Sports
Playoff-hopeful Braves look to take series from Reds
Sep 8, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; tlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches the ball against Toronto Blue Jays during second inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images The Atlanta Braves will try to improve their playoff chances when they conclude a three-game series against the host Cincinnati Reds with a Thursday matinee.
Marcell Ozuna doubled twice and hit his first home run in 27 games as Atlanta won 7-1 in the second game of the series on Wednesday. Ozuna drove in two runs to give him 100 RBIs for the season. Ozuna is now two homers shy of a second straight 40-homer, 100-RBI season.
The veteran designated hitter batted .213 with 11 homers and 22 RBIs through the first two months of the 2023 season.
Ozuna said of his subsequent success, “It means a lot. After last year, the rough start, this year started the way that I wanted and I’ve kept it (going) all year, (and) it’s been amazing and special for me.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker added, “It’s been awesome. He’s probably gonna be another 40 and 100 guy. Nobody would’ve thought that from where he started last year. I’m proud of the man, what he’s done and how he’s hung in there, and I know his teammates really appreciate him, too.”
Atlanta (82-70) remains two games behind the New York Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who sit in the final two National League wild-card spots.
“The standings, we don’t worry about it,” Ozuna said. “As a player, we don’t worry about it. We just go out there and have fun and win the game. We just have to win the game and not worry about, ‘Oh, the Phillies are 10 games (up), the Mets are one up or two up.’ Whatever they are, we just worry about winning the game. If we don’t win the game, we’re not gonna (catch) them.”
Cincinnati (74-79) was officially eliminated with its Wednesday loss to Atlanta. The Reds had playoff aspirations entering 2024 but fell far short thanks to injuries and suspensions, starting in spring training.
The team lost star infielder Matt McLain to a shoulder injury in spring training. First baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand sustained a season-ending broken hand one month into the season, center fielder TJ Friedl had three stints on the injured list, and third baseman Noelvi Marte was suspended 80 games for violating MLB’s policy prohibiting performance-enhancing substances.
In addition, four of the five pitchers who have made the most starts for Cincinnati this year are currently on the injured list.
The Reds began the season 14-10 but could never get any better. They have spent the whole second half of the season trying to reach .500. After the latest loss to the Braves, Cincinnati would have to win seven of its final nine games to reach break-even on the season.
“It doesn’t change anything for us,” manager David Bell said. “Obviously, that’s the goal, and that’s the only thing that matters. But at this point it doesn’t. That’s not going to change our approach to the rest of the games. I’m very confident seeing that with the guys we have in there, and we’ll continue to play hard like we have all year.”
The Braves will send ace left-hander Chris Sale (17-3, 2.35 ERA) to the mound in the decisive game of the series. The odds-on favorite for the National League Cy Young Award could reach the 20-win plateau if he makes three more starts and wins them all.
Sale has won seven straight decisions covering his past 13 starts since a 1-0 road loss to the Chicago White Sox on June 27.
The eight-time All-Star is facing Cincinnati for the second time in his career. He gave up one run on five hits and one run in 3 2/3 innings against the Reds for the Boston Red Sox on June 1, 2023, before leaving the game with a stress reaction in his shoulder blade and missing more than two months.
The Reds will counter with right-hander Julian Aguiar (2-0, 4.88 ERA), making the seventh start of his rookie season. Aguiar earned a road win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday, when he allowed three runs on three hits over 6 1/3 innings. He will oppose Atlanta for the first time.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Connelly Early, Red Sox handle Mariners for second straight win
Jun 20, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Boston Red Sox starter Connelly Early (71) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images Wilyer Abreu homered and Connelly Early overcame a shaky first inning to make a quality start as the Boston Red Sox defeated the host Seattle Mariners 5-1 on Saturday night.
The Red Sox have won the first two games of the series and will go for a sweep Sunday afternoon.
Early (6-5), who had lost his previous three starts, went six innings and allowed one run on two hits. The left-hander walked two and struck out seven, one shy of his season high.
Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock and Danny Coulombe each pitched a perfect inning of relief to complete the two-hitter.
The only run Early allowed came in the first inning.
Early walked leadoff hitter J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh lined a single to left field. Julio Rodriguez grounded into a forceout before Josh Naylor lined a run-scoring single to center. Rodriguez was caught on the front end of an attempted double steal, and Early struck out former teammate Rob Refsnyder to get out of the jam.
Mariners starter Emerson Hancock (5-4) retired the side in order in each of the first three innings before Anthony Seigler led off the fourth by grounding a single to left. An out later, Abreu went deep to straightaway center field to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead.
Boston extended its advantage with a three-run sixth, despite hitting just one ball out of the infield.
With one out, Masataka Yoshida lined a single to right and stole second. Abreu walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Willson Contreras reached on a base on balls to load the bases.
That was it for Hancock, as the Mariners brought in lefty Jose A. Ferrer. He got Jarren Duran to ground into a forceout to first baseman Naylor, with Yoshida thrown out at the plate. Duran just beat the throw back to first in an attempt for an inning-ending double play.
Ferrer’s wild pitch scored Abreau and advanced Duran to second and Contreras to third. Caleb Durbin hit a grounder on which shortstop Colt Emerson made a diving stop, but the rookie had no play on the infield single and Contreras scored. Marcelo Mayer then hit a high chopper to second baseman Cole Young, who likewise had no play as another run scored to make it 5-1.
Hancock was charged with five runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander walked two and fanned six.
