Sports
Phillies use homers to coast to series-opening win over Royals
Jul 4, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) celebrates with center fielder Justin Crawford (2) after hitting a two run home run against the Kansas City Royals during the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images J.T. Realmuto, Gabriel Rincones Jr. and Alec Bohm homered in support of Jesus Luzardo as the visiting Philadelphia Phillies topped the Kansas City Royals 6-1 in Saturday’s opener of a three-game set.
Luzardo (7-4) allowed one run and four hits in six innings, as the left-hander struck out nine without issuing a walk. Kyle Schwarber, one of five Phillies named to the All-Star team earlier Saturday, notched three hits in a supporting effort.
Kansas City starter Michael Wacha (5-6) allowed four runs in six innings, issuing eight hits and a walk while striking out seven. Nick Loftin drove in the only run for the Royals, who have lost eight of their last nine games.
The Phillies loaded the bases against Wacha in the first inning, but the veteran right-hander escaped the jam. He then faced minimal resistance in the second and third innings before Philadelphia opened the scoring in the fourth.
With a runner on first and one out, Realmuto sent a 1-0 sinker into the seats in left field. Two pitches later, Wacha’s 1-0 offering to Rincones ended up in the bullpen in right.
Kansas City got a run back in the bottom half, when Lane Thomas doubled with one out and later scored on Loftin’s infield hit.
Bohm countered with a leadoff homer in the sixth as the visitors went ahead 4-1.
Wacha gave way to Lucas Erceg to begin the seventh. The right-hander allowed a one-out single to Trea Turner and then walked Schwarber before a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners. Erceg then uncorked a wild pitch which extended the Phillies’ lead to 5-1..
Meanwhile, Luzardo ended his night with a 1-2-3 sixth before Jonathan Bowlan struck out three of the four hitters he faced in the seventh.
Rincones’ eighth-inning RBI double tacked on an insurance run for Philadelphia before Orion Kerkering and Tim Mayza each logged a perfect frame to close the game out.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sean Burke, Colson Montgomery lift White Sox over Guardians
Jul 4, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians center fielder Steven Kwan (38) runs from Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Sean Burke (59) before being tagged out in the fifth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images Colson Montgomery hit a tiebreaking home run and went 2-for-5 with two RBIs to help the Chicago White Sox snap a three-game skid with a 3-1 win against the host Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.
Chicago starter Sean Burke notched a career-high 11 strikeouts while holding Cleveland to one run on seven hits in six innings. Brandon Eisert (2-1) tossed a perfect seventh and eighth and Grant Taylor came on in the ninth to earn the save.
Parker Messick gave up one run on five hits in five innings for the Guardians, who had won three in a row.
Montgomery put Chicago ahead 2-1 in the top of the eighth off reliever Tim Herrin (1-4), launching a sinker 402 feet to right field deck. It was the 24-year-old’s 22nd home run of the season, surpassing his total from his rookie campaign last year.
Miguel Vargas drove in Tristan Peters with a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it 3-1. Peters led off the frame with a double and advanced to third on reliever Matt Festa’s throwing error on a pickoff attempt.
An RBI double from Montgomery in the first helped the White Sox take a 1-0 lead. Vargas drew a leadoff walk. Then, with two outs, Montgomery connected on a fastball and put it into left field. Cooper Ingle couldn’t get to it before it rolled over the line and missed the plate on the throw home, allowing Vargas to easily cross the plate.
The Guardians came close to threatening with two on with one out in the bottom half of the frame thanks to back-to-back singles from Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo, but Kahlil Watson grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Chicago had a chance to break the game open in the fourth with the bases loaded and two outs but a flyout from Vargas ended the threat.
Cleveland pulled even in the fifth when Austin Hedges belted a sinker that bounced off the top of the wall into the center field seats to make it 1-1.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spacestation Gaming advance to OWCS NA Stage 2 grand final
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. Spacestation Gaming advanced to the grand final of the Overwatch Champions Series’ North American Stage 2 playoffs with a 3-1 victory over Team Liquid in the upper-bracket final on Saturday.
Dallas Fuel swept LuneX Gaming 3-0 in the lower-bracket semifinal and will face Team Liquid on Sunday in the lower-bracket final. The winner of the lower-bracket final will face Spacestation in Sunday’s grand final.
Six teams participated in a round-robin regular season, with the top four advancing to the playoffs, which run from Friday through Sunday. All matches in the double-elimination bracket are best-of-five, except for the grand final, which will be best-of-seven.
In addition to earning shares of the $75,000 prize pool, the top four Stage 2 finishers advance to Stage 3. The top three finishers also will qualify for the Overwatch Champions Series’ Midseason Championship, a $1 million event scheduled for July 29-Aug. 2 in Paris.
On Saturday, Spacestation opened with a 2-1 win on Ilios Control before Liquid pulled even 4-3 on Neon Junction Hybrid. Spacestation took over from there with back-to-back wins on Dorado Escort (2-1) and New Junk City Flashpoint (3-2) to reach the grand final.
Facing LuneX, Dallas won 2-1 on Ilios Control and Circuit Royal Escort before finishing off the sweep 4-3 on King’s Row Hybrid.
Overwatch Champions Series’ North American Stage 2 prize pool
1. $30,000, qualifies for Midseason Championship and NA Stage 3
2. $15,000, qualifies for Midseason Championship and NA Stage 3
3. $12,000, qualifies for Midseason Championship and NA Stage 3
4. $8,000, qualifies for NA Stage 3 – LuneX Gaming
5-6. $5,000, qualifies for NA Stage 2 promotion/relegation — The Kafe, Disguised
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: FBI arrests former West Virginia, Kentucky player Kerr Kriisa
Jan 24, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Kerr Kriisa (11) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Former Kentucky basketball player Kerr Kriisa has been arrested by the FBI in connection with a fraud scheme, Kentucky Sports Radio reported on Saturday.
Kriisa, who also played guard for West Virginia, Arizona and Cincinnati during his collegiate basketball career, is connected with a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme dating back to his time with the Mountaineers, according to the report. The 25-year-old is being extradited to West Virginia, per the report, which did not provide additional details on the allegations.
An Estonia native, Kriisa caught on with Arizona following a strong international run that included stints in Lithuania and Germany. The guard spent three seasons with the Wildcats, increasing his scoring average each season (2020-23).
He was with West Virginia in 2023-24, averaging a career-high 11 points per game, though he also served a nine-game suspension that season for receiving impermissible benefits at Arizona. He followed that with a season at Kentucky (2024-25) and another season at Cincinnati (2025-26). Kriisa averaged 8.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 28.1 minutes in 127 games (106 starts) in his college career.
Kriisa had recently been an announced participant for Kentucky’s The Basketball Tournament-affiliated team, “La Familia.”
–Field Level Media
Netflix Violent Thriller True Story Is Pure Adrenaline Rush
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on July 5
