Sports
Rangers' goal-scoring run gets tested against Panthers
Oct 22, 2024; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; New York Rangers center Filip Chytil (72) celebrates with center Adam Edstrom and center Sam Carrick (39) his goal scored in hte first period against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images Five months ago, the New York Rangers scored 12 goals against the Florida Panthers and lost the Eastern Conference finals in six games.
In the early portion of another season with high expectations, the goals that could not be consistently produced are occurring frequently. The Rangers attempt to maintain their high-scoring ways Thursday night when they host the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers.
New York scored 35 goals in 10 games in the first two playoff rounds against the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes before encountering difficulties against Florida’s defense and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. The Rangers were blanked in the series opener and scored five times in the final three games after taking a two games to one lead.
After not making any major moves for a roster which claimed the President’s Trophy and scored the seventh-most goals last season, the Rangers are off to a 5-0-1 start. They have scored 31 goals, including 24 at even strength.
New York is on its longest point streak to start a season in team history and is the first team with 31 goals through the first six games since the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils in 1993-94.
The Rangers return home on a four-game winning streak since an overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club in its home opener on Oct. 12. New York outscored the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens 16-5 during the road trip.
The latest big night occurred in Tuesday’s 7-2 rout at Montreal when the Rangers scored four goals in the opening 11:05 while defenseman Ryan Lindgren made his season debut after sitting out with an upper-body injury. Six players scored as Filip Chytil tallied twice and 12 players finished with at least one point.
Kaappo Kakko scored and collected two assists while Braden Schneider, Jonny Brodzinski, Reilly Smith and Mika Zibanejad also scored. Artemi Panarin collected an assist and has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in a season-opening six-game points streak.
“We got a lot out of all the lines right from the drop of the puck,” New York coach Peter Laviolette said “(It was) maybe the best team win of the year. I thought consistency from all lines just going over the boards was really good.”
The defending champions are starting a trip that culminates with two games against the Dallas Stars in Finland next week. Florida has scored 24 goals so far but also been held to two goals or fewer in four games.
The latest instance was a 5-1 loss to the visiting Minnesota Wild on Tuesday when Panthers players and coach Paul Maurice felt the effort was lacking. Florida allowed two goals in a span of 22 seconds in the first period and then two in a span of 2:07 in the second after Sam Bennett scored his fifth goal this season on a night when Bobrovsky was pulled from the net and remained one shy of his 400th career win.
Florida took the loss despite conceding a season-low 22 shots on goal as its offense generated 25 shots, marking the fifth time it was held under 30 shots on goal.
“There is an emotional level you have to get to, to play the way we play, or to play well in an NHL game and we were not there,” Maurice said “When you have a game that across the board, your best players were not your best players, the coach didn’t get them right. … We weren’t anywhere near where we needed to be.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Franchise-worst skid over, Marlins shoot for another win over Phillies
Jul 27, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Griffin Conine (18) celebrates his wining hit against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Griffin Conine and the Miami Marlins will look to build off a rare victory when they continue their home series with the scuffling Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
Miami had lost 12 straight games — a franchise record — before rallying to stun Philadelphia on Monday in the series opener. The Marlins trailed 7-5 entering the ninth inning before plating three runs against Phillies All-Star closer Jhoan Duran, capped by Conine’s walk-off hit.
“I think it was just believing the whole time that we could win this game,” Conine said after his first career game-ending hit.
Conine supplied a homer earlier in the game, while Heriberto Hernandez homered in addition to delivering the game-tying two-run single in the ninth inning.
“Everybody feels good,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said. “It’s no lie. Everybody in the building has been grinding hard for a couple of weeks. … Certainly it feels great to get a win.”
Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer for Philadelphia, while J.T. Realmuto also drove in two runs. Zack Wheeler lasted just three innings — his shortest start of the season — and allowed a season-worst five runs.
“That was a weird game in that they got to two of our very best pitchers,” said Realmuto, whose team is just 3-7 since the All-Star break.
Miami will look to continue the momentum behind right-hander Sandy Alcantara (10-6, 4.01 ERA), who absorbed a loss Wednesday against the Houston Astros. The former National League Cy Young Award winner gave up five runs and nine hits in seven-plus innings in that game, although he didn’t get much run support in the 5-2 defeat.
“He was fantastic,” McCullough said. “I thought he was in control most of the night. He had a very efficient pitch count. He really moved things along well after the first couple of innings. I hate how things went down there (when Alcantara allowed three runs in the eighth), but I thought he threw the ball fantastic.”
The Marlins have scored a total of five runs in Alcantara’s past three outings.
Alcantara is 7-11 with a 3.84 ERA in 23 career starts against the Phillies. He faced Philadelphia once this season and allowed four runs (two earned) in six innings in a 12-4 win on June 17.
The Phillies will turn to right-hander Aaron Nola (3-8, 5.82), who has not won a game since May 26, going 0-4 with a 5.92 ERA in 10 starts. He is 0-3 with a 5.01 ERA in four starts this month, although he has generally been solid in July aside from giving up five runs in 5 1/3 innings on Wednesday against the Dodgers.
Nola gave up two home runs vs. Los Angeles and has surrendered six homers over his last three starts and 14 in his past eight outings.
“When I have gone out the sixth and seventh, I’ve been hurt by the long ball,” Nola said. “I’ve struggled with the long ball this year, which I’ve got to be better at.”
Nola is 6-12 with a 3.59 ERA in 26 lifetime starts against Miami. He faced the Marlins on May 4 and worked six scoreless innings in a 1-0 triumph.
