Sports
Pirates look to slow Phillies' explosive offense in series finale
Jun 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) and center fielder Justin Crawford (2) celebrate win against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Trea Turner and the Philadelphia Phillies have scored 25 runs in their three games against the Pittsburgh Pirates this week.
The Phillies hope to author another strong offensive performance Thursday afternoon, when the Pirates visit for the finale of a four-game set.
Philadelphia jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the series opener on Monday before Pittsburgh rallied for an 11-7 victory. The Phillies took back the momentum with an 8-0 triumph on Tuesday, then carried over their good fortunes into a 10-6 victory on Wednesday.
The Phillies got Paul Skenes to surrender a career-high eight runs (seven earned) in four innings on Wednesday, with Turner and Brandon Marsh homering against the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. Turner has gone 2-for-5 with a homer in all three games of the series.
“I feel like the last three or four weeks have been pretty solid,” Turner said. “I know how good I am. I know how good I can be, focusing on the last three weeks and getting back to two-strike hitting and scoring runs. I feel like I’ve scored runs at a really good clip because the guys behind me are playing so well. But that’s my job, to score runs, so I feel like the last few weeks have been really good.”
Alec Bohm also homered for Philadelphia, which has won seven of its past nine games.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, received three RBIs from Jared Triolo and a homer from Henry Davis but still lost for the fourth time in six games.
“I thought our approach was awesome off (Zack Wheeler),” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of the Philadelphia starter, who struck out 10 in 4 2/3 innings but also allowed four runs on nine hits. “To go 4 2/3 and get him over 100 pitches and find a way to score — we just need to find a way to keep them down and continue to hit like that.”
The Pirates will try to bounce back behind Jared Jones (1-1, 5.76 ERA), who has yet to work more than five innings in any of his first six starts this season. He lasted 4 2/3 innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, allowing four runs (three earned) in a no-decision.
“Not in a good spot,” Jones said, assessing his season. “I have a five and a half ERA through six starts and giving up homers. Not in a good spot at all.”
Jones made one start against the Phillies two seasons ago and allowed three runs while striking out eight in 6 1/3 innings during a defeat.
He will be opposed by Alan Rangel (0-1, 4.50 ERA), who will be making the first start of his major league career. The 28-year-old has made eight relief appearances over the last two seasons, although several of those were essentially starts where the team used an opener.
Rangel gave up four runs in four innings on Saturday during a 6-2 loss to the New York Mets.
“I felt like he kind of had those guys off-balance,” interim manager Don Mattingly said of Rangel. “Even that (four-run sixth) inning … nothing really scorched or anything. So I thought he was good.”
Rangel faced the Pirates in his major league debut last year, allowing two runs in three innings.
Philadelphia is 5-1 against Pittsburgh in the season series, which ends Thursday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A's belt 3 home runs, salvage series finale against Dodgers
Jul 1, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) is greeted by left fielder Teoscar Hernández (37) )after hitting a one run home run during the third inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images Jonah Heim, Shea Langeliers and Alika Williams hit homers and J.T. Ginn pitched six solid innings to help the Athletics cruise to a 7-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday in West Sacramento, Calif.
Heim drove in two runs, and he, Langeliers, Nick Kurtz, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and Henry Bolte each had two hits for the Athletics, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Freddie Freeman homered and Miguel Rojas had two hits for the Dodgers, who finished a 7-2 road trip. Los Angeles had just five hits after totaling 18 runs and 31 hits while winning the first two games of the three-game series.
Ginn (7-4) gave up one run and three hits. He walked five and struck out four while winning for the fifth time in his past six decisions.
Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts for the Dodgers. Freeman left the game before the bottom of the sixth inning.
Charlie Barnes (0-1) was the second pitcher for Los Angeles, and he gave up seven runs and 12 hits over seven innings. He struck out two and walked two.
Barnes entered in the second inning and Heim sent his first pitch, a fastball, 444 feet over the fence in center.
Los Angeles tied the game with one out in the third when Freeman smacked a 431-foot homer to right-center.
