Sports
Pirates' Paul Skenes aims to end winless stretch vs. Marlins
Jun 9, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images A tantalizing pitching matchup headlines the series finale between Miami and host Pittsburgh, as right-handers Max Meyer of the Marlins and Paul Skenes of the Pirates will face off on Sunday afternoon.
Both Meyer and Skenes have six wins for their squads, with Meyer sharing top honors on his club with teammate Sandy Alcantara.
It’s good timing for Meyer’s turn in the rotation for the Marlins as they look to start anew after their six-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Meyer hasn’t lost a game so far in 2026, going 6-0 with a 2.85 ERA through his first 14 starts this season. He is 0-0 against the Pirates in his career, posting a 1.42 ERA over 6 1/3 innings in two starts.
Although the team came away with a 10-6 win over Arizona in his last start on Tuesday, Meyer received a no-decision after throwing 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball against the Diamondbacks.
Marlins manager Clayton McCullough singled out Meyer’s execution of pitches in two-strike counts in that start as a possible point of improvement but admitted after the game, “We’re nitpicking Max’s outings now — getting into the sixth, a couple runs — because he’s just so good.
“He’s pitched that way this year that we just expect him to mow through people, but he can find ways to win games now and get through games in a lot of different ways and make pitches when he needs to.”
The Pirates are looking to end a worrying streak themselves, as they have lost each of the last five starts made by their ace Skenes (6-5, 2.84 ERA), the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner and a two-time All-Star in his third season.
Skenes, 24, didn’t factor into the decision in his most recent game, a 12-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday when he gave up two runs in six innings.
He has a 1-0 record and 2.38 ERA in two previous starts against the Marlins.
The Pittsburgh lineup is having to weather the injury bug as center fielder Oneil Cruz (hand) and rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin (elbow) are both on the injured list. The Pirates are looking for contributions to fill the gap from throughout the order.
In their win over the Marlins on Saturday, Tyler Callihan and Jake Mangum each recorded two-hit games from the No. 7 and 8 spots, sparking the key eighth-inning rally with back-to-back two-out singles.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed by Pirates manager Don Kelly.
“Nobody’s going to replace Oneil Cruz’s power or Konnor Griffin’s speed, but they’ve gone out there and been themselves and stayed within themselves to do that — to go the other way, have good at-bats,” Kelly said.
“When we’ve been good, we’re able to stack those together and score some runs — and that’ll lead to wins.”
The weekend series is up for grabs heading into Sunday’s rubber match.
Miami took Friday’s opener 8-3, spreading six runs between the seventh and eighth innings to break a 2-2 deadlock. Pittsburgh then leveled the series with a 3-2 win on Saturday thanks to a go-ahead RBI when Spencer Horwitz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kelsey Plum's career-high 43 help Sparks outlast Mercury in OT
Jun 13, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink (22) and guard Kelsey Plum (10) celebrate after defeating the Phoenix Mercury in overtime at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Kelsey Plum scored a career-high 43 points and made five 3-pointers as the Los Angeles Sparks lost a nine-point fourth-quarter lead but recovered to beat the host Phoenix Mercury 111-102 in overtime in a Commissioner’s Cup game Saturday.
Plum’s layup with 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation tied it at 98-98, and the Sparks (7-6, 3-2 in Commissioner’s Cup) scored the first eight points in overtime capped by Cameron Brink’s four-point play with 3:03 remaining.
Kahleah Copper scored a career-high 41 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers for the Mercury (4-11, 2-4), who had a chance to win at the end of regulation but Natasha Mack’s hurried jumper was off.
Rae Burrell had 16 of her career-high 24 points in the first half and Nneka Ogwumike had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Sparks, who have won three straight.
The Sparks had a season high in points and made 15 of 34 3-pointers. Oqwumike made three threes and passed Tina Thompson for fourth in scoring in WNBA history with 7,499 points.
Mack had 11 points and 12 rebounds and Alyssa Thomas had 10 points and 12 assists for the Mercury, who have lost three straight and nine of 11.
Plum and Copper took over down the stretch for their respective teams. Plum scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and Copper had 13.
Copper made a layup to knot the game at 88-88 before Plum countered with a 17-footer for a 90-88 edge with 2:24 left.
