Sports
Pitching duel in spotlight as Yankees, A's meet
Aug 30, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher JP Sears (38) pitches against the Texas Rangers in the third inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images A repeat of one of the season’s strong pitchers’ duels provides the marquee matchup Saturday night when Carlos Rodon and the New York Yankees continue their road series against JP Sears and the Oakland Athletics.
Needing a win to stay four games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles atop the American League East, the Yankees (90-64) rode a brilliant pitching performance by Gerrit Cole and a triumphant appearance by the injured Juan Soto to a 4-2, 10-inning win in the series opener.
The win, coupled with the presence of the left-handed Sears, could prompt Yankees manager Aaron Boone to keep Soto out of the lineup for a second straight day Saturday. Boone admitted to being “cautious” when electing to scratch his MVP candidate on Friday because of a bruised knee, and he made no assurances Soto would be seen as anything more than a pinch hitter until 100 percent healthy.
Soto suffered the injury when sliding into the wall in foul territory in Seattle on Thursday while chasing a fly ball. He had X-rays on Friday that were negative.
“You’ve got to be cautious there,” Boone said of Friday’s lineup. “Just everyone felt it was the best thing to hold him out.”
Soto is listed as day-to-day.
New York leads the season series 3-2.
The Yankees won two of three when the A’s visited New York in April. Oakland’s only win came in the series opener when Sears (11-11, 4.24) and Rodon (15-9, 4.12) both left a scoreless game that turned into a 2-0 triumph by the A’s.
Rodon allowed just one hit and two walks over his seven innings in arguably his best outing of the season. He has been effective in his career against the A’s, going 4-1 with a 2.68 ERA in seven starts.
Rodon didn’t get much support from his offense or his bullpen in the April 22 meeting. The only runs of the game came on a Zack Gelof home run off Victor Gonzalez in the ninth.
Sears matched zeroes with Rodon for six innings, allowing three hits. The former Yankee has never beaten his old team, going 0-3 with a 5.48 ERA in four starts.
The matchup of left-handers features pitchers looking to extend season-bests in wins.
Rodon won a 15th game for the first time in his career in his most recent start, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 5-2 home win over the Boston Red Sox last Sunday. The scheduled start against the A’s will be his 31st of the season, tying a career-high for starts.
Sears, meanwhile, has equaled his previous two-year career win total. He debuted with the Yankees in 2022, going 3-0, before getting dealt to the A’s in a six-player deadline deal that featured Frankie Montas going from Oakland to New York.
The A’s (67-87) expect another big gathering for Saturday’s rematch, with just five games remaining at the Oakland Coliseum before the team moves to its temporary home of Sacramento next season as they wait for their new ballpark in Las Vegas to be built.
Friday’s game drew one of their biggest crowds of the season — 23,426 — for the series opener, and A’s manager Mark Kotsay walked away proud that his players had put up a good fight against the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner.
“Good baseball game. We played good,” he said. “We couldn’t get anything going against Cole. We’re not the first team who couldn’t get anything going against Cole.”
-Field Level Media
Sports
Kerry Carpenter's double propels Tigers past White Sox
Jun 19, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox in the second inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images Kerry Carpenter had a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning and the host Detroit Tigers held on for a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Matt Vierling hit a two-run homer and Dillon Dingler supplied three hits and scored two runs for the Tigers.
Detroit ace Tarik Skubal allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Skubal, who recorded eight strikeouts, was making his second start since undergoing a surgical procedure on his pitching elbow.
Drew Anderson (3-3) struck out three in 1 1/3 innings of relief to get the win. Kenley Jensen pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
Junior Perez had the first two hits of his career, including a solo homer, for the White Sox. Randal Grichuk also homered.
Erick Fedde (2-6) gave up two runs in 4 2/3 innings for Chicago, striking out four and walking one.
Grichuk, the second batter of the game, drove a 1-2 changeup over the left-field wall to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. The Tigers answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Dingler smacked a single before Vierling drove a Brandon Eisert fastball over the left-center-field wall. Eisert was used as an opener, allowing the two runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Kevin McGonigle led off the bottom of the third with a double, but Fedde retired the next three batters to leave him stranded.
Chicago pushed across a run in the fifth to tie the score.
Sam Antonacci and Luisangel Acuna led off with singles to put runners on the corners. Tristan Peters hit into a fielder’s choice as Antonacci scored. Miguel Vargas singled and Grichuk walked to load the bases. Peters was thrown out at home on Chase Meidroth’s groundout and Colson Montgomery struck out, leaving the score at 2-all.
Perez gave the White Sox the lead on his breakthrough homer with one out in the sixth. He drove a Skubal changeup over the left-center-field wall.
Detroit regained the lead at 4-3 in the bottom of the frame. Dingler led off with a single and Riley Greene drew a one-out walk. With two down, Carpenter blooped a double to center to bring in both runners
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Big 12 keeps Brendan Sorsby lawsuit active amid draft questions
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby goes through warmups before the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Big 12 is not ready to close the book on the Brendan Sorsby case, even after the Texas Tech quarterback moved to leave college football behind.
The conference’s presidents and chancellors have not withdrawn the federal lawsuit filed earlier this week, with lingering questions about Sorsby’s NFL future and whether Texas Tech could still face consequences from the legal fight, a Big 12 source told ESPN. The league’s board of directors is expected to meet early next week to discuss its options.
“We don’t know the answer to those questions,” the source said. “We haven’t done anything different at this point. We’re going to reconvene next week to run through all the options. Right now that case is still active.”
The Big 12 filed suit Monday in the Northern District of Texas, looking for a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief that would allow the conference to use its bylaws to potentially discipline Sorsby. Hours later, Sorsby moved toward the NFL supplemental draft and dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA, a step needed for him to be declared ineligible in college by Monday’s deadline.
Sorsby admitted to violating NCAA rules by placing thousands of bets, including 40 on Indiana football while he was on the Hoosiers’ roster. The NFL still has to approve his application for the supplemental draft, which has not produced a selected player since 2019.
The Big 12 could also revisit whether Texas Tech should be responsible for the costs associated with the dispute. One Big 12 athletic director said the issue is less about punishment and more about whether the entire league should absorb legal fees from a case that other schools did not start..
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brazil's Raphinha (leg) departs match vs. Haiti
June 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.; Brazil’s Raphinha in action with Haiti’s Martin Experience. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — Brazil attacker Raphinha departed in the 40th minute of Friday night’s World Cup Group C clash against Haiti in Philadelphia with an apparent leg injury.
The 29-year-old FC Barcelona winger was making his second start of the tournament for manager Carlo Ancelotti after going the full 90 in a 1-1 draw against Morocco last Saturday.
He was a critical part of Brazil’s most recent qualifying effort, scoring five of the Selecao’s 24 goals while appearing in 13 of their 18 matches.
It was unclear what caused him to drop to his haunches shortly before halftime and eventually exit in favor of Rayan. He departed with his side leading 2-0 through Matheus Cunha’s brace, before Vinicius Junior added a third in first-half stoppage time.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Kerry Carpenter's double propels Tigers past White Sox
Report: Big 12 keeps Brendan Sorsby lawsuit active amid draft questions
