Sports
Padres end lengthy offense drought, take down Cards
May 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) celebrates with right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) after hitting a one run home run during the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images Ty France and Manny Machado homered Saturday, while Fernando Tatis Jr. supplied a tiebreaking hit during a three-run fifth inning that lifted the San Diego Padres to a 4-2 win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
Starter Randy Vasquez (4-1) scattered six hits over five innings while allowing just one run. Vasquez walked none and fanned six before San Diego’s high-leverage relievers took care of the rest.
St. Louis touched Adrian Morejon for a run in the eighth on Ivan Herrera’s RBI double that scored JJ Wetherholt. Mason Miller came in to get the final out of the eighth on Jordan Walker’s groundout, then pitched the ninth for his 12th save in as many chances.
Dustin May (3-4) pitched well aside from the fifth. He permitted three hits and three runs (two earned) over six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Cardinals pitching brought a 17-inning scoreless streak against the Padres into the game. May took a no-hit bid into the fifth before France unloaded a 405-foot shot over the wall in center, his fourth of the year.
San Diego pressed the issue further with a walk to Sung-Mun Song and the first of Freddy Fermin’s two singles. A passed ball on Pedro Pages moved both runners up 90 feet before Jackson Merrill fanned. Tatis lofted a two-run single to short right to give the Padres a 3-1 lead.
Machado added insurance in the eighth when he lined a solo homer to left-center, snapping an 0-for-24 skid that dropped his average to .195.
St. Louis used a rare bout of wildness from Miller to construct a threat in the ninth. Walks to Nolan Gorman and Nathan Church put two on with one out and Yohel Pozo reached with two outs when Miller tossed a wild pitch on strike three.
But Miller got Wetherholt to look at a 102 mph fastball for a game-ending strikeout, his fourth of the inning.
Church gave the Cardinals a 1-0 fourth-inning lead with a two-out RBI double.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Gabriel Pec's econd-half brace vaults Galaxy past Atlanta
May 9, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; LA Galaxy defender Harbor Miller (26) and Atlanta United defender Tomas Jacob (55) fight for the ball during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Gabriel Pec scored two second-half goals for the LA Galaxy, who defeated host Atlanta United 2-1 on Saturday evening.
Pec’s brace, which gave him three goals in MLS play this season, led the Galaxy (4-4-4, 16 points) to their second road win in league action and a third straight unbeaten result (2-0-1).
Atlanta (3-8-1, 10 points) saw its three-match win streak across all competitions come to an end in its final home match before the World Cup break.
Pec scored the eventual match-winner in the 79th minute. As he ventured into the box, his initial shot was blocked. The LA winger then pounced on the loose ball and fired it home to make it 2-1.
That came five minutes after Pec equalized it in the 74th minute. A failed tackle by Elias Baez gave Pec a one-on-one chance against Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos, which he converted to level the match at 1-all. Marco Reus and Joseph Paintsil assisted on the goal.
Pec’s tying goal canceled out Jay Fortune’s brilliant opener in the 69th minute. Fortune collected the ball near the left touchline, dribbled to the top of the box and laced it past a lunging JT Marcinkowski. It was Fortune’s first goal of the season, assisted by Elias Baez and Saba Lobjanidze.
An eventful, yet scoreless, first half featured three yellow cards for Atlanta United within four minutes, along with yellow cards issued to both the Atlanta and LA benches.
In the 41st minute, Atlanta appeared to take a 1-0 lead on a corner-kick routine, but Juan Berrocal’s potential first MLS goal was disallowed after Matias Galarza was ruled to have committed a foul on Marcinkowski in the process.
Pec’s double gave the Galaxy a third straight win over Atlanta United, tying the all-time series at 3-3-0.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Charlotte rallies for draw in Queen City clash vs. Cincinnati
May 9, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; FC Cincinnati forward Kévin Denkey (9) and Charlotte FC defender Morrison Agyemang (44) fight for the ball in the first half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images In a battle between the two Queen Cities Saturday night in Charlotte, FC Cincinnati squandered a two-goal lead in the second half and settled for a 2-2 draw with Charlotte FC.
FC Cincinnati (4-4-4, 16 points) drew first blood in the 36th minute, Evander took a free kick, with the ball saved by a diving Kristijan Kahlina. But Kahlina deflected the ball right to Kevin Denkey, who unleashed a leaping kick with his right foot to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead with his seventh goal of the season.
Evander didn’t have to wait long to find the net himself. With Cincinnati on the attack as the first half wound down in the 43rd minute, Evander unleashed a lofted shot from the edge of the box which found the top-left corner to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 2-0. The goal was Evander’s fourth in Cincinnati’s last two matches.
But less than 10 minutes into the second half, Charlotte (4-5-3, 15 points) roared back to tie the match with two goals in a three-minute span. After Idan Toklomati got Charlotte on the board in the 51st minute on a header off a headed assist from Tim Ream, Pep Biel equalized on his team-high sixth goal in the 53rd. He buried a centering pass from Djibril Danil into the top of the net past Roman Celentano.
Cincinnati narrowly outperformed Charlotte on the stat sheet in shots (13-11), shots on goal (5-3) and possession (53.8%-46.2%).
Both teams had chances throughout the second half to break the draw but could not find the net. It was a physical battle Saturday night, with Cincinnati given four yellow cards and Charlotte assessed one. The two teams also combined for 23 fouls.
Kahlina also made three saves in goal for Charlotte FC, while Celentano made one for Cincinnati.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Gabriel Pec's second-half brace vaults Galaxy past Atlanta
May 9, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; LA Galaxy defender Harbor Miller (26) and Atlanta United defender Tomas Jacob (55) fight for the ball during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Gabriel Pec scored two second-half goals for the LA Galaxy, who defeated host Atlanta United 2-1 on Saturday evening.
Pec’s brace, which gave him three goals in MLS play this season, led the Galaxy (4-4-4, 16 points) to their second road win in league action and a third straight unbeaten result (2-0-1).
Atlanta (3-8-1, 10 points) saw its three-match win streak across all competitions come to an end in its final home match before the World Cup break.
Pec scored the eventual match-winner in the 79th minute. As he ventured into the box, his initial shot was blocked. The LA winger then pounced on the loose ball and fired it home to make it 2-1.
That came five minutes after Pec equalized it in the 74th minute. A failed tackle by Elias Baez gave Pec a one-on-one chance against Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos, which he converted to level the match at 1-all. Marco Reus and Joseph Paintsil assisted on the goal.
Pec’s tying goal canceled out Jay Fortune’s brilliant opener in the 69th minute. Fortune collected the ball near the left touchline, dribbled to the top of the box and laced it past a lunging JT Marcinkowski. It was Fortune’s first goal of the season, assisted by Elias Baez and Saba Lobjanidze.
An eventful, yet scoreless, first half featured three yellow cards for Atlanta United within four minutes, along with yellow cards issued to both the Atlanta and LA benches.
In the 41st minute, Atlanta appeared to take a 1-0 lead on a corner-kick routine, but Juan Berrocal’s potential first MLS goal was disallowed after Matias Galarza was ruled to have committed a foul on Marcinkowski in the process.
Pec’s double gave the Galaxy a third straight win over Atlanta United, tying the all-time series at 3-3-0.
–Field Level Media
Gabriel Pec's econd-half brace vaults Galaxy past Atlanta
Charlotte rallies for draw in Queen City clash vs. Cincinnati
