Sports
Pirates RHP Jared Jones returns after 20-month absence to face Twins
May 14, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers Jared Jones (left) and Paul Skenes (right) talk with Bubba Chandler (facing away) during the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images It will be a night of returns when the Minnesota Twins take on the host Pittsburgh Pirates to open a three-game series on Friday night.
For the Pirates, who are coming off consecutive losses and a series split with the Chicago Cubs, electric right-hander Jared Jones will make his return from right elbow internal brace surgery.
Meanwhile, Twins manager Derek Shelton will make his return to Pittsburgh to face his former team and the club that fired him on May 8, 2025, after the Pirates started the season with a 12-26 record.
Jones, making his first start in the majors since Sept. 27, 2024, will oppose Twins right-hander Taj Bradley (5-1, 2.77 ERA).
Jones adds another power arm to Pittsburgh’s young rotation with his 97 mph four-seamer and a nasty slider.
The 24-year-old California native made five rehab starts in the minors, compiling a 2.89 ERA with 24 strikeouts and six walks in 18 2/3 innings.
“It definitely sucks going through surgery and missing an entire year,” Jones said. “Now that I’m here again, I’m kind of grateful for it. I felt like in my downtime I really got to learn how I can throw my other pitches and make ’em a lot better. I feel like that showed kinda throughout the rehab assignment. Really just getting a better feel of what I’ve got.”
Jones will make his second career start against Minnesota after allowing three runs (two earned) in five innings during a no-decision on June 9, 2024, in Pittsburgh.
Jones’ return will move Carmen Mlodzinski to a bullpen in a bulk/long-relief role. Mlodzinski is 4-3 with a 3.76 ERA in 55 innings this season. He has started nine times and made two relief appearances.
Shelton was in his sixth season as the Pirates’ manager last season when he was fired, and Pittsburgh did not have a winning season during his tenure. Shelton was hired last October by the Twins, the team for which he was the bench coach in 2018 and ’19.
Shelton had positive things to say about the Pirates, ace Paul Skenes and rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin when Minnesota played Pittsburgh during spring training in late February, and he was reflective about his time with the Pirates this week.
“I do think that one of the things that came out of last year was I thought I got away from the attention to detail, what I thought was the attention to detail from my space,” Shelton said. “I wanted to make sure that if I ever did get the next opportunity that I would stay more on top of it and that I would build a staff that stays on top of it.”
Griffin was held out of the Pirates’ lineup on Thursday due to right forearm soreness, and Pittsburgh lost 7-2 to the Cubs.
Bradley returned Saturday from a stint on the injured list and struck out seven, walked two, and allowed one run on three hits in five innings during a win against the Boston Red Sox.
Bradley, who has never faced the Pirates, will try to flip the momentum for Minnesota. The Twins lost three of four games in a series against the host Chicago White Sox this week and have made multiple changes to their rotation due to injuries.
On Thursday, Kendry Rojas was a late scratch from his start due to what the Twins diagnosed as posterior elbow soreness in his left arm. Simeon Woods Richardson took his place and allowed five runs in 2 2/3 innings during a 6-2 loss to the White Sox.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bases-loaded walk sends Blue Jays to victory over Orioles
May 28, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Taylor Ward (3) slides into third base safely past Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (7) during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Pinch hitter Yohendrick Pinango drew a tiebreaking bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the host Baltimore Orioles 2-1 on Thursday in the first matchup of the season between the American League East teams.
The Blue Jays won their third game in a row and captured their seventh victory in a nine-game stretch.
Toronto’s Andres Gimenez and Baltimore’s Coby Mayo hit solo home runs.
The only player in the game with more than one hit was the Orioles’ Taylor Ward, who secured his second hit with a single to lead off the bottom of the eighth. He reached second base on Pete Alonso’s two-out single, but Louis Varland took over on the mound and picked off Alonso to end the frame.
Baltimore, which was coming off a three-game sweep of the AL-best Tampa Bay Rays, held an 8-6 edge in hits.
Jeff Hoffman (4-3) was the winning pitcher with one scoreless inning of relief. Varland recorded four outs for his eighth save despite yielding Leody Taveras’ one-out single in the ninth.
Baltimore reliever Anthony Nunez (2-2) walked three in his lone inning. Cameron Weston made his major league debut by pitching a scoreless ninth for the Orioles.
Blue Jays starter Patrick Corbin worked five-plus innings and gave up one run on four hits and one walk. He struck out four.
Orioles starter Chris Bassitt limited his former team to one run on four hits and one walk across six innings. He fanned two.
Gimenez led off the third inning with his sixth home run. Mayo pulled the Orioles even, also delivering his sixth long ball of the season, with two outs in the fourth.
George Springer opened the Toronto eighth with a double, and an intentional walk of Vladimir Guerrero and a walk issued to Daulton Varsho loaded the bases with one out. Kazuma Okamoto struck out before Nunez walked Pinango, sending Springer across the plate with what became the winning run.