The Athletics moved ahead in the fourth after Heim walked to start the inning and Kuroda-Grauer doubled. Lawrence Butler’s infield out plated Heim, and Bolte followed with an RBI single for a 3-1 lead.
Langeliers led off the fifth by sending a 433-foot blast over the wall in left-center. Kurtz singled and Colby Thomas hit an RBI double to make it 5-1 before the latter came home on a single by Heim.
Williams homered with two outs in the eighth to finish the scoring.
Jack Dreyer served as the opener for the Dodgers and struck out the side in the first before giving way to Barnes.
The Athletics announced before the game that two-time All-Star Brent Rooker (left knee) would soon undergo season-ending surgery.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lightning sign D John Carlson to 2-year, $17M contract
May 6, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman John Carlson (74) warms up before the start of game two against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images The Tampa Bay Lightning added one of the top defensemen on the free-agent market Wednesday, signing John Carlson to a two-year, $17 million contract.
The deal carries an $8.5 million cap hit for Carlson, who reached the open market after a brief negotiating window with the Carolina Hurricanes did not lead to a contract. Carolina acquired Carlson’s rights from the Anaheim Ducks on June 27 for defenseman Kyle Masters and a 2026 sixth-round draft pick, but the sides were unable to complete a deal before free agency opened July 1.
Carlson, 36, spent last season with the Washington Capitals and Ducks, finishing with 14 goals and 60 points in 71 games while averaging 23:10 of ice time. Anaheim acquired him from Washington at the trade deadline, and Carlson added six assists in 12 playoff games as the Ducks reached the second round.
The signing provides Tampa Bay with a veteran right-shot defenseman who has a long history of high-level production and heavy ice time. Carlson is coming off an eight-year, $64 million contract that he signed after winning the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018.
Selected by Washington with the No. 27 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, Carlson recorded 170 goals and 615 assists across 1,159 regular-season games with the Capitals (2009-26) and Ducks. He was a major part of Washington’s Cup run, producing five goals and 20 points in 24 playoff games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Heliot Ramos, Victor Bericoto homer as Giants finally defeat Diamondbacks
Jul 1, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Trevor McDonald (72) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images The San Francisco Giants finally broke through against the Arizona Diamondbacks after eight previous failures Wednesday night, riding home runs from Heliot Ramos and Victor Bericoto to a 6-4 victory in Phoenix.
Trevor McDonald (3-6) threw six shutout innings for the Giants, who had dropped the first eight matchups with the Diamondbacks this season, including five in a row in Phoenix.
Arizona starter Zac Gallen (3-8) matched zeroes with McDonald until Ramos launched his first pitch of the fifth inning over the fence in center field.
Jung Hoo Lee followed with a single, and Bericoto then made it 3-0 with a bomb to left-center field.
The only homers of the game were Nos. 6 for Ramos and 4 for Bericoto.
The Giants busted the game open in a three-run sixth, with the runs produced by a Ramos triple and singles by Lee and Drew Cavanaugh.
Gallen was pulled two outs into the sixth, charged with all six Giants runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out four.
McDonald was lifted after retiring 18 of the 19 batters he faced through six innings. He struck out five.
Arizona’s only hit against the right-hander came when Ketel Marte led off the fourth with a single. He stole second and third, but was stranded there.
The Diamondbacks made things interesting in the eighth against the Giants’ third pitcher, Ryan Walker. Pavin Smith drove in one run with a single, Marte plated two with a double that included a throwing error by Giants shortstop Christian Koss, and Corbin closed the gap to 6-4 with an RBI infield out.
With the bases empty, Gabriel Moreno singled and reached third on a second throwing error by Koss before Dylan Smith struck out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. as the potential tying run.
Caleb Kilian breezed through a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save.
Ramos, Bericoto, Lee and Cavanaugh all had two hits for the Giants, who out-hit the hosts 11-7.
Despite seeing his run of four straight games with a home run end, Marte had a double and a single for Arizona.
–Field Level Media
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