sacrifice fly as Trout tagged and advanced to third. After Jorge Soler walked, Grissom singled to drive in Trout.
The Angels extended the lead to 4-0 in the third inning on Grissom’s seventh homer, a 395-foot drive to left-center, and Jo Adell’s RBI bloop double down the right field line.
Houston cut the gap to 4-1 in the fourth inning on Trammell’s fifth home run, a 412-foot shot into the bleachers in right-center.
The Astros closed within 4-2 in the eighth inning when Pena led off with a double into the left field corner and scored on a single by Alvarez, his American League-leading 78th RBI.
–Field Level Media
Cubs ring up 14 hits in series-opening win over Cardinals
Brandon Lowe's heroics help Pirates down Diamondbacks in 10