Thomas’ shot jumped tied it at 90-90, and Lexi Held made a 3-pointer to cap an 11-4 run for a 93-90 Mercury lead with 1:33 remaining, a possession started when Mack blocked Plum’s short jumper.
Plum made two threes and Copper made one to level the game at 96 with 53 seconds left. Mack’s short jumper with 12.7 seconds left put the Mercury ahead before Plum tied it late.
The Sparks are 5-1 on the road and won their second straight in Phoenix after a 97-88 win on May 21.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Athletics stay hot in Las Vegas with win over scuffling Rockies
Jun 12, 2026; Summerlin, Nevada, USA; Athletics center fielder Lawrence Butler (4) scores during the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at the Las Vegas Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images Zack Gelof homered and singled to extend his hitting streak to 17 games and the surging Athletics beat the Colorado Rockies 7-5 in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Alika Williams had three hits, Henry Bolte had two hits and Jose Suarez (1-2) tossed 1 2/3 innings of relief for the A’s, who have won four straight in their first homestand at their future home city.
Elvis Alvarado got the final three outs for his second save.
Brett Sullivan homered and TJ Rumfield and Troy Johnston had two hits each for Colorado, which has lost three in a row and seven of nine.
The A’s went ahead in the first against Colorado starter Kyle Freeland. Nick Kurtz reached on a one-out single and went to third on Shea Langeliers’ double to left. One out later, Jacob Wilson drove in both with a single.
Sullivan cut the deficit in half when he led off the third with his fourth home run, and the Rockies tied it in the fourth.
Rumfield led off with a double and scored on Johnston’s single to right. The A’s answered in the bottom of the inning when Bolte hit a leadoff single and Gelof homered to left-center field, his ninth of the season, to make it 4-2.
Colorado rallied once more in the fifth inning. Kyle Karros led off with a triple and scored on Sullivan’s sacrifice fly. Sterlin Thompson followed with a double to chase Athletics starter Joey Estes, who gave up four runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings
Edouard Julien greeted Suarez with a single to put runners on the corners, Thompson scored the tying run on a wild pitch before Willi Castro walked and Rumfield’s double made it 5-4.
Freeland couldn’t hold the lead in the sixth. With two outs and Gelof on second, Williams blooped an RBI single to center to end Freeland’s night. Jaden Hill gave up a go-ahead pinch-hit RBI double to Tyler Soderstrom, Kurtz was intentionally walked and Langeliers walked to load the bases.
Hill hit Carlos Cortes to bring home another run for the A’s, making it 7-5.
Freeland (1-7) allowed six runs on 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jo Adell, Angels beat up on Rays in shutout
Jun 13, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jo Adell (7) is greeted by center fielder Mike Trout (27) after scoring a run during the fourth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Jo Adell went 4-for-5 with a double and three runs scored and Jose Siri hit a two-run homer as the Los Angeles Angels pounded out 15 hits in an 8-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Denzer Guzman went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored, and Donovan Walton had a double and three hits and two RBIs. Nolan Schanuel also had two hits and two runs scored for Los Angeles, which won its fourth straight and for the fifth time in six games.
The victory clinched the second straight home series win for the Angels, the first time that has happened since June 5-11, 2025, against Seattle and the Athletics.
Jose Soriano (8-4), despite getting hit in the chest by a hard comebacker by Jonathan Aranda in the first inning, picked up the win with five shutout innings. The right-hander allowed three hits, walked two and struck out five.
Left-hander Samy Natera Jr. followed Soriano and struck out two over two hitless innings, and Brent Suter and Kirby Yates each tossed a scoreless inning of relief to finish up.
Tampa Bay starter Griffin Jax (1-5) suffered the loss despite allowing just one unearned run on five hits over five innings while striking out five without a walk.
Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Adell lined a double off the bottom of the left field fence and then scored when Schanuel’s hard grounder went off the glove of shortstop Taylor Walls for an error.
The Angels extended the lead to 4-0 in the sixth inning on Guzman’s two-run bloop single to center followed by Walton’s RBI double to right.
Los Angeles then broke the game open with a four-run seventh against reliever Cole Sulser. Siri made it 6-0 with a 431-foot, two-run homer to center, and Guzman and Walton each added RBI singles.
–Field Level Media
Kelsey Plum's career-high 43 help Sparks outlast Mercury in OT
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