Sports
Padres, D-backs visit 'Petco South' in Mexico City one more time
Apr 14, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) celebrates with first baseman Ty France (25) after defeating the Seattle Mariners at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images Arizona outfielder Alek Thomas took the field with the Mexican flag as a cape in honor of his mother’s heritage and followed that entrance with a two-run homer against San Diego in the first game of the Mexico City Series on Saturday.
It was not enough to keep the Padres from remaining undefeated in the Mexico City Series history.
The Padres beat the Diamondbacks 6-4 Saturday in the first game of the 2026 edition after sweeping San Francisco in the first Mexico City Series in 2023.
“We can probably call this place Petco South,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said in reference to the Padres’ Petco Park home. “I think that’s a good nickname for it.”
San Diego’s Michael King (3-1, 2.28 ERA) will oppose fellow right-hander Kyle Nelson (1-2, 6.97) in the final game of the two-game set at the Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu on Sunday afternoon.
“Great moment for Alek,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, noting that Thomas played for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic this spring.
“We’re going to come out tomorrow with everything we got to hopefully split this series,” Lovullo added Saturday. “There’s nothing we can do about today. There were some good moments and obviously moments that weren’t so good.”
The Padres overcame a 4-0 deficit behind two bases-empty homers by Ty France, and their four-run seventh inning was perhaps the D-backs’ worst half-inning of the season.
San Diego scored on two singles, three walks (one intentional), a balk, an error and two sacrifice flies. Gavin Sheets’ two-run single was the big blow. During the inning, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo left the game with a sprained left ankle after committing an error.
San Diego has won 13 of its past 15 games; the D-backs have lost four of five.
“The team never gives up, especially in a ballpark like this,” Stammen said. “Keep taking good at-bats and hopefully something gets through. We’re just piecing it together, playing good baseball and never giving up.
“So far this season we’ve been able to come back, and I think once you feel that and feel that early in the season, that becomes a little bit of your identity and who you are. So far, that’s been who we are.”
King has been strongest when the Padres have needed it the most this season. Opponents are hitting .179 against him with runners on base and .080 with runners in scoring position.
King came up as a relief pitcher with the New York Yankees and credits a mindset he developed there for his ability to rise to the occasion.
“I took a lot of pride in that, in terms of when you got yourself in some bad situations, you’ve got to get yourself out,” King told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “I kind of knew those situations and how to navigate it.”
King is coming off a 2-1 victory last Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., in a game in which he gave up only one hit in five scoreless innings but threw 105 pitches. He walked four batters.
Nelson enters after his worst career outing. He allowed eight runs and eight hits and retired only one of the 10 batters he faced in the first inning of a 10-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays last Sunday.
“I assume it is going to be kind of like pitching in Colorado,” Nelson said of the altitude in Mexico City, elevation 7,350 feet. “I’ll probably take the same approach. Just stick to my game plan, and if I need to make adjustments, make adjustments.”
King is 2-0 with an 0.00 ERA in three career starts against Arizona. Nelson is 4-3 with a 4.83 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) against San Diego. He has surrendered 11 home runs to the Padres in 54 innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cloud9 remains unbeaten at LCS Spring
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Cloud9 and FlyQuest each swept their Week 4 matches Saturday to remain in playoff position at the LCS Spring event.
Cloud9, one of two remaining unbeatens, became the first team to reach 4-0 in the regular season with a 2-0 defeat of Shopify Rebellion. FlyQuest held firm at fourth in the standings with its 2-0 win over Dignitas, which remains the only team still searching for its first win.
Eight teams will compete in best-of-three matches in the round-robin regular season before advancing to the playoffs of the League of Legends event, which 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 won in 36 minutes on red and 24 minutes on blue. Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen of Denmark led the victory with a 13-2-19 kill-death-assist ratio. South Korea’s Yoo “Zinie” Baek-jin was Shopify Rebellion’s most effective player with a 5-5-5 K-D-A.
FlyQuest completed its sweep with a 26-minute win on red and a 43-minute triumph on blue. Turkey’s Ibrahim “GaKGoS” Samet Bulut and Song “Quad” Soo-hyung of South Korea earned MVP honors in FlyQuest’s wins, posting K-D-As of 11-2-15 and 11-4-20, respectively. Australia’s Ian Victor “FBI” Huang led Dignitas with an 8-7-9 K-D-A ratio.
Week 4 schedule
Sunday
LYON vs. Disguised
Team Liquid vs. Sentinels
Regular-season standings (Win-loss total, map differential)
T1. Cloud9, 4-0, 8-2
2. Team Liquid, 3-0, 6-2
3. LYON, 2-1, 5-3
4. FlyQuest, 2-2, 6-4
5. Sentinels, 1-2, 4-5
6. Disguised, 1-2, 2-5
7. Shopify Rebellion, 1-3, 2-6
8. Dignitas, 0-4, 2-8
–Field Level Media
Sports
With skid over, Phillies look to build on win, take series at Braves
Apr 14, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Now that the Philadelphia Phillies have ended their 10-game losing streak, they’ll try to do on Sunday what no one else has done this season — win a series against the Atlanta Braves.
The Phillies beat the Braves 8-5 in 10 innings on Saturday to square the three-game series in Atlanta. The Braves are 7-0-1 in series this season, including a three-game sweep of Philadelphia last week, and have the best record in the National League.
