Sports
Padres pumped rivalry with Dodgers returns to postseason stage
Jun 15, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease (84) throws in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images More than six months since the San Diego Padres opened the season with a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in South Korea, the National League West rivals are taking their rivalry back to the postseason.
The Padres dispatched the Atlanta Braves 2-0 to advance from the NL wild-card round to the NL Division Series, which starts Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
“Clearly going to respect them. They’ve got a really nice club,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said of the Dodgers. “We fought tooth and nail to get to the end of the season, for the division. But now we’re in the part of the season where winner moves on and we wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s going to be a wonderful series. We’re super excited about it. Can’t wait.”
The third postseason series ever between the teams is a follow-up to San Diego’s 3-1 NLDS win in 2022. The Dodgers swept the Padres in the NLDS in Arlington, Texas, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The Dodgers won the division by five games in 2024 and took two of three from San Diego Sept. 24-26, but the Padres were 8-5 against the Dodgers in the regular season.
“Wished we played tomorrow. But we’ll be ready to show up and get after it Saturday,” Shildt said. “It’s going to be two wonderful venues and high-stakes baseball, and that’s what we play for.”
Shildt said he wasn’t in position to discuss pitching plans or the health of right-hander Joe Musgrove. Musgrove (6-5, 3.88 ERA) left Wednesday’s game at Petco Park in the fourth inning with tightness in his elbow. He went 6 1/3 innings and allowed two runs in a no-decision at Los Angeles in a 7-2 loss by the Padres.
“We’ve got pitching depth. We’ve got (Dylan) Cease ready to go and (Yu) Darvish right there,” Shildt said. “And Martin (Perez has) done nothing but good stuff for us. By the time he rolls back around (Michael) King will be ready again.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rangers activate RHP Cole Winn from 15-day injured list
Texas Rangers pitcher Cole Winn (60) throws against Detroit Tigers during the fourth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, May 1, 2026. The Texas Rangers activated right-handed reliever Cole Winn from the 15-day injured list on Tuesday after he was sidelined since May 23 by arm fatigue.
Winn, 26, takes the spot on the 26-man roster vacated by right-hander Luis Curvelo, who was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.
Winn allowed two runs on two hits in a third of an inning of his most recent outing that came during a 5-2 loss to the host Los Angeles Angels. He exited the game after three batters with fatigue and soreness in his right shoulder.
In 22 appearances this season, he is 2-1 with one save, a 5.59 ERA, seven walks and 23 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings.
In 68 career relief appearances, Winn is 2-3 with one save, a 3.91 ERA, 28 walks and 72 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings.
Texas made Winn the 15th overall selection in the 2018 MLB Draft.
Curvelo, 25, had a scoreless inning Sunday in the Rangers’ 10-0 victory over the visiting Guardians. He has a 4.91 ERA, two walks and four strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings over seven relief appearances.
He was on the 15-day injured list with a right biceps strain from April 15 to May 19.
In 24 career relief appearances since 2025, Curvelo is 1-1 with a 5.47 ERA over 26 1/3 innings
–Field Level Media
Sports
Frances Tiafoe outlasts Daniel Altmaier in first round at Stuttgart
Jun 1, 2026; Paris, France; Frances Tiafoe of the United States returns a shot during his match against Matteo Arnaldi of Italy on day nine at Stade Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images Sixth-seeded Frances Tiafoe saved 7 of 9 break points and outlasted Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 to post a first-round victory at the BOSS Open Tuesday in Stuttgart, Germany.
Tiafoe had 24 winners and 30 unforced errors while prevailing on the grass surface after the end of the clay-court season. Altmaier had 15 aces among his 40 winners but committed 42 unforced errors.
Tiafoe next faces Australia’s Rinky Hijikata, who rallied for a 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory over German wild card Tom Gentzsch. Australia’s Nick Kyrgios beat the only other seeded player in action, prevailing 6-3, 6-4 over No. 8 Corentin Moutet of France.
The other winners Tuesday were Marcos Giron, Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff and Yannick Hanfmann, Australia’s James Duckworth, France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro.
Libema Open
Adrian Mannarino of France hit 25 winners while posting a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory over defending champion Gabriel Diallo of Canada in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Mannarino ended a nine-match drought in singles play dating back to the Miami Open in mid-March. Diallo had 52 unforced errors against just 20 winners. Mannarino committed 44 miscues.
Martin Damm advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Spain’s Jaume Munar. Also, China’s Zhang Zhizhen registered a 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-1 victory over Jenson Brooksby.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Bengals restructure Joe Burrow's, save $10M in cap space
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws a pass to a teammate during practice on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Kettering Health Practice Fields in downtown Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Bengals have created $10 million in salary cap space this coming season by restructuring Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow’s contract, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.
The Bengals moved from near the bottom of the league in effective cap room, $7.1 million, per reports, to in the middle. The team could have restructured up to $19.2 million by converting his entire base salary to a bonus, per the reports.
The team announced on Tuesday that second-round draft pick Cashius Howell, a defensive end out of Texas A&M, signed his rookie contract, meaning all of the Bengals’ seven draft selections are under contract.
Burrow signed a $275 million, five-year contract extension in September 2023, including $219 million in guarantees, according to reporting at the time.
Now 29, Burrow has been supportive of the Bengals’ uncharacteristic spending on free agents and a blockbuster trade since finishing 6-11 and missing the playoffs for a third straight season in 2025.
“We’re going to go win a lot of games this year and play great and win a Super Bowl,” Burrow told reporters after a voluntary workout last month.
Cincinnati signed former Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook to a three-year, $40.25 contract and former Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe to a three-year, $60 million deal. The team also signed former Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Jonathan Allen to a two-year, $25 million deal.
The defense also got a major boost when the Bengals traded the 10th overall pick in April’s NFL draft to the New York Giants for three-time All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who signed a one-year, $28 million extension for the 2028 season following the deal.
Cincinnati selected Burrow with the first overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft out of LSU.
Burrow is a three-time Pro Bowl selection, including in 2025 when he completed 66.8% of his passes for 1,809 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions in only eight games (all starts) because of a turf toe injury.
He has started all 77 regular-season games that he has played and completed an NFL-record career-best 68.5% of his passes for 20,810 yards, 157 TDs and 51 interceptions. Burrow has thrown for another 1,826 yards, nine TDs and four picks in seven playoff games.
He was voted the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in both 2021 and 2024.
–Field Level Media
