Sports
Orioles, humbled in series opener, seek payback vs. Giants
Sep 17, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski (5) swings throws a second inning rbi single against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images There was no quick fix for the Baltimore Orioles when they began this week’s homestand.
Maybe they can get it right on the second try against the San Francisco Giants.
The teams meet Wednesday night in the middle game of a three-game series after San Francisco cruised to a 10-0 win on Tuesday behind left-hander Blake Snell.
“I thought the energy was great in our clubhouse, like it normally is,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said postgame. “Thought our guys were prepared. We had a really good hitters’ meeting. We just faced one of the better pitchers in the game, and we didn’t swing the bat well against him. We had a tough time.”
The Orioles (84-67) struck out 12 times during Snell’s sterling six innings. The Giants subsequently used four relievers en route to a five-hit shutout.
“That was six unbelievable innings, I thought,” Hyde said of Snell’s outing, in which Baltimore managed one hit and two walks. “He had multiple pitches going on the corners. … We’ve been scuffling offensively.”
The Giants (73-78) have won just two of their past seven games, but they began their nine-game road trip with an impressive performance.
“It was nice, and then keep adding on,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said of his team’s offense. “We haven’t done that a ton, either.”
Giants right fielder Mike Yastrzemski, who spent six seasons in the Baltimore farm system, had a game-opening home run, an RBI single and a walk Tuesday night.
“You’ve just got to find something right now to lean on,” Yastrzemski said of the team’s various motivations to get through the rest of the season. “When you look at tonight, we see that we still have a lot of good baseball left in us.”
Melvin said he felt “confidence for guys to knock in some runs and get some hits and keep the line moving. Hopefully, there’s some carryover.”
The Orioles’ offensive woes have been a topic for at least a couple of weeks. In the past 11 games, Baltimore is averaging less than two runs per outing and has lost eight times.
Several of Baltimore’s batters changed their walk-up songs to try to alter their fortunes in the batter’s box.
“They’re trying; they know they’re grinding,” Hyde said. “They’re trying to snap out of it a little bit.”
Shortstop Gunnar Henderson believes the Orioles will eventually break free from their skid.
“We’ve been talking about it for a while,” he said. “Just trying to figure out a way to get through it.”
The result left the Orioles four games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the American League East, though Baltimore is still 2 1/2 games up on the Kansas City Royals in the chase for the top AL wild card.
Baltimore will give the ball to Dean Kremer (7-9, 4.10 ERA) on Wednesday. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.62 ERA in his past six starts. He matched his season high by logging seven innings on Sept. 11 in a no-decision at Boston, where he gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits.
Kremer picked up a victory on June 2, 2023, after allowing two runs in six innings at San Francisco in his only previous encounter with the Giants.
Right-hander Hayden Birdsong (3-5, 4.74) is slated to be San Francisco’s starting pitcher. The rookie is 0-5 with a 6.75 ERA across seven starts since posting his last win on July 27, though he tossed five shutout innings while allowing two hits Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Because of the margin Tuesday night, Melvin said he was glad he could save some bullpen arms, particularly with Baltimore’s big left-handed bats in the lineup.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Lions running back David Montgomery “wants out” of Detroit after three seasons, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Montgomery, however, immediately appeared to refute the report on X, posting: “Damn, Dmo told you that?”
The ESPN report claims the Lions would want “a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder)” in the 2026 NFL Draft in return for Montgomery, who turns 29 in June and is owed $6 million next season.
The report follows general manager Brad Holmes’ remarks after the season about Montgomery being unhappy with his playing time in 2025. Sharing a backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs, Montgomery rushed for a career-low 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games (no starts).
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player,” Holmes said of Montgomery in January. “He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Holmes said the situation with Montgomery is “fluid.” He signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Yeah, I have been in touch with David’s agent, and his representation,” Holmes revealed. “Obviously, we love David, he’s a great player, we love to have him, you know, kind of want to put last year in the rear view, and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place as well. The conversations are still fluid, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Montgomery has rushed for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 45 games (28 starts) in three seasons with Detroit (2023-25). He has 76 catches for 650 yards in that span.
He began his career with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round in 2019. Montgomery rushed for 3,609 yards and 26 scores in 60 games (51 starts) with the Bears (2019-22).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
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