The teams combined to go 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Arizona F Koa Peat remains in draft as 38 early entrants withdraw
Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) is defended by Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett (4) and Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) in the second half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images Forward Koa Peat, a projected first-round pick, will remain in the 2026 NBA Draft and will not return to Arizona for his sophomore season.
Peat’s decision was one of the handful still unknown before the NBA on Thursday released a list of 38 early-entry candidates who withdrew from the draft pool.
The 6-foot-8 Peat, who admitted he struggled at the NBA Draft Combine, averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists while helping to lead the Wildcats to the Big 12 regular-season and conference titles.
The Arizona native raised his game during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 17.2 points and 7.6 boards in five games as the Wildcats advanced to the Final Four before falling to Michigan.
While Peat heads to the pros, many of the early-entry candidates that withdrew will change uniforms in the college ranks as they entered the transfer portal at the same time as testing the draft waters.
Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic may be the single most sought-after player in the group, with recent reports naming Arizona, Kentucky, Louisville and St. John’s as his suitors. Ex-Kansas big man Flory Bidunga is already committed to Louisville, as is Southern California 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes.
Earlier this week, Billy Richmond III reportedly changed course at the last minute and chose to return for another year at Arkansas.
And most recently, Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou withdrew from the draft Thursday and announced his commitment to St. John’s. A five-star recruit last year, Yessoufou averaged 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the Bears as a freshman.
The list included three international players taking their names out of consideration: Bassala Bagayoko (Bilbao, Spain), Marc-Owen Fodzo Dada (Nancy, France) and Alexandros Samodurov (Panathinaikos, Greece). North Carolina is reported to have interest in Samodurov, a power forward.
Players withdrawing from draft (with 2025-26 school):
Matt Able, North Carolina State
Amari Allen, Alabama
Alijah Arenas, USC
Flory Bidunga, Kansas
Finley Bizjack, Butler
John Blackwell, Wisconsin
Shane Blakeney, Drexel
Anton Bonke, Charlotte
Rowan Brumbaugh, Tulane
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan
Rueben Chinyelu, Florida
Jacob Cofie, USC
Cruz Davis, Hofstra
Kennard Davis Jr., BYU
Keanu Dawes, Utah
Gabe Dynes, USC
Eian Elmer, Miami (Ohio)
Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State
Colby Garland, San Jose State
Juke Harris, Wake Forest
Isiah Harwell, Houston
Lou Hutchinson, Alabama A&M
Acaden Lewis, Villanova
John Mobley Jr., Ohio State
Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State
Malachi Moreno, Kentucky
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary’s
Dennis Parker Jr., Radford
Sebastian Rancik, Colorado
Billy Richmond III, Arkansas
Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois
Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt
Aiden Tobiason, Temple
LeJuan Watts, Texas Tech
Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ian Happ, Cubs down Paul Skenes, Pirates for series split
May 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (right) tags Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) out at second base attempting to stretch a single during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Ian Happ continued to shine in his hometown, collecting three hits, including a two-run homer, as the Chicago Cubs beat the host Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2 on Thursday to split a four-game series.
Happ, a Pittsburgh native who grew up in the suburbs, reached base for the 41st consecutive game at Pittsburgh. In final two games of the series, he homered in each contest and drove in eight runs.
Happ’s 12th long ball of the season highlighted Chicago’s three-run eighth inning. Seiya Suzuki had two hits and two RBIs for the Cubs, who have won back-to-back games after losing 10 in a row.
Chicago starter Colin Rea (5-3) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
It was a frustrating night for Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes (6-5), who lost his third consecutive start, the first time that has happened in his career.
Skenes struck out 10 and induced 20 swing-and-misses in 5 1/3 innings. However, some defensive miscues, including one of his own, contributed to the three runs the Cubs scored against him. Skenes was charged with only one earned run. He walked three and allowed four hits.
Skenes tried to make a defensive play that ended up costing him in the fourth inning. With a runner on first and two outs, he attempted to barehand a grounder up the middle by Happ and couldn’t come up with it in time to throw to first. Suzuki then hit a flare into short left-center for a single to score Michael Busch, who reached on a walk, giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
Two errors led to Skenes’ exit in the sixth. With one out and Busch on first following another walk, Skenes induced a grounder to third by Alex Bregman. Tyler Callihan one-hopped the throw to first, allowing Bregman to reach. Callihan, who was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, replaced Nick Gonzales at third base in the third inning after Gonzales came out because of left knee discomfort.
Happ then hit a chopper near second base. Shortstop Jared Triolo fielded the ball and bounced his throw past first base, allowing Busch to score. Mason Montgomery took over on the mound, and the Cubs added a third run on a fielder’s-choice grounder by Suzuki.
Bryan Reynolds smacked his fifth home run of the season and led the Pirates with two hits. Pittsburgh has lost two in a row after winning three straight.
–Field Level Media
Bases-loaded walk sends Blue Jays to victory over Orioles
Arizona F Koa Peat remains in draft as 38 early entrants withdraw
