Sports
Off IL, Jays' Max Scherzer looks to cool down Nationals, CJ Abrams
Apr 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) reacts against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Max Scherzer will try to cool down red-hot CJ Abrams when the Toronto Blue Jays visit the Washington Nationals for the opener of a three-game series on Monday night.
Scherzer, who won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019, will come off the injured list and make the start on his 42nd birthday.
Abrams will look to continue his torrid run. In a 10-7 win against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, he went 3-for-5 with two homers, two runs scored and three RBIs.
Over his past seven games, Abrams is hitting .567 (17-for-30) with seven homers and 14 RBIs. He has 27 home runs overall, passing Ian Desmond (25 in 2012) for the most homers in a single season by a Nationals shortstop (2005-present).
“I’ve been swinging at better pitches,” Abrams said on Sunday. “Today, those were balls, but just swinging at better pitches and being more relaxed at the plate allows me to be more disciplined. Good things happen when I’m relaxed.”
Scherzer (1-4, 10.23 ERA) opposes left-hander Andrew Alvarez (2-3, 4.22) on Monday night. The veteran right-hander has made multiple trips to the injured list this season, the most recent for back spasms and a thumb issue. In a rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo last Wednesday he threw 56 pitches and struck out seven. He will be making his seventh start of the season.
Scherzer last pitched against Washington on July 28, 2023, throwing seven innings of one-run ball while striking out seven for the New York Mets to defeat the Nationals for the second time that season. The earlier game, on May 14, 2023 in Washington, was an 8-2 Mets victory.
Alvarez has worked as both a starter and reliever this season. Over his last three appearances, he is 0-2 with an 8.25 ERA. Last time out on July 20, he started against the host Colorado Rockies and gave up three runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Both teams are in wild-card contention. Washington took two of three from Arizona over the weekend and is one game behind the Diamondbacks for the third wild card in the National League. Toronto is 5 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the final spot and has five teams between itself and the Guardians.
In addition to Abrams heroics on Sunday, James Wood also hit two homers, giving him 30 on the season.
The Nationals traded infielder Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox late Saturday for pitcher Connelly Early. Third baseman Brady House was called up from Triple-A Rochester on Sunday and went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored.
“I think I’m just trying to get to the point where no matter what kind of at-bat it is, that I’m looking to hit the ball hard,” House said after his first major league game since May 18.
Toronto dropped a 6-1 decision to the Boston Red Sox in the rubber game of their series on Sunday.
George Springer, 36, had two singles, giving him his fifth multi-hit game over his past seven.
“He’s swinging at good pitches and laying off some stuff he was just putting in play a couple of weeks ago,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He has a good state of mind. He’s swinging the bat fast and he’s moving pretty well.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Michael Massey's blast lifts Royals over Tigers
Jul 26, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Lane Thomas (15) hits a home run in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Michael Massey hit a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth inning and the visiting Kansas City Royals hung on for a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Massey’s eighth homer made a winner of Nate Pearson (2-0), who was making his Royals debut after being acquired in a trade with Houston. Steven Cruz survived a ninth-inning jam to record his second save.
Lane Thomas had a solo homer and Luke Maile added an RBI double as the Royals salvaged a split of the four-game series.
Dillon Dingler had two hits and drove in two runs for Detroit.
Kansas City took a 2-0 lead in the first. Leadoff hitter Thomas hit a 3-2 pitch to the opposite field that just cleared the wall. The Royals then scratched out an unearned run. Nick Loftin singled and Salvador Perez was hit by a pitch. Valdez retired the next two batters before walking Isaac Collins to load the bases.
Second baseman Hao-Yu Lee then bobbled Tyler Tolbert’s grounder, allowing Loftin to score.
The Royals made it 3-0 in the fourth. Tolbert drew a one-out walk and Maile followed with a double down the left field line to knock him in.
Detroit took a 4-3 lead in the fifth. Lee led off with a double and Colt Keith walked. Kevin McGonigle singled to load the bases. After Gleyber Torres struck out, Avila was removed for Matt Strahm. Riley Greene hit a bouncer up the middle that got by second baseman Andrew Velazquez for an error. Two runs scored and Greene raced all the way to second. Dingler then knocked in McGonigle and Greene with a single up the middle.
