Sports
Rangers aim to close season with sweep of Angels
Aug 23, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images While the Texas Rangers are wrapping up their seventh losing season in eight years, they can take solace in small victories such as grinding out a comeback victory in the ninth inning and seeing a young player get the key hit.
Following one of their more dramatic wins of a challenging season, the Rangers will attempt to finish a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels when the American League West foes conclude the season Sunday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.
The Rangers (77-84) never got going this season, and although they are a respectable 21-16 in their past 37 games, this improved stretch is following a span of 16 losses in 21 games to essentially knock the defending World Series champions out of postseason contention.
One thing Texas has done well of late is beat the Angels. Texas has won eight of 12 meetings and 12 of the past 18. The Rangers secured a road-series win over the Angels on Saturday by storming back for a 9-8 victory with four runs in the ninth inning.
Nathaniel Lowe homered and hit an RBI double before capping an 11-pitch plate appearance with a bases-loaded walk in the ninth. He scored the tie-breaking run on a throwing error by Los Angeles rookie right fielder Gustavo Campero on a two-run, game-tying single by pinch hitter Jonathan Ornelas.
“They’ve done a great job of continuing to play,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “We got down pretty good there, and they just kept fighting. It was a very entertaining game. It was sloppy on both sides at times.”
The Rangers lost Adolis Garcia to a sore knee, and the right fielder will miss Sunday’s game. Garcia hit .224 with 25 homers and 85 RBIs in 154 games.
The Angels (63-98) are skidding to the finish of the worst season in team history. After finishing with 73 wins in Shohei Ohtani’s final season with the team, Los Angeles has lost five games in a row, is 1-8 in its past nine contests, and is 12-34 since taking two of three from the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium last month.
Long before his costly throwing error, Campero hit a three-run homer for his first career home run in the third. Niko Kavadas also homered and Logan O’Hoppe had four hits on Saturday, but the Angels had just three of their 13 hits after the fourth inning.
“They’re feeling the heat,” manager Ron Washington said. “They’re feeling the pressure. You can see it. There’s really no reason to. I can say that, because I’m not between the lines. But those guys between the lines, you can see it.”
Nathan Eovaldi (11-8, 3.96 ERA) will start for Texas on Sunday, though it could be an abbreviated outing. The right-hander allowed four runs in seven innings during a no-decision at Oakland on Tuesday — the Rangers lost 5-4 — and he is 0-3 with a 7.56 ERA over his past three outings after winning three straight starts from Aug. 23-Sept. 4.
Eovaldi is 4-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 13 career appearances (11 starts) against the Angels.
Rookie Jack Kochanowicz (2-5, 4.01 ERA), who is 2-3 with a 2.63 ERA in his past eight starts, will start for the Angels. The right-hander produced his second career scoreless outing when he allowed three hits in seven innings and got 14 outs on the ground Tuesday in a no-decision, a 3-2 Angels loss to the host Chicago White Sox.
Kochanowicz’s only career start against Texas was Sept. 5, when he allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings of a 3-1 loss.
–Field Level Media
Sports
With Michael Conforto waiting, Cubs vie to take rubber game from Tigers
Jul 21, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hitter Michael Conforto (20) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs have been getting instant offense off the bench from Michael Conforto, who hit his MLB-leading fourth pinch-hit home run of the season in an 11-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
Conforto is an outfielder by trade but has had to carve out a bench role because Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki are entrenched as starters.
Conforto already has tied the franchise single-season record for pinch-hit homers, set by Glenallen Hill in 1999, and hopes to be involved in the decisive contest of a three-game series against visiting Detroit on Wednesday night.
“All year, it feels like (Michael’s) biggest hits have been pinch hits,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “I don’t know if there’s any blueprint for it, but Michael has done a fabulous job at it. You feel like it’s a real weapon to have somebody like that.”
Wednesday’s matchup will be the rubber game of the series after Detroit won 8-6 in 10 innings on Monday and the Cubs took Tuesday’s game.
Colin Rea (7-6, 4.74 ERA) will start for Chicago on Wednesday. The right-hander snapped a two-start winning streak in his last appearance on Friday, allowing four runs (three earned) in six innings as the Cubs lost 5-2 to Minnesota.
Rea is 0-1 with a lifetime 6.43 ERA vs. Detroit in three appearances (one start).
Right-hander Keider Montero (6-5, 3.22 ERA) will start for Detroit on Wednesday. He has been used as a reliever throughout July after making starts in 15 of his first 16 appearances this season, but Montero is moving back into the rotation.
He got a win in his most recent outing, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief as the Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on Friday.
Montero has faced the Cubs once, on June 7, 2025. Serving as the bulk reliever on a bullpen day, he gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings and didn’t figure into the decision.
Montero has gone an inning-plus in every relief appearance he’s made this month. A versatile pitcher such as Montero gives Detroit manager A.J. Hinch extra flexibility as the team is in a stretch of playing 13 games in 13 days.
“I’ve always said when I pitch (Montero), I’m going to pitch him a lot,” Hinch told the Detroit Free Press.
“When you see him go out for a second inning or a third inning or a fourth inning, part of that is competitive and strategic. The other part of it is to keep him stretched out to where it doesn’t disrupt his volume.”
Montero’s ability to ease back into the rotation quickly took on even greater importance after the Tigers were forced to place Jack Flaherty (right flexor inflammation) on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday. Flaherty reported discomfort after throwing four innings in the series opener the day before.
Hinch explained the decision to put Flaherty on the IL after Tuesday’s game.
“It wasn’t a clear-cut IL (decision) when we woke up this morning,” Hinch told reporters. “And then as the day went on and the more opinion we got, the more we realized he wasn’t going to pitch in five or six days.”
Flaherty has made 19 starts for Detroit this season, going 3-8 with a 4.59 ERA.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Heat: Link for LeBron James presser posted by mistake
Nov 5, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) reacts after making a basket against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Heat beat the Raptors 104-95. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images The Miami Heat said a live-stream link titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” was posted by mistake to the team’s YouTube channel.
The post, which included the date July 27, was later deleted. A team spokesperson told ESPN on Tuesday night that the club’s social media department had been preparing for the possibility of the superstar forward rejoining the Heat and errantly published the link.
James, 41, who won two NBA championships in four seasons with Miami from 2010-14, is a free agent for the first time since 2018 after announcing last month that he would not re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Potential landing spots for the league’s all-time leading scorer other than Miami reportedly include the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers (another former team) and the Golden State Warriors.
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games with the Lakers in 2025-26. The four-time NBA champion owns career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in a record 1,622 games over 23 seasons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spurs C Victor Wembanyama to grace NBA 2K27 cover
Dec 27, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after scoring during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Spurs star Victor Wembanyama will grace the cover of the NBA 2K27 video game, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
The 7-foot-4 center powered San Antonio to the 2026 NBA Finals, with the Spurs falling to the New York Knicks in five games last month.
In his third NBA season, Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-leading 3.1 blocks.
Previous cover athletes in the NBA 2K series have included Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Jayson Tatum.
Wembanyama, 22, is the third Spurs player to make the cover of at least one version of the game, joining Tony Parker (NBA 2K16, French version) and Pau Gasol (NBA 2K17, Spanish version).
–Field Level Media
With Michael Conforto waiting, Cubs vie to take rubber game from Tigers
Heat: Link for LeBron James presser posted by mistake