–Field Level Media
Sports
FURIA, Team Falcons set to clash for IEM Cologne crown
Nolan Starkey, a senior at Rossville High School, plays Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Monday, April 15, 2019, in Rossville. Starkey signed his letter of intent Wednesday to play esports at Trine University in Angola, Ind.
Rossville High School Senior Signs With Trine University To Play Esports
Team Falcons and FURIA will meet in Sunday’s grand final of the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major after semifinal victories Saturday in Germany.
FURIA swept Aurora Gaming 2-0, while Team Falcons edged Team Spirit 2-1 in the other semifinal playoff. Both first-place Team Spirit and second-place FURIA had gone 3-0 in Stage 3 group play, while third-place Aurora Gaming was 3-1 as was fifth-place Team Falcons.
All four teams had advanced out of the quarterfinals, which were on Thursday and Friday.
The Counter-Strike 2 tournament with 32 entrants competing for their share of a $1.25 million prize pool began June 2 with the start of the first stage.
The field was ultimately trimmed to the final eight playoff teams through a series of three stages, where all matches were best-of-three, as were most of the playoffs. Sunday’s grand final will be best-of-five, with the winner taking home $500,000 while the runner-up settles for $170,000.
On Saturday, Team Falcons opened with a 16-14 win on Anubis before Team Spirit drew even with a 13-8 victory on Mirage. The Falcons captured the deciding map, Dust II, by a 16-12 outcome.
Nikola “NiKo” Kovac of Bosnia and Herzegovina led the Falcons with 59 kills to 52 deaths and a 1.26 rating to earn Player of the Match honors. Russian teammates Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin (60 kills, 1.18 rating) and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov (68 kills, 1.16) also contributed to the victory.
Russia’s Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov paced Team Spirit with 69 kills to 49 deaths and a 1.24 rating.
FURIA ousted Aurora Gaming, winning 13-9 on Dust II and 13-4 on Nuke.
Yuri “yuurih” Santos of Brazil was Player of the Match, pacing FURIA with a 34-19 K-D differential and 1.62 rating. Teammate Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato of Brazil posted a 29-20 K-D and 1.38 rating, while Mareks “Yekindar” Galinskis of Latvia recorded a 32-28 K-D and 1.30 rating. No Aurora Gaming players had a positive rating.
Intel Extreme Masters Cologne prize pool
1. $500,000
2. $170,000
3-4. $80,000 — Team Spirit, Aurora Gaming
5-8. $45,000 — BetBoom Team, 9z Team, Team Vitality, G2 Esports
9-11. $15,000 — Natus Vincere, FUT Esports, The MongolZ
12-14. $15,000 — MOUZ, Monte, Legacy
15-16. $15,000 — B8, PARIVISION
17-19. $10,000 — paiN Gaming, TYLOO, BIG
20-22. $10,000 — MIBR, M80, Astralis
23-24. $10,000 — GamerLegion, FlyQuest
25-27. $5,000 — Lynn Vision Gaming, NRG, Team Liquid
28-30. $5,000 — THUNDERdOWNUNDER, Sharks Esports, HEROIC
31-32. $5,000 — Gaimin Gladiators, SINNERS Esports
–Field Level Media
Sports
Curacao keeper Eloy Room delivers 'unbelievable' performance vs. Ecuador
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group E – Ecuador v Curacao – Kansas City Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. – June 20, 2026 Curacao’s Eloy Room celebrates after the match Tim Howard, a United States men’s national team legend, stands alone in World Cup history with his 16-save performance in the Americans’ 2-1 Round of 16 loss to Belgium in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
But he may have been a bit worried on Saturday night, when Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room made 15 saves in a scoreless draw against Ecuador Saturday night in Kansas City to earn Curacao’s first-ever World Cup point.
At least Room hopes so.
“A little bit annoyed that I don’t have the record from Tim Howard, but I think he was sweating in front of the TV because I was close,” Room quipped in his press conference after the match.
In some ways, Room made history in the match. His 15 saves are the most in a World Cup match by a goalkeeper who kept a clean sheet. It’s also a record for a 90-minute match, with Howard’s performance coming in a 120-minute extra-time match.
The fact that it came just one match after Room made four saves on 12 shots on net in Curacao’s 7-1 opening loss to Germany in Houston makes it that much more unbelievable.
“I think I need a statue in Curacao now,” Room said.
According to some statkeeping websites, Room actually tied the record. FIFA’s total of 16 saves by Howard is not a consensus tally.
That discrepancy doesn’t seem to be affecting how Room views the game whatsoever.
“It’s going to be an insane memory,” Room said. “You don’t think about it when you do it but of course it’s going to be something you look back to. For me as a goalkeeper, this is almost a perfect game.
” … It’s unbelievable. And I cannot do it alone. I did it with the team and my defenders and the midfielders, strikers. We did it as a team.”
While Howard played for Everton in the Premier League when he delivered his historic performance, Room has never reached those heights. The 37-year-old Netherlands native came up through a few Dutch academies and squads before settling with the Columbus Crew, with whom he won the 2020 MLS Cup.
Now, though, he’s not even in the top-level American league, playing for Miami FC in the USL Championship.
Up next, a chance for Curacao, the smallest nation in population and size to ever qualify for the World Cup, to punch a ticket to the knockout stage if they can beat Ivory Coast in Philadelphia on June 25.
–Field Level Media
Connelly Early, Red Sox handle Mariners for second straight win
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