Sports
Rays pitcher Griffin Jax backed by powerful lineup against Twins
Apr 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Griffin Jax throws as Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin steals second during the sixth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images Looking for a way to get right-handed reliever Griffin Jax back on track, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash is starting him against the team that traded him last summer, the visiting Minnesota Twins, in their series finale on Sunday.
Jax was one of the American League’s top setup relievers when he was obtained on July 31 for starter Taj Bradley. But Jax is off to a slow start this season (1-2, 8.00 ERA), allowing six earned runs in seven innings pitched in April, and has allowed at least one earned run in two of his last three appearances.
It will be the second time Jax has faced his old team. He pitched two shutout innings of relief in a 4-1 win over the Twins in Minneapolis on April 5, allowing two hits and a walk.
Right-hander Jesse Scholtens (1-1, 2.93) will handle the bulk role as the Rays go for the series sweep and their fourth straight win.
Scholtens is 0-3 with a 9.64 ERA in three career appearances (one start) against Minnesota, all of which came in the 2023 season with a Chicago White Sox team that lost 101 games.
Scholtens made the start in a 6-1 loss to Cincinnati on Monday and allowed five runs, including a two-run homer to Sal Stewart in the first inning, on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
The Twins, who have lost four straight games and eight of their last nine, will start right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (0-3, 5.96), who is 0-0 with a 3.31 ERA in three career starts against the Rays.
Woods Richardson will try and cool down a Tampa Bay offense that has hit five home runs in the first two games of the series, all of which have traveled more than 400 feet.
Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda both belted two home runs in Friday’s 6-2 victory, with one of Caminero’s landing over the batter’s eye in center field and measuring a career-long 450 feet.
Jake Fraley hit a two-run shot 401 feet to right-center off Bailey Ober in the fourth inning to highlight Saturday’s 6-1 victory.
“This lineup is dynamic,” Fraley said. “If we’re having trouble driving the baseball, we’re able to lean on ‘small ball’ a little bit. We’ve got a lot of guys in the lineup that are able to do it well. And then these last two games, we were able to put it in the stands.”
Left-hander Shane McClanahan, who has missed the last two seasons due to Tommy John and left triceps surgeries, picked up his first win at Tropicana Field since 2023, allowing three hits and striking out seven over five shutout innings.
“I was happy for him,” Cash said of the two-time All-Star. “Want to see that continue to build. We all know how special Shane can be in our rotation, and he’s working hard to get to that point. Today was another good step for him.”
The Twins, who have been outscored 25-13 in their last four games, wasted a quality start by Ober, who allowed two runs on three hits over six innings. Reliever Taylor Rogers was roughed up for three runs in the seventh without registering an out. Jonny DeLuca greeted him with a leadoff pinch-hit double into the left field corner and Ben Williamson followed with an RBI triple to the wall in left-center. Rogers then walked Cedric Mullins with a pitch to end his appearance.
Minnesota batters were just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Royce Lewis broke up the shutout with two outs in the ninth with a bloop single to center, driving in Luke Keaschall, who had been hit by a pitch.
“We’re not worried about this group,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “It’s the ebbs and flows of baseball.”
Despite the recent rough stretch, the Twins are third in the American League Central, just 2 1/2 games behind the first place Cleveland Guardians.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Duke F Cameron Boozer declares for NBA Draft
Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) dunks March 21, 2026 during the second half of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round East Region game with TCU at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Standout Duke freshman Cameron Boozer, the 2025-26 Naismith National Player of the Year, declared for the 2026 NBA Draft Friday night.
He announced the news on his Instagram account with the caption, “Thank you for everything @dukeuniversity. Duke Blue forever.”
The son of former Duke star Carlos Boozer, Cameron Boozer was second in the Atlantic Coast Conference and ninth nationally with 22.5 points per game, led the conference with 10.2 rebounds per game and tacked on 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 38 games.
He was a first-team All American and is projected as a top-three pick in this summer’s draft alongside BYU forward AJ Dybantsa and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, who also both declared for the draft this week.
