Sports
Rays end losing streak, shut down struggling Jays
Jul 20, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Nick Martinez (28) delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images Victor Mesa Jr., Cedric Mullins and Nick Fortes socked solo home runs Monday night and the visiting Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-1.
Junior Caminero was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and two RBIs in the opener of a four-game series to support Nick Martinez, who pitched six effective innings.
Martinez (9-2) allowed one run, six hits and one walk with no strikeouts to help Tampa Bay go to 6-1 against Toronto this season.
Helped by three Toronto errors, the Rays snapped a five-game losing streak and are 1-4 on their eight-game road trip. Toronto is 1-3 on a six-game homestand and fell 11 1/2 games behind the first-place Rays in the American League East.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead against Dylan Cease (6-5) with one out in the second when Mesa Jr. homered for the third straight game, belting a 2-2 sinker to center.
Tampa Bay scored again in the third. Taylor Walls led off the third with a double to right and moved to third on Cease’s errant pickoff throw. Jonathan Aranda grounded a single to right past a drawn-in second baseman Ernie Clement.
Toronto cut the lead to 2-1 when George Springer singled, stole second and scored on Alejandro Kirk’s two-out single to right.
The Rays scored two unearned runs in the fifth. Fortes reached first base on third baseman Kazuma Okamoto’s throwing error, took second on Walls’ sacrifice bunt and scored when shortstop Andres Gimenez committed an error on Yandy Diaz’s grounder. Diaz stole second and sprinted home on Caminero’s single to left.
Mullins led off the sixth with a homer to center on a first-pitch knuckle curve.
Cease allowed five runs (three earned), seven hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in six innings.
Braydon Fisher replaced Cease in the seventh and allowed a run on an infield hit by Diaz and a two-out RBI double by Caminero to center.
Cam Booser replaced Martinez and pitched a perfect seventh.
Fortes homered to left-center on a 2-1 slider to lead off the ninth against Brendon Little.
Tampa Bay’s Bryan Baker worked around a walk and a single in the bottom of the ninth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Royals acquire RHP Nate Pearson from Astros
Jun 26, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Nate Pearson (55) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the sixth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images The Kansas City Royals acquired Nate Pearson from the Houston Astros on Wednesday in exchange for fellow right-hander Max Martin.
Pearson, 29, was designated for assignment by Houston on Sunday after going 1-0 with one save and a 3.60 ERA in 16 relief appearances this season.
He is 10-6 with four saves and a 4.99 ERA in 139 career games (six starts) with the Toronto Blue Jays (2020-21, 2023-24), Chicago Cubs (2024-25) and Astros.
Martin, 22, is 6-2 with a 2.01 ERA in 26 relief appearances across two Class A levels this season. Kansas City drafted him in the 10th round in 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Scottie Scheffler ready to tackle 3M Open for first time
Jul 18, 2026; Southport, ENG; Scottie Scheffler plays his shot from the second tee during the third round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Competing in the 3M Open for the first time this week, Scottie Scheffler fielded nearly as many questions about Minnesota’s NFL team as he did about the golf tournament.
The World No. 1 met with reporters at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn., after playing in Wednesday morning’s pro-am with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
“This might be my first time in Minnesota. I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually been to this state before,” said Scheffler, who is coming off a T4 finish at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Scheffler said he added the 3M Open to his calendar this year because he didn’t want to take time off with the PGA Tour playoffs starting next month.
“This was a tournament that I had heard a lot of good things about and so far everything seems true,” he said. “The people have been tremendous, the fans have been really nice to me so far and the tournament seems to do a really good job just taking care of everybody.”
Even though he’s a football fan, Scheffler said he tried not to pump McConnell for information.
“I love the NFL,” Scheffler said. “I wasn’t going to just start hammering him with questions about football. He’s about to start the season so he’s going to be thinking about football for quite a long period of time, but we did a little bit.
“Yeah, he seemed like a really nice guy. You can tell why he’s such a good coach, seemed very smart. I got to ask him a few questions and he told me some stuff. It was definitely very fun for me to be able to spend some time with him. Like I said, I love the NFL and I’m fascinated by what they’re able to do, especially the head coach. I think in football it’s easily the most important position on the team. I mean he’s got to handle a lot of different personalities and the X’s and O’s. He was definitely an impressive guy to be able to talk to and spend some time with.”
Scheffler was asked he if he had any advice for O’Connell on the X’s and O’s of golf.
“He actually moved it pretty well and hit some really nice shots,” Scheffler said. “I think any advice I give him now will surely be wasted because he’s probably not going to see the golf course for the next six months or so, and hopefully a deep postseason run for them.”
Scheffler, 30, is looking for his first win since The American Express in January.
He said the golf course “has a decent amount of length to it” and the biggest challenge will be keeping the ball in play off the tee.
“There’s some pretty long par 4s and a good amount of water, and so when the rough is up like that there’s going to be a premium I think on hitting fairways,” he said. “When you’re in play, you’re going to get some scorable clubs on some certain holes. And the green are fairly big, so if you’re in the fairway, things are going to be a lot easier for you. Once you start hitting in the rough it could be tough to get on the greens in two.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Azzi Fudd lone rookie to compete in WNBA 3-point contest
Jul 20, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd (35) warms up before the game against the New York Liberty at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images Rookie Azzi Fudd is accustomed to being in the national limelight after winning an NCAA championship with UConn in 2025 and being drafted No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings last April.
On Friday night in Chicago, Fudd will be back in the spotlight as one of six WNBA players participating in the 3-Point Contest during All-Star weekend festivities.
Also competing is Atlanta Dream star Rhyne Howard, who, like Fudd, was a rookie the first time she took part in 2022. Rounding out the field are Marina Mabrey of the Toronto Tempo, Bridget Carleton of the Portland Fire, Natisha Hiedeman of the Seattle Storm, and Janelle Salaun of the Golden State Valkyries.
Only Mabrey and Howard have competed in the past.
Defending champion Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty declined to take part.
The 3-point contest is a two-round event, with all six players getting their turn in the first round. The championship round will be the top two finishers only.
The contest is set to start at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, and it will be televised by ESPN. The All-Star Game will be played Saturday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Game time is 8:30 p.m.
–Field Level Media
Royals acquire RHP Nate Pearson from Astros
Scottie Scheffler ready to tackle 3M Open for first time