Collins had a bloop single off Drew Sommers with one out in the eighth. Sommers (0-1) struck out the next batter but Massey took advantage of a hanging slider and deposited over the right field wall to give his club a 5-4 advantage.
Detroit had two runners on with no one out in the ninth as Lee walked and Keith singled. Cruz then recorded two strikeouts, sandwiching a popout, to end the contest.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers pound Rockies 11-2
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) throws during the first inning of their game against the Colorado Rockies Sunday, July 26, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jacob Misiorowski retired the first 14 batters he faced and finished with 12 strikeouts, Andrew Vaughn homered and the host Milwaukee Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies 11-2 on Sunday.
Jackson Chourio, Joey Ortiz, Luis Lara, Cooper Pratt and Jake Bauers had two hits apiece for Milwaukee, which broke open a close game in the sixth inning to win the series.
Misiorowski struck out seven in a row to start the game and 12 of the first 13 batters he faced with pitches consistently above 100 mph. Cole Carrigg ended the bid for a perfect game with an opposite-field homer to left.
Willi Castro was hit by a pitch before Misiorowski got Troy Johnston to ground out to end the inning — and his afternoon. Misiorowski (11-4) allowed one run on one hit and didn’t walk a batter in his five innings.
Carrigg’s home run was his fifth of the season and Castro hit a solo home run in the seventh for the Rockies, who finished with five hits and fanned 15 times.
Chourio led off the bottom of the first with the first of his two doubles and scored on Brice Turang’s single. One out later, William Contreras doubled to put runners on second and third, Turang scored on a Freeland wild pitch and Contreras came home on a groundout.
Freeland (2-10) settled in, giving up just two hits over the next four innings before Vaughn led off the sixth with his fourth home run. Freeland left after a one-out walk to Bauers, having allowed five runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
The Brewers added on against Colorado’s bullpen.
Bauers stole second and Jimmy Herget walked Gary Sanchez ahead of three straight doubles. Lara brought home Bauers with the first two-bagger, Pratt made it 7-1 with a two-run double and Ortiz put runners on second and third with the next double.
Pratt capped the inning when he scored on a groundout.
After Castro’s 10th home run, Sanchez and Lara had RBI doubles in the bottom of the seventh and Vaughn a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Munetaka Murakami strokes 2 of White Sox's 5 homers in rout of Astros
Jul 26, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) is greeted in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Miguel Vargas hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the sixth inning and Munetaka Murakami added a pair of homers as the host Chicago White Sox routed the Houston Astros 12-3 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep.
Chicago clubbed a season high-tying five home runs compared to three from Houston to extend its lead atop the American League Central to 2 1/2 games over Cleveland.
With his parents throwing out first pitches on his bobblehead day, Murakami went 3-for-5 with a career-high six RBIs. He drilled an opposite-field two-run homer in the first, drove in a run with a third-inning groundout, added a two-run single in a four-run seventh and finished with a solo clout to right in the eighth.
Jeremy Pena cracked solo homers in his first two at-bats and Taylor Trammell added a solo homer for the Astros, whose five-game winning streak came to a close.
The White Sox’s breakout against Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco in the sixth turned the tide. Sam Antonacci, who collected two hits, led off with a double and advanced to third on a Murakami groundout. Vargas followed with a two-run blast to left field, his 21st homer this season, to put the White Sox ahead 5-3.
Blanco (0-1) scattered five runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings with three walks and four strikeouts. It marked his second start since rejoining the rotation last week following Tommy John surgery in June 2025.
After Pena opened the game with a home run, Murakami reached Blanco for a two-run home run in the first to stop a 13-game homerless streak.
Houston’s own penchant for the long ball kept the club afloat in the early innings. Jeremy Pena stretched his hitting streak to eight games with a pair of home runs.
White Sox starter Erick Fedde yielded three solo home runs among his five hits over 4 1/3 innings. Pena homered against Fedde with one out in the third, then Taylor Trammell sent Fedde’s first delivery of the fifth over the wall in right center.
Fedde walked one and struck out two. Sean Newcomb (1-2) worked around a hit and walk to get the final two outs in the sixth to notch the victory.
Chase Meidroth homered in the seventh for Chicago and Junior Perez added a two-run blast in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