“We needed it for sure,” Philadelphia first baseman Bryce Harper said. “Got to keep working. Obviously, we were in a bad stretch, so to get a win is huge. Got to keep doing it.”
The pitching matchup for the rubber game features Atlanta’s Chris Sale (4-1, 2.79 ERA) against Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola (1-2, 5.06).
Sale is looking for a repeat performance from April 18, when he beat the Phillies 3-1. Sale pitched a season-long seven innings and allowed only one run on five hits and one walk. He matched his season high with seven strikeouts. Sale has allowed one or fewer runs in four of his five starts.
“He threw the ball really well, using all his pitches,” Atlanta catcher Jonah Heim said. “That’s what future Hall of Famers do — they go out against division rivals and they give their best effort. It was a lot of fun to be behind the plate for.”
Sale has made eight career starts against the Phillies, going 3-2 with a 3.64 ERA. He faced Philadelphia three times in 2025 and went 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA.
Nola did not face the Braves when the teams met last week. In his most recent start on Monday against the Chicago Cubs, he was removed after pitching only 4 1/3 innings, his shortest stint of the season. He allowed five runs on six hits and four walks, striking out five in a 5-1 loss.
“After the first inning, it just seemed like (Nola) had trouble getting ahead, trouble commanding his fastball,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said afterward. “Wasn’t landing his breaking ball. I don’t know if the ball was a little slick or what. Four walks, kind of uncharacteristic for Aaron. It was a tough one for him.”
Nola has made 38 career starts against Atlanta, the most against any opponent, and posted a 17-11 record with a 3.65 ERA. He made one appearance against the Braves last season and earned a victory in a 19-4 Philadelphia win.
The Phillies had 11 hits in Saturday’s win, with only one starter failing to get a hit. Harper was 2-for-3 with four RBIs, including a two-run single in the 10th inning to produce the go-ahead runs.
“I’m just trying to get something to hit hard,” Harper said. “I feel good at the plate right now.”
Atlanta’s Michael Harris II was back in the starting lineup as the designated hitter. He went 2-for-4, upping his average to .333, and drove in two runs. But his absence in center field was felt. His replacement, Eli White, slipped on the wet grass in the eighth inning, leading to Kyle Schwarber’s triple. He scored on Harper’s sacrifice fly.
Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. continues to struggle. He was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .226. He walked in the seventh and stole second base but was picked off by Jose Alvarado to end the threat.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Guardians need to cut down on defensive lapses vs. Blue Jays
Apr 21, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Patrick Corbin (46) throws against the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images The visiting Cleveland Guardians could use improved fielding Sunday afternoon to help their chances in the rubber match of the three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays took the middle game of the three-game series on Saturday 5-3 with some help from some shaky Guardians defense.
Guardians second baseman Juan Brito let Daulton Varsho’s grounder squirt past him for an RBI single in Toronto’s three-run sixth.
“We should have been out of that inning with maybe one run scoring,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We had a tough inning defensively. It happens.”
Brito has had other defensive lapses but Vogt said he will keep playing him.
“He’ll be out there again Sunday,” Vogt said. “He’s continuing to work. … and, you know, this turf maybe hops a little different, but we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to catch the ball, and we’re going to continue to work defensively. We need to get better. That’s clear, and we’re going to do that.”
Left fielder George Valera also had an adventurous day. He overran Myles Straw’s fifth-inning fly that dropped for a double down the left-field line. Valera’s sliding attempt came up short in the sixth on Andres Gimenez’s two-run, two-out double on the left-field line.
Right-hander Slade Cecconi (0-3, 6.20 ERA) is the scheduled starter Sunday for the Guardians. He has not faced the Blue Jays.
Toronto is slated to start Patrick Corbin (0-0, 3.68). He is 1-1 with a 4.44 ERA in five career starts against Cleveland. Right-hander Dylan Cease was originally named to start Sunday but he was moved to Monday to face the Boston Red Sox to give him an extra day after a 110-pitch outing on April 20.
Steven Kwan was out of the Guardians lineup for the second consecutive game on Saturday. He was given a scheduled day off on Friday to provide a break from the artificial turf at Rogers Centre and was used as a ninth-inning defensive replacement.
Kwan was in the lineup for Saturday but was a late scratch because of a stiff neck.
“This is independent of yesterday,” Vogt said. “We put him in the game Friday and he was fine.”
Kwan said he woke up with a stiff neck.
With Toronto’s Jeff Hoffman removed from the closer’s role, Louis Varland pitched a shaky ninth Saturday to pick up the save. He allowed a run, three hits and a walk before ending the game with two strikeouts.
“Louis has the mentality to do that,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He has great numbers. It’s not going to be perfect and it’s not going to be perfect for anyone, so I hope people have a little bit of sympathy for Hoffman. This is not easy. “
Toronto put Nathan Lukes on the injured list with a strained left hamstring and promoted outfielder Yohendrick Pinango from Triple-A Buffalo.
Lukes suffered the injury running out a first-inning double on Friday and left the game immediately.
“He’s kind of week-to-week,” Schneider said. “It feels like anyone who’s playing good is not allowed to play anymore.”
Pinango was batting .288/.370/.488 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 22 games at Buffalo.
“He hits the ball hard,” Schneider said. “The way the hitting guys talk about it is that he has some bad intentions at the plate. He’s not just trying to touch it.”
–Field Level Media
Cloud9 remains unbeaten at LCS Spring
With skid over, Phillies look to build on win, take series at Braves