Philadelphia holds a 5-3 lead in the season series with Miami.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Troy Melton, opposing Orioles, attempts to end Tigers' skid
Jul 17, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Troy Melton (52) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images Dean Kremer gave up a season-high six runs in his latest start. The Baltimore Orioles right-hander will try to turn things around in the second contest of a three-game road series against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.
Kremer gave up four of those runs in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday but managed to hang around for six innings.
“It was a grindy performance by Dean,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “They did a great job of having some really tough at-bats against him, being able to move the ball forward and fight off some tough pitches and get some hits, and then the pitches that were out over the plate, they did damage on. But Dean grinded through and gave us six.”
Kremer (1-3, 5.06 ERA) was making his fourth start since missing 2 1/2 months due to a quad injury. He went 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA in the prior three outings.
Kremer, 30, lost both of his starts against the Tigers last season, allowing nine runs in 12 2/3 innings. He has a 0-3 record and a 7.13 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against Detroit.
Troy Melton (5-1, 1.95 ERA) will be Kremer’s mound opponent. The 25-year-old right-hander has surrendered two runs or fewer in nine of his 10 starts this season.
He dealt with control issues in his past two starts, walking four each time. Melton threw 90 pitches to get through five-plus innings against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, but he allowed just two runs on five hits.
Melton made his season debut against Baltimore on May 24 after recovering from an elbow injury. In his lone career outing against the Orioles, he permitted one run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings while walking three and fanning three.
The Tigers won’t be able to stack as many left-handed batters as they would like against Kremer. Outfielder Kerry Carpenter was placed on the injured list on Monday due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
Carpenter had 26 homers in 130 games in 2025 and 13 long balls through the end of June this season. Battling a heel issue, Carpenter had no extra-base hits or RBIs in 52 July at-bats while batting .115.
Right-handed-hitting Eduardo Valencia was called up from Triple-A Toledo to take Carpenter’s spot on the active roster.
“It’s always a balance act,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’ve seen Hao-Yu Lee (a right-handed hitter) step up against right-handed pitching and not be as much of a platoon decision for us in his role. And there are things we can changes series by series if we need to.”
The Orioles took the series opener 8-5 on Monday thanks in large part to the production of Coby Mayo and Jackson Holliday. Mayo hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs. Holliday delivered a four-hit game and scored twice for Baltimore, which has alternated losses and wins for six games.
The Tigers have dropped three straight games. The margin of victory on Monday marked the first time in five games that a Detroit outcome wasn’t decided by a single run.
Lee, who drove in two runs on Monday, will carry a 12-game hitting streak into the Tuesday contest.
–Field Level Media
Sports
D-backs' Brandon Pfaadt strives to extend torrid run in clash vs. Pirates
Jul 23, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (32) throws against St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Blaze Jordan (33) during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt has done nothing but win since rejoining the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rotation last month.
With five wins in five starts since late June, Pfaadt will return to the mound Tuesday night as the Diamondbacks vie to snap a three-game skid in a matchup against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
Pfaadt (5-1, 4.43 ERA) will oppose Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler (3-8, 4.47) as the Diamondbacks enter the game tied with Pittsburgh for the National League’s final wild-card spot.
On Monday, Arizona squandered a 2-0 lead and a strong start from Merrill Kelly, who gave up no earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in the team’s 3-2 loss in 10 innings. The Diamondbacks’ three consecutive defeats followed a stretch of 10 wins in 12 games.
Pfaadt has a 2.33 ERA in 27 innings in his past five starts. He has only 14 strikeouts but has induced 48 ground-ball outs and has walked only three batters during that span.
Pfaadt is 1-0 with a 6.06 ERA in three career starts vs. Pittsburgh.
In his most recent outing, Pfaadt overcame a rough start on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals last Thursday when he gave up two runs in the first inning before recording an out. He didn’t allow another run and exited after six innings, allowing seven hits and two walks, with only one strikeout, in a 10-6 victory.
Pfaadt, who has relied on his success pitching to contact, beat the Cardinals five days earlier at home, 5-3.
“It’s always tough when you face a team back-to-back times, and we knew that going in,” Pfaadt said. “I think to get out of that [first inning] was huge.”
Meanwhile, the Pirates’ bullpen, which has struggled this season, showed the resolve it will need if Pittsburgh is to end an 10-year postseason drought. Four relievers combined to throw 4 2/3 scoreless innings on Monday, capped by Mason Montgomery’s scoreless 10th inning. Montgomery worked his way out of a jam that had runners on second and third base with one out.
“We understand what we can do here in the clubhouse,” Brandon Lowe told Sportsnet Pittsburgh after the game. “We want everybody here to be excited about it as well. We’re ready to win a lot of ballgames.”
Lowe had three hits, including the game-winning single in the 10th inning, on Monday.
Chandler is coming off his best outing of the season last Wednesday, when he threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the New York Yankees. He struck out five, walked none and gave up only two hits, but the Pirates lost 2-0.
Chandler’s outing was a welcome sight, though, for the Pirates, who have seen their rookie right-hander struggle with walks this season.
Chandler walked the first batter he faced against the Yankees but recovered quickly.
“I figured out what I wanted to do,” he said. “Everything kind of fell into place after that. It was a good day.”
Chandler struggled in his only career start against Arizona on May 5. He walked six batters that day, struck out four and allowed two runs over five innings in a game the Diamondbacks won 9-0.
–Field Level Media