His twin brother, Cayden, announced he’s returning to Duke for his sophomore season after averaging 7.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds as a freshman.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Inter Miami take another swing at first win in new stadium vs. Revs
Apr 22, 2026; Sandy, Utah, USA; Inter Miami CF midfielder Lionel Messi (10) plays the ball against Real Salt Lake during the first half at America First Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will seek a third consecutive victory, and the first in their new home, when they host the New England Revolution on Saturday night.
After settling for 2-2 draws against Austin FC and the New York Red Bulls in the first two matches played at Nu Stadium, manager Javier Mascherano suddenly resigned and sporting director Guillermo Hoyos took over on an interim basis.
The Herons (5-1-3, 18 points) then hit the road for a 3-2 win at Colorado last Saturday night and 2-0 victory at Salt Lake on Wednesday evening.
Messi scored his team-leading sixth and seventh goals against Colorado. Against Salt Lake, late goals from Rodrigo De Paul and Luis Suarez made the difference.
And overall, the trip provided a team-bonding opportunity following an unexpected change.
“We spent, those two matches, almost a full week together,” Hoyos said in Spanish. “And during that time we really got to know each other on a much deeper level, especially with those we didn’t know before. But it was truly a pleasure because there was a lot of laughter. The players were very happy.”
Meanwhile, a New England side with modest expectations this season has quietly assembled a four-match league winning streak, including an impressive 2-1 victory at Atlanta United on Wednesday night.
William Sands and Peyton Miller scored in the 73rd and 78th minutes, respectively, as the Revolution (5-3-0, 15 points) rallied to a late win. And American World Cup hopeful Matt Turner made eight saves to raise his save percentage to 77.1%.
The Revolution have lost all four of their matches with the Herons since Messi’s arrival to MLS. But while first-year coach Marko Mitrovic respects the challenge the South Floridians present, he believes his side can exploit some of their deficiencies.
“I don’t want to say we can give them resistance,” Mitrovic said. “We’re not there to give resistance to players, to any team. We’re there to play our game, to try be on our best (level).”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Austin FC look to home match vs. rival Dynamo to end winless swoon
Apr 11, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Austin FC midfielder Joseph Rosales (30) controls the ball against LA Galaxy midfielder Lucas Sanabria (8) during the first half at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images Austin FC hope that the added intensity of a rivalry match at home with the Houston Dynamo changes their recent winless swoon when the sides square off Saturday in the latest edition of the quest for Copa Tejas.
The Dynamo head northwest to the Texan capital on the heels of a 1-0 home win over San Diego FC on Wednesday. Ibrahim Aliyu’s goal in the 35th minute was the difference-maker and keeper Jonathan Bond had to save just one shot to secure a second consecutive shutout for Houston (4-4-0, 12 points).
The shutout streak comes after Houston surrendered six goals in a shellacking at Colorado on April 11.
“After that loss, there was a refocus on the defensive side, on how we look off the ball and how we look after each other,” Dynamo coach Ben Olsen said after Wednesday’s victory. “We could have made things easier for ourselves with a second goal — we have to do a better job of understanding when it’s time to go against a team that leaves itself exposed.”
Dynamo starting striker Ondrej Lingr, who assisted on Aliyu’s goal on Wednesday, was shown a red card late in that match and will not be available versus Austin.
Austin travels home from the Bay Area after a 5-1 walloping Wednesday at the hands of San Jose. That match was the third on the road in nine days for the Verde (1-4-4, 7 points), with Joseph Rosales scoring Austin’s lone goal while goalkeeper Brad Stuver saved 11 of the 16 shots with which he was peppered before the floodgates opened.
Austin is winless in its last seven MLS matches (0-4-3) and has allowed 12 goals in its past four contests. The Verde, who scored a Western Conference-low 37 goals last season, have been outscored 19-12 over their nine matches this year.
The Verde are still looking for a balance between pressing to score and limiting their opponents’ opportunities. San Jose had a 37-6 edge in shots on Wednesday while defeating Austin.
“We were not a team that scored many goals (last season),” Austin coach Nico Estevez explained. “This is something we talked about in the offseason. And it’s true that sometimes when you focus so much on improving one thing, you can get worse in other aspects.”
The Verde have historically been dominant at home in MLS matches against Houston, forging a 5-1-1 mark the seven times the sides have clashed at Q2 Stadium.
–Field Level Media
Duke F Cameron Boozer declares for NBA Draft
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